Passivity A Way Of Life Essays - Indian Films, Rukmani Devi, Karma

Passivity: A Way Of Life Passivity: A Way of Life. The life of the main character Rukmani was filled with hardships. Happy times were a rarity, and everyday life was full of work from sunrise to sunset. Yet despite all the work, her family was in utter poverty. Nevertheless Rukmani was always optimistic, and accepted her life the way it was. Kenny, on the other hand, never understood why they accept their poverty and always tried to get them to rise up. It is Indian ideology and the belief in karma with reincarnation that led Rukmani and many other Indian people to a passive life. This passivity is seen throughout the book. However especially in the few instances after major disasters and crises this way of life stands out. At first, Rukmani couldnt have children after her first daughter. Kenny cured her, and then she bore five sons. Afterwards, she met Kenny and proudly said You are my benefactorhave I not five sons to prove it?(p. 36) Kenny answered, Am I to blame for your excesses? This was a half- sarcastic remark. However, only half sarcastic. Ok, you need sons to work in the field, two sons can manage if Nathan managed alone. You can barely provide for a few people, but the family consists of eight. Yet everything is just fine. Another instance is when the terrible storm hit the village and destroyed the rice paddy. When the storm finished, Rukmani just said that it will grow back and so did Nathan. At the time of the terrible drought the crop was destroyed, and even after cutting a deal of paying half the rent, selling clothes, and a few other things they didnt have enough money to pay the half, Nathan wanted to sell the seed and a lot of other stuff. Rukmani pleaded with him Let us only try, Let us keep our hope for the next harvest.(p. 80) Again there is the optimism. Finally, she even confirms this passivity herself. When Kenny showed her the plans for the hospital, and the started to talk about the costs, Rukmani couldnt understand why people gave so much money to help. Kenny said, Because they have means, do no the sick die in the streets because there is no hospital for them? Are not your children born in gutters? Etc. You must cry out if you want help. Rukmani then thought, Well, and what if we gave in to our troubles at every step! We would be pitiable creatures indeed to be so weak, for is not a mans spirit given to him to rise above his misfortunes?(p. 115) And this is the essence of the argument presented above. They believe that their life is the way to fulfill the karma given to them. So Rukmani would fulfill her poor life as a wife of a farmer. And then, if she completes her karma, maybe she would be reincarnated into a being with a better life. And also all the hardships may be punishments for bad deeds in the previous life. This is precisely why Rukmani is always so optimistic and leads her life passively through all the hard times. This passivity comes from the belief. Maybe it is a better way of life, the passivity worked for Gandhis independence movement. Plus, Rukmani did survive, and tells us this story as an old woman, probably hoping that she fulfilled her karma. Book Reports

Vietnam War The Easter Offensive

Vietnam War The Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive occurred between March 30 and Oct. 22, 1972, and was a later campaign of the Vietnam War. Armies Commanders South Vietnam United States: Hoang Xuan LamNgo DzuNguyen Van Minh742,000 men North Vietnam: Van Tien DungTran Van TraHoang Minh Thao120,000 men Easter Offensive Background In 1971, following the failure of the South Vietnamese in Operation Lam Son 719, the North Vietnamese government began assessing the possibility of launching a conventional offensive in spring 1972. After extensive political infighting among senior government leaders, it was decided to move forward as a victory could influence the 1972 US presidential election as well improve the Norths bargaining position at the peace talks in Paris. Also, North Vietnamese commanders believed that the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was overstretched and could be easily broken. Planning soon moved forward under the guidance of First Party Secretary Le Duan who was assisted by Vo Nguyen Giap. The main thrust was to come through the Demilitarized Zone with the goal of shattering ARVN forces in the area and drawing additional Southern forces north. With this accomplished, two secondary attacks would be launched against the Central Highlands (from Laos) and Saigon (from Cambodia). Dubbed the Nguyen Hue Offensive, the attack was intended to destroy elements of the ARVN, prove that Vietnamization was a failure, and possibly force the replacement of South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu. Fighting for Quang Tri The US and South Vietnam were aware that an offensive was in the offing, however, analysts disagreed as to when and where it would strike. Moving forward on March 30, 1972, Peoples Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) forces stormed across the DMZ supported by 200 tanks. Striking the ARVN I Corps, they sought to break through the ring of ARVN firebases located just below the DMZ. An additional division and armored regiment attacked east from Laos in support of the assault. On April 1, after heavy fighting, Brigadier General Vu Van Giai, whose ARVN 3rd Division had born the brunt of the fighting, ordered a retreat. That same day, the PAVN 324B Division moved east out of the Shau Valley and attacked towards the firebases protecting Hue. Capturing the DMZ firebases, PAVN troops were delayed by ARVN counterattacks for three weeks as they pressed towards the city of Quang Tri. Coming into force on April 27, PAVN formations succeeded in capturing Dong Ha and reaching the outskirts of Quang Tri. Beginning a withdrawal from the city, Giais units collapsed after receiving confusing orders from I Corps commander Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Lam. Ordering a general retreat to the My Chanh River, ARVN columns were hit hard as they fell back. To the south near Hue, Fire Support Bases Bastogne and Checkmate fell after prolonged fighting. PAVN troops captured Quang Tri on May 2, while President Thieu replaced Lam with Lieutenant General Ngo Quang Truong on the same day. Tasked with protecting Hue and re-establish the ARVN lines, Truong immediately set to work. While the initial fighting in the north proved disastrous for South Vietnam, staunch defending in some places and massive US air support, including B-52 raids, had inflicted heavy losses on the PAVN. Battle of An Loc On April 5, while fighting raged to the north, PAVN troops advanced south out of Cambodia into Binh Long Province. Targeting Loc Ninh, Quan Loi, and An Loc, the advance engaged troops from the ARVN III Corps. Assaulting Loc Ninh, they were repelled by Rangers and the ARVN 9th Regiment for two days before breaking through. Believing An Loc to be next target, the corps commander, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Minh, dispatched the ARVN 5th Division to the town. By April 13, the garrison at An Loc was surrounded and under constant fire from PAVN troops. Repeatedly assaulting the towns defenses, PAVN troops ultimately reduced the ARVN perimeter to about a square kilometer. Working feverishly, American advisors coordinated massive air support to aid the beleaguered garrison. Launching major frontal attacks on May 11 and 14, PAVN forces were unable to take the town. The initiative lost, ARVN forces were able to push them out of An Loc by June 12 and six days later III Corps declared the siege to be over. As in the north, American air support had been vital to ARVN defense. Battle of Kontum On April 5, Viet Cong forces attacked firebases and Highway 1 in coastal Binh Dinh Province. These operations were designed to pull ARVN forces east away from a thrust against Kontum and Pleiku in the Central Highlands. Initially panicked, II Corps commander Lieutenant General Ngo Dzu was calmed by John Paul Vann who led the US Second Regional Assistance Group. Crossing the border Lieutenant General Hoang Minh Thaos PAVN troops won quick victories in the vicinity of Ben Het and Dak To. With the ARVN defense northwest of Kontum in a shambles, PAVN troops inexplicably halted for three weeks. With Dzu faltering, Vann effectively took command and organized the defense of Kontum with support from large-scale B-52 raids. On May 14, the PAVN advance resumed and reached the outskirts of the town. Though the ARVN defenders wavered, Vann directed B-52s against the attackers inflicting heavy losses and blunting the assault. Orchestrating Dzus replacement with Major General Nguyen Van Toan, Vann was able to hold Kontum through the liberal application of American airpower and ARVN counterattacks. By early June, PAVN forces began withdrawing west. Easter Offensive Aftermath With PAVN forces halted on all fronts, ARVN troops began a counterattack around Hue. This was supported by Operations Freedom Train (beginning in April) and Linebacker (beginning in May) which saw American aircraft striking at a variety of targets in North Vietnam. Led by Truong, ARVN forces recaptured the lost firebases and defeated the final PAVN attacks against the city. On June 28, Truong launched Operation Lam Son 72 which saw his forces reach Quang Tri in ten days. Wishing to bypass and isolate the city, he was overruled by Thieu who demanded its recapture. After heavy fighting, it fell on July 14. Exhausted after their efforts, both sides halted following the citys fall. The Easter Offensive cost the North Vietnamese around 40,000 killed and 60,000 wounded/missing. ARVN and American losses are estimated at 10,000 killed, 33,000 wounded, and 3,500 missing. Though the offensive was defeated, PAVN forces continued to occupy around ten percent of South Vietnam after its conclusion. As a result of the offensive, both sides softened their stance in Paris and were more willing to make concessions during negotiations.

Outline marketing plan for the next year for Atlantic Quench 03059 Essay

Outline marketing plan for the next year for Atlantic Quench 03059 - Essay Example With a strong brand and market experience, it is expected that Atlantic Quench Cranberries Inc. will have its sales increase by 20% through the current marketing plan. In order to carry out macro environment analysis for Atlantic Quench Cranberries (AQC, 2015), this plan will use Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) analysis, concentrating on the forces that are most relevant to the AQC company in order to evaluate any possible strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats.To achieve the objectives, the company seeks to increase more funds towards promotion and research and development (R&D) (De and Meyer 2014). We plan to use positioning strategies, price discrimination and use of social media to create product awareness among the consumers. UK has majority of its population being above the ages of 35. This provides a potential market for the product. They also have a culture that consumes products that have been locally produced. This provides great potential for AQC to access more consumers, who are no longer loyal to carbonated soft drinks and are seeking for products that can add the value by offering more suitable, healthier beverages. Similarly, the countries have a steady growth rate thus providing for a steady market (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2005). 7 With the increasing levels of globalization resulting from liberalization of markets, efficient flow of information and integration of economies, the level of competition in the local and international market has increased tremendously. This has resulted from the entry of multinational companies which have a huge financial base to segment the market, attract the loyalty of the customers, and position the products strategically in the market. This has made it hard for the other companies to penetrate the market. The report by the Mintel indicates

Business management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 7

Business management - Essay Example The University of California (2008), states that bio-Analytical measurement offers measurement solutions for research and quality control applications to academic and government organisations. Electronic Measurement provides solutions, products and services to the leading customers in the communication and electronic industries. Their wide range of expertise enables them to provide quality services and products to their customers. The company has gained insight from this comprehensive and unique perspective and they are dedicated to helping their customers to make advancement in achieving business results. The main purpose of the business management system in the organisation is to maintain all the operations and groups. These include the Chemical analysis Group (LSG), Electronic Measurement Group (EMG) and Chemical Analysis Group (CAG). They also ensure that the products and services meet the regulatory requirements and customer expectations (The University of California, 2008). The business management system provides a framework whereby business operations and groups can make decisions appropriate to their organisations geographic and customer needs while ensuring that appropriate minimum standards are met. The company’s infrastructure is centrally managed and functions as internal service suppliers to the groups. The scope of the company involves development, procurement, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing of their products and services worldwide. Throughout business research, scholars have established that a relationship exists between organisational culture and performance. Organisational cultures are the values which determine how the entity operates according to Mullins (2010). Businesses in the past believed that organisational culture was too hard to manage and were not keen on its importance. Today, they acknowledge that it can be used for competitive

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Human Resource Management - Essay Example This helps in the HR planning processes that entail incorporation of reward systems and increase of responsibilities for workers. Furthermore, the termination of services of workers also falls under the HRM department is expected to use proper channels that are fair and transparent to uphold integrity. This also includes the guiding reasons for terminating the services of an employee through effective tribunals that follow tenets of justice and equality. There are several differences between personnel management and Human Resource Management in every organization such Coca Cola Company. For example, in terms of nature relations, HRM deals with unitarist view while personnel manager leans with pluralist view. Therefore, in terms of a unitarist perspective, the HRM coordinates with the management and staff through a common vision for the establishment of a mission for the attainment of business goals. Additionally, the vision targets the achievement of mutual interest whereby the needs of corporations are met by employers and employees (Yeandle 2003, p. 123). However, with personnel management, there is a centralization of power whereby all powers are held by the top management. Therefore, this influences decision-making where all suggestions rest on the management excluding the personnel manager. Alternatively, there is a difference in leadership and management responsibilities between HRM and personnel manager. For example, while leadership style is the emphasis in personal management, in HRM it is transformational. Another difference is the contract of employment whereby there is a clear written employee contract in personnel management while HRM emphasize on one-time-long contract (DuBrin 2008, p.167). This means that there is less rigidity in the terms and conditions for employees. In other words, there is flexibility in terms of approach to the contribution of knowledge and skills for the organization. Therefore, there are numerous HRM related roles and res ponsibilities of line manager

Business Essays Business Plan

Business Essays Business Plan Business Plan Introduction To assess the viability of Star of India’s business plan, it is useful to consider three aspects of the plan: Suitability – concerned with whether the business plan fits the internal and external environment that Star of India operates in Acceptability – this refers to stakeholders’ expectations of the business plan Feasibility – this relates to how achievable the business plan is This report will address all three aspects and show whether the plan is viable under each. Suitability Suitability is concerned with analysing Star of India’s business plan based on an analysis of its internal and external environment to obtain its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and Weaknesses Star of India’s strengths and weaknesses, derived from an analysis of its internal resources reveal the following: Money This is a definite strength as the return on capital employed (ROCE), gross and net margins are impressive ROCE calculated as net profit divided by capital employed and multiplied by 100 is 112% for the year ROCE reveals the amount of profit earned from the injection of capital or net assets into the business.   This high ROCE is due to the high net profit made from Star of India’s operations Gross margin calculated as gross profit divided by sales multiplied by a 100 is 75% Gross margin reveals that Star of India is efficient in converting the cost of goods sold into income from sales Net margin is calculated as net profit divided by sales and multiplied by 100 – i.e. 46% It compares how much profit Star of India makes when compared with  £1 of income.   It shows how effective the business will be in controlling its expenses These figures show that the plan is suitable from a financial perspective. Break-even is expected to occur between August and September, by which time the total sales revenue will equal total cost for the period.   The margin of safety, i.e. the excess of expected sales over break-even sales is approximately  £490,000 (i.e. total sales for the year minus total sales from April – August 2006). Marketing Marketing is a key consideration.   Good money is being spent on advertising.   Advertising in the industry is mainly through word of mouth and leaflets.   By advertising through television and radio, the possibility to gain increased business is real. As Star of India is an unknown quantity, it is vital that a lot of effort and money should go into marketing.   However, the business could use its considerable profits to invest more in Marketing/advertising. The price being charged for its dishes contributes to the high profits, but the question that needs to be addressed here is, is it suitable to achieve competitive advantage?   If the prices are below or match industry average then it is suitable – if not, then customers would rather go to an established competitor.   The prices charged are competitive. The plan has accounted for seasonal variation as demand should rightly decrease during the summer months due to holidays. Opportunities and Threats In this industry, the main issues are: The extent of competitive rivalry The social behaviour of the population Power of customers Health and safety issues Because the competition is fierce, Star of India must ensure the prices it charges at least matches the industry average.   Otherwise, customers (who have a lot of choice due to the numerous competitors) will eat elsewhere, bearing in mind Star of India is a new entrant to the restaurant business.   Therefore, matching industry average could be a threat as the Star of India brand is yet to be discovered and trusted People eat a lot outside their homes nowadays (social behaviour) due to increasingly busy lifestyles, this consequently means that the opportunities for getting a good customer base exist. Health and safety issues are very important to the government (who can close down business if unsatisfied with their health and safety initiatives or lack of it) and customers would basically like to eat in a clean environment – this provides an opportunity for Star of India. Acceptability For the business plan to be acceptable, it must meet the needs of the main stakeholders, who in this case are: The owner The customers The Government The employees These people will have different needs.   The business plan, on the whole will be acceptable to these shareholders due to the following: The owner The owner is interested in: Making a profit Increasing the number of customers Reducing costs The plan reveals that all of these will be met. As mentioned previously, ROCE, gross margin and net margin forecasts are impressive indeed and would no doubt exceed the management’s expectations especially during the first year of operation.   There is also a positive cash flow in all but one month.   This is important for the business to be able to honour its credit commitments as they fall due.   Star of India can also use the profits to grow the business.   The plan also indicates an increase in the customer base, starting with 1820 customers in April and ending the year with a forecast of 7000.   Again, this indicates a growth plan, which should be acceptable to the owner. Although costs will be rising, this will be at a slower rate than revenue – again, this is acceptable. The customers will be interested in obtaining quality food, at competitive prices in a clean environment, delivered with good customer service.   Star of India is confident of achieving all of these. To achieve the service needs of customers, the employees need to be well trained and highly motivated.   The plan for the next financial year is to use the profits to train and develop new and existing employees and also to reward them through incentives. The government needs to ensure that Health and Safety standards are being met, taxes are being paid and that customers and employees are not being exploited – consequently, Star of India is confident that the government will be acceptable. Feasibility The employee and management are experienced, therefore, delivering quality food through superior customer service is feasible. The business plan reveals there are enough resources to meet the costs of the business – arguably too much resource.   How many new businesses could make such vast amounts of money?   The plan has barriers in the form of competitive rivalry, so the forecasts could be at risk of being regarded as too optimistic, admittedly. The prices charged may need to be reviewed, if they are too high.   Even if they reflect industry prices, it would be advisable to lower them as Star of India is a new business.   This will ensure more customers who are made aware through advertising, will be attracted to the eatery, thus making the sales forecasts more realistic.   This could be done as a promotion, for instance, for six months. More money could also be allocated to advertising from the vast amount of profit to ensure the optimistic customer targets are achieved. Conclusion The plan is very viable, when taken into account its suitability and acceptability. However, although it appears feasible, Star of India could be a bit cleverer to achieve high market share and thus competitive advantage by cutting its prices – this should make it more feasible. The business should be an immense success if these factors are taken into account.   BIBLIOGRAPHY www.bized.ac.ukwww.businessknowhow.comwww.moneychimp.comwww.nonprofits.orgwww.smalltownmarketing.comwww.unb.ca

Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc

Cloning For many years, the cloning of adults, animals or humans has been mostly the object of science fiction, something unforeseen by man. However, â€Å"The world was shocked in February of 1997 when British scientist, named Ian Wilmot announced that his research team successfully cloned lamb named dolly from an adult sheep at the Roselyn Institute in Scotland†.(1) For what seemed like a dream for many years quickly turned into reality. The newest and possibly the most controversial phenomena in curing human disease, a phenomenon better known as cloning, was born. Through out the history of man, human disease has been considered a leading cause of death. Since antiquity, physicians explored assorted remedies in order to cure various maladies. Ancient physicians made enormous contributions to modern medicine. Even though, immaculate progress has been made in modern medicine, there are numerous cases of fatal diseases, for which modern medicine has no cure. Granted today’s technological advancements, general practitioners are still using several of the ancient techniques and ideas in order to make progress in today’s research and development. Scientists observe historical data and ideas in order to help generate new ones. A well known belief to man, the belief of reincarnation came from the ancient Egyptians who believed that there was life after death and preserved the body of their rulers through a process of mummification. This is a process of preservation that kept the original body and shape of the ruler for his/her return to earth. Although, this may seem a bit anomalous to the western man, contemporary technology brings this the idea of reincarnation or recreation to life, creating new ways to fight disease. Modern science takes the idea of human life and it’s regeneration and brings it to life through the process of cloning. In 1938 a German scientist Hans Spemann proposes a "fantastical experiment" to transfer one cell's nucleus into an egg without a nucleus, the basic method that would eventually be used in cloning. Fourteen years later in 1952 Briggs and King clone tadpoles. Another scientist John Gurdon clones frogs from differentiated cells in 1962. In 1969 Shapiero and Beckwith isolate the first gene. By 1973 Cohen and Boyer create first recombinant DNA organisms. 1978, the release of David Rorvik's book, In His Image: The Cloning of a... ...reproductivecloning.net/hosting/waite/#1: 5) CNN.COM February 28, 2002 Posted: 6:24 AM EST (1124 GMT) ACCES DATE APRIL 18 202 C:Documents and SettingsRafaelMy DocumentsCNN_com -Superman star hails cloning move - February 28, 2002.htm 6) http://www.bioexchange.com/news/news_page.cfm?id=11426 Outline Topic/Thesis: The newest and possibly the most controversial phenomena in curing human disease, a phenomenon better known as cloning, was born. 1) Origin of human cloning a) Reincarnation b) From 1938-dolly c) Feb. 1997 Ian Wilmont announces the birth Dolly 2) Pros/cons + Treating disease + Benefit economy + Feed the needy - Violates animal rights - Took 277 attempts to clone Dolly - Expensive 3) Three types of cloning a) Embryo cloning b) Adult DNA cloning c) Therapeutic cloning 4) Recent development a) January 2001-An endangered Asian ox called a gaur dies two days after birth of an ordinary disease after it was cloned and gestated in the womb of a cow.

Sexual Identity in the Arab World

The ways in which regimes of law, cultural identity and state governance shape understandings of Muslim or Arab sexualities are many. In his article â€Å"Re-Orienting Desire: The Gay International and the Arab World† Joseph Massad outlines some of these regimes. Massad argues that western orientalists and colonialists altered the way Muslims viewed their own sexuality by bringing into consciousness the idea of gay rights and thus homosexuality where it did not previously exist. Because of this, Massad argues that the western influence completely transformed how Muslims understood their own sexuality.In the beginning of his article Massad points out how Arab and Iranian men would engage in both gay and heterosexual practices while simultaneously rejecting the ‘Western identity’ of gayness. While this opposes the idea of Western homosexuality it reflects an Arab understanding of sexuality as being fluid and not tightly restrained by identifying as either ‘gay ’ or ‘straight. ’ This changed over time as Western influence became more prevalent in the Arab world through culture exchange.Massad refers to this cultural exchange by introducing the Gay International, a sort of missionary group who aims to ‘stabilize’ the sexual instability found within Arab societies. In other words, the Gay International aims to promote its views on sexuality and liberate Arabs into the Western world of homosexuality. This highlights how sexual identities can be created and can travel between societies through the work of individual groups. The Gay International succeeded in creating and dividing Arabs into two new forms of identity -both homo and hero sexuality, where previously these were unfamiliar concepts.As opposed to Western societies, Massad notes how the Arabic language only recently adopted words for homosexuality and heterosexuality. Further, the word for sexual deviance was only coined in the mid 19050 and is unders tood to refer to the Western concept of homosexuality. These examples of language show how Western concepts shape Muslim understandings of sexuality by introducing certain terms that reflect Western born concepts. By forcing Muslims to identify as homosexuals this placed them into a social group that could be targeted by police and government agencies.As noted in the article, police were able to target men â€Å"who identify as ‘gay’ on a personal level and who seek to use this identity as a group identification†¦ † The labeling of Arab men as homosexuals made them vulnerable to police attacks against this ‘socially deviant’ behavior. As a result of the introduction of Western cultural concepts of sexuality, Arab men were subsequently subject to repression by state government forces. Police targeting is not the only form of a state government’s control over sexual identity.Because homosexuality in the Arab world was transformed from a pra ctice into an identity this made it also subject to antihomosexual laws. The Western concepts of sexuality have thus created a new cultural identity that is regulated by law and enforced by state governments in the Arab world. Nadine Naber’s paper entitled â€Å"Arab American Femininities: Beyond Arab Virgin/American(ized) Whore† highlights the conflicting identities of homo and heterosexuality while also showing how individuals deal with and combat socially constructed norms in an Arab context.Nadine analyzes ideas about virginity and homosexuality by interviewing young women who grew up surrounded by these issues. One of Nadine’s interviewees, Lulu, a gay Arab woman, describes how the connotation of homosexuality as being a Western concept was so engrained in her upbringing that she felt she could not be gay and Arab at the same time as they were such opposing identities. In Lulu’s case, she was able to resist the exorcising identity of being gay in an Arab family by seeking support from queer Arab groups.She was able to form a family with other socially ostracized women who were also shunned by the Arab belief that homosexuality is a Western born and promoted idea. By choosing these women as her ‘family’ Lulu is able to resist the patriarchal and heterosexual ideals of Arab culture. Lulu insists that ‘queer Arabs exist’ which is in itself an act of resistance against homophobic Arab understandings of sexuality. Because many Arabs view homosexuality as being created by Western culture they are able to sustain their cultural views on exuality by blaming gay identifying Arabs as being Americanized. This is one way Arabs are able to resist the Western binary form of identity as either a hetero or a homo sexual. Gay Arabs are simply non existent without American influence. In terms of the gay individuals themselves, they must also choose to resist or assimilate -or a combination of the two- into Western ideas of sexuality in order to understand their own sexual identity. In Lulu’s case, she chooses to resist the ‘normal’ path of an Arab women -who is to remain a virgin until she is married off- by openly identifying as gay.In the eyes of her parents she has chosen sex over her family and thus rejected her Arab family and culture. In her family’s view there is no way to combine a gay identity with the socially constructed views on sexuality found in Arab culture. Lulu rebels from her family’s views on Arab sexuality by embracing the identity of a gay Arab woman. Not only does Lulu rebel by identifying as gay but by doing this she simultaneously rejects the ‘virgin until married’ ideal bound to the heterosexual norm of Arab identity.While Massad’s work identifies the structures behind the creation of sexual identities and how these travel beyond state lines, Nadine’s paper shows how these constructed sexual identities affect ind ividual’s understandings of their own identities in their every day lives. Nadine’s paper gives a personal face to sexual identity issues, showing how the cultural understandings of sexual identity laid out in Massad’s article effect those who are marginalized by the very dialogue that is used to define them.

Global Marketing Strategy of Nintendo Wii Essays

Global Marketing Strategy of Nintendo Wii Essays Global Marketing Strategy of Nintendo Wii Paper Global Marketing Strategy of Nintendo Wii Paper GLOBAL MARKETING STRATEGY OF NINTENDO WII GLOBAL SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING AND PROMOTIONAL ADAPTATION Introduction 1. This essay focuses on the global marketing strategy of the Nintendo Wii, in particular the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies and the communication adaptation adopted for the promotion of Nintendo Wii in the three key markets of Japan, United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (US). Background 2. The gaming industry comprises of three key segments: (i) the platform system or infrastructure segment which includes consoles, mobile devices and online media, (ii) the games publishing segment which includes games distribution, retailing and marketing and (iii) the games development and design segment. The platform segment is considered the most fundamental and important sector as it determines how users interact with console games, and has witnessed the most exciting innovations. 3. The current key players in the platform segment are Microsoft (with its Xbox 360), Nintendo (with its Wii) and Sony (with its Playstation 3). For Microsoft and Sony, the video game console business is just small part of their large business portfolio, while Nintendo is highly focused on the video game industry and has a hand in all three key segments of the industry. Nintendo is one of the most influential video game companies in the world and Japans third most valuable listed company, and as of October 2, 2008, has sold over 470 million hardware units and 2. billion software units. While Nintendo had dropped to third in the video-game industry behind Sony and Microsoft in 2006, it had regained its leadership position through the release of Wii by selling the most hardware units amongst the current generation of video game consoles. 4. Video game consoles are fairly discretionary items of purchase developed countries tend to be their main markets due to the higher discretionary inco mes of a higher proportion of their population. : Games consoles are expected to enjoy even greater popularity and higher sales in the coming years due to the increasing market size of the BRIC countries and the general increase in purchasing power of consumers throughout the developed and developing world. Global Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning 5. Video consoles are essentially high-tech products with a high degree of product standardization and similarity of preferences amongst consumers. Marketing strategies for video consoles are generally similar across regions/macro-segments but different across micro-segments. Segmentation for the video game industry is usually based on consumer behavior, user status and/or rate of use. Established segments include serious/heavy gamers/early adopters, normal gamers, casual/light gamers, potential users, non-gamers, lapsed/ex-gamers, first-timers, users of competitors products etc. Before the launch of Wii, video console makers have conventionally targeted serious/hardcore gamers (usually teenage male gamers). 6. Nintendo’s strategy for Wii was to expand the market space by looking outside the conventionally targeted segments and pursue growth through targeting new segments. Their competitors are then other forms of recreation rather than other game console manufacturers. For Wii, Nintendo focused on creating a simple, fun and intuitive console and eradicated features that were not absolutely necessary for gameplay such as high performance and multi-media functions. This created a product that was the most value-for-money in its class and allowed Nintendo to regain the lead in the console market and earn significant profits through sales of games and licensing fees. 7. The segmentation strategy of Nintendo Wii was slightly different from conventional segmentation in that it was based on who their potential targets spend their recreational time with alone (e. g. practising yoga), family, partner, best buddies/female friends, friends etc. – and also their gender, and tailoring games and advertising to cater to the lifestyles and attitudes of these different segments. [This strategy led to the creation of varied games such as Animal Crossing (a female-focused game with activities such as life-planning and shopping), Big Brain Academy (a puzzle game) and WiiFit. This form of segmentation is partly influenced by demographics since each type of lifestyle is typically represented by a particular demographic group – the Gen Y youngsters would share fewer activities with their family and more activities with their best buddies and friends while the golden grays will typically spend their time with families and partners. Furthermore, this stra tegy allowed Nintendo to target the traditionally ignored segments of casual gamers, lapsed gamers and non-gamers. 8. Based on such segmentation, Nintendo adopted a global targeting strategy of differentiated global targeting (or multi-segment targeting) for Wii, i. e. targeting many distinct market segments with multiple marketing mix offerings in order to achieve wider market coverage and hit virtually everybody. Most other companies in other industries, e. g. car industry, achieve this by offering various adaptations of the same product. Nintendo does this by offering different types of complementary products, i. e. various types of motion sensors (e. g. Wii Wheel and Balance Board) and games, for its game console. Such multi-segment targeting is not reflected in the main product (Wii) but is communicated through the advertising campaign and the games launched. 9. The positioning for the Nintendo Wii naturally followed a fun, simple and intuitive game console for everyone. The US advertising slogan at launch – Wii would like to play – emphasized the inclusiveness of Wii. Nintendo Wii had cleverly occupied the space of being both a high-tech and high-touch product a technological product which is an elegant design classic and which provides some of lifes simple pleasures through playing with family and friends. Its global identity and positioning became linked to universal aspirations of sharing activities with dear ones and the need for entertainment in any part of the world. Furthermore, the combination branding of Nintendo and Wii leveraged on Nintendos reputation as a gaming company while developing a distinctive brand identity for Wii. Communication Adaptation 10. In order to examine more closely the communication adaptation for Nintendo Wii’s promotional campaign, we examine more closely the television commercials to launch the Wii in Japan, UK and US . The productions are Nintendos first broad-based advertising strategy. In general, the Wii campaign chose not to embrace an obvious strategy of targeting the teenage male gamer. Instead, it targeted his mom, dad, grandmother and anybody else who was not so obviously a gamer. While the competition catered to a narrow audience, Wii invited everyone to play. As a result, the Wii was virtually sold-out worldwide at launch and ignited a cultural phenomenon in how people experience video games. Despite adhering to a unified theme in order to build a distinctive global brand identity, there were significant variations in how Nintendo’s commercials were executed in the three different countries. Nintendo had adopted product extension-communication adaptation in their global marketing strategy in part to cater to the different cultural values of their different target markets and in part to cater to varying perceptions of quality and fun across Japan, UK and US. Japan Launch Commercials 11. Wii’s key advertising message in Japan was â€Å"Experience a new way to play. The launch commercials consisted of an initial image of a hand holding the Wii mote with a voiceover asking what Wii could do, then a series of images showing the hand using the Wii mote to simulate a variety of activities such as throwing out a fishing line, hitting drums, hitting a tennis ball etc. with the accompanying sounds of the activities. The viewer was then left to imagine the various types of games that one could play with the Wii given the varied activities the Wii mote could simulate. The commercial then ended with a voiceover saying the name of the product â€Å"Nintendo Wii† and positioned the Wii mote as a brand symbol of beauty and simplicity and a global product. (This is consistent with how most high-tech and high-touch products are positioned in the global market based on a universal language of technological sophistication, performance and high-quality features for high-tech products and emotional satisfaction or fulfilment of self-image for high-touch products. 12. The advertisements basically elevated the status of the Wii mote to that of a venerated item of desire which could â€Å"do anything†. There was minimal dialogue or narration, with high emphasis on the product name. The potential of the Wii was expressed using symbolism and indirect (even abstract) expressions and messages, which is typical of advertisements in a high-context culture such as that of a Japanese society. The commercial here seemed almost reflective in the Zen-like white background employed, using visual cues and stressing depth rather than breadth, with the operative word being â€Å"soft-sell†. UK Launch Commercials 13. UK has been described at various times as being both a high and a low-context society. In many ways, it resembles both. Curiously, the UK launch commercials basically followed the Japanese templates, except that the advertisement started a voiceover asking the question â€Å"What can Wii do? † and ended with the statement â€Å"Wii can do anything†. Again, the viewer was left to picture the varied games and entertainment that the Wii system could provide based on the more abstract messages and visuals, with soft-selling a global product being the modus operandus again. It is significant the pitch was not made directly since the British culture seems to avoid such direct pitches. Also, there was no country-of-origin effect at work in the UK commercials as Japanese products might not be seen as being technologically superior to US or German products. US Launch Commercials 14. Wiis central â€Å"Wii would like to play† advertising campaign in the US followed two friendly Japanese men who brought Wii to peoples homes to demonstrate how easy and fun it was for everyone to play. Stephen Gaghan, who wrote the screenplay for and directed Syriana and won a best screenplay Oscar for writing Traffic, directed the four spots while Leo Burnett, who produced the campaign, won the Grand Effie at the 40th Annual Effie Awards in June 2008 for the campaign. This was the most acclaimed series of commercials amongst all Wii launch commercials in Nintendo’s various target markets. 15. Compared to the Japan and UK commercials, the US commercials adopted a distinct storyline of the two Japanese men going to various homes (including a suburban white family with young children, a Latin American family, a group of young people in their twenties, country ranchers etc. ), ringing doorbells, proffering the Wii mote with bowed heads and a greeting â€Å"Wii would like to play†. What followed were scenes of various people (of various demographics e. g. ages, genders) enjoying Wii games in their living rooms with the two Japanese men and finally the two Japanese men leaving the homes seemingly satisfied at a job well done. The music in the advertisements was from the song Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix) by the Yoshida Brothers, a pair of musicians (with an international audience) who performed a fusion of the rapid and percussive Tsugaru-jamisen (a North Japanese traditional music style) along with Western and other regional musical influences. 16. Among other factors, the combination of the distinct storyline and the pacy Western-influenced music served to (a)Infuse the US advertisements with more complete visual story lines compared to the Japan and UK advertisements. b)Provide a more explicitly expressed and clear message that Wii was here to play and was for everyone in order to attract a wider demographic to the game console. (When Nintendo had officially announced the final name for its next-gen console as Wii, it explained on the official Wii website that Wii sounded like we, which emphasized the console was for everyone†¦ Wii had a distinctive ii spelling that symbolized both the unique contro llers and the image of people gathering to play. ) (c)Provide the impression that the US advertisement was faster paced in order to maintain viewers’ attention and provide more visual information. These difference were deliberate in order to address the low-context nature of US culture, which results in most information being vested within explicit codes and/or messages such that things are spelled out as concisely and thoroughly as possible. Advertising messages in the US tend to be direct and to-the-point and stress breadth rather than depth. In such a context, the messages in the Japan and UK launch commercials might have been lost on the US audience, resulting in this need to differentiate the commercials. In addition, the format of these commercials also seems to support the commonly held notions that advertisements in US need to be more in-your-face and hold the short attention spans of US consumers. Also, there seemed to be more care taken to cater to different ethnicities in order to reduce sensitivities and widen Wii’s reach to a larger portion of the more diverse US market. Significantly, the use of the two Japanese men and the Japanese-Western music only in the US commercials seems to imply a positive country-of-origin effect of Japanese products on US consumers in terms of their innovation and reliability (symbolized by the straight-laced and salesperson-like Japanese men). Game-Specific Commercials 17. Following the launch commercials, commercials for the Nintendo Wii tended to be based on new games that were available for the console. Even for such commercials, there was a fair degree of differentiation and adaptation for commercials targeting different countries. For instance, the commercials for Mario Kart on Wii took very different characteristics in Japan, UK and US. The Japan commercials had 2 series – one which glorified the Wii Wheel, an accessory designed for the Mario Kart, and another which showed two celebrities against a white background playing the game as normal folks and conversing with each other. The benefits of the Wii or the game were again not directly communicated, although the commercial does show various types of people (of various demographics) enjoying the Wii. The UK commercials again were close to the Japan commercials, although the UK commercials generally showed non-celebrities (two or more) in home settings playing the game and again conversing with each other. Here, however, the element of competition and individualism showed up (compared to Japan’s collectivism) as one in the group was usually shown winning at the end of the commercial. Curiously, the US commercial used the direct-address format, where a cowboy spoke directly to the audience about the fun of playing Mario Kart on Wii. This was a very culturally specific advertisement which again used very catchy western music, fast pacing and direct information dissemination to attract and retain the attention of the audience. The US advertisements were thus designed to inform and persuade consumers in a straightforward manner of Wiis value proposition. 18. In examining the commercials for Wii Sports Resort, we could see more clearly how the commercials in the different countries catered to the fact that consumers in each market perceived fun differently, with the typical recreational activities of choice being slightly different. There continued to be more use of catchy music in US advertisements and less conversational or everyday situation set-pieces compared to in UK and Japan advertisements. However, the format of advertisements catering to specific segments e. g. Animal Crossing for a small group of female friends were fairly similar across countries – basically showing what best female friends do when they are together e. g. talking, having tea or shopping. Similarly, formats for advertisements catering to sports jocks were also fairly similar – in such cases product-communication extension was used. There is generally some flexibility in how the Wii story is told, with the US stories being more in your face, less enigmatic and requiring less filling in the dots. Conclusion 19. In conclusion, the innovative segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies of Nintendo Wii, and the localized campaigns focusing on the most important attributes of the product in each country/culture helped to make Wii the success it is today.

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