Internal Conflicts in Hamlet Essay Example

Internal Conflicts in Hamlet Essay Example Internal Conflicts in Hamlet Essay Internal Conflicts in Hamlet Essay Throughout different contexts, perspectives change. With these changing perspectives, composers collaborate with one another in order to attain a heightened understanding of the context. The enduring quality of Hamlet arises from its textual integrity, and its exploration of universal themes relating to the human condition. As such, the cohesive nature of Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1601) is enhanced through Gregory Doran’s’ film interpretation Hamlet BBC (2009). An analysis of this contemporary production elucidates the concepts from the original play, exploring the deceptive facades of the protagonist and antagonist. Further we can observe the inter-play of duty on identity and judge the notions of mortality in order to realise the fragility of life. Both texts remain relevant in relating with the modern audience and more specifically, the symbolisation of the ‘mouse trap. ’ The notion of verisimilitude, which is chronic to humanity is exemplified in Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy Hamlet through the characters of Hamlet and Claudius. Noblemen such as King Hamlet were seen as individuals chosen by God; therefore Claudius’ fratricide against King Hamlet was seen as a supremely sinful deed in that context. The serious nature of his crime necessitated his facade. The use of first-person collective and plosives in ‘Our dear brothers’ death†¦ and our whole kingdom be contracted in one brow of woe’ (1. 2. 1-4) emphasizes Claudius’ overwrought attention in maintaining his ‘honest’ and ‘honourable’ image. The notion of illusion against reality is further emphasised in the paradox of ‘that we wisest think on him†¦ With one auspicious and one dropping eye’ which conveys Claudius’s insincerity and reflects man’s deceptive capabilities. Hamlet’s feigning of an ‘antic disposition’ symbolises his deceit in hiding his renaissance ideologies. Hamlet’s aphoristic statement â€Å"that one may smile, and smile, and be a villain†, after hearing of Claudius’s murderous act, evokes the central concern of the play in which the line between masquerade and authenticity is blurred. Doran’s interpretation of Hamlet also deepens the contemporary audiences’ understanding of the difficulty in distinguishing between truth and illusions. In our post-modernist humanist society the film portrays Claudius as a multifaceted individual. Over the progressive passing of time, there has been a lowering of standard and apprehension towards the royal families of today; hence Doran’s Hamlet (2009) interprets Claudius as the victim in the after –math of King Hamlets’ murder, rather than Hamlet. This is evident in the use of chiaroscuro and ominous, non-diegetic music in the background as Claudius presents his soliloquy ‘Oh my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;’, which portrays him as exposed and helpless. This is juxtaposed with Hamlet in the darkness, portraying him as sinister and secretive. The additional quirky facial expression on Hamlet captured by a POV shot during the ‘mouse trap’ scene is presented to heighten this discreet, dark atmosphere on Hamlet. Hamlet’s sustainment of his overzealous, insane actions during his soliloquy emphasizes the directors’ interpretations on Hamlet being mad in reality. Therefore, the tenuous nature of truth allows us to question mankind’s nature and how appearances can easily interfere with our perception of reality. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, through the characterisation of its protagonist, examines the justifiability of the universal notion of revenge. Hamlet faces an internal conflict to seek revenge against Claudius due to the conflicting notions of chivalric vengeance and the Renaissance ideal of divine retribution. The torment of the protagonist is conveyed in the soliloquy â€Å"O that this too too solid flesh would melt†, which depicts his deep anguish in fulfilling his fate as the avenger. (Do you have any ideas for contextual info? Shakespeare’s Hamlet indicates that rather Hamlet desiring to seek revenge for his father, he was merely forced into the action. The use of metaphor accompanied with war imagery ‘suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune†¦ To die, to sleep†¦ Ay, there’s the rub’ are used to highlight Hamlet’s conflicting dilemmas on suicide and spirituality. Hamlet’s contemplation of suicide emphasizes that the pressure of his duties laid down by the ghost has ultimately acted as a catalyst in initiating his down-fall. This can be concluded that Hamlets’ fate has been pre-determined, caused by a series of chain of events linked to the time period when King Hamlet was alive. This emphasizes the delicate, yet complicated structure of mortality how one course of action can dramatically change one individuals’ life. Hamlets’ contemplation in regards to his spiritual morality reflects and relates to the general dilemma of modern society, further proving that Hamlet remains relevant in society regardless of time. The use of personification ‘The undiscovered country†¦ puzzles the will†¦ thus conscience does make cowards of us all’ (3. . 79-83) foreshadows Hamlets’ existential conscience preventing him from taking revenge on Claudius quick enough. Contrastingly, Doran’s adaptation portrays Hamlet as an incompetent and demotivated individual in regards to his duties and identity. This emulates the ill-attentive, careless nature of the contemporary so ciety of today. The use of comical non-diegetic sound and a slanted crown on Hamlets’ head portrays him as care-free and ignorant of the situation he is in. Contrastingly, a more serious side of Hamlet is shown during the scene of Claudius’ soliloquy. Hamlets’ grim facial features in the darkness compared to Claudius under the light emphasizes Hamlet as being very sincere in regards to the revenge of Claudius. This is very puzzling as the directors’ overall interpretation of Hamlet differs from the serious nature of him in this scene. Through the director’s adaptation, this can be concluded as Hamlets’ inconsistency also shown throughout the course of the play. The concepts of revenge and retribution are seen strongly through Hamlets’ ponder on existentialism and the futile depth of his revenge. The use of allusion and repetition of Alexander the Great ‘Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust’ emphasizes that it is pointless in achieving for great things if in the end; we all are reduced to dust. This further reflects the care-free attitudes of the individuals in the modern society. Doran’s adaptation of Hamlet is a model exemplar of this concept by viewing revenge as a thrill-seeker in the eyes of Hamlet. Doran portrays Hamlet as very lively and excited during the scene of the ‘mouse trap’ displaying him as taking the whole situation as a game he must win through his facial features. Any other ideas? Ran out) This is assumed that it has been deliberately done by the director in order to contrast from the mundane lives of the contemporary society. In conclusion, the fluid nature of the universally coherent themes within Hamlet remains relevant in society regardless of time. Individuals obtain a heightened understandi ng of this play through the collaboration of unique ideas. Doran additionally further highlights Hamlet’s sinister image through the absence of light on Hamlets’ face during the scene of Claudius’ soliloquy.

Choosing a Path 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choosing a Path 2 - Essay Example In the three divisions of business finance given by the SJSU, decision-making is a common required skill. Thus, as expected, critical thinking and analytical skills would be crucial should I be dealing with financial institutions, investments or corporate finance. The need to understand the function of money in corporate finance and management investment portfolios in investments would call for acquisition of logical and computation skills. Being self motivated and proactive would be crucial in understanding the events in the environment from which I would make informed and prudent decisions. Above all, skills in information technology would be useful in leveraging on technology to efficiently and effectively execute the assigned tasks. I, however, did not realize that communication skills would be that crucial for business finance major. In my view, finance is exclusively a numerical course. Therefore, all communication would be through logical representation of numbers to make sense to the audience. I thought that communication skills would perhaps be more critical to a marketing major as this course largely involves persuasion, thus the need for effective communication. However, the SJSU catalog on business finance indicates a requirement to pass in about three courses in writing. This shows the importance of communication in this course. Even so, I am ready to learn the communication skills required for a successful career in finance, writing not being new to me. This would be important to complement the technical skills that I will learn in finance. A majority of the courses expected for business finance major are interesting. Fundamentals of Finance seems interesting. As indicated in the SJSU catalog, this course would provide an understanding of how finance relates to others arms of business so as to influence decision-making. It would further educate on how financial resources are allocated in an

Reasons behind Nursing as Career Choice Literature review

Reasons behind Nursing as Career Choice - Literature review Example From this research it is clear that nurses often compose the biggest group of healthcare professionals all over the world. In the United Kingdom (UK), there are around 27 physicians for every 10,000 people, while there are 103 nurses and midwives for the same ratio. Nurses are also considered as versatile caregivers and the backbone of the national healthcare system. Recruiting general nurses, especially in the United States and Europe, however, has undergone considerable decline over the years. Lai, Peng, and Chang and Preston noted that nursing recruitment and attrition are worldwide concerns, even for first world countries. They are concerned of the reasons that compel nurses to leave the nursing profession, such as lack of support from other healthcare staff and poor avenues for professional development. These nurses would have stayed in the profession if they received more support from mentors or coaches, as well as opportunities for professional development. A decreasing number of entrants to the profession of nursing have also been a core issue for many countries. The increased rates of nursing student attrition have brought about multiple quality and quantity healthcare delivery issues. In 2002, Jennings reported attrition rates in pre-registration nurse education that ranged from 27 per cent to 40 per cent for the entire United Kingdom alone. Price reviewed the qualitative literature on nursing as a career choice and one of the reasons that students do not pursue nursing or stop pursuing nursing is because of the â€Å"paradox of caring†... These external and internal concerns are only some of the reasons that the nursing profession has experienced loss of nurses and decrease in nursing students. Chapter One will explore recruitment, selection, and retention issues. It will provide the overview on the positive and negative images of nursing to target students. It will show that there is a research gap on studying the motivations of both nurses and potential nursing students in pursuing nursing as a long-term career option. It will also discuss the research goals of the researcher. 1:2 The Demand is Not Equal to the Supply Numerous nursing recruitment (Wells and McElwee, 2000), orientation (Price, 2009), retention (While and Blackman, 1998), socialisation (Price, 2009) and attrition issues (Rognstad, Aasland, and Granum, 2004) have affected the supply of nurses all over the world. Demand for nurses and other healthcare professionals and workers, however, continue to rise, as life expectancy improves and people experienci ng acute and chronic health conditions increase (van den Heuvel et al., 2009). One of the main causes of the discrepancy between nursing demand and supply is the human resource management (HRM) practices and strategies of healthcare institutions (Locke, Alavi, and Wagner, 1997). According to reports, there have been challenges in nurse recruitment and the filling up of nursing positions at hospitals. For instance, in 2000, there was a shortage of an estimate of 110,700 registered nurses as reported by the Ministry of Health in the US (Sochalski, 2002). In addition, Buerhaus, Staiger, and Auerbach (2008) reported that the shortfall of registered nurses in the country is likely to

Misuse Of Drugs And Alcohol: Effect on Children

Misuse Of Drugs And Alcohol: Effect on Children This research proposal concerns the investigation and analysis of the impact of parental misuse of alcohol on children. The perceptions of policy makers and members of society in the UK have for many years acknowledged the negative consequences of excessive alcohol consumption on health, behaviour and public safety. Such perceptions have in turn resulted in curbs on sale of alcohol to young people and to restrictions on driving under its influence. Social workers along with professionals in areas like health, medicine and law and order are also working towards reducing domestic violence and disruption on account of alcohol misuse (Bancroft, et al, 2005, p 47). The impact of parental alcohol misuse on children has however been largely ignored, even in the midst of growing concern about increasing alcohol consumption; especially amongst young people (Murray, 2005, p 7). Recent reports highlight that children numbering more than 2.6 million in the UK live with dangerous drinkers, even as more than 8 million children are adversely affected by alcohol misuse of family members. Families where parents misuse alcohol are by and large characterised by poorer functioning. Such families are perceived to lack cohesion, ritual and routines; they have (a) lesser levels of verbal and physical expression, display of positive feelings, and caring and warmth, and (b) greater degrees of unresolved conflict (Murray, 2005, p 9). Misuse of alcohol by parents is seen to be causal in (a) adverse physiological and physical outcomes for children and (b) fostering of environments that are unfit for children, both for development and for living. Such environments are marked by numerous incidences of neglect and direct or indirect violence (Harwin Forrester, 2002, p 84). There is a great deal of evidence to show that parental alcohol misuse can harm children in diverse ways and lead to behavioural difficulties in early and later life. Children exposed to domestic conditions of parental alcohol misuse are less likely to do well in the classroom and appear to be more prone to mental health problems in later life (Harwin Forrester, 2002, p 85). Evidence also suggests that a huge majority of alcohol dependent people in the UK had alcohol misusers for parents and work towards perpetuating the cycle for future generations (Kroll Taylor, 2003, p 25). There is also disturbing evidence to reveal that parental misuse of alcohol is significantly associated with deaths and serious abuse. Studies of adults, who are homeless, imprisoned or have substance misuse problems show significant association of such people with parents who misuse alcohol (Kroll Taylor, 2003, p 27). 1.2. Aims and Objectives The proposed research study aims to study the impact of parental misuse of alcohol in detail, with specific regard its relevance for social work theory and practice. The objectives of the dissertation are as under: To investigate the short and long term consequences of parental alcohol misuse on children? To investigate the relevance of the issue in current social work theory and practice? To assess the rationale, validity and effectiveness of current social work approaches in improving the situation, with regard to both results and costs To provide recommendations on improving policy and practice approaches towards improving outcomes for children of parents with alcohol misuse problems. 2. Literature Review 2.1. Short and Long Term Consequences of Parental Alcohol Misuse on Children Research reveals that children of parents who misuse alcohol consumption can suffer from a variety of physical, psychological and behavioural problems with short and long term outcomes. As alcohol problems differ in character, severity and time period, their impact upon children also varies (Murray, 2005, p 4). It is however clear from national and international studies that the children of families in which one or both parents engage in alcohol abuse have greater problems than others. Seven important features of the family lives of these children, namely (1) roles, (2) rituals, (3) routines, (4) social life, (5) finances, (6) communication, and (7) conflict could be adversely affected (Murray, 2005, p 5). Whilst parents with alcohol abuse problems cannot certainly be equated with bad or uncaring parents, research does suggest that alcohol problems adversely affect parenting quality. Excessive drinking can make individuals emotionally unavailable, unpredictable and inconsistent and result in passive, neglectful or even harsh parenting (Grekin, et al, 2005, p 15). With children learning from their parents about who they are, particularly in relation to others, children of parents who engage in alcohol abuse are likely to get ambiguous and inconsistent information, mainly because of the unpredictability on the behaviour and responses of such parents (Grekin, et al, 2005, p 18). Whilst inconsistency occurs mainly on account of the unpredictable way in which such parents behave, such impulsiveness and irresponsibility in their behaviour results in the imposition of responsibilities on children that are excessive and beyond their years, which in turn affects their education, their family life and their relationships with their peers (Murray, 2005, p 9). Such children also face high risks of social exclusion because of their urge to conceal their parental drinking from their friends. Such children sometimes carers of their parents, especially in circumstances of domestic violence and can ally with the drinking parent or against him or her. Psychologists and behavioural specialists state that children of problem drinkers could fail to internalise their feelings of worth and trust and often learn not to trust, feel or talk. They may also be worried about the abilities of their parents to safeguard them and thus find it difficult to trust others (Murray, 2005, p 9 ). Children of parents with alcohol problems are at significantly greater risk of witnessing and experiencing verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as neglect. Excessive alcohol consumption plays a major role in 25 to 33 % of known child abuse cases (Kroll Taylor, 2003, p 29). Children of problem drinkers are also extremely likely to blame themselves for the difficulties experienced by their families in naÃÆ' ¯ve attempts to make their environment become better able in supporting them. Such children are also likely to carry their experiences of childhood into adulthood. Unborn children of mothers engaged in alcohol abuse during pregnancy can develop Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), involving a variety of mental and physical health problems (Kroll Taylor, 2003, p 34). 2.2. Resilience among Children of People with Alcohol Consumption Problems Whilst many of the problems described above place significant demands on social workers, especially when they continue through generations, it is also true that some children of parents with drinking problems do not seem to face as many difficulties as others. They appear to have greater resilience (Murray, 2005, p 5). Contemporary research reveals that certain protective processes and factors can reduce the adverse effect of parental alcohol difficulties on children, in the short as well as the long term. Such protective factors include high degrees of confidence and self esteem, self efficacy, ability to handle change, good problem solving skills, strong and positive family functioning, close and positive bonding with one or more caring adults, and good support networks beyond the family (Murray, 2005, p 7). Protective processes on the other hand include planning on behalf of children to make their lives less disruptive by (a) reduction of the impact of risks by altering the exposu re of children to such risks, and (b) development and maintenance of self efficacy and self-esteem and self efficacy, and (c) improving the care provided by parents (Murray, 2005, p 7). 2.3. Social Work Policy and Practice for Children of Parents with Alcohol Related Problems The national policy for dealing with adults with alcohol related problems is fragmented and approaches the issue from different angles. The main components of the governmentà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s national policy towards containment of alcohol misuse are as under (Galvani, 2006, p 3-7): The National Alcohol Harm Reduction strategy for England focused upon the requirement for services in the area of alcohol and domestic abuse to function together to address the issue. The guidance document for the delivery of alcohol strategy acknowledges the requirement for assessment of consequences of alcohol problems on children. The guidance document on alcohol misuse intervention focuses on the ways in which PCTs, along with local authorities, criminal justice agencies and voluntary agencies should understand and implement their roles in dealing with alcohol related crimes. The Drug and Alcohol National Occupational Standards appreciates the requirement for workers to be able to safeguard and reduce the risk of abuse, both by and to their clients. The vision for services for children and young people who are affected by domestic violence guides commissioners on (a) the important aspects of support for children and young people experiencing domestic abuse, (b) assessment of gaps in local services, and (c) their priorities for action. The Children Act 1989 and its subsequent amendments incorporates the witnessing or hearing of bad treatment of children by other persons to be included in parameters for assessment of harm. The National Service Framework for children, young people and maternity services focuses upon relationship conflict and alcohol and drug use as important areas where parents could require early intervention as well as multi-agency support. The 2009 Task Force Report in response to Lord Lamingà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Report states that many children continue to be at risk of harm on from the people they should otherwise be rely on for care and love and that the government is responsible for doing everything possible to safeguard such vulnerable children (HM Government, 2009, p 29). The 2011 Munro Report on child protection states the need for abandoning the old standardised and bureaucratic approach to child protection and customising services on the basis of the experiences and needs of children Monroe, 2010, p 1). The recently elected coalition government is in the process of assessing and reshaping national policy towards social work and some refocus of attention of policy makers on the consequences of impact of parental alcohol misuse on children is expected. 2.4. Research Questions The aims and objectives of the proposed research, along with the information obtained from a brief review of literature have resulted in the formulation of the following research questions. Research Question 1: What are the short and long term consequences of parental misuse of alcohol on children? Research Question 2: How is current social work policy and practice dealing with this problem? Research Question 3: What is the rationale of existing policies and practices for improving the lives of children threatened by excessive parental consumption of alcohol? Research Question 4: What is the validity of such policies and practices and what is the extent of their effectiveness? Research Question 5: How can current policies and practices be improved for bettering the life outcomes of children at risk from parents who engage in excessive alcohol consumption? 3. Research Method 3.1. Choice of Research Method Social research is by and large conducted with the use of positivist and interpretivist epistemologies, which in turn largely call for the respective use of quantitative and qualitative methods of research (Bryman, 2004, p 43). With the issue under investigation being extremely complex and multifaceted, the use of quantitative methods is hardly likely to yield any substantial or new results. Quantitative surveys on the issue have already revealed the various problems that can stem from excessive alcohol consumption by parents on their children. The use of interpretivist methodology and qualitative research techniques should help in the investigation and analysis of the subject under issue. It is proposed to obtain relevant information on the subject from appropriate primary and secondary sources, whilst information from secondary sources will be obtained from the substantial amount of information and research findings on the subject that is publicly available. The researcher proposes to obtain primary information through the conduct of detailed one-to-one interviews with three social workers who have been closely involved in providing services to the families and children of people suffering from alcohol misuse problems. The interviews will be conducted carefully with the use of a range of open and close ended questions and will hopefully lead to interesting and relevant information. 3.2. Ethics The researcher will take all measures to follow appropriate ethical codes of conduct, with regard to informed consent, confidentiality, absence of coercion, and freedom to answer or not to answer questions. Efforts will be made to ensure that the research is totally original and devoid of any form of plagiarism (Creswell Clark, 2006, p 69).

The History of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt Essay -- Egyptian Kingdom

The History of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both cradles of civilization. Both contributed greatly to human development through their achievements, failures, peoples, scientific accomplishments, philosophies, religions, and contributions. Mesopotamia is a rich flat plain created by deposits from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At the southern end of this plain developed the first recognizable civilization, in the area known as Sumer. In 3000 B.C. Sumer contained a dozen or more city-states, each ruled by its own king and worshiped its own patron deity. The citizens of these city-states were classified into three classes: nobles and priests, commoners, and slaves. In the center of a Sumerian city usually stood a tower culminating in a temple for the patron god of the city. The Sumerians believed that this patron god owned the whole city. The Geography of this city helped a lot with the trade, and led to mathematics as well. The Sumerians developed a precise system of mathematical notation called the sexagesimal, in which the number sixty is the main element. We even use this system in our world today! The Sumerian’ chief contribution to later civilizations was writing, even though their script was pictogra phic. Through these pictographic scripts historians found a long narrative known as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is a great hero and ruler who sets out to recover cedar from northern lands. He travels with his companion Enkidu, who is killed by the storm god, Enlil. Mourning the loss of his companion and confronted by death himself, Gilgamesh travels the world in search of eternal life. He ends up finding the plant of eternal youth, but a serpent swallows it while he is bathing. The epic ends with his death and funeral. The Sumerians believed that the gods created people to be their slaves. The first Great Warlord came from the region of Akkad, an area north of Babylon. His name was Sargon, and he conquered all of Mesopotamia. Sargon was from a group of people called the Semites. The only difference between the Semites and the Sumerians were linguistics. Semites spoke many different languages like Akkadian, Hebrew, and Canaanite. The Sumerian people adapted the Akkadian language. Sargon and his successors ruled from Akkad until 2230 B.C, when internal disagreement ended the Akkadian... ... King Tutankhamen moved the capital back to Thebes and favored the older god Amen-Re. In the 19th Dynasty arose the greatest pharaoh, Ramses II. Ramses achieved a period of temporary peace. In this period he spent time and money on luxurious building projects. A major achievement in Egyptian society was the role of women. Women were allowed to own land and pass it down to their daughters. Women also helped with agriculture and went shopping. Women were legally equal to men but in their own class. They even started having occupations. Some were singers, dancers, priests, and professional mourners. Women were even buried next to their husbands in an elegant tomb. As you can see there are many differences and similarities between the Sumerians and Ancient Egyptians. Both were one of the first civilizations and contributed into the development of how our world works today. From politics to family life our culture today has come from a very long line of ancient civilizations and reforms. Work Cited Chambers, Mortimer, The Western Experience. McGraw-Hill College, 1999 pg. 6-20 David, A. Rosalie, The Egyptian Kingdoms. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1975.

Jamestown and Plymouth Compare and Contrast

Jamestown and Plymouth By: Arrow Krueger United State History II Mr. TR Smith NPHS 24 October 12 Jamestown and Plymouth were two separate voyages set for America with different ideas and goals thought out for each. One of these voyages was coming to America so that they could have a better life for themselves, by making a permanent settlement where they could start their lives and their children’s lives again. The other was for economic reasons from a company in London that just wanted to obtain a larger market for manufactured goods coming from England.These voyages were improvements from what we knew of our world back in the 1400’s. Both voyages were varied a lot from one another but meet some of the same obstacles and likenesses. Each journey had things that set them back, and a lot of them weren’t even related to weather. One of the major setbacks was that a lot of people didn’t want to work. The work was very hard, they were starting a whole life new, and since they were, they would need to collect material for homes, if they didn’t have enough equipment for their work, they would have to start making tools which would tire them out fast.The work that they did ended up doing good for the settlers on both sides as a whole at least even if they were set back in the beginning of their time in the new world. The Jamestown voyage happened almost thirteen years before the Plymouth Voyage to America took place. In 1607, 104 men landed in what is now called Virginia. This journey was mostly for economic purposes from a company in London. The creators of the company wanted to expand English trade and obtain a wider market for English manufactured goods. They came on ships from England, and the names of the ships were the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery.They became the first permanent English settlement in the new world now known as America. The Plymouth voyage took place in 1620 and there were 102 settlers that came on this journey. This voyage was for people from England that wanted a different sort of environment, with different people and laws. These people were in search of a better life for themselves and their families with fewer problems than when they were in England. The people no longer had to worry about how their personal beliefs differed from others, and they didn’t need to abide by the same rules as the government that they had in England.This voyage is the one which mainly shaped the world that we live in now, with laws and beliefs used and allowed even as far back as the 1600’s. Jamestown was situated in the lands of the Tsenacommacah nation of Algonquian Indians in the eastern part of Virginia. The chief of over two dozen tribes in the nation was called Powhatan by the settlers. The Indians had peace for many years before to the arrival of the English, and while they were careful around the new settlers, they did not fear them. Hostile Europeans who landed in North Ameri ca decades before 1607 were common knowledge among the Indians.Indians respected strength they believed Europeans had and were amazed by their weapons. Even so they tested the settler's strength whenever they could. Settlers sometime stole corn from the Indians and Indians sometime stole tools from the English. Such theft occasionally led to fighting back which ended in the loss of life on both sides. Plymouth was settled in the lands of the Wampanoag nation Algonquian Indians in southeastern Massachusetts. The chief of the Wampanoag was named Massasoit. Several years before the Pilgrim's landing the Wampanoag were ravaged by an epidemic.Even with their earlier epidemic, they also feared attack from the Tarrentine Indians which were north of them, and the Narragansetts that were west. Massasoit noticed some common interests he shared with the colonists. Massasoit’s nation needed protection from the other Indian tribes and the colonists needed supplies, and most importantly, k nowledge of how to survive in the wilderness. John Carver, who was the first governor of Plymouth, and Massasoit agreed to a peace treaty in 1621 in which they swore to come to each other's aid, protect each other from insurrection, and never to steal from each other.Tolerance the Pilgrims and Wampanoag showed each other and the peace they worked to maintain were unique in the 17th century. From time to time, each had to yield to the other to preserve peace and address concerns of their constituents, but owing to Bradford's and Massasoit's leadership, peace survived for over 40 years, well after the death of each man. Two examples illustrate this good relationship. Jamestown and Plymouth have a lot in common, like both having contact with the Native Americans, both coming from England, each voyage took place in a different year, and they both sailed to America.On the other hand, Jamestown and Plymouth had quite a bit of things that were different from each other for example, their r eason to leave England, and the amount of people who came on each voyage. Nevertheless both contributed greatly to present American heritage of law, custom, government, religion, and heritage. Therefore Jamestown and Plymouth were very important to modern America, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without these two groups.

Relationship Marketing - Parcel Force - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1675 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? Unit 11: Relationship Marketing P4: Use different techniques to identify perceived quality gaps for selected service/product. Parcelforce Worldwide was established in 1985, stand alone Business Unit in 1992. For over 14 years Parcelforce Worldwide has provided a vital link for British businesses needing to send express shipments internationally and in UK. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Relationship Marketing Parcel Force" essay for you Create order It is part of Royal Mail Group Plc. Parcelforce Worldwide has 4.3% of market, Post Office Ltd 9%, GLS 15.9%, others 0.7% and finally Royal Mail Letters 70.2% of market. In a year 2000 Parcelforce reached the peak loses in profit of  £193m which half of  £1m the Royal Mail Group was losing a day. Ten years later these guys do a miracle and have profit on  £20m, some people say that was impossible for them to do it but they did it. It wasnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t easiest road to victory but after hitting the bottom line they got up. Parcelforce saw revenues rise by 5% to  £420m, volumes in the highly competitive business to business markets grew by 15% and Parcelforce Worldwide overall growth have shocked and surprised their key rivals. (1) It is amazing on how they have change throughout 10 year time and gain profit. One thing they have done is the strategy change on how they are operating the business. In 2001 the business cost were jet high which meant mone y goes out of business and business is struggling whereas after 10 years the costs has been reduced to competitive costs. In 2001 the customer service were poor, meaning that people were not satisfied on how company delivered their packages. They have changed that and has become customer friendly business with next day delivery improved to 97.7%. The prices for parcel were low but the volume was high, the changed that other way around the prices per parcel is higher with fewer parcels to send. Also instead of having more than 10 thousands employees they have reduced to 4 and half thousand which saves business money. Which after all these improvements have increased their market share to 16% from 14%. (2) These are the key factors throughout which they have improved their business there are three main quality techniques through which Parcelforce also have improved business: Benchmarking, Gap Analysis and Quality Circles. Benchmarking- It is a technique through which business is comparing their business to key competitors. This is to discover where they should be/how to improve the performance. There are currently about 20 national companies and 10 international companies who are operating express delivery services in the UK. However, there are over 4,000 local companies. 50% of the UK market accounts 10 operators. Over half of the market belongs to around a thousand small companies, which none of them even have 1% market share. This over-capacity in the parcel market, combined with the low switching cost to customer, has resulted in fierce competition. Parcel force is named the UKà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s largest parcel firm, but it only has 16% of the market compared to its nearest rival Securicor of 9%. If we are looking at the international base the four biggest firms are: DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS. Parcelforce has just 9% of the UK international parcels market compared to key four rivals, DHL (17%) and UPS (11%). Parcelforce has reported a strong revenue g rowth and record profit of the 2010-11 financial year (revenue rose by 5% to  £420m). (3) Throughout the years and good business strategy Parcelforce has received couple awards. In 2012 they receive award for being ranked 2nd based on market share (Experian Hitwise Winner) and best international parcel carrier of 2012. (4) Gap Analysis à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a technique which analyse on what can be done to close the gap in this case in customer service. To improve their customer service, Parcelforce Worldwide has undertaken gap analysis. This is detailed exercise that assesses: To see where the business is at the particular moment? To look in the future and see where their want to be? To see what needs to be done and what type of targets needs to be set to achieve the future view. Parcelforce is using these analysis to identify the key service so called touchpoints for customer service. Customer has an impact in six main areas of the business: Deliveries to their customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" providing on time deliveries, response to queries and clear documentation. Re-deliveries à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" ensuring that right procedures are in order. Collections from customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" providing timely service with documentation. End-to-end parcel location tracking à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" online service which provides their customer all needed updates on their parcels shipping and deliveries. Customer contact à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" improved the communication with customers either by phone or online. Making claims à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" make it easy for people make claims that something is not right. Each of these six areas Parcelforce has identified the best practice in the industry. It compares their performance by benchmarking itself to their competitors. It then assesses on how to improve its processes to achieve best practice. Parcelforce is determine to achieve each of these process right to achieve customer service to excellent level. (5) If we are looking back at 2004 their contact volumes and performance by channel was bad and reason for gap analysis. Phone calls to call centre volume per week was 59,000 only 89% of them was answered or successful, rest of the 11% lost. Phone calls to depots have not even recorded so there is no information on how much calls they received and what % of them have been answered. Company had received around 2,000 emails per week and there were no data on how many have been answered. Voice recognition tracking volume is around 12,500 week 32% of the voice recognition was successful rest of them is just lost. There were around 60,000 web research which none of them were tracked or responded. Which in the end means that Parcelforce had no targets for email turn-round, no review of web search successes, dreadful voice recognition test and no idea of what was happening in their depots. Looking at these facts means that business had no idea on what is really happening with their business. When the person is trying to call to business was dreadful and ended up with customer being more frustrated than before making a call. Firstly when the customer is calling the centre they get automatic answer where customer selects collections option. Then they proceed and waits within the queue when it is been answered. Then when its get through finally to an agent they asking for tracking number and result they are answering that it is been wrong option and needs to call again and select right option. When customer calls and select right option they get voice recognition portal which 66% of customers try to use it but been unsucc essfully. The after voice recognition they been queued for an agent if they are successful which by the end customer is so angry they taking all anger on the poor agent on the other end of phone line. All this not only cost customer money but also business and its sure not effective. The fact is that customers have been charged for 2 calls instead of one. Plus the process was increasing average holding time which then cost business a lot. In the end after all this experience making customers very unhappy. (3) Quality Circle à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Is method on which groups of employees have regular base meetings to consider a solution to any problems that is arising and improving production within the organisation. The key facts about quality circle is that it have proved to be effective way of improving productivity continuously. It was first devised by Dr Kaoru Ishikawa to help Japanese foremen control quality, now they are used to improve any area. Most employees will want to ta ke a part in solving their work problems and making their jobs more interesting and less frustrating. If we talking about customer service than looking at Royal Mail they are investing a lot of money within customer service. As a result Royal mail operate the largest call centre networks in the UK. Calculating the total amount company deals with over 14.7 million customer enquiries over a year. Including average of 568,000 call and 28,000 emails every month and 62,000 post letters a year. Their website has been biggest hit so far according to customers as they have visited website more than 116 million times between 2010 and 2011. The best part about is that 1.23 million from 14.7 million were customer complaints is still big number but is less than year before. Over 99% of complaints were resolved at the first line customer service. Reducing the numbers of complaints is the number one thing for Royal Mail and is supported by quality circles. During 2010/2011 Royal Mail worked hard to improve the experience for Parcelforce and Royal Mail customers. For instance, their quality circle helped to introduce a new range communication channels including and even online advisor chat service and even a Twitter account. Royal Mail have put big effort into simplifying their customer complaints process in order to make it easier for customer to contact the business. Royal Mail is all about customerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s satisfaction and they are trying all they can to resolve any problems their customers might have. (6) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The role of quality circle within the Royal Mail industry is firstly to continue the improvements to the core customer service proposition and focused action to tackle the causes of recent complaints. Secondly greater openness with Parcelforce customers, providing with better time information, clear statement on intent and enhanced transparency reporting.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (6) Their employees 77% of them have said that are happy to wo rk within Parcelforce and they feel that they have influence of change the way the business is operating and things are done. (7) References: Overview and Key facts, Parcelforce Worldwide, accessed at: https://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/about-us/overview-and-key-facts On: 17/05/14 Our Partners, Parcelforce Worldwide, accessed at: https://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/about-us/our-partners On: 17/05/14 Referred to class notes Awards, Parcelforce worldwide, accessed at: https://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/about-us/awards# On: 17/05/14 The implementation of customer service, Business case study, accessed at: https://businesscasestudies.co.uk/parcelforce-worldwide/customer-service-as-a-strategy/the-implementation-of-customer-service.html#axzz329LOxAAI On: 17/05/14 Royal Mail Group Corporate responsibility Report 2010/2011, Royal Mail, accessed at: https://www.royalmailgroup.com/sites/default/files/CSR_Report_2010-11.pdf On: 17/05/14 Parcelforce story so far, Telegraph 29 September 2005, accessed at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2922997/Parcelforce-the-story-so-far.html On: 17/05/14