Masterpieces of English Literature

The world of English literature has produced many diverse and astoundingly amazing works. Two of the most hailed pieces of literature to have graced the lives of readers throughout the ages are Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. These two poems have been around for a great number of years and have created many ripples across the lake of time. Despite its ancient roots, Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight continue to be regarded as two the greatest masterpieces of English literature.This essay will try to show the impact that these two different poems have had on English literature. It will show that despite the age of both poems, they continue to be relevant up to this very day. This essay will show that it is very much important to continue the reading, the study and the appreciation of these works, Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, as well as the other masterful pieces of English literature that have been available to schools and readers for a very long time.BeowulfLet us first dissect the epic poem, Beowulf, before we continue with the discussion of the importance of these two pieces. Beowulf was believed to have been written around the time 700 A.D. by an Anglo-Saxon poet. To this day, no one truly knows who wrote the poem but the last surviving manuscript of the poem was found to date back to the time 1000 A.D. and was speculated to have been in the hand of two different scribes. The original manuscript of Beowulf was written in the vernacular, Old English. (Melissa, 1997)The importance of this piece to the entirety of English literature is both very simple and complex. To put it straightforwardly, Beowulf is the oldest surviving poem to have been written in Old English. This is of great importance because all of the poems recovered from that era were found to have been written in Latin. (Anonymous, 2006)The importance of Beowulf in English literature, and in fact to the whole of world literature, is very clear even up to this very day. Because of the wars and battles raging across Europe in those earlier decades, very few literary manuscripts were able to survive. Beowulf, in fact, is the beacon and representative of the meager ten percent of the poetry written in Old English that have survived up to today. (Meyerhoff, 2006) What sets Beowulf apart from its other very few Old English counterparts is that it is an epic poem. In Britain, it has been accepted as a national epic. This is despite the debates and contestations regarding its merits as an epic poem.The mere fact that Beowulf has survived time and history and is available to us today among the very small population of Old English works is enough to prod us to continue in our appreciation and study of the piece. But another importance of the literary piece remains in just that fact, that it has survived an era from which only very few literary works have. This suggests that scholars and even simple individuals are able to take a glimpse at the cul ture and traditions of that time.Through Beowulf, we are able to see what these individuals held as important and what factors, both literary and in reality, they took into consideration. We say this not in a manner that will suggest taking Beowulf word for word as a historical timeline but rather in a manner that suggests reading deeper into Beowulf and understanding the thoughts and the emotions of the author. One such aspect of the epic poem that sheds light upon the culture of the said time is its constant use of the theme of Christianity. Although it is supposedly written in a pagan setting, the Christian theme in the poem is highly evident and unmistakable to any of its readers. (Yeager, 1999)Perhaps the most amazing part about Beowulf as an epic poem is its resilience as a literary piece. Even though it has much merit as an aged piece and as a standard bearer of Old English poetry, Beowulf would not have survived throughout time if it did not have any other merits. The most i mportant aspect of the epic poem, to my mind, is the fact that despite its age, it still continues to strike every reader deeply. It still calls forth the same emotions among its readers.This is perhaps due to the way it was written. Although the events and places seen in the epic are strange to us, at the very core of the story, we find the same values and interests that are inherent in us even to this very day.   Beowulf is so well-written that even to this day, it continues to enthrall and connect with its diverse readership. No matter how old you are, no matter what country you come from, you are able to recognize the masterful workmanship put into creating Beowulf.Sir Gawain and the Green KnightAnother much acclaimed piece of English literature is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It was believed to have been written some time during the fourteenth century. It is considered to be a metrical romance, a romantic tale written in poetic form, about the life of Sir Gawain. (Weston, 1900)Gawain was one of the more talked about characters of the Arthurian tradition. He far outstrips many of King Arthur’s knights in the number of romantic exploits written about his character. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knigh, Gawain exemplifies many of the virtues considered to be important in men of his stature. (Harper) This adds to the importance of the piece itself. With the different virtues that Sir Gawain is seen to have in the romantic poem, readers can easily see what the culture of the 14th century was like.The virtues and culture held to be of importance during that time are extolled clearly in the character of Sir Gawain and can easily be identified through his various actions and descriptions in the poem. This is in contrast to other poems and literary pieces written about Gawain wherein he was portrayed as a flawed and even sometimes brutish character.The importance of this piece may lie in the fact that its author was able to keep up a play of words wherei n the reader can derive several different interpretations. This allowed for many different reactions and critics regarding the piece. (Goodlad, 1987)This is probably what kept the piece alive for so long. With regards to literature, it has opened the way for readers to regard different pieces with more wariness, viewing these pieces as perhaps holding more interpretations than that initially viewed.It also holds much importance as a literary piece that defied the genre from which it came. Instead of relinquishing to the trend of producing literary pieces that were straightforward and direct in their presentation of storylines and themes, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’s wordplay and alliterative presentation brought a new style of writing to the fore. To this day, we can witness many new pieces of literature that have taken tot his style of writing providing readers with much more thought-provoking and reflection-inducing pieces. It is safe to say that Sir Gawain and the Gre en Knight has done much to enrich English literature.ReferencesAnonymous. (2006). Beowulf. Spark Notes Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/beowulf/context.htmlGoodlad, L. (1987) The Gamnes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 18(1), Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://repositories.cdlib.org/cmrs/comitatus/vol18/iss1/art4Harper, R. Gawain. The Camelot Project at the University of Rochester Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/cphome.stmMeyerhoff, S. (2006). The Question of Genre in Byliny and Beowulf. The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies, 4, Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.sras.org/news2.phtml?m=629&print=1Snell, M. (1997) Beowulf. About.com Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://historymedren.about.com/od/beowulf/p/beowulf.htmWeston, J. L. (1900) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/sggk.htmYeager, R. (1999) Why Read Beowulf? Humanities, 20(2) Retrieved 7 January 2008 from http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/1999-03/yeager.html

The relative importance of the following marketing factors

The relative importance of the following marketing factors in driving product choice: brand, quality, distribution and pricing is commonly defined by a number of varied customer behaviors towards a particular product. Some of these behavioral traits may encompass taste, style, fashion as well as personal trend(s). Good and Service For instance, there are those consumers who would opt to posses a cello phone with such as brand name as Sprint. By examining the basic features of the Sprint, it would be paramount to assert that, they innately captures the consumers imagination and more building a personal touch and class.Thus, it can be argued that, when the consumers purchases this particular brand, he or she is profoundly compelled by the desire to build a personal relationship which is more established by the nature of his preference (Kotler, 1999). Despite the price variations with other brands in the market, also, the brands quality, market eminence as well as its status singularly, the consumer will definitely pay particular attention to the attributes of the given product chosen and it is here that a strong bond between the consumer and the products develops.This infers that, the chosen product will be in a position to provide unmatched services to the user, hence, reinforcing the overall customer-product relationship. Also other influential elements may include; store, buying option, product, package, method of procuring among other market factors. Good Only Basically, when opting to a purchase a particular product or good, there are a number of unforeseen forces that determines which good is to be purchased.Though there are a number of attributes which may compel an individual to consider a particular item, it would be essential to assert that, any purchase is greatly influenced by the desire to build a health relationship with the chosen brand whether be it for immediate use or not. Take for instance; Colt is a brand name that is synonymous with top milit ary experts more so, it is highly linked to professional marksmen. This is due to its qualities which include it loading and recoiling power, weight as well as the length and duration it can be used without jamming.Examining such attributes, it is fundamental to assert that, the market drives the given client to seek a gun that is reliable, also due to the nature of its market status, such aspects as durability, price, brand trust as well as its value makes it a brand of choice among the gun loving clients. Therefore, it can be started that, there are a number of factors which drives a product choice, in case of good, such attributes as product stability, brand, price as well as its quality and this instrumentally have been cited as some of the major factors that are involved in shaping a client-product relationship (Fournier, 2003).As a result, the more a product or a good is steady the more the relationship is sturdy. hence, another profound aspect may be attributed to personal at titudes and outlook change are subjective to consumer(s) individuality and lifestyle towards the given good as well as the source of the given product, hence, an individual may be compelled to be associated with a Colt due to the brand which is market wise renown rather than purchase the new market entrants. Therefore, it would be essential to agree that, customers develop relationships with brands and the implications of this for brand management.Service Only Examining the service only markets, it is essential to assert that, consumers are more than often attracted by the very first impression of the service provided. This infers that, a bond was formed. Consider for instance, a movie fan may get hooked to Paramount pictures productions due to the nature and of the quality of their movies, more so, this can also be due to the quality of their production in terms of theme, plot, storyline as well as how they employ such instruments as sound and visual effects to tell a story in thei r movies.Therefore, despite market influences which may include the scope of pricing as well as the trust developed towards a particular brand, it would be instrumental to argue that there are other factors which may compel a client to go for Paramount pictures instead of other film productions brands such as Warner or Columbia pictures. Some of these factors may entail individual preference making the client-product to go beyond emotionally level (Birger, 2003). ConclusionsA number of diverse elements are singularly influencing the manner the marketing issues of brand relationships and brand communities are being developed. It would be paramount to assert that, where a consumer develops a relationship with a brand, it is likely that, the quality, package, brand or other key aspects may have contributed to such a development. Consider the fact that, such marketing aspects as psychographic and normative characteristics have a profound impact on the manner a customer relates to a prod uct resulting to its purchase or rejection.Marketers have found that, these features have an impact on purchase intentions and these variables include: quality consciousness, deal proneness; value consciousness, attitudes of reference groups and price consciousness (Freeman, 2008). It can be argued that, consumers’ behavioral approach towards an immediate product interest as well as its purchase is in one way influenced by the manner marketers employ strategic promotional aspects in order to build client-product relationship.And this can be attributed to two essential behavior theories pertinent to aspects of marketing: namely utility theory and the theory of reasoned action (Callingham, 2004). References Birger, W (2003). Marketing Strategy . Massachusetts: MIT. Callingham, M. (2004). Market intelligence. NY: OUP. Fournier, S. (2003). Brand relationship . Florida: UMI. Freeman, J. (2008). Products and Branding. TUI. Kotler, P, (1999). Management. NY: OUP.

Strategic Management Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Management Theories - Essay Example Strategic management theorists have over the years developed various tools to help managers in formulating strategies for organisational success. These include the SWOT analysis, Ansoffs matrix, PESTLE, and Porters five forces among others. These tools assess the threats and opportunities as well as the strengths and weaknesses for the firm and enable it to capitalise on them. The Porters five forces and the generic strategies have been widely used by companies to assess the attractiveness of the industry and their competitive position hence are able to formulate strategies to gain competitive advantage in the industry. The five forces include: competitor rivalry, threat of close substitutes, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, and threat of new entrants. The five forces will be used in this paper to assess the competitive position of the UK fire service and the strategies employed by the company. Rivalry in the industry is more apparent where are there are exi sting businesses and threat of entry and exit is high. Firms compete on price, new products, technology, advertisements and on customer service. According to Porter (1998) rivalry results from slow growth within the industry, high fixed costs, lack of differentiation, diverse competitors, and equally balance companies among others. Intense rivalry has a great impact on price and profitability of the firm especially if there are close substitute products in the industry. The UK fire service is a parastatal which operates under separate legislation and administrative arrangements of devolved governments of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) is funded and governed by the fire authority. There are various fire brigades in each country under local authorities but in North Ireland, there is only one statutory corporation funded by department of health, social services and public safety (UK Fire Service, 2012). As such, there are no strong com petitors in the fire industry since most services are offered for free by the government. However, there are competitors such as DDA fire ltd which is the largest private fire service in UK offering specialist fire and safety, high profile health and safety consultancy and sales services to private sector (DDA, 2012). Some of the FRS in UK include: fire fire and rescue services in Scotland, Strathclyde with 111 fire stations strategically placed in Scotland, NIFRS in N.Ireland with 68 stations and the London FRS under the fire authority. There is no intense rivalry in the industry hence it is attractive for investment. Another force as portrayed by porter is the bargaining power of suppliers in the industry which has an effect on prices and quality of products. According to Porter (1998) a high bargaining power is achieved when there are few companies or suppliers in the industry. It also occurs when there are no close substitutes such that even if the suppliers offered high prices, the industry would still take it since there is no option. If the product is essential in the industry, the suppliers may also have power over it. The suppliers can also threaten to integrate forward hence becoming a threat to the industry. However, De Wit and Meyer (2010) argue that forming the right strategy can alter the power of

Challenges in Access Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Challenges in Access - Essay Example Uninsured individuals have difficulty in access to suitable health care. There are approximately 41-50 million uninsured individuals in the country. They are the low-income segment that represents the leading portion of those who lack insurance since they cannot afford to insure themselves. In addition, the numbers of underinsured middle-income persons is almost at a similar level. The leading portion of the populace that is deficient of health insurance is usually families of African Americans and Hispanics. Novel medical advancements promise improved services to all. However, the number of persons who lack health coverage is still high. For instance, uninsured individuals receive reduced health care as compared to those who are insured. As a consequence, the health of the uninsured individuals suffers significantly. Individuals who are uninsured are less probable to receive preventative, as well as screening services. In addition, these individuals have difficulties in receiving su itable care with regard to chronic ailments and vehicular accidents. This quandary of access has been aggravated by the escalating prices of health care. This has presented an urgent predicament particularly for the low-income part of the society. This increase has been due to an increasing number of individuals with health problems. As a result, the number of individuals who require medication, as well as those who are uninsured, is increasing. Varied employers also do away with their health insurance strategies since they cannot pay for the premiums (McGrath, 2012). Providing and improving coverage for this populace will rely on states embracing policies that foster elevated enrollment in Medicaid and novel insurance exchanges (Collins, 2012). This dilemma can also be resolved through the provision of Universal Health Care Structure and other federal services (Affordable Health Act, 2011). Provision of Medicaid, as well as novel insurance exchanges,

Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Face off in Court Article - 1

Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Face off in Court - Article Example Apple asserted that Samsung made their devices so identical that customers could perceive those products, produced by Samsung, as made by Apple. A Research carried to this effect, based on witnesses’ testimonies indicated to the court that a substantial number of consumers has confused Samsung tablet computers and smartphones as Apple products. In response to the accusations, Samsung Electronics Co. Countered the claims, arguing that the technology applied on their Galaxy phones and Tablet computers require two fingers in scrolling as opposed to one finger technology applied by Apple Inc. In addition, Samsung claimed that their products do not bounce at the end, to signal users that it has reached the edged. This case presents allegations of a higher gravity, owing to the nature of the products involved, the investments and technologies applied and the large firms. It is a case that could impact greatly on either company once a determination is given. However, the case is still being pursued and Samsung is yet to present its witnesses and testimonies to refute the allegations made by Apple Inc. It is understood that registering products for patent or for intellectual property rights, is a part of the many strategies in business leveraging and in ensuring that their innovations and privacy will not be breached by other companies engaged in similar businesses. In the light of this, Apple its products with an aim of presenting distinction and excellence, and to realize what it is known for, dictating what the customer needs. If details of the invention and innovation are permitted to be copied, the company which originally made the product will lose their profit margin. This could adversely impact on its internal financial management, marketing strategies and operational budgets. This illustrates how the breach of patents could impact the marketing and production of their products. Business is competitive leveraging to satisfy consumer’s wants and achieve company’s target. It is about earning the return on investment. It is an intellectual right. It is justified therefore to bring to court those who pirate products.

Pros and Cons of Social Networking Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pros and Cons of Social Networking - Term Paper Example They are many who declare them to be beneficial for the society, while there are almost as many others who condemn their use, stating that the risks clearly outweigh the advantages. Thus, it is better to hear both sides of the story before drawing up our own conclusions. Individuals in favor of social networking present an argument that to those with access to computers and the internet, social networking sites are of great advantage. Online interactions encourage both long and short distance communication with friends and family, help people in gaining important skills regarding use of computers, and provide a medium that promotes creativity and innovation through instant messaging, blogs, photo sharing, event and product advertising and numerous other different services among its users. Not only that but it brings together people with a common interest, profession or even with computer skills and help them overcome their social worries, by creating suitable opportunities and provid ing exposure to fresh ideas and thoughts. (Coyle and Vaughn, 2008) It is also a great stage of communication for those who are unable to express themselves in person. The development and expansion of social networking sites has brought about great benefits for the society. For students, it is a medium to discuss educational topics of all sorts such as career and educational planning and allows them to communicate with more experienced students around the globe. It has also brought about benefits in the field of health by dealing with life altering diseases, alcoholism, drug addiction, weight loss etc. by interacting people having similar issues and providing them guidance and... The development and expansion of social networking sites has brought about great benefits for the society. For students, it is a medium to discuss educational topics of all sorts such as career and educational planning and allows them to communicate with more experienced students around the globe. It has also brought about benefits in the field of health by dealing with life altering diseases, alcoholism, drug addiction, weight loss etc. by interacting people having similar issues and providing them guidance and encouragement. Election campaigns throughout the world have received an unprecedented edge when they took the help of social networking. Some might think of it as insignificant but these sites do bring a significantly positive effect on the person standing in the election. The best example that springs to our mind are the 2008 election of Barrack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, in which he depended heavily upon social sites such as Facebook to gain popularit y among the masses, especially the younger generation. Businesses and organizations have also realized that the use of social networking to promote their objectives can help them gain a competitive edge over their rivals in the market. (Ally, 2011) Moreover, there are some who say, and I myself have to agree with them, that the internet is making an impressive contribution in helping to bring about world peace. Well, if I had a dozen Facebook or Twitter friends living in a certain country, I would think twice about invading it?

Tobacco Shop Franchising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tobacco Shop Franchising - Essay Example The reason stems out of the fact that people are often more aware of the product or service offered by a franchise and prefer it to those offered by lesser-known outlets. Another benefit of signing the franchising agreement is that the franchisor has already proved that the operations in this market conducted in this particular manner can be successful. As the Pipe Dreams has been around for eight years and has established a network of franchisees, of which it is known that they have had a high success rate in the past, one can be certain the franchisor has proved that the chosen layout and location of the tobacco shops, the developed pricing policy and assortment of the tobacco goods offered are successful. Moreover, for Ralph Emerson to be able to run his tobacco shop effectively he needs the knowledge and feeling of the goods' peculiarities and the consumer preferences. Probably, in his previous career as a librarian he may have accumulated some knowledge about the tobacco and cigars, most probably through the hobby, but it can not be compared to the expertise of the well-known tobacconist whose ideas have proven their validity during the eight-year period. Therefore, the training and guidance in the assortment choice and the shop decoration is of high importance in this case.

Trinity Church, Boston Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Trinity Church, Boston - Essay Example The construction of the church was ordered by Rector Phillips Brooks who was in charge of the parish. The original church burned down in the Great Boston Fire of 1872, which prompted Brooks to seek a designer for a brand new church. He is the one who influenced the commissioning of Richardson, an emerging reputable architect at the time. Richardson himself was not widely known before this particular project that was to change his reputation forever, for the better. The building came up at a time when the neo-classical architecture had emerged strongly in the post Baroque era. The Baroque era traced back to the Council of Trent of 1545 emerged out of a counter reformation in the Catholic Church against the Protestant movement at the time. It coincided with the emergence of wealth and power in the Catholic Church and colonial Europe. It was therefore an expression of the pride, opulence and power of the state and church of the era. It replaced the classical era, which insisted on funct ional forms and simple order of symmetry in structures. The Baroque era tended to achieve structural unity in its own seemingly asymmetrical way. In addition, it emphasized structure that appealed deeply to the emotions; something that classical architecture had frowned at.Subsequently, the emergence of the neo-classical era was therefore a kind of restoration of the old classical forms with the requisite improvisations adopted from other forms, including Baroque. The movement came out strongly in the mid to late 18th century.

Impact of Culture on Health Essay Example for Free

Impact of Culture on Health Essay * What do we mean by culture?   * Culture is one of those concepts that most people seem to intuitively grasp, yet cannot define clearly. * The process of categorizing groups of people as others (other than one’s own group) is a common feature of the way human beings think, and it forms a part of the whole phenomenon we think of as culture. * There other uses of the term culture that can confuse the situation – for example, saying someone is more cultured than the other, referring to some concept of high/elite culture, expressed through personal manners, education and knowledge, involvement in or familiarity with artistic activities such as opera, modern art, calligraphy, dance or theater – that is contrasted to pop culture. * Definitions they share the basic components, existing as a kind of whole and links many kinds of aspects of life and social structure within a group or society; it refers to the relationship between what people know and believe and what they do; it is acquired and shared, more or less, among members of the group or society and transmitted to members of the group/society over time. * The Classic Definition: Cultures is said to be that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society (E.B Taylor, 1871) * The Symbolic Definition: Human culture is a kind of symbolic text, in which behavior, objects, and belief interact together in a kind of ongoing dramatic production that represents issues and concepts of meaning fr a particular society * Members act as characters in this grand drama and what goes on (plot) only makes sense in reference to an underlying interpretive framework. * Culture as an Ideology: Equate the concept of culture to a kind of dominant ideology or to beliefs, social institutions, practices, and media representation associated with particular configurations of power. * Discourse at any point is linked with a configuration of power and the rules for interpreting what is or is not a valid statement. * Culture Materialist Definitions. Viewing culture primarily as a system of belief, practice, and technology directly tied to economic activity or to the adaptation of a people to a particular physical environment. * Linguistic Definition: thinking of a culture as a type of language. Speakers of the language may use differently, to create slang, irony, humor, or even poetry OR they make break the rules to create a particular effect. BUT it is still the same language and underneath the language is some shared base of understanding about the nature of existence and day-to-day life. * Mental or Cognitive Definitions: Construct of culture as something primarily in the mind of people within a particular group, a kind of shared conceptual framework that organizes thought and behavior. From this perspective, culture is not so much about what people do, but abo ut what they think and how that determines what they do. * Culture and Biocultural: Think of culture in relation to the human condition is to understand humans as biocultural. It is something that is imposed on the biological world by a society or group of people who have, over many years, developed a system of beliefs and practices. * How can we define the people who share a particular culture? * Is it a political definition? (most cases no) Is it a geographic boundary? A social boundary? Is it religion? * Culture is not fixed but evolves as people from one society or group come into contact with other people or as they change over time, their culture changes. * What do we mean by health? * Free of disease – absence of pathogens and healthy immune system * Body functions normally – organs, nervous and other systems function as they should * Free of injury and other problems * Eats healthy foods – food that provides essential nutrients and is free of substances that cause damage to bodily functions. * Engage in healthy, preventive behavior – basic hygiene, immunizations, sees a doctor * Avoids risky behavior * To be in reasonable physical shape. * To be in a stable mental state to be happy, satisfied with life, get along with people * General well being * In some parts of the world, criteria defined by other cultures can interfere with biomedical standards. * To obese can be a sign of wealth or in the case of females, fertility, maternal capability and warm personality. * Rites that often involve what we might call â€Å"health risks† yet they are understood to be good and absolutely necessary to proceed to the next life stage. * To understand diverse concepts of health and healthy behavior, it is necessary to think of health in a broader way, beyond biomedical. * Health is often very close to ideas within that culture about being well. Chapter 3: Ethnomedicine I: Cultural Health Systems of Related Knowledge and Practice. * An ethnomedical system can be defined as: an applied cultural knowledge system related to health that sets out the kinds of health problems that can exist, their causes and (based on their causes) appropriate treatments – as an interrelated system of belief and nature. * It is of key importance when thinking about the cultural aspect of ethnomedical system is that across cultures there are different answers to all of these questions, from the range of potential health problems, to causes, to treatments, as well as the closely related question of what kinds of individuals are qualified to provide treatment * Human beings are biocultural some theorists have found it useful to make a distinction between disease (abnormal biomedical state caused by pathogens or physical anomalies) and an illness (a culturally defined state of not being well, with many culturally defined causes including biomedical). * Disease and illness may or may not refer to the same phenomenon. * Functionally, both systems have the same kinds of elements and in both cases there is a linkage between the elements. The differences have to do with the specific content, and the means by which cause is determined (with respect to cause in the biomedical case, that includes both research and clinical diagnosis.) * Where the biomedical system categorizes unwell states based on physical symptoms linked to biological causes, the nonbiomedical system may have its classification on combinations of emotional and physical manifestations links to the spiritual causes, disruption in harmony, imbalance in a person’s lifestyle or an improper mix of substances and forces. * Personalistic system – disease is due to the â€Å"active, purposeful intervention of an agent† where the ill person is the object of action by a sorcerer, spirit or supernatural force. * The general pattern of treatment is to block/counter the spiritual agent with spiritual forces in support of the patient. The center of action (in terms of cause or treatment) is not necessarily within the patient, but in the supernatural world. * Naturalistic system – disease is explained by the impersonal actions of systems based on old historical systems of great civilizations. Illness arise when people are out of balance physically, spiritually, or in some other way. * The pattern of treatment is to restore balance through various combinations of herbal medicinal, meditation, diet, lifestyle changes, or other actions. * A very important principle to remember is that a given social or cultural group will rarely operate in reference to a single ethnomedical system. The norm for most people is multiple and coexisting ethnomedical systems of some blending of elements from various types of systems. One system may be dominant, but aspects of other systems are also likely to be included. * The Placebo Effect and Role of Belief – placebo effect the tendency for treatments and pills to have no biochemical or biomedical effect to cause improvement in patient health symptoms. This occurs because of the belief that the treatment or pill has curative properties or because of the ritual process of going to a doctor itself. * Ethnomedical Systems: Non-Western Examples * Ayurvedic Medicine (India) * Originates with ancient Vedic culture in India and focues on prevention and a holistic concept of health accomplished through the maitenence of balance in many areas of life, including thought, diet, lifestyle and the use of herbs. * Body is comprised of 3 primary energy types called dosha each represents characteristics derived from the 5 elements of space, air, fire, water and earth. * Vata subtle energy associated with movement * Pittaconnected to the body’s metabolic system * Kapha associated with body structure * Cambodian/Khmer Health Belief Systems * The traditional system shares some aspects in common with Chinese and other Asian systems in the emphasis on balance. Illness may be attributed to imbalance in natural forces. This is often symbolized or expressed as the influence of wind or kchall on blood circulation illness * South African Health Belief Systems * Among the Shona and other peoples, one aspect of a naturalistic system is understood to be related to the presence of a nyoka or snake in the body. Movement of the nyoka is related to many diseases, including diarrhea, stomach ailments, sexually transmitted infections, epilepsy, mental retardation and others. * Health Belief Systems in Latin America and the Carribbean * Espiritismo common in Cuba and Puerto Rice, synthesis of Afro-Caribbean, French, and possibly U.S. spiritualist. The belief system is that there is both a supreme being and a world of spirits with influence on health that can be accessed through a medium, typically in a group sà ©ance-like setting. * Santeria also found in Cuba and Puerto Rico, blend of West African and Catholic traditions. It is based on the idea that there are many spirits called â€Å"orishas† who are connected to the supreme being and who can be appealed to help in various dimensions of life. * Curanderismo founded in many parts of central/latin America; a healer or curandero makes a diagnosis using tarot-type cards or by sweeping a broken egg or other object across the body of the patient. The idea is that there is a supremem/higher power that is the source of energy, and the curandero is the instrument of that higher power. * Western Example – the biomedical system is primarily based on a classification system tied to biological phenomena – the action of pathogens (viruses, bacteria), cellular or other biomechanical malfunctions, injuries/system damage, and others. Treatment is, of course, directly connected to generalists or specialists trained to address specific kinds of biomedical phenomena. Chapter 4: Ethnomedicine II: Cultural Systems of Psychology and Mental/Emotional Health The Cultural Construction of Mental/Emotional Illness * Anything defined as an abnormal mental/emotional state is also likely to involve a cultural judgement and therefore may say a lot about cultural values and beliefs as a whole at particular moments in history * Ex. drapetomania – the disease causing negros to run away. It was thought to be a curable disease of the mind, involving sulkiness and dissatisfaction prior to running away, that could be brought on when white slave owners trated slaves too much like human beings, or on the other hand when they were overly cruel and brutal. * Ex. dysaethesia aethiopica – characterized by a state of half-sleep and a physical or nervous insensibility that caused them to behave like â€Å"rascals† * DSM – reference book for mental conditions that are viewed in Western/biomedicine as abnormal, with detailed descriptions of the etiology, symptoms and treatment for each condition. While it is based on scientific/clinical research, the symptoms and descriptions for many c onditions offer a fascinating glimpse of the way in which such conditions can be shaped by cultural expectations and changes in such expectations. * Ex. Antisocial Personality Disorder the symptoms seem to outline a kind of personality that could be viewed as troublesome if not criminal but the picture changes when context and culture are added. * Ex. ADHD according to the DSM IV, this disorder is characterized by two sets of symptoms – inattention and hyperactivity impulsivity. This is a condition that can cause difficulties and impairs appropriate functioning. But there is room for interpretation. Some elements of hyperactivity and are subjective and depend on culturally related standards for appropriate behavior. The Question of Universal vs. Culture-Specific * Do all humans beings experience the same mental health phenomena or emotional phenomena? * The universalist position would argue that human beings have essentially the same psychological makeup – a position often referred to as â€Å"psychic unity† * The cultural relativist perspective cultures entail unique patterns of thought and behavior. * Combination of both perspectives cultures shape how emotions and mental experiences are constructed, named, and given meaning, and the living patters of specific cultures tend to accentuate particular stressors that may result in mental health issues. * There do appear to be some mental health conditions that occur in some form across cultures, and so could be seen as universal conditions (ex. depression). * Mental conditions that appear unique to one or a few cultural groups can be thought of in 2 ways * culture bound syndromes defined as any form of disturbed behavior that is specific to a certain cultural system and does not conform to western classification of diseases * Many of these patterns are considered to be â€Å"illnesses† and have local names. * Problems with culture-bound syndromes: no suggested steps for how a provider should incorporate cultural factors into the diagnosis or learn what those factors are; overlap between some conditions across cultures; the process of selecting the culture bound system is unclear * Conditions that are prompted by specific patterns of social stress and/or ecological contexts * Ex. In the Saora tribe in India there is a peculiar condition among young men and women who cry and laugh at inappropriate times, experience memory loss and feel like they are being bitten by ants. These young people are considered misfits and are not interested inpursuing the traditional subsistence of farming life. For this, they are under considerable stress due to social pressure from relatives and friends. To solve this problem, a marriage ceremony is carried out in which the disturbed person is married to the spirit. Young person becomes a shaman. * Anorexia/Bulimia in the United States * Fear of weight gain and distorted view of one’s body. This causes people to restrict their eating or binge eat/purge. One of the key contributing factors is the combination of weigh gain during puberty set against perceived social pressure to conform to culturally specific ideals of beauty * Historical Trauma * American Indian/Alaska Native populations have long experienced a range of disparities in health. These peoples suffer from a collective, psychological scar resulting from the experience of violence, culture loss, land loss, discrimination and eventual marginalization that resulted from European colonialism and conquest in the Americas. * Immigrant/Refugee Mental Health Syndromes * Many immigrants and refugee populations coming to the United States and other host countries from civil disasters and other traumatic situations experiences psychological consequences in addition to the stress of acculturation itself. * Emotions and Culture * Lutz and the Ifaluk found that emotions are culturally constructed. Emotions are a daily working phenomenon. Chapter 5: The Moral Dimension: The Relationship of Etiology to Morality in Cultural Beliefs and Practices Related to Health * Cross Cultural etiologies of illness can range from those that seem neutral, like pathogens or genetics, to those that don’t like sorcery or family disharmony * In other words, there appear to be some causes for which no judgment can be made or blame assigned, and some that can be blamed on somebody or something, whether the person who is ill, or another person, or another social institution or group. Culture, as reflected in ethnomedical systems, involves socially produced definitions of what is normal vs. not normal. * When a person experiences some abnormal phenomenon (illness) it could be thought of as: * Abnormal but morally ok not your fault * Abnormal but not morally ok your fault or somebody’s fault. Can result from stigma. * The moral connection to illness is very much related to several kinds of factors: * Cultural conceptions of the individual and the degree to which individuals are viewed as responsible for their condition and their behavior * Most western societies are typically viewed as individual-centric * The degree to which external forces are viewed as responsible for their condition and their behavior * In many cultures, what you do and what happens to you may not originate with you but with other forces. These forces could be attributed to one or more gods, to broader natural forces, to specific spirits, or to sorcery ad witchcraft. The moral source, so to speak, may in part be related to individuals but indirectly. * The kinds of social divisions that exist in a particular society and what those social divisions are held to mean – social class/social stratification, gender, race/ethnicity, religion and other divisions. * Refers to a moral source that is society itself the way in which society creates conditions that make some peole more vulnerable to disease than others or that forces some people into choices (with health consequences) that others do not have to make. * Physical Symbolism of the Disease * If the appearance of the disease looks like the embodiment of a culturally defined malevolence of some kind, people may react to it regardless of whether or not the victim is initially held to be at fault. Alternatively, the appearance of the disease may be seem like evidence that the person must be at fault or is some way selected for punshement, triggereing a kind of after-the-fact blame. * All of these can lead to the stigmatization of people with a particular illness or disease. * Stigma: the discrediting, social rejection or staining of types of people who are viewed as blameworthy in one way or another. It is the social construction of spoiled identity for classes of people viewed as undesirable by some social standard. The exclusion and abuse caused by stigma may even be sanctioned by law. * Illness Behavior * Two kinds of sick roles:   * A set of roles for people who are ill * A set of roles for the other people who interact with the sick person, whether as a healer or family member or even a classmate. * Illness behavior is produced or socially constructed within the framework of a culture. It involves an entire production, in which many players act out their roles and in doing so, work together to produce a result that comes out as the way of a particular illness takes form, and the consequences of that, in a given society. An important result of this and other culturally shaped interactions is to reproduce the culture.

Attitude and Luxury Essay Example for Free

Attitude and Luxury Essay It is universal truth that luxury brand industry is still booming even during financial crisis because todays people have the right mind-set that luxury products are purposeful and well thought out. In other words, they want to show off their wealth and personal status. Main Forces The Macroenvironment Facing The Luxury Brand Industry Analysing the macroenvironment facing the luxury brand industry, there are demographic forces, economic forces, cultural forces and technological forces. 1) Demographic Forces. Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupation and other statistics â€Å"Principles of marketing† (Kotler, Adam, Denize and Armstrong, 2008, p. 89). Age It is learnt from the case study that generation Y is so important to luxury brands. The main reason is that most of them are single people with single incomes. So, their spending power is really higher, compared to generation X. Thus, recession also does not affect them much. As a result, generation Y can be considered as a confident segment that prefers to spend over saving. Moreover, they are brand loyal and feel personally connected to their choices. And, they get the information from the social web like Facebook and Twitter as well as from the fashion-forward television series Gossip Girl (Caines, 2009). In addition, they have been attracted by those Hollywood stars like Emma Watson, Rachael Taylor, Kristen Stewart using Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, etc. (Case Study). Therefore, it is understood that the international luxury market is made up of young affluent citizens of the world. Location. According to the â€Å"Luxury Fashion Branding† (Okonkwo, 2007, p. 73), a quarter of the world who are using luxury goods are Japanese. And, most of them are over fifty years old who are the centre of the Japan’s wealth. They are more willing to buy the luxury brands without hesitating. Moreover, Asians are very enthusiastic to sample for new things and prefer to buy the best quality because they acknowledge Western brands as high quality. After all, the most important reason to have the designer brands or luxury brands for them is for their personal status. 2) Economic Forces. They consist of factors that affect consumers buying power and spending patterns â€Å"Principles of marketing† (Kotler, Adam, Denize and Armstrong, 2008, p. 89). In fact, both of the power depends mainly on the personal income and country economy. Based on (Yann Truong, 2010, p666), Yann Truong said that lower and middle class consumers are more interested in luxury brands due to the global growth of disposable income. Indeed, the buying power heavily depends on the income. The consumer income reflects their lifestyle and living standard. It means that the more they earn, the more they spend on luxury products. Thats why, it is studied that the marketers are observing the changes of the economic trend every second in order to grab the opportunities. 3) Cultural Forces It consists of societys basic values, perceptions, preferences and behaviours â€Å"Principles of marketing† (Kotler, Adam, Denize and Armstrong, 2008, p. 89). â€Å"Brand Equity of Luxury Fashion Brands Among Chinese and U. S. Young Female Consumers† (Jung and Shen, 2011, p. 55) explained that Confucian philosophy is deeply rooted in China and Chinese people are too obedience to theirs superiors for social harmony. Therefore, China consumers have a very strong respect for authority compared to the United States consumers. As a result, Chinese are more likely to be influenced by the celebrities and opinion leaders. Furthermore, their imitation of celebrities’ lifestyles is quite high, and their purchasing decisions are strongly influenced by the celebrities. Thus, business people are using the celebrities to advertise their brands in the market. 4) Technological Forces They affect new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities â€Å"Principles of marketing† (Kotler, Adam, Denize and Armstrong, 2008, p.89). It is undoubted that the technology plays as the most powerful force shaping the luxury brand industry. Everything we use nowadays exists because of the technology. â€Å"Luxury Fashion Branding† (Okonkwo, 2007, p. 179) indicated the impact of the internet on the luxury brand industry is mind-blogging and it could change consumer behaviour and the way the company operated. Technology introduced us with the internet, internet banking, credit card and online shopping. The online shopping become very popular since the consumer only needs a few clicks and a few minutes to buy the desire brands. As a result, E-retail has become the essential sales channel for the luxury brands to sell their products online. Clearly, both the consumers and the luxury brands have a lot of benefits because of the technology. Providing up-to-date information, customers can save time not to visit many outlets when they want to get something, can make the products comparison at home and they also feel very convenient and trustworthy to shop online are a few benefits consumers can enjoy because of the technology. Factors Influencing The Increase In Younger Consumers Interest In Luxury Products The main factor that greatly influences young peoples interest in luxury brands is Internet. Nowadays most of the young people are wasting almost half day of their time on the internet. The first thing they do in the morning is the checking their Facebook profile or email. That is the proved that internet is very popular among young people. Those young people are using Facebook or Twitter every day to communicate and share the information with their friends. As an example, a 20 years old girl bought a Kate Spade bag and posted it on her Facebook. Then, all of her friends or who look at her Facebook profile saw the bag and realized that this brand is called Kate Spade from New York, and then they will buy the same bag or the same brand. This is how internet could speed up younger consumers interest in luxury brand. Furthermore, some people like to post their favourite actors or actresses photos on their Facebook, like Kristen Stewart who is the actress of the Twilight, wearing Camilla Marc dress when she attended the film’s Paris premiere. Immediately, her photo wearing that dress was on Facebook and some other blogs. After a short while, the company received the high demand for that dress (Caines, 2009). Similarly, the brand named Billabong also received the high response for its Hannah jacket from the customers by uploading the Stewart photographs on internet. In the photographs, Stewart was wearing the Hannah jacket and soon the company received sell-out-orders for that jacket when the Twilight fans saw the photographs (Caines, 2009). Another factor makes younger consumers interested in luxury brands is magazine. According to the (Caines, 2009), 18 to 27 years old people have been influenced the luxury brand by the magazine. In other words, they love to read magazine rather than the traditional newspaper. Then, they browse through who are at where and who are using which products. The final factor that young people are interested in luxury products is peer pressure. They want to compete with each other and show off among their friends. But, of course, there are some young consumers who want to get high quality with gorgeous design for their personal status. As well as, they have admired the brand’s craftsmanship â€Å"Innovative Tokyo† (Fujita and Hill, 2005, p. 26). Conduct secondary research to find out the reasons for the growing interest in fake luxury brands and ironic purchasing among young people The fake luxury brands exist because of the consumers’ appetite for real luxury brands. And, another reason is that young people cannot afford the genuine products. So, they just buy the replica things like LV and Gucci although they know that those products are fakes and in poor quality â€Å"Why Do Consumers Buy Counterfeit Luxury Brands? â€Å" (Wilcox, Kim, Sen and Sankar, 2009, p. 248). One of the Los Angeles designer also mentioned that â€Å"It is completely opposite from 10 years ago. Everybody is proud to say they got an off-price deal or a knockoff† (Smith, 2000). It showed that consumers are proud to have good quality replica products and even think that they are resourceful. In addition, they even spread the words to their friends that they could find the quality fake goods easily. And, Smith (2000) indicated that â€Å"22-year-old woman not only could buy a replica Kate Spade bag with the bargained price of $35 but also receive the compliments on that bag†. It is obvious that nowadays, majority of young ladies buy only fakes and they do not care about buying a fake Kate Spade bag as long as it has a label. Based on Smith (2000) â€Å"11-year-old daughter ask her mother to buy a Kate Spade handbag for her birthday present and the mother bought two fake bags instead and feeling sure it would be enough†. Moreover, Smith (2000) also expressed that â€Å"Using of expensive luxury handbags at school become so popular among 10- to 14-year old girls† said by one of the school officials. The above paragraphs explain the difference between the genuine goods and the fake goods. Although the fake luxury brands are cheap and poor in quality, they still have many advantages. In fact, they help to reduce the burden of the parents since the real brands are expensive. On the other hand, they give parents the other options because buying real brands for young children is the indirect way of spoiling their attitude and behaviour. Most importantly, the replica luxury brands could satisfy the children and make the both party happy. Some young shopper said that â€Å"With a luxury bag, you’re bored of it after one season† according to â€Å"Counterfeiting Exposed† (Hopkins, Kontnik, Turnage, 2003, p.49). It is true that some consumers might think that they would not pay thousands of dollars on genuine brands when the fake brands could be bought easily with their bargain purchasing power. They could satisfy their needs with the fake brands and most importantly the quality of the fake brands are improving like Korea made Lousi Vuitton called AAA quality, and then they become more authentic looking. In addition, consumers could easily change to other brands or designs due to cheap offer. In summary, the consumers are continuing buying the fake brands although they know they are buying the replica products. Aside to the poor quality, the fake brands have many advantages such as cheap in price, authentic looking and switching to other bands or design without hesitating. In addition, the price difference between the fake luxury brands and the genuine luxury brands is quite significant nevertheless functionality is affected very little. Therefore, it is natural that consumers are growing interest in fake luxury brands and buy it over the genuine brands. Reference Caines, C. , 2009. Young Stars raise style stakes. The Australian, [online]2 September. Available at: http://www. theaustralian.com. au/news/lifestyle/young-stars-raise-style-stakes/story-e6frg8k6-1225768442198 [Accessed on 14 February 2012] Fujita, K. and Hill, R. C. , 2005. Innovative Tokyo. United States of America: Michigan State University. Hopkins, D. , Kontnik, L. T. and Turnage, M, T. , 2003. Counterfeiting Exposed. United States of America: J. Wiley Sons. Jung, J. and Shen, D. , 2011. Brand Equity of Luxury Fashion Brands Among Chinese and U. S. Young Female Consumers. Journal of East-West Business, 17(1), pp. 48-69. Kotler, P. , Adam, S. , Denize, S. and Armstrong, G. , 2008. Principles of Marketing. 4th ed. Australia: Pearson. Okonkwo, U. , 2007. Luxury Fashion Branding. United States of America: Palgrave Macmillan. Smith, L. , 2000. Faking it in the fashion world, Los Angeles Times,[online] Available at: http://articles. latimes. com/2000/mar/19/news/cl-10317 [Accessed 14 February 2012]. Truong, Y. , 2010. Personal aspirations and the consumption of luxury goods. International Journal of Market Research, 52(5), pp. 1-20. Wilcox, K. , Kim, H. M. , Sen. and Sankar. , 2009. Why Do Consumers Buy Counterfeit Luxury Brands?. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 46(2), pp. 247-259.

How Do The Social Media Affect Our Culture Media Essay

How Do The Social Media Affect Our Culture Media Essay Ill just quickly go to Erics house to see if Erics Home, and ask what hes doing tonight. I hope that Monica is not involved with Eric, although I often see her talking to that guy. Or shall I call Amber, because I heard she likes me. That was a typical youngster life about 50 years ago. When you wanted to talk to someone, you went to him or her, or gave them a phone call. That was our way of interacting with people in our culture back then. Quickly looking if Eric has posted something this night on Twitter. Hoping that Monica isnt doing something this evening, although she often sends messages to that guy on Facebook. Or shall I talk to Amber on Facebook chat? She likes all my pictures, maybe she fancies me? This is a more modern approach which we would use nowadays. Just compare the two examples, and you see the big difference. Therefore we can ask ourselves the question: Are we connected better nowadays with social media, or are we worse off? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our culture has norms and values. It makes us who we are, what we feel connected to and how we behave. One of the aspects of culture is social interaction between people. How we behave to one another and in which way we do that. Social media has taken a big role in our social interaction. We no longer have to speak to a person to know what they are doing. We just look on twitter of Facebook. Or we give them a quick message on MSN or Whatsapp. This leads to less real-life or physical contact. This could be seen in a negative and in a positive way. The real connection such as visual and emotional expressions arent shown anymore, because you both look at a computerized display. This way messages could be understood differently than they should be, because they dont get to know the real meaning behind the message. Social media can create a gap between generations. The majority of social media users are teenagers or young adults. [fact1: 50% of the world population is under 30 years of age] Although more and more people start to use this type of media, it are especially younger people who start using social media, not adults. People who are for example 50 years or older do have trouble to keep updated with all modern technology like computers, not even mentioning the social media use on these computers. We dont have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well DO it Erik Qualman Social media can also be dangerous. That might sound odd, but you all might have experienced the dangers of social media before. When you posted something on Facebook or Twitter, and after that you regret that you made that post. Thats a negative side of internet. We all have to be careful now with what we do or what we say. When things are put on the internet, it can stay there forever. When there was no internet, words that were said would just be forgotten after a certain time, and people couldnt copy it. Now with social media, messages can be copied, duplicated and spread so easily that you really have to be careful with what you say. Your privacy can also be put to the test by showing and sharing all the things you do. People know what you are doing, where you are and what your status is. [fact1: there are over 110 million updates posted on Facebook and Twitter every day] Many people dont do anything with it, but some will use that information for purposes you dont want them to use. So called leaking info can also be dangerous. For example in important negations or other meetings, there have been multiple people who accidentally leaked important and secret information which were shown in such meetings. There are other things important too for our culture. Our very own Dutch language for example. Its used less and less on social media. This is due to the globalization and English being used more and more often as an lingua franca. [fact1: if Facebook were a country, it would be worlds 3rd largest country in terms of population] Nowadays you see and increasing use of English: English quotes, abbreviations (brb = be right back, omwt = on my way to.. and ftw = for the win) or complete English sentences. There are multiple reasons for this: English sounds a lot cooler than some Dutch words. Some jokes are only funny in English or you have an audience in mind that doesnt speak your language, but who do speak English. Social media is not only negative. On the other hand contact is made easier, because you have a sort of safety behind your computer or mobile phone. Nobody sees you. You can act out who you want (remember though: this can be deceiving too). You also make contact easier via social media. Many people prefer a message via internet on e.g. Facebook or Twitter than giving them a call or go by and visit them. People are usually more shy in public. Therefore you can say that there could be more social interaction between people, and a reason for that contact is made easier than before. Social media invites people to write more messages, updates or other messaging. You have to keep updated by reading your friends updates, but you have to post what you are doing too; making dinner, going to the beach or just going to sleep. [fact1: visiting social sites is now more popular than checking personal email] It reaches all your updated friends on social media, so the message you sent is multiplied dozens of times. Its like give a speech to a huge square filled with people. The only difference with that speech is that social media messaging happens every minute, those speeches only take place a certain amount of times in a year, because not everybody wants to group-up too often. Focus on how to BE social, not how to DO social Jay Baer Social Media are sometimes called the biggest shift since the industrial revolution. We all notice that social media has turned into something really big. Some use it more often than others, but our culture has changed. There is now more contact via internet. Will this in the end kill our social cohesion and will groups of people be left out? Or will our social interaction become extensive and will our relationships get better? These are all questions which cant be answered yet and can only be answered in the future. The thing we do know is that how social media changes our culture is all in our hands; how we deal with it. Be careful with what you do on social media, because before you know it, social media can blow it. It is a great gift though, and with proper and with humble use, we all can enjoy the use of it; whether Monica is doing something tonight or if Amber is really into me.. -Ivo Brouwer

Emma Bovary - searching for oranges on apple trees? :: essays research papers

To state that Emma Bovary, the heroine of Flaubert’s epic Madame Bovary, looks for oranges on apple trees and refuses to eat apples is a gross over-simplification. Emma would be no happier with oranges than she would be with apples. In fact, if her taste in fruit is anything like her taste in men, she would probably insist on a fruit with all of her desired qualities - perhaps a cross between the consistency of an apple, the fibre of an orange, the vitamins of a blackcurrant and the taste of a strawberry. In saying this, however, the statement is entirely accurate in that Emma is searching for the wrong things in the wrong places and is bitterly disappointed in not finding them as she desires. To analyse Emma Bovary is a difficult assignment, due to the very complex and often contradictory nature of her character, and the many opposing critical theories that have been written since her ‘death’ over 150 years ago. Flaubert’s determination to â€Å"remain outside of his book and to assume the role of a manipulator of marionettes† adds to this sense of mystery surrounding Emma Bovary, who is essentially a confused young woman, trapped in a stifling society who tries so desperately to be something she is not. She is a woman so fixated on creating the life she dreams of that she eventually self-destructs, a broken and dejected victim. Before discussing in detail the various elements of her personality, it is necessary to highlight the social position she is involuntarily placed in. This will in turn give rise to, and in many cases explanation for, the way in which she responds to various events in her life, and therein revealing her true colours. Emma is born a woman in France during the early 19th Century, and as such is doomed from the start to be a victim of the misogynistic bourgeoisie. As was the case for all women at the time, Emma was completely reliant on Charles to provide the quality of life she desired – and indeed her very identity – as she was not in a position that she could exercise such control herself. In marrying Charles, she ceased to exist as Mademoiselle Emma Rouault, and simply became Madame Charles Bovary, the doctor’s wife. Emma realised that she had blown her only chance to pursue the life she felt she deserved. â€Å"Pourquoi, mon Dieu! me suis-je marià ©e?

Plato and Aristotle: Their Contributions to the Development of Western

The philosophies of Plato and Aristotle and their contributions to the development of western philosophy. Plato was a classical Greek philosopher and one of the top 5 contributors to Western philosophy, educator after his mentor, Socrates and teacher of Aristotle. His sophistication as a writer started while under the tutelage of Socrates, continued through his establishing of his own academy, (The Academy of Athens which has been labeled as the first institution of higher learning in the Western World) and throughout his many years as an open minded author. Many of his works in early adulthood displayed his willingness to ask questions of any type, no preference to scope, difficulty withstanding, political and intellectual current issues. Plato had such an authentic feature to his writings that made him so much more distinctive among any other of the great philosophers and that literary way stands alone but has been referred to many of his contemporaries and close followers through the centuries. That specific style is the â€Å"dialogue† form, not as many of the other brilliant ...

Automobile Industry Essay

* Detailed analysis of Automobile industry which is gearing towards international standards. * Analysis of the impact of qualitative factors on industry’s and company’s prospects. * Comparison of the Global automobile scene with its Indian counterpart. * Study of the challenges facing the Indian Automobile Industry * Analysis of the implementable strategies to counter the effects of the discussed challenges. PREFACE The Automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world and one of the fastest growing globally. The Indian Automobile Industry embarked on a new journey since 1991 with delicensing of the sector and subsequent opening up for 100 per cent FDI through automatic route. Almost all the global majors have set up their facilities in India taking the next level of production of vehicles from 2 million in 1991 to 110+ million in 2011. The Auto Sector in India is set to continue in its growth trajectory for the next five years and India is an increasingly favourite destination for Global Majors looking at emerging market. This in turn, has fuelled a boom in the domestic auto market, with close to 10mn vehicles sold in India in 2009-10 The automotive industry is increasingly becoming the cynosure of the manufacturing sector across the globe. Due to its intense forward and backward linkages with several key segments of the economy, the automotive industry has a strong multiplier effect and acts as one ofthe key drivers of growth across the globe. The attention and importance to the automotive industry in the economic development and planning policies of Government and its agencies has also witnessed significant up rise. The industry has been evolving over the years, meeting up with challenges as diverse as transitions, consolidations and restructuring, and thereby adapting to the new market conditions. As of 2011, India is home to 40 million passenger vehicles. More than 3. 7 million automotive vehicles were produced in India in 2011 (an increase of 33. 9%), making the country the second fastest growing automobile market in the world. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, annual vehicle sales are projected to increase to 5 million by 2015 and more than 9 million by 2020. By 2050, the country is expected to top the world in car volumes with approximately 611 million vehicles on the nation’s roads. OVERVIEW The Indian Automobile Industry manufactures over 11 million vehicles and exports about 1. 5 million each year. The dominant products of the industry are two-wheelers with a market share of over 75% and passenger cars with a market share of about 16%. Commercial vehicles and three-wheelers share about 9% of the market between them. About 91% of the vehicles sold are used by households and only about 9% for commercial purposes. The industry has a turnover of more than USD $35 billion and provides direct and indirect employment to over 13 million people. The supply chain is similar to the supply chain of the automotive industry in Europe and America. Interestingly, the level of trade exports in this sector in India has been medium and imports have been low. However, this is rapidly changing and both exports and imports are increasing. The demand determinants of the industry are factors like affordability, product innovation, infrastructure and price of fuel. Also, the basis of competition in the sector is high and increasing, and its life cycle stage is growth. With a rapidly growing middle class, all the advantages of this sector in India are yet to be leveraged. With a high cost of developing production facilities, limited accessibility to new technology, and increasing competition, the barriers to enter the Indian Automotive sector are high. On the other hand, India has a well-developed tax structure. The power to levy taxes and duties is distributed among the three tiers of Government. The cost structure of the industry is fairly traditional, but the profitability of motor vehicle manufacturers has been rising over the past five years. Major players, like Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki have material cost of about 80% but are recording profits after tax of about 6% to 11%. The level of technology change in the Motor vehicle Industry has been high but, the rate of change in technology has been medium. Investment in the technology by the producers has been high. System-suppliers of integrated components and sub-systems have become the order of the day. However, further investment in new technologies will help the industry be more competitive. Over the past few years, the industry has been volatile. Currently, India’s increasing per capita disposable income which is expected to rise by 106% by 2015 and growth in exports is playing a major role in the rise and competitiveness of the industry. Tata Motors is leading the commercial vehicle segment with a market share of about 64%. Maruti Suzuki is leading the passenger vehicle segment with a market share of 46%. Hyundai Motor India Limited and Mahindra and Mahindra are focusing expanding their footprint in the overseas market. Hero MotoCorp is occupying over 41% and sharing 26% of the two-wheeler market in India with Bajaj Auto. Bajaj Auto in itself is occupying about 58% of the three-wheeler market. Consumers are very important of the survival of the Motor Vehicle manufacturing industry. In 2008-09, customer sentiment dropped, which burned on the augmentation in demand of cars. Steel is the major input used by manufacturers and the rise in price of steel is putting a cost pressure on manufacturers and cost is getting transferred to the end consumer. The price of oil and petrol affect the driving habits of consumers and the type of car they buy. The key to success in the industry is to improve labor productivity, labor flexibility, and capital efficiency. Having quality manpower, infrastructure improvements, and raw material availability also play a major role. Access to latest and most efficient technology and techniques will bring competitive advantage to the major players. Utilizing manufacturing plants to optimum level and understanding implications from the government policies are the essentials in the Automotive Industry of India. Both, Industry and Indian Government are obligated to intervene the Indian Automotive industry. The Indian government should facilitate infrastructure creation, create favorable and predictable business environment, attract investment and promote research and development. The role of Industry will primarily be in designing and manufacturing products of world-class quality establishing cost competitiveness and improving productivity in labor and in capital. With a combined effort, the Indian Automotive industry will emerge as the destination of choice in the world for design and manufacturing of automobiles. The Indian market offers endless possibilities for investors. HISTORY The first car which ran on Indian roads was in 1897. Until the 1930s, cars were imported directly, but in very small numbers. Embryonic automotive industry emerged in India in the 1940s. Mahindra & Mahindra was established by two brothers as a trading company in 1945, and began assembly of Jeep CJ-3A utility vehicles under license from Willys. The company soon branched out into the manufacture of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and agricultural tractors. Following the independence, in 1947, the Government of India and the private sector launched efforts to create an automotive component manufacturing industry to supply to the automobile industry. However, the growth was relatively slow in the 1950s and 1960s due to nationalization and the license raj which hampered the Indian private sector. After 1970, the automotive industry started to grow, but the growth was mainly driven by tractors, commercial vehicles and scooters. Cars were still a major luxury. Japanese manufacturers entered the Indian market ultimately leading to the establishment of Maruti Udyog. A number of foreign firms initiated joint ventures with Indian companies. In the 1980s, a number of Japanese manufacturers launched joint-ventures for building motorcycles and light commercial-vehicles. It was at this time that the Indian government chose Suzuki for its joint-venture to manufacture small cars. Following the economic liberalization in 1991 and the gradual weakening of the license raj, a number of Indian and multi-national car companies launched operations. Since then, automotive component and automobile manufacturing growth has accelerated to meet domestic and export demands. Following economic liberalization in India in 1991, the Indian automotive industry has demonstrated sustained growth as a result of increased competitiveness and relaxed restrictions. Several Indian automobile manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra, expanded their domestic and international operations. India’s robust economic growth led to the further expansion of its domestic automobile market which has attracted significant India-specific investment by multinational automobile manufacturers. In February 2009, a monthly sale of passenger cars in India exceeded 100,000 units and has since grown rapidly to a record monthly high of 182,992 units in October 2009. From 2003 to 2010, car sales in India have progressed at a CAGR of 13. 7%, and with only 10% of Indian households owning a car in 2009 (whereas this figure reaches 80% in Switzerland for example) this progression is unlikely to stop in the coming decade. Congestion of Indian roads, more than market demand, will likely be the limiting factor. SIAM is the apex industry body representing all the vehicle manufacturers, home-grown and international, in India. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW This class consists of units mainly engaged in manufacturing motor vehicles or motor vehicle engines. Products and Services The primary activities of this industry are: * Motor cars manufacturing. * Motor vehicle engine manufacturing The major products and services in this industry are: * Passenger motor vehicle manufacturing segment (Passenger Cars, Utility Vehicles &Multi Purpose Vehicles) * Commercial Vehicles (Medium & Heavy and Light Commercial Vehicles) * Two-Wheelers * Three-Wheelers Key Auto Segments – Growth Expected to moderate over the next 12 months Financial Year 2012 was a landmark year – both in a positive and negative manner. It paved way for many breakthrough launches – saw the launch of segment defining Fluidic Verna, excellent value for money XUV 500, Hyundai’s entry level offering Eon and many more. It also displayed its sudden love for MPV/MUVs in the Auto Expo – Maruti’s Ertiga, Chevrolet’s Enjoy and Nissan’s Evalia were the most sought after showcase at the expo. We were now exposed to the hard truth as well – that how labour intensive the auto industry is. A labor strike can strike at Maruti shook the entire Auto Industry. The aftermath took its toll on the overall numbers. This was further catalyzed by inflation, consistent fuel hikes and rising auto interest rates. The world’s fastest growing automobile market was now under analysts scanner for its sheer volatility. Demand for cars fell for the first time in three years last July and slumped by the most in over a decade in October. SIAM which had projected a growth of over 20% had to instantly lower its projections. The Industry’s lackluster performance reflected in the overall performance of the country. In a recent report, S&P cut its outlook on India’s BBB- rating to negative from stable. This is surely not a good news for the Indian Industry in overall. The low-end hatchbacks were the ones to take the beating in FY12. For perhaps the first time in many years, small cars reported a decline in growth in 2011-12 (FY12), largely on account of Maruti Alto’s decline. Now, SIAM has forecast 10-12 percent growth in overall passenger cars for this fiscal, but this number may be lower if small car growth is again hindered. SIAM data showed that the mini car segment – which comprises Maruti 800, Alto, A-Star, and WagonR, the Chevy Spark and Hyundai’s Santro and Eon – declined by about 7 percent to 6,42,009 units (6,90,812 units) last fiscal. Sales of the Alto, the single largest selling car in India, had fallen by about 11 percent between April and February 2012. Also, for the first-time ever, bigger diesel cars – the SUVs – are selling more and there is no slowdown in ‘dieselization’. India’s largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki, expects car sales to increase by 10 per cent in the fiscal year beginning in April led by diesel models. Diesel car sales are expected to rise by 150,000 in 2012-13 while sale of petrol cars fall by 50,000, said the company. OVERALL HIGHLIGHTS: * Car sales in India rose just 2. 2 percent in FY2012 * Sales of motorcycles rose 12 percent in the previous fiscal year to 10. 1 million vehicles (10,096,062 units). * Scooter sales shot up 24. 5 per cent, to 2,562,841 units. * Total two-wheeler sales were 13,435,769 units in 2011-12 against 11,768,910 units in 2010- 11, up 14. 2 per cent. * Commercial vehicles, Siam said total sales in FY12 were 809,532 units, up 18. 2 per cent. * Three-wheeler segment that saw a decline of 2. 4 per cent at 513,251 vehicles in FY12. PROJECTIONS FOR FY2013: * # SIAM has projected passenger car sales growth at 10-12 per cent in 2012-13. * # Sales of trucks and buses, a key indicator of economic activity, rose 18. 2 percent in 2011/12 and are seen growing 9 to 11 per cent in this fiscal year. * # SIAM has pegged the motorcycle segment to grow 10-12 per cent in FY13 and scooters by 15-17 percent. Two wheeler segment is expected to have a growth of around 14-15%. * # Commercial Vehicles is projected to grow by nine to 11 per cent in FY13. * # SIAM has also projected five to seven per cent growth for Three Wheelers. Domestic car sales – expecting growth to moderate next year SUPPLY CHAIN OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY: The supply chain of automotive industry in India is very similar to the supply chain of the automotive industry in Europe and America. The orders of the industry arise from the bottom of the supply chain.ie. From the consumers and goes through the automakers and climbs up until the third tier suppliers. However, the products, as channeled in every traditional automotive industry, flow from the top of the supply chain to reach the consumers. Automakers in India are the key to the supply chain and are responsible for the products and innovation in the industry. The description and the role of each of the contributors to the supply chain are discussed below. * Third Tier Suppliers: These companies provide basic products like rubber, glass, steel, plastic and aluminum to the second tier suppliers. * Second Tier Suppliers: These companies design vehicle systems or bodies for First Tier Suppliers and OEMs. They work on designs provided by the first tier suppliers or OEMs. They also provide engineering resources for detailed designs. Some of their services may include welding, fabrication, shearing, bending etc. * First Tier Suppliers: These companies provide major systems directly to assemblers. These companies have global coverage to follow their customers to various locations around the world. They design and innovate to provide â€Å"black-box† solutions for the requirements of their customers. Black-box solutions are solutions created by suppliers using their own technology to meet the performance and interface requirements set by assemblers. First tier suppliers are responsible not only for the assembly of parts into complete units like dashboard, brakes-axle-suspension, seats, or cockpit but also for the management of second-tier suppliers. * Automakers/Vehicle Manufacturers/Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs): After researching consumers’ wants and needs, automakers begin designing models which are tailored to consumers’ demands. The design process normally takes five years. These companies have manufacturing units where engines are manufactured and parts supplied by first tier suppliers and second tier suppliers are assembled. Automakers are the key to the supply chain of the automotive industry. Examples of these companies are Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, and Honda. Innovation, design capability and branding are the main focus of these companies. * Dealers: Once the vehicles are ready they are shipped to the regional branch and from there, to the authorized dealers of the companies. The dealers then sell the vehicles to the end customers. * Parts and Accessory: These companies provide products like tires, windshields, and air bags etc. to automakers and dealers or directly to customers. * Service Providers: Some of the services to the customers include servicing of vehicles, repairing parts, or financing of vehicles. Many dealers provide these services but, customers can also choose to go to independent service providers. EXPORTS: India’s automobile exports have grown consistently and reached $4. 5 billion in 2009, with United Kingdom being India’s largest export market followed by Italy, Germany, Netherlands and South Africa. India’s automobile exports are expected to cross $12 billion by 2014. According to New York Times, India’s strong engineering base and expertise in the manufacturing of low-cost, fuel-efficient cars has resulted in the expansion of manufacturing facilities of several automobile companies like Hyundai Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Suzuki. In recent years, India has emerged as a leading center for the manufacture of small cars. Hyundai, the biggest exporter from the country, now ships more than 250,000 cars annually from India. Apart from shipments to its parent Suzuki, Maruti Suzuki also manufactures small cars for Nissan, which sells them in Europe. Nissan will also export small cars from its new Indian assembly line. Tata Motors exports its passenger vehicles to Asian and African markets, and is in preparation to launch electric vehicles in Europe. The firm is also planning to launch an electric version of its low-cost car Nano in Europe and the U. S. Mahindra & Mahindra is preparing to introduce its pickup trucks and small SUV models in the U. S. market. Bajaj Auto is designing a low-cost car for the Renault Nissan Automotive India, which will market the product worldwide. Renault Nissan may also join domestic commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland in another small car project. While the possibilities are impressive, there are challenges that could thwart future growth of the Indian automobile industry. Since the demand for automobiles in recent years is directly linked to overall economic expansion and rising personal incomes, industry growth will slow if the economy weakens. Passenger car exports from India increased 34. 16% in May, riding on the back of robust overseas sales by Hyundai Motor, Nissan Motor and Toyota Kirloskar in non-European countries. According to figures released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), India exported 45,036 cars in the last month compared to 33,570 units in the year-ago period. â€Å"Europe still continues to be a worry, but the growth that we have seen is mainly on account of new markets that the companies have developed,† SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said. In May, the country’s largest exported Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) witnessed a growth of 42. 16% at 23,659 units against 16,643 units in the same month last year. â€Å"On account of slackness in the domestic market in May, we took the opportunity to ramp up the back orders for the export market. We had higher sales of the Eon in Algeria, the i20 in South Africa and the i10 in South America, particularly in Mexico and Columbia,† a spokesperson of HMIL said. However, rival and domestic market leader Maruti Suzuki India’s overseas passenger car sales fell by 9. 42% to 9,363 units from 10,337 units in May 2011, SIAM said. Car maker Nissan Motor India saw its exports from the country going up by over two-fold to 8,157 units last month from 3,937 units in the corresponding month last year. Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which started exports from April this year, sold 1,693 units in May in South Africa, SIAM said. Ford India’s sales in overseas locations, however, dipped 15. 81% to 1,693 units from 2,011 units in May 2011. Homegrown auto major Tata Motors’ exports rose by 32. 38% to 372 units from 281 units in the year-ago period. Exports of all categories of vehicles from India during May 2012 increased by 4. 62% to 2,46,314 units from 2,35,429 units in the same month last year, SIAM said . The two-wheeler segment witnessed exports of 1,74,362 units in last month compared to 1,61,346 units in the year-ago month, up 8. 07%, it added. The motorcycle segment’s overseas sales went up by 5. 16% to 1,63,446 units from 1,55,419 units in May 2011. SIAM said exports of scooters from India increased by 87. 18% last month to 10,660 units from 5,695 units in the same month last year. However, exports of commercial vehicles decreased by 8. 72% to 7,861 units in May 2012 from 8,612 units in the corresponding month last year, it added. MARKET CHARACTERISTICS * MARKET SIZE: The Indian Automotive Industry after de-licensing in July 1991 has grown at a spectacular rate on an average of 17% for last few years. The industry has attained a turnover of USD $35. 8 billion, (INR 165,000 crores) and an investment of USD 10. 9 billion. The industry has provided direct and indirect employment to 13. 1 million people. Automobile industry is currently contributing about 5% of the total GDP of India. India’s current GDP is about $1. 4 trillion and is expected to grow to $3. 75 trillion by 2020. The projected size in 2016 of the Indian automotive industry varies between $122 billion and $159 billion including USD 35 billion in exports. This translates into a contribution of 10% to 11% towards India’s GDP by 2016, which is more than double the current contribution. * DEMAND DETERMINANTS: Interest rate (%) – cuts unlikely to spur demand Determinants of demand for this industry include vehicle prices (which are determined largely by wage, material and equipment costs) and exchange rates, preferences, the running cost of a vehicle (mainly determined by the price of petrol), income, interest rates, scrapping rates, and product innovation. Exchange Rate: Movement in the value of Rupee determines the attractiveness of Indian products overseas and the price of import for domestic consumption. Affordability: Movement in income determine the affordability of new motor vehicles. Allowing unrestricted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) led to increase in competition in the domestic market hence, making better vehicles available at affordable prices. Innovation: Product Innovation is an important determinant as it allows better models to be available each year and also encourages manufacturing of environmental friendly cars. Demographics: It is evident that high population of India has been one of the major reasons for large size of automobile industry in India. Factors that may be augment demand include rising population and an increasing proportion of young persons in the population that will be more inclined to use and replace cars. Also, increase in people with lesser dependency on traditional single family income structure is likely to add value to vehicle demand. Infrastructure: Longer-term determinants of demand include development in Indian’s infrastructure. India’s banking giant State Bank of India and Australia’s Macquarie Group has launched an infrastructure fund to rise up to USD 3 billion for infrastructure improvements. India needs about $500 billion to repair its infrastructure such as ports, roads, and power units. These investments have been made with an aim to generate long-term cash flow from automobile, power, and telecom industries. (Source: Silicon India) Price of Petrol: Movement in oil prices also have an impact on demand for large cars in India. During periods of high fuel cost as experienced from 2007, demand for large cars declined in favors of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The changing patterns in customer preferences for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles led to the launch of Tata Motor’s Nano – one of the world’s smallest and cheapest cars. Surprisingly, when overall passenger car sales have run into problems, the sales of luxury cars and SUVs, which are significantly more expensive in India than abroad due to high import taxes, have experienced encouraging growth. The Indian unit of BMW had to raise capacity at its factory four times during 2011, while sales of the high-end Jaguar Land Rover model owned by Tata Motors rose impressively during a period when more affordable passenger car sales were experiencing a downturn. * INTERNATIONAL MARKETS ANALYSIS: The Indian automotive industry embarked a new journey in 1991 with de-licensing of the sector and subsequent opening up for 100% foreign direct investment (FDI). Since then almost all global majors have set up their facilities in Indian taking the level of production from 2 million in 1991 to over 10 million in recent years. The exports in automotive sector have grown on an average compound annual growth rate of 30% per year for the last seven years. The export earnings from this sector are over USD 6 billion. Even with this rapid growth, the Indian automotive industry’s contribution in global terms is very low. This is evident from the fact that even though passenger and commercial vehicles have crossed the production figures of 2. 3 million in the year 2008, yet India’s share is about 3. 28% of world production of 70. 53 million passenger and commercial vehicles. India’s automotive exports constitute only about 0. 3% of global automotive trade. * LIFE CYCLE: The life cycle stage is growth. The market for manufacturing motor vehicles is consistently increasing. The products manufactured by this industry are profitable. Companies have been consistently opening new plats and employing over the past five years. Japanese and European manufacturers of motor vehicles have entered the market. Industry value added has been rising, along with the rise in GDP. Life Cycle Analysis General improvement in availability of trained manpower and good infrastructure is required for sustainable growth of the industry. Keeping this in view, the Indian Government has launched a unique initiative of National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) to provide specialised facilities for Testing, Certification and Homologation to the industry. A similar initiative is required for creating specialised institutions in automotive sector for education, training and development. The auto industry has grown in the clusters of interconnected companies which are linked by commonalities and complementarities. The major clusters are in and around Manesar in North, Pune in West, Chennai in South, Jamshedpur-Kolkata in East and Indore in Central India. The Government is planning to create a National Level Specialises Education and Training Institute for Automotive Sector and to enhance the transportation, communication and export infrastructure facilities. The contribution of automotive sector in the GDP of India is expected to double by 2016 through major spotlight on export of small cars, Multi-Utility Vehicles, Two- and Three-wheelers. * INDUSTRY ASSISTANCE: The automobile industry has a defined its target in the Automotive Mission Plan as â€Å"To emerge as the destination of choice in the world for design and manufacture of automobiles with output reaching a level of USD 145 billion accounting more than 10% of GDP and providing additional employment to 25 million people by 2016†. In order to achieve this plan interventions are required from both Industry and Indian Government. The Indian Government would play a key enabling role in facilitating infrastructure creation, promote the country’s capabilities, create a favorable and predictable business environment, attract investment and promote research & development. The role of Industry will primarily be in designing and manufacturing products of world-class quality standards, establishing cost competitiveness, improving productivity of both labor and capital, achieving scale and R&D enhancing capability and showcasing India’s products in potential markets. In order to achieve these goals the following key recommendations have been made in the Automotive Mission Plan to the Indian Government and Industry: Manufacturing and export of small cars, multi-utility vehicles, two- and three-wheelers, tractors, components to be promoted. Care to be taken of negative like and rules of the country with current negotiation of Free Trade Agreement and Regional Trade agreement with countries like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, Egypt, Gulf etc. Attractive Tariff Policy which may follow attractive investment. Specific measures will be taken for expansion of domestic market. Incremental investment of USD 35 to 40 billion to Automotive Industry during the next 10 years. National Road Safety Board to act as the coordinating body for promoting safety. Inspection and Certification system to be strengthened by encouraging public-private partnership. National level Automotive Institute for training on automobile at International Training Institutes (ITIs) and Automotive Training Institute (ATIs) to be set up. An Auto Design Centre to be established at National Institute of Design, Ahmadabad. National Automotive Testing and R&D Implementation Project (NATRIP) to act as Centre of Excellence for Technical Design Data. Integration of Information Technology in manufacturing to be promoted. R&D for product, process and technology to be incentivized. Road Map for Auto Fuel Policy beyond 2010 would be drawn. The profitability of motor vehicle manufacturers has been rising over the past five years, mainly due to rising demand and growth of Indian middle class. Major players of the industry, like Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors have been recording profits of 6% to 11% from the past five years. Whereas, earlier profit margins in the industry were only 1. 5% to 3%. Cost of material has reduced from over 85% in the year 2001-2002 to under 80% in the year2008-2009. Wages and salary as a percentage of revenue has been declining and with the increasing labor productivity this is expected to decline further in the coming years. * CAPITAL AND LABOR INTENSITY: The level of Capital Intensity is high. The level of labor intensity is medium. The motor vehicle manufacturing industry requires significant level of capital investment. Value is added through the automated manufacturing and assembly of costly components. Labor input is required in the manufacturing, assembly, and finishing processes. In order to achieve and retain competitiveness, vehicle manufacturing industry depends on its capacity and speed to innovate and upgrade. The most imperative indices for competitiveness in the industry are productivity in both labor and capital. * TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS: The level of technology change is high. The rate of change in technology is medium. Investment in technology by producers has been on the rise. The automobile industry in India has seen an enormous development in the engines which are being used. Carburetor engines have become obsolete and Multi Point Fuel Injection (MPFI) engines are the order of the days in patrol cars. The Diesel engines have also undergone a sea change from the time Rudolf Diesel invented it way back in the 1892. Today Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDI) is the order of the day. Multi Point Fuel injection (MPFI):The fuel injects were used to meet stricter emission norms as it keeps pollutants to bare minimum and drives the maximum performance out of a vehicle by squeezing out the maximum mileage even from the last drop of fuel that goes into the engine. MPFI system injects fuel into individual cylinders after receiving command from the on board engine management system computer or Engine Control Unit (ECU). This technology results in superior fuel combustion, better fuel management, engine performance and reduced pollution. To get the maximum out from these types of engine one should use Premium petrol like XTRA Premium, Speed, and Power. Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDI): CRDI engine cars offer 25% more power than the normal direct injection engine with a superior pickup and torque, offering sometimes up to 70% more power than the conventional diesel engines. They are smooth, less strident, and immensely.