Consider this statement in relation to the Buddha of Suburbia Essay Example

Consider this statement in relation to the Buddha of Suburbia Paper Her identity is understood by religion; the church and bible, Jayne Ayre, school life and of course her mother. Presented by Winterson as an almost tyrannical figure due to her viewpoints, and that of Wintersons with society. Her problems with identity and the seeking of acceptance have been manipulated into her narrative of Oranges letting us see in medias res through the eyes of Jeanette and her world. In Hanif Kureishis The Buddha of Suburbia, Karim, the protagonist, defines himself as having emerged from two old histories (6). Thus Kureishi immediately presents Karims Identity as a hybrid of two dominant cultures, that of India and Britain. Like Winterson, Kureishi loosely bases the novel around personal experiences exploring both his cultural as well as sexual identity, in a struggle to ind and build his own. Racially hybrid himself, Kureishi is rapt by figures who destabilise supposedly pure categories. Since gay men and lesbians traditionally have been despised by conservatives precisely because they are seen to blur prescribed boundaries of gender difference, Kureishi sets out to further blur these boundaries with ambiguous apolitical Karim, who enjoys having sex with both men and women, but he does not identify himself as a bisexual any more than he does as an Englishman or a Paki. We will write a custom essay sample on Consider this statement in relation to the Buddha of Suburbia specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Consider this statement in relation to the Buddha of Suburbia specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Consider this statement in relation to the Buddha of Suburbia specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Karim, and Haroon, his Indian father, seek purpose and meaning centrality in their move from the suburbs to central London, from the geographical but also social periphery to the centre. Regardless of their zealousness , their ethnicity is a literal reminder of difference and that they will have to work unjustly hard to belong in their new city center surroundings . Kureishi depicts both father and sons feelings of alienation, longing to belong and feeling it not only would enhance but is essential for their identity in Britain. trying to be more of an Englishman (7), resulted in vein for Karim and his father until Haroon discovers that by playing up to his Indian origin, becoming a caricature of himself and stereotyping himself to English peoples preconceived ideas concerning his Indian identity becomes much more rapid route to success. Karim hopes the city centre will enable him to shape and improve on his identity, thus giving meaning to his life; moreover, the discovery of constant reminders of his hybridism and difference show that a pure English identity is not something he is at liberty to have, it is not who he is. Karims history depicts that he is neither purely Indian nor purely British and instead of trying to be one or the other he must embrace being hybrid and form his personal identity as an individual around that. they never let him forget they thought him a nigger, a slave, a lower being. And we pursued English roses as we pursued England; by possessing these prizes, this kindness and beauty, we stared defiantly into the eye of the Empire and all its self-regard [ ]. We became part of England and yet proudly stood outside it. (8) Like his father Karim can only become part of the centre by caricaturing himself, and promoting his indian-ness while he believes the success of Charlie is due to his selling Englishness . Whilst acting, he is requested to play ethnic roles, and put on a broad Indian accent, to be authentically Indian even if he has never been to India; Shadwell reminds him that he has been cast for authenticity and not for experience(9). It is roles such as these that aid Karim to embrace both parts of his cultures. As John Clement Ball states, Father and son both become faux-Indians, successfully marketing back to the English warmed-over versions of their own popular appropriations of Indian culture (10). Haroon and Karim are identified by a constant representation of their culture and conform to these pre conceived ideas in order to achieve success. Furthermore as the English had a pre conceived idea of Karim and his father, Haroon was surprised that English reality was not how he had envisioned it. His impression of the British national identity was much more glorified than its reality Hed never seen the English in poverty, as road sweepers, dustmen, shopkeepers and barmen. Hed never seen an Englishman stuffing bread into his mouth with his fingers, and no one has told him that the English didnt wash regularly because the water was cold if they had water at all. And when Dad tried to discuss Byron in local pubs no one warned him that no every Englishman could read (11) Much of Karims story is about identification, specifically being an Englishman born and bred, almost (12). Caught between belonging and not, between his Indian heritage and desire to assimilate into British society, Karim invariably negotiates his hybrid identity (13); but his character seems to posit that there is a space for both identities as did Jeanette in Wintersons Oranges. He accepts much of his Indianness but also appropriates the qualities of British teenagers, revelling in dominant London fashions. Like his ethnic identification, Karims sexual identity is also ambigious. Karim claims that he has no preference to gender and will sleep with anyone, male or female. His first really defining sexual experience is with Charlie. Karims fluid sexuality positions him in a luminal role namely because he does not claim a homosexual/heterosexual identity nor an Indian/British identity exclusively; thus, he is consistently forced to negotiate between such binaries. Karim becomes involved in an increasingly accelerating social circle, associating with the arts community and participating in theatre, he begins a sexual relationship with Eleanor, an actor whom Karim truly loves describing their relationship, saying, Id never had such a strong emotional and physical feeling before (14). For the first time, sex gains an emotional component, a marked difference from his prior sexual relationships. Success begins to appear on Karims horizon, treating his family to dinner and stating I began to enjoy my own generosity. . . I felt the pleasure of pleasing others (15). Although, this pleasure is fuelled by materialism and money, Karim begins his transmogrification from a totally self-involved space to a place of awareness and caring for others. Thus his former identity is shown evolving into yet another hybrid, the old and the new. Witerson and Kureishi present us with narratives of bildungsroman adolescents struggling to keep up with their renewing identity through interaction with one another and their surroundings. Both deal with the deviance of sexual identity and difference.Through both arise issues of religious conflict and struggle. References 1. Winterson, Jeanette, Oranges are not the only fruit, Pandora 1985 2. Winterson, Jeanette, Oranges are not the only fruit, Pandora 1985 pg 165 3. Winterson, Jeanette, Oranges are not the only fruit, Pandora 1985 4. As above 5. Woolf, Viginia, Mrs Dalloway, Wordsworth Editions Ltd; New Ed edition (Aug 1996) 6. Kureishi, Hanif, Buddah of suburbia, Penguin Books 1991, p3 7. Kureishi, Hanif, Buddah of suburbia, Penguin Books 1991,p21 8. As above p227 9. As Above p147. 10. Ball, John Clement, The semi-detached metropolis: Hanif Kureishis London, ariel 1996 p20 11. Kureishi, Hanif, Buddah of suburbia, Penguin Books 1991 p24-25 12 13 Kureishi, Hanif, Buddah of suburbia, Penguin Books 1991 p3 14. As above p187 15. As above p283. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. http://www. spiralnature. com/magick/chaos/chaoticidentity. html Ball, John Clement. The Semi-Detached Metropolis: Hanif Kureishis London. ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature. Vol 27, No 4 (October 1996): 7-27.

Post Civil War Racism essays

Post Civil War Racism essays The conclusion of the Civil War in favor of the north was supposed to mean an end to slavery and equal rights for the former slaves. Although laws and amendments were passed to uphold this assumption, the United States Government fell short. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were proposed and passed within five years of the Civil Wars conclusion. These amendments were to create equality throughout the United States, especially in the south where slavery had been most abundant. Making equality a realization would not be an easy task. This is because many problems were not perceived before and during the war. The reunification of the country would prove to be harder than expected, and entry into a new lifestyle would be difficult for both the freedmen and their former oppressors. The thirteenth amendment clearly prohibits slavery in the United States. All slaves were to be freed immediately when this amendment was declared ratified in December of 1865, but what were they to do? Generations of African-Americans had been enslaved in America, and those who had lived their whole lives in slavery had little knowledge of the outside world. This lack of knowledge would not be helpful in trying to find work once they were released. Plantation owners with a lack of workforce were eager to offer extremely low pay to their former slaves. In addition, the work force of the plantation would often live in the same quarters they did while enslaved. These living conditions showed little change from the living conditions African-Americans had faced while enslaved. While the former slaves lived on the ideal that they were now free, the fifteenth amendment was under heavy fire. Those who felt threatened by the massive amount of African-Americans who would now be participating in the government criticized this Amendment, which allowed all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race. Ex-Confederates, many of...

Cancer

In 1936 the British created a military school in Egypt and I was among the first of its students. When I graduated from the academy I received a government post where I met Gamal Abdel Nasser who would one day rule Egypt. The pair bonded and formed a revolutionary group designed to overthrow British rule and expel the British from Egypt. Before the group could succeed the British arrested me but I escaped two years later In 1946 1 was again arrested this time after being implicated in the assassination of pro-British minister Amin Othman. Imprisoned until 1948 when he as acquitted upon release I Joined Nassers Free Officers organization and was involved in the groups armed uprising against the Egyptian monarchy in 1952. Four years later I supported Nassers rise to the presidency. I held several high offices in Nassers administration eventually becoming vice president of Egypt. Nasser died on September 28, 1970 and I became acting president winning the position for good in a nationwide vote on October 15, 1970. I immediately set about separating myself from Nasser in both domestic and foreign policies. Domestically I initiated the open-door policy known as infltah an economic program designed to attract foreign trade and investment. While the idea was progressive the move created high inflation and a large gap between the rich and poor thereby fostering unease and contributing to the food riots of January 1977. Where I really made an impact was on foreign policy as I began peace talks with which proposed that peace could come if Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula and I and Syria built a military coalition to retake the territory This action ignited the October War from which I emerged with added respect in the Arab community A few years after the Yom Kippur War I restarted my efforts to build peace in the Middle East traveling to Jerusalem in November 1977 and presenting his peace plan to the Israel parliament. Thus began a series of diplomatic effort swith I was making overtures to Israel in the face of strong Arab resistance across the region. United States President Jimmy Carter brokered the negotiations between I and Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin and a preliminary peace agreement the Camp David Accords was agreed upon between Egypt and Israel in September 1978. For their historic efforts I and Begin were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1978 and follow through on the negotiations resulted in a finalized peace treaty between Egypt and Israel the first between Israel and an Arab country being signed on March 26, 1979. unfortunately my popularity abroad was matched by a new animosity felt toward me in Egypt and around the Arab world. Opposition to the treaty a declining Egyptian economy and my quashing of the resulting dissent led to general upheaval. on October 6, 1981.

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Education - Essay Example This exercise takes five minutes. At 9:28, Mrs. Ted asks the front-benchers to recollect the papers and at 9: 29, the papers are again on her desk. In the last minute, she asks every front-bencher to make a list of the numbers of their respective rows and give the list to her. Its 9:20 and only ten minutes are left to the end of the first period. Mrs. Brown asks all students to submit their papers to her. All children get up at once and rush towards the teacher’s desk. They make a rough pile of assignments on her table. Papers are piled up haphazardly and the order of rows is not followed. Children take about four minutes to do this activity. At 9:24, Mrs. Brown arranges the papers and counts them. She then compares the number of papers with the attendance sheet. At 9:30, she leaves the class with the pile of assignments in her hand. She will check the papers at home and will return to the class the following

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 20

Case study - Essay Example A happy workforce is better equipped to contribute constructively to the shared goals of the organization for higher work performance as psychological well-being is associated with the psychological well-being of the employees (Cropanzano & Wright, 2001). Dowling, Festing & Engle (2008, p.120) assert that each worker is unique with feelings, emotions, expectations and frames of references that is distinct to him/her. Consequently, individuals or employees require constant reassessment, evaluation and capacity building within the work context in order to meet the new challenges of time. Scholars reveal that within work environment, workers experience different physical, social and psychological influences that impact their work place behavior and subsequently their performance. The issues have to be addressed with innovative approach that considerably enhances their work satisfaction. Case study of Stockington branch of Superbrand, a leading retail organization of UK is undertaken to analyze factors that influence employees’ behavior. It is one of the leading chains of supermarket in UK with focus on food items. It has more than 1000 medium and large supermarkets and around 450 convenience stores. It has a wide range of products ranging from exclusive to low cost products to meet the requirements of different demographic segments. It is renowned for excellent customer service and quality products. The Stockington branch is facing some difficulties for the last nine to twelve months. A new supermarket in the town has put pressure on the sale. Currently it has employed 31 managers supervising 500 strong workforce including permanent, part-time and temporary workers to meet the demands of fluctuating numbers of customers. It has weekly turnover of  £1m. The branch has 6 departments with checkouts department having maximum numbers of employees, high absenteeism and lowest satisfaction level. Grocery department

Financial analysis Essay Example for Free

Financial analysis Essay The Back Yard Burgers has 183 restaurants – 44 company-operated and 139 franchisees as on June 30, 2007. The sales figures indicate total revenue of $12,610,000 as compared to last year sales figure of $11,695,000. Restaurant sales accounted for $10,688,000 that is a 10. 3% increase from last year figures of $9,686,000. Out of this 10. 3% increase of revenue, 6. 8% is attributed to the addition of two new company-operated restaurants till Jun 30, 2007 since July 1, 2006. The remaining 3. 5% increase in the revenue from restaurant sales is from the existing restaurants. Thirteen Weeks Ended June 30, July 1, 2007 2006 Revenues: Restaurant sales $ 10,688 $ 9,686 Franchise and area development fees 84 204 Royalty fees 1,265 1,245 Advertising fees 318 314 Other 255 246 Total revenues 12,610 11,695 Expenses: Cost of restaurant sales 3,502 3,120 Restaurant operating expenses 5,040 4,646 General and administrative 2,259 1,634 Advertising 814 668 Depreciation 544 543 Other operating (income)/expense — — Total expenses 12,159 10,611 Operating income 451 1,084 Interest income 29 16. Interest expense (193 ) (198 ) Other, net (28 ) (24 ) Income before income taxes 259 878 Income taxes 50 302 Net income $ 209 $ 576 Statement of income for the period July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007 The statement of income shows a net income of $209,000 only for the current year as compared to $576,000 in the previous year. An increase in the general and administrative expenses and increased advertising expenditure accounts for the lower net income of the company. The annual turnover of the company in the year 2006 was $44,710,000 as compared to $41,000,000 in the year 2005. The company reported a 9% annual growth in sales. Key financial data of Back Yard Burgers (In millions of USD) Income Statement Quarterly (Jun 07) Annual (2006) Annual (2005) Total Revenue 12. 61 44. 71 41. 00 Gross Profit 3. 81 13. 67 12. 29 Operating Income 0. 45 2. 18 0. 42 Net Income 0. 21 0. 88 -0. 04 Balance Sheet Total Current Assets 7. 19 7. 08 5. 32 Total Assets 32. 94 33. 41 31. 64 Total Current Liabilities 5. 24 5. 79 4. 01 Total Liabilities 15. 24 16. 11 16. 34 Total Equity 17. 70 17. 30 15. 30 Cash Flow Net Income/Starting Line 0. 21 0. 88 -0. 04 Cash from Operating 0. 40 4. 05 3. 33 Cash from Investing -0. 16 -1. 85 -7. 83 Cash from Financing -0. 25 -0. 36 5. 78 Net Change in Cash -0. 01 1. 84 1. 28 The above table gives in insight into the company’s current financial position. The operating profit in the year 2006 was $2. 2 million compared to an operating profit of $0. 4 million in the previous year. The net profit was $0. 9 million in the year 2006 as compared to a net loss of $0. 04 million in the year 2005. The company reported a net profit margin of 1. 96% in the year 2006 as compared to 1. 28% in the previous year. The operating margin of the company also increased from 3. 56% to 4. 87%. The financial ratios for the current period is provided in the table below: Key Stats Ratios Quarterly (Jun 07) Annual (2006) Annual (TTM) Net Profit Margin 1. 66% 1. 96% 1. 28% Operating Margin 3. 58% 4. 87% 3. 56% EBITD Margin 9. 77% 8. 34% Return on Average Assets 2. 53% 2. 69% 1. 80% Return on Average Equity 4. 77% 5. 37% 3. 44% The company has seen a decreasing profit over the past few years. The analysis of the various factors that account for success in the fast food industry in this paper has highlighted the reasons responsible for the decreasing profit.

The Machiavellian Element in Shakespeares Julius Caesar Essay

Machiavelli's Moral and social philosophy, as expressed in the prince, and the way this is related to in the political philosophy, style, and actions of Julius Caesar of Shakespeare's play For the reason that philosophy including all other branches of knowledge, from head to toe, is meant for the welfare and wellbeing of mankind thus the sacred branch of knowledge such as philosophy is all about discovering and investigating the hidden for the further wellbeing of mankind instead of putting the same human beings into the hands of totally inhuman structure based on Machiavelli's moral and social philosophy. I would rather call Machiavelli's moral and social philosophy as mere tactics of treating human being worse than live-stock. If people are still firm on calling Machiavelli’s recommended tactics as philosophy then, better to say, at the end of the day we will end up with egg on our face. Frankly speaking, a rather illogical viewpoint as given by Machiavelli can not be called as philosophy at any cost. Historically, Machiavelli was an Italian political theorist whose book The Prince (1513) describes the achievement and maintenance of power by a determined ruler indifferent to moral considerations. Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian author and statesman, is one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance, b. Florence. Machiavelli's best-known work, Il principe [the prince] (1532), describes the means by which a prince may gain and maintain his power. His â€Å"ideal† prince (seemingly modeled on Cesare Borgia) is an amoral and calculating tyrant who would be able to establish a unified Italian state. The last chapter of the work pleads for the eventual liberation of Italy from foreign rule. Interpretations of The Prince... ... Machiavelli, Niccolà ³. 1560; facs. 1969. The Arte of Warre. Trans. Peter Whitehorne. Amsterdam and New York: Da Capo. Shakespeare's Machiavelli, August 5, 2003, http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/ideas/machiavelli2.html "About Machiavelli" Section, August 5, 2003, http://www.niccolo-machiavelli.com/about.html Machiavels, August 5, 2003 http://www.shakespeare.com/queries/display.php?id=3355 "The Qualities of the Prince" by Ron King, August 5, 2003, http://www.geometry.net/detail/philosophers/machiavelli_nicolo.html Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Review by Edward Tanguay November 15, 1996 http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~tanguay/book50.htm Niccolo Machiavelli, August 5, 2003, http://www.smuc.ac.uk/English/en251/en251_5.htm Concerning Liberality And Meanness, August 5, 2003, http://www.geocities.com/vitomonti2002/juliuscaesar4.html

Local Literature Essay

According to Manila Bulletin (Tariella, 2014) entitled â€Å"Rural Tourism and Community Development†, it states that rural areas are becoming popular destinations because of cuisine. Most of the tourists look for attraction, activities such as festivals in different rural areas, authentic rural cuisine, and amenities of the area. This is the way to promote the Culinary Tour here in our country. Many of the residents in rural areas also have their own local unique food which visitors would like to take part or even learn cooking. There is need to appreciate the recreational activities, food, and souvenir items. In other words, â€Å"to develop applicable tourism package, the whole community must involve, the benefits well distributed to all its colleagues to ensure sustained participation and cooperation†. This is the essence of community-based rural tourism and it’s able to uplift the community. According to AIM Center for Tourism (Dr. Tan, 2014) entitled â€Å"Propelling Filipino Cuisine to the World Stage†, it is stated there that the increasing popularity of food tourism in the Philippines makes the travelers visit the country not only to see the different heritage sites and natural scenery but also to experience the authenticity of flavors of Filipino food has to offer. Travelers often associate destinations with local cuisine. Since culinary tourism develops opportunities for our local cuisine, Filipinos must patronize it. According to the website of â€Å"Its more fun in the Philippines† (www.itsmorefuninthephilippines.com) (Buenavente, 2009) entitled â€Å"Kulinarya Food Trips†, the Philippine cuisine is one of the country’s best –kept secret which is not yet known in different parts of the world. The Department of Tourism (DOT) under the management of Sec. Joseph Ace Durano lately launched Culinary Tourism as Kulinarya Filipina as part of Cultural Tourism Program. This program introduces the Philippine authentic flavors to promote the country as a culinary destination. The Department wanted to promote the culinary tours to other well-known culinary centers of our country such as Manila, Ilocos Region, Pampanga, Bulacan, Iloilo, Negros and Davao. According to Philippine Daily Inquirer (De Lara, 2015) entitled â€Å"We have everything in the North†, it states that Northern has a lot to offer- historical scenery, natural scenery- beaches and the terrific rural cuisines. Other than natural destinations and exciting activities in the north provinces, it is also known in delicious authentic cuisine. The north has Pampanga as the culinary capital and Ilocos has their famous bagnet and all those delicious authentic delicacies. According to Sun Star (Flora, 2015), it states that in the city of San Fernando in Pampanga, its provincial government decided to launch the first ever Great Alualu Festival on April 17. Its purpose is to declare â€Å"alualu† or the native term in Pampanga for the popular dessert of Filipinos, â€Å"halo-halo†. The highlight of this festival plays the important role in creating the authentic Kapampangan Cuisine to be known outside in its province and also all over the world. According to Sun Star (Pacete, 2015), it stated that one of the provinces of Region 18, Negros, bringing up and promoting the tourism potential of this province for local and foreign tourists. To appoint Pinoy travelers to discover the hidden gems of the Philippine tourism—sights, cuisine, activities, places, people and culture. The Culinary Historians of the Philippines (CHOP) visit the roaming food vendors selling their delicacies in â€Å"nigo† (flat basket) to observe the actual buying and selling of â€Å"batuan†- a local berry used as souring agent in soup, â€Å"kalkag†- dried tiny shrimps, â€Å"lamayo†- sun dried fish, and fresh sugarcane juice. According to Business World Online (Carillo, 2015), it stated that the city’s culinary scene than the fresh durian sold in the streets and all its processed versions in local shops—cakes, pastries, candies, ice cream, and even coffee. By elevating the culinary scene in Davao, held a competition categorized the Filipino Cuisine challenge. Food Tour in Davao. The local government‘s tourism office, with the help of private tourism stakeholders, the heritage tour and food tour will combined and the program is now a part of tourism packages for the visitors.

Lucian freud and the visual arts Essay

Lucian Freud was born in 1922, in Berlin Germany. He was a British Painter and a grandson to Sigmund Freud. He studied In London at the central school of art and also at Morris’s East Anglican school, where he studied painting and drawing. He later attended the University of London (Goldsmiths College), and later worked with Seaman in 1941, as a merchant. The painters room was first to feature in 1944, in his first exhibitions of painting. The essay is focusing on the authenticity of Lucian Freud in his work, and his reflections during the modernism and post modernism times. The paintings of Freud were associated with surrealism, and he worked on depicting people and animals in juxtapositions which were very unusual. He initially started the paintings using thin paints but as time went by, he began paintings of portraits in 1956, using thicker paints. He was using thicker impasto to produce nudes, on top everything else he did. His colors were then muted, and he started by cleaning his brush after every stroke, and his work was usually composed of portraits of sitters who were sprawled, sometimes on the floor naked, but he often juxtaposed that with other paintings. Some of the portrays he used included; a â€Å"naked man with a rat,† or even â€Å"a girl with a white dog. † His main subjects can be said to have been his family relatives, friends, his fellow painters, children, and even his lovers. He was quoted saying, â€Å"The subject matter is autobiographical, it is all to do with hope and memory and sensuality and involvement, really. † (Lucian F. 1989, P 18) Lucian was believed to have been a member of the â€Å"realism, expressionism, and surrealism movement,† where by the artists had a tendency of distorting the reality, and instead producing an emotional effect, and calling it a subjective form of art. Expressionism was exhibited in literature, painting, music, architecture, theater, and even in film. Painters of the time were then called expressionists, because of their twentieth century paintings. Freud painted a number of his fellow artists including, Francis Bacon, and went on to produce portraits of series which comprised of performances of artists Henrieta Moraes and Leigh Bowery. His interest on people was justified when he said that, â€Å"i paint people not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be. † His paintings were characterized by elements of Surrealist and things favoring the realistic approach of portraits of nude. Freud was known to be among the famous artists of British CAEK, for he was working in a traditional style of representation. This led him to winning the turner Prize, back in the year 1989. (Reynolds J. 1971, p 69- 97) Freud was believed to be authentic in his work, because his prolific collection followed the daily life existence exploration. His paintings showed that observing ordinary events acutely can produce significant art, just as Edward Hopper used to do. In a different perspective he creates an uneasy atmosphere. The argument behind his work is that, he does it with an intention of making us aware of our fatness, our mortality, our sexuality, thinness, which are all elements of people’s nakedness. The ambition he had in his work can be attributed to his words that, â€Å"i would wish my art to appear factual, not literal. I remember everything I have done because it was done with difficulty. † His style of work portrays realism and realness. Looking at his picture of a â€Å"cramped, tired, alternately sagging and tense flesh and bones,† makes one sympathize with themselves as they figure out their own bodies, for they can sense their own physicality. Lucian therefore tries to penetrate the psychological depths in the way he depicts the nudes. He conveys personality in a great force by empowering the flesh. This makes his work grotesque and realistic, as opposed to Ingres’s works which are always perverse and stylish. The relevance in his paintings can be found at a closer look of things. (Michael W. 1989, P 323) His arbitrary way of displaying the nudes in poses which are odd reinforces their expressiveness. According to Freud, the body is physical and psychologically suggestive, and that is why he produces paintings of naked people, though by doing so does not mean revealing all its secrets. His focus was that, a painter must always defeat â€Å"the sitter’s power of censorship† through making her or him uncomfortable. The result then becomes expressive for there is an aggressive flow and libido between the painter and the sitter, which helps in revealing the â€Å"human† existence of both parties. The portraits of Freud always show the same thing, and his only obsession and feeling of all what human is. What the sitters imply and what he must reveal becomes the distinction of life and death, and also the conscious and unconscious. He does this by his alternations in his paintings, some with eyes opened and the next with eyes closed, and does arrange their bodies in different postures, some in edges to show danger and risk. For instance he produced a painting of his mother with her eyes open and alert, which contradicted her posture of her body which was static and rigid which portrayed that she was aware of some coming death, for she appears to be half dead. All Freud’s bodies show still lives and also show that it is possible to become authentic even when an anxiety seems to undermine their authentic nature. (Benjamin, Harry, Hannah, 1986, p 71) According to Freud, realism comes through a quasi-psychoanalytic purpose. His realism came as a result of identification, unconscious and conscious ways, and most importantly from his grandfather Sigmund Freud. Freud wants to represent trauma and the reality behind it, because it was something he had experienced personally, when he saw homes and families being burnt to death. Freud’s archive had become very useful in modern era, because it was a source of information to many, through the way information was collected, recovered and stored. It thus became a key reference to fields like anthropology, recent art, critical theory and also history. Testimonies of events like the Second World War gave rise to post-modernism and post-colonial eras, which evoked a reconsideration of the archive, which had become a subject on its own, rather than the usual transparent record. Some of the paintings of Freud included the following: (Lucian F. 1989, p 19) Girl with a white dog. 1951 John Minton, 1952 Large interior W11 (after Watteau) 1981 Reflection of self portrait. 1985. Modernism is the way of reforming the cultural movements, in architecture, art, music, literature, and even the applied arts. It was a period between 1884 and 1914, and covered happenings in political issues, artistic movements, as well as cultural movements rooted in the western way of life. It was a time when artists like Freud had to improve their arts, create or reshape their environment, laying their basis in scientific changes as well as in technology. It was an era which led to examination of every aspect of existence, with an aim of finding what was holding back progress in the society, and hence replaces it with what was believed to be new in order to arrive at the same end through an easier way. Modernism came as a result of the nineteenth century both in academic and historic traditions. They believed that the practices of the time were outdated and had to adopt the modern ways of life in such an industrialized world. Some people said this gave birth to post modernism, while according to others it was the same movement. There were several arguments that the values of the society and those of the individual were not different, rather the society was just being â€Å"antithetical† to any progress, hence it had to adopt new ways to make it move forward. (Danto A. 2000, P 65) The theories of Sigmund Freud and Ernst Mach had a great influence on this wave. They argued that the mind had to have a basic fundamental structure starting from the 1880s. According to Freud it had a basic subjective experience, and was supposed to play with the instincts and basic drives coming the way and through which the world was supposed to be perceived. Ernst on the other hand developed the theory of positivism, which argued that the elements of nature were to be seen through mental shorthand and were not guaranteed. This brought about the difference between the past and the present, because the past allowed the reality to impress itself for it was dependent on an individual. Modernism defined various arts in various manners which were radical. The First World War brought about a lot of tension in the social order and the artistic movements due to the radical parties which had come by and strongly rejected the previous practice. A good example was the Russian movement in 1905. People were now moving beyond realism in art and literature as well as altering the tone in music, in the name of moving to modernism. (Reynolds J. 1971, p 101) A new phase of modernism came over between 1930 and 1945, which saw increasing urbanization and popular culture. People had to look at modernism as the source of the new ideas for development. Lucian and his fellow artists had to work in modernist’s style and on and on to the 21st century. He now adopted the color field painting and abstract way of expressing himself. Fields of art which had acquired continual change included: lyrical abstraction, geometric abstraction, process art, abstract illusion, pop art and music, post minimalism, minimalism, and color field painting. Modernists believed that rejecting tradition would lead to the discovery of the new ways of making art. Then came the wave of post modernism, which was a term used to show some contradiction to modernism’s art. It came with its aftermath and movements like, conceptual art, installation art, inter media, and multimedia. Artists had to adopt traits like, appropriation, simplification, collage, and bricolage in performing art. Artists had to produce contemporary art, though not all contemporary art was believed to be post modernism’s art. (Lucian F. 1987, P20) The idea of post modernism came after the disillusionment in the Second World War, but not all artists supported the post-modernism work or theories. Like other artists Freud had to adopt the traditional techniques of portraying their art. However it lacked the central hierarchy of expressing and organizing principles. The post modernism art had the following characteristics: it had contradiction, ambiguity, complexity, diversity and interconnectedness. Post modernism was closely related to post structuralism. Looking at Lucian’s work in post modernism, it had different effects. For instance; his image of late Leigh Bowery â€Å"perched on a table, his body extending, tapers, reaching up to a sky light, awkward in its pose, full frontal nudity,† is hard to tell what the painter was waging. Freud had adopted new ways in costumes, prosthetics, cosmetics and not nakedness. His art had decency in the artistic transgression but lacked decorum. Effect of paintings had to be derived from the perspective, scale, and the trackings of the Freud’s brush. (Michael W. , 1989, p 323) Lucian’s art was actually significant, because of his artistic nature of representing objects. He actually moved and progressed with the modern changes which took place since the First World War to the Second World War, and even in post modernism era. He was very creative in his art, and had a typical way of producing paintings of the people who were close to him in life. He succeeded well in distorting reality to produce some emotional effects. He enjoyed contradiction, which was typical in his art. He produced juxtaposed images, which drew a lot of attention. His art aimed at familiarity both psychologically and formally. His intimacy was good to cherish, as much as it destroyed and distracted objects. He succeeded in his art and always argued that paint could work as flesh. LIST OF REFERENCES. Benjamin Waiter, Harry Zohn, Hannah Arrendt, (1982) Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction; in Illuminations. New York: Schocken books. ISBN 0064301249 Danto, Arthur C. (2000) â€Å"The art world† Essay pub. ISBN 0520230027 Reynolds Joshua, (1971) seven discourses, 1778 menston, scolar press. ISBN 0854175466 Michael Woods: (1989) Art of the Western world, summit books. ISBN 0671670077 Lucian Freud, (1987) Quoted in Robert Hughes, Lucian Freud: paintings, New York: Thames and Hudson.

Sales and Selling Prestige Watch Omega Watch Hong Kong Essays

Sales and Selling Prestige Watch Omega Watch Hong Kong Essays Sales and Selling Prestige Watch Omega Watch Hong Kong Paper Sales and Selling Prestige Watch Omega Watch Hong Kong Paper Sales and selling strategy analysis: Prestige Watch – Omega Watch Hong Kong Introduction Over the past decades, wearing prestige watch has been a sign of being successful and wealthy, together with wearing jewelries and riding luxury vehicles. Omega watch, being one of the most representative prestige watch brands under the world’s top watch manufacturing group, Swatch Group, this article discussed the current sales approaches, forces and difficulties. It concluded with appropriate actions and future direction in selling for the company. Industry Overview Direct selling is dominated sales strategy for Prestige Watch industry with distributions in their own brand retailers, watch shops, or watch and jewelries exhibitions. Customers buying luxury watches looking at overall value represented by the product, include durability, design, functionality, uniqueness and most importantly, the image that represented. The product is tangible but it is very difficult to measure as there are various factors and most of them are very subjective and personal. Therefore, selling of luxury watches are usually delivered face to face directly between salespeople and customer. Customers and distributors usually visit retail shops or product expos or relevant exhibitions to choose. Sometimes, salespeople will visit customers with selected products, usually for privileged or customers with more buying records. On the other hand, indirect sells such as internet or phone selling is not very likely to happen in prestige watch industry. Marketing communication plays an important role in building and maintaining stakeholder relationships, where retaining of customer relationship is the main focus of companies having a relationship marketing orientation. In the prestige watch industry, is only moderately relationship marketing oriented. The industry is very concerned in quality and customer commitment, however, its majority is not focused on account based selling to customize and fulfill customer’s need on individual basis. Salespeople usually provide response towards customer’s request, whilst, seldom contact customers proactively without any request. Due to economical changes, there’s a very steady upscale of sales in the industry over the past decades. The global economical problem of 2 extremes riches and poor has revealed the fact that there are more rich men globally and the demand of luxury watches has climbing up over the past years. In the single year of 2006, Swatch group has recorded an increase of gross sale by +12. 3% from the previous year to 5. 050 billion Swiss francs, net profit by +33. 7% to CHF 830 million. Behavioral factor changes also drive future changes in the sales practices. Among the rich people, there is a change in the age structure that there are more young millionaires. Successful of young IT professionals and financial analysts could be sources of those young riches. As observed by director of watch distributor, Mr Ying, the average age of customers has dropped from 50 to 35 over the past decade. Current luxury watches buyers, especially those young professionals, are often more well educated and have a stronger knowledge in wealth management. All these forces and changes will be illustrated in more details in following sections. The Company and Selling Strategy Omega was founded at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in 1848 by Louis Brandt. With its first series-produced calibers in 1894, Omega has paved the way of its marketing success being one of the most prestigious brands under Swatch Group, the top watch producer in the world. Omega watch is a typical prestige brand that may not listed as one of the top 10 luxury watches, but the brand is very well known especially for its achievement of being the first watch wear by first astronaut landed on the moon. As there are different sales approaches adapted and forces faced in different markets, we focus on Omega Watches Hong Kong for a more in-depth analysis here. The selling strategy of Omega lined up with others in the industry. Focus stayed in direct selling to customers through retailer shops, distributors or B2B / B2C exhibitions. Sales are usually retail salesperson type, or â€Å"Inside order-taker†, they stay in the shops or booth and make the transactions by providing retail services. Sometimes there are delivery salesperson those will deliver product to customer mainly for privileged customers. Being a brand selling luxury product, Omega has retained customer relationship through member registration with every customer. Decently printed product catalogues and company news were sent to members regularly. In addition to customer walk-in, the company also creates opportunities for sales to seek for new business. For example, members were also invited to join exhibitions or even cocktail parties and events on company’s important days, such as grand opening of new branch. Salespeople dominate in these events to resolve customers’ questions or introduce new goods to potential customers. Company Relationship Marketing Position As a seller of high value precious products, a good customer relationship lead to success of business and relationship marketing model is suitable for the company. However, currently Omega is not a heading relationship marketing company in the industry. Omega has maintained customer relationship through membership and personal contact to privileged customers. Currently, the bonding between sales and members are not very strong as they have little direct contacts. The table below illustrated key issues in relationship marketing orientation and where Omega has positioned in the industry. Extent in Relationship Marketing Orientation |Relationship Marketing |Prestige Watch industry average |Omega Watch company | |Focus |Customer retention rather |Concerned |Not very successful except to a few | | |than single sales | |privileged customers | |Orientation |On customer value rather |Both |Both | | |than product features | | | |Timescale |Long |Short |Short | |Customer service |High |High | High | |emphasis | | | | |customer commitment|High |High |High | |customer contact |High |Medium |Less | |Quality concern |First of all |First of all |First of all | Source: Adapted from Cranfield School of Management, â€Å"Marketing Management: A Relationship marketing Perspective†, Palgrave 2000, page 19 There are rooms of improvement for Omega to retain a better customer relationship. Competitive Advantage Having positioned as a prestige watch with mature skill and technology, the selling approaches developed by Omega has performed in line with the company marketing and production divisions. Marketed for customers in top tier, salespeople are trained to possess knowledge in their product and technology, with a high service level. There is regular management training to receive knowledge in latest technology used in new products from production division. They have to make sure that all salesperson has received the same necessary knowledge. Strengths for selling of the company include the very well back from its history, a very well known brand name was built since has introduced â€Å"moon watch† wear by the first astronaut landed on the moon, until its latest sponsorship of Olympic 2008. The company has already creating opportunities through its launch of jewelries in 2006, that widen coverage of product mix and supplements sales of watches. Besides, they have retained a comprehensive list of customers those could be used for future promotions. Though, weaknesses come from the relatively lower resell price and positioning of the brand remains in a high but not the top level for years. There maybe threats to the company, if there is no breakthrough of the brand, it will be a problem in selling to younger customer segments while it might be perceived as an â€Å"old brand† that remains in middle level of top watches. SWOT Analysis Strength |Weakness | |Good brand name |Reselling price | |Marketing sponsor of Olympic 2008 |Positioning | |Opportunities |Threats | |New jewellery line |Old brand name out dated in fast changing market | |Member list |New brands | | | | Forces and Problems Various forces exert from behavioral, technological and financial points of views driving changes in sales practices in the company. Behaviorally, as buying of prestige watch has become an investment for some of the buyers, which is very important to retain the resell value. Salespeople should be trained to retain condition of watches. Market knowledge, especially resell value of the product segment should be well equipped and updated among salespeople. Technological changes include advanced industrial technology and information technology has both driving changes towards the company. Technology change more frequent advanced skills in material or timepiece mechanical details. For example, Omega unveiled its new Calibres 8500 and 8501, two co-axial movements created exclusively from inception by Omega in Jan 2007. Also, information technology has speed up and improved accuracy of information exchange. Financially, there are more younger and educated customers for prestige watches and Omega. Therefore, on top of original matured and experienced salespeople, there should be younger workforce, with higher education background and more service based mind. Also, due to the develop of Chinese’s economy in latest years, there are more Chinese buyer looking for luxury watches in Hong Kong as there is guaranteed quality control. Major Forces driving changes in Sales Practice of the Company |Behavioral |Technological | |Higher education |Frequent technology change in parts and skills of watch | |Higher wealth management sense |manufacturing | |Rising customer expectations |Fast information xchange | |Globalization of markets |Salesforce automation / Electronic sales channels | |Managerial |Financial and Economy | |Changing to direct marketing alternatives |Increased number of young millionaires | |Blending of sales and marketing |More Chinese tourist buyers | |Increasing professionalism of salespeople and sales managers | | Future and Direction Due to changes in environment, there are some changes in sales practices and strategy as mentioned in previous section. Internally, there should be more salespeople training to adapt latest technology, product design and even stock levels. More young and high-educated sales staff should be employed to attract young professional customers. As Omega has just joined jewelry market, salespeople often possess professional experiences and knowledge in watches but lack of comprehensive knowledge in jewelry. Externally, to maximize effect of retention of customer relationship, Omega should make a use of the existing registered customer records. The salespeople should create more direct contact opportunities to their customers or registered member. For example, Omega may introduce watches and jewelry rentals to their registered members, especially for important occasions such as wedding and business parties. The rental could limit for registered or invited customer only so to retain the prestige image of the brand. Insurance should be applied upon rental to ensure safety of company revenue upon any damage or loss. To attract and retain more Chinese buyers, salespeople should also be well quipped with Mandarin and cultural knowledge to interact with Chinese customers. Most importantly, Omega should breakthrough itself and looks for a better position in the industry. One of the solutions could be releases of a new signature product with very luxury design and materials such that the brands image could be clarified better positioned as one of the top brands. Salespeople should have well equipped knowledge and build strong associate with privileged customers for further company developments. References: 1. Omega website omegawatches. com/ 2. Swatch group website swatchgroup. com/company/company. php? withflash=enabled 3. Wikipedia http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Omega_SA

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How does Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go fundamentally differ from traditional retellings of Frankenstein, and how does this difference shed light on the anxiety of the contemporary moment - Essay Example However, the convenience demonstrated by the use of these items gradually evolves into dependence because human beings find it compulsory at some point in time and the world continues to evolve in information and communication technology. This discourse delves into analysing the differences between the work of Ishiguro and Frankenstein. People develop and feel a sense of major absence of information and communication technology when provided with a situation of working without gadgets. This comes into perspective closely in this paper as well. Analysis of Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro leads to an understanding that continued reliance of devices for operations makes people uneasy. People appear to be at ease with shortcuts offered by machines because it saves time while performing duties. The same people who depend on the devices are afraid of their inabilities to carry out their expected duties without the devices effectively. When the owner of a Smartphone discovers that the gadget is at home while he or she is at work, it makes him or her panic. This is because it dawns onto the owner that he is cut off from instant messages, from the internet, as well as all the digital maps. The user realizes that he or she will struggle to respond to questions, it will a tough task for him or her to find receipts, interact with people across the globe, and find it difficult to navigate highways. It means clearly that this person’s day becomes scattered with aimless intentions. The Smartphone user looses the regular connection as well as association that the small device creates. Surprisingly, the reliance of people on devices supersedes the use of other wants and needs. In other circumstances, the sense of connection claims duty for every aspect of sustaining life such as breathing and heartbeats. In Let Me Go, the view held by Haraway of the

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