Gender & Sexual Studies. Joan Acker-Class Question, Feminist Answers Assignment

Gender & Sexual Studies. Joan Acker-Class Question, Feminist Answers - Assignment Example Acker uses the term to describe the general position of women and how the society has come to accept and practice the dictates of hegemonic masculinity which is an extension of the patriarchal leanings. In the book, Acker talks of the general imbalance of men and women in senior position and privileged positions within our corporations. She explains that this is no way a reflection of education but representative of hegemonic masculinity. In practice, the term implies that our society is still laden with gendered inequality. This prompts questions and effort on how such inequality can be addressed to achieve a balanced society that does not judge on gender but on ability. Beyond the book, the term can be used in creating awareness on how gender biasness has created a chasm in our society. Question 2-Means of provisioning Acker constantly uses the term provisioning to describe the activities that people engage in, mostly informal, to be able to cater for their basic needs. She cites a ctivities such as babysitting as a means of provisioning. In a wider scope, and in relation to the economy, means of provisioning appears to refer to all activities that hold the capacity to provide a means of livelihood for members of various classes within an economy. An example of how she uses the term is in her efforts to define class; in this instance she cites â€Å"class as a differing and unequal situation in access to and control over the means of provisioning and survival† (Acker 55). The term implies a struggle between classes, an effort to compete for the limited economic means which are largely beneficial in ensuring livelihood. Question 3-Corporate Nonresponsibility In Acker’s view, corporate nonresponsiblity represents a situation where modern day corporations pass on certain responsibilities, mainly survival and caring work, to households. This places greater responsibility to women who are in essence home keepers. Through corporate nonresponsibility, o rganizations relay responsibility from centers of wealth and power to those with little resources. In a large scope, Acker uses this term to bring into perspective the role of wealth centers, mainly corporations, in compounding the culture of class suppression and gender biasness. This is because these centers refuse to take on responsibilities that would otherwise grant women a favorable chance in competing for opportunities in the corporate world. In the book, Acker uses the term severally, but perhaps one situation where she draws on a practical illustration is when she notes Wal-Mart as an example of corporate nonresponsibility. She notes the corporation as a â€Å"prime example of corporate nonresponsibility mainly by turning workers into lowest cost, easily replaceable, factors of production† (Acker, 162). Question 4-Unpaid Labor/reproductive labor Unpaid labor or reproductive labor is brought to the fore in an attempt to describe the value and contribution of women to a capitalist economy. In essence, it represents labor that is actually not compensated but one that has value to the economy. An example of unpaid labor is domestic labor. In her larger argument, Acker appears to â€Å"monetize† this class of labor and also brings into perspective the idea that women are basically the victims of unpaid labor. In this context, she appears to link unpaid labor and the unfortunate position of women whose efforts are not duly compensated and whose position is majorly determined by the men they support. An example of how

Towards A Self Sufficient Prison Model Criminology Essay

Towards A Self Sufficient Prison Model Criminology Essay The cost of arresting and sentencing an offender has been calculated at $150,000, with every year spent in prison costing an additional $90,000 (Prison Fellowship New Zealand, 2012). In New Zealand there are over 8,000 prisoners incarcerated, the cost of housing inmates therefore totalling up to a substantial bill for the Government and taxpayers alike. Despite the millions of dollars being infiltrated into the correctional system, recidivism rates are still relatively high, with 44 % of people being released from prison, reoffending and being re-imprisoned within a three year period (Department of Corrections, 2009). Such figures are not unique to New Zealand, with the likes of the United States and United Kingdom facing larger overheads with similarly dissatisfying results in reducing reoffending. Quite contrastingly, in Nordic countries even an imperfect comparison suggests reoffending appears far less of a problem, with the overall reoffending rate over a two year period varying from the lowest in Norway at 20% to the highest in Sweden with 30% (Kristofferson, 2010). Due to variation in measuring methods between countries, caution must be taken in comparing these figures, but that aside one other possible explanation for lower reoffending rates in Nordic countries is the progressive and unique correctional methods which have been implemented there. Centred on openness, personal growth and ecology, the common aim is not to overtly punish but to focus on the rehabilitative needs of prisoners. Inspired by the particular success of Norways self-sufficing prison Bastoy and with the goal of uncovering an alternative to the traditional closed and costly prison regimes, this paper will examine the concept of self-sufficient prisons. An investigation will be made into the history of prisons which have done or still do operate under a self-sufficient ethos and an analysis of the consequential benefits and/or potential disadvantages will be carried out. Throughout the paper in-depth consideration will also be given to any relationship which research has found to exist between a prison based on self-sufficient ideals and rehabilitation. Furthermore, in weighing up the findings reached from this investigation, the viability of self-sufficient prisons realistically operating in New Zealand will be explored and any possible limitations which could hinder their success will be acknowledged. Self-sufficient prison model When confronted with the phrase self-sufficient prison, several different interpretations can be drawn as to what exactly this entails. Firstly, from an economic perspective the term self-sufficient prison represents a prison which operates with the primary goal of counteracting its running costs and even generating profits through inmate labour and production. A prison encapsulating this understanding often runs similarly to a traditional closed prison but inmates participate in working during their sentences, rather than simply idly passing the time away in cells. An example of this type of self-sufficiency can be seen at Louisiana State Penitentiary(Angola). Formed in 1835, this prison was based around the concept of inmates working and in 1880 an 8,000 acre plantation was bought to fulfil this ideal. Today, it is the biggest maximum security prison in the United States, it also has been designed on self-sufficient principles, being said to function as a small community with a can ning factory, a dairy, a mail system, a small ranch, repair shops, and a sugar mill. Colloquially known as the farm, it is situated on 18,000 acres, with approximately 5000 inmates whom work to produce enough food to support over 11,000 people throughout five different prisons in the State. The resources which come from the land are used for the benefit of inmates and benefit the community. Prison warden Bruce Cain describes the prison today by stating we all work together. Were all one. Our resources are their resources. (Auzenne Williams, 2010, p.1). Another way to interpret prison self-sufficiency is to understand it as an environment where prisoners have the opportunity provide for themselves, within the compound of a supportive correctional facility. Although still attempting to offset financial costs, the focus of such a prison is on achieving a community like existence where inmates have an element of independence, enabling them to cook, clean, work and essentially be self-sufficient. In unison with the prisoners self-sufficiency the prison would operate sustainably through adopting environmentally friendly practices which are in harmony with nature, impacting as little possible on its surrounds. This would involve energy efficient strategies being implemented such as the use of solar panels to provide hot water and heating, water conservation, reductions in transportation fuel use and high efficiency lightning and appliances. As well as that, recycling, composting and waste reduction would be of focus. Ultimately this under standing of the phrase self-sufficient prison, can be defined as a correctional facility which seeks to reduce the human, environmental and economic costs of prison. Currently, there is only one real example of a prison operating completely in line with this understanding of prison self-sufficiency. Located in Norway, on an island in the Oslo Fiord is Bastoy prison. Designed to operate as a small self-sufficient community this prison encompasses the spirit and meaning of self-sufficiency to the fullest. It not only has one of the lowest reoffending rates in the world at 16%, but is also the most cost efficient prison in the whole of Norway (Sutter, 2012). Housing up to 115 inmates, numerous buildings spread over a rural landscape and just as in any other community there is shop, library, information office, health services, church, school, NAV (government social services), dock and ferry service all located within the prison, for the inmates use. Each day inmates at Bastoy work between the hours of 8.30 am and 3.00 pm in one of various different work units, including ; the agricultural sector, the greenhouses, the forestry unit , seed and grass p roduction, the kitchen, the shop, the maintenance unit, on the fishing boat or running the ferry. (Bastoy Prison, 2012). The work they do not only allows the prison to run self-sufficiently and earn the inmates a small wage, but it also fulfils their daily existence. Bastoy instils a sense of community, reality and independence, three aspects which are key to the rehabilitation of inmates. Other aspects which separate Bastoy from traditionally run prisons and contribute to its self-sufficient existence include an absence of intimidation and scare mongering from guards, whom are unarmed and do not wear uniforms. Instead, guards are thoroughly trained to safely and purposefully interact with prisoners and just as the prisoners do, they become part of the Bastoy community. The prison is also committed to being environmentally sustainable. It is run under human-ecological values, farming is ecological, the prison handles most of its own rubbish, there is a constant focus on minimizing CO2-emissions and the buildings are heated from solar panels or the wood they grow and process themselves (Bastoy Prison, 2012). The current Governor of the prison is extremely dedicated to the self-sufficient methods instilled on the island, even living there himself. His passion is demonstrated in this quote where he states; The prison is self-sustaining and as green as possible in terms of recycling, solar panels and using horses instead of cars. It means that the inmates have plenty to do and plenty of contact with nature the farm animals, wildlife, the fresh air and sea. We try to teach inmates that they are part of their environment and that if you harm nature or your fellow man it comes back to you (Prison Governor, Arne Kvernvik Nilsen quoted in Hernu, 2011). Some would say these are words of a man completely deranged. His views and methods of running a prison are the polar opposite to the traditional closed, harsh and costly regimes so commonly seen throughout westernised society. Regardless of opinion, one significant factor remains, this prison is working, in all sense of the meaning. History of self-sufficiency and prisons In 1787 Jeremy Bentham called for prisons to become mills for grinding rogues honest and idle men industrious (Reynolds, 1996). He was not alone in this way of thinking and across the United States incarceration came to be more and more industrious as prisons realised the value of the workforce they had at their disposal. In 1797, Newgate prison opened in New York City and successfully it recouped nearly all of its expenses during the first five years of the operation through prisoner production. The Auburn system named after another New York prison producing superior economic results, dominated U.S. prison culture from 1823. The basis of the Auburn system was to confine prisoners at night but have them come together and work during the day (Reynolds, 1996). For centuries the American prison system sought to function self-sufficiently and according to research conducted by Lyons (2012) the existence of prison farms acted not only as an economically viable way of sufficing prison popu lations, but also functioned as a disciplinary and rehabilitative work program crucial to the 19th century penitentiary. With the successes of working prisons also came criticism, primarily in the form of complaints about unfair competition from prison-made products being created in the public market. Allegations of abuse were also made, accusing prisons of exploiting inmates and concerns were raised over the security of the public. All three criticisms increased political pressure and worked in creating legislative changes. Self-sufficiency as a key element of the penitentiary system was being challenged and continued to be phased out. During the last two decades incarceration in the United States has become increasingly privatised, commercialised and run in favour of corporate profit. Companies such as Aramark and many other suppliers have made substantial profits, through providing prisons with food and other products. Between 1993 and 2000 alone, the US food service industry gen erated 36 billion dollars in profit through contracts with correctional facilities (Lyons, 2012). For over 100 years Canada has had six successfully operating prison farms (Frontenac, Pittsburgh, Westmorland, Riverbend, Rockwood, and Bowden). However, in 2009, the Canadian Corrections Department began taking action towards phasing out the farms, claiming deficits of around four million per annum and suggesting money used to run the farms could be better put into public safety. There has been no proof provided to support such claims of ineffectiveness and those involved with the farms argue this is not the case, with the farms in fact being extremely positive correctional operations. In response to the news of closing the farm community members, correctional officers and ex inmates themselves came together in the national Save Our Prison Farms campaign. The campaign seeks to stall the closure of the prison farms in order to provide non-governmental experts time to collect evidence of the farms viability and benefits (Lyons, 2012). In the United Kingdom prison farm closures began t aking place several years ago. Between 2002 and 2005 the prison service significantly reduced its farming regime from having twenty-three farms, to only the current five. Those currently in operation include; North Sea Camp, Prescoed, Hewell, East Sutton Park and Kirkham but between them only provide a mere 92 inmate work opportunities. They are run on a small scale with no real emphasis of self-sufficiency and have become more about training than anything else (Ministry of Justice, 2010). Although it would appear self-sufficiency in prison is becoming a redundant concept, there are places which are embracing it and achieving successful results. As mentioned above, Bastoy prison in Norway is the quintessential example of an operational self-sufficient prison which is demonstrating the immense value such a prison can have. The origins of Bastoy stem from a Scandinavian ethos of open and active prisons which have throughout time been based on the principle that prisons should be no more arduous than a loss of liberty and be as normal to daily life on the outside as possible. The idea of prison farms began in Finland in the 1930s, with a new type of labour colony being introduced to the Finnish prison system in 1946. Inmates have always been and still are paid according to the normal wage, it would also not be uncommon for prisoners to be paying taxes, buying food, giving money to their family, to their victims and saving for their release. Open prisons hold between 20 % (Sweden) to 40 % (Denmark) of the Scandinavian prison population and in nearly all cases when a prisoner is reaching the end of their sentence they will be moved to an open prison. Communal style living is largely adopted in these facilities, with some prisons being entirely self-catering and for the most part those at an open prison will be working during the day (Pratt, 2008). Most recently, the environmental sustainability of prisons has drawn attention, with concerns being raised about the ecological footprint of corrections and also because of the rehabilitative value green initiatives can have. Just in 2011, the US Department of Justice released the publication The Greening of Corrections: Creating a Sustainable System, a document which outlines sustainable practices, principles and identifies examples of programs and management strategies which can be implemented to create self-sustaining correctional facilities. The focus throughout the document is on the long term goal of limiting the financial and human costs of prisons. Methods outlined to achieve this goal are the reduction of energy and resource use, engaging inmates with beneficial work experiences as well as giving education and training (US Department of Justice, 2011). An organisation going forth and putting these ideals into practice is the Sustainability in Prisons Project. Operating as a partnership between Washington State Corrections and Evergreen College they seek to make prisons more environmentally sustainable and in turn economically efficient. Currently four Washington State correctional centres are operating in unison with the project; Cedar Creek, Stafford Creek, Mission Creek and Washington Corrections Centre for Women. Each are participating in varying programs which include; endangered animal protection, insects and plants, water and energy conservation, motorless lawn mowing, a dog rescue initiative, butterfly rehabilitation program, recycling, composting, organic gardening, a horticulture greenhouse, beekeeping, water catchment basins, low-flush toilets, tree planting and wild land fire fighting. Advantages/Disadvantages When analysing the concept of self-sufficient prisons, there are both advantageous and disadvantageous aspects which need to be acknowledged to gain a complete understanding of the viability of such a prison model. In firstly examining the potential benefits to come from a self-sufficient environment, one of primary significance is the possibility of self-sufficient practices being able to reduce prison expenditure. A change as simple as removing state issued clothing and uniforms could save millions of dollars. Building on this, if prisoners are taking care of themselves, there is consequently less of a need to employ staff to do things such as cooking, cleaning, farming, gardening and maintenance jobs. Having inmates produce and harvest their own food could allow for even greater savings. According to Breslin (2012), if the United States were to enact a policy which required prisons to utilise their own food sources through the operation of self-sufficient farms, prison spending co uld be reduced by $1.7 billion each year. Lyons (2012) similarly supports this notion and she uses the Florida Department of Corrections as a case example. In 2001 they ended a history of prison farming and contracted Aramark to provide all the food needed to Floridas prisons. This was in an attempt to save money, but six years later costs were only increasing by millions of dollars. Costs could only be reduced through a change in prisoners lifestyles, but also through sustainably modifying prison facilities. Buildings can be constructed or altered to be environmentally sustainable. This would include among other things, installing solar panels, composting and recycling plants and farming ecologically. Putnamville medium security facility in Indiana has recently implemented several green initiatives, such as; using a wood chipper that fuels a wood-burning furnace (saving $1.25 million per year), recycling cans, bottles, paper, and other material which in turn saves them around $150, 000 each month (Couch, 2012). An equally valuable advantage of the self-sufficient prison regime is the potential benefit to inmate health, both mentally and physically. Lyons (2012) noted that through being able to exercise, to breath in fresh air, and to simply get outside the confines of cement and barbed wire inmates would be healthier and emotional pressures associated with the harsh prison environment would be abridged. More specifically the mental health of prisoners could be aided through having the intellectual stimulation of actually taking part in meaningful activity, such as harvesting food for their own tables or chopping wood to keep them warm. Successfully completing jobs could also increase the sense of self pride in inmates, seeing they can achieve and successfully live independently. Physical advantages are just as evident, working is obviously a form of exercise and through growing their own organic produce dietary needs would be likely to be met in turn reducing the risk of obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, all conditions stemming from unhealthy eating patterns. Additionally, with an increase in the overall health of inmates, money would be saved on prison medical services (Breslin, 2012). Correlations have been drawn between a better quality of living and the improved behaviour and conduct of inmates. When interviewed about life inside Bastoy, an inmate tractor driver said in closed prison I was locked up for 23 hours a day, so Im really happy with this job. I am treated very well here and in return I will treat them very well also (Hernu, 2011).   A US post-release employment project study found prison conduct among inmates who had taken part in work, vocational or apprenticeship programs was better than that of otherwise similar prisoners (Reynolds, 1996). Related to having the opportunity to work and live self-sufficiently in prison is the education and vocational skills prisoners could learn. As suggested by Lyons(2012), the job and life skills that inmates learn through farming, teamwork, time management and having responsibility can be applicable to any type of future work. In now turning to the potential downfalls of the self-sufficient model, the most notable disadvantage is the safety risk an open style of prison poses. Internally there is an increased risk of danger to both inmates and officers safety and externally there is a greater risk of endangerment of the public due to more opportunities for escape. Firstly, if inmates are openly living and working with each other there are going to be vast opportunities for violence and abuse to take place, especially when tools which could be used as weapons are involved. Constant movement would make it harder for guards to keep track of inmates, whereas when in a cell all day constant monitoring can occur. Secondly, guards would be more susceptible to harm in an environment where there is frequent close interaction between themselves and inmates. Trust is so heavily relied upon in a community based self-sufficient model that if this was abused there could be dire consequences. The possibility of threats to public safety could also be said to increase, as with more freedom come more chances to escape and be at large in general society. A risk associated directly with working in prison is the exploitation of inmates. Frequently outlined in prison research as a significant disadvantage of prison farms; this concern lies in the possibility of production becoming more important than any other factor, including the welfare of the prisoners who can become subject to hard labour and little else. There have been numerous situations where agricultural work in prison has been the catalyst of degrading and unhealthy working conditions exposing inmates to disease, physical violence and abusive practices (Lucko, 2007). For some, the idea of prisoners living in a community like environment, which includes recreational time and the opportunity to live a life based on normality, would fall short in serving the retributive role prisons are traditionally expected to provide. Victims and their families may feel this alternative model of prison does not adequately punish perpetrators for the crimes they have committed against them. Monetary exploitation can also occur through inmates being extremely under paid for their labour when working on farms, building furniture or assembling products for giant multi-national corporations who can make additional profits at the expense of prisoners. Resulting from this is the possibility of large corporations like Microsoft or McDonalds engaging in the practice of utilising prison labour and gaining an unfair advantage over their competitors (Smith and Hattery, 2006). Rehabilitation and self-sufficient prisons If we have created a holiday camp for criminals here, so what? We should reduce the risk of reoffending, because if we dont, whats the point of punishment, except for leaning toward the primitive side of humanity? (Arne Kvernvik Nilsen, quoted in Sutter, 2012). This quote demonstrates the strong rehabilitative views of Bastoys prison director, who currently heads the prison with lowest reoffending rate in Europe. He strongly believes in the theory that if inmates are eventually going to end up being somebodys neighbour, everything possible should be done to enhance rehabilitation and ultimately prevent future crime. The proof of his beliefs becoming a reality are evident in the correlations which can be drawn between the self-sufficient and open environment at Bastoy and the mere 16% reoffending rate. In attempting to ascertain whether any particular element of the self-sufficient regime is more effective than another in reducing reoffending, each of the main facets of the concept will be examined below. A vast amount of support has been given for the effectiveness of farming and/or working in prisons. Lyons (2012) suggests that there are two main steps which need to be taken for the cycle of criminality to be broken. The first, individual empowerment and the second, being able to find work upon release. Farming she believes is a proven success in helping prisoners to achieve both. To get a real perspective on farming as a rehabilitative tool Lyons (2012) interviewed a former correctional officer from a Canadian prison farm. In their opinion prison farming is the single-most successful rehabilitation program they have seen to exist, and that in their thirty years working with the program they did not see one case of violent reoffending amongst prisoners who had been involved. Another aspect of the self-sufficient philosophy being explored here is the openness this type of prison has. In contrast to the more traditional closed ideal where prisoners spend a vast majority of their time behind bars, in an open style prison inmates are faced with everyday decisions on constant basis. Bastoy governor Nilsen suggests that at Bastoy the openness of the prison allows for inmates to learn and be taught how to make the right decisions and essentially become better people. He compares this to in a closed prison where prisoners are mostly removed from interactive encounters and situations requiring cognitive thinking. This he refers to as treating prisoners like animals or robots (Sutter, 2012). In a conventional prison in which inmates have no freedom and are not involved with work or farming, it is too often the case that the system literally closes the door in the face of the inmate. It is surely absurd to really believe that this will be beneficial, especially in terms of rehabilitation. Being given the personal responsibility of a job in prison and becoming a part of a working environment has the potential for prisoners to increase self-respect, as well as respect for others such as the system which would be supporting instead of disregarding them. When describing the effect Bastoys open prison has had on inmates, Nilsen refers to opportunities inmates have here to do more than just sit in a cell all day. They look at themselves in the mirror, and they think, I am s***. I dont care. I am nothing,' he said. This prison, he says, gives them a chance to see they have worth, to discover, Im not such a bad guy (Nilsen quoted in Sutton, 2012). The ecological focus of a self-sufficient prison model not only contributes to a sustainable environment, but has also been linked having to rehabilitative qualities. When daily life is spent in a safe, healthy and humane environment, on release the positive and green initiatives experienced inside can surely only be of benefit to the community on release . Research has been carried out to support such assumptions and uncover any relationships existent between living sustainably, having exposure to nature and consequential prisoner rehabilitation. Wener et al (cited in US Department of Justice, 2011) found that the effect of interaction with nature on human behaviour is improved emotional wellbeing. Similarly in a separate study conducted by Ulrich (cited in US Department of Justice, 2011) it was established that through being involved with nature aggressive tendencies and stress can both be reduced. In evaluating the value of the Sustainable Prison Project currently already action i n Washington, the Department of Justice (2011) believes that benefits of these projects are wide-ranging and encompass far more than just learning new skills. Their review of the project found improvements in; inmate self-esteem, interactions with others and the sense of purpose they had. All of which are congruent with the goal rehabilitation. With a vast amount of studies and research highlighting increases in recidivism and re-offending figures, we are faced with a significant correctional challenge. It is no longer plausible to simply argue that prison acts as a place of deterrence to those released, the statistics alone have continuously portrayed the reality that this is not working. Self-sufficient prisons in a New Zealand environment After considering the concept of self-sufficient prisons in their entirety , the viability of this alternative prison model successfully working in a New Zealand context will now be addressed. In comparing New Zealand to Norway, where a self-sufficient prison is already proving achievable, there are numerous similarities between the countries which could arguably suggest a New Zealand environment could too be compatible with this correctional method. Both countries are sparsely inhabited with populations of around four million, many of whom in both countries live as part of small rural communities of towns, rather than large sprawling cities. Norway in terms of a social and human development index is the number one ranked country, but then New Zealand is also within the top five out of 187 countries (Human Development Report, 2011). Other factors relative to this assessment include New Zealands small number of maximum security inmates, just 2.5%. The majority, or 53.8 % are in fact minimum security (Newbold, 2005). It would seem with such a large number of prisoners being of low security, the risks associated with adopting a more open and interactive model of prison to house this category of prisoners would be relatively low. We also already have the beginnings of a self-sufficient prison mentality in place. Currently in operation are various income generating ventures providing employment opportunities for prisoners, this includes; two dairy farms, three dry stock farms, one piggery, two sheep farms, three organic gardens, six nurseries, five joinery workshops, three furniture assembly workshops, a forest, three timber processing workshops, six textile workshops, three light engineering workshops, three vehicle repair garages, one compost bagging operation and central kitchens in each of New Zealands   prison s (Department of Corrections, 2012). The progression towards a model similar to Bastoy is not completely unthinkable. As outlined, New Zealand has the potential to follow the same path as Norway in adopting more sustainable practices. However, the possible limitations of New Zealands capability to introduce self-sufficient prisons cannot be ignored. One major aspect which not only differentiates New Zealand from Norway, but could also limit the success of self-sufficient prisons in this context, is culture. Negative historical relations between Maori and the State are still today at the centre of much racism, mistrust and social division and this plays a role in crime and prison culture, especially when Maori are so significantly overrepresented in our prisons. Due to the nature of the traditional system, which places blatant divides between prisoners and correctional staff, both parties can fall into viewing each other as the enemy. These attitudes would have to change and mutual trust and respect increased before any community style prison could work. The Gang culture in New Zealand and incidentally in prison creates even more division and an open style of prison may only serve to instigate fighting, allow for gang conflicts and gang domination of inmates. In Norway these types of divisions are relatively absent, primarily due to the fact Norwegians are extremely socially responsible, uniting members of society together as equals. This can especially be seen in the understanding the state, public and even the media display to those in prison, those being released and the rehabilitative purpose prison serves. Associated with this social care mentality is the time and effort that the state puts into training prison officers. In Norway they receive two years training while on full salary and once qualified their role is seen as professional (Pratt, 2007). Contrastingly, in New Zealand, officers are given a mere six weeks training and are often publically disregarded being labelled thugs or key turners far from the professionalism of Norway. Scandinavian prisons are completely run by the state, where as in New Zealand the Government has begun to contract prisons to private companies. Paying for another party to run the prison would defeat the principles behind the self-sufficient ideal. Mass unawareness can be the burden of initiative, even of something which to those informed is so obviously for the common good of society. This is arguably the case in New Zealand, where people simply havent been informed or are only given negative one-eyed images of crime as portrayed through the media. This consequently making the public as a whole more likely to be opposed to an action as liberal and forward thinking as the self-sufficient prison ideal. Another more physical consideration which could pose problems is the pure and simple fact that more crime is committed in New Zealand and the prison population is therefore larger. In New Zealand there are around 8000 inmates whilst in Norway there are only 3000. Geographically there could also be obstacles to overcome. Bastoy is uniquely located on its own island, which restricts escapes and allows for the open environment which inmates experience. Suggesting to the New Zealand public that Rangitoto for example was to be used

Othello and Antigone Essay -- Essays Papers

Othello and Antigone Othello, takes place in Venice during an attack of the island of Cyprus . The protagonist is Othello and The antagonist of the story is Iago, who wants Othello to give him the rank of head luitenant but the position was given to Cassio. Desdemona is Othello's wife who is having an affair with Cassio. Roderigo, is a character madley in love with Desdemona; and Emilia , who is iago's wife. The heart of this story is trajic. Although Othello is a noble warrior, he is a jealous person . with this, most of the play portreys the factor on jealousy which causes corruption. Many conflicts are found in Othello, man vs. man is one . also, when Iago seeks revenge against Othello and Cassio because of his hatred and jealousy for them. Person vs. himself is also found when Othello has a problem with whether or not he should believe that Desdemona is cheating on him. . one lesson , in which, readers can learn from the play is that "jealousy causes corruption in many ways such as dishonesty which was portrayed by Iago".At the end of the play, Desdemona dies, iago has no guilt ; even when iago was dieing , he doesn't have any remorse for anyone. However, Iago was not fully to blame for desdemona's death, Othello also caused Desdemona to die, his jealousy and his and overzealous attidude cause it. Even in the end of the play , Othello doesn't know what his drive and motivation for killing the woman of his life. Sh...

Gung Ho

Gung Ho is an American comedy movie released in 1986. The story of the movie is about the takeover of an American car plant by a Japanese corporation named â€Å"Assan Motors†. In a small town named â€Å"Hadleyville† in Pennsylvania, the local auto plant is closed for nine moths which supplied most of the jobs in the town. The former foreman of the plant goes to Tokyo and does a presentation to convince the â€Å"Assan Motors† corporation to re-open the plant and provide jobs for the town. The company agrees and the executive team comes to US. Upon their arrival, they require a high standard of efficiency and quality of production from US workers.Because American workers were so desperate to get a job, Japanese executives pursued to take advantage of it. The employees are not allowed to form a union and they are paid lower wages. All the employees were required to go around the factory, so that everyone knows every job in the factory. As the plant began to opera te and Japanese people and Americans start to work together, culture conflicts occur between them. For example, the executive challenged the workers to do morning exercise all together before they start working since it is a common routine in Japan.However, Americans find it humorous and show attitudes of ignorance to the morning exercise. The executive goes around the plant to check the performance of the workers and sometimes judges them to work better which are very irritating to American workers. They wanted the workers to work faster and produce as many cars as they can. During the lunch time, the Japanese executives eat their meal using chopsticks which look funny to the American workers. Also, the Japanese executives take bath together in the river which Americans find it very ridiculous. Stevenson works as a liaison between Japanese executives and American workers.Kazuhiro is the top executive of the plant who tells Stevenson to inform the employees to produce 15,000 cars in one month in order reach the efficiency standard of Japanese car plant. Kazuhiro was trained in a special program of executives to become tough and strict because he was judged and pointed to be too weak and lenient executive. Working as the top executive in the car plant in America is the last chance for him to change his lenient behavior and become a stronger leader. Meanwhile, Stevenson calls a meeting with the workers to inform about the 5,000 car production and convince them to do it. However, as soon as the meeting starts, he hears too many complaints about the work pressure at the plant from the workers. Stevenson tells a lie to the employees that they have to produce 13,000 cars in one month in order to reach the best production and efficiency and raise the wage because he could not dare to say 15,000 cars when there are already enough complaints from the employees. However, the workers find out the truth after a while. Because of overworks and pressure, the employees event ually go on strike and the plant becomes about to close.Stevenson does a speech to the town people to again convince them to work for the town and for their family and show that they are better than Japanese people. Stevenson and the executives start to work in the plant again which also encouraged the workers to come back and go for the way to make 15,000 cars. Kazuhiro begins to understand and have good relations with the workers. Even the executives start to work with the employees to make 15,000 cars. The CEO of the corporation arrives in US and visits the plant. However, he finds out that they are short of six cars to make 15,000.If they are short of even one car, the plant would have been closed. However, the CEO sees that Japanese executives and American workers cooperated well and worked hard. He said â€Å"Good team† to the people and the plant is no longer need to close. From the movie, I have noticed some interesting scenes that showed culture differences. For exam ple, when Stevenson was doing a presentation to convince the Japanese executive to open a plant in his town, he spoke casually and even used some slangs in his speech which may have shocked some Japanese people. On the other hand, Japanese executives kept in sitting in silence and did not ask any questions.They were too serious and quiet that Stevenson even doubted if they knew English and understood his speech. As the executives live in America, they start to get used to American life style little by little. Especially Kazuhiro likes the American idea of everyone is special and there are much more things to enjoy in life despite work. Kazuhiro slowly realizes that he has lived only for career and did not spend good time with his family and did not care them well. When he first came to America, he was always wondering why everyone thinks they are special in America. They are just a part of the team according to him.There are many good lessons in this movie about management and leade rship. When managing workers, it is important to first understand their culture and lifestyle. It is not a good idea to force workers to follow the policy that is implemented in a different place. Depending on the place and different culture, managers have to create different policies in order to create a good teamwork. I think rather acting bossy and strict to the employees, treating them nice as friends would lead to build a good relationship between the manager and workers, and it could encourage the workers to work harder because it creates trust between them.

Ryan Air Marketing Plan

————————————————- What do people think of RyanAir? Consumer Behavior ————————————————- Date: October 15th 2012 ————————————————- Table of contents Introduction3 The research design4 Sample description4 Method for interviewing4 Research structure4 Step 1: Collect pictures5 Step 2: Interview method5 Step 3: Concept map5 Step 4: Combined concept map5 Step 5: Consensus map5 Step 6: Communication idea6 The mental maps7 Dutch consensus mental map7 Romanian consensus mental map8 Combined consensus mental map9 Communication idea10Olympic Games 201210 TV Commercials10 Nadia Comaneci on Romanian Traditions11 Marian Dragulescu on Romanian Scenery11 Larisa Iordache on Dracula11 Camelia Potec on Romanian People11 Flags and banners11 Printed advertisement12 Conclusion and discussion13 Conclusion13 Discussion13 Future research13 References14 Websites14 Articles14 Appendix15 Interviews by Cristina Bataga15 Interviews by Jessica van der Hoeven17 Interviews by Ella van Leeuwen22 Interviews by Mehdia Shireen Talib27 Introduction With this paper we will offer insights in brand perceptions and attempt to create a perceptual map for a specific brand.To choose a brand for this assignment we had a group discussion about which brand we thought would be interesting to evaluate and analyse. After considering several options, we decided that we wanted a brand which is relevant at the moment, since this would make it easier for our participants to evaluate. After discussing multiple brands we decided to choose Ryanair. In this assignment participants evaluate Ryanair through interviews and conceptual maps. We will first conduct a simple interview with the resp ondents and we will let them draw a concept map afterwards.We will explain everything in more detail in the following chapters, but first we will elaborate on the brand Ryanair. Ryanair is an airline found in 1985 by the Ryan family and is currently active in 28 countries. Over the past few years there has been a significant growth in the number of customers, from 4 million in 1998 and 24 million in 2004, to 75 million to date(Barret, 2004 and Ryanair. nl). Ryanair is well known for their low offers. The average price of a flight with Ryanair was 38 euro’s in 2004. The Guardian even presented an article last year, which stated that the lowest ticket price of Ryanair this summer was only 12 euros.Ryanair has a team of over 8500 people, which is actually really low for the amount of passengers they transport every year. All these passengers are transported by one type of airplane, the Boeing 737-800. Ryanair its strategy is to offer the lowest price at all time on all routes an d provide an inexpensive and convenient service (Ryanair. nl). To accomplish this strategy, they maintain a certain business model. This business model is build up by 10 key points. The first point is operating from secondary airports. Secondary airports are (unknown) small airports which arrange for low airport fees.The second point is the lowest ticket price, which causes high volume of passengers. The third point is standardized fleets of the Boeing 737-800, which gives them bargaining power with the suppliers. Furthermore, there are no meals on board, nothing is free, low commission for travel agents, Spartan headquarters and there is a single-class which all helps with saving costs. Lastly, there are no unions and there are high powered incentives (Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart, 2010). Precisely this strategy in combination with the business model Ryanair uses, makes it interesting to analyse Ryanair. Does this strategy really work?Do customers really think Ryanair is the cheap est Airline? Do customers really think Ryanair provides a convenient service? These are all questions we try to figure out in this assignment. At the end we will conclude if the strategy used by Ryanair is the right one, or if Ryanair should change or restate its strategy. This report will consist of chapters explaining the research design and the results we found. The first chapter will discuss the sample used for our research and the method for interviewing. It will explain about the various methods for interviewing and substantiate our decisions.The second chapter will discuss the brand consensus map. It will explain how we came to the consensus map and how the data provided by the interviews will be used as an input to make the brand consensus map. After creating the final brand consensus map, we will take a closer look at the brand consensus map to come up with solutions, improvements and or changes that Ryanair should take. This communication idea will be discussed in the fina l chapter. 1. Research design Sample description When we were discussing the brand Ryanair, we came to the conclusion that the sers are predominantly young people with small budgets. We wanted to create the concept maps based on the thoughts of users, rather than on people who are less likely to use Ryanair. Because of this reason, we chose to use HBO and WO students for our sample, as we believe they fit in this profile. They are relatively young and have no full time jobs, so they have budget restrictions. All four member of our group selected respondents from their own social environment. In total 15 respondents participated, all of them were Dutch. The range of the age of the respondents is between 18 and 26 years old.The experiment had a total of 7 male respondents and 8 female respondents. Method for interviewing To create brand concept maps we can use several techniques. One approach is the Zaltman’s Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), which uses qualitative researc h techniques to identify key brand associations and then uses in-depth interviews with respondents to uncover the links between these brand associations (Zaltman and Coulter, 1995). This is a really thorough method due to its multiple uses of qualitative research techniques to tap both verbal and nonverbal aspects of consumer thinking.However, this method knows also some barriers as it is difficult to administer and the process is labour intensive. Other drawbacks of the ZMET are its accessibility and ease of administration. Due to these demerits of the ZMET, we chose for a more accessible and standardized method for producing brand maps. The Brand Concept Maps (BCM) approach. The Brand Concepts Maps (BCM) method is used to elicit people’s knowledge about concepts and how they are connected with each other. This method is easy to implement, flexible and can be done in an unstructured procedure.The respondent has to draw their own map with only few instructions from the resear cher (John et al. , 2006). We used the unstructured procedure of the BCM method, where the respondents have to draw their own map to show their associations with the brand and how they are linked to each other. To identify key brand associations, we used the funnelling technique in the first interviews. This method consists of a series of questions that aim to get the respondents discussing a particular topic. The first questions in the interview are very broad and about the topic in general.After the general part, the questions become more concrete and specific. Allowing the respondents to be prompt and to give their opinion about very specific items within the topic. Research structure As mentioned above, we used the BCM method for creating individual maps and eventually the final brand consensus map. This method will deliver a consensus brand map, which identifies the most important associations that consumers connect to the brand and how these associations are interconnected. We have chosen for this method because of the ease of use and the standardization of this method.Since the mapping stage is very structured it does not take that much time of our respondents to fulfil this stage. Also the aggregation process is more accessible. To obtain a consensus brand map we make use of decision rules, which is less time consuming and does not require specialized statistical training. In the following paragraphs we will explain the whole process in detail and explain more about the techniques we used. Stage 1: The elicitation stage In this first stage our goal was to find significant associations with the brand Ryanair. Therefore, we created a survey and interviewed 15 HBO and WO students.The survey existed of 17 open ended questions. Our purpose was to make these questions as objective as possible, to ensure we did not bias our interviewees. For example, we tried to cover both positive and negative associations. The structure of the questions was very basic, and easy to understand. We used the funnelling technique to structure our survey. With this technique the questions in the survey go from general to more specific, creating a metaphorical funnel. This survey gave us insight in the most salient associations with Ryanair (see appendix 1).After collecting the data from our survey, we created a list of the most mentioned associations. An association was added to the list when at least 50% of the participants mentioned it. This resulted in a list with 16 associations. The associations can be found in appendix 2. On this list is also the association ‘smart’. Many of our respondents mentioned this word in the survey, but during the mapping stage we found that it was unclear for respondents in which context it should be placed. Therefore we decided not to use this word in our final consensus map. Figure 1: BCM example Stage 2: The mapping stage:In the second stage we have asked the respondents to create individual brand maps for Ry anair. We used the same sample as in stage 1. We explained what a brand map is and showed them an example of a brand map for Volkswagen, which is shown in figure 1. We gave the respondents the list of associations with Ryanair that we defined in the elicitation stage and explained that they could use as many of the associations as they wanted, and they could also add any associations they thought were missing on the list. Furthermore, we explained the three different levels of connections between the brand and the associations.We asked them to put the number 1,2 or 3 next to the line, indicating the strength of the link, 1 meaning a weak link and 3 a strong link. After this briefing procedure the respondents were given a blank piece of paper with the word Ryanair in the middle. Participants could take as long as they wanted to complete the brand map. Finally, they were debriefed and thanked for their participation. Stage 3: The aggregation stage. In the final stage we collected all the brand maps to aggregate them and create a consensus map. The individual brand maps are combined on the basis of the of rules to obtain a brand consensus map.These rules require no specialized knowledge of quantitative or qualitative research methods. Frequencies are used to construct a consensus map, showing the most salient brand associations and their interconnections. We enhanced validity of the consensus map by creating inter-subjectivity. We let every team member make their own map based on their interviews. We then came together to compare and discuss the maps. After the discussion we created the final map based on the set of rules described by John et al (2006). How we created the consensus map is described in the next chapter, just as the details and description of the consensus map. . Description of consensus map and picture To create the final consensus map of the Ryanair brand, we used the article about Brand Concept Maps by John et al (2006). Beforehand, we coded the information from each of the individual brand maps in terms of (1) the presence of the brand associations, (2) the strength of the link between each association to the brand or to another association, (3) the level at which the association was placed in the map (directly linked to Ryanair, or directly linked to another association) and (4) which brand associations were linked above and below each association on the map.There were 2 brand associations that respondents added themselves and were not on the list. None of these words were used in more than 7% of the cases, which led to our decision not to use them in the final consensus map. All the coded information was inserted in a table that can be found in appendix 3. Based on this table we used a five step process to develop a consensus brand map of the individual brand concept maps. (John et al 2006) Step 1: In the first step we identified the core brand associations that we have to place on the consensus map.To determine the cor e brand associations we used the frequency of mention and the number of interconnections. If associations were mentioned on at least 50% of the maps we included them on the consensus map as a core brand association. We also included associations if the number of interconnections was equal to or higher than that of other core brand associations. By applying these rules we found 12 core brand associations which are shown the table in appendix 3. Step 2: In step two we decided which of the associations should be linked directly to Ryanair.For this step we used the frequency of first order mentions, the ratio of first order mentions, and the type of interconnections. We selected the associations that were mentioned at least 50% of the times as first-order associations of the total times that they were mentioned. We only selected them if they had more super ordinate than subordinate connections. This resulted in 5 associations that had to be directly linked to Ryanair. Step 3: In the thi rd step we placed the remaining core brand associations on the map. They needed to be linked to at least one of the first-order brand associations.Important links between the 12 core brand associations also needed to be placed on the final consensus map. We made these links by first counting how frequently links between specific associations occurred across maps. Then we did a frequency count of how many different association links were noted on one map, two maps, three maps, four maps etc. We used these frequencies to select which association links would be included in the consensus map. The inflection point occurred at four (see appendix 4). Therefore, we included all core association links found on at least four maps in the consensus brand map.Twelve links met the criteria, eleven of them were links between core brand associations. Step 4: In the fourth step we inserted links between core and non-core brand associations. As found in the previous step, there was only one link betw een a core and a non-core brand association that met the criteria. Step 5: In this final step we decided on the strength of the links between the associations and Ryanair. There are three levels of connections: weak (1), medium(2), strong(3). For each link we computed the mean of the strength. We rounded the number up or down to the next integer number.All the results of these steps led to the brand consensus map below, figure 2. Figure 2: Final Brand Concept Map Ryanair As we have mentioned, the thicker the line, the stronger the association. The strength of associations was measured by the number of times an association was mentioned and what the strength of the associations was in the several brand maps made by our respondents. In the centre of the brand concept map you can see the brand Ryanair. The primary associations with Ryanair are: ‘cheap’, ‘limited service’, ‘holiday’, ‘flies only in Europe’ and ‘airline’.Of these primary associations, ‘cheap’, ‘limited service’ and ‘airline’ have the strongest association with Ryanair. Apart from these primary associations being directly linked to Ryanair, some of these primary associations are also directly linked to each other. There is a direct link between ‘cheap’ and ‘limited service’, and there is a direct link between ‘airline’ and ‘flies only in Europe’. This means that people associate Ryanair being cheap with Ryanair offering limited service, and Ryanair being an airline with Ryanair only flying in Europe.When we look at the secondary associations that are directly linked to the primary associations, we can see that most associations are linked to ‘cheap’. The associations directly linked to ‘cheap’ are: ‘less qualified employees’, ‘price strategy’, ‘price sensitive customers’, ‘low comfort’, ‘low quality’, and ‘no food/drinks’. From these associations, ‘no food/drinks’ has the weakest association with Ryanair being cheap. However, ‘no food/drinks’ is strongly associated with Ryanair providing limited service. Booth primary associations ‘airline’ and ‘only flying in Europe’ are strongly linked with ‘secondary airports’.Finally, there is a strong link between the primary association ‘holiday’ and the non-core brand association ‘sun/summer’. This means that people strongly associate holidays with sun/summer. 3. Communication Idea The conclusion we derive from the Ryanair consensus map is twofold. On one side there are very strong, positive associations with Ryanair. We classify ‘Cheap’, ‘Airline’ and ‘Holiday’ as positive because these match the strategy that Ryanair carries. Ryanair wants to be a chea p airline that is convenient and easy to use. This strategy has definitely reached our sample of the population.Besides that, we think that ‘Holiday’ is a positive association. When consumers think of planning a holiday, there is a big chance they will think of Ryanair, and book a flight with them. It is an important goal for brands to be in the consideration set of consumers(Avery et al, 2012). Based on our consensus map, we can state that Ryanair achieved this goal. On the other side, our respondents also have negative associations with Ryanair. They associate ‘cheap’ with ‘low quality’, ‘low comfort’ and ‘less qualified employees’. Strikingly, there are no positive associations with ‘cheap’.This is definitely a point of improvement for Ryanair. At this moment cheap is associated with negative aspects. Ryanair could try to change this in a positive attitude towards cheap by emphasizing the advantages of cheap. Also, there is a strong association between ‘cheap’ and ‘limited service’. This can be seen as an negative aspect. However, we do not find this association emerging, it is well known that Ryanair indeed offers less service to its customers. It is part of its strategy to offer low prices to their customers. In the following paragraph we will elaborate on why and how Ryanair can change its strategy in more detail.Why Change the Current Map As explained in the last paragraph there are several negative associations with Ryanair. We found out that not all these associations were based on experience though, since some of our participants never used Ryanair before or they experienced low comfort on some flights, but not all. Another point is that they associated Ryanair with less qualified employees because Ryanair is a cheap airline, but they do not know the background of the employees and in some cases they never noticed a difference between the employees of Ryanair and competitors.Like mentioned in a previous chapter, Ryanair its strategy is to offer the lowest price at all time on all routes and provide an inexpensive and convenient service. This means that they do not want to be associated with inconvenient service or uncomfortable consumers. They mention their service as inexpensive on the other hand, so they know that their service is not as good as most competitors. So, the main reason why Ryanair should want to change the final brand map formed above is the fact that they do not want to be associated with low comfort and less qualified employees.And that the associations ‘cheap’ is a positive associations, but it is linked only to negative associations. How Change the Current Map One of Ryanair its goals is to provide their customers with the cheapest flights. Since everybody associates Ryanair with cheap, they seem to have reached this goal. Since we do not want to change this association we have to come up with a plan to change their quality/comfort/employee image without Ryanair becoming more expensive. As mentioned before, our consensus map shows a negative attitude towards cheap, one of the main attributes of Ryanair. If we can change this ttitude, this will have a positive influence on the overall attitude towards Ryanair. For this purpose we decided to use the TORA model. The basic belief of this model is that behaviour(using Ryanair) is a function of a person’s attitude, in this case attitude towards cheap. This multi attribute model for molding attitudes consists of 3 important steps. First we will explain these three steps, and how they apply to Ryanair. 1. Changing a specific component belief. In this step the believe about the specific component ‘cheap’ is tried to be changed. In the case of Ryanair, this should be done for the component ‘service’.Ryanair is assumed to have low service and less qualified employees, because they are cheap. As thes e beliefs are very subjective or even false, Ryanair should use their campaign to change these beliefs about service and quality of employees. 2. Changing the importance a consumer assigns to an attribute. The most important attribute of Ryanair is that they offer cheap flights. If customers fly cheap they will save money that they can spend on their destination. This is a very important feature of Ryanair, and they should try to get consumers to change the importance they weigh to this.When a low flight price becomes more important for consumers, they are more likely to choose Ryanair, as this airline is one of the cheapest in Europe. 3. Introducing a new attitude in the consumers evaluation process. Like we mentioned before, the overall attitude towards cheap at this moment is predominantly negative. In the consensus map there was not one mainly positive association with cheap. Ryanair should change this attitude and emphasize the advantages of flying cheap in their campaign. For instance they could make the connection between cheap and smart.The attitude towards cheap should change to: flying for cheap is smart because it saves you money. Based on these steps we have set up a campaign plan for Ryanair. We will discuss this campaign in detail in following paragraphs. Spring/ summer 2013 Campaign Ryanair Our campaign for Ryanair is mainly targeted at consumers who do not have Ryanair in their consideration set. This can either be because they don’t know the brand or because they have a negative attitude towards it. Our idea for Ryanair is to launch a campaign in the spring/summer of 2013 where they try to change consumer’s perception and attitude towards Ryanair.We decided that the campaign should be launched in the spring/summer of 2013 because this is when most customers start planning their holiday. As we could see in the consensus map holidays are strongly associated with Ryanair, so we believe this is the perfect timing. Since TV Commercial s are very expensive, which can increase the costs for Ryanair, and eventually ticket prices. We decided not to use TV commercials in our campaign. Instead, we think the campaign should consists of ads and commercials on the internet, where a big part of Ryanair’s target audience is active.When potential customers, people between 18-30, are planning their holiday they will first go online, as this is the main search tool for this generation. Seeing an Ryanair advertisement can give them an incentive to book a flight with Ryanair. Advertisements The benefit of using online advertisements is the fact that multiple advertisements can be used in multiple locations. The most important thing about the advertisements is the fact that they have to have a strong message but still needs to be simple. They have to change consumer attitude towards low prices so this will lead to the desired behaviour ,booking a flight.The ads have to be used frequently and placed in the right spots. The advertisements have to be placed on websites which are frequently visited by our target audience. If they click on the ad it should sent them to the Ryanair website. We want to use three types of advertisements; one advertisement with a so called â€Å"emotional appeal†, one with a â€Å"two-sided† approach and one with a â€Å"comparative† approach. Where each ad always shows the Ryanair logo, and the ad is always in the colors yellow and blue. If we use pictures the borders are in yellow and blue, and the text is always in the same blue colour.The main goal of the ads is to try and remove the low comfort and less qualified employees associations out of the customers head and change this into an attitude positive towards cheap. We decided to use the word smart in all the ads, because of earlier mentioned reasons. Furthermore, a lot of our participants used the word smart to identify the customers or founders of Ryanair. The customers because they fly cheap and save money, the founders because they came up with this business idea. Since we heard it multiple times we thought it was a good idea to use this word in the ads.Emotional Appeal ad: The advertisement shows a picture of a man standing in the airplane waiting for the stewardess to put his hand baggage in the locker above the seating’s. The man is tall, wearing a nice classy button down shirt with normal jeans. This shows a man with style, but it does not show too much richness which will clash with the cheap image of Ryanair. Both the stewardess and the man on the ad have a smile on their faces. The text provided underneath the picture says: â€Å"Be smart, save money, fly Ryan Air†. This ad will serve two goals.First because of the smiling, friendly and helpful stewardess it will take away the negative association people have of less service and less qualified employees of Ryanair. Second, by showing a man where our target audience can relate to and describing him as s mart, we make the association of customers of Ryanair are smart. Also it shows that the average customer is very mainstream, so it could be anyone. Two-Sided advertisement: The two-sided advertisement should show a negative association of Ryanair, but not the biggest and counter argue with it.What we mean by this is the fact that for instance secondary airports are sometimes associated negative since they are small and not always close to the city, but it can also be an advantage. Flying on secondary airports means less waiting time for your luggage, less walking time to board, less searching what gate you have to get to and for instance cheaper parking lots. The advertisement shows a small airport on the background. On the foreground it shows the text: â€Å"Yes, we don’t fly on main airports, can you come up with the benefits of this!? We can! † * Less waiting time * Cheaper parking lots No big crowds â€Å"Be smart, save time, fly Ryan Air†. This ad will serv e the goal of showing benefits of flying on secondary airports. Showing customers that it is not only cheaper, but it also saves time and it is customer friendly (less waiting time and no big crowds). Again we try to put a positive attitude toward the association cheap and we use the word smart again. Comparative advertisement: The comparative advertisement shows a picture of two airplanes flying in the air next to each other. It shows a clear sky with an orange sun on the background, as a nice summer evening.Both airplanes are Boeing 737-800’s. One airplane is a Ryanair airplane and the other is an airplane of one of the competitors, for instance one of KLM Royal Airlines. Underneath the picture it says: â€Å"Can you see the difference? Your wallet can†¦! † â€Å"Be smart, Save money, fly Ryan Air† The goal of this ad is the fact that less quality is associated with cheap. This ad shows that Ryanair uses the same airplanes as some of their competitors. We try to show that Ryanair should not be associated with less quality. We also use the word smart again and we associate Ryanair again with the positive association cheap.Internet Commercials Like we mentioned before we do not want to show any TV commercial during this summer campaign since that will costs too much. Instead, we want think it will be good to have a short commercial for on the internet. This will be used on the Ryan Air website, so the use of the commercial will almost be free of costs. When you enter the website this commercial will pop up and play. There should be an option to close the ad if , to make sure the customers do not have to watch it every time they enter the website. This can cause irritation and we do not want to irritate potential customers.We want the commercial to be in the same setting as the banner ads. If the commercials and advertisements are consistent this will reinforce the effect they have. Most important for this commercial is to, again, emph asize the positive consequences of flying cheap and linking this with being smart. For our internet commercial we will use the same man that we used in our online banner. This is an ordinary person, where most of Ryanair its audience can relate himself to. Because we want to reinforce the link between Ryanair and the association holiday, the man will be with his family.They check out a luxurious hotel where the employees are very friendly and helpful. The family gets into a car and drive to the airport. There they board on a Ryanair plane. When they board on the plane, the stewards are also very warm and welcoming and helping the family with storing their luggage. The camera zooms out and the final shot is the airplane taking off. On the screen the following text appears: ‘Be smart, save money, fly Ryanair. ’ With this commercial we want to make the link between the service in a luxurious hotel and the service in the Ryanair plane.We want to point out that there are sim ilarities between the two, in both cases the employees are warm, friendly and helpful. Furthermore we want to show that by saving money on the flight the family could afford to stay in a luxurious hotel, in other words they were smart because they saved money on their flight in order to stay in a luxurious hotel during their stay. Conclusions: To sum up the process to the final brand concept map. We conducted interviews based on the funnelling technique. After this we used the BCM method to come up with our final brand concept map.We found out that there were several positive and several negative associations with Ryanair. Especially the fact that the positive association ‘cheap’ was linked with only negative associations got our attention. We decided that this part of the brand concept map was the part we wanted to change by a communication idea. We came up with an Spring/Summer 2013 Campaign for Ryanair. This campaign would consist of several advertisements and a sing le commercial we wanted to use on the website. The main theme of our advertisements is to emphasize the positive elements of cheap and to use the word smart in every ad.Linking back to the TORA model we described before, in all the advertisements the steps of this model are taken into account. Step 1 of the TORA model is mainly processed in the emotional appeal ad we described. With this ad we try to change consumers’ beliefs about the service of Ryanair and the quality of their employees. In the ad we make the association of customers of Ryanair being smart, which represents step 3, making a new connection between the attribute ‘cheap’ and the (new) attribute ‘smart’. These arguments apply also for the advertisement about the benefits of secondary airports.The comparative commercial with another airline is more about changing the importance a consumer assigns to an attribute, like step 2 of the TORA model. When seeing two airplanes next to each othe r of different airlines, where one airline is much cheaper, the most important feature of Ryanair, flying cheap, is made clear. With this commercial we can try to get consumers to change the importance they weight to the attribute ‘cheap’. Finally we showed the purpose of the website commercial, where the purpose is to emphasize the positive consequences of flying cheap and linking this with being smart.Future research For future research we suggest to have a more varying sample and more participants. We focused on students, which can cause to give an image of Ryanair which is not really representative. Furthermore we would suggest to use the ZMET method instead of the BCM method because the first interview conducted in the ZMET method is much more in-depth than the one we used in the BCM method. We think that the associations with the brand would be different and more representative using the ZMET method. Appendices Appendix 1: Survey QuestionsName: Age: Gender 1. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Ryanair is †¦ 2. I fly with Ryanair because†¦ 3. Ryanair is†¦ 4. Ryanair makes me feel†¦ 5. I won’t fly with Ryanair because†¦ 6. When I see a commercial of Ryanair I think.. 7. Ryanair looks†¦ 8. I believe that other people think of Ryanair as†¦ 9. Ryanair is †¦.. compared to their competitors 10. I would choose competitors over Ryanair because†¦ 11. I would choose to fly with Ryanair if I fly with†¦(friends/ family etc) 12. I believe Ryanair thinks of their customers as†¦ 13.The founders of Ryanair are†¦ 14. I believe the strategy of Ryanair is†¦ 15. People who use Ryanair are†¦ 16. People who work for Ryanair are†¦ 17. The customers of Ryanair are.. Appendix 2: List with core associations 1. Holiday 2. Airline 3. Cheap 4. Less qualified employees 5. No Food / Drinks 6. Limited Service 7. Only in Europe 8. Yellow/Blue 9. Sun/Summer 10. Friends 11. Low qu ality 12. Price sensitive customers 13. Price strategy 14. Low comfort 15. Secondary airports 16. Smart Appendix 3: List with core associations | Core Associations| First-Order Associations|Brand Associations| Frequency of Mention| Number of Inter connections| Frequency of First-Order Mention| Ratio of First-Order Mention (%)| Subordinate Connection| Super-ordinate Connections| Cheap| 15| 46| 13| 86,7| 2| 44| Airline| 13| 16| 13| 100| | 16| Secondary Airports| 12| 13| 5| 41,7| 9| 4| Only in Europe| 12| 12| 7| 58,3| 5| 7| No Food/Drinks| 12| 12| 3| 25| 11| 1| Less qualified Employees| 11| 13| 2| 18,2| 10| 3| Holiday| 11| 15| 10| 90,9| 1| 14| Price Strategy| 11| 9| 7| 63,6| 5| 4| Price Sensitive Customers| 11| 13| 3| 27,3| 9| 4|Low Comfort| 10| 15| 1| 10| 9| 6| Limited Service| 8| 16| 4| 50| 4| 12| Low Quality| 8| 16| 3| 37,5| 5| 11| Fly with Friends| 7| 8| 3| 42,9| 5| 3| Sun/Summer| 7| 9| 1| 14,3| 6| 3| Yellow/Blue| 6| 2| 5| 83,3| 2| | City Trip| 2| 2| 2| 100| | 2| Airplanes| 1| 1| 1 | 100| | 1| Business People| 1| | 1| 100| | | Bad Customer Service| 1| | 1| 100| | | Low Budget| 1| 1| | 0| 1| | Nighttime bookings| 1| 1| | 0| 1| | Eindhoven| 1| | 1| 100| | | Limited destinations| 1| 1| 1| 100| | 1| Customers| 1| 1| 1| 100| | 1| Easy to book tickets| 1| 1| | 0| 1| | †¦| | | | | | |Appendix 4: Maps and the number of interconnections Number of maps| Number of interconnections| 1| 23| 2| 13| 3| 10| 4| 7| 5| 4 (inflection point)| 6| 6| Appendix 5: Summaries of individual interviews Interviews by Marc Buurman For this assignment I interviewed three Dutch Students: * Melvin Loggies, 21 years old, male * Jesse Driel, 22 years old, male * Eline Buurman, 19 years old, female I contacted the respondents by phone and asked them if they wanted to participate in our research. They all agreed, so I made an appointment with them for the first interview.In the first interview I asked the respondents several questions about Ryanair(see appendix 2). I explained them that they should simply say what came to their mind and that if they had any questions they were free to ask them. After conducting the interviews, that led to very interesting associations, I thanked the respondents and made the appointment for the second interview. In the second interview I showed the respondents a list of 16 associations (which resulted from the first interviews) and asked them if they could draw a mental map for me.As an example I gave them a mental map of Volkswagen. I also told the respondents that they were not forced to use all the associations, and if they thought of any associations that were missing, they were free to add them to their mental map. During the creation of the map I told them that they could also review their answers of the first interview, however, no one decided to review their first interview. When they finished drawing their mental map, I thanked them for their effort and wished them a pleasant day. The associations that the respondents gave were quite similar.The main associations that the respondents came up with were: â€Å"cheap†, â€Å"holiday†, and â€Å"Ryanair only flies in Europe†. These were quite positive associations. However, the respondents also came up with negative associations like: â€Å"low comfort†, â€Å"limited service† and â€Å"less qualified employees†. According to the respondents, the explanation for this is that: because Ryanair is one of the cheapest airlines(which they saw as a positive thing), they can’t provide the best service and don’t have the best employees. The respondents also gave some different associations.For instance, one respondent answered that the first thing that came to his mind when he thought of Ryanair was city trips. This was because he was planning to go on a city trip through Europe and would use Ryanair to fly from city to city. When I asked him why he would use Ryanair to fly from city to city, he simply answered: Because they are the cheapest. Interviews by Jesper Vieveen For this research I interviewed four people: * Robin Meeng, 22 years old, male * Nick Theisen, 21 years old, male * Sharen Vieveen, 18 years old, female * Kevin Smith, 25 years old, maleI contacted all of them by phone to ask if they wanted to participate in a research I had to conduct for my study Marketing Management, and for the course Consumer Behaviour. I told them I had to interview them twice about the brand Ryanair, they all agreed immediately. During the first interview I asked them questions, you can find these questions in appendix 2. I told them they had to try to come up with as many things as they could think of each question. I asked them if they had travelled with Ryanair before and I asked them to explain words if I did not understood the meaning of them in relation with the question.At the end I thanked them for their participations and I planned a second meeting with them. I did not tell them yet what the second interview was going to be about, the only thing I told them was the fact that it was about Ryanair again, and that it was going to be based on the first interview. During the second interview I showed them their answers of the first interview, I provided them with the list of the 16 associations that came out the first part of the BCM method. I gave them a piece of paper with the word Ryanair in the middle. I told them they had to create a brand concept map with those 16 associations.I told them they did not have to use all of them, and that they had the possibility to ad associations if the wanted. I also gave them their first interview so they could use it if they wanted. Before they started to draw the map I showed them an example of a brand concept map. After they were done with their map I asked them if they were sure this was their final map, the map they wanted to give to me. After this I thanked them for their participation. During the first interview a lot of the an swers to the questions involved the word; cheap.The main reason why they would fly Ryanair was because of the fact that it is a cheap airline, it saves money during their holiday. Two respondents tried to be very creative coming up with words associated with Ryanair, they mentioned the business strategies, the names of the founders, the colours of the airline and stuff like this. But most of the time all their answers involved the word cheap again. What got my attention was the fact that most of my respondents liked to fly with Ryanair but if the longer they thought about questions the more they came up with negative associations.Mostly not out of own experiences, but out of other people their experiences or out of stereotypes. All of my respondents also associated Ryanair with limited service. Three out of the four told me that they did not mind this though, they told me that flying those short distances were not about the service. Interviews by Chantal Verbeek For creating the bra nd maps I have interviewed four students, two female and two male. They are all four WO students and have a Dutch nationality First I have interviewed the participants by using the survey in the appendix. The purpose of this interview was to identify the core associations with Ryanair.First I told the participants what the purpose of the study was. I told them that me and my group were doing research about the associations students have with Ryanair. Then I told them that the end goal of the research was to create a consensus map. I explained to them the steps we needed to take in order to create the consensus map and what a consensus map is. The interview was relatively basic and no remarkable issues emerged. It was striking that the first association the participants had was cheap. One respondent used the word low budget instead of cheap.Most respondents asked for an explanation for the question: ‘I use Ryanair when I fly with’. As I did not want to guide them to much I told them this question was about the type of travel partner. I did not use examples such as parents and friends. In the answers to almost every survey question the word cheap was used. Other words that were commonly mentioned were holiday, friends, and low comfort. All four participants had experience with flying with Ryanair. They based the answers of their questions on experience. What came forward is that they all used Ryanair because it was much cheaper than the competitors.The respondents thought of Transavia as the main competitor, because this airline is also low budget. Only one respondent thought of Wizz Air as the main competitor. After the interview our group had a meeting to discuss the interviews and decide on which words to use for the brand maps. When this was decided I used the same four respondents to create an individual brand map. First I explained to them again what a brand map is and where we would use it for. After that I showed them the brand map of Volksw agen. I explained that there were three levels of association links: weak, medium and strong.I told them how to indicate the strength and referred to the Volkswagen example. If the respondents still had questions, I answered them. After that the respondents started with their brand maps. None of the respondents took longer than 5 minutes to finish. Some had very complex maps, with many interconnections. One participant only linked to Ryanair and did not use connections between the associations. No one had any difficulties with creating the map and the process went very smooth. When the respondents were finished I debriefed them and answered questions if they had any.Some of the respondents were interested in brand maps of other participants. If this was the case I showed them the brand maps of the others. Interviews by Eva Verhulst References: http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2011/may/23/Ryanair-profits-rise-passenger-numbers http://www. airlinequality. com/Forum/ryan. htm Aver y, J. , Kozinets, R. , Mittal, B. , Raghubir, P. and Woodside, A. (2012), ‘Consumer Behaviour: Human Pursuit of Happiness in the World of Goods’, Open Mentis. John, Deborah R. et al (2006), ‘Brand Concept Maps: A Methodology for Indentifying Brand Association Networks’ Journal of Marketing Research,43(November), 549-563

Entrepreneurship And Business Skills The WritePass Journal

Entrepreneurship And Business Skills Question 1 Entrepreneurship And Business Skills ). The biggest obstacle that I have had to face is the negative traits that I posses. However, over time I have come to the conclusion that what one lacks on one side, they compensate for it on the other. I am for instance a poor networker. The network of contacts that I started off with was very narrow and since I am not so good at connecting with people, the situation did not get any better. What I lacked in network skills, I made up for in commitment and determination. The important thing is to match the strength that compensates for your weakness and apply it (Hauser, 2012). Although, I could not connect with people easily, I could rely on myself to get the job done. The feeling that I was an ‘outsider’ reduced my reliance on other people’s help and I immersed myself in the mission that I worked towards. Failure was not a letdown but rather an opportunity to learn and avoid a similar mistake in the future. As a result of my commitment and determination, prospe ctive partners sought me and my network grew not because I was good at connecting with other people but because of my drive to succeed that appealed to them. It is important to find one’s weaknesses and strengths followed by strategies to turn the weaknesses around. Every business is an entire system that contains numerous tasks which cannot be accomplished by a single individual no matter how strong that individual is. As a result, the best strategy is to focus an individual’s energy on those areas that they are strong therefore compensating for the weaknesses (Collins and Lazier, 1995). I applied the recommended strategy by Collins and Lazier in my weakness regarding poor communication skills by maximizing on my ability to think of the big picture. Although I could not persuade people to support my views, ideas and business as a whole, I could see the patterns and relationships in the environment I traded in. These patterns and relationships made me an excellent predictor of market as well as competitor moves. As a result, I did not have to persuade anyone to follow my lead, adopt my ideas, or engage in transactions with me because the statistics talked on my behalf. The consistent positive results made others to gain confidence in me. The other trait that disadvantaged me was my strong action orientation that caused me to sometimes desire to act prior to comprehensive contemplation. There are several occasions that my ventures failed resulting from my immediate actions that were based on incomplete information. These ventures failed but I did not give up on them and instead kept on trying until they succeeded. My strong action orientation was my weakness but the motivation to excel is the strength that avoided my downfall. Every time I went into a venture because I felt the need to act, my goal and result orientation pushed me until the goal was achieved. I overcame my weaknesses through the strengths that compensated for what I lacked. I would recommend such an approach to every individual who desires to overcome or turn their weaknesses into strengths. Question 3 I would choose the role of either an organizer or a moderator. Often the group is split over which is the right and the wrong approach to an activity or task (Adeak, 2010). Every individual in the group seems to think that their idea, suggestion, or plan is the correct one. However, the best plan, strategy, and organization come from extensive preparation, assessment, and consideration. I prioritize these three elements because I do not like to undertake a task while unprepared and I set my mind to achieving the goal therefore the approach used, the organization chosen and the strategy formulated all have to be centered on the goal. Since this is a group activity, achieving the goal is not only dependent on my effort but on each group member’s effort. It is therefore my responsibility to organize the team and ensure that the plan that I have formulated to achieve the goal is integrated into the whole team. Team organization is a critical component of long-term success of any b usiness therefore ensuring the team’s procedures and plans are formulated and each team member is assigned a role that they will perform effectively would guarantee positive results (Collins and Lazier, 1995). A particular occasion that I played this role was in a research project on advertising where I divided the group into sub-groups so that every sub-group could research on a sub-topic which would then be followed by consolidation of all the sub-topics. The role of a moderator would also be an appropriate role for me because I am impartial and maintain an open mind at all times. Through such an approach I believe the interests of every group member would be addressed therefore ensuring that no member is dissatisfied. One hurdle that often arises in group activities is the allocation of resources and resolution of internal disagreements (Adeak, 2010). I believe in fair treatment and therefore would ensure the resources are coordinated and allocated fairly. This step would also help reduce disagreements in the group. This quality is an indication that the moderator is an appropriate role for me. The role that I would least play in a group is that of a critic. This is majorly because I choose to look at things positively whereas the critic searches for the flaw in order to expose it. A team needs to be motivated in order to perform well but criticism often dampens the motivation of the team (Adeak, 2010). This role is therefore not appropriate for me at all. References Brockhaus, R. H. (1982), The Psychology of the Entrepreneur. In Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship , edited by Calvin A. Kent, Donald L. Sexton, and Karl H. Vesper, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Collins, J. C. and Lazier, W. C. (1995), Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Caird, S. (1990), What does it mean to be Enterprising? British Journal of Management, vol. 1, Issue 3, pp. 37–145. Gunther, M., R. and MacMillan, I. (2000), The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Hauser, A. (2012), How to Overcome Business Weaknesses, Resources for entrepreneurs, viewed May 2, 2012, gaebler.com/Small-Business-Administration-SBA-Advice.htm What is a Team Role Structure? Adeak. 2010, viewed May 2, 2012, adeak.com/2010/02/what-is-a-team-role-structure/

Dr. Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail essays

Dr. King's Letter From Birmingham Jail essays "Nonviolence can touch men where the law cannot reach them." These words, as spoken by the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, 1958) became the fundamental tenet of his life. The concept behind the words would define not just his work, but the history of an entire generation of American people in the middle of the 20th century. But his words would have proven hollow were it not for the actions that he took to support them. If his words were the spike that pierced the heart of segregation, the nonviolent demonstrations that accompanied them were the hammer that was struck against that spike. They were a forceful combination that couldnt be ignored or muted through the stubborn efforts of segregationists of the time. Dr. Kings words informed his actions, and vice-versa. Nowhere in his great history is that more evident than in the seemingly personal letter he wrote from a jail cell in Alabama; the Letter from Birmingham Jail . A key example of this in Letter from Birmingham Jail is found in a section in which Dr. King says, I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. (Paragraph 43). At this particular point of Kings letter, there are various underlying meanings and interpretations that may be gleaned, but they all strike the same chord. Whereas the old adage states that the ends justifies the means, nonviolence and particularly its use during the Civil Rights Movement, dictates that the means should justify the ends. The words, and the meanings within them, are held as an ideology; a mission statement for the entire Civil Rights Movement and the moral standard of the individual persons. To be more specific about what this means, Dr. Kings testament of nonviolence spoke to the cause and fight against legal and social injustice, provided a stark cont...

How to Write a Childrens Book in 5 Simple Steps the Master Guide

How to Write a Childrens Book in 5 Simple Steps the Master Guide How to Write a Children's Book: an Author's Guide So you want to know how to write a children’s book? That’s great news. Children and teenagers are some of the most devoted readers out there - just don't  underestimate the size of the task in front of you. A children’s book is sometimes mistakenly seen as â€Å"easy† to write when, in fact, the opposite is true. You’ll need to nail all the essential elements like your voice, structure, plot, and characterization†¦ with fewer pages.In this post, we ask some of our top children’s book editors for their tips on how to create a book that publishers and readers will want to buy. And from their advice, we're going to show you how to write a children's book in five steps:Understand the children's book market (and your category)Create memorable charactersTell an engaging storyHone your voiceDetermine whether you need an illustratorLet's drill a little deeper into each step, starting with the first...For some awesome examples, check out the 1 20 best children's books of all time!Step 1. Understand the children’s book market  (and your category)"The children's publishing industry deems a book successful based upon sales data, but if you want to know which books work, just look for Scotch tape. Look for the books with the weird stains on the pages, with frayed covers, torn-and-taped pages - the books that have been read so many times that they are completely falling apart. These are the hallmarks of a successful children's book." - Brian Saliba, children's editorBefore you write a word of your book, you need to figure out your target audience. You can’t expect a five-year-old kid, for instance, to give a preteen’s book the time of day - and vice versa! Literary agents, in particular, will discard any book that’s not demographic-friendly, which is why children's editor Anna Bowles advises you to tailor every aspect of your book to your age band. This includes:TopicLengthStylePlot complexityL et’s take a closer look at each of the major categories in the children’s book market. How is the children's book market split up? Find out in this guide to children's books Picture books (Ages 5-7)It’s important to note that not all books with pictures are picture books. In industry terms, a picture book is a book that relies equally on illustrations and words to tell the story. Since picture books are meant to be a child’s first reading experience, the word count is going to be very low (500 words or fewer, 1,000 tops). To perfect your written work, consider sharing it with friends, family, and children’s writing communities (such as Children’s Book Authors on Facebook or a writing group in your area). You should also test your book on your target audience: children. Kids are brutally honest so their feedback will be very valuable.If you think that you need a specialist's touch, you might want to hire a professional editor. Their decades of experience will improve your storytelling and make sure that your book is ready for the market. You can find out the cost of hiring a professional children’s book editor here.Taking the next stepOnce you’re happy with your book, it’s time to take the last step and put it out there for children to read. You can dive deep into the process in this extensive guide to publishing a children’s book.If you’re planning to self-publish, you’ll want to start thinking about marketing. Here’s a free 10-day course that provides marketing strategies to help you promote your children’s book before, during, and after its launch.Most of all, never lose sight of your goal. The journey to writing a successful children’s book might be hard, but it’ll be worth it when you picture your book in the hands of young readers everywhere.Are you writing a children's book right now? Do you have any more questions for our professional editors? Leave them in the comment box below and we'll answer right away!