The Mummy at the Dining Room Table

The Mummy at the Dining Room Table provides many examples of unusual and difficult cases, and assures the reader that there is hope for every situation. One of the most helpful aspects of the book is that it can be used to prepare for a patient and condition, for which the therapist in not familiar. . While every patient is different, the book provides the consistent message, which therapy is helpful and people can grow and change and succeed. The book gives a large number of examples and treatment strategies that can be helpful to any clinician.Reading about the experiences of experts such as Albert Ellis, William Glasser and Jay Haley is like seeing the theories and techniques in action. The book has use for the clinician as well as the patients. It points out what clinicians learn from their clients, and how they grow as clinicians, becoming more expert and insightful. The clinician learns more about human emotion from every client in which they come in contact.One of the aspects of this book that can be intimidating to the new therapist is the creativity and expertise of the clinicians in the book. Each therapist has a unique and dynamic personality. They are interesting people. Someone new to the field, without the experience and confidence may find the case example and techniques intimidating to some degree. Reminding oneself that everyone started out as new and tentative in the field can help overcome that intimidation.These are well-known and highly successful therapists talking about their most memorable clients and situation. The book tells the stories in a dramatic, interesting and at times funny way. It is so helpful to read the behind the scenes accounts of the therapists preparation for these unusual case scenario. Even the most expert of therapists are always learning and researching. We learn that power of the therapeutic relationship cannot be underestimated and that even the most unusual patients and problems can be treated. Hope is an importa nt part of treatment. With insight, an open mind and hard work, success often comes. The cases situations, therapists, clients and therapeutic techniques are fascinating.The books make it clear that fieldwork, videotaping and supervision are so important. It is a reminder that our patients are real people and not subjects of an experiment. The therapist has a responsibility to be prepared and well trained. Many of the therapists in this book have done extensive research on their techniques. These therapists take a journey with their clients and are able to help them develop solutions to their problems.  Ã‚  In Chapter One, â€Å"The Man Who Wanted His Nose Cut Off†, the new therapist, Jeffrey Kottler was inwardly shocked by his client’s confession that he had been having a sexual and somewhat romantic relationship with a cow. Kottler only saw this client twice but learned an extremely valuable lesson for a therapist. He learned that the simple act of listening, in a non-judgmental way is actually therapeutic. He listened and reflected back to his client and did not judge or attempt to change or analyze anything in these two sessions.He simply listened and by the second session, it seemed that the client Manny had come to his own solution.   While Manny’s solution was not what Kottler would have though was ideal, for Manny it was apparently a fine solution for Manny and he never returned to therapy. Clients will not always complete the journey or the goal that we as therapists have in mind.My personal preference and belief system is most congruent with humanistic an existentialism. This approach to therapy is open minded, flexible, client centered and believes in the goodness of the client and of humanities ability to change and grow. Existential psychology grew from the writings of such well-known philosophers as Kierkegaard, Sartre and Camus. Much of their writings talked about the ability of human beings to come through adversity.The y focus on self-reliance and responsibility and come out on the other side with a philosophy that focused on self-reliance, authenticity, responsibility, and mortality. Rollo May, is one humanistic psychologist that translates the philosophy to psychology. His therapy focuses on the here and now and a clients freedom to choose. Existential psychology focuses less on the person’s genetics, experiences as a child or family or origin and more on the person’s perceptions, responses and conscious choices in the immediate. The existential believers see the motive for behavioral as the rift between existential anxiety and freedom.In the case of Manny, a therapist could easily be entrapped in the reasons for his sexual behavior with a cow and his apparent attraction to the cow. The therapist could look at his family history and try to determine if something led him to this behavior. Another therapist may be inclined to believe that he simply never had proper sex education and so was finding it difficult to relate to human women. Perhaps all Manny knows is how cows have sex. No matter what the reason, the treatment is to relieve Manny of his unhappiness. He came in complaining about his nose and then quickly began to talk about the cow.The key to treating many was in the relationship between the therapist and the client. As Kottler learned I believe, easing the anxiety may have been the real key to treating Manny. Relieving some of the anxiety through acceptance began the treatment process for Manny. The end result, which seemed to give Manny the freedom to pursue this bovine relationship and simply cover up the smell. This may not have been the best outcome at all and I believe there is a lesson there as well. With several more sessions, Kottler may have been able to address the anxiety Manny feels regarding relationships with humans.This certainly may have required some sex education as well as some exploration into family dynamics, but it would also ha ve required a discussion on what he wanted in terms of a romantic relationship.   He may have moved to discuss the issue of existential angst and the desire for meaningful relationships with humansKottler talks at the end of his chapter, about another patient who was distressed by his desire to dress in women’s clothing. Kottlers reaction and apparent acceptance relieved the anxiety for this man. The man was disturbed by his thought but had difficulty managing them, that was is reason for coming to treatment. Ultimately, with therapy, the man's disturbing thoughts subsided to a level he was able to accept. I believe Kottler’s examples speak about the importance of the therapeutic relationship as the major tool in therapy.With both of these patients, therapy could have, and may have   helped the person examine their relationships and make conscious choices that would relived the anxiety and fear that exists without a meaning to ones life. Manny’s future thera py might have moved him towards self-discovery and reflection that he has the ability and freedom to develop meaningful, fulfilling human relationships that result in happiness. He may have been able to discover why he was at the time, using cows for sexual gratification and how he might ultimately, and move to fulfilling intimate relationship with a human.Carl Rogers, with his humanistic focus, believes that humans are good, and desire to be the best and do the best person possible. People do not always accomplish this desire easily, which is where therapy becomes important. Manny, given the freedom to talk and lead the conversation to some extent, could have worked towards self-actualization. If Manny is disturbed by his current relationship and want to move towards relationships that he will find more fulfilling, therapy can be the key. The therapeutic environment can allow him to explore anything in a safe environment and then he can make choices for his life. Manny may have bee n able to understand the concepts of   â€Å"real self†Ã‚   versus â€Å"ideal self†, meaning what he is and what he wants to become or move towards.The many case examples in this work all speak to the hop and powerfulness of therapy and relationships. My belief in the humanistic approach is even stronger as I read these examples. People with such disturbing problems including the woman who hanged herself to test her husband and the family with the mummy at the table, all can have a positive ending. Though not perfect, and perhaps not what the therapist would want, but progress can be made.In the chapter by Carlson, with the same title as the book, a family had mummified a female member of the family. We actually learn about this because the main character of the chapter, Trina is seeking to understand herself better. She feels it is important to establish contact with her family, which we are aware is somewhat dysfunctional. As it turns out, Trina’s aunt has been mummified because the family felt that it would ease their grief. The woman died at home and so with the help of a friend in the medical field, the woman was embalmed and mummified.The family would actually sit her at the dining room table .It seems that the entire family, including her husband and children are involved with the caretaking of the mummified woman.   This example, and this family is probably the most bizarre of the books many odd cases. As a humanistic therapist, this family, if they were in treatment, would need ample time to o talk a process the decisions they had made and the reasoning behind the decisions.Addressing grief, the loss of a close personal relationship and perhaps acknowledging that many people may feel the same way about the loss of a loved one. Most people however, do not have the resources to embalm and mummify.   As with the case of Manny, the behavior is odd and troublesome and probably illegal. However, it is possible trough understandin g, flexibility, a non-judgmental attitude and hope, that the family can have a successful outcome.Each example case in the book is real and each saw some measure of success. Each therapist, no matter what he level of experience at the time of the particular case, learned something from the treatment process. While these cases are shocking and interesting to read about, their treatment process and the relationship with the therapist is not really that different from treatment with other patients.It is important for therapists to understand and look for the uniqueness in each individual and not to just seek out the unusual or overlook the more typical.   Even the most seemingly straightforward problems, can be complicated and unusual once unraveled. This was so with the case of Trina, who began in treatment to address a standard marital issue.   The key to treatment is the training and understanding of the therapist, the belief that treatment is possible and then the therapeutic r elationship..

Gillette Essay

Case Analysis for Gillette: Product and Marketing Innovation 9/11/2012 Abstract Gillette is seeking means to retain dominance in market share they have lead for the last century. Along with sustaining market share Gillette has continued focus on expanding worldwide into less saturated markets. In this analysis multiple alternatives will be explored in order to make a recommendation on steps that would favor Gillette’s organization in meeting their aspirations. Situation Analysis Product quality and efficient marketing are the core value propositions that set the pace for Gillette’s success. With continued innovation in both product development and marketing strategies Gillette has been able to retain a commanding worldwide market share in a highly competitive, but mature, razor and blade market. Strong market share allowed Gillette to sustain profits even through economic droughts in recent years. On the flip side, Gillette’s innovation success also posed challenges. In order to maintain their market share, a dependency on continuous product improvement formed over time. Now Gillette will need to determine how to balance investment in research and development along with other areas of the organization. At times their own innovation of new product lines impacted their leading product lines in the market. During the 1990s Gillette found themselves cannibalizing their own successful products when trying to out due the competition. Even though internal competition shifted sales from one product line to another, Gillette’s sales were able to re-coop development costs. Expanding market share around the world also revealed challenges with varying religious and culture beliefs. Western influences have started to generate growth with European woman as younger generations watch American movies and television that depict women with sleek underarms and legs. Gillette’s latest innovation, the Fusion 5(+1) blade, was back in 2006. Since then Schick, Gillette’s leading competitor has not responded with their own break through. Gillette should be wondering what Schick might do next. Problem As the market Gillette has lead for so long became mature, their growth ultimately declined due to market saturation and increase competition. Fluctuations occurred only when newer, more innovative products were introduced. This put more pressure on development advancements and marketing tactics. Many analysts believe that Gillette and Schick, leaders in razors and blades, have reached the end of meaningful product innovation [1]. In 2006 when the Fusion 5(+1) blade was introduced, it exploded off the shelves. Gillette sold more than 4 billion Fusion razors with in the first two months. The Fusion’s initial success was quickly fleeting as sales reports showed that razors were outselling the cartridge refills. This was very concerning to Gillette as it is well-known that razor manufacturers earn most of their profits from refills, not the initial razor purchase. Critics also questioned why five blades were needed to get the best shave when Gillette had touted its three-bladed Mach3 as †the best a man can get. † â€Å"Consumer reports conclude that there were no additional performance benefits provided by the five-bladed Fusion, especially when compared to the Mach3† [1 pg391]. Economic recession also impacted sales as Gillette’s products went up in price due to a need to re-coop development costs. How can Gillette continue to maintain or grow market share in a mature market and keep future strategies aligned with customer wants? Alternatives Continue product line and marketing without major change. No additional research and development costs would need to be spent, which in return reduces the need to raise prices for maintaining their profit margin. However the risk looming would be competitor innovation impacting current market share. Schick may produce a new innovative product that would sway consumers from purchasing Gillette’s products. As stated in the case Gillette must find new ways to innovatively out-produce or out-market the competition. Investing in research and development to create new product line or enhance current products adds considerable expenses. Development costs will need to be re-cooped. This will keep competitors in check, but will be challenging to keep pricing competitive. Compliment current leading product lines that keep consumers happy. Promoting Christmas, Father’s day and Mother’s day gift grooming kits that meets more of the consumer’s needs will also introduce consumers to other product lines Gillette has to offer. Focus marketing potential growth opportunities globally by challenging resistance in product awareness and interests. As a Gillette razor consumer, I have encountered an inconvenience that I think can be solved and build customer loyalty. I’ve been using Mach 3 razors for over fifteen years, and when purchasing refills I have found it difficult to find blades that are compatible with the razor handle that I own. Thinking out of the box, what if Gillette were to make razor handles that are compatible with any of Gillette’s product line of refills? This would then provide consumers the freedom to purchase from a variety of Gillette’s product lines without having to spend extra money on a handle that works with the particular product refill. Owning a Gillette universal handle would also encourage customers to stay with Gillette refills as converting to another brand would cost more with the initial required handle purchase. Implementation From the case I would assume Gillette will continue to â€Å"innovatively out-produce or out-market the competition† [1]. I believe moving forward with developing a universal handle with Gillette refills would accomplish this. This would require investment into developing a new handle and rollout of the product. Here is an approximate timeline to complete.

Marx and Capitalism. Why and how does Marx think Capitalism is bound Essay

Marx and Capitalism. Why and how does Marx think Capitalism is bound to collapse - Essay Example Rising unemployment levels, recurring layoffs, tumultuous stock booms and corporate scandals are indicative of the economic crises that would reach sufficient proportions to cause a collapse of capitalism. One must therefore look into the contradictions and sources of instability in this system to understand why capitalism will eventually fail. Karl Marx’s understanding of the collapse of capitalism The views of several contemporary and traditional economists were substantially different from Karl’s Marx’s ideas. Most economists, including prominent ones like Adam Smith, felt that free market economics and hence capitalism was a given fact. They presumed that it emanated from man’s propensity to exchange goods and services. Also, these economists focused on the interaction between man and products rather than between the market participants themselves. Wage labour as well as its relation to capital was the key concern for Marx. He felt that it was more cri tical to study the relationship between people who participated in these systems. In conventional economics, a millionaire who purchased a loaf of bread was treated in the same way as a simple wage labourer. Furthermore, the person selling the item was nothing more than a trader. However, Marx challenged this thinking by showing that people were not equals in capitalist markets. The rich and the poor had different relations to capital and wage labour (Marx and Engels, 1997). Therefore, contradictions arose in this process, yet they were ignored by predominant economists. Karl Marx acknowledged that capitalism perpetuates poverty and inequality. However, these were not sufficient ingredients to lead to its end. Instead, he stated that the cyclical and frequent economic crises that occurred in the capitalist system could lead to an unstable and insecure environment. Workers would lose confidence in their methods of earning a living because the system in which they worked constantly th reatened to make them superfluous. The antagonism that would arise from that situation would lead to a state of anarchy. In other words, economic crises that are inevitable in capitalism cannot guarantee workers even the miniscule amounts to which they were entitled. Such problems would cause a breakdown in world systems. Capitalism does not just affect workers alone; it also has an impact on owners of capital too. The bourgeoisie are in a war for survival; they are fighting against themselves as well as against the proletariat. For this reason, when minor economic crises occur, they can lead to a war as well as an increase in class struggles between the two groups. The possibility of a revolution thus arises because of these crises. Marx did not believe that the revolution was expected, but that it was a possibility that workers could embrace in their response. For a revolution to occur, it is not sufficient for the oppressed to be unable to sustain their living conditions. The upp er classes must also be unable to maintain their old system of governance. Since instability affects both parties, then it is likely that it will lead to a collapse. In order to understand Marx’s prediction of collapse in capitalism, it is critical to understand how crises occur in the first place. The theorist explained that owners of capital had one sole aim when conducting business and this was to accumulate more capital. It was not that they were greedy for money; however, they needed to accumulate more capital in order to beat their rivals. In capitalism, a manufacturer often uses their money to purchase resources in order to create goods. This person would not be able to produce those goods if they lacked vast finances to begin with. Once these individuals make

Pantomime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Pantomime - Essay Example t she doesn’t fit the demands and definition of what is expected of women in a corset and crinoline world.She struggles both biologically and psychologically with the notion of both having two genders in one body.Inaddition,stemming from his past in dealing with his present circumstances,he finds that he has to properly handle his sexual feelings as pertains to his fellow aerialist Aenea and the white clown Drystan.They realize that there was nothing perturbing about a person being intersex and that there was more to it than was thought.This realization dawned on them both- Micah and Gene,when they had made the decision to lead their own lives as they were, and when the mysterious secrets of the world suddenly opened in 10,860. Pantomime is a story about two different people trapped in the same body but who in their own different ways have impacted onto each other’s lives significantly.Moreover,whilethe intimate manner in which the author has treated sensitive issues generally associated with intersex people to be deeply moving and empathichowever,it is not clear if the author precisely sought out the real information and experience from intersex people inspite of the fact that through the story,she appears to acknowledge rather than defend a lot of uncertainties existing by default between the two genders.But she brings out the point clearly when Micah and Gene question themselves in order to find out exactly whether their attraction is matter driven by the masculine or feminine nature.Thus, in as much as anybody is who they are,but could a person’s biological sexuality really be the yardstick of defining who they are? Pantomime as a story,alternates between past and present and narrates Gene and Micah’s history as composed of elements of both shame and acceptance-especially from the brother Cyril,the unpleasant experiences with doctors and potential suitors,and in addition the need to keep secrets.Throughout the story,it is clear that there is a close

A Description of New England Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A Description of New England - Essay Example Nationalism remains an important issue in the modern United States. In the contemporary United States, nationalists usually hold significant veneration of the flag of the United States and other national symbols, while other cultures tend to regard this mentality with hostility, giving rise to anti-Americanism. Although the United States is usually regarded as a nation-state, supporters of American exceptionalism may prefer to see it as a state bathed in the glory of its own unique light. The country clearly has a sense of national identity and history, Americans refer to an American people. Thus, patriotism is prominent in public life. Nationalism is the appropriate and recognized term for the associated ideology and political movements, within the present United States, and during its history. That does not necessarily correspond with current usage of the term in American politics, or with the views of self-described American nationalists. There are no two same theories about when the United States became a nation-state, and developed a sense of national identity. Some historians think that the United States was already a nation-state at independence, others that this occurred during the 19th century, either before or after the American Civil War. In essence, the new world discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492, led to a new start for people’s lives in America for centuries to come. America today is still referred to as the land of dreams, but over three hundred years ago that phrase had much more meaning to the people. A few people would travel across the Atlantic in search of Asia to establish faster trade routes, later some would travel to the new world to find riches, and than even more would travel for freedom.

Corporate Finance Company Profile GE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate Finance Company Profile GE - Essay Example Moreover, company also acquired Vital Signs, Inc. and Merrill Lynch Capital in the year 2008 in order to strengthen its business operations. In the early 2009, GE also acquired an Italian corporate bank. An overview of GE’s product line is stated below: Energy: Due to the high consumption and growth in the energy sector GE deals in various energy products in more than 120 countries which is quite beneficial for the company’s future return and growth. GE business technique is based on customer’s loyalty, commitment and trueness. GE knows the customer’s needs and evaluate it with the introduction of new products in their range. GE’s vision is to make life fun and easy for consumers. GE not only working in the US but also exploring the market globally and serves the customers with pride. GE’s business strategy is to take competitive advantage over other competitors not only in the US but also in the global world. In order to meet the customer need and pay full attention to the every individual customer with end to end solution GE trained their staff and engaging them with the new and rising technology .This trick helps GE to generate more resources and maximizing overall profit. The main rival of the GE is Siemens AG (ADR), United Technologies Corporation, and Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (ADR). GE is working on heightened regulatory and market scrutiny of corporate governance practices in order to communicate and represent the organization in a manner that pleases the shareholders, utilizing resources in a new and evolving compliance environment. Management should be eyeing the macro factors like Government’s policies, competition and tax rates where they operate business because local, national or international jurisdictions and new or changing regulations might create hurdle in their way. Company’s strong point is that they have sharpened their focus on sales, service and customer orientation and are eagerly looking forward to

Mktg 4580 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mktg 4580 - Essay Example DP 4, Naval Logistics, explains how we put into action essential logistic principles, functions, and fundamentals and how we utilize the resources of formal planning and logistic information support to achieve the crucial objective of equipped force readiness. Illustrating through the metaphor of a logistic channel, it enables the reader to specifically understand the entire process from the manufacturers shipping terminal to the end user. At the same time, Naval Logistics highlights that the term ‘naval logistics’ refers to much more than materiel. It is a multifaceted interlace of systems within systems, which comprises planning, acquirement, preservation, engineering and manufacturing support, training, shipping, amenities operations, and personnel support-backing up naval forces day and night, both in peace and war.  Logistics empowers our forces to accomplish the assigned roles with capability and credibility. The overall purpose and function of Naval Logistics is divided into four processes, altogether called as the science of planning and executing processes that provides needed products to achieve and sustain operational readiness (p.5). Logistic includes several interrelated and often overlapping functions and potentials and provides support at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels (pp.7-9). Application of the fundamental principles of Logistics such as responsiveness, simplicity, economy, flexibility, sustainability, survivability, and attainability, which act corollary to the principles of warfare, across the six broad functional area of supply, transportation, maintenance, engineering, health services and other services, when merged and equilibrated, would produce and deliver effective logistic support to our operating forces (pp.12-22). Furthermore, within each of the functional areas, an effective administration of the four elements of the logistic process such as, acquisition, distribution, sustainment, and disposition will contribute

Analysis the case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis the case - Essay Example companies do not care about their customers, it was noted that there were tires that were believed to be faulty, were supposed to be examined for safety only to be later passed as good for use under unclear circumstances. The ford company also stated that it was an issue with the tires, and that they had insisted on low pressure on these tires. The pressure recommended by firestone and ford on these tires differed. Both the Ford and the Firestone Company are not responsible in social ways as they differ on this issue of the recommended tires pressure, in addition, instead of soling the issue at hand, all they do comprises of pointing fingers at each other thus putting the consumer at a higher risk (Case 24 687). Both the Ford and Firestone are at fault in this situation, firestone should not have installed the tires that were in question to Ford trucks; on the other hand, the Ford Company should have made it clear on the recommended pressure of Firestone tires. The firestone name has ruined its reputation, so is the Ford trucks, the number of lives lost in this accident is not something to go away easily. Firestone has the responsibility of paying ford that money as they replaced these tires with their own funds, however, it would be much more important to find a solution to this type/truck issue as the safety of human beings cannot be compensated with money. Currently, the ford trucks have changed their tires from firestone, however the vehicles keep on rolling in most occasions, and therefore one cannot put all the blame on the firestone tors in these incidences (Case 24

A REFLECTIVE WRITING ON CASE STUDY 1 MANAGING A SICKLE CELL ANEMIA FOR Essay

A REFLECTIVE WRITING ON CASE STUDY 1 MANAGING A SICKLE CELL ANEMIA FOR ASSESSMENT 2 - Essay Example Diagnosis is usually made at birth at the time of newborn screening. Disease management is usually focused on pain, hydration and infections prevention and various complications resulting in vaso-occlusive crises (Lee, Askew, Walker, Stephen & Robertson-Artwork, 2012). This paper is a reflective essay and discusses leadership management on the caring of a patient with sickle cell disorder by applying the theoretical concept from Gibbs framework of reflection. The essay is based on the case study of a 25-year old African-Caribbean man who had been diagnosed episode of sickle cell pain. The patient has been admitted in the Lister Hospital six times on the same issue. Though the previous pains were on the abdominal and legs, this time round he came up with chest pain also. Skills, knowledge and attributes linked to leadership are also discussed and change management leadership concept applied. The paper has analyzed my accountability and delegation, ending up with conclusion summarizing the whole paper concept. The reflective model that I have decided to apply is Gibbs model of reflection. This framework is grounded on Gibbs Reflective Cycle developed in 1988 (Gibbs, 1998). The framework is related to Kolbs Learning Cycle, but it covers the principles at large. Every step of the cycle starts with describing the event, then reviewing; reflecting on the experience then ends up with the formulation of a plan to deal with the same experience in the future. This cycle constitutes six steps of which the practitioner is expected to provide answers to various questions each leading to the next step, stressing an adequate event analysis provoking decisive thought. Fresh meanings are developed making the learner come up with an affirmative plan of action (Gibbs, 1988). The six steps involved include: description- what occurred? , feelings-what were you experiencing? ,

Human Resources & Organizational Effectiveness Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Organizational Effectiveness Essay Small scaled businesses are very important for developing countries and as well as developed countries. In a country like the China a small business can become success and it will play an important role in the economy of the country. Small businesses are growing in importance in the China; hundreds of small businesses are opened every month in the country, by people who have found themselves squeezed out of a corporation due to downsizing or who voluntarily leave the corporate world so that they can seek a slower pace and healthier balance between world and family life. Small businesses are mostly opened by women and minorities in the China. As the smallest businesses become increasingly complicated due to globalization, government regulations and customer demands for better quality at lower prices, managerial dexterity is very complex and it is very hard to become a success. (Szarka, 1990) Managers in small businesses tend to emphasize roles different from those managers in large companies. Managers in small companies often see their most important role as a spokesperson, because they need to promote the small, growing company to the outside world. The entrepreneur role in the small business is very important, because the managers must be very creative and help their company to develop new ideas so that they can be competitive with other companies. Small business managers tend to rate lower on the leader role and on information processing roles compared with counterparts in large companies. As the world of small organizations become increasingly complex, managers should carefully incorporate the 3 categories for roles. They must simultaneously mange by information; manage through people, and mange through action to keep their organizations healthy. (Szarka, 1990) Managing a Small Growing Business Once a business is set up and running, how does the owner manage it? Often the traits of self-confidence, creativity and internal locus of control lead to financial and personal grief as the company grows. A hands-on to the entrepreneur who gave birth to the small business or company, loves perfecting every ting detail of the company. But after the start-up, continued growth requires a shift in the management style. Those who fail to adjust to a growing business can be the cause of the problems rather than the solution for the company. A small business goes through distinct stages of growth; with each of the stage the company requires different management styles and skills. Intrapreneurship in a Small Business Intrapreneurship can be defined as a process which recognizes the need for innovation within the company, plus it helps with managing the company. The following rules help to develop the necessary environment which is required in the company, they are as follows: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The employees should be encourages 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The management should use informal meeting whenever possible 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company should learn to tolerate failure and learn from it 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The employees should be rewarded for their innovative ideas 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Teams should be formed Human Resource Practices The human resource practices in a small and medium business differ from large organizations. Planning In the early stage of existence, formal planning tends to be nonexistence except for the business plan. The business plan can be defined as a document which specifies the business detail of the company by the entrepreneur. The primary goal is to remain alive within the industry. As the company grows, formal kind of planning is not usually instituted until the company does not reach its success stage in the growth stages of the company. For example, records selling company in the China has defined a goal by carving out a niche in the volatile record industry by focusing only on roots music, which is an electric mix of soulful and down home sounds with country edge. This company is only one of the few surviving profitable companies in the country.   (Cameron Miller, 2008) Organizing In the 2 stages of company’s growth, the company’s organization structure is very informal, where all the employees are reporting to the owner of the company. By the third stage the functional managers are hired to take over the duties from the owner. A functional organization will be created and there will be changes in all the departments of the company. In this stage the managers will be able to learn how to delegate responsibilities to others. But these days most small companies in the China are limiting creating ways so that they can stay small but still grow. For example, Woodspirits, it a company that produces and distributes 300,000 soaps to its customers annually. It just employs 3 that work for the company. The company doesn’t want to lose its edge and flexibility; therefore the companies are willing to stay small. Leading Leading is considered to be the driving force in the development of the company, and it is one of the ways to manage a company. The vision along with the leader’s personality actually shapes the small company. With the help of leadership, it is able to point out cultural values, efficiency and ethics of the company. Leadership is also considered important because a great deal of small businesses usually have a hard time of employing qualified workers. There is always a labor shortage for a small company, and these shortages usually damage the company a great deal. Controlling It is also important that there is a financial control in the company. In the company’s starting days control was exercised by simple accounting records and through personal supervision. The control techniques usually become more sophisticated during the resource maturity of the company. For example, the Sock Shop was originally a hit in the US, but it failed due to a lack of control within the company. (Fullmer, 1983) Compensation Compensation of employees in a SME is mostly based on the jobs and its evaluations.   With job analysis information as a part of the department’s HR information system, compensation analysts have the minimum information needed to evaluate the work activities of their employees. Job evaluations are steps and procedures that help to identify the relative worth of jobs or work activities. There are different kinds of approaches to the evaluation of a job; these approaches consider the responsibility of the employee, skills that are needed for the job, efforts done by the employee and the working conditions related to the job. Without job evaluation the HR department would not be able to create a rational approach to pay. The most common methods for job evaluation that helps with a compensation plan are job ranking, job grading system where as in large organizations it is done through factor compensation and the point system.   But the best way the HR can compensate the employ ees is through job grading, why, because, it is the simplest way to classify a job and the companies don’t have to spend a great deal of money on it. (Werther Davis, 1996)

Customer Satisfaction Towards Online Shopping

Customer Satisfaction Towards Online Shopping Customer satisfaction is the degree to which customer expectations of a product or service are met or exceeded. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business. In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. In the era of globalization electronic marketing is a great revolution. Over the last decade maximum business organizations are running with technological change. Online shopping or marketing is the use of technology for better marketing performance. And retailers are devising strategies to meet the demand of online shoppers; they are busy in studying consumer behavior in the field of online shopping, to see the consumer attitudes towards online shopping. Therefore we have also decided to study the factors that affect MMU students satisfaction of their online shopping provider. Research Background Online shopping is basically a process of selling and buying of goods and services on World Wide Web. As (Forsythe and Shi, 2003) explains Internet shopping has become the fastest-growing use of the Internet; most online consumers, however, use information gathered online to make purchases off-line. According to a report (ACNielsen Report on Global Consumer Attitudes towards Online Shopping, 2005) published on www.acnielsen.com, one tenth of the world population is shopping online , till October 2005, 627 million people have done online shopping , and according to the same report Germans and British are on the top of the list on Online Shopping. Additionally in the report published, it was confirmed that products most purchased online included books followed by DVDs, videos, games and Plane Reservations, with credit cards being the most sought method of payments for the purchases made regarding the items offered for purchase online. So many countries all over the world pour millions of dollars into online shopping as a means to purchase goods and services through the internet. The improving use of the internet has provided for fast purchase of online services as this is evident in the rapid growing internet usage activity all over Europe, with Sweden being ranked one of the high heels in Internet Usage and online Shopping in Europe coming in ninth with Japan and USA following in close competition (ACNielsen Report on Global Consumer Attitudes towards Online Shopping, 2005). During 1994, Netscape introduced SSL encryption method for data transformation online through the web, which became so important for secure online shopping. The first online shopping system was introduced by a German Company called Intershop in 1994. Follow by Amazon in 1995 and eBay in 1996. Online shopping has been getting famous since the last few years after the internet was being widely used. It began to appeal to a larger number of consumers as it gradually evolved to serve and satisfy millions of people from all over the world. Consequently, e-commerce industry has seen rapid growth. An online consumer or online seller must at least have one electronic gadget to access to the internet. Online banking system had been launched before the era of online shopping. Therefore, online banking system made online shopping much convenient. Hence, payment can be made in several forms such as cheques, debit card, electronic money or various types, cash deposit using ATM machine, gift cards and etc. Problem Statement The online retail industry is going the new era of competition. These online shopping provider need to differentiate themselves from others and present it well to become the one of the market leader in online retails industry. Competition has become more aggressive among these companies, therefore it is important for companies to figure out the factors that affects MMU students satisfaction towards their online shopping providers. Research Objective The purpose of this research is to analyze and identify the overall attitude towards online shopping and the key factors that influences MMU students satisfaction of their online shopping providers. Significance of Study The online retail is undergoing dramatic changes. This study will provide insights of the factors that affect the MMU students satisfaction of their online shopping provider. In other words it will indicate the consumer behavior in the competitive market. This research can contribute to the society and country. The result of this research will be beneficial for the online shopping provider to serve as a guideline in implementing their business strategy. With the information, the online shopping providers will be able to design packages that are satisfying consumers. They can also improve their company performance as well as to maintain their market share. This research is important because it can outline what are the factors that are affecting the MMU students satisfaction of their online shopping provider. Also, this research able to provides the factors that cause the satisfaction level. When online shopping provider understand what is the wants and needs of the consumer. Thus, it helps to reduce their cost in research and development. By then, online shopping provider can focus to increase their product features or quality that serves to the consumers. Through this study, online shopping provider can focus on what is the best business quality and services to consumers in order to maintain their life long relationship to create maximum life time value to the company itself. Before taking any actions to change the satisfaction level, the most crucial thing is to understand what factors influence customer satisfaction, and then try to make improvements in these critical areas so that they can have more satisfied and loyal customers. Scope of the Study This research is particularly interested in investigating customer satisfaction level. This paper is tending to find out what are the factors that affecting MMU students satisfaction of online shopping provider through this study. All respondents are assumed to have online shopping knowledge. There are many factors that cause the different satisfaction level of their online shopping provider. 1.7 Operational Definition 1.7.1 Online Shopping Online shopping or online retailing is a form of electronic commerce allowing consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet without an intermediary service. An online shop, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, or virtual store extorts the analogy of purchasing goods or services at a retails stores or shopping center. 1.7.2 Convenience Online retail store are support the available for 24 hour 7days a week. This is a means by retailers and wholesalers to provide customers with a very convenient way to be able to do all the shopping from one spot or by just a mouse click. 1.7.3 User friendly web features and designs Online web stores need to be user friendly and easy to navigate, these being very vital influencing factors of online shopping website designs, privacy or confidentiality, website reliability, navigation, and website customer services incorporated with the website security are the most attractive features which influence the perception of consumers to buy goods and services online. 1.7.4 Time Saving With the rapid development of the World Wide Web online shopping has come to be the most sought means to purchase goods and services at the convenience for the customers as it saves time whereby being an important influencing factor towards online shopping. Browsing through the internet or searching through online catalogues can be time saving as one needs not to move from place to place and less effort is put into shopping, thus less effort is required and only patience becomes vital during the shopping process. 1.7.5 Security Security issues which is involved in keeping the information safe and accurate. 1.8 Organizational of Research These research papers are categories into five chapters. Chapter 1: Introduction In this chapter is all about the overall question and the relevant topic are being carried out for discussion. There are includes the objectives and the problem statement of this study. Besides that, the explanations of who is gaining benefits from this study are included. However, to prevent the confusion and misunderstanding of the reader those important terms are clearly defined. Chapter 2: Literature Review In this chapter cite those relevant studies related to this research. The dependent and independent variables will then be identified and use as a basis to build the theoretical framework and hypotheses development. In the other hand the arguments and opinions from different authors are add in for the purpose to support the study carry out. Chapter 3: Research Methodology In this chapter the theoretical framework and hypothesis of study will be stated. Theoretical framework shows the relationship between variables. Next, by identify the relationship those testable hypotheses are formed based .Moreover all these hypothesis are been use to examine whether the framework is in effect by using appropriate statistical analysis. The research instrument, sample size, source of data and the statistical data to be used in the study are discussed. Chapter 4: Research Findings and Discussion This chapter will present the results and discussion based on the data analyzed. Chapter 5: Conclusion In this chapter we will review the entire research from the introduction, the main details and the justification on the hypothesis constructed in the study and well as a brief look into the findings obtained from the hypothesis. The limitation and implication of the study will also be presented. Chapter 2 : Literature Review 2.1 Overview There are few causes that influencing the customer satisfaction from their online shopping provider due to the changing preferences and satisfaction toward the demand and services provided .However the literature review of the factors will be discussed as below. 2.2 Dependent Variable 2.2.1 Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is an output, resulting from the customers pre-purchase comparison of expected performance with perceived actual performance and incurred cost (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982). According to Vance Christensen (2006), customer satisfaction is very different from customer loyalty.  One is a requirement to do business; the other is the basis for sustained profitability and growth. It is believe that satisfied customers will lead to their loyalty and improve revenues. Customer loyalty is the degree of a customer staying with a specific vendor or brand. If the customer is satisfied with the firms products or services, it eventually will help the firm to increase its customer loyalty. In other words, high customer satisfaction lead to high customer loyalty while low customer satisfaction lead to low customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction is a measure of expectations being exceeded, met, or not met. Besides, when thinking of customer satisfaction measurement, the firm wanted to know whether the firm is meeting or exceeding customer expectations.  The marketing literature suggests that customer satisfaction operates in two different ways: transaction-specific and general-overall (Yi, 1991). Transaction-specific concept concerns customer satisfaction as the assessment made after a specific purchase occasion. Besides, it may also provide specific diagnostic information about a particular product or service encounter. General-overall satisfaction refers to the customers rating of the brand, based on all encounters and experiences (Johnson and Fornell, 1991). It can be viewed as a function of all previous transaction-specific satisfactions (Jones and Suh, 2000). Overall satisfaction is a more fundamental indicator of the firms past, current and future performance (Anderson et al., 1994). This i s because customers make repurchase evaluations and decision based on their purchase and consumption experience to date, not just on a particular transaction or episode (Johnson et al., 2001, p.219). Many other studies (eg. Gronholdt et al., 2000; Kristensen et al., 2000; Gerpott et al., 2001; Sharma,2003; Bruhn and Grund, 2000) have shown that customer satisfaction positively affected loyalty. 2.3 Independent Variables 2.3.1 Convenience It is an investment or a cost when consumers spending their time making purchases. It takes quite a lot of time for a consumer to make purchases from shop to shop, thus online shopping helps to save a lot of their precious time and effort. The time spent plays a very important role in consumer perceptions especially the time used for shopping. Bitner, 1990; Taylor, 1994 have pointed out that waiting created a negative impact on customer service satisfaction. Consumers time will be wasted a lot if have to keep waiting for such a long time and definitely will cause the consumers to have bad impressions to the seller or company. Time and energy saving are in the same concept (Brown, 1990). Time and effort play an important role because these two factors might affect consumers convenience during shopping. Online shopping definitely can help consumers to save time and effort in purchasing process by bringing a lot of convenience. Convenience factor refers that it is easy to browse or sear ch the information through online is easier than the traditional retail shopping. Through online, consumers can easily search product catalog but if the consumer look generally for the same product or item in a traditional store manually it is difficult to visit physically and time consuming also. Convenience has always been a prime factor for consumers to shop online. Darian (1987) mentioned that online shoppers carry multiple benefits in terms of convenience, such as less time consuming, flexibility, very less physical effort etc. Bhatnagar and Ghose (2004) claims that convenience as one of the most important advantage for engaging in online shopping. According to the Robinson, Riley, Rettie and Wilsonz (2007) the major motivation for online purchasing is convince in terms of shop at any time and having bundles of items delivered at door step. Rohm and Swaminathans (2004) claims in typology of online shoppers into: Convenience shoppers, balanced buyers, variety seekers and store-oriented shoppers, based upon their preset shopping motivation. Rohm and Swaminathans (2004) findings about convenience and variety seeking are major motivating factors of online shopping and this study is consistent with Morganosky and Cudes (2000) research findings. Webchecks (1999) study shows that convenience factor is one of the biggest advantages of online shopping. Through online purchase consumers can easily compare the price than the traditional purchase. So price comparison is also another convenience factor of online shopping. 2.3.2 Website Design/Features Web site design of a web page is one of the most important factors that influence online shopping. Shergill and Chen, (2005) identified web site design characteristics as the dominant factor which influences customer satisfaction towards online purchasing. The quality of website design is very important for any online store to attract customers. Cho and Park (2001) have found in their study that customer satisfaction in e-commerce is related to the quality of website design. According to Ranganathan and Grandon (2002), website design represents the way in which the content is arranged in the website. Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003) argued that when customers interact with an online store they prefer to do so via a technical interface and not through any employee. Therefore the design of the website, which acts as the interface, would play an important role in influencing customer satisfaction. Lee and Lin (2005) had empirically found that website design positively influences overall customer satisfaction and perceived service quality. Besides, Ranganathan and Ganapathy (2002) have empirically established that website design positively affects purchase intention. Kamariah and Salwani (2005) claims the higher website quality, the higher consumer intends to shop from internet. Web design quality has important impacts on consumer choice of electronic stores, stated by Liang and Lai (2000). Website design one of the important factor motivating consumers for online shopping. Almost 100,000 on-line shoppers surveyed by (Reibstein, 2000) shows that web site design was rated as important factor for online shopping. Another study conducted by Zhang, Dran, Small, and Barcellos (1999, 2000), and Zhang and Dran (2000) indicated that website design features of the website are important and influencing factors that leads consumers satisfaction and dissatisfaction with a specific website. A study conducted by Yasmin and Nik (2010) shows a significant relationship between online shopping activity and website features. Website design features can be considered as a motivational factor that can create positive or negative feelings with a website (Zhang, et al 1999). A study by Li and Zhang (2002), if website is designed with quality features it can guide the customers for successful transactions and attract the customers to revisit the website again. However, worse quality website features can also hamper online shopping. According to Liang and Lai (2000), web design quality or website features has direct impact on user to shop online. Moreover researchers such as Belanger, Hiller and Smith (2002) concluded that a large segment of internet users have serious concerns of security. 2.3.3 Time Saving According to Rohm and Swaminathans (2004), one possible explanation that online shopping saves time during the purchasing of goods and it can eliminate the traveling time required to go to the traditional store. On the other side, some respondent think that it is also time taken for delivery of goods or services over online shopping. To most consumers important attributes of online shopping are convenience and accessibility (Wolà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ nbarger and Gilly, 2001): because consumers can shop on the Internet in the comfort of their home environment, it saves time and effort, and they are able to shop any time of the day or night. Especially for consumers that, owing to their extended working hours, only have a small amount of free time, online shopping is an excellent opportunity. Thus, the situational factor time pressure has an attenuating impact on the relationship between attitude and consumers intention to shop online. Because the Internet is time saving and accessible 24 hours a day, this becomes the main drive for online shopping and attitude toward Internet shopping is less important. Unexpectedly time saving is not the motivating factor for the consumers to shop online (Corbett, 2001) because it takes time receiving goods or delivery. But time saving factor can be seen through different dimensions i.e. person living in Florida can shop at Harods in London (through the web) in less time than it takes to visit the local Burdines department store (Alba et al. 1997, p. 41,emphasis added). Morganosky and Cude (2000) have concluded that time saving factor was reported to be primary reason among those consumers who have already experienced the online grocery buying. So the importance of the time saving factor cannot be neglected as motivation behind online purchasing. Additionally Goldsmith and Bridges (2000) emphasize that there is a discrimination between online shopper and non online shoppers, online shoppers are more worried about convenience, time saving and selection whereas non online shoppers are worried about security, privacy and on time delivery. A study by K amariah and Salwani (2005) shows higher website quality can highly influence customers to shop online. 2.3.4 Security Security is another dominant factor which affects consumers to shop online. However many internet users avoid online shopping because of credit card fraud, privacy factors, non delivery risk, post purchase service and so on. But transaction security on the online shopping has received attention. Safe and secured transaction of money and credit card information increases trust and decreases transaction risk. In 1995, UK has introduced Fraud free electronic shopping and later on Europe and Singapore introduced secured electronic transaction (SET). According to Bhatnagar and Ghose (2004) Security is one of the attribute which limits buying on the web as they claim that there is a large segment of internet shoppers who dont like to buy online because of their thinking about the security of their sensitive information. Cuneyt and Gautam (2004) claims trust in the internet shopping with advanced technology, and frequent online shopping to the internet being secured as a trustworthy shopping channel. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This chapter includes the research framework which identifies and helps explain the steps taken in investigating the research done. Discussion in this section will cover the research design and procedure, variables and measurement, data collection method, questionnaire design and data analysis. The research instruments, sampling process and data analysis techniques also will be discussed in this chapter. 3.1 Theoretical Framework Below is the theoretical framework for the research paper. The dependent and independent variables are clearly identified. The customer satisfaction is the dependent variable; the convenience, website design and features, time saving and security are been use for independent variables part. Convenience Customer Satisfaction toward online shopping provider Website design/features Time Saving Security The dependent variable been analyzed for the purpose to get know the solution causes problem occurs. However, both variables are link either positive or negative relationship with each others. 3.2 Hypothesis Development Hypothesis is the sate used by marketing researcher about the population parameter (Burns and Bush 2005), using prior knowledge, assumptions or intuition to form an exact specification of what the population parameter value is. Once the variables have been identified, the independent and dependent variables are then established through logical reasoning in the theoretical framework. Then the next step is to examine the relationship formed and find out whether the facts are actually accurate. In Figure 2 are clearly explain the relationship between dependent variable and independent variable that influence the perception of consumer select online shopping provider .Moreover , based on the literature review and the theoretical framework ,the hypothesis are been formed H1: There is an association between convenience and customer satisfaction of their online shopping provider H2: There is an association between the website design/features and customer satisfaction of their online shopping provider H3: There is an association between time saving and customer satisfaction of their online shopping provider H4: There is an association between security and customer satisfaction of their online shopping provider 3.3 Research Design The questionnaire design is categorized in few choices. Students from MMU will be selected as our sample of study. Questionnaires are given to respondents via online and also in hardcopy form. All the respondents are given 15 minutes to fill in the questionnaires. After this, students start collecting the data based on the questionnaires. 3.4 Research Instrument In this study questionnaire method are been chooses as a tool for the purpose of collect the data. 3.5 Sampling method Questionnaire development is a rather important element in this research yet there are many limitation of setting the questions. Hence, questionnaire developed must be clear and avoid ambiguous questions As questionnaire need to appear in a reasonable sequence that could convinced the respondent and also increasingly gives the respondent confidence and trust in both the survey and the surveyor. Hence, questionnaire development process will start by identifying the related information used to develop the question such as the independent variable that had been identify in the earlier stage of the research process. After that, it proceed by choosing the best out of the questions, so that this questionnaire can directly targeted towards the respondents behavior and perceptions of being a telecommunication users. The questionnaire is designed to draw out information on respondents demographic, their experience in using mobile hand phones, their daily average expenditures, and their awareness with various available mobile phone services. The questionnaire is divided into two sections which is section A and section B. Section A measures the demographic variables and personal information towards their choosing behavior whereas, section B measures about the independent variables differently. The methods using for each section are discussed as below: A) Multiple Choice Questions: In section A, the respondents personal basic background and perception toward the online shopping was appearing in this section. It consists of the respondents demography such as ethnicity, gender, race, age and usage of online shopping. B) Likert Scale: Section B consists of questions concerned with the dependent variables towards online in the research model such as convenience, website design/features, time saving, and security. The measurement of this research is based on Likert scale which ranging from 1 to 5. Researchers Perez, Abad, Carrilo and Fernandez (2007) found that the Likert scale to be effective in their research on the Effects of Service Quality Dimensions on Behavioral Purchase Intentions. Below is the rating scale format from strongly disagree to strongly agree: 1 2 3 4 5 Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 3.6 Data collection method Questionnaire 3.5.1 Primary Data The data been collected by using questionnaire method which is distributed to students in Multimedia University Melaka campus and the questionnaire is divided into two parts; part A and part B. For part A of the questionnaire is focuses on the demographic background of the respondents For part B the questionnaire consists of certain questions all divided according to the relevant independent variables. Next , all the potential relevance variable are been covered in this survey questionnaire .In order to get better understanding 5 point scale are been applied in this questionnaire form to get know clearly what the respondent actual think about their personal preferences toward online shopping and to help to reduces the hesitation for the answer may be chooses by respondents This data is used as foundation reading materials to strengthen the understanding the topic research. The secondary data for this paper included journals, books, and article been chooses to provided a lot of insight for the creation of the literature review. In addition, secondary data provided for added credibility to the paper. Research Population and Sample The MMU Melaka students will be represent the population for this research, there will be 200 questionnaire form are filled for the students in campus area of MMU .Those respondents are covered the students in all fields of education background offered by MMU Melaka who have been gone through the online shopping before . Also, the questionnaire was structured in such a way to ensure that the research objective and hypothesis of this research can be achieve . 3.7 Data analysis method Once the all the 200 completed questionnaires are gathered, the data analysis will be done according to the dissertation. Thus, all the data collected from respondents will be analyzed based on descriptive statistical analysis by using the SPSS software so as to obtain a more statistical analysis of the study. One of the strong points of SPSS is that it can perform almost any statistical analysis (Huizing 1994). Basic tests that were used in the beginning of analysis were checking for the central tendency and the dispersion of data. The mean, standard deviation, range and variance was used. There were preliminary tests done for all the sections. Descriptive Analysis: the information obtained for the frequency distribution was from the first section of the questionnaire on the demography; here a frequency table was used to explain it, with mean and standard deviation for some of the data being computed. This was done for the independent, moderator and dependent variables. The statistics  obtained are useful for describing the data, for example. In a study with large data, the summary statistics for the scale variables and measures of the data helps us to manage the data and present it in a summary table. For instance in a cricket match, player records are stored and compared with records of another player. Reliability Analysis:   a measurement is reliable if it reflects mostly true score, relative to the error. The reliability of the scales is analyzed by using Cronbachs Alpha. An alpha above 0.70 is considered as reasonably reliable while an alpha scale above 0.80 is regarded as being perfect. Spearman rank order correlation: measures the strength of association between ranked variable, whether the hypothesized variables are associates with customer satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis: It is used to analyze a single dependent variable with two or more independent variables to test which variables is the most important lead to customer satisfaction in their mobile service provider. CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING 4.1 Introduction The chapter is divided into three different parts which are descriptive analysis, reliability analysis and results of hypothesis testing. This chapter entails the detailed analysis of variables and also data which were distributed and gathered from the MMU students. Of all 200 questionnaires that were distributed, 200 copies of the completed survey were collected. All 200 surveys form were evaluated and screened for any imperfect or missing data. After checking through the questionnaires for uncompleted as well as unanswered questionnaires, 200 of them were found to be utilizable for the purpose of this research. Data is then analyzed and tabulated for simplicity and easy understanding of the research. 4.2 Descriptive Analysis In this analysis, frequency analysis will be carried out to analyze the demographic aspects in the questionnaires. The 200 survey forms are measured demographically with regards to: Gender of respondents Age group of respondents Nationality of respondents Ethnicity of respondents Faculty of respondents Current year of respondents Respondents do online shopping or not Experience of online shopping towards respondents Amount of expense on online shopping towards respondents Amount of shopping hours on online shopping in a week towards respondents 4.2.1 DEMOGRAPHIC GENDER Table 4.2.1: Gender Gender Frequency Percentage (%) Male 92 46.0 Female 108 54.0

The 1997 and 1998 Asian Economic Crisis Essay -- Business Economics Ec

The 1997 and 1998 Asian Economic Crisis The purpose of this paper is to explore the causes of the 1997 and 1998 Asian economic crisis; and to research the effects of the crisis in each of the following categories: 1. The effects of the crisis in the countries involved in the economic crisis of 1997-98. 2. The effects on the governments affected by the crash, and 3. The effects that the Asian crisis has had on the differing world markets as well as the effects that it will continue to have (if any) on the world markets in the near future. We will also present our analysis of the causes and our predictions as to what the future will be for the countries involved. The paper will first look at the causes behind the crash. We can see that the main factors include current-account imbalances, financial over-lending, banking problems, extremely open economies, and a list of other factors. After we look at the causes behind the crash, we will give an analysis of how to avoid these problems in the future and what the repercussions will be in the Asian and Global markets. And at the end of the paper will be our conclusions (including how this has helped to better prepare us in the area of International Financial Management). The countries affected by the 1997 Asian crisis include the following: 1. Korea 2. Indonesia 3. Malaysia 4. Philippines 5. Thailand 6. China 7. Taiwan 8. Hong Kong (city-state) 9. Singapore (city -state) Introduction The Asian economic crash of 1997 surprised more than a few people. Ever since the period after World War II, the Asian economies had been following an economic model developed by the Japanese. This model favored export markets, domestic investment, and lower savings vs. hi... ...alaysia 2.10 -3.74 1.39 -0.11 -1.59 -3.75 0.58 Philippines -5.73 -3.00 -4.27 -8.53 -8.95 -8.80 -9.44 -12.30 Singapore 6.76 10.62 9.29 8.12 14.87 15.38 13.26 12.55 Thailand -7.75 -6.88 -4.70 -4.56 -5.18 -7.09 -6.65 0.14 China 2.75 2.86 1.03 -1.92 1.39 1.68 2.10 4.41 Taiwan 6.82 6.94 4.03 3.16 2.70 2.10 4.05 2.72 TABLE 4.0 GDP Growth. GDP Growth 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Korea 9.13 5.06 5.75 8.58 8.94 7.10 5.47 Indonesia 6.95 6.46 6.50 15.93 8.22 7.98 4.65 Malaysia 8.48 7.80 8.35 9.24 9.46 8.58 7.81 Philippines -0.58 0.34 2.12 4.38 4.77 5.76 9.66 Singapore 7.27 6.29 10.44 10.05 8.75 7.32 7.55 Thailand 8.18 8.08 8.38 8.94 8.84 5.52 -.043 Hong Kong 4.97 6.21 6.15 5.51 3.85 5.03 5.29 China 9.19 14.24 12.09 12.66 10.55 9.54 8.80 Taiwan 7.55 6.76 6.32 6.54 6.03 5.67 6.81 All Graphs Compliments of International Financial Statistics of the IMF

The Battle of Crecy :: Essays Papers

The Battle of Crecy The Battle of Crecy is one of several battles fought during the Hundred Years War between England and France. William I was the first to intertwine England and France. He did this by separating his French and English holdings between his two oldest sons, Robert and William II. This led to intermarriage of French and English, which eventually created land disputes, dramatic affairs and inadvertently led to the Hundred Years war and the Battle of Crecy. The Battle of Crecy took place on August 26, 1346. The battle was waged by two kings, the English king, Edward III, the French king Philp VI and their respective armies. The French forces are thought to have consisted of around thirty-six thousand men, including thousands of Geonese from Italy. On the other side the English are suspected of only having around twelve thousand soldiers. Although the English were outnumbered by thousands of French knights they proceeded to savagely defeat the French that day. On the day of the battle the English were in a defensive position awaiting the attack of the French forces at a place known as Crecy Ridge. The English armies were "trained, disciplined, well-armed and confident" meanwhile the Frenchmen and Geonese were "largely untrained, hastily collected and lacking cohesion" (Burne 186). The English were also thought to have had a crude form of a cannon, the first ever used in a battle. They also had excellent archers who easily defeated many of the French cross bowmen and knights from a distance with a longbow. The English win was enormous, and it is said that "Phillip VI fled the battlefield" (Allmand 15). Jean Froissart helped to to sensationalize and romanticize the battle in his "Chronicles of the Hundred Years War". With this work he helped to create legends about the "Black Prince", Edward III's son who first gained honor through the Battle of Crecy. The work idolizes the warriors who fought in the battles and exaggerates the cowardice of the French.

The Tragic Hero Victor Frankenstein

Aristotle's ideas about tragedy were recorded in his book of literary theory titled Poetics. In it, he has a great deal to say about the structure, purpose, and intended effect of tragedy. His ideas have been adopted, disputed, expanded, and discussed for several centuries now. The following is a summary of his basic ideas regarding the tragic hero: 1. The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness. This should be readily evident in the play. The character must occupy a â€Å"high† status position but must ALSO embody nobility and virtue as part of his/her innate character. 2. Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently great, he/she is not perfect. Otherwise, the rest of us–mere mortals–would be unable to identify with the tragic hero. We should see in him or her someone who is essentially like us, although perhaps elevated to a higher position in society. 3. The hero's downfall, therefore, is partially her/his own fault, the result of free choice, not of accident or villainy or some overriding, malignant fate. In fact, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw that contributes to the hero's lack of perfection noted above. This error of judgment or character flaw is known as hamartia and is usually translated as â€Å"tragic flaw† (although some scholars argue that this is a mistranslation). Often the character's hamartia involves hubris (which is defined as a sort of arrogant pride or over-confidence). 4. The hero's misfortunate is not wholly deserved. The punishment exceeds the crime. 5. The fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero.. 6. Though it arouses solemn emotion, tragedy does not leave its audience in a state of depression. Aristotle argues that one function of tragedy is to arouse the â€Å"unhealthy† emotions of pity and fear and through a catharsis (which comes from watching the tragic hero's terrible fate) cleanse us of those emotions. It might be worth noting here that Greek drama was not considered â€Å"entertainment,† pure and simple; it had a communal function–to contribute to the good health of the community. This is why dramatic performances were a part of religious festivals and community celebrations.

Plato’s Theory of Ideas Essay

Plato’s theory of Ideas addresses the problem of change. As we experience the world we experience it as change. As Heraclitus puts it, all things are in flux (Barnes 58). Things change through time, and they also change through space, via motion. One never steps in the same river twice. But against this ancient wisdom of Heraclitus there is also the wisdom of Parmenides, who proclaims that nothing ever changes, because whatever exists necessarily has permanent existence (Ibid 245). Parmenides is seen to have posed the problem of being and non-being which had bedeviled the Greeks for long, before Plato affected reconciliation through his Theory of Ideas. The points of view of both Heraclitus and Parmenides are valid, he says, because they are speaking of different modes of existence. Heraclitus describes the phenomenal world, whereas Parmenides the transcendental one. Parmenides speaks of the higher truth, of true and unchanging reality. This is the reality of Ideas, and which we do not experience directly. Heraclitus’ wisdom is the lesser one, but hardly insignificant. It is the reality of the phenomenal world, and the one which we experience directly. It is the world as framed by time and space, and therefore characterized by perpetual change. Plato’s theory concerns the relationship between the two realities. Change is the fundamental problem that we face. There are two aspects to this problem, one moral, and the other metaphysical. First to consider the metaphysical. Realities are all we ever seek. The non-real repels us, for it is of the same substance as error, illusion, or imperfection. But how real can we accept that which is never the same in two successive instances, or in two different locations. The best we can say of such reality is that it is transient. It is as if we have a glimpse of reality, but it doesn’t persist, and is instantaneously replaced by another reality. At this point we may come to the rash conclusion that there is nothing that is permanently real, as do the nihilists. Another equally rash conclusion is that, while there is an objective reality, it is beyond our reach, which is the conclusion of the skeptics. But nihilism does not account for intelligibility and comprehension. We clearly understand the comprehend the world beyond, which means that there is something there to understand, which in turn means there is something real. The same argument may be used to dispel skepticism too. The moral dimension to the problem of change involves a similar argument, this time introducing the concepts of virtue, justice and beauty. Such qualities are indispensable to human existence. If there was nothing called virtue and justice, we would not be able to live with our neighbors at all. If there was nothing called beauty, we would be deprived of the very motive force that carries us through life. But no one has ever come to agree as to what these entities are, and each arrives at a subjective estimation. Such relativism, in the first instance, seems to refute the existence of justice or beauty as properly existent entities in themselves. At the same time the tangible existence of human society tells us that justice and beauty necessary exist, even though no one can put a finger on it. The conviction that there is a thing called justice is part of the moral life. Change is thus a measure of imperfection. Material objects are mutable; therefore they can only be imperfect copies of real entities – the Ideas. This is true for either tangible objects, or abstract qualities, such as virtue and justice. We recognize a ball because it is round, but do we actually perceive roundness directly? Roundness is a geometrical concept that we are able to understand, but we can never come across something that is perfectly round in the material world. No one has ever seen perfect roundness, and yet we are able recognize something as round immediately. This can only mean that roundness is an innate concept of the mind. We are allowed to compare real objects with this archetype, so that whenever something is â€Å"nearly† round, then we call it round. The roundness of the ball is an imperfect copy of the archetypical roundness – and the latter is what we call the Idea of roundness. In the same way the ball is composed of the copies of other Ideas, such as redness, hardness, bounciness, if we have a red, hard and bouncy ball. All these qualities come together to make the material object, which is the ball, and this is a mutable entity. The Ideas, however, never change. It is because the Ideas have permanency that we are able to comprehend the ball for what it is. For if the forms, such as roundness and hardness, had no fixity, then there is no hope for intelligibility at all. Again, the material ball can be said to exist only because the Ideas have true existence, i.e. they retain their qualities at all times and in all places. Therefore, material objects derive their existence from the transcendental existence of Ideas. It is a transient, and therefore limited existence, when we compare it to the true existence of Ideas. We therefore have two levels of existence, one of Ideas, and the other of material things. The Ideas we may denote as Entities, they only having true existence. Material things also have existence, but only in a transient way, so we must say that they do not truly exist. They derive both their intelligibility and their existence by dint of their being copies of the Entities. The Entities are perfect, because they are immutable. Material objects, on the other hand, are mutable, which reflects the fact that they are imperfect copies of archetypical forms. In one of the most famous passages of Plato, which has come to be known as â€Å"The Myth of the Cave†, we find a vivid illustration of the structure of reality as envisaged by Plato (Marias 48). Socrates (Plato) asks his audience to imagine a curious type of cave dweller. They have spent all their lives inside the cave, and not only that, but they are chained and restricted in such a way that they must sit facing the wall of the cave, and cannot even turn their necks to see what goes on behind their backs. In this posterior region there is a path, and even further back a fire blazes. There are bearers walking along the path and carrying objects. The shadows of these objects fall onto the cave wall. These shadows constitute all that the cave dwellers ever see. The objects that the bearers carry are real, and are likened to the Entities. The shadows are likened to the material objects. The first thing to notice is that they are indistinct and imperfect copies of the real things. The second thing is that they are mutable, meaning that the shadows flicker and give a perpetually changing outline. Compared to this the Entities are solid and immutable. Socrates further goes on to consider what it implies if the cave dwellers are released from their shackles, and then led out of the cave into the broad daylight. They see things now with the maximum of clarity, and we may liken such seeing as experiencing the Entities themselves. Compared to the puny and indistinct shadows inside the cave, the real things have far more clarity. By letting the cave dweller out, Plato is suggesting that there is escape from the cage of phenomenal existence, and that man spans the gap between the two realms, experiencing material things on the one hand, but with the latent possibility of knowing the ultimately real too. The question then arises as to how we should deal with change. We can either accept change as the final judgment, which means that we will not allow Plato’s transcendental realm of Ideas. Such a stance is known as relativism, because all things are now only relative to each other. With relativism all points of view must be accepted as valid, and there will no underlining objectivity to it all. Either this, or we accept Plato’s theory of forms. But relativism by itself is absurd. Even the statement â€Å"relativism is true† has meaning only if it is objective. Since relativism denies objectivity, the statement is self-contradictory, therefore false. This means that we must fall back on Plato’s theory of Ideas. But a multiplicity of Ideas also entails relativism, for these too must be mutually related to each other. To expel all relativism we must ultimately arrive at the â€Å"Idea of the Ideas†, the single Idea form which all others must stem (Ibid 53). It is what Plato calls the transcendental Good. Since we cannot apprehend Entities, how are we to arrive at truth? Plato says that it is through reconciliation. We are perpetually striving towards objectivity, which is the common ground to all points of view. Therefore, there is a universally operative force by which all things mutually attract each other. Plato calls this eros – or love. This is the motive force that propels all things, and leads to truth. The process of reconciliation is where opposite points of view come together, and there is gradual expansion of the common ground. The process, therefore, sets before us a hierarchy of truth. At the lower end is the particular and the subjective; at the higher end is the general and the objective. In terms of change we say that, at one end of the hierarchy is the transient and ever-changing, and the other is the permanent and immutable truth. We proceed from the lower end of the hierarchy to the higher. The same hierarchy is reflected in all things that we observe in the material world. There is the hierarchy of the inert and the living. Among the living there is the hierarchy of the insentient plants and the sentient animals. Among both these groups we find an infinitely nuanced hierarchy, with man at the summit of it all. Even among man there is a hierarchy, reflected the stages of spiritual development, whereby material attachment is gradually shed. Plato speaks of a nine fold hierarchy that spans from the tyrant to the philosopher (Ibid 47). To illustrate how the condition of man came to be, Plato describes (in the Phaedrus) a mystical vision as it comes to Socrates while meditating on the banks if the Illysus. He sees the soul of man being carried by two winged horses, one of which is unruly (denoting the senses and the passions), and the other is calm (denoting the mind). Reason is the driver in the middle, and he carries the soul over heaven, so that the soul has glimpsed the eternal and unchanging truth. But in the end reason cannot manage the unmatched steeds, so that the horses lose their wings, and the soul fall to earth, taking on a material body. If it was not for the glimpse of heaven, the fallen soul would only be ranked among the beasts. But the special condition of man is that he straddles the divide between the material and the eternal. He must persist in a material body, but where the wings have been clipped there is aching longing to fly again. The aching is further exacerbated by the recollection of heaven. The soul which has once experienced eternity can never forget it. The faculty of reason itself is but an act of remembering of having once flown over heaven. Through reason man may guide his soul back to heaven, through the acquisition of wisdom. The rational perception of material things is therefore an act of remembering. Material objects are therefore only the signposts that lead the way back to heaven. Socrates puts this most beautifully in the following way: â€Å"The virtue of wings consists in lifting heavy things upwards, bearing them through the air to the place where the gods reside† (qtd. in Marias 48). In conclusion, Plato solves the problem of change by positing the existence of Ideas, which are the transcendental entities having eternal and unchanging existence. The theory describes a hierarchy of existence, with the unchanging Ideas residing at the summit, and the material objects below, which obtain both their existence and their intelligibility through being derived from the Ideas. Put in another way, the mutable objects are only imperfect copies of the perfect and immutable archetypes. The human condition is such that it remains in contact with both realms. While the human soul persists in the illusory and mutable realm of material objects, it nevertheless strives towards the objective and unchanging truth through the faculty of reason. The rational contemplation of material objects is therefore only a process or recollection of the higher truth which the soul was once privy to. From this point of view material objects are only signs that lead the way back to the ultimate truth, and wisdom is but a process of shedding material attachment. Works Cited Barnes, Jonathan. The Presocratic Philosophers. London: Routledge, 1982. Marà ­as, Julià ¡n. History of Philosophy. Chelmsford, MA: Courier Dover Publications, 1967.

Pulp Fiction: Shortcomings of a “Neo-Noir” Essay

The remarkable stylistic conventions of classical film noir have made it one of the most memorable and recognizable film genres to this day. Each film noir picture is uniquely told though it use of degrees of darkness, contrasting lighting, rain-covered city streets, isolated protagonist, and devious dames that effortlessly lure men into a cold trap of criminal deeds. Pulp Fiction, a film by Quentin Tarantino, is said to be one of film noir’s strongest roots with its setting of a dark, criminal underworld. While the film does play around the edges of traditional film noir, it cannot be accurately be claimed a â€Å"neo-noir† due to several variances it takes with some of the most fundamental elements of film noir. Many visual and narrative devices have taken a different route in such a manner that one cannot classify it as conventional film noir. One of the most obvious breaks that Pulp Fiction makes from traditional film noir is the film being shot primarily in the day time. When one thinks of film noir, they automatically think darkness because it is always the film’s visual theme. The symbolic use of heavy shadows and key lighting is what makes film noir so great and gives the overall grim mood to the picture. When the murders occur the lighting is very dark, and most of the time, only illuminates the killers face as he is firing the bullets such as in The Killers when the two assassins come and kill the Swede. This style shows how emotionless the murders are as we only focus on their face from the lighting, thus giving the audience a very cold and dark feeling. We never get this feeling or situation in Pulp Fiction as all of the killing is done in the daytime, with the room well lit. There are no murders at night; in fact there are only two night scenes shot in the entire movie. There is not as much emotion or overall visual effect that we usually see with murders in film noir. A similarity we see between classic film noir and Pulp fiction that adds to the visual detail of the film is constant smoking. Almost every character in Pulp Fiction smokes and they do it every chance they get. In classical film noir this smoking added to the effect of the darkness and lighting because the rooms where always filled with smoke which increased the feeling of uncertainty and gloom. In Pulp fiction, it has a greatly diminished symbolic effect because of the shots always being in the daytime. The only scene that compares to classic film noir is the shot of Butch in the taxicab with Esmarelda. This shot is the only one in the entire film that comes closest to a typical noir setting. This scene is shot at night in a cab traveling in the city streets of Los Angles. There is heavy contrast lighting from the streetlights and the camera angle is shot from the third-person facing the two characters in the car. From this view the audience gets a great visual picture of their face s because of the contrast of light that only illuminates both Butch and Esmarelda. Butch asks for a cigarette and Esmarelda gives him one right away, striking the match on the dash as we see in most noir films. Now the setting is dark and the car is filling with smoke, which gives a great setting for Esmarelda to ask, â€Å"what does it feel like to kill a man?† This moment is a perfect resurrection of classical film noir because we see the murderer and a questionable femme fatale having strong interest on what it is like to take a life. As Butch claims that he did not know that he killed the man until she told him, there is a pause, and then he tells her that he does not feel â€Å"a damn thing.† This is the cold moment we see from the noir style but they usually last much longer in traditional film noir. In contrast, the scene in Pulp Fiction ends abruptly as Butch leaves the taxi and goes home to Fabienne, whom he is having an intimate relationship with. The mood of the movie completely changes and all possible questions about Esmarelda being the femme fatale are erased as she is now out of the story. This scene is as close as we get to a typical noir setting with all the elements of darkness, lighting, and smoke combined to create a better feeling of how cold Butch is towards killing another man. A film noir with out a femme fatale is hardly a film noir at all. Often called â€Å"spider woman† they play the most important role in all film noir as they weave a trap to which our male antagonist always falls into creating the plot and crime of the story. â€Å"Independence is her goal but her nature is fundamentally and irredeemably sexual in film noir† (Place 6). In Pulp fiction, the audience is drawn in to believe that Mia is our femme fatale as the first time we are introduced to her all we hear is her seductive voice and then the camera flashes to a shot of just her lips, covered in fresh red lipstick. The next shot we see of her is only her feet as she tells Vincent it is time to go. This is a typical visual style we see in noir as it shows how the man begins to get seduced such as the shot of Phyllis’ legs as she goes down the staircase in Double Indemnity. With the background knowledge of Mia being the millionaires, Marsellus Wallace’s wife, we are led to think that she is a typical femme fatale who wants to escape like Kathie in Out of the Past. As they go out on their date, Vincent and Mia have some of the same back and forth flirtatious dialogue that we see in film noir such as when Mia says, â€Å"That’s when you’ve found somebody really special, when you can just shut the fuck up for a minute, and comfortably share a silence.† They have a good time, win a dance competition, and it seems as if Mia is certainly seductive enough towards Vincent to get him trapped when they get home. It is exactly at this point that the typical principles of film noir begin to fall apart. Vincent takes himself in the bathroom and has a self-debate on whether or not to sleep with the boss’s wife. In traditional film noir, rational is completely taken over by impulse and the male-lead always falls into some kind of trap. In Pulp fiction, Vincent decides that he is just going to say goodbye and rejects the advances of the femme fatale, which is completely out of line if we want to classify this film as noir. Immediately after, Mia overdoses which completely changes the entire mood of the movie. We are no longer thinking about Mia seducing Vincent, it has now turned into a climactic struggle to save Mia’s life. Although Mia has her juicy red lips, smooth voice, and powerful sexuality, her downfall proves that there is no place for a character such as a femme fatale in this movie. â€Å"Her failure as an actress and her later overdose leaves her weak, powerless and deathly pale, a far cry from the sexually potent and glamorous fatales of the classical noir period† (Em L, â€Å"Film in Focus†). A feature in Pulp fiction that related to classic film noir was the use of a non-sequential narrative structure. Although Pulp fiction did not use the exact same structure, the events were seen out of chronological order. The structure typically seen in noir is encompassed by on overall flashback that gives detail and explanation of the downfall of the male protagonist. Stories in film noir typically begin at the end or middle, and the flashback us usually narrated by the protagonist. In these fist-person voice-over narrations we learn how the protagonist got to the situation he is in now. Since the character is relating the story directly to the audience, we are able to create a connection with the character, and understand his disturbed thoughts. Pulp fiction takes a different approach, as there is no specific male protagonist in the film. Instead of one person illustrating events from past to present, we are given multiple characters experiences in various timeframes. The audience is show different points of departure from each character in the story and the story rewinds and we experience the same timeframe but from someone else’s point of view. This continues until we come full circle to the robbery scene, where now, all of the pieces of the puzzle have been put together. â€Å"Director Quentin Tarantino said he was aiming to make a trilogy taking elements of the old crime stories and mixing them together† (Blake, â€Å"Linear Narrative†). â€Å"Part of the trick is to take these movie characters, these genre characters and these genre situations and actually apply them to some of real life’s rules and see how they unravel† (Tarantino). Although this was a great style to put the movie together it is unclear if it could be used to show the downfall of the protagonist. The flashback marks the solidified fate of the noir heroes, showing how he was doomed from the start. If the audience has to relate to many characters rather than just one, the powerful connection we get in film noir is lost. The most noticeable and prominent variation from the framework of film noir in Pulp Fiction is the rejection of pessimism expected from the conclusion of the film. All noir heroes are doomed from the start. Since the flashback structure is completely different than classic film noir we do not see how any of the characters are trapped in a fate they cannot escape. In fact, almost everyone does get a happy ending. Jules decides he is done being a hit man after is â€Å"divine intervention† and says that he is not going to kill a man again but become a sheppard for the lord. Butch is free to go after he comes back for Marsellus who was getting raped by Zed. Vincent does die but with the timeline out of order he is killed in the middle in the movie rather than in the end where he walks out of the restaurant with Jules. Even Ringo and Yolanda have a happy ending as Jules teaches them a lesson and they still get away with lots of money. Noir films are supposed to leave the audience with a dark and cold feeling, which was definitely not the case here. The pessimistic tone we get from the confessional nature of the flashback creates the view of negativity that last the entirety of the film. Film noir may even be called it’s own genre because of its many visual and narrative elements that made it like no other style. It was a â€Å" world of darkness and violence, with a central figure whose motives are usually greed, lust and ambition, whose world is filled with fear (Higham 27). Although Pulp Fiction carries some of these elements it should not be classified as a â€Å"neo noir† as it lacks some of the greatest aspects that made film noir so special. If it is the roots of film noir, it greatly undermines the movement that was like no other ever scene in American cinema. Works Cited Em L. â€Å"Film in Focus: Suburban Noir & Pulp Fiction.† Film Student Central. N.p., 11 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 June 2012. . Higham, Charles, and Joel Greeburg. â€Å"Noir Cinema.† Film Noir Reader. New Jersey: Limelight Editions, 1996. 27. Print. Place, Janey. â€Å"Women in Film Noir.† N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. Blake, CG. â€Å"Linear vs. Non-linear Narrative.† A New Fiction Writers Forum. N.p., 6 Dec. 2011. Web. 21 June 2012. .