The quintessence of discontinuous innovation Essay Example for Free

The quintessence of noncontinuous innovation EssayBirkinshaw et al. , (2006) discovered the quintessence of discontinuous innovation. It emphasized that creasees need to think strategic altogethery and moldiness impede the existing course of action. They moldiness consider the competitive environment and the diverse threats and opportunities and must adapt to change management. Corporations must recognize straight cronies, draw brawny rapport and opt for set of connections and associations. A paradigm shift Discontinuous innovation takes places in many slipway like expert breakthroughs, exploring new markets or due to change in economical and political situation. Nevertheless such(prenominal) revolutionary changes bemuse a vibrant impact on the boilers suit external environment. It has been instigated that new product development is done by small players and major players adapt to those practices and best small players. Several corporations go through transitions and renovation and further improve their business models like IBM. about of the major contends due to which firms have to make lots of efforts to systematically perform with discontinuous innovation involve There exist uncertainty It is complicated Firms be reactive rather than proactiveMany firms perplex it impromptu and bring to a close the entire business plan and try to allocate investing in a more certain project. More importantly corporations and firms find it difficult to challenge the ceremonious wisdom and continue to follow the existing systems, process, and procedures and resist change. It is said that long-term relationships assists in achieving success. Unfortunately such binding forces become one of the major predicaments to change. Apple Corporation faced lots of issues when it refused to engage in relationship with diverse business partners.A process for building networks It comprises of three stages Finding In value to bear with some crystalize of partners hip or relationship with an individual organization, one must for the first time identify the right organization and gather as much information about that firm. One must keep in mind the vision and ground of business operations and challenging traditional ways of doing business. There should be no geographic, political or institutional barriers for creating a long-term sustainable network. Forming It requires analyzing the entrustingness of business partner for creating the network.It also depends on reputation, worth and financial position of the firm in the industry. The research presents quadruple generic approaches in order to undergo relationship ? Business must opt for partner with whom it is easier to undergo relationship. The confinement must carefully solve different geographical and institutional barriers. It must be a win-win otherwise no deal. ? Firms must flavour for the best among thousands. It should take assistance of boundary spanners and scouts for long-ter m thriving relationships.Businesses must take help from specialized firms to perform as an intermediary between two companies. It must be considered as a learning opportunity rather than a contract and internal customers must be empowered to opt for the applications of the knowledge gained. ? Business look for utterly unlike partners where prominence is tending(p) to shared goals and benefits. Both the firms try to bridge the gaps and look for the most appropriate and sustainable options. Both firms agree on mutual consent and look for major issues. sometimes cross-individuals can assist as an intermediary.? Sometimes partners neither belong to the similar industry nor do they want to engage in any sort of relationship with the firm. In such case firm must try to overcome institutional and geographical gaps between the two. It requires specialist who are network builders which can provide effective solutions. Performing In perform their exist different set of barriers like diffe rence of attitude regarding expert property, building commitment and confidence and surfacing ethnic, institutional and ideological differentities between network partners.A number of relationship networks reach the due date level and understand difficult situations. Four challenges have been identified as follows ? More often networks are formulated for future concerns and as a result they overlook most recent problems hence military issue into failure. Therefore network must be realistic and it must be updated on regular bases. ? It is all about trust, reciprocity and shared values which create healthy relationships among partners. ? The dominated firm must not perform as an authoritative and should look for dynamic opportunities.It is not a single player wager and it requires cooperation and collaboration between both. ? Businesses establish and learn from relationships. Introduction In this contemporary era, emerging players demonstrate dissimilar set of skills, unlike part ners and proficiencies which are difficult to conjure up. The practice has remained as a paradigm for FMCGs and technological businesses. Companies look for long-term and profitable business models and try to create collaborations and alliances with suppliers and business partners. Big businesses strategically look for both direct and indirect competitors.Critical examination of the piece Q. 1 Do you agree or disagree with the authors basic premise? Why or why not? Answer. The Canvassers have elaborated successful business model for future growth, sustainability and prosperity. The concept of discontinuous innovation occupies a broader scope and one must engross the key concepts in order to gain competitive advantage. It results into incremental innovation, germinal destruction and assists in gaining dynamic knowledge to understand the issue. Q. 2 Have the ideas held up over time, or do they now seem to be insufficient or incorrect?Answer. It seems creative and a contemporary philos ophy. Firms will be facilitated with the notion and it has diverse implications. The realm remains that as the human race progress, it will further improve. It has introduced the concept of radical innovation. It helped British Petroleum a lot through different stages. Q. 3 Are the conclusions generalizable, or do they appear to be limited to specific types of industries, firms, activities, sectors, etc.? Answer. It is a vulgarise concept which has a broader scope. More importantly it requires strategic thinking.The research paper presents its implications in FMCGs, Technological industry, pharmaceutic business, Advertising agencies and many more. More importantly it is not a one side approach and originative solutions are achieved through cross-functional approach, team work, decentralization and empowerment. Q. 4 Explain. In what way can this article be extended, i. e. , what ideas might the author address in a follow-on article? Answer. It is an interesting research paper with intellectual findings. The follow-on dissertation might include key characteristics of different network relationships.The research should highlight key reason why major companies collapsed and what actions they can take to improve. It must also involve the role of those companies which are at the growth level of the business and it should highlight the implications for new product development businesses. Q. 5 finally as a concluding comment, what idea(s) did you find to be most enlightening? Why? Answer. Most important is the true fact that businesses must discontinue and look for new business models, processes, procedures and ethical code of conducts.The highlighted barriers like geographical and institutional and they have remained major constraints among collaborations and alliances and most of the businesses are still performing transactional bases. Conclusion There achieve major challenges for both MNCs and global corporation. It requires both systematic approach and consiste ncy. Firms must be proactive and such follow all three states of finding, forming and performing diligently. References Birkinshaw, J. , Bessant, J. Delbridge, R. (2006). Finding, Forming, and Performing Creating Networks for Discontinuous Innovation

Effect of Social Media on Nigerian Undergraduate Essay Example for Free

Effect of Social Media on Nigerian Undergraduate EssayRapid harvesting of popular online communication mediums has introduced new ways for the learners to communicate. The vast array of sociable communication changes introduced by the relatively young pro poundue of favorable network come out mandate the essences of this ruminate. This demand accessed the influenced well-disposed media (facebook in fussy) on Nigeria early days in the higher institution. Specific completelyy it attempts to collect accompaniments on the positive and interdict influence of facebook on Nigeria youth. mise en scene of the StudyNew type of communication influence by rapidly changing internet-based-technologies pee-pee spurred look on mass communications theory(Ruggerio,2000). during the period of 1988 to 1998 the internet grow nearly 100 percent both year as of January of 1998,it was estimated that 102 million people were using the internet globally(Bastian,1998). in 2007, the pew int ernet American life project forecasted that between 165 and 210 million users were surfing the internet in the united states but (fallows,2007).Between November of 2006 and December of2009,the pew Internet American life project effectuate that teenagers and young self-aggrandisings were systematically to highest users of the internet. complaisant network sites, in particular, obligate provide a prominent medium for relationship governing body (valkenburg, Peter sebouten,2006). As the internet quickly grow many key online technologies began to take shape. In 2008, social networking site were among the fastest rising closely visited websites. CBC News reported that the popular social networking website Facebook jumped from the sixtieth most visited website to the 7th most visited website in 2008.One social network site in particular has become one of the most visited internet websites in the world. Initially started in February of 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, the social network site Facebook. com has become largely popular. Its mission has been to give people the power to share and mold the world more open and connected (Facebook. com, 2009).Millions of users are empowered to communicate with friends, share information such as photographs and videos, and learn more about the singles they meet on Facebook everyday (Facebook. com,2009) At the meter of entropy collection for this acquire Facebook. om had over 900 million active users, approximately half of Facebooks active users log into Facebook on a given day. In addition, users crap historically spent 500 billion little per month on Facebook (Facebook. com, 2010). As of spring of 2010, Facebook had become the most popular social network site in the world. As online social networking grows in popularity the number of users placing personal information online does as well. Studies as shown that undergraduates puke high levels of personal information online/ including inappropriate and appropriate i nformation,which can be easily accessed by anyone.This study center on the influences of social networking on undergraduate that are using Facebook.This literature review discusses the antecedent research and findings on the influence of Social Media (Facebook) on undergraduate, youth and children. According to data gathered from whatsoever(prenominal) sources by Online Education . net. Social media may have positive furbish up on students sense of themselves in the community. social media-using students were twice as likely as other students feel well-liked by their peers and to participate in extracirricular activities.And more of Facebook-using students (as compared to students who didnt use Facebook) said they felt connected to their school and the world. However, negative effects explode student who use Faceebok and hit the books simultaneously found their multitasking led to a lower grades than those of their more focused peers. Not only do grade suffer, but students mig ht actually end up mite depress. As Facebooks dominance continues to grow, we are starting to realize the impact it is having in society, particularly on youth.DR. Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, researches on how technology impacts youth. Rosen reconcileed his study at the 119th American Psychological Association Convention in Washington DC. His findings are based on evaluate responses from computer-based surveys distributed to 1,000 urban adolescents and his own 15-minute observation of 300 teenagers that were studying. Rosen said in a presentation title dig out Me How Social Network can both Help and Harm Our Kids.He said his research found both negative and positive influences linked to social networking. Rosens top three potential negative effects of Facebook 1. Teenager who use Facebook more often show narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more sign of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviours, mania, and belligerent tendencies. 2. Daily over use media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens, an teenagers by making them more susceptible to future health problems 3.Facebook can be distracting and can negatively impact learning.Studies found that middle school, high school, and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades. Rosens top three potential positive effects of Facebook 1. Young adult who spend more time on Facebook are better at showing virtual empathy to their friends 2. Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialized behind the safely of various screens, ranging from two-inch smart surround to 17-inch laptop. 3.Social networking can provide tools for t to each oneing in compelling ways that engage young students. Jasmine, P. (2011) rightly said today youth is addicted to social networkin g site like orkut, Facenook, e. t. c. But nowadays particularly Facebook is most popular amongst youth.Due to this over indulgence, their studies suffer a lot. Even it not only hinder their studies but also their physical, social, mental and ethic growth. Children have become couch potato. Parents are under nervous strain to see their children spending more and more time on this social network sites. ot only children became a prey of these but every age group fascinated of this sites. this sites are meant for connecting people, to make them socialize, communicate with each other, share videos, photos, their past memories etc. but people especially youth used whole day wasting their time on this sites. they are addicted to this sites.Mose Jator(2011)also has this to say social networking is genuine to some issue that people share views and ideas as well as keep in touch with friends and love ones. ooking at it on the other hand, you will discover that people today tend to use th is avenue for their self-centred interests which in most cases offend public decency. Some use fake identity. Looking at it on the other hand, you will discover that people today tend to use this avenue for their selfish interests which in most cases offend public decency. Some use fake identities with the sole aim of cheating therefrom the prevalence of cybercrime. Many youth today found themselves in one secret society and either consciously or unconsciously through social networking.Walther (1995) postulates that computer-mediated communication(e. g. social network)offers additional opportunity for students with limited amounts of time for socialization to develop their personal relationship than their face-to-face peers(as cited in Mazar, Murphy Simonds,2007). Methodology The intent of this study is to examine the influence of facebook on undergraduates. it seek to determine the positive and negative impact of facebook have on undergraduates attitude, grade and social life. A n interview with 15 respondent from the major higher institutions in kwara state.Interview operate was used in collecting in-depth or rich data from the respondent. the purpose of this section is to describe the methodological analysis used in this qualitative study. Findings Social media has become an integral part of our lives and no group feels it impact more than students. Facebook started on college campuses and it continue to thrive there the most. theres no doubt that social media has had a huge impact on the lives of students, but whats less clear is whether this impact has been vertical or bad.As a result of the interview guide administered to undergraduate of higher institution of Kwara state. Akinkunmi Jayeola, a business study student of Kwara state polytechnic posited that facebook are good platform for sharing whats in your mind, a good medium of communication, easiest and cheapest means of communication. its a good way to outride connected with your friends in this fast going trend. You get a good knowledge about present going things. He later go further by institutionaliseing out the negative side of it by stressing that, if you give it so importance it will make you as slave.Another opinion from Afolayan Kabir another student from same institution also elaborate what Akinkunmi has said by stressing that facebook is good to use if we use it to some limit. it help us in improving our communication, use for creating awareness and negative aspect of it is that students waste too much time on this site. Baderu Ayotunde also have something to say he rightly stress that it is good for student to use facebook if it is used in a right way because it a means for individual to explore the world without physically taking risks. nother student expositing on Baderus point of view that facebook is a good things for youth of Nigeria to think beyond friendship to close or old friends and new friends near the globe, one can share thought to each other and exchange the knowledge. he further enriches his point by sitting instant like Today if breaking news happens before the news conduct flashes, facebook flashes up the detail which were uploaded or shared by the nearby person using facebook. he took his al-Qaida that to him that facebook is the way to develop the people of Nigeria and aware them.Najeeb Blogun student of university of Ilorin held a contrary opinion by stating that facebook have a negative impact on youth by spoiling their life and killing their most valuable time in chatting rather than spending time more on their studies. He go further by also positing that youth are cheatting one another by their false make believe on facebook, like a boy coming into facebook and introducing himself as a girl to divert tending towards himself and exploiting the peoples mind, it may also increase terrorism.In exploring the underlying structures of influence of facebook on Nigeria youth, the fact deduce is that facebook site has be came the means of communication where individual were connected with friends and relatives with this sites as they dont have enough time to spend with their friends in their busy schedule they can stay connected with them by sharing their feelings, thoughts, pictures etc.Its the easiest and cheapest means of communication as now that internet is easily convenient to everybody. As anything that exceeds its limit becomes addiction therefore this can affect anyone that got addicted to facebook. The information uploaded can be misused by the people so it increases the question of privacy. so adaptation of things in limited ways is important.

Harry Jay Knowles Essay Example for Free

chevy Jay Knowles Essay chivy Jay Knowles is non a celebrity, a director, or a producer, but despite that, he remains a leading authority in the entertainment business. Well, his face whitethorn not be recognized by the nation, but with what he does for a living, he could either make or hold back an entertainment project. Harry Knowles can be considered as one of the most respected movie critics that the entertainment industry has today. Whatever he publishes, people will read. Anything he says, people will believe, well, most if not all of them will. However, with his status as an important movie critic, it cant be helped that approximately people would also criticize him.But despite these criticisms, Knowles has nothing less in his mind than to deliver any(prenominal) information that he has when it comes to entertainment. He is very eager to share whatever he learns, very often wish a child astonished with new discoveries. This can be reflected by the website that he r uns, the aint It Cool News (Knowles). Knowles was born and raised in the entertainment world. His family relied mainly on worldly concern entertainment for a living, something that Knowles cherished as he was growing up to the man that he is now.He was fond of reading comic books and illustrated readings, as well as watching bootlegged movies from his familys collections (Poland). Perhaps as a child, Knowles already knew what he wanted when he grows up. He treasured his experiences during his childhood, using it as a building block for his future career. Looking at this point in his life, we can say that Knowles has a root in the entertainment industry. Even as a child, he was surrounded by things like old movies, comic books, magazines, all avail adapted for his consumption.At that point in time, even though Knowles would but be a young boy, his environment come outed to be pushing him towards the entertainment business. It was when he was bedridden because of an calamity that brought him closer to the internet, to his future neighborhood. As Knowles discovers the wonders of information sharing, his appetite for new things in the entertainment world grew. He began writing reviews of movies and of events, until he became recognized by many because of his works. There are many controversies that people seem to stick to Knowles name.Some claim that hes being paid to make good reviews of some movies, for publicity or exclusively for the sake of attaching his name in the project (Davis). He is an authority in this field so many people are actually looking to benefit from that. Regarding that, there is no certainty whether he indeed receives payment for doing reviews, but what is certain is that Knowles loves what hes doing. He seems not to care about anything in this world as long as hes able to deliver new information on whatever is worthy to talk about. He received sundry(a) reactions from people, ranging from praises to lawsuits (Ryfle).He gladly accepte d whatever came his way, whether positive or negative. From what I see, Harry Jay Knowles pursued a career as a movie critic not because of the fame or the other kicks that he gets from it. quite it is more of a passion, a culmination of his lifes works. He likes sharing new things to people, whether it is just a gossip or a full-blown marketing strategy. Knowles is not doing these things in favor of other people he is doing this to satisfy his wants. Knowles as a movie critic may or may not be paid for his work, but he makes sure to get the job done.Aint that cool? Works Cited Davis, Erik. Caution Ahead Harry Knowles Reviews Cloverfield. 2008. February 2 2009. http//www. cinematical. com/2008/01/11/caution-ahead-harry-knowles-reviews-cloverfield/. Knowles, Harry. Aint It Cool News. 2009. February 3 2009. http//www. aintitcool. com/. Poland, David. Harry Knowles. 2000. February 2 2009. http//www. lukeford. net/profiles/profiles/harry_knowles. htm. Ryfle, Steve. Extra The Trouble w ith Harry Knowles. 2000. February 3 2009. http//www. hollywood. com/news/EXTRA_The_Trouble_With_Harry_Knowles/311968.

The cyberpunk novel Feed Essay Example for Free

The hacker novel Feed EssayAnalyse how a writer used language to develop the theme(s) of the pen text.The cyberpunk novel, Feed, is a book which explores the dangers of overpowering consumerism. Author MT Anderson uses language to develop the theme of a failing futuristic society as an outcome of unbroken consumerist influence. Anderson uses character dialogue, descriptions of environmental degradation and internally received banners or advertising inside the characters heads to explore the problems encountered when a society fails to protect their most valuable resource nature. The characters in Feed are all implanted with a chip at surrender which allows them to access the internet without the need of any external device. Computers are no longer outside the body, save are referred to as wetware. This allows the characters to m-chat or text inside their heads. The feed alike provides them with a near constant flow of advertising banners or pop-ups depending on current t rends or a shop they may passport past.This corporate control of communication leads the characters to live a superficial existence, where their main concerns are for the latest hairstyles and prove no interest towards political events, which are hinted at throughout the book. The story is narrated by Titus, a stripling who meets Violet while celebrating Spring break on the Moon. During the exposition the reader learns that in this society the characters bear minimal vocabularies and use a lot of futuristic teenage slang. The group refer to each some other as unit and describe a good looking girls as being meg youch.There is also a lot of swearing which illustrates how limited their vocabularies have become. The characters use the phrase da da da whenever they cant think of what to say. This has happened because school no is longer run as a boil down for education, rather, it has become SchoolTM and teaches students how to use their feeds, consequently how to consume more and more. The poor vocabulary, coupled with a preoccupation with look pressure to keep up with current trends helps to create a mood of apathy and hopelessness in the characters thoughts and actions.

General Trends of English Politics Before The Viking Invasions Essay Example for Free

General Trends of incline Politics Before The Viking Invasions EssayDo you detect any general trim back or trends in the pattern of side politics out front the Viking invasions?Although at that place were sporadic Viking attacks on the coasts of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from 793 onwards, the Viking invasions, when large forces started to appear for booked campaigns, should in all probability be analyzen as beginning in 865, when a heathen army encamped on Thanet.1 Before this time, we see a trend in position politics of increasingly across-the-board oerlordship of some(prenominal) kings over otherwises. There is debate to the highest degree the extent of these overlordships, but it seems reasonable to suggest that certain kings at certain times were able to get over other kingdoms, and also that there was some increase in the bea a king efficacy aspire to control. However, there is to a greater extent argument about what this trend might mean, and particularly whe ther it can be seen as part of an inexorable progression towards the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the ninth and 10th centuries. I sh any argue that the pattern tended to a limit, and that there is no reason to see unification as its essential result, for three main reasons. Firstly, we see a nonher trend that, as kingdoms grew both in size and strength, it became harder to shift overlordship into amalgamation, although this is seen in some slipperinesss.Secondly, I shall contend that the overlordship seen was based upon opportunism, with little or no institutional pertinacity between different overlords. Thirdly, the nature of Anglo-Saxon politics was such that no kingdom before the Viking invasions could sustain its ascendancy sufficiently for the trends to represent long-term moves towards unification. The best way to explain the eventual(prenominal) unification is not as a result of long-term trends, but as western about Saxon opportunism at a time when the o ther kingdoms were weak, buttressed by a latent sense of united ecclesiastic personal identity, which the Viking threat brought to the surface.The main trend that we see in the pre-Viking Anglo-Saxon kingdoms is the growth of overlordship, whereby one political unit, musical composition retaining a degree of separate identity, and quite possibly its own pattern, was dominated by another. Bede uses a variety of terms to refer to different formulas, including rex, princeps and subregulus. The impression that one gets from this is a complex patchwork of kings, with some subordinate to others Dumville and Campbell both practicedifiably signalise out that the terminological variety suggests that there was no general pattern, but a web of dependent relationships this is akin to the situation in Ire vote down at the same time. It is apparent that such relationships go back to the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon decimal point Kirby points out that this would barely be surprising, s ince Tacitus describes similar hierarchies in Germany. However, we do see overlordship being exercised over increasingly large areas the traditional starting point here is Bedes list of seven kings who noticed over all the southernern kingdoms.2 The evidence does mostly hold up the view that these kings exercised considerable power over large parts of Eng disembark. Keynes asserts that it is inconceivable that Aelle of Sussex and Ceawlin of Wessex, the first two territorial dominionrs, could hurt widely ranging power. We know little about them, but the Chronicle entries do suggest that they were satisfying and had successes, particularly against the Britons.3 Furthermore, Myres studies of the distribution of clayware fragments suggest that both rulers exercised some authority in the Midlands and East Anglia, since pottery finds match those in their native kingdoms. The evidence is not sufficient to suggest that they had control as far north as the Humber, but we would be unwise to dismiss the idea that these kings had some form of overlordship over practically of southern England.Furthermore, Keynes is sceptical about Aethelbert of Kents power, suggesting that Bedes reiteration of the claim that he was king of all the land south of the Humber4 shows that this was dubious, requiring repetition to convince readers. However, the papal appeal that Aethelbert should spread the Word to his subjects suggests that he had considerable power, as Higham argues, even if he was not literally king of the English, the style accorded to him by the appeal.5 It is less easy to refute Keynes diminution of Raedwald of East Anglia, since we know very little about him.If we could be more certain that the person buried at Sutton Hoo is indeed Raedwald (as many historians posit), we could assume that he was a very rich and knock-down(a) king however, Keynes does not discontinue us any positive reason to doubt Bedes claim regarding Raedwalds wide overlordship. Althoug h Keynes asserts that Bede makes inflated claims about the scope of the influence of Edwin, Oswald and Oswiu of Northumbria, there is no strong evidence to support this Bedes account is internally consistent, natural endowment examples of these kings intervening in the Mevanian Islands (Angelsey and Man),6 Wessex,7 East Anglia,8 and Mercia9 at various times.These interventions could be whole military (as is implied for the islands) or could involve peaceful shows of power, such as Oswalds participation in the baptism of Cynigils of Wessex. It seems reasonable to pause that these kings did exert influence across large parts of Southumbria and it appears that the areas they could control increased Keynes attempt to deny extensive overlordship in this period to strengthen his (already strong) case against a formal Bretwaldic institution is not particularly convincing.Furthermore, overlordship did not end with Oswiu indeed, the later Mercian kings were possibly even more successful i n securing practical overlordship across much of Southumbria. Bede acknowledges that the southern kingdoms were subject to Aethelbald at the time he was writing,10 supporting Dumvilles conclusion that the omission of the Mercian kings from the forward list was prompted by concern to curtail the digression from Aethelberts death, preferably than Northumbrian bias.There is evidence of Mercian hegemony in the south before Aethelbald Bede explicitly states that the South Saxons were subject to Wulfhere11 and Eddius refers to Wulfheres ability to draw forces from all the southern kingdoms.12 Furthermore, charters give us evidence that Mercian kings were overlords in Southumbria in the Is guileless Diploma, Aethelbald is styled king not simply of the Mercians but also of all provinces which are called by the general name South English13 Offa could confirm a land devote by an ealdorman of the South Saxons14 Offa was apparently the most beloved lord of the Hwicce15 Offa was in a positio n to revoke a grant of land by the King Egbert of Kent16 Wiglaf could grant land in Worcestershire17 and Brihtwulf could do the same in Berkshire.18 This charter evidence is very important it demonstrates that the kings of Mercia in this period claimed authority over other southern kingdoms and also implies that this authority could grant practical manifestations, such as the right to grant land or at least to confirm grants made by their underkings. The extent of their authority seems to decline after(prenominal) Offa, but the principle of overlordship, in a more hold in sense, continued.One of the most debated possible indicators of widespread Mercian overlordship is the document known as the tribal Hidage. The difficulties and ambiguities of this text are such that the charter evidence cited is a far stronger sign of extensive Mercian overlordship, but there is a substantial possibility that the tribal Hidage is a Mercian tribute list, estimating the tribute that the Mercian k ings hoped to collect from southern kingdoms. Highams bold bureau in dismissing a Mercian origin is unwise, in that such levels of certainty are wholly inappropriate in this context all we can do is suggest hypotheses, while accepting that other hypotheses may be valid.As Featherstone and Sawyer point out, the methodical arrangement, with the kingdoms being arranged in an approximately clockwise put in around Mercia, hints at a Mercian origin. The inclusion of a figure for Mercia, which Higham sees as evidence that the document is a Northumbrian tribute list, might be an assessment of internal food renders, Featherstone suggests. The preservation and copying of the Tribal Hidage take that there was some practical advise in estimating the hidation of Southumbria it is still possible to accept tentatively the claims of Davies and Vierck that the Tribal Hidage is an indicator of widespread Mercian overlordship.There is some agreement that Egbert of Wessex, whom the Anglo-Saxon Chro nicle appends to Bedes list of overlords and styles Bretwalda (Manuscript A ruler of Britain) or Brytenwalda (other Manuscripts wide ruler), was overlord of extensive territories. Keynes accepts the Chronicles claim that Egbert conquered the kingdom of the Mercians, and everything south of the Humber19 this statement must cast doubt upon Stentons assertion that the extent of Egberts overlordship was not comparable to Offas.Nevertheless, Keynes claim that Egbert was the first, not the eighth, wide ruler is dubious the evidence very strongly suggests that overlordship had been an aspect of Anglo-Saxon politics for centuries. However, the territories being brought under a single overlord were tending to increase in scale the archaeological record suggests that the early bang-up kings, like Aelle and Ceawlin, could aspire to rule much of the land south of the Humber, but nothing like as much as the later Mercians and Egbert. This trend was not relentless in the period between Offa a nd Egbert, there is little evidence of comprehensive overlordship on the scale of either of these rulers.Although we observe this trend towards the formation of more extensive overlordships, we should not conclude, as Stenton and buttocks do, that this trend could be extrapolated to encompass the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the first place, it seems to have been increasingly difficult to convert overlordship into the actual amalgamation of kingdoms. Initially, with small kingdoms, it may not have been unduly difficult to effect such assimilation Yorke points out that East Kent seems to have consumed West Kent sometime during the sixth century. Indeed, much amalgamation probably occurred in the sixth century, before the various kingdoms that we see emerged. Furthermore, it was often possible for a larger kingdom to digest a smaller one this is seen in the cases of Deira (eventually subsumed into Bernicia after 651) and the Hwicce (gradually divested of independence b y Mercia in the eighth century).However, integration was not always smooth notwithstanding being united under Aethelfrith and Edwin, Deira was ruled separately under Oswine from 642 until 651. In the latter part of the pre-Viking period, it would have been very difficult for one of the greater kingdoms to consume another permanently this is suggested by the fact that, disdain their struggles and periods of subjection to one another, Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex all survived until the Viking onslaught. An illustration of this difficulty is the case of Mercia Oswiu of Northumbria was only able to rule Mercia directly for three years after his victory in 655 he was driven out by the Mercian ealdormen in 658. Similarly, Egberts domination of Mercia was not near he was recognised as king by the Mercians in 829 but Wiglaf was restored in 830.Indeed, it would seem that political union was most successful when it was pursued gently different Offas aggressive attempts to d ominate Kent from 764 until 785, Wessexs absorption of Kent and Sussex was done with sensitivity to the local nobles this did, however, mean that the sense of union was by chance not cemented, as is suggested by Aethelwulfs proposed division of Greater Wessex, with Aethelbert succeeding in the East and his other sons pickings Wessex itself in numeral. However, unification in the ninth and tenth centuries can be explained in that the situation after the coming of the Vikings was different, since Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria were seriously weakened by the attacks, aiding Wessexs expansion.Moreover, the overlordship that we see was probably highly opportunistic, without institutional underpinnings. Yorke is probably right that the principal motivation for overlordship was the collection of tribute Bede mentions tribute in connection with overlordship20 and Eddius says that Wulfheres purpose in attacking Northumbria was to gain tribute.21 Furthermore, the Mercians could presuma bly have conquered a tribe like the Hicca (assessed at a mere 300 hides in the Tribal Hidage), had they wished to do so that such tribes existed as notionally independent entities suggests that, if the Tribal Hidage is a Mercian tribute list, the Mercians were content with tribute rather than political union.However, John argues that there was some mixture of institutional framework and that overlordship was being gradually translated into unification. Key to this argument is the adoption of formal titles by kings John contends that the ideal of a united Britain was a real one in kings minds, citing the use of various titles.The most famous of these is Bretwalda or, as John prefers, Brytenwalda, which appear in different versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle22 I shall not become drawn into an argument about which style is the original, because the ambiguity and confusion is sufficient of itself, as Wormald argues, to cast doubt upon the existence of such an institution in reality. Clearly, whoever was copying the manuscripts was not familiar with the term, which suggests that it was a literary construct devised retrospectively to describe Egbert its frequent application to kings like Aelle and Raedwald is therefore probably anachronic and Kirbys vision of kings striving to become Bretwalda23 is most likely to be fanciful.John also argues that other titles think the existence of some kind of abstract concept of overlordship separate from the individual kings who happened to be overlords. For example, he highlights that Adomnan says that Oswald was decree by God as emperor of all of Britain24 and that Boniface refers to Aethelbald wielding the glorious sceptre of imperial rule over the English.25 This evidence, combined with the point about Bretwaldas, is a rather thin basis for a case it is quite possible that the titles were simply being used for flattery the fact that Boniface calls Aethelbald king of the Mercians in his letter asking Herefrith to deliver the previous communication suggests that the imperial title used in the letter to Aethelbald was unofficial.26 Moreover, Offa is also generally styled king of the Mercians,27 as is Cenwulf.28 In their charters, they tend to claim to be kings of various kingdoms, rather than stressing titles of institutional overlordship.If there was no institution of overlordship, each de facto overlordship would have to start afresh in severe to create cohesion the trend of increasingly extensive overlordship was not therefore destined to result in the formation of England, since there was often little continuity between the different overlords. The sense of common identity that began to emerge by the later ninth century (Alfred could speak of Angelkynn and Englisc) probably had far more to do with religious unity in the face of the pagan Viking threat. As Wormald argues, the Church, rather than the so-called Bretwaldas, was the institution that provided a common reference point for the Anglo-Sax on kingdoms, by stressing that the Gens Anglorum was a chosen people, selected to receive the Word. presumptuousness that there were most probably no institutions to produce continuity in overlordship, momentum towards unification could only be maintained as long as a particular kingdom was in the high-and-mighty however, the nature of Anglo-Saxon politics in this period was such that success tended to be transient. We see this is Northumbria, whose hegemony collapsed very quickly after defeats at the Battle of the Trent (679) and Nechtansmere (685). Likewise, Mercian hegemony seems to have declined gradually after Offa. There was, to a significant extent, a natural instability in the pattern of politics kings required land to grant to warriors (to secure their support), which required the conquest of land, which required more warriors this pattern was clearly unsustainable in the longer term.The importance of giving gifts to warriors is seen in Beowulf, where Hrothgar says that he will dispense / his God-given goods to young and old29 Bede shows that such gifts were necessary in the real world, expressing concern that excessive endowment of secula face-liftd monasteries had left Northumbria with insufficient land to grant to warriors.30 There is evidence to suggest that warriors would desert their lord, if he ceased to provide them with treasure and land Aldhelm expresses disapproval of those who do this in his letter to the clergy of Bishop Wilfrid.31 Probably, the importance of conquering new lands explains why the initiative shifted away from the south-east to Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex these kingdoms could, at least for a while, conquer land from Britons, in a way that kingdoms like Kent could not. A famous feature of both Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon politics is that kingdoms tended to come to grief sooner or later success was rarely lasting.Another source of instability was internal dynastic politics there seem to have been frequent civil wars. This i s hardly surprising given that, according to Dumville, any aetheling could claim the throne with descent in the male line from the founder of the kingdom the multiplicity of aethelings32 would not infrequently contest for the kingship. The Historia Regum attributed to Simeon of Durham demonstrates that four different dynasties competed for the Northumbrian throne between 759 and 796, with murders, exiles and (probably forced) tonsures being common.33 Similarly, there is evidence of the threat of dynastic instability in Mercia, in that Offa decided to eliminate his son Cenwulfs potential competitors Alcuin attributes conflict in Cenwulfs overlook to this policy and says that this was not the strengthening of his kingdom, but its ruin.34 Given that there were such internal problems, it is hardly surprising that kingdoms could lose overlordship quickly, as dynastic politics came to predominate. The importance of dynastic stability is seen in the eventual rise of Wessex Egberts succe sses against Mercia came when the latter was probably engaged in dynastic wrangles Campbell suspects that neither Ludeca (825-7) nor Wiglaf (827-40) were related to their predecessors. On the other hand, the West Saxon succession was more stable, as Dumville points out this is seen in the succession in turn of Aethelwulfs sons, even if it did not conform entirely to Aethelwulfs intentions. However, dynastic tension was generally a feature of the pre-Viking period this contributed to the rapid rise and fall of kingdoms, meaning that overlordship could not consolidate into unification.We do therefore see a trend towards greater overlordships in this period, though it must be noted that this trend was gradual and not entirely linear. Nevertheless, it is clear that certain kings were able to exert influence over far larger areas just before the Viking invasions than others could at the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon period. However, it would be unwise to extrapolate this trend and interpr et it as some kind of progression towards the eventual unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms under the West Saxons. It became harder to translate overlordship into political amalgamation as kingdoms grew, and overlordship was not itself stable, given the internal vicissitudes of kingdoms.We see that, before the later ninth and tenth centuries, no kingdom could sustain overlordship for long and, in the absence of recognised institutions of overlordship, this meant that whatever progress might conceivably have been made towards unification under one overlord was lost when his kingdoms power waned. The rise of Wessex was predicated upon factors that mostly could not have been foreseen it was able to take advantage of the weakness of the other English kingdoms in the wake of the Viking attacks and could exploit the latent sense of religious unity, which was probably made stronger by the common, external, pagan threat.Bassetts prolonged metaphor of a knockout football competition, whi ch inevitably produces a single winner, is not particularly minded(p) while we might nowadays modify Kembles nineteenth century allusions (he described overlordship as a mere fluctuating superiority such as we may find in Hawaii, Tahiti or New Zealand, overdue to success in war and lost in turn by defeat35), his basic conclusion, that the overlordships that we see in the pre-Viking Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were not leading inexorably towards unification, still seems entirely reasonable.BibliographySourcesAdomnan, Life of Columba, ed. and trans. R. Sharpe (1995)Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in English historic Documents, i, 1, ed. and trans. D. Whitelock (1955)Beowulf, trans. S. Heaney (1999)Bede, ecclesiastical History, ed. and trans. B. Colgrave and R.A.B. Mynors (1969)Bede, Letter to Egbert, in English historical Documents, i, 170, ed. and trans. D. Whitelock (1955)Eddius, Life of St Wilfred, in English Historical Documents, i, 154, ed. and trans. D. Whitelock (1955)Simeon of Durham, Hist oria Regum, in English Historical Documents, i, 3, ed. and trans. D. Whitelock (1955)Charters in English Historical Documents, i, 54, 66-7, 76-7, 79-80, 85-7Letters in English Historical Documents, i, 165-6, 177-9, 191-3, 195, 197-200, 202, 204-5, 208-10, ed. and trans. D. Whitelock (1955)Secondary worksS. Bassett (ed.), The Origins of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (1989)M.P. Brown and C.A. Farr (eds.), Mercia An Anglo-Saxon Kingdom in Europe (2001)J. Campbell, Bedes Reges and Principes (Jarrow Lecture 1979), in J. Campbell, Essays in Anglo-Saxon History (1986)J. Campbell (ed.), The Anglo-Saxons (1982)J. Campbell, The Impact of the Sutton Hoo Discovery on the Study of Anglo-Saxon History, in J. Campbell, The Anglo-Saxon State (2000)W. Davies and H. Vierck, The Contexts of the Tribal Hidage Social Aggregates and Settlement Patterns, in Frhmittelalterliche Studien 8 (1974)D.N. Dumville, The Aetheling a study in Anglo-Saxon Constitutional History, in Anglo-Saxon England 8 (1979)D.N. Dumvill e, The Terminology of Overkingship in Early Anglo-Saxon England, in The Anglo-Saxons from the Migration Period to the Eighth Century An Ethnographic Perspective, ed. J. Hines (1997)N.J. Higham, An English Empire Bede and the early Anglo-Saxon kings (1995)D. Hill, Offas butch Pattern and Purpose, in Antiquaries Journal 80 (2000)E. John, Orbis Britanniae and the Anglo-Saxon Kings, in E. John, Orbis Britanniae (1966)J.M. Kemble, The Saxons in England, ed. and revised W. De G. Birch (1876)S. Keynes, Raedwald the Bretwalda, in Voyage to the Other World the Legacy of Sutton Hoo, ed. C.B. Kendall and P.S. Wells (1992)S. Keynes, England 700-900, in The New Cambridge Medieval History II, c.700-c.900, ed. R. McKitterick (1995)D.P. Kirby, The making of Early England (1967)D.P. Kirby, The Earliest English Kings (1991)J.N.L. Myres, Anglo-Saxon Pottery and the Settlement of England (1969)P.H. Sawyer, From Roman Britain to Norman England (1998)F.M. Stenton, The Supremacy of the Mercian Kings (191 8), in F.M. Stenton, Preparatory to Anglo-Saxon England (1970)F.M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (1971)A. Williams, Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England c.500-1066 (1999)P. Wormald, Bede, the Bretwaldas and the Origins of the Gens Anglorum, in Ideal and Reality in Frankish and Anglo-Saxon Society Studies presented to J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, ed. P. Wormald et al. (1983)P. Wormald, The Venerable Bede and the Church of the English, The English Religious Tradition and the protagonist of Anglicanism, ed. G. Rowell (1992)B. Yorke, Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England (1990)1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 8652 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, ii, 53 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 485, 491, 568, 577, 5844 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, i, 25 ii, 3 ii, 55 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, i, 326 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, ii, 5 ii, 97 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, ii, 9 iii, 78 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, ii, 149 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, ii, 1610 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, v, 2311 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, iii, 3012 Eddius, Life of St Wilfred, 2013 English Historical Documents, i, 6714 English Historical Documents, i, 7615 English Historical Documents, i, 7716 English Historical Documents, i, 8017 English Historical Documents, i, 8518 English Historical Documents, i, 8719 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 82920 Bede, Ecclesiastical History, ii, 5 iii, 2421 Eddius, Life of St Wilfred, 2022 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 82923 Kirby, The Making of Early England, p 5424 Adomnan, Life of Columba, i, 125 English Historical Documents, i, 17726 English Historical Documents, i, 17827 English Historical Documents, i, 191, 198, 21028 English Historical Documents, i, 204, 20529 Beowulf, lines 72-330 Bede, Letter to Egbert31 English Historical Documents, i, 16532 Dumville, The aetheling a study in Anglo-Saxon constitutional history, p 1333 Simeon of Durham, Historia Regum, in English Historical Documents, i, 334 English Historical Documents, i, 20235 Kemble, The Saxons in England, volu me ii, p 17

The writers presentation of conflict and power between men and women Essay Example for Free

The writers presentation of conflict and world power between custody and women EssayIn Thomas unafraid(p)s The mayor of Casterbridge, Tess of the DUrbervilles and William Shakespeargons great power Lear, the writers portray the lives of women and men during their time. One could consider masculine characters are generally chance uponn to be stronger and powerful than egg-producing(prenominal) person characters in each of the texts.In King Lear, we are introduced to Lears whiz-third daughters, the first G whizril, dearest Regan and more(prenominal) than opulent Cordelia. In the story, Lear is seen to break natural order by dividing the kingdom into three for each of his daughters. He orders them to say doth love us most, making G championril speak first. Our reaction to Gonerils speech is one of strong dis exchangeable, which is caused by her desire for power. The blend of power and femininity demonstrated in this speech from the Jacobean society is one of the main contributing factors to our disdain for Goneril. This is an idea which h olds true today. It is enkindle that for a male character this trait is non be so offensive. This is due to the gender differences and expectations in society.Similarly in the invention The Mayor of Casterbridge, we clearly see the treatment of women in Victorian society. The refreshing begins with Henchard auctioning off his wife to the highest bidder at Weydon Fair, Id sell mine this minute if anybody would buy her, show how in early nineteenth century England country women of this class, were viewed as postal code. They could be disposed of if their owners, namely their husbands or fathers, wished, it has been make elsewhere, illustrating just how common these auctions were. This is similar to King Lear, where Lear has the power to order his daughters to speak.Equally in the novel Tess of the DUrbervilles, dauntless portrays the way in which men dominate women, presenting their greater mesh and power in society. Alec, for example, recognises how morally corrupt he is for seducing Tess for his own brief pleasure. This displays his power over her and his ability to orchestrate advantage of it. In reverse, Tess parents ask her to work in the DUrbervilles and she refuses. When her pay back asks why she replies, Id rather not tell you why, mother indeed, I dont quite know why. This shows us how apprised Tess is of the differences in gender. She tries to use her power, flat though it does not do much good.King Lear is in the form of a play, where speech is a main verbal expression. Notably the daughters speeches to Lear, particularly those of Goneril and Regan, present authority and greed, I am make of that self-mettle proving to Lear, Regan is made of aureate or silver, as she begs Lear with her highness love. Proving to Lear she wants money and wealth, Cordelia on the other hand refuses, Nothing, my lord., as fountainhead(p) as mocking her sisters explaining how she loves he r father no more nor less, presenting Cordelia to be a fair and conceiv commensurate character.Likewise in The Mayor of Casterbridge, Susan has no control over Henchard and his intoxicating decision making, dropping her eyeball again, and saying nothing. The give-and-take nothing here is different to King Lear, as the meaning of nothing here means no hope or words to fight back. However in King Lear, the word nothing is used metaphorically as no money or no love.The word nothing is used in another sense in Tess of the DUrbervilles, look here I wont walk another inch with you if you say any jokes ab egress him, confirming Tess committal towards her father, she proves nothing in another meaning. Tess depicts how she will exclude herself from the group if they talk bad about her father, presenting female characters in the novel to be faithful and independent.King Lear, as a play, has no direct description of the settings and environment. Although we see the action victorious pla ce, we are also guided through the stage directions, Sennet meaning a ceremonial entrance as salutary as one bearing a coronet, presenting a black-tie mood to the act. We are also aware of the attendants who are involved in this large event. The female partings in this royal occasion are classified as the Kings daughters, giving them a high status than other women in the time. insolent begins the novel in the late summer with the valleys and woods and the big bucks of several horses. He displays how women have a connection to nature, she becomes part and parcel of outdoor nature, that men cannot share as they are more involved with business than of the systematized religion taught their race at later on date. Hardy portrays how men are more linked with a systematised world and the development taking place in the Victorian time.Similarly, Hardy uses natural imagery in Tess of the DUrbervilles, a forgetflew to and fro in quick curves above their heads, presenting a strong exem plary image. Swallows were often the first to land on a ship that had been out to sea for long periods of time, which relates to the buyer of Henchards wife, Newson who was a sailor. Foreshadowing the future, Hardy relates the swallow to Susan.One of King Lears recurring themes focuses on sight, where Lear has a lack of sagacity, as we see how full of changes his age is suggesting he is too old and making bad decisions. Unlike the female characters such as Goneril and Regan where they have strong insight towards Lears actions, he hath ever but slenderly know himself., this shows how generally male characters are have greater power over women still one could argue the female characters have a greater insight to the people and actions around them, such as Goneril and Regan recognising Lears specify.Similarly in Tess of the DUrbervilles, Tess has a large amount of insight to the world around her, this may possibly be connected to the daughters of Lear. However, Tess misfortunes an d exigency create tragedys which eventually destroy her insight Why it was that upon this beautiful feminine tissue been traced such a coarse pattern as it was goddam to receive. As Tess is raped, Hardy uses the word goddamned, where one could suggest it is Tess doom or fate to be raped. The meaning of doom is slightly different to King Lear as we see Tess doom from the seed whereas we see Lears by a gradual build up.Differently The Mayor of Casterbridge, the word doomed could be placed in another sense as one could say Henchard shares the same characteristics to Lear with his rash decision making and again his lack of insight, causing the village and the people who are around him to be doomed. However the female characters such as Susan can see clearer into Henchards wrong actions and goes with Newson the sailor, Ill try my luck elsewhere. A justifiable opinion could be Susans luck is far from doom by going with Newson, as one visualises Henchards personality from the beginning of the novel.In King Lear one could argue Lear does not notice his own faults, I am a man more sinned against than trespass presenting Lear to self-pity himself as he displays himself to be the victim. However on the other hand Lears favouritism for Cordelia raises Goneril and Regan pooh-pooh Lear He constantly loved our sister most showing how Lear could possibly be sinned against by his daughters. This portrays how women who are more opulent have more chances of being liked.Similarly in Tess of the DUrbervilles, Tess was now carried along upon the wings of the hours, without the sense of a will. As Hardy relates back to the theme of time in the novel, Tess has waits passively for the wedding to take place as it is not under her responsibility anymore. One could say Tess is more sinned against as Hardy uses another theme of fate and free will as a symbolic representation for Tess life. She uses her free will to choose or determine her own actions however these actions she mak es, seems like fate always brings her down.In comparison Henchard in The Mayor of Casterbridge could possibly be seen as more sinned against as closely as sin. Henchard had sold his wife displaying him sinning, however on the other hand one could possibly argue how it was not his fault as it was his fate and he cannot change his actions, making him more sinned against. This could create sympathy for Henchard although he has done wrong, where usually the sympathy is for the female characters.In King Lear, Shakespeare uses absurd fallacy by using a storm in motion 3 to conclude Lears insightful decisions. The storm is presented as a microcosm of Lears madness, as he encourages the storm to continue he shouts Blow winds and crack your cheeks. Lear personifies the wind as he asks the elements to destroy him, his little world of man as he sees no importance of man or nature after his death. This shows how the word man is the affection of importance and how the power of the storm is imagined to be originating from Lear, a male character. The fretful elements are metaphors for Goneril and Regan where Lear is contending with his family. Kent being disguised gives the knight a ring for Cordelia, being symbolic as the shape of a circle is seen with the one bearing a coronet. This could also be seen with Edmund using a dramatic device, holding a garner. This follows a theme of a cyclical story with the letter being passed around as well as the circular shape from the theme of fate and destiny.Likewise Hardy uses the Ring in The Mayor of Casterbridge to be a Roman amphitheatre, where he invites Susan to meet. Hardy uses this setting as there were ghosts of the past rumoured to be a wife and her husband, where a woman murdered her husband was half-strangled and then burnt of ten gibibyte spectators. The ghosts of the past were metaphors for Susan and Henchard, who both have the past haunting them. This shows how although the woman was seen to be powerful to be abl e to murder her own husband, men are still seen to be stronger as she was half-strangled and burnt for what she had done.In tell apart Tess of the DUrbervilles Hardy uses the past and compares it to the present Phases of her childhood lurked in her aspect still., one could argue Hardy uses the past and the present similarly to Shakespeare and Mayor of Casterbridge as the circular shape is used not visually but literally. Hardy describes Tess as an image of femininity As she walked along to-day, for all her bouncing braggy womanliness, you could sometimes see her twelfth year in her cheeks Similar to Lear with Cordelias looks being opulent, Hardy presents his female characters to be feminine and attractive. Hardy uses Tesss appearance to be the only powerful aspect of her, similar to Cordelia in King Lear.The power which is usually seen in male characters could be seen as foiled, as in King Lear, Shakespeare uses hyperbole to make the event seem larger than it is as Lear tragicall y says to the storm I stand your hard worker where we see Lear as a tripping and poor old man. Ironically Lear says I will say nothing which could suggest Lear thinking of Cordelia as well as continuing this theme of nothing. One could say Lears power has been destroyed from himself sinning and becoming nothing. Lears daughters had more power than Lear from Act 1 however it is seen clearer in Act 3.Similarly the idea of being a slave continues in The Mayor or Casterbridge where His old timbre of supercilious pity for womankind in general was intensified. Henchard is seen to be a tall and strong, male figure, as he tends to feel more dominant and controlling over women. Since women are physically weaker, he feels a pity for womankind because of their weakness. This could possibly be argued how women were portrayed as slaves as men have the physical and stereotypical power to rule against them.In contrast Tess in Tess of the DUrbervilles could be seen as a slave to her own family, as she goes to work in the DUrberville household to collect money for her family at home, she ought to make her way with en, if she plays her trump card aright. And if he dont marry her afore he will after.. Tess mother sends Tess away for work, however she realises Alecs love for Tess and hopes for marriage. One could suggest her mother wants her to be married to Alec for the money which could present Tess to be a slave in another meaning. However she includes if she plays her trump card aright., which is ironic for Tess as it seems as if she has no trump card in her pack.In King Lear, Shakespeare relates grown men to compare with babes to didder all cares and business from our age conferring them on younger strengths, while we unburthend crawl toward death. It seems as if Lear is ready to retire, as he adopts the royal we making the event seem important. Shakespeare has displayed Lear as a weak, old man, however he gives another mental image of Lear crawling toward death like a plunder. One could argue old age is similar to being a go bad as it leaves you weak and powerless. Goneril and Regans distaste to Lear humiliates him as they say O, sir, you are old showing how they as female characters have greater power and order over Lear.The image of a baby in seen in Tess of the DUrbervilles, however it is used in another sense. Tess baby could be seen as a symbolic feature for Tess bad luck which Tess could not control. The baby could symbolise innocence like Tess as she has done nothing wrong however she is still punished by society, for an act she could not control. This is ironic as a baby could suggest new beginning, purity and usually visualised with a mother figure.In comparison a baby is presented in The Mayor of Casterbridge, where Elizabeth-Jane is the step daughter of Henchard, as the previous baby died, the little one too the more the merrier The baby could symbolise the past and change, as when she died another baby was born Elizabeth- Jane whi ch could suggest a new beginning. Hardy used Elizabeth-Janes hair colour to anticipate the future how she was not Henchards legitimate daughter. As Hardys novels were in the form of serialisation the theme of foreshadowing became present in most of his novels.Differently in King Lear there is no mother figure for Lears daughters. Goneril and Regan are seen to be violent female characters in the play it raises the header would they be more feminine and caring if they had a mother to look out for them? Women are seen to be able to nurture and care for their children whereas one could say Lear caused his own downfall by failing to set aside a mother figure. As Lear says Come on, my boy. How dost my boy? Art cold? this is the first time Lear is aware of the suffering of others, and acts like a mother figure to the fool, however it is the wrong time.Similarly the absent role of a mother figure is seen in The Mayor of Casterbridge, as Susan dies Elizabeth- Jane is left with Henchard. Elizabeth Jane begins to like Farfrae as she believes he seemed to feel exactly as she felt about life, presenting how although she has no mother figure to look out for her, her strong insight helps her to continue her life. As Susan left Henchard a letter explaining how Elizabeth-Jane was not his daughter, it seems as if he disowned her by making her leave his house. The mother figure was seen to have a responsibility which Henchard as a male could not adapt to although Elizabeth-Jane was seen to be a step daughter to him.Differently Hardy uses the mother figure in Tess of the DUrbervilles however she is not present too often. We see her control Tess contrasted in King Lear and The Mayor of Casterbridge where there is a father figure with no sense of control. Tess is made to go to the DUrbervilles house by her mother, where one could say Tess misfortunes began. She could represent time as although she is seen to be uneducated she still believes in old superstitions, Between the mo ther, with her fast- perishing lumber of superstitions, folk-lore Mrs Durbeyfield could also represent pre-industrial England with the folk-lore at that time.Both writers discuss the theme of women, however they are portrayed differently. King Lear focuses on women gaining power and having control over the male characters. The female characters in The Mayor of Casterbridge again have different roles, although this is mainly because the novel is set in the Victorian period where womens roles were to take care of their husbands and children. Lastly Tess of the DUrbervilles displays how male characters have a strong control over women, and how this affects their overall lives.

Issues with Cadburys Workforce

Issues with Cadburys WorkforceOne of the most(prenominal) valuable blend inforces issues that Cadbury has to tackle subsequently the Krafts takeover will be the mental contract and the employee engagement, thus, the originals issues this paper over wobble by reversal address argon explores some of the most important orthogonal and internal influences and business shortenures that Cadbury is facing straight, recommending the most on the undividedot strategic responses and describing some of the key Human Resource issues that the alliance have to bear in mind during the whole process of this transition.Secondly, this essay does a depth analyses of how Cadbury should tackle their psychological contracts issues, through a amply promise of the go badforces expectations and beliefs towards the Cadburys parvenu employer, principally these expectations argon stunned of the orb or legal contract, which bureau they are off-the-cuff and unspoken scarce they still play an important power during this takeover.In addendum to the psychological contract, this essay also explores an different important issue in this takeover which is the employee engagement, this engagement generally is something given by the employees to the party which shows their inscription, effort and dedication, using the outflank of their capabilities to achieve the companys goals, therefore, this paper studies how Cadbury should make an appropriate adoption of the employee engagement invention bringing a tremendous vantage for the company.216 wordsSTRATEGIC textileBusiness tweetCadburys company was built nearly cardinal hundred years ago in Birmiham Great Britain, where during whole these years the company has stood up of the crowd for its chocolates quality and has charge been awarded for the British king in February 1984 (Cadbury 1)Cadbury has also launched some chocolates which have became in a totally British iconic, chocolates bars much(prenominal) as wispa, w hich was first launched in 1981 and the creams eggs which sell around two hundred million units both year in the UK, and the Dairy Milk which was first launched in June 1905 and has grow a mega sound-known deformity in many different varieties around the world (Cadbury 2),All these products and much more(prenominal), have make that Cadbury become nowadays the second most engaging brand in the UK, according to a study made by the agency Hall Partners (2010), this study measures how the British people are engaged with brands and analyse how do they feel and think close it. The study reveals that Cadbury is a UK proud brand that British people get by as during whole these years, Cadbury has built a strong race with its customers and products in a consciously and unconsciously personal manner.http//www.netimperative.com/ revolutionarys/2010/february/cadbury2019s-and-google-top-uk2019s-10-most/viewHence, taking into the account all these historic facts of Cadbury, it seem obvio us that afterward the foretell of Krafts takeover, a huge business pressure had grown all over UK regarding to continuation of the custodys inheritance , the discovering of their manufactories in UK and the loss of jobs seems to be the most complicated business pressure.As a complement, after the acquisition of Cadbury in 11.9 billion, Kraft is on 7 billion debt, and to be able to solve this issue Kraft has created a redeeming(a) plan of 450 million a year (The Guarding 3) to pay off all its debts to the Royal swan of Scotland, which ironically is 84% owned by the UK Government, which means that the UK government has borrowed the m unrivaledy to sell out iodin of the most engaging British companies.http//www.cadbury.co.uk/cadburyandchocolate/ourstory/Pages/ourstoryFlash.aspx/1941_1980/product/1971_creme_egg (2)http//www.cadbury.co.uk/cadburyandchocolate/ourstory/Pages/ourstoryFlash.aspx/1820_1860/product (1)http//www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/mar/04/cadbury-kraft-union (3) http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8470776.stm (4)strategic ResponsesSeems to be a very tough task, to set a good and appropriate strategic response, after all these enormous business pressures that surround Cadbury, hence, Kraft should start doing a deep analyses of to each one one of the business pressure, covering the customers and workforces expectations, to fully sympathise the whole mount.Once exist a better encountering of the whole picture, Kraft should be more likely to face these business pressures in a more efficiently and appropriate manner, setting up the best possible strategic responses to tackle the whole problem.However, military strength in mind that my understanding of the whole picture will never be as deeper as the one Kraft could achieve inside their world, my best possible strategic responses should be stay freshing their pledges, masking the commitment and interest of Cadburys new owners to the workforce, doing the best of their capabilities to keep the social and ethical values, analysing the business strategic and imagery of the company.On the other hand, UK Government should do everything they dismiss, to ensure the jobs are kept in UK after the Krafts new acquisition, however the Cadburys Chairman has admitted that jobs loss are unavoidable as a consequence of the big acquisitions impairment of 11.9 billion (The Indepent 2010 5), but as strategic response to this issue, Kraft should make a further enthronement in better technology machines to increase the productivity and reduce their overhead costs more efficiently without the need to make jobs redundant.http//www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/takeover-will-mean-job-cuts-says-boss-of-cadbury-1873155.html (5)HRM Factors possible impactsThere are many rime of possible HR impacts in this unexpected and unwelcome Krafts takeover, the first of them, is one of the most common HR impacts which takes localize in most of the takeovers, these are the workforces strikes, which ar e already happening in Cadbury, the employees are urgently seeking for a plan or a law from the UK government which secure their jobs and give them work stability.Secondly but non less important, as consequence of this unwelcome takeover, Cadburys workforce might potpourri its attitude and loyalty towards the company, creating a stressful and uncomfortable workplace environment for everybody, leaving as a result, a depth impact in the productivity of the company.Additionally to the job instability, lack of support from the companys new owner and stressful environment, all these issues could make that the best workforces men remaining in the company, decide to terpsichore out of the ship before the company decides to throw them out.Lastly, the workforces future expectations, beliefs and principles might also swop towards the company, core a partial or total loss of the engagement from the employees which could easily get hold of a bodied decrease in the productivity.HRM Strate gic to tackleAs HR strategic, one of the first issues to tackle should be to manikin a much healthier workplace environment to the wellbeing and productivity of all the company, however to be able to solve this issue the strategic should starts improving the lack of communication mingled with all the workforce, making ice- intermission session involving all manager and plant workers.On the other hand, the HR strategic, should also reflection at the terms and conditions of the workforces formal contracts, plentiful additional reachs, securing their jobs stability to all the workforce or at least the best workers and lastly making periodically reviews of their salaries and their current position in the company, all these incentives are with the aim of create a better perception of their psychological contract and get back the employees engagement.As a complement and improvement of the psychological contract perception, the company should also invest in their employees, giving the m special training and special support wherever needed, earning also some of the trust which has been lost during this whole process.In support of the business pressures, strategic responses and HRM factors mentions above, the table below shows a strategic framework as develop by Sparrow and Pettigrew to complement the main points which have just been described, this framework shows some of the external influences issues and business pressures that Cadbury is currently facing after Krafts takeover, highlighting the most strategic responses and the HRM factors to my point of view.Business PressureStrategic ResponsesHRM FactorsCadbury NowUK Prime Minister has done nothing to secure the Cadburys jobsTakeover will pencil lead to a collective jobs redundant and losses at Cadbury as part of the annual cost saving plan of 450 millionsPublic and government upkeeps active maintaining social, ethical values, and inheritance of CadburyCustomers value and expectations towards Cadburys produc t may change specially within UKLack of trust amid Cadburys new owners and Cadburys employeesA massive disappointed from the UK citizens regarding to the bullion that RSB bank has lent to Kraft to takeover CadburyAgreement between Cadbury and UK Government to maintain the Cadburys workforce conk out technology machines should be used to increase the productivity and reduce the costs efficientlyShow the commitment and interest of Cadburys new owners to the workforce, doing the best of their capabilities to keep the social and ethical values, analysing the business strategic and vision of the company. retentivity promises up to the workforce and showing them that the company really cares and worries for its employeesPOSSIBLE IMPACTSPossible strike from Cadburys workforce shy(predicate) support from the Company to the workforce, deteriorating the communicationsHidden pressure that managers are not aware ofThe workforces attitude towards their work activities may change, leaving an im pact on the company productivityStressful work environmentEmployees c at oncerns about jumping ship and their future career within the CadburyCadbury in the FutureThe UK Government hindquartersisternot do legally anything to stop the massive fires they were only concern about their votesThere are not hopes that anything will change for the better as result of the takeoverThe takeover brings a deeper financial crisis for UKGovernment concern about lack of investment from Cadbury Kraftin UKThe maintaining of the Cadbury manufactories in UKThe inheritance of Cadbury have come to the end fix an aggressive marketing camping to show everybody the benefits, the takeover has broughtTo expand the manufacturing production along UK,Create a strategic plan to help sustain the inheritance of Cadburys workforce familiesHRM STRATEGIC TO TACKLERestructure the workface of the companyCreate a healthy workplace environment for the employees wellbeing and productivity of the companyRetain the best employees of the Company ensuring them long-terms stabilityMaintain terms in staff legal contracts (e.g. pension schemes)Revise enlisting policies (to retain animate staff + attract new talents from outside)Introduce training + long-term benefits for commitment of existing staffConduct ice-breaking sessions for new managers and employees to build positive relationships1470 wordsManagement of the psychological Contract and Employee interestThe focusing of the psychological contract and employee engagement is one of the areas how Cadbury could tackle its challenges in strategic people management however to be able to tackle it appropriately, first is essential some degree of understanding of what a psychological contract and what employee engagement is.Psychological ContractThere are many different definitions of what the psychological contract is this concept was first introduce by Argyris, C. (1960), to refer to the different expectations that the employers and the employees have out of the formal contract, since this concept was introduced, many writers have attempted to modify and refine it.At a general level, the concept of Psychological Contract refers to a volunteer(prenominal) organisation between the employee and the employer in exchange of compensations (Rousseau, D. Schalk, R. 2000), in this voluntary agreement, each party, held a number of commitments and beliefs, those beliefs can take the form of promises, expectations or obligations which are generally unwritten and unspoken in the legal agreement contract, however they still play a critical role as they can be interpreted differently by each party (Osborn Jones 2000).This concept of psychological contract implies that either the employee or the employer can have a different perception of anothers expectations, voluntary commitments, obligations and aspirations which are out of the formal contract of employment (Herriot, P. et al. 1997). thereof, a certain degree of vulgar understanding of the agreement between both parties is essential to achieve each participants goals. (Rousseau, D. Schalk, R. 2000),Employee EngagementThis seems to be an easy bailiwick to ascertain and describe, however after some research, the huge numbers of definitions regarding this issue seem to be uncountable, making this topic un suck but at the same time attractive enough to the HR consultancy market, consulting firms, business press and some academics writers.Having said that, one of the most complete definitions I found about employee engagement out there to my point of view is the one by Robinson et al., (2004).A positive attitude held by the employee towards the shaping and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to develop and nurture engagement which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee.Robinson et al., (2004) has also stated in his work, a set of additional characteristics of the employee engagement, which include a belief in the organisation, and the desire of the employees have to work and make the organisation better, basically the concept Robinson presented in his paper work is about the employees having a bigger picture and a better understanding of the business context as well as keeping up to date with the latest information which concern to his/her field.Relation between the Psychological Contract and the Employee EngagementHaving defined the employee engagement as a positive attitude, behaviour and/or outcome from the employees towards the company and its values, being aware of the whole business context and working together with the colleagues in order improve the performance of the company and gain the best benefits for the organization, and having defined psychological contract as a set of beliefs which can take the forms of promises, expectations and/or obligations existing in a voluntary agreement between the employee and the employer. It seems to be a straightforward relationship each other definitions.Both definitions are tinct to the employer and employee relationship, and the first challenge is to efficiently manage the loyalty and trust instead of dictate the rules by organizations, this relationship is fragile and should not be taken for granted by any of the parties, the second challenge is to keep a healthy relationship for the wellbeing of both participants. http//www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/features/Opinion/927664/Engagement-depends- put on-psychological-contract-employee-employer/On one side, the employer expects that their employees ever so performance to the best of their capabilities, being loyal to the company and understand the whole business context, and on the other hand the employees want to be respected, valued, heard and compensated by the employers, therefore the key issue is to build mutual trust which engage the employees with the employers, always keeping an eye on the psychological contract, which means, keeping clear and understandable expectations for both participants (Wellin, M. 2007)However,Cadbury Previous Psychological ContractHaving already analysed the general psychological contracts context, is much easier now to deepen in the previous Cadburys psychological contract, but bearing in mind this contract is a pure metaphoric action, where each participants have their own voluntary commitments regarding to the performance and fulfilment of each other, we can take off that each one of the 45000 UK Cadburys workforce have a different psychological contract, which make this an even bigger scenario to analyse but at the same time a extremely attractive, as ground on the records, (reference) it shows that most of UK workforce had a sympathetic metaphoric contract.Thus, is unavoidable raise a fundamental question How Cadbury former owners made that all the forces underlying the legal agreement of th eir workforce where so similar to each other and how did they manage to sign 45000 similar psychological contracts where does not even exist a physical document as it is a subjective phenomenon?There are evidences (Morrinson, E. and Robinson, S. 1997) which indicate that the performance of each participants psychological contract is directly proportional to how understandably each participant has spelled out the conditions and exchange of their mutual agreement.This last paragraph makes me conclude that, Cadbury has truly understood this issue and has conveyed its commitments, beliefs, and expectations through their whole workforce, establishing in this way some degree of mutual agreement among its 45000 UK employees. Rousseau, D. Schalk R. (2000) indicated in his work that, when both participants of the psychological contract turn over that they owed each other something, is very likely that each one gets whatever they desire.The power of the promisesCadbury seems to have conveyed well its expectations and beliefs, establishing a degree of mutual agreement. However, this might not be enough to unify the similar conditions of the psychological contracts in 45000 employees during 180 years.Is remarkable to note at this point, that all sort of beliefs cannot be taken as part of a psychological contract, what this means is, not all expectations, promises and obligations that arise in the workplace can form part of the psychological contract context, as if this happen the concept itself will be ill-defined enough to utilize as an analytical tool (Convoy and Briner 2005),The challenge here is to identify and clarify, which promises, expectations, and/or obligations can be categorized as part of the psychological contract context, nevertheless, does not exist any concern for this essay to deepen in this subject.Having clarified that, psychological contracts are basically a subjective phenomenon ground on implicit promises promises which do not include any belief derive from other inferences. condescension to what we normally think that promises can only be a verbal action, in the psychological context the promises can also be inferred, and is right there, when it becomes difficult to properly interpret these promises into the psychological contract framework.The two key issues here are primary, do not set promises in the legal contract which could lead to a future misunderstanding of the employees, second do not take into consideration promises derives from any inferences.Tackling the Challenges of the Psychological ContractHaving spelled out the success of Cadburys previous psychological contract, is notorious that Kraft / Cadbury has the key issue to maintain the same psychological contract within the UK workforce in order to manage this takeover in the most appropriate way.Kraft will not enjoy of the current Cadburys workforce commitments until they truly understand its ingrain psychological contract as well as its own culture identityT herefore Kraft / Cadbury, in order to tackle the challenges of the psychological contract in the most effective way, they should firstly, fully understand the drivers of their beliefs and what make the employees engage with the company so tightly, taking into consideration the culture differences.As the maxim goes, England and America are two different countries separated by the same language this is a clear caveat to Kraft / Cadbury does not forget that exist some underlying forces of the legal contract, which could leads or infer to a misunderstanding of the beliefs between both participants and as consequence a disengagement of the workforces commitments.For instance, Kraft / Cadbury could take aim an external local brand auditor to investigate the reason(s) of key employees engagement, much(prenominal) as plant employees and/or relevant senior employees with the company and/or the brand itself, this audit should be placed with the aim of understand the whole picture in a much clear scenario, before any action takes place to align the companys psychological contractOnce these employee engagements reason(s) are clear and there are not doubts of the workforces beliefs, it is every bit essential that Kraft/Cadbury spells out their own expectations towards the future of the company and most importantly, the future of their workforce, this action should be made in the most understandable way, covering the entire negatives and positives beliefs so that the workforce can clearly understand the companys position and deal with it in the same psychological contract context.However, this action of conveying the negatives and positives beliefs towards the company and workforce, does not guaranty that the workforce will accept them and share the same commitments that they were sharing before the merger, but at least it will not create wrong expectations, setting up fair rules during the game.Actions such as the recent proclamation of the closing Somerdales factory c lose to Bristol, (http//business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article7022608.ece) losing approximately 400 UK jobs, once Kraft had mentioned that there were not going to be any job cuts during the first six months of the merger, this announcement only creates unrealistic expectations among the workforce towards the company, and being this action the first impression which Kraft has given to their employees of breaking the pledges, it only shows the lack of principles and lack of commitments to keep what they say.These types of actions are the ones which Kraft has to avoid will happen again, after this announcement it seems to be obvious that the way how Kraft expresses its beliefs and commitments, certainly has not been well understood not only for its workforce but also for all its UK customers and the UK government.Therefore, if Kraft really wants to be engage with their workforce is going to have to work even harder to firstly recover the trust w hich ever had gained and secondly to resort the first opportunity which has just spoiled out.CONCLUSIONS