The Power of One Character Analysis

The close of the school year returns our hero to his beloved Nanny who listens to his tale of torture and who introduces the first flavor of Africa to the western reader; she summons the great Inkosi-Inkosikazi, a medicine man who will cure the boy of the â€Å"night water. † Nanny tells the boy's story with all the eloquence of the great storytellers while Inkosi-Inkosikazi and the others listen. Even our hero is in awe: â€Å"I can tell you one thing, I was mighty impressed that any person, most of all me, could go through such a harrowing experience. 6 All is set for the night; the chickens have been put through their magic, our hero has had his sweet potato, and it is time for him to meet Inkosi-Inkosikazi in his dreams. When this happens, our hero is shown a quiet place to which he can return in times of trouble. He does this later in the book when he feels a crisis. In the morning, the night water problem has been solved and Inkosi-Inkosikazi presents the boy with the s crawniest of the chickens. He is named Granpa Chook. This chapter is significant for several reasons. As an introduction to the bildungsroman style, our hero is situated in a time and a place.His early tribulations are addressed and he is given weapons to deal with them. His ability to think things over is revealed, and the chapter ends with one hurdle overcome and the boy set to begin another year at boarding school. This time, though, he has the magic of Inkosi-Inkosikazi and Granpa Chook, â€Å"the first living creature over which I had held power. † 7 He is learning that there are ways to cope with injustice. Just as he had decided to remain invisible, our hero learns that there is strength inside of him and that he can summon that strength when needed.He is able to find ways to survive the Judge and other oppressors. This gives hope to any reader who has felt himself the underdog. As the novel progresses, our hero's ability to rise to the surface despite how different he is to his companions tells the reader that we are all unique and that the power of each one can overcome daunting odds. The above material should serve as the basis for one class discussion. For each chapter, the teacher should examine what is essential to fuel the discussion. This next portion of the narrative will concentrate on the ransitional points in Peekay's development and the instances in which politics affect his life and environment. The remainder of the first section of Book 1, which will be evaluated through a written assessment (see Appendix C) takes Peekay on a journey to his new home in Barberton. Peekay finishes his time at boarding school where he learns to adapt to the Judge and his â€Å"storm troopers† by doing the Judge's homework in hopes that the older boy will graduate and be out of his life. The Judge has carved a crude swastika on his arm.He agrees to allow Pisskop and Granpa Chook live until he passes math and then says Hitler will surely deal wit h them and they will be dead meat. This plan is altered when Pisskop refuses to eat the turds the Judge forces into his hands and Granpa Chook defecates in the howling Judge's mouth. He and the storm troopers beat the bird to death, leaving our hero to bury and mourn his only companion. The school term ends, the Judge departs, and Mevrou, who, interestingly, also addresses our hero as Pisskop, prepares him for the journey to his new home by brusquely informing him that he will take the train alone.Free from the Judge, yet mourning the loss of Granpa Chook, they set out. When they meet Harry Crown, the Jew who sells them tackies, the man is appalled at the boy's name and suggests â€Å"Peekay† which our hero gratefully accepts. Thus far, Peekay has been loved by his Zulu nanny, despised by his Afrikaner schoolmates and subjected to the cruelties of budding Nazis, and treated kindly by a Jewish storekeeper. The next step involves Mevrou's emotionless parting from the boy when s he consigns him to the care of the railway.Then Peekay meets Hoppie Groenewald with whom he travels and who treats him as an individual and a friend. â€Å"Hoppie Groenewald was to prove to be a passing mentor who would set the next seventeen years of my life on an irrevocable course. He would do so in little more than a day and a night. † 8 He introduces Peekay to boxing and brings him to his match where the boy is put under the care of Big Hettie, an aging, overweight Irish women who literally kills herself with food. She is the subject of her own drama which unfolds in the following chapter. Peekay learns from Hoppie that he is a worthwhile person.He learns that there is a goal in each life and to reach that goal one must focus. The most important piece of information he learns, though, is that the power of one can conquer. The child's mind takes in this crucial information along with his heart's response to the genuine kindness of the first person who seems to care about him since Nanny. To his dismay, he awakens the morning after the fight to find a note from Hoppie who has left the train. It contains the advice, â€Å"first with the head, then with the heart,† 9 which Peekay follows in all his future endeavors.This section of Peekay's journey allows characters from several different backgrounds to make their impressions on the boy. The threat of Hitler is somewhat removed, but the marked inequality in the way different groups of people are treated unfolds. From Peekay's embarrassment at Hoppie Groenewald seeing his circumcised penis and fearing that he will despise him because he is English, to hearing the beautiful Indian lady with the diamond in her tooth referred to as a â€Å"coolie,† Peekay is constantly made aware that people in this society are unrelenting in their notion of social hierarchy.This baffles the boy who sees everyone as the same. But how did he become the egalitarian child who grew into the freedom fighter? His be ginnings show him with a bland and ineffectual mother who has a nervous breakdown and is essentially removed from his life. His nanny is the most important person in his small world. Granpa is kindly but vague. These conditions could account for the boy's acceptance of the blacks in his world, but how does it come about that he also accepts the other disdained groups? While he fears the Judge and his henchmen, he does not profess to despise all other Afrikaners.He takes to Harry Crown and is fascinated by the Indian woman. The key to this acceptance is in his nature as a person and his early experiences. At school he is made into the outcast. For no reason other than his heritage, the boy is punished, humiliated, and threatened with death. He is bewildered, not understanding why he has been singled out this way, yet he does not see his treatment as an injustice in the beginning. His reaction is to try to blend in and remain impervious to the tortures with which he lives.The result o f forcing this under the surface is that he becomes a bed wetter. The interesting point here is the cure; Nanny sets out to cure the boy in the only way she knows how. The acceptance into her culture without question or prejudice enlarges the boy's capacity to understand that all humans are part of the same whole. He communes with Inkosi-Inkosikazi in his dream and is linked to the older man's culture. This early understanding of the interconnection between all people is what allows the boy to incorporate anyone he meets into his world, his space, and his family.The people who do not fit well are individuals who have strayed from the whole, those such as the Judge and Lt. Borman. These people must be dealt with but they are not representative of their entire race and do not engender hatred from Peekay as such; he can discern them as blotches on the whole of humanity and deal with them appropriately. This maturity is what all intelligent people strive for, hoping to assess an individ ual and his actions and not mistake the work of one person as representative of an entire race or ethnic group.Peekay seems to exude the feeling of common brotherhood without consciously striving to communicate it, unlike Pastor Mulvery, who is portrayed as being as sincere as he is intellectually able, yet projecting all of his acquired ideals and dogma in a sickeningly conscious manner. Peekay reflects the world around him. He is everyman and everyman is his brother. Through his actions, Peekay speaks to the world around him and those who inhabit it answer him in kind. Throughout the book there are subtle distinctions between the competing Afrikaners and the English, referred to by the Judge as the â€Å"verdomde rooineks,† or â€Å"damned rednecks. Characters toss off ethnic references and racial epithets as a matter of everyday speech, such as, â€Å"I will tell Hoppie Groenewald you behaved like a proper Boer, a real white man,† 10 and â€Å". . . my mother was always getting splitting headaches because she was a white woman and like Nanny said, it was a very hard thing to be. † 11 Peekay is essentially colorblind. To him, his Nanny is the most important person in the world. His mother is simply the woman who gave birth to him. Without a father, his grandfather is an bsent-minded, distant personage who has little influence on the boy's life. All the figures in Peekay's life at this point, save the Judge, are adults, and it matters little whether they are Zulu, Shangaan, Afrikaner, Jewish, Indian, or â€Å"verdomde rooinek. † To Peekay they are all people, each one an entity to examine and understand; sometimes to fear and sometimes to love. The combination of a child's point of view with the adult narrator's reflection on these memories frames the picture for the reader, creating a universal point of view for global readers of all ages.After the disappointment of finding his mother under the religious spell of Pastor Mulvery, Peekay discovers that Nanny has been sent back to Zululand because she would not forsake her beliefs for the Christian religion. Peekay's life would have been unbearably bleak if he hadn't met Doc. Chapter Nine brings a breath of hope, both intellectual and aesthetic, into Peekay's life. Instead of remaining in the stifling company of his mother and Pastor Mulvery with the â€Å"escaping teeth,† Peekay has found a mind and heart to nurture his own.His loneliness birds are at bay, and he realizes, at age six, that one can be alone but not lonely. In this part of the book, organized Christianity is portrayed as something to be avoided. None of the characters who embrace the Apostolic Faith Mission seems to be very bright. The whole question of what happens in heaven is almost funny, except that the only response to the little white girl's query about whether the blacks will still work for the whites is for Pastor Mulvery to tell her that nobody works in heaven.He sidesteps the entire issue of equality and leans toward the â€Å"separate but equal† stance held in the United States. Doc, in contrast, who is a German citizen and therefore perceived as a threat to society, is the most spiritual character in the book; it is he who unwraps the beauty of the natural world for Peekay. In Courtenay's world, those interested in war and politics are definitely less valuable than those who embrace nature. In the second half of Book 1, Peekay grows from age 6 to 12. His relationship with Doc is the longest and most fruitful of any of his mentors.World War II begins and Doc is imprisoned for being an unregistered German. The injustice spreads as Peekay tries to intervene and is kicked in the jaw and touted as a hero who brought down a suspected traitor. When he comes to in the hospital, his broken jaw wired shut, Peekay is appalled at the report and relies on Mrs. Boxall, his friend and the town librarian, to sort it out and vindicate him. Peekay's observation o f the treatment of the prisoners and the racial prejudice of the prison officials only strengthens his feelings of the necessity for equal rights and education for everyone.He does not think of himself as English; he is South African. Doc accepts his internment graciously, as he is allowed full freedom of movement in the prison and is allowed to have a cactus garden. There is a hierarchy among the prisoners as well. In every collection of humans who must coexist at close quarters there will be some order that emerges or that is imposed. Think of Lord of the Flies or The Admirable Crichton. Power struggles exist among any group of people. Seeing the power that Peekay attains without his seeking it points to the power inside him; the power of one person to make a change.This reinforces the notion that the one who should be held as an example is the one who does not seek power. This is more clearly illustrated in later chapters. The character of Geel Piet could fill an entire book. His relevance to the theme of Peekay's story lies in his role as a symbol of the downtrodden, poor bastard. He has lived a life of crime, but he is not all bad. He has learned to function within the system to accept what he cannot change. His legacy is: Peekay's success, the eight-punch combination, and the music that Doc dedicated to him.Peekay's boxing progresses, his musical abilities, although not masterful, proceed, and his academic career flourishes, due largely to his tutoring by Doc, Mrs. Boxall, and extra help from his teacher, Miss Bornstein, on whom he develops a crush. By the end of Book 1, Peekay has realized the enormity of the inequality of his country. His comprehension has grown from his early fear of Hitler coming to kill him and Granpa Chook to a resolve to continue to fight racial hatred and promote equality for all. The Power of One Character Analysis The close of the school year returns our hero to his beloved Nanny who listens to his tale of torture and who introduces the first flavor of Africa to the western reader; she summons the great Inkosi-Inkosikazi, a medicine man who will cure the boy of the â€Å"night water. † Nanny tells the boy's story with all the eloquence of the great storytellers while Inkosi-Inkosikazi and the others listen. Even our hero is in awe: â€Å"I can tell you one thing, I was mighty impressed that any person, most of all me, could go through such a harrowing experience. 6 All is set for the night; the chickens have been put through their magic, our hero has had his sweet potato, and it is time for him to meet Inkosi-Inkosikazi in his dreams. When this happens, our hero is shown a quiet place to which he can return in times of trouble. He does this later in the book when he feels a crisis. In the morning, the night water problem has been solved and Inkosi-Inkosikazi presents the boy with the s crawniest of the chickens. He is named Granpa Chook. This chapter is significant for several reasons. As an introduction to the bildungsroman style, our hero is situated in a time and a place.His early tribulations are addressed and he is given weapons to deal with them. His ability to think things over is revealed, and the chapter ends with one hurdle overcome and the boy set to begin another year at boarding school. This time, though, he has the magic of Inkosi-Inkosikazi and Granpa Chook, â€Å"the first living creature over which I had held power. † 7 He is learning that there are ways to cope with injustice. Just as he had decided to remain invisible, our hero learns that there is strength inside of him and that he can summon that strength when needed.He is able to find ways to survive the Judge and other oppressors. This gives hope to any reader who has felt himself the underdog. As the novel progresses, our hero's ability to rise to the surface despite how different he is to his companions tells the reader that we are all unique and that the power of each one can overcome daunting odds. The above material should serve as the basis for one class discussion. For each chapter, the teacher should examine what is essential to fuel the discussion. This next portion of the narrative will concentrate on the ransitional points in Peekay's development and the instances in which politics affect his life and environment. The remainder of the first section of Book 1, which will be evaluated through a written assessment (see Appendix C) takes Peekay on a journey to his new home in Barberton. Peekay finishes his time at boarding school where he learns to adapt to the Judge and his â€Å"storm troopers† by doing the Judge's homework in hopes that the older boy will graduate and be out of his life. The Judge has carved a crude swastika on his arm.He agrees to allow Pisskop and Granpa Chook live until he passes math and then says Hitler will surely deal wit h them and they will be dead meat. This plan is altered when Pisskop refuses to eat the turds the Judge forces into his hands and Granpa Chook defecates in the howling Judge's mouth. He and the storm troopers beat the bird to death, leaving our hero to bury and mourn his only companion. The school term ends, the Judge departs, and Mevrou, who, interestingly, also addresses our hero as Pisskop, prepares him for the journey to his new home by brusquely informing him that he will take the train alone.Free from the Judge, yet mourning the loss of Granpa Chook, they set out. When they meet Harry Crown, the Jew who sells them tackies, the man is appalled at the boy's name and suggests â€Å"Peekay† which our hero gratefully accepts. Thus far, Peekay has been loved by his Zulu nanny, despised by his Afrikaner schoolmates and subjected to the cruelties of budding Nazis, and treated kindly by a Jewish storekeeper. The next step involves Mevrou's emotionless parting from the boy when s he consigns him to the care of the railway.Then Peekay meets Hoppie Groenewald with whom he travels and who treats him as an individual and a friend. â€Å"Hoppie Groenewald was to prove to be a passing mentor who would set the next seventeen years of my life on an irrevocable course. He would do so in little more than a day and a night. † 8 He introduces Peekay to boxing and brings him to his match where the boy is put under the care of Big Hettie, an aging, overweight Irish women who literally kills herself with food. She is the subject of her own drama which unfolds in the following chapter. Peekay learns from Hoppie that he is a worthwhile person.He learns that there is a goal in each life and to reach that goal one must focus. The most important piece of information he learns, though, is that the power of one can conquer. The child's mind takes in this crucial information along with his heart's response to the genuine kindness of the first person who seems to care about him since Nanny. To his dismay, he awakens the morning after the fight to find a note from Hoppie who has left the train. It contains the advice, â€Å"first with the head, then with the heart,† 9 which Peekay follows in all his future endeavors.This section of Peekay's journey allows characters from several different backgrounds to make their impressions on the boy. The threat of Hitler is somewhat removed, but the marked inequality in the way different groups of people are treated unfolds. From Peekay's embarrassment at Hoppie Groenewald seeing his circumcised penis and fearing that he will despise him because he is English, to hearing the beautiful Indian lady with the diamond in her tooth referred to as a â€Å"coolie,† Peekay is constantly made aware that people in this society are unrelenting in their notion of social hierarchy.This baffles the boy who sees everyone as the same. But how did he become the egalitarian child who grew into the freedom fighter? His be ginnings show him with a bland and ineffectual mother who has a nervous breakdown and is essentially removed from his life. His nanny is the most important person in his small world. Granpa is kindly but vague. These conditions could account for the boy's acceptance of the blacks in his world, but how does it come about that he also accepts the other disdained groups? While he fears the Judge and his henchmen, he does not profess to despise all other Afrikaners.He takes to Harry Crown and is fascinated by the Indian woman. The key to this acceptance is in his nature as a person and his early experiences. At school he is made into the outcast. For no reason other than his heritage, the boy is punished, humiliated, and threatened with death. He is bewildered, not understanding why he has been singled out this way, yet he does not see his treatment as an injustice in the beginning. His reaction is to try to blend in and remain impervious to the tortures with which he lives.The result o f forcing this under the surface is that he becomes a bed wetter. The interesting point here is the cure; Nanny sets out to cure the boy in the only way she knows how. The acceptance into her culture without question or prejudice enlarges the boy's capacity to understand that all humans are part of the same whole. He communes with Inkosi-Inkosikazi in his dream and is linked to the older man's culture. This early understanding of the interconnection between all people is what allows the boy to incorporate anyone he meets into his world, his space, and his family.The people who do not fit well are individuals who have strayed from the whole, those such as the Judge and Lt. Borman. These people must be dealt with but they are not representative of their entire race and do not engender hatred from Peekay as such; he can discern them as blotches on the whole of humanity and deal with them appropriately. This maturity is what all intelligent people strive for, hoping to assess an individ ual and his actions and not mistake the work of one person as representative of an entire race or ethnic group.Peekay seems to exude the feeling of common brotherhood without consciously striving to communicate it, unlike Pastor Mulvery, who is portrayed as being as sincere as he is intellectually able, yet projecting all of his acquired ideals and dogma in a sickeningly conscious manner. Peekay reflects the world around him. He is everyman and everyman is his brother. Through his actions, Peekay speaks to the world around him and those who inhabit it answer him in kind. Throughout the book there are subtle distinctions between the competing Afrikaners and the English, referred to by the Judge as the â€Å"verdomde rooineks,† or â€Å"damned rednecks. Characters toss off ethnic references and racial epithets as a matter of everyday speech, such as, â€Å"I will tell Hoppie Groenewald you behaved like a proper Boer, a real white man,† 10 and â€Å". . . my mother was always getting splitting headaches because she was a white woman and like Nanny said, it was a very hard thing to be. † 11 Peekay is essentially colorblind. To him, his Nanny is the most important person in the world. His mother is simply the woman who gave birth to him. Without a father, his grandfather is an bsent-minded, distant personage who has little influence on the boy's life. All the figures in Peekay's life at this point, save the Judge, are adults, and it matters little whether they are Zulu, Shangaan, Afrikaner, Jewish, Indian, or â€Å"verdomde rooinek. † To Peekay they are all people, each one an entity to examine and understand; sometimes to fear and sometimes to love. The combination of a child's point of view with the adult narrator's reflection on these memories frames the picture for the reader, creating a universal point of view for global readers of all ages.After the disappointment of finding his mother under the religious spell of Pastor Mulvery, Peekay discovers that Nanny has been sent back to Zululand because she would not forsake her beliefs for the Christian religion. Peekay's life would have been unbearably bleak if he hadn't met Doc. Chapter Nine brings a breath of hope, both intellectual and aesthetic, into Peekay's life. Instead of remaining in the stifling company of his mother and Pastor Mulvery with the â€Å"escaping teeth,† Peekay has found a mind and heart to nurture his own.His loneliness birds are at bay, and he realizes, at age six, that one can be alone but not lonely. In this part of the book, organized Christianity is portrayed as something to be avoided. None of the characters who embrace the Apostolic Faith Mission seems to be very bright. The whole question of what happens in heaven is almost funny, except that the only response to the little white girl's query about whether the blacks will still work for the whites is for Pastor Mulvery to tell her that nobody works in heaven.He sidesteps the entire issue of equality and leans toward the â€Å"separate but equal† stance held in the United States. Doc, in contrast, who is a German citizen and therefore perceived as a threat to society, is the most spiritual character in the book; it is he who unwraps the beauty of the natural world for Peekay. In Courtenay's world, those interested in war and politics are definitely less valuable than those who embrace nature. In the second half of Book 1, Peekay grows from age 6 to 12. His relationship with Doc is the longest and most fruitful of any of his mentors.World War II begins and Doc is imprisoned for being an unregistered German. The injustice spreads as Peekay tries to intervene and is kicked in the jaw and touted as a hero who brought down a suspected traitor. When he comes to in the hospital, his broken jaw wired shut, Peekay is appalled at the report and relies on Mrs. Boxall, his friend and the town librarian, to sort it out and vindicate him. Peekay's observation o f the treatment of the prisoners and the racial prejudice of the prison officials only strengthens his feelings of the necessity for equal rights and education for everyone.He does not think of himself as English; he is South African. Doc accepts his internment graciously, as he is allowed full freedom of movement in the prison and is allowed to have a cactus garden. There is a hierarchy among the prisoners as well. In every collection of humans who must coexist at close quarters there will be some order that emerges or that is imposed. Think of Lord of the Flies or The Admirable Crichton. Power struggles exist among any group of people. Seeing the power that Peekay attains without his seeking it points to the power inside him; the power of one person to make a change.This reinforces the notion that the one who should be held as an example is the one who does not seek power. This is more clearly illustrated in later chapters. The character of Geel Piet could fill an entire book. His relevance to the theme of Peekay's story lies in his role as a symbol of the downtrodden, poor bastard. He has lived a life of crime, but he is not all bad. He has learned to function within the system to accept what he cannot change. His legacy is: Peekay's success, the eight-punch combination, and the music that Doc dedicated to him.Peekay's boxing progresses, his musical abilities, although not masterful, proceed, and his academic career flourishes, due largely to his tutoring by Doc, Mrs. Boxall, and extra help from his teacher, Miss Bornstein, on whom he develops a crush. By the end of Book 1, Peekay has realized the enormity of the inequality of his country. His comprehension has grown from his early fear of Hitler coming to kill him and Granpa Chook to a resolve to continue to fight racial hatred and promote equality for all.

Media Commercialization

Commercialization of Indian media The media industry across the globe has witnessed spectacular changes in the recent years. There has been a considerable change in the perception of media in the olden times, as revolutionary instruments and powerful political players. Today, the media is perceived more as businesses with a motto of `remaining profitable'. The growing competition along with the trend of confinement of media ownership to a few major transnational conglomerates has further intensified the commercial pressure in the terrain.This has also resulted in media proliferation, wherein numerous emerging media products embark on catering to the needs of a more fragmented market. Commodification of news has become a serious issue today. â€Å"The news has become a product, packaged and sold to the economic elite, designed to satisfy the needs of the advertiser first, and audience second. † The mounting competition adds on to this connotation which stimulates the media genr e to adopt strategies which may even disfigure and deface the relationship between editorial content and advertising.As the media dome becomes commercial, it relies more on advertising revenue for its survival, which, in turn increases pressure to develop media content that appeals to the advertisers. This, in fact, results in an elevated amount of conflicts with the media's accountability towards public in terms of supplying information, in public interest. In fact, the very purpose of the existence of the media, i. e. , informing the public is overshadowed by such commercial concerns.The increasing pressure also leads the media houses to be choosy about their audiences with regard to the advertiser appeal, and hence the focus is shifted to wealthy, elite audience. In India, the media careens between froth, marketing, reporting, opinion, and reacting. Seriousness is often dislodged by commercialism: editor of leading national daily turned gourmand and celebrity interviewer; front p age coverage of celebrity weddings, gastric troubles; fatter â€Å"lifestyle† supplements; hour long adulatory shows on news channels about an Indian superstar who frankly claims to have no ambitions other to have fun and entertain the masses etc.Predictably, the preponderance of coverage of the attacks and its aftermath is superficial too: trending to human interest, pandering to mass emotional outrage, instead of focusing on systemic problems. â€Å"Serious† reporters are doing talk shows of sorts, calling on their guest panel former soap stars, actors, and socialites. Reports are rife with accusations of the administration's callousness, dropped balls, and self-righteous calls for more heads to roll. Journalism in the face of a real crisis is laced with passionate rhetoric, not real questions and solutions.The strength and importance of media in a democracy is well recognized. Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, which gives freedom of speech and expression includes within its ambit, freedom of press. The existence of a free, independent and powerful media is the cornerstone of a democracy, especially of a highly mixed society like India. Media is not only a medium to express once feelings, opinions and views, but it is also responsible and instrumental for building opinions and views on various topics of regional, national and international agenda.The pivotal role of the media is its ability to mobilize the thinking process of millions. But in today’s highly commercialized market, the press is losing its main focus. Journalism had deviated from the path of responsible journalism to more saleable journalism. There is more news about the â€Å"rich and the happening† rather than the poor and dying. The gap between mass media and mass reality is growing at an alarming pace. Nowadays media is primarily focusing only â€Å"the elite† section of society. How much does the unforgettable tour of the Bachchans affect us?An d how much would a disaster like Bihar floods affect the people? Yet, the media is more interested in focusing on what should be printed on page 3. Ask yourself, does page 3 mean more than the realities of life? Though the role and importance of media is increasing in our lives today, it’s sad that its accountability and professionalism is dwindling. â€Å"With great power comes great responsibility†. Television channels in a bid to increase their TRP ratings are resorting to sensationalized journalism with a view to earn a competitive edge over the others.Sting operations have now become the order of the day. We are a democracy of a billion plus people with the largest youth population in the world, large sections poor and uneducated, inadequate social services, and a country in transition. It is imperative that our influential intelligentsia focus unfailingly on meaningful issues since the opportunity cost is enormous. The government is increasingly sidelined by priv ate enterprise; unprepared peasants are migrating to straining cities; and the nouveau riche anxious to express their nascent individuality is turning to incongruous consumption.Our academia is intently focused on the graduate's financial remuneration, and naturally, commercial interests don't provide any discipline. Entertainment czars consume our attention, shape public opinion, and increasingly control our daily life by forming a nexus with private industry, and entering the administration. We have mall adjacent to mall adjacent to mall, and almost no democratic recreational space. Mostly the middle-class Indian comes in contact with one another to consume, an individualistic pursuit, thus developing no collective voice or opinion.Further, democracy in India has many pitfalls: the educated vote counts as much (or as little) as the uneducated. Nepotistic, political power is concentrated; political will is weak, and further emasculated by our coalition government structure. Any one can start a new political party, garner a few electoral votes, cobble together a patchwork government, and sporadically threaten to fell the government if their personal demands aren't met. As a country we can't afford to feed or educate our children. We use our poorest as cattle, carting heavy burden on their backs in crowded urban markets.Our farmers are committing mass suicide. Religion is a recurring flash point. There is so much going on in India that we can't afford to dilute our focus on the important issues with front page/prime time coverage of entertainment. Moreover, print media, especially national newspapers are newspapers of record, and the current news standards will leave many important events that shape our country undocumented for our future generations. The state runs on taxes, and is liable to its citizenry, however the individual is unable to demand accountability.The Indian citizen has no serious platform to voice her concerns, of harnessing institutional powe r to fight systemic battles. Consequently, we now have a country where citizen activism is either all or nothing. It's an all out battle, which the common person struggling just to survive, exhausted amid the delays, chaos, chronic infrastructure shortfall/failure and pollution cannot wage. Activism cannot and should not be at the exclusionary cost of personal life, and livelihood. Media must provide serious relevant coverage, accurate information, and emocratic access to voice public concerns. This is media's non-negotiable obligation to society, by virtue of preferential access, mass reach and the ability to shape public opinion. Yes, the Mumbai attacks are a wake up call to our government, but also to our media, one of the original and last bastions of democracy. India urgently needs renewed civic engagement, and it is the media's responsibility to create that platform, not as a temporary reaction to some outrage, but as a permanent social structure. India is witnessing a rapid  commercialization  and  diversification of media  (news).One only needs to glance at the leading national dailies and 24/7  channels  to understand the extent of its impact. Reality is nothing more than a series of moments. And in these very moments one can find  elements of all that is strange, frightening, colourful, funny, ludicrous and fantastic. Who needs fiction when fact offers it all! But when it comes to the Indian media, there is sometimes simply too much being offered. Johann Wolfgang Van  Goethe  had felt that very few people have the imagination for reality.One wonders what the great thinker would have felt compelled to say after an evening spent surfing contemporary  Indian news  channels. Would he perhaps have concluded that too much imagination can mist reality, shrouding it in unnecessary layers of melodrama and exaggeration? Our so-called news  channels  fall into this erroneous routine with alarming regularity. The concept of ‘break ing news' in the age of 24/7 broadcasting has led to a tectonic shift in the paradigm- the spotlight has shifted from what matters to what sells. So the media is constantly on the prowl for fresh fodder-anything that exhibits potential to arrest eyeballs will do.Minor matters such as the relevance of the story, sensitivity towards the subject or the viewers, news prioritization, etc. get relegated to corridors of obscurity. Here are some moments from the recent past which were pounced upon with glee by the story-starved ‘infotainment' networks; moments which made the day for India TV and its ever-growing brethren; in short, moments which were made for the media Terrorism, terrible as it may sound, is made for television. The dawning sense of horror, the magnitude of destruction, the agony of human loss is captured with maximum precision and lasting imagery through the electronic media.The terrorist needs the oxygen of publicity to survive and TV provides with him that. 26/11 h aunts our collective imagination both because of the scale of terror and TV's explosive coverage of the attacks. The commercialization of the Indian media takes many forms. It has been known for some time that a few of India’s leading media conglomerates — including Bennett, Coleman & Co. , the publisher of The Times of India and The Economic Times — offer what that company calls â€Å"innovative† and â€Å"integrated† marketing strategies that blur the traditional line between advertising and article content.Bennett, Coleman’s Medianet division, for example, lets advertisers place articles on certain pages in the paper without clearly marking them as advertising. One of the company’s more aggressive offerings is a product known as a Private Treaty, which offers companies a certain amount of advertising space in exchange for equity stakes in those companies. According to the Private Treaties Web site, Bennett, Coleman now holds such e quity stakes in more than 100 companies. Officially, the companies are only given advertising space.But at least one businessman confirmed to me that it was made clear that he could also expect favourable news coverage. At the very least, it seems evident that Private Treaties set up a very serious conflict of interest, a point highlighted last year when the Indian stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, wrote a letter to the chairman of the Press Council expressing concern about the business practice. Private Treaties are an example of the commoditisation of business news. But much of the recent attention in India has focused on paid political content.Over the past year or so, there have been a growing number of reports of politicians paying media houses for favourable coverage or to skirt restrictions on campaign financing. Embracing commercialization seems to pose a threat to the quality of content communicated by the media, which, in turn, is question ing the fundamental objective of its very existence. Commercialization has a positive impact on the financial performance of media in the market, but it indeed shows the way to certain unpleasant upshots, mainly on the quality of the content of dissemination.

Sustainable management future Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Sustainable management future - Assignment Example It is a crucial aspect for marketers to understand the expectations and ethics within cultures that may influence their business transactions. An understanding of the cultural basis for ethical behavior in various countries may arm marketers with the necessary knowledge required in succeeding across the multi cultural businesses. Implementation of such knowledge with a clear sequence of managerial guidelines may actualize the value of such an understanding (Fisher, 2013, 2). In essence, culture is one of the factors that influence the ethics of a business. According to the Random House Dictionary, ethics refers to the rules of conduct that are identified in relation to a specific class of human actions for a specific culture, or group. Different cultures have different rules of conduct. The essence of this paper is to examine how different ethics and values can be reconciled when doing business across different cultures. Our goal is not to identify the ethical or unethical practices. Rather, the objective is to understand these variations and outline a way of how to reconcile them for effective performance. What is significant is that some cultures may view such practices with different levels of condemnation. This presents a problem for managers who are engaged in cross-cultural transactions. Such managers have to anticipate and manage such variations in an ethical behavior that is grounded on the cultural differences (Armstrong and Sweeney, 1994, 34). The purpose of this paper is to identity how different ethics and values can be reconciled when doing business across different cultures. Media today is awash with stories that highlight domestic and international unethical behaviors of managers. Such behavior may include bribery, illegal contributions, sale of defective products, hiding information and other vices. These incidences are a representation of personal or organizational misconduct and portray an ignorance or violation of an ethical framework. The

The Security Risks Associated with online access to database. The Article

The Security Risks Associated with online access to database. The common mistakes made by database administrators, security personal, and the application developers - Article Example This leads to only minimal security if any, despite regulations requiring organizations to secure their data (Chickowski, 2009-8). Further complicating factors are the complexity of large databases, and the heterogeneity of the modern database environment (Chickowski, 2009-6). Thus, Chickowski (2009-9) also recommends an education program to teach users about database security, and highlights the importance of good password management. Patches are infrequently applied because of the concept that if something is not broken, it doesn’t need to be fixed. Other areas of neglect are poor configuration management such as taking shortcuts, using test databases on production servers, etc. The latter especially leads to even further risks (Chickowski, 2009-8). These and other security lapses make databases vulnerable from worms, automated scanners, etc. Online databases can suffer from buffer overruns and the URLs â€Å"allow attacker code to be executed, and generally wreak havoc† (Chickowski, 2009-6). As for the application design itself, experts have even identified the most risky packages such as DBMS_SQL, UTL_TCP and DBMS_XMLGEN within Oracle, and third party applications can also undermine databases (Chickowski, 2009-8). Simple and expected measures for security are authentication, authorization, and access control. Apart from configuration and patches, more advanced measures are encryption, auditing, monitoring, and data masking essential for enterprise databases. Besides these, other technological solutions are ‘hardening’ the database using features provided by the database vendor, and keeping out non-essential items from the server, including documentation, sample configurations, code files and if possible built-in stored procedures that are unused. Anything else that cannot be deleted should be disabled instead. The relationship between databases and web applications are based on trust but

Sociology can be a potent tool for the emancipatory youth worker Essay

Sociology can be a potent tool for the emancipatory youth worker discuss - Essay Example "It is never localized here or there, never in anybody's hands, never appropriated as a commodity or piece f wealth" (1980a, p. 98). Although discourse and practice pre-exist us, we learn to harness them to our own end. The notion f power being located within rules and regulations which are continually adopted and transformed by individual agents is central to Giddens' structuration theory f power (1984,p. 14). Foucault is known for his work analyzing changes in the discourse and practice f discipline and punishment, particularly in relation to education (1977a) but, with the exception f Dwyer's (1995) study f post-compulsory education in Australia, his theories have not had any major impact in adult education (Westwood, 1992). To understand the notion f empowerment and emancipation, we must begin with an analysis f power. This leads immediately to a fundamental problem: If power dictates or produces truth, how do we recognize true statements about power More fundamentally, is truth possible beyond power We may believe, with Habermas, that there is a realm f truth which exists beyond power and which is central to authentic human being, communication, and voluntary social order. Habermas (1984) argues that the "orientation to reaching understanding" is a universal feature f human communication which is central to overcoming self-interest and the domination f economic and political power in our lives (p. 286). This is also the fundamental assumption underlying Mezirow's (1994; 1995) theory f adult learning. Foucault, however, insists that there is no truth without power (1980a, p. 131). It is in and through power that what is known, what is said, what is taken for granted, and what is regarded as the truth a re constituted. The tensions between these two positions are central to the following discussion. It is argued that for people to become emancipated it is important first to be able to distinguish social action deriving from power as opposed to, for example, love and affection. It is also important to distinguish different types f power. This is something which is missing in Mezirow's work. Within a Habermasian framework, understanding how power works is crucial if people are to prevent the colonization and technization f the lifeworld by power and money and develop a society based on free, undistorted communication (Habermas, 1987, p. 183). It is argued here, that for emancipatory learning to reach its full potential, there is a need to go beyond an analytical realist typology f power to a Foucauldian structuralist analysis which helps people understand how they are limited and controlled by discourses and practices (Honneth, 1993; Kelly, 1994). The central tenet f this paper is that empowerment involves people developing capacities to act successfully within the existing system and structures f power, while emancipation concerns critically analyzing, resisting and challenging structures f power. The first section begins with an analysis f empowerment. Empowerment used to be associated with a wide variety f radical social movements (Bookman, 1988; Davis, 1988; Hanks, 1987; Inglis, 1994; Kieffer, 1984; O'Sullivan, 1993; Solomon, 1976; Villerreal, 1988). In more recent years, however, it has been appropriated by organizational

Commerce law in the land of Middle Kingdom Research Paper

Commerce law in the land of Middle Kingdom - Research Paper Example In order to successfully conduct business in China, the IBs must traverse a, at times, thorny path of ethical and social culture challenges. Elements that influence Differences in Social Culture Values, and ethics drive what shape the social culture of given country will be in. Culture is a collection of widely accepted values, ethics, and beliefs held by the group. For example, Chinese culture is very heavily influenced by Confucius beliefs and values of collectivism, group over individualism. Chinese culture takes a very hierarchical structure of social life, cultivation of morality and self-restraint, and the emphasis on hard work and achievement (Fogel, 2010).  With each country, place or group, these elements change which results in a variation or difference in social culture. However as time goes by, whether through external factors or driven by necessities of survival, these values, beliefs and ethics will evolve which will result in a change within the social culture. Busin ess and economic implications of differences in culture and values How business and economics function is different in every place. Differences in culture and values are one of the primary reasons behind this simple fact. What is considered acceptable in one country is not acceptable in another (most stated example, bribes). Economic policies are driven by culture and values while business conduct is governed by cultural norms and common practices found within the group. At times the difference in culture and values can become a barrier to conducting business. International business and trade is similar to dancing a very carefully choreographed dance except that one dance is interpreted different in each country. A failure to adhere to the steps in that dance in a given country could be the difference between a disastrous business venture and a successful entry into an international market. Culture and values drive the principals and influence the manner in which business is conduct ed and economics are established. Social culture’s influence on work place values Social culture will define what is considered acceptable and appropriate at a work place. It will shape the policy at work and define the roll of given individuals and importance of their place amongst the ranks, as well as guidelines for conducting business. Given the hierarchical nature of Chinese culture, the rank of an individual employee plays a very important role within the organization (Fogel, 2010).  Social culture and aspects of social life norms will also influence how business is conducted on the domestic and international stage. The principal of Guanxi – concept of drawing on connections – is an important aspect of Chinese culture. It’s based on the principal of creating a personal network on the basis of favors, associations (belonging to the same trade association or group) and other social connections (same city of origin, close association through years of working together). At times companies have been unable to conduct business with some form of guanxi. Luo (2007, p 7) talks about how cosmetics manufacturer Avon, initially, unable to convince the Chinese government about the viability of its direct marketing method, requested the assistance of Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia director David Li. Li is known for having a very well known and influential guanxi with ties into the central Chinese government, which he used to assist Avon in establishing a communication link and push through a deal between Avon and

The Issue of Virtue or Citizenship for the New Republic of Antarctica Essay

The Issue of Virtue or Citizenship for the New Republic of Antarctica - Essay Example As a preliminary matter, it is essential to define precisely what is meant by the notion of civic virtue or citizenship. The main idea is that citizens are bound to place certain larger civic goals above their more particularized personal desires. Implicit in this concept is the notion of sacrifice. The citizen, while to be protected and respected as an individual, is also expected to behave in ways which promote the larger interests of his state or country. In this way, citizenship implies certain fundamental obligations. The virtue is behavior which conforms to these expectations. The important question, therefore, becomes what expectations ought the New Republic of Antarctica create for its citizenry The nature of virtue is a question which deserves serious attention. Some have argued that virtue is to be closely aligned with austerity. The pursuit of luxury and personal fame is to be discouraged. Larger social goals should be the guiding goals of citizenship. Others have argued that virtue need not be so limiting on a personal level. This line of reasoning is more liberal, and suggests that individual achievements will contribute to the development of the country. Thus, personal gain ought to be encouraged so long as the fundamental objectives of the government are not endangered. In the final analysis, the virtue to be explored in this report refers to the role and the function of individuals within the New Republic of Antarctica. This raises questions of political conformity and the nature of the individual's influence within the republic. 1.2 Alternative Models The manner in which virtue is to be incorporated into a republic is variable; to be sure, there are different models to consider. First, there is the notion of a direct democratic republic to be considered. This model extends a vote to its citizens, according to a formula prescribed by law, and effectively operates on the basis of majority rule. This model is something of an all-win or all-lose system. The majority dictate representatives as well as an overarching civic conscience. The minority, meanwhile, is entirely subject to the whims of the majority. A second model is the constitutional republic. This model is motivated by a philosophical desire to protect minorities from majority rule. A constitution is interposed between the government and the citizens. It functions to state general and specific principles of virtue. The goal of the constitutional republic is to temper the potential extremes and abuses of the majority model. In addition to the direct and constitutional models, there are also questions pertaining to the centralization or the fragmentation of our governing system. The federalist model assumes a strong national government with subsidiary state governments. The states are possessed with governmental functions; however, they are subservient in many cases to the larger interests of the national government. An alternative model, the confederacy, envisions a more fragmented system of government. In this model, individual states reserve a fuller sovereignty over their own affairs; in this scheme, states function almost as separate governments unbeholden to

The Process of Leadership and Potential of the Organisation Essay - 3

The Process of Leadership and Potential of the Organisation - Essay Example According to Hall et al. (2013), the role of a manager in the workplace is leadership. Because of globalization and liberalization, competition in the market is getting intensified as time goes on. Traditional management and leadership principles may not be effective at present since the needs of the organization and that of the employees are changing constantly. It should be noted that the ultimate success of an organization rests in the hands of the employees since employees are responsible for the mobilization of organizational resources. It is the duty of the leader to address the needs of all the employees properly to lead the organization towards success. Modern organizations are functioning cross-culturally and these organizations are keen on keeping a diverse workforce. The needs of diverse employees could be different. No two individuals are alike; therefore it would be difficult for a leader to use same management style to motivate two different employees. Same way, it woul d be difficult for a leader to implement same management strategies in different industries since the requirements of different industries could be different. In short, the process of leadership is not homogenous in all contexts.At present these companies are struggling for existence because of the leadership failures in their organizations. It would be difficult for modern organizations to stay competitive without processes like innovation, change management and knowledge management etc like modern management principles. Leadership is responsible to implement these things in organizations. The introduction of Apple Inc.’s innovative touchscreen phone (iPhone) at the beginning of 2000 has changed the complexion of the high tech market. Samsung has immediately followed the footsteps of Apple Inc. while others failed to adapt to the situations properly. At present Samsung is competing for the neck to neck with Apple Inc in the high tech industries whereas others struggling for survival. The problems in the leadership approach were the major reasons for failures in Nokia like companies. Leadership Approach According to Herbert Henkel, chairman, and CEO of Ingersoll Rand, the ability of a leader to question the â€Å"halo effect† determines the success and failure of the organization which he leads (Carey et al., 2009). For example, in 80’s and 90’s Apple Computers was struggling for survival. The competition from arch-rival Microsoft was immense for Apple. Steve Job, the former CEO of Apple Computers decided to make some changes in Apple’s business strategies. Instead of concentrating more on computer and OS market, he decided to concentrate more on consumer electronics market. As a result of that, he was able to introduce a series of innovative products such as iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc at the beginning of 2000.  

European union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

European union - Essay Example In addition to this, public law involving the commerce in European Union has fundamental significance:2 i. Most of the laws governing ECJ commercial circles whether directly or indirectly, are grounded on the European Union Laws ii. The framework which governs private businesses is widely derived from the rules that were established in 1957: that is, The Rome Treaty iii. Most of the sections of the regimes ruling and providing guidance and direction are either prescribed to European Union Regulations or largely affected by the â€Å"sectoral† agreements reached upon by the states in agreement. The reference of the aforementioned views are made to the C-213/89 Factortame (No1) [1990] ECR I-2433 Case 11/70: a case that involve the controversy in the fishing policy that were change in British. The fishing policy which started iin early 1970s was intended to make fishing within the EU member state of more economicvalue by giving people the liberty to access water freely in within the member states. The common fisheries policy of the European Union also was providing funds to make fishing modernized to meet the market demands. Becase of the increasing demands for fishing in the member states, the EU came up with another agreement in1980 with Spain on to allowance of the fishing agreement which defined to level of fishing grounds and the access points of fishing in the British grounds. As time advanced, the British felt a little uncormfortable with the magnitude of fishing that was taking place in their waters. Fishermen from Spain and elsewhere in the European Union started taking advantage of the fishing vessels that they had to penetrate the UK waters. This led the British to enacting various laws to curb this situation. The British law wanted that the only people who could fish on their water were to be those who were qualified: of which those who were qualified were the British citizen and a company registered in Britain whose 75% members were Brish citiz ens. This move sparked the heat of debate that led the major owners of the fishing vessels from Spain to seek the redress of the law. The people who were affected most were the Factortame from Spain. Their vessels could not meet the conditions that were set by the British newly established laws. The first aurgument advanced by the Factortame was that the British act of 1988 was offensive and could not be applicable to them. They made their reference to the EU law and the Treaty of Rome article 7 which scheduled that one ought not to be discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender and the nationality. According to the EU laws, they had the right to establish themselves in business anywhere and their company could be operative and situated in a nother member country. In general, the approach given to the ECJ to the administration of law, putting up a common honor and alignment to the framework of observance to the general rule of the community law, include values of the intern ational law and guarding the basic rights, is now more to the knowledge of the EU judges. The influence of human rights has made the standard approach in the judicial to grow very rapidly. Upon the investigation and consideration of the structure of the constitution of the European Union, and the numerous changes that have occurred in is so far, its basic structure can be categorized under three broad and general positions3. The

Ethics and Values Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics and Values - Case Study Example Confidentiality is an imperative standard in nursing ethics; however it might be overruled in certain situations. Generally, revelation of confidential information with the consent of the patient is not deemed to be a violation of confidentiality. However, the quandaries of safeguarding confidentially occur in those circumstances when the patient does not provide the approval to disclose. In such cases, the ethics of confidentiality clashes with a rationale of harm prevention (Badzek, Mitchell, Marra, & Bower, 1998). Case in Question: Application of Ethical Theories and Principles The case under discussion presents a quandary in terms of maintenance of confidentiality and prevention of harm to the patient. In such a situation, on one hand the physician owes the obligation of confidentiality and on the other he has to shelter the patient from harm. Since the patient belongs to a culture where the males make the decisions regarding health care, the physician should try to persuade the patient about the necessity of disclosure of her disease to her family. If in case, the patient does not agree for the disclosure, the physician would have no other option than to disclose the matter to the patient’s family. ... The ethical theories and decision-making models attempt to characterize the boundaries of morally satisfactory actions and clarify the guiding principles for making resolutions within those boundaries. The two most common approaches in the process of ethical decision making are the utilitarianism theory and the deontological theory. The utilitarianism theory also known as the ‘consequentialism’ was formulated by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. This theory characterizes the ethical goodness of acts by their outcomes (Jamieson, Smart, and Williams, 1973).  The utilitarianism theory differentiates between good and bad act on the basis of the contentment produced by the outcomes of the acts. According to this theory those acts are considered to be correct that generate maximum contentment for the utmost number of people. Thus, the utilitarianism theory prescribes that, once in a while, certain good be forgone for the overall good of larger number of people. The deonto logical theory is often referred to as the theory of duties and was formulated by Immanuel Kant. This theory differentiates between right and wrong by accentuating on the observance of duty as the chief indicator of moral rightness (Frankena, 1973).  The actions and behaviors are considered to be right or wrong on the basis of the intentions behind those actions and not by the end results. Thus, as opposed to exploring the outcomes of actions as in the case of utilitarianism theory, as per the deontological theory the selection of the act is examined. The belief of respect for another individual is intensely entrenched in the deontological theory, which results in the notion

Right of Habeas Corpus Essay Example for Free

Right of Habeas Corpus Essay

HR Practices Of Four Seasons

HR Practices Of Four Seasons Introduction Nowadays the range of luxury hotels all over the world is very big. There are different types of luxury hotels and all of them have their own policy, procedures and missions. Competition among these kinds of hotels is huge nowadays. The competition is based not on prices or percentage of discounts but it is based on values, exclusivity, atmosphere and quality of service. One of these competitors is world known, luxury brand Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. However Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts managed to differentiate them from all other competitors in the Hotel Industry. In Four Seasons, management has a huge value of their employees, because they know that the power of service is in human resources. Human Recourse Management in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts definitely plays very important role for providing success of the company and delivering premises to their employees and customers. The following research provides readers with full picture of Human Resource Management Polic y of Four Seasons hotels and Resorts. Also additional recommendations and comments are given in order to clarify the policy and mission of Human Resource Management. The research includes five important questions about HRM. Answers for these questions can be used as tools to improve the human resource policy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. As for readers the research will help them to understand the value and mission of Human Resource Management in Hospitality Industry. Introduce the Company and its positions in the Hospitality Industry. Is it an employer of choice? Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Company was founded in 1960 by Isadore Sharp and positioned as luxury hotel chain. The first hotel was opened in 1961 in the downtown area of Toronto, Canada. Isadore Sharp started a new kind of luxury hotels by making it personalized, taking care of each customer and offering an excellent service for their guests. For funds Sharp involved his brother-in-law, Eddie Creed and his friend, Maurry Koffler. Each of them contributed to the project. From 1970 till 1976 there were opened several Four season Hotels and resorts in London, Ontario and Bahamas. In 1976 Four Seasons hotels and Resorts grew and decided to expand in North America. So in 1976 they entered the US market in San-Francisco. So in 1977, Isadore Sharp along with Creed and Korrler decided to convert Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts into private company. Four Seasons has created a new niche in luxurious segment of Hospitality Industry, thus provided themselves with a great opportunity to grow. In 1986 the company went public, by being presented on stock market, but in 2007 it became private company again. By 1991 the company had around 36 hotels all over the world and around 13 sales and corporate offices. However Four Seasons faced with some financial issues and was rescued by investor from Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed. In 1994 he purchased 25 percent of Four Seasons stocks and invested around C$100 million. After investing by Saudi Prince, the Four Seasons continued their expiation and opened new properties in Singapore, Mexico City, Berlin and Prague. In mid-nineties, whole hotel industry faced a downturn. As a result Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts turned to managing style rather owning hotels because it was much more profitable in the long run. (Four Seasons Hotels Incs HR Practice., 2009). Nowadays Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has 84 properties all over the world with exclusive service and very clear companys culture. Nowadays Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has several competitors in Hospitality Industry. They are Fairmont Hotels, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Positions of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts are very strong now. Despite on financial problems they faced in 1994, Four Seasons managed to stabilize and continue growing in hospitality industry. Four Seasons continues to have more of its hotels designated as AAA Five Diamond properties than any other hotel company and it has the most Mobil Five Star awards in the industry. The company is also consistently highly ranked in readers surveys in publications such as Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Institutional Investor, Andrew Harpers Hideaway Report and the Zagat Survey. (Hospitalitynet, 2010). First of all, the writer would like to give the definition of term Employer of choice. Any employer of any size in the public, private, or not-for-profit sector that attracts, optimize and holds top talent for long tenure, because the employees choose to be there. (Herman and Gioia, 2002, p. xi). Personalized service is a unique feature of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. But in order to make the service unique for their guests, the company pays attention to their employees. Four seasons Management teams do value their staff and treat them as guests, also with uniqueness. As one of employees said: Youre never threated like just and employee. You are a guest. (Four Seasons Hotels Incs HR Practice., 2009). This is the one and the most important reason why Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts became an Employer of choice. The company is recognized by many popular magazines as an Employer of Choice. For example, since 1998 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts are among 100 The best Companies to Wo rk for, by Fortune Magazine. In 2009 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Company was awarded The best Workplace by Great Place to Work Institute Canada. Later in 2009 the Company was awarded Lifetime Commitment Award by National Society of Minorities in Hospitality (NSMH). In addition they were awarded Inductee to Canadas 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures Hall of Fame 2010. Also Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts pay a lot of attention to trainings and development programs, thus in 2010 the company was listed in Training top 125 by Training Magazine. (FourSeason, 2010). As Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in an international company and has many hotels all over the world, some of Four Seasons properties were also recognized by leading tourism and hospitality magazines. For example Four Seasons Hotels in the United Kingdom were The Best place to Work in Hospitality in 2008; Four Seasons Hotel Dublin received Business Award Status, based on the Hotels best practices in Recruitment and Select ion and Learning, Development and Progression; in 2008 Four Seasons Hotel Prague was awarded as Company of the Year 2008. This award is given to the companies who supporting the employment of hearing-challenged individuals. (FourSeason, 2010). All these awards and recognitions are the main indicator of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts culture and a result of well-organized corporate environment. Explain its culture, its unique to the Company, how does this vary from its major competitors. Four Seasons Hotels and resorts has their own and unique service culture. The culture is mainly based on Golden Rule by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The philosophy of Golden Rule is very simple and clear. As the CEO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Isadore Shard defined it: The Golden Rule do unto others, as you would have them to do unto you (Four Seasons Hotels Incs HR Practice., 2009). According to Mr. Sharp definition it is very important to treat everyone: guests, colleagues and partners as you would want them to treat you. Within Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts the Golden Rule applied to every person in the company and it does not matter whether you are manager or front line employee. What Four Seasons calls its unique service culture is based on a series of insights and beliefs about the person who provides the act of service, and the one who receives it. In writers opinion, the Golden Rule makes the uniqueness and creating a very positive atmosphere within all company and all properties around the world. The scheme below represents the forming of the culture. (Scheme 1) Scheme 1 As readers can see from the Scheme 1 there are several steps leading to the organizational culture. The first step is Philosophy of companys founder. As it was mentioned above Mr. sharp has his own philosophy of service and companys culture which is based on making the service exclusive and personalized. By implementing his own view of the service into Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Companys structure, Isadore Sharp has created absolutely new type of culture not only for his personal need but also for whole the company. The next step is Selection Criteria, which is based on recruiting and selection of candidates. As we know from the case-study of Four Seasons Hotels Inc., each potential candidate for any position in four seasons Hotels and Resorts had to pass through five interviews and the final one was with the General Manager of the Hotel. In the example above readers can see that selection process in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is very difficult. It means that the company ne eds the best employees from the best. The selection process is very important for the company, because managers look for really professionalized persons or persons who have potential to learn and to be trained. The thing is that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts based on personal service, thats why they have such complicated selection process. The next steps of analyzing Four Seasons culture are Top Management and Socialization. Top Management plays very important role in forming companys culture. As readers can see, in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Company, senior executives help to establish behavioral standards that can be adopted by the company. Socialization is a process which helps new employees to adopt into companys culture and implement skills and advantages in practice, by making service in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts personalized. In addition the Socialization step can be separated into several stages like Pre-arrival stage, Encounter stage and Metamorphosis stage. Al l these stages directly helps in the process of forming the culture of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. In writers opinion, Four Seasons company culture is much differentiated form its main competitors. As an example, the companys culture of Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts is based on Gold Standards of the company. Gold Standards consist of six parts which includes the credo, the motto of the company, the three steps of service, service values, the 6th diamonds and the employee promises. (Gold Standards of Ritz-Carlton, 2010). As if follows, Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton cultures are focused on making the service they provide more personalized, but in addition Four Seasons hotels and Resorts are focused on their employees. As a result, readers can make a conclusion that in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the culture is as guests oriented as employees oriented. To prove this statement, the writer would like to present a phrase maintained in the case-study: Loyalty to guests is important, but employees come first. (Four Seasons Hotels Incs HR Practice., 2009). One of the most important Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts differences from major competitors is that the company is more employees oriented rather other companies in Hospitality industry. As a result it attracts more and more employees to join Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. How does HRM fit into the companys vision, mission values? Do these reflect a strategic purpose? How does HRM fit into the overall identity of the company, its managers and employees, make recommendations for any improvement and justify these. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts haves their own vision, mission and values which are behead on Golden Rule. From HRM point of view, it directly into companys values, vision and mission. From the strategic nature of HRM in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, they deal with day-to-day issues, but it is also proactive in nature and integrated with other management functions. In addition HRM makes more clarified strategic view of human resource in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. From the recruitment point of view, human resource management makes sophisticated recruitment for all employees. In addition it has strong internal labour market for core employees. (Henderson, 2008). One of the most important values of Four Seasons hotels and Resorts is empowerment. HRM is responsible for delivering this feature to employees vision. Empowerment is management responsibility of sharing information, rewards, and power with employees so that they can take personal initiative and make decisions to solv e problems and issues of the guests and improve service quality and performance of the company. It is based concept of giving employees the skills, resources, authority, opportunity, motivation, as well giving them responsibilities of their actions. (BusinessDictionary, 2010). In Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts management pay lots of attention to empowerment because it helps to increase the level of service and in addition it makes employees feeling more responsible and important for the company. Thats why in all Four Seasons properties employees can act and take decisions independently. It means that for human recourse management, employees satisfaction is very important as guests satisfaction. Based on this writer can definitely say that Human Resource Management make big contribution into companys vision, value and mission. In Human Resource Management, trainings play also an important role in employees development and success. As for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, trainings ar e transformed into learning and development philosophy transcending job-related training programs. The advantage of trainings in Four Seasons is that all trainings are designed foal all levels of employees including non-management. In addition trainings are designed to develop leadership and personal skills. For example Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has a special program designed for graduates of hotel schools. Applying to Manager In Training Programs (MIT) is meant that candidates has the attitude to be trained, accept Golden Rule and successfully implement it in their job. (Manager In Training Programms, 2010). In order to improve HRM policy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resort the writer would suggest several steps to make it more balanced between guest oriented policy and employees oriented policy. Four Seasons are trying to balance these two subjects, but it seems that they are a bit confused about it. The solution of this issue is to provide more benefits for their employees. First of all it would increase the flow of qualified persons who have ability to be learnt. From the other hand it would motivate employees to increase their level of education, to apply for mote training programs in order to get career development in the future. The third advantage of increasing employees benefits is that this would change and directly review the policy of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts thus make it more employees oriented. But for the other hand the company should not forget about their main goals personalized service for each customer. That is why Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts make their em ployees empowered. The HRM policy of the company is also based on forwarding employees to the right way, the way of Golden Rule. They dont do anything special, but their work is not easy, because Human Resource Department is the first who faced with employees challenges and in addition they have to bring the ideas and values of Golden Rules into employees minds, in order to reach companys goals which are based on exclusive and personalized service in all Four seasons Hotels and Resorts. Does it have effective policies and procedures in HRM? Critically evaluate the ones you have identified. As readers can see from examples above, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts have very specific HRM policy. The thing is that in Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Human Resource Management is based on standards, but they dont have lots of rules. As they prefer personalized customer service they do empower their employees, so they can act in any situations. This allows employees to take actions and to feel free to respond all customers needs. As in all situations, there is a risk of making wrong decision. The employee will be responsible for this, but in all cases the company can lose their customer which will affect the company as a whole. As Human Resource policy in Four Seasons Hotels and resorts is more companys philosophy orientated the employee turnover is just a half compared with the whole industry. Four Seasons created their own niche in the hospitality industry. Nowadays Four Seasons Hotels and resort has several main competitors. From HRM point of view, employees benefits are one of the most attractive parts for people who are interested in joining company. The term employees benefits is common for all industries. Employee benefits are all benefits and services, other from wages for time worked, that are provided to employees in whole or in part by their employers. (Definition of Employee benefits, 2010). Below, the researcher presented the table of benefits, which presents the whole picture of benefits policy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and its main competitor Ritz-Carlton. The table will help readers to analyze and examine employee benefits of two main competitors in luxury mid-size hotel niche. In addition both competitors use management contracts model of managing properties. This is very good decision. The thing is that there are several recent examples that show that franchising method of managing properties doesnt work in a proper way nowadays. Development of employees commitment or loyalty directly depends on job conditions provided by employer. That is why providing basic benefits in necessary for big companied like Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. But in order to attract more employees whey included more benefits in basic conditions. Definitely this action would influence the flow of employees and would increase motivation, which will positive effect the company. Table 1 Benefits Hotel Brands Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts Career growth opportunities Career growth/promotions opportunities Unique deep culture Discounts on spa treatments Best-in Industry training Childcare discounts Luxury environment in magnificent locations world wide Tuition reimbursement Profit sharing / incentive bonus / competitive salaries Income replacement programs (both short and long-term disability) Complimentary stays at Four Seasons properties with discounted meals Discounted accommodation in all Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts Paid holidays / vacation Paid vacation, sick and holiday leave Educational assistance Health and wellness insurance programs Dental and medical / disability / life insurance Life/health/dental/vision insurance Retirement benefits / pension Retirement savings and profit sharing plans Employee service awards Healthcare and dependent care spending accounts Annual employee party / social and sporting events Service anniversary awards Complimentary meals in dedicated employee restaurants Complimentary or low cost meals in your Employee Dining Room (Four Seasons Benefits, 2010), (Ritz-Carlton: Understand Benefits, 2010) After careful comparison of both employees benefits, readers can define several differences, which directly influence the loyalty of employees. In order to make HRM policy more reliable, writer would suggest to enlarge number of benefits. In addition increasing different incentives for line-staff employees would also positive effect Human Resource policy of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. If you were the VP of HRM how would you move the company forward in the next five years? Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is very developed luxury hotel chain.

Porter Five Forces Analysis Economics Essay

Porter Five Forces Analysis Economics Essay In 1979 the renowned business strategist Michael E. Porter identified five competitive forces that influence planning strategies in a model called porters five forces. It is a management tool that allows an external analysis of an enterprise, through the analysis of the industry or sector to which it belongs. The competitive forces that this tool considers are: Barriers to entry Threat of substitutes Buyers power Supplier power Degree of rivalry Sorting these forces thus allows a better analysis of the business environment or industry to which it belongs and, thereby, based on this analysis, to design strategies to exploit the opportunities and address the threats. Barriers to entry This point refers to the potential entry of companies that sell the same type of product. If the companies enter to the industry easy, the competition will be more cutthroat. When trying to enter a new business to an industry, it could have entry barriers such as lack of experience, customer loyalty, scarcity  of resources, market saturation, lack of distribution channels, government restrictions or legislationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The analysis of the threat of entry of new competitors it is interesting because it allows us to establish entry barriers that prevent the entry of these competitors. Supplier power It refers to the ability to negotiate with suppliers that have, for example, while there are fewer suppliers, the greater its bargaining power, and that absent such input supply, they can easily increase their prices. Some of the most typical reasons that suppliers might have power are: Many suppliers of a particular product There arent substitutes The product is very important to buyers Switching to another (competitive) product is very costly The analysis of the bargaining power of suppliers, we can design strategies to achieve better agreements with suppliers or, in any case, strategies that allow us to acquire or have more control over them. Buyer power It refers to the ability to negotiate with consumers who have or buyers, for example, while there are fewer buyers, the greater its bargaining power, and that absent such a demand for products, they can claim for lower prices. Besides that there are many buyers, the bargaining power of buyers also might depend on: Volume of purchase The product is not very important to buyers Customers are price sensitive Switching to another (competitive) product is simple The analysis of the bargaining power of consumers and buyers, we can design strategies to attract more customers or obtain greater fidelity or loyalty of these, for example, strategies such as increasing advertising or offering more services or warranties. Availability of substitutes It refers to the potential entry of firms that sell products substitutes or alternatives to the industry. The principal problem could be the similarity of substitutes. For example, if one customer likes coffee but the price of coffee rises substantially, that customer may change the cup of coffee for a tea. In analyzing the threat of substitute products income allows us to design strategies to prevent penetration of companies selling their products or, in any case, strategies that allow us to compete with them. Degree of rivalry This point refers to companies that directly compete in the same industry, offering the same type of product. The degree of rivalry among competitors will increase as raising the amount of these, go matching in size and capacity, lower product demand, prices fall à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The analysis of the rivalry between competitors allows us to compare our strategies and competitive advantages of other rival companies thus know, for example, whether to improve or redesign our strategies. Case study Barriers to entry The threat of new entities entering the oil industry is insignificant due the high barriers to entry that exist. Oil industries need a huge capital associated with the activities, but it depends on the area of the market. In addition, it is required an enormous capital for the development of oil fields. For these reasons the threat of new entries are insignificant, these costs cannot be supported by everyone. This does not only include costs for exploration of new fields, but also for drilling, oilfield services, scientific research, materials and energy, all of which create substantial barriers for potential entrants. Other areas of the oil business require highly specialized workers to operate the equipment. Another barrier prevalent here are economies of scale. Due to the increased unit costs in the exploration and production of oil, only big oil companies and refineries that are able to take advantage of economies of scale can survive. This makes things very difficult for new pla yers, since they usually dont have access to a big number of oil reserves. The need to secure access to distribution channels can also create barriers to entry. Usually only major oil companies possess well established channels of distribution. Oil pipelines for some companies, as means of distribution, are costly and require time to build. This creates obstacles for new entrants. However, some of the greatest impediments for potential entrants come from different government policies that favour national companies in different ways. Oil is state owned resources and governments tend to give access to these raw materials to national companies. Most of the oil-rich countries also allow other companies to engage in the exploitation of oil fields, but in partnership with the national company. Supplier power There are a lot of oil companies in the world, but only a small handful of powerful companies dominated the oil business. The large amounts of capital investment tend to eliminate a lot of the suppliers of rigs, refining à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ There isnt a big competition between them, but they have a bit power over smaller companies. Big oil companies, like Petrobras , have a complex chain of suppliers, ranging from suppliers of oil (fields), to suppliers of engineering, field development management, pipeline installations, specific equipment and materials, or even scientific researchers and engineers. Oil is a scarce resource and we have to speak about OPEC nations. Open nations were the ones to actually nationalize oil production in their countries and take over most of the business from big oil corporations. As OPEC nations own 2/3 of the worlds proven reserves, with oil that is one of the cheapest to produce, they in fact possess significant bargaining power to oil corporations. Therefore OPECs bargaining power is one of the most bargaining powers when it comes to granting oil-fields-concession rights to international companies. The conclusion within this point is that the power distribution between oil companies and their suppliers is that it all depends on the type of the supplier. Big oil companies can exert power due to their position, However, the suppliers of oil fields, with OPEC countries as a specific example, which hold most of the easy-to access oil reserves in the world. Buyer power The oil industry in different comparing with others because the Price of the product is determine on a global level, based on the economic relationship between global demand and supply of oil. The oil customers are refiners, major international companies, national oil companies, marketers, distributors, traders and the countries themselves. The last point it is important due the countries can be the only customers that can exert some degree of bargaining power, through different volumes of demand. These countries are the US, the EU, China and Japan, which account for more than half of the world consumption of oil over the world. Although nowadays countries are experiment with other renewable energies, in the next decades oil will be need and rise especially for transportation and industry. So the conclusion is that only the largest buyers can exert some bargaining power in this market. Availability of substitutes Oil is a dominant and prevailing source of energy, still irreplaceable in many sectors, especially in transportation and industry. The oil exploitation technology is every day more sophisticated, for this reason oil is likely to stay one of the cheapest sources of energy in the following years. However the policies of the countries are working in renewable energies like as: coal, natural gas, renewables (wind, solar energy, From the substitutes, based on the Energy Information Administration, natural gas Governments around the world think also that fossil fuel make a big harm to the planet. The projections are that gas is going to gain significant market share in the industrial, residential and commercial sectors. This is a bad notice to oil industries. Renewable energies, like wind-, hydro- power or hydrogen are expected to slowly but surely increase their market share in the future. However, without major proactive governmental policies aimed at reducing the impacts of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, the process of adopting renewable energies on a large scale is going to be rather slow. So long as these sources of energy have relatively high production costs, they will not be economically competitive to fossil fuels. The conclusion within this point is that oil energy will predominate the following decades, but the intensive search for alternative energy resources will be a real threat for this product. Degree of rivalry The competitive environment in the oil industry can be described as: a few big and strong players and several smaller players with less power. Most of the oil companies are inside the OPEC, so they operate as a single entity, reducing rivalry or competition among these companies. However, it is true that exist a big rivalry between producers when they need to replace drying fields. This leads to make alliances, acquisitions or mergers. In the end, other factors are: the high fixed and storage costs and the lack of product differentiation. http://www.investopedia.com/features/industryhandbook/oil_services.asp http://www.smalltimes.com/articles/article_display.cfm?Section=ARCHIC=EnergARTICLE_ID=325165p=109 http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgibin/article.pl?articleId=24938 http://www.fngas.com/green.html http://www.newser.com/article/d977f9io0/bargaining-power-shifts-in-the-globalhunt- for-crude-western-companies-look-to-expand.html http://www.financialexpress.com/news/occidental-ousts-shell-in-developing-oman-oil-field/131414/

Strategic Human Resource Management Essay -- HR Management Strategies

However you define the activities of management, and whatever the organisational processes are, an essential part of the process of management is that proper attention be given to the Human Resource function. The human element provides a major part in the overall success of the organisation. Therefore there must be an effective human resource function. In the past, most organisations viewed Human Resource Management (HRM) as an element function, that is an activity that is supportive of the task functions and does not normally have any accountability for the performance of a specific end task. Because of the emphasis on analysis and precision there is a tendency for strategists to concentrate on economic data and ignore the way in which human elements and values can influence the implementation of a strategy. 'Economic analysis of strategy fails to recognise the complex role which people play in the evolution of strategy - strategy is also a product of what people want an organisatio n to do or what they feel the organisation should be like.?(1). Understanding the strategic potential of HRM is a relatively recent phenomenon. Strategic HRM attempts to bring HRM to the boardroom. It requires personnel policies and practices to be integrated so that they make a coherent whole, and also that this whole is integrated with the business or organisational strategy. Strategic HRM has evolved through three main stages. Up until the mid 1960?s HRM comprised mainly a file maintenance stage with most emphasis on selection, recruitment, screening and orientation of the new employee. They also looked after employee-related data and organised the Christmas party. The second stage, government accountability developed with the arrival of the Civil Rights Act and evolved with subsequent laws. To avoid costly legal battles, the HRM function gained in stature and importance. The third stage in HRM development which began in the late 1970?s and early 1980?s was the realisation that effective HRM could give an organisation competitive advantage. Within this stage HRM is viewed as important for both strategy formulation and implementation. For example 3M?s noted scientists enable the company to pursue a differentiation strategy based on innovative products. At the competitive stage, then, human resources are considered explicitly in conjunction with strategic manage... ... Management vol. 32 no. 8 November 1982 pp.263 -9 (7) Peter F. Drucker ?The Practice of Management? Heinemann Professional Publishing 1955 (8) Roethsliger, F.J. and Dickson, W.J. ?Management and the Worker.?, Harvard University Press 1939 (9) Shoshana Zuboff ?In the Age of the Smart Machine.? (10) Derek Torrington and Laura Hall ?Personnel Management, HRM in Action? pp.59 Prentice Hall 1995 (11) Derek Torrington and Laura Hall ?Personnel Management, HRM in Action? pp.28 Prentice Hall 1995 Bibliography Derek Torrington and Laura Hall Personnel Management HRM in Action, Prentice Hall Ltd 1991 Laurie J. Mullins Management and Organisational Behaviour, Pitman Publishing 1994 Kathryn M. Bartol and David C. Martin Management, McGraw Hill 1991 Tom Peters Liberation Management Necessary Disorganization for the Nanosecond Nineties, Macmillan London 1992 Samuel C. Certo Modern Management, Allyn and Bacon 1992 Peter F. Drucker The Practice of Management, Heinemann Proffesional Publishing Ltd. 1955 J. Richard Hackman, Edward E. Lawler III and Lyman W. Porter Perspectives on Behaviour in Organisations, McGraw Hill 1983

Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People

â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as â€Å"understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death†(Friedman 4). â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow ironically twisted tales of different families whos lives are altered after trusting a stranger, only to be mislead. Each story explores the themes of Christian th eology, new verses the old South, and fallen human nature. In â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find†, O’Connor introduces the reader to a family representative of the old and new Southern culture. The grandmother represents the old South by the way in which she focuses on her appearnace, manners, and gentile ladylike behavior. O’Connor writes â€Å"her collars and cuffs were organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady†(O’Connor 118). In this short story, â€Å"the wild diproportion of the terms, the vapid composure that summons up the ultimate violence only to treat it as a rare social opportuinty, and the cool irony with which O’Connor presents the sentence makes it both fearful and ludicrous†(Asals 132). The irony that O’Connor uses points out the appalling characteristics of the grandmother’s self-deception that h er clothes make her a lady and turns it into a comic matter. Flannery O’Connor goes to great length to give the reader insight into the characters by describing their clothes and attitudes. The fact that the grandmother took so much time in preparing herself for the trip exemplifies the old Southern tradition of self-presentation and self-pride. The grandmother takes pride in the way she presents herself because she wants everyone to know that she is a â€Å"lady†. Bailey’s, the grandson’s, family repre... ...ition, she presents the reader with the differing generations of the old and new south, and she illustrates the contrasting views between the two. O’Connor is not afraid to question Christian theology or the Southern culture. Her irony and satire add depth to ther stories, and her deep cultural analysis of the South brings a higher level to her writings. O’Connor also explores the concept of fallen human nature and how it is brought about. Overall, O’Connor’s works prove to be very in depth in both her social and cultural analysis of the South. She is not afraid to critique the society in which she grew up and lived. Works Cited Asals, Frederick. Flannery O’Connor: The Imagination of Extremity. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1982. Bleikstan, Andre. â€Å"The Heresy of Flannery O’Connor†. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. Friedman, Melvin J. Introduction. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. O’Connor, Flannery. The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: The Noonday Press, 1971. Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as â€Å"understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death†(Friedman 4). â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow ironically twisted tales of different families whos lives are altered after trusting a stranger, only to be mislead. Each story explores the themes of Christian th eology, new verses the old South, and fallen human nature. In â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find†, O’Connor introduces the reader to a family representative of the old and new Southern culture. The grandmother represents the old South by the way in which she focuses on her appearnace, manners, and gentile ladylike behavior. O’Connor writes â€Å"her collars and cuffs were organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady†(O’Connor 118). In this short story, â€Å"the wild diproportion of the terms, the vapid composure that summons up the ultimate violence only to treat it as a rare social opportuinty, and the cool irony with which O’Connor presents the sentence makes it both fearful and ludicrous†(Asals 132). The irony that O’Connor uses points out the appalling characteristics of the grandmother’s self-deception that h er clothes make her a lady and turns it into a comic matter. Flannery O’Connor goes to great length to give the reader insight into the characters by describing their clothes and attitudes. The fact that the grandmother took so much time in preparing herself for the trip exemplifies the old Southern tradition of self-presentation and self-pride. The grandmother takes pride in the way she presents herself because she wants everyone to know that she is a â€Å"lady†. Bailey’s, the grandson’s, family repre... ...ition, she presents the reader with the differing generations of the old and new south, and she illustrates the contrasting views between the two. O’Connor is not afraid to question Christian theology or the Southern culture. Her irony and satire add depth to ther stories, and her deep cultural analysis of the South brings a higher level to her writings. O’Connor also explores the concept of fallen human nature and how it is brought about. Overall, O’Connor’s works prove to be very in depth in both her social and cultural analysis of the South. She is not afraid to critique the society in which she grew up and lived. Works Cited Asals, Frederick. Flannery O’Connor: The Imagination of Extremity. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1982. Bleikstan, Andre. â€Å"The Heresy of Flannery O’Connor†. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. Friedman, Melvin J. Introduction. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. O’Connor, Flannery. The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: The Noonday Press, 1971.