Class Stratification In Pride And Prejudice - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 1010 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2019/05/31 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Pride and Prejudice Essay Did you like this example? Humanity has been entrenched in multiple centuries of class division and stratification for most of its civilized history. The division of power and privilege is perhaps the defining feature of humanity. No other species has nearly the same level of inequality of the distribution of resources. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Class Stratification In Pride And Prejudice" essay for you Create order Modern social stratification of course has its roots in the days of early feudalism, wherein social classes were defined by birth. Feudalism developed into industrialism/capitalism, and thus the modern conception of the social class was born. With the conception of social classes comes with the various antagonisms between them, i.e. the rich vs the poor, the proletariat vs the bourgeoisie. These antagonisms are the subject of much analysis in both popular culture and the more ivory tower type intellectual circles alike. From all the way up top of the ivory tower comes works like Das Kapital (including all 3 volumes) by Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, who both in detail described the various problems with centralizing the means of production and capital accumulation. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is a popular romance novel titled Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, who focuses on the relationship between 2 people whos financial backgrounds are wildly different. Through Jane Austens excellent use of characterization, the contrasting social platitudes and norms of the various class stratums in 1800s England is revealed in great detail. To begin, the most basic of the differences between social classes is not the beliefs and the convictions held by those within it, but rather the behaviors and the way in which they present themselves to others. In Pride and Prejudice this is detailed excellently in the first few chapters. For example, in chapter four Austen directly characterizes the Bingley family in contrast with the rest of the party. They were in fact very fine ladies; not deficient in good humour when they were pleased, nor in the power of making themselves agreeable when they chose it, but proud and conceited. They were rather handsome, had been educated in one of the first private seminaries in town, had a fortune of twenty thousand pounds, were in the habit of spending more than they ought, and of associating with people of rank, and were therefore in every respect entitled to think well of themselves, and meanly of others. The Bingley family is shown to be middle class by the parties standards, but because of their inflated spending habits and association with those of higher rank, they deem themselves worthy of acting down upon those who are less fortunate or even as fortunate as themselves. Not only does this detail the livelihood and presentation of those considered high class, which is one of thrift, grandiose presentations of wealth, and patronization, but it also details the desperation of those in lower socioeconomic standings to fraudulently present themselves as being above what they truly are. However, the behaviors and presentations are not the only major differences between the middle and the upper class, even the ways in which the classes think vary greatly. Pride and Prejudice once again outlines this with great detail on page 357, during Darcys speech to Elizabeth. I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. Unfortunately an only son (for many years an only child), I was spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves (my father, particularly, all that was benevolent and amiable), allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing; to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world; to wish at least to think meanly of their sense and worth compared with my own. Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased. Darcy outlines the way hes been thinking for almost his entire life. Greed, egocentrism, and alienation are all fundamental parts of the upper class mindset. Even when Darcys most basic principles, that being the ones he was raised on, contradict his actions, he chooses to ignore them, and instead to disregard any semblance of care for others. Its only once he meets Elizabeth, who is a part of the middle class, does he begin to see the error in his ways. Elizabeth teaches him to become self aware, and to care for, or at the very least respect the lives of other people. This mindset isnt exclusive to Darcy either, as many of the other affluent characters demonstrate the same way of thought. In brief, the rich view the world through an entirely different perspective compared to the poor, one of egocentrism, cognitive dissonance, and greed. The differences between the two social standings are exemplified greatly throughout the book. Their is a massive divergence of the behaviors and presentations regarding each of the classs, wherein those of high social standing act according to the doctrine of extravagance, while those who are in a lower social standing often try to imitate such acts of grandiosity. The class differences dont stop at actions, even the way in which the affluent think is distinct in contrast to the rest of humanity. They think only about themselves, and how they are perceived by people of equivalent or higher standing, with blatant disregard to the opinions and well being of those they consider below them. To conclude, the stark contrast of those with rank vs those without is both deep and all encompassing. The presence of class is almost omnipresent in its influence on everyday life.

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Discourse Communities Free Essays

DC Essay, Draft 1 Discourse Communities Essay There is a very large variety of academic discourse communities available at the universities today. Deciding to go to college is deciding to enter an academic discourse community all on its own but deciding to choose a major is entering a more specified discourse community. There are many similarities and differences between every separate community which makes it difficult for some people to choose. We will write a custom essay sample on Discourse Communities or any similar topic only for you Order Now Understanding a community must be done before involving oneself. Comparing and contrasting majors can make it easier for someone to choose which academic discourse community they decide to involve themselves in. Comparing and contrasting majors can be much simpler than it seems. Taking the time to describe a rhetorical purpose, audience, and values can be a good outline for to understand the community. An example of this would be comparing the discourse communities of a nursing major and an education major. According to the Sacramento State Course Catalog, â€Å"Nursing is a caring discipline with a foundation of nursing science guided by the application of moral and ethical principles of care and responsibility† and â€Å"The professional educator brings together subject matter knowledge, appropriate strategies, and interpersonal skills essential to providing successful learning experiences for children. † Preparing to work first-hand with people, possibly even very young children, is the main similarity between the two majors. Although the two prepare to help the community, they plan to help in different ways. The two majors are in a sense the same in their future purpose caring the same values, but different in the actual action it will entail. Both Nursing and Education carry the social value of an equal opportunity. The majors do not discriminate between the sexes or age of a person unlike athletics major possibly would. A woman at a very elderly age most likely wouldn’t be able to run a triathlon and be successful at the same time. Nursing provides health and well-being for the community also providing safety. By treating someone of a contagious and deadly disease a nurse could possibly prevented a whole community from contact of this disease. Education provides common and even uncommon knowledge also building a future for the community. Teaching a young community to read and write makes them literate allowing them to seek high-end careers in the future. Rhetorically, an audience or a nurse could be doctors, parents, or the elderly while the audience of an educator would most likely be parents, their students directly, or the community no longer directly tied to the education environment. A typical purpose a nurse might have would be to provide health and safety to the community in order to keep a community alive. On the other hand a purpose for an educator would be to educate the community of the importance of a health and safety so they are aware of the seriousness of the matter. Personas in both fields would most likely be informative and professional. Comparing and contrasting the similarities between two separate majors can ease the decision of joining a discourse community. Values of the community can be very similar which may be what draws a person to both but the purpose of them can be completely different. Understanding the communities is done by exploring these aspects and applying rhetorical cases to them. Works Cited â€Å"Sacramento State University Catalog† (2012-2014) How to cite Discourse Communities, Essay examples

Importance of VRIO Analysis Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Importance of VRIO Analysis. Answer: Introduction A business practice that has been developed and formulated for providing guidance to the corporate dealings and trade and is executed beyond the boundaries of nations, In this trade the two parties involved are two entities that too of different regions (Armelini Villanueva, 2011). And, these agreements and plans are hence developed and are termed as global business strategies. On the basis of the research executed it has been analyzed that generally these strategies are majorly adopted by the private firms more as compared to that of the government governed entities. Moreover, in simpler terms, the global business strategy can be defined as the business strategies indulged by the business corporations and firms operating the in an international business environment and offering the services to the consumers all over the globe. These business strategies are found closely associated with the business development strategies that are adopted by the business firm for fulfilling the shor t and long-term organizational objectives. Multinational, global and international strategies are the terms that are majorly included in the concept of global strategy (Economywatch 2010). The basic motive of developing and designing these strategies is to accomplish and attain the pre-determined organizational objectives and that too on international grounds. It has been recommended for a business entity to develop a clear difference between the three aspects of global expansion (Armstrong et al., 2015). The three prime elements of international business expansion the available resources, capability and a current position of the Business Corporation and adoption of these components will be proven beneficial for the organization. The below-demonstrated report has been executed on the global strategies of Puma and the prime objective of the report is to analyze the resources and capabilities of the firm for strategic leveraging and thus attaining a competitive advantage. VRIO analysis On the basis of the research, it has been concluded that the term VRIO analysis has been considered as an analytical technique or mechanism that is the best platform for evaluating the resources and capabilities and thus leading the business firm to attain competitive advantage. VRIO analysis is the acronym of the evaluation dimensions of Value, Rareness, Imitability, and Organization (Baker, 2014). This mechanism has been developed by Jay B Barney as a medium for evaluating the resources from the microenvironment of the business firm. The below mentioned are the main resources which are evaluated under this approach: Financial resources Human resources Material resources Non-material resources (Data and information) Importance of VRIO analysis VRIO analysis has been considered as one of the contemporary means that can be used by any of the business entity for analyzing the resources and capabilities and can also manipulate them for attaining competitive advantage (Baker, 2014). One of the biggest advantages of this approach that it releases the real value of the available resources and capabilities of the firm and through which the business entity will be able in developing further strategies and plans. For instance, huge diversity has been observed in the workforce of Puma and that can be considered a strength of the firm. After analyzing the real value of the human resource the entity can plan training and development sessions for the employees. This will enable the business entity in bringing hike and advancement in the efficiency and that will lead to higher productivity. Another biggest advantage of this approach is that the business entity will be getting aware of the available resources and capabilities of the firm and that will aid them in developing future plans accordingly. And through this, the business organization will be able to allocate the resources that are in surplus in other directions and manage the deficit. And this will allow Puma in managing a smooth and flawless set of business practices and operations. Due to which the business firm will experience an increase in the effectiveness of the delivery of services and through which they will have a pool of satisfied customers. That will ensure a high goodwill and widening of market share. Moreover, the available resources and capabilities that are in surplus can be utilized appropriately for aiding the workforce and their wellbeing (Baum, Frese Baron, 2014). Through this step, the employees will feel valued and motivated and an enhancement in their productivity and efficiency will be observed. Apart from this, one of the biggest advantages of adopting this approach is that it enables the business firm in attaining a sustainable po sition of competitive advantage. The business corporation can make use of resources and capabilities in the process of development of strategies and plans for tackling with the competitors. Building a distinct image in the market is also possible if the business entity is appropriately making use of the mentioned mechanism. Increase in the customer base, brand loyalty and enhanced market share are the common benefits that will be attained by the adoption of the VRIO analysis (Thebusinesszoom 2015). Apart from the number of advantages, there are some disadvantages of this approach such as if the business entity is failing in managing and maintaining the resources and capabilities in an appropriate manner then the entity will be exposed to fierce competition (Bhachu, 2017). The report has been made focused on the VRIO analysis of Puma so as to analyze and evaluate the resources and capabilities of the business entity. The report further contains a comparison between Puma and Adidas that is one of the biggest rivals of the business firms. The report has been segmented into various divisions and from which the first part comprised of the VRIO framework of Puma. VRIO framework A framework is an empirical approach for analyzing the internal environment of a business corporation. This approach evaluates various characters such as Valuable, Rare, Inimitable and Organization of the resources and capabilities of the business firm. The below presented is the framework of Puma: Human Resources Valuable Rare Inimitable Organization Competitive Advantage Professionals and experts. Technical and managerial staff) Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustainable advantage Marketing and Advertising experts Yes No Yes Yes Temporary Diversity and huge pool of skilled labor Yes Yes Yes Yes Consistency Non-material Resources Valuable Rare Inimitable Organization Competitive advantage Operations and procedures Patents and copyrights Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Temporary Sustainable Personal Capital Valuable Rare Inimitable Organization Competitive advantage International Occurrence Strong Industrial presence Brand equity Huge pool of Customers Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Temporary Temporary Sustainable Sustainable Capabilities Valuable Rare Inimitable Organization Competitive Advantage Economic capabilities Research and development and training centers Capability of adopting new projects Global expansion model Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustainable advantage Uniformity Temporary Temporary The below is the description of the VRIO framework for Puma: Valuable: On the basis of the above-demonstrated table it has been analyzed the resources and capabilities of the business corporation are said to be valuable if they are aiding and assisting the business enterprise in earning value and attaining competitive advantage. In the present scenario, Puma is having a pool of valuable resources and capabilities that are aiding the business corporation in accomplishing a secured and sustainable position in the market and a competitive advantage in the concerned sector. Rare: This factor determines that how rare and limited the resources and capabilities of a business firm are. After analyzing the resources and capabilities of Puma it has been evaluated that almost all the available resources with the business firm are rare and limited and that is aiding the business entity in sustaining competitive advantage (Bruni, Gherardi Poggio, 2014). The diversified range of products with specialized features has been considered as one of the biggest factors that the entity is having over its competitors. Imitability: On the basis of the above-presented framework it has been analyzed that the resources and capabilities of the business firm are having some distinct features and also the business entity have patents and copyrights over the resources and capabilities (Deakins Freel, 2009). This prevents the competing brands in imitating the products and services of Puma. The competing brands have to hire the required resources and capabilities from the firm. All this make the business firm to attain a sustainable position and competitive advantage in the market. Organization: This component describes whether the corporation and its resources are organized and maintained in an effective manner (Dorn Suessmair, 2017). After analyzing the above-demonstrated framework it has been clearly observed that the resources and capabilities of the business enterprise are well-organized and that is aiding the firm in enjoying a large market share and a competitive advantage over its competing brands. VRIO analysis of Puma and Nike Resources and capabilities have been considered as one of the biggest factors that aids and assists the business entity in performing and executing the varied range of operations and functionalities. Moreover, the business corporation should utilize various mechanisms for stimulating the resources and capabilities of the enterprise (Hail, Leuz Wysocki, 2010). VRIO analysis is the recommended approach that can be adopted by Puma for the process of manipulation. This approach will be proven very much beneficial for the business entity while analyzing the internal sources and capabilities of the enterprise. According to the conducted research, it has been noted down that Jay B Barney introduced the framework of VRIO in 1991 (free-management-ebooks 2018). This tool was introduced in his work Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage. The following are some of the resources and capabilities that can be analyzed and evaluated by Puma such as financial, human, material and non-mat erial resources by making use of VRIO analysis. The below presented is the comparison of the resources and capabilities of Puma and Nike: Valuable: Resources and capabilities minimize the impacts of threats and moreover, the stakeholders determine whether or not the resources are beneficial to the company or not. The resources are proven very much beneficial for the business in various areas, internally and externally and thus will assist in the firms development process (Lam Harker, 2015). According to the present scenario, Puma has a huge pool of valuable resources such as diversity in the workforce and wide range of products. These are considered as the most valuable resources of the entity. Nike is one of the top competing brands of Puma and is having a financial stability and growth. And hence it has been observed that the resources and capabilities of the business firm are aiding the business fir in attaining competitive advantage. Rare: The business resources and capabilities possessed by the business firm are required to be rare and limited (Lee, Barker Mouasher, 2013). This is also considered as one of an empirical factor for gaining a position of competitive advantage in the market. On the basis of the executed research, it has been analyzed that Puma has wide range of resources and capabilities that are rare in the market. For instance, the entity can capture multiple scenarios specified in UML into a single performance model and also can deal with multiple workloads. This one of the rare capabilities of the business firm, that is aiding in attaining competitive advantage. Whereas, in case of Nike approximately 100% of its production is outsourced to Asia and due to which the entity is enjoying a strong competitive advantage (sites.google 2018). Imitability: According to this factor the business entity is required to have resources and capabilities that are hard to imitate or developing alternatives for them will be tough (Nunan Di Domenico, 2013). For instance, Puma is having resources through which the entity is able to develop and design eco-friendly products. The capability of developing these products is difficult to imitate and many problems are faced by the competing brands. Whereas, Nike is supporting the wide variety of sports and number of charity events such as Live strong a foundation that is financially supported by the business corporation for Curing Cancer. This marketing strategy of the business corporation is unique and is un-imitable (Scarborough, 2015). This capability of the enterprise has also been considered as one of the core competency of the firm that aids in enjoying the competitive advantage. Organization: On the basis of the research it has been inferred that the organization and the available resources and capabilities are required to maintain effectively and equally so as to attain desired outcomes such as competitive advantage. If the business corporation is capable of managing the available resources and capabilities then it leads the firm to enjoy the number of benefits on different grounds (Pardalos and Tsitsiringos, 2013). According to the research, it has been concluded that Puma is a multinational corporation and is very much capable of managing the resources and capabilities in a well-organized manner. And this is one of the biggest reason due to which the business firm is enjoying a competitive advantage in the markets all over the globe. And after analyzing all the resources and capabilities of Nike it has been concluded that the business entity has passed in managing the organization and available resources and capabilities with the enterprise. And due to wh ich the organization is experiencing a safe and sustained position and competitive advantage in the market (Renton et al., 2015). Conclusion After summing up the above-presented report it has been analyzed that attainment of competitive advantage and a sustainable position in the market region is one of biggest essentials for any of the business organization in the path of success and growth. VRIO analysis is one of the approaches that can be adopted by the business corporation for analyzing and evaluating the resources and capabilities and thus can earn the competitive advantage over the rival brands. In the present scenario, Puma is the business firm for which this analysis has been presented in various segments. The report comprises of the various aspects of VRIO analysis such as the significance of the approach, a framework has been demonstrated that is describing the approach in a tabular format. The report further comprises of the comparison of the resources and capabilities of Puma and Nike. Nike is one of the biggest competing brands of Puma and the above report consists of a clear comparison of VRIO analysis for both the business entities. References Armelini, G. Villanueva, J., (2011). Adding social media to the marketing mix,IESE insight,vol. 9, pp.29-36. Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., (2015).Marketing: an introduction. Pearson Education. Baker, M.J., (2014).Marketing strategy and management. Palgrave Macmillan. Baum, J.R., Frese, M. and Baron, R.A. eds., (2014). The psychology of entrepreneurship. Psychology Press. Bhachu, P. ed., (2017). Immigration and entrepreneurship: culture, capital, and ethnic networks. Routledge. Bruni, A., Gherardi, S. Poggio, B., (2014). Gender and entrepreneurship: An ethnographic approach. Routledge. Deakins, D. Freel, M.S., (2009).Entrepreneurship and small firms. McGraw-Hill College Dorn, T. Suessmair, A., (2017). Determinants in Pay-What-You-Want Pricing DecisionsA Cross-Country Study.American Journal of Industrial and Business Management,Vol. 7, pp.115. Economywatch, (2010). Global business strategy, Assessed on 18th February 2018, https://www.economywatch.com/business/global-business-strategy.html. free-management-ebooks, (2018). Competitive advantage, Assessed on 18th February 2018, https://www.free-management-ebooks.com/news/vrio-analysis. Hail, L., Leuz, C. Wysocki, P., (2010), Global accounting convergence and the potential adoption of IFRS by the US (Part II): Political factors and future scenarios for US accounting standards,Accounting Horizons,vol. 24, pp.567-588. Lam, W. Harker, M.J., (2015). Marketing and entrepreneurship: An integrated view from the entrepreneurs perspective.International Small Business Journal,Vol. 33, pp.321-348. Lee, K.H., Barker, M. Mouasher, A., (2013). Is it even espoused? An exploratory study of commitment to sustainability as evidenced in vision, mission, and graduate attribute statements in Australian universities.Journal of Cleaner Production,Vol. 48, pp.20-28. Nunan, D. Di Domenico, M., (2013), Market research the ethics of big data,International Journal of Market Research,vol. 55, pp.505-520. Pardalos, P.M. Tsitsiringos, V. eds., (2013).Financial engineering, E-commerce and supply chain. Springer Science Business Media. Renton, M., Daellenbach, U., Davenport, S. Richard, J., (2015). Small but sophisticated: entrepreneurial marketing and SME approaches to brand management.Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship,Vol. 17, pp.149-164. Scarborough, N.M., (2015).Entrepreneurship and effective small business management. Pearson Higher Ed. sites.google, (2018). Resources and capabilities, Assessed on 18th February 2018, / https://sites.google.com/site/nikeandunderarmour/about-us. Thebusinesszoom, (2015). Resource based view (RBV VRIO model Jay Barney), Assessed on 18th February 2018, https://www.thebusinesszoom.com/resource-based-view-rbvvrio-model.html.