Pierre Bourdieu

Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002), Professor of Sociology at the College de France, might come into view an unlikely candidate for inclusion under the rubric of critical theory. An erstwhile structuralist, whose work sometimes appeared to run equivalent to that of Foucault, an erstwhile anthropologist and former student of Levi-Strauss, he was in numerous respects a characteristically ‘French’ theorist.However he distanced himself from the ‘objectivism’ of structural anthropology, at the same time as remaining stubbornly opposed to to post-structuralist deconstruction (Bourdieu, 1977; Bourdieu, 1984, p. 495). Furthermore, his work engaged very directly with both Marxist and Weberian traditions in social theory. One critic has even observed that it â€Å"is best understood as the attempt to push class analysis beyond Marx and Weber† (Eder, 1993, p. 63).Definitely, if critical theory is described in terms of its objective to change the world, then Bour dieu was as significant a theorist as any. Throughout the late 1990s, he appeared as by far the most well-known academic intellectual to join in active solidarity with the new ‘antiglobalisation’ movements. His La Misere du monde, first published in volume in 1993 and in paperback in 1998, turned out to be a bestseller in France and a main source of political motivation to the movement, both in the original and in its English translation as The Weight of the World.He was directly implicated in militant ‘antiglobalisation’ activism, speaking at mass meetings of striking railway workers in 1995 and unemployed workers in 1998 (Bourdieu, 1998, pp. 24n, 88n); he initiated the 1996 formally request for an ‘Estates General of the Social Movement’ and its May Day 2000 successor, the petition for a pan-European Estates General; he confounded the radical ‘Raisons d'agir’ group and its associated publishing house; he overtly called ‘for a left Left’ (Bourdieu, 1998a); and he was a regular contributor to the radical French monthly, Le Monde diplomatique.We may add that, like Marx, Bourdieu attached a distinguishing subtitle to what is still his best-known work Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (Bourdieu, 1984). Bourdieu's reputation as a sociological thinker revolves around the ‘theory of practice’, in which he tried to theorise human sociality as the result of the tactical action of individuals operating within a constraining, however not determining, context of values.Notably, the term Bourdieu coined to explained this was ‘the habitus’ (Bourdieu, 1977), by which he meant â€Å"an acquired system of generative schemes objectively adjusted to the particular conditions in which it is constituted† (p. 95). It is at the same time structured and structuring, materially produced and very frequently generation-specific (pp. 72, 78). Elsewhere, he explained i t as ‘a kind of transforming machine that leads us to â€Å"reproduce† the social conditions of our own production, but in a relatively unpredictable way’ (Bourdieu, 1993, p.87). Like Marx and Weber, Bourdieu thinks contemporary capitalist societies to be class societies. However for Bourdieu, their dominant and dominated classes are discernible from each other not simply as a matter of economics, however as well as a matter of habitus: ‘social class, understood as a system of objective determinations’, he insisted, ‘must be brought into relation †¦ with the class habitus, the system of dispositions (partially) common to all products of the same structures’ (Bourdieu, 1977, p. 85).Bourdieu's most extensively cited study, though, and undoubtedly the most powerful in cultural studies, has been Distinction, a work that takes as the object of its critique specifically the same kind of high modernism as that privileged in Frankfurt Schoo l aesthetics. Where Adorno and Horkheimer had insisted on a radical discontinuity between capitalist mass culture as well as avant-garde modernism, Bourdieu would focus on the latter's own profound complicity with the social structures of power and domination.The book was footed on an extremely thorough sociological survey, conducted in 1963 and in 1967/68, by interview and by ethnographic observation, of the cultural preferences of over 1200 people in Paris, Lille and a small French provincial town (Bourdieu, 1984, p. 503). Examining his sample data, Bourdieu recognized three main zones of taste: ‘legitimate’ taste, which was most extensive in the educated sections of the leading class; ‘middle-brow’ taste, more extensive among the middle classes; and ‘popular’ taste, prevalent in the working classes (p.17). He characterised lawful taste mainly in terms of what he named the ‘aesthetic disposition’ to state the ‘absolute prim acy of form over function’ (pp. 28, 30). Artistic and social ‘distinction’ is consequently inextricably interrelated, he argued: ‘The pure gaze implies a break with the ordinary attitude towards the world which, as such, is a social break’ (p. 31).The popular aesthetic, by contrast, is ‘based on the affirmation of continuity between art and life’ and ‘a deeprooted demand for participation’ (p. 32). The distinguishing detachment of this ‘pure gaze’, Bourdieu argued, is part of a more general disposition towards the ‘gratuitous’ and the ‘disinterested’, in which the ‘affirmation of power over a dominated necessity’ implies a claim to ‘legitimate superiority over those who †¦ remain dominated by ordinary interests and urgencies’ (pp.55–6). Bourdieu's general sociology had posited that, without exception, all human practices can be treated as ‘eco nomic practices directed towards the maximizing of material or symbolic profi’ (Bourdieu, 1977, p. 183). Therefore his leaning to view the intelligentsia as self-interested traders in cultural capital. For Bourdieu, it followed that professional intellectuals were best measured as a subordinate fraction of the same social class as the bourgeoisie.Defining the leading class as that possessed of a high overall volume of capital, whatever its source whether economic, social or cultural he located the intellectuals in the dominant class by virtue of their access to the latter. The dominant class therefore comprises a dominant fraction, the bourgeoisie proper, which excessively controls ‘economic capital’, and a dominated fraction, the intelligentsia, which disproportionately controls ‘cultural capital’. The most apparently disinterested of cultural practices are thus, for Bourdieu, fundamentally material in character.Even when analysing the more ‘p urely artistic’ forms of literary activity, the ‘anti-economic economy’ of the field of ‘restricted’ as opposed to ‘large-scale’ cultural production, he noted how ‘symbolic, long-term profits †¦ are ultimately reconvertible into economic profits’ (Bourdieu, 1993a, p. 54) and how avant-garde cultural practice remained dependent on the ‘possession of substantial economic and social capital’ (p. 67). Finally, Bourdieu comes to discuss current practices in the visual arts. He sees the current bureaucratization and commercialization of the limited modernist field as a threat to artistic autonomy.He registers with disquiet certain recent developments which put at risk the precious conquests of the elitist artists-the interpenetration of art and money, through new patterns of patronage, the growing dependence of art on bureaucratic control, plus the consecration through prizes or honours of works successful merely with the wider public, alongside the long-cycle modernist works cherished by artists themselves. Bourdieu's critique of idealized artistic disinterestedness has been incorrectly reinterpreted as a theory of extensive egoistic domination, not least by the ‘consecrated' avant-garde.Bourdieu's socio-analysis of the artists has shown, in spite of charismatic ideology, that in practice the Impressionists and subsequent modernists lived a comfortable existence by the time of their middle age, and that usually gallery owners or dealers sold their works on their behalf, therefore relieving them of attention to the Vulgar' needs of material existence. Bourdieu as well accounts for certain recurrent features of the closed worlds of art, for example the social reality of artists' struggles over cultural politics, which the spiritualistic account cannot explain.Contrary to the orthodox expectations of sublimated suffering, Bourdieu cites numerous examples where the conflicts between arti sts over their specifically artistic interests caused open violence: the Surrealists' fight, in which Andre Breton broke a fellow artist's arm, is a case in point. Nor did the idealized expectations of art stop numerous cultural producers collaborating with the Vichy regime in the 1940s. In The Rules of Art, Bourdieu resumed many of the themes first broached in Distinction, particularly the role of cultural discernment as a marker of class position.Here he elucidated how Flaubert, Baudelaire and Manet had been critical to the institution of an ‘autonomous artistic field’ of salons, publishing houses, producers, commentators, critics, distributors, and all that; and to the establishment of a idea of ‘art for art's sake’, which measured legitimacy as ‘disinterestedness’. For Bourdieu, the latter concept marked the genesis of the modern artist or writer as ‘a fulltime professional, devoted to one's work in a total and exclusive manner, indif ferent to the exigencies of politics and to the injunctions of morality’ (Bourdieu, 1996, pp.76–7). This new artistic field had created a zone of autonomy, free from both the market and politics, in its ‘heroic’ phase, throughout the latter part of the 19th century. But in the 20th century, Bourdieu argued, modernist art had developed not as a critique of the ‘iron cage’ of instrumental rationality, however as a function of the power games of the dominant classes, its capacities for critical distance gradually eroded through cooption by both the market and the state education system.Bourdieu detected analogously ‘interested’ processes at work in the academic intelligentsia. The academic profession is a competitive struggle for authenticity and cultural distinction, he elucidated, which functions to reproduce the wider structures of social class inequality: whether applied to the world, to students, or to academics themselves, acad emic taxonomies are ‘a machine for transforming social classifications into academic classifications’ (Bourdieu, 1988, p.207). Afterwards he would stress the central significance of the elite graduate schools, the alleged ‘grandes ecoles’, to the power of the French social and economic elite, showing how their credentialism operated as a kind of ‘state magic’ for a supposedly rationalised society (Bourdieu, 1996, p. 374).Tracing the growing incidence of academic credentials among the chief executives of the top 100 French companies, he concluded that the obvious substitution of academic for property titles in fact performed a vital legitimating function: company heads ‘no longer appear †¦ the heirs to a fortune they did not create’, he wrote, ‘but rather the most exemplary of self-made men, appointed by their †¦ â€Å"merits† to wield power †¦ in the name of â€Å"competence† and â€Å"intelligen ce†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (p. 334).Where the Frankfurt School had worked with a model of theory as overtly critical, Bourdieu tended to have an effect on a quasipositivistic objectivism, in order that the moment of critique was often concealed behind a mask of scientific ‘objectivity’. In The Weight of the World, he used a mixture of ethnographic interviews and sociological commentary to mount a stunning condemnation of contemporary utilitarianism in the shape of ‘economic liberalism’ as creating the preconditions for ‘an unprecedented development of all kinds of ordinary suffering’ (Bourdieu et al. , 1999).However even here, in his most explicitly engaged work, he still insisted that sociological ‘science’ could itself uncover ‘the possibilities for action’ that politics will require exploring (p. 629). Where the Frankfurt School had conceived of intellectuals as considerably productive of critical sensibility, Bourdieu tende d to detect merely material self-interest. This sort of ‘reflexive’ critique is essential, he argued, to break with the ‘habits of thought, cognitive interests and cultural beliefs bequeathed by several centuries of literary, artistic or philosophical worship’ (Bourdieu 2000, p. 7).However such cynicism can easily cause a radical overestimation of the reproductive powers of the social status quo. Even though Bourdieu's vocabulary of ‘cultural capital' and ‘symbolic profits' has sometimes misled his readers, his persistence on the complex motives in artists' desire to make a mark does not permit him to forget the very important differences between the artistic field and the field of capitalist power. Bourdieu argues that the characteristic nature of artistic and other cultural fields is that they exist in the form of reciprocal gift exchange somewhat than being animated by money.Further, he does not lessen artists to their class position, nor doe s he deny that artists may certainly be singular figures. Indeed, the comparison across the limited and expanded artistic fields sharpens approval of the differences between the autonomous artists and others. The sociological analysis of the artworks, which illustrates how they are necessitated by social situation and artistic position-taking, can therefore become a ‘piquant sauce' which serves to intensify the pleasures of the works. References: Bourdieu, P (1977), Outline of a Theory of Practice, trans. R.Nice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ___(1984), Homo academicus, English edn 1988a, Homo Academicus, trans. P. Collier, Polity Press, Cambridge ___(1988), L'ontologie politique de Martin Heidegger, English edn 1991b, The Political Ontology of Martin Heidegger, trans. P. Collier, Polity Press, Cambridge ___(1993), ‘Concluding remarks: for a sociogenetic understanding of cultural works’ in Bourdieu: Critical Perspectives, eds C. Calhoun, E. LiPuma and M. Postone, Polity Press, Cambridge ___(1993a), The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature, ed. and introd. R. Johnson, Polity Press, Cambridge___(1996), Sur la television, English edn 1998c, On Television, trans. P. P. Ferguson, New Press, New York ___(1998), Contre-feux. Propos pour servir a la resistance contre l'invasion neo-liberale, English edn 1998b, Acts of Resistance: Against the New Myths of Our Time, trans. R. Nice, Polity Press, Cambridge ___(1998a), La domination masculine, English edn 2001, Masculine Domination, trans. R. Nice, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CT ___and L. Wacquant (1999), ‘On the cunning of imperialist reason’ Theory, Culture and Society, 16/1 ___ (2000) Pascalian Meditations. Cambridge: Polity Press Eder, K (1993). Th

Recycled Plastic Bio-Composites in the Consumer Industry

Consumer Industry The adaptation of natural fiber composites in the consumer industry has not had the same explosive growth as with the transportation or even the construction industry. The benefits of cost savings and weight reduction that can be obtained with natural fiber composites played a significant role for the proliferation into those respective industries. But in the consumer market, stemming from the rise of synthetic fibers starting in the 1940’s, glass fiber and carbon fibers have dominated the market for composites due to their superior mechanical properties.From the 1970’s onward, petroleum-based fibers replaced natural fiber so that, worldwide, the cropping of natural fibers entered into steep decline, causing economic stagnation in the producer regions. In addition to the competition with synthetic fibers, innovation in transport facilities also contributed to the decline of natural fibers, particularly the advent of commodity bulk handling facilities i n long distance trade, which eliminated the use of food-grade sacks altogether.Jute has always been the most important natural fiber but it too suffered long decline. In 1990, 2. 1 million hectares were planted in jute, which fell to 1. 6 million in 2000 and is projected to slump to 1. 2 million hectares by 2010, a retraction of about 3% a year. During the same period, production also fell from 3. 3 million tons to 2. 6 million tons and is projected to diminish to 2. 3 million tons by 2010. During this period jute consumed in the developed countries fell by 40% and that consumed in developing countries by 10%. 1) During the past two decades, there has been a renewed interest in development of natural fiber plastic composites for the consumer industry. Two of the most prominent factors that are fueling this resurgence originate from the environmental impact of using these composites and the technological advances that address the disadvantages of fiber composite production and usage. Natural fibers have assumed considerable environmental importance in function of being produced with renewable energy sources, consuming less energy to produce and being biodegradable and recyclable. 2) In the traditional furniture, shoe, and textile manufacturing sectors, natural fibers are increasingly being used as a substitute for fiber glass. Natural fibers have several advantages as compared to conventional plastic, such as being from 10% to 30% cheaper; having lower density, superior thermal properties and low embodied energy; involving lower tool wear in the moulding process; producing better acoustic proprieties and reducing irritation to the skin and respiratory system (3).Ironically, a number of the perceived advantages of natural fibers in composite polymers were cited in the past as disadvantages which led to the substitution of natural fiber by synthetics. Natural fibers were said to be inferior because they were not water resistant, were porous and breathable, were b iodegradable and were not adaptable to automatic sack filling. The water resistance problem has been overcome by surface modification of fibers, creating hydrophobic coatings that allow for a moisture barrier as well as better adhesion with the matrix resin.Breathability is now seen to be an advantage in reducing heat and impregnating odors, particularly in textiles. Similarly, bio-degradability is highly desirable today as well as the characteristic of being recyclable. All of these characteristics now perceived to be desirable have stimulated a good deal of research into finding other industrial applications which could cause fiber production to expand even further. (4) 1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 2003. Medium-Term Prospects for Agricultural Commodities: Projections to the Year 2010.Rome. 2. Jan, E. G. 2009. Environmental Benefits of Natural Fibre Production and Use. In Discover Natural Fibres: Proceedings of the Symposium on Natural Fibres, p. 3- 17. Rome: FAO. 3. Suddell, B. C. 2009. Industrial Fibres: Recent and Current Developments. Discover Natural Fibres: Proceedings of the Symposium on Natural Fibres, p. 71-82. Rome: FAO. 4. Bicalho, A. M. 2009. Agricultural-Industrial Integration and New Applications of Natural Fibers: Jute Floodplain Cropping in the Amazon Reborn. Brazil

Google: Research Google’s Attempt to Buy Into Wireless Via the 700 Mhz Spectrum Auction.

Verdell ChesterTM-583 Case 4 – Google: Research Google’s attempt to buy into wireless via the 700 MHz Spectrum Auction. 1. Why  did Google making this move? Google’s Motivation to bid into the wireless marketplace through the use of the 700MHz Spectrum Auction was the opportunity to develop possibly a 50 state network â€Å"The FCC is auctioning 1,099 wireless licenses in the 700 MHz band, but the most attractive spectrum for many bidders is the â€Å"C-block† of 12 regional licenses that may be combined to create a 50-state network. (Reiter, 2008) This new product development would allow Google to become a cellular network operator. This market includes firms such as AT;amp;T and Verizon, Google would not only compete with these firms but also would have had the opportunity to network with other entities to develop some innovative new products. What do they hope to accomplish? The prospect of entering into the wireless market offers Google many potenti al growth and development practices as well as competencies. There are also many risks associated with this strategy, including the cost of building and maintaining a billion dollar network.One particular goal that may have been in mind with this decision is the growth of Google’s vast wireless software portfolio that includes Gmail, Maps, Docs, Calendar Sync and various other applications that can be downloaded to many phones. There may have been other reasons Google chose to take interest into the wireless market such as the ownership of Youtube and its developments in a new website and java beta application that allows people to view tens of millions of videos via cell phone. . How does Google’s support for Open Access fit into Google’s plans? Google supporting Open Access really makes this a popular decision. Many people are rooting for Google to bid on the 700MHz spectrum for reasons that it will allow for competitive pricing of many cellular internet featu res. Furthermore research shows that Google supports open access initiatives like a concept called network neutrality, this is a principle proposed for user access networks participating in the Internet.It advocates that no restrictions can be imposed by internet service providers and governments on content, sites, platforms, the kinds of equipment that may be attached, and the modes of communication. Google still supports this idea but has made moves in this direction like stated in their public policy blog â€Å"FACT: Google has been the leading corporate voice on the issue of network neutrality over the past five years. No other company is working as tirelessly for an open Internet. But given political realities, this particular issue has been intractable in Washington for several years now.At this time there are no enforceable protections – at the Federal Communications Commission or anywhere else – against even the worst forms of carrier discrimination against In ternet traffic. † (Whitt ;amp; Counsel, 2010) This bid would provide google the ability to offer the most openly accessible network. 3. It looks like Google wants to get into wireless; yet, wireless is not one of Google’s core competencies. What should Google do about this? Google is not known for developing a large wireless network, but they are known for its advertising capabilities.This opportunity can present Google the chance to gain this ability and further strengthen its advertising ability. Google should invest in this opportunity although it may currently not fall into its current competencies; Google has capabilities that can allow them to develop newer competencies through their current ones. By taking their ability to advertise and the ability to deliver new internet products they can develop a superior network that enhances their ability to advertise and present customers with vast channels of information.Another option is looking toward some of Google†™s partnerships and ownerships and collecting resources from their wide variety of talent to develop a team tasked with developing the new competencies needed to make the new business venture successful. Similar to Google spearheading the Open Handset Alliance’s Android mobile platform, this new venture will need to break boundaries and establish Google as a premiere wireless network. â€Å"This situation has crippled consumers' ability to use the Internet on their mobile devices, compared to how they use it on their PCs.Google executives say their aim is to bring the PC-style of Internet openness to the mobile world so that users have more choice in mobile services and applications, as well as price. † (Mills, 2007) Google has the opportunity to develop the competencies for emerging as a successful wireless network yet they have to take the risk of investing into this opportunity. Google has the customer support and the finances to go for it, and it doesn’t l ook like a bad choice.Bibliography:Mills, E. (2007, 11 30). Cnet news. Retrieved 12 5, 2010, from Google versus the Telcoms: http://news. cnet. com/Google-versus-the-telecoms/2100-1039_3-6220909. html Reiter, A. (2008, 2 5).Internet Evolution. Retrieved 12 5, 2010, from Internet Evolution: http://www. internetevolution. com/author. asp? section_id=526;amp;doc_id=144810 Whitt, R. , ;amp; Counsel, W. T. (2010, 8 12).Google Public Policy Blog. Retrieved 12 5, 2010, from Google Public Policy Blog: http://googlepublicpolicy. blogspot. com/search/label/Net%20Neutrality

Peer Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Peer Review - Essay Example Thus three are three broader hypotheses also under which authors attempt to provide a comprehensive view of how the individuals perceive adult development based on their sociological tradition dealing, desirability of the expected change and how it contributes towards development and finally the knowledge that adults hold of the overall development process. The sampling methods adapted were selective sampling method as according to author, the bias towards sampling was necessary. This was necessarily done in order to sample only those respondents who possess the rich vocabulary to describe their beliefs in more eloquent manner. This method therefore allowed researcher to tap the young and educated respondents however, the overall differences in ratings on vocabulary are reported to be minimal within the respondents belonging to different age groups. The overall procedures adapted to gather the data involved mix of the techniques adapted by the researcher. This included oral as well as other means of collecting data under the supervised guidance of the author. Respondents were asked certain questions for rating purposes and the overall results were than analyzed by the authors in order to arrive at a final conclusion. What is also significant to understand that respondents were asked about the different sets of questions within a certain time period i.e. there was two weeks gap between the first and the second session for data gathering by the author. On both the occasions, the procedure was same i.e. respondents were asked to rate certain adjectives in order to understand their perception about the development psychology and underlying hypothesis. The results indicate that there was consensus among the various age group representatives regarding the overall process of adult development. Most of the respondents believed that the

Macro & Micro economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Macro & Micro economics - Essay Example Technology-based water pollution-control standard might not be the most economically efficient or cost-effective way to achieve a given level of reduction in water pollution because this approach would require us to spend more. There is associated monetary amount linked to this move, and so the most important initiative that we need to take to ward our way off an insurmountable amount of expenses is to encourage the participation of everyone, because it is here where the necessary general control starts. Just like the initiative employed in Wabash Rivers, the governor recently would want the land conservation initiative, as this has potential viewed impact to preserve important natural resource and habitat (Wabash Rivers Initiative). In this initiative, there is a required participation of the majority to have consensus general impact, which means there is a necessary uniform action that everyone should implement, reducing the other relevant potential costs had it been that not every one is participating. 2. Discuss the different point sources and nonpoint sources for water pollution. Explain why it has been more difficult to reduce the nonpoint sources. Be specific about what types of nonpoint sources are contributors to water pollution. Point source of water pollutions comes from one source such as either a factory or waste water treatment plant, but the nonpoint sources for water pollution come from the accumulation of pollutants from the day-to-day activities of individuals in the society (Point versus Non-Point Source Pollution). A specific type of nonpoint source is from driving a car. This is an activity that goes daily, and it is hard to reduce this one because transportation has become a critical point in the economic development of the society. For example, transportations have become crucial components of the moving transactions from one company to another. Transportation definitely links the trade and commerce industry in order to flourish and obtain the economic advantage they so desire to achieve. People also require transportation in order to complete any related economic activities they have to perform for the day prior to their survival and the achievement of their basic necessities in life. In other words, it is really difficult to eliminate transportation, as a nonpoint pollution source in today’s highly advanced and economically developed society. 3. In the Taking Sides articles, Milton Friedman argued that indeed profits are the only business of business. Explain what that might mean for controlling environmental pollution. Without government regulation, when would you expect firms to engage in activities that help the environment? Give specific examples. Without government regulation, firms will engage in activities that help the environment when things around them could affect their business, as essentially, Milton Friedman has the point of saying that profits are the only business of business. After all, busi nesses substantially exist because they want to achieve profit in the first place. This profitability may be affected when for instance the companies’ productions may be affected by the lack of raw materials that comes from the environment, as eventually the upshot of on-going pollution. A fish canning factory for instance may go bankrupt or may close business when the supply of fresh raw materials from the ocean deteriorates due to prevailing environmental pollution. Here will be the point when that canning factory will adhere to environmental sustainability and initiate moves or strategies linked to their corporate social responsibility, encouraging the society to take part of their goal to preserve the environment where they get their source of raw materials for their production. 4. Compare the

Freedom Writers Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Freedom Writers - Movie Review Example Freedom Writers is a movie, which is based on the racial and ethnic conflicts that make people fight with each other. Hilary Swank played the role of a motivational teacher whose name was Erin Gruwell. Gruwell was appointed at Wilson High School in 1994 to teach freshman English to the students. Memories of the 1992 riots were still fresh in the minds of the students. The class was full of troublesome students who had formed small gangs based on their races. Gruwell made her efforts to eradicate the feelings of hate and detestation from the minds of the students in order to make them productive citizens of the society. She used an exceptional approach to teach her students the value of peace. She asked students to write personal diaries regarding what they feel about each other and what they have suffered during riots. She used those diaries to teach her students. The film typically relates to the economy of race. Formation of aggressive gangs and riots represent racial aggression of the people. Racial discrimination occurs when one specific race is given priority on other races. In Freedom Writers, Gruwell kept herself focused towards educating the negative impact of racial conflicts to the students. She kept on telling the students that racial conflicts are never good for a society and the students need to eradicate the feelings of disgust from their minds in order to ensure peace in the society.

The effect of human resource management on an organisational Dissertation

The effect of human resource management on an organisational performance - Dissertation Example The research will employ the use of case study technique and the organisation that has been selected for this study is the Accenture Plc. Therefore, the researcher will focus on measuring the true effect of Accenture’s human resource management on improving the performance of the company. According to Mathis and Jackson, the roots of human resource management can be traced back to the industrial revolution whereby companies started engaging in mass production for commercial purposes. Therefore, there was an urgent need of hiring more employees to the extent that even children were introduced into the work environment without any consideration to their ages. During this particular, the human resources/ workers have proved to be a critical part of an organisation, but there was little known about effective human resource management and this contributed to widespread violation of employees’ rights. This because the labor sector had not been fully formalized and therefore, there was no formal regulatory framework for the sector. Stewart and Brown stated that the numerous industrial strikes that characterized this era were attributed to the widespread violation of employees’ rights that was going on in nearly all of the manufacturing companies. DeGraff further added that employees’ plight during this era was denoted by low wages and poor working conditions. In the present world, effective human resource management is a source for organisation’s competitiveness meaning that it directly affects the performance of organisations. ... he employees received more focus from the management of the companies in order to avoid future strikes, which had proved detrimental to the companies that were affected. Factors that marked the emergence of effective human resource management included the abolishment of child labour, development of labor unions, and strategic recruitment and selection of workers. DeGraff (2010) further added that the studies by Fredrick Taylor on lean manufacturing sparked an interest on the actual contribution of the workforce on an organisation’s productivity and this resulted to workers been acknowledged as a significant part in the productivity of an organisation. In the present world, effective human resource management is a source for organisation’s competitiveness meaning that it directly affects the performance of organisations. 1.3 Accenture Plc Accenture Plc is a multinational company that specializes in outsourcing, technological services, and management consulting. The consu ltancy services cover five operating groups that include resources, products, health and public services, financial services and communications and high-end technology. The company has employed over two hundred and sixty thousand employees who are based across at its wide branch network. In the United Kingdom, the company has ten office locations of which three are in London (Harmon, 2012). The Company boosts of unrivaled experience, unmatched capabilities wide across all business functions and industries. The business model of Accenture is to collaborate with their clients who include 94% of the fortune global 100 and even a big percentage of the fortune global 500 to ensure they become profitable as well as high performers (Harmon, 2012). Over the past years, the company has been keen on

Gender Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gender Development - Essay Example d mostly make action packed games for the males and only a few computer games are targeting the women community since boys are keener in playing computer games compared to girls. The more emphasize given to the interests of male community is actually steering away girls from computers. Internet and video game operators/manufacturers should focus more on creating games suitable to the needs of the girls also. Online puzzles and interactive activities related to everyday problems may attract more female community towards internet and computers. It is a fact that both males and females have different tastes as far as their leisure activities are concerned. Boys always like action packed activities because of their muscular dominance whereas girls look for developing their soft skills which are connected to beauty and aesthetic concepts. The article calls the video game manufacturers to make more games suitable for the taste of girls in order to stick the women community in front of the computer. At the same time we must remember that such segregation of male and female are not visible in other areas of our social life. Nowadays women are capable and willing to do any type of jobs which were earlier dominated by the male community. This article is right in claiming that boys and girls have different perceptions about relationships. But, I am not sure whether the same thing is right in the case of technology also. Even for the space exploration cases, in most of the missions, women are involved. If women are capable of undert aking such risky jobs, there is no point in generalizing that women have different perceptions about technology. This article generalizes so many things with respect to the attitude of males and females towards computers and internet. It is a fact that different individuals have different tastes. There are males who don’t have many interests in action packed computer games. At the same time there are many females who are interested in action

Engine performance and Efficiensy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Engine performance and Efficiensy - Coursework Example Theoretically, it is the difference between the gross and net thrust (Momentum drag = Gross thrust – Net thrust). It is computed as: Net thrust is a positive aerodynamic force that causes propulsion of an aircraft in air. It is represented as a summation nozzle thrust and momentum of the jet’s motion. It is a resultant propulsion force produced by the jet engine used in providing thrust (speed) to the aircraft. It is the difference between the gross thrust and the momentum drag on the engine of an aircraft (Net thrust = Gross thrust – Maximum drag). It is usually denoted by T and is calculated as follows: The engine thrust is affected by the flow of air into the engine and is thus a change in the rate of airflow results to a change in the resultant thrust. With net thrust, the increase in the aircrafts speed results to an increase for air fed into the engine, resulting to a higher output. With static thrust, the environmental factors tend to determine the ability of the craft to cause motion. With static thrust, the air speed is kept constant and is not affected by the crafts motion thus differing from the net thrust. b) Calculate the net thrust of a turbo jet flying at 150 M/S with an air mass flow of 50 Kg/S and a jet stream velocity of 300 M/S with a chocked nozzle. The residual gas pressure in the jet stream is 45 KPa gauge, the nozzle area is 0.2M2. Net thrust = gross thrust – momentum drag (T = mVj + Aj (Pj - Pam) – mVi) where Pam is the ambient air pressure in question. Form this equation an increase in the ambient air pressure, while holding all other factors constant results to a decrease in the net thrust of the engine, which being the denominator of the SFC formula results to an increase in the resultant value of the specific fuel consumption. As indicated by the new SFC equation Propulsive efficiency = (2Vi) / (Vi + Vj), where Vi is the speed of the exhaust gases and Vj is the incoming air speed. Increasing the speed of the gas

Cultural Background Paper Essay Example for Free

Cultural Background Paper Essay The fusion of cultures has been ever growing and I would like to say- being multiracial these days is not a new phenomenon. There are many of us who come from a similar status where we share different ancestors from different cultures. For instance, my own friend has a Hispanic father and an African-American mother. Both the parents come from different cultures and the instances have been increasing. However, I share an Indian background with a Hispanic background. The fusion of the two cultures was unthinkable but I believe it has to happen sometimes that way. The main reason why I believe we have cultural fusions is because of the increased ethnic and racial diversity in the United States of America. It is interesting to note how different parents from different cultures actually bring in their stories and traditions into our lives. I believe it is easy to distinguish characteristic traits from an Indian background and a Hispanic background. There are a few traits that make one easily recognizable and distinguishable from others. Importance to family ties and bonds is extremely crucial. I remember my father (who obviously shares an Indian background, American-Indian) who stressed on the importance of relationships. Grandparents, uncles, aunts and every relative had to be respected and served on their occasional arrival. Indians are particularly fond of spicy food with their own kind of spices which includes lots of chili, cumin powder and other so-called â€Å"masalas† in their food (Gawle, 2003). There is an obligation and responsibility that the Indians exhibit in their mentality which makes them extremely family-oriented. As Jean Bacon in his book, â€Å"Life-lines: Community, Family and Assimilation among Asian Indian Immigrants† states regarding this stance, â€Å"The notion of obligation perhaps encourages members of the second generation to follow the wishes of their parents regarding issues such as educational choices or choices of marriage partners more often than would be the case if this sense of obligation were not present. It was very surprising to me that none of the children in these families ever defied his or her parents desires. No one ever decided to move away and become financially independent in order to pursue his or her own, as opposed to his or her parents, desires. No one took out educational loans to secure the education of his or her choice† (Bacon, 1996). The system of joint-families and extravagant weddings with lots of food and numerous ceremonies is synonymous with them. Their music sense with the sitar and the classics by well-known singers was their favorite. Religion and spiritual obligations were also taken seriously. As Charles A. Moore in his book, â€Å"The Indian Mind: Essentials of Indian philosophy and culture† states regarding Indian culture, â€Å"It is common ground in Indian thought that the adoption of secular means and methods do not lead to freedom or salvation. It may be held that, if we could conquer Nature and fully exploit her resources, we might satisfy all our wants, and as soon as they arise. The modern man in the atomic age with his immense faith in technology is prone to think that the solution lies this way. But wants may still outstrip our ability to satisfy them; a leap-frog race may result. The root problem is left untouched. Technology cannot provide the wisdom and the good will necessary to make a wholesome use of our power. Control over Nature without control over oneself (self-restraint) can lead only to rivalry, domination, conflict, and suicidal warfare. The human problem is basically spiritual; it lies in self-control and self-education† (Moore Morris, 1967). The following quote from the book on the Indian culture shows the immense spirituality in the Indian community and how they try to resolve their problems through the means of self-control. Their religion and their belief in spirituality play a vital role in bringing out these characteristics. My mother who is a Hispanic lady submitted to the Indian culture as they shared a few common ideologies. On the whole, the Indian trait in my family background is dominant. An interesting study was done by Shamita Das Dasgupta on the gender roles and cultural continuity in the Asian Indian Immigrant community in the United States of America where she evaluates the attitude of women and dating in the Indian culture. Her revelation is as follows, â€Å"Where attitude toward women was concerned, there seemed to be great intergenerational similarities between parents and children. The belief in gender equality of both mothers and fathers was positively correlated with that of their children regardless of age. However, mothers egalitarianism seemed to be mitigated by their childrens age. That is, the older their children, the more conservative mothers became regarding womens roles. Since mothers own age was not linked to this relationship, it can only be speculated that as adolescents grew older, their mothers started to experience the pressures of socializing them in traditional gender roles. In the process, they themselves turned toward conservatism† (Dasgupta, 1998). Another interesting trait that can be drawn in the Indian culture is regarding the relationship between a boy and a girl. The Indian culture places an immense importance on the physical chastity. In other words, there is nothing like sex-outside-marriage for them. As Shamita Das Dasgupta in her journal article states, â€Å"Undoubtedly, a reason for instilling inhibitions about dating in girls more than boys is due to Asian Indian parents obsessions with maintaining sexual chastity. Dr. Prasad, a professor of engineering conducting a youth forum in New Jersey, stated, From an Indian Culture point of view, dating involving physical relationships before marriage is not permissible. Segal (1991) notes this fear in Asian Indian parents and believes most Indian immigrants who are not quite familiar with the practice tend to conflate dating with sexual activity† (Dasgupta, 1998). The idea of physical chastity plays an important role in the Indian community and any kind of illicit relationship outside the framework of marriage is taboo for them. It means absolute disgrace on the family if any such kind of an act is indulged by either the boy or the girl. In Hinduism particularly, such girls are exiled from the communities and their family members are disgraced and humiliated to a great extent. My parents value their own cultures and traditions. Though I come from a bi-racial background, my family has most of the Indian traditions in it as my mother had very willingly given herself to the Indian heritage. The freedom stories as well as the Indian history are still known to my father. My father stated in a brief conversation, â€Å"Indian culture imbibes its traditional roots from the Vedas. We have a deep attachment to it and we cannot forget what our country has done for us to bring us so far. Our Indian tradition and culture is our identity to who we are. Indian culture promotes an inner sense of brotherhood and unconditional love- something that I witness lacking in the West but we have a small world of our own here. I still value the Indian norms and I am proud of it as well. I cannot forget the freedom fighters that fought for our beloved country. I believe that is how we are here. I cannot forget the sacrifices given by our country’s soldiers to protect India from foreign invasion. The emotions are far too many to be forgotten†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (John K. Ram Prasad, personal communication, May 15, 2007). John Y. Fenton, in his book entitled, â€Å"Transplanting Religious Traditions: Asian Indians in America† lists some of the important characteristics that are found in the Indians and are most desired to preserve. He lists family as the most important trait and dominant in the Indian culture. Secondly, he states Indian character (pious and chastity) and thirdly, he states religion as the inherent trait amongst Indians. Fourthly, he finds cultural arts and language as important traits in the Indian culture. (Fenton, 1988). There are some hints on the Hispanic culture in my family background as well. Though they are not very dominant, they are worth looking into as the character traits are identifiable in their own way in my family. I believe the reason why it was easy for my Hispanic mother to accept the Indian traditions as her own was because they shared many similarities, one of them being their conservative or traditional lifestyle. Furthermore, the Hispanic culture also places immense emphasis on the family, religion and community (Sutherland, 1997). My father also exhibits similar characteristics as discussed above but he has evolved in some sense. As stated in several literatures above regarding religion, my father keeps his religion in his own personal space and allows his children to make their own decisions (which are very unlikely to happen in a typical Indian culture). Adapting to the American environment came easy on him and adapting to the Indian culture came easy on my mother. I have witnessed many occasions when my father gave his first priority to family and then on building a perfect human character in his children. His children and wife were always his first priority over everything and he made sure they received the best of education and lifestyle. Furthermore, his moral stories enlightened us to be good humans and be of good human character. His teachings also revolved on the aspect to respect our grandparents as well as our great-great-ancestors that he so proudly talks about. Though an American now, his Indian values are still present and he vows to pass it on in every way he can through us and though his grand children, as he says. He still celebrates all the festivals and all the Indian rituals. I have personally witnessed these traits in my family that show that my parents are indeed very knowledgeable about their culture. As we saw above, the traits of the Indians are very dominant in my family and most of them have been discussed and stated as being visible in my family. Yes- the traits have also been found visible in my close Indian relatives as well as grandparents who value their Indian culture and still prefer to eat chapattis, curry, sweets and love Indian music and ghazals (Ghazals are slow Indian songs with Urdu lyrics, sort of a beautiful poetry on subjects like love, life and sadness). Old Indian movies and soap operas still occupy a prominent status in my grandparents’ menu through which they cherish their Indian culture and the traits are obviously noticeable. As my grandmother stated a few days ago, â€Å"We cannot forget where we are from†¦ we cannot forget our land, no matter how long we have lived here. We cherish our cultures through centuries and no matter where we are, we will continue to cherish it till our death and pass it on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jodha Ram Prasad, Personal Communication, May 20, 2007). Racism has been an old tale in the history of United States of America and still continues in different manners with different thinking patterns today. They label people like my parents and grandparents as â€Å"typical stereotypical characters† though they have lived all their life to this country. Personally, I have never had any racist experiences but my relatives who have been here for over three decades did. They had problems getting enrolled into American institutions and they would often be looked down as from the â€Å"third-world countries,† though they hold the American citizenship. My uncle states his story that depicted racism exhibited in his own words, â€Å"I was 18 when I had finished my high school and lived all my life in the United States. Even then, we had our house in such a locality where only immigrants lived. It was difficult for us to buy or rent houses in those locations where whites would live. Once I tried getting a house in a typical white locality and found that they gave me rates that were twice expensive than what they charged the white people. This would eventually force us to buy homes in immigrant localities, hence depicting discrimination. We were discriminated based on where we came from. We would be paid lower than the whites in our era when the fight against racism was still in its beginning stages. It was difficult to get the law in our support either. We were eventually marked as weak and powerless†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hardy Lewis Choudhry, Personal communication, May 21, 2007). There are many such stories that we would get to hear. These were not new then and are not new even now (though we have several legislations and agencies protecting us from racism). Our grandparents, parents and relatives have a lot more to say than anyone else as racism was extremely common when they immigrated to United States than it is now. Today, we have our rights protecting us from discrimination and racial profiling (that previously didn’t exist). Even today, as I see, Indians are marked stereotypically as foolish and old-fashioned thinking people. There are quite many things that I have learned about my family’s culture through this research and this includes the Indian philosophy and culture, including the racism stories and several other experiences from my primary care-givers. The American culture that I have blended in and the Indian culture that still persists in my family are poles apart in their philosophies and so are their lifestyles. I have witnessed that the conservative Indian thinking is actually a trait that is passed on and I have seen that the Indian culture values a person by his character. Earlier, my focus was never laid on my family’s culture as we lived the way as every American family would live but it was interesting to note the rich characteristics of Indian culture in my family, including my parents, grandparents as well as relatives who gave a tremendous insight into several notions of the Indian philosophy and Indian traditional values. I believe and I respect the traditional cultural values of my family (earlier to which I was not exposed to) and I have learned how spirituality plays a vital role in the making of a person’s character and mind. On the whole, the experience has been quite enriching as India is truly a country with diverse cultures and an interesting history. I am still reminded about Mahatma Gandhi and the times of the Mughals (ancient rulers of India) by my grandparents which show that the traits still exist in them and they want those traits to prevail in me as well which they hope I will pass on to my progeny too†¦ REFERENCES: Moore, Charles A. , Morris, Aldyth V. (1967). The Indian Mind: Essentials of Indian Philosophy and Culture. East-West Center Press. Page no. 323-389. Dasgupta, Shamita Das (1998). Gender Roles and Cultural Continuity in the Asian Indian Immigrant Community in the U. S. A Journal of Research, Vol. 38, 1998. Bacon, Jean (1996). Life-lines: Community, Family and Assimilation among Asian-Indian Immigrants. Oxford University Press. Page 242. Gawle, Rupa (2003). Ask not what your family can do for you†¦ Is obligation an exclusively Indian trait? India Abroad. Published on the 13th of June, 2003. Retrieved online on the 22nd of May, 2007 at http://www. highbeam. com/doc/1P1-78807655. html John K. Ram Prasad, Personal Communication, May 15, 2007. Fenton, John Y. (1988). Transplanting Religious traditions: Asian Indians in America. Praeger Publishers, Page 201. Sutherland, Jean (1997). Understanding Hispanic/Latino culture and History through the use of Children’s literature. Yale-New Haven Teacher’s Institute. Retrieved online on the 22nd of May, 2007 at http://www. yale. edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1997/2/97. 02. 06. x. html Jodha Ram Prasad, Personal Communication, May 20, 2007 Hardy Lewis Choudhry, Personal communication, May 21, 2007

Environmental Issues Facing Future Of European Car Industry Marketing Essay

Environmental Issues Facing Future Of European Car Industry Marketing Essay The European Car industry has been continuously evolving from its early years. The world economic recession leading up to World War II led to strengthening of the uneven automobile manufacturing market, while in the postwar period, improved economic growth, marketing, and an expanding road structures increased sales for auto manufacturers in many developed countries. Design, service, and speed became trademarks of the thriving car producers, as evidenced by the every growing range of car models and the increasing popularity of Formula 1 racing all over Europe. In todays modern society the car industry is beginning to show signs of struggle due to the challenges that the industry faces in the new era. Issues such as congestion, rising oil prices, traffic jams and air pollution are some of the reasons that have forced the car makers to rethink its marketing, its goals, its objectives, and all the other unforeseen consequences. In total car makers produce almost 60 million vehicles every year, and provide employment to millions and millions of people all over the world. Average profits have been on a decrease from 20% or more in its first days of the 1920s to nearly 10% in the 1960s and way less than 5% in this present day. In fact some volume car makers such as Fiat, GM, and Ford all have actually been losing money. EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY The European industry is the worlds largest car manufacturing region and the worlds largest market. In addition to that the industry is considered a leader in the worldwide market, with incorporated operations consisting of design, research, development, production and sales (BERA 2004). The market is made up of a concentrated and refined universal network, which includes different joint-ventures, special productions, many cooperatives, and assembly sites. European car manufacturers have a combined productivity that exceeds that of the United States and Japan; but no one single European manufacturer produces more than its Japanese or United States competitor (BERA 2004). There are more than 20 vehicle producers in Europe, with the largest carmakers producing numerous brands, such as VW, GM, Fiat, DaimlerChrysler, and Peugeot Citroen (McLaughlin, Maloney 1999, p. 193). There are also independent carmakers, such as Porsche, BMW and Baritone (McLaughlin, Maloney 1999, p. 193). The vehicle production of the European automotive industry has shown a great increase over the last 10 years. According to recent studies the largest car manufacturing country in Europe is Germany which is estimated at 30% of regions total production, followed by France at 19%, than Spain at 17% and UK at 10% (BERA 2004). Similar to the other markets in the global car industry trade, European industry has undergone an important restructuring, consolidation and reorganization, which comprises of mergers, such as Chrysler and Daimler-Benz, General Motors acquisition of Saab, BMWs hostile take over and then sale of Rover, Jaguar and Volvos passenger car division are now all under Ford, Volkswagens acquisition of Lamborghini, Bentley, SEAT and Skoda (McLaughlin, Maloney 1999, p. 193). Presently there are many other supply arrangements and co-production efforts amongst the European carmakers and other manufacturers all over the globe. Trends and issues in Europe: Increasing challenges Sustainable development for European Car industry requires sufficient and capable, economically feasible, socially adequate and environmentally sound transport systems (UNDESA 2010, p.1). Urban population is growing rapidly, in particular in the developing countries such as Turkey, Poland, Croatia and Ukraine. By 2050, two-thirds of people will live in mega-cities and other urban areas. Cities in developing countries urgently need better and affordable public urban transport systems (UNDESA 2010, p.2). With increasing income and prosperity many city dwellers aspire to own their own motor vehicles. Rapidly growing use of private motor vehicles and of freight transport, limited space and inadequate infrastructure result in urban traffic congestion, lost time, wasted resources, polluted air and negative health impacts through emissions of sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds and particulates, including black carbon (UNDESA 2010, p.2). Motorized transport depends almost entirely on oil products for its energy needs. Many developing countries are energy importers. Inefficient use of motor fuel in congested urban transport imposes unnecessary costs on countries, which can contribute to foreign trade imbalances and hamper economic development (UNDESA 2010, p.2). At present, the transport sector is responsible for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emission from fossil fuel sources worldwide. It is the fastest growing sector with respect to green house gas emissions, yet is has received so far little attention from international climate initiatives and support programmes. For increasing resource productivity in transport, both for passenger and freight transport, a comprehensive approach is required that seeks (UNDESA 2010, p.2): to avoid or reduce transport demand, where possible, to encourage a shift towards less polluting and more efficient transport modes, and to improve and deploy clean transport technologies. EXISTING LITERATURE REVIEWED The automobile sector, is very important in the European economy, but is currently facing a number of problems. The lack of funding creates difficulties for the consumer to finance the purchase of a new car. European markets are also in overcapacity, and the evolution towards an aging and a no car society is predictable on the structural long-term (EJCIC 2009, p.4). To address these issues European Union has adopted a number of policies as well. To finance the sector in the short-term, to elaborate short-term schemes to favour demand, to restructure the sector on the long term, also to finance RD and clean cars, and finally to improve traffic flow and promote efficient use of transportation (EJCIC 2009, p.4). The car industry is one of the main manufacturing sectors in the Europe and remains important in terms of production, wealth and jobs: it produces 15 to 18 million cars a year, about 1/3 of the world production, and employs directly and indirectly 12 million people (EJCIC 2009, p.4). Many suppliers depend on the automobile industry (steel, aluminum, plastic, glass, textile industries, etc.) and its investments in RD benefit also to other sectors (EJCIC 2009, p.4). Once a symbol of social and industrial development, the automotive industry is now facing a multitude of severe challenges: fight against climate change, oil price volatility and the financial and economic crisis that has caused a significant decline in demand and, therefore, jobs (EJCIC 2009, p.11). Automotive industry is considered as a vital sector for growth and competitiveness in the EU, and it figures prominently on the political agendas of the European Commission (EJCIC 2009, p.11). THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND MARKETING The business environment of the firm or an industry consists of all the external influences that affect its function, decision making and its performance. When given the measureless number and range of external influences, how can companies expect to analyze, let alone monitor, environmental situation? This organizing of information can be done by using some form of system or framework. Environmental influences can be classified by PEST analysis into political, economic, social, and technological factors (Grant 2005, p.68). Also environmental influences can be sorted by the micro-environment or task environment that can be distinguished from the wider influences that form the macro-environment (Grant 2005, p.68). Although systematized and constant scanning of the entire range of external influences is always desirable by most companies in the industry, such extensive environmental analysis is expensive, because it creates an excess of information (Grant 2005, p.68). The condition for efficient environmental analysis is to differentiate the vital information from the information that is less important. To do this, we must look at primary principles of most companies (Grant 2005, p.68). In order for the firm to make profit it must first create value for its customers. Thats why; it must understand its consumers. Second, in creating value, the firm must acquire goods and services from suppliers. Thats why; the firm must have a good understanding of its suppliers with whom they should form good business relationships. Third, the capability to generate income from value creating activity entirely depends on the intensity of rivalry amongst firms that compete for the same value creating opportunities. Thats why, the firm must be aware of competition. Hence, the core of the industrys business environment is formed by the relationships that the firms in the industry have with three sets of players: customers, suppliers, and competitors (Grant 2005, p.68). These make up the industry environment. At the same time one cannot say that macro-level factors are unimportant to environmental analysis. Macro-level factors consist of general changes in demographic structure, economic or social and political trends (Grant 2005, p.68). These factors are also critical determinants of the threats and opportunities companies in the industry will face in the near future. The main concern is how these more general environmental factors affect the firms industry environment. Strategically speaking the threat of global warming, for most industries, will not be an important issue, at least not for next few hundred years (Grant 2005, p.68). However for European car industry, the implications of global warming are a vital issue because of restrictions on burning fossil fuel and rising taxes on oil. To analyze the strategic implications of global warming, the automobile manufacturers need to trace its implications for the industry environment (Grant 2005, p.69): What will be the impact on demand, will consumers favor more fuel-efficient cars or will there be a shift from gasoline-powered to electrically powered vehicles? Will there be substitution of public transportation for private transportation? Will there be new entry by manufacturers of electric vehicles into the car industry? Will the heavy RD costs associated with adapting cars to the new environmental challenge cause the industry to consolidate? P.E.S.T. A technique thats used to identify, assess and evaluate external factors affecting the performance of firm in the industry is known as PEST analysis (Gregory 2004 p.49). PEST analysis is done to help an organisation gain knowledge and understanding of the broader business environment and may be carried out as part of a continuous process of environmental scanning (Campbell, Stonehouse Houston 2002, p.118). PEST analysis may be used to evaluate firms expansion into a new market or to evaluate the feasibility of a new product or service (Campbell, Stonehouse Houston 2002, p.118). There are a large number of factors that may be included into PEST analysis, few of which are outlined below. Political factors Political and legal factors play a critical role on the development of any industry. Political and legal factors shape the rules of rivalry, supply chain requirements and operational costs (Jones 2010). International instability has led to an increase of oil prices that has created a sturdy trend towards smaller engines, hybrid engines as well as lighter diesel engines (Jones 2010). Present high level of oil prices has damaged the sales of larger engine-sized cars that are more then two litres in capacity, most of which are luxury and premium vehicles. There are also various quality controls and operation requirements for safety standards and emission levels that have a negative impact on the costs of production which in turn reduce the operating profit margin of companies (Jones 2010). A new legislation for car parking has been implemented in various European countries due to the threat of high congestion with the extreme traffic load of road networks. The foreign ownership regulations also form a part of political and legal factors. Currently the UK, France and Spain are considered as one of the most FDI welcoming countries in Europe. Automotive industry is being deregulated, which means that foreign car makers have a flexibility of choosing between various entries into the market and expansion modes in doing business with European companies (Jones 2010). The political relations between countries of operations imply certain benefits in a form of reduced tariff and non-tariff barriers, for example India and Japan work together with the UK within the regime of favorability (Jones 2010). Economic factors The countrys present and future demand situation is one of the most important determinants of location, because demand influences operations margin, the pricing strategy of the product, potential growth of the market, and the potential of return on investment (Jones 2010). Since early 2000s the target market size in Europe has experienced steady growth by size and value. There has been growth in size as every day current car parking capacity is being increased. The steady increase of average price level of parking contributed to the growth of market value (Jones 2010). European market is viewed as extremely mature. The present maturity has led to the overcapacity issue and an evident drop in sales of particular car segments. In general due to the maturity issue the market is experiencing negative growth. Even so, there is still an enormous significant growth potential for the sales of certain car segments due to the impact of technological factor as well as socio-cultural factors (Jones 2010). The strong growth of GDP, personal disposable income and consumer expenditures reveal the soaring level of consumer confidence. But when looking at the purchase of new cars, consumer confidence has fallen a lot. Nowadays consumers in Europe have been very unwilling to take out new debt and instead been choosing to service their existing debt. Also there has been a decline in the levels of mortgage equity withdrawal, which indicates that European consumers do not seek other funds to buy pricey items like cars (Jones 2010). The current strong position of Euro against other currencies has created many benefits for manufacturers consumers operating in Euro zone such as certainty of operations and reduced currency fluctuation risk. When highlighting the outlook of the automakers industry, it is evident that one of the key concerns with establishing and maintaining the competitive advantage is the cost factor, to be more specific, it is the ability of the firm to manage its direct and indirect costs (Jones 2010). Furthermore, when a decision has to be made with regard to the location of operations and the establishments of factories, industry specialists say that the key determinant here is labour-specific costs. A major emphasis is being put on the labour-specific cost saving (Jones 2010). According to the survey, more than 85% of industry specialists agreed that not only in Europe but all over the world, in the next coming five years there will be a very big increase in labour specific costs, such as legal services, cost of pensions and medical benefits for the employees (Jones 2010). According to predictions as the target market for car makers, the attractiveness of Europe will stay high (Jones 2010). The reason why European region will remain attractive for car makers is the potential increase of its market size and value, due to the expansion of the European Union and their strong currency. There are however suggestions that the share of markets in Europe will drop, because of the present maturity of the market, excessive competition and the demand trend. Social factors Whenever social factors are discussed the key factor that always comes to mind is a demographic factor, because it involves the lifestyle, the trend and the spending power of the consumer. The type of risk aversive behavior and value per customer all fall under a demographic factor (Jones 2010). The use of particular type of products and its projections can be determined by looking at the status of demographic trends. For example, the sales of family cars have been damaged by the current European demographics. The changes of routines, lifestyles and habits have a direct impact on the consumer spending. For instance, there has been a recent increase in preferences for secondhand car ownership instead of brand new vehicles. Additionally, the impact of trend factors such as fashion ability and luxury preferences can be so strong that it can remove and neglect the negative effects of oil prices and maturity of the market in some car segments (Jones 2010). Thats why, despite the predictio ns, luxury cars and many SUVs can experience strong growth, while the sales in other car segments experience dramatic fall. Technological factors New transactional capabilities are now open with the current development of Internet. Continuous development and growth of technological solutions, particularly in the area of digital technologies and communication create fresh operating opportunities such as innovative marketing mix channels, latest market research tools along with new purchase environment known as e-commerce (Jones 2010). To counter the problem of overcapacity, a number of leading car distributors make use of e-commerce. There e-exchange channels linking supply chain agents have undergone major improvements and have become the source of strategic advantage since it creates the aptitude of better value chain quality control and faster market response (Jones 2010). Porters Five Forces of Competition Framework When it comes down to it, there are many tools that can determine the level of profitability and the amount of competition in an industry. A helpful, commonly used framework for analyzing and categorizing these factors is the one developed by Michael Porter of Harvard Business School (Grant 2005, p.73). Porters Five Forces of Competition framework analyzes the profitability and the fertility of an industry, as indicated by its rate of return on capital relative to its cost of capital, as determined by five forces of competition (Grant 2005, p.73). These five sources of competitive pressure fall under either horizontal or vertical competition. Three sources make up horizontal competition namely: competition from new entrants, competition from substitute products or services, and competition from established rivals. And two sources make up vertical competition namely: the bargaining power of buyers and the bargaining power of suppliers (Grant 2005, p.73) Competition from Established Rivals The European automotive market is highly collective. The main rivalry involves Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot, BMW, Citroen, Honda and Toyota. There is a threat of intense price wars and a strong requirement for product differentiation because of this presence of powerful competitors with established brands (Jones 2010). This competitive pressure leads to an increase in promotional costs; and overcapacity introduces a significant price pressure. The current market conditions are so intense, that some manufacturers had no choice but to close certain plants to slash the costs and stay alive on the market. There are three major competitive strategies that firms use to survive; the first one is to serve and satisfy the needs of emerging market segments, new product development strategy, and lastly the supply chain improvement strategy (Jones 2010). Any opportunity that might arise requires an immediate operational responsiveness as there always is little space till market opportunity is leveraged by competitors. Bargaining Power of Buyers Because of the increasing overcapacity issue and high intensity of competition on the worldwide scale, European buyers experience very strong bargaining power (Jones 2010). It is said that buyers have a high level of bargain seeking behavior. Competition from Substitutes Apart from straight competitors such as public transport, cars compete with other forms of transport: air, sea, and rail. The ever-increasing importance of door to door transportation as well as environmental concerns has decreased the present threat of other forms of transport as substitutes. The main source of substitute threat comes from the sales of used cars. The steady accumulation of secondhand cars is one of the major reasons for the dramatic fall of the sales of new cars (Jones 2010). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Although carmakers have formed large entities it did not make a noteworthy shift of bargaining power in relations between original equipment manufacturers and the suppliers. The consolidation in the original equipment manufacturers sector has generated the equivalent consolidation between different groups of suppliers (Jones 2010). In the light of the overcapacity issue, demand chain partners and especially large car dealers do experience large bargaining power. Competition from entrants There is a high level of entry barriers when an industry is extremely consolidated and there is a well-developed value-added chain, RD and marketing capability. All of these minimize the threat of new entrants. However, due to global nature of the automotive industry the idea of new entrant is not that straightforward, since existing companies may enter new geographical markets. For example there is a huge potential for Chinese manufacturers to flood European markets in case safety measures and protectionist laws are not introduced by European countries (Jones 2010). Attractiveness of the industry for Foreign Direct Investments The value of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) per annum or per capita is one of the most common indices used to compare the attractiveness of countries (Maksymiuk 2006, p.4). The attractiveness of any country for FDI consists of many factors (which are valid also for sectors): low transaction costs, low risks for investment, a developed capital market, assured property rights, high expenditure in research and development, a highly developed infrastructure, a liberal economy, a lack of barriers for the entrance or exit from the market, a high quality of institutions supporting entrepreneurship and innovations, low taxes for employees, highly qualified specialists, a big domestic market, positive perspectives for the development of the country and political and social stability (Maksymiuk 2006, p.4). The attractiveness of the automotive industry can be increased by additional factors: the number of automotive suppliers qualified by quality management systems, the close proximity of car manufacturers, and the access to raw materials, a good climate guaranteed by government, operational clusters and co-operation between the industry and universities as well as RD institutions and consulting companies (Maksymiuk 2006, p.4). Information technologies are essential in all phases of development of the product, through manufacturing, logistics, purchasing and up to sales and after-sale services (Maksymiuk 2006, p.18). IT reduces the period of implementation of solutions and the costs of implementation. It supports the transfer of data around the world and makes it easier for transnational corporations to develop their products in a country that offers the most favorable conditions for FDI. IT is also one of the first tools which helps during mergers and acquisitions. The automotive industry could face some issues in the future. There could be a fall in the popularity of cars because of increases in car prices, increases in maintenance costs, and the appearance of substitutes for the car (Maksymiuk 2006, p.19). Another threat for the automotive industry could be triggered by an increase in transaction costs. It would be rather difficult to find such a situation in all automotive regions in the world, however decline in one of the regions (e.g. nationalization or a change of law against FDI in a big country) would bring higher losses and an extension of profits from investments in the longer term Many companies could be stopped because of a lack of components. Europe (especially the countries that have recently joined the European Union), with its strengths and opportunities reduces the risk of losses and is an attractive place for future investors (Maksymiuk 2006, p.19). SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Out of all the main manufacturing car industries in the world (Japan and US), the European is the largest and the most competitive. European automotive industry is a complex one and at the same time very diverse. It is basically dominated by German manufacturers. Although there has been a rise in sales and manufacturing from France, Spain and UK, German car makers still dominate the market. The market is also further divided by manufacturers that produce mass volumes of cars, than the manufacturers that focus on specializations and finally those that target niche markets and only cater to those specific customers. I say that the car industry is a complex one, because the state of industry affects many markets that are related to it, such as car parts, accessories, fuels and many more. Another reason why the industry is complex is that there are changing regulations of the car production, such as issues of global warming, safety and reliability. Also, companies must continuously consi der political, environmental and technological concerns in order to succeed. However despite the complexity of the environment of the automotive industry, European car industry has many favorable business and environmental factors such as the future growth potential within Europe, also there is an economic stability, positive growth of certain car market segments and finally theres relatively medium entry barriers which makes it an excellent place for FDI investors.

People Oriented Leader Or Relations Oriented Leadership Business Essay

People Oriented Leader Or Relations Oriented Leadership Business Essay Many business majors do not see the early management though as primitive in nature. Modern management thinking is often thought as modern management theory. Modern management thinking has been researched in reference to early management though, businessmen today only have a clear understanding of current and modern managing thinking, they have little knowledge of the past management thinking. Management thought involves politics and theory. The politics of management thought often come from the ones whom want the management styles to be received (OConnor, 1999). Because of political institutions order can be restored under established institutions. Management science during the factory era did just that. This could be seen during the Great Depression where management was desperately needed for reestablishing jobs. The birth of The Labor Unions was in this era. This proved to be one of the most effective changes management science contributed to history (Wren/Bendein, 2009). Modern management has its foundations based on management science and thoughts. The birth of early management started like everything else started i.e. people wanting a solution to a problem. Management thought has been often thought of as a type of science, and in fact it is. Managerial science uses assets of human resources and business principles to define and resolve workplace issues (Bedeian, 2004). During the early era of factory companies managerial companies were basically absolute and non-existent this caused chaos and lack of communication. Miller in his book Barbarians to Bureaucrats mentioned that there must be a strong relationship between the life cycle stage of an organization and the nature of its leadership, where as leadership is defined as an elusive concept, which comes through a conversation quite easily but very, few people understand. The very idea of leadership presupposes the existence of follower. (Wright and Taylor) stated that the activity of leadership co uld not be carried out without the aid of the followers to lead. Advanced managerial thoughts are based on the foundations of Millers 7 stages which are Prophet, Barbarian, Builder and Explorer, Administrator, Bureaucrat, Aristocrat and Synergist. The compelling new vision of a prophet and the aggressive leadership of an iron willed barbarian, who implement the prophet ideas will help to build new techniques and expansions. The builder and the explorer then push these through, but the growth spawned by these managers can easily stagnate when the administrator sacrifices innovation to order, and the bureaucrat imposes tight control. The aristocrat spends his time re-arranging, trading, and manipulating the assets but is unable to create new ones. It is the synergist that are capable of specialized knowledge and skills, and the integration of those competencies makes them a business leader who balances creativity with order, to restore vitality and insure future growth. It is important that a leader has good ethics in leadership, this is because in management the leaders must take decision that not only will benefit them but also think how other people will be affected. Millers work showed how leaders offered their leadership skills with their known value and ethics. These stages offered more advanced managerial thoughts, since companies started to focus on more of a humanistic approach to resolving issues with managerial science by establishing policies and procedures as well as employee labor relations. Leadership can come in many forms such as: Autocratic Leadership Bureaucratic Leadership Charismatic Leadership Democratic Leader or Participative Leadership Laissez-Fair Leadership Task-Oriented Leadership People Oriented Leader or Relations-Oriented Leadership Servant Leadership Transactional Leadership Transformational Leadership The right leadership is chosen according to the requirements of the company it self. Each leadership carries its own scope. To be a good leader means switching him or herself instinctively between styles according to the people and work they are dealing with. To choose the most effective approach one must consider: The skill levels and experience of the members of the team. The work involved (routine or new and creative). The organizational environment (stable or radically changing, conservative or adventurous) Among all of the management thought theories there are some key principles that have been defined. The identification of systems is done by their structures, since there are different types of systems. These include: real system, abstract or analytical system and controlled system. Systems of theory provide an internally consistent framework for classifying and evaluating the world. This consists of many definitions and concepts. When system theory was first introduced to management science and organizations were significantly affected. The main effects of system theory in management are that educators and consultants started helping managers to change their overall perspective regarding an organization. Managers were being thought to look at an organization from a broader and new perspective, by interpreting patterns and events in the workplace. Before the theory of systems was introduced, managers used to focus on one part of an organization at a time and after they moved all attention to another part. In other words, the importance of synchronization between departments (or parts of an organization) was not given great importance. As already mentioned, earlier in the introduction, feedback, communication and collaboration between systems are a necessity in order for an organization to work efficiently with a common goal. Theory of systems is an abstract philosophical framework that involves a highly empirical and investigative form of management science [2]. Moreover, system of theories is a useful conceptual tool, although it is insufficient. System theory is a useful tool because it helps analyse orderly research problems while it is insufficient because researchers need to take a very active role to complete the abstract role suggested by the systems theory. It also clarifies the role of complex organisations in modern society; and predicts that the complexity of organisations, and therefore the role of management, will probably continue to increase at least for so long as the efficiency-enhancing potential of complexity can continue to outweigh its inevitably increased transaction costs. The introducing of theory of systems to managers, helped them recognizing the various parts of the organization, and in particular the interrelation of the parts. As system theory was introduced, it took much more of a holistic view of organisation, focusing on total work organization and the inter-relationship between structures and human behaviours producing a wide range of variable within organisations [3]. They help us understand the interactions between individuals, groups, communities, organizations, larger social systems, in their own environments and help us enhance our understanding of how human behaviour operates. The fundamentals of the past have been neglected by scholars of the present day. (Bedeian, 1998) states that evolution of management thought has been deprived of the past, which has the backbone of modern day management. It is a known fact that anything that is currently in existence as we as humans may know it to be, had to come from somewhere. The past exists in a reciprocal relationship with the present (Bedeian, 2004). Early management thought has evolved over this time period with more advanced thinking in how to better manage and keep order. Significant contributions have deemed necessary in order for management thought to become as evolved as we know it today. Modern Management Thinking is mainly surrounded by policies, procedures and ethical methodologies these guide the co-operation itself. Many aspects of modern management thought derived from the economic history of traditional management. Factory era management science concepts such as well-defined hierarchy, labor relations, rules and regulations, interpersonal skills, competence and records management cultivated the framework of the 21st century of modern management. (CliffsNotes, 2010) Structural contingency theory makes part of Modern Management. This theory is closely related to system design (Scott 2003). The contingency adopted an open systems view on organization. It is a class behavioural theory, which claims that theres no best way to organize a corporation, lead it or make decision. Instead, the optimal course of action is contingent (dependent) upon the internal and external situation. Several contingency approaches were developed concurrently in the late 1960s. Some important contingencies for companies are listed below: 1. Technology 2. Suppliers and distributors 3. Consumer interest groups 4. Customers and competitors 5. Government 6. Unions Structural contingency theory suggests that companies will have a plan so that if any organizational change takes into place the other plan will be obtained. Therefore, each business ensures that it will operate within the most efficient structure to support the business. There are varies factors that influence structural contingency decisions and plans. This theory also states that organizational structure needs to fit the three contingencies of the environment, size and strategy. This means that every aspect of the current situation has to be taken in account when a manager makes a decision. It also has to act on the aspects that are the key of the situation at hand, this means that what worked once is not going to work on a different situation, that is why it all depends. According to this, the best style will be achieved due to a continuing effort of identifying the best leadership or management style. Making decisions or applying leadership styles contingent on internal and external factors. These can increase effectiveness in the current situation. Such theory is part of the contingency theories of leadership, decision-making and also rules. In this theory, it is explained that a managers success relies on variables such as the workforce, leadership style, task structure, perceived power of the manager and corporate culture. Modern management science is obviously shaped by every aspect of the past. Although education plays a great part in modern management thinking, the term modern thinking is truly understood by experience. Bedeian in his book the Gift of Professional Maturity explains the five lessons that are considered invaluable. The first lesson is that of realizing ideas are a product of their own time and place.(Bedeian, 2004). This is an epiphany for business majors because it denounces the idea of management thought being universal to all times. This type was evident in the Great Depression where as one can see it was only justified and useful in a particular time period. The second lesson in management thinking in accordance to Bedeian is the advantage of being an informed consumer of received knowledge. Having the correct information in a the palm of your hand will serve as an adversary when it comes to management thought; everything in management theory is based off of acclaimed information. Without received knowledge management is obsolete (Bedeian, 2004). The third lesson of Bedeian is the danger of inherent in relying on secondary source materials. Information is best effective when obtained from a primary source. Secondary information; when it comes to management thought is useless. Which is why modern management thought has a bit of an advantage over factor era management thought. Bedeian in his fourth lesson of management says: widely accepted facts are often wrong. He implies that accepted facts are widely wrong. In fact, this begs the explanation of what is considered accepted as fact. In management thought fact may not always be determined as fact unless the information to support the facts are true in nature (Bedeian, 2004). Employees had lack of managerial facts during the factory era. This included the actual conditions, which they had been working on. Due to an understated compensation, employees were not sure who they will believe while child labor was spread. By taking great strides to improve these facets of management, modern management has learnt lessons from the factory era. The fifth and last lesson of Bedeian is the special advantage of the past history. (Bedeian, 2004) Modern management thinking has had the advantage of learning from the past events that were so devastating to the world and has the advantage of making better management economic choices. After evaluating and discussing in detail such contributions, it can be concluded that effective and qualitative management is a necessity in both small and large corporations/businesses. The latter will yield a better organizational structure incorporating all the departments of a company to work as unity to achieve several goals.

Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz Biography :: essays research papers

Isaac Manuel Francisco Albà ©niz was born on May 29, 1860 in Camprodà ³n, the Catalan province of Gerona in northeastern Spain. As a child he was exceptionally gifted at the piano and gave his first public performance in Barcelona at the age of four. Two years later his mother took him to Paris where, for nine months, he studied privately with a renowned professor of piano at the Paris Conservatory. An attempt was made to enroll Albà ©niz at the Conservatory, but the boy was denied admission because he was too young. Upon returning to Spain he gave several concerts and published his first composition, Marcha Militar. In 1868 the Albà ©niz family moved to Madrid where Isaac began studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music. The boy’s astonishing pianistic ability inspired great praise and he was acclaimed as Spain’s greatest prodigy, often being compared to Mozart. Soon, however, Albà ©niz became restless and impatient with his studies and attempted many times to run away from home. Twice he ran away from home and supported his living by playing piano for the public and, sometimes, a job as a potter at the deck. After returning home and with the companion of his father, Albà ©niz first performed in the New World in the spring of 1875 when he gave a series of concerts in Puerto Rico. From there he traveled to Cuba where, in the fall of 1875, he gave several more concerts before returning to Spain. Upon returning to Spain, the 15 year old Albà ©niz gave concerts in several Spanish cities, including Barcelona, Valencia, and Salamanca. Realizing that his child prodigy days were nearing an end, and that the transition from child prodigy to mature artist is never a simple one, Albà ©niz enrolled at the Leipzig Conservatory where he hoped to gain the measure of credibility that one gets from studying at a world famous institution. While there he studied piano with students of Liszt. Short of money, ill at ease with the German language, and unhappy with the rigorous discipline imposed on him by his teachers, Albà ©niz returned to Spain after spending less than two months in the Saxon city where Bach, Schumann, and Mendelssohn once lived. Later that same year, Albà ©niz obtained a royal stipend to study at the Brussels Conservatory where, in 1879, he won first prize in piano performance. Following this he made a well-publicized tour of Europe.

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet What lips my lips have kissed and wher

Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, â€Å"What lips my lips have kissed and where and why† Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sonnet, â€Å"What lips my lips have kissed and where and why,† is about being, physically or mentally jaded, and thinking back to the torrid love of one’s youth. The â€Å"ghosts† that haunt her are the many lovers of her past; she’s specifically trying to remember them all. She recalls the passion she experienced and how there was a certain feeling within herself. Millay shows this through her vivid imagery, use of the rain as a literary device and by paralleling herself with a lonely tree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The use of symbols sets the tone of the piece. She personifies the rain in, â€Å"But the rain/ Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh/ Upon the glass and listen for reply.† She makes t...

Of Mice And Men – Crooks PEE Paragraph

Racism was a strong form of prejudice in the 1930’s, and throughout the novel is violently used against the stable buck Crooks. From his first introduction in the book, he is constantly being described and treated like an animal. In the first description of Crooks’ room in chapter 4, it is referred to as ‘A little shed that leans off the wall of the barn’. This gives the impression that Crooks is not important enough to sleep with the other ranch hands, and must be isolated and separated from them: giving him no other choice but to sleep with the animals: creatures that are on the same level of the hierarchy as him.Also, Crooks’ possessions reflect this image. His bed is described as ‘a long box of straw’ which implies that Crooks isn’t worth his own bed, and must settle for a horse’s trough: something that even a horse doesn’t sleep in, but eats out of. As well as this, most of his other possessions don’t eve n belong directly to him. For example, ‘a broken harness in process of being mended; strips of new leather’ and ’a range of medicine bottles, both for him and the horses.’This shows that even his own room, isn’t fully his own room, and that he has to share it with the horses; suggesting that even the horses are more important than Crooks as even they have the power to invade crooks’ space. It could also mean that all of crooks’ possessions are considered just as worthless as a horses ‘broken harness’. This shows the reader that crooks means no more to the ranch hands than one of the other horses.