Case Synopsis

The management at Atlantic Computer had the problem of formulating a pricing strategy for product bundling. This had to be a unique pricing strategy because they were breaking away from the industry practice which was to offer software tools for free.However in this case, the management had decided against this strategy as the use of the software tool would lead to considerable savings on the part of the customer. Therefore the management believed that if new product marketing and sales did their job right, customers could be persuaded to pay an additional percentage for the PESA software tool.Therefore the center of the problem was clearly to develop the right pricing strategy which would take into consideration the product’s benefits and the current competitive pressures in the market. This was the task given to Jason Jowers, the youngest product manager at Atlantic Computer. The strategy that Jason developed would be tested at the SME trade show. Depending on the test resul ts, the pricing structure could be put into practice.Company overviewAtlantic Computer has a long record of operating in the high-end performance servers market. It had been selling Radia to large enterprise consumer servers for the last thirty years. However the management had shifted the strategic focus to basic servers because of the popularity of the Internet technology.This was the reason that Atlantic Computer was introducing Tronn. The head of the server division believed that customers would no longer consider high performance servers and basic servers as substitutes. Therefore, the market had considerable growth potential in terms of basic servers. Atlantic Computer already had a considerable brand reputation in the market from selling high performance servers and the company would be able to capitalize upon this reputation by selling basic servers.The company also had a reputation for responsive post-sales assistance. This was based on customer relationship management and product differentiation. Therefore, the company had a substantial existing customer list which could be capitalized upon to enter the market for basic servers. In this respect the strategy of product differentiation was being implemented in the form of bundling hardware with software.Product overviewAtlantic Computer had been selling high performance servers for the last 30 years. Now it was entering a new market with basic servers the functionalities of which were expanded by bundling the hardware with the PESA software tool. The industry practice was that software tools were given away for free.However the management at Atlantic Computer had decided against this strategy because the customers would be able to reduce their operating expenses considerably by using the PESA software tool. Basic servers are used to perform simple, repeatable functions while software tools are used to monitor the health of a server or to enhance the performance of the server. Customers in the web-serve r and file sharing applications segment would benefit most from the suggested product bundling

My Term Paper

Principles Of Management Wk 1: Dis In this week’s discussion you will begin to explain the four management functions and the evolution of management thought. In Chapter 11, â€Å"Motivation† read pages 360-390 and answer questions from â€Å"Why Won’t They Take a Break? † on page 391. Discuss the following: Which motivation theory(s) do you think would help communicate the importance of vacation time to your employees? I would go with McClellands learned needs theory. This theory suggest that people are motivated by need of affiliation as well as achievement.I think by explaining to employees the benefit of vacation time could be used to express the importance of it, by suggesting to employees that vacation time can be used for time other than the goal to save for a vacation. emergency's can arise and vacation time is a helpful way to get through what could possibly be a tough patch as well as the perks of taking vacation time for in fact a vacation. the b enefits could be used to suit the individuals needs as well as personal goals. How would you convince your employees that working less hours, not more, is more beneficial for them and the company?I would honestly explain to my employees how working less hours can prevent them from becoming ‘burned out' and decreasing performance. I would also explain plainly how by working more hours when not necessary is draining on the company and its ability to afford the employee's salary's. however i would one on one discuss the goals of each employee using McClellands theory's to work with the individual at reaching those personal goals even with a lack of excessive hours required. Please remember to cite the text and any outside sources used. Wk 2: DisConsider the particular management functions which apply to scenarios such as domestic and international business. For this week’s class discussion you will locate a news article which will help you to explain and apply these manage ment functions. First, find a recent news article about an organization that is experiencing change. Then, discuss the following: How is the organization applying each of the four functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, controlling) to address this change? I found a news article on Starbucks. Starbuck has a threat to their coffee supply due to climate change.Starbuck used the four functions of management and their results are showing success. Planning: Their goal is to reduce the Green House Gasses. Their means to succeed is to come up with an efficiency program to reduce their environmental footprint, use reusable energy, and reduce carbon emissions Organizing: They tried to talk to congress to take action but failed. So they started to work with local producers to take their own action. Leading: They partnered up with Conservation International to improve their production, and to conserve and restore natural habitat. The also worked with farmers in order to reduce carbon emissions.Control: They are keeping track of their progress by conducting an inventory of their use of Green House Gas. The result in 2010 was 1,006,854 metric tons of GHG they were using. In 2011 the results were 979,963 metric ton of GHG being used. A reduction of 2. 7%. They are continuing to monitor the GHG use. Since the efficiency program is working they will continue trying to find more ways to reduce their use of GHG. http://www. starbucks. com/responsibility/environment/climate-change Wk 3: Dis Now that you have learned about aspects of the communications model, such as anaging communication, planning, and decision making, you will explain the communications model from the sender’s and receiver’s perspectives in this week’s class discussion. Discuss the following: Explain the steps to successfully communicate a message to a receiver. Which steps of the process do you find most challenging in your communications and why? The first step is the mess age†¦. The message is the information that you want to communicate. The next step is encoding†¦ This is the process of transferring the information you want to communicate into a form that can be sent and correctly decoded at the other end. Your success in encoding depends partly on your ability to convey information clearly and simply, but also on your ability to anticipate and eliminate sources of confusion the key part of this is knowing your audience. Failure to understand who you are communicating with will result in delivering messages that are misunderstood. channel†¦ messages are conveyed through channels, with verbal including face-to-face meetings, telephone and videoconferencing; and written including letters, emails, memos and reports. Different channels have different strengths and weaknesses. decoding†¦Just as successful encoding is a skill, so is successful decoding just as confusions can arise from errors in encoding, it can also arise from decodi ng errors. This is particularly the case if the decoder doesn't have enough knowledge to understand the message. receiver†¦ your message is delivered to individual members of your audience. No doubt, you have in mind the actions or reactions you hope your message will get from this audience. Keep in mind, though, that each of these individuals enters into the communication process with ideas and feelings that will undoubtedly influence their understanding of your message, and their response.To be a successful communicator you should consider these before delivering your message, and act appropriately. Wk 5: Dis You have read about ethics and social responsibility, and perhaps watched this week’s video selection. Consider what you have learned, and apply it to your own business area. In this week’s class discussion, you will describe ethical situations in a manager’s role related to your area of study. Discuss the following: Describe three common ethical iss ues facing managers in your chosen industry. The industry of my choice is Business management.I chose this because I want to own my own business and be my own boss. The three ethical issues that I feel that managers are facing in this industry is 1. Discrimination 2. Fraud 3. Authority. 1. Discrimination is a serious issue in a lot of businesses today. Some companies discriminate against race, sex/gender, and most often now sexual preference. There is a place in my town that actually won't hire anyone but Mexicans because they are said they work harder than anyone else. Sure they have a few of blacks and whites there.My so called in-law is a supervisor there and told me before I put in my application that they are not gonna hire me because they want more Mexicans. It's crazy but true and it's not fair. I am a hard worker and I shouldn't be denied a job because of my race. 2. Fraud is another issue and a lot of are guilty of it. Employees and managers are guilty of it just to get a h igher position or just hired. Some lie about education and work history. We lie because most companies don't check everything on the application. If everything was checked then it would be a lot of sad unemployed people.Lying about education, work history and qualification is in every company. This â€Å"person† I know found a website to get fake GEDs and she is using hers. She been with the company for 3 years. If they are not gonna check all information on applications then they are lying themselves. They say they go over applications and they don't. 3. Authority is the biggest issue to me personally. I have worked for my in-law about 10 years ago (before the mexican issue) and she abused her authority. She felt that since she was in a higher position she would use it and make us (workers) so some of her work.She would pull some of us off our machines to do inventory. We did it for a while until the plant had a company meeting. We were told what our jobs were and asked why were doing other things that kept our production low. No one spoke up until I did. Some feared they would lose their jobs but not ME. I told on her and she was so they started making her do inventory and record it on paper. She was mad at me and I didn't care because she was not my cup of tea anyway. We all got a $1 raise because we had done our job and part of hers also. Wk 6: DisIn this week’s class discussion, you will consider the legal, ethical, and social implications of real world business practices. Find an example of a business facing a legal, ethical, and/or social responsibility dilemma. Create a one-paragraph summary of the dilemma and the steps you think the organization should take to resolve the issue. My story will be about KFC there first battle was the dead chickens that they are suppose to disposal, they continue to use them for more meat. For people to know that it can be a very big lost on customers and a very bad look on the business.The second battle wa s from a twister chicken wrap, a 14 year old girl was brain damaged from eating one it nearly killed her. She was in a coma for at least 6 months at the age of 7 trying to recover from the sickness. She had caught a disease they call Spastic Quadriplegia, and it damages all four limbs so they had no choice but to place her in a wheelchair. She was awarded 5 million from the problems that KFC caused the parents said it will be a very big help because of the situation, but she is still torn that daughter had to face these problems and deal with it for the rest of her life.This should be a lesson to everybody that is why I am so funny with my food now and seeing two things happen like this just led me with the choice of never going back KFC ever again. This is life threatening things that can happen in the line of business that's why when it comes to me having a business everything will be legit. Wk 8: Dis Managers are affected by the organizational environment, and help to create it. Their role is instrumental in a successful organizational culture. In this week’s class discussion, you will define the manager’s role as it relates to various organizational cultures.Discuss the following: Think of an organization with which you are very familiar. How flexible/rigid are the managers at this organization with regard to policies and personnel? Identify and describe the factors you think helped to shape this organization’s culture. Strategic planning involves a set of procedures for making decisions about the organizations long-term goals. In order to achieve these goals, managers have to devise a plan that incorporates both flexible and ridged forms of management (Bohlander ; Snell, 2010). On many occasions in the past, I have worked as a customer service agent.In this position, customer agents have access to personal information of their customer. Customer service agents must comply with laws set forth by the government. Not following these proc edures during every call could possibly render huge fines or, worst case scenario, dissolution of the organization. For this reason, certain disclosures and/or disclaimers must be stated during each and every call. In this case, I had very rigid rules, regulations, policies and procedures to follow in order to avoid legal ramifications or loss of employment.At the same time, I was given some empowerment in order to satisfy customer complaints and issues such as changes to the account, issuing credits, or billing discrepancies. Helping customers find the best solution to their problem requires some flexibility, but the degree was still limited. We had a few solutions to choose from that did not require manager approval. If the issue could not be resolved with what we had to work with, then the manager’s approval was needed. Although most agents these days are given more freedom to make decisions, there are still boundaries that cannot be crossed or overlooked.Companies are bec oming more lenient and allowing employees to use their judgment in areas of customer satisfaction. Empowerment managers or employees make them feel content, capable, and competent. This in turn will elevate morale, enhance the company’s culture, and increase customer loyalty (Williams, 2012). Sources: Bohlander, G. , ; Snell, S. (2010). Managing human resources. Mason: Cengage Learning Williams, C. (2012). Effective management. Mason: Cengage Learning Wk 9: Dis Delegation is one of the important roles of management.In the class discussion for this week, you will practice demonstrating effective delegation techniques and strategies. Consider your own experiences in your discussion. Discuss the following: List three work tasks that managers could successfully delegate to employees. * A manager could instruct an associate employee to do simply housekeeping tasks such as sweeping, mopping, wiping surfaces and cleaning bathrooms. I feel that the delegation of power to the associat e employee gives the managers time to do more important tasks to the business. * A manager could delegate the responsibility of restocking merchandise.This delegation of authority not only frees up the managers schedule but also instill some pride for the employee on their involvement within the company. * A manger could delegate assistant manager to do inventory reports, scheduling other employees and making orders from vendors. This ensures that the assistant manager can continue the business the way the manager would run it in their absence. List three work tasks that managers should not delegate. * I do not feel that any form of Loss prevention should be handled by any other employee than the manager.With keeping this task with the manager the possibility of preventing employee theft goes up. * Keeping up and maintaining sales goals should not be delegated to other employees. If the employee is focused on sales goals their customer service skills could become lax in hopes of rea ching the goals. This could also place doubt the employees mind about the security of their position with the company. * Customer Complaints is also something that should be handled directly with the manager. With the manager having more experience with irate customers the situation is more likely to be resolved with as little conflict as possible.Explain your reasoning Wk 10: Dis In the class discussion this week, you will consider the age and gender aspects of diversity within your field of specialization. Discuss the following: Think of an organization within your industry with which you are familiar. What is the approximate age range of its employees? 18 to 45 years of age. What would you guess is the average age? I would say the average age is 34. Which gender is more prevalent within the organization’s workforce? The male gender is dominant in this industry. Are most of the managers female or male? Male.How do the factors above influence the effectiveness of the organiz ation? This particular organization, one of the leading garage door companies in the bay area, is open minded to both males or females holding any position, from a person of labor to General Manager, as long as you are qualified. Every employee is treated with respect ; professional behavior. Because each new employee is trained properly ; supported by the staff, it creates a work environment where people enjoy working there ; have been there for many years. The best way I can describe it is the company has a family atmosphere about it.

Domestic Terrorism in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Domestic Terrorism in America - Research Paper Example However, there often exists a thin line between terrorism and fight for justice. It is worth noting that many countries today trace their existence to struggles for freedom, equality and justice from colonizers or occupiers who oppressed them. The struggle may have been violent at times, leading to injury, death or destruction of property, but is what brought the desired freedom to these societies. Those who may have been hurt or dispossessed during these struggles see those who started them for the liberation of their societies, not as heroes but terrorists. Therefore, as the debate rages on the difference between a terrorist and a hero, some pundits have argued that it is purely a matter of perception and partisanship (Bolt, 2001). The two can easily interchange depending on personal perceptions. Domestic Terrorism in America America is a country of people from diverse origins, colors, religions, cultures, creeds and beliefs, and who have different conflicts and issues but coexisti ng in the same country. Americans have different dreams, perceptions, expectations and struggles that may conflict, leading to desperation, agitation, arguments and illogical approach including terrorism to solve the conflicts. Therefore, faced with all these, it is right to say that most of domestic terrorism in America is either as a result of struggle on the real meaning of Americanism or an effort to push personal agenda on the national front, or as a means to destabilize the empire for its imperialistic attitudes towards other countries. The above is well explained in the discussion below. Early Terrorism America is a country founded on the tenets of freedom, justice and equality among all the people. The constitution of America is among the most progressive supreme laws in the world as it aims at enhancing this freedom, justice and equality for all those living within the country’s borders. However, to attain this, the country had to undergo a brutal seven-year war of i ndependence between 1775 and 1782. Some quarters point at this war as the precursor of domestic terrorism in America. This is because the colonists led by George Washington used violence against the British army to proclaim their independence and establish the United States of America (Zalman, 2012). The violence that occurred during the struggle led to loss of lives and is seen as terrorism in some quarters. However, that remains debatable. White Supremacy Terrorism Before the American Civil war that lasted between 1861 and 1865, slavery existed in several states, in America, more so, the southern states. Therefore, some parts of the society were organized in a master-subject situation. This situation naturally created supremacy of certain races over others. Since it is the black people who were enslaved by the white people, the state of affairs in the American states where slavery existed can be defined as one where whites were viewed as being superior to blacks. However, after th e war, slavery was abolished in America. Measures were also taken by the Congress and the Union military to enforce equality for all people. This move destabilized the state of white supremacy over the black race and did not go well with white supremacists. They felt that their prestige in the society as a superior race disappeared. This led to the formation of Ku Klan Klux (KKK) whose aim was to terrorize the black Americans and their white sympathizers (Gage, 2000). The KKK engaged in

The 4 pillars of SMS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The 4 pillars of SMS - Assignment Example In this regard, the 4 common pillars of SMS are safety policy, risk management, assurance and promotion. This component establishes the top management’s dedication to constantly improve safety. This is because it entails the organizational policies and structure that define the responsibilities of the management to ensure safety precautions (Waring, 2006). Organizations cannot effectively operate without the observation of safety policies, which help in reducing confusion and errors. The safety policy component is efficient for creating a proactive and predictive program because it offers new regulations that can help in improving equipment and system designs (Ludwig, 2007). For instance, the management can decide to employ new safety programs that will reduce the occurrence of risks. This SMS component determines the requirement for improved risk controls based on the appraisal of suitable risk. The pillar also offers a formal system of hazard recognition, risk evaluation, resource distribution and system monitoring. The component is suitable for creating a proactive and predictive safety program because it helps engineers develop, determine and administer a safety culture that decreases injuries (Waring, 2006). As a result, the safety risk management pillar provides a proactive response before the occurrence of risks. This is because it predicts and tries to prevent accidents through the appropriate response mechanisms. This SMS pillar comprises of coaching, communication and other activities to establish a favorable safety culture within all workforce levels. It is prudent that constant communication of safety values and performances help to support a sound safety culture. Its value in the predictive safety program is that the communication and training initiatives are essential for equipping workers with the required skills to tackle emerging threats (Ludwig, 2007). The workforce needs to acquire modern training facilities in order to prepare for

Islamic Politics and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Islamic Politics and Culture - Essay Example They were the minority and through them, he ruled for some time as the Caliph, a title that was normally given to Muhammad successor. However, this rule ended after the majority Sunni Muslims killed his son Hussein and went ahead to monopolize political power. After this, the Shia has lived in the shadow of the state and appeared to give up politics in favor of religious concerns looking to Imams rather than political leaders. The first 12 of the Shia Imams descending from Ali gradually directed the faith of their followers to create a disparity between them and the Sunni. Sunni Muslims regard themselves to be the orthodox or traditionalist of Islam, their name, Sunni is derived from the word Ahl al-Sunna† which translates into people of tradition. This is in reference to the traditions that were inherited form the actions of the prophet and those he held close. The Sunnis are well known for their veneration of all the prophets that came before Mohamed although they view those that followed him to be little more than temporal figures. Unlike the Shias, religious teachers by the Sunni have in most cases come under state control given that their system emphasis a codified system of Islamic law and the adherence to its four schools of low. The Shias on the other hand have a messianic attribute about them and they have a hierarchy of clerics that practice independent and current interpretations of the Islamic texts. The Shia Muslim number between 120 to 170 million, which is on average about a 10th of all Muslims globally. The Shia are the majority in Iran, Iraq Bahrain and some people claim that they are also the majority in turkey although this has never been verified (Barzegar 51). Shia Muslims hold that the Imam is holy and cannot commit sins which makes his authority both perfect and divine under the assumption that

Restructure Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Restructure Writing - Assignment Example †¢Furthermore, governments, foundations, non-profit organizations, and other stakeholders continue to work on how to provide cost-effective community-based services to members of the society including the elderly. †¢Human service agency workers are major participants of university-community collaborations; hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate their views of community-based services to the elderly in northwest Ohio. †¢In particular, the study sought to provide an avenue for them to communicate their understanding of university-community agency collaborations, and identify how their agencies can work collaboratively with a university. Diversity imposes different communication needs and common examples are in communication between people who speak different oral languages and communication a deaf person and one who is not deaf. In such situations, ability to speak the other party’s language bridges communication barrier and this discussion identifies benefits of bilingualism. Bilingualism improves interpersonal communication skills. This is even evident in children and identifies its significance in the globalized environment (Byrd, 2012, P21, 2nd Pa, L1-3). Among the deaf, use of both sign language and mouthing are able to adjust to communication needs around them for effective communication (Parasnis, 1996, P. 32, L.7-8). Bilingualism also facilitates cognitive competence among the deaf and this can be inferred to other competence areas, even among other population segments (Nussbaum, Scott & Simms, 2012, P.15, L.1). Benefits of bilingualism are therefore diverse and it should be encouraged among the deaf and other population

Comparative Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Comparative Political Science - Essay Example In essence, the political violence experienced was as a result of different ethnic groups seeking political superiority (O’Neil 2). In some instances, political violence may take place when people protest against poor leadership by their governments or even when governments fail to take action where necessary. With this in mind, religion and political violence are not entirely related because religion does not necessarily cause political violence. It is incorrect to conclude that religious homogeneity can guarantee sectarian peace. In fact, religious homogeneity cannot guarantee sectarian peace. Religious homogeneity has to do with sameness in all religious beliefs, opinions, doctrines, and thoughts. If there is sameness in all aspects of religion, the likelihood of sectarianism and other religious differences is greatly reduced. Even if everyone was to belong to one particular religion, there would still be sectarianism because they would still have other differences such as race, ethnicity, and culture to fight about. For this reason, it would still be difficult to attain sectarian peace (O’Neil 78). Sectarian conflict does not always occur as a result of religious diversity. The differences in beliefs and opinions among religions can be used to explain religious diversity. Different religions might have different beliefs and ideas, but that does not always lead to sectarian conflict. The hatred and discrimination that arises from the different beliefs among religions are what can be called sectarianism. Religious diversity does not always mean sectarian conflict because different religions have learned to tolerate each other and get along for the overall good. A good example is America, which has diverse religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Baha’i, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Taoism among others (O’Neil 99).  Ã‚  

Culture Wear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture Wear - Essay Example The only misconception that the westerners and probably some of the Muslims are also carrying is that the covering of hair is not related to the culture aspects (Human Rights News, 2005). It is more of a religious obligation that every Muslim woman should follow. This head covering is also prescribed by the law of Christianity for women as well and the nuns follow it too. In the same way, other artifacts which have religious obligation for some of the sects of Islam or any other religion for that matter, are also of religious importance and cannot degrade the assimilation of one individual in a different culture. This misconception is in the minds of the people that following these rituals, behaviors or artifacts can hinder the evolution of an individual in a different culture. The religious values remain the same for those who know the importance of those values; the way of integrating them into their newly adopted culture is the real task for that individual. This kind of behavior usually results in the modification of the new culture in accordance with the rules and regulations of an individual's religion. An example ne

Influence on Culture Essay Example for Free

Influence on Culture Essay Surely, not all upper middle class professionals in their late twenties or early thirties shared the same values or ideals. The media, however, used to popularize a certain image of the yuppie with features that became stereotypical and reflected, at least in the journalists’ opinion, the dominant trends in this environment. The yuppie was used to describe not only certain demographic characteristics, but also to denote a psychographic profile including â€Å"a set of behavioural and psychographic attributes that have come to constitute a commonly believed stereotype† (Wikipedia). Thus, yuppie values were supposed to be more conservative than even their parents who were often involved in social programs and idealistic movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Yuppies, on the contrary, were people tended to favour stability and devote more attention to their own problems instead of trying to reform the society. Stability for yuppies was embodied in ownership of material things. In their choice of purchases, they supposedly demonstrated a poor taste buying more expensive stuff in order to show off their wealth. Their lifestyle was heavily impacted by career demands. Career was a necessary prerequisite for sustaining a life of comfort, and its requirements acquired a paramount importance. This resulted in a frequent lack of time that took a heavy toll on their families. Family relationships were often jeopardized by the necessity to move to a different place once in a few years under the influence of the career necessity. The strain in their professional lives often resulted in moral and mental exhaustion, aggravated by the high level of competition in high-income jobs that has been labelled a rat race. Climbing a career ladder in a corporate environment requires a specific set of skills and mentality that were fostered by the yuppies with great persistence. Too often this career-making drive affected their relationships with families and friends. Yuppies were also believed to share â€Å"an entire code of unwritten etiquette can govern their activities from golf and tennis to luncheons at trendy cocktail bars† (Wikipedia). Although the yuppie social group was to some extent invented by the media, the existence of the social and political concept of this group had an undeniable influence on the conceptualisation of social realia by the contemporary society. This perception of social reality was bound to exert influence on cultural life and lead to several talented portrayals of the new groups in artistic works. The artists, unlike the media, often focused on the positive characteristics of the yuppie social group. A typical representative of the class â€Å"had high educational achievement, a high income, enjoyed urban life, had a success orientation, and was a hard worker† (Kawasaki 1994). They were able to achieve affluence in one swoop and therefore did not feel pressured to maintain aristocratic attitudes. As a result, the new generation was less obsessed with gender, racial or regional distinctions. There was even the term â€Å"buppie† – black yuppie. The yuppie generation was portrayed in the works by Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis and Jill Eisenstadt, the most prominent writers of the yuppie era. The biggest success of their literature was the 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City by McInerney. The novel also features a character seeking refuge from challenging professional environment in Bolivian marching powder† (cocaine) to offset the continuous stress associated with crazy yuppie lifestyle (Nostalgia Central). Bret Easton’s most remarkable work was Less Than Zero (1985) in which he describes New Lost Generation, and Eisenstadt became famous with From Rockaway (1987). Tom Wolfes The Bonfire of the Vanities also depicted the effect of a decadent lifestyle on yuppie culture. This tender portrayal of the newly emerged social group was offset with indignation over lavish yuppie lifestyles, manifested through Die Yuppie Scum bumper stickers. Influence on Fashions Yuppies left a lasting impact on fashions of the 1980s, naturally affecting most the segment for expensive designer apparel. Their dressing style was supposed to demonstrate â€Å"conspicuous wastage† (Tomas 2001). They wore wide shouldered jackets in the day time, and on the weekends they changed to a Barbour for a country look or a ballgown that manifested their comfortable lifestyle.

Modern audience Essay Example for Free

Modern audience Essay The Taming of the Shrew involves a rich businessman, Baptista, who has two daughters. He forbids anyone to court his beautiful daughter, Bianca, until he finds someone to marry his other daughter, Katherina, who is labelled a shrew. The man marries Katherina is Petruchio; who treats her cruelly until she obeys and agrees with him.  At the time the play was written, the role of women in life was different. Today, we learn that men and women should be seen as equals. In act 5 scene 2 of the play, this is not seen. In Padua, women were seen as possessions of men among with other things such as the mans house or horse. It was a womans duty to obey her husband and because Kate did not, she is seen by the male characters as unnatural which is evidence of evil. With a modern audience, this role of women will cause some people, especially the women, to feel insulted or uncomfortable. In the play, if Kate is dressed in old-fashioned clothes then her speeches will be taken seriously, but if Kate is dressed in modern designer clothes with sunglasses and maybe a mobile telephone, then the audience will assume she is being sarcastic in her speech. A lot of what the audience thinks will also depend upon the other characters reactions to what Kate says. They could be shocked and surprised at what she says or they could see it as a big joke. I will describe how I would direct part of act 5 scene 2 to a modern audience. This is where most of the main characters are together and Petruchio shows all the other men that he has tamed Kate. All the men have had a bet on whose wife is most obedient.  The men will be playing cards and the women will be talking in a nearby room. The servants, Biondello and Gremio will also be playing cards with the men because they are good friends of their masters. The men will be dressed in casual suits with loosened ties to create the effect of the upper class relaxing. Kate will be wearing a long, flowing dress to show that she is like an ordinary upper class lady rather than the more radical clothes she would have worn before she was tamed. Bianca and the widow would also be wearing the same style of dress.  I want the audience to think that although Kate has been disciplined and obeys Petruchio, she is still her own person. All the other men will think she is her old self and will never be to be like her sister, Bianca. After being called for by her husband, Petruchio, Kate will enter the mens room, dragging Bianca by the hair. This will show the audience that even though Kate has changed to be more like her sister was, she still doesnt get on well with Bianca. Bianca is seen gradually becoming like how Kate used to be. The two are almost swapping personalities. Lucentio is very disappointed with his wife, Bianca and she would react to him by saying this line slightly crying:  The more fool you for laying on my duty  the audience would be quite astonished by this reply because she is usually very quiet and obedient. This would be a significant part to show how Bianca is also changing. I will now go through the play line by line and describe how I would direct it.  Katherine, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women/What duty they do owe their lords and husbands.  Petruchio wants Kate to tell the people how a lady should act towards her husband or lord. The crowd will now think that although Kate has changed, she will not do it. But she does with pride. Kate starts her speech by insulting the widow and saying that she should respect her master. Fie, fie, unknit that threatening unkind browThy governor.  I would get the actress to say this in a sarcastic but malicious way because although she respects Petruchio, she has her own free will and also wants to intimidate the widow. As she says this, I would get her to walk up o the widow and the widow would cower away into a corner. This will show the audience that Kate is still domineering.  Thy husband is thy lordsea and land. Whilst Kate is saying this part, she will go up to Petruchio and kneel in front of him to show the audience how much respect she has for her husband.  Too little payment for so great a debtowes the prince.  She is saying that women have a good life and hardly have to repay their husbands for all the things he does for her. As she says this she will scan across the room, glaring at the other wives as if to say that they dont repay their husbands enough and should be thankful he hasnt left them.