O Father, Where Art Thou Essay Example for Free

O Father, Where Art Thou Essay The article, â€Å"O Father, Where Art Thou? † which was written by Joshua Alston and published in Newsweek last May, basically explained that the notion that most black fathers are irresponsible parents is not entirely true. According to the author, while statistics show that there is an alarming rate of black children living in homes without a father—50 percent, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all black fathers are the same. In fact, Alston wrote that there are a number of black fathers who are responsible parents and who have been supportive and caring for their children even in the most unstable and volatile situations. This, according to the author, is greatly illustrated in Tal-Nehsi Coates’ memoir, â€Å"A Beautiful Struggle,† in which he depicted how his black father, Paul, was a source of stability in security in a community where violence is rampant. Moreover, Alston claimed that the image of black fathers were significantly tainted by songs and shows such as â€Å"Papa Was A Rolling Stone† and â€Å"The Maury Show,† which both portrayed, in a way, that black men are bad fathers and, as a result, gave rise to the negative views towards them. On the other hand, the problem with most black fathers, according to the author, is that they think they equate being a successful parent to making a lot of money or being a breadwinner. Therefore, if black fathers aren’t able to substantially provide for their families, they opt to leave home instead of having their pride hurt. Based on the article, this is what people like Coates are trying to change. According to him, black fathers shouldn’t be made to feel like failures just because they aren’t living to the role of breadwinner. Coates also claimed that being a father also entails love, leadership, and teaching his children values and lessons in life. In his memoir, Coates wrote that he was raised well by his father, which also enabled him to develop his critical thinking. In short, according to the author, in order to reduce the number of black fathers who are absent in their homes, people should view them in a different light and look at the other aspects of their lives instead of just focusing on their inability to provide for their families.

Unilever Multinational Company Analysis and Breakdown

Unilever Multinational Company Analysis and Breakdown Unilever is a multinational consumer product manufacturing giant operating in over hundred countries all around the globe. Unilever Bangladesh is the Bangladesh chapter of Unilever, where the company holds 60.75% share whereas the Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh holds 39.25% share. Unilevers one of the most popular brand is LUX. They segments LUX.s market according to geographical locations. It further differentiates these segments into Socio Economic Cluster (SEC) which takes into account the criteria of education and profession which ultimately measures the financial ability of consumers. The cluster is divided into five parts starting from A to E. Unilever targets the urban and sub urban upper middle class and middle class segment of the population, who falls under A to C of SEC. Tactical marketing tools, 4Ps, are extensively used by the company to market LUX. Though LUX is produced in Bangladesh, Unilever Bangladesh maintains the same standard all around the globe. The product is available in six different fragrances under three different sizes. Since the demand for beauty soap market is to a great extent oligopolistic, variations in price lead to price war which can eventually break down the companys market share. Thus Unilever cannot provide a better price than its competitors. But the price is affordable by most of the people. Unilever Bangladesh has outsourced its distribution channels to third party distributors which allow them to distribute LUX in massive bulks amounting to around ten million pieces. It undertakes the largest promotional activities in the beauty soap industry. The beauty soap industry has a few major producers of which Unilever holds market share of slightly less than 50%. Other competing brands like Tibbet, Aromatic and Keya have started to have a strong consumer base, but LUX.s product features distribution and promotional activities have created high brand loyalty for which it is still the market leader. Unilever, with the aid of its heavy promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market. But the other producers in the industry are posing a threat towards Unilevers market share as they have moved towards the rural masses of the population. Therefore, Unilever Bangladesh should undertake further steps such as moving towards the rural and/or poorer segment; attract children (by making a special product for kids) and other innovative promotional activities to retain its command in the industry. 1. Introduction Unilever is one of the worlds largest and leading multinational companies; Unilever commenced their business activities on a larger scale by setting up their first factory in Netherlands, in the year of 1872. Operating in Bangladesh for over the last four decades the company is trying to significantly contribute towards the augmentation of the standard of living by bringing world class high quality products at the door step of their customers. The usage of Unilever products by over 90% of the people in Bangladesh stands a testimony to their successful operation. . Their array of products show that they produce household care, fabric cleaning, skin cleansing, skin care, oral care, hair care, personal grooming, and tea based beverage products under worldwide famous brand names Wheel, LUX, Lifebuoy, Fair Lovely, Ponds, Close Up, Sunsilk, Lipton, Lipton Taaza, Pepsodent, All Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, and Rexona. 2. Objective of this report: This report is an outcome of an analysis of marketing strategies used by Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. The main purpose of the report is to find what strategies the company uses to market its world famous beauty soap, LUX, in Bangladesh; the positive and negative aspects of those strategies. The report further analyzes the position of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. in the toiletry industry in comparison to its competitors. The report discusses the process of using market segmentation, target marketing, the product, pricing, promotional and distribution strategies and a competitive analysis. 2.1 Methodology of this report: For accessibility and availability of information we have chosen to work on the strategies of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. As the company operates in the market with a huge number of products in different industries, we have decided to focus on one of their world wide successful brands, LUX. Most of the information used in this report is from primary sources. The main source of information was the focus group discussion. In addition information was also collected from websites. 3. Product Category, Market Segmentation, Target Marketing and Positioning This chapter describes the category of the selected product. The chapter is organized into four sections. Section 1 states under which category the product falls. Section 2 describes how Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. differentiates the population and categorizes them into different segments. Section 3 analyzes which segment the company targets and why they target that specific segment. Finally section 4 describes the process through which the company tries to capture a place in the buyers mind i.e. the product positioning method. 3.1 Product Category: LUX falls under the category of toiletry product as a beauty soap. 3.2 Market Segmentation: The company claims that LUX is the highest selling beauty soap in Bangladesh. Moreover some survey reports also reveal the same result. Though LUX is the highest selling beauty soap in Bangladesh, it does not go for traditional mass marketing. Moreover as a beauty soap LUX does not even segment its market according to gender. Figure 2.1 (P-9) shows that Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. segments their market according to geographical areas. The population of the country is segmented into three parts which are urban, sub urban and rural area consumers. The company further differentiate the geographical segments according to Socio Economic Cluster (SEC) i.e. education and Income. The Table 2.1 (P-9) overleaf shows the Socio Economic Clusters the company uses. The SEC divides the population in five segments starting from A to E, where A categorizes the highly educated and high income earners holders, and sequentially in descending order E categorizes the opposite. 3.3Target Market: Figure 2.1 (P-9) shows that urban and sub urban middle class, and rural poor people are the largest part of Bangladesh population. A research carried out by Unilever Bangladesh reveals that urban rich people are more likely to buy imported and expensive products. Moreover rural poor people tend to buy cheap products even without evaluating its quality. However urban and sub urban upper middle and middle class people tend to buy affordable and quality products. LUX is not a highly expensive but an affordable product. That is why the company targets urban and sub urban upper middle and middle class people who are the second highest population of segment of the country. From the segmentation of customer according to SEC they target category A, B and C, because they are assumed to be financially well-off and can afford to buy LUX. 3.4 Product Positioning: Unilever Bangladesh Ltd obtained a good position in the buyers mind through better product attributes, price and quality, offering the product in a different way than the competitors do. The company offers improved quality of products in the industry at an affordable price with high branding, which ultimately helps to position the product in the buyers mind as the best quality beauty soap. The market share of the company in the beauty soap industry is somewhere around 43%.Since in the beauty soap industry all products are of same price Unilever cannot provide its consumers with better price but it is in a great position in reference with its packaging, fragrances and product designing. A positioning map of the company is shown Figure 2.2 (P-10) to describe LUXs position in the consumers mind on two dimensions, price and quality. Figure 2.2 (P-10) has been drawn with information gathered by conducting a consumer survey. It states that though in comparison to its competitors the pricing of LUX is same but consumers rate it as the product which gives them the highest quality. This positioning created a strong customer loyalty for LUX, for which it the market leader in the industry. 4. Using the Tactical Marketing Tools This chapter describes the way Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. use the tactical marketing tools for marketing LUX in Bangladesh. The chapter comprises of four sections. Section 3.1 discusses the product attributes of LUX. Section 3.2 visualizes the price of LUX according to different size. Section 3.3 conceptualizes the distribution channel of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. This section includes a table that shows the location of the companys warehouses all around the country. Finally section 3.4 discusses the promotional activities that the company undertakes for LUX. 4.1 Product: LUX is an internationally renowned beauty soap brand of Unilever. Though manufactured in Bangladesh for the local market by Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, as an international brand, it maintains an international quality for the product. Formula given by Research and Development departments in foreign countries, LUX is produced in Bangladesh from imported raw materials like sodium soap, glycerol and different extracts according to flavors, coming from Unilever plants situated abroad. LUX is offered in Bangladesh in six different flavors which are: LUX Energizing Honey, LUX Golden Glow, LUX Nature Pure, LUX Orchid Touch, LUX Almond Delight and LUX Aqua Sparkle. Taking into account the convenience of its customers, the company manufactures all flavors of LUX in three different sizes, 40gm, 80gm and 120gm. 4.2 Price: Though Unilever Bangladesh gives its LUX customers a lot in terms of the product itself, it cannot provide a better pricing. This is due to some constraints in the beauty soap industry. Beauty soap is a product with a vulnerable demand in Bangladesh. A change in price has a high risk of creating price war among the rivals which will eventually cause a loss of profit. Its prices are almost equal to its competitor. Table 3.1 (p-10) compares Luxs price with its major competitor. Company carries out research on competitors price and brand loyalty when it feels extreme necessaity of chaging price. The brand loyalty test is an exploratory research which is known as Brand Health Check-Up (BHCU). 4.3 Place: Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. has a huge distribution channel for LUX all over the country as its sales reach more than 10 million pieces a year. The company has six huge warehouses, one in each division of Bangladesh, where the product goes after they are manufactured at Kalurghat factory. Table 3.2 (P-10) shows the location of its six warehouses in Bangladesh. The company does not use its own fleet of transport for distributing its product. However, it has outsourced its distribution process to various third party distributors, exclusively dedicated to Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. These distributors then supply the product all over Bangladesh to a huge number of retailers. Even though LUX targets the urban and sub urban middle and upper middle class people they are distributing their products all over Bangladesh because of a recent increase in demand of its product to all segments of the population. 4.4 Promotion: Unilever Bangladesh undertakes huge promotional activities to promote LUX which has topped the beauty soap industry of Bangladesh. It spends almost 20% to 25% of its Net Proceeds from Sales (NPC) of LUX for promotional activities for LUX 1 Its certain annual promotional campaigns like LUX Channel i Superstar and LUX Channel i Annual Cinema Awards has made the product a part of the glamour world. Since the 1930s, over 400 of the worlds most stunning and sensuous women have been proudly associated with Lux advertisements. They do not only promote LUX in Bangladesh for the beauty conscious females, it also promotes the brand for males and the company proved that, by including world famous male celebrity Shahrukh Khan for their advertising campaign. Unilever Bangladesh Ltd spends a huge amount of money for promoting LUX through TV commercials, newspaper advertisements and billboards. Moreover it also undertakes small promotional campaigns at different schools, colleges, universities and recreational parks with winners of its Zonal Beauty Contests. Till now promotional activities of LUX has always been successful which has made it a household common name and helped it reach almost one billion taka sale value in the year 2004 2. 5. Analyzing the Market for LUX For better comprehension of Unilever Bangladesh, its marketing strategy, product quality, positioning and placement, we present here a comparative analysis of its competitors. This part of the report illustrates the market share of different companies in the beauty soap industry. 5.1 Market Share: The beauty soap industry in Bangladesh consists of only seven major producers. Unilever Bangladesh Ltd is operating in the industry with its world famous brand LUX. Out of these giant companies Unilever Bangladesh Ltd is the market leader with a share of around 43%. Figure 4.1 (P-11) shows the market share of all the companies in the sector. Unilever Bangladesh Ltd is leading the market. The other competitors are very competitive among themselves but they cannot put a intense competition with Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, as they have market share much less than Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. Table 4.1 (P-11) overleaf shows a detailed description of the major competitors in the market, their operating brand, estimated annual sales revenue and market share. Other companies in the industry are not as big as Unilever Bangladesh Ltd but they are posing threat to the company by a tendency of a gradual increase in their market share. Kohinoor Chemicals which is operating with the brand name Tibet is an extremely famous brand to the rural segment of the population and possess a significant share in that segment which is the largest population group in Bangladesh. Moreover Keya Cosmetics Ltd operating with the brand name Keya and Marks Allys Ltd operating with the brand name Aromatic are also uprising brands to both the rural and sub urban segment of the population. Moreover a recent takeover of Aromatic by multinational consumer product giant MARICO who operates with famous brands in other industries like Parachute Coconut Oil is posing to be a threat to Unilever Bangladeshs market share. 6. Conclusion Recommendation The beauty soap industry of Bangladesh consists of a few producers in the industry. The demand for this product is very much vulnerable in terms of pricing. Unilever Bangladesh is providing LUX. at a price which is affordable to most of the people in the country. Beauty soap is an uprising product in Bangladesh as a greater portion of the population, both male and female, are now getting more beauty conscious. As a multinational company Unilever Bangladesh with heavy promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market. With six different fragrances, three different sizes, international standard and high quality design, as a product, LUX has been highly successful over the years. Its distribution process is highly efficient. Its promotional activities, like the beauty contest has been a milestone in attracting a huge number of customers. Overall with its marketing activities LUX has been a successful brand. The only place where rival companies are progressing is in giving customers redemption offers. Research revealed that Bangladeshi customers are highly attracted to this sort of offers. These offers are not sustainable in the long run but still it takes away a considerable part of LUXs sale in the short run. In this chapter the team would suggest some recommendations to Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. to adopt more successful operation in Bangladesh. Since a huge portion of the rural poor people is demanding LUX in recent days, Unilever Bangladesh Ltd should expand their target market also towards the rural people. They should also conduct different promotional activities in rural fairs and socially responsible promotional activities to attract rural consumers and social awareness .Because Lux has different skin type soap so now if they provide different types of beauty soaps for male and female soapunder the same brand name i.e. LUX it might increase their sales. Lastly, as Bangladeshi culture children have a huge say in shopping so they should also promote the product to children like their another brand Dove. These are the recommendations suggested by teem members to Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. to adopt for a more successful operation in Bangladesh with large market share. 7. Appendices Urban Rich Urban and Sub Urban Upper Middle and Middle Class Rural Poor (Figur2.1): Market Segments 1. Socio Economic Clusters A B C D E Income High Income Upper Middle Level Income Mid Level Income Lower Middle Income Low Income Education High Level of Education Educated Slightly Less than Cluster A Educated Slightly Less than Cluster B Educated Slightly Less than Cluster C Very Low Level of Literacy (Table 2.1): Socio Economic Cluster Segmentation 1 (Figure 2.2): Positioning Map Brand Lux Aromatic keya Tibet (Table 3.1): Comparative scenario of soaps price Division Location of Warehouse Dhaka Dhaka City Chittagong Kalurghat Heavy I/A Sylhet Sylhet City Rajshahi Rajshahi City Khulna Khulna City Barisal Barisal City (Table 3.2): Location of Unilever Bangladesh Ltds Divisional Warehouses 1. (Figure 4.1): Market Share Sl. No. Company Brand Name Yearly Market Share on Toilet Soap 1 Unilever (BD). Ltd Lux International Beauty Soap Tk. 312 Core 43.33% 2 Square (Toiletries Division) Meril Beauty Soap 48 Core 6.66 3 Keya Cosmetics Ltd. Keya Beauty Soap 72 Core 10.00% 4 Aromatic Cosmetics Ltd. Aromatic Beauty Soap 48 Core 6.66% 5 Lily Cosmetics Ltd. Lily Beauty Soap 72 Core 10.00% 6 Kohinoor Chemical Co. Tibet Beauty Soap 72 Core 10.00% 7 Marks Allys Ltd. Camelia Beauty Soap 60 Core 8.35% 8 Others 36 Core 5.00% Total Market 720 Core 100% (Table 4.1): Estimated Annual Sales Revenue and Market Share .

Writing a Business Letter

Writing a Business Letter Abstract: Stylistics is a systematic and marginal subject which studies the characters of literature, innate character and its discipline. English business letter is a specific type of writing ,and it is a comprehensive subject that combines English writing and international business practice, the main function of it is transmit information. This article is going to apply the theories of stylistic to the analysis of English business letter from the view of stylistic, and analyze stylistic features in language feature, textual structure features and grammatical features, and it makes many examples to prove them respectively. From the view of linguistic characteristics, the English business correspondence has to follow 7Cs principle; from the view of text, the standardized structure and complete outline, furthermore normative format, strong logic, clear thought, and precise structure are the characteristics of text structures; from the view of grammar, complex structure of sentence is an importa nt syntactic characteristic of business correspondence. Furthermore, this article is to propose how to follow these features in English business letter writing as well. At last, it makes the estimated effect and research prospect of studying stylistic to integrate with business letter. Key words: Stylistics, English Business Correspondence, type of writing, language features, textual features, vocabulary features Introduction of Stylistics Stylistics is a systematic and marginal subject which studies the characters of literature, innate character and its discipline. It is a subject that falls between linguistics, art theory, esthetics and psychology, it is a subject that is in the view of linguistics to interpret the objectives of literature and writing styles as well. Actually, it has a long history in studying of linguistics at home and abroad. The study of modern western Stylistic can date back to the study of rhetoric in ancient Greece and ancient Rome. In a long period before twentieth century, the discussion about the styles of stylistics was limited in the subjective impression, and it was studied in rhetoric, literature and the analysis of grammar, so it didnt have its own status in the area of researching. Until the beginning of twentieth century, after adapting the modern language method, the style analysis started break away from the limit of traditional analysis which based on intuition, and systemized and became scientific gradually. The European historical linguistic and normal linguistic became influential independent subjects in the beginning of twenties century, and integrating with linguistic, stylistics became a inter discipline which had independent status as well. Stylistics was initial known as literature criticism in China. But with the development of linguistics, people started to know the substance of stylistics, and tried to apply relevant theories to analyzing stylistics, so that it could promote the rapid development of stylistics. To the time of twenty-first century, Liu Shi Sheng who derived Stylistic from style, stylistics ,functional stylistics, textual stylistics and social cultural stylistics which based on Carters point of view, and its rationale is based on Foucouhs point of view that the knowledge and belief of people owns the features of social symbols(Chen, 2003:4), it further promoted the development of Stylistic in China. Stylistic is in the stage of development and improvement currently, yet there are different point of views about the definition of stylistic and the understanding of its meanings among literates. Stylistic has widened meaning and narrowed meaning: the narrowed one means literary style, while the widened one means language varieties of literary style (Qin, 2001:2). Therefore, more and more scholars study and investigate it in the area of theories and practices widely and massively. A numbers of the scholars even apply the theories of stylistic to analyze business writing, which promote the rapid development of studying in this area. 2. An Overview of English Business Letters In todays highly developed and competitive society, communication between individuals and groups is becoming more and more important. And it serves to pass on information, to express ideas and to exchange their own feelings as well. Generally speaking, business letters plays an important role in various trading businesses, which is the principle means used by a business firm to keep in touch with its customers. Business letter usually is a formal written style that for external contacts, such as inter-organizations, among organizations and their clients, and it is used for business connection such as getting or conveying business information, business negotiation such as making or accepting an offer and so on. 2.1 The Definition and Classification of Business Letters Hutchinson Waters and Halliday stressed that business letter belonged to the branch of professional English, it was the generic term of English Language Variety adapted by business trade members in business activities, and the use of English in business ways. Robinson used to sum up the characteristics of business English in such ways: (1) content-based; (2) goal-directed; (3) needs analysis; (4) time pressure. (Zhou, 2010:4) Very often, letters are a companys only contact with a client, and through letters, the receivers form an impression of the company. In the present age of information, however, people tend to make phone calls instead of writing letters for the purpose of communication. The rapid development of telecommunication seems to have decreased the importance of letters. Nevertheless, in this age of electronic communication, the business letter not only retains its importance on account, but also is re-born in the form of e-mail and fax. The purposes of business correspondence are building and maintaining business relationship, promoting business cooperation, maintaining good business relationship, and the expression of business correspondence will influence the economic benefit of the company. Thus, business letters may be defined as a media or means through which views are expressed and ideas or information is communicated in the process of business activities Business letters can be classified in such ways as follows: First, business letters can be classified according to the content of the letter such as request letters, claim and adjustment letters, reply letters, credit and collection letters, sales letters and so on. Second, classification can appear according to different functions in the process of a business communication. There are letters for establishment of business relations, enquiry letters, quotation letters, ordering letters, payment letters, shipment and insurance letters, claim letters, etc. Thirdly, business letters can also be classified into personal business letters and official business letters. In personal business letters, the greeting may be formal or informal. And the body is usually intended paragraphs; the typed signature line can be omitted and the full name or the first name should be handwritten. While on the other hand, the official can be more formal in greeting and its body. And the signature is made up of a typed signature with professional or social or company name, under which the Chinese name should be typed by its Pinyin in the next line. 2.2 The Stylistic Features of Business Correspondence As a branch of professional English, business correspondence has its own characteristics of style. Business letters are now meant for modern businesspeople, so their style should not be long-winded, old fashioned, or jargon-filled, as it was several decades ago. Business letters today should be simple, concise, concrete, and easy to understand, etc. And from the view of characteristics of style, consult letters are usually with direction, request and courtesy; business informal letters are usually tendentious, illustrative and flexible; the formal business letters are usually optional, informative, contactable and courtesy. (Zhao, 2007 ¼Ã… ¡186). 2.3 The Necessity of Using Business Letters Properly However, we may misuse the business letters if we are lack of general knowledge of stylistics, and the consequence of misusing business letters maybe serious. So when we observe language activity in the various contexts in which it takes place ,we find differences in the type of language selected as appropriate to different types of situation(Cheng,1988:3)à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ 3. Specific Studies on Business Letters from with the Perspective of Stylistics English business correspondence is a special type of writing, and it is a comprehensive subject to integrate English writing with international trade, we can analyze characteristics of stylistics from the views of characteristics of language, characteristics of text, and characteristics of grammar. 3.1 Language Feature of English Business Letter Business letter is a common style used in international business activities. As it comes from and serves for kinds of business, and reflects the relative professional content, its words, syntaxes, meanings and intensions have a strong charm of business. And a business message is considered successful when (1) the receiver interprets the message as the sender intended it, and (2) it achieves the senders purposes. The language of it is brief and accurate, the expression is strong but moderate .And its manner of writing follows the principle of 7Cs, which are Courtesy, Consideration, Completeness, Clarity, Conciseness, Concreteness and Correctness. They tie in closely with the basic concept of the communication process, which are significant for business letters by providing guidelines for the choice of content. 3.1.1 Courtesy Business letter plays a decisive role in business activities, and Courtesy is a virtue of all business documents ¼Ã‹â€ Wang ¼Ã…’2007 ¼Ã… ¡8 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °,it create so friendly atmosphere of equality that it can promote bilateral cooperation and reach an agreement. However, it is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of thank you or please. Instead, it stems from sincere respect and friendly human concern for one another. So in your business message, you can develop courtesy by putting yourself in your readers shoes(Wang ¼Ã…’2007 ¼Ã… ¡8), and observing the following techniques: to be prompt, to be polite, to be on a positive tone. Firstly, applying promptness is an important way to show courtesy in business communication. Whenever we are asked a question or receive a letter that needs our response, we should reply it within the day. If it is impossible for us to give a prompt reply in detail on the same day, we should write a short note to the customers to explain the reason. Promptness is so good manners that it prompts goodwill. In addition, it indicates efficiency because of its quick process in business letters. Secondly, the senders should be very polite even in asking the receivers to pay back the debts or refusing their demand, and irksome expressions should to be avoided, particularly when we use with you: Thirdly, Courteous letters should be written in a positive tone, which helps to create or to strength goodwill. E.g. (1) We are sorry that you misunderstood us. (2) We are sorry that we didnt make ourselves clear. The meanings that the author tries to express are basically the same in these two sentences. However, in the sentence (1), it intents to blame others; while in sentence (2), the author takes responsibility actively and uses courtesy .So the results of these two sentence are obviously. 3.1.2 Consideration Consideration used in business letters means that the senders should keep receivers in the first place when composing and transmitting the letters, because they are dealing not only with a business organization, but more significantly with the people whose reaction determines what the sender can achieve in transmitting the business letters. Consideration means using you attitude in business letter  ¼Ã…’which is to consider in others perspective and be considerate others desires and feelings. (Yuan Li, 2010:11) We will compare with the following sentences, sentences (1) adapt we attitude, while sentences (2) adapt you attitude e.g. We are pleased to announce that You will be pleased to know We want you to do that. You will no doubt do it. Sentences 1) adapt we attitude which are in a rigid tone and express a feeling of ordering others, and it shows that senders think only of themselves and their problem, not about the receivers, while Sentences 2) adapt you attitude, that can reflect politeness and tact, emphasize what the receivers want to know, refer to the receivers request or order specifically, protect the receivers ego and respect the receivers intelligence. So The you attitude also creates a conversational tone 3.1.3 Completeness Business letter should fully express the contents and meanings. When the message is complete, it contains all facts the receivers need for the reaction that the senders desire. The function of completeness in business letters is bringing the desired response without the expense of additional messages, both parties can do a better job of building goodwill and averting the costly lawsuits that may result becomes possible, even if important information is missing. You can use 5Ws and 1H to verify whether it has fully replied what the others perspectives requests. Whats more, you should give something extra, when desirable. Sometimes we must do more than answer customers specific questions. Because they may not know what they need, or their questions may be inadequate. For instance, in the letters of placing an order, it has to explain What you want, When you need the goods, to whom and where the goods to be sent, How the payment will be made. And you should explain why when you reject t he request of the parties (i.e. reject to an offer, reject to settle of claim etc.). The 5Ws and 1H question method is especially useful when we write requests, announcements, or other informative messages. 3.1.4 Clarity In business letter writing, Clarity is important in such business writing as reports, memorandums ,procedures ,and proposals(HuCheLiSu,2004:43) clarity means making sure the meaning of letters you have written is clear, and it will not generate misunderstanding (Wei , 2005:6),we should avoid ambiguous thought and equivocate phrasing in the letter. And there are three specific ways to help make the message clear: 1. choose understandable words, 2.construct effective sentences and paragraphs, 3.write on the Write on the level of the receivers understanding E.g. As to the steamer sailing from Wenzhou to Italy has bimonthly direct services. In this sentence, the writer chooses these understandable words such as sailing, direct to make the receivers understand clearly as there is a strong need for words that are not only familiar and clear, but simple and easy to read. However, the word Bimonthly may cause misunderstanding, because it can be understood either as twice a month or once every two months, so it is easy to misunderstand the meaning of this sentence. Therefore, it should be amended as We have two direct sailings every month from Wenzhou to Italy. or We have direct sailings from Wenzhou to Italy every two months. 3.1.5 Conciseness Conciseness means that on the premise of not going against the other C qualities, we use words as less as possible to express the actual meanings you are trying to express. Use brief, direct, simple words to prevent unnecessary repetition and ornate words. It gets rid of hackneyed and stereotyped phrases in business letters, saves time and expense for both sender and receiver, aids the receiver in understanding the message, and makes the communication more interesting. E.g. We use We have begun to export machines. instead of We have begun to export our machines to the foreign countries. Because the former sentence eliminates the unnecessary expressionsto the foreign countries, which express the same meaning with export. 3.1.6 Concreteness The contents of business letters must be detail and clear, especially those letters that request other parties reply or will affect contact in after period. So we should use specific facts, figures to achieve concreteness instead of using words that are unclear, generalized or abstract. Because concrete words are direct and vivid, clear, and exact. While abstract words are often intellectual, academic, or philosophical. Using specific rather than general language, using concrete rather than abstract words, using active rather than passive voice will be helpful to compose concrete, convincing messages E.g. We say We confirm our goods of January 3th,2011 rather than We confirm our goods yesterday. The reason is that the former sentence use concrete words that are clear so that there will be no question in the receivers mind as to the meaning intended. And on the other hand, yesterday is less clear in meaning and is more likely to create wrong or confusing connotations in the receivers mind. 3.1.7 Correctness The terms and phrases and punctuations should be used correctly in business letters because most parts of business letters involve bilateral right, duty and interest among business communications. And it will cause needless troubles if any mistakes happen. The term correctness, as applied to a business letter, means the sender should use the right level of language and include only accurate facts, words, and figures. And one erroneous digit (for example, $75,000 instead of $750,000) can make a difference of millions of dollars. Even small errors of a few cents can annoy customers and undermine goodwill. E.g. Using It is the lowest price we can offer you now. is more accurate than using It is the lowest price available to you. 3.2 Textual Structure in Business Letter The success of English business letter writing is not only based on its words and sentences, but its structure as well. Text which is the meaning unit to communicate by using language symbols is made up by sentences, so it can be either short or long. A novel can be a text, a sentence or phrase, even a word can make up text. Business letter is a way of communication that bilaterally communicates in written form (Qin,2001:82). In the aspect of text, business letter should indicate the image of writers through orderly and clear structure; indicate the accomplishment of writers through polite language; indicate the goal of letters through accurate and logical expression. Sono matter how simple or complex the business letter is, it is generally concerned on the goal of writing which has clear and standardized structure and complete outline. Whats more, the textual structure should exist with standardized form, logically structured, clear clue, and tight structure. First of all, the length of business letter is short and pithy whose language is frankly and condensed, and most business letters have an average sentence length of 20 words or fewer. Short and pithy, and straightforward indicate the terseness and effective of business letter. In contrast, overly long sentences can make the whole message clumsy and difficult to understand and the reader soon begins to lose interest in the letter, thus hinder clear communication. Next, Paragraph length is also significant in business letters. Because most businesspeople are so busy that they do not have more time to waste through a series of long paragraphs. Instead, they may only skim a line or two in each paragraph. Therefore, paragraphs in business letters should be short enough with the average length between one to eight sentences. Besides, the paragraph should be arranged in a clear, logic order, with the most important idea getting primary emphasis and the less important points placed in secondary positions, which will make the letter more clear and improve the success of establishing business relationship. Furthermore, the format is standardized in business letter. A typical business letter consists of seven parts: the letterhead ,the date line ,the inside address ,the salutation ,the body of the letter ,the complimentary close ,and the signature(Chen ¼Ã…’2002 ¼Ã… ¡11). (1)The letterhead of a business letter shows where the letter comes from, contains details of addresser, such as company name, address, telephone number and so on, which have usually stated in the up-left of the letter. It also expresses the companys personality and contributes to the companys image. So a good letterhead is always a soft sell, but should not look like an advertisement. (2)The date line is generally typed two or three lines below the letterhead and may start from the left margin, or be centered, or appear on the right-hand side, which differs from country to country. (3) The inside address should be the same as the name and address on the envelope. It is conventional to set it at the left-hand margin in business letters, about two or three lines below the level of the dateline and above the salutation. And the inside address usually includes the full name of the recipient, business title of the recipient, name of the company addressed to. (4) Dear Sirs or Dear Madams are usually used as the salutation, which is placed against the left-hand margin with at least two lines under the inside address and two lines above the body of the letter (5)The schematic structure of body should depend on the alternating goal of business letters whose contents mainly concern on attention, interest, desire, and action and raising expectations. For example, letters which reply to the enquires should contain: the expression of thanks to enquire; description of the name, specification, quality, quantity, package, price, payment methods, the date of shipping; the comments on the goods; other relative matters, such as other goods that the other party may interest; and the expression of the desires to establish business relationship with the parties and to look forward to placing the orders. (6) The complimentary close is a line following the body of the letter that politely signals the end of the letter. (7)The signature should be signed by the addresser himself/herself, which is four lines below the complimentary close. And signature always contains three or four parts: the name of the company, the signature of the writer, the typed name, and the business title. The paragraphs of business letters usually exist with hierarchy, which is based on the topic in the introduction. And the sentences are cumulated layer upon layer with conjunctions, so that these multi-layer sentences can be linked in a vertical hierarchy, in which progressive, adversative, causal relationship should be most commonly used. The complimentary closes usually use Sincerely or Sincerely yours. 3.3 Grammatical Features of English Business Letter Complex structure of sentence is an important syntactic characteristic of business correspondence. And these complexly structured sentences can not only express the business meaning, but make the main information be emphasized and make the essay formal. 3.3.1 Use of Complete Sentences and more Compound Sentence. Business letter is a formal style, the most significant grammatical feature is that sentences are completed, the structure is complex and the sentences are long. And adverbial clause, parenthesis, appositive, and the absolute structure are frequently used. Because the complex long sentences in business letters can not only express complex meanings so that the writing will appear to be rigorous, but also the main information will be emphasized in the form of word order, and strength the degree of formality. E.g. With the increase of the prices which becomes conspicuous this year, the next consignment will be much dearer, so we recommend you to take prompt advantage of this offer. This is a compound sentence that compounded by so, the prepositional phrase With the increase of the prices which conspicuous this year is located in the first half, and the attributive clause is among the prepositional phrase which makes the structure more complex. However, the hierarchy is clear and precise, and it clearly indicates the condition of each other relationship. 3.3.2 Use of Assertive Sentences rather than Negative Sentences. In order to express polite and friendly relationship, business letters should not use negative sentences too much. Assertive sentences emphasize to the receivers what can be done rather than what cannot be done, thus helping the writer develop and maintain favorable relationships and goodwill. In contrast, negative sentences may generate other unfavorable reactions, and if we point the undesirable things that the other party cant complete , it will give the impression of disrespect which against the principle of polite, so we should use as more assertive sentences as possible, so that the manner will be circumbendibus and polite. E.g. We cannot fill your order because you failed to send your check. 2) We shall be glad to fill your order as soon as we receive your check. By comparing these two examples, it can be easily found that sentence (2) is more circumbendibus and polite than sentence (1), which is in accord with the grammar of business letter, and it imparts enthusiasm and confidence. 3.3.3 Use of Common Language Since the primary purpose in business letters is to transmit information, ideas, beliefs, and emotions, the sender dont need to impose burden upon the receiver with too difficult words that influence quick and precise communication between both parties. Whats more, business letter is an official letter that is with property of business to business. So we should use common and familiar language to express the politeness and formality of the letter, and these words are gradually fixed to become a routine after long time used in business activities, and now they are widely used in business letters, such as We offer you Enclosed we hand we are pleased to inform you thank you for.. 3.3.4 Use of Declarative Sentences rather than Imperative Sentences Most of the two parties involved in the business letters are business partners, so each others statuses are equal. Therefore, imperative sentences will not be used, even if one party wants another party to take some actions, because imperative sentences express the manner of giving orders which seems too arrogant and direct. However, the manner will become so polite if we use declarative sentences to express ones desire in the letter that building the image of writers will become possible. Whats more, this manner often motivates the other party to take actions (Peng, 2008:198). E.g. It would be appreciated if you could send us your shipping instructions. What this sentence trying to express is Please send us your shipping instructions, however, using declarative sentences will show the politeness of the writer and be in accordance with polite principle. 3.3.5 Use of Passive Voice Properly The passive voice is a very important way in writing business letter. The passive voice does not emphasis the action of source, which will appear that the action is not imposed on the other party. In business letter, we usually use It is hoped that the offer is made as soon as possible instead of Make the offer as soon as possible. 3.3.6 Use of the Inversion Sentence Properly We use inversion sentence in two situations: one is placing the emphasized component in front, especially when the writer wants to remind that the recipient materials have been posted with the letter; another situation is to express the possibility of uncertainty. E.g. Enclosed please find the invoice of 60 bales wool bought by your order. In this sentence, the writer place enclosed in front of the sentence to emphasis the objective. 3.3.7 Use of Abbreviations Abbreviation, strictly means a shortening or abridgment word or phrase, and commonly refers to a letter or a group of letters taken from a single word or phrase. Because of its space-saving and time-saving, abbreviations are used frequently in business letters. And most abbreviations have fixed meanings in the business letters, such as FOB=Free On Board, CFR=Cost and Freight, CIF=Cost, Insurance and Freight, UK = United Kingdom ¼Ã…’S.S=steamship, etc. 4. How to Follow Stylistic Features in Business Letter Writing As business letter has particularity in communication and transmitting on the information, the functions and goals of business letters are not only obviously different from literary activities and daily life, but other business text, such as instant advertisement. So in the business letter writing, we should grasp the format, use proper words, attentive to the details, and use appropriate tone. 4.1 Grasping the format Though the basic parts in the business letter have remained the same for centuries, ways of arranging do change. Sometimes a company adopts a certain format as its policy. Three major letter formats are commonly used: Full-Block style, Indented style, Semi-Block style, whose major differences lie in indentation of paragraphs, placement of letter parts, and use of punctuation. In general, first, we should place the date in front of the salutation; second, the salutations generally use a fixed format Dear then, the body should come straight to the topic; at last, we should end with sincerely or sincerely yours 4.2 Use of proper words There is a direct relation between business letter and the success of the business, so we should use fair-spoken, polite, formal and professional vocabularies properly and accurately. E.g. We trust you will see to it that the order is shipped within 3days, as any delay would cause us no little inconvenience and financial loss. The writer uses trust and no little inconvenience in the example sentence to show a so mild tone that the other party will accept it easily. 4.3 Attentive to details Business letter must be practical and realistic, it should neither exaggerate the vocabularies nor narrow its vocabularies. We should not be careless and be ambiguous in the details of business activities, such as quantity, date, price, the amount and insurance. E.g. Our offer is a firm offer and remains good until 3:40p.m., 20th January, 2010, Wenzhou. 4.4 Use of Appropriate Tone Business letter is a mean of written communications, so we should particularly pay attention to the mood, which should be polite, in appropriate manners, objective and formal. They have more life, and can therefore best hold the readers attention and interest and build the company image of the sender and show the quality of the employees. Beside, we should select polite language to point the other partys undesirable things that the other party cant complete ¼Ã…’which is to express thank, happiness and satisfaction. E.g. We shall appreciate it if you will make us a firm offer for 60tons of peanuts. 5. Conclusion: Estimated Effect and Research Prospect of Studying Stylistic to Integrate with Business Letter.

Marae Essay examples -- Sociology, Māori culture

From a modern day perspective, the purpose of the marae has been as a place for the more official parts of MÄ ori culture. The marae are unequalled places of importance. "Marae hold the knowledge of the MÄ ori culture. They are the repositories of their history, their stories, and their existence." Ratima, 2010. Importantly, as highlighted in the creation story in Ahorangi Genesis, the ancestor link is through Tane, as the whare is an embodiment of Tane. His precious gift was te whare kura as a physical structure to house knowledge which can be viewed as the parallel to the human â€Å"structure†. Whereas in earlier times, the term marae applied only to the open area, often now called marae-atea, in front of the whare, today the term marae is commonly used to describe the entire compound (Tauroa & Tauroa, 1986). The whare (tipuna or nui), sometimes called meeting house, reads, to the initiated, like a history book. With arms outstretched in welcome, the body of the ancestor, generally endowing his name to the marae, is represented by the whare. His carved form, tekoteko, is atop the roof (maori.org.nz, 2011). The carved pieces under the head and down towards the ground- maihi, represent the arms, with the tahuhu or centre ridge pole being the spine of the ancestor, then the heke, or rafters, running off the tahuhu on both sides representing the ribs. In the fully carved whare, the walls are adorned with poupou or carvings, as well as tukutuku, or woven panels. The uprights, normally two, hold up the tahuhu, representing the connection between Ranginui, the sky father and Papat uanuku, the earth mother, (mÄ ori.org.nz) (Tauroa & Tauroa 1986). â€Å"Carvings of the ancestors serve to preserve history† (Graham, 1997, p. 38). Looking back... ...on by NZQA for its courses in crafts and MÄ ori arts and carving, hospitality and employment skills (Christchurch city council, 2011). Incredibly, in keeping pace with technological advances, we have virtual marae, as shown by the artist Lisa Reihana, who has created her own virtual marae, accessible to MÄ ori living worldwide, using photography and video (visualarts.qld.gov.au). In conclusion, as an institution, the marae stands for much more than the official parts of MÄ ori culture. It has its own system, its own learning and its own function. It is operaring still as Tane’s gift to mankind. Education is dominant on Marae, which now provide pathways to degrees, trade training and other NZQA opportunities. Marae are leading the way, taking their proper place in MÄ ori society. â€Å"Marae are the foundation of MÄ ori autonomy and tinorangatiratanga† ( Ratima, 2010). Marae Essay examples -- Sociology, MÄ ori culture From a modern day perspective, the purpose of the marae has been as a place for the more official parts of MÄ ori culture. The marae are unequalled places of importance. "Marae hold the knowledge of the MÄ ori culture. They are the repositories of their history, their stories, and their existence." Ratima, 2010. Importantly, as highlighted in the creation story in Ahorangi Genesis, the ancestor link is through Tane, as the whare is an embodiment of Tane. His precious gift was te whare kura as a physical structure to house knowledge which can be viewed as the parallel to the human â€Å"structure†. Whereas in earlier times, the term marae applied only to the open area, often now called marae-atea, in front of the whare, today the term marae is commonly used to describe the entire compound (Tauroa & Tauroa, 1986). The whare (tipuna or nui), sometimes called meeting house, reads, to the initiated, like a history book. With arms outstretched in welcome, the body of the ancestor, generally endowing his name to the marae, is represented by the whare. His carved form, tekoteko, is atop the roof (maori.org.nz, 2011). The carved pieces under the head and down towards the ground- maihi, represent the arms, with the tahuhu or centre ridge pole being the spine of the ancestor, then the heke, or rafters, running off the tahuhu on both sides representing the ribs. In the fully carved whare, the walls are adorned with poupou or carvings, as well as tukutuku, or woven panels. The uprights, normally two, hold up the tahuhu, representing the connection between Ranginui, the sky father and Papat uanuku, the earth mother, (mÄ ori.org.nz) (Tauroa & Tauroa 1986). â€Å"Carvings of the ancestors serve to preserve history† (Graham, 1997, p. 38). Looking back... ...on by NZQA for its courses in crafts and MÄ ori arts and carving, hospitality and employment skills (Christchurch city council, 2011). Incredibly, in keeping pace with technological advances, we have virtual marae, as shown by the artist Lisa Reihana, who has created her own virtual marae, accessible to MÄ ori living worldwide, using photography and video (visualarts.qld.gov.au). In conclusion, as an institution, the marae stands for much more than the official parts of MÄ ori culture. It has its own system, its own learning and its own function. It is operaring still as Tane’s gift to mankind. Education is dominant on Marae, which now provide pathways to degrees, trade training and other NZQA opportunities. Marae are leading the way, taking their proper place in MÄ ori society. â€Å"Marae are the foundation of MÄ ori autonomy and tinorangatiratanga† ( Ratima, 2010).

Free Will Vs. Fate In The Open :: essays research papers

The Open Boat, by Steven Crane, demonstrates fate vs. free will. In this story the characters are subject to contemplating how their fate is being determined, however free will cannot be dismissed as a contributor to their situation. The fine line between fate and free will, if it exists, is hard to define.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many philosophical and religious debates between the concepts of free will and fate. Free will is based on a belief that our future is based on the decisions that we make today. Looking back over our life at where we are is a product of our past.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another view that is commonly suggested is fate. Fate can be considered your destiny, what you are going to become. It is a predetermined future. The world can be looked at like it is a giant play and everyone is here to just act out their part and then die.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many arguments that can be used to ratify both of these ideologies. A person being born into poverty in the middle city, in most cases, has certain limitations placed on his future. They will not have the same opportunities that many of have such as a good education, strong ethics and family upbringing. That a person is not able to decide his future, but it has already been chosen for him. The idea of free will can argue that “ in most cases';, in the above statement, is a key. There are people who have developed very successfully out of these urban areas to (1) accomplish great things and proving that a persons free will decides there future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In The Open Boat naturalism comes into play as, once again, humans are shown insignificant to the forces of their world. As their first attempt at getting to shore fails they begin to feel they are not going to make it. They are asking why fate has allowed them to come so close before their lives are taken, “If i am going to be drowned - if I am going to be drowned - if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea was I allowed to come this far and contemplate the sand and the trees?'; (pg.131)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Was it their fate to be given the glimmer of freedom only to have it yanked away from them by the ultimate punishment of death?

A prototype of the Mahindra REVA NXR Essay

Last week, the Indian government revealed more details about its plan to spend 230 billion rupees ($4.2 billion) to stimulate a domestic market for electric vehicles. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that government and manufacturers would split the pot equally in order to build a domestic industry of low-carbon transport. EV makers and aspiring drivers have reason to doubt the government, which has shown a lack of follow-through in its promises to subsidize electric cars and two-wheelers. In 2010, the government offered buyers a generous rebate on their purchases, but payments stopped a few months later, and the following year the plan was abandoned. India‘s electric auto industry is tiny even by the standards of the fledgling global EV market. The only company making cars is Mahindra REVA, whose two-seater REVAi has sold 2,500 vehicles domestically. Motorcycles and scooters are wildly popular in India, and electric offerings are more diverse, including such players as Yo Bykes, Hero Electric, Ampere and Lohia Auto. All of these manufacturers face a tough sell to the Indian motorist, who has shown reluctance to pay a premium to go electric. Also, frequent power outages have eroded consumer confidence in battery-powered vehicles. Despite these doubts, Mahindra REVA sees big potential for EVs. Early this year it expects to debut a sporty new model, the NXR, and manufacture it in a new factory in Bangalore slated to make 30,000 cars a year within three years. In an interview two weeks ago, Sohinder Gill, the head of the Indian Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles and CEO of Hero Electric, said that he and other leaders in the industry are meeting with government officials to hammer out the details of the EV stimulus plan. In his speech last week, Singh said the subsidies would shave up to 1.5 percent off of India’s carbon dioxide emissions, eliminate the need for up to 2.5 million tons of fuel, and add 6 million to 7 million electric vehicles to the roads by 2020. The last goal may be hard to obtain, considering that the U.S. plan to produce electric vehicles, a far more modest 1 million vehicles by 2015, has been in place several years longer and is already lagging.

Monday and Rigorous Instruction

difficult I got into trouble with my English teacher, Sir Aizo. proceed Tuesday, Sir Aizo had given us two sets of provision to be correct by today. He gave rigorous instruction that we had to submit them today. That way, he could correct them over the weekend and go by dint of the mistakes with the class on Monday. The atomic number 42 I arrived home, I quickly regurgitate down my back, took out the two worksheets and completed doing them. I clearly remember putt the worksheets back into my file once they were completed. When I went to school today, Sir Aizo asked us to hand in our homework.I took out y file confidently plainly for some reasons that I could non think of, the worksheets were non in in that location I gave out a cheap gasp. I then thought that maybe I had put them into my bag flat rather than in the file. I rummaged through the bag but in vain. The worksheets were nowhere to be found. I simply could not remember where they were. I knew that I had make t hem and kept them decently. However, since I could not relegate them, I had no option but to tell Sir Aizo. I walked towards the teachers table with dubitable steps. I was preparing myself for a lecturer and a punishment.The class hushed when they realized what I was doing. They held their breath as they waited for the scene to happen. When I approached Sir Aizo, I could barely find my courage to talk to him. I told him what happened. My heart was cock against my chest. As expected, Sir Aizo was fuming mad. He started to scold me close my lack of discipline, time management, my irresponsibility and so on. He told me to be more certain in the future. For the rest of my day, I was musical note sorry for myself. Eloquently, I tried to sales booth my brains to figure out what could have happened to my work.