What are the advantages and disadvantages of using teams for sales

Teamwork is the ability to recognize the complexities of a task and identifying a group of individuals with the mix of talents needed to work harmoniously towards the achievement of that task. Teamwork as a business model is gaining a lot of support in managing a business organization, especially in making effective sales team.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on What are the advantages and disadvantages of using teams for sales? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It helps the team to share knowledge and experience. Effective sales teams are realized, when employees meet on regular basis to discuss progress while identifying problems encountered. The solutions to these problems are sort from within the team, thus enhancing teamwork (Gould para 2). This consultation is also important, as each team member is part of decision-making. This makes the achievement of group task easier. Teams are also important as they he lp organizations avoid duplication of roles by partnering people. Teams also help a company to work within its budget to achieve its objective, as each member has several targets therefore reaching a wider client base. However, it has been noted that it is very difficult to implement teams. This is so when a sales team leader directly supervises the team and rewards team members individually, thus encouraging competition rather than collaboration. Teamwork also hinders opportunities for individual success where the organization rewards the whole group. All recognition goes to the group rather than outstanding individuals thus no individual effort is recognized, rewarded and appraised. Some companies have self-regulating teams. Such freedom can hinder success, as there is limited evaluation and accountability of individual team members (Sorrow para 5). Despite the challenges, teamwork achieves more in complicated task that needs combined skills and talents. Team members are also able to assist each other therefore reaching group objectives easily. What differences are apparent in how these two organizations approach Teamwork? How would these differences impact team effectiveness?Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The two organizations have adopted different approaches to teamwork in the following manner. The electrical supplier partners two people who work together at a specific task. This encourages team members to help each other in accomplishing the task. There are no individual roles for individual team members, thus team partners must work together until a task is accomplished. On the other hand, the radio sales team has five members. Every member has own sale accounts they manage. While the sales team at the radio station has very limited supervision and consults the senior manager only when deciding on matters that would affect the entire radi o station, the electrical supplier team works under the lead sales engineer, who oversees the implementation of sales efforts. The self-regulation of the sales team at the radio station ensures that each individual makes own decisions that only affect their accounts. Sharing of responsibilities is kept to a minimum. However, teamwork is enhanced during weekly meetings when members share challenges, and solutions are sort from within the group. These weekly meetings help individual team members make decisions in managing individual accounts. At the electrical supplier, teamwork effectiveness is the responsibility of the lead sale engineer as each individual is inclined towards individual achievement rather than teamwork. Rewarding of individual success at the electrical supplier hampers teamwork thus the difficulty in its implementation. In contrast, rewarding the entire team enhances teamwork. Progress at the radio station is the responsibility of every member, who must account to t he group on weekly basis. At the electrical supplier, teamwork is less effective because the lead sales engineer manages individuals inclined towards competing with each other, rather than collaboration. Works Cited Gould, Rennie. â€Å"Is Teamwork in Sales Important?† EzineArticles. 2000. February 03, 2011 http://ezinearticles.com/expert/Rennie_Gould/654379 Sorrow, Matthew. â€Å"Team Work – Advantages and Disadvantages† EzineArticles. 2000. February 03, 2011 http://ezinearticles.com/expert/Matthew_Sorrow/77922 This assessment on What are the advantages and disadvantages of using teams for sales? was written and submitted by user Keagan Kelley to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Second Hand Lions essays

Second Hand Lions essays We watched the movie Secondhand Lions in class. I really enjoyed the movie because the actors are superb, the characters endearing, and the plot has an I cant wait to see what happens next quality that keeps everyone laughing, gasping in surprise, and amused in disbelief. The first reason why I like this movie the main theme of the plot. The plot is about two aging uncles teaching a young boy about becoming a man. Walter, the grand-nephew, finds life with the uncles. Theres no phone or TV and the main activities are gardening and annoyance of salesmen. They are said to have endless supply of cash in a series of African adventures. Many people try to tell Walter that the uncles are bank robbers. Most of the story has to do with the young Garth and Hub, who ended up in the French Foreign Legion and had unbelievable adventures with a princess named Jasmine and a shameful Sheik. Walter is faced with different pictures of his uncles, are they bank robbers, or heroic adventurers? Soon, he must decide what he believes in. The second reason why I like this movie is because of the superb characters. I love the characters, especially the bigger than life nature of Hub and Garth. The uncles are very realistic characters. Garth is one of Walters uncle who has traveled the world in a numerous of adventures. Walter's character matures throughout the movie. I see Walter unsure of himself in the beginning, but later into the movie he seems to be finding his footing. An important part of Secondhand Lions involves flashbacks that are in Garths tale of his and his brothers past. Uncle Garth tells the stories, which we see through Walter's mind. It leaves Walter wondering whether the tales are really to believe. The scenes showing the African adventures are well-handled. These flashbacks are the central to the plot of the movie. In conclusion, I really enjoyed the movie because the actors are s ...

A Review Of Successful JIT Implementations Information Technology Essay

A Review Of Successful JIT Implementations Information Technology Essay Globalization has led to an enormous increase in competition in all segments. Manufacturing, Service, Banking etc. nobody is protected by it. So to gain an edge over your competitors companies are highly focused on improving their processes and systems to reduce the throughput time which subsequently leads to cost-savings. As Just-In-Time is a lean management principle, it definitely results in overall cost reduction. But even after the underlying benefits of implementing a methodology like JIT, there is still a certain amount of reluctance to adopt this philosophy due to various reasons like lack of understanding of the process, benefits associated with implementation, apprehensions to change from traditional methods of production to modern methods, adopting new technologies, capital expenditure and numerous other factors. Such events hamper the growth of the industries and the growth of the nation as well. What the firms fail to understand is that this is an adopted practice and m ay not produce the exact expected results. Moreover, it takes time to implement JIT because it demands an entire process reform. Even Toyota (inventor of JIT), took more than 20 years to get to the lean system, which the looks upto. With not quickly getting the results and incurring of some initial costs, firms often refrain from getting into the trial phase. The study highlights the major issues Supply Chain faces in India which makes the lean practices difficult and desired output are not obtained. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY The study highlights a certain unfairness of the much idealized JIT philosophy if adopted blindly. Every concept behaves in a certain pattern in different scenarios. The main significance of the study is to find out the methods of the Risk Management in Supply Chain for smooth adoption and working of Lean management thus taking a leap ahead towards the successful implementation of JIT. The recommendations mentioned in the end are in context to the stories of Indian Firms but can be applied globally as India has made a mark on the International Globe. The study also highlights methods to overcome these failures related to implementation of JIT in India. REVIEW OF LITERATURE JUST IN TIME It is a manufacturing system with a goal to optimize processes and procedures by continuously pursuing waste reduction. The entire process was developed by Taiichi Ohno after the Second World War in competition to the American Automobile Industry. But the demand being less, the Japanese could not afford to order by EOQ & stock an inventory. So to keep the waste and operational cost to a minimum, Taiichi came up with the concept of Just-In-Time (JIT) where any item moves the production system on need. Systems were non-automated, there was no over-production and the time spent in waiting for parts and processing of order was now minimized. The inventories levels were reduced and so were the waste. When a car was selling at a particular selling price such that PRO FIT = (SELLING PRICE – COST) then cost leveling was the only option to raise profit levels. Also JIT got with itself cellular manufacturing when machines were clustered so that items move smoothly in the process. The workers were now trained to be multi-skilled to be able to work on more than one machine.

Developing a New Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (Marketing Plan) Essay

Developing a New Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (Marketing Plan) - Essay Example The situation analysis has been conducted using PESTLE and SWOT analysis. PESTLE analysis disclosed that the macro-economic factors are favourable for Ford’s hybrid car market development. However, after the financial crisis, the purchasing power of the UK consumer has reduced and hence the demand of high cost hybrid cars will remain low for few years. High brand image and large portion of market share are the two major strengths of Ford in UK, and increasing competition and high production cost are the major threat for the company. Major target market consists of high income group people who are tech savvy and environmentally conscious. The marketing strategy has been planned after considering the marketing, financial and societal objectives. As per the features of four P’s, Ford is expected to follow differentiation strategy by bringing product developments. Promotional activities are important for spreading consumers’ awareness for hybrid cars offered by Ford and hence, it will follow integrated marketing communication (IMC) approach for better performance. The financial planning is done based on projected sales revenue, and the anticipated profit for the years will be minimum. However, with increasing demand in the following years, the profitability is expected to increase. For controlling, evaluation and adjustments of strategies, balanced scorecard (BSC) approach is very effective as it includes major business perspectives. Ford will also use financial techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of the marketing strategy. 2. Introduction Globalization has brought several improvements in the society. In the case of economic developments, globalization has helped to encourage the trade and business among the world countries. Besides, with time, there has been a significant development in the field of technology that further expands the scope of trade and business in the global market. This has encouraged free trade policies and oligopol y market structure. As a result, competitiveness among the players in a given industry has been intensified to a higher extent. This competitiveness has urged the companies to gain a competitive advantage for avoiding unnecessary competition and achieving an upper hand position in the market (Reid, 2002). In this process, in the post-modern business organisations, developments and execution of effective strategic marketing plans has become inevitable tasks for them. Marketing activities are used for a number of reasons, for example, for increasing sales revenues, for brand developments, for promoting corporate image, for gaining trust of local market, for cost efficiency and for sustainability (Burrow, 2008, p.260). An extensive marketing plan includes a number of tasks and activities like developments of mission & objectives, environmental analysis, formulation, execution and evaluation of marketing strategies & tactics. In this process, marketers have to consider multiple elements of marketing. The primary element of marketing is known as four P’s i.e. product, price, promotion and place. Business organisati

The relationship between ethics and politics Essay

The relationship between ethics and politics - Essay Example Your duty is to weigh the benefits and the harm of your actions. For example, the majority believes that it is entirely wrong and unacceptable to take the life of another. But if you saw a child’s life in danger and the only way that you could save the child was to take the life of another, it would not be unethical to do so, although standards of behaviour dictate that taking the life of another is wrong. Barak Obama: I believe that taking the life of another to save a child does not set a bad example and it reinforces our responsibility to protect children. However, stealing when you can easily ask for food or work for it sets a bad example and would not be acceptable by any standards of conduct. Socrates: Again it is about knowing what is good for you. I cannot be good for you to fail to save a child from eminent harm. Nor can it good for you to steal to feed a child. Moral realism dictates that ignorance is the only form of unethical behaviour. Rational man determines what he thinks is best in each situation. In this regard knowledge motivates action that is appropriate and false perceptions and beliefs motivate inappropriate conduct. Socrates: Not necessarily. There is a human inclination to be corrupted by power so that political institutions tend to be susceptible to timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. None of these political institutions are capable of being impartial and are vulnerable to corruption. Socrates: Democracy gives that unsuitable ruler certain rights that permit him to remain in office longer than he should be. He has the right to insist upon a thorough investigation and he has the right to confront his accusers. Socrates: I would have thought that that fact that he was unsuitable would have already been a matter of public record. Still, I would have to say that democracy is the lesser of all the evils of politics. For instance, timocracy is authoritarian and can be compared to military

Is Shakespeares Portrayal of the Common Essay Example for Free

Is Shakespeares Portrayal of the Common Essay Is Shakespeare’s portrayal of the common people of Rome realistic? Why did the common people of Rome kill Cinna the poet? Shakespeare’s portrayal of the common people of Rome is realistic since he shows how people act when they are part of a crowd. The image of disordered society also influences the act of Rome populace since there are no rules. Shakespeare realized that people tend to follow the crowd; therefore, he uses this point to exemplify mob mentality which is prevalent throughout the play. In Act I, the commoners are cheering for Caesar after the defeat of Pompey, Marullus, a tribune, reminds them of how they had similarly cheered for Pompey in the same streets. The people once wait â€Å"with patient expectation, to see great Pompey pass the streets of Rome† (I. i. 42-43) This shows how the crowed seems to be easily swayed in their allegiance. This illustrates how fickle the people are and how they are able to quickly change loyalties to whoever is in power. Not much has changed in modern times. Most people still tend to follow whoever is in charge because they feel it is safer to stick with what everybody else is doing. This is an example of mob mentality. Mark Antony understands this fact about the people and uses it to his advantage when the conspirators later assassinate Caesar. The commoners’ new loyalty to Caesar is similar to the ease with which Cassius convinces Brutus (with no real evidence) that Caesar wants to be king and should therefore be murdered. This is another example of mob mentality. In Act III, Scene II, Brutus is the first to speak to the crowd after the death of Caesar. Although Shakespeare portrays the commoners of Rome as people who can be easily persuaded, he also shows how they are reasonable. The crowd decides that they will listen to Brutus before deciding on anything. One commoner yells out, â€Å"I will hear Brutus speak. â€Å" while another says â€Å"†¦When severally we hear them rendered. † Brutus then speaks to the commoners and explains why Caesar had to be killed for the good of Rome. He manages to convince them that Caesar was too ambitious and would have ruined Rome. The people, with their minds made up, begin to chant that they want Brutus to be the new ruler, forgetting all about how theyd recently been singing Caesars praises. They call Caesar out as a tyrant and that â€Å"†¦ We are blest that Rome is rid of him. † This lasts until Antony speaks. Antony is a far better judge of human nature than Brutus and he uses that to his advantage. He tells the crowd of Caesar’s good works and his concern for the people. Within minutes, Antony manages to turn the crowd against Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators, once again demonstrating the fickleness of the crowd. The scene at the beginning of Act I where Marullus and Flavius reprimand the commoners for being fickle foreshadows the events of Act III. Antony’s speech causes the people of Rome to become enraged. Brutus first sways them to the plight of the conspirators, but Antony manages to convince them to riot in the end. They become worked up and eager to cause violence. This causes them to kill the poet Cinna in Act III, Scene III. Cinna is in the wrong place at the wrong time. The mob demonstrates an act of herd behaviour, which is when individuals in a group act together without planned directions. They ask Cinna for his name and after learning what it is, they immediately attack him even Cinna explains that he is Cinna the poet, not Cinna the conspirator. The crowd, hungry for blood, kill the innocent poet anyway, explaining that they should. This shows how the crowd, in the heat of the moment, acts irrationally. They realise that he is the wrong Cinna, but they are so enraged, they slay him anyway. Still driven by fury, the commoners then decide to torch the homes of Brutus, Cassius, Decius Brutus, Casca and Ligarius. In the play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare uses scenes to comment on the nature of mob mentality. The scenes where the crowd is easily persuaded to switch allegiance is a realistic portrayal of the common people of Rome. Today, people are still as easily convinced to change their minds. The scene where Cinna the poet is killed shows a juxtaposition of both violence and irrational thought. Violence in that they kill an innocent man, and irrational thought for the completely unjustified excuse for doing so. This insight into the phenomena of mob mentality is accurate and still rings true in modern times.

The Evolution Of The Pc And Microsoft Essay -- essays research papers

The Evolution of the PC and Microsoft   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Xerox, Apple, IBM, and Compaq all played major roles in the development of the Personal Computer, or  ³PC, ² and the success of Microsoft. Though it may seem so, the computer industry did not just pop-up overnight. It took many years of dedication, hard-work, and most importantly, thievery to turn the personal computer from a machine the size of a Buick, used only by zit-faced  ³ nerds, ² to the very machine I am typing this report on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Xerox started everything off by creating the first personal computer, the ALTO, in 1973. However, Xerox did not release the computer because they did not think that was the direction the industry was going. This was the first of many mistakes Xerox would make in the next two decades. So, in 1975, Ed Roberts built the Altair 80800, which is largely regarded as the first PC. However, the Altair really served no real purpose. This left computer-lovers still yearning for the  ³perfect ² PC...actually, it didn ¹t have to be perfect, most  ³nerds ² just wanted their computer to do SOMETHING.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The burning need for a PC was met in 1977, when Apple, a company formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, released it ¹s Apple II. Now the nerds were satisfied, but that wasn ¹t enough. In order to catapult the PC in to a big-time product, Apple needed to make it marketable to the average Joe. This was made possible by Vi...

What if anything was surprising about the post-war economic recovery of Europe

In the immediate period after V. E Day there was a realization by all sides of the conflict that the Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 had itself been one of the main catalysts to the Second World War. This meant that a new approach would need to be taken to reconstruct Europe and it would need to do so with a broader view of Europe as a whole. The Second World War inflicted appalling loses on resources, infrastructure, and, above all human lives. The war cost anything up to fifty million lives and displaced millions more. However although conditions were anything but propitious for economic growth a dramatic transformation took place over the next â€Å"30 glorious years†. Both Eastern and Western Europe†s economies were massively distorted by the demands of war; normal production ground to a halt and trade decreased further weakening Europe†s position in the world economy. The subsequent result of the unprecedented destruction was starvation and inflation together with a legacy of conflict that left Europeans mentally and emotionally exhausted. The fact that the war was the first to be directly targeted at civilians, both through ethnic genocide and warfare in urban areas (most destructively from the air), meant that economics would need to be at the core of any peacetime solutions. There were three elements to the economic impact that affected Europe, and the measures that were introduced to solve these crises paved the way for the turn-around that Europe experienced between the late 1940†³s and early 1970†³s. The first factor was the disruption to Europe†s productive assets, a rise in military production had exhausted capital stocks and many factories were themselves destroyed by the conflict. Industrial capitals such as transport and communication infrastructures were also debilitated. The second effect was of Capital loss, the colonial powers had been forced to dispose of foreign assets and had simultaneously accumulated huge debts. A drop in domestic consumption and investment also left their economies depleted. Thirdly European states (especially France and Britain) were under the obligations of the Lend-Lease agreements which sponsors like the U. S. A and other lending states had supplied to boost their war effort. Despite these extreme difficulties rehabilitation followed surprisingly quickly. In the west in particular there was rapid reconstruction and recovery, meaning the first phase of economic development lasted no more than ten years. In the east, where the scale of devastation and loss of life had been far greater, the process needed to go beyond mere rebuilding and the imposition of Soviet communist control meant that transformation would take significantly longer. The ‘super-boom† that began in post-war Europe can therefore be seen as somewhat of an economic miracle, with many of it†s features being the only positive repercussions of the war. In the west priority was given to rebuilding the infrastructure rather than to satisfying consumption needs (except food). At the same time the economic methods of John Maynard Keynes were being used to squeeze out inflation through financial controls, higher taxes and currency reform. Since controlling inflation added to unemployment and shortages in essential products, new social services were introduced to minimise these negative affects on the population, who after all were still recovering from the hardships of war. The Welfare States that were created also helped in getting the economies moving quickly. The other crucial benefit that the western states had over the communist east was the financial help they received from the U. S. A through Marshal Aid. Between 1947 and 1952 $23 billion was made available to Europe, this hard currency enabled Western economies to ensure their recovery by buying the goods they needed to reconstruct and modernise. So, while in 1946 West European production was only 8% of the world†s total, by 1950 it accounted for almost 20%. In the east, where the starting situation was far worse than in the west due to ferociously destructive battles and Nazi depredations, reconstruction was unimportant compared to the more immediate concerns of feeding and housing the vastly displaced population. In fact in the USSR more people died after the war had finished of starvation, than had during the actual conflict. The period was also witnessing huge social and political changes with Stalin consolidating his firm grip on power, the effect this had on the East†s economic recovery was negative compared to that of the West. Land was distributed to the poor and most industrial property was nationalised. However most importantly there was no support given to Eastern Block states by the U. S. A as Marshal himself distrusted Stalin and thought that he was planning to seize more of Europe. However, Stalin was only utilising the satellite states to help rebuild the soviet economy, yet these factors ensured there was no ‘boom† in the east for at least a decade. In the west when reconstruction was achieved growth was barely interrupted for the next thirty years until the oil crisis of 1973. The technological advances and new production methods during this period were another of the positive after effects of the war. New consumer goods such as televisions were the visible side of the booming economies and by the 1960†³s Western Europe was once again the largest trading block in the world with Gross Domestic Products up to eight times that of the first half of the century. All this was achieved without massive inflation because productivity rose enormously and capacity was fully used. However, to economic historians this economic revival can be seen as surprising and somewhat unexplainable. Technical factors played a part, with new sources of energy, more modern communications, new styles of management and new production practices all helping to streamline the economies. Most of these were derived from the war or the more advanced America, who†s economy was unscathed by war. Another factor was the more ‘hands on† approach taken by western governments in managing their economies. In this way they were able to stimulate a ‘mixed economy† which had elements of private finance and nationalised industries. Keynes ideal was to have no sector of the economy that did not have a government presence. He saw that the mistake of forgetting economics at Versailles led to the boom and bust that enabled nationalism to influence Europe. One other reason for these changes was to attempt to catch up the more advanced economies, most notably the U. S. A. The high levels of capital investment and the move of resources from agricultural to more productive sectors all benefited this goal. The actual stimulus to employment and trade that reconstruction created also kick-started the boom. Social elements also affected the economies of Western states. The ‘baby-boom† of the war years produced a younger and better-educated work force, who also reflected the impact of the new welfare provisions that had been constructed. As demographics changed the population was also modernised in other ways. Urbanisation began at a greater level to compliment the new industries that were developing. Also women, who had entered the work place during the war, meant that the work force was diversifying as well as specialising. Family structures were therefore changing, with the ‘nuclear family† being more mobile and functional. All of these factors helped ensure that the population was becoming more affluent and adapted to the new economy. This population was also becoming more at ease with buying consumer products as the burdens of the thirties and forties gave way to a more positive looking future. More money was also being spent in new industries such as tourism and leisure. This new wealth also meant that class structures were being eroded as a new economically independent middle class emerged. The West was also experiencing political stability, better labour relations and, by utilising the new attitudes in economy management, ensuring low unemployment. These factors all contributed vastly to the boom. Externally the protection that Western Europe was experiencing from the U. S. A helped growth. The Bretton Woods system that ensured exchange rate stability across the Atlantic until the 1960†³s was one part of this. Perhaps none of these factors can explain the surge in economic growth on their own. It was probably a fact that so many things came right at the same time and that the mistakes that had been made after the First World War were heeded. By 1970 the Western European economies had transformed beyond recognition, not only in size but also in organisation and geographical terms. One negative effect of this was the greater divergence from Eastern Europe that the new society exacerbated. It is easy to ask why this ‘economic miracle† was so surprising as the scale of destruction the Second World War wrought was so huge. However this was not the first time that Europe had needed to rebuild itself and governments had come to realise that they should forsake economics at their own peril.

Religion as a Tool of Control Essay

â€Å"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people† (Marx 260). This statement implies that religion is a powerful concept that encourages people to accept their conditions instead of revolting against their plight. Indeed in the wrong hands, it can be perverted to justify countless atrocities and so be used as a tool of oppression. In her novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood portrays a dystopian society, a fictional republic called Gilead, whose rulers use the power of religion to validate their terrifying personal agenda. She satirizes the political system that uses faith to validate its mandate, and justify its more questionable laws. Clearly the use of religion for political purposes is one of the central themes of the novel; Atwood takes a set of fundamentalist religious beliefs followed by certain fringe elements in contemporary society and takes them to their logical end to highlight their true despotic nature. In Gilead, politics and religion go hand in hand. The Sons of Jacob use religion and psychological tactics to control the masses and bend them to their will. Consequently the republic makes extensive use of religious terminologies for example domestic servants are called â€Å"Marthas† referring to a domestic character in the bible, the soldiers are called â€Å"Angels† while the local police are the â€Å"Guardians of the Faith†. The ruling government officials are called the â€Å"Commanders of the Faithful†. Even the names of shopping stores have biblical references like All Flesh, Milk and Honey, Loaves and Fishes. The purpose of this extensive use of biblical language is to deceive the people of Gilead into believing that their rulers enact the will of God Himself. Moreover the government only adopts certain aspects of Christianity while it shuns those that it finds inconvenient. For example Aunt Lydia, a teacher to the handmaids, says â€Å"I’ve learned to do without a lot of things, you get too attached to this material world and forget spiritual values. You must cultivate poverty of spirit. Blessed are the meek. † (Atwood 110) at this point in the novel Offred notes that Aunt Lydia says nothing about inheriting the Earth. Thus the republic used religious justification to demand docile behavior from the handmaids. Therefore religion is used as a powerful political tool in Gilead. Women play a very limited role in Gilead’s society; biblical allusions are used to weaken their status. A Commander makes the following speech at the women’s prayvaganza. â€Å"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved by childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. â€Å"(273) Therefore, by drawing an interpretation from a single biblical story the role of women is limited to reproduction. Moreover, in order to prevent the women from getting libertarian, secular ideas mass censorship takes place in Gilead. The country is cut off from the outside world as it does not even allow international television to be broadcasted; Offred notes this while watching the television â€Å"Serena clicks the channel changer. Waves, colored zigzags, a garble of sound: it is the Montreal Satellite Station being blocked. â€Å"(101) Furthermore all books deemed heretical by the republic are burned and women are not allowed to read at all, the bible is kept under lock and key so that the Commanders can read out only those parts that are prescribed by the government. Offred’s commander reads out the following passage from the bible on the day of the monthly ceremony â€Å"Give me children, or else I die. Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear fruit upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. â€Å"(112) This biblical tale, narrated in the novel by the Commander, forms the basis of the concept of a handmaid which is why it is given special significance in Gilead and it is also another one of the archaic stories from the bible that are used to enforce highly questionable obligations on women. Thus the women of Gilead are subjugated by a warped version of Christianity. Religion is supposed to emancipate man. But The Handmaid’s Tale depicts a society in which it is used to shackle people, to brainwash them, to force them to conform to a lifestyle permitted by their government. Margaret Atwood compares the people living in Gilead’s repressive society to rats trapped in a maze, she points out â€Å"A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere as long as it stays in the maze†(363). In fact those that rebel to the established norms are dealt with harshly; they are punished at a seudo-religious ceremony called the Particicution, where they are lynched to death by a mob of women for false crimes they did not commit. Regarding this, the dissident handmaid, Ofglen remarks â€Å"He wasn’t a rapist at all, he was a political. He was one of ours. â€Å"(350) What this entails is that the society in the novel is highly autocratic and it does not allow the freedom of expression, in fact it uses fear to control its citizens and induce thei r piety, as Offred notes â€Å"We must look good from a distance: picturesque, like Dutch milkmaids on a wallpaper frieze. Soothing to the eye, the eyes, the Eyes, for that’s who this show is for. We’re off to the Prayvaganza to demonstrate how obedient and pious we are. † (266) This highlights the peoples’ inherent paranoia, the fear of being found unfaithful, that has been slowly cultivated into their hearts and minds. Truly the establishment defiles the true spirit of religion by going against its very essence: the spiritual liberation of mankind. The use of religion for political purposes is one of the central themes of the novel; Atwood takes a set of religious beliefs followed by certain fringe elements in contemporary society and takes them to their logical end to highlight their true despotic nature. In conclusion, Margaret Atwood portrays a horrifying alternate reality in which religious fundamentalists dominate and religion comes to dictate every aspect of human life. The topic of religion carries a lot of significance in the novel; in fact the novel serves as a warning against the extremist views held by many modern think tanks.

The Raven Essay Example

The Raven Essay Example The Raven Paper The Raven Paper yet when the birds single response continues to make sense in the context of his thoughts and outbursts of speech, he begins to look upon it as a prophet sent by God or the devil. The raven destroys any hope the speaker has about reuniting with lenore after death What is the plot? the speakers chamber at midnight on a cold dreary night in December What ia the setting? Details such as darkness, midnight dreary, fantastic terrors, and omnious bird, as well as details about the speakers distress, create a haunting mysterious mood that reflects Romanticisms dark side Which details contribute to the mood of this poem, and how do they illustrate the dark side of Romanticism? Death, loss, suffering, sorrow, evil, memory of death and loss; our worst nightmares What does the Raven Symbolize or represent in this poem? Like death, loss, and suffering, the raven is part of the speakers life and will remain so. The raven casts a shadow on the speakers life and seems to threaten the speaker. He comes unexpectedly and acts as it pleases without any concern for the effect it has on others. What theme or main idea do you think this symbolizes?

Understanding customers- analysing customers using mosaic Essay

Understanding customers- analysing customers using mosaic - Essay Example Understanding customers- analysing customers using mosaic It helps to increase customer loyalty and thereby thwarts customers from switching to the products offered by other companies. Mosaic UK is a useful tool utilised by many companies to develop their segmentation strategy based on the consumer classifications provided in the Mosaic profile system. First of all a detailed analysis of the Mosaic profile system developed by Experian plc is presented in this study. Next this study would include analysis of information reports prepared by Experian related to three retailers operating their business operations in United Kingdom. The customer profiling related to each of the three retailers would be compared to have an idea about its impact on the different marketing strategies followed by the organisations. Segmentation of customers is an important marketing strategy followed by the business organisations and its importance has also been included in this study. Next this report takes help of a case study for suggesting some consumer marketi ng ideas for some fashion retailers who might be interested to target a specific Mosaic Group. Experian plc has developed a system which helps in classification of the households in UK and has been named as Mosaic UK. It is a type of geo-demographic segmentation system which is available commercially. Consumer classification reports prepared through Mosaic UK are helpful in understanding the Behaviour, demographics and lifestyles followed by all the households and individuals present in UK. Understanding the consumer behaviour patterns in different parts of UK is critical to the success of any organisation because it helps the companies to develop products that best satisfy the particular needs and requirements of the customers. Mosaic UK is helpful to the organisations in three ways: The companies are able to increase the values of its customers through in-depth understanding of the behavioural patterns of their customers in UK The value of a particular location in which a company targets to sell its products is also increased through the development of proper marketing mix u sing information from Mosaic UK Mosaic UK is also helpful in assessing the risks associated with investing in a particular location in UK Thus Mosaic UK developed by Experian is thus an important tool to segment and classify consumers in UK based on various characterising features. The latest version of Mosaic UK that is available in the market now helps in classification of consumers present in UK into 67 different types which are spread over 15 distinct groups of people (Experian Mosaic, 2010). A brief overview of each of the 15 groups of people identified through Mosaic UK is given below: Group A: Alpha Territory – This type of group comprises of the most influential and wealthy individuals staying in UK. Group B: Professional Rewards – The managerial and executive classes of people are categorised in this group. Group C: Rural Solitude – This type of group includes people living in isolated cottages and small villages in UK. Group D: Small Town Diversity â⠂¬â€œ This type of group are classified as people living in small and medium sized towns in UK. Group E: Active Retirement – This group of people are aged over 65 years and are spending their

Organizational Theory Design and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Organizational Theory Design and Change - Essay Example The corporate staff is limited and there is a chief executive officer who governs the business. Functional departments work under the supervision of functional line managers. Functional structure accommodates specialists who can make rational decisions in their respective specialty areas. However, managers may be biased and work for their departments’ interests instead of the organization as a whole. As compared to the functional structure, the multidivisional structure is quite integrated and differentiated, both vertically and horizontally. In the multidivisional structure, there are operating divisions. Each of the operating divisions holds its own business. It is the responsibility of the top corporate officer to assign specific works to specific division managers on daily basis. These works include business strategy and related operations. The multidivisional structure enables corporations to expand operations. Units work with one another in harmony. However, units may oc casionally compete with one another because of the scarcity of resources like finance. Sometimes, it becomes cumbersome for separate units to coordinate with one another. In functional structure, the products vary in form, type and complexity, thus making the control difficult to achieve.