Mary Rowlandson :: essays research papers

History Mary Rowlandson was an Indian captive, and also an American writer. She was born in England approximately 1637-1638. She immigrated to Lancaster, Massachusetts with her parents. Joseph Rowlandson became a minister in 1654 and two years later he married Mary. They together had four children, one whom died as an infant, but the others were Joseph, Mary, and Sarah. On February 20, 1676, Mary and her three children were taken captive in their home during a raid of the Native Americans uprising known as King Philip’s War along with 23 other people. Her children were the ages 14, 10 and 6. Sarah was 6; she died in captivity due to her wounds. She also lost her sister, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews. Of the 23 people who were captured in the raid, thirteen of them were Rowlandson family members. Mary was sold as a slave and her two children went to other masters. Mary Rowlandson was ransomed at ₤20 just three months after she was captured. She was returned to Princeton, Massachusetts on May 2, 1676. Soon after that, her two surviving children were returned. Joseph Rowlandson died in 1691 at the age of forty-seven. It was said that Mary died shortly after her husband’s death but come to find out just nine months after the death of her husband, Mary married Connecticut leader, Capt. Samuel Talcott. There were no more known details of her life except for a court testimony in 1707. Mary White Rowlandson Talcott died at the age of seventy-three on January 5, 1711. Works   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The narrative that Rowlandson wrote was originally titled â€Å"The Sovereignty & Goodness of God, Together with the Faithfulness of His Promise Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson Commended by her to all that Desire to Know the Lord’s Doings to, and Dealings with Her. Especially to her Dear Children and Relations.† In 1682, the title was dropped and republished the narrative under the title â€Å"Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson† which is best known as today. This book is separated into â€Å"removes.† The first three â€Å"removes† focus on her desperate efforts to care for her dying daughter. The rest of the â€Å"removes† focus on the difficulties she faced while being kidnapped and held captive.

As Good As It Gets?: An Examination Of The Mechanism And Mode Of Treatm

As Good As It Gets?: An Examination Of The Mechanism And Mode Of Treatment Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Obsessive-compulsive disorder, often referred to as simply OCD, is a mental illness in which an individual experiences endless cycles of repeated thoughts and rituals, known as obsessions and compulsions, which she feels she cannot control (1). Although many people possess habits and routines that help them organize their every day schedules, people with OCD form patterns of behavior that are extremely time-consuming and interfere with their daily lives. Once believed to be a rare and incurable disease which people kept hidden for fear of embarrassment (2), OCD is now recognized as being far more common than previously believed, affecting both men and women, and people of all races and socio-economic backgrounds equally (3). In fact, recent studies have shown that about 2.5% of the population have this disorder at some point in their lives (2), with between 3 to 5 million Americans affected with the disorder each year (3). Though OCD is a chronic illness that can take over a person's life if left untreated (1), a strict regiment involving proper medication and effective treatment can vastly improve the OCD sufferer's condition. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is composed of two major constituents evident in its very name - obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are recurring thoughts or impulses that seem to invade one's mind despite attempts to ignore or suppress them (4). Though these thoughts range from the tedious and seemingly innocuous sort, to the shameful and morbid kind, all are generally viewed as senseless and are accompanied by anxiety to some degree (4). Some common examples of obsessions include: fe... ...tion remains an option. Regardless of whether an OCD patient is treated in or out of a hospital, treatment is vital in improving his condition, for if left untreated, the disorder will continue indefinitely (3). With the wide range of treatment options available to OCD sufferers and the extensive studies being conducted in lieu of the disorder, the promise of a future with less worries and anxiety appears to be well within reach. WWW Sources 1) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder , on the National Institute of Mental Health website http://www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety/ocdfacts.cfm 2) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: What Is It and How To Treat It http://familydoctor.org/133.xml 3) Most Frequently Asked Questions About OCD http://www.ocdhelp.org/faq.html 4) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder , on the Encyclopaedia Britannica website http://www.britannica.com/

Self and Other: The Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

With his critical essay: "Hawthorne's Awakening in the Customhouse" Loving gives the reader a psychoanalytical reading of The Scarlet Letter. Loving pays close attention to Hawthorne's unconscious motives and feelings in his interpretation of Hawthorne's writing. He is particularly concerned about the radical change of direction that Hawthorne takes in altering the initial course of his story by adding an unexpected ending. The ending, as presented to the reader in the last three chapters, undermines the notion of emancipation Hawthorne had developed throughout the story. Loving argues that Hawthorne withheld in this way a significant piece of information which would have enlightened the reader about Hawthorne’s true self: â€Å"The author’s last minute retreat from the primordial sense of himself in The Scarlet Letter may have preserved his sanity to some extent (...) but it also cost him (and us) the true ending of the novel†. (Loving, p. 23) Loving considers the novel as a highly autobiographical account in which Hawthorne unconsciously attempts to first and foremost resolve his relationship with his mother. Central to the understanding of the nature of this relationship are the recurring themes of "guilt" and "crime". The "guilt" Hawthorne suffers from is derived from the "crime" of having broken the bond with his mother by secretly getting engaged to Sophia. In the process of writing The Scarlet Letter, he uncovered his unnaturally close and dependent relationship to his mother from which his sense of guilt originally derived. Since he did not want this sense of guilt to be revealed to the reader, he added â€Å"The Customhouse† to shift the focus of the origin of his guilt onto his ancestors. According to Hawthorne, â€Å"The Customhouse† was written to increase the overall length of The Scarlet Letter. Loving however, claims â€Å"The Customhouse† to be a cover-up for Hawthorne's deep identity crisis: " He desperately needed a beginning (...) that would save him from the self he had revealed in the true text" (Loving, p.

Womens Rights After the American Revolution

Nadine Elsigai APUSH Ms. Shalimar November 10, 2012 FRQ The American revolution set the wheels into motion for the Women’s Rights movement, it helped shaped the lives of even today’s women. Between 1790 and 1860 the roles of women dramatically changed politically and socially, it brought on a new era for women creating a more empowered sense of womanhood opening up job opportunities and giving women a chance at equality. With the American revolution came an entirely new perspective of female ability.A entire political world was opened up to the female population education became more common for the group of white middle class women. Changing dramatically form being souly educated for religious purposes, the demand for education for women increased it was a battle very quickly won and women slowly became more well-rounded and knowledgeable. Although women’s legal rights were still little it was becoming more evident that they were capable of more than what was pre viously believed.Many new arguments arose questioning how a women trusted with the duty of shaping the future generation was ‘small minded’. Women themselves were realizing their own abilities. During the revolution they helped as much as they could using their needlework to pay off war debts, this boosted the women’s confidence many were expecting better occupations as well as voting rights. These events all led to the women’s awakening and prompted them to fight for their rights.The revolution also prompted many social changes for women. The acts women accomplished during the revolution opened the eyes of many dramatically changing the role of women within society as a whole. Following the American revolution women went from begin the slaves of their household to becoming a more valued role within society. Women were slowly shedding the weak frail image of themselves and welcomed new responsibilities with opened arms.

An analysis on leaderships’ effect on culture Essay

Facts ConnectCo is an outbound call center in Toronto, Ontario and is the Canadian Subsidiary of a U.S. marketing and sales consulting practice. The parent company has provided services to Fortune 500 companies over its five years of operations and employs approximately 75 people. ConnectCo has annual revenues of $29.4 million, with Symbol Office Solution as their biggest account at $20 million annually, for a contract length of three years. This contract awarded ConnectCo net profits as high as 35% of sales. What ConnectCo offers to clients is the convenience and cost savings of removing a costly field sales force and replaces them with a more cost efficient outbound call center. These call centers help customers with technical problems, provide new equipment updates, and disseminates knowledge about new technologies or equipment. The Symbol account, as previously mentioned, provides a significant sum of ConnectCo`s total revenue and was first negotiated by Charlie Gallagher, the vice-pre sident of Canadian operations, and is managed by Chad Macdonald. Joe Davis is a passionate and experienced consultant that has worked closely with clients to identify and implement solutions to very specific problems. He joined ConnectCo hoping to learn from the pool of experience that he saw within the organization, with the majority of them being former Xerox employees with considerable knowledge in increasing sales. His role in the organization was to ensure that the level of service that ConnectCo provided met or surpassed the needs of clients. As per his position within the company he was the first to notice the discrepancy within the Symbol account. The contract that was signed between ConnectCo and Symbol required that there be a certain number of Inside Account Executives (IAE) that be trained at all times and at a phone making calls in the client`s interests. The recent decline in the IAE pool has left several seats open, with no calls being placed on behalf of Symbol, however they were still billing the customer as if the seats where all operating at full capacity while they should only be billing them for filled operators. The amount of the discrepancy totals $81000. The terms of the contract have been modified several times over its effective term with the first being an extension of the contract and the notice of intent to develop mutually agreed to service levels. Service level targets were never established. Symptoms The four factoring symptoms are communication, trust, accountability, responsibility and integrity. These symptoms are the leading cause for Connectco’s inability to run operations smoothly and effectively. The lack of communication within Connectco is causing headaches for Davis as information continues to be blocked by â€Å"noise† within the company. The communication is next to nonexistent from the top of the hierarchy to the department managers within the company. The lack of trust throughout the company is not helping their cause when trying to create an effective and demanded product for fortune 500 companies. There is little trust betwee the top managers and employees that they will complete their respected jobs at hand with the level of trust level between employees and managers decaying over time and as the situation worsens. Accountability is near nonexistent within the organization. Davis is not able to hold his manager accountable because of his past record in doing so. Accountability is crucial in order for Connectco to run smoothly in the future. Conflict frequently causes employees to look to offload their work onto others to not be responsible for failure, as in the case of Chad Macdonald passing the role of dealing with the Symbol account off to Joe Davis. Finally, there is little integrity. Dealing with the account neither Chad nor Charlie believe that the best solution would be to deal with the problem and would both prefer to make a decision that would go against the main values of the corporation that includes trustworthiness. There is a valid case of values incongruence within ConnectCo. These four main symptoms are major attributes to the problems faced within Connectco and are the four elements that may be the solutions to solving Connectco’s organizational problems in the near future. Problem Statement ConnectCo`s current situation is the direct result of the poor corporate culture as evidenced by the symptoms that are present. This culture stems from the leadership`s poor ethics and lack of values and has cascaded to the rest of the organization. Joe Davis, the new manager of the Planning and Reporting department for ConnectCo, began his new job about a month ago finds himself in the uncomfortable situation of questioning the morals of his coworkers that has led to the jeopardized relationship between ConnectCo and their largest client: Symbol Office Solutions. Joe must decide how to approach this conflicting situation as a new member of the company without compromising his own morals and values. Analysis In evaluating the relevant models to address the problem statement there is one model in particular that effectively incorporates several of the models needed to perform an analysis of the corporate culture at ConnectCo; Edgar H. Schein’s Model of Organizational Culture. Schein’s model is the most relevant to identify the reason for the symptoms and problems currently facing ConnectCo. The incorporation of the many different aspects to identify the culture of an organization including atifacts, shared values, and shared assumptions enables a thorough review of the culture present at ConnectCo. The following analysis will break down Schein’s model and evaluate each section with the following relevant analysis to get a better understanding of the situation. It will be presented in the following order; artifacts, shared values, shared assumptions. Artifacts Communication within the ConnectCo organization does not represent the ideal scenario for a well-run organization. This lack of proper communication and clarity is unfortunately spilling over into its business dealings with clients. Both represent one of the most evident aspects of the artifacts of the company, the cultural norms that are evident to others and neither is impressive. To begin, this analysis will focus on internal communication and then shift focus to the external communication with other organizations. â€Å"Davis opened up a new message and types a simple e-mail, in case Gallagher picked it up with his Blackberry†. This is but one example of the many e-mail conversations that take place within the ConnectCo organization. The situation that ConnectCo finds themselves in is extremely complicated, owing a client a credit for $81000, yet the medium with which Joe Davis chose to use to relay his message was e-mail. A quick analysis of the media richness hierarchy model shows that in this particular situation, which can be easily identified as non-routine and ambiguous, this medium carries too little data-carrying capacity. If ConnectCo is going to come up with a solution they are going to need to switch to a much richer medium such as face-to-face to get a better understanding of the issue and come up with better outcomes. A second occasion that warrants investigation is the initial email from Joe Davis to Charlie Gallagher. In this initial email he again used to wrong medium to convey the breadth of the issue that is ambiguous and non-routine. Charlie chose to respond in an email as well, with nine words. This will play a factor again in the analysis of the shared values, more specifically the espoused values that leadership (Gallagher) conveys. Communication between the organizations is also very weak, speaking to the weak cultural artifacts of the ConnectCo organization, and possibly Symbol. It has been acknowledged that they do indeed have face to face communications with their customers, Gallagher does meet with Puhl for golfing events face to face, this does not represent an ideal time, however, as the venue is much to informal to discuss business matters as public meetings contain significant noise, literally and figuratively, that may lead to the message being decoded incorrectly. The rest of the communication between the two parties, even between the account relationship manager Chad MacDonald and Steve Puhl was done either by telephone or by email. Another aspect of the artifacts of communication that deserves attention is the construction of the contract. Again, the communication process model is most relevant and one of the simplest ways to word the breakdown is that the contract contained too much noise and was not properly decoded by ConnectCo. The ambiguity of the contract comes from many revisions, some of which were not even available to the relevant employees such as Joe Davis and using words such as â€Å"notwithstanding† which was interpreted differently by Joe Davis, Chad MacDonald, and Charlie Gallagher. This occurred because the contract was not descriptive enough. Another aspect to the artifacts portion of the model of organizational culture is the ceremonies that take place within the organization. These ceremonies are used by certain employees and management to get the attention of an audience. In this particular situation the most evident are the golfing trips that Gallagher takes with clients to cement his position as the most important contact to the clients. And finally, the organizational structure, which has a great effect on culture. ConnectCo currently has a client structure, as negotiated within the contract agreement, the organization will maintain a set number of staff specifically to service that account. Espoused Values â€Å"Our values reflect what is important to us. They are a shorthand way of describing our individual and collective motivations. Together with beliefs, they are the causal factors that drive our decision-making.† (http://www.valuescentre.com/values/?sec=values_overview) The above quote reflects what should be the core of any business, the values shared by all of the different employees congruent to the plan laid out by management for the success of the organization. In Schein`s model shared or espoused values represent the second of the 3 components and the first of the invisible dynamics, as in they cannot be easily observed by others. Richard Barrett, author of Building a Values-Driven Organisation: A Whole System Approach to Cultural Transformation believes that values can be either positive or negative and each can have an equal and opposite effect on the corporations culture. The espoused values must begin as an individual value through some authority figure, such as a founder, senior management, or even an individual with significant power within an organization. These individuals` culture then influences their immediate coworkers, the teams with which they operate, then the organization as a whole. These individuals can therefore set the values for the whole organization regardless of what the dominant culture of the organization through countercultures. â€Å" The culture of an organisation, or any group of individuals that share a common identity, is a reflection of the values and beliefs of the leadersâ€Å". (http://www.valuescentre.com/leadership/?sec=leadership__culture) With limited information on the dominant culture of ConnectCo as established by its American head company, which include integrity and trustworthiness, it can only be assumed that the culture that prevails at Connectco is a subculture of the organization as a whole. The following analysis suggests that the counterculture present in ConnectCo is the direct result of the actions of Charlie Gallagher. As the leader in the organization Charlie has had a profound effect on the values and ethics present within the organization. His handling of the Symbol account clearly demonstrates his values and ethics. His position as leader and culture setter warrants investigation based on several components. First, the competency of his leadership will be analyzed incorporating an analysis of his personal values and the source of his power. To begin, Charlie possesses several characteristics of an effective leader. He has significant self-concept, his personality skills are high, he has the motivation to be a leader, and significant knowledge of the business. These competencies push those that work for him to have the same skills as demonstrated in Chad MacDonald; however, his low integrity has also been transmitted to other co-workers. By encouraging Davis to p lay with the numbers and do things that were out of the contract he shows his low integrity. This has led to a lack of trust that is evident from Joe Davis and several other members of the ConnectCo staff throughout the handling of the symbol account. This is not the only negative quality that has displayed. Gallagher also exhibits limited cognitive and practical intelligence. His recommendation to simply `go with the lowest cost` shows a lack of understanding of the situation (and going back to communication) the ambiguity of the situation , this has pervaded to his employees where Chad was more than willing to agree to a band aid solution going against ethical business practices. Neither fully understands the situation and Chad was more than happy to hand off the problem to Joe Davis even though he was the relationship manager on the account and dealing with clients is outside of the scope of work for Joe Davis. The reason for Gallagher`s lack of integrity can be easily explained through the Swartz values circumplex. Clearly, Gallagher is more focused on self-enhancement, his need for achievement is evidenced through the fact that everyone must know that he is the one that negotiated the Symbol account and demonstrated through his golf business trips, as well as his refusal to accept responsibility for poorly negotiating a contract and failing to adhere and communicate the contents of the contracts that he signed. He is also a leader that craves power and prefers significant power distance, as proven by his screening of his employees’ calls and not showing up to the meeting with Joe Davis and Chad MacDonald to clarify the contract for them. Both of these values compromise his integrity and unfortunately those values are only two that his leadership has caused the rest of the organization to adopt, the need for security security being another. Gallagher`s aforementioned need for power is also affecting the culture of the organization. His handling of the Symbol account and the contract shows that he uses a wheel formation of information control to maintain power within the organization. By him going golfing with the big shots at Symbol rather than relationship manager Chad, shows that he needs to maintain that control of information which in turn gives him control over Chad and the account. This is combined with Joe Davis` perception of an upward appeal within the organization that made him rethink his ability to go to the higher ups with the information because he believes that the management will take the side of Gallagher given that they are both MBA graduates. Fear is an influence tactic that Gallagher has wielded to maintain order and obedience from his employees through his connection with the president. The effect on culture is that because employees cannot contact upper management the values that he imposes on the organization will be the ones that dictate how operations are carried out. Indirectly, this is what has causes the problem with ConnectCo and Symbol. Gallagher controlling the information has prevented Chad from acting in the best interest of the company to ensure the contract is followed and that there are no issues. It also means that now since the contract has not been followed the persons involves will use the cultural aspects of poor integrity and dodging that he has used with his employees as Chad demonstrated by dodging Steve Puhl and pushing the problem onto Joe Davis. Shared Assumptions and Values Analysing the shared assumptions of ConnectCo with the Schwartz’s Values Circumplex, we notice that the company talks about wanting to keep their most important client Symbol satisfied by valuing self-transcendence and conservation however their actions and dealing of the contract with Symbol do not reflect those values. The appropriate way to describe the values that ConnectCo tend to go by is self-enhancing. They are working for the client to provide them with everything listed in the contract, in this case a sufficient amount of IAEs, but are hiding information from Symbol to protect their own well-being. This seems to be enforced by Charlie Gallagher as he is telling Joe Davis that they should not have to pay any penalty fees to Symbol for empty seats at the IAE position if there are current individuals in training for that position. Now we will look at the ethical values and behaviour the moral intensity of ConnectCo, more specifically Charlie Gallagher’s ethical s ensitivity to the issue. The degree to which they should be applying ethical principles should be is high because Symbol is their biggest client and has trusted ConnectCo for a few years. However, the intensity being put forth is minimal as they are trying to get out of paying money to Symbol for not having staffed enough IAE’s and they are forcing Joe Davis to go against his values and follow suit. This shows how little Charlie Gallagher cares about ethically conducting operations with clients and co-workers, as Joe Davis is being pressured into complying with Charlie’s demand because he does not want to risk losing his job even though what Charlie is telling him to do is illegal. Taking a look at the conflict process model we find our sources of conflict between, Gallagher, Davis and Steve Puhl from Symbol. The most obvious source is the communication between Gallagher and Puhl. First of all the contract between the two is too vague and open for interpretation as the service level targets have not been defined for almost two years. Charlie is also not communicating the issue of his understanding of the contract, as he is just assuming that they should not have to pay Symbol credit for not having the specified amount of IAE’s because he is claiming that during those times they had individuals in training to fill those positions. Another issue is that even if what Gallagher interpreted was true, he does not have any data to prove that he had employees in training because he failed to communicate to Chad MacDonald, Joe Davis and to Carole Lam the exact details of the contract. This puts Joe in a uncomfortable situation when he receives a call from Steve Puhl and is unsure what the contract requirements. Another source of conflict is the incompatible goals and differentiation between Charlie and Joe. Joe is simply trying to do the right thing because he is new to the company and wants to make a good impression by doing things ethically however Charlie is trying to make it seem like he is fulfilling the terms of the contract by making assumptions of the contract to get away with not having to pay Symbol their deserved credit. Another source of conflict is the scarcity of important resources. As mentioned previously Carole Lam the analyst was never told to keep data on the amount of days and which days that employees were in training. Joe needed this data to complete his work but obviously was unable to retrieve complete and accurate data on employee training. The way that Charlie seems to be handling this conflict is by avoiding communication with clients and co-workers. He is notorious for screening calls, he failed to show up to a meeting with Chad MacDonald and Joe Davis, and when asked how to calculate the credit owed to Symbol he simply tells Davis to use the lowest cost to save ConnectCo money and make himself look good. He also does not seem to be of much help to Joe Davis as Gallagher is the one who began this lack of communication which has led to faulty handling of Symbol’s credit account, and seems to be avoiding Joe Davis. This is causing the rest of the employees to obey his ideas beca use they have no idea what the contract actually calls for and even if they did know, would likely be unwilling to challenge his decisions because he is higher up in the company. Alternatives Alternative #1: Bring these numbers and issues to the President and CEO Pros| Cons| * Issues dealing with the Symbol account get addressed * Issues with the culture of the organization get addressed * Issues are addressed to an authority that can fix these problems and remove the negative counterculture * Keeps the organization from committing accounting fraud like other companies (Enron) * Brings to light all the ethical issues surrounding Charlie Gallagher and Chad MacDonald * Addresses turnover issues that have become routine in the company| * This act could cause tension between Joe and his direct superior (Gallagher) * There is a risk that the President sees this act as disloyal * Working with Gallagher and MacDonald after bringing their issues to light will be difficult moving forward * President/CEO may share the same dysfunctional attitude towards the culture in the organization| This alternative should include him making an appointment with the President/CEO and bringing analyst Carole Lam to help support his findings. She is well aware with the financial numbers and how Gallagher is letting ConnectCo take money from their top client. This meeting needs to be face-to-face in order to bring about the severity of the conflicting situation. The meeting needs to include all facets of the organizations current lack of corporate ethical values and which individuals must be held accountable. Joe must conclude that if there are immediate corporate culture changes, he would still like to keep working with Gallagher and MacDonald and build a trusting and functional working relationship with both. This will help ease the tension between himself and his immediate superior as well as showing the President that he is capable of handling mismanagement. This alternative is highly recommended and addresses all the facets of this situation. Alternative #2: Quit and find another job Pros| Cons| * Joe no longer has to deal with the resoundingly shaky ethical structure and poor communication at ConnectCo * Joe doesn’t become a â€Å"part of the problem† * Joe no longer has to deal with Gallagher’s lack of trust and consideration with their top clientele at his cost * Joe doesn’t become an accomplice to committing accounting fraud| * Leaving an organization after only one month doesn’t look good to future prospective employers * This would go against his newly engaged fiancà ©e who wanted to see him â€Å"get off the road† * No severance package * No recommendation or verbal support from ConnectCo once he leaves| This alternative does not come recommended as it leaves Joe and ConnectCo with an uncertain future. Should Joe decide to leave the company, he would not get a severance package and future employers will wonder why he lasted only a month at his previous job making it more difficult to find employment opportunities. Also, his fiancà ©e did not want his moving around for work a lot and two jobs in less than two months will leave his situation at home stressful. Also, should prospective employers contact ConnectCo, they would have no reason to support Joe for his limited work. Although Joe does not have to deal with this poor corporate culture, running away from the situation does not help in any positive way. Alternative #3: Try to resolve issue without Chad MacDonald or Charlie Gallagher Pros| Cons| * Helps ease relationship between ConnectCo and Symbol * Steve Puhl does not have to deal with Chad (who he is getting nowhere with) * Joe can try to incorporate cultural changes to those he can * Has Carole Lam to help him fix the financial disparities of the comapny| * Leaving Chad and Charlie in the dark is risky * Steve Puhl may accidently contact Chad or Charlie and miscommunication may occur * Does not address how to fix the imminent turnover issues surrounding the IAE’s * Not reporting these changes with his superior could cost him his job| Because Joe handles the reporting side of the company, it would go against his responsibilities as an employee to bring up any new information regarding Symbol and can be subject to his employment being terminated if Gallagher was to find out. This alternative is incredibly risky, but does see some rewards. These rewards include easing the relationship between ConnectCo and Symbol and slowly changing the culture in the corporation as best he can. Unfortunately, he is only just a manager and a new one, so it would be hard for him to get others to respond to his command when there hasn’t been enough relationship development between his other employees. With this in mind, it is best to look at other alternatives. Recommendation Our recommendation is based off of Alternative #1, in which we suggest brining the financial statements and issues to the attention of the President and CEO. This will allow us to ensure that all problems in relation to the Symbol account and the culture of the organization are addressed accordingly. This will also shed light on the ethical issues that need to be addressed, surrounding Gallagher and MacDonald. As well, it will prevent any consequences from occurring, resulting from accounting fraud. Once Joe Davis meets with the President and CEO to inform them of his findings, it will be up to the President to create and urgency for change within the organization. In order to implement this change we would recommend the use of Lewin’s Force Field Analysis Model. By implementing this model the President could unfreeze the current situation, change the organizational culture and ethics of the company, and then freeze the company in that state. By doing so the company would chan ge into operating with a more socially responsible client first attitude. By creating urgency for change the President could use client satisfaction as a driving force to push the employees, in order to ensure each client receives the customer service they deserve. By ensuring the client is always receiving social and ethical treatment, it will drive away any restraining forces, such as lack of integrity, which can be attributed to the accounting fraud. Now we can consider how the President could unfreeze and re-freeze the company in order to complete the change. The President should focus on creating an adaptive culture, in which the company will have an external focus. By creating an external focus the employees will realize that the organizations success depends on continuous change to be a more stakeholder and client oriented company. In this situation it means focusing on changing into a more socially and ethically aware organization to better serve the clients. There is also an internal focus that must be implemented as well. This includes employees working towards the organizational goals that are set. In this situation the organizational goals would be to provide better customer service. As well by creating an adaptive culture, employees would have a stronger sense of ownership within the organization, and therefore take more responsibility for their performance and tasks. Therefore we believe that since a company’s culture often reflects the leader’s personality, it really is up to the President to make the steps necessary to change the organization. One final step we would recommend taking, is to fire Charlie Gallagher. The basis of firing Gallagher is the fact that he was trying to commit accounting fraud. Therefore the company would have just cause for his dismissal. By firing Gallagher, this would also be the first step towards creating a socially and ethically driven company; Gallagher is simply a restraining force that is preventing the organization from making that move towards a better organizational culture. Action Plan Our recommendation is often referred to as whistle blowing, which is when a company employee goes public or to his superiors with private information that could hurt the company. This technique is usually used when social and ethical responsibilities are being neglected or ignored. While it may seem simple enough, the process is far from smooth and the employee doing the whistle blowing is often made out to be a burnt out low level employee who is unhappy. So before Joe does anything of the sort he must be prepared for anything to happen. The best way to approach this alternative would be: 1. Collect all relevant information and be prepared to present your case and be able to answer any and all questions 2. No president of CEO wants to hear that their company’s values and ethics are being compromised, so he must prepare a plan B in order to protect himself from media and personal scrutiny. 3. Joe must schedule a face-to-face meeting with the CEO to ensure that there is no outs ide noise or misinterpretations with his information and language 4. When presenting his findings, Joe must deliver his message in a way that is not an attack or critique. He must not point out what is wrong but what needs to be improved and why. 5. As part of his presentation Joe needs to incorporate his own recommendations and action plan. Once he goes through with this meeting there is not turning back. The recommendation and action plan should follow a similar tone to what was mentioned above, it should not only identify the problems but what needs to be done to fix them and how to go about fixing them. 6. After the meeting is over all Joe can do is wait for the decisions by the CEO and board of governors. At this point in time a lot of different things can happen and Joe needs to be prepared for any outcome. The optimistic outcome would be to have your action plan ready to implement and begin fixing the company. The pessimistic outcome would be that they reject his action plan and making his career a nightmare. If this were the case Joe should be prepared to look for another job, or be prepared to defend himself from public scrutiny. Joe is caught in the middle of a lose-lose situation, so his best alternative is the lesser of two evils. It is difficult being the new guy in a company, especially when you’re the one telling that what they are doing is wrong. However, sometimes it takes an outside perspective to identify the problems that have gone unnoticed for too long. If Joe can present a clear and strong case that does not personally offend the CEO, and present the opportunities for improvement, the process should run as smooth as possible.

Benefits and opportunity to the business Essay

An effective ‘Marketing Mix’ including all 7 is a way of identifying a businesses achievements of marketing objectives, meeting customer needs, is balanced and consistent, creates a competitive advantage and matches corporate resources. ‘It is known as a â€Å"mix† because each ingredient affects the other and the mix must overall be suitable to the target customer’. The 7p’s include: -Product -Price -Place -Promotion -People -Process -Physical Evidence * Product: This is first considered in the marketing mix as it all depends on it. This can be a physical product or a service that the corporation is offering to the public. The only way to have a good marketing strategy is by making sure that the ‘product’ is up to standard, promoting every quality part of that good or service. ASOS Products: ASOS promotes their products very effectively as they use clever visual tools such as 360-degree view of their product, video and picture to enhance the quality of the product itself. They also provide a range of products and service including clothes, accessories, shoes/sandals etc and its provided for men and women. They include their own brand and designer wear which shows that they have high quality in their product. ASOS have mentioned in their annual report that their 20 biggest brands are now represented by a ‘shop in shop’ providing a rich brand experience for their customers and a unique distribution platform for ASOS brand partners. ASOS also sells a range of products matching famous celebrity’s outfits that customers would want to buy. ASOS, online or in their magazine provides customers the latest fashion info and what not to wear giving them an advantage to promote their products. Their business attract over 5.2 million visitors per month and has over 24,000 lines for sale. * Price: This is the total amount a customer pays for the product. It is decided through a number of factors a product have to offer including material costs, product identity, competition, market share and the customer’s percieved value of the product. If other store/business have the same product on stock other businesses may decrease or increase their price for customer satisfaction. ASOS Price: Thier price for the products vary depending on the product – quality, brand etc. For the designer items it can be expensive, although ASOS may provide same looking product without the brand name making it affordable. With the price they offer ASOS is making a Profit over  £10,009,000 (figure taken from ASOS annual report) as they have increased number of active shoppers over 1.2 million. * Place: Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often known as the distribution channel. The place can be situated as a physical store or as virtuals stores on the internet. ASOS Place: ASOS.com is rapidly becoming the market leader in the UK online fashion world. All the products are sold ONLINE and not located anywhere else where people can purchase ASOS items Promotion: Is a way of communication that a business/organisation may use in the market place. It enables the marketer to a advertise the product or service being provided by them. Advertisement is a powerful tool that corporations uses to enhance their products/service to encourage buyers/customers. Promotion has four distinct elements made up of advertising, public relations, word of mouth and point of sale. ASOS Promotion: As their business is purely based upon the internet everything is promoted through the World Wide Web on the website and off. They have promotion on other websites and also ASOS has developed an application to allow customers to track particular products on its sites through their web browser, whatever websites they are looking at. The online retailer has used functionality within the latest version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 web brower. ASOS.com also mentions on the annual report that one of their aim is to have Uncompromising Presentation. ‘The ASOS website is our shop window and we will continue to develop it to ensure that our customers enjoy their time on the site and find it easy to find their way around it’ this being a vital promotion towards their website. ASOS organisation communicates information about their product and service to potential customers by identifying customer details and sends them information through mail, post etc aiming to sell the products. Another advertising method ASOS uses on their website is that they have added a page of feedback from customers which enables ‘public relation’ which is one of the promotion powerful element. People: It is appropriate to have people in the marketing of services as all people who directly or indirectly influence the perceied value of the product or service, inlcuding knowledge workers, employees, management of the business and also the consumers. People deliver services – they could be any mentioned. People promote and sell. products and services. For example promotion elements inlcuding ‘word of mouth’ ‘public relation’ is achieved through PEOPLE. Service quality is a key source of customer retention and brand differentiation. Hence skills, manner and appearance are important. ASOS People: Are their employees, customers – their family and friends, and any other people associated with ASOS.com. Employees are important to this strategy of marketing mix as in can be those who deliever the products to customers. So they have to polite, helpful and have the knowledge of the business for them to answer any questions provided by the customer. It can also be the employees that answer the phone when any customer calls for any quiries. ASOS.com also have employees updating their website and replying to emails and online comments on their feedback page. ASOS employees has the knowledge, training and other aspect helping the business with marketing for their business. ASOS customers are also people that help in the marketing of services as they spread the business information. Process: This is the procedures of activities which lead to an exchange of value. The process should include how customers are handled from first and last point of contact. ASOS Process: ASOS is determined to be number one in the online market. They have thought through their process and kept it clear and have made it customer satisfactory. ASOS’s strategy consists of aims that has a well-defined process. ASOS have control of their website, their information/images etc are presented without any doubt intelligibly promotional. Payments are all done through their website online as they are only an online business. Also they have a step-by-step information on how to use and buy off their website, they also have page on delivery information. Here they can track down on where shopping is, know how much is cost to deliver, know when to expect the delievery etc. Physical Evidence: It is the tangible form of the service – the service – this can include how a customer is treated by a staff member, a train ticket, the length of time a customer has to wait for service or their product (depending on the business). A physical evidence is aproof for customer to measure whether he or she has recieved value. ASOS Physical Evidence: As ASOS.com is an online company their customer has difficulty not knowing how for example a dress will feel, look on them. ASOS therefore provides annual reports, articles, etc showing them that ASOS products are worth the value. ASOS helps customers with their products by giving them full information about the product. They have recieved awards that convince customers to buy online. First award was given to them in 2008 from Company High Street Awards for ‘Best Place To Spend’ and the second was given in 2009 from Drapers Etail Awards for ‘Best Customer Experience Cosmopolitan Online Fashion Awards – Best for Bargains’. ASOS allows to give unwanted products back and their staff are always helpful and polite towards their customer as its one of their business objectives.

A Study of The Two Marriage Proposals that Elizabeth Declines: Romance Versus Security Essay

Romance Versus Security. â€Å"It is universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.† These are the words of Jane Austen, and like many people of her time, she believed very much in the importance of finding a wealthy husband for young women. Jane Austen’s novel reflects the importance of marriage to many people around 1775. Although events such as the industrial revolution were sweeping the country, these were ignored and the life of a few middle class families in a country village were depicted. Marriage at this time was a way of securing a happy livelihood and relative happiness; love was not really a factor, marriage was a source of financial security. Being more of a convenience than a romantic affair. However this was beginning to become a factor as traditions slowly changed around this period. Still many women married to their advantage; there was still a very rigid class system although a new middle class was beginning to emerge. The alternative was life as a governess, which was not one of great social status. Jane Austen believed that marriage was â€Å"The only honourable provision for well educated young woman of small fortune.† This wasn’t a romantic union; it was a contract. A character that does value the importance of marriage for her daughters is Mrs. Bennet. † The business of her life was to get her daughters married.† This is because her current home, Longbourn estate, is entailed to a cousin Mr. Collins. This means when Mr. Bennet dies Mr. Collins is heir and the Bennet sisters would either have to rely on the hospitality of their male relative or become a governess. This soon becomes apparent to Mrs. Bennet and she sees it as imperative that her daughters are married off. In Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet receives two proposals of marriage the first from her cousin the bumbling Mr. Collins. The Bennet family had received a letter prior to his arrival; the impression put across is that Mr. Collins is long winded and all over a bit of a fool. This letter prepares the family and the reader for the arrival of a pompous egotist. Mrs. Bennet is excited about his arrival, as it is clear he is passing on marital business, causing great interest among the sisters and above all Mrs. Bennet. At the Netherfield ball he makes a complete show of himself as he lacks decorum and etiquette. His inability to dance is a cause of amusement to the characters and the reader. â€Å"The first two dances, however, brought a return of distress; solemn, apologising instead of intending.† He unwittingly introduces himself to Darcy and recieves a cold reception Whilst joining in the festivities, it becomes clear that Collins greatly admires Lady Catherine De Bourgh, his groveling adorations add to his foolery. He continues to examine every inch of the house comparing it directly to Rosings, in a very rude manner. Just as Collins tedious absurdness reaches its height, Elizabeth begins to fall for Wickham’s charms and stories of hate against Darcy and Collins proposal is unexpected and very unwelcome. Mr. Collins proposal to Elizabeth is a model of comical wit, and cannot be taken seriously, the very way he approaches the matter is ridiculous. â€Å"My reasons for marrying are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Not romantically orientated at all, it is hardly going to win any woman’s heart, least of all Elizabeth’s. He breaks down his reasons, numbering them. And although Collins is sincere, the element of comedy is never lost as he is excessively formal and at great length tries to explain his reason, which is clearly unnecessary. â€Å"†¦Made Elizabeth so near laughing.† The sheer length reflects Collins long winded nature. He even manages to mention Lady Catherine De Bourgh. As he draws to the end of his speech Collins does attempt a little romance, but all in vain: â€Å"†¦The most animated language of the violence of my affections†. Elizabeth becomes a little alarmed and rightly so, as Collins thinks it impossible for her to refuse. â€Å"†¦You are too hasty, sir.† But Collins won’t brook a refusal and continues with his stilted speech until Elizabeth has had enough and forcefully rejects him. Mr. Collins assumes this is the usual behaviour of young woman and that Elizabeth is simply being coy. His ignorance adds to the comedy. It takes 5 firm rejections before he seems to accept her answer. This refusal was very brave of Elizabeth .So much so that it may even be considered foolhardy. She cannot be guaranteed another proposal of marriage. Leaving her future hanging in the balance. Mrs. Bennet is understandably distressed when she hears of Elizabeth’s decision. Mr. Bennet is more relieved. One can hardly see Elizabeth married to a character like Collins. Her intelligence would be stifled. Elizabeth shows spirit and a fiery independence. But she does risk a lot by turning Collins down. However, someone who felt they couldn’t afford to risk no other proposal was Charlotte Lucas. She sees their marriage as a practicality, she needs her home comforts and the security Collins provides. She is already 27 years old and in need of a stable future. This is a direct example of how romance is only beginning to creep into marriage. It is obvious to Elizabeth that there was no romance in Collin’s proposal as he almost instantly moves on and his â€Å"affections† change. When Darcy proposes, it seems unlikely that Elizabeth would dare refuse a second suitor. But as much as Elizabeth couldn’t stand Collins, she despises Darcy. This prejudice is fuelled from a remark Darcy made at the Netherfield ball, â€Å"She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me.† This sparks a great dislike that continues to grow as the book progresses, by the time Darcy decides to propose, Elizabeth has been told by Wickham of his dealings with him and the interference of Bingley and Jane. Like Collins, Darcy is the last person Elizabeth would like to marry at the moment in time. Apart from the prejudice the timing is very off and she is already very agitated. Her prejudice and his pride combine to make the most incompatible two characters, however he is unaware. And in the same way that Collins lacked romance, Darcy’s opening line is hardly a compliment, â€Å"In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed.† Darcy goes on to describe her inferiority and low connections. Despite this rather confident approach, the proposal is flawed from the start. He proceeds to insult her and her true feelings are soon revealed. † I have every reason in the world to think ill of you.† Despite Darcy’s obvious feelings, Elizabeth makes her long standing dislike quite plain. When Elizabeth confronts him about the Wickham incident he doesn’t deny involvement but replies in a sarcastic manner, â€Å"Yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.† By the time Darcy leaves Elizabeth is reeling, she can’t believe his feelings. Astonishment leads to anger, as he showed no sign of denying his involvements with the break up of Jane and Mr. Bingley. To turn down one marriage proposal was risky but to do so again must have been foolish, most women would have thrown themselves at Darcy’s feet. He is a wealthy handsome young suitor. However Elizabeth cannot be married to some one she despises. She makes it perfectly clear to Darcy that however he had proposed she wouldn’t have accepted, â€Å"†¦You could not have made me the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.† There is a rather ironic link that both men that propose are the only two men on earth Elizabeth wouldn’t dream of marrying. This is a great show of strength and courage. With a mother such as Mrs. Bennet it would be difficult to find any one who would be happy to take on such a family connection and Darcy makes it clear that to marry Elizabeth would be a â€Å"degradation† but nothing will deter him. The two marriage proposals are very different and very different outcomes; whether Elizabeth was foolhardy to decline two or not is debatable, but it is true to say she shows great independence considering her financial insecurity and social status. In turning down these proposals, was she ruining her chances of ever having a decent future?