Gender And Prestige Essays - Anthropology, Social Status, Prestige

Gender And Prestige Jason Howard The purpose of this essay is to show embeddedness of prestige system into subsystems of the cultures. We will discuss four cultures which represent four different types of social organizations; !Kung San represents band organization, Mundurucu represents village type, Polynesia - Chiefdom, and Andalusia represents state type of social organization. In all of these cultures prestige system, which is the gender system, is imbedded into other subsystems. Three of these cultures: Mundurucu, Polynesia, and Andalusia, have hierarchical type of ideology, meaning in this culture males have more power then females. !Kung San culture, on the other hand, has egalitarian type of ideology, where there is no significant difference in power between males and females. We first start by defining prestige system, which consists of prestige itself. Prestige is level of respect at which one is regarded by others. Every person in prestige system has status, by which other people value your prestige. Status it determined by following factors: economical, political, personal, and historical. When we talk about the prestige system we have to say that prestige system is supported by ideology, and since cultures have different ideologies, the prestige systems vary from one culture to another. Polynesia, discussed by Sherry Ortner, consists of large numbers of islands in the Pacific Ocean, which include Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, and many more. The islands in their majority have the same prestige system. The prestige systems in Polynesia is the system of hereditary ranking which is embedded in political system, kinship system, and economic system. The type of social organization in Polynesia, as we mentioned above, is chiefdom. Chiefdom is characterized by number of villages, where each village has its own chief, and the whole village system has one chief, higher in rank then other chiefs. This fact is important when we discuss the embeddedness of prestige system in the political system. Every village, that is the part of the chiefdom, has a goal to get on the top of the symbolic pyramid, with main chief and fono, the governing council, on the top. Sometimes, statuses can be brought higher with the right type of marriage, however, most of the villages have endogamy type of marriages, meaning the spouse comes from inside of the village. In case of exogamy marriage, where spouse comes from outside, the groom's family will have to share part of the land with the bride's family. Of course, if the groom's family is higher in rank than the bride's family, that kind of marriage will not happen. Therefore, as a rule, change of the social ranking does not happen, and people die with the same rank they were born with. In Polynesia, people are born with certain statuses, that are passed patrilineally, meaning through the male line. Starting from this point, we can see that females value is lower then of males. However women status is important for men statuses. Thus the status of the chief of chiefs is that high because either daughter in law, or his own daughter is taupo, the ceremonial princess virgin with the highest status for women. In generally, a girl has big value to her descent line because if she marries and the husbands family has a higher rank, she gets the part of his land for her family and brings the rank of her descent group higher. So, actually, sisters unite the descent group, and brothers divide it, because brother's are the ones who share the land with their wives. In general, females are valued for the reproduction of labor, which takes as to the discussion of economic system. The economic system in the Polynesia is based on the redistribution exchange mode. The chief of chiefdom plays role of redistributor, where descent groups provide him with goods and he redistributes them where needed. By this means he getsmore of wealth and prestige. If in the top ranked descent group there is a shortage of labor, chief may adopt newborn babies from the lowest rank descent group So as we could see, the prestige system embedded in economic, political, and kinship systems, where this systems, in their turn, are embedded in each other. The next culture we discuss is Andalusia researched by Stanley Brandes. More, specifically, we look

5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes

5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes 5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes 5 Sentences Saved by Em Dashes By Mark Nichol Sentential adverbs (words such as indeed or namely and phrases like â€Å"that is† and â€Å"of course†), and their close cousins the conjunctive adverbs, or adverbial conjunctions (however, â€Å"on the other hand,† and the like), indicate an interruption of thought, and should themselves appear as interruptions. Because they are parenthetical remarks (the framing sentence would be complete without them), they should be set off by commas: â€Å"You must, after all, admit that it was a good effort.† If they are employed to indicate a new thought, stronger punctuation is called for: â€Å"They are highly skilled; however, they do not possess the level of knowledge you do.† (In each case, the adverb could also appear at the end of the sentence after a comma.) Often, though, the interruption in sentence structure is somewhere between comma country and semicolon stature: The phrase that begins with the adverb is something more than a dependent clause but not quite an independent clause. In these cases, the linking function of an em dash is appropriate: 1. â€Å"I thank them for putting up with this project with such good sportsmanship, indeed with such exuberance.† The phrase beginning with indeed is tacked on to the basic sentence to provide an additional, loosely related thought. Note the shift with an em dash, and follow the adverb with a comma to mark elision of a repetition of the phrase â€Å"for putting up with†: â€Å"I thank them for putting up with this project with such good sportsmanship indeed, with such exuberance.† 2. â€Å"There is a job to be done, namely educating educators how to effectively teach that wildlife conservation addresses quality of life for everyone.† The phrase that follows â€Å"There is a job to be done† is an explanation of what is meant by that phrase. The traditional marker for explanation is a colon, but an em dash does just as well. Again, set the adverb off with a comma: â€Å"There is a job to be done namely, educating educators how to effectively teach that wildlife conservation addresses quality of life for everyone.† (Without the comma, the sentence seems to refer to â€Å"namely educating educators,† but how do you do something in a namely manner?) 3. â€Å"They may also be judicially voided for being unreasonable, that is, unsupported by the evidence claimed to justify them.† A colon is often employed to set off a sentence from a subsequent clarification, but the adverb and the fact that the clarification is an incomplete sentence justifies use of an em dash here: â€Å"They may also be judicially voided for being unreasonable that is, unsupported by the evidence claimed to justify them.† 4. â€Å"Furthermore, a scientific conclusion is based on the past, i.e. previous studies that lead to present conclusions.† The initials i.e. (an abbreviation for id est, Latin for â€Å"that is†) gives you a clue that this sentence can be treated identically to the previous example. Note, however, that just as you follow â€Å"that is† with a comma, set i.e. (and the similar e.g., which means â€Å"for example†) off from the following phrase: â€Å"Furthermore, a scientific conclusion is based on the past i.e., previous studies that lead to present conclusions.† 5. â€Å"Ethics, on the other hand, is future oriented, that is to say a present choice is based on a future desire, intent, or consequence.† This sentence contains two adverbial phrases: â€Å"on the other hand,† and â€Å"that is to say.† The first one, a simple parenthetical phrase, need not concern us, but the latter is an expanded version of â€Å"that is† and needs the same treatment as the short form: â€Å"Ethics, on the other hand, is future oriented that is to say, a present choice is based on a future desire, intent, or consequence.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartTry to vs. Try andStarting a Business Letter with Dear Mr.

Jury Deliberations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jury Deliberations - Assignment Example The Court emphasized further that the most important function of the jury is to provide "common sense judgment of a group of laymen" and shall have the opportunity to deliberate freely, without force and intimidation from outside sources as they decide on the question of a defendant’s guilt. The advantage of eliminating unanimity of 12 votes will minimize the potential for hung juries caused by bribery or juror’s irrationality and caprices, resulting in lesser number of retrials, save on court expenses and decongest the court’s dockets. In addition, there is no need for unanimous verdict since at present time, the convicted felon is no longer subjected to cruel and unusual punishment compared to olden times. On the other hand, the second proposal of changing the number of jurors from 12 to 6 in all criminal cases, though maintaining the requirement that the verdict be unanimous violates the accused's right to a trial by jury as protected by the Sixth and Fourteen th Amendments.  In the case of Burch Vs.

Individual news article analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual news article analysis - Essay Example As a direct result of these dynamic shifts, the manner in which marketing has taken place and the manner through which firms seek to reach their clients has also changed precipitously from what it was merely a few years ago (Jones et al. 691). Accordingly, the following analysis will seek to detail the ways in which technological change has not only shifted the means of marketing and integration, but has fundamentally changed the ways that businesses promote themselves and engage with the consumers in the market (Holmes et al. 124). The article points to the fact that many firms have been unduely tempted to step away from traditional approaches and have begun to chase the allure of cheap and omnipresent forms of internet advertising; to include those linked to social media marketing. Although this can most certainly be an effective approach in engaging certain key demographics, the author warns that it must not supplant the approach that it utilized within the many other forms of mar keting that have for so long helped to define the means by which businesses integrate with the consumers. ... mail, the communication platform that the mobile device now offers allows for a much greater degree of efficiency even if the individual in question is not within range of a Wi-Fi signal and/or within range of traditional desktop PC and keyboard (Hortinha et al. 28). Further, perhaps the greatest shift that can be noted outside of the sheer ease of communication that these devices have been able to provide is the fact that mobile marketing has been able to pervade the environment and can be exhibited to the individual upon nearly each and every website that is viewed in a mobile platform or even as advertisements that are provided within the applications that each of us have become so reliant upon (Ballve 1). With respect to the way in which the individual or the firm should integrate with the information that has thus far been presented, it must be understood that the zeitgeist of the era demands a closer attention is paid to mobile computing and the manner in which it can be utiliz ed to garner further levels of profitability for the industry/business in question. From the personal standpoint, little if anything has changed with regards to communication over the mobile platform in the past 5-10 years (Vasilchenko & Moorish 89). Once mobile devices became internet enabled and were functionally able to send emails/MMS messages as well as search the web, few innovations have come along to shift the dynamic of personal communication. However, with that being said, it must be understood that the greatest shift that has been felt with regards to mobile computing has been with respect to the way in which businesses seek to leverage these platforms as a means of reaching out to the consumer. One need look no further than a major car manufacturer’s television advertisement

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

Constitutional law - Essay Example It does not establish nor constitute the system of government. It does not involve constituent power. Its form of law is not superior to other laws; and it is not entrenched. All these characteristics are an integral part of a written constitution. One of the major differences of the British constitution from that of other countries is that it is not composed, written or set out in any single document like for example, that of the United States of America. Rather, it is made up of statute law, common law and conventions. Thomas Payne stated that the United Kingdom does not have a constitution. Against this background one can agree with Payne in saying that the United Kingdom does not have a constitution because there is no official written document. Since the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution there are several elements that are lacking which would give the people more autonomy. Amendments cannot be made to a constitution if there are no written documents to refer to. Even if amendments are attempted at times these are not seen as having far reaching effects because they are not legally binding. The United Kingdom is not seen as having a constitution because having a constitution hinges on the rights of the people. One of the earliest documents to form a central element of the constitution, the Magna Carta, was drawn up by the rich landowners so the rights of the common man were not provided for. It would therefore seem more difficult for the common man to clarify his rights and protect himself against the state. The Justice Secretary Jack Straw in a visit to Washington of February 2008 commented well on the British Constitution when he said that, "Most people might struggle to put their finger on where their rights are." It is difficult sometimes to know what the constitution really say because of the many

Is a general glut possible?

Is a general glut possible? Introduction In macroeconomics, general glut refers to there is a supply excess in all industries. There is a long time running debate on the general glut from the late 18th century. Many economists try to figure out if there is a general glut in reality. Normally, glut could be exhibited in a economic depression or recession with high unemployment rate and idle manufactures. However, Jean-Baptiste Say(1803) established his theory Law of markets which advocates that there is no general glut . Say said products are paid for with products. In the other words, supply creates demand. Many classical and neoclassical economists support Says Law. Say brought up his theory after industrial revolution. Under that background, Says law might be right, because market was completely controlled by suppliers. It means suppliers are consumers. Therefore, Says law seems right. On the other hand, Says Law can be proved with one simple example: if firms cannot sell goods, then goods prices will be decreased until c onsumers accept it. The only problem is time. In the long run, Says law seems correct. Ricardo (1851) extended this notion to saving and investment. If manufacture produces more than one consumes, then the surplus is saved and, by definition of terms, invested. No one would produce in excess of consumption needs if one does not have a desire to either exchange it or invest it. Supply, therefore, is demand. This virtually all the Classical economists held to be an irrefutable truth. However, some economists denied Says law concluding there is a general glut in economy. Keynesian argues that some microeconomic-level actions can lead to a general glut. Next, unnecessarily high unemployment rate is the evidence of a general glut. Austrian school economists argue that misallocation of resource causes the gneral glut. Some post-Keynesian economists think credit bubbles or speculative bubbles is the cause of general glut. In my opinion, general glut exists in the modern society. The severe worldwide economic depression in the 1930s and financial crisis in 2007 prove that there is a general glut in reality. Especially, the global financial crisis in 2007 makes me to believe that Keynesian is correct and general glut is possible. It is controversial that government should adopt laissez-fair or Keynesian policy to exit finaical crisis. From laissez-fair side, economists suggest government should stimulate production and this is the only way to control crisis. On the other hand, Keynesians supporters argue that government should stimulate demand. Because they think insufficient aggregate damand causes the fiancial crisis. Says law This part I will discuss Says law more detail and analyse why Says law is inconsistent with other economistss theories. Say is the first economists to advocate that the price of a product is dominated by its supply and demand. Say(1803) established Law of markets theory which argues that the total supply in an economy can never fall below or exceed the amount of total demand. Therefore, there is no general glut in a economy. On the other hand, Say argues that money is neutral. Personally, I think Says thought about moneys purpose is inconsistent with most economists arguments. It is the one reason why his theory is inconsistent with most economists theories. Say(1983) contended trader is interested in other products, not money. He thinks there is no reason to hoard money and moneys purpose is buying other goods. In contrast, I think many people are engaging to hoard money for various reasons. For example, ones salary is 2000 dollars per month, it is impossible for him to use 2000 dollars every month. One will make a financial plan and save one small proportion in the bank purposely. Many classical and neoclassical theory supports Says law. I read the story like shoe-hat world or some two things world in their articles. In the shoe-hat world, they exchange one good for another good . According to their explanations, there could be three possible circumstances in the shoe hat world. I got this idea from a on-line article called the general glut controversy. First of all, shoes makers and hat makers have enough quantities to satisfy all demand. Then, there is a overproduction of hats, meaning too great a demand for hats. Next, there may be too many shoes in the market. However, there never be a overproduction of both goods. Because a shoes maker would not produce one more if he or she did not need more hats. On the other hand, there could be a glut for one good, but there could not be a general glut. It seems plausible that general glut does not exist. However, they overlooked a important stuff, of course, money. In the current society, we are not in the barter economy. Money plays a important role in capitalize economy. If i introduce money in the two person economy, there is a little change. Mill, John Stuart (1844)argues that in the simple exchange economy, supply creats demand. However, when money is the exchange medium, people can hoard the sales profit. Therefore, supply do not always create demand and general confidence can change the balance between supply and demand. Joseph Clark(2010) argues that there still cannot be a general glut after we introduce money. He said there could be surplus in all goods relative to money. From the long term side, I think there is no general glut, however, in the short term, definitely supply does not equal to demand due to price is not flexible. It means there is overproduction or underproduction. Says law just messed up by the exchange medium, money. Great depression and global financial crisis It is important to discuss the economic depression in the 1930s and global financial crisis in 2007. From these two events, I firmly believe general glut exists. Many economists argued that government interventions is the main reason for financial crisis. Robert ( 2009) asserts that one cause of financial crisis is the unregulated financial market. Some researchers thought the main reason for financial crisis is humans greed. Adrian(2008) concluded one cause of the crisis is a change in the model of banking, mixing credit with equity culture. Nevertheless, I think general glut is the main reason. After doc.com bubble bursting, American government decreased interest rate to prevent economic recession. Between 2001 and 2004, interest rate even reached the lowest point of 50 years, 1%. I think real estate glut is the fuse of the crisis. After real estate bubble bursting, the general glut came up. For example, the Big three(GE,FORD,CLESLER) asked for $50 billion to avoid bankruptcy and e nsuing layoffs, then Congress worked out a 25$ billion loan. From a more widen scope, looking at the data from Wikipedia, the annulized rate of decline in GDP was 14.4% in Germany, 15.2% in Japan, 7.4% in the UK, 9.8% in the Euro. Looking at the unemployment rate of economic downturn in the 1930s: unemployment in the United states arose to 25% and some other countries reached 33%(frank, 2007).If Says law is correct and general glut is invisible, there is no unemployment. I will explain why unemployment rate is related with Says law and general glut in the next part. Say and other nineteenth-century economists argued that products can find buyers eventually if prices are sufficiently attractive. I admit this argument is correct. If Airbus sells A380 as cars price, I think there is no overproduction problem for Airbus. I think many theories are established in a perfect and simple world. Actually many theories cannot apply to reality because of imperfect economy system. Some other theories Keynes (1936) argued that unnecessarily high unemployment rate was the evidence of the general glut. Aggregate demand for products is less than aggregate supply, causing economic recession and losses of potential output. There are three important concepts in Keynes paper. The first one is propensity to consume. The marginal propensity to consumer is the relative increase in personal consumption, that comes with an increase in disposable income. The marginal propensity is less than one. In the other words, the actual production level is lower than the full employment production level. Therefore, there is a gap between total income and total consumption. This gap would not be eliminated which conflicts Says law. Now, someone maybe ask if investments can close this gap. Many economists believe that saving is equal to investment. Keynes(1963) argues that investment cannot close this gap because there is no evidence showing that investment is equal to saving. Keynes contend that saving de pends on the households income level. It means one earns more and one saves more. However, investments depends on the marginal efficiency of capital. Keynes thinks saving and investment are totally different terms and have no autocorrelation. Austrian school economists argue that misallocation of resource causes the depression, even general glut. They also contend the depression is a tool to wipe out the excessive supply.(wiki) Austrian school economists focus on the credit cycle when they see the business cycle. they think depression is inevitable after credit bubble burst. Artificially low interest rate could lead speculative economic bubbles. Then, recession comes up to adjust the balance of saving and investment(Thorsten Polleit,2007). I think Austrian school theory is similar to post-Ksynesian. They both think general glut cause as one spends more than one earns. Personally, I think greed is another way to interpret this problem. some post-Keynesian economists think credit bubbles or speculative bubbles is the cause of general glut. From Irving Fishing ¼Ã‹â€ 1933 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° view, debt bubble busrting leads general glut. According to his debt deflation theory, a series of bad things occur after bubble bursting. First of all, distress selling and debt liquidation lead contraction of the money supply. Then, decrease of asset value and fall in firms profits. Afterwards, unemployment rate increase leads pessimism. Finally, people will hoard money. Therefore, a general glut comes up due to the shift from using more than one earns to spending less than one earns leads a sustained decrease in aggregate demand(wiki). It is necessary to talk about Marxian in the general glut debate. Marx(1864) contend that there are two types of goods, one is capital goods like machines and another one is consumer goods that are not durable. According to Marx, I think capitalist economy target is capital goods accumulation. On the other hand, firms goal is profit maximum. Looking back to our reality, many developed countries companies are using outsource strategy. They are reaching the maximum marginal profit. So there will be more and more goods but unchanged demand power even lower. Therefore, general glut is possible in the capitalist economy. Sismondi(1861) and Karl Marx have a same idea about time lag in the products transaction. I think this idea exists in the reality, for example, one produced a good and sell it. However, he would hoard money for a while before he buy other goods with money he earned. Therefore, there is a breakdown in the transaction and overproduction crisis can occur. Actually some economists oppose to Says law before Keyne and Marx. Malthus(1820) argues that producers do not always exchange their goods for other goods. Some goods are exchanged for labour. However, Says law does not concerns about employment and unemployment. Therefore the entire goods can lose value due to unproductive labour,meanwhile, general glut can exist. From the money side, Say and his supporters think is completely neutral. However, Malthus(1820) contend that producer wants money not other goods. He think it is so abstract that people want goods and not money. I persist Malthuss thought is correct. For example, I want to buy a house or a luxury car, so I will to save my money within five even ten years. Before I buy a house, money is preferable for me. Eventually, I admit my saving is for goods, however, I do not immediately change goods when I get money. There is a gap, even for a while, this gap will cause a general glut. conclusion I think it is impossible to avoid the crisis of general glut. Theoretically, general glut is a issue of income distribution. Profit is distributed to minority. This could leads social savings and investments too high as well as low consumption, hence the scale of production and consumption is asymmetry. Then, general glut comes up. Therefore, I support that government should stimulate aggregate demand side to exist crisis. Then, I disagree Says standpoint that supply creates demand. Just a simple example, manufactures always increase their investments when economy is booming. They think there will be more demand in the future , so they build more factories and buy more raw materials in advance. However, economic crisis may be happen suddenly leading to less consumption. Therefore, there will be many idle factories and high unemployment rate as well as unsold goods. Under this condition, I can barely believe that supply creates demand. I think general glut exists due to firms managers overestimate the demand quantities and misjudge macroeconomic situation. I think greedy soul is the main cause of overestimation and misjudgement. It is also the deep reason for the general glut. Many people debate on the term general and think there could be overproduction for one good or two goods or one thousand goods, however, no general glut. I think once money exists in our economy as a exchange tool, there could be general glut. Maybe money is not overproduction,but money is not good. There is no industry called money industry. On the other hand, I pretty sure government policies would solve the general glut issue. For example, FED injected money supply after 2007 financial crisis. This topic is so profound and tricky. My essay is not a statistics based paper, so I cannot provide enough data to prove my notion. Money is a critical variable in this debate. Some economists argue that money is neutral and give so little importance to money. Actually money has a meaning of value store rather than exchange. However, I still persist that general glut exists in the short run and supply seemingly create demand in the long run. in the other words, overproduction crisis is the situation that supplier cannot sell their goods at meanwhile. Is it possible? Obviously, the answer is yes. 1930 depression and 2007 financial crisis tell us the answer is yes. However, market itself adjusts and heals general gluts crisis eventually. I agree Keyness critique of Says law. But I am still confused his thought about saving and investment. I do not agree saving rate depends on income level rather than interest rate. For example, Chinese saving rate is higher than some western countries, however, Chinese income level is lower than western countries. Personally, I think interest rate has a strong relationship with saving. Finally, if Says law is acceptable, it means government should adopt laissez-fair policies. However, I think Keynesian is more rational and acceptable than laissez-fair. Global financial crisis and 30th great depression give a strong evidence for this debate. I pretty sure market is rational, however, overlooking one variable, of course, people. Human control the market and price and I have to say people are not rational sometimes. However, there is no general glut in the barter economy. In the other words, all goods are exchange for other goods. Plus, sellers buy other goods immediately after they sell goods. This circumstance seems so abstract and unrealistic. I cannot deny Says law influence and implications. Says law is a pillar of classical economic theory. Understanding the inner implication of Says law is important for government to control a crisis or avoid a crisis.

Explain Why Cultural Diversity Is Important In A College Education :: essays research papers

Explain Why Cultural Diversity Is Important In A College Education   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I come from a small town. Hannibal, MO, the boyhood home of Mark Twain, is described its claim to fame as â€Å"a sleepy town drowsing.† Most surely he has never been more accurate, for this small enchanted river town has never awakened total equality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is a town full of ignorance, where nobody has ever thought twice of sharing and spreading their sly comments and idiotic judgements to anyone and everyone who will listen, and most people do. It is a town where fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and grandparents teach their kids to â€Å"ignore those no-good niggers,† stay away from those â€Å"half-breeds† and give hell to anyone â€Å" nigger-lover† who refuses to believe the truth. It sickens me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Last year, we had an issue to address at our school. It later became known as The Cowboys vs. The Blacks, and never has our school been more involved. The newspapers screamed of the hate, violence, and threat of gangs that were corrupting our schools; the halls rang with the lastest gossip on the next big showdown. This problem slapped a school full of apathetic kids into a lively bunch ready to get involved. Involved in what? A controversy that all had opinions on, but how could you not have an opinion? It was the talk at all of the dinner tables, bars, and stores in town. Kids went home scared of the racial tension. Parents whined and cried of violence in the school.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The parents whined and cried, and at the same time forgot to remember that it was they, not the kids, who had taught the very prejudices that were â€Å" disrupting the education process.† My opinion is simple and elementary: Children are not born to hate others, they must be taught to judge colors. If we are taught prejudices, then obviously, the racial tensions at my school didn't disrupt education, rather enforced lessons often reviewed over fried chicken and potatoes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I cried once in my sophomore history class. The girl in front of me sang and preached that life was just that way, no one could ever change anything, so why should we even try? Prejudice is taught in the home, and the home is where we learn everything we really need to know. I listened, fumed, and stood up to interrupt her. (I rarely frown, let alone yell, but I had had enough of her pessimism. All eyes and ears were on me, and as my dramatic nature began to influence me, I started to preach.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have a theory.

Services Marketing

Australasian Marketing Journal 18 (2010) 41–47 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Australasian Marketing Journal journal homepage: www. elsevier. com/locate/amj How the local competition defeated a global brand: The case of Starbucks Paul G. Patterson *, Jane Scott, Mark D. Uncles School of Marketing, Australian School of Business, University of NSW, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Americanised the coffee tradition. Keywords: Service brands Service quality Global branding International business Starbucks Coffee The astounding growth and expansion of Starbucks is outlined, both on a global scale and within Australia. The focus then shifts to the abrupt closure of three-quarters of the Australian stores in mid 2008.Several reasons for these closures are described and examined, including that: Starbucks overestimated their points of differentiation and the perceived value of their supplementary services; their service standards declined; the y ignored some golden rules of international marketing; they expanded too quickly and forced themselves upon an unwilling public; they entered late into a highly competitive market; they failed to communicate the brand; and their business model was unsustainable.Key lessons that may go beyond the speci? cs of the Starbucks case are the importance of: undertaking market research and taking note of it; thinking globally but acting locally; establishing a differential advantage and then striving to sustain it; not losing sight of what makes a brand successful in the ? rst place; and the necessity of having a sustainable business model.O 2009 Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction ‘‘Shunned Starbucks in Aussie exit† (BBC News, 4 August 2008) then shifts focus to describe the extent of the store closures in Australia, before offering several reasons for the failure and lessons that others might learn from the case. 2.Background ‘‘Weak coffee and large debt stir Starbucks’ troubles in Australia† (The Australian, 19 August 2008) ‘‘Memo Starbucks: next time try selling ice to Eskimos† (The Age, 3 August 2008) ‘‘Taste of defeat for the mugs from Starbucks† (Sydney Morning Herald, 31 July 2008) ‘‘Coffee culture grinds Starbucks’ Australian operation† (Yahoo News, 3 August 2008) When the announcement was made in mid 2008 that Starbucks would be closing nearly three-quarters of its 84 Australian stores there was mixed reaction. Some people were shocked, others were triumphant.Journalists used every pun in the book to create a sensational headline, and it seemed everyone had a theory as to what went wrong. This case outlines the astounding growth and expansion of the Starbucks brand worldwide, including to Australia. It * Corresponding author. Tel. : +61 2 9385 1105. E-mail addresses: p. [email  pro tected] edu. au (P. G. Patterson), [email  protected] com. au (J. Scott), m. [email  protected] edu. au (M. D. Uncles). Founded in 1971, Starbucks’ ? rst store was in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.By the time it went public in 1992, it had 140 stores and was expanding at a breakneck pace, with a growing store count of an extra 40–60% a year. Whilst former CEO Jim Donald claimed that ‘‘we don’t want to take over the world†, during the 1990s and early 2000s, Starbucks were opening on average at least one store a day (Palmer, 2008). In 2008 it was claimed to be opening seven stores a day worldwide. Not surprisingly, Starbucks is now the largest coffee chain operator in the world, with more than 15,000 stores in 44 countries, and in 2007, accounted for 39% of the world’s total specialist offee house sales (Euromonitor, 2008a). In North America alone, it serves 50 million people a week, and is now an indelible part of the urban lands cape. But just how did Starbucks become such a phenomenon? Firstly, it successfully Americanised the European coffee tradition – something no other coffee house had done previously. Before Starbucks, coffee in its current form (latte, frappacino, mocha, etc. ) was alien to most US consumers. Secondly, Starbucks did not just sell coffee – it sold an experience.As founding CEO Howard Schultz explained, ‘‘We are not in the coffee business serving people, we’re in the people business serving coffee† (Schultz and Yang, 1997). This epitomised the emphasis on customer service such as making eye contact and greeting each customer within 5 seconds, 1441-3582/$ – see front matter O 2009 Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. ausmj. 2009. 10. 001 42 P. G. Patterson et al. / Australasian Marketing Journal 18 (2010) 41–47 leaning tables promptly and remembering the names of regular customers. From inception, Starbucks’ purpose was to reinvent a commodity with a sense of romance, atmosphere, sophistication and sense of community (Schultz and Yang, 1997). Next, Starbucks created a ‘third place’ in people’s lives – somewhere between home and work where they could sit and relax. This was a novelty in the US where in many small towns cafe culture consisted of ? lter coffee on a hot plate. In this way, Starbucks positioned itself to not only sell coffee, but also offer an experience.It was conceived as a lifestyle cafe. The establishment of the cafe as a social hub, with comfortable chairs and music has been just as important a part of the Starbucks brand as its coffee. All this came with a premium price. While people were aware that the beverages at Starbucks were more expensive than at many cafes, they still frequented the outlets as it was a place ‘to see and be seen’. In this way, the brand was widely accep ted and became, to an extent, a symbol of status, and everyone’s must-have accessory on their way to work. So, not only didStarbucks revolutionise how Americans drank coffee, it also revolutionised how much people were prepared to pay. Consistency of product across stores, and even national boundaries, has been a hallmark of Starbucks. Like McDonald’s, Starbucks claims that a customer should be able to visit a store anywhere in the world and buy a coffee exactly to speci? cation. This sentiment is echoed by Mark Ring, CEO of Starbucks Australia who stated ‘‘consistency is really important to our customers . . . a consistency in the product . . . the overall experience when you walk into a cafe . . the music . . . the lighting . . . the furniture . . . the person who is working the bar†. So, whilst there might be slight differences between Starbucks in different countries, they all generally look the same and offer the same product assortment. One way this is ensured is by insisting that all managers and partners (employees) undergo 13 weeks of training – not just to learn how to make a coffee, but to understand the nuances of the Starbucks brand (Karolefski, 2002) and how to deliver on its promise of a service experience.The Starbucks formula also depends on location and convenience. Starbucks have worked under the assumption that people are not going to visit unless it’s convenient, and it is this assumption that underlies their highly concentrated store coverage in many cities. Typically, clusters of outlets are opened, which has the effect of saturating a neighbourhood with the Starbucks brand. Interestingly, until recently, they have not engaged in traditional advertising, believing their large store presence and word-ofmouth to be all the advertising and promotion they need.Starbucks’ management believed that a distinctive and memorable brand, a product that made people ‘feel good’ and an e njoyable delivery channel would create repeat business and customer loyalty. Faced with near-saturation conditions in the US – by 2007 it commanded 62% of the specialist coffee shop market in North America (Table 1) – the company has increasingly looked overseas for growth opportunities. As part of this strategy, Starbucks opened its ? rst Australian store in Sydney in 2000, before expanding elsewhere within New South Wales and then nationwide (albeit with 0% of stores concentrated in just three states: NSW, Victoria and Queensland). By the end of 2007 Starbucks had 87 stores, enabling it to control 7% of the specialist coffee shop market in Australasia (Table 1). By 2008, consumer awareness of Starbucks in Australia was 90% (Shoebridge, 2008), with each outlet selling, on average, double the number of coffees (270 a day) than the rest of Australia’s coffee shops (Lindhe, 2008). 3. Expansion into Asia Starbucks currently operates in 44 markets and even has a sma ll presence in Paris – birthplace and stronghold of European cafe culture. Beyond North America, it has a very signi? ant share of the specialist coffee shop market in Western Europe, Asia Paci? c and Latin America (Table 1) and these regions make strong revenue contributions (Table 2). It is in Asia that they see the most potential for growth as they face increasing competitive pressure in their more traditional markets. Half the international stores Starbucks plans to operate in the next decade will be in Asia (Euromonitor, 2006; Browning, 2008). Indeed, Starbucks has done well in international markets where there has not traditionally been a coffee drinking culture, namely Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and China.In effect it has been responsible for growing the category in these markets. The ? rst Starbucks outside the US opened in Tokyo in 1996, and since then, Starbucks’ Japanese stores have become twice as profitable as the US stores. Unsurprisingly then, Japan is S tarbucks’ best performing overseas market outside North America. More than 100 new stores open each year in Japan, and coffee is now more popular than tea in terms of both volume and value (Lee, 2003; see also Uncles, 2008).As opposed to their entry into the Australian market, Starbucks made small changes to its formula for the Japanese market; for example, the invention of a green tea frappucino, and the provision of smaller drinks and pastries to conform to local tastes. Starbucks arrived in China in 1998 and by 2002 had 50 outlets, and 165 outlets by 2006 (BBC News, 2006), quickly becoming the nation’s leading coffee chain. Starbucks now sees China as its key growth market due to the size and preferences of the emerging middle class. In the Asia–Paci? region, Starbucks command of the specialist coffee shop market grew from 15% in 2002 to 19% in 2007 (refer to Table 2). The total market for cafes in China grew by over 135% between 1999 and 2004 to reach US$2. 6 billion. It is projected to grow another 144% by 2008 to reach US$6. 4 billion in sales. More specialty coffee shops are opening across China as a middle class with strong purchasing power emerges, although this rise in coffee consumption is highly concentrated in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Starbucks has said that it xpects China to become its biggest market after the US and the plan is to open 100 stores a year (Euromonitor, 2006). Signi? cantly, certain Western brands are valued by Chinese consumers and Starbucks appears to be one of them. A growing number of China’s 500 million urbanites favour Starbucks for its ambience, which is seen as an important signal of service quality, Table 2 Starbucks’ regional sales performance by outlets and value 2006. Region North America Asia Paci? c Western Europe Australasia World % of company sales (outlets) 79. 0 13. 6. 7 1. 1 100. 0 % of company sales (revenue in $US) 80. 5 10. 8 7. 7 1. 0 100. 0 Tab le 1 Starbucks’ share of the specialist coffee shop market in each major region. Region North America Western Europe Asia Paci? c Australasia Latin America Source: Euromonitor (2008b). 2002 (%) 44 17 15 6 0 2007 (%) 62 21 19 7 18 Source: Percentage of company sales in each region is calculated from retail sales within this market in 2006, with sales data drawn from Euromonitor (2007). P. G. Patterson et al. / Australasian Marketing Journal 18 (2010) 41–47 43 nd Starbucks’ design concept rests easily with China’s consumers, who tend to lounge with friends while sipping coffee. Its outlets in China frequently maintain larger seating areas than average outlets in other countries, and plush chairs and davenports are provided to accommodate crowds that linger. However, success for Starbucks in China is not a given, and they will face several challenges in the coming years. China’s accession to the WTO has led to the gradual relaxation of the policy gove rning foreign-owned retail outlets, and this will lead to more foreign investment and thereby competition (Lee, 2004).Several multinationals are engaged in selling coffee (including KFC, McDonald’s, Yoshinoya, and Manabe), and a number of local brands have recently emerged, some even imitating Starbucks’ distinctive green and white logo and its in-store ambience (notably Xingbake in Shanghai). Furthermore, the reduction of import tariffs on coffee will also encourage foreign investment in coffee. 4. The Australian retail coffee industry Australia’s taste for coffee is a by-product of the waves of immigrants arriving on the country’s shores following World War II. European migrants, predominantly Greeks and Italians, were the ? st to establish the coffee culture, which was later embraced more widely in the 1980s. For decades Australians enjoyed a variation of the ‘lifestyle coffee experience’ that Starbucks created from scratch in the US. Aust ralians did not need to be introduced to the concept of coffee as many other countries did. Savouring a morning cup of coffee was already a ritual for many consumers. It is fair to describe Australia’s coffee culture as mature and sophisticated, so when Starbucks entered Australia in 2000, a thriving urban cafe culture was already in place.This established culture saw Australians typically patronise smaller boutique style coffee shops, with people willing to travel out of their way for a favoured cup of coffee, especially in Melbourne where coffee has developed an almost cult-like following. For Australians, coffee is as much about relationships as it is about the product, suggesting that an impersonal, global chain experience would have trouble replicating the intimacy, personalisation and familiarity of a suburban boutique cafe.Furthermore, through years of coffee drinking, many Australians, unlike American or Asian consumers, have developed a sophisticated palate, enjoying their coffee straighter and stronger, and without the need to disguise the taste with ? avoured, syrupy shots. This love of coffee is easily quanti? ed. The Australian market is worth $3 billion, of which $1. 8 billion relates to the coffee retailing market. For every cup of coffee consumed out of home, two cups are consumed at home (AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association, 2006). Per capita consumption is now estimated at 2. kg-twice as much as 30 years ago. Whilst Australians are among the highest consumers of instant coffee in the world, they are increasingly buying coffee out of the home (Euromonitor, 2008c). More than 1 billion cups of coffee are consumed in cafes, restaurants and other outlets each year, representing an increase of 65% over the last 10 years. Even between 2000 and 2005, trade sales of coffee have increased about 18%. In 2007, the growth in popularity of the cafe culture resulted in trade volume sales growing at an annual rate of 5%.Some 31% of the coffee so ld through foodservice is takeaway, and it is thought that ‘fast coffee’ will be a growth area in future years (Euromonitor, 2008d). There is also a trend towards larger takeaway sizes, with 400 ml cups increasing in popularity (Euromonitor, 2008d). One might argue that Starbucks drove these trends, especially in regards to larger sizes. There are almost 14,000 cafes and restaurants serving a variety of coffee types in Australia, and during 2006/07, they generated $9. 7 billion in income (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008).However, despite these statistics, the coffee business does not guarantee success. As Paul Irvine, co-founder of Gloria Jean’s notes, ‘‘Australia is a tough retail market and coffee retailing is particularly tough†. According to of? cial statistics, the cafe business is not always pro? table, with the net pro? tability of cafes falling to about 4%. For a cafe to be successful, it has to offer marginally better coffee than local competitors, and do so consistently. Coffee drinkers in Australia are discerning, and they will go out of their way to purchase a good cup of coffee.They are not as easily persuaded as people from other countries simply to visit their nearest cafe. Secondly, for a cafe to make a pro? t, it needs to turn over 15 kg of coffee a week. The national average is 11 kg, so a cafe has to be above average to begin with to even make a pro? t. Any newcomer needs to understand this before entering the market. The other signi? cant constraint on pro? tability is the cost of hiring baristas, with a good one costing between $1000 and $1500 a week (Charles, 2007). However, it seems that this is a necessary cost in order to deliver a superior product.The question that then begs to be asked is: How well did Starbucks understand this existing coffee culture? Did they under-estimate the relational aspect of coffee purchasing in Australia, as well as the importance of the quality of ingredients and the skills of the person making each cup? Did they overestimate the value consumers attach to the in-store experience and the ‘third place’ concept? Or did they just look at the statistics regarding coffee consumption and think that operating in Australia was a license to print money? Did they simply see Australia as the next logical step to global domination?Starbucks has 87% of the US specialty coffee shop market, and only now is it beginning to feel pressure from non-traditional competitors such as Dunkin Donut, 7 Eleven, McCafe and Krispy Kreme (Burritt, 2007). However, in Australia, the competitive landscape is different. Gloria Jean’s dominates the high-street part of the coffee retailing market and McCafe dominates the convenience end (Shoebridge, 2008). Other signi? cant competitors include The Coffee Club and Wild Bean Cafe (an add-on to BP petrol stations) and Hudson’s Coffee (see Table 3).All offer a similar in-store experience to Starbucks, wi th McCafe from 2007 onwards refurbishing many McDonald’s stores to imitate the Starbucks’ experience, albeit at the economy end of the market. 5. Growth grinds to a halt . . . store closures In recent times however things have started to go wrong for Starbucks. Internationally, company earnings declined as cashstrapped consumers faced record petrol prices and rising interest rates meaning they have had to pull back on gourmet coffee and other luxuries. Sales fell 50% in the last 2 years, the US share price fell more than 40% over the past year and pro? s dropped 28% (Bawden, 2008; Coleman-Lochner and Stanford, 2008; Mintz, 2008). Consequently, Howard Schultz, the founder and chairman of Starbucks, resumed the position of CEO in 2008 with the aim of revitalising the business. He slowed the pace at which stores were opened (and in fact closed more stores than he will open in the coming year), introduced key performance targets (KPTs) and an employee rewards system in the US, and simultaneously shut down every store in America for three and a half hours of staff training (Muthukumar and Jain, 2008).Customer-oriented initiatives have included the addition of more food, the launch of the Starbucks card and Starbucks express, and the provision of highspeed wi-? internet access (Hota, 2008). Notably, Schultz acknowledges that the company’s focus has been more on expansion than on customer service – the very thing that was at the heart of its unique value proposition. 44 P. G. Patterson et al. / Australasian Marketing Journal 18 (2010) 41–47 Table 3 Competition in the Australian specialty coffee chain market (chains arranged in order of the number of stores operating in Australia).Number of stores in Australia Gloria Jean’s 500 Year established in Australia 1996 Business model Price of an espresso coffee (e. g. , ? at white, cappuccino) Regular $3. 25 Small $3. 25 Standard $3. 40 Regular $3. 40 Small $3. 10 Tall $3. 60 Perform ance highlights and lowlights Franchise  Overall Winner, 2005 Franchisor of the Year  Sales rose 18% to an estimated $240 m for 07/08 driven by new stores and growth from existing stores  The fastest growing cafe brand in Australia and NZ  Number of stores up from 60 in 2002  Winner, 2008 Food Franchisor of the Year  The number of stores reported here includes NZ  Plans to open more sitesMcCafe Coffee Club Wild Bean Cafe 488 220 105 1993 1989 2004 Some store-owned, some franchise Franchise Part of a franchise with Wild Bean Cafe (BP) Connect Franchise Store-owned Hudson’s Starbucks 45 23 1998 2000  Plans to expand store numbers by 20–30% 08/09  Prior to closures in August 2008 there were 84 stores had a perceived lower quality product Sources: Various company reports as at the end of 2008. However, it seems that these measures were too late for the Australian operation. On 29th July 2008, Starbucks announced that it would be closing 61 of its 84 Australian sto res (i. . , 73%) by August 2008, resulting in a loss of 685 jobs. All of these stores had been under-performing (8 were in SA, ACT and Tasmania, 28 in NSW, 17 in Victoria and 8 in Queensland). This decline of Starbucks in Australia was not as sudden as many would have us believe and in fact some reports (Edwards and Sainsbury, 2008; Shoebridge, 2008) indicated that by late 2007 Starbucks already had:      accumulated losses of $143 million; a loss of $36 million for that ? nancial year; lost $27. 6 million the previous ? nancial year; loans of $72. million from Starbucks in the US; was only surviving because of its US parent’s support. Whilst the troubled economy might seem an easy scapegoat, with people tightening their belts and eating out less, it is unlikely that this was the core problem as evidenced by the continuing growth of their competitors. Indeed, coffee is no longer considered a luxury item by many Australians, but rather an affordable part of their daily ro utine. Instead, there is substantial evidence to suggest a number of factors combined to bring about Starbucks’ demise. . 1. Starbucks overestimated their points of differentiation and customer perceived value of their supplementary services ‘‘I just think the whole system, the way they serve, just didn’t appeal to the culture we have here† Andrew Mackay, VP of the Australian Coffee Traders Association, in Martin (2008) Whilst there was initial curiosity and hype about Starbucks, after trying it, many Australians quickly found that it failed to offer a particularly unique experience that was not offered by other chains or cafes.Given the strong established coffee culture and discerning palates of Australians, the core product – coffee – was not seen as particularly different from, say, a latte or short black from a good suburban barista, Gloria Jean’s or Coffee Club. Its point of difference in Australia, where a coffee culture alr eady existed, had to be in its supplementary or value-adding services – i. e. , its unique servicescape, engaging customer service, brand image and so on (Lovelock et al. , 2007).But was this worth a premium price, especially as the competition began replicating Starbucks in-store experience? Starbucks has since been harshly criticised by Australian consumers and the media. Their coffee has been variously described as ‘a watered down product’, ‘gimmicky’, and consisting of ‘buckets of milk’. These are not the labels you would choose to describe a coffee that aspires to be seen as a ‘gourmet’ product. It has also been criticised for its uncompetitive pricing, even being described as ‘‘one of the most over-priced products the world has ever seen† (Martin, 2008).Even the idea of the third place has come under criticism – ‘‘why would you want to sit around a pretend lounge room drinking a wea k and expensive coffee when you can go around the corner and have the real thing? † (Wailes, 2008). It seems that Starbucks’ rapid expansion, its omnipresence, somewhat standardised store design and recent insistence on staff achieving various sales KPTs (key performance targets) such as serving ‘x’ customers per hour, all combined to diminish the instore experience. The introduction of sales targets for front-line These closures saw 23 stores kept open in prime locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.But this begs the question: can a 23-store chain be viable for the brand in the long-term? Based on the approximate numbers in Table 3, Starbucks had a 6% share of stores in Australia before the closures; this has now fallen to a share below 2%. Even before the closures, Australasia represented only 1% of company sales (Table 2) and now the ? gure is expected to be much lower. This may not make much commercial sense as it will be dif? cult to achieve econo mies of scale in terms of marketing and purchasing, and such small numbers are totally out of step with the clustering strategy adopted in its strongest markets – the US, Japan and China.However, it could also be argued that with Starbucks’ strategy of global domination, it is unlikely that it will ever close its Australian business entirely. Whilst Starbucks’ management have been keen to suggest that ‘‘this decision represents business challenges unique to the Australian market and in no way re? ects the state of the Starbucks business in countries outside of the United States†, the US market has also suffered. By September 2008, 600 stores had closed (or were due for closure), with about 12,000 workers, or 7% of Starbucks’ global workforce affected (Mintz, 2008).It should be noted that the situation in the US has only worsened as a result of the global ? nancial crisis. 6. So what went wrong? Opinions abound as to why Starbucks failed in Australia. Our research suggests there is some truth to many of these opinions. P. G. Patterson et al. / Australasian Marketing Journal 18 (2010) 41–47 45 employees, for example, meant staff and baristas had less time to engage with customers. It began to stray too far from its roots and the very values upon which the brand was built.Some of these actions were forced upon Starbucks by emerging competitors seeking to imitate the brand, and thus gain a slice of the ever growing lifestyle coffee market. Starbucks’ points of differentiation were systematically being eroded and, in a sense, the brand that taught the world that coffee is not a commodity was itself becoming one. 6. 2. Declining service quality The brand has also come under ? re for declining customer service as it continued to expand. For example, the quality of baristas is said to have declined as Starbucks widened its pool of applicants in order to meet demand at new stores.Can a 17 year old high school student really compete with a boutique trained barista with a passion for coffee? By not offering a better experience and product than emerging direct competitors, Starbucks found itself undermined by countless high street cafes and other chains that were selling stronger brews at lower prices and often offering better or equal hospitality. Whilst they may have pioneered the idea of a ‘third place’, it was an easy idea to copy, and even easier to better by offering superior coffee, ambience and service.Now, with so many coffee chains around, Starbucks have little point of differentiation, even wi-? internet access has become commonplace across all types of cafe. Furthermore, while customers were offered promotional rewards for returning to Starbucks, the card-based scheme is no more sophisticated than equivalent me-too cards at Gloria Jean’s, Coffee Club, Hudson’s and many independent cafes. And as noted earlier, one of the things that set Starbucks apart from the competition – i. e. , acknowledging customers (often by name for regulars) within a few seconds of entering the store and eriously engaging with them, began to unravel when Starbucks imposed both customer service and sales targets for its cafes. The imposition of these targets plus an ever widening range and complexity of coffees to remember and make to perfection, meant staff morale and inevitably customer service levels declined. In fact in the USA some staff were so disillusioned with the imposition of sales targets (because it meant they simply didn’t have time to engage with customers) they posted blogs openly stating that Starbucks had lost its way.Finally, it appears that Starbucks were not even delivering on their core promise of serving superior coffee in comfortable surroundings, thus justifying its premium price. By switching to vacuum packaged coffee, consumers are denied the store-? lling aroma of the coffee beans. The switching of traditional cof fee machines to automated espresso machines (which can make coffees 40% faster and move customers through the lines more quickly), has also resulted in a loss of ‘theatre’ (Grove et al. , 2000) for people wanting to see their coffee made that way and has also had implications for taste.In-store, it has been noted that there are fewer soft chairs and less carpeting, and Starbucks recently lost ground in the ‘service and surroundings’ category of the Brand Keys 2007 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (Cebrzynski, 2008). It seems that Starbucks is now less about the quality of the coffee, and is more about the convenience of faster service and being on every corner – whilst still charging a premium. 6. 3. Starbucks ignored some golden rules of international marketing Ironically, it seems that the very thing that made Starbucks successful in the ? st place, its ability to adjust the original (European) business model and coffee tradition to local (US) con ditions, is the thing that let it down. Whilst Starbucks has made minor changes to its menu in countries such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, it generally offers the same products all around the world. When the company came to Australia, it brought its ‘American’ offering, simply bringing what worked in the US and applying it here, without really understanding the local market.But with more than 235 ethnicities speaking more than 270 languages and dialects, companies wanting to get ahead in Australia need to be aware that they are not dealing with one homogeneous market. Unfortunately what worked in the US was ‘‘bitter, weak coffee augmented by huge quantities of milk and sweet ? avoured syrups. Not so much coffee, as hot coffee-based smoothies†. For the Australian consumer raised on a diet of real espresso, this was always going to be a tough sell (Mescall, 2008) As McDonald’s Australia chief executive Peter Bush noted, US retailers that have had tr ouble making it work in Australia (e. . , Starbucks, Denny’s, Arby’s, Taco Bell) are those that have ‘‘introduced formulae developed for US palates and for the US way of doing business . . . These formulae have, at best, modest relevance in Australia†. Peter Irvine, co-founder of Gloria Jean’s, also noted that ‘‘US retailers often arrive in Australia thinking the size of their overseas chains and the strength of their brands in other markets will make it easy for them to crack the local market. Their focus is on global domination rather than the needs of the local consumers†.Further, there is a strong sense in Australia of buying local, supporting the community, having relationships with the people you buy from, and supporting ethically-minded businesses. Starbucks clashed completely with that, whereas local stores can differentiate themselves as being local and non-corporate. Furthermore, some would argue that Starbucks has b ecome a caricature of the American way of life and many Australians reject that iconography. Many are simply not interested in the ‘super-size’ culture of the extra-large cups, nor want to be associated with a product that is constantly in the hands of movie stars. . 4. Expanding too quickly and forcing themselves upon an unwilling public In the US, Starbucks started in Seattle as a single store. In a nation bereft of a genuine cafe culture, that single store captured people’s imagination, and soon became a second store, quickly followed by a third. Before long, Starbucks had become a demand-driven phenomenon, with everyone wanting a Starbucks in their local area. McDonald’s grew exactly the same way in Australia, opening just one or two stores in each city – nowhere near enough to meet demand – thus creating an almost arti? ial scarcity, which created huge buzz around the brand experience. Krispy Kreme did the same. But when Starbucks opened in Australia, they immediately tried to impose themselves with multiple store openings in every city – adopting the US-model of expansion through store clusters. Australians were not given a chance to ‘discover’ it. As Mescall (2008) points out ‘‘they took key sites, hung huge signs, made us order coffee in sizes and gave the coffees weird names. Starbucks said to us – ‘that’s not how you drink coffee. This s how you drink coffee’†. They took the Coca-Cola strategy of being available wherever people looked, but this quickly led to market saturation. Their expansion did not hurt their competitors so much as themselves, and they found themselves cannibalising their own stores. Furthermore, by becoming too common, the company violated the economic principles of cultural scarcity and the novelty wore off. By having too many outlets, becoming too commercial and too widely used, it began to lose its initial appeal of status and exclusivity.It began to have a mass brand feel, certainly not the warm feeling of a neighbourhood cafe. Furthermore, they became more reliant 46 P. G. Patterson et al. / Australasian Marketing Journal 18 (2010) 41–47 on less af? uent consumers who now, with a worsening economy, are spending less, making Starbucks more vulnerable to economic ? uctuations. 6. 5. Entering late into a highly competitive market ‘‘In America, Starbucks is a state of mind. In Australia, it was simply another player. † Barry Urquhart, quoted in Delaney (2008) From Day 1, Starbucks got off on the back foot.They lacked the ? rst-mover advantage they had in the US and Asia, ? nding themselves the late entrant in an already very developed, sophisticated and competitive market. Indeed, the competitive landscape in the Australian retail coffee market is very different to that of other countries. Here, Starbucks found themselves competing with hundreds of independent cafes and special ity coffee chains (see Table 3), where the coffee was generally better and the staff knew their customers by name. Signi? cantly, they were also the last of the major chains to gain a presence in Australia. 6. 6.Failing to communicate the brand Worldwide, Starbucks rarely employs above-the-line promotion, and this was also the case in Australia. Instead, they maintained that their stores are the core of the business and that they do not need to build the brand through advertising or promotion. Howard Shultz often preached, ‘‘Build the (Starbucks’) brand one cup at a time,† that is, rely on the customer experience to generate word-of-mouth, loyalty and new business. But in a market as competitive as Australia, with a consumer whose palate is discerning and whose loyalty often lies with a speci? barista, advertising and promotion was essential to communicate the Starbucks message. The issue is not so much about building awareness – which, at 90%, is hig h – but to communicate what the brand means and to give consumers reasons for patronising Starbucks. Their lack of advertising made this branding issue even worse, with many people unable to articulate why they should be loyal to Starbucks. At the same time, competitors were communicating their messages very effectively – McDonald’s, for instance, is a heavy spending, award-winning, advertiser in the Australian market.Added to which, more subversive counter-messages were coming from those who saw in Starbucks a ‘brand bully’ riding rough shod over the nuanced tastes and preferences of local cultures (Klein, 2000; Clark, 2008). In other words, a range of strong contrary messages were undermining Starbucks’ own very limited communications. 6. 7. Unsustainable business model Starbucks’ product line is limited primarily to coffee. Sometimes a new product idea will be developed, such as the Frappucino, but these tend to have limited product life cycles and/or are seasonal.For example, the Frappucino has traditionally made up 15% of (summer) sales, but recently sales have been down, suggesting that customers are already bored with it (Kiviat, 2008). Furthermore, in the instance where other products were offered, people failed to purchase them as they only really associate Starbucks with coffee and generally seek food elsewhere. This is a very different model to The Coffee Club which has much more of a cafe feel to it, or McDonald’s which has a full range of breakfast and lunch/dinner items that can be complemented by a McCafe latte.Hence the average transaction value at Starbucks is lower than its competitors, and therefore more customers must pass through its doors to reach the sales and pro? t levels of its competitors. It also creates con? ict with the Starbucks ethos of the third place (and allowing people to sit around for 30 minutes sipping lattes and reading, talking or sur? ng) versus the need to get peo ple in and out quickly and not take up valuable ‘real estate’ (which in itself means that the average Starbucks store needs to be much bigger than the average cafe).Unlike most of the other retail coffee chains, Starbucks does not use a franchise model, preferring to lease and ? t-out its own outlets. This means more cash is being spent upfront, and in Starbucks’ case, more debt accrued. But adopting a franchise model would have numerous other advantages than just minimising this. It would mean that local investors, with a good sense of the local market, put their own money into the business and take an active role in running it and shaping its direction. 7. What are the main lessons from this case study?Several key lessons emerge that should be of interest to both domestic and international marketers. 7. 1. Crossing international borders is risky and clearly Starbucks did not do their homework, or ignored their homework Well conceived market research involving b oth primary and secondary data, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, would have uncovered the extent of the ‘coffee culture’ that existed in 2000 when Starbucks entered the Australian market. It seems inconceivable that Starbucks management, or at least its Australian representatives, were not suf? iently apprised of the extent to which many consumers were already well acculturated in terms of buying and consuming European styles of coffees such as short black, lattes and cappuccinos, nor the extent to which many customers were in fact loyal to their suburban cafe or competitive brands such as Gloria Jean’s. As a late market entrant, Starbucks clearly failed to do thorough homework on the market before entry – this is a failure in terms of due diligence. Alternatively, they chose to ignore the messages that were coming from any due diligence that they had undertaken.This may or may not have been due to some arrogance on the part of Starbucks, or due to the fact that they considered they had a strong global brand which would meet with universal acceptance. An example of where Starbucks did do its homework, and act on it, was in France when it entered that market in 2006, establishing a cafe in the middle of Paris. Research had clearly shown the American way of consuming and socialising over a coffee was an anathema to many French, so Starbucks held back from entering the French market and when they ? ally entered it was with great trepidation, expanding at a very slow pace and testing the market at every step. 7. 2. ‘‘Think global but act local† This familiar maxim in international marketing should be well understood. While Starbucks had brand awareness as a major global brand, it failed to adapt the product and the customer experience to many mature coffee drinkers in Australia. As noted earlier, all the evidence suggests that it simply tried to transplant the American experience into the Australian ma rket without any adaptation.In particular, it failed to adapt either its core product or its supplementary services to create the intimacy, personalisation and familiarity that is associated with established boutique cafes in Australia. 7. 3. Establish a differential advantage and then strive to sustain it A question of strategy that Starbucks perhaps failed to address was, ‘‘Is our product differentiation sustainable in the long term P. G. Patterson et al. / Australasian Marketing Journal 18 (2010) 41–47 47 and does it continue to justify a price premium? As noted earlier, it can be argued that the core product in this case, that is the coffee itself, is essentially a commodity, and that Starbucks’ coffee, according to many consumers, was no different to the competition, and in some cases inferior. Then Starbucks’ points of difference clearly revolved around its brand image and supplementary services. It was these supplementary services, such as its unique servicescape and excellent customer service, that they used to justify a premium price. However, as competitors (e. g. , The Coffee Club) quickly imitated the ‘Starbucks experience’ (i. . , their supplementary services, ambiance, etc. ), by providing premium coffee and an intimate casual experience, Starbucks’ value proposition began to fade. In other words, their key points of difference could be easily imitated and were not sustainable. Faced with this scenario, the onus was on management to re-fresh and evolve any lingering differential advantage that Starbucks might have had or, at the very least, give customers reasons to continue patronising Starbucks through its communications. 7. 4. Don’t lose sight of what made you successful in the ? st place As more and more competitors emerged, both individual cafes and chains such as Gloria Jean’s and The Coffee Club, competitive pressures forced Starbucks to impose rigid sales targets on their frontline staff including baristas to increase store productivity. However, the imposition of these KPTs and the pressure to serve more customers more quickly meant that Starbucks forgot the very thing that made it unique in the early days, namely, to provide a customer experience in an intimate casual setting that set it aside from competitors.As more pressure was placed on staff to have higher throughput, this meant that baristas and other employees had little time to engage with customers. In other words, Starbucks forgot about the very things that made it unique in the ? rst place. This is akin to the Wheel of Retailing hypothesis (Hollander, 1960) where a no-frills retailer gradually moves upmarket in terms of variety of product, price and more services and within several years ? nds itself competing with the more established premium supermarkets that were the very competitors that they tried to distance themselves from in the ? st place. The only difference with Starbucks is t hat it reversed the direction of the Wheel – by gradually moving downmarket it brought itself into direct competition with cheaper operators and lost sight of what made it successful in the ? rst place. 7. 5. Consider the viability of the business model It has to be questioned whether the Starbucks’ business model is viable in the long term, or even the medium term. A business model that uses a premium price to justify the excessive ? or space and elaborate servicescape, and allows customers to sit in this environment for an hour sipping one latte, has to be questioned. Given that Starbucks do not have the array of products that, say, a McDonald’s might have and, as documented earlier in this case, therefore do not generate the same sales volumes and revenues, it is hard to see how the Starbucks’ model is ? nancially viable. 8. Conclusion In summary, it appears on all the evidence that Starbucks not only misjudged the Australian coffee culture but also mi sjudged the extent of the competition, and failed to adapt its offering to the local market.Furthermore, with the advent of high quality barista training, the availability of premium coffee beans and the technology to produce a high quality cup of coffee (at a modest cost), sole operators who knew their customers by name, were able to set up business as viable competitors. Starbucks may have been responsible for growing the premium coffee category, but the emergence of Gloria Jean’s and the Coffee Club (and McCafe, a premium coffee shop embedded in McDonald’s restaurants) turned out to be serious competitors.Finally, questions have to be raised about Starbucks fundamental business model in a market where many small niche players can easily replicate the ‘Starbucks Experience’. References AustralAsian Specialty Coffee Association, 2006. Australian Coffee Market: Key Facts for 2006. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008. Cafes, Restaurants and Catering Servi ces, Australia, Report 8655. 0 for 2006–07. Bawden, T. , 2008. Starbucks reports ? rst loss in 16 years. Times Online, 31 July. (accessed 15. 08. 08. ). BBC News, 2006. China central to Starbucks growth. BBC News, 14 February. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Browning, E. 2008. Starbucks hopes growth abroad will save its bottom line. ABC News, 31 July. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Burritt, C. , 2007. McDonald’s challenges Starbucks with cheaper lattes. Bloomberg, 11 September. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Cebrzynski, G. , 2008. Starbucks-dominated category wakes up and smells McD’s espresso rollout. Nation’s Restaurant News 42 (3), 1–6. Charles, E. , 2007. In the trenches: Coffee. In the Black, May, 28–31. Clark, N. , 2008. Starbucks: The brand we love to hate. Marketing, 2 April. Coleman-Lochner, L. , Stanford, D. D. , 2008. Starbucks reports ? rst loss since 1992, predicts slower growth.Bloomberg, 30 July. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Delaney, B. , 2008. Star bucks to go. Guardian, 30 July. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Edwards, V. , Sainsbury, M. , 2008. Weak coffee and large debt stir Starbucks’ troubles in Australia. The Australian, 31 July. Euromonitor, 2006. Starbucks Ups Expansion Plans. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2007. Starbucks Corp – Consumer Foodservice – World. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008a. On-trade Watch: Identifying Key Growth Markets to 2012. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008b. Company Watch: Starbucks Wakes Up and Smells the Coffee.Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008c. Coffee – Australia. Euromonitor International. Euromonitor, 2008d. Impulse Food and Drink Channels – Coffee – Australia. Euromonitor International. Grove, S. , Fisk, R. , John, J. , 2000. Services as theater. In: Swartz, T. , Iacobucci, D. (Eds. ), Handbook of Services Marketing and Management. Sage Publications, CA, pp. 21–35. Hollander, S. , 1960. The wheel of ret ailing. Journal of Marketing 25 (1), 37–42. Hota, M. , 2008. Starbucks: brewing more than just coffee. European Case Clearing House (ECCC), 508-025-1. Karolefski, J. , 2002.Conquering new grounds. BrandChannel, 11 February. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Kiviat, B. , 2008. Wake up and sell the coffee. Time South Paci? c (Australia/New Zealand edition) 7 (13), 52–56. Klein, N. , 2000. No Logo. Flamingo, London. Lee, H. , 2003. Japan: a nation of coffee lovers. Euromonitor International. Lee, H. , 2004. Coffee brews a future in China? Euromonitor International. Lindhe, J. , 2008. One skinny cap to go. Business Review Weekly, 7 August. (accessed 15. 08. 08. ). Lovelock, C. , Patterson, P. G. , Walker, R. , 2007. Services Marketing: An Asia Paci? c and Australian Perspective.Pearson Education, Singapore. Martin, S. , 2008. Starbucks: a study in liberal failure, Part II. Conservatism Today, 29 July. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Mescall, J. , 2008. Starbucks in Australia: where did it go wrong? Unleashed, 7 August. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ). Mintz, J. , 2008. Starbucks closing 600 stores in the US. International Business Times, 1 July. (accessed 14. 09. 08. ). Muthukumar, R. , Jain, S. , 2008. Starbucks suffers: Schultz returns. European Case Clearing House (ECCC), 308-152-1. Palmer, D. , 2008. Starbucks: what went wrong? AFN Thought for Food, 31 July. (accessed 29. 08. 08. ).Schultz, H. , Yang, D. J. , 1997. Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Build a Company One Cup at a Time. Hyperia Publishing, New York. Shoebridge, N. , 2008. Local palate bucks another US retailer. The Australian Financial Review, 4 August. (accessed 15. 08. 08. ). Uncles, M. D. , 2008. Aroma Australia Pty Ltd goes to Japan. In: Schiffman, L. , Bednall, D. , O’Cass, A. , Paladino, A. , Ward, S. , Kanuk, L. (Eds. ), Consumer Behaviour, fourth ed. Pearson Education Australia, Australia, pp. 584–588. Wailes, N. , 2008. Taste of defeat for the mugs from Starbucks. Sydney Morning Herald 31 (July).

Target readership Essays

Target readership Essays Target readership Paper Target readership Paper How do editors of tabloids and broadsheet newspapers use content, language, layout and images to attract and reflect their target readership? An analysis of the front pages of The Guardian and The Daily Mail from 16th March 2001. Targets: 1. To show insight into the idea of readership. 2. To analyse the way that the style and presentation are used in the media. 3. To analyse the way that language and images are used to create an impact. 4. To present and explain my opinions clearly and logically. British newspapers have been around for nearly three centuries.There are ten British national papers divided into two main categories: the tabloids and the broadsheets. The tabloids contain many articles on celebrities and gossip, some news and many large pictures. The most popular tabloids are The Sun and The Mirror (red tops). The broadsheets are larger papers and more serious. They include more news stories and cover politics and world issues. The most popular broadsheet is The Daily Telegraph. The circulation of the national papers has lowered from 15,672,431 in 1989, to 14,270,111 in 1994.This is because there is more technology today. People can receive instant news on the television, radio and internet. It is important for newspapers to know, target, attract and reflect their readership. With this information, they can write articles that interest their readers. It creates an image of what the readers are attracted to. The Guardian is a broadsheet. It is a slightly left-wing newspaper generally supporting the Government and Labour Party. According to stereotypes, people with professional jobs mainly read this paper.Statistics show that about twenty per cent of people aged 20-45 read The Guardian. The Daily Mail is one of two newspapers called the middle market dailies. It is a tabloid paper, but has a balance of news and feature articles. Stereotypes of the readers of The Daily Mail suggest that this paper is read mostly by less professional people. However, statistics prove that mostly professionals or people in junior management read The Daily Mail with a wide age group. The top of a newspaper can encourage sales if the readers are interested in what they see.As The Guardian is a very large newspaper, it is folded when in the shop so that only the top is seen by the customers. For this reason, the top of The Guardian has to be attractive and contain articles that interest its readers; Rewriting history. Why South Africas schools are stuck in the past. This is in the strapline that focuses on a different story than the main article. This suggests that the newspapers readers are interested in history and world issues, as this paper focuses on Africa and education.It seems that the editor of the newspaper wants to include all articles that its readers are interested in. The top of The Daily Mail is quite different to The Guardian. The style of the name suggests the newspaper is traditional as it has a royal crest in between. This suggests that the newspaper wants to create a traditional style paper. The main strapline reflects the readership of the newspaper; Britains farmers are suffering terribly. For them, and for the sake of our rural heritage Firstly, this shows that The Daily Mails readers are concerned about Britain and its farmers.Secondly, it shows that its readers are interested in the countryside and want to keep up the tradition of farming. The Daily Mail uses emotive language as it asks for their readers contribution to their Farm Aid Appeal. An emotional photograph is placed in the top right corner of newborn lambs, which attracts people, especially animal-lovers. This will make the readers feel sympathetic and will feel like they have to contribute to the appeal. Both papers focus on the foot and mouth story on the same day as it gives the latest information on a disease that indirectly affects almost everyone.Most cows and sheep are being killed, even if they are healthy, to try to stop the disease from spreading. Farmers are losing their money and the general election has been postponed as politics are also affected. This story will attract most readers for different reasons: farmers will want to know the latest information as it affects their business; any member of the public will want to an update on the disease as it affects the food they buy; and the people interested in the Government will want to know the date for the election.Also, animal-lovers will be concerned about the disease. Considering the stereotypes and statistics of the two different newspapers, it is clear that the two different newspapers will have different types of articles regarding the foot and mouth story. One can expect The Guardian to focus on the political side of any story and how business is affected by the news. The reader of The Daily Mail can predict to read less about politics, but about personal views and their opinions to the story. The Guardian focuses on the political side of the foot and mouth disease.It contains information on the latest news about the election and what the Government is planning to do about the crisis. The reporter is an environment correspondent and is trying not to be biased. Instead, he quotes the NFU president as he is more biased. This suggests that the newspaper aims to be as fair as possible and to produce mainly facts for its readers. This indicates that the reader does not want to read any gossip, but news that can inform them of the latest. The Daily Mail focuses on a personal point of view;It was when Blackie caught his eye that it really hit Leyland Branfield. This gives an emotional view about a specific farmer. It is the introduction to the article and makes the reader question who Blackie and Leyland Branfield are, encouraging them to read on. This, along with the heading, makes the article sound like it is a story. This will attract more readers. The heading of The Guardian is less attractive than The Daily Mail; Ministers gamble on mass cull This is the main headline and tells the reader that the main story is focused on politics.The word gamble is emotive language, which could suggest to the reader that Labour is lacking control or giving up. This will attract readers, as it is close to the election, and if Labour is not achieving what they should, the public could change their mind on who to vote for. In addition, there is a small article next to this about Labour, proving that the Government is a subject that most readers are concerned about. Some of the language used in the two different newspapers is quite different. However, a few techniques are used in both papers.

Witchcraft essays

Witchcraft essays Belief in witchcraft seems to be almost universal in human societies. In Europe's early society, many Europeans developed a heightened concern with the phenomenon/occurrence of witchcraft. This belief led to widespread persecutions in which thousands of Europeans, both women and men, were executed as witches. Governments and society organized "hunts" for these alleged witches, torturing, accusing more than 100,000, and executing thousands of people in a period known as the European witch craze, lasting from about 1480 to 1700. Although witches were oppressed throughout most of Europe, the mass of trials and executions were centralized in southwestern Germany, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Poland, and parts of France. During this time such events as the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Reformation, and the Scientific Revolution occurred, leading to a variety of reasons for the persecution of individuals as witches. Many of the alleged witches were accused as such through superstitions and fear. People creates superstitions as a way of explaining what witches were and the evils deeds they performed. Their fears came from these superstitions, and from being harmed by witches. According to Thomas Ady, one English householder believe that his neighbor had bewitched him, because he had refused relief to an old man or woman who came to his door. He beleived that witches had the power to change the way things act because his child, wife, and animals were all acting in a strange fashion, which could be explained only by the reasoning that his neighbor must be a witch, since there was no other explanation for this occurrence.(Doc. A3) Martin Luther, founder of the Lutheran Church, preached that witches worked for the Devil, stole, created storms, rode on goats and broomsticks, maimed people, tortured babies, forced people into immorality and love, and transformed humans into other animals. He fe lt that the Devil could act alon...

Dior Homme Perfume Commercial Directed by Guy Ritchie Essay

Dior Homme Perfume Commercial Directed by Guy Ritchie - Essay Example The approach taken with this specific advertisement is able to take a new form with commercials that allows the audience to gain a sense of intrigue and attraction to the product. The director focusing on the advert this way allows the audience to remember and to become fascinated with the product of perfume while highlighting the brand to one that holds a persona as opposed to only showing a short 30 second clip that advertises the product. The style which is used with the Dior Homme perfume takes the approach of a film. The advertisement is longer than most in timing. This is combined with beginning and ending credits so one immediately associates it with a media production as opposed to a commercial. The advertisement moves through a story line with Jude Law and the models that are assisting with the main production. The story line combines with the main character of Jude Law while creating dialogue as the main appeal while he speaks on the phone, followed by the actions taken with the story line. The suspense which builds stays through the end of the production when the two individuals meet, breaking the suspension. The suspension of the story line follows with the meeting of the two individuals as well as the advertisement of the cologne. The breaking of the suspension as well as the confirmation of the dialogue follows specifically with the cologne that is used with the main production. The purpose behind the production is based on grabbing the attention of the viewers while advertising the main product. The purpose is achieved not only by making a blanket set of images or statements about the cologne that is advertised. ... ttention of the viewers and the intrigue which is created is followed by the movement of the main actor to find the individual that he is speaking with on the other side of the phone. This furthers the suspense and builds the interest of the viewer until they want to know what the advertisement is about as well as how the cologne is able to create an understanding of the intrigue of the cologne. One is able to be a part of the style and the characterization of the perfume while carrying suspense and growing interest in what the advertisement is for. This helps to attract the target audience and to allow them to remember the cologne as it becomes the climax of the story. To enable the audience to act with suspense and intrigue, specific elements are used with the process of the story. To further this, latent function is used throughout the story. The latent function is defined as an unknown that is used to create the end result. When first listening to the story, there is not a voice that is heard through Jude Law. This is followed by a woman who also speaks in monologue but is not able to tie together the main plot line. Having the monologue of both characters carry the unknown or inconsistent function is able to create various interpretations of what is expected with the story. This is combined with the unknown of what is being advertised until the end of the story when the perfume and cologne are being shown and the man and woman meet at the Eiffel Tower. It isn’t until the very end of the commercial that the unknown becomes the known, which adds into the suspense and intrigue of the commercial. The use of the overall concepts of creating a story line further with this to show the latent function, specifically because this approach to a commercial is not commonly

To What Extent Did The Armenian Genocide Inspire Hitler's Holocaust Essay

To What Extent Did The Armenian Genocide Inspire Hitler's Holocaust - Essay Example Undoubtedly, Hitler was quite familiar with the Armenian genocide. By comparison, one could arguably say the Armenian genocide was a direct inspiration for him to ignite the Holocaust. Similarities between the two genocides begin with their target minority: both being ethnical and religious minorities and different from their residing nation. Secondly, both target groups were subject to years of prior persecution and unfair governance. Thirdly, both mother nations experienced a radical revolution and rise in nationalism that focused on promoting the well being of the ethnicity of the majority. Finally, both nations were involved in large-scale wars, which were used as cover ups and excuses for the extermination on their minority races. Whether Hitler directly referred to the Armenian genocide when conducting his own Holocaust is questionable. However, there exists plenty of evidence to suggest that Hitler was very familiar with the Armenian genocide and it inspired him to a certain d egree. He was able to observe the reasons, methods, and repercussions of the Ottoman's massacre and weigh them up against his own problems, and in that way, the Armenian genocide could be indirectly attributed to future genocides. Table of Contents Abstract.................................................................................................................. 2 1. ... ............................................................................................7 b. Differences..............................................................................................10 4. Conclusion.........................................................................................................13 Works Cited...........................................................................................................15 Introduction The twentieth century experienced several deliberate mass killings and the attempted extermination of particular ethnic groups, otherwise known as genocide. The precursor for this modernized version of genocide was undoubtedly the Armenian Genocide. Categorized for the methodical â€Å"cleansing† methods and brutality, the political position and public intolerance, and predetermined goals, the Armenian Genocide was influential in dictating the genocides to follow – most specifically, the Holocaust. (Kevorkian 1). The s imilarities and motives behind both tragedies are numerous. Beginning with state-initiated policies to wipe certain minorities from each respective nation in order to attain resources, land, or to appease prejudiced hatred. Both targeted minorities were used as scapegoats in order to deal with internal, political problems. Both victims were religious and ethnic minorities, with a history of persecution and put in a position of defenselessness. Furthermore, both genocides occurred in a world war, hindering the chances of international intervention. In this way, this paper will demonstrate that not only was the Armenian genocide the first genocide of the twentieth century, but it was also a template and a prototype for the proceeding genocides. (Rosenbaun 126). Historical Background Prejudice