Sir Gawain And The Green Knight: The Role Of Women :: essays research papers

In the fourteenth century, chivalry was in decline due to drastic social and economic changes. Although feudalism-along with chivalry-would eventually fall for other reasons, including a decrease in cheap human resources due to a drop in population caused by plague epidemics and the emergence of a mercantile middle class, the Gawain author perceived a loss of religious values as the cause of its decline. Gawain and the Green Knight presents both a support of the old feudal hierarchies and an implicit criticism of changes by recalling chivalry in its idealized state in the court of King Arthur. The women in the story are the poet's primary instruments in this critique and reinforcement of feudalism. The poet uses the contrast between the Virgin Mary with Lady Bertilak's wife to point out the conflict between courtly and spiritual love that he felt had weakened the religious values behind chivalry. The poem warns that a loss of the religious values behind chivalry would lead to its ul timate destruction. Although superficially Sir Gawain and the Green Knight appears to be a romantic celebration of chivalry, it contains wide-ranging serious criticism of the system. The poet is showing Gawain's reliance on chivalry's outside form and substance at the expense of the original values of the Christian religion from which it sprang. The first knights were monastic ones, vowing chastity, poverty and service to God, and undertaking crusades for the good of their faith. The divergence between this early model and the fourteenth century knight came with the rise of courtly love in which the knights were led to their great deeds by devotion to a mistress rather than God. The discrepancy between this and the church's mistrust of women and desires of the flesh is obvious, and the poet uses women in the story to deliver this message. In contrast to reality at the time, women in the story are given great power: Mary, when properly worshiped, gives Gawain his power, Lady Bertilak operates alone in th e bedroom and singlehandedly taints the chevalier, and Morgan the Fay instigates the entire plot, wielding enough power. The author is using them as a metaphor for other anti-social forces and dangers outside the control of feudalism and chivalry, drawing upon biblical and classical examples in his audience's minds of where femininity is linked with subversiveness. Lady Bertilak is clearly seen in the Biblical role of the temptress, the Eve who led Adam astray--in Gawain, she represents the traditional female archetypes of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight: The Role Of Women :: essays research papers In the fourteenth century, chivalry was in decline due to drastic social and economic changes. Although feudalism-along with chivalry-would eventually fall for other reasons, including a decrease in cheap human resources due to a drop in population caused by plague epidemics and the emergence of a mercantile middle class, the Gawain author perceived a loss of religious values as the cause of its decline. Gawain and the Green Knight presents both a support of the old feudal hierarchies and an implicit criticism of changes by recalling chivalry in its idealized state in the court of King Arthur. The women in the story are the poet's primary instruments in this critique and reinforcement of feudalism. The poet uses the contrast between the Virgin Mary with Lady Bertilak's wife to point out the conflict between courtly and spiritual love that he felt had weakened the religious values behind chivalry. The poem warns that a loss of the religious values behind chivalry would lead to its ul timate destruction. Although superficially Sir Gawain and the Green Knight appears to be a romantic celebration of chivalry, it contains wide-ranging serious criticism of the system. The poet is showing Gawain's reliance on chivalry's outside form and substance at the expense of the original values of the Christian religion from which it sprang. The first knights were monastic ones, vowing chastity, poverty and service to God, and undertaking crusades for the good of their faith. The divergence between this early model and the fourteenth century knight came with the rise of courtly love in which the knights were led to their great deeds by devotion to a mistress rather than God. The discrepancy between this and the church's mistrust of women and desires of the flesh is obvious, and the poet uses women in the story to deliver this message. In contrast to reality at the time, women in the story are given great power: Mary, when properly worshiped, gives Gawain his power, Lady Bertilak operates alone in th e bedroom and singlehandedly taints the chevalier, and Morgan the Fay instigates the entire plot, wielding enough power. The author is using them as a metaphor for other anti-social forces and dangers outside the control of feudalism and chivalry, drawing upon biblical and classical examples in his audience's minds of where femininity is linked with subversiveness. Lady Bertilak is clearly seen in the Biblical role of the temptress, the Eve who led Adam astray--in Gawain, she represents the traditional female archetypes of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death.

Business Research Methods Essay

Organizational Dilemma Starbucks grew as it attracted many people, leading to tripling its stores worldwide. It became part of every neighborhood, appearing on every street, in airports, supermarkets, and roadside rest stops all over America. This is when complaints began to surface that Starbucks is transforming into a fast-food restaurant and not a coffee house. The coffee industry was no longer dominated by Starbucks, for competitors began to put pressure on the business. In addition, the biggest dilemma to hit Starbucks was the 2008 economic crisis. This took a toll on the consumer who saw Starbucks as a luxury and searched for more affordable alternatives. As a result, Starbucks’ management was faced with the need to generate the right management question that would be the thread to making the best decision through its research design. An organizational dilemma can spark a research question. Once an organization determines a situation exists, research methods start to devise and eventually sample designs are implemented. When people think of Starbucks, do they think of great customer service, quality products, clean store, or great coffee? The organizational dilemma is: how should Starbucks go about keeping loyal customers while overcoming the old perceptions and changing with the times. According to Howard Schultz, â€Å"We are not in the coffee business serving people; we are in the people business serving coffee† (Starbucks Board of Directors, 2008). Research Design Marius Pretorius (2008) research infers Starbuck’s organizational dilemma, whether strategic or operational is not diminished when using Michael Porter’s (1985) generic strategies for competitive advantage. Declining sales require a turnaround solution that address strategic causes and cost relationship pressures that govern demand determinants. Which are â€Å"highly susceptible to external influences that are not clearly visible to the decision-makers† (Pretorius, 2008, pg. 21). Designing a two-stage exploratory study to identify the basis of distress and the key determinants is essential to a turnaround strategic plan. An exploratory study provides sufficient flexibility to address research costs, timelines, and development of clear constructs to address priorities and operational definitions (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). The first stage of the study will look to ascertain the causation of the organizational dilemma and postulate the asymmetrical relationships in declining sales by examining both internal and external independent and dependent variables. This research will categorize findings into four relationship types as stimulus-response, property-disposition, disposition-behavior, or property-behavior. This will refine the second stage of research and explore influencing factors in depth. Characteristics and Operational Definitions The research design will produce casual inferences upon which a complementary strategy will result. â€Å"Although they may be neither permanent nor universal, these inferences allow us to build knowledge of presumed causes over time† (Cooper & Schindler, 2011, pg. 154). Therefore, it is important to identify moderating or interactive variable dependencies. To ensure data validity operational definitions will challenge data to meet specific standards. These definitions may not exhibit the organization’s use but will establish a means to classify clearly an event. The main concern is to establish actionable information in which contributory or contingent effects on the original independent to dependent variable (IV–DV) relationship will provide empirical conclusions. References Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P.S. (2011). Business research methods (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Porter, M.E., (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York, NY: The Free Press Pretorius, M., (2008). When Porter’s generic strategies are not enough: Complementary strategies for turnaround situations. Journal of Business Strategy 29(6): 19–28. Starbucks Board of Directors. (2008). Retrieved 2 2013, February, from Starbucks.com: www.starbucks.com/aboutus/environment.asp Starbucks, (2011) Our Company: Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com

Belize Commercial Free Zone

The Commercial Free Zone [pic] Sign to entrance to CFZ [pic] Map layout of CFZ [pic] Plazas, Company Stores & Shoppers inside ‘The Zone. ‘ CRS104-2 Group # 7/ D Research Question: Identify an industry or economic area with in your country where taxation and protection as been removed and look at the condition of it with in your country in terms of: 1. has it worsen or improve 2. variety of choice ( no specification of products made) 3. price of goods ( no indication of the prices of goods) 4. overall employment 5. quality (no indication of the quality of goods) 6. government revenue 7. ocal industry A Brief over View of the Commercial Free Zone or CFZ The Commercial Free Zone is one of Belize’s many Offshore Companies or industries used to attract foreign investors from all over the world to increase Belize’s economy and northern economy. Belize's legislation defines CFZ as â€Å"a geographic area in Belize designated outside national customs territory and duly restricted by controlled access, wherein the benefits created shall apply to a complex of industries. † The CFZ boarders Mexico’s South Eastern border and allows investors to directly access Mexico’s high end consumer market.Corozal’s Commercial Free Zone is under the management of the Commercial Free Zone Management Agency (CFZMA) and is headed by the Chief Executive Officer under a Board of Directors within the Zone. The Commercial Free Zone (CFZ) was established under the Corozal Commercial Free Zone Act of 1994 and was in place by 1997. The FZA is the most modern laws governing Free Zones in Belize. Business entrepreneurs are offered insane tax free business opportunities. Businesses there are free of foreign exchange restrictions and benefits such as duty exemptions and tax holidays.Goods imported or exported are exempt from any duties, quotas, stamp duties and revenue replacement duties. Income tax on Commercial Free Zone businesses is usually c harged between 2% and 8%. Businessmen’s rates can be reduced up to 2% through tax credits by employing Belizean workers. The Zone provides a variety of facilities for activities such as manufacturing, processing, warehousing, packaging and distribution of goods and services. This allows the businessmen today to manufacture, import, export, distribute fuel, and to offer retail or wholesales to Mexico and many other international clients.By doing so, they are also offered access to dock ships at ports in Belize and direct export by sea, air, land and entry into national customs territory. Today the Zone under gone vast improvement since then and continues to do. What started out first as a private sector with a great struggle to attract investors began to pay off due to the involvement of the few businessmen’s determination and dedication. First there were a few companies that only imported and exported their merchandise, then one or two retail stores, and then there was the addition of a SHELL gasoline station.This then offered the Mexicans an economical and better quality fuel than Mexico’s state-run fuel company PEMEX offered. Mexicans then began to invest in the Zone and brought with them numerous stores which offered investors and consumers everything from a more active store location to batteries. Benefits that Foreign Investors Receive from CFZ The following is an extended list of benefits that Investors receive: 1. no restrictions on foreign exchange out of or within a CFZ, including the sale of foreign currency or the transfer of foreign exchange; 2. noGovernment charges and taxes on foreign currency use within a CFZ; 3. all merchandise, articles and goods that enter a CFZ for commercial purposes are exempt from import duties, revenue replacement and stamp duties; 4. all fuel and goods, including buildings materials, equipment, furniture, supplies, etc. , needed for the functioning of a CFZ business are exempt from all duties and ta xes; 5. A Social fee of 1. 5% is charged on all goods and services imported into the CFZ, except for fuel (on fuel it makes 10%); 6. no quotas for imports and exports; 7. t is possible to open an account in any currency with a duly registered bank of CFZ business choice located in the CFZ; 8. no import or export license is required for imports or exports; 9. imports and exports are exempt from all custom duties, consumption and excise taxes, and export duties; 10. During the first 5-year period of business functioning in a CFZ, it is exempt from income tax, or capital gains tax, or any new corporate tax levied by the Government of Belize; any dividends paid by this business are exempt from tax for the first 20-year period of its operation; 11.The loss incurred over the 5years' tax holiday by a CFZ business may be carried forward and deducted against profits in the 3 years after the tax holiday period; 12. Any proceeds from the sale of stock or other ownership interest in a CFZ busin ess are exempt from the above-mentioned tax. Employment, Government Revenue, CFZ Current State of Being and Effects on the Belizean Economy Employment The main industry in Northern Belize that provides over six thousand families with income is the sugar industry.The other main industry which does so is CFZ. By 2003 there were over 400 businesses. Now there are about 700 which are offering employment to over 3000 Belizeans. Government Revenue 1. In 2004, CFZ brought in $274 million in economic activity annually of which the Government charged income tax as the five year mark had passed in 2002. 2. CFZ Christmas sales were approximately 50 percent lower than 2004 in 2008 CFZ Current State of Being Investors are losing confidence in the Belizean economy as: 1. There is less economic activity in the zone.This has left investors who have built million dollar shopping plazas unable to meet financial commitment. As a result, half of the facilities have now become vacant. 2. The Chetumal Ch amber of Commerce consistently pressures the Mexican Federal government to hinder Mexicans from purchasing at CFZ. 3. Before the Belize Bank and Atlantic Bank have been depositing pesos from the Free Zone in banks in Chetumal. Now Mexican banks are refusing to accept pesos deposited at CFZ due to money laundering concerns. Investors are then forced to keep large sums of pesos which posses the risk of theft.As a result the risk of excess pesos forcing the Market is eminent causing investors to sell excess pesos to local currency dealers at a loss due to Mexico’s unstable exchange rate. 4. The Central Bank has lost its account with HSBC (an international bank which used to process the millions of US dollars in cash) this is due to US anti-money-laundering banking regulations. There are periods when commercial banks in CFZ have not been freely taking the US dollars for the past three weeks. As a result, there have been several U. S. dollar freezes at CFZ in 2002, 2009, 2010.This is a very serious matter as it posses a possible treat to place CFZ activities on halt permanently if no resolution is provided. Hence anywhere up to over 17 million US dollars would be left to sits in a vault in Belize unprocessed. Effects on the Belizean Economy Consequences: 1. In 2008, Imports also fell by 38. 9 percent to a new low of $114. 5 million due to losses in the global economy . When economic activity fell to 50% in the Christmas of 2008; it caused the Belizean economy to decline. This is due to the fact that the industry is earning less; less income is being gained by the government through income tax.As a result Commercial activity continues to decline. 2. CFZ income is dependent on foreign currency, especially so US currency. Any change in the U. S economy directly affects us. Also since investors are all foreign, and not local, they can leave at any point in time, and will provided that there is persistent decline in economic activity or U. S Dollar Freezes or whe never financial responsibilities cannot be meet. 3. As a result of businesses closing their shutters permanently thousands of Belizeans are left unemployed. 4. Belizean economy then continues to decline.

External factors upon the activities of a business Essay

Introduction In this assignment, I will describe how external factors (political, legal, and social) are impacting upon the activities of a business. My chosen business is McDonalds and I will be explaining how the issues affect in both UK and India. McDonalds – is the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants. They mainly serve hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts. They also have options such as salads, apples, milk, and Snack Wraps on the menu. Legal Factors These are the laws and regulations affecting the business. Some of the other factors may include: freedom of information, data protection, employment law and copyright etc. UK and India’s Legal Factors Health and safety – In the UK and India, the health and safety law is very important for each individual or employees especially in the workplace, to prevent injury, death and illness. This affects some businesses especially in India because they need to have all equipment for health and safety which will cost them a lot to fill it up. Food Hygiene – In both countries, McDonalds has to be very hygienic in order for the business to stay open and successful. The impact of an unhygienic restaurant would be catastrophic for the company’s image. Recruitment and Selection Law – All workers must be treated equally. For example In UK, you cannot dismiss a worker for being pregnant. There should be proper warning before dismissing a worker otherwise it will be treated as unfair dismissal. The Government makes it mandatory to have a written contract of employment. It contains the details of the wage rate; working  hours, and other necessary details regarding working conditions. The National Minimum Wage in UK is currently  £6.31 while in India; the minimum wage is 118 rupees per day or about  £1.50 which is very low compare to UK. In contrast to the UK, India can employ individuals aged fewer than 16 and the child labour in India has a poor image as children are often left unpaid. Social Factors These are the aspects of population like for example; immigration, age of population, taste and fashion, belief, individual’s personality, attitudes and lifestyle. UK Social Factors Immigration – This has negative impact upon the social factors in UK. A long time ago, there wasn’t that many people living in the UK, however, in the 21st century, a lot of people from different part of the world started to migrate and live in UK. The major impact is on population. It has an advantage such as a lot of people are skilled to be employed in the business. However, some migrants might be illegal entrants or maybe visa over stayers. Ageing Population – The demographics in UK illustrate that the numbers of older people are increasing. McDonalds can benefit from this ageing population as they can increase the range of their hot drink products in order to target and meet the needs of older people. McDonalds can sell more healthy products such as fruits and salads. Lifestyle – Businesses are always affected by the lifestyle as people have different fashions, tastes, ethics, beliefs etc. As UK is a multi-cultural country, McDonalds needs to provide different selections of foods from different cultures such as in India McDonalds do not sell any beef products as it is prohibited in their religion. India Social Factors High population growth – In India, due to high population, people have a hard  time to find a job, as a result of this people don’t have enough funding for their daily expenses. High degree of corruption level – Corruption is a major issue that adversely affects its economy in India. The causes of corruption in India include excessive regulations, complicated taxes and licensing systems so they add extra cost to the business. Bollywood popularity – Bollywood is the nickname for the Indian film industry. It became very popular as Indians are in love with movies. Political Factors Political factors are factors that deal with the public. For example; EU membership, taxation government support for business, infrastructure (roads), skills, business ethics (corruption). UK Political Factors EU membership – McDonalds will need to act in accordance to the European regulations. One of the regulations is the working hours where workers must only work for no more than 48 hours. Taxation – McDonalds is affected by the government taxes, such as income taxes and business rates as it is a large business, meaning that a lot of tax is taken away from their profits. And McDonalds will have to pay tax. Tax has an impact on McDonalds as it will be taken off their annual profit which will result in less diligence for shareholders. India Political Factors Infrastructure – India isn’t modernized unlike UK; the technology systems are much less advanced which could affect the business ability to produce, to sell, expand, and demand. The roads are not well established. And if McDonalds in India have poor machinery, poor buildings and facilities, then  it won’t benefit the business and won’t be able to expand.

Forensic science expert witnesses should be free to express their Essay

Forensic science expert witnesses should be free to express their opinion as they see fit - Essay Example Whether or not the incidence of human error within the court justice system is intentional or unintentional , miscarriage of justice is considered as a serious social issue that could destroy the ability of the court to promote a fair legal justice system throughout the United Kingdom. To avoid destroying the credibility of UK’s legal system, most of the long list of past and current miscarriage of justice cases are kept unpublished.In case the defendant is not guilty of a crime, Layne explained that miscarriages of justice can occur each time an innocent person is convicted of a crime that was committed by another person . This can happen in times when the defendant has been unfairly convicted because of failure to receive a fail trial. There are also situations wherein the innocent defendants can also be detained in a prison cell even though the innocent defendant has not been found guilty of a crime .... This can happen in times when the defendant has been unfairly convicted because of failure to receive a fail trial. There are also situations wherein the innocent defendants can also be detained in a prison cell even though the innocent defendant has not been found guilty of a crime3. On the other hand, miscarriages of justice can occur in case the judge let go of a guilty defendant. In case the life of a witness or one of the jurors has been seriously threatened, there is a strong possibility for a guilty defendant to be acquitted in a court trial. Extent and Limitations wherein Forensic Science Experts should be Legally Allowed to Freely Express their Personal Opinions as They See Fit Expert witness is referring to professionals with proper education or expertise in a particular field (i.e. psychiatrist, pharmacologists, neurologists, etc.) who could assist in solving a criminal case4. Their main role is to provide scientific-based evidences or testimony based on facts in the court . Over the past decades, expert witnesses managed to help in solving crimes by presenting scientific-based information that are useful in making the members of the jury decide whether or not the defendant is guilty of a crime. Even though expert witness could help the jury solve criminal cases, there are also some instances wherein the information coming from the expert witnesses could lead to miscarriage of justice5. Because of the increasing number of wrongful conviction in UK, several previous cases strongly suggest the need to develop and implement a new â€Å"corrective justice system† throughout the United Kingdom6. This is probably one of the reasons that had triggered the need to determine the extent and limitations wherein the

Strategic Marketing Plan for(iPhone 4 in London) Essay

Strategic Marketing Plan for(iPhone 4 in London) - Essay Example Based on its established brand equity, Apple Corporation has the opportunity to skim the market with high prices in the UK market. However, once the upper class market has been catered, iPhone 4 can head for the mass market with low prices. This will expand iPhone 4’s life cycle over a longer period of time till the product itself matures. This report contains a detailed analysis of all the marketing and operational aspects of launching Apple Corporation’s iPhone 4 in the UK markets. 1. Resource Analysis The tangible resources available for the introduction of smart phone include the production facilities of the company which already exist. Apple Corporation’s main strength is its ability to develop hardware and software systems which it has developed through extensive Research and Development (Apple.Inc). The quality, method and organization of the current production process are already available. The production requirements can be met by existing state-of-the-a rt facilities. The marketing management process remains the same and the same distribution channels though which our competitors sell their smart phones, will be used. The IT systems are already developed which makes it easy to integrate with our customers and suppliers. The intangible assets available include our Goodwill in the market. The reputation of delivering the objects on time is also important. The key commercial rights protected by patents and trademark will work as an asset for our company. However, introducing this new smart phone will increase our labor cost by ?10 per person as more workers will be needed. The R&D department will need more labor therefore it will be increased by 500 men working at the rate of ?10 per hour and there will be 30 more employees for managerial work. As the existing production facilities will be used, there is no need of extra physical capacity. However, to improve and modify our facilities, a financial injection of ?500,000 will be needed which we will raise through debts as raising through equity will increase our interest expense. (Deutschman; Useem). 2. SWOT Analysis (Apple) Strengths (ReportLinker.com; iphoners.com) Apple stands on a strong foundation of Innovation through which it will introduce iPhone 4 with unique positioning. Apple’s phones are meant to be user friendly and with this ease of use, the company differentiates itself from the competitors who produce more complex versions of PDAs. iPhone 4 would be a competitive product and will be launched in the market with competitive prices through its competitive advantage of cheap raw material availability. The brand itself has long been established and therefore, the market will be highly receptive to new brand extensions. Weaknesses (ReportLinker.com; iphoners.com) Touch screen phone usage causes a medical condition called Gorilla Arm, which is caused when one holds his/her hand at waist length and continuous usage of touch screen phones may cause s uch problems. The consumers may therefore feel discomfort while using touch phones. Opportunities (ReportLinker.com; iphoners.com) Smart phones have a growing consumer base which is a good sign for Apple’s business as the new iPhone 4 can anticipate higher turnover rate. All the other brands such as Nokia, Samsung and especially Blackberry are positioned towards the corporate sector. iPhone 4 will be targeted towards a different and a larger market which can be

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Business law - Essay Example Stanford Engineering, Inc. is engaging Cornell Code Corporation in an unhealthy and unfair competition through advertising. Stanford Engineering, Inc. makes a false claim against Cornell Code Corporation through an advertising campaign that seeks to market competitive software products. As a result, Cornell is losing its sales to Stanford based on the false claim against it. Stanford can be held liable in a number of ways for injuring Cornell’s reputation in business. To start with, Cornell clearly understands that Stanford’s claim is untrue, but this has actually affected its sales negatively. Cornell is justified to file a lawsuit against the advertiser, which in this case is Stanford Engineering, Inc. This lawsuit would be set to forbid and restrict Stanford from using Cornell in its advertising activities. Stanford is likely to be asked to refrain from involving Cornell Company in its advertising strategies. On the same note, Stanford would be required to desist from making any reference to Cornell in its line of business and operations. In other words, Cornell can seek to have Stanford prohibited to make any reference to it. This can actually take the notion that Stanford cannot refer to Cornell as its competitor in form of advertising until the underlying dispute is resolved. Another ground upon which Cornell can sue Stanford is demanding of reimbursement of sales lost due to false advertising. Cornell has lost significant sales due to Cornell’s false claims. Cornell can sue Stanford for damages. Stanford’s false advertising has led to loss of sales to Cornell. Fair competition is governed and controlled by provisions of law. Through these laws, Stanford could be made to reimburse Cornell’s losses in sales. Cornell is losing sales to Stanford due to the ruined reputation in the market. Stanford could be sued for defamation. Stanford is tarnishing Cornell’s reputation in a