Saturday, September 7, 2019

Postcolonialism †An Historical Introduction Essay Example for Free

Postcolonialism – An Historical Introduction Essay In these two chapters from the book ‘Postcolonialism – An Historical Introduction, Robert J.C. Young provides the reader with an in depth understanding of colonal and postcolonial history, as well as well pondered definitions of important terms within the academic field of postcolonial studies. To illustrate the cruel and inhumane reality of the imperialistic powers, Young uses the case of Sir Roger Casement, a former member of the British Consular Service who was asked by the British Government in 1910 to investigate allegations of atrocities committed against the indigenous of the Amazon by a British company extracting rubber from the jungle. Casement verified, against the British governments expectations the atrocities, which six years later ironically led to his execution, sentenced by the British government on a charge of High Treason. The case of Casement shows us how the imperialistic powers ruled with devastating inhumanity, not only towards the indigenous but also towards anyone whom opposed the colonialising forces. The author goes on describing the history of 20th century imperialism. He puts forward the shocking fact that by the time of the first World War, imperial powers occupied, or controlled, nine-tenths of the globes surface territory, where of Britain governed one-fifth of the area of the world and a quarter of its population. Later in this chapter Young argues that Britain in fact actually was the first colony of the British empire, as here a minority elite the ruling upper class, controlled Britain both before and well into the nation’ further imperialistic era. With no space left for territorial expansion the leading forces of Europe turned inwards in a last attempt to grow. He points to Aimà © Cà ©saire who was the first to note that fascism was a form of colonialism brought home to Europe. The outcome of the 2nd World War led to the defeated nations loss of colonies around the globe. After the Indian independence in 1947 began a further process of European decolonization that is now largely complete. The author however argues that the list of direct or indirect colonized areas, are still surprisingly long. He also points to the many territories today, which is controlled by external forces not coming from within the European nations. Young states that the colonial history, which began as early as 500  years ago, has determined the configurations and power structures of the present. When we speak about colonialism the term Third World is widely used, Young however supports the criticism of this identification, as the word â€Å"third† in it self carries a negative aura in a hierarchical relation to the first and second. To describe the three southern continents of Latin America, Africa and Asia, young therefore uses the more political correct term tricontinetal and even suggests that postcolonialism should be called tricontinentalism. Postcolonial critique is united by a common political and moral consensus towards the history and legacy towards colonialism. It presupposes that the history of European expansion and the occupation of most of the global landmass between late 15th century and mid 20th century mark a process that was both specific and problematic. Western expansion was carried out with a moral justification that it was of benefit for all those nations, which it impacted. However apologists continue to lean upon this argument, it is impossible to deny the extraordinary suffering and destructive impact on indigenous people the colonisation of the world brought with it. The assumption of postcolonial studies is that many of the wrongs, if not crimes, against humanity are a product of the economic dominance of the north over the south. In this way, Marxist theory became the most important framework in anticolonial thinking, where from postcolonial studies finds its birth. Postcolonial critique is a form of activist writing that looks back to the political commitment of the anti-colonial liberation movements. In an attempt to define Postcolonial critique, we can say that it focuses on forces of oppression and coercive domination that operate in the contemporary world: the politics of anti-colonialism and neo-colonialism, race, gender, nationalism, class and ethnicities define its terrain. Its object, as defined by Cabral(1969), is the pursuit of liberation after achievement of political independence. It constitutes of a directed intellectual production that seeks to synthesize different kinds of work towards the realisation of common goals that include the creation of equal access to material, natural, social and technological resources, the contestation of forms of domination – economic, cultural, religious, ethnic, gendered, and the articulation and assertion of collective forms of political and cultural identity. The Author gives the reader his definitions of the terms: postcolonial, postcolonialism and  postcoloniality. He defines ‘postcolonial’ as coming after colonialism and imperialism, in their original meaning of direct-rule domination, but still positioned within imperialism in its later sense of the global system of hegemonic economic power. The postcolonial is a concept that marks the historical facts of decolonization but also the realities of nations and peoples emerging into new imperialistic context of economic and sometimes political domination. The term ‘postcoloniaity’ by contrast puts the emphasis on the economic, material and cultural conditions that determine the global system in which the postcolonial nation is required to operate, a system heavily weighted towards the interests of international capital and the leading nations of the world. ‘Postcolonialism’, which the author prefers to call ‘tricontinentalism’, names a theoretical and political position, which embodies an active concept of intervention. Unlike the words ‘colonialism’, ‘imperialism’ and ‘neocolonialism’ which adopts only critical relation to oppressive regimes and practices that they represent, postcolonialism is both contestatory and committed towards political ideals of a transnational social justice. It attacks the status quo of hegemonic economic imperialism, and the history of colonialism and imperialism, but also signals an activist engagement with positive political positions and new forms of political identity in the same way as Marxism or feminism.

Friday, September 6, 2019

People and society Essay Example for Free

People and society Essay The writer basically talks about the conditions, events, problems, and trends of the larger regions as well as the individual nations. The writer basically uses a cross-disciplinary approach and talks about the physical landscapes and the culture that is being followed in the Asian-Pacific countries where most of the people live, mainly China and Japan. Moreover, some of the highest mountains and longest rivers are also found in Asia. These populated countries consist of many people belonging to various ethnic groups who follow different cultures, religions and speak different languages. (Weightman, 2001). The chapters that I would be mainly focusing are based on the aspects of people and society in Pacific Asia. The people of Japan mostly reside in Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido and Shikoku. The two terms that means people of Japan are Nipponjin and Nihonjin and they basically resemble the Tibetans. Japan has a very high population and in 2002 it was declared to be the 10th most populous countries; however the Japanese population has been facing a decline due to the western influence because of which small household have become a trend. Japan has a homogenous culture, tradition and language and the main religions are Buddhism and Shinto. Most of the people in Japan live in the urban areas than in cities. (Maps of the world. com, n. d. ). Like Japan, China is also one of the populous countries in the world. China is a multi ethnic country and majority of the population speak Chinese. (Welcome to China, n. d. ). Most of the people in China grow rice, ride bicycles and fewer cars can be seen only in cities. They Chinese people prefer doing things in the old ways their ancestors used to. The Chinese people use the decimal system as their currency that consists of paper money as well as the coins.(Ebrey, n. d. ). Reference Ebrey, P. B. (n. d. ). People. January 21st, 2009. Retrieved from: http://depts. washington. edu/chinaciv/geo/people. htm Maps of the world. com. (n. d. ). People of Japan. January 21st, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. mapsofworld. com/japan/culture/people-of-japan. html Weightman , B. (2001). Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East, and Southeast Asia. 2nd Edn. Wiley, Hardcover. Welcome to China. (n. d. ). People of China. January 21st, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. tooter4kids. com/china/people_of_china. htm

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Wake up to nutella

Wake up to nutella WAKE UP TO NUTELLA CAMPAIGN of 2007 in UK 1. Context Analysis This communications plan focuses on the Wake Up to nutella promotion campaign of 2007 in the UK. The planning of the campaign by the Ferrero Group UK took around eight months and the promotion campaign had a total duration of approximately one year. (See Appendix 1 for further information about the company profile and its range of products). a. The internal and external context The most important opportunity of Ferrero was its differentiated nutella product that had low competition in the UK market. Main competitors were only Rowse Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread and Traidcraft Fairtrade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. Furthermore the pricing of nutella created an opportunity for the company, as nutella was cheaper than the competitive products. Traidcraft Fairtrade Chocolate Hazelnut Spread for instance was being sold for  £2.26 for 400g and nutella for only  £1.59 for 400g. A threat for nutella represented the changing eating habits and lifestyle of consumers (social factors). Nowadays, the trend is going towards a healthier lifestyle and healthier eating. Due to the fact that nutella contains chocolate, the product was perceived as indulgence and unhealthy by many consumers. b. The customer context The main target market, which is a specific group Ferrero UK aims the product nutella at, are both female and male schoolchildren at the age group between 5 and 14 years and teenagers and college students, also both female and male. This target group is also described as a group of people who are having for breakfast toast with something on it, such as jam or peanut butter. Another reason targeting young people is that they tend to prefer eating sweet for breakfast. This target group is easier to convince to switch from jam or peanut butter to nutella than people who are not eating toast for breakfast. The target audience, which is a group of people the nutella advertising message is designed at, are parents, but mainly mothers of the target market. The target audience is described as urban and middle to upper middle class families. The mothers of the young children and teenagers are the ones the communication message is aimed at and they are the most influential person in the buying decision. In order to illustrate the importance of the mothers which form the target audience, the Decision Making Unit theory of B2C can be used: Usera target group; schoolchildren at the age between 5 and 14 years, teenagers and college students, males and females. Influencera target audience; mothers who need to be convinced about nutella, who require nutritional information about nutella and who are giving nutella to their children. Influencer can also be opinion leaders such as school teachers, doctors, celebrities, the media etc. Decision makera target audience; the mothers who are deciding what to give to their children for breakfast and therefore they represent the most important target of nutella. Purchaser atarget audience such as mothers who have the financial possibility to buy the product and therefore they are the most important group that needs to be convinced. Additionally, Ferrero UK decided to target mothers who are already giving their children toast for breakfast as these are perceived to be easier to convince to switch to nutella rather than mothers that are not already giving their children toast for breakfast. Due to the fact that sales of nutella in UK are low, compared to other European countries, the target market can be described as new to the product nutella rather than existing customers. Furthermore, the target is neither loyal to the brand nor loyal to a competitor. The target market consists of current users of other spread products for breakfast such as jam, cheese, peanut butter etc. There is actually no comparable competition to nutella ´s hazelnut spread in the UK but there are substitute products on the market, as already mentioned. c. Level of awareness, perception and attitudes towards nutella in UK Despite the worldwide success of nutella, the product suffered from a bad image in the UK, as it can be seen from the diagram above. Most people in the UK, in comparison with the rest of Europe, perceived nutella as a threat and indulgence, especially amongst the mothers. However, in other European countries nutella was perceived as a breakfast ritual and a favourite spread that was also gladly given to children.   The bad consumer perception about nutella was the main reason for the â€Å"Wake up to nutella† campaign. d. Stakeholder context The most important stakeholders of the nutella campaign were: Internal: Staff and management; they needed to be convinced about nutella in order to create a positive word-of-mouth effect to friends and relatives. Furthermore, they were involved in the work of the campaign and therefore they were also responsible for the success of the campaign. The tools of communication with internal stakeholders were face to face meetings, the intranet and newsletters.   Connected: Intermediaries; such as supermarkets that were buying nutella from Ferrero and selling them to the end-user. They needed to be convinced to include nutella into their assortment. The way of communication with intermediaries was direct (face to face), as high involvement decisions between two businesses were involved. External: Media; The media represented an opinion leading function, articles and reports about the campaign and the product itself were published and this has had an high influence on consumer ´s perception about Ferrero/the campaign/nutella. Key ways of communication were a press conference prior campaign launch and regular interviews from the CEO of Ferrero UK about the campaign. Regular interviews assured up-to-date information flow to the customers and increased brand awareness, due to the fact that nutella was mentioned on regular basis in several newspapers and magazines. Customers; most important stakeholders as they are the ones who are buying the product. Ways of communication were the various communication tools that will be mentioned later in this assignment. 2. Communications objectives Research that was undertaken prior the campaign showed that consumers perception about nutella being a treat was based on wrong ingredient information. Many UK customers understood nutella being a chocolate spread and not a hazelnut spread. According to that, the first and most important communication objective of the campaign was to reposition the brand as a hazelnut spread. This implied to better inform the customer about the ingredients. In addition, other communication objectives, using the DAGMAR model as an example (see appendix 2) have been to create brand awareness and brand knowledge but also to increase purchase. To raise awareness and knowledge of nutella was important in order to attract new customers. To increase purchase was crucial in order to gain more new customers and to increase the total revenues of nutella.   Another important communication objective was to change the image of nutella in UK. The main goal was to shift nutella ´s image as unhealthy and a treat towards a positive and healthy hazelnut breakfast spread that is also given to children. Moreover, Ferrero UK aimed to achieve the perception of nutella being an everyday product for children, a good source of energy and a trustworthy product with high quality ingredients. In comparison to communication objectives, marketing objectives are sales-related objectives that are above all measurable, specific, targeted and timed (SMART). (Pickton and Broderick, 2006) Ferrero UK defined its marketing objectives as follows: To increase the volume sales within three years time (up to 40%) To drive nutella ´s household penetration from 7.54% to 10.6% by September 2008 To bring nutella to 765, 000 more households a year To increase market share by 2% Corporate objectives of Ferrero UK were the following: Having its focus on customer relationship which is â€Å"based on knowledge, experience, sensitivity and intuition and a mutual and enduring loyalty† (ferrero.com) Care about social issues, food safety and local communities and its human resources (ferrero.com) To reach market leadership by following the rules of developing innovative products that are fresh and of high quality (ferrero.com) 3. Marketing communications strategy After defining the main target segments and key stakeholders, it was crucial for Ferrero to decide in favour of Push, Pull or Profile strategy. For the â€Å"Wake up to nutella† campaign Ferrero decided in favour of a combination between Push and Pull strategy. The aim of the push strategy was to convince intermediaries to promote and sell nutella in their supermarkets. That means that the communication flows down from Ferrero to the retailer and from the retailer to end user. The push strategy appeared to be reasonable because nutella is a low involvement and impulse buying product and there is currently low brand loyalty towards nutella. The assumption that nutella is a low involvement product comes from the fact that it is a FMCG at a low price ( £1.49). Ferrero also used several communication tools such as advertising and promotion to convince the customer to seek out for nutella and require it from supermarkets (Pull strategy). This strategy was aimed to provide information about the product (e.g. nutella is a hazelnut spread and not chocolate spread) to a wider audience and finally pull nutella from the retailer. For Ferrero it was important to use both strategies because with the push strategy they tried to create a demand and desire for the product (with trade promotions and coupons) and the pull strategy enabled Ferrero to build the nutella brand and inform the people about the product. While the push strategy targeted the supermarkets and was able to boost short-term goals such as impulse purchase, the pull strategy targeted the end user and could focus on long-term results such as building brand awareness and trust. 4. Coordinated promotional mix The â€Å"Wake up to nutella† campaign was aimed to reposition the negative image of nutella in the UK. Ferrero UK decided in favour of using media tools such as Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relations and Direct Marketing in order to create synergy. The campaign started with a big TV advertisement with the aim to reach a large audience at relatively low costs. In addition, advertising appeared to be the best tool for raising awareness (see appendix 3). The main communication messages from the TV advertising were: Contains 52 hazelnuts, a glass of skimmed milk and a dash of cocoa (a aim: to inform people about the ingredients and that nutella is a hazelnut cream and not chocolate cream) Good as a part of a balanced breakfast (astrongest message; to use it for breakfast) Not just an occasional treat (aaim: to use nutella as a everyday product) Good source of slow release energy Something I ´d be happy to give my kids (a aim: to show whom nutella is aimed at) Public relations were used to add credibility to the customer about nutella at very low costs but also to reinforce the raising awareness aim (see appendix 3). Public relations consisted of various radio and press adverts. On behalf of nutella nutritionist were writing articles in women magazines about nutella in order to increase the credibility. Additionally, two press adverts were published in women and family magazines across UK to target the target audience (families, especially mother) and the target market (children). Both press adverts had the same message- â€Å"surprisingly Nutella on toast can be good for breakfast†. Sales promotion was used to target the already identified target audience and to support the credibility of the product (See appendix 3). Sales promotion consisted of samplings in Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Makro stores with the aim to increase trial, represent nutella as a positive brand and boost impulse sales. Various price cuts and Buy one get one free promotionsprior the Back to School period were aimed to increase short-term sales. Direct marketing was aimed to deliver a personal message to the target audience and target market but also provide interaction between Ferrero and its customers. Ferrero created an own website, based on the campaign -This brand website had the goal to inform the target audience about the brand but also to collect individual data by subscribing to receive e-newsletters. The reason for this brand website was also to generate brand awareness (see appendix 3) but also to form brand attitude (Pelsmacker, Geuens, Van den Bergh, 2005). Furthermore, according to Mintel 2009 food manufacturers are increasingly using the medium internet for targeting children. â€Å"Thirty percent of 8-16 year-olds say that they try food or drinks after seeing them online† (Mintel, Children Eating Habits UK, 2009). Ferrero also recognised this opportunity and targeted its main target market with its online campaign. To sum up, it can be said that Ferrero used an Integrated Marketing Communications approach in order to â€Å"provide clarity, consistency and maximum communication impact† (Pelsmacker, Geuens, Van den Bergh, 2005). Furthermore they had one consistent message that was presented by various tools. In addition, it can be said that different tools vary in their effectiveness. Advertising for instance is a good tool for creating awareness but it is not a good tool to increase sales. However, Personal selling can increase sales but it is not recommended for increasing awareness of the product. Ferrero decided in favour of a synergy of different tools in order to meet all of their objectives. 5. Human and Financial Resources The immense â€Å"Wake up to nutella† campaign was the biggest and most expensive campaign Ferrero UK ever experienced. The total costs of the campaign were  £8m whereas the television advertising and the press advert solely accounted for  £4m. These figures appear to be enormous but when comparing the size of the company and the total annual turnover of 170m EUR, marketing expenditures of  £8m appear to be appropriate. Additionally, though the campaign was expensive, it was able to generate a payback of  £1.85 for every  £1 spent. Besides the financial aspect, the human resources are crucial for every successful campaign. Ferrero UK consists of 133 employees working in several departments such as Marketing, Sales, Finance and I.T. Especially for this campaign Marketing Manager Mr. R. Groumdes-Peace required a close collaboration between single departments to exchange ideas and to profit from different know-how. In addition, the company was providing several trainings in order to involve all employees into the campaign. The television campaign and press advertising were created by Krow Communications, a famous London Communication Agency. The reason for choosing an outstanding agency was the lack of marketing expertise for this enormous and challenging campaign. Ferrero UK decided to hire Krow Communications for this campaign, as they were already well-established in the market and had famous clients such as Unilever, Fiat etc. For the Public Relations campaign Ferrero hired various nutritionists that were writing articles on behalf of nutella with the aim to communicate trust and credibility to the consumer. Here again Ferrero relied on the know-how of outstanding experts. The whole work of Ferrero UK consisted of making strategic decisions and finding other agencies that will implement the ideas for the campaign such as to create an interesting and convincing advertising that will fulfil their objectives. Finally, Ferrero UK employed Millward Brown, a research company that undertook the evaluation of the campaign. The whole planning process took around eight months and the campaign had a total duration of one year. 6. Scheduling and Implementation The duration of the â€Å"Wake up to nutella† campaign was one year but it was implemented in three phases (August 2007, December 2007 and December 2008). Ferrero decided in favour of a DRIP approach which means to use the promotional tools to differentiate its product from others, remind customers of the product but more importantly to inform them about the ingredients of the product and finally persuade them to buy nutella. Moreover, expenditure was spread in more than one period, in order to create presence over a longer period of time. 1st phase of repositioning campaign The first phase of the repositioning campaign started on the 27th of August 2007, a few days before the Back to School period and it consisted of one television advertising and two press adverts. In this phase the most important tools were advertising and sales promotion (sampling) due to the objective to increase high awareness amongst schoolchildren and mothers. 2nd phase of repositioning campaign The second phase started in January 2008/February 2008 just before the Pancake Day and consisted of the TV ad and press ads from the 1st phase. The goal with repeating the TV ad and press ads was to remind the customer of nutella as a good occasion to buy for Pancake Day. 3rd phase of repositioning campaign New press adverts and a new improved version of the TV advertisement were launched between September and November 2008. The reason for a new press advert was simply to refresh the whole campaign and the TV advertisement needed to be improved due to a number of complains. The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) in UK required to change the information from per jar to per portion and to leave the information â€Å"good as part of a balanced breakfast†. Ferrero UK changed the key information from the TV ad into â€Å"A 15g portion contains 2 hazelnuts, skimmed milk and cocoa† and didn ´t mention the balanced breakfast anymore. Furthermore, the push strategy was scheduled prior the pull strategy in order to communicate and convince the supermarkets to include nutella in their assortment. Moreover, Ferrero wanted to convince the supermarkets to support the campaign with sampling promotions in their supermarkets. Because of this reason Ferrero UK firstly concentrated on its push strategy (prior 1st repositioning phase) and then on the pull strategy (1st to 3rd phase). 7. Evaluation and Control Ferrero UK created an immense campaign supported by different promotional tools. During but especially after the â€Å"Wake up to nutella† campaign Ferrero UK has undertaken research to identify if the objectives they have set have been achieved and which of the promotional tools helped the most in achieving these objectives. Millward Brown, one of the world ´s leading research companies was hired by Ferrero to undertake the evaluation of the campaign. According to the findings of Millward Brown, the TV advertisement achieved an Awareness Index of 11 whereas the average index in the UK is 6.

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Magic realism as post-colonialist device in Midnights Children Essay

Magic realism as post-colonialist device in Midnight's Children Magic realism in relation to the post-colonial and Midnight's Children 'The formal technique of "magic realism,"' Linda Hutcheon writes, '(with its characteristic mixing of the fantastic and the realist) has been singled out by many critics as one of the points of conjunction of post-modernism and post-colonialism' (131). Her tracing the origins of magic realism as a literary style to Latin America and Third World countries is accompanied by a definition of a post-modern text as signifying a change from 'modernism's ahistorical burden of the past': it is a text that 'self-consciously reconstruct[s] its relationship to what came before' (131). The post-modern is linked by magic realism to 'post-colonial literatures [which] are also negotiating....the same tyrannical weight of colonial history in conjunction with the past' (131). Before discussing magic realism in Midnight's Children, a brief definition of the term "post-colonialism"as I intend to use it in this essay will aid the clarification of the links made between Hutcheon's theory and the following analysis of Rushdie's text. Ania Loomba argues that post-colonialism is a loose term. She notes that the prefix "post"....implies an "aftermath" in two senses - temporal, as in coming after, and ideological, as in supplanting. It is the second implication which critics of the term have found contestable: if the inequities of colonial rule have not been erased, it is perhaps premature to proclaim the demise of colonialism. A country may be both postcolonial (in the sense of being formally independent) and neo-colonial (in the sense of remaining economically and/or culturally dependant) at the same time. (7) .. ...Helen Tiffin, eds. The Post-colonial Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 1995. Durix, Jean-Pierre. "Salman Rushdie: Interview." Kunapipi4.2 (1982): 17 - 26. Hutcheon, Linda. "Circling the Downspout of Empire." Ashcroft, Bill et al., 130 - 5. Loomba, Ania.Colonialism/Postcolonialism. London: Routledge, 1998. Mishra, Vijay. "The Texts of Mother India." After Europe.Ed. Stephen Slemon and Helen Tiffin. Sydney: Dangaroo Press, 1989. 119-37. Monaco, James, ed. The Virgin International Encyclopedia of Film. London: Virgin, 1992. Pattayanak, Chandrabhanu. "Interview with Salman Rushdie." Literary Criterion 18.3 (1983): 19 - 22. Rushdie, Salman. Midnight's Children. London: Vintage, 1995. Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism. London: Vintage, 1994. Slemon, Stephen. "Magic Realism as Post-Colonial Discourse". Canadian Literature 116 (1988): 9 - 24.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Defining State Sovereignty Essay example -- Government, Treaties of Os

DEFINING STATE SOVEREIGNTY State sovereignty is a broad concept†¦it is actually a two-in-one concept – state and sovereignty. In order to get a proper meaning of the concept I will therefore break it up and define each concept separately. I will start by defining state which in simple language means a community of people living together in a confined territory with an internally and externally recognized institution to protect them. Sovereignty on its part can be defined as externally recognized right and freedom of a state (the unit of analysis of sovereignty) to conduct its affairs. Sovereignty provides the state with territorial integrity and enables it to enjoy recognition in the international politics. If we now join the two concepts we can define state sovereignty as the freedom of state to make decisions within its defined geographical boundaries. Internally, state sovereignty entails the distribution of power within the state while externally is about the state’s role within the international order and to whether or not it is able to operate as an independent and autonomous actor (Heywood 2004, pp90). SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CONCEPT The significance of state sovereignty lies in its structure – it combines two very key concepts of IR – state and sovereignty – key actors in international relations. State sovereignty also involves obligation and authority - the state’s obligation to its citizenry (and same actors) as well as its power (authority) to make decision within its defined geographical boundaries. Above all it is a fundamental part of contemporary politics and the international law, according to Westphalian concept. It is a concept which provides order, stability and predictability in International Relations (I... ...r even when no state desires it. The classic example of that is the WWI. Similarly, Iran’s nuclear programme which has stirred up heated debates and objections from super powers, the US in particular, is also both a matter of global security which liberalism is firm about and the realists’ concept of power balance. Realists would on one hand support Iran’s move saying as a sovereign state it has the right to develop nuclear weapons and that the move would actually be healthy for the country. On the other they would see it as a costly and dangerous move that might end up triggering nuclear race (Dunne, Kurki, Smith 2010, 63). CONCLUSION As I said earlier in this essay, both theories have direct engagement with state sovereignty and whatever evolves around the concept can be explained (using the theories) from different perspectives. =====================

Monday, September 2, 2019

All Quiet on the Western Front :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul Baumer is the protagonist in All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque. Paul changes his values throughout the novel as a result of having to adapt in order to survive. As Baumer struggles to survive the war, he transforms as shown by his thoughts, actions, and the conversations that he contributes in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One way that Paul changes is that his patriotism towards his country about war decreases. Paul is sitting with his men around a fire picking off lice and comparing them before throwing them in the fire. Muller starts to ask others what they would do if and when the war is over. After dwelling on the topic for a while they realized the younger men do not know how to do anything but fight. They joined the war at such a young age that they did not get a chance to explore anything else. â€Å"‘The war has ruined us for everything.’† At the beginning of the novel he is excited about defending his country and destroying the enemy, but after having interaction with soldiers from the opposing side he realizes that they are all the same. They are just soldiers fighting for their countries and eager to get home. Paul’s experience in combat changes his thoughts of war. Because of this, he gains the ability to reflect on the events that happen. His own ideas of war changes when he first witnesses the ugly truth of war. Paul’s first experience in combat reveals to him that everything he was taught as a young recruit are lies. This causes him to make his own conclusions and thoughts about the war. As the war goes on, Paul realizes more and more about the reality of the situation that he is in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul loses his innocence and childhood during the war; as a result, he becomes a man. In chapter seven, there is a scene where Paul, Leer, Kropp, and Tjaden swims. Three French women walk on the river bank. Paul and the others make hand motions with a loaf of bread and spoke in broken French. They make plans to meet the girls later that night. â€Å"We call out to them that we would like to come; sometimes when the guards cannot see us...we assure them that we will bring some with us... and other tasty bits too.† (Remarque 145) Through this trade, Paul uses the women for his urges.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Negotiation Strategy Analysis Essay

Negotiation strategies are used to make negotiations successful. Depending on the type of situation, the negotiations may differ in tactics. This essay will examine two articles different in strategies that use integrative tactics. One article will have a distributive strategy (win-lose), and the other article will have an integrative strategy (win-win). The tactics used in the articles will be related to a work setting involving prospective buyers and apartment companies to create a negotiation in a win-win outcome. Article I – Hostage Takeover Negotiation  This article is about the strategy and tactics used in a hostage takeover. Several tactics have been used in hostage takeovers throughout the years. The strategic strategies are about who holds the power. Some strategies show the hostage taker that the negotiator or the police have the power by taking items away from the hostage taker. Some items that can be taken away are the power to the building and the hostage taker’s ability to negotiate. This type of negotiation can create aggression in the hostage taker. This aggression can lead to an unsuccessful negotiation. In the following example, a different type of strategy is used in a hostage situation. According to Justin Borowsky (2011), a strategy that helps to build the relationship between the negotiator and the hostage taker can bring a favorable outcome. Instead of aggravating the hostage taker, a negotiator can gain the trust and support of the hostage taker. This type of negotiation is a distributive strategy (win-lose) using integrative tactics. The tactics used to gain this relationship is to build rapport by affirmation of the hostage taker’s power. This rapport and affirmation helps the hostage taker to believe he is in control. As the rapport is built, the hostage taker starts to look on the negotiator as his friend. The hostage taker starts to trust the negotiator and listens to alternatives and starts to plan for a good outcome. The negotiator displays a we-are-in-this-together scenario to the hostage taker. This scenario helps to form conversational flexibility creating the officer to obtain a role that has him working collaboratively with the hostage taker. As the officer builds the relationship with the hostage taker, the hostage taker starts to listen and works collectively with the officer to find alternatives to hurting the hostages and obtaining what he or she needs. The officer also is uncovering the needs of the hostage taker to assist in making a smooth transaction. These strategies and tactics have led to a positive outcome for the hostage and a successful negotiation with the hostage taker. The outcome is more of a distributing negotiation as the negotiator wins and the hostage taker loses. Article II – Disabled Individuals and Home Builders This article consists of the negotiation between house builders and the disabled buyers. In this negotiation, the builder has to understand the interests and the needs of the disabled buyer to have a successful outcome to the negotiations. The disabled population consists of 8. 5 million people. Builders are starting to realize that the disabled persons are also customers. The previous thought pattern on the disabled was that the state takes care of them. This is not true. Disabled individuals lead lives in the same manner as nondisabled persons. A disabled person has the ability and the need for home ownership. The disabled population has had tough negotiations with building houses to meet the needs of his or her disability. The builders will allow an individual to make changes to the initial house plan to suit his or her needs. However, many disabled buyers have a difficult time with builders who do not understand the needs of the disabled. The negotiation process is oftentimes a long process to fully uncover the buyer’s needs. This type of negotiation is an integrative bargaining strategy. An integrative bargaining strategy allows both parties to gain a beneficial outcome (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2006). With changes to the house design to fulfill the needs of the disability, a disabled person can appreciate the dream of owning a home. The changes that disable persons need in a house, most builders think are extras. The builders are willing to make the changes; however, the changes made do cost the disabled person extra money (Burns, 2004). Compare and Contract Strategies The two articles addressed in this essay are very different negotiation. However, both of the negotiations have the same tactics in relationship building to have a successful outcome. In the hostage takeover, the negotiator built a relationship on trust and we-can-do-this-together attitude. In the disabled house building, the disabled person built a relationship with the builder to gain the trust and respect needed to accomplish the goal. Another tactic used was interest based bargaining. In both articles the parties addressed the interest of the other party. This interest-based bargaining assisted in the success of the negotiations. The difference between these two articles in the negotiation was the distributive outcome versus the integrative outcome. In the hostage takeover article, the negotiator was gaining the relationship and trust of the hostage taker to gain ground to take the hostage taker out of commission before he killed or hurt a hostage. This trust and relationship building was essential but was also not a true picture of the negotiator. The negotiator had no intentions of continuing the relationship after the success of obtaining the hostage. The builder and the disabled person’s relationship was a true friendship. This relationship could continue throughout the years. Current Work Setting The above two articles relate to the negotiations of a buyer obtaining residential housing through relationship building. Both articles express the tactic of listening skills, relationship building, trust, and uncovering the needs of the other party. When a prospective renter is shopping for a place to live, his or her needs are the most important. However, the needs of the rental company are also important. By entering into an integrative negotiation, both parties can have a successful outcome. For example, a prospect may be looking for a two-bedroom apartment that has a washer and drying already in the unit. The prospect may also be looking to stay under $650 in rent. The apartment company may have apartments that have washer and dryer hookups but not washer and dryers in the unit. The apartment company can elect to listen to the need of the prospect and rent the washer and dryer for the unit. The apartment company can also offer the prospect an apartment that will be within the prospect’s budget. This type of negotiation will continue to build the rapport between the prospect and the apartment company during the prospect’s residency. Conclusion Some distributive negotiations can use the tactics of the integrative strategy in negotiations as shown in the hostage takeover. Good listening skills, uncovering needs of the other party, and gaining trust will lead to a successful negotiation. No matter which type of negotiation is to occur, preparation by uncovering the needs and wants of the other party will help a negotiator gain leverage and success in the negotiation.