America Prior to the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

America Prior to the Civil War - Essay Example The most important changes at the time of industrialization were the development of machines that replaced hand tools, the use of steam and power that substituted for the use of muscles of man animals, and the adoption of factory system. The Industrial revolution started in Great Britain in the mid-18th century. America was behind because its population was more occupied in farming and trading. It was too slow to adopt machineries because, as a new nation, America had little capital for investment. Labor was scarce since men were pushing westward and were engaged in clearing forests, and establishing themselves on the land (â€Å"Economic growth and early industrial revolution†). Industrialization in the United States started in 1790 and is credited to Samuel Slatter who copied the mill technology from the British model. Slatter came to the United States in 1789 and was hired to build a mill. English laws do not allow export of machineries or plans on making it. So Slatter des igned the mill from his memory and built it in 1790. When British products became difficult to obtain because of war, American investors thought of building more factories and machineries; thus, historians aptly called these changes as the first industrial revolution (â€Å"Economic growth and early industrial revolution†). Soon enough, New England developed the important textile industry. The inventions of the spinning and weaving machines operated on water made production more feasible. Other inventions were introduced. In Pennsylvania, smelting in stone furnaces produced iron for machines, tools, and guns. Charcoal was discovered in forested land. Steam driven spinning machines operated in New York by 1810. And by 1814, the first practical power loom was installed in Massachusetts. A factory system of production was also introduced in the shoe production in Massachusetts in the early 19th century (â€Å"Economic growth and early industrial revolution†). The use of m achines paved the way for an organizational strategy that implemented a factory system to increase productivity. The factory structure replaced the output work system wherein small parts of a larger production process were carried out in individual homes. In the factory system, work was done in a centralized location. The new system promoted efficiency in production. All these developments caused New England to be the first area in the United States to be industrialized. Invention in cotton production altered the shape of agricultural production. Prior to industrialization, historians cited farmers playing the pivotal role in the economy. Up to 1850, farmers accounted for 85% of the population (Scott). Tobacco cultivation, once profitable, gave way to cotton production. Cotton has diminished production of cattle, indigo and pine trees in the south. The price of labor increased because of the demand for slaves to work for cotton production. The cheap and easy way of cotton production made it easier for the masses to wear cotton dresses. Facts submitted by Dr. Carolle Scott (1997), a history professor, showed that British demand for cotton and the Midwestern settlement started the regional specialization and trade that now account for the economic term of comparative advantage. The development of machines is an era

Week 5 assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week 5 - Assignment Example The cultural change that was introduced in the company turned around its near bankruptcy position with the assumption of Ricardo Semler, Antonio Semler’s son, a Harvard educated man. He implemented drastic change upon assumption as the new CEO of Semler. Upon assumption as the new CEO, Ricardo Semler fired two-thirds of the top management of Semler & Company and that included many close friends of his father. This would not have been possible under his father because Antonio Semler did not separate work from his personal relationships. The new set-up of the company was also a socially responsible to do to save the company and to introduce a new kind of company culture which is a total departure of the old autocratic style of leadership of the company. The young Semler felt that the old autocratic leadership thwarted people’s motivation and creativity. Thus, he decided that the authority to make decisions at Semco to be more evenly distributed to be more responsive and competitive in a globalized economy. In the process, he dismantled the rigid bureaucracy and structure of the company to make it more flexible based on the new three values of the company – employee participation, profit sharing and free flow of information. And to emphasize the change, even the name of the company was changed from Semler & Company to Semco. There were a lot of changes that can be considered drastic if it will be compared to the old leadership. Strategy wise, among them product was product diversification and the creati on of Nucleus of Technological Innovation (NTI). Leadership and ethical perspective was also changed to democratic and participatory to the point that employees can already direct themselves- set their own budget, even their own salaries and even the hiring and firing decision of both employees and managers and above all to make the company a professional and ethical business

Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl | Analysis

Incidents In The Life Of A Slave Girl | Analysis Linda faces sexual harassment for the father of her mistress Dr. Flint. He is a licentious and cruel male, like several slaveholders, tries to make Linda his concubine, and subjects her to many years of sexual harassment. Linda describes the anger and shock she felt through his sadistic attacks on her individual autonomy. According to Jacobs (18), Linda narrates that when Flint told her that she was made for his use, meant to obey all his commands, that she was nothing but a slave, whose will should and must surrender to his. Flint murmured impure things in Lindas ears, wrote impure letters but she pretended that she could not hear or she could not read. She shuns his advances by usually being in presence of others and she displays an incredible power over and opposition of Flints will. The wife of Dr. Flint is brutal and callous woman who constantly enjoys the despair of the slaves. Other than confronting her spouse as a result of his lecherous deeds, she displays her respect to male power and blames Linda as the cause of her spouses lust. Because she does not have much power to handle the issue, Mrs. Flint jealously and hatred to Linda enlarges and she turns out to be obsessed with trailing her every step. Linda elucidates that a thing that commands approbation in the white female only speeds up the deprivation of the woman slave (Jacobs, 28). Dr. Flint who is Lindas master and enemy has legal rights to do anything he feels like to Linda, but desires to seduce her through threatening and tricking her other than taping her. All through the novel, Linda consistently goes against him and disobeys to have a sexual affair with him. This infuriates Dr. Flint and he quickly fixates over the thought of contravening her unruly spirit. Flint never distinguishes that Linda is a human being who has feelings, unamenable rights and desires. Cruelty of slaveholders According to Jacobs, (270, Linda claims sympathy for women slaves for there is no law to defend her form violence, from insult, and even from death., which are all imposed by friends who possess the shape of men Instead, the slavery institution defends slaveholders form allegations of sexual violence and assault. If the slave was sexually assaulted, it wasnt an offense against her but an intrude on the property of her master, although it was always a master that attacked her. When her daughter was born, the heart of Linda became heavy since she was aware that slaverly was terrible for males, but was far much terrible for females (Linda, 77). Women slaves were the most susceptible servants because they could do work in the field, take care of children of their masters, and most significantly reproduce slave populace, which became increasingly more significant after prohibition of slave imports in 1808.s For instance, when Benjamin, L indas uncle is sold, the slave trader stated that he could offer any price if the good looking young man was a female (Jacobs, 23). Lindas moral character Linda illustrates her strong moral trait in several ways. At an early and pre teen age, she was given similar things that children of the mistress were given. Her master taught her how to spell and read, which a privilege is since majority of slaves were not taught. Although she saw this as a fair thing, she still helped her family members because of their kindness toward her and she was also conscious that people needed to be treated with respect. Jacobs (65) argues that when Dr. Flint constantly called her harsh names and abused her, Linda she knew that it was not correct and felt that Flint was corrupting her as well as her pure mind, but she chose to remain silent for terror of her severe outcomes, even death. Linda continues leading her life, helping him together with his family, but knowing well that he was cruel and unjust. Arrogance of slaveholders It was extremely egotistical of slaveholders to tell the slaves brutal lies about the North. A slaveholder once told Linda one of the slaves who happened to be Lindas friend was in an awful shape and was pleading to be taken back to her master. Later on Linda discovered that this story was not true and this former slave did not have any wish of going back to slavery. Unfortunately, majority of slaves believes these stories and chose to the thought of protective slavery to hard freedom. Linda is appalled by the idea of really aspiring to return to slavery, even if the tales were true. Linda states that the slaves would start to recognize their personal capabilities, and wield themselves to be women and men (Garfield Zafar, 43). Conclusion The dominant social issue of the book incidences in the Life of a slave girl is sexual harassment of slaves by their masters. Dr. Flint who is Lindas master requires her to do anything for him including a sexual relationship with her. However, Linda does not give in to his sexual demands because she wants to buy her freedom away from enslavement. What is the Concept of Nationalism? What is the Concept of Nationalism? Nationalism is a concept that is not easily defined. There are numerous definitions and forms of what is nationalism, and many of these definitions even overlap. However, there is no one definition that is more adequate than another. Keeping in mind that these definitions are constantly evolving, with thorough analysis and the juxtaposition of arguments set out by eight prominent scholars, a clearer definition of nationalism can be attained. To begin with, the most well know definition today is from Professor Anthony Smith. He states that nationalism is simply an ideological movement for attaining and maintaining autonomy, unity and identity for a population which some of its members deem to constitute an actual or potential nation (Anthony Smith, Nationalism: Theory, Ideology, History, 2001, p.9). In this definition, Smith reveals what he believes the three main goals of nationalism are: autonomy, national unity, and national identity. Even Smiths profound definition has not been available for very long considering he was born in 1933. Although there is much argument on the definition of nationalism, Smith agrees that there is one main point of agreement and that is that the term nationalism is a modern phenomenon (Smith, Anthony 2001). Civic nationalism is basically defined as a group of people which have a certain loyalty to civic rights or laws and pledge to abide by these laws. Ethnic nationalism is basically a grou p that possess a common culture, language, land, etc. It is more specific in terms of who can be in it (McGregor 2010). Smith (1991) writes that every nationalism contains civic and ethnic elements in varying degrees and different forms. Sometimes civic and territorial elements predominate; at other times it is the ethnic and vernacular components that are emphasized (Smith, Anthony 2001). Smiths most important argument features civic and ethnic types of nationalism as opposed to eastern and western types. . Even more specifically, Smith makes the distinction between both civic and ethnic nationalisms. He also believes that Many modern nations are formed around pre-existing, and often pre-modern, ethnic cores (Theories of Nationalism Smith). Smith is claiming that nations had pre-existing-origins prior to their new origins of their new nation. One of the most popular arguments by critics is that the civic and ethnic viewpoint of nationalism collapses too much on the ethnic category. (http://cps.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/35/5/554). Smiths definition seems to be the foundation for nationalism. Other scholars go in to more detail on certain elements of the definition, but most relate back to Smiths original definition. On the contrary to Anthony Smiths definition of nationalism pertaining to the civic and ethnic type, Hans Kohn has argued that the two main types of nationalism are eastern and western. His definition is, Nationalism is a state of mind, in which the supreme loyalty of the individual is felt to be due to the nation-state. (Hans Kohn, Nationalism, 1965) His argument includes both eastern and western types of nationalism which refer to eastern and western Europe. Eastern nationalism conceived the nation as an organic community, united by culture, language and descent (McGregor 2010). This could possibly be related to Smiths ethnic type of nationalism. Western nationalism conceived the nation as a political and civic community, held together by voluntary adherence to democratic norms (McGregor 2010). Again, western nationalism could be perceived as a civic type of nationalism. This can be recognized as two similar classifications on two unfamiliar grounds. Kohn believes that nationalism relates directly with the eastern and western Europe and that it is also where the state of mind of nationalism originated. The main criticism of Kohns classification of nationalism is him being over simplistic. He certainly does not go into as much detail as Smith on the definition and relates only towards Europe which most likely is why he is being identified as over simplistic. Carlton J. H. Hayes definition of nationalism states, Loyalty and attachment to the interior of the group (namely the nation and homeland) are the basis of nationalism. In this definition, a common cultural background and common cultural group are considered the main factors in forming a nation. That remains true with most of the definitions of nationalism. Hayes definition of nationalism seems to be more specific to the ethnic ties toward nationalism. (http://www.al-islam.org/islamandnationalism/5.htm). Hayes is basically saying that land, language, and blood are the basis of nationalism. . He is saying that nation is something to be proud of. Hayes also believe that these ethnic qualities are the most important; even religion does not compare.   It is attachment to nationality that gives direction to ones individual and social postures, not attachment to religion and ideology. A human being takes pride in his national achievements and feels dependent on its cultural heritage, not on the history of religion and his faith (http://www.al-islam.org/islamandnationalism/5.htm). This quote further proves Hayes view on nationalism and how it relates to ones culture and past, and specifically not related to religion at all. The reason Hayes definition is unique from others, is his emphasis that religion is not a factor in forming a nation. To further specify Hayes definition on nationalism he says, What distinguishes one human being from another are not their beliefs, but their birth-place, homeland, language and race. Those who are within the four walls of the homeland and nation, belong to it, and those who are outside it, are aliens. It is on the basis of these factors that the people have a feeling of sharing a single destiny and a common past. (http://www.al-islam.org/islamandnationalism/5.htm). This quote goes hand in hand with Hayess definition of nationalism and just further explains it. According to scholar Benedict Anderson nationalism is, a new emerging nation imagines itself to be antique. This is similar to how Anthony Smith and Hayes defined nationalism. It is mostly like the Smiths ethnic nationalism, which focuses more on the origin of the nation. Anderson focuses more on modern Nationalism and suggests that it forms its attachment through language, especially through literature. Of particular importance to Andersons theory is his stress on the role of printed literature. In Andersons mind, the development of nationalism is linked with printed literature and the growth of these printed works. People were able to read about nationalism in a common dialect and that caused nationalism to mature. (CITE). Andersons definition of nationalism and nation differ greatly from other scholars. He defines nation as an imagined political community. He believes this because the nation is always conceived as a deep, horizontal comradeship. Ultimately it is this fraternity th at makes it possible, over the past two centuries, for so many millions of people, not so much to kill, as willingly to die for such limited imaginings. Not only is Andersons theory distinctive because of the printed literature theory, but also the imagined political community. Peter Alter states, Nationalism is a political force which has been more important in shaping the history of Europe and the world over the last two centuries than the ideas of freedom and parliamentary democracy or, let alone, of communism. His argument is similar to John Breuilly in the sense that there is a strong emphasis on nationalism being a political force. Alter is saying that it has everything to do with being a political movement instead of the idea of freedom. In reference to nationalism, Alter states, It can be associated with forces striving for political, social, economic and cultural emancipation, as well as with those whose goal oppression. His outlook on nationalism seems much broader than other scholars. This particular reference virtually sums up many scholars definitions together. Alter does not seem to have a specific argument on nationalism, as in civic vs. ethnic or western vs. eastern but just an acceptance that nationalism could be based on all of these argum ents. Again, Alter says, It can mean emancipation, and it can mean oppressionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ dangers as well as opportunities. There is no precise argument when he tries to define nationalism even though he does have the idea that nationalism is directly related to a political force. Alter also states that nationalism was important to shaping Europe, but most scholars agree with that statement to begin with. Scholar Ernest Gellner states that, nationalism is primarily a political principle that holds that the political and the national unit should be congruent. Gellner has been considered the father of nationalism studies and was a teacher of Anthony Smith. Although most scholars would agree that nationalism appeared after the French Revolution, Gellner further argues that nationalism became a sociological necessity in the modern world. His argument is similar to the uniqueness of Benedict Andersons printed literature theory, but Gellner focuses more on the industrialization of work and cultural modernization to explain how nationalism expanded. Gellner believes that states only exist where there is division of labour, therefore the state comes before nationalism (http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~plam/irnotes07/Gellner1983.pdf). Like other scholars, Gellner believes that nationalism is a political force. There are many criticisms to Ernest Gellners theory, including Anthony Smith sayin g, It misreads the relationship between nationalism and industrialization (Smith 1998). Historian John Breuilly defends a more modern theory of nationalism. He concludes, The rise of the modern state system provides the institutional context within which an ideology of nationalism is necessary. Breuilly argues that the process of state modernization provides an important factor in understanding historical signs of nationalism (http://www.cjsonline.ca/reviews/nationalism.html). Breuilly argues that nationalism does not have much to do with ethnicity or ethnic background, rather more to do with political motivation. This is not the first scholar who believed that ethnic background had nothing to do with nationalism. In fact, Breuillys definition relates well to Gellner in the sense that they both argue for political motivation. Nationalists are seen to create their own ideology out of their own subjective sense of national culture. (John Breuilly, Nationalism and the State (Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1982). This particular quote is quite similar to Andersons imagined political community theory. Breuilly does not support the ethnic side of nationalism nearly as much as others and, like Benedict Anderson favors nationalism as just a political force. Breuilly criticizes most scholars due to the fact that they believe in national culture because he believes there is no such thing. He believes that the political component of nationalism is by far the most important. Michael Hechter defines nationalism as a, collective action designed to render the boundaries of the nation congruent with those of its governance unit (M. Hechter, Containing Nationalism, 2000). He further explains, Nation and governance can be made congruent by enacting exclusive policies that limit full membership in the polity to individuals from on one more favoured nations. In Hechters book, Containing Nationalism, he expresses his belief that the reason nationalism occurs is because of self-determination. Hechter explains how there are two different types of nationalism. The first one is sort of the ideology of freedom and he gives the example of the French Revolution. The second form is xenophobic or even goes as far as genocide (Hechter, Containing Nationalism, 2000). This explains where the different views of nationalism come in; civic vs. ethnic or eastern vs. western. Most importantly, Hechter defines many specific forms of nationalism to go beyond his original definition . These definitions include: state-building nationalism, peripheral nationalism, irredentist nationalism, and unification nationalism. (Hechter, Michael. Containing Nationalism. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). Each scholars definition seems to have its own uniqueness to it; from Anthony Smiths ethnic nationalism. SIMILARTIES AND DIFFERENCES Political, cultural, ethnic, civic, eastern, western Summary Vast diversity of aims and aspirations, including unification, separation, cultural/linguistic preservation, territorial expansion, protection of external co-nationals, overthrow of foreign domination, establishment of national homeland Vast diversity of forms and styles, from aggressive and militaristic to peaceable and inward-looking Nationalism is inherently particularistic, but at the same time constitutes an ideology of general application People can not agree on the definitionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.

Another Heart of Darkness Essay -- essays research papers

Ignorance and Racism Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale - mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, "Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargain" (Achebe 252). Yet, despite Conrad's great story telling, he has also been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. Achebe, Singh, and Sarvan, although their criticisim differ, are a few to name. Normal readers usually are good at detecting racism in a book. Achebe acknowledges Conrad camouflaged racism remarks, saying, "But Conrad chose his subject well - one which was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with psychological pre- disposition..." (Achebe, 253). Having gone back and rereading Heart of Darkness, but this time reading between the lines, I have discovered some racism Conrad felt toward the natives that I had not discovered the first time I read the book. Racism is portrayed in Conrad's book, but one must acknowledge that back in the eighteen hundreds society conformed to it. Conrad probably would have been criticized as being soft hearted rather than a racist back in his time. Conrad constantly referred to the natives, in his book, as black savages, niggers, brutes, and "them", displaying ignorance toward the African history and racism towards the African people. Conrad wrote, "Black figures strolled out listlessly... the beaten nigger groaned somewhere" (Conrad 28). "They passed me with six inches, without a glance, with the complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages" (Conrad 19). Achebe, also, detected Conrad's frequent use of unorthodox name calling, "Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers. His in ordinate love of that word itself should be of interest to psychoanalysts" (Achebe 258). Conrad uses Marlow, the main character in the book, as a narrator so he himself can enter the story and tell it through his own philosophical mind. Conrad used "double speak" throughout his book. Upon arriving at the first station, Marlow commented what he observed. "They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not cri... ... (Singh 278). Conrad didn't write his book to the extreme of racism. Overall, the natives appeared better humans than the Europeans in Heart of Darkness. Conrad's ignorance led to his conformity to racism. His ignorance of not completely "granting the natives human status" leads him to social categorization. C. P. Sarvan wrote in his criticism, quoting Achebe, "Racism and the Heart of Darkness," "Conrad sets up Africa 'as a foil to Europe, a place of negations... in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be manifest.' Africa is 'the other world,'..." (281). Achebe, Chinua [An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical, 1988. Sarvan, C. P. [Racism and the Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Singh, Frances B. [The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Another Heart of Darkness Essay -- essays research papers Ignorance and Racism Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale - mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, "Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargain" (Achebe 252). Yet, despite Conrad's great story telling, he has also been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. Achebe, Singh, and Sarvan, although their criticisim differ, are a few to name. Normal readers usually are good at detecting racism in a book. Achebe acknowledges Conrad camouflaged racism remarks, saying, "But Conrad chose his subject well - one which was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with psychological pre- disposition..." (Achebe, 253). Having gone back and rereading Heart of Darkness, but this time reading between the lines, I have discovered some racism Conrad felt toward the natives that I had not discovered the first time I read the book. Racism is portrayed in Conrad's book, but one must acknowledge that back in the eighteen hundreds society conformed to it. Conrad probably would have been criticized as being soft hearted rather than a racist back in his time. Conrad constantly referred to the natives, in his book, as black savages, niggers, brutes, and "them", displaying ignorance toward the African history and racism towards the African people. Conrad wrote, "Black figures strolled out listlessly... the beaten nigger groaned somewhere" (Conrad 28). "They passed me with six inches, without a glance, with the complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages" (Conrad 19). Achebe, also, detected Conrad's frequent use of unorthodox name calling, "Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers. His in ordinate love of that word itself should be of interest to psychoanalysts" (Achebe 258). Conrad uses Marlow, the main character in the book, as a narrator so he himself can enter the story and tell it through his own philosophical mind. Conrad used "double speak" throughout his book. Upon arriving at the first station, Marlow commented what he observed. "They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not cri... ... (Singh 278). Conrad didn't write his book to the extreme of racism. Overall, the natives appeared better humans than the Europeans in Heart of Darkness. Conrad's ignorance led to his conformity to racism. His ignorance of not completely "granting the natives human status" leads him to social categorization. C. P. Sarvan wrote in his criticism, quoting Achebe, "Racism and the Heart of Darkness," "Conrad sets up Africa 'as a foil to Europe, a place of negations... in comparison with which Europe's own state of spiritual grace will be manifest.' Africa is 'the other world,'..." (281). Achebe, Chinua [An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical, 1988. Sarvan, C. P. [Racism and the Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988. Singh, Frances B. [The Colonialistic Bias of Heart of Darkness.] Heart of Darkness. By Joseph Conrad 3rd ed. Ed. Robert Kimbrough. New York: Norton Critical 1988.

Blue Ocean Strategy Paper Essay

In today’s business world, competition is a big concern for nearly every corporation. The competition on the market is getting stronger and more difficult to overcome, in many situations corporations terminate their products, production, or their services, just because it is impossible to continue; the cost is too high to focus on gathering development projects in marketing, production, market research, and product innovation, to fight against the competitors. The kind of competition market described previously is an example of a Red Ocean Strategy. The market is oversaturated with companies and, basically, the organizations are cannibalizing each other for a market place with same consumers, for just little margins of profit. Examples of Red Ocean corporations are corporate giants such as Walmart, Target, Coca Cola and so on. These are the companies that compete to keep up in the market place, always beating the competitors with similar products. They manipulate existing dema nd and they align their business with its strategic choice of differentiation or low cost. Basically, it’s a struggle to float in the red water, where a shark can devour you at any moment. The Blue Ocean strategy version is more pleasant and calm. Imagine the blue ocean of the Pacific close by the French Polynesia, where the waters are blue, clear and have no vicious sharks to eat you. That’s where you want to swim alone, and enjoy the waters and the nature. In this version, the business has an unmarked market spaces so it creates a new demand; consequently, the competition do not matter. This strategy has an opportunity to have a big growth and high profits. The Blue Ocean Strategy is like a unique business, a blue fish, in the picture below, offering a product or service that has particular characteristics different from all the rest of the businesses existing in the market, like the red  fishes. Everyone goes in one direction but the Blue Ocean takes its own free direction. An example of Blue Ocean Strategy business would be â€Å"Le Cirque du Soleil.† At some point of our life we did went to see the circus. The circus’ performances were very popular for many centuries. This is an old concept – a group of artists and acrobats who travel the world with a tent, and with a diversity of wild animals to perform a spectacular show. The primary target was the children. Today, this concept is obsolete, although still exist in Europe. According The Wall Street Journal† †¦ Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian company that redefined the dynamics of a declining circus industry in the 1980s. Under conventional strategy analysis, the circus industry was a loser. Star performers had â€Å"supplier power† over the company. Alternative forms of entertainment, from sporting events to home entertainment systems, were relatively inexpensive and on the rise. Moreover, animal rights groups were putting increased pressure on circuses for their treatment of animals.† (Murray, 2014) A new era was created transforming the concept of what is a circus today. As the Wall Street Journal described, â€Å"Cirque du Soleil eliminated the animals and reduced the importance of individual stars. It created a new form of entertainment that combined dance, music and athletic skill to appeal to an upscale adult audience that had abandoned the traditional circus. (Murray, 2014) This new revolutionary strategy took an obsolete business, which was at risk of disappearing, to a new perception for a new audience. In this case there is no other similar idea which makes this business unique with no competition and with the possibility to grow and thrive. Another business similar is the Teatro Zinzanni: an event half-circus and half-dinner, located in a modern and cozy tent in Seattle, Washington, and San Francisco, California. During the 5-course dinner a show is staged with illusionists, tap dances, acrobats, musicians and cabaret artist performing. This is another way to have a fun and vibrating dinner, instead of a regular five star restaurant that is a little bit out of fashion. In conclusion, we have two kinds of markets – the Red Ocean and the Blue Ocean. Today a majority of the corporations and businesses are a Red Ocean. The Blue Ocean is the future of the world industry which opens a wide field of innovative opportunities to create new products and services.  Blue Ocean strategy will offer systematic and reproducible methodologies and be open to new advances, and always update the technology. References: Blue Ocean. (2014). Retrieved from www.investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blue_ocean.asp Halligan, B. (2006, September 15). Inbound Marketing. Retrieved from blog.hubspot.com: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/54/Blue-Ocean-Strategy-A-Small-Business-Case-Study.aspx Murray, A. (2014). Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from guides.wsj.management: http://guides.wsj.com/management/strategy/what-is-blue-ocean-strategy/ Zinzanni, T. (2014). Retrieved from teatrozinzanni/sf: http://zinzanni.com/sf/

The Ethics of Micro Finance

Christopher Martin ‘Micro-finance programmes are aimed at reducing poverty. What ethical challenges are raised by the operation of micro-finance and which ethical theory can best be applied to assess how Grameen Bank addresses these challenges? ’ Introduction: The essay seeks to examine the ethical issues raised by the operation of microfinance. In the first section, an overview will be offered. In the second section the ethical challenges posed by operation of micro-finance will be examined. In the third section, an overview of Grameen Bank will be given.Finally, in the fourth section, the ethical theories of Kant, Bentham and Aristotle will be applied to the ethical issues raised by the operation of Grameen Bank to see which theory best applies. 1. What is micro-finance? Conventional banks like we in the west know are not as widespread in the developing world. Even in places where there ‘mainstream’ banks do have operations, large numbers of people will no t be in a position to utilise their services. Such people have been termed the ‘unbankable poor’. The World Bank estimates that there are 2. billion people (nearly 40% of world’s population) who do not have access to formal financial services. Microfinance has emerged in the last few decades in response to the needs of such people for savings and loans facilities. It is an alternative to them have to use the services of what are colloquially termed ‘loan sharks’, who charge high rates so high that borrowers struggle to pay off the principal sum borrowed. Micro-finance is the provision of savings facilities and small value loans to typically to poor people in the Third World.Such people have a need for financial services, particularly as there is a lack of in rural areas where there is a lack of banking facilities. This makes it harder to makes deposits and so build up any sort of savings. For instance 1 †if you live in a straw hut in a village, finding a safe place to store savings is not easy. † People need sums for 2 â€Å"life-cycle events such as births, marriages & emergency situations. † Stuart Rutherford in ‘The Poor and Their Money' outlines the 3 â€Å" Three common ways of raising large sums i) selling assets they already own (or expect to, e. g. dvance sale of crops) ii) mortgaging or ‘pawning' those assets. iii) finding a way of turning their finding a way of turning their small savings into large lump sums. It is important to note that there is not any ‘one-size fits all' definition of poverty . Muhammed Yunnus asks the rhetorical question 4 â€Å"Who on the list below is poor and who is not: -a jobless person, -an illiterate person, -a homeless person, -a person who does not produce enough food to feed his or her family year round, -a person with a thatched house that lets in rain? -person suffering from malnutrition, -person who does not send his or her children to school? s treet vendor? Micro-finance may increase someone's income but that may just be spent on everyday consumption and not on addressing any of the different facets of poverty on Yunnu's list. For instance, using an increase in income to send a child to school. Savings The very poorest may be too risk averse to take out a loan as they may have an erratic income, for instance due to crop failure. Hence the need for savings. In micro-finance schemes there are two types of savings schemes: I) Locked in: not available for withdrawal until a member a customer left the bank.Used as loan collateral The use of this method was based on the 5 â€Å"Powerful perception tha that the ‘poor cannot save. † ii. Open-access savings which can, it is argued, 6 â€Å"generate much more net savings per client per year (and thus greater capital for the MFI) than compulsory, locked in savings schemes†¦ and provide a useful and well used facility for clients while doing so. † Fundamental to the repayment of micro-finance loans is the group dynamic principle. Peer pressure plays an important part in binding members together.Trust is built up and the commitment to repay is increased via mutually reinforcing behaviour. It can be described as a case of ‘one for all one and all for one' in terms of repaying the loan. -However, there are potential problems as it depends on the co-operation of members. However, 7 â€Å"if it goes badly, then they are all in trouble. † A benefit of individual loans is that 8 â€Å"the lending institution knows who exactly is responsible for the repayment of the loan, and does not get lost in a maze of group members referring to or blaming one another. ’’Section 2 ethical challenges Doubts have been cast on the overall utility of micro-finance programmes in reducing poverty. Some critics argue that 9 â€Å"that micro-finance programmes fail to reach the poorest, generally have a limited effect on income, address the symptom rather than the social cause of poverty†. The 10 â€Å"focus on income poverty† being reduced by 11 â€Å"the provision of credit for income-generation through self-employment. † Neglects to address the deep rooted causes of poverty such as lack of education and poor transport infrastructure.Micro-finance is concentrated on the ‘bankable poor' as they are seen as more able to take advantage of a loan to e. g. buy more equipment and so 12 â€Å" can take more risk than the poorest households without threatening their minimum needs for survival. † It is ironic that a program aimed at reducing poverty excludes the very poorest from participating. However micro-finance programs obviously the motive of reducing poverty. There are 13 ‘’MF premised on the notion that credit is a human right it can improve the lives of the poorest . †But as the very poorest are excluded the application of credit as a ‘human right' is not universal. If something is a ‘human right' is supposed to apply to all humans. In this case it doesn't so it would fail Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative†¦.. It could be argued that Yunnus is instead focussing micro-finance on those people who are in the position to benefit most from it. 14 â€Å"Although Yunus frames his vision of MF in the language of human rights, his ideas are in fact concerned with entrepreneurial rather than redistribution. † Thus he is a social businessman rather than a philanthropist.Micro-finance institutions are self-sustaining businesses rather than charities and so 15 â€Å"poverty reduction becomes an externality and not a goal as such†. Thus Yunnus and others could be charged as potentially using borrowers as means rather than ends. Section 3 Grameen Bank Economics professor Muhammad Yunnus was motivated to set up Grameen after being disheartened at the level of poverty he witnessed in rural villages in his native Banglad esh in the early 1970's. A catalysing experience was when he met 16 â€Å" Sufiya Begum, a woman from a village called Jobra.Like many others in her village, she relied on the local moneylender for the cash she needed to buy the bamboo for the stools she crafted. † That loan was only granted on the condition that she sold to him (the money lender) all of her output at a price determined by him. 17 â€Å" Thus, though hard working, she was trapped in poverty. † Furthermore the villagers were cut off from borrowing from 18 â€Å"conventional bankers since they had no credit histories and no collateral to offer, and could not even fill out the necessary paperwork because they were illiterate†. 1.Muhammed Yunnus's was focused on providing the loans to the landless as he saw them as being more entrepreneurial than tradition bound farmers. He was very much of the view that micro-finance could help the poor to help themselves through becoming self reliant. Grameen mean s village in Bengali. Muhummad Yunnus wanted the bank to be the antithesis of a faceless bureaucratic bank headquarted in a large city (even though it is now). He aimed at recruiting banking staff who would build up an understanding of the everyday lives of villagers and the challenges they faced.This would make it easier to identify which people would benefit most. Crucially this helped to engender the building up of levels of trust between the borrowers in village who took out the collateral free and contract free loans. Vitally the development of the level of trust necessary to ensure repayment collateral free loans without any contract was the process of group dynamic in binding borrowers together with mutually reinforcing behaviour. What helped make the repayment process be manageable for borrowers was that loans were paid in small weekly instalments rather than one lump sum to worry about at the end of the loan period. )Application of ethical theory: Grameen Bank's focus on bo rrowers becoming self reliant relates to them developing virtues of self reliance and not being burdensome to others. Yunnus argued 19 †On the recipient side, charity can have devastating effects. It robs the recipient of dignity, and it removes the incentive of having to generate income. It makes the recipient passive and satisfied with thinking ‘all I have to do is sit her with my hand out and I will earn a living† Instead, borrowers will developing a sense of ownership by coming 20 â€Å"With their own ideas† for business generation.In this respect Yunnus is treating borrowers as ends and not means as he leaving it up to them how they behave. The programme develops members sense of self-discipline of saving regularly as they had to 21 â€Å"save for several months before they were eligible for to borrow. The requirement to save first also results in an investment in the institution that will lend to them – thus the loans they receive are financed not just by an outside faceless agency, but also by their own savings and those of their friends and neighbours. The borrowers are much more likely to be committed and conscientious about repaying. ’. Yunnus challenges the assumptions on human nature made by conventional banking paradigms by issuing collateral free loans without any contracts. 22 â€Å"Grameen assumes that every borrower is basically honest. We may be accused of being naive, but it saves us having to fill in all those endless documents And in 99 per cent of the cases our trust turns out to be vindicated. Bad loans of 0. 5 per cent is the cost of doing business, and it also represents a constant reminder of what we need to improve in order to succeed. † Micro-finance proponents can't be completely 3 â€Å" ethical claiming to reduce poverty while pursuing other objectives. This is particularly so because other people’s money is involved†. The intentions of institutions should be transparen t, e. g. through a mission statement and should not be cloaked in language that hides agendas of e. g. making a profit for shareholders, by only stressing social objectives. 24 â€Å"Furthermore the imbalance of power between the lender and the borrower. † surely makes it harder for borrowers to pursue their own interests as they have to be reconciled with the banks financial interest.Within the framework of the ethics of Immanuel Kant, Professor Yunnus succeeds ethically as is acting from the altruistic motive of reducing poverty. Kant agreeed that 25 â€Å"to act from a good will is to act from duty. † Aristotle takes a stricter approach by arguing that acts are ethical if agents go beyond just doing so from a sense of duty. For instance, someone only went to visit an elderly relative out of a sense of duty, and not from any greater concern for the relatives welfare.Muhammad Yunnus's focus on helping the poor maintain their sense of dignity by becoming more self reli ant is consistent with Kant's approach as Kant argues 26 â€Å"â€Å"Our free will is what gives us our dignity and unconditioned worth† This of course relates to Kant maintaining that people should be considered as ends in themselves rather than means to someone else's end. Kant's stress on the universality of ethical principles is relevant to the potential problem of people stopping viewing promises as binding.The group dynamic principle of micro-finance surely make the promises of members more binding as otherwise it would seem that if one person got away with not paying, then no one would and then the bank would not lend to them.. Additionally, as the borrowers and the bank are both benefitting so 27 †No one (is) used merely as a means in an voluntary economic exchange where both parties benefit. † Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill's Utilitatarianism holds that the ethical utility of actions can be measured by the consequences. This approach is onsistent wi th the cost-benefit analysis adopted by contemporary businessses where the utility being measured is profit. In the case of Grameen Bank the utility can be measure by a) the rate of loan repayment According to Yunnus the default rate was only 28 â€Å"0. 5 per cent†. However, on the other hand many members of Grameen were unhappy with their savings being ‘lockked-in' and 29 â€Å" were leaving the organisation in order to realise their (often substantial) compulsory savings. † Such members went on strike in 1995 to protest at being denied accesss to their savings. 30 â€Å"The financial consequences of the strike were profound.According to an unpublished Grameen Bank internal report (1996), in Tangail District the cumulative un-repaid amount had climbed to over $2 million. † More generally, in terms of consequences for members there have been benefits. The scheme has helped the majority to build up savings that could be used as capital. Additionally it the scheme has helped reduce income poverty 31 â€Å"Grameen bank members had incomes about 28 % higher than the target group of non-participants. † Act utilitarianism seems like the most appropriate branch of Utilitarianism to apply to Grameen bank and Muhammad Yunnus.An act is right' if it maximises utility. A sort of moral s is used to calculate the long term benefits and harm for each actor and then compute the result. But there is the problem of time-framing how long a period eto consider. One is reminded of Keynes quote ‘in the long term we are all dead'. Act utilitarian’s consider themselves equally with others so are not egoist in just assessing whether an act maximises their own individual utility or well being. Yunnus does seem sincere in doing that and is aiming to benefit the members as opposed to just enriching himself.However on the other hand, Utilitarianism could be consistent with the Grameen member group dynamic process discussed earlier. Members r ealise that there will be bad consequences for them and their peers if they don't follow the ‘rule' of repaying' and so are compelled to follow the rule. Robert Solomon, writing in ‘A companion to business ethics' argues that 32 â€Å" â€Å"In business ethics it is generally agreed that three elements, the principles of an action, the action itself, and the action's consequences must be taken into account. However there is another option†: virtue ethics.Grameen's ethos of borrowers using using the loans to become self employed is connected to them developing the character traits consistent with the virtue of self reliance. Aristotle deemed behaviour a virtuous if is it was consistent with a 33 †mean between the extremes† of e. g. being dependent on someone else's act of charity and being selfish. As the 34â€Å"Various virtues reinforce one another†, the principle can be applied to the Grameen member group dynamic of mutually reinforcing behav iour encouraging the repayment of the loan.In this case it is the non relative virtue of trustworthiness that is being reinforced. It could also be argued that different members are motivated by Aristotle's 33 â€Å"Idea of practice- shared cooperative activity with mutually understood goals and ways of doing things. Conclusion Muhammad Yunnus set up Grameen bank with a good motive out of concern for the poor. Yes, this pure motive has been diluted by the pragmatic need for the bank to be financially self sustaining. For instance the previous use of locked in loans would be termed coercive by Kant, so in this aspect the borrowers are being treated as means.How the bank lets members come up with their own ideas for business generation is consistent with Kant’s belief on people’s free will that enables them to be rational and moral. Furthermore as both the bank and the borrowers are benefitting from this economic exchange, then the borrowers are not being treated as mea ns and so this would pass Kant’s test of whether it is ethical. It is difficult to measure the individual benefits and downsides experienced by the individual members, thus making it a less effective ethical yardstick. However the high repayment rate does score well on the Utilitarian scale.But ultimately, Muhammad Yunnus is motivate by concern at the suffering of the rural poor. Crucially he wants to help them help themselves. One is reminded of Bob Geldof’s fishing rod analogy –better to give a man a fishing rod, than a fish. Yunnus and Grameen bank are thus actively promoting the virtue of self reliance. Additionally they are promoting the virtues of co-operation and trust via the group dynamic and by the fact the loans are collateral and contract free. Critics of Yunnus may have attacked him because he isn’t the perfect philanthropist. Rather, he is a socially responsible businessman.Bibliography Wright, Graham, ‘Micro-finance systems' 2000, The University Press, Zed Books, London. Roy, Ananya, ‘Poverty Capital' 2010, Routledge, Oxford. Activities that are unlikely to create indebtedness† Rutherford, Stuart, †The Poor and Their Money', 2000, Oxford University Press, New Delhi Yunnus, Muhammad (with Alan Jolis), ‘Banker to the Poor', 1999, Aurum Press, London Yunus, M, Moingen, B and Lehmann-Ortega, L, ‘Micro Finance- Building social business models: Lessons from the Grameen experiences', article in ‘LONG RANGE PLANNING   Ã‚  Volume: 43   Ã‚  Issue: 2-3   Ã‚  Special Issue: Sp.Iss. SI   Ã‚  Pages: 308-325   Ã‚  Published: APR-JUN 2010 Rutherford, S, ‘The Poor and Their Money' , 2000, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Frederick, R, ‘Companion to business ethics', 2002, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford Vanroose, A, ‘Is microfinance an ethical way to provide financial services to the poor? Microfinance: Are its promises ethically justified? CEB Working Paper N ° 0 7/014 June 2007 References 1. Wright, G, Microfinance Systems, page 2 2â€Å" â€Å" page 1 3â€Å" â€Å" page 5 3. Yunnus, Banker to the poor, page 10 4.Wright, G, page 71 6. Wright, G, page 69 7. Wright, G, page 139 8 Wright, G, page 139 9. Wright, G, page 6 10. Wright, G, page 8 11. Wright, G, page 8 12. Wright, G, page 11 13. Roy, A, ‘Poverty Capital, page 13 14. Roy, A, page 23 15. Vanroose, A, CEB Working paper, page 11 16. Yunus, M, Moingen, B and Lehmann-Ortega, L, ‘Micro Finance- Building social business models: Lessons from the Grameen experiences', Page 314 17. Ditto 18. Ditto 19. Yunnus, Muhammad (with Alan Jolis), ‘Banker to the Poor', page 22 20. Yunnus, Banker to the poor, page 114 21. Wright, G, Microfinance systems, page 137 2. Yunnus, ‘Banker to the poor’, page 111 23 Vanroose, A, ‘Is microfinance an ethical way to provide financial services to the poor? , page 4 24. Ditto 25. Frederick, R, ‘Companion to Business Ethi cs, Chapter 1 by Solomon, R, page 3 26. â€Å" â€Å" page 4 27. Frederik, R, page 7 28. Yunnus, M, ‘Banker to the poor’ page 111 29. Wright, G, page 78 30. Wright, G page 78 31. Yunnus, & Lehman-Ortega, page 12 32. Frederick, R, page 30 33. Frederick, R, page 30 34. Frederick,R page 32