The Picture of Dorian Gray and Enduring Love Essays

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Enduring Love Essays The Picture of Dorian Gray and Enduring Love Essay The Picture of Dorian Gray and Enduring Love Essay Essay Topic: The Picture of Dorian Gray Throughout the literary ages, the perception of morality and life are constantly evolving to change people’s views on morality. Moral and ethical ideas were once chivalric traditions of honour, but have been changed from humanity’s freedom as individual beings to reject social principles and customs. Oscar Wilde once said ‘I am quite incapable of understanding how any work of art can be criticised from a moral standpoint’1, yet staged as the Machiavellian antagonist within Shakespeare’s masterpiece ‘Othello’, Iago acts on his emotions and feelings of jealously and personal competition, which leads Iago to corrupt Othello because of his evil nature – leading an issue to a moral standpoint. When Othello had the occasion to appoint a lieutenant with â€Å"Three great ones of the city in personal suit, it appealed to Iago but only to find that Othello had already chosen Cassio. It appeared to be a matter of personal preference only, for he could give no reason for the choice of choosing Cassio. This capricious choice lago at once took as a very great slight upon him, A. C Bradley commented on the â€Å"the usual lunacies† in Shakespeare’s tragedy plays that It has been held, for example, that Othello treated lago abominably in preferring Cassio to him. 2 Once this is done, Iago reveals to the audience that â€Å"In following him, I follow but myself. † This is a paradox as Iago follows Othello not out of â€Å"love† or â€Å"duty,† but because he feels he can exploit and dupe his master, thereby revenging himself upon the man he suspects of having slept with his wife. Furthermore, Iago expresses his deception to Roderigo to â€Å"wear my heart upon thy sleeve† to demonstrate to the audience that people who reveal their true motives makes themselves a victim. This therefore concludes that the day he decides to establish outwardly what he feels; inwardly, Iago explains, it will be the day he makes himself most vulnerable. In comparison to this, in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ Basil reveals to the reader that Henry â€Å"has a very bad influence over all his friends†. This depicts Henry as being something of a powerful entity who no-one cannot say â€Å"no† to as a result of his philosophical ideology. This is quite similar to Iago as he purposely influences those who are around him just for his own gain and satisfaction as his â€Å"outward action doth demonstrate\The native act and figure of my heart†. Upon telling Dorian his ideology, Henry ‘was amazed at the sudden impression that his words produced’. From this, Wilde’s use of trajectory, readers can infer that Henry’s ‘amazed’ feeling of seeing what his philosophy has done to Dorian, seems to be his motive for the continuous corruption he places on Dorian further in novel. Iago reveals his deception to Roderigo and the audience that he is â€Å"not what I am† because Iago is consciously aware he is going to corrupt Othello. The parallel used to show Iago’s alter ego can be linked with Henry since he believes â€Å"there is no such thing as a good influence. All influence are immoral. † It could be suggested that Henry’s character is used as a parallel structure in the novel to show no remorse for his influences he has over Dorian and the latter for Iago over Othello. Iago believes that people who serve a cause or a person are acting sincerely, but they are indeed acting on their own behalf as they â€Å"trimmed in forms and visages of duty\Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves†. This shows Iago believes people look loyal by their appearances but, on the inside, they are thinking about themselves rather than the person they serve. In comparison, Henry seems to have the power to corrupt as his ideological viewpoint is that â€Å"to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul†. Here, this suggests that Henry is giving Dorian a new soul – to corrupt him to make him whole again. In contrast to this, In ‘Enduring Love’, Jed has an infatuated belief that Joe loves him and that â€Å"there’s nothing I can do but return your love. † Jed he believes that through a higher powerful entity â€Å"To bring you to God, through love† Joe will eventually love him. Through religion, Jed considers that he could manipulate Joe’s feelings through the â€Å"the purpose†¦ [of] Christ that is in you and that is you. † However, in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, it could be argued that Henry seems to purposely challenge Victorian values. During the Victorian era people took literal truth and moral ethics from the bible and because of this, it was thought that if religion were accepted by all, ‘evil’ forces would not be able to corrupt humankind. But Wilde challenges this through a provocative statement that â€Å"great sins of the world take place† â€Å"in the brain, and the brain only†. With the use of repetition, this point emphasises that corruption of the soul or the mind is purely based on biology and not relied on an unknown source known to human kind. Similarly, with reference to ‘Enduring Love’, it could be considered that because Jed’s fixation on â€Å"without an awareness of God’s love you’re living in a desert† Jed believes that God’s love should be the reason to corrupt Joe’s mind, a mind of science. A further reason why Henry might want to poison Dorian’s mind is because Henry is jealous of Dorian’s â€Å"most marvellous youth† as Henry believes it is â€Å"one thing worth having† above all else in the world. To support the claim that aesthetic beauty and age seems to contribute for the corruption of one’s one psyche, Othello descends into questioning one of the reasons to why his wife might be unfaithful to him has he has â€Å"declined\Into the vale of years†. This metaphor taken from the phrase â€Å"vale of tears† seems intended in a more neutral sense; the vale of years is the broad, flat stretch of middle age beyond the slope of youth. Before murdering Desdemona, Othello admires her beauty like â€Å"thy rose† that has â€Å"vital growth†. He seems to be infatuated by her beauty that the only way he could possibly get rid of his jealousy of her, is to get rid of her beauty by killing her. According to Henry, when you grow old, â€Å"you will feel it, you will feel it terribly. † The adverb of manner â€Å"terribly† supports the claim that men in particular, seem to be almost afraid of aging and would do anything to take away these feelings of inadequacy caused by growing older, as shown by Othello and Dorian. Nevertheless, through the use of third-person objective narrator in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, the readers start to see how far Henry’s ‘mere words’ of corruption is going and because of how ‘terrible they are’, we get to see Henry gain a powerful control over Dorian as he was ‘dimly conscious that entirely fresh influences were at work within him’. However, it is debatable whether Dorian would have wanted to change this as he â€Å"would give everything! † to be young and to stay young. In contrast to this, unlike Dorian, Othello was oblivious to any external forces at work for corrupting his perception of reality. The only person to see the change was Emilia who believed that a â€Å"wretch have put this in your head\Let heaven requite it with the serpents curse! The metaphoric allusive allegory to the serpents curse refers to the curse that God laid upon the serpent for deceiving the innocent Eve. By this, Emelia means that whoever has put these ideas into Othellos head deserves the same fate. According to Genesis 3:15 the snake was cursed to crawl on the ground and therefore be susceptible to man’s heel crushing its head (this vulnerability is a direct result of Satan’s sin). This foreshadowing of what will really happen to Satan someday – thus the religious allegory could be suggested that Emilia believes the man who corrupted Othello, should be crushed. Here, the audience notices Shakespeare’s deliberate use of dramatic irony that as far as Emelia is concerned the â€Å"serpent† is her very own husband Iago. In addition, Shakespeare illustrates the power and the extreme manipulation he can create with his protagonists, once again reinforcing that portrayal of the Machiavellian character. In all three texts, delusion seems to be one of the prevalent effects on the individuals because of the corruption they have been exposed to. In ‘Othello’, the audiences capture Othello’s obsessive impulse of his undying love for Desdemona as â€Å"Perdition catch my soul\But I do love thee, and when I love thee not, \Chaos is come again†. This indicates that Desdemona’s image means the world to Othello and therefore; if he stops loving her, the entire universe stops making sense for him and the world is reduced to â€Å"Chaos. † The effect of the corruption Iago has put on Othello is starting to progressively show and if he found out Desdemona’s ‘hidden agenda’, he would be devastated and the love wouldn’t be there, therefore his world would be in ruins. Shakespeare personifies chaos to highlight the feeling of not having Desdemona anymore, which would be a cruel phenomenon that Othello could not merely tolerate. This reinforces the idea that Othello would rather be dead than alive if he did not have Desdemona, which for some could be seen as foreshadowing Othello’s decline from grace. In contrast, Wilde portrays the element of losing oneself â€Å"when one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one’s self†. It could be argued that Othello is deceiving himself and not thinking rationally as he is overreacting. However, one could argue that this is almost an instinctual impulse he has and quite a literal one – without Desdemona in his life, he would fall apart and throughout the play when Othello seems to trust her less and less, it is quite visible to the audience that his mind seems to implode and fly into disparity. Equally in Enduring Love, McEwan puts Jed in a similar situation and claims to â€Å"understand† what Joe is â€Å"feeling† and believe he â€Å"feels it too. I love you. † Pathos is created and we can only sympathise with Jed because of his mental illness. But, as the story progresses we see that he is deceiving himself once Joe consistently tells him he is â€Å"not interested† in pursuing any form of relationship with Jed. At this time, we see that Jed still does not listen, and further deceiving himself into believing it was God’s wish that they should be together. For Dorian, however it is explained that his ‘sudden mad love for Sibyl Vane was a psychological phenomenon’. The ambiguity behind the attributive adjective ‘mad’ suggests to readers that Dorian’s mind has emphatically changed over the course of seventy-two hours of meeting Sybil. The obsession with aestheticism and beauty is driven further since the text was written in the Victorian period when ‘mad’ could have been taken for someone who is literally insane, thus leaving a connotation of Dorian’s poisoned mind and his descent into madness and obsession for perfection. Alternatively it could mean that because he is young himself, he is first feeling what it feels to be in love with someone. It could be said since Sibyl was considerably younger than Dorian, he wants to fall in love with her to retain the youth that he so desperately wants to cling onto. Corruption of morality does not happen solely to the protagonists, but also to the supporting characters, such as the strong-willed, pragmatic character Emilia. When Emilia reveals to the audience in her monologue that her â€Å"husband hath a hundred times\Woo’d me to steal it† we see; even though Iago has not directly poisoned her mind, she has now done something immoral that she had not done before. Since the Elizabethans took the Seven Deadly Sins literally, it could be argued that Emilia stole the handkerchief because she wanted to do â€Å"nothing but please his fantasy†. She has gone against her own moral and social standing and the Elizabethan’s values to be a good wife and to save the embarrassment of not being able to satisfy her husband, thus resulting in her pride being saved. In comparison, Dorian consciously corrupted the mind of Sybil Vane by having no sympathy and crushed her by saying she is â€Å"nothing to me now†¦ I will never think of you. I will never mention your name. † Dorian’s changed course of judgement has made him conform to the lowest of the low to insult Sibyl, the girl he thought he loved. The repetition of the adverb â€Å"never† left a mark on Sybil and since at no time in the future, Dorian will ever think of her or mention her, it leads no hope for her and believing that she is worthless, she decided to commit suicide by drinking poison. Likewise, in ‘Othello’ we see a change of his character dramatically when he reveals to the audience his â€Å"bloody thought with violent pace†. Evermore, Desdemona falls dangerously in love with Othello and because of this Desdemona gets called a â€Å"Devil! † by Othello and he ‘[Strikes her]’. Thus seems like both Desdemona and Sybil Vane are punished for unintentionally falling in love with ‘the wrong person’ which results in both of them losing their lives. Furthermore, the corrupted mind of Othello has affected the perception of how Lodovico sees the new, ‘darker’, changed Othello as he cannot believe that this is â€Å"the nature\Whom passion could not shake?. † In comparison to this, it is also seen when Basil seems horrified by the sudden change of Dorian’s behaviour when Dorian exclaims about Sybil Vane’s death as â€Å"What is done is done. † Both Basil and Lodovico cannot believe what they have witnessed and thus could be said that because of the corruption of Othello and Dorian’s mind, Lodovico and Basil’s perception about morality have also been changed, resulting in corruption having affected them inadvertently. Murder is a contributing factor to the consequences of corruption to the mind and soul. Iago’s aside to the audience clearly shows us that he does not care â€Å"whether he kill Cassio,\Or Cassio him, or each do kill the other† because â€Å"Every way makes my gain. † Iago does not care who is involved and who get killed as long as his overall outcome is achieved. When Iago ‘[Stabs RODERIGO’ Roderigo calls out â€Å"O damned Iago! O inhuman dog! † The pre-modifying adjectives in Roderigo’s blasphemous call, tells the audience that Iago is so embroiled in immorality and corruption that he is like the devil’s spawn. He is the reincarnation of the devil as it could be seen that Roderigo has damned Iago to hell. In addition to this, when admiring Desdemona in her sleep, Othello decides to â€Å"put out the light, and then put out the light. † The meiosis Shakespeare uses here means Othello is resigned to an immoral and corrupt act. Also the metaphoric irony emphasises Desdemona’s innocence. He describes her with words that suggest her brightness and innocence alongside the fact that he is determined to condemn and kill her. Furthermore in ‘Enduring Love’ the realism portrayed through the first person narration, shows how Joe succumbs to the realisation that he ‘was the man who was selling me a gun. ’ Here, it appears to the readers that he is now prepared to do anything and has become so obsessed with getting Jed out of his life, he is prepared to go against his previous moral code. In the same way, Dorian Gray’s morality fails him miserably as his mind has totally descended into madness as he ‘dug the knife into the great vein†¦ crushing the man’s head on the table, and stabbing again and again. ’ The structural repetition of â€Å"again and again† graphically highlights the immoral behaviour Dorian has because of the influence Henry had over him about morality. This supports Wilde’s view that ‘The promising youth [Dorian] plunges into ever kind of mean depravity’. As well as murder, suicide is an essential part of how the characters seem to escape from their madness. For instance in ‘Othello’, Othello pictures himself as â€Å"a turbaned Turk who â€Å"Beat a Venetian and traduced the state†. Here is one of his own enemies, which he most certainly became in the end. According to Isaac Asimov â€Å"Othellos use of the reverse phrase in his last agony is like a return to his origins. 4 However, Othello dies speaking of himself in the third person, perhaps signifying his lost identity. Along with Iago, we Look on the tragic loading of this bed. Equally important is in ‘Enduring Love’ when Jed ‘slit his throat in front of us’ which could suggest his suicide was influenced by his own delusions about religion whenever he blurted out his tainted perception of it to Joe, making Joe reject Jed’s words and Jed himself. Likewise in ‘Dorian Gray’ the definitive catastrophic moment is when ‘a dead man’ was ‘lying on the floor’ ‘with a knife in his heart’ the readers simultaneously ‘recognized who it was’. According Wilde5 ‘Dorian kills conscience, and at that moment kills himself. ’ It is seen here that for Dorian to be completely free of being ‘withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage’ he had to kill himself to save himself from more immoral acts. Bibliography 1 Taken from the selection of The Letters of Oscar Wilde [noted in The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Norton Critical Edition]. 2 From the essay, Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. (page 208) 2nd ed. London: Macmillan, 1905. 3 Extracted from the ST. JAMES’S GAZETTE, article ‘A Study in Puppydom’ (June 24, 1890). 4 Online source: Part II. Roman 23. The Tragedy of Othello the Moor of Venice

Wizard of Oz Better as Book or Film Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wizard of Oz Better as Book or Film - Term Paper Example However, this seeming recent trend actually has a long history. Examples of this exist as far back as the beginning of the film industry with Hollywood’s early interpretation of Tennyson’s poem â€Å"Enoch Arden† in 1911. Unfortunately, film representations such as this struggle desperately to provide an accurate recreation of text originally presented in novel form. The many fans of the Harry Potter series are fully aware that film, while interesting and entertaining in its ability to bring out certain elements of the story that might have been missed in the reading, can never duplicate the full depth and artistry of the novel. Yet translating book to film is not always fully detractive. Sometimes, film can add artistic elements that may or may not help to inform the meanings intended within the book. Because more recent films are able to dazzle with amazing special effects and digital imagery, it is better to compare a film of the past which was more limited to simply telling the story. To illustrate the differences between film and novel, then, it is helpful to compare something like Victor Fleming's 1939 filmic rendition of Frank L. Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz both in terms of medium and zeitgeist of the age in which each were made. Numerous differences exist between the film and the novel, many of which can be said to be minor but which also tend to generalize significant details of the book. Clearly, the film is limited in its ability to tell the story because of time constraints. While the novel could be as long as it needed to be to properly tell the story, the film is limited to two or three hours at most before it starts losing the interest of the audience. It is for this reason that the more specific details of the book are lost within the film. However, the film adds additional components such as sound in the form of music and voice. This creates a stronger emotional draw than just reading the words. Throughout the f ilm, the actors are also able to provide a greater sense of personality as they carry thoughts and emotions through facial expressions and actions rather than simply in narration. Some changes were made purely as part of the zeitgeist and change of medium, such as changing the silver slippers from the book to ruby red slippers for the film. This change was made to take advantage of the new color film technology that was then being introduced in Hollywood and used as a distinguishing feature between Kansas and Oz. Changes in wording, such as transitioning from the Tin Woodsman found in the novel to Tinman in the film are reflective of the changes in language that took place between 1900 England and 1937 America. However, even such a small change causes the story to lose some of the artistic wordplay present in the book. While these are all small changes, larger changes are also present. In both presentations, book and novel, the story begins in a gray and drab Kansas, but this depict ion is quite different between the two mediums, again reflecting changing zeitgeist. In the book, Dorothy and her family are quite isolated to the point that Dorothy can "see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions† (1-2). In the film, Dorothy is not quite as isolated as she is first seen making her way home from school along a dirt road on which she is able to interact with several other members of her community. Dorothy's house has also been changed from the simple "four walls, a floor and a roof" described in the book to a comfortable frame house in the film in which Dorothy has her own room indicating the family exists in a comfortable middle class

Trouble With The Terrorist Watch List Database Case Study

Trouble With The Terrorist Watch List Database - Case Study Example For example, airlines utilize information provided by the system of TSA in their lists of selectee and NoFly for passengers prescreening, whereas the customs of U.S and protection systems of borders utilize the watch list data to aid passengers entering the US. Efficient and effective management of data resources is increasingly crucial in this case. Similarly, no policy information has been created to demonstrate the rules of spreading, obtaining, standardizing, categorizing, and sharing information as well as information inventorying, (United States, 2008). Administration of data tends to be poor, and governance of data that would assist companies manages data availability, utility, security and integrity are poor. Government regulations would assist enhances privacy, quality of data, government compliance, and security of data. Additionally, quality of data audits and cleansing are extremely required to reduce the irregularities of number of records counts, number of duplicated r ecords, and number of records without data fields and clear origins. 2. Reasons for creation of consolidated terror watch list and the advantages of the list It was established in reaction to criticisms that various agencies of government were keeping separate lists and that such sectors had no consistent process of crucial information sharing about their people on each list of agency.

Total Quality Management Within The UK Service Industry Management Essay

Total Quality Management Within The UK Service Industry Management Essay Total Quality Management is an approach that has been used over the years to improve quality and customer satisfaction. The implementation of TQM involves each member of an organisation from the top management to the entire workforce. The approach was first implemented in the manufacturing industry but it was later embraced in the service industry. The UK service industry which contributes greatly to the countrys economy is among the different industries that have been using TQM to improve its performance. Sectors such as banking, transport and communication, hotel and tourism are among some of the sectors that have implemented the approach in every transaction, process and service delivered to customers. However a critical analysis of the approach used within the UK service industry portrays the inadequacy of most companies to effectively implement the approach to gain maximally from its benefits. The concept of quality in project management has been in existence for a long time though its meaning has been evolving over time. In the early part of the 20th century, quality management was viewed as the inspection of products to ascertain that they met certain standards (Reid Sanders, 2005). Later in the 1960s quality was viewed to involve the entire organisation. All functions started being held responsible for the quality of the products and services. In the 1970s competition quality came to be with companies focusing on improving quality in order for them to be competitive. Companies that were not able to meet the quality standards set did not survive the competition. The concept of total quality management was later developed and it has led companies to build on quality of their products and processes. The efforts of the members within these organisations help improve the processes, culture, products and services in order to attain the quality standards expected. The concept was first developed in the manufacturing industry but it has spread to other industries such as the services sector (Pandian, 2007). In this sector total quality management focuses more on customer services and improving their satisfaction as they are considered to be very important in the sector. Companies that are considered to be in the service industry include hospitality and tourism companies, banking, insurance and financial companies, as well as telecommunication companies among others. Satisfying the customer is the main aim of these companies. The major challenge that these companies face while trying to attain this objective is the inability to establish smooth relations between them and the customers in order to retain them for future business. The total quality management approach helps these businesses to connect with their customers at every stage of the business process and in every transaction undertaken (Pandian, 2007). This paper undertakes a study of the total quality management approach that is used in the UK services sector and provides a critical analysis of the appropriateness of the approach in comparison to the academic models. The UK Services Industry The UK services sector is comprised of trades both wholesale and retail, restaurants and hotels, the financial services, transport and communication, real estate, government services, computing and IT among other business activities and services. The industry currently dominates the UK economy and remains a vital component of the economy. In the year 2000, the industry accounted for over 70% of the gross domestic product with the private part of the industry accounting for 50% (Skipper, 2000). The industry draws a lot of attention both locally and internationally in a bid to strengthen it and develop it further. During the year 2010, the industry experienced high growth and helped to improve the recovery process of the UK economy. According to BBC News (2010) the growth of the industry helped reduce job losses and grow the economy by 0.3%. The improved performance of the industry gave most companies confidence to increase their output in order to offset some of the challenges that the industry was facing such as the high fuel prices and VAT charges. The UK government has been putting pressure on most of the industries to improve on quality to enhance performance. Some of the industries have taken this up very seriously such as the service and manufacturing industries. In the service industry the health services, financial, hotel and tourism are among some of the sectors that have embraced the TQM approach. The concepts of quality, high standards and professionalism to improve customer satisfaction have been emphasised in these sectors to enhance competition. In the early 1980s the management of the UK financial services sector focussed mainly on administrative practises and personnel control rather than focussing on the customers (Hopwood Chapman, 2008 ). However with the deregulation of the banks the sector became similar to other industries such as manufacturing. The front office and back office services were formed and these led to the management now focussing on consultant services and pure administrative functions. Various techniques and approaches of management started being introduced and implemented such as the TQM, business process reengineering and activity based costing. Increased competition and lower interest rates started to define the banks as they engaged in marketing financial products to remain profitable (Hopwood Chapman, 2008 ). Interest in non financial performance measures engaged the banks in activities and processes that increased customer satisfaction, product quality, employee morale and job satisfaction, efficiency and productivity in order to improve market share. The management has now been focussing on the front line personnel who deal directly with the customers and influenced the service quality and delivery. They rely on the customer satisfaction and loyalty to maintain their market share and profitability. The banking industry which is the largest sector in the service industry in the UK benefits a lot from the TQM approach (Domingo, 2006). However the main issue that hinders the implementation of the approach is the lack of training in customer service. Most of the people in this sector are financial people who have little or no training on how to deal with customers. The TQM approach puts the customers at the centre and focuses on improving quality in order to satisfy them. A lot of planning and management is undertaken to ensure that the service quality is continually improved. All the people in the organisation need to be involved in the TQM approach for it to succeed and quality to be improved. Bankers and other employees in the financial sectors tend to concentrate more on the money issues and neglect the customers and quality (Frick, 1997). For this reason, the organisations in the financial sectors are not able to learn and apply the valuable lessons in customer service and people management to produce world class quality services. Presently the financial sector is ranked in terms of the financial resources and other quantitative measures such as asset base, number of transactions, depositors, loans released and other performance measures (Domingo, 2006). A lot of managerial focus is put on asset management, financial ratio analysis, cash flow and spread management among others. Most of the institutions use these measures to create satisfied customers. They ensure that their objectives, measurements and systems achieve this in order to improve the satisfaction levels of their customers. Empowerment of the workers in the service industry is one of the decisions that affect the implementation of the TQM approach. Workers need to be empowered for them to make decisions that regard quality of products and services and the satisfaction of customers. Employees also need to be involved and good communication channels set up for the approach to work. In this way each and every person in the organisation is involved in the total quality management programme and they improve in the way that they undertake their jobs in order to meet the objectives set. In most of the service industries in the UK, quality tends to be measured in terms of quantitative measures rather than qualitative. Companies simply use the approach that is used by the manufacturing companies which involve quantitative measures to determine the quality standards and the levels of customer satisfaction. However in the service industry, though it is difficult to quantify the customer satisfaction levels through their smiles and reviews, companies still continue to rely on quantitative measures. They focus on how quickly the customer got the service rather than focussing on whether the service that was delivered was good and in accordance to standards set. In order to gauge their quality standards and customer satisfaction, companies in the service industry focus on the customer complaints to provide a way of reviewing themselves (Hollins Shinkins, 2006). In the UK however studies have shown that most of the customers tend to accept the poor services offered and do not complain. They however move on to look for better services elsewhere. As part of the TQM approach noting and handling complaints is considered as a starting point of dealing with poor quality standards. Management should instead be more engaged in moving on to seeking the issues that lead to the complaints and handling them before the complaints are heard from the customers (Hollins Shinkins, 2006). This will help improve the image of the organisation since the UK dissatisfied customers who do not complain tend to tell others of their dissatisfaction with the services offered. The TQM approach used by the service providers should also focus on performing beyond the customers expectations. They should go a little further and attempt to satisfy the customers in more ways. The use of mystery shoppers has been used in the UK service sectors by companies like London Underground who used mystery shoppers to determine their quality performance (Hollins Shinkins, 2006). The shoppers were given booklets which had questions which required qualitative and quantitative answers. The quantitative questions required the mystery shoppers to give scores on standards such as cleanliness while the qualitative questions required the mystery shoppers to provide their own judgement. In order for the shoppers to provide some consistency in their answers to the qualitative questions, they were provided with some training on standards to that they could make sound judgements. In the UK transport sector, the government introduced contracts which allowed the local authorities and private bus operators to form partnerships that would help improve quality (House of Commons, 2006). This arrangement allows the bus operators to engage in high quality services, improve staff training and other facilities in order to improve customer satisfaction. Efforts have also been made by the operators to improve passenger information including how the buses are run to enhance service quality. The UK domestic and international tourism markets which are worth over  £17 billion every year have been attracting visitors from all over the world (Kandampully, Mok, Sparks, 2001). The service providers have been using the TQM approach to attract and retain most of these visitors for them to compete and increase their market share globally. They have been continuously improving their services and processes as per the TQM approach while also remaining efficient and effective. One of the principles that are commonly used by these companies is the establishment of plans and targets to improve the quality of the services they offer. Innovation and service delivery is also emphasised and encouraged. The standards that the customers demand are used as objectives in the plans set as a way of improving customer satisfaction. In the sport and leisure services, a quality management initiative was established in 1996 that brought together the private and public sector professionals (Kandampully, Mok, Sparks, 2001). The initiative was formed to enhance quality improvement, share knowledge and the best practises that can be used in these services. Managers were encouraged to involve the views of the customers in their operations. To improve service performance, self evaluations and assessments were introduced as part of the initiative to allow the companies to compare themselves with the industry standards. Customer relations, facility operations, staffing, service development and reviews were improved and encouraged as part of the management issues that can help improve customer satisfaction and service quality. Total Quality Management Total Quality Management has been defined by the International Standard ISO 9000 as the management approach that is focussed on quality through the participation of all the members of an organisation (Ramasamy, 2005). The approach aims for long term success and customer satisfaction as well as additional benefits to all members of an organisation and the society at large. The approach seeks to continually improve the quality standards and process by making sure that each and every member of the organisation understands and practises their role in a way that leads to the attainment of the goals set under the approach. The benefits of this approach are numerous and include higher profits, increased customer and employee satisfaction, more business and increased amounts of goodwill from the society towards the organisations (Ramasamy, 2005). The managerial and leadership styles are also made stronger and persistent among the top level management. Training of all employees helps in developing their skills and abilities and increases their morale. The organisations also become more efficient and effective with their material and human resources as they attain their objectives. Several concepts are used in this quality management approach. The major concept involves the focus on the customer (Naidu, Babu, Rajendra, 2006). Every task, decision and process is carried out with the customer in mind. According to the approach a company needs to continually check on the attitudes of the customers. It is also part of the approach for the management and employees to do everything right at the first time in order to reduce the complaints and levels of defective work. Continuous improvement is also emphasised to allow the company to get better. Under this approach management is advised to continually improve each and every part of the organisation rather than improving all sectors by 100% at once. The workforce should also be involved in the approach through transforming the culture of the organisation to embrace quality (Chapman Hall, 1994). This will help change the attitude of everyone in the organisation and enhance excellence rather than mediocrity. Training and frequently communicating with the workforce is also encouraged in this quality management approach. Enlarging the skills of the employees allows them to handle different tasks and also do them better (Pereira, 1994). Performance measurement is emphasised in the TQM approach as it helps the company to make decisions based on the results and maintain standards as well as keeping the processes at a certain standard. Top management need to be involved in the entire process for the approach to be successful. Employees can also be given the power to make some of the decisions that are needed on the spot to improve quality and customer satisfactions. Teamwork between the management and the employees can help reduce some of the issues, conflicts and provide a balanced working environment, improve employee morale as well as reduce the roles and responsibilities between the management and the employees (Ramasamy, 2005). Analysis The total quality management approach that is used in the UK service industry has helped improve the standards of quality and customer satisfaction within the various sectors. Some of the sectors have gained profits and larger market shares with the implementation of the approach in their processes and service delivery. However most of the sectors need to implement the approach further in all of their activities while involving the employees for the successful implementation and improvement of the benefits to be attained. Companies in the service industry need to undertake proper training of their workforce and improve communication channels in order to involve each and every member of the organisation in the delivery of services and improved quality standards. The top management need to frequently interact with the customers to listen to their views and opinions which should be integrated within the company. These views should help improve the decision making process and the objectives and goals to be achieved. The welfare of the employees also needs to be looked into for the approach to work. The needs of the employees need be taken care of and their issues addressed for them to be in a position to improve their attitudes towards quality and offer their best services to the customers and to the company. Empowering the employees can also boost their morale and confidence in undertaking their roles and responsibilities. Some of the decision making should be left on the employees to improve efficiency and make the employees feel like they are part of the organisation and improve their responsibilities. The companies in the service industry should shift from quantitative performance measurement techniques and instead use qualitative measures to determine their overall performance levels. The use of customer complaints should be avoided as it is a reactive measure. The companies should focus on proactive measures to determine their performance levels and improve their services and quality standards. With these techniques the service sector in the UK will perform much better than it is doing currently and continue dominating the economy. Conclusion The service industry in the UK has been dominating the economy of the country and providing a huge GDP. The government has been emphasising on the need for the industry to improve the quality of the services in order to allow the industry to compete effectively in the international market. Some of the sectors have adopted the TQM approach in their activities and process to help them improve their quality levels as well as improve customer satisfactions. The TQM approach has brought in different benefits for the companies in the sector. However a careful analysis of the approach used in these companies highlights the hindrances that have affected the implementation of the approach. The management of these companies need to embrace this approach fully in the service industry in order to gain maximally from the benefits of TQM. Bibliography BBC News. (2010, March 3). Service Sector Growth Hits Three-Year High. Retrieved January 6, 2011, from BBC News: Chapman, Hall. (1994). Total Quality Management: the key to business improvement. London: Springer. Domingo, R. T. (2006, March 4). TQM in Banking. Retrieved January 6, 2011, from RTD Online: Edraw Max. (n.d). TQM Diagram Software. Retrieved January 08, 2011, from Edraw Max: Frick, R. A. (1997). The Application of Total Quality Management on Service Quality in Banking. The Journal of Bank Cost Management Accounting , 10. Hollins, B., Shinkins, S. (2006). Managing Service Operations: Design and Implementation. London: SAGE Publications. Hopwood, A. G., Chapman, C. S. (2008 ). Handbook of Management Accounting Research. Oxford: Elsevier. House of Commons. (2006). Bus Service Accross the UK. London: The Stationery Office. Kandampully, J., Mok, C., Sparks, B. A. (2001). Service Quality Management in Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure. London: Routledge. Naidu, N., Babu, K. M., Rajendra, G. (2006). Total Quality Management. New Delhi: New Age International. Pandian, T. K. (2007, June 26). Importance of TQM for Services Sector. Retrieved January 6, 2011, from The Hindu Business Line: Pereira, J. (1994, October). Total Quality Continous Improvement. Management Services , 38. Ramasamy, S. (2005). Total Quality Management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill. Reid, R. D., Sanders, R. N. (2005). Total Quality Management. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Skipper, H. (2000, December). The UK Service Sector. Retrieved January 6, 2011, from Office for National Statistics:

Rewards and Challenges Essay

I know that in today’s society there will be many challenges one will face when choosing to become a teacher. I believe that learning how to maintain a classroom’s balance might prove to be difficult to a first year teacher. I know it will take a lot of patience and critique from peers to get into a â€Å"flow†. Teachers make literally hundreds of decisions every day, and many of them must be made with nearly spilt-second timing. There may be an issue of an electronic failure that prevents a teacher from following a prepared lesson plan. He/she will have to decide on how to teach the curriculum without the use of that aid. There may be an instance where behavior is an issue and the teacher needs to decide if the entire classroom should be effected or just a few students. Another challenge for a first year teacher might be how to identify bullying. I’m sure that as students gather on the playground or in the lunchroom where there is limited supervision in all areas, there may be some bullying happening that may appear to the teacher as play. It is proven that people who bully take advantage of imbalances in power, such as greater size or strength, higher status, or the support of a peer group. I feel it is vital that a teacher needs to get to know her students early in the year to recognize behaviors that might lead to bullying or those who may become targets. The student’s socioeconomic status will strongly affect learning. Some students may have parents with well paying jobs and are able to travel and perhaps wear more expensive clothing. Other students may barely have enough to eat and live in less than  adequate housing. I also feel that due to this status, some students may not have a strong support system at home to assist in their daily learning making it difficult for a student to be successful. As there will be many challenges, there are many rewards as well. The rewards in teaching can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Many people decide on the teaching profession due to the intrinsic rewards. I feel for myself, the most rewarding aspect would be seeing a student grow throughout the  year. They may begin with little knowledge on a subject and as the year progresses, a teacher may witness the day when â€Å"the light bulb goes on.† When I was in school, I found it very difficult to maintain an interest in my History courses. I found the information very boring and felt at the time had no impact on my current life. I can’t remember one single teacher that I had in this subject that was able to teach the curriculum in a way that I could maintain it. As I got older and became interested in the History channels on television and watching documentaries, I became extremely interested in this area, especially on the Civil War. I feel that if given the opportunity, I would teach in a way that would capture student’s interest. This would be a great reward to know that I was known a teacher that helped a student understand and appreciate our nation’s background. Another reward would be on the extrinsic side. I have a large family, so as the mother of four children, I look forward to summer vacations. Also, when there are snow days, I’m not trying to find daycare. I am able to have the same hours as my children so that we  may have plenty of family time together. This is very important to me personally. Also, other economic factors have influenced my attractiveness to teach. The annual salaries have been virtually guaranteed to increase. The benefits such as medical, dental and retirement are usually provided and the job is secure. In today’s economy, knowing that one has a profession that has this type of security is vital to families. If given the opportunity, I would love to be able to make a difference in the life of a child. I would take the kind of personal interest on an individual basis to ensure the success of all students that give an honest effort. I feel that with proper home support and a teacher that is committed to their position, every student has an opportunity for a successful future. APA Citations Teachers make literally hundreds of decisions every day and many of them must be made with split-second timing. ( Kennedy 2006) â€Å"Introduction to Teaching† (2011) p.10 People who bully take advantage of imbalances in power, such as greater size or strength, higher status, or the support of a peer group. (2011) â€Å"Introduction to Teaching† (p. 86) Introduction to Teaching (2011 Kauchak and Eggan) â€Å"Diversity: The Changing face of American Classrooms† (p. 20) Introduction to Teaching (2011) â€Å"Rewards and Challenges in Teaching† (p. 5) Introduction to Teaching (2011) â€Å"Extrinsic Rewards† (p. 8)

Central Group and Jirathivat Family Essay

Tiang Jirathiwat moved from China to Thailand with no asset. In 1947, he started a general store in in Samphanthawong district, Bangkok’s Chinatown. In 1957, his son, Samrit Jirathiwat, opened the first Central Department Store in Wangburapha and developed later on. In 1968, Central Silom was run with loss because people thought the imported items might be too expensive ! After two years, the Jirathiwats changed the strategy and made profit. Some family members (2nd Generation) were sent to study abroad and came back to develop Central Chidlom with Siblings and relatives. So, Central Chidlom made profit since its first year. Management Styles : First Generation : Tao Kae (concerned on cost of goods, loss and profit) Second Generation : Committee (concerned more on investment and finance) Third Generation : Family Council (development by family members under the family’s rules and regulations) The business transition from the first to the second generation was not complex, but from the second to the third generation was more complex, since nowadays there were much more business factors. For Central Group, which has been operating with many family members, there must be the rules and regulations besides the business issues. To be more focused on the third generation, they must work together and compromise â€Å"conservative† and with the â€Å"aggressive† styles ! Rotation and Distribution When to business turns to be more complex and operated by the larger numbers of family members, to make decisions is not simple. All Jirathiwats must know all A, B, C and D steps. Moreover, since the family members are graduated and have experiences in various fields, the work rotation and distribution are very efficient. Different families of Jirathiwats will work together, which leads to the family relation and unity. Jirathiwats is in charge of knowledge and experience of all family members. They focus both on â€Å"Drive and Control† as well as â€Å"Transition† of the family business. â€Å"The elements of strong business are Strategy, Money and People – money will bring strategies successful, but without good people, there won’t be an effective implementation†. (Tos Jirathiwat, CEO of CRC since 2002) Challenges In general family business, the CEO is wearing three hats; head of the family, business owner and the administrative CEO. This person must well balance all three actions, to be more specific, if he is focusing more on business issues, the family relationship can be weak. He should support the family members to be gradually evolved the business to make the members feel with this â€Å"family business† and are willing to involve of the business continuously. Hence, the conflict of interest will not be existing among the business performance and family harmony. This will make the transition to the next (4th) Generation the most possibly efficient. â€Å"The business competition is same as the war, which needs not only the individual ability but team work ! â€Å" Preventions â€Å"We must separate into two main issues; issues among family members and issues among stakeholders† (Tos Chirathivat, CEO of CRC since 2002) 1. Family Council From this reason, Family Council has been set in order to direct all Jirathiwats and give them rights and compensations. Here are some issues on Family Council : – Descriptions of a good member of Jirathiwat – The Rights that all Jirathiwats will receive, for instance, funds of birth giving, education, infrastructure expenses in family house, health care and hospitality. 2. Family Business Constitution Family constitution is strategies and solutions which should be implemented to deal with family-related matters that impact on business issues. It is necessary for family business to set regulations or rules in order to prevent conflicts that can happen. By the way, conflicts are the cause that creates regulation or rules. An effective Family Business Constitution might include: – criteria for joining the family business – a definition of roles – responsibilities of active – mechanisms to be adopted for the transfer of ownership and leadership. Jirathiwat Family also has a Family Constitution which will maintain harmony and co-operation, also solve conflicts. Agreements for family business are a clear, simple, understandable and enforceable set of guidelines for the effective operation and continuance of the enterprise. The 8 following issues are the Family Constitution of Jirathiwat, which seems to be very strict, but to link all family members together and to the family business: 1. All Jirathiwat families must stay in the same house, doing all activities together. 2. Everyone must respect in seniority, for example, parents will teach children, elder brother will teach his younger siblings. 3. Ranking is more important than age. 4. Democracy comes first and everyone has a right to express ideas. 5. All boys must be sent to Assumptions, girls to Mater Dei and everyone should be sent abroad. 6. The responsibities in business will be distributed to each, based on age, not seniority. 7. A bad action will be broadcasted to all family members as a bad example. 8. Instead of giving compliments, those persons who have good outcomes, will receive more business tasks and responsibilities. Lesson Learned Joel Arthur Barker said that â€Å"a set of rules and regulations (written or unwritten) that does two things† which are 1. It establishes or defines boundaries For Central: Everyone must have 6-year-experiences outside before coming back work with family 2. It tells you how to behave inside the boundaries in order to success For Central: Not doing business that competes with family business family business or relies on the mail family business. Prevention Before Solve – by setting regulations Put the right man on the right job – separate people up to their potential Last but not learst, as Jirathiwat has a policy in a form of â€Å"Executive Committee† operated by CEO group, business issues are apart from family issues. This is why they can have a strong family relationship, in the meanwhile, the business has been very well operated and continuously worldwide expanded only by family members.

Southwest Airlines - Key Points for - 1985 Words

Iqra University Gulshan Campus M. Phil: Strategic HRM Presentation Topic: Southwest Airlines: A Case Study Linking Employee Needs Satisfaction and Organizational Capabilities to Competitive Advantage written by Roger Hallowell Reference: Human Resource Management, 1996, Vol. 35(4), p. 513-534 Presented by: M. Shahnawaz Adil Dated: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 Course Facilitator: Mr. Ahsan Durrani Abstract (as written by Roger Hallowell): This article analyzes the sources of Southwest Airlines’ competitive advantage using an integrative approach, employing economic analysis tools to illustrate the roles of commitment and organizational capabilities in delivering competitive advantage at Southwest. A framework is presented†¦show more content†¦We will go in with 10 or 12. That eats up a lot of airplanes and capacity, so you cannot open a lot of cities. You hit them with everything you’ve got in one or two places instead of trying to fight them everywhere’. 16. SWA’s low-fare, high-frequency, point-to-point service was received very well in the western markets, including New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California. As of early 1991, the Company had 48 percent of its system capacity, as expressed in available seat-miles (ASMs), in this geographic region. This region contained 11 cities, including El Paso, and was the focus of SWA’s expansion activities during the late 1980s. Se rvice was initiated in Oakland in 1989 and in Burbank and Reno in 1990. Despite fierce competition in these markets, SWA was successful with its formula of low fares and frequent flights. 17. During 1990, SWA acquired more gate facilities at Oakland, nearly doubling the capacity for future Oakland flight operations. 18. In 1991, Phoenix (ranked 3rd) and Las Vegas (ranked 4th) in SWA’s system in terms of originating customer boardings. The Company management felt this region should continue to provide expansion opportunities in the future (ibid). 19. 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