Commentary on Women Beware Women Essay

Beware Women is a Jacobean tragedy, which has a complex plot and deals with corrupted characters. This tragedy is about corruption in the court and life in general, love by money and how women can lead other women to destruction. As Tricomi states about the characters, they ‘are not wholly the product of their circumstances, but their circumstances condition their choices and propel them toward their destiny’. Middleton, as other Jacobean playwrights before him, has managed to point out that ‘aristocratic life is brutal and corrupt’. 2] The focus of this commentary will be concentrated on marriage and to what can lead one to fall apart. The first scene (Act I), deals with the characters of the play’s main plot: Leantio, Bianca and the Mother. In this scene, the readers come across with the insulting behaviour towards Bianca, where she is treated as an object. Leantio speaks of his wife with words of business, to him she is â€Å"the most unvalued’st purchase†.He describes her as if she was a dangerous object that must stay hidden and safe, away from the sight of men. When he talks about her, it is obvious that Bianca is for him a treasure and he is the thief that now has to hide his â€Å"best piece of theft† (I. ii) in a safe place so no one will steal it from him. Such words describing a human being are rather cruel, especially when Leantio is talking about a person for whom he is supposed to have true and pure feelings of love. Leantio is aware that Bianca’s family is rich, but he also knows that by marrying Bianca in secrecy and taking her away from them, Bianca will lose all of the property and money that belongs to her. He has also written over to her his house and put his mother in jeopardy. Although his act seems a romantic one and, even though he speaks of that relationship and feelings as being pure, his love is not mature; rather, it is one filled with jealousy. In the beginning of the play Bianca could be characterised as the victim because she has a mother-in-law who is not fond of her and does not approve their marriage and she is now imprisoned in poverty and in home. However, Bianca is ‘as much a victim as perpetrator, and she is to be judged as a tragic protagonist with a vexing mix of virtues and flaws’. [3] As seen in the plot, the Mother aids and abets in Bianca’s meeting with the Duke. The Mother and Livia hatched up a plan for Bianca’s rape and she falls into the trap, as Isabella did, but the rape was almost enticed on her part. ‘The attitude towards Bianca is one of dehumanizing possession and manipulation’. [4] But Bianca, after that, changes drastically and soon enough she becomes one of the most corrupted characters, who along with others, brings about the downfall and the final bloodshed in the play. Bianca chose money over her marriage, although, she blames the other women for her disaster. ‘Treachery and betrayal [†¦ ] are Bianca’s terms of explanation for her downfall’. [5] Bianca is seen by her mother-in-law as an added burden to her son’s finances. The Mother’s interest is focused only on money. For the Mother, Bianca as a wife has nothing to offer, she will only demand and receive. The Mother is sizing up the economics of their situation now that there are three members in the family. Leantio can barely support himself, and up until now he had to support his mother as well. The Mother doubts that her son is able to support a family of three. She claims that nothing can save him from this financial dead end by saying â€Å"My life can give you But little helps, and my death lesser hopes† (I. i). The Mother thinks of Bianca, as for every other wife, that she will require from Leantio â€Å"maintenance† (I. ii) fitting to her â€Å"birth and virtues† (I. ii), but also gratification of her desire for â€Å"affections, wills, and humours† (I. ii). [6] Leantio then expresses his intentions towards Bianca, by replying to his mother’s words, pleading with her not to â€Å"teach her to rebel† (I. ii) now that â€Å"she’s in a good way to obedience† (I. ii). Leantio’s â€Å"assurance† (I. ii), of keeping his â€Å"jewel† (I. ii) locked away â€Å"from all men’s eyes† (I. ii), is his mother. She is the one who holds the â€Å"key† (I. i) to his â€Å"treasure† (I. ii), and â€Å"old mothers† (I. ii) are â€Å"good to look to keys† (I. ii) when â€Å"sons lock chests† (I. ii). However, the irony here is that later on, it’s the Mother herself who pushes Bianca towards rape with the Duke, first to get rid of her, but then to accrue some of the benefits from the court life for herself and her son. Bianca is to Leantio nothing but an object of â€Å"great value† (I. ii), a â€Å"matchless jewel† (I. ii) that he has stolen. Because â€Å"temptation is a devil will not stick to fasten upon a saint† (I. ii), Leantio’s â€Å"gem† (I. ii) must stay hidden and locked. This is the â€Å"great policy† (I. i) for Leantio in order to never lose a treasure; never â€Å"show thieves our wealth† (I. ii). Bianca is the â€Å"treasure† (I. ii), Leantio is the â€Å"thief† (I. ii), and the â€Å"key† (I. ii) to his happiness holds his mother, thus, it could be said that the chest with the key is symbolic of Leantio and Bianca’s relationship. To conclude, this tragedy proves that women should beware women. Women lead other women to destruction, and are even responsible for another woman’s rape. Corruption and enemies are present everywhere but, as Bianca says in her dying breath, â€Å"Like our own sex, we have no enemy†.

Comparism of an everyday text with a literary text Essay

Choose one every day and one literary text. Using at least two analytical techniques from E301, analyze and compare your two texts in terms of their creativity and literariness, drawing on material from both parts of the module. In this paper I will analyze and compare a literary text and an everyday text, in terms of their creativity and literariness. I chose Philip Larkin’s (1964) poem, ‘Self’s the man’ (see Appendix, Text 1), as the literary text for analysis because it is not only smooth and pleasing to the eye and mind that it seems effortless to read and contain within one’s self but also because it arouses so many emotions which makes it ideal for analysis. In ‘Self’s the man’ Larkin (1964), is being cynical towards relationships and through the satirization of marriage; he contrasts himself with a mythical other, Arnold, with a view of talking about who is more selfish, claiming that married people are as selfish as single ones, that is, for their own comfort as well as fear that they will be left alone for the rest of their lives, people jump into marriage. The everyday text that I have chosen to analyze and compare with the poem, is an advertisement by DEBEERS (see Appendix, Text 2), targeting men, persuading them to buy a diamond ring for their lady, since diamonds, just like marriage, are an investment. Diamonds are a symbol of eternal love and devotion and men are aware of this symbolism, hence, DE BEERS exploits that in the advertisement by ingraining in the minds of men that if they want to stop ‘a woman getting away’ (Larkin, 1964), they should make their ‘two months’ salary last forever’ (DE BEERS, 2004). Although at first glance the two texts seem completely different, they are seemingly connected by the same theme of ‘relationships’, however, from two different contrasting contexts, with Text 1, being a poem by Philip Larkin (1964), and Text 2, being an advertisement by DE BEERS (2004). In order to evaluate the creativity and literariness of a text, a thorough analysis of the language the writer has used is of supreme importance. However, before analyzing the texts, it is necessary to have a broad interpretation of creativity and literariness. According to Sternberg (1999:3), ‘Creativity is the ability to produce work that i s both novel (i.e. Original, unexpected) and appropriate (i.e. Adaptive concerning task constraints). Furthermore, Swann (2006: 7) asserts that ‘creativity is not restricted to literary texts but is a common aspect of our interactions with others’, which links closely to Papen’s and Tusting’s (2006:315) claim  that ‘all meaning making processes have a creative element’. Hence, it can be said that creativity can be found in all literacy practices, in the way that texts are constructed, read and interpreted. Creativity has textual, socio-cultural and cognitive aspects (Carter, 2004) and in this paper both chosen texts will be analyzed in terms of all three. Literariness, on the other hand, is defined by the Russian Formalists as a sum of special linguistic and formal ‘properties that could be located in literary texts’ (Maybin & Pearce, 2006:6). The Formalists elucidate the observable ‘devices’ by which literary texts, especially poems, foreground their own language, in rhyme, and other patterns of sound and repetition . Hence, literariness is to be perceived in terms of defamiliarization, as a series of deviations from ‘ordinary’ language, ‘in which our routine ways of seeing and thinking are disrupted; our perceptions freshened; and our awareness of the world heightened’ (Shklovsky, in Hawks, 1997:62). Cook (1994) asserts that literariness is based on the notion of schema disruption where the reader’s views and perspectives are challenged in some way. He proposes that literariness results when a text and linguistic deviation cause schema disruption, refreshment or even change, however, whether a text generates schema refreshment ultimately depends on the reader’s desire for it to happen. Therefore, who the reader is, how he approaches and perceives the text with distinct background knowledge and expectations, ultimately determines the literary value of a text. In my analysis, I will first apply Jakobson’s (1960) methodology, stylistics approach and Carter’s (1997) criteria of literariness to the two texts and then contrast them with illustrations in terms of interpretative schemata. My intention in doing so is to highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and also modes in which they interact to better comprehend the nature of cre ativity and literariness. On the graphological level, in Text 1, the noticeable attributes are the traditional lineation, stanza divisions of poetry, and the presence of standard punctuation. The poem has 8 stanzas in all and each stanza consists of 4 lines. This creates a set rhythmic pattern, particularly in conjunction with the rhyme scheme. Text 2, on the other hand, on a graphic level, uses full capitalization in order to emphasize every letter in the ad and make it  look trim and tidy. The headline uses larger, capital and bold letters to draw readers’ attention and make them curious about what the advertisement mainly has to say, leading them to continue on reading unconsciously by arousing their curiosity and desire to know more about the product and subsequently persuading them to buy it. Moreover, Text 2, illustrates graphological deviation, by using solid background colors, and a brilliant diamond ring to focus all the reader’s attention to. On the phonic level, Text 1 has little ir regularity. The rhyme scheme of the poem is AABB, CCDD, where lines 1 & 2 and 3 & 4, rhyme in every verse with an exception of half-rhyme in the 3rd (supper/paper) and 4th (houses/trousers; mother/summer) stanzas. The use of rhyme creates an ‘end stop’, whereby the reader pauses slightly, emphasizing the words that rhyme. In Jakobson’s methodology (1960), when phonemes rhyme in a text and/or alliteration is present together with other sound effects of verse, ‘it is at once both a deviation from the code and an imposition of order upon it’ (Cook, 1994:396). Presuming that rhyming of phonemes is unique, literary, and an attribute of text, it can be said that, Text 1, is both creative and literary. In Text 2, on the other hand, the nine-word headline also contains linguistic exploitation, in a way that highlights and depicts the message which makes it an interesting Carpe diem poem urging the reader to seize the day by making his two months’ salary last forev er. Although, Text 2 is an advertisement and attention of the reader is traditionally supposed to be on the meaning rather than the sound, it is interesting to see how the headline, ‘HOW CAN YOU MAKE TWO MONTHS’ SALARY LAST FOREVER?’ contains phonological parallelism with an inline-rhyme (You/Two: both words come from a paradigm of one syllable words containing the sound /uË /) which as mentioned above makes it, both, creative and literary. The lexis in Text 1 is ‘ordinary’ rather than ‘poetic’. Larkin’s (1964) deviation from Standard English by using colloquial lexis: ‘perk’, ‘nippers’, ‘kiddies’ clobber’; interests the reader and familiarizes them with the situation, which is effective in that it is easy to read if one can relate to the poet. Moreover, the constant use of the conjunction ‘and’, in the 2nd, 3rd and 7th stanzas highlights the bare, repetitive and boring lifestyle of Arnold which is reduced to mundane tasks. Text 2, on the other hand, exploits lexical ambiguity at the semantic level. Thus, the slogan â€Å"A Diamond Is Forever,†Ã‚  means both that ‘a diamond is a never-ending sign of love’ (that is, the diamond is not merely seen as a rock but rather as a sign of eternal love, hence, the diamond, in Text 2, is made to produce love and comes to mean ‘love’) and that ‘a diamond would always hold its value’. Additionally, affirmative and commendatory words and phrases (‘perfect’, ‘she’ll cherish’, ‘she’ll love’, ‘surprise her’, ‘diamond experts since 1888’) are widely used in, Text 2, to impress the potential customer of the quality of the diamond ring, to form positive image in their minds, win their trust and arouse their desire to buy it. Moreover, in Text 2, the use of second person addressee â€Å"you† tends to shorten the distance between the reader and the advertiser, making the advertisement more like a face-to-face conversation where the advertiser speaks to the readers in a tender tone, making sincere promises and honest recommendations. In so doing, the advertisement moves the reader to action since the reader feels he is being thought of and plays an important role for the manufacturer. Hence, it can be said that, Text 2, has an obvious conative function, since it is supposed to address and influence the reader to buy a product, unlike, Text 1, where the poetic function dominates, making it self-referential (Thornborrow, 2006). Turning to the grammatical characteristics of the texts, Text 1, just like its lexis, seems pointedly ‘unpoetic’. Apart from Short’s (1996) idea of cohesion which can be identified in the poem since it contains logical and clear links between sentences through the use of words such as ‘and’ (‘And when he finishes supper’), ‘but’ (‘But wait not too fast’) and in form of personal reference, that is, through the use of personal pronouns where Arnold is named at the beginning to introduce him as a topic and then onwards the pronouns ‘he’ and ‘his’ are employed anaphorically for subsequent reference , there are only a few glimpses of patterning or ‘poetic’ syntax. One grammatical deviance in Text 1 is found in line 18 (‘Makes me feel a swine’), where the writer’s omission of the word ‘like’ draws particular attention to itself by deviating from what is expected. Imagery, a stylistic device, is used in Text 1, in the 3rd and 4th stanzas, where the poet invites the readers to imagine Arnold wheeling the ‘nippers’†¦round the  houses’(L.13) as well as painting the hall ‘in his old trousers’ (L.14) obviously at the command of his wife. Furthermore, the stylistic device, diction, which is the choice of distinct words used in a text to not only communicate meaning but also emotions, is being cleverly used in Text 1. The diction of ‘Self’s the man’ is accurate, vivid, expressive and chosen wisely by the poet. For instance, in the following sentence, ‘She takes as her perk’ (L.6), the ‘speediness’ and ‘brusqueness’ of the verb ‘takes’ insinuates a sense of forced snatching possibly even before Arnold has counted his money. The noun ‘perk’ promotes a negative view of women, suggesting that Arnold’s wife is a gold digger who expects to be paid for being there. Moreover, Larkin’s use of the colloquial idiom, ‘having a read at†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ instead of ‘read’, insinuates Arnold’s chronic fatigue, robbing him of the power of serious concentration. The phrase ‘Put a screw in this wall’ (L11) highlights how Arnold’s wife has the upper hand in the relationship, that she nags and controls him and ‘He has no time at all’ (L12), for he has given his life to marriage. Through his diction, one can perceive the poet’s sarcastic and cynical tone in Text 1, portraying Arnold as being trapped, unhappy and unfulfilled since he is enslaved, dominated and directed by his wife and children. The last stanza is an indecisive finishing statement that shows that the poet has reached the conclusion that he has a superior strategy in playing the game of life, however, by saying ‘Or – I suppose I can’ in Line 32, he lets the readers interpret and decide for themselves who i s more selfish. On the other hand, the grammatical style marker of significance in, Text 2, is the extensive use of present tense which demonstrates not only the positive features of the diamond ring, satisfying the consumer’s desire to know the present state of the product he wants but also makes the advertisement easier to comprehend without transferring to other tenses. But there is another aspect of the simple present in, Text 2, and that is its implication of universality and timelessness. Moreover, the use of interrogative sentences, in Text 2, such as, ‘How often will you give her something she’ll cherish for the rest of her life?’ and ‘How can you make two months’ salary last forever?’ arouses the reader’s attention since they are, both, captivating and thought provoking. Carter’s (1997) criteria of literariness, assists in confirming the general  opinion that both texts have a relatively high degree of literariness. The first criterion of Carter (1997) which is evident in, Text 1, is medium dependence. ‘Self’s the man’ creates a world of internal reference where the reader’s attention is ultimately ‘drawn into the text itself’ (Maybin & Pearce, 2006:16). Perceptibly, a lack of direct referential communication exists with the reader’s concerns, which results in an ‘enclosing effect’ proposed by Widdowson (1975) as being an attribute of literature. Carter (1997) asserts that such a text, which exclusively depends on itself, throws the reader’s expectations and emotions into turmoil, making them ‘feel insecure thus adding intensity to the meaning of the text’ (Carter, 1997:67). However, he elucidates that ‘no text can be so entirely autonomous that it refers only to itself nor so rich that a reader’s own experience†¦cannot extend the world it creates’ (Carter, 1997:82) which relates to Widdowson’s (1975:36) theory that ‘literary interpretation†¦is not concerned with what the writer meant by the text, but what the text means, or might mean, to the reader’. On the other hand, Text 2, points towards an external, verifiable reality which if required, could be reordered or reformed without altering the meaning. Moreover, Text 2, communicates with the reader in such a way that he/she is bound by cooperative conditions of conventional communication. It also relies on another medium, the employment of an image, to assist in reinforcing the promotional and persuasive effect, which when combined, shows aspects of literary creativity. The next criterion proposed by Carter (1997), genre mixing, is a type of deviation which demonstrates how all language can be employed to generate a literary effect by this process. Text 1 shows examples of deviation at the level of words and meaning as it includes colloquial words and phrases which stand out from the surrounding text (perk’, ‘nippers’, ‘kiddies’ clobber’, ‘having a read at’) while Text 2, exploits the language typically associated with advertising which could be subtly redeployed for literary purposes. Text 2, also employs graphological deviation, through the use of different layout, size and typeface. Polysemy, the use of words or phrases that have more than one meaning, is another criterion of Carter’s (1997) which can be seen in the following sentence in Text 2: ‘A Diamond is Forever’. These words as mentioned earlier carry the meaning that ‘a diamond  is a symbol of eternal loveâ₠¬â„¢ and that ‘a diamond would always remain valuable’. Moreover, the headline in Text 2, ‘How can you make two months’ salary last forever?’ is also polysemous, telling men that ‘they should invest their two months’ salary in buying a diamond ring for their lady which will make their love last forever’ and that ‘since diamonds are rare, a symbol of success and the most valuable possession, its value will only increase with time’, hence they are an ideal investment for their money. Carter’s (1997) criterion of text patterning expatiates on Jakobson’s (1960) concept of parallelism, nevertheless, on a much broader textual scale. Texts get their meaning from their context and what meaning the writer desires to establish depends to a larger extent on the reader. By looking at the structure of Text 1 and the way it is presented, one can say that it was written for no distinct purpose other than to entertain, whereas, Text 1 has a definite pragmatic function, for it is written f or a particular purpose which is to inform and persuade the reader to buy a diamond ring. So far, I have followed Jakobson (1960), Carter (1997) and the stylistics point of view, to analyze the formal features of the texts. However, in order for a text to serve as a coherent communicative act, certain schemata of the reader must be activated to make sense of what they read by applying the text to significant and authentic experiences. Text 1, activates the reader’s ‘married life’, ‘single life’ and ‘selfishness VS selflessness’ schema and as a result, judgments are made which go beyond the text. In Text 1, I interpret the relevant reader (depending on the reader) schemata to be as follows: Script: selfishness VS unselfishness of married and single people Script: marriage is an act of selflessness Script: married life has the bliss of being a husband and father Script: single people are inferior to married people Script: stay single since marriage is a form of entrapment Script: married people are as selfish as singles In Text 2, I interpret the relevant reader schemata (depending on the reader) as follows: Script: buy a diamond ring Plan: give a diamond ring Plan: show love and devotion Plan: impress the woman Goal: marry the woman Or Script: buy a diamond ring Goal: perfect investment for money since a diamond’s worth will increase with time No obvious mention of these schemata was made by the writers of the texts and I have only come to these cognitive conclusions with my own cultural background influencing my intuition. It can be said that, Text 1, ultimately results in schema reinforcement since it corroborates the stereotypical presumptions about people and the world. Text 2, also results in schema reinforcement since the advertisers assume that readers share and recognize their plans and are persuadable to the recommendation and will purchase a diamond ring. The analyses manifest how Jakobson’s and Carter’s methodology operates only at the linguistic level and not at the schematic and discoursal level. The literariness of both texts cannot be represented in simple Stylistics, Carter’s or Jakobson’s approach. Only with reference to the reader’s distinct schemata, can one argue for their literar iness or lack of it. In conclusion, the analyses demonstrate the weaknesses of Stylistics, Jakobson’s and Carter’s inherency approach in isolation, highlighting the importance of the reader’s unique interpretative schemata. However, one should not cast aside Jakobson’s, Stylistics and inherency approach but rather supplement them with the pivotal role of the reader. The significance of a reader to determine the literariness of a text was neglected by Jakobson, although, interestingly, his philosophy strongly insinuates the presence of the reader. In order for a text to have a poetic function, it has to have an effect on the person reading the text, which is, the reader. Stylistics and Carter’s inherency focus, on the other hand, are only beneficial in showing that ‘there are no sharp cut-offs between literary and non-literary texts and that prototypical literary texts, even if not poems, contain poetic elements’ (Thornborrow, 2006:65). Hence, Text 1, with its few glimpses of linguistic patterning and deviation, may still be regarded as literary by many readers, whereas, Text 2, with its density of patterning and deviation will hardly be regarded as being literary only because it is classified as an advertisement. This, however, depends upon individual  readers since point of views and approaches present in the texts will arouse particular judgments in particular readers. These judgments will differ according to the schemata of the reader, and the extent to which their valued expectations and emotions are thrown into turmoil. Moreover, it can be said that both texts are wide open to recategorization as readers change for different readers will categorize a text differently. REFERENCES Carter, R (1997) in Goodman, S & O’Halloran, K. (2006) The art of English: Literary creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes, pp. 60-89 Carter, R (2004) Language and Creativity: The Art of Common Talk, London, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, pp. 1-226. Cook, D. (1994) in in Goodman, S & O’Halloran, K. (2006) The art of English: Literary creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes, pp. 37-43, 396-413 DeBeers, (2004) ‘How Can You Make Two Months Salary Last Forever’, [online], http://lessisabore.com/main_files/writing/04_diamond.html (Accessed on 2 April 2012) Grice, P. (1975) in Goodman, S & O’Halloran, K. (2006) The art of English: Literary creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes Jakobson (1960) in Goodman, S & O’Halloran, K. (2006) The art of English: Literary creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes, pp. 6-24, 49-74 Larkin, P (1964), The Whitsun Weddings, Faber & Faber Ltd, London, UK, p. 26 Maybin, J. & Pearce, M. (2006) in Goodm an, S & O’Halloran, K. (2006) The art of English: Literary creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes, p.6 Papen, U. & Tusting, K. (2006), in Maybin, J & Swann, J. (2006) The art of English: everyday creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes, pp. 312-331 Short, M. (1996) Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd., Essex, UK Sternberg, R.J. (1999) in Carter, R. (2004) Language and Creativity: The Art of Common Talk, London, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, p.47 Thornborrow, J. (2006) in Goodman, S & O’Halloran, K. (2006) The art of English: Literary creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes, pp.50-74 Widdowson, H. (2006) in Goodman, S & O’Halloran, K. (2006) The art of English: Literary creativity, Open University, Milton Keynes, pp. 30-37

Difficulties Placed on Women by American Society Expectations - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 932 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2018/12/26 Category Society Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: Gender Roles Essay Responsibility Essay Women Essay Did you like this example? The world revolves around demeaning women through the depiction of gender roles as fixed and irrefutable. Most women around the world feel that they are suffering an assault from conservative minds that try to keep them insignificant. In the United States, the restrictions imposed on women in regards to birth control and abortion is a clear indication of the struggle that American still face. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Difficulties Placed on Women by American Society Expectations" essay for you Create order American women continue to meet challenges that threaten their rights and dignity leading to the formation of movements such as Women in the World Foundation. Such actions seek inspiration from outside countries that are less developed than the US thus putting them to shame. Societal expectations caused by assumed roles for women tend to create challenges for women as they try to fulfill the cultural norms expected of them. Gender stereotyping resulting from differentiation of genders may seem ordinary to some while offensive to others. Gender being a cultural concept created by ones culture tends to dictate the behavioral patterns, norm characteristics, and cultural expectations. From the moment a child is born, gender stereotyping clouds their world and they adapt to these American cultural expectations. When an expectant mother finds out that she is expecting a baby girl, the nursery is painted in pink, and Barbie dolls flood the room. As she grows up, she is supposed to be an emotional and sentimental person who is far from what a boy child is allowed to grow up to become. Career choices for her are determined by their ability to balance with her role as a mother, wife, and homemaker. Unlike a boy who can pursue careers in defense forces and civil service, she is already limited by society to professions such as counseling and teaching which are deemed to be flexible career options. Any woman deviat ing from this American societal construct brings to them a lifetime of criticism and discouragement. The assumption that the different gender roles are equal is misleading as it the necessity and importance of gender roles. Each gender is relevant, and the characters they play are significant for the growth of the society. This line of thought assumes that women are comfortable with just the private functions of raising children and keeping their homes clean while men should venture out and conquer the world. These gender roles are far from the reality on the ground and limit people to specific boxes. Some men are more comfortable cleaning and cooking for their families while some women are very good at repairing cars. Women should be given a chance to choose what comes naturally to them rather than to be pushed into societal or cultural expectations. History proves that women are not weak creatures as evidenced by leadership and power roles that some of them played. Some Native American cultures had women as rulers and not men. The notion that men should be visible in the public spheres while the women should only occupy the private areas of life came to be in the 1800s. During the colonial times, women engaged in trading activities as much as men involved in the primary role of the moral and religious upbringing of the children at home. Royal women such as Queen Victoria in Britain, Cleopatra, and Queen Nefertiti of Egypt prove that women are powerful once they take charge of leading roles. Limiting women to specific roles and specific jobs robs them of their personalities and their freedom. Allowing them to explore their talents and strengths rather than forcing them into prescribed boxes helps in growing the American society. The American community needs to become aware of the bias that it has created for the American women and how negatively it affects them. The glorification of gender differences makes it hard to appreciate individual differences that could create opportunities for many American women. Women still get paid less compared to their male counterparts in the same job descriptions. Despite the existence of the Equal Pay Act for over five decades, women get underpaid by about 30%. The conversation about income inequality still goes unheard or with little effect to eliminate this income gap. There are far more similarities between men and women compared to the differences and such should be appreciated. The presence of an American male is double that of an American female in the film industry. To make it worse, those women who venture into the film industries get lesser roles compared to the men who get significant roles. There are fewer women producers, film critics, and directors who are the determinant jobs in the film industry. Recent reports and allegations of sexual violence against women in the media and film industry prove the difficulties that women face. Most women have come out to show how their male superiors took or tried to take advantage of them sexually. Most of these cases are reported at the entry point when the women try to enter these extremely competitive industries. Even when an American woman finds a way to get into employment and earn equal pay, she still faces discrimination in the workplace. Some workplaces are uncomfortable with pregnancy and do not accommodate the needs of a pregnant woman or a new mother. The schedule of a pregnant woman or a new mother should be less hectic to help them to accommodate the new life they are taking care of, but most employers deem this period as an inconvenience. Other women face body shaming as a result of pregnancy or weight gain. All these difficulties serve to increase the will of the American woman to thrive in the society.

Utilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill Essay - 2012 Words

In John Stuart Mill’s work Utilitarianism, Mill is trying to provide proof for his moral theory utilitarianism and disprove all the objections against it. Mill defines utilitarianism as a theory based on the principle that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness (Ch. II, page 7). He calls this the â€Å"greatest happiness principle. Mill says, â€Å"No reason can be given why the general happiness is desirable, except the fact that each person desires his own happiness, so far as he thinks it is attainable. But this is a fact; so we have not only all the proof that could be possibly demanded, that happiness is a good; that each person’s happiness is a good to that†¦show more content†¦Mill disproves this criticism by explaining that human pleasures are superior to animalistic ones. He believes once people are knowledgeable of these higher faculties that they possess, they will never be happy if they are left uncultivated. Therefore happiness is a sign that we are exercising our higher faculties as human beings. While defending his theory, Mill goes into differentiate pleasures between quality and quantity; this suggesting that some pleasure are more valuable than others. According to Mill higher quality pleasures are of intellect and moral feeling, while lower quality pleasures are of sense. He explains that when making a moral judgment on an action, utilitarianism takes into account not just the quantity, but also the quality of the pleasures resulting from it. He attributes this to human dignity, which is necessary when discussing the topic of morality and credibility of his beliefs. This discussion of pleasures leads Mill to another criticism that utilitarianism has developed because of contentment not happiness. His understanding and argument for this is people who use their higher faculties are less content because they know all of the limitations in the world. He says this is in a clear example when he writes, â€Å"†¦better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinions, it is because they only know their side of the question† (Ch. II, PageShow MoreRelatedUtilitarianism, By John Stuart Mill And Utilitarianism880 Words   |  4 Pagessometimes hard to define, but with John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism it is a little bit easier. Utilitarianism is an easy one, for the reason that it is defined by the greatest happiness for everyone involved. Sometimes it does not always make everyone content, but if you look at it as a whole it makes sense. Mill says that we have to look at the bigger picture. One person’s happiness affects another’s and so on. Utilitarianism is a moral theory that John Stuart Mill, the philosopher, formulated toRead MoreUtilitarianism, By John Stuart Mill1365 Words   |  6 Pages In John Stuart Mill’s book Utilitarianism, he argues for the defense of utilitarianism, an age old theory originally developed by Jeremy Bentham that states the proper course of action is the one that maximizes happiness. The course of action that maximizes general happiness is also the only true standard for moral assessment. Mill also introduces the idea of ‘first principle’ which states that it is not acceptable for individuals to characterize actions as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’, because it isRead MoreUtilitarianism By John Stuart Mill1805 Words   |  8 PagesIn his book Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill presents his exposition and his major defenses of the philosophy of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism, a th eory in ethics developed by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, focuses on a concept of utility that focuses on deciding if actions are morally right or wrong by analyzing the pleasure and pain they cause. In other words, if an action causes primarily pleasure for all parties, then it must be good and right; however, if it causes pain for the parties involvedRead MoreUtilitarianism, By John Stuart Mill1372 Words   |  6 PagesAct Utilitarianism is a long standing and well supported philosophical argument that when boiled down to its most basic elements, can be described as creating â€Å"the greatest good for the greatest number† (122). Such was the sentiment of John Stuart Mill, one of act utilitarianism’s (also known as just utilitarianism) greatest pioneers, and promoters. Mills believed that his theory of always acting in a way that achieved the greatest net happiness was both superior to other philosophical theories andRead MoreUtilitarianism, By John Stuart Mill159 9 Words   |  7 PagesUtilitarianism is a doctrine in normative ethics that is outlined and defended by many philosophers, including the English philosopher John Stuart Mill as a standard to determine what are right and wrong actions. At its most basic claim, the right course of action one must take should be in the interest of maximizing what is known as utility. The right course of action is determined as being right if it maximizes the total benefit and happiness gained, while at the same time reducing the greatestRead MoreThe Utilitarianism By John Stuart Mill984 Words   |  4 PagesDecriminalize Drug use Utilitarianism as an example of consequentialism is a moral theory generally considered to have started in the late eighteenth century. In the book Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill he defined the ethical theory stating that â€Å"†¦actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness†(7). The idea behind the theory is that people seek happiness, and that the ultimate goal of all human beings is to be happy.Read MoreUtilitarianism, By John Stuart Mill854 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Stuart Mill, among other things, was an English philosopher and economist who lived from 1806 to 1873. Mill grew up being immersed in the principles of utilitarianism. Mill’s essay on utilitarianism, titled Utilitarianism, was written to debunk misconceptions of and to provide support for the ideology. Mill’s essay and argument span five chapters, where his discussions range from definitions, misconceptions, re wards, methods, and validity. Utilitarianism is generally held to be the view thatRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill And Utilitarianism983 Words   |  4 PagesIn Utilitarianism actions are judged right and wrong solely on their consequence, and in order to assess this consequences, the only thing that matters is the amount of happiness and unhappiness caused and by calculating happiness and unhappiness caused, nobody’s happiness counts any more than anybody else’s. Utilitarian ethics is the most common form of ethics used today, it has thrived because two needs have been met by it. Firstly, end-based thinking is common and people have sought to improveRead MoreJohn Stuart Mill And Utilitarianism1202 Words   |  5 Pages I contend that the philosophy of John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism can be used to show that society should will that genetic enhancement be morally acceptable if the adverse cognitive or emotional effects are outweighed by the benefits. Glannon argues tha t gene enhancement is morally objectionable because â€Å"there would be the unacceptable social cost of some people suffering from adverse cognitive or emotional effects of the enhancement.† Under Utilitarianism, society would likely deem that geneticRead MoreUtilitarianism By John Stuart Mill930 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis Paper 2 In the essay â€Å"Utilitarianism† by John Stuart Mill, he explains his support for utilitarianism and argues any misconceptions of it. In his essay he talks about the difference between higher and lower pleasures and what significance they have in his utilitarian moral theory. His theory is based on the rule that â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.† Many people experience different kinds of pleasure

The Impact of Renaissance on the Present - 1204 Words

Beginning with prehistoric man, the growth and evolvement of various civilizations and the events which occurred, in one manner or another, aided in shaping the modern world that we live in today. Some of the more influential elements of everyday modern life are the result of cultural and societal changing events, which transpired throughout the years 1350-1600. During the period known today as the â€Å"Renaissance† (1350-1600), the world of art, the boundaries of marriage, and secular viewpoints were forever revolutionized, through the development and spread of â€Å"Renaissance Humanism†, which today, still affects modern day life. (Knox 1999) The Renaissance (1350-1600), named from the French word meaning â€Å"rebirth†, began in†¦show more content†¦Unlike the Catholic religion, although difficult, Protestants could divorce, and due to the influence of â€Å"Humanism†, Protestants felt that spouses possessed equal spiritual and sexual rights, aiding the passing of laws which outlawed wife beating, a common day practice. Many women chose to join the Protestant religion to escape the tyranny of their husbands, playing a critical role in assisting the new faith to spread and be accepted, and with fewer restrictions, couples were able to marry at a younger age helping families to grow larger with more children being born. (Whisonant 2007) Society emerging from the â€Å"Dark Ages†, was ready for change, and many readily accepted new ideas, independent thought, and less governmental control. Yet, when people hear the word â€Å"Renaissance† (1350-1600), usually their first thought is art. The world of art was forever changed during the period, and the effects of â€Å"Humanism†, are clearly reflected in the artistic creations from the period. Throughout the world today, works of art created by Renaissance artists such as Da Vinci (1452-1519), Michelangelo (1475-1564) and numerous others, are renowned as â€Å"Masterpieces†, the first and only works of art rightfully bestowed with this entitlement. (Knox, Ellis, L) When the movement began, a few innovative artists began displaying their new alternative lifestyles, and method of creativity. Prior to the RenaissanceShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Renaissance On Italy And The Renaissance969 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Renaissance was a series of revolutions and changes that originated in Italy and had wide spread impact very rapidly in the entire Europe. All the developments and changes were done to keep in mind and keep pace with the local environments and situations. The developments were frequently connected to encourage cultural developments without affecting the basic idea and conventional heritage of the country. Many artists and military personnel also took part in the revolution where theRead MoreInfluence Of The Renaissance On Modern Europe1174 Words   |  5 Pageswere more significant than the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the French Revolution. Of these three events, the Renaissance proved to be the most important event in shaping a modern Europe, with developments in education, class structure/order and social change issues, religion, building construction/use, Medici banking system, art and architecture, humanism, printing and the printing press, and the scientific an d medical changes of the Islamic Renaissance. The changes in the developmentRead MoreOn the other hand, Shakespeare also maintains the feminine ideal through the use of disguise. In700 Words   |  3 Pagesas the destruction of a women was seen as their undoing in a Renaissance society. Mary Rose discusses the idea of purity â€Å"For a woman, a public reputation was dishonourable, a sure sign of immorality and scandal†. In both cases, the characters have had an impact on society around them, particularly towards men, through the use of disguise and deception. Whilst Shakespeare presents authoritative roles within women, he also presents the contrasting roles of women, particularly in the charactersRead MoreEssay on The Harlem Renaissance and Its Societal Effects 1133 Words   |  5 PagesWhat Is the Harlem Renaissance, and What Effects Did It Have On Society? Harlem was like a great magnet for the Negro intellectual, pulling him from everywhere. Or perhaps the magnet was New York, but once in New York, he had to live in Harlem(Langston Hughes, The Big Sea). When one is describing a â€Å"fresh and brilliant portrait of African American art and culture in the 1920s (Rampersad, Arnold),† the Harlem Renaissance would be the most accurate assumption. The Harlem Renaissance proved to AmericaRead MoreThe Carolingian Renaissance By Kelli Floyd804 Words   |  4 PagesThe Carolingian Renaissance By: Kelli Floyd Introduction The Carolingian Renaissance was a very important time in history that had a very large impact on Western Civilization. There is no way to know how different our world would have been without it. Both written and spoken language would have likely been radically different without both Charlemagne and Alcuin of York. What is the Carolingian Renaissance? The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of history brought on by Charlemagne. The respectRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance s Influence And Impact1262 Words   |  6 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance s Influence and Impact The Harlem Renaissance era is known for its rich culture and being the source for many African American breakthrough artists such as Alain Locke,W.E.B DuBois, and Ethel Waters. . Whether it be the diversity of music, drama, art, or literature, it’s surely present during that period of time and still is today. Many questions about this time period include â€Å"How was Harlem life like back then?† â€Å"What is the Harlem Renaissance?†, and â€Å"How did itRead MoreThe Building Blocks Of The Renaissance Movement1601 Words   |  7 PagesThe Building Blocks of the Renaissance Movement Some may think of the Renaissance as a single movement, but this movement actually consisted of three different periods known as the Early, the High and the Northern Renaissance. There were significant differences between each of these periods, as well as important leading figures from each. All three Renaissances were individual pieces of history that built upon the knowledge of each other. Without one, subsequent periods would not have been as successfulRead MoreHarlem Renaissance Essay1048 Words   |  5 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a significant historical movement that originated in Harlem, New York and helped establish the city as an African American cultural center. This period, which lasted from the 1910s to the mid 1930s, is considered a golden age for African American music, art, literature, and performance. As a resurgence of African American art and urbanization began to form, new artistic and social expression began to simultaneously develop in other urban areas as well. The Harlem RenaissanceRead MoreThe Renaissance Versus the Reformation1340 Words   |  6 PagesThe Renaissance versus the Reformation I feel, sometimes, as the Renaissance man must have felt in finding new riches at every point and in the certainty that unexplored areas of knowledge and experience await at every turnÂâ€"Polykarp Kusch. Two very critical periods in the history of western civilization involved the eras of the Renaissance and the Reformation. The renaissance evolved mainly in direct result to the medieval times where the people where obedient to authority. The reformationRead MoreThe Period Of The Middle Ages1007 Words   |  5 PagesContrary to popular belief, the Renaissance is not a time period, but a movement of the middle ages. The middle ages began at the fall of the Roman empire in 476 and lasted all the way to 1500; a 100 year period. During this time was when the Malthusian Crisis / Deadlock occurred. Killing much of the population, by famine, disease, etc, this was in a sense a positive thing because of the overpopulation. Famine had a rather large effect. This included ergotism which produces a chemical that causes

Employee Stock Options Treatment Tax Issuesâ€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Employee Stock Options Treatment Tax Issues? Answer: Introducation It has been observed that Charlie worked as a real estate agent of the Shine Homes Pty Ltd. This is clearly obtained from the observed case study. A sedan was given to Charlie. The situation at hand comprised of the search of the fringe benefits which were to be provided by Shine Homes. The proper speculation was done in connection to Charlie as well. According to the Section 6 of the Miscellaneous Taxation Rulings and Fringe Benefit Tax Assessment Act 1986 it can be stated that there are situations in which the fringe benefits are levied on the specific cars. Laws: Section 6 of the Miscellaneous Taxation Rulings Fringe Benefit Tax Assessment Act 1986 taxation rulings of MT 2027 sub-section 136 (1) of the Miscellaneous Taxation Rulings of 2027 section 51 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 Lunney and Hayley v FCT (1958) Newsom v Robertson (1952) 2 All ER 728; (1952) Simon in Taylor v Provan (1975) AC 194 Tubemakers of Australia Ltd v. FC of T93 Application: The Cars whose valuation Charlie requires need to be utilised in compliance with the sub-section 136 (1) of the Miscellaneous Taxation Rulings of 2027. This is due to the fact that the determination of the fringe benefits is important. The paragraph 3 of the Miscellaneous Taxation Ruling states that the business utilities of the specific cars need to be included in the important log books or any other type of file due to the business kilometres which have been travelled. The method of travel is that of the operating cost method. The car used by Charlie was for purposes of work for a distance of 50 kilometres as is evident from the case study. The taxation rulings of MT 2027 with reference to sub-section 136 (1) states that a particular type of utility created by the employees that is not totally connected to the production procedure of the taxable income can be considered as individual use. The case study clearly shows that the car was used for work purposes by Charlie for a distance of about 50 kilometres (Barkoczy, 2016). An important question under consideration is that the car was used by any associate wanting to get the employees assessable income exclusively or used by the employee himself. The FBT considers those cars used by the employees for purposes of employment as business use based on the sub section 136 (1). These are considered in employment cases and the levying of the taxes is also applicable in those cases (McLachlan, 2013). That Charlie used the car shows that the business is representative of the proper use of business in relation to the taxable income of the employee. The use of the car by Charlie was during his time of employment and was also related to the business purposes. This is bound to cause the FBT levy. The time of the use of the car is evident from the case study (Miller Oats, 2016). There are certain facts that have been considered as allowable deductions for the purposes of income tax. The section 51 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, helps determine whether the car expenses are allowable to be deducted. The Lunney and Hayley v FCT (1958) discussed the points of view in those cases where an individual used a car for purpose of travel from his residence to the place of his employment. This will be considered as a private from of travel. Travel to work is thought of as a pre-requisite connected to the production of the assessable outcome at the time of actual earning of the outcome. The expenses incurred should comply with the Sub-division F of Division 3stated in Miscellaneous Taxation Rulings of 2027 which are connected to income tax issues. The expenses need to be considered as allowable deductions (Kaldor, 2014). In the form of a result it can be said that the distance in kilometres that Charlie actually travelled was strictly private. The operational outcomes were unable to be altered in any way due to use of the car by Charlie. The cost incurred by the barrister during the time of travel between the place he resided and his workplace would be considered as an expense based on the Newsom v Robertson (1952) 2 All ER 728; (1952). The travel in which Charlie engaged would be considered as travel for employment purpose as this comprised a major part of the individuals employment. This is because; travel was a major part of any individuals employment. This is in accordance with the Simon in Taylor v Provan (1975) AC 194. It can be said that the car use by Charlie was also partially for private use. The travel to ones place is thought of as business travel as the type of employment is nomadic by nature (Saad, 2014). Besides this, the employment duties of Charlie required him to work in more than one place. It is not unlikely for Charlie to claim the tax deductions related to work and also linked to the cost of petrol. It was used in the attainment of the assessable income depending on the FBT Act 1986. A car parking fringe benefit can arise in case the employer provides a car parking facility to the employee and the criteria are also met: The car parking time limit is not more than four hours The hiring or the total control of the car is done by the employee The discharge of employment duties are the reason why the car is provided to the employee A commercial parking space exists that charges a certain amount of fees for the car which is parked for the whole day within 1km range. The car is used by the employee at least once in a day for the travelling purposes either from work to home or vice versa. It is clear from the case study that the car parked by Charlie was under his control. The car was parked for which it was provided with a payment of $200 in each week. The car was utilised by him on a daily basis. This ultimately results in the fringe benefits for Charlie and Homes and the fringe benefits for parking fees can be claimed. It is evident that the accommodation fees are paid by Shine Homes. The honeymoon accommodations were paid by Shine Homes Pty Ltd in compliance with the Fringe Benefit Tax Act 1986, resulting in the tax liability. The Subsection 51 (1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 is utilised to claim the benefit for the taxpayers. The liability concerned with the FBT for Shine Homes can be thought of as legislation of Commonwealth. The expenses incurred by Shine homes in gaining assessable income would be considered as expenses of deductable nature under subsection 51 (1) of the ITAA 1997 (Bickley, 2012). Conclusion: Finally it can be said that the fringe benefit related expenditures will be considered for the purposes according to the FBT Act 1986. The car used by Charlie to be regarded as business entity for the gain in taxable income actually attracting the FBT References: Barkoczy, S. (2016). Foundations of Taxation Law 2016.OUP Catalogue. Bickley, J. M. (2012). Employee stock options: tax treatment and tax issues. Kaldor, N. (2014).Expenditure tax. Routledge. McLachlan, R. (2013). Deep and Persistent Disadvantage in Australia-Productivity Commission Staff Working Paper. Miller, A., Oats, L. (2016).Principles of international taxation. Bloomsbury Publishing. Saad, N. (2014). Tax knowledge, tax complexity and tax compliance

Strategic Management McDonalds

Introduction All businesses, irrespective of their industry, require strategies in order to be successful. High competition resulting from globalization and technological advancement has necessitated clear-cut strategies in order to survive. Strategic management has never been as important as it is today.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Management: McDonald’s specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Through strategic management, organizations are able to identify and implement the best practices to gain competitive advantage, increase profit margin and grow (Hubbard, Rice, and Beamish 2008). Fast food industry is one of rapidly growing and competitive industry. A company in this industry has to develop and implement successful business strategies in order to gain competitive advantage. In this report, a case study for McDonald’s is provided. The report reviews the strategies that McDonald’ s has adopted in order to maintain its global position in fast food industry. Organization Overview The McDonald’s has been in operation in food industry since 1954. The US based company operates a chain of fast food restaurants in more than 119 countries. Though initially established by McDonald’s brothers, McDonald’s success is attributed to its later owner: Ray Kroc. Over years McDonald’s has emerged to be a strong brand in the fast food industry. Most of its restaurants across the globe are operated as franchises. McDonald’s chain of restaurants is renowned for its uniform and standardized menu. McDonald’s menu across its chain mainly consists of burgers, milk shakes, French fries, sandwiches, Ice cream sundaes, vegetable salads and desserts (McDonald’s Corporation 2010). The menu however changes slightly from country to country depending on culture and customer taste. The company is renowned for its innovative products. Some of i ts successful products include Big Mac, Chicken McNuggets, Quarter Pounder with Cheese and the Filet-O-Fish (McDonald’s Corporation 2010). McDonald’s main target for its products over years has been children and mothers. The company has therefore adapted its products and restaurants to its main target. Besides its ‘Happy Meals’, some of McDonald’s restaurants serve breakfast offering that include coffee, Egg Sandwiches, Sausage McMuffin, biscuit and hotcake. Though McDonald’s is generally successful, it has encountered various challenges along the way. High competition in fast food industry has been one of the main challenges in its global strategy. Apart from high competition, the company has been involved in controversies over its contribution to obesity. Increased health concerns especially in the US and UK has been a major concern to McDonald’s management.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we c an help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Strategies McDonald’s has adopted various strategies in order to be successful in global fast food industry. Although McDonald’s is one of the most experienced companies in the fast food industry, established and upcoming companies have been a threat to its market share. Wendy’s is just one of the fast food companies that have been a threat to McDonald’s. Through adopting certain strategies, McDonalds have been able to withstand competition and increase its number of restaurants across the globe. Strategic management should define an organization’s position, its desired position in the future and actions to be taken in order to achieve the desired goal. Through its ‘plan to win’ global strategy, McDonald’s has been able to remain highly competitive despite of negative publicity over health concerns. Increased health concerns and negative publicity resulting from health related controversies have been a major challenge to McDonald’s (Wilsher 2010). To address this, McDonald’s has adapted various business strategies. To create a healthy image for itself, McDonald’s plan to do away with soft drinks and Super French fries. Besides, the company plans to make changes to its menu in order to reflect increases health concern. For instance cinnamon roll with a sausage burrito is considered to be the major breakfast offering in United Kingdom. McDonald’s has been able to establish a strong brand over years. With negative publicity resulting from health concerns, the company has increased its effort to protect its brand. â€Å"Be our customers’ favourite place and way to eat† is the company brand mission (Ganapathy 2009). To ensure the mission is achieved, the company has taken firm actions from improving products, customer service to promotion. The company has implemented a new cooking system aiming at improv ing quality of products served in its menu (Howard 1999). Restaurant dà ©cor to brand icon has been improved across the globe in order to ensure consistent image to its customers. In addition, McDonald’s has consistently increased its promotion effort through conventional channels as well as new technology such as the internet.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Strategic Management: McDonald’s specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Customer service is core to success in hotel and hospitality industry (Prakash and Olsen 2003; Tse and Jogaratnam 2008). McDonald’s has taken strategic actions to ensure high customer feel. Part of the strategies includes recruitment and training of right staff. McDonald’s staff is trained to treat customers with respect and maintain a smiling face while serving. High standard of hygiene is maintained including restaurants’ bathrooms. To show its concern f or environment, McDonald’s collects dropped burger wrappings and cups using its three-wheeled vehicle (Livesey 1999). Strategic Recommendations The principle objective of strategic management is to boost an organization’s competitive advantage. It enables the management to establish plans to address current and future needs of an organization (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble 2007; Carpenter, Sanders, Rice and Martin 2010). Fast food industry has attracted many players that try to address various customer needs. Most of these competitors exploit customers’ needs and concerns not well served in McDonald’s. McDonald’s therefore needs to put more effort to maintain its market share in the industry. Some of strategic actions that McDonald’s should take include: Enhance promotion and advertisement in order to overcome negative publicity Progressively expand its menu in order to accommodate increased customer needs and tastes, including health con cerns Invest more on product development in order to come up with competitive products for different cultures Conclusion Strategic management approach is a necessity in all industries in the global economy. Hotel and hospitality industry is one of the industries that most require strategic management. Companies in this industry must align their products and services to rapidly changing customer needs and taste. McDonald’s success in fast food industry can be attributed to its adherence to strategic management principles. The company is able to overcome its challenges by following clear-cut plans. Though clouded by controversy over health concerns, the company seems to maintain customer loyalty and still has high competitive advantage over other players in the industry. Reference List Carpenter M. A., Sanders W., Rice J. and Martin N., 2010, Strategic Management: A Dynamic Perspective, Concepts and Cases, Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ganapathy, S., 2009, McDonald’s International Strategy: Squander Brand Equity? Web. Howard, T., 1999, The Over-Arching Strategy-McDonald’s Global Brand Strategy Task Force.  Web. Hubbard, G., Rice, J. and Beamish, P., 2008, Strategic Management Thinking Analysis, Action, Pearson, Sydney. Livesey, S., 1999, McDonald’s and the Environmental Defence Fund: A Case Study of a Green Alliance, The Journal of Business Communication, Vol. 36 McDonald’s Corporation 2010, Travel through Time with Us.  Web. Prakash, K. and Olsen, M., 2003, Strategic alliances: a hospitality industry perspective, International Journal of Hospitality Management Vol. 22, pp 419-434. Thompson, A., Strickland, A., and Gamble, J., 2007, Crafting and Executing Strategy, McGraw-Hill, New York. Tse, E. and Jogaratnam, G., 2008, From the top down: strategic management in the Hospitality Industry, SAGE Handbook of Hospitality Management, SAGE London, pp165 – 191. Wilsher, S., 2010, Mc Donald’s in Hot Water over Marketing Tactics.  Web. This report on Strategic Management: McDonald’s was written and submitted by user Sunset Bain to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.