Examining what makes a British Soap Opera Essay Example for Free

Examining what makes a British Soap Opera Essay In a general sense, Soaps are continuous, serialised dramas broadcast up to three or four times a week, usually with an omnibus at the weekends. They are filmed in the same settings from episode to episode and follow very contemporary themes (this is what makes them so appealing). A gender spilt between the audience reveals that around 70% are women, so the major Soaps have a clear target audience. The majority of new soaps seek not to disturb ongoing ratings battles, but break new ground and aim their productions at different age groups. For example, Hollyoaks is relatively new and aimed at teens. Soaps consistently win the biggest share of television ratings and capture the biggest share because their content appeals to their target audience. This content, on the surface may seem simply crafted, but after close examination reveals the numerous techniques, performances and styles that are harmonised in order to make the soap successful. As an art from, Soaps emerge as a highly complex form of drama. There are many features that have to be planned using very formulaic methods so that the final product will conform to expectations. The writers must produce content that is engaging, yet open further leads on to other potential storylines. However, they also stretch the storylines as long as possible in order to allow time to pass in which they can invent new stories and close others. A common tact is to obviously allow a storyline to occupy a majority of the 30-minute slot, but spilt it with intervening storylines (which delay it from completing its course). This achieves two main objectives- the delay creates time for further writing and expansion of the main story, whilst the short storylines in between can be refreshed

Corporate and brand strategy of Indian telecommunications organization

Corporate and brand strategy of Indian telecommunications organization IDEA Cellular Limited entered to world of Indian Telecommunication in year 2002 after a long series of businesses and collaborations with other companies and groups under Birla group of companies.  [1]  Since then, the company has kept its core center of attention on maximizing the subscriber base and gain maximum share in the GSM mobile services market .The major brand identification happened after bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan became the brand ambassador with slogan- An Idea can change your life with various ground-breaking adverstiments specially to attract rural people in country For this assignment, information was gathered from various online sources and books. I first explained the corporate and brand strategy for the firm and then analyzed the firms strengths and weaknesses by conducting a SWOT analysis. The next step was to design the marketing strategy for the firm. I positioned the marketing goals and objectives and evaluate the 4 Ps of the firm and then developed the 4 Ps that the firm would utilize in the next year. The final step was based on 7Cs to analysis the company website which helped to developed online strategy for Idea. Industry Analysis: Subscriber base Analysis: As per telecom regulatory authority of India report by October 2010 total subscriber data reached 742.12 million out of which wireless subscriber base reaches 706.69 with overall increase of 2.61% from last year.  [2]   As published latest performance indicator report for quarter April-June 2010 YOY growth is 48.73%  [3]   In rural India teledensity for wireless telephone subscribers is 33.0% where as in urban areas teledensity is 67.0% Top players in wireless telephone subscribers are Bharti, Reliance, Vodafone, Tata and Idea Idea is no.5 player contributes 10.76% to total Indian Telecom wireless industry. Average revenue Per User (ARPU) has dropped by 7% over the last quarter MOU for customers dropped to 2.2% as compared to last quarter results. Source: Telephone Regulatory Authority of India Press Release from May 2010 to October 2010 Reasons for growth in telecom services: Escalating telecom services with improving infrastructure. Introducing new and new service providers. Declining tariffs due to increase in competition to attract lots of customers. Reducing handset costs help in the growth of the industry. Company Analysis: Idea Cellular Limited (!DEA) is one of the leading mobile service provider in India with number of subscribers 74.2 million as on Sept,2010 . Idea is in 11 out of 22 service areas, covering ~80% of the national subscriber base.  [4]  . It is the one of the fastest growing mobile service in India. Idea offers number of services as per customer needs with some unique feature like-womens card for special need of woman (always want to talks more),youth card for young generation of India. Recently idea is awarded with 3G range in 11 major areas out of 22 in India with cover major revenues of Idea. Source: Telephone Regulatory Authority of India report as on 30.10.2010 Mission Statement: We will delight our customers while meeting their individual communication needs anytime anywhere. We survive because of our customers. Porters 5 Force Model(book detail)work required from allessays-incompleted Category Impact Cause Threat of New Entrants High Rules are set by TRAI for new entrants in telecommunication sector .And competition is increasing as new and new entrants are emerging in the market which will become a big challenge for Idea. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Low Cause of service based industry few suppliers are in the market and supplier lacks bargaining power is low. There is huge competition in the market for suppliers for hardware supplies (handsets) and software supplies (mobile software or operations) which makes the bargain power low for suppliers. Bargaining Power of Buyers High Increase of customer awareness for new offers from different brands and number of options available to them to choose the best for themselves, increase in competition make lots of options available to customers which increase the braining power of buyers. Substitutes Low VOIP, Wireless and satellites services have negligible effect on mobile phone operations as they can provide the connectivity when on the move and in turn act as substitute for mobile phones. It means threats from substitutes is low. Rivalry High High Price Competition, High agitate Rate and Promotional offers from competitors are very regular to attract the customers in this industry which gives high rivalry rate. SWOT Analysis: Competitor Analysis Mobile Industry is booming in India with new companies entering every year. Currently the pattern follows by Indian Telecommunication is having metro with highest presence of all major telecommunication companies followed by Circle A and B with presence of only major players and lowest Circle mainly rural areas where only govt support like BSNL operates. With this heavy competition companies are trying their best to find appropriate positions of distinguish their products. There are a few pan-national players like Idea while some are concentrated to particular areas. Idea main focus areas are voice and data traffic and unique VAS services which are primarily through prepaid talk time plans. The lack of brand loyalty among consumers letting competition stronger and stronger in the market. The major Competitors for Idea are: Bharti Airtel Reliance Vodafone Tata BSNL Segmentation: Idea cellular provides GSM mobile services in different regions across various circles. The consumer market for mobile services is majorly segmented as: Geography: Indian telecom industry is divided into 22 main circles and Idea operates in all sector offering different and customised services according to circle .for eg for Punjab circle it provide customised services as Punjab are users and same for other circles as per their requirements. Even there is distinguished between rural and urban area users. Idea mainly penetrates towards rural areas Demographic: Customers are segmented according to their ages and Idea offers mobile services accordingly to age and gender. Young customer between age 15-25 years require less cost and high usage where Idea offer young cards to these age group customers. Same for males and females segment they have different attitudes to use of mobile phones. Considering this Idea offer women cards where with low cost women can talk for long time. Behavioral: On the basis of user type customer can segmented corporate or individual .Idea offer special facilities for people belong to same organization On basis of usage rate customers can segmented as light (dont use mobile much), medium and heavy (use mobile very frequently) and Idea provide special benefits to such type of users. On basis of user status customers are segmented as first time users and regular brand loyal customers. Idea offers lots of different cards and benefits for first time user so that they become brand loyal and better and new offers to regular customers to maintain their brand loyalty. Benefits: Customers mainly classified on basis of their level of customization and the type of services they required. Few customers always prefer to have hassle free and simple plans mainly the old group and few customers always prefer regular customized plan accordingly to their requirements and usage timing. For some customer network and connectivity is more important rather than any plans and offers. Target Market: Idea follows on multi segment approach working on the demands of different segment areas. To target Youth or young people between the age 15 to 25 years, Idea started My-Gang Pre-Paid card on which the local group calls rate 10 paisa per minute and message one paisa per minute. To attract women Idea introduce Women card which provide offers like emergency calling, calling at the rate of 50/min from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.(kitty party rates). Idea not only young and women customers but offers lots of customized products to provide to various different segmentation of people like lovers, business people, old age people, low income people Market Position and Branding: Brand Strategy: Innovate. Stimulate. Liberate.  [5]   The telecom industry is growing at a very rapid pace. As per the Ansoff Product (book details)- IDEA going along with the Market Development Strategy. Main focus of Idea is to target new markets for eg:rural area of India. Idea mobile provides affordable and reliable services with efficient and stable network in count to, innovative and customised products that set free customers from limitations of time The different ad campaigns based on An Idea can change your life (finally a ad series called what an idea sirji) mainly focused towards creating new ideas, raise awareness and provide solutions to social issues which brings the presence of Ideas network in depth everywhere across India. Yet to explain Marketing Mix: 1.Product Idea Cellular provides services like: Voice and SMS service: Idea offers voice and SMS services at very competitive prices to its customers. Starting with services in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, it has now expanded its network to all major circles. Value Added Services: To achieve customer loyalty Idea offer Value Added Services (VAS) major targets women, business people, and young people. Major VAS services includes: GPRS: Witht he increase in internet usage, Idea offer GPRS service to its customer where they use internet whenever they required on their mobile phones and even it offers customers to access mail with real time synchronization with mail server specially for business users. Idea Radio: Idea in collaboration with Radio to offer its customer radio services on mobile. Music Messaging: Cellular Jockey is service where you can send music SMS to your friends and loved one. Other Value Added Services: Other services include live TV streaming, easy billing option, payment by mobile of utility bills, travel booking etc. Wireless Internet: Idea provide wirless serives uder name of Idea net setter in form of plug and play which is simply a USB which require no extra installation to surf internet Strategy for next year: Following the traits, mobile market could reach maturity in next 5-6 years where then differentiation should base only on the services mobile companies provided. So for coming years Idea mobiles should concentrate more on urban market as well with new service offering as presently Idea is more concentrate to rural market.. The following could be some new features they should consider: Idea can come up with new and attractive plans like few years back they introduced caller tunes which really attracted people but at extra costs now in coming time they should provide these services as a part of basic packages. Like other countries they should tie up with mobile manufacturing companies to provide handset along with sim cards and packages. To invest more in rural market they should provide basic information like weather upates,news free of cost cause major of the rural India people depends upon farming. 2. Price: Pricing strategy and Implementation One of the main impact of increased competition is the price wars among companies which result to lower their prices (1paise per second), to survive in the market. Idea should also follow the same pricing strategy to remain in the market because customer who choose idea for low price will else move to other low price mobile service providers which is further aggravated by soon with introduction of MNP (mobile number portability) where customer dont require to change their number. However financial implications of pricing model will affect the overall profitability of company. This turn down is mainly determined by two factors: reduced tariff and customer is billed on per second rather than per minute because previously when a customer talked for 10 seconds he was charged for one minute but now if the customer calls for only 10 second then he will charged for 10 second only. These low levels of margins are not sustainable in the long term, where after some time they have to increase their prices to sustain in market. Although Idea can pick up on its profitability by reducing operating costs. Idea should try to focus on its major rural market by reducing prices and keep loyal to brand 3. Place: Objective: Idea Cellular operates in all 22 service areas/circles parts where more than 76% revenue comes from areas like Delhi, AP, Gujarat, MP, UP, Haryana, Kerala Source: The Telephone regulatory auhotirty of India Press release for subscriber base as on 30.10.2010 The medium of service distribution is as follows: My Idea and Idea Zone: The direct retail shops from Idea which provide all services from buying new connection to pay bills recharge topups, plan change, buying wirless services or idea products. These outlets are located within the city area to cover maximum users. Local Retailers: The authorised distributors of Idea services located anywhere in the city. They only provide services like new connections and recharge top ups but not deal in services special like lost SIM replacement, customer complaint handling etc. At some of these shops, there are facilities for bill payment and cheque drop box. Internet: The Company can also obtain all information from Idea website.Custmoers can also pay their bills, buy top ups. Strategy for next year: Setup more and more My Idea stores, and Idea Zones which help them to directly interact with the customers provide better solutions to theory requests. Open kiosk at important places for bill payment and complaint registrations. Because of India law for security norms, process for apllying new connection is still manual, Idea should try to ease the process to increase the customer experience. 4.Promotion: Objective Most of the mobile companies are providing almost same type of services with few modifications. In this case it is really important to position your brand as best as possible and for this the best idea is to promote the brand with best multimedia campaign and market communication. The objective of campaigns is to communicate the customer various new plans, their features, and promotions. Message and Creative strategy: Idea has developed the whole marketing communication around social issues. The use of brand name Idea in its tagline An Idea can change your life is well placed. It mainly follows two different strategies of creating brand awareness and creating and loyialty for brand purchase intention: Transformational appeal: To create brand awareness, they emphasize to stir up emotions that will motivate purchase especially in rural areas. For example: a 90-second advertisement, where a girl is denied to join the school because of non availability, Abhishek Bachchan who is the principal of the school comes up with idea of starting mobile classes. The students will gather around a mobile to learn the lessons and teachers communicate wirelessly. To make interest, they just showed only a 10 second teaser for first few days and after creating a curiosity among the audience they aired full 90 second commercial. Informational appeal: To create and facilitate brand purchase intention, idea designs campaigns which elaborate product attributes or benefits. In such kind of campaign major attributes like call rates or other benefits such as free talk-time or value added services are highlighted. To fulfil this end they go for product comparison ads (for example: to communicate the benefits of womens calling card they developed a campaign which depicts women from different backgrounds having different lifestyle using their Idea womens calling card to fulfil their different needs such as advice, security and beauty tips). To get the attention of the target audience, first half of the commercial is shot in a background of 1960s i.e. in retro environment. Communication Channels: Mass Media: Television: Idea follows a mass marketing strategy like all other brands because this medium has highest reach in the country. To communicate through this channel: Idea buys television slots from 10 sec to 90 sec in famous TV shows. The concept of advertisement is created by agency Lowe Lintas, Idea choose Abhishek Bachan as their brand ambassador. Idea also sponsors sports events such as that of IPL (became one of the sponsor of Mumbai Indians) which are broadcasted on the TV and watched by millions. Idea sponsors famous award functions and TV reality shows Idea Khataron Ke Khiladi- Part 2, Idea Bharat Ki Shaan on DD, Idea IIFA awards, Idea Filmfare Awards etc. which helps in improving brand image. Print Media: This is mainly used to highlight plans and offers. Whenever a new plan is launched, Idea give full page ads in the leading newspapers and on regular bases Idea give ads about different tariffs and plans. Billboards and Hoardings: Idea places its billboards and hoardings at several places in the city such as on a roadside near a traffic light or on highways. The design is customised according to the region. This helps the company in connecting with the diverse target audience at a local level. Tie up with IOC: Idea also tied up with Indian Oil Corporation to use their petrol pumps and gas agencies for branding and distribution of Idea sim cards and recharge vouchers. Online advertisement: Idea comes up with different campaigns on internet websites from time to time to interact and connect with large online youth community. Mobile advertisement: Idea runs several campaigns and contests on mobile to engage existing customers and reward them through monetary prize, thus, reinforcing the relation of Idea with the customer. 7 Cs of marketing: (book model in appendix) The website of Idea Cellular services is http://www.ideacellular.com/. The website analysis on the basis of 7 Cs of marketing is as follows: Contract: Idea website is divided into nine sections including Home, Prepaid, Postpaid, VAS and Roaming, Business offerings, Customer care, Blackberry, Wireless internet, investors. Website is not too complex and easy to understand even for a person who dont know much about using of internet sites for getting information and can pay online bills indicates that Ideas believe in simplicity for the sake of customers. Content: The content of website is quite useful and presents all the necessary information to customers as well as investors. It covers like company history, major events, press releases, company mission, values, products etc for everyone. From investors prospective it covers sharing holding pattern, Annual reports, presentations etc.Idea users can login for their personal account in website for check details, update them, paying bills etc. Overall it provides required the valuable information Construction: The website is user friendly and easy to use. Connectivity to different tabs is accessible on home page as well as individual tabs itself. All tabs/sections provide simple and direct meaning about their significance. Community: There are different types of communities which keep on entering the market to let people connect. Idea will let you to connect to facebook as well now. Presently people can part of Kaho whats your idea community. Customization: Presently Idea website does not let any customization of any products or plans. If user want any change in their mobile phone plans they have to visit Idea retail outlets The only option available is that people can register their themselves for new connections on available plans or edit their personal details. Communication: There is one common tab appear as a banner for all sections of website run five(presently) promotional advertisements which keep on changing about new plans, products, offers of the company. These advertisements are comparatively of short duration (few seconds).The website is not loud to support the Idea of simplicity. Commerce: The website provides current users to pay their bills,recharge their top ups and edit their personal details.

How ecommerce helped the freight forwarding business

How ecommerce helped the freight forwarding business Introduction The implementation of internet and electronic communication systems is changing the traditional face of freight forwarding and the shipping industry has to change with it. It is evident that e-commerce is no longer an emerging technology and it has already conquered a major place in the heart of freight forwarding business. Electronic communication system has become one of the main trump card in shipping industry to live up the higher expectations of a customer. This paper will review briefly the applications of e-commerce in general and in particular to the transport sector especially freight forwarding business. E-Commerce Electronic commerce is defined as the electronic exchange (delivery or transaction) of information, goods, services, and payments over telecommunications networks.It involves mainly distribution, buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products or services through the use of electronic means such as the Internet, and other computer networks. E-commerce has grown exponentially due to the convergence of technological developments, the merging of the telecommunications and computing industries, and globalised business models. The universal adoption of the Internet not only led to further rapid growth of the B2B sector, but also created a new business-to-consumer (B2C) market.The main factor that put e-commerce towards the top of the public is the popularisation and commercialisation of internet. E-commerce now touches virtually all aspects of economic and social life.(Swamidass,2000) Freight Forwarding Freight forwarders acts as an intermediary between exporters, importers or other companies organising efficient transportation of goods. They makes arrangement for transportation of goods by satisfying the customer requirements using various services like Shipping lines, Airlines Road and Rail freight operators. There are a lot of companies involved in freight forwarding business and these varies according to the size and type. In some cases the freight forwarders will only deal with particular goods only and they will be confined to certain geographical areas. Following are the functions carried out in freight forwarding business Cargo consolidation and multimodal transport Transhipment Packing, warehousing and distribution. Arranging cargo insurance Documentation and customs clearance Payment of freight and local taxes Saved fax, phone and courier costs Possibility to reuse information and create templates Transport distribution analysis and transportations arrangements (UNESCAP,2011) Greater speed in transactions In e-commerce, transactions are faster than traditional commercial transactions. Before the advent of e-commerce, freight forwarders prepared the documents with the help of a lawyer and lot of stamps were used. The main advantage of e-commerce is that it allows electronic exchange of cargo documents through internet like bill of lading instructions, freight invoices, container status messages, motor carrier shipment instructions, and other documents with increased accuracy and efficiency by eliminating the need to re-key or reformat documents. It also enables streamline document handling for shippers, freight forwarders and trucking firms without the monetary and time investment required by the traditional document delivery systems and thus paperwork is significantly reduced and the shipping department will therefore be more efficient.(ELC,2011).For example US Customs Service supports an EDI-based system for ocean cargo which can report, electronically, the cargo manifest, bill of la ding and other shipping-related information. This online data system has proved to be beneficial in permitting quicker cargo release and increased carrier productivity through reduced cargo-processing time. It has also helped some port authorities to become more competitive by reducing cargo customs clearance and processing times.(GXS,2011) Use of e-commerce in cargo handling documentation helps in: Reducing costs Improving data accuracy Simplifying business processes Accelerating business cycles Enhancing customer service.(ELC,2011) Shipment tracking Clients need connectivity with the Freight Forwarding systems to access their files for status, to extract reports from Freight Forwarding databases, and have their shipments processed in an error free and timely manner. Shipment tracking engages global positioning systems(GPS), which keep track of vehicles so that customers can find out exact location of the shipment at a given time. This gives instant shipping information access to anyone in the company, from any location. The greatest demands for shipment tracking has developed in express or parcel delivery services.(ELC,2011) DHL is an example of a company where tracking has always been a crucial component to operations, which began with customers making calls to customer service to trace their goods. Now a number of options are available (Smith, 2002) Business Asia). Customer orientation E-commerce helps in delivering better services to their customers like providing websites which helps the customer to gather information about the freight forwarders whom they wish to transit their goods. The customers can make right decision regarding their selection of the right freight forwarders. Some companies provide tariff information on the Internet sometimes along with calculators, enabling the shipper to input details such as cargo origin and destination, cargo characteristics, etc., providing the required freight rate instantly. These systems provide considerable benefit to shippers by simplifying and expediting numerous tasks involved in freight rating, which would otherwise involve considerable time, cost and human resources to complete .Another fact is that these website helps in boosting, branding and building up the goodwill of the freight forwarders for the purpose of marketing.(Lai Wang,2008) FedEx uses their secure saver which helps the software to set up an online catalogue and the order-handling system hooks into a user interface which helps to register online customersà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ orders and make sure of confirmation numbers. With automatic inventory updating it is possible to pack the order.(Timmer 1999).. FedEx also has an E-Commerce Builder program, which offers Web design, hosting, order management, real-time financial settlement, and fulfillment to small and midsize companies, at no cost.(Business wire,2011) Shipping portals These have become a major strategic positioning exercise by liners, but internal strategies vary. The three major liner shipping portals online are GT Nexus, an e-logistics software company, using its portal to drive its strategy of becoming a global leader in e-logistics software and services; INTTRA, an industry portal rather than a software provider, aiming to facilitate the interaction between users and their carriers; CargoSmart, aiming to add value to core booking and tracking facilities and to provide a more complete solution to users.(Wn,2011) 3PL Logistics Increased adoption of logistic out-sourcing by manufacturing companies has led a steady growth of third party logistics (3PL) and in recent years, most of the traditional freight forwarders have transformed into 3PL.For the smooth operation of the organisation It is important to have successful information exchange between the parties involved in the business and to cooperate with remote warehouses and inland transport provider. Here e-commerce plays a vital role in helping the freight forwarders to sort out the problems with efficient communication systems and tools like EDI and ETF while they are emerging wholly as a 3PL. (Bumstead and Cannons,2002) ILG is a traditional freight forwarding company and now has emerged into a 3PL and provides services like shipping, e-commerce support, warehousing, fulfilment and the company believes that without the help of e-commerce they wouldnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t have emerged as a 3PL (ILG,2011) Crown logistics, a freight forwarding company in Hong Kong with the help of e-commerce have helped to improve the utilization of its resources, such as warehouse space transportation fleets, customs procedures, specialized packing and transports, on-time delivery and tracking technology. Company itself is in the process of expanding its operations across greater China, with the objective of becoming a full-pledged 3PL company (Crown logistics,2011). Port services Several maritime ports around the world, including those of New York, Rotterdam, Singapore and Hamburg have electronic systems which link up various parties engaged in the movement of freight through the port, including shippers, forwarders, customs, terminal operators, carriers and other port users. Singapore TradeNet, an EDI system that has dramatically reduced turnaround times for processing information about ship arrivals, loadings and unloadings and departures .(Applegate et al,1993) According to Lee and Whang in the near future, there will be an explosion of business-to-business applications of the Internet as visionary companies develop new paradigms of e-business for the future. This can be understood also to refer to new technologies that extend the ambit of e-business, such as mobile communications technology.(Lee Whang,2001) Conclusion: E-commerce is an essential requirement in modern business methodology that cuts costs and at the same time increases the quality of services and thus achieving greater efficiency in freight forwarding business. The scope and range of these benefits makes it clear that e-commerce in the form of e-business processes and systems can have an enormous impact in terms of benefits to the entire supply chain. Word Count: 1480

The Andromeda Strain :: essays research papers

The book I read "The Andromeda Strain was written by the author Michael Chrichton. It is approximately 286 pages long. This book should be categorized as a science fiction book. 2.) The book, The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Chrichton starts out with two men going to investigate a satellite that crashed in Piedmont, Arizona. This satellite was sent out to collect alien organisms or bacteria. When the two men drove into town to collect the satellite they noticed that everyone was dead and within a few moments so were they. Because they were army personnel working directly for the government, several doctors and scientists were contacted secretly to deal with the issue. Once all the men were contacted, they were set to meet at the "Wildfire Project Installation", which was a top-secret government installation intended to study and correct any alien virus. When the men arrived, they immediately began studying and trying to understand what exactly happened in piedmont and why. This building was set to five levels, the first of these five was clean however not sterile the second slightly cleaner, as was the third, and fourth, the fifth was as sterile as physically possible. During the experiments they tested two people they brought back from the town, which were the only two survivors of the virus, one being an old man and the other an infant baby. They could find no similarities in them, So they tested the disease on animals and then did autopsies on their dead bodies. However they did not find anything until during one of the autopsies, Burton, one of the group of scientists, had torn his glove, meaning he was contaminated with the virus. And the automatic detonation button was turned on and set to go off within three minutes. Hall another one of the scientists was the only person able to turn it off, forcing him to crawl through the air shaft to another floor while darts filled with poison were being shot at him.

Schindlers List Essay -- Film Movie Nazi Germany Jews Schindler Essay

Schindler's List Schindler's List is one of the most powerful movies of all time. It presents the indelible true story of enigmatic German businessman Oskar Schindler who becomes an unlikely saviour of more than 1100 Jews amid the barbaric Nazi reign. A German Catholic war profiteer, Schindler moved to Krakow in 1939 when Germany overran Poland. There he opens an enamelware factory that, on the advice of his Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern, was staffed by Jews from the nearby forced labour camp at Plaszow. Schindler's factory prospered though his contacts with the Nazi war machine and its local representatives, as well as his deft skill on the black market. Then, somewhere along the way, Schindler's devotion to self-interest was supplanted by a desire to protect as many Jews as possible. This desire ultimately grew into 'Schindler's List,' which was directly responsible for sparing the lives of 1100 Jews - a charming and sly entrepreneur, Schindler bribed and befriended the Nazi authorities and manage d to get them released from the labour camp and brought to the safety of his munitions factory in Czechoslovakia. Aspects of good and evil are portrayed in a number of different ways throughout the film, ?Schindler?s List?. The story of Schindler's List reminds us that there is hope; that sometimes the actions of one person - one ordinary person even, for Oskar Schindler is not the stereotypical altruistic hero - can make a difference, even in the face of mass apathy and e...

300 †a Gender Analysis Essay

Gender The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies; A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarilythat of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. Men were typically employed, successful gentlemen, while the woman’s only job was a housewife. The film industry was mostly dominated by men. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had successful careers and did many activities outside of home. â€Å"Women were shown doing housework and men were the beneficiaries of their work† (â€Å"Women’s roles in the film industry† Women in film). As women were given a more active role in society, the gender roles in movies changed. However, many types of gender stereotypes in films still exist. Action genre movies in particular account for many of the gender stereotypes in the film industry today. Men are typically portrayed to be the hero, while women are often portrayed as sexual objects. In the movie 300, the Spartan men served and protected the city of Sparta, while the Spartan women did domestic chores and bred more warriors. Because this movie was set back in 480 BC society portrayed men to be superior to women. Some of the main characters in 300 are prime examples for the different gender roles. King Leonidas is the proud, triumphant King of Sparta. In the film, the character Leonidas possesed as a couple different male stereotypes. King Leonidas is portrayed as the hero throughout the different action sequences. Throughout the movie Leonidas takes charge of his troops and leads them into battle. Leonidas is hero not only because he is the King of Sparta, but also because he is the commander of the troops. Before King Leonidas leaves for battle with his three-hundred Spartans, he confronts his wife and refrains from saying â€Å"My queen, my life, my love,† because he, like all other Spartans, is not soft and does not want to show emotion to his queen (Zack Snyder. 00). The narrator speaks of how Spartan men are raised like brutes and are â€Å"hard warriors† (Zack Snyder. 300). This particular phrase is important to the story because it reflects the gender role of men during that time period. King Leonidas can also be classified as the family man stereotype. Throughout the film he trains his young son for battle. He plays the role of protector not only for his individual family, but also for Spart a. In the movie 300, King Leonidas represents many male stereotypes. In contrast, the character Queen Gorgo stands for many female stereotypes in the movie. The queen portrays the domestic female stereotype. In the film Queen Gorgo cares for her young son and stays at home while her husband, King Leonidas, is fighting for their country. Like many of the women in the film, Queen Gorgo performs many domestic tasks such as retrieving food and water for her family, as well as looking after her child. Queen Gorgo is also a sex object. She is easily seduced by her King. She bribesone of the councilmen with sex. At times in the film the Queen, among many other women, wear little clothing. The 300 Spartans also wear little clothing in the film. Due to the lack of clothing, the Spartans show their ripped and brute physique to reinforce the male stereotype of being brawny and strong. Lastly, the queen represents the female stereotype of beauty. The queen is an attractive woman with a small frame, much like how the media portrays what a woman should look like. Her attractive looks and sexual qualities are a large part of Queen Gorgo’s character. Queen Gorgo represents an abundance of the female stereotypes in society. The captain of the Spartan troops also shows male stereotypes. The captain is a close ally of King Leonidas. Throughout the film, the captain portrays the male stereotype of being a family man. The captain’s son, Astinos, is barely old enough to be in battle with the Persians. The captain is skeptical of allowing his son to enter battle, but decides to encourage him to serve their country. Throughout the different battles with the Persians, the captain protects his son from harm. When Astinos is killed by Persians, the captain goes on an extremely violent tirade and kills every Persian in sight due to his overpowering vengeance. After the death of his son, the captain proclaims to the king that his heart is filled with hate, and King Leonidas replies â€Å"Good. † King Leonidas feels that it is necessary for a soldier to feel hatred toward his enemies. This particular scene portrays another male characteristic of not showing emotion towards a certain subject. The captain is another character that shows the male stereotype present in this film. Although many of the characters in the movie portray the prevalent male and female stereotypes in society, there are a few characters that stray away from these social formalities. Councilman Theron is an example of one of the characters that does not abide to the brute and warrior stereotypes in the film 300. Theron is no older than the Spartan men who fight for their city, but he lacks the physical strength that the Spartan warriors possess. Because Theron is not a typical man in Sparta, he wears a gown that is similar to the gowns worn by Spartan women. Along with Councilman Theron, there are other men that are on the council of Sparta. These men are far less in physical size than the Spartan warrior and are given duties that are similar to women. The men in the council are unique to the majority of men in Sparta that serve their city. Since the men wear â€Å"woman-like† clothing, it labels women’s apparel to be very revealing. These men reinforce some of the women stereotypes prevalent in the film. There are also some specific scenes in the movie that break some of the male and female stereotypes. Directly after Astinos is killed in battle, the Captain begins to break down and cry. The captain immediately showed his emotion for the loss of his son. This scene in the movie shows how even the most masculine man has to show some emotion at some point in time. In the end of the battle against the Persians, after King Leonidas has been shot by many arrows, he stands up and shouts, â€Å"My queen, my life, my love† (Zack Snyder. 300). This phrase is contradictory to the general actions of Spartans, and men in general, because it shows emotion. Both of these sequences in the film show how every man must show emotion, regardless of who they are. 300 demonstrated the many male and female stereotypes in society. Although most of the men were relatively similar, there were a few men in Sparta who went against the normal gender role. Like many other action movies, 300 showed various roles that supported some of the gender roles in the film industry. The main characters primarily demonstrated the conventional gender roles, but they also expressed some contradictory qualities. The film industry provides arious different types of gender roles through movies. â€Å"advertising. † Home | Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN. 20 Apr. 2009 ;lt; http://www. diigo. com/05lfx â€Å"Women in Film. † Yahoo! GeoCities: Get a free web site with easy-to-use site building tools. 20 Apr. 2009 ;lt; http://www. diigo. com/05lfw â€Å"300 Movie – Spartans. † Mens Movie Guide. 20 Apr. 2009 ;lt; http://www. diigo. c om/05lfv 300 (Widescreen Single Disc Edition). Dir. Zack Snyder. Perf. Gerard Butler, Lena Headey. DVD. Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International, 2006.

Granting Finance and Non-Fund Based Limits Essay

For the purpose of granting finance, banks are lending by way of fund based limits as well as non fund based limits. The following are treated as fund based limits: a) Lock and key type – against of pledge of goods; b) Open factory type pledge or open key advance – against hypothecation of goods; c) Advance against hypothecation of goods; d) Advance against book debts; e) Advance against bills. The following are considered as non fund based limits granted by the banks to the public: Letter of credit and bank guarantees: Banks normally undertake a proper appraisal of the financial standing and requirement of the customer for non fund based facilities as in the case of fund based ones. This is because though the bank in the case of non funded facility, commits itself to pay only in the event of non-payment by or non performance of the customer, the possibility of the given non-funded credit facility resolving into real or funded credit facility on the customer’s default or non performance cannot be ruled out. Letter of credit: A letter of credit is a written undertaking given by a bank on behalf of its customer who is a buyer, to the supplied, promising to pay a certain sum of money provided the supplier complies with the terms and conditions embodied in the letter of credit. A letter of credit is required where the supplier of goods and services deals with unknown parties or otherwise feels the need to safeguard his interest. In such circumstances he stipulates in his sales contract with the buyer that the goods will be supplied and payment made only under a bank’s letter of credit. Under a bank’s letter of credit a conditional commitment to make the payment is made by the bank which gives an assurance to the supplier that he will receive the necessary payment provided he does what the buyer requires him to do, within the time period specified in that regard. Whereas in the case of fund based limits, the banks deal with goods, in the case of letter of credits, they deal with documents and not in goods and the transactions are executed only on the basis of the documents. The letter of credit is an autonomous transaction quite distinct from the sale and purchase on which it may be based. The bank issuing the letter of credit has to make up its mind within a reasonable time on receipt of the documents whether to accept or reject them. Normally the letter of credits issued the banks are governed by the Uniform customs and practice for documentary credits of the International Chamber of Commerce situated at Paris. Reference: http://classof1.com/homework-help/finance-homework-help/