Contract Laws In China and America Essay

I.Concepts and Features of Contract and Contract Law I.Concepts A.Concept and Features of Contract 1. Concept of Contract According to the provision of Article 2 of the Contract Law of People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as Contract Law), contract is the agreement in which natural persons, legal persons or other organizations with equal status declare a common intention to establish, alter and terminate civil rights and obligations. Contract was once divided into agreement and contract. Agreement refers to the civil legal act established by both parties’ consensus with regard to opposite intentions, such as sales agreement. Contract refers to the civil legal act established by two or above three parties’ consensus with regard to collateral intentions, such as partnership contract. However, such division can no longer be seen in our current laws and the two are collectively referred to as contract. Contract has its broad and narrow meanings. In the broad sense, contract refers to all agreements generating rights and obligations, such as labor contract, administrative contract, civil contract, etc. Furthermore, civil contract may also be divided into creditor’s right contract, real right contract, intellectual property contract, identity contract, personality right contract, etc. In the narrow sense, contract refers to the agreement for involved parties with equal status to establish, alter and/or terminate civil rights and obligations. The contract adjusted by the contract law is generally confined to the contract of creditor’s right, real right and/or intellectual property, etc. 2. Features of Contract It can be seen from the concept of contract — contract is the agreement in which natural persons, legal persons or other organizations with equal status declare a common intention to establish, alter and terminate civil rights and obligations that, contract has the following legal features: Contract is a kind of civil legal act implemented by natural persons, legal persons and/or other organizations with equal status. As the most important legal fact, civil legal act is the lawful act implemented by civil subjects, which can generate, alter or terminate civil right and obligations. Since contract is a kind of civil legal act, it is different from fact behavior in nature. Fact behavior refers to the act which does not take the declaration of intention as an essential condition and cannot generate the legal effect expected by the party involved, such as infringing act, picking up lost property, etc. In nature, contract as the civil legal act belongs to lawful act. That is to say, only under the circumstance that the declaration of intention made by the contracting parties is lawful, the contract is legally binding and protected by national laws. On the contrary, in case contracting parties make illicit declaration of intention, the agreement, even already reached, may not have the effect as a contract. As contract is a kind of civil legal act, general regulations of civil law concerning civil legal acts, such as essential condition of civil legal act, the ineffectiveness and revocation of civil act, are all applicable to contract. 3 Contract is the civil legal act in which two or more parties declare a common intention. The establishment of a contract shall have two or more parties who declare intention to each other and achieve a consensus. If such declared intentions are not consistent, no contract will be formed. Even though â€Å"one party cheats or threats or take advantage of the other party’s precarious situation to make such other party to conclude a contract which violates its real intention†, the party suffering damages is entitled to request people’s court or arbitration agency to alter or revoke the contract (Article 54.2 of the Contract Law. For similar notes cited in the following text, Contract Law will be omitted). Contract is the civil legal act with a view to establishing, altering and terminating civil rights and obligations. Establishing civil rights and obligations refers to that after parties involved conclude the contract pursuant to the law, civil rights and obligations thus emerge between; altering civil rights and obligations refers to that after parties involved conclude the contract pursuant to the law, the previous civil rights and obligations between them is changed and new civil rights and obligations are formed; terminating civil rights and obligations refers to that after parties involved conclude the contract pursuant to the law, the civil rights and obligations previously existing between them are abolished. â‘ £Contract is a civil legal relationship generated on an equal and voluntary basis by parties involved. That is to say, the subjects concluding the contract have equal legal status and no party may impose its will on the other party. â€Å"Parties of a contract have equal legal status and one party may not impose its will on the other party† (Article 3); â€Å"Parties have the right to conclude a contract voluntarily according to law and no unit or individual may intervene illegally† (Article 4). â‘ ¤Contract is the civil legal act which is legally binding. â€Å"The contract concluded according to law is legally binding upon parties involved. Parties shall perform their obligations as agreed and may not alter or terminate the contract with no consent†; â€Å"The contract concluded according to law is protected by law† (Article 8). Unless otherwise specified by law such as force majeure, the party who fails to perform the contract or whose performance of obligations does not conform to that prescribed in the contract shall assume the liabilities for breach of the contract to continue to perform the contract, adopt remedial measures or compensate losses. B. Concept and Features of Contract Law 1. Concept of Contract Law Generally speaking, the concept of contract law may be comprehended in the broad and narrow sense. In the narrow sense, given contract is the consensus of parties to the contract in nature, contract law is deemed as the law implementing the promise and agreement of parties involved. â€Å"The core of contract law is the exchange of promise†. However, the concept of contract law in the narrow sense confines the contract law to normalizing the establishment, effectiveness, performance and default liability of the contract, but excluding the non-establishment, ineffectiveness and revocation thereof. Therefore, the scope contained is not comprehensive. Just as Bayless stated, â€Å"The contract law pays attention not only to enforceable contracts and   agreements, but to adjusting the result of no contract or agreement concluded†. Therefore, the concept of contract law in the narrow sense is not suitable to apply. The concept of contract law in the broad sense proceeds from the object normalized thereby, namely the transaction relation, and defines the contract law as â€Å"the law relating to the individual transfer of property or labor service†. Most scholars in our country also consider that contract law is the law adjusting the dynamic property relations. Both contract law and real right law adjust the property relations, however, â€Å"the real right law stipulates and adjusts the static state of property relation while the contract law stipulates and adjusts the dynamic state of property relation†. Given that the contract law comprehensively adjusts the transaction relation and the establishment of a contract equals to the formation of a transaction, the performance, alteration, cancellation and termination of the contract constitute the transaction process. Consequently, it’s necessary for the contract law to stipulate the procedures to conclude the contract by parties involved, ineffectiveness and revocation of the contract, remedies upon the failure or part failure to perform the contract, various specific contracts, etc. In a word, any and all transaction relations may be adjusted by the contract law. The definition of contract law as the law adjusting the transaction relation precisely summarizes the nature and fu nctions of the contract law. 2. Features of Contract Law The contract law takes adjusting the transaction relation as its content and is applicable to various civil contracts, which determines the contract law has the features different from those in other departments of civil law (such as personality right law). These features are: Contract law has strong randomicity. Under the condition of market economy, the transaction development and property growth require the market subjects to be independent and fully express their wills. Laws shall leave broad space for the transaction activities of market subject and the intervention of government in economic activities shall be limited to the extent prescribed in the contract. The requirements put forward by the market economy against the law which endow parties with freedom to act as far as possible are thoroughly expressed in the contract. Therefore, the contract law mainly regulates the transaction through random norms rather than mandatory norms. For example, though the contract law stipulates various contracts with certain titles, it does not necessarily require parties to design the contract content precisely in accordance with the provisions prescribed in law concerning the contract with certain title, but parties may negotiate to determine the contract articles freely. As long as the articles negotiated by parties don’t violate the prohibitive regulations of laws, social public interest or public morality, the effect of the contract is acknowledged by law. Notwithstanding law stipulates the contracts with certain titles, parties are not prohibited from creating new contract forms. Although the form to establish a contract is stipulated by law, unless otherwise specially prescribed about the contract form, parties are allowed to freely choose the contract form in principle. In short, a majority of norms of the contract law may be altered by parties through agreements. The contract law also takes the freedom of contract as its basic principle; therefore, the contract law can be called as law at will in this connection. â‘ ¡Contract law emphasized the principle of consultation on an equal footing and compensation of equal value The object normalized by the contract law is transaction relation, which requires the principle of consultation on an equal footing and compensation of equal value in nature. Just as Marx indicated, the commodity is â€Å"equal by nature†. In the exchange of commodities, â€Å"only the owners of commodities with equal status stand at opposite sides, and the means of occupying others’ commodities may only be used to alienate their own commodities.† The exchange of commodities inevitably requires conforming to the law of value so as to carry out the exchange of equivalent labor, which determines that the contract law attaches more importance to the principle of consultation on an equal footing and compensation of equal value than other laws of civil law. â‘ ¢Contract law is a uniform property law. Market economy is an open economy, which demands for the integration of domestic market with international market, domestic trade and international trade. As the basic law of the market economy, the contract law should not only reflect the requirements for a uniform market with a set of uniform rules, but also integrate with international conventions. â‘ £Contract law is the law producing social wealth. Market economy is a developed credit economy, with all credit systems established on the basis of contract relations. A developed credit economy needs promise and agreement. At the same time, the more solid and universal the promise and agreement are, the more developed the credit economy is. II. Comparison of Development History and Textural Difference between Chinese and American Contract Laws A. Different Development Histories of Contract Legal Systems in China and US 1. Emergence of Contract and Contract Law Contract is the result of commodity economy, which emerges along with the emergence of commodity economy and develops along with the development of commodity economy. The contract law is accompanied with the emergence and development of the contract. In later period of clan society, due to the emergence and accumulation of private property, the exchange of products among people was becoming increasingly extensive and certain rules came into shape gradually. In the beginning, these rules were guaranteed by oaths, customs and other ways. When the oaths, customs and other ways were incapable to guarantee the implementation of trading rules, the social community emerging as the times required (organ of state power) thus formulated legal norms to supersede the foregoing. The earliest contract law of human society was developed from customs, so it’s called as customary law. However, the continuous development of society, especially the development and change of social   imbalance, made the customs different in various regions and groups, which resulted in customs here and now being inconsistent with those there and then, thus leading to transaction disputes. This determined that the written law would gradually substitute the customary law. The Code of Hammurabi promulgated by ancient Babylonian Empire in the 18th century BC is the most ancient and most well-preserved written law discovered so far in the whole world, which has 282 articles in total, among which over 120 stipulates contract norms directly. The Twelve Tables and Corpus Juris Civilis promulgated by ancient Rome have more complete legal norms about contract, acting as the most complete and typical law reflecting the production and exchange of commodities among ancient laws and playing an important role in the legislation of capitalist countries in later ages. The French Civil Code in 1804 was based on Roman law. The civil laws in European countries, except Britain, mostly originated from Roman law and formed the so-called â€Å"Roman Law System†. Along with the colonial expansion of these countries, the impact of Roman law was further extended to more regions of the world. After the Second World War, the contract law of early modern period was properly modified to become the modern contract law. 2. Development History of China’s Contract Law The ancient laws in our country had some regulations about the contract. According to the records of Rites of Zhou, there appeared written contracts such as â€Å"panshu (bamboo or wooden slips on which the texts of borrow and loan are written)†, â€Å"zhiji (sales contract)†, â€Å"fubie (borrow and loan contract)† in Zhou Dynasty. â€Å"Where any party asks for the government authority to deal with any dispute arising from debt borrow and loan, the case may only be accepted with the â€Å"panshu† previously co ncluded present†. â€Å"Where any dispute arises from a borrow and loan contract, the official in charge of trying such dispute should make a judgment according to the articles specified in fubie†. â€Å"Where any dispute arises from a sales contract, the official in charge of trying such dispute should make an award according to the articles specified in zhiji†. All these written contracts were main basis for government authorities to judge right and wrong and determine the debt liabilities. In the following dynasties of Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, laws had several regulations about contract and contract system. However, in ancient times, our country was always with the agricultural economy which was self-sufficient and self-supporting, and the commodity economy was not developed. As a result, the norms of contract law centering on trading rules was also not developed, with no specialized civil code. Even in the collection of various laws such as Tang Code and Great Qing Legal Code, articles pertaining to contract and contract system are also rarely seen. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the contract law of our country has achieved significant development. In the initial stage of new China, the Financial and Economic Committee of the Government Administration Council under Central People’s Government promulgated the Interim Measures for Organs, State-owned Enterprises and Cooperative societies to Conclude Contracts or Agreements on September 27, 1950, and the Trade Department formulated the Decision Pertaining to Earnestly Concluding Contracts and Strictly Implementing Contracts as well as the norms relating to various specific contracts such as sales contract and contract labor agreement of capital construction in the same year, all of which ascertain the legal norms of contract system and contract in the new China. Needless to say, due to the impact of wrong course and wrong trend of thought, the legal nihilism was rampant and the contract system was once cancelled in late 50’s. Especially in the period of the â€Å"Great Cultural Revolution†, all the contract systems, relevant laws and regulations were discarded. In the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party, the wrong policy of â€Å"taking the class struggle as the outline† was abandoned, the focus of work of the Party and the nation was shifted to developing economy, and the strategic decision of reform and opening up to the outside world was made in the session. All of these opened up a promising prospect for the development of contract leg islation. The Economic Contract Law, Economic Contract Law Involving Foreign Interest and Technology Contract Law were successively approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on December 13, 1981, March 21, 1985 and June 23, 1987. It is especially worth mentioning that the General Principles of the Civil Law approved in the Fourth Session of the Sixth National People’s Congress explicitly regulates the system of civil rights and the system of civil liabilities, playing a very important role in perfecting the system of contract laws in our country. Through more than a decade’s legislation, our country has formed the legal system of contract laws which is guided by the General Principles of the Civil Law, backboned with Economic Contract Law, Economic Contract Law Involving Foreign Interest and Technology Contract Law, and based on the contract norms in specialized laws such as Maritime Law, Civil Aviation Law and Copyright Law and a set of administ rative laws and regulations normalizing contracts. All these laws have greatly promoted the economic development and the establishment and development of socialist market economy in our country. However, along with the establishment and development of socialist market economy, this legal system gradually presented new defects. In order to adapt to the requirements of economic construction and development, it’s necessary to proceed from the actual situations of our country, summarize the experience of ten years’ contract legislation and borrow general international practices to formulate a uniform and relatively complete contract law. On October 1993, the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress embarked on drafting the contract law on the basis of the legislation program approved in the Eighth Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. According to the advice from all sources, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress further modified the draft for many times to form the Contract Law of People’s Republic of China (Draft) and submitted it to the Second Session of the Ninth National People’s Congress for deliberation. Through serious and earnest deliberation by people’s representatives, this important law was finally approved on March 15, 1999, which is a glorious page in the legislation history of the Republic, marking that the legislation of our country’s socialist market economy is ushering a new phase. 3. Development History of American Contract Law As a whole, the American laws are developed on the basis of inheriting British laws. Although American laws are influenced by British laws at different levels in different fields, the contract rules formed in the British common law and equity law have a significant impact on American contract law. Therefore, when investigating the historical evolution of American contract law, it’s necessary to review the early development history of British contract law. a. Lawsuit of Promise in Early Britain In the medieval period, British law had not formed the concept of contract. The earliest to emerge was the so-called lawsuit of promise, namely, when the promisor violated his/her promise, the promisee might file a lawsuit with the court to force the promisor to implement the promise. The principle pursued by common court when trying such lawsuit was: only making a promise cannot generate a right of action; under normal conditions, promise doesn’t have the effect of compulsory ex ecution, exceptional situations excluded. In contrast to the practice of common court as mentioned above, other courts showed more active attitude towards accepting the lawsuit of promise. First of all, ecclesiastical court regarded the promise with oath as an irreversible one according to canon law and rendered the implementation. Secondly, in the court of equity, the Chancellor decided that since one party suffered loss because of the other party’ failure to perform his/her promise, such party shall obtain the compensation. However, till the 16th century AD, common court won the battle with the court of equity and ecclesiastical court striving for jurisdiction. In this process, the jurisdiction of common court was increasingly enlarged and the common law became the main part of British law. The opportunity for the contract law to develop through the judgments of ecclesiastical court and court of equity was always limited. From the 15th to the 16th century, along with the development of the relations of commodity production within the feudal society, to develop a kind of general basis for enforceable promise within the previous lawsuit procedures of common law was the urgent task to be resolved which was confronted by common court. At the beginning, common court just confirmed more exceptional situations under which the promise may be executed mandatorily. However, this didn’t change the basic principle that promise doesn’t have the effect of compulsory execution under normal conditions. Since the second half of the 12th century, common court started to confirm the enforceable effect of sealed covenant, which was a kind of written promise with a seal on. Some people considered, if common court could loosen its requirements about the form of this written document, such document may also be mandatorily executed even with no seal on. The existence of such covenant might become the general basis of the compulsory execution of promise, while till the 14th century, this possibility disappeared. Common court considered, the seal not only proved that one party had already made a promise, but also indicated that the promisor had seriously expressed that he/she would perform the promise for the promisee. Therefore, a covenant which was not sealed couldn’t be compulsorily executed. At the end of the 12th century, common court started to confirm the debt of a borrow and loan relation as the cause of action: In case one person borrowed an   amount of money from another person, the borrower should pay back the money to the lender. If not, the lender might file a lawsuit with the court to force the borrower to pay back money. Later on, common court further expanded the scope of lawsuit of debt repayment: Once a person granted a kind of material interest to another person, such person might lodge a lawsuit of debt r epayment against the latter one, no matter the interest provided was a valuable thing or personal service. However, the existence of such debt also didn’t become the general basis of the compulsory execution of promise for this debt was only confined to the interest which was already granted to others. If a promisee just accepted a promise from the promisor while obtained no actual interest from the promisor, he still couldn’t lodge a lawsuit of debt repayment. In the beginning of the 15th century, common court developed such a principle in its judgment: If someone made a promise of undertaking some kind of obligation to another one, and the promisee suffered damages in the process of the promisor’s performance of the obligation, the promisee might lodge a lawsuit to require the promisor to compensate. This is called the Action of Assumpsit for Misfeasance, whose basis was the theory of law of torts then already approved. In this kind of lawsuit, if the promisor didn’t perform the obligation it undertook, the promisee couldn’t obtain the remedy. In the second half of the 15th century, the judges of common court realized that, in order to win the battle for jurisdiction with other courts, the scope of lawsuit of commitment must be expanded. New legal precedent rule in this period was: If the promisor changed his status due to his dependence on the promise and the non-performance of the promisor made the promisee suffer damages, the promisee might also obtain the remedy. Till the 16th century, the previous scope of lawsuit of commitment was newly expanded, namely, when two persons made promises to each other and the promise of one party constituted the transaction object promised by the other person, even if no party of the two performed his obligation, the promise to be carried out shall have the effect of compulsory execution. The reason to adopt such rule was that, once the promise was made, the promisee has an expectation for the implementation of the promise, which should be protected, even if the promisee didn’t perform the corresponding obligation, nor suffered â€Å"damages†. Generally speaking, the 17th and the 18th centuries were the period during which British contract law slowly developed. b. Evolution of American Contract Law in Modern Society The American historian Henry Maine said in 1861 that, â€Å"till now, the movement of this developing society has always been a movement from identity to contract.† This sentence indicates the profound revolution undergone by western society from the feudal times of middle ages to the times of â€Å"laissez-faire capitalism†: In the feudal society, human relation was determined by their identity; in the period of â€Å"laissez-faire capitalism†, human relation was determined by the agreement reached between them. The whol e 19th century is regarded as the century of contract by western historians. The United States, just independent from the colonial domination of the Great Britain, entered in such a century soon after its establishment. In this period, main systems of British and American contract laws were both confirmed. With regard to the main body, American contract law remained consistent with British contract law. In this period, the consistency of American contract law with that of western countries was: The contract concluded by parties involved was generally considered as having the effect of compulsory execution. Once confirmed, such effect shall become absolute, and may not be changed by state will. In the second half of the 19th century, as the laissez-faire economy developed toward an extreme orientation, to safeguard individual’s right to freely conclude contracts had become the primary goal of laws. In the eyes of Americans at that time, â€Å"in nature, justice is to safeguard lawful contracts†. The freedom of contract in the 19th century gave a full display of personal â€Å"independent will† and made private economy taking the â€Å"struggle for existence† as the motive power obtain rapid development with no government restraint and intervention. However, in late 19th century and early 20th century, the defects caused by this unlimited freedom of contract had fully appeared. In this period, contract laws of western countries underwent a new round of modification. The result was, the previous social movement â€Å"from identity to contract† started to turn to the social movement â€Å"from contract to identity†. In the US, since this century, especially since the Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 30’s, personal freedom of contract has received more and more restrictions. Today, the â€Å"identity† is playing an important role in determining the relation of rights and obligations among people for the second time: Workers are protected by â€Å"workers compensation law† due to their identity, and the article of employment contract preventing the employer from undertaking the compensation liability for industrial accidents is no longer legally binding. Similarly, the lessee of rental agreement, the insurer of insurance contract and the demanders of various contracts of public service are all protected by certain laws due to their special identities. It can be seen from the aforementioned change that, in modern American contract law, to provide special legal protection for the vulnerable party of a transaction has already become a consistent policy. Another feature displayed by American contract law in the process of its modern development and evolution is that, the impact of traditional British common law and systems and principles of other laws is decreasing, which is fully reflected from the fact that the Uniform Commercial Code abandoned and modified the traditional system of British contract law. B. Textual Difference and its Reasons between Chinese and American Contract Law Systems Given the development history of contract and the difference between Chinese and American political systems, there are following features when comparing Chinese contract law with American contract law: First, the contract law in our country is a uniform contract law applicable to all regions of China, whether in capital Beijing or western provinces. Second, this contract law is drafted with a round axis structure. Basic principles  are firstly stipulated, and then some specific contracts, such as sales contract, lease contract, etc. In this way, the basic principles are regarded as the axis, and many specific contracts are radiated to satisfy different transaction requirements. For example, the transport contract has the problem which cannot be covered by basic principles. This problem can be resolved by combining the axis and the excircle. American political system is different from Chinese political system, and the development history of American contract law is also different. In America, it’s impossible for the legislative body to approve a law with the two features as mentioned above. America has no uniform contract law, nor state contract law. The international contract laws, such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) and New York Arbitration Treaty are commonly used in all used in the whole United States. However, with regard to the contract among American individuals, no law is promulgated by the federation. Consequently, there is no federal legislation with a round axis structure in America. Basically, each state has its own contract law and is responsible for developing basic principles of such law. The contract law of one state is not only applicable to the court of the state, but also binding on the federal court sometimes. In other words, as long as the state contract law exists, the federal court shall apply it. Of course, when 50 different contract laws are adjusting the same legal fact, the court will be confronted with a problem, namely, how to achieve the consistency of application of law? It’s also necessary to notice that American contract law is developed by the court rather than the legislative organ. You must be familiar with the concept of common law, which was formed in Britain and then introduced to America. The contract concept of the common law is formed th rough a long time. Their judges make the judgment and give opinions on the judgment. Now, in this connection, the greatest exception is the UCC. American UCC is a uniform law. In America, every state has its own laws, but these laws cannot cover all transactions. Some are involved with transaction of several properties, such as the transaction and lease of products and some are related to bank business, security trading, e-commerce, etc. However, the construction contract and real estate contract are adjusted by commercial law. Since different state laws may result in different court judgments, if the Congress can approve a law with the round axis structure, these problems will be soon resolved, because doing that can get all transactions under the adjustment of one law. C. Summary The development histories of Chinese and American contract law systems are different. Chinese culture has a long history and the contract law system was born very early. On the contrary, the US is a new country breaking away from the colonization. Although American economy is developing rapidly, its legal systems are mainly inherited from the Britain; especially the American contract law is significantly influenced by the contract rules formed in Britain common law and equity law. In short, China has a uniform contract law applicable to the whole nation, while America has no uniform contract code other than international contract laws. In addition, the difference of Chinese and American political systems leads to a great difference in the textural structures of Chinese and American contract law   systems: Chinese contract law system is based on basic principles which guides various specific contract law systems so as to form a complete set, while America has neither guidance of basic principles in the contract law nor uniform contract law applicable to the whole nation. All in all, the development history and political system of a country influence its legal system. III. Conclusion The economic globalization and political polarization are two trends of the world development. Since China has joined the WTO, how to coordinate our laws is the central issue in the field of law. Nowadays, the world has ushered in the era of knowledge economy and the advancement of science and technology is crucial to the economic development. However, the development of economy as well as the development, transfer and application of technology will inevitably require reforming the traditional contract law system. Some countries have already been reforming the current contract law systems quietly. The birth of China’s new Contract Law is confronted with the era of knowledge economy rather than that of planned economy or the transitional period from planned economy to market economy. The development of science and technology in the era of knowledge economy is so vigorous that it’s probable that difficulties in application will soon emerge after the implementation of new contract law, or even some regulations are already outdated. This situation may be considered as normal because law is the superstructure, which is always behind the economic development. Therefore, any law has to be continuously reformed and perfected. Bibliography 1. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com 2. Wilmot et al, 2009, Contract Law, Third Edition, Oxford University Press 3. Ewan McKendrick, Contract Law – Text, Cases and Materials (2005) Oxford University Press 4. P.S. Atiyah, The Rise and Fall of Freedom of Contract (1979) Clarendon Press 5. Randy E. Barnett, Contracts (2003) Aspen Publishers 6. Scott Fruehwald, â€Å"Reciprocal Altruism as the Basis for Contract,† 47 University of Louisville Law Review 489 (2009).

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple Essay

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple takes place in the 1920’s-1930’s during the times of segregation and women’s suffrage. In this passage Celie’s step-son confides in her one night sitting on her front porch steps. Read the following passage from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Then, in a well-organized essay analyze how the author’s style exposes the tone towards the unequal treatment of women by the use of literary elements such as appeal to emotion, syntax, and irony. Harpo sitting out on the steps, crying like his heart gon break. Oh, boo-hoo, and boo-hoo. He got his head in his hands, tears and snot running down his chin. I give him a hansker. He blow his nose, look up at me out of two eyes close like fists. What happen to your eyes? I ast. He clam round in his mind for a story to tell, then fall back on the truth. Sofia, he say. You still bothering Sofia? I ast. She my wife, he say. That don’t mean you got to keep on bothering her, I say. Sofia love you, she a good wife. Good to the children and good looking. Hardworking. Godfearing and clean. I don’t know what more you want. Harpo sniffle. I want her to do what I say, like you do for Pa. Oh, Lord, I say. When Pa tell you to do something, you do it, he say. When he say not to, you don’t. You don’t do what he say, he beat you. Sometime beat me anyhow, I say, whether I do what he say or not. That’s right, say Harpo. But not Sofia. She do what she want, don’t pay me no mind at all. I try to beat her, she black my eyes. Oh, boo-hoo, he cry. Boo-hoo-hoo. I start to take back my hansker. Maybe push him and his black eyes off the step. I think bout Sofia. She tickle me. I used to hunt game with a bow and arrow, she say. Some womens can’t be beat, I say. Sofia one of them. Besides, Sofia love you. She probably be happy to do most of what you say if you ast her right. She not mean, she not spiteful. She don’t hold a grudge. He sit there hanging his head, looking retard. Harpo, I say, giving him a shake, Sofia love you. You love Sofia. He look up at me best he can out his fat little eyes. Yes ma’am? he say. Mr.___ marry me to take care of his children. I marry him cause my daddy made me. I don’t love Mr.___ and he don’t love me. In this passage from The Color Purple, the author’s opinion of the way  men treat women is clearly displayed through the tone of the text and style of her writing. Alice Walker exposes her strong disapproval of the mistreatment of women through literary elements such as syntax, appeal to emotion and irony. Walker uses specific syntax in order to emphasize the importance of the points that Harpo’s companion makes. The word â€Å"Hardworking.† is treated as a sentence in itself, and the neighboring phrases such as â€Å"Good to the children and good looking.†, â€Å"Godfearing and clean.†, and â€Å"Sofia love you, she a good wife.† are short and punctuated like sentences in the same way. The author does this to point out that amongst all the dialogue written, these phrases are the most significant text in the scene because they demonstrate her opinion that men, including Harpo, should not mistreat women, and especially women who take care of themselves, behave according to religious teachings, and are good to their families and husbands. She also uses this same sentence structure to emphasize the ways Sofia doesn’t act; for example, â€Å"She not mean, she not spiteful.† and â€Å"She don’t hold a grudge†. This shows that So fia’s behavior does not deserve punishment, and therefore she and other women of similar character should not be harmed. The passage contains emotional appeal which serves the purpose of pointing out the author’s opinion of the mistreatment of women. Sofia’s redeeming qualities are plainly stated: characteristics such as hardworking, loving, religious, and loyal to family. When the reader learns that Sofia’s husband tries to beat her despite her mannerisms, sympathy is evoked. The appeal to emotion continues when a briefing on the lady companion’s past is supplied. The reader learns of the woman’s misfortunes including beatings that take place regardless of her actions, and a forced marriage that leads to her upbringing of another woman’s children. Imbedded deeper in the text, is situational irony. Walker uses imagery like â€Å"He got his head in his hands, tears and snot running down his chin.† and onomatopoeic words such as â€Å"sniffle† and â€Å"boo-hoo† to point out Harpo’s exaggerated reaction. Harpo feels that his inability to beat his wife puts him in an unfair situation. These examples are used to point out the reality  of the situation; women such as his companion [Celie] are the unlucky ones because they are forced into unjust relationships in which they are beaten and mistreated. The imagery and onomatopoeia making fun of Harpo’s actions, serve the purpose of pointing out his hypocritical ridiculous behavior. Throughout the passage provided, Walker uses stylistic techniques such as syntax, emotional appeal, and situational irony to illuminate her critical opinion of the mistreatment of women. Her particular methods provoke reflection and contemplation in the reader once the passage has been comprehended. As a result, this increases the value of her work as a whole.

Workplace ethics

Workplace ethics Conduct Internet research on a selected business topic. Take notes on Internet research. For this project, you will conduct Internet research on a productive business skills topic of your choice from the following list: teamwork and collaboration; time management; conflict resolution; workplace ethics; professional dress and grooming; effective speaking and presentation skills.Each of the following parts of this project will help you use the skills you have learned in this unit to complete a well-written report on the business skill you have selected. Part 1: For this section of the project, you will select your topic and begin to conduct Internet research related to this topic. You should review a minimum of three sources for this project. Take notes on each source using the following points as a guide: Source (title and URL) Summary of the information How do you know this source is credible?Part 2: Using your notes, write a five-paragraph (minimum) essay about your selected business skills topic. You must incorporate references from the research you did (remember to cite your sources). Be sure to organize your ideas logically and equentially, including a compelling introduction and a summarizing conclusion. Part 3: You will read and review one of your classmate's reports and give constructive feedback on their report.You should identify what they have done well as well as give suggestions for improvement. Remember the components of effective feedback you learned in Chapter 2. Question #1 Essay Download g_bcsl au01 p14d. rtf Upload Answer File Max File Size : IOMB Accepted File Type : [csv, doc, docx, pdf, xls, xlsx, txt, rtf, ppt, pptx, odf, odt, ods, odp, mdb, accdb, pub, Jpg, Jpeg] File Actions NO File workplace ethics By Jinksauce300

Application Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Application Question - Essay Example Nonetheless, Television presents the economic performance on main economic players within a country and presents. The television is always accurate in presenting the share indices of companies trading in the stock exchanges thus a useful source for the public and other stakeholders who wish to invest in such firms (White, Angappa, and Matthew 47). However, provision of economic information on the television sets tends to undermine local entrepreneurship and Instead of promoting local economic drives individuals to favour multinational enterprise. Television, as a creative industry, has also been instrumental in integrating cultural needs and expectations of the public through various programs (White, Angappa, and Matthew 47). Television is always vital in upholding cultural heritage of a country through awareness creation among the locals or residents. So often, it is common to witness a country promoting its local culture through television as the most preferred mainstream media. To individuals who prefer to uphold their cultural heritage, television is a modest way of accepting their culture and belonging. More important, television is a way of creating cultural tolerance since the programs are always multinational (White, Angappa, and Matthew 47). However, television breeds bad behaviours among the public bringing into question the role it plays in integrating cultural needs and expectations. The implication is that television promotes externally imposed cultural values making individuals to disregard their local norms because they prefer affluent cultures that they watch on their television sets. Of the two significances, economic integration is the major contribution of television that steers development in any given country. The implication is that economic integration focuses on accessibility of information which is very crucial for development and generation of investment

The Importance of Advertising in Marketing Essay

The Importance of Advertising in Marketing - Essay Example Advertising is one of the corporate communication forms used by organizations or firms to encourage, persuade, or influence the audience towards their products. Advertising in most cases creates a perception of the products or services of an organization. Through advertisements, firms are able to reach out to consumers. Nonetheless, there have been serious debates on how advertisements as a form of corporate communication affect gender. Taking a view of the women, advertising has had different perceptions of women. Despite the numerous research studies on advertising gender images of women have spurred so many debates and interest, there is need to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the same. This qualitative research study aims to identify whether advertising gender images of women reinforces or challenges female gender stereotypes. The research uses literature review to create an in-depth analysis of the topic. Methodology chapter provides an overview of how the research study was conducted whilst the findings and discussion provide the understanding of the obtained data. Lastly, a concluding remark provides a summary of the main points of the study. The marketing and particularly the presence of consumption appeared in England in the era of post civil war. The consumption behaviors in England did benefit from the free wage labor force to produce commodities (Bocock, 1993). The important cultural heritage of Puritanism was a powerful part of the cultures of England, Scotland, and Wales in addition to a selection of similar cultures that was transferred to North America and Australasia. British Puritanism has exhibited some values that viewed spending money on clothes for men and children as a luxury; this has extended to not spending money on expensive meals.  However, British values to some extent have encouraged spending money on building houses and furnishing them without paying much detail to decorations.

Bank law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Bank law - Essay Example The agent in possession of the said Nursing Home sold it and the proceeds were applied to reduction of the credit debt and no surplus accrued to benefit the other creditors and Narni. After the sale, no profit or income was derived by Narni. 2. Narni which runs the Carrum Nursing Home applied for overdraft facility with National Australia Bank. Pending formal approval of the application with limit of $65, 000.00, the Bank nevertheless honored the cheques drawn by Narni even though there were no funds to meet them since the account was regularly in debit. The bank refused to extend the overdraft facility to $100, 000.00 but supported Narni by honoring the cheques drawn despite lack of funds. The Court found that the "Bank and Narni conducted their business and arranged their affairs, from February 1989, on the basis that the approved overdraft of $65,000 was at best a nominal limit and that the Bank would tolerate surges well in excess of that limit in each monthly cycle. The bank ope rated and permitted the account to operate in a very flexible way so that the monthly surges far exceeded any such limit". The court also found that "Narni relied upon this attitude on the part of the Bank in the operation of its business, as the Bank officers knew". It was deduced from the facts that the Bank itself also enjoyed a benefit from this arrangement from the receipt of interest and other fees and by the retention of a satisfied customer. The Court found that it was a "term of this arrangement between the Bank and Narni that the Bank would not refuse to honour cheques drawn by it on the ground that the balance of the account exceeded the approved overdraft limit of $65,000." The correctly held that it was an implied term of the arrangement that the Bank could not terminate or vary it without giving the customer reasonable notice so as to allow time for it to arrange its affairs to comply. Furthermore, they must have regard to the fact that cheques, which had been previous ly drawn and delivered may have to be honoured under the pre?existing arrangement in place at the time they were drawn and delivered. The implication of such a term is an incident of the arrangement between the Bank and its customer because the Bank knew that Narni was dependent upon it. As aptly held by the court, " there was no warning of dishonor from the bank and this act was relied upon by Narni and giving rise to overdraft extension. Narni was dependent for its cash flow upon the accommodation of the bank in excess of the agreed limit given by the Bank." In the case of Joachimson v Swiss Bank Corporation [1921] 3 KB 110 CA, it was held that the following are considered implied terms: a). The bank will receive the customer’s deposits and collect his or her cheques; b). The bank will comply with written orders (i.e. cheques) issued by its customers assuming there is sufficient credit tin the account; c). The bank will repay the entire balance on the customers demand at th e account holding branch during banking hours -as was also held in Libyan Arab Foreign Bank v Bankers Trust [1989] AC 80 PC for the application for the terms in relation to UK banks; d). The bank will give reasonable notice before closing a customer’s account if it is in credit; e). the customer will take reasonable care when writing cheques (Topic 1, n.d.). Implied terms are extra terms read into contracts by the courts in order to give effect to statutory requirements and common law presumptions (Robinson, 2009). Implied

Business Research Method2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Business Research Method2 - Essay Example The metamorphosis of education industry is visible at all levels such as primary education, secondary education, higher education, adult education and alternative education. The change has been with the curriculum, learning modalities, teaching, technology, and economics. Education at preschool levels: Education at the preschool level has seen enormous changes in the last two decades. Preschool or Childcare was initially started with an intention to serve those working couple who have to leave the child in a creche, which can take care of the child during the day. Gradually these creche started converting themselves into education providers for the little toddlers. Creches not only provide care for children of working mothers but also play an educational role, with the pre-school education play a key part in child's development (Vlok 1996, pg.403). These schools fulfills the basic issues which the parents would like their children to achieve including personal, social, and emotional development apart from communication, knowledge and understanding of the world Since the initiation of the globalization process, the education industry has changed completely. Now educational institutions can spread their wings globally to any part of the world where potential exists including in developing but potential countries like China, India, etc. Educational institutions try to enter new markets through entry strategies like the franchisee system. According to a report â€Å"the preschool industry in India accounts for 985million$ and the largest chain of pre schools in India comprises of just 550 schools, less than 4% of the total market potential of 15,000 preschools†. (Kumar 2008). Though the above mentioned fact, it is very clear that in a country like India there is a huge potential to start preschool businesses. Modern pre schools which would like to distinguish from the rest and stay away from cut throat competition, now offers other extra curricular activitie s to the children who enroll with them like playing, teamwork, self help skills, scientific thinking, creative arts, etc. As far as the pre school industry is concerned the competition is from the unorganized sector. Parents wanting to put their wards in the best schools located at far away places have left many a school go vacant in the UK. In December 2008, revised school admission code was formulated and was presented in the parliament. One of the agenda is to â€Å"improve the application process so that parents can apply for a school place to the local authority in which they live, instead of the authorities where their preferred schools are located† (nfer.ac.uk) With the visible improvement in the lifestyle of the people, the demand for a well structured, branded pre-school will grow leaps and bounds in the years to come. â€Å"The preschools which have a good track record and look for new things to inculcate in their curriculum remain successful. Moreover, the educati on and training sector is ever growing and everyone wants to try his or her hand at it.† (Arora 2010). The other issue plaguing the pre-school sector is the shortage of teachers, which has become a universal challenge. The global teaching force in primary education has expanded since 1971 but, has slowed down ever since 2000. In primary education sector, education providers who can provide a decent pay to the teachers could stay afloat in serious competition.

Individual Business proposal for electronic and communications Essay

Individual Business proposal for electronic and communications engineering - Essay Example Hospitals are busy places where people are on call all the time. Hospitals have a number of paging systems today which attempt to reach doctors and staff. These range from pagers, which are based on walkie-talkie and two-way communications technologies from the 1960’s, overhead sound signals, which use a public address system, and even lights which send a coded page to specific people or departments. In answering a page or a summons, a staff member must normally call a number or look at a short paging message; usually, the message is â€Å"call your paging service.† There are several problems with the current systems in place. First, it requires too much work on the part of the staff member. If he/she is in the midst of tending to a patient, she must stop and look at the pager, or go to a phone to follow up on the page. He or she must then talk with a dispatcher or listen to a message. The communication is one-way; if he/she has questions about the page, there is no way to get an immediate answer. Each staff member in a hospital needs to be able to communicate with everyone else in a way that does not interrupt their workflow. If a nurse is tending to a patient, for example, he/she must be able to talk to someone without having to step away from the bedside, or use one or two hands for communication. In addition, the person must be able to reach a ‘live’ person on the other end when something is needed, in order to request immediate information or action. The communications system must be transparent to the user, and take little or no training. It should be applicable throughout the institution, but also offsite. If, for example, a physician is visiting with a patient in his offices, and would like to enquire about the availability of a bed at a local hospital, he/she should be able to immediately contact the appropriate hospital staff

Assignment 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Assignment 3 - Essay Example However, the mode of electronic commerce also brings and invites many kinds of problems both for the customers and vendors. Some of such problems faced by dot-com companies are listed under: Technical problems This is one of the significant problem faced on the part of both customers and vendors in making payment through online sites. The technical problems develop a kind of resistance among both customers and vendors in using e-commerce sites for purchasing goods and services. Some of the common technical problems faced by the customers and vendors relate to system failure, case of amount debited twice, late processing of payments, failure to provide notifications, etc. All these technical issues and problems have been faced by the companies in real sense. For instance, in the year 2012, around 12 million NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have faced the freezing issue of their salaried accounts. The technical fault and problem has resulted the computer system to freeze the salaried accounts unnecessarily (Bidgoli 20-25). This case of freezing of salaried accounts prevented the large customer base from making online payment through their salary accounts. Likewise, system failure and late processing of payments also prevents the customers from getting up-to-date balance and payment status. In some instances, it has also been noticed that customers are fined for late payment due to the system failure or any other technical difficulty. The technical problem relates to failure of the system to show updated payment status also creates difficulty for vendors in forwarding the request of debiting or crediting accounts. It is due to reason that vendors can direct the banking channels to debit or credit the customer account on the basis of latest updated information of their accounts. But, system failure and technical problems creates difficulty for the vendors in assessing and tracking updated status and proceeding payment accordingly. Difficulty related to payment pr oviders The wide popularity and emergence of large number of e-commerce sites have also increased proportion of payment providers simultaneously. The availability of large number of payment providers created difficulty for the vendors and customers in selecting appropriate and authentic payment provider. There are various cases demonstrating fraudulent payment done by service suppliers. The instances of fraudulent cases pose a question on the trust and authenticity of payment providers. The world of e-commerce has also witnessed the difficulty faced by the vendors and customers in cancelling the transaction and processing payment remittance. The cancellation of transaction by the mutual agreement of customers and vendors also made the issue unsolved for many days. It happens due to long time taken by the payment providers in forwarding the payment back to the customers. This practice of payment providers of forwarding payment with excessive delay spoiled the trust and authenticity o f online payment mechanism. It has also been identified that vendors and customers need to install multi-currency support system

Daily Reading Responses5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Daily Reading Responses5 - Essay Example Family values of these two backgrounds differ greatly. However, with this knowledge at hand, do social classes of gay individuals vary? A class difference is a major factor that contributes to African American lesbian relationship’s conflicts and break-ups (Hall & Greene 65). Women couples who are from the same social background are found to understand each other better, live with each other in peace and have healthy relationships as compared to those from different backgrounds as it is seen that behaviors of these two are completely different as they do not share same values and perspectives. These conflicts and break-ups however can be prevented if couples from different social backgrounds agree to bridge the existing gap between them by being open with each other, not comparing each other as to who is more superior than the other in terms of education and amount of income and making changes that will improve the

Personal Dietary Analysis Two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Dietary Analysis Two - Essay Example I was always either within the limits or under the target limit. However, I somehow overshot the daily limits pertaining to the total calories, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake. I believe that was an accidental occurrence as I would never willingly go over my target limitations per day. The target daily limit for cholesterol was set at 300 mg and I overshot it at 426 mg. I also went over the saturated fat limit of 10 percent. I clocked in at a maximum of 12 percent instead. The AMDR for carbohydrates is actually 130 g and I consumed 322 g while the percentage of carbohydrate calories clocked in at 45-65 % with me consuming 49 percent of calories. I actually feel good about these results because I was able to prove that my metabolism actually burns the carbohydrates that I consume in a day. I felt very happy and satisfied knowing that I can easily lose weight if I want to because my metabolism is working just fine. The target grain consumption for my daily time period was 7 ounces. Since I averaged 10 ounces per meal, I was over the target by 3 percent for that particular time frame. While the vegetable consumption was targeted at 3 cups and I consumed 2 1/4 cups which was within the acceptable limits of my 2200 Calorie allowance. MY maximum daily fruit allowance was supposed to be only 2 cups but I often overshot and ended up eating about 2 1/2 cups of fruit instead. That was not a problem at all since fruits are very healthy for the body and actually help in the digestion of my food and increase in my metabolism. The suggested daily fiber intake for me was set at 26 g but I only managed to consume 23 g which was just alright for my target group. I am actually quite pleased with myself as I was able to get that close to the target daily intake considering that I was constantly watching my food intake. I believe that was a job well done on my part because I was able to consume the right amount of fiber in a day

Quantitative research Essay Example for Free

Quantitative research Essay Isaac and Michael described quantitative research as allowing the researcher to formulate research questions or hypotheses and then to test each under controlled conditions. They decided its greatest merit is the convincing nature of hard data collected that can speak for itself (1974, 354-355). PROCEDURES To conduct this study, the following actions will be taken regarding each of the objectives: First objective: To identify and report the desired behaviors required for future Christian education leaders. 1. The literature of the field will be reviewed in the following areas: (a) Biblical context, (b) Church History, and (c) contemporary ministry. 2. The findings of the literature will be reported in chapter 2. Second objective: To validate the behaviors identified in the literature review. In order for the inventory of behaviors to be comprehensive, Flanagan stated that it is necessary to obtain a sufficiently representative sample (1949, 343). a) The degree of mutuality existing among the behaviors reported will be identified with respect to the different clusters. b) The number of behaviors will continue to be reduced by combining similar behaviors and writing new descriptions without regard for specific categories. c) The final inventory of administrative behaviors will be produced by the researcher. 2. The findings of the inventory of behaviors will be reported in chapter 3. Third objective: To make appropriate recommendations on the selection and training of future education administrators. 1. The study, including the findings of objectives 1 and 2 will be reviewed and summarized. 2. Appropriate conclusions will be drawn. 3. Specific recommendation which emerge from the study will be made, including suggestions for utilization of the competency areas recommended by the study, and suggestions for further research. 4. The summary, conclusions, and recommendation including check list will be reported in chapter 4. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY The study will be organized into four chapters in accordance with the Action Research, as table 1 displays. TABLE 1 Organization of the study based on action research Action Research Steps Chapters 1 2 3 4 Planning/Conceptualization X Fact Finding X X X Evaluation X Chapter 1 has stated the problem and purpose, explained the importance of the study, and stated the method. Chapter 2 will survey the literature to identify and report behaviors required to effectively analyze the characteristics of the church leaders, church members and surrounding neighborhood. Chapter 3 will report the validated behaviors for the role of the church. Chapter 4 will review and summarized the study, offer appropriate conclusion and discuss recommendations for change and future study. CHAPTER 2 CHARACTERISTICS We expect every church planter either black or white to be a good leader. Everyone else who knows about leader and his ministry, even including his group people expect it too. This is truly right no matter who a church planter is, may be any man or woman, may be a minister having both in church and outside of the church jobs. He may be a permanent pastor. Every church planter must enquire about his personality by self-questioning in such a personal way so that obtaining answers can help him to be sure about his decision and can help him to find out his true calling these answer can also help planter to know his future as a leader of his group. Our own understanding taught us about good leaders and leadership which we learned by working with different leaders. These leaders are the ones that people have known, read or watched about them. A successful leader has four elements including organization second program third morale and forth leadership. The greatest of four is leadership. Although morale is condition of mind and character that shows the person is brave. It also includes ability to do things with full trust on your self. The organizational element is based on morale followers; program of a church goes where the leadership goes. People have studied different kinds of leaders in secular history and in the Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ is their example as a true leader in Christian service. In the Bible God chose many people as leaders in His work for example Abraham, Noah, Nehemiah, Joseph, Paul and Daniel. Whenever the God leads anyone to think, about going into the Christian ministry he must look for a person who could demonstrate Him, what His person really used to be. A question also rises of what does God require of that person as His leader? And what it takes to be a good leader? The needed qualities of a Christian leader or a church planter should be as the Joseph had he even became a picture or copy of Jesus Christ. Josephs acts and character were good qualities for a church leader any church leader with these characteristics will definitely have success. â€Å"It is vital that counselors who collaborate with African American congregations understand that titles and the values assigned to them can be very important in the Black church and within many African American families. Counselors who do not use the formal titles of ministers, church leaders, older church members, and members who have earned doctoral degrees run the risk of hampered rapport. † (2005, 147) The God selected some of His people to be prophets, apostles, pastors, missionaries, and teachers, so that His people would be taught to serve and would become strong. This will carry on until we are united on accepting the Son of God by our faith. All the church has realized the need for leadership; they spend a big part of their life with the life of the church. People often think about the job of church leaders without attempting to connect their roles to the nature and purpose of the church. It means that church leaders become functionaries rather than ministers and become organization maintainers rather than church mission leader. But true black church leader as a person is that who uses his gifts to facilitate others in ministry, and then making suggestions and observations for implications to church.

The Inhabitants Of Wales History Essay

The Inhabitants Of Wales History Essay The most populous Celtic community in Great Britain are the inhabitants of Wales in the western part of England. The Welsh who call themselves Cymry and their country Cymru had been Christians long before the Angles and Saxons adopted Christianity and they are proud of their literary tradition the beginnings of which predate English literature. The motif of the red dragon in the Welsh flag is a symbol of the Welsh people ´s resistance against Anglicization and of the perpetuation of their culture and language. The number of ethnic Welsh people is not known. As for the speech community of Welsh this accounts for 0.58 million speakers and they make up 21 per cent of the total population of Wales. Some 50,000 Welsh-speakers live outside Wales in other parts of England, most of them in the region of Greater London. The level of language maintenance has remained stable during the past two decades. Assimilation to English, though, has been a trend with continuity. About a hundred years ago there were still some 0.9 million Welsh speakers. Most speakers of Welsh live in the western and northern parts of Wales where the rates for language maintenance are between 40 and 50 per cent. In the South the level has fallen below 20 per cent. The Welsh language does not suffer from a lack of transmission to the younger generation like Scottish-Gaelic (> Highland Scots). In the youngest age range (i.e. between 3 and 15 years) Welsh is spoken by 32 per cent. Proficiency in Welsh is much lower in all other ag e groups, even among the older generation (i.e. 24 per cent in the age range, 65 and over). At the beginning of the twentieth century there were still 0.28 million Welsh people who could not speak English but only their native tongue. At the end of the twentieth century their number had been reduced to a minimum of 21,500 which is less than 1 per cent of the Welsh speech community. Those who speak Welsh are bilingual, speaking English as second language. Together with Breton in Brittany and Cornish, formerly spoken in Cornwall, Welsh forms the Brithonic subgroup of Insular Celtic (see Irish for the Goidelic subgroup). Already in the late sixth century, Welsh had developed local features which set it aside from other varieties of Celtic in Britain. The origins of Welsh literature are shrouded in the mist of medieval history. The works of two poets of the sixth century, Aneirin and Taliesin, mark the beginnings of a literary tradition in Welsh. Their literary works, though, are only preserved in manuscripts of the thirteenth century. It is assumed that the texts in the manuscripts are copies of much older originals. Highlights of medieval literature are the collection of narrative prose, the Mabinogion (eleventh thirteenth centuries), the codification of Welsh laws compiled by Hywel Dda (tenth century) and bardic lyrics composed by Dafydd ap Gwilym (thirteenth century). The translation of the whole Bible into Welsh was completed in 15 88. It appeared in a second edition in 1620, and its language became influential for the elaboration of a modern literary standard. Since the Welsh literary language continues language use of the seventeenth century it holds a bridging function between the modern and the ancient so that the connection with the medieval literature is not lost for the reader of today. Those Celtic tribes who had settled in Wales some two thousand years ago saw the advent of the Romans and experienced Roman rule over Britain. After the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 c.e. Wales was integrated into the Roman Empire as a region of military interest but Roman settlers did not come to live there. The Celts in Wales learned about Latin from the Roman administration but it was only during the time when Christianity spread over Britain that Latin became the vehicle of cultural and social innovation in the Celtic communities. The oldest layer of religious terminology in Welsh dates to the third and fourth century; e.g. eglwys  ´church ´ Medieval history is dominated by the struggle of the Celts in Britain against Anglo-Saxon supremacy. The historical king Arthur who has been acknowledged as the founder of the British lineage of kings rose to legendary fame as the protector of the Celtic Christians in their fights against the Germanic heathens in Britain. In the late eighth century, the king of Mercia, Offa, had an earthen wall built to separate the Celtic territory of Wales from the Anglo-Saxon settlements. For centuries, the Celts remained west of Offa ´s wall and the Anglo-Saxons east of it. Wales was finally conquered in 1282 and annexed to England. The status of Wales as a region under the authority of the British Crown was formalized in 1536, and the monopoly of English as the language of administration was confirmed. The English rulers practised a policy of apeasement to avoid social unrest by exchanging privileges for loyalty and to accept the Welsh aristocracy into their service. The Welsh à ©lite was s upposed to adopt the English language and English lifeways as a precondition to keeping their privileges. One of the lineages of the assimilated Welsh à ©lite was very successful. These were the Tudors whose representatives eventually ascended the English throne. The first Tudor to rule over England was Henry VII (reigned 1509 1547). Until the eighteenth century, Welsh society was divided into an Anglicized à ©lite of Welsh descent, loyal to the kings of England, and Welsh peasantry whose lifeways remained practically untouched by English culture. The seventeenth century saw the introduction of a Protestant movement which has dominated religious life among the Welsh up to the present, Calvinistic Methodism. Things changed with industrialization evolving, a process which unfolded in three stages on a prolonged horizon of time, ranging from c. 1780 to c. 1900. The area of southern Wales was of particular interest because of its riches in coal. The opening of coal-mines triggered a migratory movement of greater parts of the rural population to the urban and industrialized centers of the South where assimilation pressure was strong and language shift to English was swift. The British Education Acts of 1870 and 1889 stipulated English as the only medium of instruction at all schools and on all levels of education (i.e. from primary to higher), and these regulations promoted radical Anglicization. The romantic, all-European interest in the preservation of the local heritage and the movement of national awakening of the nineteenth century found its concrete manifestation in the cultural activities of the Celtic Revival. In Wales, this led to the establishment of a cultural institution, the Eisteddfod (literally  ´session ´), which was held for the first time in Aberdare in 1861. This is a sort of fair which offers a cross-section of all domains of Welsh culture and language, including literature, theater and the visual arts. The Welsh language has been a crucial issue in the process of social and political reforms since the 1940s. After four hundred years of a monopoly of the English language in administration in Wales Welsh was granted official status alongside English in 1942. This regulation first concerned only the use of both languages at court and was extended to the use of Welsh in regional and parliament elections, in 1967. Furthermore, a trio of Acts in the decade 1988-1998 provide a new statutory infrastructure and institutional context to enable social reform in education, language rights and governance, (Williams 2008: 124). Constituents of this network of reforms are the Education Act (1988), the Welsh Language Act (1993) and the Government of Wales Act (1998) which are the pillars of Wales as an autonomous region within the United Kingdom and which provide the statutory platform for a National Assembly for Wales, established in 1999. Harald Haarmann Further Reading Aitchison, John and Harold Carter. A Geography of the Welsh Language 1961-1991. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1994. Davies, John. A History of Wales. London: Penguin Books, 1994. Morris, John. The Age of Arthur. A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650. London: Phoenix, 1993. Williams, Colin H. Cymric (Welsh). In Wieser Encyclopaedia Western European Languages, eds. Ulrich Ammon and Harald Haarmann, vol. 2, 109-129. Klagenfurt, Wien Ljubljana: Wieser, 2008.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Symbolism

Nathaniel Hawthorne Symbolism The Mastery of Symbolism in the Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the most influential American Romantic authors of the nineteenth century, was born Nathaniel Hathorne on July 4th, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. Nathaniel found interest in reading and writing as a young child and continued his interest well into his late teenage years when he began attending Bowdoin College. While in college, Hawthorne befriended Henry Wadworth Longfellow, a fellow Romantic author of the nineteenth century. Nathaniel Hawthorne changed his surname shortly after graduating from college from Hathorne to Hawthorne. The change is speculated to have been due to Hawthorne tracing his familys lineage back to John Hathorne, a great-grandfather of Hawthorne who was one of the judges involved in the sentencing of many women during the Salem Witch Trials. Out of embarrassment and superstitious of a curse upon the Hathorne family name, Hawthorne added the w to his surname. During Hawthornes mid-twenties and early thirties, he wrote in silence in the family room of his home. It was during this time Hawthorne practiced his craft for writing and spent a great amount of time perfecting his writing. Furthermore, for a short time in Hawthornes life, he joined a transcendentalist utopian society called Brook Farm, but he soon became dissatisfied with its lifestyle and left. The Brook Farm experience, along with his time spent tracing his lineage and time spent alone in contemplative writing, influenced Nathaniel Hawthornes philosophy and writing style, and lead Hawthorne to become one of the most well known authors of the American Romanticism literary movement. Nathaniel Hawthornes philosophy and writing style is a part of the literature style of American Romanticism. Considered the first illustration of American literary genius by Jennifer Hurley, book editor of American Romanticism, the literature of American Romanticism was written between the late 1830s and 1861, right before the rise of the Civil War. American Romantics, like Hawthorne, were unified by a concern with the internal world, the world of the psyche, as explained by Hurley on page twelve. Hawthornes aspect of American Romanticism exemplified the desire to explicate the qualities of human nature, such as its individuality, imagination, and intuition. Hawthorne, like other Romantics, explored the individuals isolation from society by providing complex psychological portraits of his protagonists (Hurley 12). While the United States of America was unstable, transforming from agrarianism to industrialism and political turmoil being at its peak during the nineteenth century, Roman tics, such as Hawthorne, found stability in seeking out the peace, beauty, and simplicity of nature and its relation to humankind. Hawthornes aspect of Romanticism was concerned with the psychological and symbolical analysis of certain types of human character and moral situations. Hawthorne extensively uses the literary technique of symbolism to convey an idea to his audience. Symbolism was a popular literary device of Romantics, where an object represented an idea. Symbols could have been a word, place, character, or any other object in which a meaning extended beyond the items literal context. Symbolism is a technique of the Romantics that has continued to be a popular literary device, and is a broad category in which allegory, a specialty of Hawthornes writing technique, is under its hierarchy. Hawthorne drew upon his personal and cultural history to create his intensely symbolic works that investigated the depths of the national American character. The symbolism of his works focused on isolation and guilt of the individual, the uncertainties of good and evil, and the continual hold of the past on the present. Hawthorne focused on his Calvinist lineage and Americas Calvinist ideological past, as well, in hopes of coming to terms and making sense of it. Hawt horne was deeply fascinated by the shifting and treacherous nature of the Puritan lifestyle, as explained by David Morse, author of American Romanticism: From Cooper to Hawthorne. The Puritans were endlessly attentive for symbolism in their daily lives. The Puritans clothing, gesture, behavior, languageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦all had their meaning which must be deciphered (Morse 182). Hawthornes writing is full of symbolic characters, settings, and objects. Hawthornes characters and settings are not always actually important for what they are, but for what they exemplify. Hawthornes audience finds the meanings of his symbols as they grow among his characters efforts to tell the audience what the symbols represent. Hawthorne uses the development of events in different settings to convey the meanings of his symbols as well. Hawthornes genius was in his technique of developing the symbolism of the story via the characters and events because Hawthorne, by intention, makes the characters and their actions the direct allegorists instead of the narrator of the narrative himself. Hawthornes genius is also in his efficiency to make his symbols so commonly placed and natural that they go overlooked. The meanings conveyed by these symbols become more effective when placed so naturally, they conceal themselves because it requires deeper intellectual and intrinsic thought on t he behalf of the reader. One of Hawthornes least recognized works came from his publication of his short story collection Twice-Told Tales, published in 1837. The short story The Hollow of the Three Hills is one unfamiliar to most. Summarized by Gary L. Pullman, author of The Hollow of the Three Hills: Hell on Earth, as: A young woman who suffers from an untimely blight rendezvous at an appointed hour and place with a withered, old hag (a witch) in the circular hollow situated in the center of three hills, having come to the crone to learn what has become of the husband and daughter whom the young woman abandoned years before. Their fate was intimately bound at one time, she concedes, although they are cut off forever from one another now. The witch, reminding the young woman that their time together is short (there is but a short hour that we may tarry here) and directing her to kneel and lay her head upon her knees, pulls her cloak over the young womans head, thus blinding her to the exterior world. The witch utters a profane prayer, by which she works a spell that enables the young woman to hear the voices of her parents and those of her family, whom she abandoned. Her parents, now old, lament the shame and affliction her desertion of her family has brought them. The witch tells the young woman th at her parents are weary and lonesome. Next, her husband speaks from within the confines of a mental institution, complaining of his wifes perfidy and of a wife who had broken her holiest vows, of a home and heart made desolate. Apparently, his wifes desertion of him and their daughter has caused him to lose his mind. The young woman lifts her head, replying to the witchs question as to whether it seems likely that there could be such merry times in a madhouse by saying there is mirth within its walls, but misery, misery without. The young woman longs to hear one more voice (presumably her daughters), and the witch obliges her, telling her to lay her head again upon her knees. The old woman begins to wave her spell again, but, as dusk deepens toward night, a funeral bell tolls, and a funeral procession approaches, several of the members of which revile the dead, pronouncing anathemas upon the deceased for her having abandoned her husband and daughter. When the witch shakes the motio nless young woman whose head rests upon her knees, to rouse her, she discovers that the young woman has died, and the witch says, Here has been a sweet hours sport! The young woman is portrayed as having left her loved ones because of an unforgivable dishonor or deceit she has committed, therefore, fled into nature, to loneliness and isolation. There she seeks comfort in the lap of the old witch. It is in this moment in the story the question of this allegorical story begins. Is the comfort the young woman seeks from the witch her damnation or salvation? Hawthorne explores an issue of critical summation, the greatest allegory of the story, of whether or not the witch is the womans salvation or damnation in the narrative. Hawthorne demonstrates, though, that the sole way for the reader, through the development of events and the characters courses of actions, to know is through his identification of the context that defines whether the witchs nature is of damnation or salvation for the young woman. To discover Hawthornes brilliance of symbolism in The Hollow of the Three Hills, the audience must only open its mind to understand how Hawthorne may be expressing a metaphor. For example, In those strange old times, when fantastic dreams and madmens reveries were realized among the actual circumstances of life, (The Hollow of the Three Hills 5), hints to the reader that the story is between the border of subjectivity, the inner world of the psyche, and objectivity, the outer world of nature. In another instance, when the witch says to the young lady, Here is our pleasant meeting come to pass according as thou hast desired. Say quickly what thou wouldst have of me, for here there is but a short hour that we may tarry here, the womans death is being foreshadowed. It is also suggested that the two meet because of a greater power which intertwines the fates of the young woman and the witch. Continuing symbolism in the story is found in the third paragraph of the narrative in the word sepulchre of the phrase, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦like a lamplight on the wall of a sepulchre, (The Hollow of the Hills 5) and again when the young womans head is rested on the knees of the witch and covered by the cloak, as described on page six of The Hollow of the Hills. Sepulchre indicates the young lady is near death in the presence of the witch. The darkness of the covering cloak symbolizes and foreshadows what the young ladys afterlife will be like without repentance of her sins. The darkness represents that she will not be reborn into life, but into death, physically and spiritually, and therefore both lives, her mortal and spiritual, will be claimed by damnation of sin. Toward the end of the narrative, Hawthornes symbolism is yet to cease. The golden skirts of day were yet lingering upon the hills, but deep shades obscured the hollow and the pool, as if sombre night were rising thence to overspread the world, (The Hollow of the Three Hills 8), is a representation of the life of the young woman as her life and what little happiness she attempted to retrieve from listening to the voices of her loved ones slips away and is overcome by death and misery. In the last moments of her life, the young woman, troubled with the guilt of abandoning her family, wonders the fate of her family. She seems to want to know their fate more to satisfy her curiosity than because she has come to a position of repentance. After all, the young lady accepts the services of a witch instead of seeking a reverend. By visiting the witch, she is dying on her knees in the spell of a witch rather than in prayer, and as a result, she dies in sin. Both of the womans lives, the physic al and spiritual, are in transgression. Furthermore, in death the young lady is not released of her sins, but is given an eternity of suffering and torment of what the witch pleases. The young woman is not only the servant of the witch, but ultimately the servant of the Power of Evil, the symbolical description of Satan. The bells at the end of the story make the reader aware, as if the bells were an alarm, that the story is a warning that the fate of the woman could happen to anyone. Hawthornes own religious beliefs come through in the story through expressing the need of repentance. The Hollow of the Three Hills examines human nature and its inevitability to fall short of perfection. According to Hawthorne, it is why man sins and must, therefore, repent of his imperfections. The symbolism of this tale related to the moral issues of his time period because while society was evolving into a modern industrial community, Hawthorne used his symbolism to express his opinion that society will unavoidably change, but for its cultural survival, the need for individual intuition and moral s must stay intact, or otherwise face great downfall, like the womans fate in the narrative, because societal perfection nor individual perfection is attainable. The symbolism within the story and allegorical message of the story is timeless because the symbols within the story and allegorical message of the story are still relevant today. American society will never outgrow the need for individuals to express intrinsic thought and need to stay in touch with ones morals and intuition because it is part of Americas philosophical and literary ancestry and one will always draw inspiration from Hawthornes symbolism. The timeless effects of Hawthornes symbols and allegories, along with his brilliance in his technique of developing the symbolism of the story via the characters and events and in his efficiency to make his symbols so commonly placed and natural that they go overlooked, are what make him the master of symbolism.

Cynthia Ozick’s story Envy or, Yiddish in America Essay -- Cynthia Ozi

"Envy": Cynthiz Ozick Meets Melanie Klein Cynthia Ozick’s story â€Å"Envy; or, Yiddish in America† shows the corrosive effects of envy on the life of the lonely, aging Yiddish poet Edelshtein. Edelshtein is consumed with envy of Ostrover, a famous Yiddish novelist known from English translations of his stories. He feels that Ostrover has both cuckolded him and bested him in literary success. Edelshtein believes he could become as famous as Ostover if he too had a translator into English. Without the translator, he fears his poems will die along with him and the dying Yiddish language. The story seems to illustrate the psychological insights of Melanie Klein about the unconscious mechanisms behind envy: â€Å"I consider that envy is an oral-sadistic and anal-sadistic expression of destructive impulses, operative from the beginning of life. . .† (Klein, ix). So long as Edelshtein operates out of envy, he will remain caught in a vicious cycle, in an infantile, self-destructive state, thwarted in his attempts to love or to be creative. He will continue to feel persecuted by Ostrover, which is really a form of internal persecution. As Klein says, â€Å"When this occurs, the good object is felt to be lost, and with it inner security† ( 84). â€Å"Envy,† which is included in Ozick’s 1969 collection, The Pagan Rabbi, is reminiscent of Bellow’s Herzog (1965). Both are profound psychological anatomies, detailed dissections of a single suffering character, a victim who is nevertheless in many ways his own worst enemy. Both stories are delicately poised between the comic and the tragic. Both protagonists are intellectuals who rail against the â€Å"Wasteland outlook† and defend Jewish humanism. Herzog rejects â€Å"the commonplaces of the Wastela... ...at least two people† (Klein 6). Tragedy occurs in the realm of oedipal conflict, but the envious person never reaches that stage and thus never really grows up. Works Cited Bellow, Saul. Herzog. 1965; New York: Viking, 1976. Cohen, Sarah Blacher. Cynthia Ozick’s Comic Art: From Levity to Liturgy. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994. Kauvar, Elaine M. Cynthia Ozick’s Fiction: Tradition and Invention. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993. Klein, Melanie. Envy and Gratitude: A Study of Unconscious Sources. NY: Basic Books, 1957. Lowin, Joseph. Cynthia Ozick. Boston: Twayne, 1988. Ozick, Cynthia. â€Å"Envy; or, Yiddish in America.† Jewish American Stories. Ed. Irving Howe. New York: New American Library, 1977: 129-77. Strandberg, Victor. Greek Mind/Jewish Soul: The Conflicted Art of Cynthia Ozick. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1994.

Examination of Characters in Katherine Anne Porters Short Story He Ess

Examination of Characters in Katherine Anne Porter's Short Story He Katherine Anne Porter's moving and stylistically cohesive short story "He" contains much worth discussing. The story's characters are quite memorable and provide for interesting character studies; in addition, the plot and themes of the story are also noteworthy. The most elaborately detailed character is Mrs. Whipple. She is the dominating member of the Whipple family; despite her belief in "men's work" as opposed to women's, she seems to have a great deal of say in family decisions. Mrs. Whipple is extremely concerned with status and appearances -- indeed, overly so. This preoccupation of hers is prominent throughout the story, from beginning to end. She is concerned, first of all, with making sure that no one else is aware of her family's poverty. She mentions, when things are going particularly bad for the Whipple, that "[The neighbors]'ll be calling us poor white trash next," and we know that would be tantamount to death for Mrs. Whipple. She is so concerned with keeping up appearances, in fact, that she goes against the advice of her husband and butchers a sucking pig when her brother, his "plump wife" and two "roaring hungry" boys come to visit. Although this will hurt them in the long run, Mrs. Whipple simply cannot bear to adm it the inadequacy of her family's income. Mrs. Whipple knows her family, especially her the long run, Mrs. Whipple simply cannot bear to admit the inadequacy of her family's income. Mrs. Whipple knows her family, especially her "simple-minded" son, is not like others, but she tries desperately to make them appear normal. Thus her other preoccupation lies in protecting her "simple-minded" son. We learn that Mrs. ... ...s moving and darkly humorous look at family dynamics. It certainly makes a clear statement against concern for appearances at all costs. It also explores the idea of "motherly love" and how good intentions can go bad. In the end, however, this story is just appearances at all costs. It also explores the idea of "motherly love" and how good intentions can go bad. In the end, however, this story is just depressing. We feel very sorry for -- and a little true sympathy for -- Mrs. Whipple and her family. Nevertheless, we cannot agree that it was "a mortal pity He was ever born," for we know that "she had loved Him as much as she possibly could"; in light of all her other concerns and preoccupations, however, it just wasn't enough. Work Cited Porter, Katherine Anne. "He." The Literature of the American South. Ed. William L. Andrews. New York: Norton. 1998.

Essay --

In 2002, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) and the New York and New Jersey Port Authority held a collaborative planning event organized by America Speaks regarding the future development of the World Trade Center site after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The LMDC and Port Authority initially created six congruent plans regarding the reconstruction of the site. The LMDC saw the mandate they had to follow in reconstructing the tower to be broad. "LMDC thus announced that it would set up eight advisory councils to represent key constituencies—families; residents; restaurants, retailers, and small businesses; arts, education and tourism; financial services firms; professional firms; commuters and transportation; and development." (Rosegrant P.2 2002) The LMDC had made plans that would involve making the site into a mixed area of commercial and residential. The Port Authority likewise desired to stick to the original layout of the previous World Trade Center struct ure. They wanted to keep the space strictly for commercial and office space purposes. (Rosegrant 2002) Unable to come to an agreement on how the site should be used, it was decided to try and reach a wider demographic in regards to creating a blueprint for the reconstruction of the site. The Port Authority and the LMDC decided to accept a proposal from America Speaks on organizing a collaborative process that will bring all of the various stakeholders together. To discuss the future of the World Trade Center site. America Speaks' collaborative event brought together over 5,000 participants. 4,500 of whom were of the general public representative of the various demographics that resided within the region. The rest being composed of government and civic leade... ...c mobilization and decision making embodies the message. When designing a collaborative process I might have done certain things differently, despite its flaws the collaborative process proved to be successful. This success is owed to being inclusive through the formatting of the meeting. Innovative use of online and offline space. Allowing participants during the initial meeting define what they would want in a design plan of the space to be reconstructed. This format of collaborative planning was fairly new and it explains why participants were not confident that their input will not be considered in the decision making. While technology did play a prominent role the management of the process was also depended on the quality of table facilitators, scribes and the theme team. America Speaks was able to successfully organize and operate this collaborative process.

Performance Dynamics of Bata Shoe Bangladesh

1. Historical Background The business that became the Bata Shoe Organization was established on August 24, 1894 in Zlin, Czechoslovakia by Tomas Bata, and included his brother Antonin and sister Anna. Although this business was new, the Bata name had been part of a tradition of shoemaking for eight generations, spanning three hundred years. It was one of the first modern-day shoe ‘manufacturers', a team of stitchers and shoemakers creating footwear not just for the local town, but also for distant retail merchants.This departure from the centuries-old tradition of the one-man cobbler's workshop was a brand new concept, creating an entirely new industry. Tomas consistently maintained a human focus, creating opportunities for development and advancement, and added compensation for employees based on achievement. As the enterprise prospered, so did the communities where it operated. Bata companies later provided rail services, construction, insurance, publishing and a tannery in Z lin. The Bata System† devised by the Zlin team, and later applied in other Bata Shoe Organization companies, organized operations into autonomous workshops and departments (â€Å"profit centre†), allowing employees to contribute ideas and stimulate production, and contributed significant breakthroughs in footwear technology. By 1938 Bata Shoe Organization had established a unique and widespread presence, designing, producing and marketing footwear in more than 30 countries.The Bata Shoe Organization regarded itself as a ‘Multi-Domestic' rather than multinational enterprise, making it a priority to contribute to the economy in any new markets it entered. During the 50s, 60s and 70s the Organization redoubled its focus on retailing excellence, international footwear branding, advanced manufacturing techniques and extensive employee training, another Bata tradition that dated back to the Organization's earliest years. At present, Bata is one of the world’s wid est reaching companies, with operations in 68 different countries.They strive to listen to the customers in their local markets and clearly identify their footwear needs, and then to provide products that exceed their customers’ expectations in terms of quality, style and value. Bata operating companies are grouped into four business units based on similarities in markets and business issues. Each group benefits from synergies specific to their requirements, such as product development, sourcing and marketing support. 1. 1 Bata Today Bata is one of the world’s widest reaching companies, with operations in 68 different countries.Bata companies strive to listen to the customers in their local markets and clearly identify their footwear needs, and then to provide products that exceed their customers’ expectations in terms of quality, style and value. Bata operating companies are grouped into four business units based on similarities in markets and business issues. Each group benefits from synergies specific to their requirements, such as product development, sourcing and marketing support. Each business unit is entrepreneurial in nature, and can quickly adapt to changes in the marketplace and seize potential growth opportunities. Bata International serves customers in much of Asia, the Pacific and Africa through its 3,000 stores and many dealers. It is supervised from Singapore. Bata International operates shoe innovation centers in several countries as well as 30 factories to serve individual markets. * Bata Europe is based in Paris and operates 500 stores offering fashionable footwear. The world-class shoe innovation center just outside of Venice supplies many of the exclusive lines found in Bata stores throughout Europe. * Bata Latin America is based in Mexico City.Bata is the leading retailer of shoes in Latin America and the leading marketer of children's branded footwear. * Bata Canada is based in Toronto from where 250 stores serve the Canadian market. Its chain of Athletes World’s and Nike Shops is the leading fashion source in Canada for young urban customers. Bata Shoe organization (B. S. O. ) is the largest manufacturer and marketer of footwear in the world. Its global business comprises of shoe factories, tanneries, engineering plants, quality control laboratories, product development and research centers.Bata distributes its products through approximately 6,300 retail outlets, 10,000 franchises and thousands of wholesale depots and dealers. More than 50,000 people are employed in producing and selling over 300 million pairs of shoes each year, primarily for the domestic markets in which B. S. O companies operate. Approximately 400,000 additional people and their families are engaged in the support services required by B. S. O. operations. Bata International Centre is located in Toronto, Canada. Mr.Tomas Bata, the founder of Bata Shoe Organization, initiated this worldwide operation in Zlin, Czechoslo vakia, now known as the Czech Republic. The year 1994 marked the 100th founding anniversary of BATA. Over the years B. S. O. ’s operation expanded across the entire globe and established itself as the world’s largest organization in footwear manufacturing and marketing Today Bata operates in 68 countries. 1. 2 Bata Bangladesh At the Pakistan period Bata was first came to this country. After independence Bata continue their commitment to provide good quality shoes at an affordable price.Many of the elderly people still remember the â€Å"Naughty Boy† shoe of Bata that was known for its durability among the kids of that time. But since then Bata Bangladesh has changed a lot. Now they are not only providing durable shoes but have brought new designs too according to the taste of the people. Bata expands its operation all through the country. It has now huge number of stores, agencies, dealers and wholesalers around the country. And undoubtedly it has the biggest sh oe manufacturing and marketing organization here in Bangladesh.There are hardly any places in the country where one will not found Bata store, which signals its expansion, success and popularity here. Bata Bangladesh is a public limited company, which has 51- 49% share with the government of Bangladesh. Though it has established in Czechoslovakia but at present Bata is a Canadian company because of the migration and mergers of the family and now J. Bata who happens to be the grandson of founder G. Bata has his operation and headquarter in Canada and operates as a Canadian company. In Bangladesh it is operating as a Canada-Bangladesh company. . 3 Mission Introduction of a strong shoe line targeted to various market segments to maintain leadership through increased market share. 1. 4 Vision To provide good quality shoes at an affordable price. By keeping in mind the comfort that needs to be there and providing new designs with it. 1. 5 Objectives * Achievement of 100% estimated busine ss in each category * Maintain a shoe line with 700 lines of which 200, 300, 150 & 50 lines for Men, Women Children & Plastic respectively * Introduction of a shoe ine as per life style as well as fashion trend * Achieve an average 55% margin in each category * Innovate ideas or system for better management of merchandise distribution by maintaining 4 times stock turn. 2. Product Profile Bata shoe Bangladesh Ltd. has more than 900 lines of shoes in different categories. They distribute all of these lines of shoes in different parts of Bangladesh through wholesalers, dealers and through their own stores. In the following chart some of the shoes, its average price, size and other dominating features are mentioned.Best Price Range (TK)| BATA| Dominating Color| Men's| 995-1695| Black| Women's| 250-550| Black, Chocolate| School| 200-330| Black, White| Children| 130-195| Multicolor| Sport| 695-995| White, Gray| Non Shoes| 50-100| Black, Chocolate| 3. Competitive Status * Be obsessed with customer satisfaction * Build reputation for providing quality product * Be dedicated to continuous growth in the market * Widespread availability of Bata shoes in the market The prices of Bata shoes are very competitive and in many cases lower than its competitors * Very good distribution channel with dedicated employees all through Bangladesh and established because of Bata’s experience in the Bangladesh for very long * Taking opportunity of the lower buying power of the people of the country by providing good quality shoe at a competitive price * To ensure that the end users receive medicines those are safe, effective and quality consistent with leadership position in the health care industry throughout the country * It has more than 900 lines of shoes in different categories * To apply the rinciples of customer-focused quality, service and excellence to all processes and system, from product design, development through production, distribution and marketing * To maintain the standard of quality in order to protect the patients, prevent errors and optimize value provided to the consumer and company. * To comply with group product standards and regulatory requirements * The company has more than 1000 shoe designs and caters to all the segments.Over 60% of sales come from the men's range, while children's and women’s range account for about 20% each * BB operates through a chain of exclusive own and franchise stores. BB's stores are located in prime locations countrywide. 70% of Bata's sales are from its own retail outlets. Besides there is a network of about 500 exclusive wholesalers who service about 300 retail stores all over the country. Bata has showrooms, wholesale depots and distribution centers across the country. 4. Trends of performance Products tend to go through different stages, each stage being affected by different competitive conditions.These stages require different marketing strategies at different times if sales and profits ar e to be efficiently realized. The length of a product life cycle is in no way a fixed period of time. It can last from weeks to years, depending on the type of product. In case of shoe industry in Bangladesh it is presently going through the growth stages which are characterized by many new consumers entry in the market, by fall in price as experience and economies of scale have been attained, by developed distribution channel and by increasing intensity of competition.Bata Bangladesh is the largest player in the footwear industry with around 9-10% volume share and a 60% market-share in the organized segment. BB (Bata Bangladesh) has a market share of 70% in canvas shoes segment while it has a share of 60% in leather shoes. BB manufactures about 10% of the total Hawaii’s sold in the country. BB competes in manufacturing low priced Hawaii’s with the unorganized sector with its price ranging from Taka35-Taka110 with unorganized sector's pricing in the range of Taka25-Tak a50. 4. 1 Production Bata Bangladesh operates 2 manufacturing plants in Tongi and Dhamrai.The company is producing around 110,000 pairs of shoes daily. It has a modern tannery with the latest technological facilities to process 5 million square feet of leather yearly. Bata Bangladesh concentrates mainly on the domestic market through a countywide distribution network comprising retail stores, Dealer Support Program (DSPs) and independent dealers. 4. 2 Sales Turnover 4. 3 Profit & Profitability The average gross profit margin for the last five years has been 37% while average operating margin has been 12%. Average net margin stands at 8%.In 2008, 2009 & 2010 Bata’s net Income was (MM BDT) 449, 459, 509; Gross Margin 34% 35% 35%; Operating Margin 14% ,12% ,12%; Net Margin 10%, 9%, 9% and Operating Cash (MM BDT) 428,873 472,320 511,799 587,130 643,166 713,937 781,319. Average return on equity for the last five years has been more than 40% while average return on assets has been around 14%. Bata is also among the largest dividend payers with an average dividend payout ratio of 80% for the last three years. Moreover, the company has large land holdings which have not been revalued in a long time.The company has zero leverage and huge stockpiles of cash which give them enough flexibility to expand and/or maintain a high payout ratio. 5. Growth Rate (Trend Analysis of Productivity) Consistent margin and growth Bata has been a consistent performer in recent years and this is reflected in their profit margins for the last five years. Bata also enjoyed consistent growth in sales and earnings. Sales growth has been averaging around 16% in the last four years while earnings growth has been averaging over 25% during that period. EBITDA growth has been around 20% on average.No credit sales policy helped accumulate large cash. Bata maintains a no credit sales policy. This has helped reduce cash cycle for the company. 6. SWOT Analysis * Strengths: * Image of the compan y * Quality Product * Differentiated line of products * Competitive Pricing * Strong distribution channel * Modern manufacturing facilities * Brand loyalty at mass level * Weaknesses * Insufficient promotional activities * Bata at present conducts all the store management activity manually. This results lots of lengthy paper works, errors & waste of time. Inability to catch the present trend in time * Less competitive price due to high cost structure. * VAT & tax barrier * Opportunities * Despite political turbulence a segment of our middle-class is coming up with reasonable buying power. Many of them are women who are decision maker so the city store concept of Bata can attract them as whole of the family footwear can be available there. * Consumer like differentiated products. They like to shop in a store where they serve the whole family. * More competition results in more campaign for products. * Business Expansion in Shoe care products Utilize outsourcing especially the synergy sources to achieve competitive pricing * Franchisee opportunity with global brands like Nike, Reebok, Hush Puppy * Market expansion opportunity in high fashion & value for money footwear market for all categories of shoes through Retail & WCSM channels * Threat * Political instability affects the supply of raw materials and distribution of finished products. * Uncontrolled counterfeit of Bata products * New companies like Apex, Homeland, Pagasus of Bangladesh and the foreign companies like Nike, Reebok, Addidas are already in the market with good quality product.Have to keep up with them respect of quality. * Smuggelling of shoes and many stores in the city like the one’s in elephant road are the major market leaders. As they don’t have to pay for large amount of money for establishment, production, quality and advertising so they can sell at a much lower price than established brands like Bata. * Rapid market expansion program by organized competitors like APEX. 7. P ossible Measure to Improve Performance To improve the sales and profits, BB is planning to increase penetration by setting up more retail outlets and taking space in shopping malls across the country.Existing retail stores would be upgraded even as wholesale depots would be set up in smaller towns and semi-urban areas. BB's main efforts will be to streamline the wholesale business. BB's thrust is on becoming marketing driven firm from a manufacturing oriented company. Steps are also being taken to reduce costs, improve distribution logistics and focus on launch of new products in order to improve the performance of the company. * Give sales discount and free samples to influence more sales in the growing shoe market. * Reduce the price level. More advertisements should be aired. * Should build awareness among the potential users of this type of footwear product. * Bring more design, color, and design combination to be competitive. * To merge with the local companies and to expand mo re segmentation. 8. Conclusion From the analysis of Bata Shoe Company Bangladesh Ltd and the shoe industry we have identified that the shoe industry is growing and identified their main weakness is insufficient lack of development with the rapid changing market needs, insufficient promotional activities, and downward trend of quality.On the other hand, distribution system and vertical integration are the strengths of Bata From strategic marketing viewpoint; we see that Bata is taking corrective steps in almost all the way. In very few sides Bata has lacking. Based upon these facts recommended strategies would assist in more growth of Bata shoe company Bangladesh Ltd. in among the upcoming fierce competition in the shoe industry.