Motivation Theory Essay

Introduction Nowadays, most companies’ goal is to maximise its profit. To do so, the component of the company must cooperate with each other. The senior (CEO and managers) must build a good relationship with the junior (employees) in order to know the thought of the employees. After understanding the thought and the needs of the workers, the next step is applying motivation theory to the employees in order to achieve the goal of the company. There are many motivation theories in managing human resources, but none is universally accepted. Each theory has its strength and weakness. It depends on the senior thought to decide which theory they will use to motivate their workers. This essay will discuss about the content theory of Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene Theory and the process theory of Adam’s Equity Theory. It also discusses how job design can affect employee’s motivation and the similarities and differences from both theories. Content theories Content theories explain the needs of individuals that required individual to fulfil them, factors that motivate people in workplace and what drive people behaviour. There are four pioneers in content theory of motivation: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, Alderfer’s ERG Theory, McClelland’s Theory of Needs, and McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. The Motivation-Hygiene Theory Frederick Herzberg was an American psychologist and professor of management (Herzberg 1968). He was known for acquainting job enrichment and Motivation-Hygiene Theory into business management. This theory is a result from a research study made by Frederick Herzberg and his partners (Mausner & Snyderman) at the University of Pittsburgh in 1950s. Some studies do find similarities between Herzberg’s and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory which divides the need of an employee into two level, high-order needs (self-actualisation needs and esteem needs) and lower-order need (social needs, salary needs and physiological needs), but yet there is no strong evidence to support those similarities. Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory was based on the result of the survey of 200 engineers and accountants in Pittsburgh that he made in 1950s. Each subject was asked to describe the time in their work is when they felt happy and unhappy and the description of events that give them positive and negative feeling. And as a result from the survey, Herzberg concluded that there are two-factor theory that affects an employee performance on workplace. Satisfier or motivator on the job What satisfies and motivates employees in workplace is called motivation factors. Each subject from the research study pointed a different factor that motivates them in workplace. As a conclusion from the survey, Herzberg concluded that there are 6 factors that motivate workers on their work. These factors related to job content; intrinsic factors that are related to workers’ work. Motivator factors leads to a higher effort, performance and satisfaction of an employee to their job. Motivation factors are required if managers want to maximise workers performance in workplace. According to Herzberg, workers will not perform maximum in their work if one of these factors are absent (Wood 2006). An absence of one of these factors can caused dissatisfaction on work. Similarly, if all the factors are present, it can cause job satisfaction (Ivancevich & Matteson 1999). These factors are similar to Maslow’s higher order need. Based on Herzberg’s survey, the 6 factors that motivate a worker in workplace are: * Achievement Employee performing well on their jobs in order to achieve something such as: promotion, bonus, reward, self-esteem. * Recognition Employees will be more motivated if they feel they have received the appropriate recognition from company. * Responsibility Employees will perform maximise if they realize that they have responsibility for their work and to the company. * Work itself Job satisfaction will be achieve if the employees itself feels comfortable and enjoy their work itself. * Advancement Employees are motivated because there is promotion on their job. * Personal growth Employees point out that the job itself gives them a new knowledge. Workers will get motivated when there is a reward for their work. An extra authority of the job from managers will motivated them as they realized that they have responsibility for their work. As they are more motivated for their work, their performance will improve and this will give them more skill which affect their personal growth. Dissatisfier of hygiene factor on the job Without hygiene factors, workers will become dissatisfied and they will not perform well on their job. Hygiene factors which include the environment of workplace do not higher the worker motivation, but they do have big influence on workers performance because without them, workers will not perform maximises. According to Herzberg’s theory, beside a strong motivation that motivates the employees to perform maximise on their work, a comfortable and supporting workplace also affect their performance. Lambert (2008) stated that dissatisfiers are not the main cause that caused employee leaving an organisation, but they are the main causes that caused employees unhappy on their work and absenteeism. The 8 factors that prevent dissatisfaction of workers in workplace which related to job context; the environment and extrinsic factors of the job according to Herzberg’s research: * Company policy and administration * Supervision * Relationship with supervisor * Work conditions * Salary * Relationship with co-workers * Status * Security Process theory Process theory provides the understanding of how thought processes of people mind influence an individual behaviour and how it motivates the individual. Two famous process theories of motivation that are known in business management are Adam’s equity theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory. Equity theory Equity theory is a thought where workers’ motivation is affected by the work outcomes that they receive from the company as the exchange rewards for their work. This theory was also considered as one of the justice theories because it believes that workers will be more motivated if they have received a proper treatment as they have contributed to the company. Equity theory was developed in 1963 by John Stacey Adams; a workplace and behavioural psychologist. Workers tend to compare their efforts and performance with their co-workers. A comparison with others results to three conclusion: * Under-rewarded: input > outcomes * Over-rewarded: input < outcomes * Equitably rewarded: input = outcomes Negative inequity is a result from the unequal rewards that an employee received for the inputs that the employees have contributed to the company (Wood 2006). The following ways are you to recover negative felt inequity of an employee: – changing inputs – changing outcomes – changing attitudes of the workers itself Motivating with equity theory To motivate workers with equity theory, managers are required to design an appropriate reward for workers. There are 3 steps in motivating workers with equity theory: * Setting rewards for workers. * Workers make equity comparison. * Workers’ job satisfaction and performance are affected. (Wood 2006) How can job design affect employee’s motivation? Job design is a process which provides way to make a planning for specific job task to ensure that the job itself is well organized. It also removes the obstacle that might obstruct the work. A proper job design will lead job satisfaction, improve employee motivation, reduced employees turnover and absenteeism (Brannick & Levine 2002). There are four methods that are used to improve work efficiency and job satisfaction: * Job simplification * Job enlargement * Job rotation * Job enrichment Job enrichment Job enrichment was also introduced by Frederick Herzberg. Job enrichment is the practice of building motivating factors into job content (Wood 2006, p. 162). This strategy of job design is focusing on expanding and evaluating the employee’s tasks. This action is made to improve the work processes and environments to that the employees are satisfy and perform well on their work. Some workers might feel bored and unsatisfied with their work due to lack of a challenge, repetitive work procedures. Job enrichment makes work more challenging so that the workers are more motivated. Job enrichment is an on-going management process, so the result will affect the workers for a long time (Herzberg 2008). Because the effects are long lasting, managers should decide carefully before making decision to apply job enrichment to the workers. There are three steps techniques to apply job enrichment to workers: 1. Turn employees’ effort into performance. 2. Link employees’ performance directly to reward. 3. Make sure the employee wants the reward. Managers should apply job design to every worker in order to achieve job satisfaction and to avoid skills mismatch of employee and their job which will decrease the productivity level of the employee. Job design can be done by doing observation and interviews to employees to know what are their skills and needs (Hackman 1976). This will help managers to decide which job is appropriate for the workers. Job design makes workers work easier as their task has been planned and scheduled so that the obstacle that will face less obstacle during their work. Comparison Both Adam’s Equity Theory and Herzberg’s motivation factors believes that one of the factors that affects worker’s performance is the payoff that they received from the company as a payment for their contribution to the company. If they feel that they have received unequal payoff for their hard work, they will not perform well and this tend to make them decrease their work performance. The reward can be in form of bonus, promotion, and reward. There are two types of rewards that can boost workers’ performance: intrinsic rewards and extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards are rewards that are part of the job itself and it can increases personal satisfaction and self-esteem and is self-rewarded. Some example of intrinsic rewards is: feedback, responsibility, praise or rewards that are self-administered. Extrinsic rewards are rewards external from the job, i.e., bonus, promotion, awards, pays, days off. Frederick Herzberg founds out that intrinsic rewards are stronger than extrinsic rewards because rewards like money tend to be â€Å"zero out†. If a worker always get praise by their manager or co-workers which increase the personal satisfaction, this will keep motivated them to perform well and as the payoff is, they get more bonus from the company. To sum up, intrinsic rewards may lead to extrinsic rewards. Contrast Based on Herzberg’s research survey, most of the factors which can lead to workers dissatisfaction are related to work environment. The condition of workplace environment is very influential to worker performance because if the workers feel uncomfortable with the environment workplace, they will not perform well on their work (Locke 1976). As an example, a workplace without any fan or air conditioner will make workers cannot focus maximise as the temperature is hot. While Adam’s Equity Theory only claims that workers’ performance is affected by the outcome that they received from the company. Bibliography Brannick, M. T. and Levine, E. L., 2002. Job analysis. CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Hackman, J. R. 1976. Work design. Santa Monica, CA: Goodyear. Herzberg, F. 1968. One more time: how do you motivate employees?. Harvard Business Review, vol. 46(1), pp. 53–62. Herzberg, F., 2008. One more time: how do you motivate employees?. Harvard Business Review, 65(5), pp.109-120. Ivancevich, J. M. and Matteson, M. T., 1999. Organizational behaviour and management. 5th ed. Singapore: McGraw-Hill Book Co. Lambert, L., 2008. Exit stage right. HRMonthly, February Issue, pp. 28-31. Locke, 1976. Organizational behavior: affect in the workplace. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, p. 282. Wood, J. et al., 2006. Organisational behaviour core concepts and applications. Milton Qld: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

A Case Study On Banque Accord: A Closer Look

Banque Accord is a subsidiary of financial giant the Auchan Group1. Founded in 1983, Banque Accord was established in two stages: In 1983, with the issuance of â€Å"Accord† retail cards in Auchan’s hypermarkets; and, in 1987, with Auchan’s acquisition of Banque Delort, a subsidiary and affiliate of the banking group known as Credit Commercial de France2. Auchan subsequently called its newly acquired bank as â€Å"Banque Accord 3.  Ã¢â‚¬ The newly acquired bank’s mission was to customize the rules that have proven successful in the area of retail distribution and bring it to the financial services field, by allowing consumers to avail of simple yet innovative discounted products and services. 4 Essentially, Banque Accord operates as a bank aligned with the credit and retail industries in general5. Put simply, Banque Accord brings electronic banking functions to retailers, and payment and financing options like cards and consumer credit, closer to its c onsumers.As a rule, the purchase of financial resources is backed by sound ratings from globally respected institutions like Moodys and Standard & Poor. For the year 2006, Banque Accord received higher ratings compared to the previous year6. Moody’s gave the bank an A2 grade, while S&P gave it an A or â€Å"Stable† rating7. To note, the word â€Å"Accord† suggests being able to agree on â€Å"financial solutions† for the company’s clients8. The dynamism of Banque Accord, which eventually became well-respected in international financial circles, is due to the fact that it is wholly-owned by a bank and a retail group.Since its inception, Banque Accord has noteworthy achievements, four of which are9: (1) consolidating – in the same organization – electronic banking, issuing of retail cards and providing credit to consumers; (2) creating a network of banking instruments in shopping centers; (3) an ever-widening range of goods and products available to clients (such as payment card facilities and services, revolving credit, traditional credit, and the like. 10); and (4) its takeover of Egg France in 2004, permitting direct online access under the monicker Oney.fr/ These factors, combined with the marketing genius of its Chief Executive Officer Damien Guermonprez, Banque Accord has evolved in 2006, into an international presence with operations in nine countries, and a database of 4,800,000 customers11. 1 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 2) 2 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 3) 3 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 4) 4 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 4) 5 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 16) 6 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 16) 7 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 16) 8 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 3) 9 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 3) 10 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 3) 11 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 3) Banque Accord: A Case Study 1In Banque Accord’s financial disclosures for 2006, the company reflected a EUR353,167,000 increase in assets in just 12 months12. Banque Accord also reported a net income of EUR34,413,000 in 2005, as compared to EUR24,206,000 in 2 00413. Despite the potential for further international growth, Banque Accord has to contend with possible areas of difficulties, which include14: (a) the use of mobile phones as potential replacement for bank cards in transactions; (b) innovations in consumer credit; and (c) the development of e-business in the retailing industry.Regardless of these trends that Banque Accord has to contend with, the bank continue to be innovative and continues to explore newer concepts to maintain its prestige and originality in the banking and retail industries. 12 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 17) 13 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 17) 14 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 17) 15 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 3) Banque Accord: A Case Study 2 I. The Auchan Group Founded in 1961 by Gerard Mulliez, the Auchan Group started out in the North area of France with one hypermarket, which, simply defined, is a commercial complex which combines a department store with a supermarket16.Currently, in 2006, the Auchan Group runs 360 hypermarkets spread across 11 cou ntries. In France, Auchan operates 654 supermarkets 17. Since the inception of Auchan, the company’s vision has remained the same. That is, to improve the purchasing power of its customers 18. Banque Accord is an Auchan subsidiary which has developed an identity of its own within the Auchan Group. Nevertheless, Banque Accord’s mission is identical to Auchan’s, and in essence, the bank has a dual vision 19:†¢ customer oriented: providing its clients with a means to purchase; and †¢ corporate oriented: assisting Auchan in maximizing turnover and revenue, therefore aiding the Group to reduce costs. Accordingly, Banque Acord’s mission, â€Å"The bank for consumers† is aimed towards Auchan’s clients at the hypermarkets 20. Banque Accord achieves its mission by making available to Auchan’s clients, certain services like discounted financial options and payments which are directly accessible to these clients.Being a part of the Auc han Group is a contributing factor to Banque Accord’s human resources practices: By training a group of responsible professionals who consider their jobs fulfilling, the company is able to achieve growth and guarantee their clients quality service21. II. Banque Accord’s Internal Strengths In studying the case of Banque Accord, one is accosted with the company’s inherent strengths. Whatever weaknesses there might be for the company, these are easily addressed based on the operating standards adopted by the Bank. Nevertheless, inherent strengths of Banque Accord include: A. European Market ShareThe modes of payment offered by Banque Accord is characterized by diverseness, regulatory and technical issues and the intricacy of the value chain of the industry22. Cash payment is predominant in 16 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 4) 17 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 4) 18 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 5) 19 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 5) 20 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 5) 21 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 5) 22 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 6) Banque Acc ord: A Case Study 3 Spain, Italy and Germany23. However, majority of Banque Accord’s clients in Great Britain and France use bank cards24. The bank card is considered a â€Å"pivotal† product for the company that issued it25.The card can be very much compared to a traditional bank’s checking or current account, which is most convenient for customers to use. Retailers or outlets that have tie-ups with bank cards are able to sell â€Å"progressively†, in coordination with various financial services like cross-selling or up-selling26. The European market where Banque Accord mainly operates was reportedly worth EUR930 billion in outstanding credit in 2005 (Source L’observateur Cetelem), and is manifesting fast growths in many countries27. Within Europe, where Banque Accord operates, there are distinct differences between countries.In Great Britain for example, the average outstanding credit per household is double that of France’s28. In simple w ords, buyers in Great Britain have greater use for bank cards than customers in France do. The differences between countries may be attributed to diverse cultural orientations, regulatory requirements and marketing procedures29. Another example is: frequently, young people are refused credit on the grounds that they do not have a stable means of paying it. On the other hand, it is quite common for a consumer to accumulate excessive credit30.A solution to this would be the use of regulatory systems and which monitor and prevent bad debts. B. Positioning and Diverse Services The business of Banque Accord is30: (a) issuing different types of payment cards like for example, retail cards, gift cards and bank cards; (b) proffering consumer credit and other related services; and (c) managing its retail partners electronic processing of monetary transactions. Electronic Banking is a technical service directly given by Banque Accord to its retailers, which is a source of pride to the bank31. Its electronic banking services is geared towards functioning as a bank –â€Å"receiving† transactions – providing the support in the retailers’ issuance of cards, managing authorization, 23 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 6) 24 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 6) 25 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 6) 27 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 6) 28 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 8) 29 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 8) 3-0 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 8) 31 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 9) Banque Accord: A Case Study 4 2005, to form a division called CardOps33. Being owned by a retailing group, Banque Accord’s aim is ATMS, payment terminals, etc 32. Banque Accord’s electronic banking services were grouped together in proximity to its customers, and minimizing costs of electronic banking.The core business of Banque Accord is the issuing of a range of cards, which have different functions. The bank’s cards may be a type of payment, a retailer’s marketing tool, a â€Å"support† product of the bank that is incorporated in its associate d services34. It is widely said that an Accord card may be likened to a Swiss Knife with flexibility in functions — credit card, payment card and loyalty card 35. Various examples of an Accord card’s use are36: (a) Sample 137: Card Type : Retail Card Function : A payment card issued or released by retailerBanque Accord: Auchan cradholders total 4,000,000 in Europe, and the card is accepted by other retailers (b) Sample 238: Card Type : Loyalty Card Function : Retailer's marketing instrument which could be used to attract and maintain a loyal base of clients Banque Accord: N/A (c) Sample 339: Card Type : Bank Card Function : A traditional card issued by banks, this card may be used overseas Banque Accord: MasterCard Accord and VisaCard Accord (d) Sample 440: Card Type : Gift Card 32 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 9) 33 (Dauchy, 2007, p.9) 34 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 9) 35 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 9) 36 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) 37 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) 38 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) 39 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10 ) 40 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) Banque Accord: A Case Study 5 Function : This type of card may be utilized to personalize service, and enhances customer relationships. Banque Accord: Auchan Gift Card Hence a card is useful to: ? the retailer, because it can be used as a marketing instrument and promotes consumer loyalty; and ? the consumer, because it is convenient means of financing and payment41There is a distinct connection between owning a card, how the type of card benefits the customer and the retailer, and the amount of business the customer does with the retailer42. It is established that a customer who has access to credit through cards increases his or her purchasing power. A client who has no card hardly visits a retailer in a month, owning a loyalty card enables a customer to make three visits. Having a retail card allows the client to make four visits per month to the favorite retailer and having a bank card gives the client the opportunity to make at least five visits to th e retailer 42.Banque Accord boasts of an orientation which is discount-oriented and customer-oriented43. Banque Accord has two selling and pricing concepts44: — annual subscription; and — cash back, which is defined as the money paid to the customer related t his or her card use. For example in France, Banque Accord gives a 40% discount incentive to annual subscribers for a refular Visa Card, and 60% discount on a Visa Premiere Card45. Based on the spending habits of the customers, an annual subscription increases the potential for the cleints' purchasing statistics. Other Financial ProductsApart from cards, Banque Accord also offers its clients other services, lilke46: (1) in-store credit wherein the individual retailers define their own credit policies along with different formulas for achieving revenue; (2) personal loans, which are granted to customers as a come-on, at interest rates based on current market prices; (3) revolving credit, which is built up by a credi t reserve; 41 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) 42 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) 43 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) 44 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) 45 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 12) 46 (Dauchy, 2007, p. 10) Banque Accord: A Case Study 6 (4) Auchan savings account;(5) life insurance, which is a tieup with Suravenir and offers life plans at simple and reduced costs; and (6) non-life insurance. As evidenced by the wide range of â€Å"other† services that Banque Accord offers, its value chain is distinguished by a huge number of product alliances47. Thus, Banque Accord has been known for its flexibility. As a result, the bank has largely-increased the potential spending capacity of its client-base. Sometimes, the bank's products are managed by other partners — at times their competitors — depending on which country the operation is in48.

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Managerial Decisions in Economic Terms - Essay Example The project makes suitable assumptions, like, the present value of discounting, the number of miles that car intends to run and the charge involved in travelling the extra miles over and above the stipulated miles allowed in the lease contract. Finally, a comparison is made between the present values of the two alternatives. It discusses three situations. It finds the present value of the car purchase, present value of the car purchase using a loan and the present value of the lease along with purchasing option. The project seeks to find the best and the most cost effective alternative from the above three cases. This project tries to find out the basis of applying managerial decisions under different circumstances. In this case, decision has to be taken between the two alternatives of buying a car or leasing it. The best possible way is to compare the costs involved in both cases. The aim of the project is to find out the most cost effective method of transaction by calculating the present value of the discounted cash flow. Firstly, it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of leasing and owning a car and the costs involved in both cases. This project aims to help managers in making decisions between a lease and a purchase. An analysis is conducted under three given situations before a conclusion is drawn. It is not a simple method and involves a host of other factors like the number of miles that the buyer intends to travel, and the rates of interest prevailing at that time. The managerial decision of whether to lease or buy a car is of primary concern in this project. The project will act as the mouthpiece for a public school system which is to decide whether it would economical to lease a car or to buy it. Both have got their respective benefits and costs. The motive of the project is to detect which would be the most cost effective method. In order to come to a final decision, a comparison of costs needs to be done which will take into

Ethnography report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethnography report - Essay Example The first challenge that I had to face in order to complete my task was to find the appropriate location where I could conduct my research. It had to be the kind of place where I could get in touch with people from different ethnicities in a setting that they are used to, a place they frequented most. Attending Queens College has been greatly helpful in my quest, as it had all that I wanted. Here, I chose the International Community Students Club, recognized for the Students Exchange Programs it conducts. I wanted to study its purpose and the kind of support it provides for its members. Since I am an immigrant myself, I was comfortable with the idea of researching a club that dealt with international students, and it gave me an opportunity to get as close as I can to people with different cultures, in a setting that I desired. Before I go any further, I would like to share my personal perceptions about clubs. Clubs, societies and support groups are a great way for like-minded people to come together in order to pursue a common goal. The whole idea of doing something you like with many others who share the same feelings is very appealing. As Klein puts it, "What better way to stay connected, active and focused than to unwind with peers who enjoy fun and common interests?" The club I chose for my report is unique, in a way different to most other clubs. It is truly a â€Å"melting pot† of sorts, representing different countries, philosophies, customs, cultures and much more, where people simply bond with and support each another. They have a lot in common, starting from the fact that they are all strangers in a new country. It is my personal belief that exchange students and children of immigrants strive harder than the native students do, in order to achieve even more. They are more self-driven, determined to achieve goal(s) set and expected by their peers, and desire to make everyone in their native country proud. They wish to please everyone in their co mmunity, their parents and relatives. These students try to be exceptional in academics and have a commitment towards fulfilling the obligations they have towards others and themselves. Their financial backgrounds also play a pivotal role in shaping their behavior and objectives. The high cost of living and studying in foreign countries often molds the mind-set and lifestyle of students and their parents. For immigrant students, financial hardships can be laborious and stressful in all aspects of their lives, and they turn towards loans, scholarships and sponsors. â€Å"A number of students have merely toned down spending habits that had been fed by boom times back home† (Archibold). This has put these students in a precarious predicament. This, to a great extent, explains the urge that always lurks in their minds to achieve their goals. My earlier experience with another student’s club (the Caribbean Student Club) had been a very beneficial one. I bonded with others w ith whom it was easier for me to relate to. The notion that we are all in this together gave me a certain comfort. Each club has a purpose, and serves a special function for the welfare of its members at large. My endeavor is to find out if this is a reasonable statement and if the Queens College International Community Students Club is true to its value. Commentary # 1 The reason for the existence of a club is to provide a connection, making a network of people with similar motives. The purpose of this excerpt is to explain just that. Soon after a class discussion at noon, on Thursday, March 24 (12:25 pm to be precise), I headed over to the office of the

Posting on Reading Essay Example for Free

Posting on Reading Essay Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How education is valued and how it is tied up with culture and the structure of society is the focus of the article. Moreover, several factors that encourage people to attend higher education are also explored in the article. For instance, several examples about the South Korean culture were revealed in the article in order to emphasize how the view of education changes depending on the culture. For the South Koreans, education is seen as a status symbol and not a stepping-stone to acquire a job in the future. The good thing about it though is that statistics has shown that the percentage of dropouts is less in areas that believe in the relationship between education and societal value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   People from different walks of life have varying points of view regarding education. A survey conducted in order to determine the reasons why people choose to attend higher education reveals that reputation or culture and the enhancement of an individual’s disposition are the topmost reasons why people value their education. At this point, people view the learning and understanding of the English language as an instrumental skill in order to accomplish an individual’s aims to gain a high and respectable social status. Koreans nowadays are struggling to learn the English language, as it gives one a high rank in the social climate. Koreans spend time and effort in studying English that they are willing to undergo rigorous testing just to speak English well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps, the article does not only discuss education as part of culture. I think the issues in this article also have strong connections with globalization. As the world moves to become a global village, people are forced to increase their chances of belonging to the international community. This objective shall only be accomplished through further education. This is probably one of the reasons why education is seen as a form of earning a high rank in society because being well educated and learning to speak English well keeps you in a range of belongingness with the rest of the global community. The Costs of Educational Zeal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The article explores the effects of Korea’s valuing of education to the costs of attending the educational institution. Apparently, with the Korean’s growing value for education and the educational institution’s goals to enhance the quality of education, the costs of higher educations have also reached a high. The reasons underlying the high cost of education in the country was explored under different regimes. The influence of colonialism to the educational system of the country contributed much to the high cost that they require of education. Moreover, majority of educational institutions in the country require expensive rates for their services because most of them are privately owned. At this point, I ask myself, why do they need to pay expensive taxes for education when most of the educational institutions are private?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There was not any change during the Park Chung Hee’s term as president of the country. During this time, education was neglected, therefore there were no efforts coming from the government to fix the problem expensive costs of education. Reflecting on it, education in the country has really become a social status, such that only those who can afford it are able to gain the quality education that they deserve. Moreover, the government does not care less whether the people are able to afford education. This reveals how the voices of those people who cannot afford to attend educational institutions are not being heard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another factor that influenced the high costs of education was what the people called Kwaoe. Kwaoe is the Korean term for tutoring. This service requires large amounts of money that people cannot help but complain about its cost. At this point of time, the government was able to address this issue and ban tutoring all over the country. Throughout the years, noticeable efforts to alleviate the rising cost of education were evident when reviewing the performances of past governments. However, their efforts were not enough to lessen the cost of paying for an individual’s education. The failure of governments to remodel their educational system is understandable, because from the beginning, the faulty budgeting and financing for educational institutions was adapted by the country. What the country needs to work on is modifying the educational system in order to identify its flaws and once and for all end the high costs of education.

Industrialisation pattern in Australia

Industrialisation pattern in Australia Much of the pattern of industrialisation in Australia was focused on unlocking the abundances of natural resources that lay in the country and using it to fuel an economic development. The pattern of industrialisation in many countries tends to begin with exploiting the inorganic sources of energy, which Australia had a certain amount of in coal. Secondly, the next requirement was for an extensive labour force which the post-war immigration programme supplied. Finally, it required a certain amount of infrastructure, which in a country as geographically vast as Australia proved to be a vital element. Following the Great Depression of the 1920s and the poor growth of the 1930s that culminated in the Second World War, the stage was set for Australia to create an economic boom that lasted through the 1960s and much of the 1970s. Japan emerged as the primary market for Australian exports, replacing Britain as the major market, and the stage seemed set for increased growth. However, as wil l be seen, the sustainability of this economic growth is in question and problems were only narrowly avoided by the development of service-led industries in the 1990s. Following the Second World War, new financial institutions were created in Australia to attempt to alleviate the troubles from before the 1940s. Before the First World War, the bulk of investment in Australia had come from private British Investors through specialised investment banks. However, by the 1930s, confidence had fallen and very little capital flowed into Australia leaving a dearth in investment. However, after 1945 the international price for primary products increased substantially setting the market-driven context for Australian growth. In 1945 Australia was not well integrated in the Asia-Pacific region, and this meant the country initially looked towards Britain and the USA in the first instance. However, after achieving independence in 1952, Japanese industrial output increased, as a result of it holding a significant amount of manufacturing capability as a result of its output during the war. This provided Australia with a significantly closer market for its raw mate rials and thus helped fuel the continued development of its mining and refining industries. International capital was at its highest, the population influx provided a burgeoning increase in the market and the stage appeared to be set for continued and sustained economic growth. The difficult with establishing the success of Australian economic growth tends to lie with the contrast of the enormous success of the initial years with the steady decline of later years. Not only did the real economic growth of Australia steadily decline, from 6.4% in 1950-4 to 2.6% in 1875-79, its share of World economic growth steadily declined in this period. Australias share of World Trade declined throughout this period from 2.8% in 1950 to 1.5% in 1972. This suggested that the foundation of the long boom was unsustainable in the long run. It has been argued that smaller countries need to rely heavily on a balance of trade, and Australia is the only small economy in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that is not a heavy trader and in fact is the third most closed economy. There was a decline in investment in Australian manufacturing in the late 1960s, and the share of total employment fell from 22.8% in 1974 to 17.8%. In the early 1990s, Austral ia experienced a recession with 11% unemployment. From the criteria that successful industrialisation should lay the foundation for sustained growth in the future, or at least relative sustained growth (i.e. increased growth relative to other countries), the Australian industrialisation has not been particularly successful. The reconstruction of the international economy following the 25 years after 1945 provided an important stimulus to economic growth that many nations took advantage of. Australia responded by undergoing a significant industrial revolution. However, it only held a relative advantage that gave it a great starting point. Increased migration, improved infrastructure and inflows of foreign development led to a vast increase in industrial output both in the supply of raw materials and in the creation of a manufacturing base in the country. However, the growth was not sustained and was reliant upon other countries sustaining their imports of Australian goods which was a poor foundation as was exposed after 1973. Nevertheless, Australia had created a secure welfare state, sustained an increased immigration policy and was able to adapt to the challenges with which it was presented. The growth in service industries in the 1990s lay upon the basis of a strong industrial base, and thus it can ha rdly be said that industrialisation was in any way a disaster. Therefore it can be concluded that Australia was relatively successful in industrialising between 1950 and 1973 it was not as successful as it could have been when viewed retrospectively, but it certainly made itself into an industrialised nation with great prospects for sustaining economic growth into the future.

focus :: essays research papers

ok I'm an "A" Plan brat myself. My dad's been there for 34 years now! : ) I got my fully loaded 2001 Twilight Blue ZTS, not including Advance-Trac or moonroof (DAMN IT!!!) for $15,000 plus tax, tags, extended warranty and the Protection package costs. Came out to around mid-16,000. I don't think I did too bad. That's with very questionable credit and a 9.8% interest rate and no downpayment. My first BRAND NEW car. hahahaha I think I did alright, though I know I got screwed on the final cost. Oh yeah, I got a 3 year lease too. I got the 5 year/60,000 mile warranty.2001 ZX3, 5-speed. Power package, premium package, moonroof. Listed for $15,200 and bought it for $13,900. $12,900 after the rebate. I've owned it for a month, have 1,600 miles, averaging about 29 mpg, with no probs! Love my ZX3 Mine was about $16,700 and I didn't have any money for a down payment. This was the S2 edition though which has the european tuned suspension, spoiler, and moonroof, it had the 6 disk in dash cd player also, but i took that out and put in my tv. I got my 2000 SE Sedan for $14,400. It had all options minus auto, ABS, side airbags, and leather. I really wanted the ABS and side airbags but wasn't going to wait to have one special ordered - I had already been to 5 dealerships that day and was pretty exited to find one so close to what I wanted. V, when dealing for the car, they are going to be playing tricks on you to make it seem like they can't go any lower. When they say "I have to go check this out with my manager", make it look like you are unconcerned and have all day - pull out your gameboy or palm pilot and start playing games. Make sure they know that you know what you are talking about, and that the car you are dealing for is a compromise, not the one car you have spent your whole life looking for. If the car has been on the lot for a while, then it's taking up valueable space and they need to get rid of it. If it just got on the lot, then if they sell it right away the holdback they get from Ford is pure profit. One other thing I found is that there is an airplane club up in Wisconsin or Minnesota or something that costs 20 or 30 bucks to join but members get X-Plan pricing from Ford.

red river valley :: essays research papers

Red River Valley   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie â€Å"Red River Valley,† is a B-western that really portrays the way life was in the early 1900s. The music in the movie really set the moods, and gives you a better understanding of what’s going on. The song that opens up the movie has a fast tempo that is played what sounds like a trumpet. Then we are introduced to Gene Autry and his partner, Frog Millhouse. The two were tending cattle and seemed to be pretty skilled at it. Then Gene and his partner set out to help build a dam to bring water into the dry land. They will take on the task of being ditch guards at the dam.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The cowboy music in the movie starts when Gene and Frog walk into the town’s saloon. There is a band up on stage that is playing a fast tempo song. They are playing with a guitar, piano, harmonica, and other exotic looking instruments, like a bottle that the band member blows into. The men at the saloon are dancing, drinking, playing checkers, and seem to be having a good time. Then Gene and Frog leave the saloon and go to the dam. In the beginning of the scene, a fast pace song that is played with trumpets starts to play, which made me think that the scene would have a lot of action in it. The two men go to work on the dam, but Gene realized that they were set up, and there was dynamite that was about to explode. But he uses his quick wit, and they escape with no harm. After that the two men go back to the saloon to perform on stage. Gene Autry sings and plays the guitar very well up on stage. His voice has a baritone/high pitch sound to it, but he sounds like he has skill. Then after Gene, his partner Frog gets up on stage to perform. Frog uses the whole band and their many different instruments while he sung about his trusty forty-five. The duo was a crowd pleaser, and they left the saloon immediately after performing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then there is a scene with group of men walking and singing together with shovels. The men sing with a very deep, bass sounding tone. These men are the guys that are working to build the dam, and they are upset because they aren’t getting paid.

My professional and academic goals related to wardens school of nursing Essay

My Professional and Academic Goals related to Walden’s School of Nursing Perspectives I have been a nurse for 14 years, mostly in the Emergency Department, and have become aware of the growing population and the need for Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP’s). According to Walden’s University Catalog (DEC. 2013a), FNP’s are defined as â€Å"advanced practice registered nurses with the knowledge and skills to assess and manage health issues in patients of all age groups, from birth through senior years. † My goal as a FNP is to provide advanced health care with a holistic approach including: disease prevention, health maintenance, health promotion, restorative care, and a positive social change. I have chosen Walden University through high recommendations from my colleagues. They have enlightened me on the positive impact Walden School of Nursing has made in their personal and professional careers. Walden’s vision and mission statement reinforced my decision to become a part of the Walden Family Nurse Practitioner School of Nursing. According to Walden University Catalog (DEC. 2013b) their vision is focused on a distinctive different 21st –century learning community that provides immediate solutions of critical societal challenges and advancing global good. My vision agrees that healthcare professionals need to focus on advanced 21st century technology and the societal challenges that arise and promote a positive social change. Walden University Catalog (DEC.2013b) defines positive social change â€Å"as a deliberate process of creating and applying ideas, strategies, and actions to promote the worth, dignity, and development of individuals, communities, organizations, institutions, cultures, and societies. Positive social change results in the improvement of human and social conditions. † I plan to implement social change with the knowledge and education that the Walden School of Nursing provides while supporting and recognizing the many cultures in the community.

Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence

Each of the central characters in â€Å"Open Secrets† by Alice Munro and â€Å"Paradise Lost† by John Milton are driven and sustained by the relationship between the realities of their existence and their personal ideologies. The conflict between ideology and reality is an important theme in the work of Munro and Milton and both the obvious discrepancies and the more subtle references to this define many aspects of the plot and characterisation. An examination of the reactions of characters to the restrictions placed on them by the reality in which they exist, and their perception of this reality is fundamental to understanding the ideologies which they possess. Their ideologies are the crucial influence on the experiences and eventual fates of each character. Ultimately the question of whether or not these relationships and conflicts are resolved or overcome is the key to gaining a deeper insight into the texts, and simultaneously provides the reader with evidence of the authors' own beliefs and ideologies. In Paradise Lost, Milton makes use of the ideas of contrast and opposition in order to create a text which is highly significant of his own personal ideology and, at the same time, a beautiful and intricate piece of epic poetry. The first character which the reader is able to engage with on a relatively profound level is Satan. This is not as ironic as it may seem as the title should ensure that the reader is forewarned of the fact that the main concern of the poem is going to be the story of the brief but significant triumph of evil over good (Satan's success in the temptation of Eve). From the outset Milton establishes to his readers that Satan is a colossal antagonist, with the realisation that his potential for evil and his success as a tempter are unquestionable. Milton's approach in the characterisation of Satan was definitely unorthodox at the time of writing, however, his methods are essential if the plot and characterisation is to be meaningful and believable. By rendering Satan as an attractive and awesome character, he immediately invites his readers to engage with the, as yet, only briefly mentioned characters of Adam and Eve. If the readers can find themselves taken in by Satan's attractive and inspiring rhetoric, then the successful temptation of Eve becomes not only more believable to the reader, but an inevitable outcome of the plot. Milton's characterisation, not only of Satan, but of the characters of Adam and Eve is extremely important and worthy of study. The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which is the main source for the poem's subject matter, is so well known as to be almost indelibly stamped upon the consciousness of Christian and, more importantly, Western Civilisation as a whole. This added depth of characterisation which permits the readers to engage with the main protagonists is essential to the greatness of this text and without it the poem would not be regarded as such an important milestone in English literature. Desmond M. Hamlet writes that in Paradise Lost â€Å"Satan's sin is terrible because it is a rebellion against God's love, actualised in the Son who functions in the entire poem as the indispensable creative and restorative agency for the dissemination of that love in practical and exemplary ways. † In â€Å"Sudden Apprehension†, Lee A. Jacobus asserts that one of the driving forces behind Milton's personal ideology was the importance he placed on having true self knowledge. Satan is known in Christian Mythology as the great deceiver, and as the embodiment of evil in Paradise Lost. Milton ironically undercuts Satan's seemingly powerful and beautiful speeches but showing undoubtedly that Satan has succeeded unconsciously in deceiving himself. This contrasts with Adam who was born â€Å"self knowing† and whose natural impulse is to give thanks to god: Tell me, how may I know him, how adore, / From whom I have that thus I move and live, / And feel that I am happier than I know† (Book 8, 250-282) The reality of Adam's existence in Paradise demands obedience to God's will, however, his behaviour is influenced by his fixation on Eve's beauty. This flaw in his ideology leads him to permit Eve to work in the garden alone, and also to co-operate with her in what leads to their fall from Paradise. Her ear leads her to the pool which deceives her on two counts, it is not â€Å"a liquid plain† nor â€Å"another skie† Aristotle wrote that the ear was the principal source of wisdom so in book 4 the reader is already being warned that eves thirst for knowledge will lead her astray. footnote *sudden apprehension by jacobus chapter 2 pg 33-34* â€Å"In Paradise Lost, the reader is repeatedly forced to acknowledge the unworthiness of values and ideals he had previously admired† (Stanley E. Fish in surprised by sin; the reader in paradise lost Berkeley university of California press 1973) In â€Å"Poet of Exile†, Louis L. Martz writes that, in the beginning, â€Å"Adam and Eve†¦ have all our basic psychological qualities†, in short, they are made frail by their God given right to choose and their possession of free will. â€Å"We – the readers – were made to feel ashamed of our naive affection for the father of lies† (Sharon Achinstein) Satan as representative of the false heroic image that does not stand up against the weapons and strength of true Christianity. od as an allegory for the tyrants which Milton raged against and Satan as an allegorical representation of those who kept the tyrants in power by fighting unsuccessfully against them due to the fact that they wanted only to replace the tyrant not work for a better world. â€Å"Open Secrets† the title tale of Alice Munro's collection recounts the reactions of the local population to the mysterious disappearance of one of a group of local girls, Heather Bell, which took place on a hiking trip a few years prior to the story's beginning. One of the first and most poignant facts the reader learns is the lyric to the song sung by the girl hikers: â€Å"For the Beauty of the Earth, /For the Beauty of the Skies,? For the Love that from our Birth/ Over and around us lies†¦ † The ambiguous meaning of the word â€Å"lies† is highly significant as in this story the relationships between reality and ideology are extremely difficult to define. In this short story, Munro never enlightens her readers as to what the actual reality of the situation is. By withholding the crucial details of the events surrounding Heather Bell's disappearance, Munro manipulates the reader into assuming the position and viewpoint of a character within the text, much like Milton's seductive characterisation of Satan. The reader is forced to join with the characters in the story by coming up with theories and opinion as to what actually happened. This fact, when juxtaposed with the lack of concrete evidence or proof, leads the reader to view all the theories as â€Å"lies† and the hikers' optimistic song becomes a symbol of the fact that no matter how innocent or horrible the reality is, its dimensions will never be known. CONCLUSION†¦. Jackson I. Cope, in his book, â€Å"The Metaphoric Structure of Paradise Lost† writes, â€Å"The immediate and intuitive language, which frustrates the religious polemicist in discursive argument is precisely the â€Å"corporeal† world out of which the poet shapes reality†. I feel this is an important point when reading the texts of Munro and Milton. In my opinion, as a reader, the ideology of the author is not of supreme importance. Readers are often drawn to attempt to work out the author's personal ideology through the characterisation, use of metaphor and allegory and other literary devices present in the text, however, this can arguably obscure evidence of the author's true aim – to create beautiful and engaging works of fiction. Paradise Lost and Open Secrets are representative of the work of Milton and Munro and are texts peopled with strong engaging characters which demand that the readers examine their own consciences, personal ideologies and perceptions of reality. In this sense, the greatest achievement of Munro is to engage and entertain her readers, without satisfying them with stereotypical and unremarkable romances and mysteries. Lucy Hughes-Hallett writes about Open Secrets – â€Å"In story after story there is an intricate layered richness as one narrative is braided into another, not by dint of coincidences or revelations, but simply by Munro's insistence that every life is important†. While Munro's ideology is somewhat revealed through her choice of plots and protagonists, the point which seems to pervade her writing is that the ideologies of the characters are the most important and it is with their personal realities and perceptions with which we should be engaging, and not hers. Critics have argued for centuries over the significance of Paradise Lost in relation to Milton's own political and religious ideologies, and while I accept that the poem does reflect Milton's views of organised religion in general, I think the allegorical function and perceived polemic is less important than his efforts to engage his readers with the characters and moral implications of the text. Milton is similar to Munro in this sense, she deals with ordinary lives and in Paradise Lost Milton deals with a familiar age old tale. Through use of characterisation and by contrasting reality with ideology, Milton gives the questions and arguments raised by this age old story a personal slant and turns the poem into a voyage of discovery for his readers. Neither Milton nor Munro set out to make their fiction easy or superficially satisfactory to their readers, however, they both deal extensively with the conflict between the realities of existence and false ideologies which is a universal theme and one which each reader can achieve some level of personal identification with. (1677) Open Secrets – â€Å"Carried Away† â€Å"†¦ had been in love once, with a doctor she had known in the sanatorium. † Her love was returned, eventually, costing the doctor his job. There was some harsh doubt in her mind about whether he had been told to leave the sanatorium or had left of his own accord, being weary of the entanglement. He was married, he had children. Letters had played a part that time, too. After he left, they were still writing to one another. And once or twice after she was released. â€Å"Then she asked him not to write anymore and he didn't. But the failure of his letters to arrive drove her out of Toronto†¦ † and made her take the travelling job. Then there would be only the one disappointment of the week, when she got back on Friday or Saturday night. Her last letter had been firm and stoical, and some consciousness of herself as a heroine of love's tragedy went with her around the country as she hauled her display cases up and down the stairs of small hotels and talked about Paris styles and said that her sample hats were bewitching, and drank her solitary glass of wine. If she'd had anybody to tell, though, she would have laughed at just that notion. She would have said love was all hocus-pocus, a deception, and she believed that. But at the prospect she felt a hush, a flutter along the nerves, a bowing down of sense, a flagrant prostration† â€Å"I am glad to hear you do not have a sweetheart though I know that is selfish of me. I do not think you and I will ever meet again. I don't say that because I've had a dream what will happen or am a gloomy person always looking for the worst. It just seems to me it is the most probable thing to happen, though I don't dwell on it and go along every day doing the best I can to stay alive. I am not trying to worry you or get your sympathy either but just explain how the idea I won't ever see Carstairs again makes me think I can say anything I want. I guess it's like being sick with a fever. So I will say I love you. I think of you up on a stool at the Library reaching to put a book away and I come up and put my hands on your waist and lift you down, and you turning around inside my arms as if we agreed on everything. † Alice Munro – â€Å"What is remembered† It was the women, then, who could slip back–during the daytime hours, and always allowing for the stunning responsibility that had been landed on them, in the matter of the children–into a kind of second adolescence. A lightening of spirits when the husbands departed. Dreamy rebellion, subversive get-togethers, laughing fits that were a throwback to high school, mushrooming between the walls that the husband was paying for, in the hours when he wasn't there. In a more recent short fiction – â€Å"What is remembered†, Munro writes another abortive love story, quite similarly in structure to â€Å"Carried Away†. The protagonist in this story is a young wife named Meriel who has a brief fling with a doctor she meets at a funeral. Meriel's ideology and perception of events are revealed in part with a short so called â€Å"discussion† with her husband, as he nears the end of his life. Her husband Pierre insists that the male in a love story is pleased when he is rejected by the heroine as he â€Å"hates loving her†, Meriel disagrees, consciously or unconsciously referring to her own perception of what she has experienced: â€Å"They'd have something. Their experience. † He would pretty well forget it, and she'd die of shame and rejection. She's intelligent. She knows that. † â€Å"Well,† said Meriel, pausing for a bit, because she felt cornered. â€Å"Well, Turgenev doesn't say that. He says she's totally taken aback. He says she's cold. † â€Å"Intelligence makes her cold. Intelligent means cold, for a woman. † â€Å"No. † â€Å"I mean in the nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century it does. † This exchange is symbolic as it shows that, through her experience, Meriel is able to engage with the heroine in the novel and reject the author's control of events. I think this is a pertinent point to take into consideration when searching for the ideological basis of Munro's work. She writes about normal people, who have strange experiences but react in ways that the reader can empathise with. Louisa in â€Å"Carried Away† is described as having a rather nondescript personality and leading a life which is for the most part without high drama. The characterisation is subtle and understated. â€Å"The fact that he was dead did not seem to have much effect on Meriel's daydreams†¦ They had to wear themselves out in a way she did not control and never understood. † If she'd had anybody to tell, though, she would have laughed at just that notion. She would have said love was all hocus-pocus, a deception, and she believed that. But at the prospect she felt a hush, a flutter along the nerves, a bowing down of sense, a flagrant prostration† â€Å"He wrote that he did not expect to come home†¦ When the war ended, it was a while since she had heard from him. She went on expecting a letter every day and nothing came. Nothing came. She was afraid that he might have been one of those unluckiest of soldiers in the whole war – one of those killed in the last week, or on the last day, or even in the last hour†¦ When she entered the town hall she always felt he might be there before her, leaning up against the wall awaiting her arrival. Sometimes she felt it so strongly she saw a shadow that she mistook for a man. She understood now how people believed they had seen ghosts. Whenever the door opened she expected to look up into his face. Sometimes she made a pact with herself not to look up until she had counted to ten†¦ She had to be forgiven, didn't she, she had to be forgiven for thinking, after such letters, that the one thing that could never happen was that he wouldn't approach her, wouldn't get in touch with her at all? Never cross her threshold after such avowals?†¦ She read a short notice of his marriage to a Miss Grace Horne. Not a girl she knew. Not a library user. There was no picture. Brown and cream piping. Such was the end, and had to be, to her romance? † Throughout â€Å"Carried Away† Louisa is unlucky in her pursuit of love. She is not doomed to be a spinster throughout her life, and in fact, marries well, giving her a comfortable lifestyle and a degree of happiness. This occurs despite her previous two encounters with love which left her not overtly broken-hearted but on a subtle level, wounded. The poignant and bittersweet way in which Munro recounts the tale of Louisa's doomed romance with the Doctor from the sanatorium draws the reader still further in as it mirrors Louisa's stoical tone in breaking off the romance. And yet her belief that the mysterious soldier will one day declare his love in person is not inconsistent as despite her previous disappointment, Louisa is still eager to succumb to love: â€Å"If she'd had anybody to tell, though, she would have laughed at just that notion. She would have said love was all hocus-pocus, a deception, and she believed that. But at the prospect she felt a hush, a flutter along the nerves, a bowing down of sense, a flagrant prostration† In a sense this is Louisa's â€Å"open secret†, as she informs the soldier, Jack Agnew, early on in their correspondence that she was once in love but that it had to be broken off. By opening herself up to him (because as the reader knows, Louisa is not generally outgoing with information) she sets herself up for an even deeper wound when she receives both the short note and the returned photograph. This is a truly upsetting moment in this unconventional love story as Louisa's thoughts, indecisions and insecurities are clearly stated. To have it returned in such a cowardly manner seems to add insult to injury. Louisa, however, remains firm in the face of adversity, even joking with an acquaintance and gently reprimanding herself for daring to believe that the soldier could have loved her : Ah, that's so, that's so! † Louisa said. â€Å"And what was it in my case but vanity, which deserves to get slapped down! † Her eyes were glassy and her expression roguish. â€Å"You don't think he'd had a good look at me any one time and thought the original was even worse than the poor picture, so he backed off? † Her gentle self mocking is not meant to induce sympathy from the reader, in the same way that Jack's belief that he would never see Carstairs again was not an attempt by him â€Å"to gain (her) sympathy† instead, just a simple statement of what he perceived to be a fact. His perception however, is utterly wrong, and his false ideology leads him to tell Louisa that he is in love with her. Jack clearly believes in his pessimistic ideology, as the consequences of toying with Louisa's emotions are brutally cruel otherwise, and Jack is not perceived by the reader as a cruel man. However Munro does avenge her protagonist slightly by serving Jack with one of the most ridiculous deaths and a funeral which was one of the best attended in years, not because he was so popular or well liked but because the people â€Å"wished to pay tribute to the sensational and tragic manner of his death† Open Secrets† the title tale of Alice Munro's collection recounts the reactions of the local population to the mysterious disappearance of one of a group of local girls, Heather Bell, which took place on a hiking trip a few years prior to the story's beginning. One of the first and most poignant facts the reader learns is the lyric to the song sung by the girl hi kers: â€Å"For the Beauty of the Earth, /For the Beauty of the Skies,? For the Love that from our Birth/ Over and around us lies†¦ † The ambiguous meaning of the word â€Å"lies† is highly significant as in this story the relationships between reality and ideology are extremely difficult to define. In this short story, Munro never enlightens her readers as to what the actual reality of the situation is. By withholding the crucial details of the events surrounding Heather Bell's disappearance, Munro manipulates the reader into assuming the position and viewpoint of a character within the text, much like Milton's seductive characterisation of Satan. The reader is forced to join with the characters in the story by coming up with theories and opinion as to what actually happened. This fact, when juxtaposed with the lack of concrete evidence or proof, leads the reader to view all the theories as â€Å"lies† and the hikers' optimistic song becomes a symbol of the fact that no matter how innocent or horrible the reality is, its dimensions will never be known. â€Å"They will try to make out she was some poor innocent, but the facts are dead different† says one of the schoolgirl acquaintances of Heather Bell. â€Å"†¦ the undefined nature of evil should be seen as the ideological context of Satan's notorious inconsistency as a character† â€Å"Satan defines his evil goal†¦ strictly in oppositional terms† Milton was writing at the time of the emergence of a relatively new ideological situation in which ethical codes of good and evil are being reshuffled and centred, in which evil reappears with revitalised force as a†¦ placeless agent that can find its definition not positively or inherently but only in reacting against some similarly abstract and unified concept or agent of virtue or reason. â€Å"On the one hand, Satan is a meta-epic character† â€Å"Satan is cast†¦ as a stock figure of evil† â€Å"The dominant form of drama in the Satan figures as the fragmentary subject of constitutively unsatisfied desire† Some versions of Pastoral† William Empson – â€Å"Empson argues that there is a coherent Satan, but that this coherence is only an impressive faiade upon which two different and quite inconsistent viewpoint are constantly superimposed† Milton characterises Satan as a creature at once attractive and evil, appealing and destructive. Satan has the accoutrements of the great leader, the attractiveness of an epic adventurer. Books 1 and 2 reveal an heroic self assertion, self reliance and self deification that we find not only exciting but with which we identify to varying degrees. Temptation does not come in an unattractive form. Milton ironically undercuts Satan's magnificence by linking him repeatedly to tyranny, deceit and destruction. Lucifer's fall comes because he refuses to accept his subordinate position. Satan's goal is â€Å"to equal God in power† (5. 343) so that in effect he becomes a parody of god and especially of the son to whom he is consistently placed as a foil throughout Paradise Lost. He lies with superb skill and persuasiveness. Impressive and attractive leader. Bold military leader, resolute, resourceful, capable of inspiring a large and devoted following. Satan represents the style of life which is most attractive to mankind but that was also the root cause of human evil and misery. The magnificent pretence of Satan is both defeated and exposed when he loses the battle on the third day. God and Satan – both references to church and organised religion Satan hates God and sunlight (4. 37) and living things (4. 197) and the organisation of the cosmos (2. 938-84) in the garden of Eden he sees â€Å"saw undelighted all delight† (4. 286) he is determined to bring man pain instead of joy, woes instead of pleasure (4. 68-9,535) at first he expresses pity for Adam and Eve but soon recovers with a rationalisation, putting the blame on god. â€Å"Hell shall unfold/To entertain you two, her widest Gates† (4. 381-3) â€Å"†¦ stronger hate,/Hate stronger, under shew of love, well feign'd /The way which to her run now I tend† (9. 491-93) Satan's approach to Eve is specious and deceptive, but is also moving and persua sive. He leads Eve to accept a flattering view of himself as a serpent and herself as a goddess. Satan urges them to â€Å"be as Gods† (9. 708-14) which was the same sin by which he himself had fallen. Bridge from hell to earth â€Å"a passage broad, / Smooth, easie, inoffensive down to hell† (10. 304-5) this fulfils Satan's plan for â€Å"Earth with Hell / To mingle and involve† (2. 383-84) Satan re-enters hell triumphantly with a call to the demonic hosts to rise and enter â€Å"into full bliss† (10. 502-3) instead of ascending however they fall and are converted into serpents. This is our last direct vision of Satan in the epic, as the greatest triumph of the great perverter is itself ironically perverted. Satan's perversion of created god is itself reversed and creation renewed. Satan declares in book 1 that he intended â€Å"out of good still to find means of evil† (1. 165) but in the concluding book the restored and instructed Adam celebrates the providential deliverance to come by the son â€Å"That all this good of evil shall produce ? And evil turn to good† (12. 470-471) The degeneration of Satan's character in paradise lost is brilliantly conceived and executed. Instead of becoming the king of heaven he becomes the king of hell, and on earth he passes through the even lower forms of vulture, cormorant, lion, tiger, toad and serpent. When he finally enters into the serpent â€Å"with bestial slime / This essence to incarnate and imbrute† (9. 165-66) – he stands at the farthest remove from his pretensions and in his harshest parody of god the son whose incarnation was to redeem and not to destroy man. Satan's revolt against God was freely committed however once in revolt he is no longer free but as the faithful Angel Abdiel taunts him â€Å"to thyself enthralled† (6. 181), enslaved to his own identification of himself with an impossible and irrational self image. As a result of this chosen enslavement he finds himself at odds not only with god but with himself and other creatures. He curse God and himself (4. 69-71) By attempting to exalt himself he repudiates his only viable mode of being, cannot fulfil himself and so â€Å"still unfulfilled with pain of longing pines† (4. 511). As he admits, even while he is adored on the throne of infernal divinity â€Å"the lower still I fall, only supreme / In misery† (4. 91-92). Seeking power apart from love, he declares that â€Å"only in destroying I find ease† and that even from the destruction that he pursues â€Å"worse to me redounds† and â€Å"torment within me, as from the hateful siege / Of contraries† (9. 128-9, 120-22) After asserting his hatred of god and himself he recognises that â€Å"which way I fly is hell; myself am hell† (4. 75) All good becomes bane to him but he refuse to repudiate his pride and so repentance is out of the question for him (4. 98 – 101). He is entirely consistent in his dedication â€Å"to waste (god's) whole creation or possess† it, and since he cannot possess it, he commits himself to its destruction (2. 365). The one promise he keeps is his bond to sin and death that â€Å"all things shall be your prey† (2. 844) â€Å"†¦ torment within me, as from the hateful siege / Of contraries† By his self deification and by his persistent strategy of domination and destruction, Satan creates the essential conditions of hell ; what god provides in hell itself is an abode suitable to Satan's free choice. It is not a question of real fire but the anguish and torment of a self chosen alienation from god (Calvinist theory) â€Å"†¦ from hell / One step no more than from himself† could Satan fly, and that hell â€Å"†¦ always in him burnes / Though in mid Heav'n† (4. 21-2, 9. 467-8) â€Å"We – the readers – were made to feel ashamed of our naive affection for the father of lies† (Sharon Achinstein) Satan as complete contradiction in terms. 200 Satan as representative of Milton's ideology – contrast with the son. 200 Satan as a character is doomed to fail in his quest to become ruler of heaven. On the third day of his battle with The Son, he is defeated. If the reader assumes that Milton was illuminating his own ideology through the character of Satan then there are a few interesting points to note. The Son is willing to sacrifice his life in order to improve the conditions humanity must endure after their fall from grace. This ideology contrasts directly with that of Satan, who states in Book 9 â€Å"only in destroying I find ease†. The Son is the embodiment of goodness and self-sacrificing virtue in Paradise Lost (Divine compassion, visibly appear'd/ Love without end, and without measure grace†) and his ideology triumphs over the false ideology of Satan. Satan and God are both aspects of the tyrannical power that Milton raged against throughout his lifetime. The false heroism of Satan is seen by some critics as an allegorical representation of the hypocrisy of those who fought against tyranny with no alternative world order in mind, those who wished to depose tyrants in order to assume this position for themselves. While the Son is unequivocally moral and good, God is depicted in a less human way, as tyrannical though not in an overtly bad way, I think this is symbolic of Milton's ideology, he did not believe that ideological theory by itself was worthy of praise, but that physical action should accompany any ideology which wished to be taken seriously – â€Å"I cannot praise a fugitive and uncloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed† (Milton, The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce). Therefore the Son functions not only as a symbol of divine good, but also as an example that possession of a compassionate and virtuous ideology are only worthy if teamed with real sacrifice and meaningful action. Louisa – the reality of her situation, the reality of Maureen's situation, the reality or Meriel's situation. Their perceptions of these realities the significance of these perceptions on their fates and their experiences.

Arthur Conan Doyle Essay

Discuss Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s presentation of evil in the Hound of the Baskervilles  In some eyes, Doyle is the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the man who started the whole detective genre scene. However, my admiration for Doyle goes further than just enjoying Holmes’s latest escapade.  On a superficial level, Doyle uses powerful verbs and adjectives to create the evil atmosphere, and teamed up with the colourful writing of the background, he can simply and easily create a blanket of malice around the hound;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"There stood a foul thing, a great, black beast†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚  In my mind, the best way Doyle portrays evil is by adding a touch of verisimilitude to his novel. â€Å"Of course, I’ve heard of the hound ever since I was in the nursery. It’s the pet story of the family, though I never thought of taking it seriously before.†Ã‚  Here, by adding a history to the hound, Doyle gave an unbelievable beast a sense of authenticity.  Doyle can contribute to the ‘believability factor’ in other ways;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"From this point onwards I will follow the course of events by transcribing my own letters to Mr Sherlock Holmes which lie before me on the table.†Ã‚  This is an excellent example of how Doyle can make a fictional character recite a fictional event, and still have it sound as if it is a factual account.  The weather is another method employed by Doyle to give the novel realism. â€Å"October 16th – A dull and foggy day, with a drizzle of rain. The house is banked in with rolling clouds, which rise now and then to show the dreary curves of the moor, with thin, silver veins upon the sides of the hills, and the distant boulders gleaming where the light strikes upon their wet faces†Ã‚  Here, instead of going into the character’s actions, Doyle goes into great detail about the surroundings, to add to the authenticity of the proceeding actions. More specifically about the bleak weather, the malevolence of the hound is easier to comprehend because of the desolate backdrop of the Moors.  Moving away from the idea of the weather being used to create realism, I can see a more important part the weather plays in the novel. Doyle uses the weather so extensively throughout the narrative you could say that the weather is a character in its own right. Doyle’s use of patheticfallacy helps to convey the character’s feelings of terror towards the evil of the hound, which combined with points I mentioned previously, help to improve the impact of the, in comparison, small matter of a large dog.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœDiscuss the presentation of evil in the Hound of the Baskervilles’ is a difficult question to answer. That’s why I thought it best to go to the hound itself;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Or a spectral hound, black, silent, and monstrous?†Ã‚  The hound is expressed as a satanic manifestation, a beast with no hope, no scruples. It symbolises the greed and evil harboured in men, and what could be unleashed if the thin veneer of morality, which protects us from our own desires, was breached. You could even go as far as to say that the beast is Doyle’s representation of the darker side of capitalism. The beast is also a symbol of how fear can be use against people, and how people can be led to believe the unbelievable;  Ã¢â‚¬Å"To do so would be to descend to the level of these poor peasants who are not content with a mere fiend dog, but must needs describe him with hell-fire shooting from his mouth and eyes.†Ã‚  As touched on previously, this story can be read simply by fans of the Sherlock Holmes trilogy and the simply put evil references on the surface of the novel can act in as good as a way as the deeper points. Also the pace of action is a simple writer’s trick to help boost the presentation of the subject. For example, Doyle uses fast snappy sentences, such as ‘gaunt, savage and as large as a small lioness’, to speed up the action, and he uses long and complex sentences to allow the reader to reflect on the previous action. They are also used to allow the reader to start to solve the mystery in their own head. Another point of interest for me is the idea of a tragedy, the main tragedy of course being Stapleton. The thought that Stapleton could have been a good and loyal friend to Sir Charles Baskerville, but then turned to the greed in his own heart of the possible inheritance, is what constitutes a real tragedy.  To conclude, there are many ways in which Doyle portrays evil through his writing, be they the beast, the realism developed or the simple good versus evil. However, I have also found that none of the methods can stand alone, and that they all compliment each other in the rich diversity that is the Hound of The Baskervilles. I’ve been James Cordingley, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

ESPN

Company Culture and Environment When employees arrive to work at their Bristol, Connecticut Headquarters, they are greeted only by a small, unassuming sign that says, â€Å"Welcome to ESPN. † In a calculated and understated way, this sign is representative of the culture that pervades throughout the organization. Simply stated, ESPN, the company is about the fans and the sports, not ESPN. This statement offers a preview of sorts to a culture at ESPN that truly goes the extra mile in emphasizing customer satisfaction by offering its programming thru state-of the art program offerings thru multiple channels.A brand promise sums up the essence and meaning of a brand and how the brand connects to its consumers. ESPN’s promise of delivering â€Å"Sports, with Authority and Personality,† clearly outlines what they do, how they do it and what differentiates them from their competition. With respect to Sports, ESPN connects to its fans through many platforms, including m ultiple television and radio programs, internet applications including television online, restaurants, and numerous mobile applications.In doing so ESPN strives to consistently deliver unmatched quality that is strengthened by leadership and innovation. As an Authority in sports programming, ESPN emphasizes integrity, authenticity and expertise that is unparalleled in the industry. Regarding Personality, ESPN emphasizes throughout its organization, the effective use of humor, passion and community by expressing their affinity for its fans regardless of origin.While the brand promise of ESPN is certainly evident throughout all of its programming through all of its delivery channels, it is its hiring practices that appear to give the most obvious credence to the company living up to this promise. From its inception ESPN maintained a policy of hiring employees that were/are first and foremost sports fanatics. ESPN saw sees this as a critical factor in having its employees display the l evel of enthusiasm and knowledge that it wanted to promote and display its brand promise.They also see this as an equalizer of sorts whereby everyone who views ESPN, regardless of race, color education could relate with one another. Anthony Smith, a management consultant who has worked with ESPN for over 20 years and author of ESPN; The Company, sums up the environment and culture at ESPN best when he wrote; â€Å"I can think of few other companies that do as good a job of creating an atmosphere of fun and excitement for its people and its customers – maybe Southwest Airlines in the airline industry, Starbucks in the consumer goods space, or Apple and Google in high-tech.But it’s hard to surpass ESPN. † (Smith, P. xxiii, ESPN; The Company. ) This information, combined with information gathered through direct conversations with ESPN Marketing employees would strongly indicate that ESPN has done an outstanding job of entrenching its brand promise both internally a mongst its work-force and externally through its broadly scoped programming. From an internal branding perspective ESPN appears to have achieved what all companies strive for; to entrench its vision and culture that pervades throughout everything it does. Espn COMPANY Case ESPN: The Evolution of an Entertainment Brand In the 2004 movie Anchorman character Ron Burgundy ( Will Ferrell) auditions for a position on SportsCenter with the very new and lit-tle known network, ESPN ( Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). The year was 1979. After pronouncing the name of the network â€Å" Espen,† he then is shocked to find out that ESPN is a round- the- clock sports network. Through his laughter, he asserts that the concept is as ridiculous as a 24- hour cooking network or an all- music channel. â€Å" Seriously,† he shouts. This thing is going to be a financial and cultural disaster. SportsCenter . . . that’s just dumb! † While this comical sketch is fictitious, when a young college graduate named George Bodenheimer took a job in the mailroom at ESPN it 1981, it was for real. Today, Mr. Bodenheimer is president of the network that has become one of the biggest franchises in sports, not to mention one of the most successful and envied brands in the entertainment world. As a cable network, ESPN commands $ 2. 91 from cable operators for each subscriber every month. Compare that to $ 1. 7 for Fox Sports, 89 cents for TNT, and only 40 cents for CNN. The core ESPN channel alone is currently in more than 96 million homes. With that kind of premium power, it’s no wonder that ESPN shocked the world in 2006 by becoming the first cable network to land the coveted TV contract for Monday Night Football, which went on to become the highest rated cable series ever. But even with its three sibling channels ( ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Classic), the ESPN cable network is only one piece of a bigger brand puzzle that has become Bodenheimer’s $ 6 billion sports empire.Through very savvy strategic planning, Bodenheimer is realizing his vision of taking quality sports content across the widest possible collection of media assets to reach sports fans wherever they may be. Employing a hands- off manage ment style, Bodenheimer has cultivated a brand that is brash, tech savvy, cre-ative, and innovative. He tells employees that ESPN belongs to all of them. He gives them the freedom to come up with their own ideas and push them forward. His only rule is that every new ideaand push them forward.His only rule is that every new idea must focus on fulfilling ESPN’s mission of reaching sports fans and making them happy. In the process, ESPN has become as recog-nized and revered by its customers as other megabrands such as Tide, Nike, and Coca- Cola are to theirs. Bodenheimer’s career- spanning dedication has grown ESPN to well over 50 businesses. The all- sports network has become a truly multiplatform brand, a rarity for any TV network. This growth has given ESPN tremendous reach. ESPN. com alone reaches 22. 4 million viewers a week.But even more stunning is the fact that during any seven- day period, 120 million people ages 12 to 64 interact with some ESPN medium. Here†™s a rundown of ESPN’s portfolio of brands: Television: ESPN has sprawled into six cable channels and other TV divisions that give it both a local ( ESPN Regional Television) and global ( ESPN International and ESPN Deportes) presence. It was one of the first networks to break new ground in HDTV with simulcast service for ESPN and ESPN2 and it still maintains the most HD programming content and highest level of HD viewership in sports.Cable operators and viewers alike consistently rank ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic above all other channels with respect to perceived value and programming quality. But perhaps one of the most innovative moves in all of tel-evision sports occurred in 2003, when ESPN content was inte-grated into its sibling network ABC. ESPN on ABC is now the home for the NBA Finals, NASCAR, NCAA football, NCAA bas-ketball, World Cup Soccer, British Open, and the IndyCar Series. Although ESPN has numerous cable channel brands, one program stands out as a brand in its own right. SportsCenter was ESPN’s first program.And with as many as 93 million view-ers each month, it remains the network’s flagship studio show. SportsCenter is the only nightly, full- hour sports news program. And whereas, in the past, ESPN has rebroadcast taped episodes of SportsCenter during the day, a new schedule incorporating nine straight hours of live SportsCenter everyday from 6 a. m. to 3 p. m. will begin in the fall of 2008. Outside the United States, ESPN airs 14 local versions of SportsCenter broadcast in eight languages. Radio: Whereas many radio formats are suffering, sports radio is thriving.And ESPN Radio is the nation’s largest sports radio network with 750 U. S. affiliates and more than 335 full- time stations. In addition to college and major league sports events, the network broadcasts syndicated sports talk shows, providing more than 9,000 hours of content annually. Publishing: ESPN The Magazine launched in 1998 and immedi-ately beg an carving out market share with its bold look, bright col-ors, and unconventional type, a combination consistent with its content. With the dominance of Sports Illustrated, many didn’t give ESPN’s magazine enture much of a chance. Within its first year, ESPN The Magazine was circulating 800,000 copies. Today, that number has ballooned two- and- a- half times to 2 million, whereas Sports Illustrated has remained at a stagnant 3. 3 million. At the same time, ESPN is making headway into one of the oldest of all media: books. Although ESPN Books is still waiting for a megaseller, because of the cross- marketing opportunities with the other arms of ESPN, this small division has consider-able marketing clout in a struggling industry. If they didn’t have the TV stuff and everything else, they’d be as hard-pressed as other publishers to make these books into major events,† said Rick Wolff, executive editor at Warner Books. Internet: ESPN. com is the leadin g sports Web site, and ESPNRadio. com is the most listened to online sports destination, boasting live streaming and 32 original podcasts each week. But the rising star in ESPN’s online portfolio is ESPN360. com, a subscription- based broadband offering that delivers high-quality, customized, on- demand video content.Not only can fans access content carried on ESPN’s other networks, but they also get exclusive content and sports video games. For the true sports fan, there’s nothing like it— it allows viewers to watch up to six different events at the same time choosing from live events for all major professional and college sports. Since ESPN360. com began service in 2006, this broadband effort has doubled its distribution and now reaches 20 million homes. Beyond working through its own Web sites, ESPN is exploring the limits of the Internet through an open distribu-tion venture with AOL.By providing ESPN content via a branded ESPN video player in AOLâ₠¬â„¢s portal, viewers have more access to ESPN’s content. But advertisers also benefit from a larger online audience than ever before. Mobile: In 2005, ESPN ventured in to one of its trickiest and riskiest brand extensions to date. Mobile ESPN was designed as ESPN’s own cell phone network, putting content into sports fans’ pockets 24/ 7. But after a year, the venture was far from breaking even and ESPN shut it down. However, even though Mobile ESPN is down, it’s not out.ESPN has capitalized on the lessons learned and started over with a different strategy. Today, ESPN provides real- time scores, stats, news, highlights, and even programming through every major U. S. carrier, with premium content available through Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm. Mobile ESPN also reaches an international audience of mobile customers through more than 35 international carriers. ESPN’s mission with its mobile venture is to â€Å" serve the sports fan any time, anywhere , and from any device. In fall 2007, it reached a major milestone in that goal when more people sought NFL content from its mobile- phone Web site than from its PC Web site. â€Å" We’re having extraordinary growth on ESPN. com’s NFL pages, but we’re also seeing extraordinary usage with mobile devices as well,† said Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN Sports customer marketing and sales. Mr. Erhardt sees great potential in mobile, saying that it is â€Å" a big part of the future as it relates to how fans are going to consume sports. Bodehnheimer and his team see no limit to how far they can take the ESPN brand. In addition to the above ventures, ESPN extends its reach through event management ( X Games, Winter X Games, ESPN Outdoors & Bass), consumer products ( CDs, DVDs, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Golf Schools), and even a chain of ESPN Zone restaurants and SportsCenter Studio stores. ESPN content is now reaching viewers through agencies that place it in airport s and on planes, in health clubs, and even in gas stations. â€Å" Now you’re not going to be bored when you fill up your tank.It gives new meaning to pulling into a full- service station,† says Bodenheimer. â€Å" I’ve been on flights where people are watching our content and don’t want to get off the flight. † A powerful media brand results not only in direct revenues from selling products but also in advertising revenues. Advertising accounts for about 40 percent of ESPN’s overall revenues. With so many ways to reach the customer, ESPN offers very creative and flexible package deals for any marketer trying to reach the cov-eted and illusive 18– 34 year old male demographic. Nobody attracts more men than we do,† asserts Bodenheimer. â€Å" We’ve got a product and we know how to cater to advertisers’ needs. The merchandising opportunities we provide, whether it’s work-ing with Home Depot, Wal- Mart, or Dic k’s Sporting Goods, we want to partner if you want young men. † As amazing as the ESPN brand portfolio is, it is even more amazing when you consider that it is part of the mammoth ABC portfolio, which in turn is a part of The Walt Disney Company portfolio.However, it is no small piece of the Disney pie. ESPN revenues alone accounted for about 18 percent of Disney’s total in 2007. Since obtaining ESPN as part of the 1995 ABC acquisi-tion, because ESPN has delivered on the numbers, Disney has allowed ESPN to do pretty much whatever it wants to do. Just a few years after the acquisition, Disney’s then- CEO Michael Eisner told investors, â€Å" We bought ABC media network and ESPN for $ 19 billion in 1995. ESPN is worth substantially more than we paid for the entire acquisition. And Disney leverages that value every way that it can, from Mouse House advertising package deals to conditionally attaching its cable channels to the ESPN networks through cable oper ators. Questions for Discussion 1. In a succinct manner, describe what the ESPN brand means to consumers. 2. What is ESPN selling? Discuss this in terms of the core bene-fit, actual product, and augmented product levels of ESPN. 3. Does ESPN have strong brand equity? How does its brand equity relate to its brand value? . Cite as many examples as you can of co- branding efforts involving the ESPN brand. For each of these cases, what are the benefits and possible risks to ESPN? 5. Analyze EPSN according to the brand development strategies from the text. What have they done in the past? What would you recommend to ESPN for future brand development? Sources: Alice Cuneo, â€Å" More Football Fans Hit ESPN’s Mobile Site Than Its PC Pages,† Advertising Age, January 7, 2008, p. 7; Mike Shields, â€Å" ESPN, AOL Strike Web Video Deal,† Brandweek, April 8, 2008, accessed online at www. brandweek. com; Andrew Hampp, â€Å" ESPN Makes Jump to Major League,† Advertis ing Age, May 14, 2007, p. 32; Ronald Grover, â€Å" Comcast’s C- TV: Channeling Disney,† BusinessWeek. com, December 1, 2006; Jeffrey Trachtenberg, â€Å" ESPN’s Next Hurdle: Selling Its Audience on Books,† Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2007; Jason Brown, â€Å" Out- of- Home TV Ads Finally Coming of Age,† Television Week, January 28, 2008, p. 12; also see www. espnmediazone. com. Espn COMPANY Case ESPN: The Evolution of an Entertainment Brand In the 2004 movie Anchorman character Ron Burgundy ( Will Ferrell) auditions for a position on SportsCenter with the very new and lit-tle known network, ESPN ( Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). The year was 1979. After pronouncing the name of the network â€Å" Espen,† he then is shocked to find out that ESPN is a round- the- clock sports network. Through his laughter, he asserts that the concept is as ridiculous as a 24- hour cooking network or an all- music channel. â€Å" Seriously,† he shouts. This thing is going to be a financial and cultural disaster. SportsCenter . . . that’s just dumb! † While this comical sketch is fictitious, when a young college graduate named George Bodenheimer took a job in the mailroom at ESPN it 1981, it was for real. Today, Mr. Bodenheimer is president of the network that has become one of the biggest franchises in sports, not to mention one of the most successful and envied brands in the entertainment world. As a cable network, ESPN commands $ 2. 91 from cable operators for each subscriber every month. Compare that to $ 1. 7 for Fox Sports, 89 cents for TNT, and only 40 cents for CNN. The core ESPN channel alone is currently in more than 96 million homes. With that kind of premium power, it’s no wonder that ESPN shocked the world in 2006 by becoming the first cable network to land the coveted TV contract for Monday Night Football, which went on to become the highest rated cable series ever. But even with its three sibling channels ( ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Classic), the ESPN cable network is only one piece of a bigger brand puzzle that has become Bodenheimer’s $ 6 billion sports empire.Through very savvy strategic planning, Bodenheimer is realizing his vision of taking quality sports content across the widest possible collection of media assets to reach sports fans wherever they may be. Employing a hands- off manage ment style, Bodenheimer has cultivated a brand that is brash, tech savvy, cre-ative, and innovative. He tells employees that ESPN belongs to all of them. He gives them the freedom to come up with their own ideas and push them forward. His only rule is that every new ideaand push them forward.His only rule is that every new idea must focus on fulfilling ESPN’s mission of reaching sports fans and making them happy. In the process, ESPN has become as recog-nized and revered by its customers as other megabrands such as Tide, Nike, and Coca- Cola are to theirs. Bodenheimer’s career- spanning dedication has grown ESPN to well over 50 businesses. The all- sports network has become a truly multiplatform brand, a rarity for any TV network. This growth has given ESPN tremendous reach. ESPN. com alone reaches 22. 4 million viewers a week.But even more stunning is the fact that during any seven- day period, 120 million people ages 12 to 64 interact with some ESPN medium. Here†™s a rundown of ESPN’s portfolio of brands: Television: ESPN has sprawled into six cable channels and other TV divisions that give it both a local ( ESPN Regional Television) and global ( ESPN International and ESPN Deportes) presence. It was one of the first networks to break new ground in HDTV with simulcast service for ESPN and ESPN2 and it still maintains the most HD programming content and highest level of HD viewership in sports.Cable operators and viewers alike consistently rank ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic above all other channels with respect to perceived value and programming quality. But perhaps one of the most innovative moves in all of tel-evision sports occurred in 2003, when ESPN content was inte-grated into its sibling network ABC. ESPN on ABC is now the home for the NBA Finals, NASCAR, NCAA football, NCAA bas-ketball, World Cup Soccer, British Open, and the IndyCar Series. Although ESPN has numerous cable channel brands, one program stands out as a brand in its own right. SportsCenter was ESPN’s first program.And with as many as 93 million view-ers each month, it remains the network’s flagship studio show. SportsCenter is the only nightly, full- hour sports news program. And whereas, in the past, ESPN has rebroadcast taped episodes of SportsCenter during the day, a new schedule incorporating nine straight hours of live SportsCenter everyday from 6 a. m. to 3 p. m. will begin in the fall of 2008. Outside the United States, ESPN airs 14 local versions of SportsCenter broadcast in eight languages. Radio: Whereas many radio formats are suffering, sports radio is thriving.And ESPN Radio is the nation’s largest sports radio network with 750 U. S. affiliates and more than 335 full- time stations. In addition to college and major league sports events, the network broadcasts syndicated sports talk shows, providing more than 9,000 hours of content annually. Publishing: ESPN The Magazine launched in 1998 and immedi-ately beg an carving out market share with its bold look, bright col-ors, and unconventional type, a combination consistent with its content. With the dominance of Sports Illustrated, many didn’t give ESPN’s magazine enture much of a chance. Within its first year, ESPN The Magazine was circulating 800,000 copies. Today, that number has ballooned two- and- a- half times to 2 million, whereas Sports Illustrated has remained at a stagnant 3. 3 million. At the same time, ESPN is making headway into one of the oldest of all media: books. Although ESPN Books is still waiting for a megaseller, because of the cross- marketing opportunities with the other arms of ESPN, this small division has consider-able marketing clout in a struggling industry. If they didn’t have the TV stuff and everything else, they’d be as hard-pressed as other publishers to make these books into major events,† said Rick Wolff, executive editor at Warner Books. Internet: ESPN. com is the leadin g sports Web site, and ESPNRadio. com is the most listened to online sports destination, boasting live streaming and 32 original podcasts each week. But the rising star in ESPN’s online portfolio is ESPN360. com, a subscription- based broadband offering that delivers high-quality, customized, on- demand video content.Not only can fans access content carried on ESPN’s other networks, but they also get exclusive content and sports video games. For the true sports fan, there’s nothing like it— it allows viewers to watch up to six different events at the same time choosing from live events for all major professional and college sports. Since ESPN360. com began service in 2006, this broadband effort has doubled its distribution and now reaches 20 million homes. Beyond working through its own Web sites, ESPN is exploring the limits of the Internet through an open distribu-tion venture with AOL.By providing ESPN content via a branded ESPN video player in AOLâ₠¬â„¢s portal, viewers have more access to ESPN’s content. But advertisers also benefit from a larger online audience than ever before. Mobile: In 2005, ESPN ventured in to one of its trickiest and riskiest brand extensions to date. Mobile ESPN was designed as ESPN’s own cell phone network, putting content into sports fans’ pockets 24/ 7. But after a year, the venture was far from breaking even and ESPN shut it down. However, even though Mobile ESPN is down, it’s not out.ESPN has capitalized on the lessons learned and started over with a different strategy. Today, ESPN provides real- time scores, stats, news, highlights, and even programming through every major U. S. carrier, with premium content available through Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm. Mobile ESPN also reaches an international audience of mobile customers through more than 35 international carriers. ESPN’s mission with its mobile venture is to â€Å" serve the sports fan any time, anywhere , and from any device. In fall 2007, it reached a major milestone in that goal when more people sought NFL content from its mobile- phone Web site than from its PC Web site. â€Å" We’re having extraordinary growth on ESPN. com’s NFL pages, but we’re also seeing extraordinary usage with mobile devices as well,† said Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN Sports customer marketing and sales. Mr. Erhardt sees great potential in mobile, saying that it is â€Å" a big part of the future as it relates to how fans are going to consume sports. Bodehnheimer and his team see no limit to how far they can take the ESPN brand. In addition to the above ventures, ESPN extends its reach through event management ( X Games, Winter X Games, ESPN Outdoors & Bass), consumer products ( CDs, DVDs, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Golf Schools), and even a chain of ESPN Zone restaurants and SportsCenter Studio stores. ESPN content is now reaching viewers through agencies that place it in airport s and on planes, in health clubs, and even in gas stations. â€Å" Now you’re not going to be bored when you fill up your tank.It gives new meaning to pulling into a full- service station,† says Bodenheimer. â€Å" I’ve been on flights where people are watching our content and don’t want to get off the flight. † A powerful media brand results not only in direct revenues from selling products but also in advertising revenues. Advertising accounts for about 40 percent of ESPN’s overall revenues. With so many ways to reach the customer, ESPN offers very creative and flexible package deals for any marketer trying to reach the cov-eted and illusive 18– 34 year old male demographic. Nobody attracts more men than we do,† asserts Bodenheimer. â€Å" We’ve got a product and we know how to cater to advertisers’ needs. The merchandising opportunities we provide, whether it’s work-ing with Home Depot, Wal- Mart, or Dic k’s Sporting Goods, we want to partner if you want young men. † As amazing as the ESPN brand portfolio is, it is even more amazing when you consider that it is part of the mammoth ABC portfolio, which in turn is a part of The Walt Disney Company portfolio.However, it is no small piece of the Disney pie. ESPN revenues alone accounted for about 18 percent of Disney’s total in 2007. Since obtaining ESPN as part of the 1995 ABC acquisi-tion, because ESPN has delivered on the numbers, Disney has allowed ESPN to do pretty much whatever it wants to do. Just a few years after the acquisition, Disney’s then- CEO Michael Eisner told investors, â€Å" We bought ABC media network and ESPN for $ 19 billion in 1995. ESPN is worth substantially more than we paid for the entire acquisition. And Disney leverages that value every way that it can, from Mouse House advertising package deals to conditionally attaching its cable channels to the ESPN networks through cable oper ators. Questions for Discussion 1. In a succinct manner, describe what the ESPN brand means to consumers. 2. What is ESPN selling? Discuss this in terms of the core bene-fit, actual product, and augmented product levels of ESPN. 3. Does ESPN have strong brand equity? How does its brand equity relate to its brand value? . Cite as many examples as you can of co- branding efforts involving the ESPN brand. For each of these cases, what are the benefits and possible risks to ESPN? 5. Analyze EPSN according to the brand development strategies from the text. What have they done in the past? What would you recommend to ESPN for future brand development? Sources: Alice Cuneo, â€Å" More Football Fans Hit ESPN’s Mobile Site Than Its PC Pages,† Advertising Age, January 7, 2008, p. 7; Mike Shields, â€Å" ESPN, AOL Strike Web Video Deal,† Brandweek, April 8, 2008, accessed online at www. brandweek. com; Andrew Hampp, â€Å" ESPN Makes Jump to Major League,† Advertis ing Age, May 14, 2007, p. 32; Ronald Grover, â€Å" Comcast’s C- TV: Channeling Disney,† BusinessWeek. com, December 1, 2006; Jeffrey Trachtenberg, â€Å" ESPN’s Next Hurdle: Selling Its Audience on Books,† Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2007; Jason Brown, â€Å" Out- of- Home TV Ads Finally Coming of Age,† Television Week, January 28, 2008, p. 12; also see www. espnmediazone. com.