Concept Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay

Concept Of Relationship Marketing Marketing Essay The following report will look at IKEAs relationship marketing with its key community groups in Coventry (see appendix 1 for company background). The concept of relationship marketing, summary of audit findings, pressure groups, developing a co-ordinated communication mix and finally methods to measure success of communication mix are considered. 2. CONCEPT OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING Early 80s was the emergence of the concept relationship marketing as an influential issue in the marketing literature. Bund Jackson is recorded as having used the term relationship marketing in 1970s in the field of industrial marketing (Gumesson et al., 1997). As IKEA strives to remain competitive in the business market, the company is moving away from transactional marketing that is based on a single, short-time exchange with a distinct beginning and ending towards a focus on retention of customers, establishing loyalty and building long-term relationships. According to Kotlet et al (2008 )relationship marketing is the process of creating, maintaining and enhancing strong, value-laden relationships with customers and other stakeholders IKEA is also active in establishing and maintaining a beneficial relationship with the communities by adopting corporate citizen values and approaches. Benefits from relationship marketing for IKEA are: Loyalty and retention Loyal community groups will recommend IKEAs business to others by positive, word-of-mouth communications which in terms will lead to business expansion. Christopher et al (2002) suggest that loyalty and retention can be achieved using relationship marketing ladder of loyalty: partner, prospect, purchaser, client, supporter, advocate and partner. Competitive advantage Good community relations programmes will add value to the IKEAs corporate social responsibility (CSR), thus differentiating from competitors CSR activities. Support for marketing activity IKEAs active community relations will create a positive image to the company by planned marketing communications. The basis of any relationship is based upon trust, commitment and co-operation. Morgan and Hunt (1994) with their model of what builds trust suggest that relationship commitment and trust are key variables for successful relationships because they promote cooperative behaviors between relationship partners and encourage them to maintain long-term relationships. Relationship commitment Co-operation Trust Figure 1.1. Three dynamics to trust within a relationship by Morgan and Hunt (1994) Once trust is formed the opportunity arises for relationship commitment and it is through this co-operation successful outcomes can be gained. In order to develop trust, commitment and co-operation IKEA should consider the following: Service encounter. Using face-to face interaction with key community groups such as site and neighbourhood community IKEA will result in a higher level of satisfaction, and a long-term commitment on behalf of both parties to the relationship. Collaboration. Collaboration in terms of sharing information, solving problems and an acceptance of compromise will establish long-term relationships between community groups and IKEA. Transparency. Relationship transparency has been suggested as a potential source of competitive advantage in business markets (Bliemel and Eggert, 1998). By informing, delivering value and satisfaction to the community groups IKEA will gain a competitive advantage. Creation of value. Community satisfaction implies that needs of community groups are being met by IKEA, for example, supporting local events, and environmental concerns. If they are not satisfied, they will withdraw their support and thus damaging corporate image of IKEA. 3. SUMMARY OF AUDIT FINDINGS IKEA is involved in a number of local, social and environmental projects in communities in the countries where they do business. The majority of IKEAs projects support children, homeless, student scholarships and environmental projects on climate change and the protection of natural resources. Different community groups may have some impact in one way or another on the company. An audit was undertaken to identify key community groups of IKEA, and to assess the nature and level of their impact on IKEAs relationship marketing and potential future use of relationship marketing. (For research methodology and detailed findings, see Appendix 2.) By grouping community groups in the power/interest matrix, IKEA may achieve a better picture on how communication and relationships between various community groups should be developed to reach agreement about and acceptance for the project and its implementation. Key community groups identified by the audit are the following: Site community The site community is defined by its geographical boundaries, thus it is a city or town where the company and any of its major facilities are located. (Burke E, 1999, p 61) Fenceline community The neighbourhood community is made up of the immediate neighbours surrounding the property of the company. (Burke E, 199, p 62) Workplace community Workplace community includes staff of IKEA. Local media: local press in Coventry The media provides focus and attention on many areas of corporate strengths and weakness of the company. Level of influence and impact of community groups on IKEA Local universities, church groups require minimal effort and monitoring. They have low interest or power to influence current IKEA relationship plans. These groups should be informed only to a necessary extent, and not much effort should be invested into them. There is no need for excessive communication with these types of communities. Local media should be kept informed. Despite of their low power they could be powerful enemies or allies when influencing attitudes of more powerful community groups. Their interest in the project must be taken seriously through dialogue and information to make certain that the companys viewpoint is heard. They can be helpful with the detail of companys project. They publicize issues and corporate achievements and form a line of communication from the company to the community groups. Local government, pressure groups should be kept satisfied. These community groups are powerful, although their level of interest in the strategies of the organization is relatively low. They are meainly relatively passively, but may unexpectedly appear due to certain events, moving to key community groups on that issue. IKEA should put adequate work in with these community to keep them satisfied, but not bombarded with information because that they become bored with message. These groups of communities are often passive, but can exert a great impact on the project. The relationship between a relative low interest and a high level of power makes these groups difficult to handle, it is therefore necessary to analyse their intentions and to involve them according to their interest. Site community, fenceline community, workplace community are key players of the project. The site community can provide services to the company such as fire, safety, education, transportation and the like. They are significant community groups with high interest in the project and high power to influence project implementation and completion. They should be an important consideration in the appraisal of new strategies. These community groups must be involved in all relevant project developments. They are the key players IKEA must engage with fully, and make maximum efforts to satisfy them. The needs and wants for each of community groups are various. On their own, no one group can entirely influence the activities or directions of the organization. However, some group communities posses greater power comparing to others. Overall, IKEAs relationship marketing was found to be effective in the area of media and sponsoring for charities. 4. PRESSURE GROUPS: SECTIONAL AND CASUAL Pressure groups are the activists of the community groups. In general, pressure groups are social aggregates with some level of cohesion and shared aims which attempt to influence the political decision-making process. (Ball and Millard, 1986, pp. 33-4) Pressure groups can be: Sectional pressure groups (also called defensive or interest groups). Examples: professional bodies, such as the British Medical Association, Trade Unions, The Law Society, etc. Casual pressure groups (also called promotional or attitude groups). Examples: Greenpeace, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, National Rifle Association, etc. Pressure groups interest and power are given in auditing findings (see appendix 2). Difference between sectional and causal pressure groups are: Sectional pressure groups Casual pressure groups directly and personally concerned with the effect of the campaign fought by the group as they generally stand to achieve economically and/or professionally membership is usually restricted as they are concerned with a particular section of society. aspire to involve as many eligible members as possible to join the group. seek to defend the interests of a section of society aspire to represent the general interests of a particular section of society not self-interested in that the accomplishment of their objectives is not essentially of direct economic or direct benefit to the members of the group. membership is not usually restricted as they aim to promote a cause tend to have an open membership in order to gain a critical mass of popular support and strength of campaigning. aim to change peoples attitudes about a particular issue or policy Local Trade Unions encourage companies to provide training at the workplace. They protect workers of the company. According to Harris D. et al (2008) trade unions may influence and impact the company in respect of working processes on the following areas: Issues of respect- workers are often misunderstood by the boss through verbal or physical abuse. Wage and benefits- some workers are not paid according to the full value. Working condition- health and safety at the workplace is the most unifying issue a union can pursue. Working hours- unions can force the boss the hire more workers and also can ensure that in emergency cases where someone must work overtime, they are fairly compensated for it. Job security- any disciplinary action taken against a worker may be subject to a procedure negotiated with the union. Environmental pressure groups is often formed to protest about, and arrest certain undesirable environmental impacts. For example, Greenpeace stands for positive change by defending the natural world and promoting peace through action. IKEA discusses environmentally related issues with Greenpeace. To respond to environmental concerns IKEA do the following: At IKEA Coventry used batteries, paper are recycled. It also phase outs single-use plastic bags. All profits from charging for plastic carrier bag have been donated to Englands Community Forest. Through swiping IKEA Family card at the IKEA checkouts customers help save over 3 acres of forestry. 5. TWO NEW COMMUNITY GROUP RELATIONSHIPS Two new community group relationships that can be developed are: schools community and homeless community SCHOOLS COMMUNITY IKEA can focus its activity in the local community on helping local schools. The company will support learning and development of children at schools, for instance by providing new facilities. Helping children to learn and develop is an area in which IKEA has experience and can make a difference. Criteria for selection local schools to IKEA are the following: Opportunities to engage in local community acting as a good neighbor and supporting community initiatives consistent with IKEAs corporate responsibility objectives. By building communication, sharing resources, expertise, skills and developing unique solutions to community problems, these partnerships can become important. Excellent media and corporate social responsibility opportunities associated with supporting the school Sponsoring schools IKEA can attract a lot of attention from local newspapers and can provide great publicity for its business at the same time as enhancing the learning process for children. Developing relationships that can enhance long-term brand recognition So, schools are the natural hub of a neighborhood or community, and can serve as the foundation for community partnerships that will be beneficial to IKEA. However, relationship with school community should be minimal. Schools have neither high power nor influence to impact IKEAs activity. It means that IKEA may provide them with enough information that will be adequate. There is no need to spend much time with them. HOMELESS COMMUNITY IKEA may support homeless people in Coventry. For example, IKEA can establish partnership with Coventry Cyrenians which is a charity dedicated to working with homeless people or whose accommodation may be at risk. IKEAs vision is: To create a better everyday life for the many people. The many people can be homeless people that live in Coventry community. Charitable partnership is one of the ways through which IKEA may invest in the community it operates its business. IKEA supports this organisation by furnishing and decorating day-time activity centres and housing facilities with individual apartments and communal areas. In addition, co-workers of IKEA may volunteer their time. IKEA should be consistent in selection of charities to support. The criteria used for the selection of the charity are the following: Type of organization- registered charity in Coventry and surrounding areas. Primary focus is to support homeless people or people whose home may be identified as at risk for whatever reason, providing them with accommodation Should be dynamic, innovative and cost effective Any contribution from IKEA should be used by charity for the purpose for each it was given and to report effectively to the company on the process of the initiatives which companys funding has supported. the project should have a long life and be seen to actively improve homeless people 6. COMMUNICATION MIX FOR TWO COMMUNITY GROUP According to Kotler (2008) promotional mix is the specific mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and public relations that a company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives. Communication mix is important because of the following: ability to use different promotional tools to reach target audience it helps to communicate a range of messages to different markets helps in achieving companys marketing objectives Communication mix should have clear objectives and target audience. Communication objectives of IKEA: 50% awareness of IKEAs community efforts for school community and homeless community in Coventry within the next twelve months. Target: community groups such as site and fenceline communities, local government in Coventry In order to achieve objective IKEA should decide what components of the communication mix is needed to utilize in communicating with school and homeless community groups. The following are suggested communication mix for two new community groups: School community- Sponsorship Sponsorship is a business relationship ad should be mutually beneficial to the sponsored individual and the sponsoring company. Many researches and authors agree that the use of sponsorship by organizations is increasing (Sneath et al., Harvey et al., 2006; 2007; Wakefield et al., 2007) and that it is becoming a more significant part of the marketing communication mix. According to Fill C (2009) sponsorship can be defined as a commercial activity, whereby one party permits another an opportunity to exploit an association with a target audience in return for funds, services or resources. Benefits for IKEA using sponsoring schools are the following: Increase brand awareness of the company among community groups. It allows brand of the company to be communicated without the clutter and noise associated with advertising. Building and enhancing positive corporate image in community groups mind As a means of reaching wider target audiences To suggest to the target audiences that there is an association between the sponsored and the sponsor and that by implication this association may be of interest and/or value. Show that a company cares about it community and is prepared to invest in its future and the welfare of its community IKEA may use sponsorship for school community. Sponsorship may last 2 years for example, sponsoring new facilities for education. Limitations: Different methods of support are applied to sponsees depending on their needs and the sponsors needs as well. This points out to a lack of standardization, and therefore requires more time on planning and evaluation. Homeless community- Donation A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. Donation for homeless community within next 2 years by donating products and home furnishing. Public Relations both for school and homeless community Public Relations is defined as the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (Institute of Public Relations) Benefits of PR: Promotion of positive image of the company to the community group To build links with IKEAs community To oppose bad publicity PR activities will include press releases, press conferences and establishing community relationships. Limitations: Risk of losing control cannot always control what other people write or say about IKEA. Media: Local newspaper both for school and homeless community IKEA may use local newspapers of Covnetry such as Coventry Telegraph, and The Coventry Times. Coventry Telegraph is a daily newspaper in Coventry covering local news, sports, business, jobs and community events. Readers spend an average of 30 minutes reading The Telegraph. The Coventry Times is established free newspaper for the local area, providing local people with excellent information and advertising platforms. The Times reaches over 74% of houses in the Coventry area. Newspaper benefits: Gives favourable impression of the company A high profile image is lodged in the community groups mind Limitations: Short life span, circulation does not mean readership 7. MEASUREMENT OF THE SUCCES OF COMMUNICATION MIX It is essential to measure the effectiveness of each communication campaign. It is necessary to ensure that the communication objectives have been met and that the strategy has been effective and resources have been used economically. For example, advertising objective is to increase awareness of IKEA brand to 70% of the target market by 2009. Public Relations objective is to convince 80 % of community groups that the company is doing its business in a socially responsible way by 2009. Measuring and analysing the outcome of a specific interaction will help in the development of future communications and in evaluating the best methods to use. Evaluation is necessary for: Improvement of the effectiveness of different communication tools Knowing the effect of communication activities and improving needed areas IKEA will be able to reach the outcomes it seeks. Effectively engagement with audiences Throughout implementation, evaluation can help IKEA find ways to collect feedback from its community groups, how advertising is being received and learn how they are responding to various media messages. Allocation of resources wisely It provides a potential source of material for the new campaign. Evaluation can help IKEA determine whether its communication investments could be redistributed more effectively to achieve the desired results. There are many ways to measure effectiveness of each of the communication tools. The following are suggested evaluation methods: PR evaluation: quarterly Awareness of community groups about IKEAs community initiatives in Coventry community can be evaluated using marketing research through qualitative or quantitative methods. Attitude of community groups to IKEAs projects- by using research to judge if attitudes have changed positively or negatively. Media coverage and tone- can measure the number of column inches achieved, the type of headings and tone of coverage. Positioning- by measuring the position of IKEA in comparison to the competition Qualitative method: Focus group: at the end of programme According to Kotler (1999) focus group is a small sample of typical consumers under the direction of a group leader who elicits their reaction to a stimulus such as an advertising or product concept. By using in-depth interviewing skills a moderator can probe the thoughts and feelings held by the members of the group towards media vehicles or advertising messages. By negotiating a focus group to monitor the marketing communications pre-, during and post-campaign, this can help maximise the effectiveness of the campaign. Overall, results from focus groups will help us identify feelings regarding the corporate image of IKEA: brand, reputation and understand the attitudes of community groups towards IKEA. Quantitative method: survey or personal interviews: annually In order to identify the effects of the media we will use written surveys. Survey can be conducted by IKEA or consultants. By using large sample size we will be able to know concerns, community expectations, extent and quality of relationship with key community groups and company. Results will help design plans and programmes that build sustainable trust in a community. Personal interviews: quarterly A personal interview is a two-way conversation initiated by an interview to obtain information from a participant on a face-to-face basis (Cooper Schindler, 2003, p323) Limitation. Personal interviews are a lot more costly and time consuming comparing with other methods in the communication approach. Evaluation of sponsorship Media exposure measurement- to count column centimetres of coverage about the sponsorship activity achieved by IKEA Pre-testing and pos-testing of awareness in relation to sponsorship activity of IKEA Feedback from participants- quantitative feedback from community groups sponsored party and other stakeholders to determine effect on corporate image. Internal communication evaluation: monthly Feedback forms and attitude surveys may be used to gain feedback from participating staff: how effective they thought communication was; what information needs were or were not met; what effect the new role emphasis has had on their job satisfaction; etc. 8. CONCLUSION The company recognizes that supporting the community is not only a matter of morality, but it also improves a companys brand image, reputation and allows the company to gain more publicity and exposure. It is important that IKEA makes a careful selection of communication mix to communicate with key community groups. Appendix 1: Organization overview Company background IKEA is a Swedish Multi-National home furnishing Company (MNC). It was founded in Almhult, Sweden in 1943 by only a 17-year old boy Ingvar Kamprad who started selling farm implements at a reduced price under the name IKEA, which is acronym for his initials (I.K), farm (Elmtaryd) and village (Agunnaryd) where he was born and grew up. At the beginning IKEA sold small items such as food containers, pens, jewelry and watches before becoming internationally known. Due to the success of furniture line, Ingvar Kamprad decided to put an end to all the other products focusing only on furniture. In 1958, the first IKEA store was opened in Almhult, Sweden and since 1960s the IKEA stores opened outside Sweden. Nowadays, IKEA has turned into the worlds largest furniture retailer, with over 300 stores in more than 35 countries since its first outlet and visited by 600 million visitors around the world and plans to develop further. IKEA managed to double its sales significantly in a couple of years. Turnover of all IKEA stores (sales tax not included) was 22,713 million EURO in 2009. Organization structure In spite of its great expansion, IKEA is privately owned company. Ingvar Kamprad still has some control over the company through a unique organization. The IKEA corporate structure is divided into two main parts: operations and franchising. Currently, the company is owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation based in Netherlands. INGKA holding B.V. is the parent of all the companies of the IKEA Group. Every IKEA store is given the rights to operate the IKEA Concept on a defined market. IKEAs vision is: To create a better everyday life for the many people. The many people include suppliers, employees, customers, and other stakeholders affected by IKEA operations. Business idea: To offer a wide range of well- designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. IKEA does not have its own manufacturing facilities but uses subcontracted manufactures around the world. To facilitate shopping, IKEA provides catalogues, tape measures, shopping lists and website to help the consumer with fitting the furniture into the room. So, IKEAs success is based on the relatively simple idea of keeping the cost between manufactures and customers down. Target market The company targets the customer who is looking for good value and is willing to do a little bit of work serving themselves, so they pick up the furniture, carry it home and fix it themselves. The typical IKEA customer is young families and couples just starting out to middle income family. IKEA products IKEA product range is approximately 10,000 products in total. The product range of IKEA is extensive enough. It is wide in function as it sells not only furniture but also from plants and living room furnishings to toys and whole kitchens. IKEA make every effort to use renewable and recyclable materials in their products. IKEA brand and communication IKEA is one of the successful global brands associated with its unique cultural branding that merges the value, low cost and fashionable design to ensure the creation of affordable contemporary household goods for the middle class. The company emphasized its Swedish heritage in its international advertising, even going as far to insist on Swedish blue and yellow colour scheme echoes the colours of the Swedish national flag for its stores. Any IKEA stores include restaurants that serve Swedish meatballs. IKEA has a long tradition in marketing communication focusing primarily on printed media IKEAs catalogue is the worlds largest free distribution translated into several languages and now it is possible to view online on the website. Other IKEAs communication tools are: TV, radio, and internet. IKEA in UK According to the latest figures from market intelligence specialists Verdict Consulting, IKEA UK total market share up to the end of quarter three 2009 is 6.1 % IKEAs competitors in the UK are DIY retailers that are selling more home furnishings like Argos, B Q, Homebase and John Lewis. There are 18 stores in the UK, the first of which opened in Warrington in 1987. The largest IKEA store is in Croydon, London. In July 2009 IKEA opened a store in Dublin-its first in Ireland. Appendix 2: An audit of existing relationships with key community groups Introduction IKEA is undertaking an audit in order to identify projects key community groups in Coventry, an assessment of their interests, and the ways in which these interests affect project effectiveness and limitations. Stakeholder audit seeks to identify these. Audit methodology Methodologies that were used to undertake and audit of IKEA UK community groups are the following: Secondary research on stakeholder theory and stakeholder analysis methodologies. (See the selected bibliography attached as appendix of this report). Mendelows stakeholder mapping matrix will be taken as a technique to classify stakeholders according to their importance to the organisation. IKEA sustainability report 2008 and other documentary evidence in regard to the IKEAs relationships with community groups. Identification of community groups and nature of relationship A number of community groups were identified by the in-house survey. Identified community groups in IKEA are the following: Figure A1.1. Community groups and relationship Site community Workplace community Fenceline community IKEA Local media Strength of relationship Strong Weak Local government Universities Church groups Trade Union Greenpeace Stakeholder map: power/interest matrix In order to establish the community groups and their level of influence and impact on relationship marketing we will use stakeholder mapping technique. Mendelows stakeholder map classifies stakeholders in relation to the power that they hold and the extent to which they are likely to show interest in the strategies of the organization. The following figure shows the results of power/interest analysis for IKEA UK community groups. The symbols [+] and [-] are used, according to whether each group is, generally, a supporter or opponent of the aims and activities of IKEA. Figure A1.2. Power/interest for community groups in IKEA relationship marketing Level of interest Low High LowA: Minimal effort universities [+] church groups [+] Level of power B: Keep informed Media: local press [+/-] C: Keep satisfied HighLocal government [+/-] Pressure groups: Trade Union [-] Greenpeace [-] D: Key players Site community [+/-] Fenceline community [+/-] Workplace community [+/-] The current position of each community group may be justified as follows: Influence is considered with particular reference to the community groups potential impact on IKEAs relationshi

Romanticized Idealism

This is the story of Madam Bovary who approaches life with a novelistic, imaginative and idealistic approach.   This Character from her conduct reflect her own personality more and the fact her being a wife seems less associated with her vision of life. Emma, as her name was, was used to living in imaginary world either trying to create fantasy filled perfect life or stays longing for it. This never ending search lead to her to shape a unreal world around her and when eventually she faced the real life left her disappointed. The unimpressive character of her husband and his disinterest in Emma’s personality having an admiration of her physical beauty only, made her deject life and happiness completely. She wanted to romanticize every day of her life and once married her dreams stayed unfulfilled and left her desires burning inside her heart.   Emma seems to have an obvious character flaw that is her over romanticism leading her life to be discontent. She tried to love her husband but her emotions directed by her vision of an adventurous life ended her even more unhappy. She from her living pattern had the tendency to get bored with the monotony of life and had always looked for change. Charm and comfort of a wealthy life attracts her she was obsessed by the idea of having luxuries and facilities. She blamed her husband for discomfort and simple life. The modern day psychologists suggests that the reason behind these behaviors of characters in literature is to depict how the nature of any one is shaped by its heredity and psychological transformation is an evolutionary process, as a result the authors realizing this human psychic narrate the whole effect from their perspective to make people notice and solve few social problems (David P. Barash, Nanelle R. Barash, 2005). She feels her middle class, simple husband and modest home being responsible for her unhappiness and fails to understand that her unsatisfied nature causes her unease and memoirs of her initial life at farm and convent could never make her forget her past life. Emma's incompetence at being a wife according to the bourgeois habitus allows her to expand her competence as a woman by following the hexis of her female body. (Roland A. Champagne, 2002) Themes of the Madam Bovary Gustave Flaubert has attempted to use the theme of fate with several ambiguous interpretations of romanticism, greed, mockery and deception within the novel. The flaws possessed by different characters have been highlighted. Madam Bovary, as it appears, could be considered the most unlikable personification of a character but as we look at the behavior and conduct of each character we find that each of them contributes their share of encouragement that leads Emma to forget everything and follow her instincts. Its an established fact that ‘Fate’ is considered to the cause of greatest misfortunes a human faces, but when a woman due to her immaturity, lack of insight in life, inability to think critically and analyze situations end up destroying not only her own life but the life of her entire family, blaming fate seems quite an irrational explanation. When a man as experienced and cultured as her lover who deceived her just when she was about to elope with him tries to stand fate as responsible for him using her it’s not acceptable. Her husband, Mr. Charles was nothing but a naà ¯ve. He was no doubts a dull and useless man when it was the time to study   and try to learn the skills he wasted his time and missed classes consequently he proved to be a bad doctor and filled his own and his family’s life with misery. He was not living life merely passing time and seemed to have no interest in any thing. He is unintelligent so much so that despite of his mother and neighbors knowing that his wife is involved in extra-marital affairs, he couldn’t sense that, not even for a second. He failed to provide Emma not the kind of life she wanted but even couldn’t make her trust his love by making her feeling proud of him. This gulf of interest her husband possessed about everything in his life made Emma positive about her quest for a free life where she dreams to have everything she longs. Despite some idle cant about high ideals, what clearly attracts her is the artifice of this urban milieu, the ornate trappings and material excess. (Peter Gay, 1999) Romanticism of this lady contributed great for her own unhappiness. She had the tendency of looking at everything with a novelistic approach. A wish to make things perfect completely denying the realities of life and accepting them to normalize her life like every other human being tends to do. She has extremisms in her approach, when she wanted to pray she tried to become a complete devout, when she wanted to love she made it to the limits including her death was also a result of her uncontrolled attitude towards life. In the translated version of Madam Bovary: How false or perverted values debase and dehumanize those who hold such values. Emma Bovary idealizes romance, believing flirtation, trysts, secret letters, and gala balls are the the pith, the very soul, of love. She also prizes things–money, chic fashions, sumptuous surroundings, the tinkle of crystal. The dinner-dance she attends in Rouen is a microcosm of the haut monde in which she wants to live. (Eleanor Marx-Aveling) When a person is not responsible it’s too easy to take advantage of this attitude and its gets quite simple to deceive him. When Charles wife found such an attitude in her husband she availed the opportunity and tried to deceive him in every possible way. Deception lead a relationship to disastrous ends, her adultery for so long had been hidden by her husband, she with perfect mastery concealed her actions and not for once her husband even thought about his wife’s unfaithfulness. He didn’t try to keep a check on her not because very husband should suspect his wife but because a person is suppose to take care of those him or her loves, to protect them and be aware of their happiness. Greed is an evil force that makes men do anything in his power to satisfy it. The characters around Madam Bovary like Lheureux, who this sharp mind and understanding identified her nature and use her weakness to maximize his wealth. He had a liking for Charles property and he made it easy for Madam Bovary to take loans from him. He encouraged   her to make purchases and continued accumulating this debt till the day when   he could claim everything she had, thus leaving her frustrated and incapable to pay her debt with the guilt of causing her herself destruction. Emma had the false believe of associating happiness with wealth. She had a belief that money could buy happiness, she was extremely materialistic. Her exposure of balls and rich people made her illusionary life more idealized. She wants everything around her to be perfect.   She used to spend lavishly over useless things just to possess all expensive stuff. She had an obsession of stuffing her house with all the articles that were priced high. She used to spend too much on her lovers, who later turned her down when she needed them. Materialistic approach could not help inner emptiness. Emma’s self-centeredness and quixotic perception of reality cause her to ignore her child, deceive her husband, surrender to promiscuity and go so deeply in debt that she offers her body in payment. (Michael J. Cummings, 2004) Early in the story there is a ball at a grand house — an episode that awakes in Emma a dangerous taste for the high life. (Clive James, 2004) The mockery of her lovers who used her for their pleasure was destructive. Despite knowing the fact that she had a weak character they approached her. The insincerity of those lovers was never obvious for Emma, for she had a habit of living in her own imaginary world where everything had to be the way she wanted. She treated real life as being a spectator never enjoy the taste of reality and accept it to let happiness touch her soul. The lovers, they made her fool by using her while making her believe their love and when she needed them, they ran. She was an obvious stupid but in her conduct was not insincere. She was so fond of beauty, luxury, fantasized life and romance that she made herself vulnerable to the mockery of rich and cunning men around her.   One of her lover, in his trial to seduce her said: Does not this conspiracy of the world revolt you? Is there a single sentiment it does not condemn? The noblest instincts, the purest sympathies are persecuted, slandered; and if at length two poor souls do meet, all is so organized that they cannot blend together. Yet they will make the attempt; they will flutter their wings; they will call upon each other. Oh! No matter. Sooner or later, in six months, ten years, they will come together; will love; for fate has decreed it, and the yare born one for the other. (Gustave Flaubert, 1856) Fate no doubt dictates what happens in life but human beings being superiors to all the other creatures just because they posses mind have the capability to survive in even the worst circumstances caused by fate. Realistic approach towards things in life make people fight with great calamities. Women should have enough education so that they may understand themselves and the society, identify their potentials and exploit their possibilities. Given any of the consequences, man is capable enough to fight his fate and make impossibilities vanish from his life. Flaubert was tried on charges of immorality stemming from the publication of the novel; successfully defended him self arguing that the death of Emma shows the novel's upholding of morality and illustrates the consequences of sin. (Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta, 2001) The story ends with Emma committing suicide. Her illusionary vision of life, yearn for pleasure   and comfort, need for dramatic romance made her blind to the welfare of her family, vulnerable to mockery of those who used her just for their pleasure and incapable of understanding the love of her husband who despite of having flaws in his character loved her sincerely. Discovery of her betrayal took her husbands life and left their daughter suffers alone in the whole world with a childhood started as a labor. About the book reviewers write: Consolation and a sense of proportion, a revulsion against chaos, a taste for life.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The fictional suffering neutralized the suffering I was experiencing in real life. (Mario Vargas Llosa,1975) Perhaps we identify with Emma because we too feel emptiness at the center of things — an emptiness we try to fill with books, with fantasies, with sex, with things. Her yearning is nothing more or less than the human condition in the modern world. (Erica Jong, 1997) References Acosta, Fajardo, Fidel. (2001) World Literature Website 2001. Retrieved March 24, 2008 from, http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/flaubert/bovary.htm Aveling, Marx, Eleanor.( February 25, 2006). EBook #2413. Retrieved March 24, 20008, from,http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=223754 Barash, P. David. Barash, R. Nanelle. (2005) Madame Bovary’s Ovaries: a Darwinian Look at Literature. Retrieved (March 26, 2008). Fromhttp://denisdutton.com/barash_review.htm Champagne, A.   Roland, (2002). Emma's Incompetence as Madame Bovary Retrieved March 24, 2008 from, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1034/j.1600-0730.2002.570202.x Cummings J. Michael (2004). A study Guide, Retrieved March 24, 20008, from, http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Bovary.html#Type Flaubert, Gustave.(1856). Madame Bovary James,Clive. (2004). No Way, Madame Bovary. Retrieved (March 24, 2008). from, http://www.powells.com/review/2004_10_05.html Jong, Erica. (Sept. 15, 1997). Retrieved March 24, 2008 from, http://www.salon.com/sept97/bovary970915.html Llosa, Vargas, Mario. (1975) THE PERPETUAL ORGY   Flaubert and Madame Bovary. Peter Gay, (1999). Madame Bovary. Retrieved (March 24, 2008). From, http://brothersjudd.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/reviews.detail/book_id/327 ; ;

Civil War in the Summer of 1642 Essay

There were a number of factors and subsequently a number of people who were crucial in aggravating the outbreak of the first English civil war, but most of these people were apart of two prominent parties, namely the royalists and parliamentarians. Of these two groups, two figures outstand as bitter rivals, King Charles I and John Pym; together they contributed most significantly to the disagreement and aggression between Parliament and King. However, ultimately I believe Pym to be the lesser of two evils. The relationship and status of the monarchy in parliament’s eyes had already been in a state of decline even before Charles’ reign. His predecessor had been known as the ‘wisest fool in Christendom’ and there was a lot of resentment towards the former king, James, not only because of the number of times he dissolved parliament but also from his abuse of power and alienation of them through royal prerogatives, which were justified by his own ‘divine right of kings’ belief. It could be argued that Charles was pulled into an uphill battle from the start and was not to blame for the damaged relationship between the commons and himself, however, during Charles’ reign, he made no attempt to reconcile relations even repeating the ideals of his father through the ‘divine right of kings’ and also through the arrogance of his attitude and subsequent dissolution of parliament on many occasions. History seemed to more or less be repeating itself, with 1629 marking the start of the ‘eleven years tyranny’ through which Charles ran solely without parliament. By his own accord, he then enforced a number of taxes and reforms that were heavily criticised by both parliament and public alike. Among these were the religious reforms brought on by the resented Archbishop William Laud, who was suspected of Roman Catholicism which together with the fact Charles’ wife was Catholic, alienated parliament further and fed a rumour of a Catholic conspiracy. Other reforms brought on such as the Star Chamber and prerogative courts were used to silence critics, and further deepened the divide between the two; some parliamentarians such as John Hampden even challenged the changes such as the ship money tax Hampden refused to pay. All these served to further throw away any hope of peaceful negotiations between parliament and Charles, with each new action undertaken gaining more criticism. Undeniably however, one of his biggest critics was John Pym. Pym was a long serving member of parliament who had opposed the monarchy even in the reign of James, having been active in the impeachment of Buckingham in 1625 and in the production of the petition of right in 1628. He had opposed Charles a numerous points and contributed significantly to the disagreement between Parliament and King and the subsequent dissolutions of Parliament; Clarendon had said during the Short Parliament of 1640, Pym had â€Å"had appeared to be the most leading man†. It was no surprise with such enthusiasm that by the time of the Long parliament, Pym had dodged an accusation of treason and become the leader of the opposition to the king. However, it is important to realise Pym was really just fighting for the rights of parliament and against the absolute monarchy Charles was imposing. Like many other puritans, he had good reason to fear the â€Å"Catholic conspiracy† mentioned earlier and believed the despotic government of Charles was a way of de stroying the protestant faith in England. In this light, Charles’ arrogance comes through as he was obviously unable to negotiate over his unreasonable actions. When parliament finally needed to be called again in 1640 due to the Scottish invasion, it marked a point of vulnerability for Charles, which parliament and namely Pym took advantage of. Charles needed funding, and in exchange for the money the Long parliament demanded the impeachment of both Laud and Strafford as well as the removal of the Star Chamber. In both cases, Pym was spearheading the legal proceedings, even having launched a Bill of Attainder to justify a death sentence for Strafford which was soon reluctantly signed by Charles. The Earl of Strafford had been a close advisor of the king, and his death was a huge blow to Charles and something he always regretted given the promise he made to Strafford â€Å"upon the word of a king, you shall not suffer in life, honour or fortune†. As a result, Charles resented parliament and longed for revenge. With the state of relations between King and parliament at an all-time low, the last thing needed was more criticism to an already weakened king, who had just agreed to the Triennial act of 1641 which meant parliament would be called at least every three years. Despite this, Pym and his supporters presented the Grand Remonstrance; a list of 160 grievances and misdeeds of Charles. This in itself was something proposed by Pym and was almost mocking Charles with his â€Å"divine right of kings† ideal now appearing obsolete. This may have proved a last straw for Charles, who would have been building a great sense of anger with Parliament and more specifically with Pym. Indeed soon after in 1642, Pym along with four other prominent members of the opposition was charged with treason, showing just how much of a threat Charles saw Pym as. When Charles took it upon himself to arrive at parliament with 300 soldiers to personally arrest the five members it destroyed any final shreds of trust between Parliament and Charles. Members of parliament were representatives of the people and Charles was arresting five of them for merely criticising. This event embodied to Parliament the absolute monarchy they were fighting against and all the liberties they still needed to fight for. Charles must have even realised the mistake he had made in breaking any remaining ties with parliament, and six days later headed for Oxford to prepare an army of the inevitable coming war. In conclusion, both Pym and Charles can be interpreted as being the reason relations fell apart and Civil war broke out, however, even with Pym’s involvement in many parliamentary dissolutions and explicit opposition to the king, Charles still appears as the most unreasonable. Charles gave plenty of reasons for parliament and members such has Pym to criticise him, having made no attempt to learn from his father’s mistakes, ruling for 11 years purposely without parliament intervention and from imposing taxes and religious reforms which alienated people. The final act of attempting to arrest five members of parliament with hundreds of armed guards, proved not only too aggressive but also the final reason as to why Civil war became the only solution remaining.

Extracting Natural Gas From Shale Formations - 1854 Words

Natural gas produced from shale formations has become important in the energy supply market for the United States. Extracting natural gas from shale reserves was not considered feasible until recently because of low permeability of the shale rock formations. New developments in hydraulic fracturing technology have led to a boom in domestic shale gas production. The United States has experienced economic benefits through revenue and job creation in predominantly rural areas while increasing the energy security of the U.S. by decreasing dependence on foreign oil supplies. However, the resounding question remains: at what cost? Hydraulic fracturing, or â€Å"fracking,† is a process used to extract natural gas from deep shale reserves 5,000-8,000 feet below the ground surface. This process allows energy companies to access previously unavailable energy sources in states that have deep oil and gas reserves. The fracking process involves pumping a mixture of water, chemicals and sand at high pressure into a well, which fractures the surrounding rock formation and props open passages that allow natural gas to freely flow from rock fractures to the production well. Once the well is developed, the carrying fluid can then flow back to the ground surface along with the gas. Shale gas has become embroiled in controversy over alleged impacts on public health and the environment. Some segments of the public have become deeply suspicious of the veracity and motives of gas companies. TheseShow MoreRelatedExtracting Natural Gas From Shale And Other Rock Formation1465 Words   |  6 Pagesimproving the ability of extracting natural gas from shale and other rock formation. The popularity of hydraulic fracturing remains leading in the direction of new venture opportunities and increasing growth for the natural gas and oil production industry. With the development, comes risk and scrutiny. 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