WWII Inventions and Innovations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WWII Inventions and Innovations - Essay Example One can only begin to imagine where the world would be now if WWII had not happened. The innovations that resulted from WWII are quite significant and still present in modern society. Some significant events that took place during WWII that have impacted my life as well as the lives of many sometimes go unnoticed but not forgotten. Women took on a new role in society and men fought for freedom. New weapons were created as well as the means for new technology. Hitler’s power was defeated and the Japanese went against the odds and made a surprising attack on Pearl Harbor. This attack began the start of the war and America bombed two Japanese territories that finished the war. The end of the war also marked a milestone in history as this started a new way of life for many. The role of women is one of the most innovative and long running changes that can still be seen in modern society as result of WWII. When WWII began women had a role that left them limited to taking care of the home, children and husband. These roles women had made their presence in the work field limited and their motivation to step up in society low. WWII made it necessary for men to go to war. This meant that the men would be leaving the home and the women were then forced with the burden to take care of everything that they were once before limited too. With many men off to war but the production of war supplies at an all time high, women were encouraged to step up and go to work. Many women not only worked like men once did, but women were also enlisting in the war. The government helped force this upon women with the use of advertising. Many billboards and posters were placed for women to see that encouraged them to step up in society. This is known in history as Rosie the Riveters. The events that WWII had on women and their new role in society have affected lives even to this day. Women are still working many jobs alongside men as well as taking care of the household. Women are mo re outspoken and honored for their many achievements. Without WWII, the role of women in society would not be as flourished as it is because of the result of WWII. The government was also able to use this as a way to investigate the affects that the mass media has on others. The response to the advertising toward women was so successful that the government was able to gain power through motivation. Weapons and technology that were invented during WWII are also used today and can be seen as building blocks for other weapons and technological advances. The medical field, weaponry and communications have come a long way since WWII but without advances made in WWII, many may not have been possible. Weapons and military advancement that have impacted modern day life and helped to advance the war include new ships and guns, the use of navigation and espionage and the rise in factory work this created. Many countries were constantly developing new ways that allowed them to take on a more p owerful stance during WWII. Medical advancements developed during WWII helped many survive injuries and are still used today. Although drugs such as penicillin were created before WWII the need was high for those in the front lines of war. What this meant was that penicillin needed to be mass produced and stored efficiently so that it could be beneficial. The ability to mass produce and distribute penicillin has impacted lives today. Pharmaceutical companies are now able to better keep up with the demand of many medicines that each one of us use every day. Communication as a result of WWII has made many impacts. These impacts include allowing communication to be as advanced as it now is. The results are the

Hindustan Motors Limited Analysis

Hindustan Motors Limited Analysis Hindustan Motors Limited is ancestor to all automobile manufacturing companies of India. It was established in 1942 before Indias independence. It was a flagship company of C.K. Birla group. Initially company had a small assembling plant at Port Okha, Gujarat. Main purpose was to reduce transportation cost because all parts were imported from foreign companies. Later it was shifted to Uttarpara, West Bengal due to cheaper raw materials and cheap labor cost. This later resulted in one of the most successful motor car of India the ambassador. Apart from the ambassador Hindustan Motors Limited has been active in production of various types of passenger cars, trucks and multi utility vehicle. Hindustan motors collaborated with Mitsubishi motors, Japan and introduce mid size premium segment cars such as Mitsubishi Lancer, Lancer select and Lancer Cedia. The company brought first sports utility vehicle to India which was Mitsubishi Pajero. Besides passenger cars (Ambassador, Grand, and Avigo), Multi Utility Vehicles (Trekker, Porter, and Pushpak) and the RTV, Hindustan Motors also manufactures passenger cars in the mid size premium segment (Mitsubishi Lancer, Lancer Select, and Lancer Cedia) and has brought in Sports Utility Vehicle (Mitsubishi Pajero) into the Indian market in collaboration with Mitsubishi Motors, Japan. Company made collaboration with General Motors and their joint venture produced Bedford trucks and Vauxhall motors during eighties and nineties. The partnership became 50-50 when General Motors bought Hindustan Motors plant at Halol, Gujarat in 1999. After almost seven decades Hindustan Motors is still actively contributing in countrys automobile market. Its manufacturing facilities are established in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Hindustan Motors motto is quality, safety with environmental care. It has been providing total solutions for customer care. Executive Summary: C. K. Birla: He is the chairman of the Board of Hindustan Motors LTD. He has a vast experience of business as he has been a successful industrialist since decades. Along with the chairmans post he serves as an independent non executive director of Hindustan Motors LTD. Manoj Jha:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He is recently promoted as a Managing Director at Hindustan Motors LTD. He is an executive vice president of engineering division and member of the management board. He studied hi engineering from Ranchi University. Yogesh Goenka: He is a chief financial officer, compliance officer and company secretary. He did Bachelor of commerce as well as AICWA, ACS, MBM. OBJECTIVE OF THE COMPANY: Main objective of the company is to provide an automobile with comfort and safety. The company has collaboration with international companies such as general motors, Vauxhall motors and Mitsubishi motor suggests that company has always been thriving for technology. Still the company is looking for development and technological enhancement to overcome recent declining in its sell. According to the chairman of Hindustan Motors the company main objective is to increase the selling of their models by improving its managerial structure. The company is looking for new and affordable product which can boost up their selling. Main purpose of this project paper is to study about declining of their once most successful model the ambassador. The Product-à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   The ambassador The ambassador model was based on Morris Oxford model which was manufactured in Cowley by Morris motors. Initially Hindustan motors started the production of Land master in 1954 near Uttarpara plant Kolkata. This led to production of ambassador in 1957. Thus 1957 can be counted as e year when ambassador first came into existence. The ambassador was considered to be best suited to harsh Indian terrain thats why it became very popular. AT that time it was said if you want to have comfort have an ambassador. Till 1980s there were only two Indian cars available in Indian market: ambassador and padmini. Due to its comfort and ability to sustain heavy blows on harsh terrain ambassador captured almost 70% of the Indian automobile market. It is to be noted that ambassador was once called the limousine of India because all politicians, famous businessmen prefer to have ambassador. It was a status symbol because of its proud appearance. It is strange that till 2001 the ambassador remain popular in taxi segment because it was said that the ambassador has ability to sustain shock during motor accident better than any other car available at that time. The credit goes to the manufacturing department of ambassador because the chassis of ambassador was such rigid that it can bear heavy blow from front as well as from side and rear. Till 90s India was sellers market means customer had to wait for a long time to get the product. Take an example of BAJAJ scooter, during 80s the condition was if son wants a scooter than father should apply for that so that after a long time son can be able to drive it. Well it is an exaggeration but the conditions for automobile market were very bad especially for a new company to jump in because government had laid very harsh rules on foreign companys entry and imported material became very costly. This give ambassador a dominant position for a few decades with some extraordinary features as discussed above and the ambassador succeeded to maintain it for a long period. Decline-à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   The product is in decline during last decade and the sales are decreasing it is surprising for such once successful model. To find out the products recent condition PORTER model analysis and SWOT analysis have been carried out as shown below. PORTER model analysis:- Against new entrants such as Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Ford, Hyundai etc the company failed to compete and continued with their existing strategy. It has found that after the year of 2000 the product has been in decline the table below gives its detail. As shown in the table despite of increasing number of automobiles in India the selling of ambassador is continuously decreasing. The company failed to cop up with ongoing circumstances such as in case of suppliers it failed to judge the pace of the industry and it remained slow in comparison of others. The company remained stick to only one brand means they didnt have varieties of products. The ambassador was available with nearly the same features throughout its existence. While Maruti Suzuki which has become the largest car manufacturer of India implemented various products having various features which made the company growing in terms of profit and selling. Companys market share has been decreased due to internal rivalry among union and management. SWOT analysis: Strength: Ambassador was the first car produce by an Indian company. It became a huge success story as well. There was a time when ambassador was exported to the countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri lanka and Myanmar. It was exported to Middle East countries as well. Due to its long reign in India Company has a broad network of service centers. It consists of 115 strong dealers, 50 parts dealers and 60 additional exclusive parts dealers. In 2006 the company has invested huge amount to establish production capacity for its product part. As stated earlier the image of ambassador as a car is still strong in Indian customers mind as trustworthy vehicle in all terms. Weaknesses The model hasnt been changed much since its first appearance. A customer needs change with improvement in outer look as well as its performance. As far as performance is concerned the ambassador is OK if compared with the modern cars. In case of look, its not at all attractive or impressive for younger generation. The company came to manufacturing when government rules were tough for any outsiders. As stated earlier Indian market at that time was sellers market. Low volume high price is all that Hindustan motors gave to its customers. When the laws were made liberal and new companies jumped into Indian market the company didnt make considerable changes for manufacturing process which couldnt cop up with new demand. Ambassador is the most dominant among all products of Hindustan motors. However new customers want safety with fuel efficiency. Ambassador promises safety but it was not fuel efficient when compared to modern cars. The employees were not efficient due to union problems which were a result of improper human resource management. Though the company had made several tie ups but later on when required to obtain new technology it lacks global export markets. Opportunities The ambassador is still recognized as the most comfortable car. Old age people prefer to have ambassador than any other car due to its impressive record against accidents. The company can modify the same car and it can make it more fuel efficient to attract middle class. There are examples of such long reigning cars. Take an example of Volkswagen beetle which was introduce in early 40s and its production continued till the beginning of 21st century. Volkswagen has achieved this by continuously changing the design and internal features. Same is needed to be done in case of ambassador as well. Threats Employees are not motivated enough to their job faithfully. More and more new companies are coming to India as it is becoming a giant market for automobile industry. Every companys aim is to provide the most fuel efficient and trustworthy car. According to company ambassador has been designed and manufactured over the years in such a way that it is almost difficult to change its features. It is most important to see how company has implemented the marketing mix strategy to its product so that it is declining. 4 PS OF MARKETING: Product: Ambassador the first Indian car manufactured in India. The most successful car of Indian automobile history. Figure : Ambassador The ambassador has a powerful 5420 cc engine, heavy axles, hydraulic brakes and bigger suspensions. Before considering the ambassador first of all it is required to know what company should be looking for when they introduce their product. For whom it is manufacturing its product? How much benefit they are expecting? Which position going to be the best for their product? What is their product offering that others is not? When the ambassador was launched the company was fully aware that only rich people would be buying their product therefore they provided all facilities that were present at that time. Also ambassadors have been used by ministers as well so for them there were special models having security implements such as bullet proof glass. The company was fully aware of what it going to achieve because at that time there was no competition and the market was open to it. Price: Pricing is another important element of marketing mix. Pricing brings money back to the company and companys profit depends on it. Other three Ps depends on price; it is easy to understand that remaining P require cost. Product needs cost from early design to manufacture. Placing means distribution also needs cost. Promotion also requires cost. These costs are variable cost to the company. Pricing to be perfect must show supply and demand relationship. Pricing a product too high or too low cause loss to the company therefore it should lie in between. There are different factors which should be considered as shown below. Fixed and variable costs Competition Company objectives Proposed positioning strategies Target group and willingness to pay In case of ambassador Hindustan Motors has used Product Line Pricing i.e. For the same product the company has set different prices for different features. Place: Place strategies Place strategies include the ways of distribution by the manufacturer. The manufacturer should have a clear idea about the market. The manufacturer should be aware of the demand and accordingly it should provide the supply. These demand and supply should be balanced properly because in a condition where supply is less than demand, the customer dissatisfaction in acquiring the product results into loss for the company. In most conditions the customers starts favor other companies product though they are not as better. Therefore just because of improper supply the company lost its good will. There are mainly two kinds of placing strategies. The manufacture may go through any one of them depending upon which suits it the most. As shown in figure in one strategy there isnt direct contact between manufacturer and the customer in this case the company doesnt need to carry out surveys for demands all it needs to do is maintaining proper supply to the whole seller. However in this case the company may not come to know about what the customer wants and this leads to misinterpretation of customer need due to indirect contact having so many extra elements in between. This problem can be removed by maintaining direct contact of the company with its customer as shown in figure. In this case the manufacturer directly supplies its products to the customer. But this needs a wide distribution network by the company which is costly depending upon the size of the company. First channel of distribution is called indirect distribution and second channel of distribution is called direct distribution. indirect distributiondirect distribution Figure : Above indirect distribution (left) and direct distribution (right).   The ambassador has been distributed by indirect distribution method thats the reason why in later years the company fails to recognize the customers need. Depending on the type of product being distributed there are three common distribution strategies available: Distribution: According to the nature of the product there are few distribution strategies as shown below. Intensive distribution: As the name suggests this distribution is high in numbers and widely spread. It generally doesnt need the survey as the products are common and general. Example: chocolate, soft drinks, biscuit Exclusive distribution: Some products are there which need proper demonstration and guidance so that customer can be made fully aware of what he is paying for. These products are highly prices. Example: Cars, bikes etc. Selective distribution: This kind of distribution consists of wide space where customer has a freedom to have a look and select a product from wide varieties. Example: TV, computers etc. Hindustan motors have used exclusive distribution method over the year which is common for any car manufacturer. Promotion Promotion means advertising the product. A product without promotion is a complete failure as through the promotion the customer comes to know about the product. There are different promotion strategies as shown below. Advertisement: Advertisement can be said as a non personal promotion activity through media. Public relations: Good relations with the customers as well as media persons make the promotion easier as in this case company doesnt need to do anything. Sales promotion: Company can give vouchers or coupons to attract the customer. Discount scheme, free scheme are examples of sales promotion. Personal selling: Door to door selling or personal to personal selling comes under this category. Promotion of ambassador comes under the public relations as due to its image as a successful car the media and people has been promoting it over the years. The company has never or barely used advertisement or sales promotion. RECENT CONDITION: Company Sales during 2010 (million Rs.) Hindustan motors 5802.7 Maruti suzuki 296230.10 Swaraj Mazda 7167.60 Mahindra and Mahindra 186021.10 Table : Comparison of sales with other companies (Source: http://bseindia.com/bseplus/StockReach/AdvanceStockReach.aspx?scripcode=500500) It can be seen from the figures that at present the company is far behind from market leaders like Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Critical analysis of this particular project requires thorough understanding of marketing mix strategy. To give personal views about anything first of all one should make himself familiar with the subject. Thats exactly what I did. Before starting the project I went through on line papers and explanation about the marketing mix strategy. I found that though everywhere the concept to be used was marketing mix but its implementation was different. Like All roads lead to Rome all of them were leading to the success of their company by successful implementation of marketing mix strategy. During the lectures I heard the tutors saying about getting into marketing mix by doing a practical experiment. It is obvious that they were not saying about establishing a new company of implementing a marketing mix strategy actually. Its about taking any company and than putting my own ideas about marketing mix strategy into motion. The same thing has been done by me during this assignment. I have sele cted a company the product of which is in decline since three or four years. I carried out analysis based on what was taught to me. Now I am going to give my personal opinion about marketing mix strategy and its implementation. In the beginning it is important about the value offered by the company to its customers. I have selected the oldest Indian automobile company named Hindustan motors. The product which I considered was ambassador car. The product has been successful until last two decades than it started declining due to the factors which I have discussed earlier. So what is value? In general the value can be defined as the ratio of function to the cost. Any company can increase the value of its product by increasing its function and decreasing its cost. Functions may vary accordingly such as it may be visual appearance, comfort, promising performance etc. It seems simple to increasing value by increasing function or by decreasing cost but actually it is the most important and complex feature for any manufacturing company to be succeeded. A customer always judge the product by the value offered from it. Sometimes it may be more functions sometimes it may be less costs. The company should be therefore aware of what customer wants from its product. If company knows the value expected from the customer it tries to make some changes into the product in terms of functions or cost. This is not an easy task because the company has to make some changes in its manufacturing process and sometimes within the organization. One wrong step can lead to complete contradict out come and leads company to the loss. According to Devst the value creation process is more effective in manufacturing company than other sectors (Deyst, 2000). Other sectors include service sectors such as an airline company, insurance company where the company provides service instead of the product. It appears that these service sectors change their goal and direction more rapidly than the manufacturing sectors. Therefore value creation process is not as important for them as it is for manufacturing companies. For manufacturing companies final value of the product depends on value of the product during its manufacturing process. In other words according to Lean development of product and final value of the product are strongly related with each other (Lean, 1998). Thus the value should be defined after each phase of the product development process. However creation of value at each stage requires severe value addition to move ahead of the competitor. There are few who think that value creation process cant lead company towards its goal. According to Lloyd value creation doesnt indicate the vision of the company. Value is nothing rather than a conceptual idea. I dont agree with that because I have found during the research for this particular company that defining value is the most important factor to attain marketing lead. Hindustan Motors failed to attain value in terms of appearance and fuel efficiency of ambassador when other companies were launching new products into the market. This leads to decreasing sales of ambassador. The company didnt make proper market research and they continued to do the same over the past years. The outlook of the ambassador is the same as it was 40 years ago. The ration of function to cost became unstable due to decreasing functions of the car. In terms of price also the car was costly as company was making limited production and failed to grasp new concept of high volume production for low price and high profit. From my research of old papers and publications I found one thing in common. Most of the authors consider marketing as an art of selling. However now day marketing is becoming more than an art. It has become a necessity. Without marketing selling the product is impossible. Now days lots of companies are spending more and more money on marketing their product. The marketing value of the product is sometimes higher than the manufacturing and raw material value. It is strange that Hindustan Motors took the marketing strategy very lightly. According to me the main reason is when they came into existence they didnt have any competitors all they need to do is manufacturing and selling of the car. As I have stated earlier before 80s Indian automobile market was sellers market which means manufacturing companies have the command on the market not the customers. Having customers command on the market is essential otherwise the development stops. The same thing happened, ambassador remains the same car as it was when it was first introduced. Hindustan Motors didnt promote the car because as a single Indian car it was already famous. Distribution was not that much difficult because car owners were few. The price of the ambassador was relatively high because those who needed the car didnt have another option. Also the government rules on importing the components were harsh and company was paying high prices for them. It seems obvious what the company did during those years. But when the scenario changed during 90s the market became open to all the government rules became soft and lots of other car manufacturers jumped into the Indian automobile market. This was the time when the ambassador should have changed its strategies. However they didnt make considerable changes on the other side new companies like Maruti Suzuki got the nerve of an Indian customer and introduced cheapest car in the market. Due to this drastic change once giant Hindustan Motors has become a company in loss with one of its most successful car an ambassador in decline. FANTASTIC FOUR The four Ps of marketing which should be studied and understood in a proper way to attain success. During the project I came to know that balancing these four is not an easy task as it seems. Any cannot pick the product randomly, it cannot sell it in the price it wants, it cannot distribute the product whenever and wherever it decides and it has to promote its products such a way that customer attracts to buy it. I have considered all four Ps including my understanding about them, Product Pricing Placing Promotion Product: An initial P for any company to think about. It seems strange to consider which product to be made for marketing. As per my previous understanding marketing comes into picture after selection of product. This was true in old times. But now a days company should be keen towards the product it is going to manufacture. The market condition , market surveys future of the product, availability of the raw materials, environment effect of the raw materials are some of the important factors to be considered before the start of manufacturing the product. I think right product at right time removes half of the troubles for marketing. Take an example of ambassador; it arrives in the market when there were no competitors. As a result it dominated the market for decades. Due to proper timing and place Hindustan motors saved their expenses for promotion. They didnt promote it ever i.e. since my childhood I have never seen an advertisement of ambassador or huge posters promoting the car. A mbassador got promoted by its customers which is ideal for any product. Sometimes good product becomes a loss for the company when it launched at improper timing. There are so many examples of excellent movies which didnt succeed on the box office due to adverse conditions. Pricing: Pricing of the product is non variable factor for the company. The company decides the price of any product after considering other Ps. The expenses during the product stage i.e. manufacturing and raw material expenses. Expenses due to distribution and promotion also considered. The company adds its expected profit as well. Pricing is the most deciding factor because as I think many manufactures are not aware of the ideal price and the customers always think that they have paid more. This dissatisfaction leads to decreasing sales and loss of the company. I think that before pricing the product the company should make a proper survey and it should make the customers fully aware of what they are buying and how much they will get after paying the price. I have seen three kinds of customers, Those who care about price only Those who care about quality only Those who care about balancing the price and quality These customers are generally from three different classes, those who are looking for price are generally relatively poor, those who are looking for quality are rich and those who select the product after looking at price and quality are middle class people. Depending upon the nature of the product the company can make changes in its product. In case of ambassador the companys initial target was rich people because the middle class of India was not in a condition to buy a car. The company provides good quality with comparatively higher cost but it got the customers from India who was looking for the quality. When the era changed and middle class customers increased who now were in a condition to afford a car changed the situation of the market completely. Failing to see this upcoming Hindustan motors fell behind the Maruti Suzuki because of higher price. Placing: Placing according to me is a strong decider for the products success. A product should be distributed such that it gets perfect conditions for it. Ideal customers, ideal geography can be considered as conditions which the company should be looking for. I think that company should be clear and perfect about the product distribution. It involves lot of investment to carry the product from the manufacturing plant to the market. It is economically critical to change the place by distributing the product from one place to another. Thats why I think that for placing also the company needs proper survey in order to distribute the product at right place on right time. Promotion: Advertisement is becoming utmost necessity for selling of the product. Modern market is complex with so many products and companies. It is required therefore for any company to promote the product in a way that customers know about the features of the product. Promotion should be maximum and precise, or I can say it should be concentrated heavily on its target. The company should be aware of the targeted customers and market and should therefore emphasize heavily on them. If it is improper than company will be investing heavily in useless activities. Without promoting or improper promoting the product leads to heavy losses as can be seen in case of ambassador. When it was launched it didnt have any need of being promoted. As a first Indian automobile it was already famous so the company didnt have any need to promote it and company did the same as well. But when as I have discussed later the market changed there was immediate need of promoting to show the new customers wha t the car is and why it was so successful. The company failed to do so and product sell decreased. CONCLUSION: After making a project report on the declining ambassador car I can say that with changing time the company should focus on the ongoing conditions as well as it should be prepared of future. Same strategy wont work for all time in all kind of situations. Customers, environment and competitors change accordingly and company should be looking for continuous improvement rather than remain satisfied from the present. Ambassador is an excellent example of how once market leader can go into loss due to improper marketing strategy by the company.

We Are Not A One Language Nation Essays -- Argumentative Essay

We Are Not A One Language Nation My mother always told me, â€Å"Before judging someone, walk a mile in their shoes.† That piece of advice has been ingrained into me since I was a child. However, I never really understood its importance until the summer of 2013 when I went on a missionary trip to Mexico. I had never been to another country, so I was unsure how to act, dress, or blend in with society. When I arrived in Mexico, the buildings, city, and people all looked much different than back home in small town Iowa. A new perspective came over me when I looked at the road signs and had no idea what they said. I could credit my partial understanding only to my three years of high school Spanish but, beyond that, I was lost and left to fend for myself. This was the first time in my life, I understood what it felt like to be different than the majority, and I felt self-conscious of my every move. That week I spent in Mexico will forever remain in my memory. It was the only time in my life that I can slig htly comprehend how difficult it must be to live in a land of strangers. I was fortunate enough to be put in that uncomfortable situation and walk away a stronger person. Since I returned I’ve seen how unfair it is for people to assume that immigrants should immediately assimilate into our culture without even thinking about how difficult it actually is, or what their life is really like. My trip to Mexico lasted for only one week, and then I went home to my friends, family, and everything I grew up with. Immigrants to the United States don’t have this luxury, and are faced with difficult situations every day. My biggest decision every day is what to wear, or if I should tape my soap opera. However, people who don’t s... ...jdavidchadwick.com/2003columns/englishin america.html The national center for ESL literacy education. (2003, September 17). Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.cal.org/ncle/. Ng, V. (2002, November 25). Why is America a multicultural but monolingual society? Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.ucsdguardian.org/cgi- bin/print?param=features_2002_11_25_01. Okamoto, L. (2001, March 30). 100 rally to protest official-English bill. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.desmoinesresgister.com/news/stories /c4780934/14240519.html Public policy and the far right. Retrieved November 9, 2003 from http://www.thecdr.org /public_policy_far_right.html Smith, H. (1997, October 6). â€Å"English only† proposal does more harm. Retrieved November 3, 2013, from http://www.aclu-wi.org/issues/rights- ofminorites/english-only.html.

Deborah Tannen Analysis Essay

Ap English Tannen Essay Section 1: Theory You Just Don’t Understand Women and Men in Conversation by Deborah Tannen is basically an explanation on how women and men converse. Tannens main goal is to give advice to the different genders in order for them to avoid as much conflict as possible. Tannen’s main ideas are to explain how differently women and men react to each other’s way of being. It’s like they’re in their own little world while living in the same big world. Men tend to try to dominate situations and tend to always want to be at the top.Women do not tend to want to get into conflict but tend to show understanding. These big differences bring them into conflict. A Tannen explains, â€Å"What he wanted conflicted with what she wanted†. (40) Women and men are constantly clashing in opinions. Men are usually trying to be above each other which is something Tannen calls â€Å"one-up†. It is like men are always in competition with people around them. For example, in chapter 2, Tannen explains why men don’t ask for directions. She explains, â€Å"The fact that you have the information, and the person you are speaking to doesn’t, sends a metamessage of superiority.If reasons are inherently hierarchal, then the one who has more information is framed as higher up on the ladder, by virtue of being more knowledgeable and competent. † This shows how men are always trying to be at the top of every conversation. They want to know everything, in order to be at the top of everyone. Women have a completely different view point then men. They aim to be accepted by others, they try to avoid conflict, and they tend to show that they understand what the other person is trying to say.For example, in chapter 6, Tannen begins to explain how in a comic, the two boys are fighting while a girl named Debbie is trying to be the peacemaker. She claims that she is looking for someone but the boys say that the per son isn’t there. Even though she knows the person is there, she acts like she doesn’t know anything to avoid conflict. Tannen explains, â€Å"Females play the role of being peace makers. †(162) This shows how women basically try to avoid any conflict with anyone. Section 2: Setting The setting of the conversation is at lunch in a restaurant for a reunion.There are three women: Cathy and Jeanne are sisters and Mary is their mom. The conversation is taking place at a restaurant called The Cheese Cake Factory at around 12:45. The women are having lunch because Cathy came down to visit them from Venezuela. The women haven’t seen each other in two months. They basically discuss their life styles and explain how their children act. Section 3: Analysis In this conversation, there are no men. Since there are only women, there is no conflict and they basically agree with each other in everything.They talk about their children’s behaviors and no one speaks m ore than one another. However, even though Mary does talk, she speaks less than her daughters do. The women only interrupt each other twice in the entire conversation but it is to add positive feedback to each of their issues. For example, Jeanne interrupts Cathy to say â€Å"of course†, when Cathy is talking about her conditions in Venezuela. Throughout the conversation, the topic basically stays the same. Unlike men, these women don’t try to be â€Å"one-up† from each other in anyway. No one brags about anything and they don’t try to put each other down.In fact, they agree with each other when they share different anecdotes. For example, Jeanne agrees with Mary when Mary says that it was hard to have 3 teenagers at once. Jeanne specifically says, â€Å"How the heck did you do that! † I think Tannens theory of women is proven by this conversation. Since there are just women, they each agree with each other and are very understanding of their conce rns and opinions. Section 4: Reflection In this conversation, I completely agree with what Tannen would think of this conversation. Women always tend to agree with each other and then add feedback to the conversation.Also, men like to be straight to the point while women like to be detailed and concerned. This is exactly what the ladies are doing in this conversation. They do not try to be better than each other in any way; they are simply having lunch. No one tries to take the lead role of the conversation and neither one of them tries to act like they’re better than another. This book has opened my eyes to many things I never noticed. I never noticed why men and women clash so much with each other. Men and women are very different. For example, this book made me feel the need to analyze my parent’s relationship.They do fight because they have different views on how to deal with things. My mom seems to overreact to things in my dad’s eyes. However, my mom feels that my dad doesn’t care so much about her since he feels this way. I agree with her when she compares the genders. However, at times I felt that she would exaggerate. As a woman, I notice that I do many of the things she says in her book. I’m never looking for conflict and I don’t like to brag to people that I don’t really know because it seems like they’ll judge me. However, in this book, I feel that women look weak in her eyes.She feels that they are always willing to avoid conflict but this is not always the case. Women fight as well for what they want. At times, I felt her book had been inaccurate because the ideas were more stuck in the past. For example, the newspaper example in chapter 3. When I read this example, the first think I thought about was my grandparents. They always fight due to the idea of my grandpa always reading the paper rather than talking to my grandma. A lot of couples, nowadays, don’t have this problem. This to me shows that it’s inaccurate information.

Alfred Lubrano How College Corrupts

Alfred Lubrano How College Corrupts BY robn215 College is the next stepping stone to better or advance ones social standing in life, whether it is moving from a blue collar lifestyle to white collar, or to continue to further their career path. However, it comes with an â€Å"unavoidable result. † Alfred Lubrano discusses this â€Å"unavoidable result† in his text â€Å"The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts. † Lubrano discusses the topic of how furthering ones education opens more possibilities but at the same time distances those held most dearly.He explains that the more knowledge gained, the bigger the gap caused between friends and family due to differences in levels of knowledge. That distance is greatly increase if one comes from a poorer region where blue collar workers are the social norm. For instance, conversations within lower class households come off more militaristic due to the fact that all opinions are â€Å"dictated by group consensus,â⠂¬  where what the class says is so. Juxtaposed to the middle class household where they are talked to as adults..Lubrano does not try to dissuade one from attending college, he simply shines a light onto a hidden matter that is not discussed when continuing ones education. Lubrano hits the nail on the head about the distance gained when continuing ones education with friends and family, but does not consider the fact about that distance being magnified as a first generation American. One of Alfred Lubrano's main points was how college distanced childhood friends as well as loved ones.He describes how he learned to â€Å"self-censor† himself nd only discussed â€Å"general stuff,† because it was undiscerning to his father, a blue collar working man. Not to mention that listening to a freshman discuss the topics of race, equality, or politics, was as unsettling as â€Å"riding in a car with a new driver. † In fact, Lubrano's professor himself told his class not to discuss what they have learned in class, Marxist theory, because it would â€Å"mess up the holiday. † Under those circumstances, one can only imagine the distance lost trying to elaborate the topics discussed.Lubrano does an excellent Job of demonstrating the distance gained from the sheer fact of furthering ones education but does not consider the aloofness of first generation students trying to advance their educational life. I am a first generation college student and my parents were nothing but proud of me when I talked to them about continuing my education, as a matter of fact, they even bragged about it to other family members as well as bought me new items for school, clothes, shoes, and a laptop.But, neither they nor I was prepared for the detachment that as brought upon by trying to further ones education. During my first year of college I was exposed to the lifestyle of being completely â€Å"free. † I had attended Penn State University, which is about fo ur and a half hours away from Philadelphia, and during that time I had become wild and rambunctious. This was mainly due to the fact that within Asian households, the children are raised and taught in a completely different manner than an American household even though I was born and raised in Philadelphia.However, I was raised both by Vietnamese standards of discipline and espect without questioning authority, whilst also being raised on American standards of critical thinking and questioning everything. As you can tell those two standards of living are not exactly compatible. So, when college presented itself with the opportunity ot finding oneselt, I indulged As a consequence ot turtnering my education, I had lost some of my Asian roots and as you can tell; when I returned home I was not the same person. I was a smarmy freshman with a year of college under my belt with the mindset of being a completely independent adult.Causing omplications within my family and distancing ourselv es from one another. It was even more difficult because I could not discuss exactly what was affecting my relationship with my parents due to a language barrier. Granted, I did know how to speak to them in Vietnamese, but not without struggle. This due to the fact that as a child, I was more interested in watching Saturday morning cartoons than talking to my family. Alfred Lubrano does a good Job of describing exactly how furthering ones education causes a divide between friends and family.For example, he had to â€Å"self- ensor† his thoughts and separates which topics he talked about in order to not upset his family. However, he does not discuss the topic of how being a first generation college student can cause an even bigger divide between family due to different cultural beliefs and the language barrier. Again, Alfred Lubrano does not try to dissuade one from continuing ones education whatsoever, in fact he encourages it. Lubrano Just tries to expose a hidden agenda that most people do not discuss about, and that is how college causes a divide between family and friends.