Socio Cultural Environment Line With Its Sustainability Drive Marketing Essay

Socio Cultural Environment Line With Its Sustainability Drive Marketing Essay Abstract This is a case study on Unilever business strategy. It would seek to analyze the strategic position of the group with the help of SWOT, PEST and BCG Matrix models. The paper would critically assess the competitive situation of the company in relation to other major product based companies in the market and companys financial performance and key issues. In the end it would submit few recommendations. The case study is my first effort towards analyzing the business strategy of Unilever and its success in the market. Since Unilever is so famous and its products so widely used all over the world, it is of great interest for me to carry out a case study on its business strategy. The paper would greatly help me and the readers to understand some key issues concerning Unilever in todays business world. Introduction 2.1. About Unilever Unilever is a multi-national corporation, formed of Anglo-Dutch parentage that owns many of the worlds consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. Unilever employs nearly 180,000 people and had worldwide revenue of almost à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬40 billion in 2005. Unilever is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever NV in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Unilever PLC in London, England. This arrangement is similar to that of Reed Elsevier and that of Royal Dutch Shell prior to their unified structure. Both Unilever companies have the same directors and effectively operate as a single business. The current non-executive Chairman of Unilever N.V. and PLC is Michael Treschow while P Mr Paul Polman is the Group Chief Executive. The company is widely listed on the worlds stock exchanges (About Unilever: 2008). 2.2. History Unilever was founded in 1930 through merger by the British, Lever Brother; and the Dutch, Margarine Unie; now Unilever PLC in London, U.K and Unilever N.V in Rotterdam, Netherlands respectively. In 1872 before the merger, Jurgens and Van den Bergh, the Dutch, built factory in Netherlands for the production of Margarine made from milk and fact. In 1927, they formed Margarine Unie (margarine Union) together with two European Businesses, Centre and Schicht. Lever Co on the other hand was founded in 1884 by British William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James, and was producing soap Sunlight soap for people in England especially for women. William Lever wrote: to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products. In 1890, Lever Co become limited company known as Lever Brothers (Uhomhoabhi, Fredrick Albert: 2008) Unilever, Unilever N.V and Unilever PLC comprise Unilever group. Both companies have the same directors. Its annual turnover in 2005 was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬39.672 billion and employs206, 000 employees around the world.1 Unilever brands consist of Food, Beverage, and Home and Personal Care. Some of these products are Knorr, Breyers and Magnum, Lipton, Omo (detergent) etc. Knorr has the biggest sales of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2.3 billon in 2005.In May 2007 it became the first tea company to commit to sourcing all its tea in a sustainable manner, asking the Rainforest Alliance, an international environmental NGO, to start certifying its tea estates in East Africa. It declared its aim to have all Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags sold in Western Europe certified by 2010, followed by all Lipton tea bags globally by 2015. Covalence, an ethical reputation ranking agency, placed Unilever at the top of its ranking based on positive versus negative news coverage for 2007. In 2008 Unilever was honor ed at the 59th Annual Technology Engineering Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Creation and Distribution of Interactive Commercial Advertising Delivered through Digital Set Top Boxes for its program Axe. Strategic position of the company The strategic position of the company shall be analyzed through following techniques: 3.1. S.W.O.T Analysis The overall evaluation of a companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is called SWOT analysis. In general, a business unit has to monitor key macro environment forces (demographic-economic, technological, political-legal, and social-cultural) and significant microenvironment actors (customers, competitors, distributors, suppliers) that affect its ability to earn profits. The business unit should set up a marketing intelligence system to track tends and important developments. For each trend or development, management needs to identify the associated opportunities and threats. Strengths Recognized as a global company. Strong brand portfolio. Strong relationship with retailers Economies of scale. Corporate social behavior Variety of products Weaknesses Dual leadership Limited costumer connection Inefficient management of brands Inability to maximize acquisitions Lack of control in the market Reduced spending on RD Opportunities Changing consumer preferences Increasing need for healthy products Low income consumers Rapid increase in population Threats Decrease in revenue Strong competition(PG) Tougher business climate Exchange rates Economic crisis Increase in production and labor cost 3.2. BCG Matrix Stars(High market growth share) Lux Sunsilk Walls ice cream Fair lovely Rafhan Energile AXE Vasline PG tips Dogs(Low market growth share) Wheel detergent Supreme tea Lifebuoy shampoo Cash cows(Low growth High share) Surf excel Ponds Lipton Close up Blue band Dove soap Rexona Knorr Question marks(High growth low share) Clear shampoo Rin Comfort Ben Jerrys Persil 3.3. PESTEL Analysis 3.3.1. Political/Legal environment Unilever, as a matter of policy, set a standard as to the way of tackling political issues. Unilever has its tactical way of handling political issues. First, in the 1960s, many countries began to nationalize foreign firms which also affected Unilever. This was a call for local equity participation in foreign firms. Thus, so many companies were subject to local control on prices, imports, employment of expatriates and so on. As a result of the adverse effect of nationalization policy, in the 1970, many US companies e.g. IBM and coca cola left India. There was fear by foreign companies uncertain issues such as knowledge leakage, loss of trademark etc. this was also hazardous for Unilever as its control over operation in the market was reduced. For example UAC, a subsidiary of Unilever, whose operation was in many African countries (Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, etc.), was focused on as its profit margin and rate of easy remittance of profit to its Anglo-Dutch parent was enorm ous. Nationalizing UA Chambered Unilevers control over the market where UAC operates. However, Unilever uses its experience and goodwill to make contacts in many countries to bargain with government so as to modify their regulations. In central and south America, Unilever only engaged in lobbying rather than active politicking. In other words, Unilever never get involved in sponsoring political parties. Today, Unilever has gained political ground using its tactical strategy and experience. Unilever is a member of many organizations all over the world. The aim is to create favorable business environment, and also facilitate corporate reputation management. 3.3.2. Economic environment Unilever market environment is becoming highly competitive especially in the Western Europe. Procter Gamble (PG) is one of the major competitors in the European market. More so, there are so many discounters in the European market resulting from EU free trade policy. This has had adverse effect on Unilevers profit potentials. Retailers are pressurizing FMCG producers to reduce prices of their products. Consumers on the other hand would not want to buy expensive product or brands due to current economic tide. Competition in EU has grown so strong that Unilever is facing difficulties in places like France, Netherlands. In the developing countries and the emerging economies (Asia and Africa), where there are political instability, Unilever has adopted its company strategy to ensure that its profitability drive is sustained. Some Products are packaged in small size for low or regular income earner, for affordability. In some developing countries, Nigeria to be precise, there was uncertainty about duties to be paid by companies due to inflation and fluctuation of currency. The effect on Unilever was a decrease in profit in 2005 compared to 2004, though there was increase in turnover. 3.3.3. Socio-cultural environment Unilever has continued to maintain momentum in its socio-cultural environment in line with its sustainability drive. The company is working relentlessly to bring improve hygiene and better nutrition to people in Asia, Africa and Latin America, especially the poor and obesity. Over 30% of Africa population lives on less than $1 per day. By this, Unilever strengthens it goodwill. However, the low literacy of consumers affects marketing vehicles such as advertisement in print media. This therefore requires employment of more resources, for instance to enhance face-to-face communication. Besides, Unilever employs about 100 nationalities. It ensures that diversity works for everybody both employees and consumer alike. In order to achieve and ensure that diversity works amongst employees, Unilever employed the strategy of so as to manage and leverage diversity. Unilever is focused on building an exclusive culture and embracing difference, which resulted in high demand of its products in th e developing and emerging markets. 3.3.4. Technological environment Right in the 1930s, Unilever continue to diversify. Business continue to boom in the1950s with new technology being invented to boast production and enhance quality products for consumer, competitors improving their products using new inventions. Unilever did not give up its effort in RD. Since 2000, Unilever has been spending on IT to improve its business especially in the area of e-business so as to improve brands communication and market through internet, making transaction simple along chain. Today, Unilever is trying to minimize cost through IT efficiencies at global level. In addition, Unilever Technology Venture works in collaboration with Unilever RD group to help Unilever meet consumers needs. Area of concern is genomics, advanced bioscience, advanced materials science and nanotechnology. In 2003, Unilever installed and commissioned pallet live storage system from Bitto Storage System Ltd. This was meant to store its frozen products. The facilities include: pallet live storage systems, carton live storage systems, pallet racking, boltless shelving, plastic bins and containers, wide span and heavy load shelving, cantilever racking, and multi-tier shelving systems. 3.3.5. Environment In recognition of local legislation and to keep its corporate responsibilities, Unilever designed management system. Unilever has respect for consumer health and safety. This policy is to ensure all Unilever operators establish a formal environmental management system. Training programs are being arranged in various regions/business groups to ensure compliance with the company Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Environmental Care (SHE). This framework is based on the ISO 14001 management standard. Unilever had also worked in conjunction with government of countries of its operation as regards waste management. For instance in Ghana, 2004, over 21 tones of wastes were supplied to small and medium size recycling businesses in Accra, Ghana, by Unilever to reduce the amount of plastic waste sent to landfill. Financial performance Underlying sales growth of 7.4% was partly offset by movements in exchange rates (4.8%) and the net impact of disposals and acquisitions (1.4%). Including these effects, turnover was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬40,523 million for the full year, increasing by 0.8%. Operating profit increased by à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1,922 million to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬7,167 million, including a higher level of profits on business disposals. These generated a pre-tax profit of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2,190 million in 2008, compared with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬297 million in 2007. Net profit was 28% higher than last year, boosted by the profits on disposals. Earnings per share were à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.79, including a net gain of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.36 from RDIs. This compared with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.35 last year, which included a net loss of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬0.07 from RDIs.Net cash flow from operations at à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3.9 billion was in line with last year. Total cash returns to shareholders in the year wereà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3.6 billion, made up of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2.1 billion of dividends and à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.5 billion of share buy-backs. 4.1. Consolidated income statement (Highlights for the year ended 31 December) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Million 2008 2007 Turnover 40 523 40 187 Operating profit 7 167 5 245 Profit before taxation 7 129 5 184 Taxation (1 844) (1 128) Net profit from continuing operations 5 285 4 056 Net profit 5 285 4 136 Combined earnings per share from total operations à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.79 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.35 4.2. Consolidated balance sheet (As at 31 December) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Million 2008 2007 Non-current assets 24 967 27 374 Current assets 11 175 9 928 Current liabilities (13 800) (13 559) Total assets less current liabilities 22 342 23 743 Non-current liabilities 11 970 10 924 Shareholders equity 9 948 12 387 Minority interests 424 432 Total capital employed 22 342 23 743 4.3. Consolidated cash flow statement (For the year ended 31 December) à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Million 2008 2007 Net cash flow from operating activities 3 871 3 876 Net cash flow from/ (used in) investing activities 1 415 (623) Net cash flow from/ (used in) financing activities (3 130) (3 009) Net increase/ (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 2 156 244 Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 901 710 Effect of foreign exchange rate changes (697) (53) Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2 360 901 4.4. Financial Objectives Unilevers ambition is to top Third Total Shareholder Return, over a 3 year rolling period out of peer group of 20 other companies. Its outlook for year 2010 is: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Un-geared free cash flow in the period 2005-2010 to be à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬25-30bn. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improvement in Return on Invested Capital. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Underlying sales growth of 3-5% p.a. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Operating margin of over 15% by 2010 after normal restructuring. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improved capital and tax efficiency. Market share and competition 5.1. Top Unilever Competitors Company Location Proctor Gamble Cincinnati,OH Kraft Foods Northfield, IL Nestle Vevey, Switzerland 5.2. Competitor Comparison Unilever P G Kraft Nestle Top Segment C/G Foods Consumer Care Food Food Top Brand Dove Tide Mac Cheese KitKat CEO A.Burgmans A.G.Lefley R.Deromedi P.Letmathe Stock per share $66.03 $53.76 $30.70 $66.90 Growth 15.55% 9.25% 8.2% 11.23% Revenues $42.942m $28.2BL $31,010m $69.BL Revenue Growth -11.93% 19% 4.3% -1.93% International 100+ 42 150+ 86 Business Segments 3 5 5 6 Employees 234000 110000 10600 253000 (Source: Hoovers business Intelligence guide) 5.3. Category position in the market Strategic Issues Following are some of the key strategic issues which Unilever faces today: 6.1. Leadership Unilever maintains two business entities i.e. Unilever PLC and Unilever N.V. Due to dual chairperson approach; it faces following problems in their business strategy: List stock separately Shared board of directors Typical management; wear two, three hats Conflict in Board and Business responsibilities Company remains fragmented Reduced effectiveness Slow decision making process( Bureaucracy) Unilever believer (believe in Unilever) Unilever should create a sense of belief amongst its consumers. It should try and focus on program that focuses on brand initiative to the consumers. Use advertising that connects with consumer needs: Consumers demand high quality products that are both convenient and delicious Consumers look for new ways to use the product Large population of single parent house hold More females are working full-time jobs Increase consumer focus on health and nutrition Strategy Justification 7.1. Recommendation 1 Make an initiative to create an overall umbrella brand across all Unilevers brands that will eventually consolidate various businesses under one name. Unilever Plc Unilever NV One Unilever Provides a greater clarity of leadership, responsibility, and accountability Allows Unilever to focus on the needs of their customers and consumers thus reigniting growth and increasing sales potential Provides the ability to leverage scale of operations Create a strategic platform for brand management Recommendation 2 It should implement Unilever Believer product and brand extensions. The related example in this case is of Lipton tea. It should try and create an extension to this famous brand by focusing on energy drinks. Justifications are: Energy drinks jumped 56% in sales last year Market has exceed $100 million in the recent years Main Competitor: Red Bull Positioning Statement: A Healthier Alternative to Energy Drinks Unilever should cash in this opportunity by: Target Market: Young adults 18-32 Uses: stay up all night and/or start a night out Main Ingredients: Caffeine, Vitamin B, Guarana Advertisements: Highlight healthier ingredients of the product while showcasing its ability to give energy and revitalize body

Direct Market Offers Design and Testing

Direct Market Offers Design and Testing Charanjot Sethi DEFINITION OF DIRECT DESIGN MARKETING: Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising which allows businesses and nonprofit organizations to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques that can include cell phone text messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, database marketing, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters, targeted television commercials, response-generating newspaper/magazine advertisements, and outdoor advertising. Amongst its practitioners, it is also referred to as Direct Response. HOW THE CUSTOMER RESPOND: So the customer can buy the product online and they can send feedback though the mail, telephone and paper based or electronic. Companies get the customer details like name, address and contact information and payment information and also delivery details.   Design three direct response offers HP LAPTOP Features description 16 GB RAM -AMD duel core A4- 1200 -2 TB Internal hard drives WI-FI Connectivity -Webcam -AMD Radeon HD8180 graphics -1 * HDMI 3* USB -1 *VGA -1 *Multi SD card reader Details Computer type- laptops Display size (inches) 15.6 Resolution (pixels) 1366*768 Screen resolution- HD Display type- LCD Touch screen- yes Processor type- AMDA4 Processor-AMD DUEL CORE A4 Processor model number- 1200 COMPANYs   OFFER TO THE CUSTOMER This Offer consists a very good deal if you buy HP laptop. The offer gives you free product key (Microsoft office key) for three years free of charges. The offer which we are giving from DIGITAL STUDIO it will not be able to get from anywhere else it usually costs $150.00 to customer to buy it but this   exclusive   offer we providing to our valuable customers. This is value for money if you buy $800 worth laptop direct from our store and we are providing free LAPTOP BAG ($40.00) Additional Offers/ Incentives FIRST 20 callers will get Free postage and handling Interest free installment plan up to 12 month Free 3 year extended warranty  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   DIGITAL CAMERA-CANNON HDR- AS100V Cannon HDR- as100V full HD action camcorder 13.5m Sensor Multi camera control ( up to 5 cams) Overview HDR- AS100V Action cam delivers more stunning image quality that ever before. It is all new zeiss tessar 170 degree wide angel lenses, ultra powerful BIONZ X image processor and 13.5 megapixel sensor, will now capture all the excitements you can handle, for the first time , in eye popping full HD. COMPANY OFFER TO THE CUSTOMER; Buy one cannon get an extra view finder for free of cost. Prizing offers spend $1000 get 25% off and its increase the business Extended the warranty and guarantee and build up the strengthen relationships. People can pay in installments and it can increase the business. LED TELEVISION-SAMSONG Key Features 32/81cm Screen Connect Share Movie 1366 x 768 Resolution 50Hz Refresh Rate HD Tuner 1 x USB Port 2 x HDMI DETAILS Screen Size (Inches) 32.0 Screen Type LED-LCD Screen Resolution HD Resolution (Pixels) 1366 x 768 Refresh Rate (Hz) 50 TV Tuner HD Tuner 3D False HDMI Ports 2 USB Ports 1 DOCUMENTS OF APPROPRIATE TYPES OF OFFERS Direct sales. Our company offers the products directly and they offer them to buy from the store. Ongoing accounts: Our companies provide the updating service to their customer so the customer can get up to date information. Leads: our company takes order in advance so they can provide the deliveries on time. Expression of interest: our customer can tell us their requirement about their products they want to buy from us, and we can assemble their products according to their needs for example what capacity of hard disk drive they need and the resolution of the screen. FEEDBACK QUESTIONS QUES 1was the offer was clear? QUES 2 what did your survey audience like or dislike about the offers? QUEA 3Which of the offers would most tempt them to purchase from this store? QUES 4what suggestions did they have that would improve the offers? QUES 5 how they compare our company with others? QUES 6 how they get product after service? THE RESULTS OF YOUR TESTING FOLLOWING QUESTIONS The offer was clear like laptop bag and product key was free with laptop so most of the people like and bought it and 40% people did not like the offer. 90% of my colleagues like the offer which was great quality of the product and great color and designs. Rest of my friends did not like the delivery period they said it was bit late. More than 70% of the people liked the installments payment like they can buy the product easily and it is good for the company that they can increase the profit. So most of the people recommend for the trial period so that they can use the product for some days and if they did not like they can send back to the company. People also compare with other companies they said the prize are reasonable in this store and get the loyalty cards. But some people recommend to get increase the warranty and guarantee. Most of the people said company get positive response after the product like if they get any fault after deliver they send staff to fix it up or they replace the product. But some people said sometime staff takes time to get the delivery. PREPARE A REPORT FOR THE CLIENT We offered to the customers a bag and product key for life time for free of cost with laptop and people liked this offer and company increased the income. People recommend bringing more offers like this so that they get free stuff. The testing process was used Purchase sale 1000 laptops x 100=10000 Sale prize 1200 laptops x100=12000 So the company got 2000 profit. THE RESULTS OF YOUR TESTING As we got feedback from our customers and they are happy with the 14 days free trail period. As we offered our customers payment plan was good as many customers cannot make the full payment out front at once however they are willing to buy our product. It was highly appreciated and moreover the free capon of $10 over $100 purchase worked tremendously. Result of our testing worked very well

Tim O’Brien’s How to tell a True War Story Essay -- Tim O’Brien How to

Tim O’Brien’s â€Å"How to tell a True War Story†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the author Tim O’Brien, people tend to readily accept the ‘facts’ presented of what happened during a war. People do not consider the existence of fallacies regarding the actual stories of what happens in wars, few consider that the ‘facts’ of an incident often change through people’s words. The film ‘Saving the Private Ryan’ by Steven Spielberg features both facts and seemingness part of the war story. Since it is so difficult to fully describe a war using human language, Spielberg ended up revising his stories to make sense out of it. Spielberg included parts that did not occur or exclude parts that did occur in order to make their stories seem more credible. According to Tim O’Brien’s text â€Å"How to tell a True War Story,† he suggests that people must break out of listening to traditional war stories and scrutinize unbelievable and contradictory aspects of war stories, whi ch is a more accurate way to obtain the truth about a war. Spielberg in his movie follows some of his path but also choose not to follow his path on some of the parts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to Tim O’Brien, the narrator must talk about unbelievable aspects of war that contradicts many traditional features in telling a war story and Spielberg is no exception. When the ships arrive at Normandy beach, German soldiers kill many American soldiers. Spielberg starts out with showing pan shots of the battlefield so the reader can gain the knowledge of...

The Iliad of Homer :: essays research papers

The competition for power and ultimate victory is continuous throughout the Iliad. Several characters including gods and men, attempt to assume authority and rule in order to fulfill personal endeavors and obtain self-gratification. However, it is often that by themselves, these strong figures cannot carry out the tasks that they wish to accomplish. Instead, they are quick to manipulate and beg in order to have the job completed by someone else. On both the human and immortal level, individuals constantly need the help of others in their struggle for supremacy. At first, discord arises due to the greed of Agamemnon, yet Achilleus prolongs the problem by holding on to his anger. He acts such as a tantrum-throwing child does when Pallus Athene disallows him from continuing his argument. To prove his point, he has to ask his mother to go to Zeus, and plead for him to help the Trojans so â€Å"that Atreus’ son wide-ruling Agamemnon may recognize his madness, that he did no honor to the best of the Achaians† (I, 411-412) Achilleus puts himself above the rest of the Achaians, but does not act 1 accordingly to the position he claims for himself. He forgets that as leader, the consequences of his actions, also affects those whom he holds in his charge, and close to his heart. Furthermore, instead of assuming full responsibility for his situation, Achilleus places part of the load on his mother Thetis, as well as Zeus. In drawing gods into the conflict, Achilleus further complicates the matter. Without the intervention of immortals, the victor of any contest is simply the stronger, more skilled, or perhaps luckier opponent. Once the gods are brought into the field of play, anything can be expected since they are even capable of changing the destinies of men. Hera is one of the first of the gods to exhibit her meddling ways and the capacity to turn the tables. When she plans to seduce Zeus into bed to occupy him so that Poseidon may help the Achaians, Hera enlists the help of Aphrodite and Sleep. Though the concept of helping mortals is good and selfless, there is also much evil in her actions. There are no bounds to how low Hera will stoop to acquire the services she needs to triumph over her husband. In order to gain their help, Hera tells lies to Aphrodite, and bribes Sleep with â€Å"gifts; a lovely throne, imperishable forever, of gold† (XIV, 238-239).

Andres Resendez “A Land So Strange” Essay

Thesis: The author posits that the derivative of a tragically unsuccessful colonization effort results with an epic ten-year odyssey of survival, assimilation, and revelation as the first Old World outsiders to athwart and live in the interior of North America. The culmination of the experiences of Cabeza de Vaca, man of influence, stranded in unexplored lands, encountering and existing with countless Native American tribes as guest, slave, trader, and healer engenders an atypical ideal of humane colonization and coexistence. Summary: Resendez retells the story of the ill-fated Narvaez expedition to Florida, placing the survivors story against the context of contemporary Spanish politics, culture, and power struggles associated with colonization amid the pre-contact Native American sphere. The stage is set with a brief description of the relationships of Velazquez, Narvaez, Cortes, and the Spanish court (15,17, 22). This background information clarifies the near impenetrability of ob taining a royal charter and the complicated, perfidious, and competitive maneuverings of the Spanish explorers (30-33). Cortes’ alleged treachery becomes heroic conquest slighting competitors Velazquez and Narvaez who after years of petitions receives an adelantamiento in the New World (73). The expedition, three plus hundred men and women, lead by Narvaez experiences a litany of encumbrances that resulted in the unrealized and in due course unpropitious landing at Tampa Bay, over nine hundred miles off course (77). A landing party of three hundred men, including Cabeza de Vaca, set out to find Panuco, encountered Native Americans that enticed the group to search for prosperous Apalachee further north (94). By this time the group was suffering severely from hunger, disease, and at the hands of Native Americans, driven by desperation rafts were built to carry the men along the coast of Louisiana, a tumultuous trek of starvation, drowning, and further Indian attacks, landed along the coast of Texas (134). Attrition claims all but four, deVaca, Dorantes, Castillo, and Moroccan Estebanico, whose lives over the next ten years are analogous to Homer’s Odyssey. Initially treated as guests, cared for and fed by local indigenous peoples, soon to become slaves of many itinerant tribes for six years (145). During captivity, the survivors learned native languages, cultures, intertribal repositioning (146), and in the case of de  Vaca became a thriving trader with autonomous travel privileges (149-151). The four escape their captors and implausibly achieve the status of healers, combining Catholicism and native traditions in their ministering, are then used by Native Americans leaders in a heal for profit scheme were passed from one tribe to the next, and achieved pseudo celebrity status (183). Contact with Spaniards and reintroduction to civilized life proved very difficult for the survivors after nearly ten years of aboriginal living and certainly suffered from culture shock, Cabeza d e Vaca mentions difficulties wearing western clothes again (215). Cabeza de Vaca, like Friar Las Casas twenty years earlier (21), shared an epiphany to defend and advocate for peaceful cohabitation and humane colonization of America, neither realizing this ambition (221). Critique: The author employs pertinent primary sources, including the narrative of Cabeza de Vaca, in chorus with reasonable speculative insertions of the conditions and behaviors to make a compelling and more authentic story. However, Resendez states that â€Å"they†, the four survivors, all left the experience with the epiphany to advocate for â€Å"humane† colonization. The author only provides direct evidence that supports this claim in the case of Cabeza de Vaca, not that for his three survivor companions.

Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor Essay

Since 1991, the southern half of Somalia, a poverty stricken African nation, has seen various tribal militias battle for dominance and power over individual regions of the country. Violence has plagued Mogadishu, the capital, since warlords ousted the former president. Mere months after the collapse of the government, men, women and children in torn clothes ran helplessly towards packages dropped from military planes towards the hot sand of their tiny village. This action was one of many attempts to help underdeveloped nations receive food by the United Nations’ World Food Programme. Within his article titled â€Å"Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor†, Garret Hardin, a well-known philosopher of ecology, analyzes the difficulty and ultimate ruin associated with providing aid to these nations. Hardin’s argument for the preservation of well-to-do societies is embodied by his extended metaphor of each society as a lifeboat, with the citizens of developed nations riding calmly amongst a sea of drowning poverty-stricken individuals. Ultimately, Hardin argues for a very harsh thesis: regardless of the current situation, privileged nations simply should not provide aid to those individuals trapped within the vortex of underdeveloped nations. His argument is consequentialist: he claims that the net result of doing so would be negative and would, in the long run, court large-scale disaster. Although Hardin’s argument appears logic-based, his excessive metaphors fail when applied to real-life scenarios, for oftentimes he misconstrues facts to create a claim that may be perceived as more accurate than reality illustrates. Furthermore, any counter-arguments Hardin feels may refute his claim are pushed aside, avoiding factual evidence that may prove his argument inaccurate or misleading. Much like a lifeboat, Hardin leaves the assertions of the â€Å"humanitarian apologists† to drown so as to avoid the overturn of his claim. Within the section titled â€Å"Adrift in a Moral Sea†, Hardin reveals the lifeboat analogy upon which this essay is almost entirely founded, although shortly after it is presented one can see a loophole he cleverly ignores. The metaphor he creates is, nonetheless, coherent, and is used to describe the limited carrying capacity a lifeboat (rich nations), can hold:So here we sit, say 50 people in our lifeboat. To be generous, let us assume it has room for 10 more, making a total capacity of 60. Suppose the 50 of us in the  lifeboat see 100 others swimming in the water outside, begging for admission to our boat †¦ since the needs of all in the water are the same †¦ we could take them into our boat, making a total of 150 in a boat designed for 60. The boat swamps, everyone drowns. Complete justice, complete catastrophe †¦ we might let 10 aboard, but how do we choose? And what about the need for a safety factor? (1,2)Although logical, this metaphor is undoubtedly dubious. Hardin characterizes the safe and the drowning as rich versus poor nations, though in reality not all countries are deemed on one side of the scale, wealthy or impoverished. Many waver on the edge, needing very little aid to push over into industrialization and development. In relation to Hardin’s metaphor, these nations, in retrospect, require a short ride on the lifeboat before they may swim safely away. Furthermore, Hardin assumes the earth does not hold enough resources to provide for everyone, and although correct in stating we cannot sustain an unlimited number of people, he neglects the very definition of such a word. Exactly how many people are contained within an â€Å"unlimited number†? Hardin disregards any hint as to what this number is, a fairly important point when referencing a depletion of world resources. By disregarding the importance of such a number, Hardin influences the reader to believe helping impoverished nations is impossible, for, after all, an unlimited number of individuals would hardly be feasible. However, if the number of people that could be helped was presented, some may change their minds, recognizing that helping some is better than helping none at all. In knowing this, Hardin however, chooses to eliminate the statistic entirely. Within this scenario Hardin appeals to the readers with the presentation of a circumstance in which only two outcomes seem probable. Either the passengers help ten more individuals and drown, or they neglect to help any, and float securely away with the â€Å"safety factor† still intact. Hardin disregards the idea of helping some people, even if selected in a fairly arbitrary way: â€Å"Suppose we decide to preserve our small safety factor and admit no more to the lifeboat. Our survival is then possible although we will have to be constantly on guard against boarding parties† (2). He insinuates that once the decision is made to help some, the lifeboat passengers must attempt to save all of those drowning, which is clearly not feasible given the carrying capacity of the lifeboat. Although the boat’s capacity should not exceed the  admission of more than ten people, why not admit three, four, or even those ten? It seems rather unreasonable to deny help to every i ndividual, when, although not all can be rescued, the boat clearly holds the space for more. The same ideology may be applied in other philosophical debates, including the death penalty, as we discussed in lecture. Ernest Van Den Haag, a defender of the death penalty, explains in his article that the importance of punishment is not whether every individuals gets what they deserve, but rather that some, rather than none, of the convicted receive their rightful punishment. Professor Yaffe applied this to a smaller-scale, saying, â€Å"If you have three pieces of candy and four children, all equally deserving, it is better, according to Van den Haag, for three to receive their desert than for none to receive what is deserved.† This scenario can easily be applied to Hardin’s lifeboat metaphor. Hardin claims, â€Å"Since the needs of all in the water are the same †¦ since they can all be seen as â€Å"our brothers† †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1), therefore one cannot reasonably argue the desert of the poverty-stricken varies. As a result, the argument can be made that pulling some into the lifeboat to be saved is far better than leaving all to drown. One may argue ignoring such a possibility serves as a way to avoid criticism from liberals who would quite obviously propose letting some individuals on board. Hardin realizes the difficulty in a rebuttal to this argument, therefore he chooses to leave out the situation entirely. Additionally, the carrying capacity of the wealthy nations is far underestimated, and entirely misleading, within this metaphor. Hardin’s philosophy regarding the swamping of wealthy nations does not seem remotely accurate when the feeding of underprivileged nations costs very little in relation to the finances of developed nations. According to past statistics provided by the Index of Global Philanthropy, â€Å"Of the 122.8 billion dollars of foreign aid provided by Americans in 1975, 95.5 billion dollars, or 79 percent, came from private foundations, corporations, voluntary organizations, universities, religious organizations and individuals, although U.S. government aid is only 22 percent of the Gross National Income.† Therefore, one can see government aid, the kind Hardin mentions will ultimately deplete our resources, is fairly little in comparison to the rest of our nation’s finances. Furthermore, there are numerous other  countries in the developed world that hold the potential to distribute more than the United States alone. Realistically, the capacity of a wealthy lifeboat would be close to double the capacity Hardin presents; the boat would be, at the very least, closer to a small yacht than a meager lifeboat. Hardin’s lifeboat metaphor not only conceals facts, but also misleads about the effects of its proposals. Within Hardin’s scenario, the rich lifeboat can raise the ladder and choose not to let any more individuals on. In reality however, the problem does not necessarily go away merely because it is ignored. In the real world, there are armies and domestic dissidents who willingly sacrifice their lives and those of others to oppose policies they view as immoral. It is ignorant to assume all of the lifeboat passengers will agree with the decision that is made. Some individuals may attempt to pull the drowning on board, and hostility would be inevitable. Ultimately, Hardin’s lifeboat metaphor cannot accurately be applied to policy-making as it obscures more than it reveals. Throughout the article, Hardin bolsters his assertions by reference to a â€Å"commons†, or the tragedy of, in which he explains a system of private property which, if open to all, † †¦ the right of each to use it may not be matched by a corresponding responsibility to protect it† (3). He creates a picture to the reader using an example of herdsman with a pasture of a certain capacity. Hardin writes, † †¦ the considerate herdsman who refrains from overloading the commons suffers more than a selfish one who says his needs are greater †¦ It takes no less than everyone to ruin a system of voluntary restraint† (3). This statement is, like many of Hardin’s, entirely logical. Hardin explains that under a system of private property, the individual more easily recognizes responsibility (3). Under communal ownership however, Hardin argues the herdsman who may choose to fill the pasture with more sheep than it can hold for his own benefit wo uld promote his interest at the expense of the community as a whole. It is clear Hardin attempts to propose that the commons created by aid is worse than the original problem. This may indeed be true if the tragedy of the commons were truly a â€Å"tragedy† as Hardin claims, or if it were impenetrable, but that is hardly the case, and Hardin neglects to address this exact issue. Hardin  lacks sufficient, concrete evidence for this claim; creating a hypothetical situation is hardly grounds for a generalization of a large-scale issue. The incentive to leave out such facts can be seen later in the section, when Hardin quotes Alan Gregg, the vice-president of the Rockefeller foundation. Hardin writes, â€Å"He likened the growth and spread of humanity over the surface of the earth to the spread of cancer in the human body, remarking that ‘cancerous growths demand food; but, as far as I know, they have never been cured by getting it'† (5). To recognize any factual evidence that the Green Revolution has, in fact, resulted in increased food production would refute this quote, which provides the main support for Hardin’s argument. When researched, one can see why Hardin would neglect such information. In actuality, communal ownership has been tried in some countries with successful results. According to â€Å"Population and Food: A Critique of Lifeboat Ethics† by philosophers William Murdoch and Allen Oaten, instances of communal ownership have seen success. In Peru, the ownership of the commons has benefited a previously private-owned fishery, and China’s implication of communal agriculture has yet to see over-exploitation. If, however, a nation’s agriculture does not have success parallel to that of Peru and China, Hardin believes experience holds the key to unlocking poverty. In his section titled â€Å"Learning the Hard Way†, Hardin explains how developed nations currently budget and prepare for infrequent emergencies substantially better than impoverished nations. Furthermore, he argues:If each country is solely responsible for its own wellbeing, poorly managed ones will suffer. But they can learn from experience †¦ the weather varies from year to year, and periodic crop failures are certain †¦ should those nations that do manage to put something aside be forced to come to the rescue each time an emergency occurs among the poor nations? (4)Contrary to his typical pattern or argumentation, Hardin acknowledges the universal response of â€Å"kind-hearted† liberals, who find it difficult to grapple with the concept of blaming poverty-stricken individuals for the faults of their governments. In response, Hardin answers, â€Å"The concept of blame is simply not relevant here. The real question is, what are the operational consequence s of establishing a world food bank?† (4). This response exhibits  two of Hardin’s profound faults. By claiming that blame, in this instance, is an irrelevant point to discuss, Hardin neglects to address a very important issue. Why are the liberals wrong in arguing that fault of government should not influence action in providing aid? One may argue that faulty governments are a mere consequence of industrial deficiency, that can easily be fixed if aid is provided to nations who can then use financial assistance for education, resulting in educated political elections with educated individuals on the ballots. These political leaders may then be able to readily plan for emergencies. Neglecting to answer this rebuttal however, results in the presentation of an argument that seems ill-prepared and unreciprocated. Furthermore, Hardin contradicts himself a mere one sentence later, writing, â€Å"If it [a world food bank] is open to every country every time a need develops, slovenly rulers will not be motivated to save† (4). In saying this, Hardin clearly puts the responsibility of the nation’s food supply within the hands of the incompetent rulers, thereby insinuating the blame lies within the government, and ultimately eradicating any piece of information that could have been deemed support for a strong argument. In actuality, Hardin does not put much faith in the reform of such corrupt or incompetent rulers, despite calling that section â€Å"Learning the Hard Way†. Rather, Hardin believes that if the rich countries would simply refrain from giving assistance, the problem would take care of itself as, â€Å"population growth would be periodically checked by crop failures and famines. But if they can always draw on a world food bank in time of need, their populations can continue to grow unchecked, and so will their ‘need’ for aid† (5). When analyzed closely one can see Hardin neglects to address yet another prominent issue within his argument. How are underdeveloped nations expected to set aside food for the future when they do not possess enough for the current population? Denying aid would clearly cause death amongst many individuals, in saying this Hardin is correct. In making this statement however, Hardin incorrectly assumes the dependence on aid would diminish. Although crop failure would reduce population size, a stabilized population does not coincide with a more successful agricultural system. As a result, food would remain scarce, for even a drastic reduction would not guarantee enough food for the new population. It is naà ¯ve for Hardin to view this  solution as an end to dependency. Clearly the reduced population will suffer problems similar to the previous, food production will remain in deficit, need for aid will persist, and the crisis will continue to revolve in circles. Although many individuals propose the Green Revolution will decrease aid as well as increase food production in underdeveloped nations, Hardin neglects, once again, the importance of such a proposition in the next section of his article. To help alleviate the problems associated with crop failure, many scientists have created â€Å"miracle† rice and wheat that promise a larger harvest and greater resistance to damage. Within the section â€Å"Chinese Fish and Miracle Rice†, Hardin, once again, ignores a significant issue in an attempt to hide behind the weakness of his argument. Hardin writes, â€Å"Whether or not the Green Revolution can increase food production as much as its champions claim is a debatable put possibly irrelevant point† (5). Although there is room to debate the extent to which the Green Revolution has increased the crop yields of developing countries, as well as the costs of the loss of biodiversity and other environmental concerns, Hardin neglects to even mention them; they are dismissed in a single sentence. The true issue resides in that simple, blunt statement, for these topics are exactly the point. What is that finite number of people who can be sustained, and can we nudg e it further in the direction of survival? To ignore this essential statistic is to, once again, provide an argument that lacks support and coherence. One of Hardin’s last arguments relates to what he refers to as the largest issue with providing aid: the rapid population growth rates within impoverished nations. Hardin explains, â€Å"The people inside the lifeboats are doubling in numbers every 87 years; those swimming around us are doubling, on average, every 35 years, more than twice as fast as the rich† (2). Hardin then implements a real-world example in which he emphasizes the correlation between population increases and the depletion of resources: â€Å"Every one of the 15 million new lives added to India’s population puts an additional burden on the environment †¦ If rich countries make it possible, through foreign aid, for 600 million Indians to well to 1.2 billion †¦ will future  generations thank us for hastening the destruction of their environment?† (6). Hardin overlooks the fact that population growth rates are affected by many complex conditions besides food supply. There are vast arrays of socioeconomic conditions that can be identified that motivate parents to have fewer children. Thus, Hardin neglects to realize that population growth can be controlled effectively by intelligent intervention that sets up these appropriate conditions, rather than a reliance upon the statistics of natural population cycles. These conditions include the improved education and equality of women, literacy, sexual education, and distribution of contraceptives, all of which are attainable through the foreign aid that may be provided by developed nations, and according to Murdoch and Oaten, â€Å"aid may encourage necessary institutional and social reforms, making it easier for poor nations to use their own resources and initiative to help themselves.† Hardin neglects to refer to the statistics that illustrate the positive effects on population growth within developing nations that have received aid. Costa Rica, for example, has a relatively large population a nd a low GDP, but the birth rate has declined by fifteen percent since the implication of foreign aid has increased industrialization. Hardin’s article, â€Å"Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor†, holds more than twisted logic and misleading metaphors; it encompasses irony. Although Hardin consistently refers to his lifeboat metaphor, he, like the individuals in the boat, neglects to mention counter-arguments or deems certain information â€Å"irrelevant† in the attempt to save his own argument from sinking beneath the depths of deceit. Hardin was correct in stating that a particular boat may only hold its limited capacity, but this article needs to push off the inaccurate claims and leave room for those that are relevant if our world is to find a way to end poverty.

Poetry & lives Essay

Poetry is already a part of everyone’s lives. In fact this wasn’t created but sprung in our hearts. The four poems, Songs of the Road, of Men and Women, Quiet, To Mother, and Woman Knitting talks about the lives of every human being, the four works of art tackles about life, family, the realities of meeting and departing, and death. Who would wonder why the poem Woman Knitting was written. This is a kind of poem that touches the heart of a reader. The poem was written by a Vietnamese poet. The poem basically tackles about a typical woman and her usually-done hobby. One of the themes of the poem is about the life of a person. Life is like knitting. Life journey is too long and has no meaning or significance like a roll of wool. At first it is like the other ordinary thread. As life goes by the thread slowly becomes a meaningful thing that is form through knitting. In knitting, the thread crosses and even cut. Well, like life, we have all the ups and downs. We never knew what will the world has to offer. Definitely only the one knitting knows what she is doing and what she will do with the thing. Like God, He is the only one who knows what is happening to our lives. We do not have controls. What God has allowed us to happen is always the best thing that will give us the reason for living. At first we do not know His plans but after many paces we look back the things that happened as a significant factor for what we have and who we are right now. Also because we do not know about the future, we do not know how long we will stay here on earth. â€Å"Patient, for she has the rest of her life. Anxious, for this is maybe her last moment. † These lines really reflect the uncertainty of life. We are not certain about tomorrow, we are only certain that along with life there is death. Like the woman who is seem so anxious for she do not know if that was her last moment. The next theme I see is about family, friendship, or loved ones. These lines: â€Å"She never looks up. Does she look back to the first meeting? Or the last parting? † tells us that every moment we spend with our loved ones should be cherish. We should not waste time for maybe that time will be the last time together. The woman never looks up. Even though the poem did not literally say that the woman is reminiscing the past, we can clearly say that she is looking back either the past memories which is the first meeting or the last parting. When a person is alone he/she will have the tendency to imagine the future or remember the past memories. This instance gives him/her the strength to survive. The past memories give us hope in the future. And, it is nice to reminisce the past. It gives us the picture that life is beautiful and has meanings. One of the themes that really strike in poem is the theme about peace (cooperation). In knitting, the threads are bind as one. The hands of the knitter should be well coordinated so that the final product will have the right appearance as the knitter is planning. The hands and the mind should be well coordinated so that the process will become easier and faster. The woman did not look up because she wants to be focused on what she is doing. The poem is portraying the kind of people that Vietnam should have. The country should have the people that will coordinate with the advocacy of the country. Thus, everything should be deal with coordination and peace. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien portrays the kind of burdens that the soldier is carrying. Their position and the life that they are going thru pictured out the kind of people. Jimmy cross is a person who is bothered by the memories that he have with the lady. His thoughts make him unable to fulfill his duty with full concentration. After Jimmy Cross realized (after the death of his co-soldier) that his thought bothers him and enable him not to concentrate to his duty, he burns the memories that he have with the lady. He burns the letter and the picture that will awaken his heart and thoughts. Basically the poem Woman Knitting tells that everything should be in coordination. Like Cross, his mind and his heart did not coordinate. He was there for the duty but his heart keeps on telling his thoughts about the lady. Also, the poem really tackles about life. At one time they are with their co-soldier but at a single second they were left. What the co-soldier left was the memories and the guilt on Jimmy’s heart. Life slowly unravels its mystery. The poem gives lesson and portrays the meaning of life. And, the book basically gives the events and where the lessons were applied. Life is full of mystery, but there is an assurance that as we go through the journey, mysteries will be revealed. Songs of Road, of Men and Women talks about the nature of life. We are bound to a single journey; death. The character of this poem is the one who is facing the last destination. On the fourth line of the first stanza, the memories flashes like a flame of fire. Memories will be the one that is left when a person die. And, on the last stanza, the poem talks about the reality after a man dies. Men and women will never meet again and after the death of a person, he will be somewhat unremembered since no one will call on him. It surely death that the author is referring since it the poem mentioned about the people who are no longer being called and now with him forever. On the other hand, the poem Quiet talks about memories. This tells us about the kind of life that we are having. People come and go and then leave us behind. This may also refers to the memories after death but this time the character of the poem is no longer the person who will die but the one who will be left behind. On the second stanza of the poem it elaborates the main theme of the poem. That is really the reality. The people we know now will soon leave us. And the one that will be left are the memories. They are like tear drops that once touches the ground will no longer be retrieve. In other words the memories we’ve shared with the people we meet and love will no longer be erased in our hearts; even if a person is far or gone, he is still a pace apart because he rest in our hearts. The poem To Mother talks about the family, especially our mothers. This tackles about what will a person feel when he is far from his family. Mother is the one being given a tribute here because they are the ones portray a real family. One fact is that, even if a son will forget his mother, his mother will never forget him. This is the kind of family that everyone should have. Our family is the first to be there for us in times of trouble. They are the first shoulder that we can lean on when we have problems. One thing also that is remarkable with the family is that we sometimes feel they are unimportant but we can feel their significance or their importance when we are alone or far from them. We may neglect them when they are there but when they are far way we always long to be there on their side. The four poem have slight differences when it comes to there themes. The â€Å"Woman Knitting† talks about out loves ones, their memories and etc. The poem Quiet talks about memories and still the other two talks about the family and about the reality of life. One thing that makes every poem difference from the other is the way or the mode they transmit their themes. They are like patches of poetry that makes the whole theme more concrete. And, one thing that makes them common is that they talks about the life of a person. They talks about families. They talks about the importance of each other. As far as the four poem is concerned, life is really a broad journey that everyday should be cherish. Work cited: Woman Knitting. Retrieved May 5, 2007 from http://www. essaywriters. net/sys/index. php? rate=5&id=65336 O’Brien, T. (2006). The Things They Carried. Retrieved May 5, 2007 from http://www. sparknotes. com/lit/thingscarried/section1. html Songs of the Road, of Men and Women. Retrieve May 13, 2007 from http://www. essaywriters. net/sys/index. php? rate=5&id=67401 Quiet. Retrieve May 13, 2007 from http://www. essaywriters. net/sys/index. php? rate=5&id=67401 To Mother. Retrieve May 13, 2007 from http://www. essaywriters. net/sys/index. php? rate=5&id=67401