Danone History Essay

1.history: The original company bearing the corporate name was founded in 1919 by Isaac Carasso, a Spanish physician of Greek origin, in Barcelona. In 1923, he came up with a unique treatment for patient with digestive problems and he developed a product that he distributed though pharmacies and drug stores, and which soon became a big success-yoghurt. The factory was named Danone, a Catalan diminutive of the name of his first son, Daniel Carasso. Ten years later, the company moved from Spain to neighboring France and the first French factory was built. In 1949, the yoghurt was firstly packaged in a glass can. In 1951, this glass package replaced the porcelain can which was used before and because of this change the yoghurt became more popular and very common in diary healthy alimentation. In 1968, Danone was firstly announced in TV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njZNtHoM6ZQ Some years later, they extended their brand by producing â€Å"petit suise† (1972), â€Å"Natillas† (1974) and also the first non-fat (1985). In 1988, Danone commercialized â€Å"Bio Yoghurt†, which nowadays helps us with digestive matters. In 1992, Danone was the main sponsor of the Barcelona 92 Olympic Games which added more popularity to the company. One year later, Danone Institute was born. The aim of this institute is to improve the citizen nutrition habits. In 1995, Danone continued extending its brand by incorporating Actimel, which supposed a revolution in the alimentary world due to its purpose of defense. In 1998, Danone was the official sponsor of France football world championship. 2 years later, they create the official website of Danone: www.Danone.es. In 2004, Danone commercialized â€Å"Danacol†, a product which aim is to reduce cholesterol in a simple and efficient way. Danone launched a campaign in order to encourage families to lead a healthy lifestyle :†Danone Family†. In 2006, Danone started producing soya yoghurts 100 % vegetal. DANONE NOWADAYS†¦ Since 1998, Groupe DANONE has been organised in three business divisions worldwide which, in 2004, represented more than 97% of its consolidated sales: Fresh Dairy Products which groups together yoghurts, desserts and infant foods represent about 50% of the Groupe’s consolidated sales,  Beverages, essentially packaged water, which represent about 25% of consolidated sales and Biscuits and Cereal products, which represent about 22% of consolidated sales. The motors of this supported growth are: a strong health/ well-being positioning, at the heart of concerns of consumers and new consumption opportunities (times or places) combined with the dynamism of the growth of emerging countries. This focus on 3 dynamic categories allows the company to have a determining strategic asset at its disposal to continue to display a growth rate that is higher than the average in the sector. 2.Internationalization: Balanced geographical presence Today nearly 31% of the company’s sales are on emerging markets. This brings Danone close to its target, which is to do 40% of business on emerging markets and 60% in developed countries – a balanced presence that means they benefit from both the high potential of developing economies and the steady demand of more mature markets. In recent years, Group DANONE has built up strong positions on emerging markets to take the number-one place in each of their three core businesses. This successful international expansion rewards a strategy focusing on a limited number of countries, selected for their growth potential, where Danone has the size to achieve significant economies of scale. Products within the reach of most consumers, high-profile brands, and effective, wide-ranging distribution for sales close to consumers are the essential components of our model for profitable growth on emerging markets, which we sum up as affordability, awareness and availability. In Western Europe, too, Group DANONE can look forward to continued, steady growth, building on strengths that include well-established positions. World leadership built on local strength In each of its business lines Danone is a world leader, which gives it a clear competitive advantage in terms of marketing expertise, industrial efficiency, breadth of product ranges and R&D. And in each case, world leadership is built on strong number one positions on local markets, enabling the company to forge both close ties to consumers and balanced, long-term relationships with major retailers., unrivalled familiarity with  local consumers, and a recognized capacity for effective innovation http://www.danone.com/en/company/global-presence.html 3.INTERNAL CHACARTERISTICS: VALUES/FUNCTIONS/ SWOT: -Strengths- In this part of the SWOT analysis we will focus on the strengths of the company. * Brand loyalty Danone disposes of an excellent background which, along with the consumer’s product perception creates this brand loyalty which allows the demand to be inelastic. Therefore Danone guarantees its sells stability. (falta rollo) * Innovation thanks to Danone Institute, this company is able to invest on a regular basis, in R&D, obtaining from it new product lines which fulfill consumer’s needs. * Distribution channels Since the beginnings Danone reaches daily every single supermarket in every corner of the world thanks to its perfectly adapted transportation system which maintains all the products fresh and ready to be consumed. * Danone has a perfect flow of information inside the company. Information travels perfectly, up and down the hierarchical pyramid. Departments have coordination policies in order to take the maximum profit of their resources. This philosophy gives a chance to creativity and allows to improve current product lines as well as to launch new ones. -Weaknesses- * Danone depends basically on daily products. We consider that if the company really wants to keep growing and becoming one of the multinational leaders, it should diversify its income sources. * A main problem Danone has, when willing to grow by exporting outside the EU is that its products are fresh and with a short caducity period. Therefore, if the company wants to take good positioning in foreign markets, it must invest in new facilities. Another option would be to create new product ranges of non-refrigerated yogurts which caducity periods are longer. -Opportunities- Danone Vitalinea has a strong presence in the fat free yoghurt market. Its 56% market share gives Danone the opportunity to invest in R&D in order to launch to the market new fat free products and sell them to the same  consumers. Taking advantage of the increasing personal image concern, Vitalinea should be one of the strongest ranges of Danone Yoghurts, in order to properly supply the latent demand. Some segments of the population are not a target for Danone, and this should change. Danone should be a brand that consumers would buy every time they go to the store. Danone should be a brand that every family should have at home. The way to achieve it is to differentiate its products by offering special flavours and innovative possibilities. The consumer needs to know that Danone is the only brand that can offer the more specialized products, without forgetting about health, quality and price. -Threats- Danone Vitalinea is facing a market where too many products are offered to the different costumers. As we know, Danone Vitalinea has a 56% yoghurt market share, but competitors actually fight for the rest 44%. Danone offers quality products with high prices and competitors offer lower prices for the same type of products. This means that the consumer should receive a big added value when deciding to buy a Danone product. This market is plenty of imported products from other countries that accomplish with health and quality standards that Danone offers. The critical point is that they offer it at a lower price and if consumers decide to change Danone for another cheaper imported brand and they like it, Danone will definitely loose these consumers.

Give me liberty or give me death Essay

As the basic human right, we are all enjoying the inherent freedom since we were born. However, 200 years ago, a group of people was fighting for their freedom perseveringly. On 23rd. March, 1765, Patrick Henry, who is the leading lights of American Revolution, gave the speech in front of Virginian audience. He responded the oppressive against the control of British. he turned colonial ideas against negotiation with England and toward armed rebellion. Patrick Henry illustrates the themes of freedom in the speech to Virginia convention through the use of the statement that there is no middle ground between freedom and slavery, the experience that how British desecrates their freedom and the emphasis on the importance of freedom. The strong desire for freedom is reflected in many parts of his speech. at the beginning of the speech, Henry pointed out that there is no middle ground between freedom and slavery. â€Å"I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery†¦It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfil the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. â€Å"(Henry,88) Henry pointed out that the only way in front of them is either freedom and slavery. There is no doubt that they can not just treat coldly to their own country and their right to get freedom. He also mentions that the act of fighting for freedom is related to the responsibility to God. Later on, Henry looks back on the experience that how British desecrates their freedom. â€Å"And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. â€Å"(Henry, 89) Henry uses several rhetorical questions on the issues and uses a short answer to response them. It clearly shows that the action that they took before for getting freedom was useless under British’s rude control. Last but not least, Henry emphasis the importance of freedom. â€Å"Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! † Henry ends his speech with this famous quote. He indicates that he’d rather die for his country than living without freedom. He repeats the importance of freedom and accentuates it in the last sentence. In this whole speech, henry uses there statements to prove his themes of freedom, which are the statement that there is no middle ground between freedom and slavery, the experience that how British desecrates their freedom and the emphasis on the importance of freedom With the process of the speech, Henry’s normal voice becomes louder and louder and almost shouts in the last sentence. And it eventually causes a large number of people to willingly enter the war and fight for their freedom.

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Personal Statement - Essay Example I had the great opportunity to work at Glorysky Group and Macau Natural Gas, both of which have provided me with intensive training as well as a valuable opportunity to implement my skills and knowledge from my studies. I conducted research in the global energy market and compiled regular reports regarding energy price fluctuation, which I presented to the group’s executive managers. My research has provided my supervisor with credible information about various topics, ranging from price volatility to anticipated profits due to fluctuations in international LNG demand. Furthermore, I was involved in the provision of risk-hedging strategies to Macau Natural Gas, mainly on interest rates and exchange rates, which are the company’s major concern. My research and strategy has contributed valuably to future funding plans, as well as to discovering the best market opportunities. These experiences contribute majorly to my research proposal. Furthermore, to ascertain competence in this field, which lies outside my economics curriculum, I have endeavored to gain some additional qualifications more relevant to the field of risk management. For this purpose, I studied and passed the Professional Risk Manager (PRMTM ) designation. To enhance skills on the same, I have studied and passed the Chartered Financial Analysis Program (CFA), level 1 and the Financial Risk Manager Program (FRM), level 1. These external studies are achievements that distinguish me from the other candidates; since a significant amount of extra time and effort has been invested in gathering academic knowledge as well as work experience. Initially, choosing my focus of research between agriculture and energy presented quite a challenge for me, since these are currently the two most forthcoming scarcity issues concerning economists. I have confirmed, however, that my interest is greatly biased towards energy rather than the alternative, as I discovered after traveling the world. Additional ly, â€Å"Oil on the Brain† by Lisa Margonelli was a true inspiration for me. She indicated that studying a subject is beyond the scope of simply reading text from books and that personal experience is equally important. Fortunately, I have friends and relatives scattered in various industries across the globe, and thus, I was able to gain exceptional access to restricted mining sites to explore the exciting scenes. In particular, Lisa Margonelli mentioned some of the scenes in her books; sights that could get anyone amazed and completely addicted. My trip to Alberta last year was only the start of my journey. The joint venture of Macau Natural Gas and Sinopec will grant me unlimited access to various energy plant sites in Asia, particularly Mainland China, which will thus be my plan for this year. Furthermore, I believe that I have comprehended my weakness explicitly, which makes my progression to graduate studies essential. My major techniques for measuring price prediction s are through econometrics and mathematical modeling, while employing specific programs, making it limited yet efficient. MSc Economics was also vital to intensify my econometrics modeling. Furthermore, having a better understanding in macroeconomics provided me with a bigger picture of the world economy and with sophisticated quantitative skills. An MSc in Finance on the other hand provided me with the better

Learning team Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning team - Research Paper Example Also, the ever growing complexity of the application software has resulted in large costs in software distribution to the end-users. . Through the use of Application Service Provider models, Riordan Manufacturing Company has been able to minimize costs and complexities of software. Additionally, the upgrading issues have been removed from the end firm by putting the onus on the Application Service Providers in order to maintain updated series. The company’s information technology outsourcing through the use of application service provider models has enabled the company to realize a rapid growth and reduce the costs of IT applications for her electronic -commerce implementation. The company adopted the use of ASP outsourcing model due to her limited budget in Information Technology. The use of Application Service Providers Outsourcing model has several advantages as compared to Traditional or partial outsourcing models. These successes include: the integration issues of application software are eliminated from the sit, reduced software application charges since the costs are spread over the customers, the possibility of vendors building more software application experiences, the main application software systems are kept updated and their performances managed by experts, and improved software scalability, reliability, availability and security of the information technology systems. This paper compares the common traditional information technology outsourcing models with the Application Service Provider Outsourcing models. It can be concluded that the ASPs comes with many benefits as compared to the traditional outsourcing models, hence should be

Lean Manufacturing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Lean Manufacturing - Research Paper Example A brief account of the advantages and challenges in adopting and implementing Lean is illustrated. Overall, the paper draws information based on existing literature and research related to Lean manufacturing. According to Hill (cited by Brown, p.7), ‘The production/operations management (POM) task is concerned with the transformation process which takes inputs and converts them into outputs, together with the various support functions closely associated with this basic task.’ Such transformation processes are mainly applied to materials, customers and information. Brown (p.8) describes that Production Management encompasses the most vital activities of production, beginning from and including, planning and design, production processes of goods and services, and also effective integration of marketing, finance, human resources management and strategy in order to enable a business to enter and compete with both new and existing markets. One important aspect of improving efficiency is elimination of waste and/or non-value-adding activities; this not only improves efficiency by saving costs, it also saves immense time and labor. The ‘Lean Methodology’ constitutes th is aspect of production management, performed through a set of principles and methodologies (Keller, p.262). Lean methodology/manufacturing is a Japanese invention, and has been widely accepted in most of the manufacturing industries throughout the world. Its application in the service industry emerged later. Although its main focus is improvement of efficiency, different organizations adopt distinct approaches within lean system to achieve this. Although Lean methodology focuses on elimination of wastes, the reference to ‘waste’ differs in every manufacturing unit and industry type. Hence, adopting a uniform approach may not be feasible in all situations. In order to meet different needs of different industries, various lean systems or

A simple reply letter to a councillor, all materials provided. 2pages Essay

A simple reply letter to a councillor, all materials provided. 2pages Writer #381 - Essay Example For that reason, we would argue that the benefit of even just one more youth center would far surpass the cost. The problem as we see it is that the enormous potential of how youth centers help kids on their path toward maturity is far more difficult to quantify than a mere cost analysis can do. The most important element in CBD Renewal Project is that middle term-renewal. Renewal of a project carries with connotations that reach well beyond merely creating a more attractive faade. In order to fully renew a community, a long term vision is required that not only presents a more attractive front, but an entirely new foundation. The dilapidated facilities that you mentioned in your kind letter are best viewed as just one dimension to the more complex issue of rebuilding the broken spirit of our community. It was the breaking of that spirit that led to the decay of these buildings. A youth center is important not only in immediate terms of financial and social benefits, but as a basis upon which to build and strengthen the very vitality of the neighborhood in which is centered. We respect your position and knowledge enough to suggest, with all modesty, that we are just as concerned as you about renewing the g

GLOBAL IMMIGRATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GLOBAL IMMIGRATION - Essay Example Russian Federation is the largest in area country in the world. It contains a lot of regions populated by people from different cultures and ethnicities. Though the country doesn’t set itself up as the liberal one and doesn’t really welcome different cultures. Vice versa the National Immigration Service works hard to fight with illegal immigrants as immigration situation in modern Russia is complicated and causes a lot of problems for society. The problem started to appear in 1990’s when the USSR collapsed and Russian people became free to immigrate to other countries, as they hadn’t had that opportunity in Soviet Union; in addition, a lot of Russians who in soviet times were forced to leave certain territories like North Caucasus came back to their motherlands. Another factor of the depopulation was the high level of mortality and weak health care system. So the post-Soviet Russia started suffering from population crisis (Anderson 437). However, the Russi an borders also became open for several ethnicities who were evicted from their native lands that were parts of soviet territory. Since the collapse of Soviet Union Russian Federation has become one of the most powerful states in the world and definitely it made Russia attractive for immigrants, so it is â€Å"the world’s second largest immigration heaven† (Malinkin n.pag.) nowadays. In American society Russia isn’t considered to be the country where people usually strive to move. This fact became obvious when in his recent interview the President Obama stated that â€Å"immigrants aren’t rushing to Moscow in search of opportunity† (Malinkin n.pag.) and he was mistaken, as they really are rushing to Moscow in great numbers. The strange fact of high immigration rate makes people wonder what are the reasons for people to strive to the country which economy is rather instable and the level of life is not that much higher than theirs. According

Product Life Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Product Life Cycle - Essay Example growth stage where the product sales begin to grow and a lot of advertising happens at this stage, in this stage new innovations can be introduced in the market to gain an edge over other rivals and to increase the market share of the product. The third phase is the maturity stage where the growth in sales declines, the income at this phase if relatively stable, how this stage is handled is vital to the success of the business and the last stage in the life cycle is the decline phase where sales begin to decline (Giordano, Mathieu & Villeneuve, 2010).. Each of the four phases have different impact on the brand, in the introduction stage, promotion of the product will improve its acceptability in the market and in the growth stage advertisement of the product creates awareness of the product therefore increasing the sales. In the maturity stage, differentiating the product from other brands will ensure sustainable and consistent sales while in the decline stage, the price of a product will be a key factor in determining whether it stays in the market or is pushed out of the market and firms should aim at cutting costs (Richter,

Sedition Act of 1798 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sedition Act of 1798 - Assignment Example In the article, the author takes a strong position in condemning what the authorities consider to be libel. In fact, he considers libels against the people (probably government leaders and federalists who were in favor of the Sedition Act) as the true libels. Zenger’s articulates his opinion without fear even though such expressions as he used would put him in danger of being apprehended for breaking the law. At the time the newspaper was written, freedom of expression in the United States of America was under threat even as the federalists felt the need to prevent the people from expressing anti-government sentiments publicly as presented by Early America (par 2). At this time, journalists seemed to focus on the real issues facing society (in this case freedom of speech and information) as opposed to today’s focus on politics. Today, journalists tend to be afraid of expressing strong sentiments that go against the government or

Moral Problem Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Moral Problem Paper - Essay Example It will be argued that the U.S. participation in the possible humanitarian mission in Syria will be rather precarious from the point of view of Utilitarian moral theory, yet it may be conceivably justified by the use of Kantian ethics. FACTUAL DETAILS The incumbent President of the United States of America, Barack Obama assumed his office on 20 January 2009, and until the present time he has weathered a lot of major political crises, both of internal and external nature, in the course of his Presidency. In particular, Obama’s handling of the 2011 Middle East political upheaval is peculiarly contradictory, with the White House ignoring the crackdown on the protesters in Bahrain and Yemen, while enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya and supporting anti-government rebels in the latter nation. At the same time, it should be noted that Obama is widely perceived as a moderate, yet politically savvy character that combines his outwardly friendly appearance with the well-tested politic al experience. Irrespective of the domestic policy controversies in the U.S., it should be noted that Obama has managed to create a favourable image abroad, including the Arabic nations. This may be a determining factor in the relatively positive perception of his foreign policy in the Third World. At the same time, one might mention that Obama has repeatedly come under heavy criticism both from the right and the left for his alleged elitism and political indecisiveness, and consequently his major foreign policy decisions are distinguished by cautious and even vacillating attitude. However, as his handling of Afghanistan-Pakistan problem shows, he is perfectly able to resort to rather hard-line foreign policy measures, and he is clearly interested in pursuing a balanced world policy, without making drastic steps similar to those of his predecessor. Finally, the U.S. President is clearly interested in restoring/retaining his previous favourable image worldwide that was marred by the U.S. indecisive behaviour in the course of the global economic crisis, and he might be interested in more active U.S. position concerning the attempts of Middle East dictatorial regimes to suppress the currently rising dissent there. The situation in Syria is made complicated by the precarious balance of power between the supporters and opponents of the current regime. As a rule of thumb, it may be assumed that about 220,000 active personnel of Syrian Armed Forces and the unspecified number of pro-Assad higher bureaucracy, as well as about 1,5 million members of dominant Alawite minority that provides the backbone of support for Assad’s regime, are not interested in any major shifts away from the present situation, while the relatively underprivileged Sunni Arab majority and Kurdish minority (altogether about 81% of Syrian population) might gain much from the collapse of Ba’athist dictatorship and the institution of representative democracy system. With respect to curr ent Syria’s population dynamics, these figures will amount to about 2,000,000 and 16,000,000 persons, respectively. Finally, it should be noted that the pleasures that might be received by the parties to the situation from the pro-intervention course of Obama’s action include both lower pleasures such as guarantees of secure sustenance, and higher pleasures (i.e. the participation in the liberal democratic politics after the dictatorship’

A Critical Analysis of the Advantages Essay Example for Free

A Critical Analysis of the Advantages Essay It is argued that urbanization causes changes in the livings conditions under which people live and work. Some of these changes are positive (advantages) while others are negative (disadvantages). The positive effects include; improving housing conditions and provision of enhanced amenities. The negative effects include; stress on amenities, congestion and urbanization of poverty (Kawonga, 1999). Therefore, this essay will briefly explain these using real and valid examples from Malawi. To begin with, provision of better amenities as an advantage of urbanization. It is said that increasing urbanization provides communities with social and cultural benefits as well as access to education and health services (Hammond, 1985). This is evident at Nkhorongo in Mzuzu near Luwinga Township. With the development of the area many services are now being located there. For example, Mzuzu Academy, Trust Academy, Good Samaritan Internet Cafe and some Tobacco grading Companies that provides jobs to the masses. Improving housing conditions is another advantage of urbanization. It is noted that urbanizations brings with it innovations in technology and modern ideas and ambitions in the people engulfed by what are said to be urban areas (UN Habitat report, 2010). To meet the demand for shelter by the ever increasing urban population, Habitat for Humanity and Malawi housing Corporation dedicates itself to building low cost but high standard houses for the less privileged urban population. For example, the Habitat for humanity houses in Luwinga Township and the Malawi Housing corporations houses in Katoto and Mchengautuba in Mzuzu. Lastly, the disadvantages of urbanization; stress on amenities is one of the disadvantages of urbanization. It is argued that in most areas the authority designs everything to serve the population of that time but due to increase in population as areas develop leads to people scramble over the few available facilities/services (UN Habitat report, 2010). The example is on power cuts and availability of tap water for few hours per day in the city of Lilongwe. The presence of large consumers of water and electricity at Kanengo put pressure on these two facilities as the providers try to regulate their quantity so as to sustain the production force of the manufacturing industries. This leaves areas around Kanengo with no electricity or water for many hours per day. Congestion of traffic and pedestrians is another disadvantage of urbanization. With the availability of valuable amenities in urban areas, people flock there to have access and benefit from them. This results in an increase in urban population which leads to congestion (Cohen, 2006). This is usually manifested during rush-hour commuting. There is an intense concentration of people in the center of urban areas during working hours. This strains transportation systems, because a large number of people and traffic must reach a small area at the same time in the morning and disperse at the same time at noon and in the evening (Rubenstein, 2005). This is more evident at Lilongwe old town, hyper junction near the game stores and Shoprite. There are longer queues of traffic and large number of pedestrians struggling to find their way out. Urbanization of poverty is another disadvantage of urbanization. It is argued that in Malawi, rapid urbanization is not associated with the commensurate of economic growth and effective redistributive measures required to alleviate poverty, but the result is increasing urban poverty whose manifestation is the slums which develop in and around the acclaimed urban areas (Kawonga, 1999). It is further argued that urbanization of poverty in Malawian urban areas is enhanced by the change in locus of poverty from rural to urban spheres. This means that as people run away from the hardships of rural areas to urban areas, they carry with them their economically challenged life and continue it in the urban areas. As a result they lead to an increase in the number of the poor living in urban areas (Gonndwe, Fang Ayenagbo, 2011). This is more evident in Lilongwe at a place known as â€Å"N’gona†. It is located in the midst of well developed areas but it is not developed itself and it harbors one of the less previliged population of Lilongwe. In conclusion, this paper has critically pointed out and briefly explained the advantages and disadvantages of urbanization in Malawi.

Constructivism And Discovery Learning Education Essay

Constructivism And Discovery Learning Education Essay In 1960 Bruner published  The Process of Education. This was a landmark book which led to much experimentation and a broad range of educational programs in the 1960s. Howard Gardner and other young researchers worked under Bruner and were much-influenced by his work. In the early 70s Bruner left Harvard to teach at University of Oxford for several years (1972 1979). He returned to Harvard in 1979.   Later he joined the New York University of Law, where he is a senior research fellow (at the age of 93).   Theory   Bruner was one of the founding fathers of constructivist theory.Constructivism  is a broad conceptual framework with numerous perspectives, and Bruners is only one. Bruners theoretical framework is based on the theme that learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon existing knowledge. Learning is an active process. Facets of the process include selection and transformation of information, decision making, generating hypotheses, and making meaning from information and experiences.   Bruners theories emphasize the significance of categorization in learning. To perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorize. Interpreting information and experiences by similarities and differences is a key concept.   Bruner was influenced by  Piagets  ideas about cognitive development in children. During the 1940s his early work focused on the impact of needs, motivations, expectations (mental sets) and their influence on perception. He also looked at the role of strategies in the process of human categorization, and development of human cognition. He presented the point of view that children are active problem-solvers and capable of exploring difficult subjects. This was widely divergent from the dominant views in education at the time, but found an audience.   Four Key themes emerged in Bruners early work:   Bruner emphasized the role of structure in learning and how it may be made central in teaching. Structure refers to relationships among factual elements and techniques. See the section on categorization, below.   He introduced the ideas of readiness for learning and  spiral curriculum. Bruner believed that any subject could be taught at any stage of development in a way that fit the childs cognitive abilities. Spiral curriculum refers to the idea of revisiting basic ideas over and over, building upon them and elaborating to the level of full understanding and mastery.   Bruner believed that intuitive and analytical thinking should both be encouraged and rewarded. He believed the intuitive skills were under-emphasized and he reflected on the ability of experts in every field to make intuitive leaps.   He investigated motivation for learning. He felt that ideally, interest in the subject matter is the best stimulus for learning. Bruner did not like external competitive goals such as grades or class ranking.   Eventually Bruner was strongly influenced by Vygotskys writings and began to turn away from the intrapersonal focus he had had for learning, and began to adopt a social and political view of learning. Bruner argued that aspects of cognitive performance are facilitated by language. He stressed the importance of the social setting in the acquisition of language. His views are similar to those of  Piaget,  but he places more emphasis on the social influences on development. The earliest social setting is the mother-child dyad, where children work out the meanings of utterances to which they are repeatedly exposed. Bruner identified several important social devices including joint attention, mutual gaze, and turn-taking.   Bruner also incorporated Darwinian thinking into his basic assumptions about learning. He believed it was necessary to refer to human culture and primate evolution in order to understand growth and development. He did, however, believe there were individual differences and that no standard sequence could be found for all learners. He considered instruction as an effort to assist or shape growth.In 1996 he published The Culture of Education.. This book reflected his changes in viewpoints since the 1960s. He adopted the point of view that culture shapes the mind and provides the raw material with which we constrict our world and our self-conception.   Four features of Bruners theory of instruction.   1. Predisposition to learn. This feature specifically states the experiences which move the learner toward a love of learning in general, or of learning something in particular. Motivational, cultural, and personal factors contribute to this. Bruner emphasized social factors and early teachers and parents influence on this. He believed learning and problem solving emerged out of exploration. Part of the task of a teacher is to maintain and direct a childs spontaneous explorations.   2. Structure of knowledge.it is possible to structure knowledge in a way that enables the learner to most readily grasp the information. This is a relative feature, as there are many ways to structure a body of knowledge and many preferences among learners. Bruner offered considerable detail about structuring knowledge.   Understanding the fundamental structure of a subject makes it more comprehensible. Bruner viewed categorization as a fundamental process in the structuring of knowledge. (See the section below on categorization.)   Details are better retained when placed within the contest of an ordered and structured pattern.   To generate knowledge which is transferable to other contexts, fundamental principles or patterns are best suited.   The discrepancy between beginning and advanced knowledge in a subject area is diminished when instruction centers on a structure and principles of orientation. This means that a body of knowledge must be in a simple enough form for the learner to understand it and it must be in a form recognizable to the students experience.   3. Modes of representation: visual, words, symbols.   4. Effective sequencing- no one sequencing will fit every learner, but in general, increasing difficulty. Sequencing, or lack of it, can make learning easier or more difficult.   Form and pacing of reinforcement   Categorization:   Bruner gave much attention to categorization of information in the construction of internal cognitive maps. He believed that perception, conceptualization, learning, decision making, and making inferences all involved categorization.   Bruner suggested a system of coding in which people form a hierarchical arrangement of related categories. Each successively higher level of categories becomes more specific, echoing Benjamin Blooms understanding of knowledge acquisition as well as the related idea of instructional scaffolding (Blooms Taxonomy).   Categories  are rules that specify four thing about objects.   1. Criterial attributes required characteristics for inclusion of an object in a category. (Example, for an object to be included in the category car it must have an engine, 4 wheels, and be a possible means of transportation,   2. The second rule prescribes how the criteral attributes are combined.   3. The third rule assignees weight to various properties. (Example, it could be a car even if a tire was missing, and if it was used for hauling cargo it would be shifted to a different category of truck or perhaps van.   4. The fourth rule sets acceptance limits on attributes. Some attributes can vary widely, such as color. Others are fixed. For example a vehicle without an engine is not a car. Likewise, a vehicle with only two wheels would not be included in car.   There a several kinds of categories:   Identity categories categories include objects based on their attributes or features.   Equivalent categories (provide rules for combining categories. Equivalence can be determined by affective criteria, which render objects equivalent by emotional reactions, functional criteria, based on related functions (for example, car, truck, van could all be combined in an inclusive category called motor vehicle), or by formal criteria, for example by science, law, or cultural agreement. For example, and apple is still an apple whether it is green, ripe, dried, etc (identity). It is food (functional), and it is a member of of a botanical classification group (formal).   Coding systems  are categories serve to recognize sensory input. They are major organizational variables in higher cognitive functioning. Going beyond immediate sensory data involves making inferences on the basis of related categories. Related categories form a coding system. These are hierarchical arrangements of related categories.   Bruners theories introduced the idea that people interpret the world largely in terms of similarities and differences.   This is a significant contribution to how individuals construct their unique models of the world.   Application   Bruner emphasized four characteristics of effective instruction which emerged from his theoretical constructs.   1. Personalized: instruction should relate to learners predisposition, and facilitate interest toward learning,   2. Content Structure: content should be structured so it can be most easily grasped by the learner   3. Sequencing: sequencing is an important aspect for presentation of material   4. Reinforcement: rewards and punishment should be selected and paced appropriately.   Intellectual Development   Bruner postulated three stages of intellectual development.   The first stage he termed Enactive, when a person learns about the world through actions on physical objects and the outcomes of these actions.   The second stage was called Iconic where learning can be obtained through using models and pictures.   The final stage was Symbolic in which the learner develops the capacity to think in abstract terms. Based on this three-stage notion, Bruner recommended using a combination of concrete, pictorial then symbolic activities will lead to more effective learning.   Bruner, J. (1960). The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press   Harley, 1995   http://tip.psychology.org/bruner.html   LeFrancois, 1972   Sahakian, 1976 The Importance of Language Language is important for the increased ability to deal with abstract concepts.Bruner  argues that  language  can code stimuli and free an individual from the constraints of dealing only with appearances, to provide a more complex yet flexible cognition. The use of words can aid the development of the concepts they represent and can remove the constraints of the here now concept. Basically, he sees the infant as an intelligent active problem solver from birth, with intellectual abilities basically similar to those of the mature adult. According to Bruner the child represents the world to himself in three different ways. Educational Implications of Bruners Theory For Bruner (1961), the purpose of education is not to impart knowledge, but instead to facilitate a childs thinking and problem solving skills which can then be transferred to a range of situations. Specifically, education should also develop symbolic thinking in children. In 1960 Bruners text,  The Process of Education  was published. The main premise of Bruners text was that students are active learners who construct their own knowledge. Bruner (1960) opposed  Piagets  notion of readiness. He argued that schools waste time trying to match the complexity of subject material to a childs cognitive stage of development. This means students are held back by teachers as certain topics are deemed to difficult to understand and must be taught when the teacher believes the child has reached the appropriate state of cognitive maturity. Bruner (1960) adopts a different view and believes a child (of any age) is capable of understanding complex information:  We begin with the hypothesis that any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development. (p. 33) Bruner (1960) explained how this was possible through the concept of the  spiral curriculum. This involved information being structured so that complex ideas can be taught at a simplified level first, and then re-visited at more complex levels later on. Therefore, subjects would be taught at levels of gradually increasing difficultly (hence the spiral analogy). Ideally teaching his way should lead to children being able to solve problems by themselves. Bruner (1961) proposes that learners construct their own knowledge and do this by organizing and categorizing information using a coding system. Bruner believe that the most effect way to develop a coding system is to discover it rather than being told it by the teacher. The concept of  discovery learning  implies that students construct their own knowledge for themselves (also known as a constructist approach). The role of the teacher should not be to teach information by rote learning, but instead to facilitate the learning process. This means that a good teacher will design lessons that help student discover the relationship between bits of information. To do this a teacher must give students the information they need, but without organizing for them. The use of the spiral curriculum can aid the process of  discovery learning. Bruner and Vygotsky Both Bruner and Vygotsky emphasise a childs environment, especially the social environment, more than Piaget did. Both agree that adults should play an active role in assisting the childs learning. Bruner, like Vygotksy, emphasised the social nature of learning, citing that other people should help a child develop skills through the process of  scaffolding. The term scaffolding first appeared in the literature when Wood, Bruner and Ross described how tutors interacted with pre-schooler to help them solve a block reconstruction problem (Wood et al., 1976). The concept of scaffolding is very similar to  Vygotskys  notion of the  zone of proximal development, and it not uncommon for the terms to be used interchangeably.Scaffolding  involves helpful, structured interaction between an adult and a child with the aim of helping the child achieve a specific goal. Difference Between Bruner and Piaget Obviously there are similarities between  Piaget  and Bruner, but an importantdifference  is that Bruners modes are not related in terms of which presuppose the one that precedes it. Whilst sometimes one mode may dominate in usage, they co-exist. Bruner states that what determines the level of intellectual development is the extent to which the child has been given appropriate instruction together with practice or experience. So the right way of presentation and the right explanation will enable a child to grasp a concept usually only understood by an adult. His theory stresses the role of education and the adult. Although  Bruner proposes  stages of cognitive development, he doesnt see them as representing different separate modes of thought at different points of development (like Piaget). Instead, he sees a gradual development of cognitive skills and techniques into more integrated adult cognitive techniques. Bruner views  symbolic representation  as crucial for cognitive development and since language is our primary means of symbolizing the world, he attaches great importance to language in determining cognitive development. BRUNER AGREES WITH PIAGET BRUNER DISAGREES WITH PIAGET 1. Children are PRE-ADAPTED to learning 1. Development is a CONTINUOUS PROCESS not a series of stages 2. Children have a NATURAL CURIOSITY 2. The development of LANGUAGE is a cause not a consequence of cognitive development 3. Childrens COGNITIVE STRUCTURES develop over time 3. You can SPEED-UP cognitive development. You dont have to wait for the child to be ready 4. Children are ACTIVE participants in the learning process 4. The involvement of ADULTS and MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE PEERS makes a big difference 5. Cognitive development entails the acquisition of SYMBOLS 5. Symbolic thought does NOT REPLACE EARLIER MODES OF REPRESENTATION

Structural Consensus and Structural Conflict Theories

Structural Consensus and Structural Conflict Theories Compare and contrast structural consensus and structural conflict theories of social action with interpretivist perspectives that emphasize human agency In Sociology, one of the main concepts that have influenced social theory is structure and social action. Functionalism and Marxism fit into the structure view that emphasises the macro perspective; examining society as a whole and how it shapes human behaviour and ideas, therefore, in order to understand human behaviour, the social structures are in need of investigation (Brym Lie, 2009) . On the other hand, social action theories are voluntaristic. They focus on human interactions upon a micro level. It argues that individuals have free will and are not ‘puppets’; therefore, the actions and meanings of individuals create and shape the society. This suggests actions are not determined by structure. In this essay, these theories will be addressed in order to gain a better understanding of how they are relevant in today’s society. It is important to compare and contrast these theories through use of evidence and critical thinking as they often contradict each othe r but nonetheless create a wider understanding of human agency. In the first half of this essay, structural conflict is illustrated as an assumption that society is becoming more individualistic, though as a counter argument functionalism uses the idea of social solidarity, which leads to their further analysis showing their agreements and disagreements. A contrary debate is provided in the second section of the essay that focuses further on the humanist individualistic approach. However, Weber believes both structural and social action should be taken in to consideration in order to understand human’s actions efficiently. Functionalism falls into structural consensus theory that came into sociology in the middle of twentieth century, although, some of its ideas were present in the founders of sociology in the ninetieth century. It has been argued that the model that functionalism has created of society has led to other perspectives re-emerging in response to those ideas (O’Byrne, 2010). Thus the theory has made such impact on sociological thinking to this day. Functionalists such as Emile Durkheim (1858- 1917) whom is arguably one of the founding fathers of sociology firstly stressed consensus notion in social structure; stating that any human thinking is inherited rather than invented. This takes place in socialisation process that teaches humans to conform to norms and values or in other words- cultural behaviour considerably accepted in certain settings (Jones, 2003). He deemed this term ‘collective consciousness’; Durkheim described this as beliefs and ideas of a common human b eing in the same society (Punch et al, 2013). Furthermore, Durkheim explored society as a system and its function within the society. In order to explain this, use of organic analogy takes place as a way of describing how each social factor or institutions are interdependent for the society’s needs. For instance, if one body organ stops functioning, then the rest of the body cannot survive, this can be explained within social institutions too, without the nuclear family the society wouldn’t be able to form social cohesion and solidarity (Jones, 2001). On the other hand, other functionalists such as Talcott Parsons had similar ideas, though ‘for Talcott Parsons one of the central tasks of sociology is to analyse society as a system of functionally interrelated variables’ (Cohen, 1968, p.45). Although Parsons does links his ideas to Durkheim, that is, in the society the personal beings and their views need to be treated as variables as stated by Cohen (1968). In contrast to structural consensus theories mentioned above, Marxism is known as a structural conflict theory that has been influenced and introduced by Karl Marx (1818- 1883). Economics was highly influential for him as well how the working class sell labour power, which determines how we relate to one another (Duffy, 2009). The theory examines the conflict between bourgeoisies and proletarians, unlike functionalism, he focused on class conflict and how it can be settled. Though since his death, there have been many interpretations of his thesis, some that stick to structural explanations of capitalism, and others that emphasize human agency as a humanist approach (Fawbert, 2014). Louis Althusser (1918-1990) interpreted Marx’s work on a structural capitalist sense; however instead of solely focusing on economic determinism, he alternatively concentrated on politics and ideologies. He claims that these levels are objective. This is because he believes humans are not active ag ents in social change, as we do not shape our society. For Althusser, to understand why the capitalism hasn’t collapsed, the states and its exercise of power need to be examined. He has discovered the repressive state apparatus, which consists of institutions such as the legal system or the police. In addition to the political apparatus that is- ideological state apparatus that includes media, family, education etc. that shape human’s process of thinking. As a result, our structure can be interconnected, just like how certain structures of dominance changed in history (Jones et al., 2011). To summarise, in his view, human agency plays no part in social change but the structures, and the only way of capitalism being taken over is through its internal contradictions. Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), on the other hand was more of a humanist Marxist whom was famous for originating the notion of hegemony idea that there are constant ideologies to alter a person’s perspectives on the world. (Salamini, 1974) ‘For Gramsci, like Althusser, culture is relatively autonomous. However, unlike Althusser, social change is caused by cultural struggles as much as changes in economic forces.’ (Fawbert, 2011, pp.3). As this theory focuses on human agency and social action, it can be argued that it shifts towards the micro perspective due to the ideas moving away from the structural capitalism. This may suggest that the theory is more applicable to contemporary society as human beings have become more complex to understand as a result of constant social change. According to Punch (2013) Marxism and Functionalism have a few things in common, they both investigated the society from a macro perspective view instead of how individuals affect structure, and they were also both concerned about the society moving towards modernity and the ninetieth century industrialization as well as its effects on quality of life. This also included the introduction of theories of how modernity came about and its components. However, Marxists did focus more on the capitalism rather than the industrial society. Marx highly believed in political revolution of the working class that would involve rebellion, although his predictions have been criticised due to Eastern Europe Soviet Union destruction and rise of nationalism. However, it has been argued that in Marx’s eyes, these communists’ movements weren’t what he was hoping for. Durkheim, however, rejected the politics of revolution but did construct ideas about socialism. He focused greatly o n norms and values and social solidarity; therefore, a revolution would disturb these socially. Moreover, although Marxism is stated as highly deterministic, it can be argued that he does look at solidarity within social class. For instance, he believes that the proletarian does have to collectively rise up to the Bourgeoisie’s, sensing the idea of togetherness within the lower class. Though they had different motives, they both however, used analogy to explain the social structure. In this case Durkheim used organic analogy as explained above, whereas Marx used a building analogy – the base and the superstructure. The superstructure involves social institutions such as family and education, which supports class interests along with maintaining and legitimating the base through ideologies and culture. Economic base alternatively shapes the superstructure as it consists of means and relations of production that is owned by the bourgeoisie’s. This suggests that Marxists believed there are only two classes in which it is very difficult to move from one to another. Whereas functionalists disagreed with this and instead believed in meritocracy, the idea that if you work hard enough you can achieve through merit, essentially, gain success of what you deserve. This implies that if you put in enough effort, you can move from lower to upper class (Collins, 20 00). Moreover, both theories have been criticised for ignoring individual differences and their motives. This is because they strongly believe that the society shapes the individual instead of individual’s meanings and actions influencing the society, therefore the theories aren’t as applicable in contemporary society as it needs to examine human’s meanings to the world. Now we turn away from looking at macro perspectives to micro and their differences and similarities within. The ideas of interpritvist view of action and structure are displayed as contrary. Unlike structural theories, social action discusses the interactions between individuals in small groups and their motives; in result of this it is called social pragmatist theory. Human beings aren’t seen a puppets whereas the structure debate talks about individuals as predictable human beings. This then raises question on how the structure influence person’s actions and, in opposition, how does one’s actions alter the social structure (Morselli, 2014). There is a disagreement amongst the theories within social action when the discussion of the connection between society and action comes in. This is because theories such as ethnomethodology disagree with the concepts of wider structures but sees us as rational human beings and how we make sense of our everyday world (Bilton et al., 2002). While others such as G.H. Mead (1863-1931) who is symbolic interactionist stresses the socialisation as much as structural theories, in spite of this, he underlines the idea of reacting self and the behaviour expected. Mead has a base of three premises that tries to explain human agency. The first is that depending on what the thing is, humans will act certainly towards it, such as institutions, for instance, an individual would act differently in a school environment compared to a governmental institution. The second premise enhances the meaning of these things that it derived from- in most cases social interaction. Interpretive process then takes places in order to administer and modify such things (Blumer, 1986). Hence, Bilton (2002) suggests that although they are all micro theorist they interpret the terms of action and meaning inversely. Following on Meads work, these 3 premises challenged other sociological thinking, especially functionalism, to the view that solely the society determined human action and thinking. Evidence to back his theory was shown in Erving Goffman’s (1992-1982) work of whom was vastly influenced by Mead’s ideas of symbolic interactionism. His study tried to examine how social identity was defined by adaptation of certain roles, in this case, the mental asylum tried to reduce each inmate’s individuality through uniforms, haircuts, use of number instead of names, leading to each one of them changing his or her identity and self-image for the institutions interests (Calvert, 1992). Finally, Max Weber (1864-1920) took on an approach that combines social structure as well as agency theory emphasising motivational action. This differed to previous theories as functionalism greatly focused on institutions maintaining cohesion of wider structures, whereas Marx’s ideas were concerned on social class conflict as well as the origins of industrial capitalism. Though Weber rejected Marx’s view of economic determinism, he didn’t come across as falsifying them; he argued that Marx provided an unpolished portrayal of human motivation, therefore, lack of causal analysis of historical circumstances (Hughes et al., 1995). He also rejected the idea of universalism- that all societies go through same stages, due to meaningless infinity of complexity affecting each society differently (Chernilo, 2013). He therefore, tries to look at motivated social action as well as discuss large structures, such as cultural ideas. Weber’s vision was that we have move d away from traditional action to rational or in other words, goal-orientated. Individuals in our contemporary society start to think in a way to gain the benefits of the final goal and outweigh its consequences. Social structure becomes the outcome of this as our lifestyle is the product of our motives. As a consequence, Weber argued that modern capitalist societies are in a triumph of rationality. To explain this he used religion, specifically puritan protestant movement, which criticised the ‘catholic’ way of thinking. An example of this is his book The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism (1997). He found that Calvinism created the work ethic and asceticism that contributed to the rise of industrial capitalism; this maintained capitalism due to this religion accumulating constant wealth as a result of belief of predestination. The book moreover, states that the human actions can create consequences of rational thinking on a structural basis. Due to such disenchanted world, all superstition and values become pushed out cultural thinking. This is a crisis for Weber as then this leads to no meaning to the world in the way that religion has created previously (Jones et al., 2011) To summarise, the human agency has been evaluated variably depending on the theories. Durkheim mainly focuses on social solidarity influencing the decision making, although Marx agrees that society is responsible for shaping one’s opinion he’s more economical determinant. To balance this out, Weber brings in human’s motives and how these drives decision making upon an individual, as well as taking structural causes into consideration. Therefore, it can be argued that these sociology fathers have defined human agency but due their differences it is difficult to fully comprehend the affect the society has on human agency. References Bilton, T., Bonnet, K., Jones, P., Lawson, T., Skinner, D., Stanworth, M., Webster, A. (2002) Introductory Sociology, 4th edn., Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillian. Blumer, H. (1992) Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method, California: University of California Press. Brym, R. Lie, J. (2009) Sociology: Your Compass for a New World, Brief Edition: Enhanced Edition 2edn., Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co Inc Calvert, SP. (1992) Sociology Today, Hertfordshire: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Chernilo, D. (2013) The Natural Law Foundations of Modern Social Theory: A Quest for Universalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Cohen, P. (1968) Modern Social Theory, London: Heinemann Education Books Ltd. Collins (2000) Internet-linked dictionary of Sociology, Glasgow: HarperCollins. Duffy, F. (2009) Marx, Social Change and Revolution’, Research Starters Sociology [Online] Research Starters, EBSCOhost (Accessed: 17 November 2014). Fawbert, J. (2014) Lecture 6: Structural and cultural Marxism: Althusser, Gramsci and the Frankfurt School, Understanding society, [Online] Available at: https://breo.beds.ac.uk (Accessed: 22 November 2014). Hughes, A.J., Martin, J.P., Sharrock, W.W. Understanding Classical Sociology: Marx, Weber, Durkheim, London: SAGE. Jones, P. (2003) Introducing Social theory, Cambridge: Polity Press. Jones, P., Bradbury, L., Boutillier, S., (2011) Introducing Social Theory 2edn., Cambridge: Polity Press. Jones, S. (2001) Durkheim Reconsidered, Cambridge: Polity Press. Morselli, A. (2014) Contemporary Capitalism between Human Action and Social Structure, Economics Sociology, 7 (2) pp. 11-19 EBSCOhost [Online] Available at: http://0-eds.b.ebscohost.com.brum.beds.ac.uk (Accessed: 17 November 2014). O’Byrne, D. (2010) Introducing Sociological Theory , Dawsonera [Online] Available at: https://www.dawsonera.com (Accessed: 15 November 2014). Punch, S., Marsh, I., Keating, M., Harden, J. (2013) Sociology, Making sense of Society, 5th edn., Edinburgh: Pearson. Salamini, L (1974) Gramsci and Marxist Sociology of Knowledge: an Analysis of Hegemony—Ideology—Knowledge, Sociological Quarterly, 15 (3) pp. 359-380 Wiley Online Library [Online] Available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com (Accessed: 05 December 2014). Weber, M (1905)The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism,London: Routledge. 1

Essay --

Kate Chopin portrayed in her novels and short stories female emancipation in the 19th century, which was far from being considered acceptable. She also illustrated picturesque descriptions of the South of the United States. Her stories reflect a socio-historical situation between conservatism and modernity, but also depicted female characters aspiring to break free of their subordinate status. In the narrative literature of the 19th century, women, even placed at the center of the story are mostly 'off topic': rarely considered as an autonomous subject. They appear most often as an instrument subjected to social conventions. Chopin was particularly interested in the problems faced by women in marriage. She wanted to show that every vocation requires commitments and it is necessary to give up some of our aspiration to achieve our goal. Her literary style is simple, colorful, and picturesque. Chopin’s art of description is Important; she observed and rendered what is essential. Kate Chopin was concise and knew particularly how to select adjectives; she used punctuation as a rhythmic tool. She meticulously depicted images, used metaphor and particularly irony to reflect, as briefly and precisely as possible, the feeling experienced by the protagonists of her stories. The Story of an Hour written on April 19, 1894, and first published in Vogue on December 6, 1894, doesn’t escape Chopin’s footprint. She used irony as a rhetorical device to express her message indirectly. The story becomes suddenly more interesting, because the reader has to think about the literal significance of the message. There are different types of irony: situational, verbal, and dramatic. This offers a variety of choices for writers to make their works surely i... ...itive. Chopin writes only about an hour of Louise’s life, because she does not want to give the audience details that would make them focus on things that are not a key to the story. She does not want the story to be about their relationship. She writes the short story strictly about freedom and independence; it emphases on liberty and women’s capabilities. Mrs. Mallard did love her husband dearly, but her individuality was more imperative. She had dreamed of it for so long, that when she found out she could finally get it, she would not go back to her old life; her body would not let her. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin inspired many women to pursue their goals in life, because she reminded them that there was more to life than just being a good wife. She reminded them that women are incredibly powerful, and that they are as capable as men to succeed in life.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau and the Voices of the Oppres

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau and the Voices of the Oppressed      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There have been many writers who dedicated much of their work towards representing the voices of the oppressed. Among them are Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry David Thoreau. Although these authors were dedicated to the same cause they approached the subject from their own perspective, reflecting on an issue that was relevant to their position in life. Their literature was used to address, or in some cases attack, problems within society such as race, equality, and gender. The voices of Stowe, and Thoreau were used as an instrument in representing the injustices of those who had no one else to protect them. Oddly enough, this protection was from the very government which declared "equal rights" for all men. Harriet Beecher Stowe is perhaps best known for her work entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a heart-wrenching story about the treatment and oppression of slaves. Uncle Tom’s Cabin brings to life the evils of slavery and questions the moral and religious values of those who condoned or participated in such a lifestyle. While the factual accuracy of this work has been criticized by advocators of both slavery and abolition it is widely believed that the information contained was drawn from Stowe’s own life experiences (Adams 62). She was the seventh child and youngest daughter in her family. She was only four years old when her mother died, which left the young Harriet Beecher little protection from her "Fatherà ¢s rugged character and doctrinal strictness" (Adams 19). To further complicate matters she was aware that her father preferred she had been a boy. According to Adams, although Stoweà ¢s childhood was not entirely unhappy she would never forget... ...n Wilderness is Thoreau." Henry David Thoreau: Studies and Commentaries. Ed. Walter Harding et al. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickenson UP, 1972. 19. Slavery Source: "Biographical ketch of the Authoress." Stowe, Harriet Beecher: Uncle Tomà ¢s emancipation, earthly care and heavenly discipline; and other tales and sketches. 1853. fiche E441.S645 no.354, card 1. xx. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. "Declaration of Sentiments." The Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ,1998. 2035. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. "Uncle Tomà ¢s Cabin." 1852. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2325, 2326. Thoreau, Henry David/ "Resistance to Civil Disobedience." 1849. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2090, 2094. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau and the Voices of the Oppres Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau and the Voices of the Oppressed      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There have been many writers who dedicated much of their work towards representing the voices of the oppressed. Among them are Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry David Thoreau. Although these authors were dedicated to the same cause they approached the subject from their own perspective, reflecting on an issue that was relevant to their position in life. Their literature was used to address, or in some cases attack, problems within society such as race, equality, and gender. The voices of Stowe, and Thoreau were used as an instrument in representing the injustices of those who had no one else to protect them. Oddly enough, this protection was from the very government which declared "equal rights" for all men. Harriet Beecher Stowe is perhaps best known for her work entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a heart-wrenching story about the treatment and oppression of slaves. Uncle Tom’s Cabin brings to life the evils of slavery and questions the moral and religious values of those who condoned or participated in such a lifestyle. While the factual accuracy of this work has been criticized by advocators of both slavery and abolition it is widely believed that the information contained was drawn from Stowe’s own life experiences (Adams 62). She was the seventh child and youngest daughter in her family. She was only four years old when her mother died, which left the young Harriet Beecher little protection from her "Fatherà ¢s rugged character and doctrinal strictness" (Adams 19). To further complicate matters she was aware that her father preferred she had been a boy. According to Adams, although Stoweà ¢s childhood was not entirely unhappy she would never forget... ...n Wilderness is Thoreau." Henry David Thoreau: Studies and Commentaries. Ed. Walter Harding et al. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickenson UP, 1972. 19. Slavery Source: "Biographical ketch of the Authoress." Stowe, Harriet Beecher: Uncle Tomà ¢s emancipation, earthly care and heavenly discipline; and other tales and sketches. 1853. fiche E441.S645 no.354, card 1. xx. Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. "Declaration of Sentiments." The Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ,1998. 2035. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. "Uncle Tomà ¢s Cabin." 1852. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2325, 2326. Thoreau, Henry David/ "Resistance to Civil Disobedience." 1849. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter et al. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998. 2090, 2094.

Self-discovery in Desolation Angels Essay -- Desolation Angels Essays

Self-discovery in Desolation Angels Stripped to its barest essentials, Jack Kerouac's novel Desolation Angels reads as a drug-induced stupor of casual sex (or fantasies thereof), mixed into a melting of jazz and poetry. The often-adolescent urges of Kerouac's character Jack Duluoz, however, are mere episodes in the fast-paced, write-it-as-you-think-it, pre-literary notoriety phase in the life of a man who essentially founded the Beat generation. Though the overflowing stream of consciousness that comprises this book seems undoubtedly spontaneous, Desolation Angels actually examines, in a most straightforward and clearly organized manner, the state of human solitude. Zipping from a Forest Service mountaintop outpost to San Francisco, from Tangiers to London, and slipping from loneliness to jazz clubs full of "cats," from a morphine addict's room to the home of his knitting French Canadian mother, the angels of desolation take on varying shapes, ceaselessly trailing Duluoz/Kerouac. The novel begins as Duluoz/Kerouac ascends Desolation Peak on Starvation Ridge in the High Cascades for a seventy-day job as a lookout for forest fires. He initially anticipates with relish the idea of a seclusion that will allow him to ponder "the meaning of all this existence and suffering and going to and fro in vain" without the distractions of friends, drugs or alcohol Yet as the days dissolve into each other endlessly, he begins to tire of the monotony of Desolation. The stark emptiness greeting him from his outlook reflects the vacuity of life as he sees it. Entitled "Desolation in Solitude," this chapter records his mind patterns as he despairs over the "Void," an uncertain entity that symbolizes an eternal, vast, indifferent force of ... ...r undying devotion to him, and this seems to partially explain the source of his anger. He mourns the fact that a creature as wholesome and pure as she will inevitably grow old and die without leaving a mark on anyone but himself and his sister. Yet in accepting her mortality, he, for the first time in the book, finds an extended sense of peace. Throughout all of his earlier road trips and travels, he searched for serenity, only to be followed by Desolation. Here, finally, taking a bus across the country with strong yet innocent "Memere," does he leave them behind. In witnessing this change, the reader understands that constant movement cannot effect a sense of place, as Duluoz/Kerouac had thought throughout his transient excursions. Only facing our relationships with those we truly love can answer our questions regarding who we are in this mixed-up world. Â  

Condom Machines Should Be Permitted on Campus

Darren Tan Natalie Hudson, Ph. D. ENG 113 – 1006 November 1, 2012 Persuasion – Condom Machines Should be Permitted on Campus An increasing number of students is having sexual intercourse in campus dormitories, thus increasing the need for condom machines to be placed on campus grounds. First and most importantly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that 47. 4% of students have had at least one encounter of sexual intercourse during their terms of study with only 38. % of them having used any form of protection. This could result in an increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STD) such as syphilis, gonorrhea and the most fatal of all, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In 2009, an estimated 5,259 young adults (aged 17-24) were diagnosed with AIDS, and the numbers are still increasing over the years. Second, 21. 6% of students engaged in sexual intercourse after consuming alcohol or drugs at college parties.This co uld result in a higher percentage of students having unprotected sex, and it could also expose them to higher risks of catching STDs if they have sex with unknown partners. Finally, having unprotected sex could also result in unwanted pregnancies. Tunette Powell, a bright college student who used to do very well in school, saw a plummeting in her results due to the stress from her unwanted pregnancy. She eventually had to drop out of school because she was not able to focus on her studies anymore, thus limiting her qualifications.It is almost impossible to prevent sexual interactions between college students staying in campus hostels, but by placing condom machines on site, it will help to promote safe sex and at the same time greatly reduce the chances of acquiring STDs and unwanted pregnancies. Bibliography Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexual Risk Behavior: HIV, STD & Teen Pregnancy Prevention. n. d. Research. —. Sexual Risk Behavior: HIV, STD, & Teen Pregnan cy Prevention. 2011. Research. 1 November 2012.

Analyzing a Written Essay Essay

The two essays that I read were â€Å"A Soul as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone† and, â€Å"How to succeed as an Online Student†. The four types of essay organization discussed in the course readings were; 1. Topic: This development organizes information about the topic in the most logical way. 2. Time order: It is using sequential order to write an essay. It organizes the information from one time period to another. 3. Space order: This deals with location of people, places or things. 4. Informative process: This is written in a step-by-step arrangement in their natural occurring order. The characteristics that make these essays expository, is that it has facts to inform about the topic. It is used in facts form and not biased.  What distinguishes space organization from time organization or informative-process organization in an essay is that Space order deals with location, Time organization refers to placing information in chronological order by date or a specific time, and Informative essay would be one that takes on a step-by-step process. The organization of each essay help the reader understand the subject matter of that essay in the essay â€Å"How to Succeed as Online Student†, it list steps to teach online students what it takes to be successful in an online atmosphere. The reader understands you must follow these steps to succeed. On the essay, â€Å"A Soul as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone† it helped to learn about Lucy Stone, it showed the order of her achievements. On the essays that I read, the one that has the most effective organi zation was â€Å"A Souls as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone†. I chose this essay, because it was organized from the beginning to the end, it was in the order of each of her achievements. A different type of organizational style for â€Å"How to Succeed as Online Student† if you change it to a time order or space order, then it would confuse some of the online students. The main part would be lost in the reading. It would definitely have students wanting to go to class instead of online, so the teacher could clarify things. The type of essay organization that is more suitable for my essay topic on â€Å"Warming Global; Drought,† would be Time Order, due to the heat and water levels at the time.

Pure High Note Essay

A Pure, High Note of Anguish† by: Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver’s â€Å"A Pure, High Note of Anguish,† expresses her painful grief in seeing innocent people die without having done anything to deserve it. To Americans, Kingsolver says â€Å"There are no worse days, it seems,† referring that 9/11 is the worst thing that’s ever happened in the world. Kingsolver symbolizes the children dancing in the street as the hatred that other countries have against the United States. Kingsolver believes asking, â€Å"Will this happen to me? is the wrong question because almost always people die without having done anything to deserve it. To Kingsolver, people almost always die without having done anything to deserve it. To this I agree. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D. C. , including more than 400 police officers and firefighters (History). As of June 2006, 1577 Louisiana residents had been confirmed as deceased as a result of Katina (Sharkey). Motor vehicle crashes in the United States result in more than 40,000 deaths per year (Hitti). Each year globally, 12. million people learn they have cancer, and 7. 6 million people die from the disease (CDC). As most people would think, every one of these victims are innocent people who do not deserve to die. As seen above, these causes of deaths can be from attacks, natural disasters, accidents, and diseases. Death is something that occurs in nature and it is both inevitable and final (Cole). No one knows when, where or how they will die. The only thing that is certain is no one deserves to die. Kingsolver states â€Å"There are no worst days, it seems,† meaning that this is the worst thing that has ever happened in the world. Maybe it was the worst thing to happen in the world at that time, but for all of history no. On December 26th, 2004, in Southeast Asia an earthquake occurred out at sea in the Indian Ocean, which immediately caused a deadly tsunami to happen. An estimated 230,000 people died (Wikramanayake). Do we Americans believe that is the worst thing to ever happen in the world? Of course not because we think 9/11 is the worst thing to ever happen to us. â€Å"September 11, 2001, stands as the defining event of the 21st century. It was the worst day of my life and the best day. It was the worst day because of the incomprehensible death, destruction and evil. September 11 was also the best day because it put on display the very finest human instincts — compassion, courage, kindness, selflessness† (Giuliani). These are the words of former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani, who was the mayor during 9/11. Kingsolver’s child was wondering why there were children dancing in the streets after the news of 9/11. I actually thought the same and remember vividly watching when this occurred on the news. Kingsolver symbolizes these children dancing in the streets as people showing their hatred towards the United States. Everybody knows there has been much anti-Americanism in the Middle East (Tooley). Yet it is undeniable that many Middle Easterners have good reason, from their perspective, to hate the USA (Tooley). In Iraq, for example, it would be amazing indeed if the ferocious death rate among civilians — especially children — since the embargo and the steady number of civilian casualties from our continued bombing had not created feelings of hatred which would give cause for celebration now (Tooley). Kingsolver and others believe that our country needed to learn how to hurt from these attacks. I believe that is true and that we have also overcome the hurt. Al Qaeda’s intentions of these attacks were to break the United States down. But I believe that it only made the United States stronger as a nation and more aware of threats against us. Psychologically, the nation joined together in a unity that had not been seen since the end of World War II (Jensen). When it comes to our national security and our awareness of the threat from Islamic extremists, we are better prepared than we were but not as prepared as we should be. Our intelligence base is better and our airport security is better, for all its frustrations,† (Giuliani). â€Å"Will this happen to me? is the wrong question, I’m sad to say. † The question should really be, when will this happen to me? That question is unknown to everyone. No one can predict the moment of death (Scott). People wake up each day and have no clue what will happen to them.

Discuss what Lady Macbeth’s persuasive language in 1.7 reveals to the audience about her character Essay

Discuss what Lady Macbeth’s persuasive language in 1.7 reveals to the audience about her character & relationship with her husband In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, he portrays Lady Macbeth as a strong female character whom is equal to Macbeth and sometimes even stronger than Macbeth which was unusual for the time as at the time, men were considered to be above women as they believed in the divine order of the universe which stated that men came before woman and that women should only be there to serve men and obey their husband and their father and not question their husband’s decision. In Scene 1.7, Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth’s language and sexual parts to persuade her husband into killing Duncan so that she can become Queen. She even goes as far as question Macbeth’s manhood. One of the quotes which supports my point is ,†We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we’ll not fail.† which Lady Macbeth said to Macbeth after he questioned him and not obeying him. She used a rhetorical question which is seen in the above quote to scould him as would a child which is going against all of the things that a wife should be at that time and she is talking to him like a child when she tells him to get his courage up and reassures him that they will not fail which is all influenced by the rhetorical question. She also questions his manhood in the quote,†When durst do it, then you were a man,† by scolding him and saying that he is not a man now as he didn’t dare to do it and this has made him more feminine which is a great insult to give someone in Shakespearean times, which proves my point that Lady Macbeth does not want to give up and she f ft ff people into doing whatever she wants him to do. I believe that this quote is one of the strongest quotes which proves my opening point. Another quote which I believe proves my opening point is,†What beast was’t then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do i t, then you were a man.† This states that Lady Macbeth is hurt as Macbeth broke a promise to her. She uses repetition in the quote and she repeats the word ‘you’ which you could infer as making an accusation against Macbeth or you could infer that she is honestly hurt by Macbeth as she expresses hurt by her use of language in this quote. In this quote she also uses a rhetorical question which you could infer that she is so hurt and angry, she does not want him to answer the question and she ends with a very strong insult which a â€Å"loving† wife would never make to her husband, especially in the Shakespearean times. She further evaluates the importance of a promise to her in the quote, â€Å"know how tender tis’ to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling at my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done this.† This quote proves that Lady Macbeth would do anything if it would uphold her promise even if it would mean killing her own child to uphold a promise. This quote also shows how truly hurt Lady Macbeth is and how angry and how fearful she is and her dertermination to get what she wants. This is quite masculine of her but I will cover more on that after this. A quote which shows how devious and courageous Lady Macbeth is, â€Å"Who dares receive it other , as we shall make our griefs and clamour roar upon his death?† This quote proves that Lady Macbeth is doing whatever she can to get what she wants. She uses persuasive language such as ‘dares’ which is a very strong word as it involves taking a risk and a risk which could ultimately stab you in the back. This quote also shows Lady Macbeth putting on a false face and pretending to grief and mourn for the King’s loss however in actual fact, it was her which set up the King to be killed. This shows that Lady Macbeth will be decisive and manipulate whoever she wants to get what she desires. A quote which I have mentioned before but I want to go more into detail is, â€Å"know how tender tis’ to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling at my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you ha ve done this.† I strongly believe that this is the quote which really well establishes Lady Macbeth is a brutal and a character which will do anything to get what she most desires and not to care about anything or anyone else, just to get on top. This quote portrays Lady Macbeth as a mother which is a role which you need to care only about the baby and nurture the baby and bring it up as your own. This quote mentions that Lady Macbeth knows what it is like to breastfeed a baby but the play has not mentioned anything about Lady Macbeth and a baby, but I will get to that in further detail in my conclusion. This quote also mentions her killing the baby in the most brutal way: when it is it’s most vulnerable. During a breastfeeding. This shows that Lady Macbeth will do anything to keep a promise and you could infer that because of her incredibly detailed description, that she has done this before. One more quote which I believe solidifies my first point is, â€Å"And live a coward in thine own esteem, letting â€Å"I dare not† wait upon â€Å"I would† like the poor cat i’th’ adage? † This quote shows that Lady Macbeth is angry and full of adrenaline which really provokes her use of language in this quote by calling her husband a coward for backing out of his commitment and letting him live in the shame of not doing his deed which also interrupts the divine order and being a good wife in the Shakespearean times. She defies all this when she does not listen to her husband and takes on the role of the husband in the relationship in this quote and in this whole scene. In conclusion, I believe that Lady Macbeth is full of anger, grief and betrayal as she confronts Macbeth in this scene by saying that he is not a man and by calling him a coward and informing or reminding him of what she would do if she promised him. She would even go as far as killing her own child if that is what she has promised which means that she has built up a lot of trust in this relationship and she does not want to lose it now. By saying she knows how it feels to love a baby who she has breastfeed could imply that she and Macbeth had a baby and it died or it got murdered. If it got murdered or it got killed because of a promise she made, which she has proven is the most important thing to her, probably fuels her anger and hurt in this scene which makes this scene make so much sense that it is my final implied conclusion. The reason that I have inferred is that Lady Macbeth is so passionate and angry in this scene is because she had a baby and it died because of a promise she made which is why she made such an important and a significant reference to this is because this happened to her and she does not want it to happen again.

Religion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Religion - Assignment Example The ultimate reality is the ultimate basis of every human problematic in every religion (Streng). In Christianity, for example, the human problematic is death and eternal torment in hell, and the ultimate reality, which is the God in the Christian Bible provides the basis and explanation for the existence of this human problematic. In the case of Christianity, death and eternal torment in hell is caused by sin, which has its roots in the original sin of Adam and Eve that led to the fall of man. On the other hand, the ultimate dimension is the way of changing the human problematic. Every religion or religious movement, after identifying the cause, seeks to find a solution to the human problematic and employs a number of solutions like rituals, prayer, consumption of organic foods, and other things. Ultimate dimension is supposed to inspire someone to change his current situation or to find a solution to the human problematic. 2. Cultural dimension is the actions that someone takes as a group in order to reinforce the community and to increase church attendance as well as to consider marriage and funeral rites. Whatever is personal must always go harmoniously with culture. One aspect of cultural dimension is the historical conditions upon which a particular belief or system of belief evolved (Streng). For example, during the time of Jesus, the political scenario was turbulent because of the conquest of Israel by the Romans, and that the Jews were persecuted by the conquerors. This was the time when Jesus rose and led the people into defiance of Roman authority. The transformative power that was evident in his preaching was the result of the cultural dimension of belief, which means that there was shared religious intent among the Jews who opposed Roman rule. This sense of unity somehow turned into a system of faith and belief. During the time of Muhammad, he was in a cave in a religious retreat when the A ngel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream, and

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present Term Paper - 4

Human and Animal Interrelationships from Domestication to Present - Term Paper Example Theories have been advanced to give an in-depth explanation of the scope of animal ethics as they try to explain the boundaries within which animal ethics should exist and what human beings are expected to do in order to ensure their moral obligation as far as animal ethics is concerned. There are three groups of theories that have been advanced so far that try to explain issues concerning animal ethics and morality. They include; indirect theories, direct moral theories and moral equality theories (Beauchamp). Therefore, this paper examines issues concerning animal ethics and morality by examining the above theories. Indirect theories are against animal ethics as they argue that animals are not entitled to any form of moral status or equal considerations to man since they lack consciousness (Beauchamp). This means they are not able to make sound decisions, moreover they cannot think independently hence they should be treated less of human beings are they do not form part of the moral community hence they have no rights to be protected (Palmer). Despite that, the theories do not encourage animals to be harmed as they possess a sense of sentiment thus their feelings should be respected. Direct theories are those that accord animals moral considerations but the moral status that is accorded to animals is limited in nature since animals are unable to recognize the rights of other agents and respect them thus they cannot be included in the moral community (Palmer). The theories argue that actions by human beings should not harm animals directly but whenever conflict of interest between animals and hu man beings sets in the interests of human beings always supersedes as human beings are always supreme over all other animals. The moral equality theories, on the other hand, argue that animals and human beings ought to be treated equally. The theories ignore the special characteristics that are often associated with human

Reading reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Reading reflection - Essay Example They do this subconsciously because it is what they were also conditioned to think. Most people do not realize what they are actually doing because they think it is the normal and right way of doing things, and they usually have predetermined expectations of their action’s outcomes. However, if there is any deviation from the expected results, it leads to disappointment on the parent’s part or they deem their child wayward or unbecoming. They go to great lengths to rectify the anomaly, which includes counseling sessions and even institutionalization in rehabilitation clinics, in extreme cases. When a person takes an in depth look at how he was conditioned to behave and what to believe, he or she can begin to see a pattern irrespective of where in the world they are. This is because it is all the same no matter what race we belong to. When we question this ordered and predetermined occurrence of events more often than not, we will be met with some resistance from different quarters of the society. The society is designed in such a way that we have the haves and the have-nots, the givers and the takers, and the powerful and the powerless. All of these people are comfortable in the roles they were programmed to play since birth, and if everyone plays their role then everyone is happy. Sometimes when a person critically assesses why some things are the way they are and tries to forge a new path for themselves, the society subconsciously tries to shut them down (Bradley, 2012). In most societies, disabled people are not expected to be better than able bodied individuals. When a blind friend of mine decided that he could sing and went ahead and started going to the studio to record his songs, he was met with ridicule and discouragement from everyone telling him that he was wasting money and time, and that no good would come of his efforts. This is because the society had a predetermined role for him to play and it did not

The Perspective and Emergent Approaches to Strategic Management Essay

The Perspective and Emergent Approaches to Strategic Management - Essay Example Whenever an organization succeeds in terms of profitability and productivity, it is usually assumed to have effective strategies. But the effectiveness of the strategy for a prolonged time remains dubious. Strategies are developed by the management with the support of logical approach, analytical activities, and experiences. Present day management researchers added another agent to the above-mentioned ingredients of strategy making, i.e. the dynamic nature of the business environment which keeps on changing. The changing nature of business environment influences the effectiveness of the strategies and brings differences in its output (Murray, Poole & Jones, 2005, p.168). The present report is an attempt to analyze the different views of researchers on strategic planning and its associated factors. In a broader sense, the study discusses ‘Prescriptive and Emergent’ approaches to strategy formulation and their suitability in the present day business organizations. Irrespective of suggested views and arguments on the concept of strategic management, organizations as well as academicians have agreed on the core concept which describes the conversion of organizational resources into needs of unsatisfied customers keeping a profit which satisfies the long-term objectives of the stockholders. The debate among the researchers is regarding the methods, models, system, or processes which could be used to achieve the core objective of strategy. The approaches for strategic planning, irrespective of the methods, models, and processes used to execute the plan can be classified into four generalized approaches as General Electric/Ansoff /McKinsey approach, Management by objective approaches, Business policy approach, and Non-strategic approach.