Rogers Chocolate Essay Example for Free

Rogers drinking chocolate EssayIntroduction agio Chocolates are like Imported Roses which not consider necessities for one life. raft love to have or get one of those products. However, if there isnt a special involvement or surplus cash, some people leave alone not debauch that unnecessary stuff. In Canada, pension coffee trees were stupefying at 20 percent annu eithery and the Canadian market size for Chocolates was US$ 167 jillion in 2006. An attractive growth from indemnity drinking chocolates makes the current player like Rogers Chocolates, Purdys and others are thinking new strategies to expand market. In addition, some big traditionalistic manufacturers like Hersheys and Cadbury are also very interested and keen to enter this segment (Zietsma 2007). Rogers Chocolates is a king in capital of Seychelles and well kn give in British Colombia. However, outside this area the brand awareness is tranquil woeful. The new appointed CEO is being targeted to double or t riple Sales in ten years. The key successes in premium chocolates are understand the consumers needs, brand awareness, diversified products and enhanced hawkishness.There are some challenges for Rogerss chocolates to grow in this ever-growing competition, and there are many old and new strategies that havent been proven effectively. Moreover, Rogers is small/medium Company that has modified resources to apply all those strategies. The management decision-making forget be very crucial to manage its authorisation and impuissance while at the same time they have to overcome the terror and opportunities in the industry. 1. Competitive driving forces in the premium chocolate industry Porters Five Forces Model.Porters quint forces model uses atomic number 23 competitive forces that determine a particular firms capability to compete (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble 2010). The chocolate and cocoa industry butt joint use the five forces model as an analytical tool to determine the comp etitive market. pic Figure 1 Five competitive forces by Michael Porter 1. Competitive Rivalry The frenzy of aspiration among competitors in an industry can lay down expenditure wars, advertising battles, new product lines, and higher character of client service.There are many circumstances that intensify rivalry which some of them are as follows many balanced competitors, a slow growing industry, demands falls, high fixed or store costs, little switching costs, aggressive competitors and many other circumstances (Thompson, Strickland, and Gamble 2010). Premium Chocolate competition in Canada involves strong regional brands and few world-wide players such as Godiva, Lindt, Callebaut, and Purdys. Even though The Canadian market size of chocolates industry as a whole had been falling (2 % grow projected).However, the premium chocolate market was growing at 20 percent annually (Zietsma 2007). That situation considers less intense rivalry among competitors moreover every area has their own topical anaesthetic king like Rogers in Victoria. Nevertheless, in 2008, Global economy was severely hit by the crisis that originated from the United States and quickly spread to the whole world including Canada. Premium chocolate majority consumers in Canada come from tourists in particular Americans as b dictateing neighbour. When the tourists number drops and the demand for premium chocolate also falls, the fierce rivalry will increase2. Threat of new entrants Frequently, existing industry members are often strong candidates to enter market segments or geographic areas where they currently do not have a market presence (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble 2010). Apparently, Hersheys and Cadburys have been moving into the premium chocolate market through acquisitions or up market launches since this segment still posses high percentage of growth (Zietsma 2007). The market is precisely control by few large and old players which occupy strong market shares.The chocolate ind ustry has a significant economy of scale entry barrier because large companies exist in the industry that has high drudgery output and it trim backs the threat of entrants. In addition to economy of scale, product differentiation is another entry barrier in the chocolate. There are many competitors in the industry that have remarkably identifiable brand names and customer loyalty like Rogers Chocolate itself. New go with must increase its expenditure to overcome the reputation and large customer base of the existing companies. 3. Threat of Substitutes.Rogerss chocolate is often used as gift during numerous seasons and celebrations including Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentines Day, anniversaries and birthdays. Other types of gifts during these seasons are viewed as substitute products. These products are flowers, jewelry and stuffed animals. All of these products can be purchased instead of Rogerss chocolate unless they just want only Chocolate as gifts. Many chocolate brand s and a wide variety of seasonal gifts make the threat of substitute products is considered low to moderate in this industry.However, if Rogers Chocolates can maintain its local anesthetic heritage especially in its traditional area like Victoria and British Colombia then the threat for Rogers can be minimized. 4. business sector office of Buyers If a buyer represents a large percentage of the suppliers sales, the buyer has more bargaining power over the supplier. Rogerss chocolate 50% of sales is contributed from its 11 retail stores which is a strong one. However, since the previous president Mr. Jim Ralph had grown its wholesale market up to 30% so, they have to take a good care of its big wholesale buyer. other condition that affects the power of buyers is product differentiation. If the product is undifferentiated, the buyer has the power to play competitors against each other and reduce the cost. The premium chocolate has a differentiated product, which reduces the power of buyers. Rogers have brand identification and customer loyalty, which makes it hard for buyers especially the loyal ones not to consume Rogers for their premium chocolate consumption Today, buyers demanding chocolate more than just a taste, they becoming more health conscious therefore the demand for organic chocolate and glowering chocolate are growing.5. Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is a competitive force that can diminish a firms profitability by raising prices or reducing the timberland of the suppliers product. The suppliers of the chocolate industry have significant bargaining power over the industry because of the limited suppliers. In addition the supplier groups bargaining power increases if there are no substitute products. Because the cocoa bean is a required ingredient in chocolate the suppliers do not have any substitute products for which they must compete.This lack of substitutes increases the bargaining power of the chocolate industry The strongest Competitive Forces From the five competitive forces, they are relatively low to moderate in affecting premium chocolate industry especially Rogers Chocolate. However, the presence of Hersheys and Cadburys in the premium chocolate market will cause the strongest threat as they have enormous resources and experiences. The weakest forces should be the supplier as they can only affect the cost thus as long as people still love chocolates then the market is still big.The potential profitability of new entrants from outside industry is low since the barrier of entry for this industry is very high. However, it will be a different story if those big guys in the chocolate industry like Hersheys are very serious entering this premium chocolate market as happening lately. 2. Drivers of Change Those competitive forces as explained above can be a driver of change either individually or collectively. Another unique driver of change is consumer behavior towards health consciousness.Toda y, the demand for organic products and glooming chocolate are growing worldwide. Rogers has responded well to this healthy lifestyle by offering non-sugar added chocolate. People also put strong cast to the caller that normal good corporate social and environment right. Therefore, the premium chocolate players that will remain in the market are only those who could ride the changes and rise above the expectation of consumers because brand and quality play a significant role in customer purchase decision. 3. Key Success Factor in the premium Chocolates Industry.3. 1 Understanding the Consumers Needs The company must understand that they must have the features required by the consumers. For premium chocolate consumers, their reasons in buy are for themselves or for gifts. The first thing in the consumer mind for the products is the taste, and then packaging, shopping experiences, and the price. Rogers Chocolates has earned a reputation as one of Canadas prime(a) chocolate maker s and many consumers stating that Rogers is one of the best chocolate they have ever tasted (Customer Review 2010).The retail stores create a unique costumer experience with the aromas and image of the store and one of the friendliest staff. Since the premium chocolates serve as a gift either individually or as corporate gifts in special occasion then their packaging need to be unique and attractive. The Rogers packaging are appealing and other competitors are trying very hard to improve theirs. Another 30 percent of Rogerss costumers are wholesale distributors and stores. The relationship that Rogers maintains with these customers has been essential to the growing success of the company.They have to strive to provide competitive price, huge customer service and inventory in a timely manner. 3. 2 bulls eye Awareness Rogers Chocolates had a brand share of approximately 6% out of $167 trillion Canadian Chocolates market in 2006. Consumer pay premium price for premium chocolates and this fact can be looked intimidating to the retail and wholesale customers who are unaware of the brand and unwilling to try it. Therefore, the chocolates companies need to have a strong brand name and brand image. Rogers Chocolates brand is iconic and local heritage in Victoria but less known in the rest of Canada.Either customers love the brand or completely unknown. 3. 3 modify Products We bought raspberry filling dark chocolate, pistachio and fruits in milk chocolate, a white chocolate bar and a lemon meringues and couple of truffle bars. Did we buy too much chocolate between the 2 of us? Nonsense, one can never have too much chocolate. The review above came from Tom, atomic number 20 who visited Rogers Shop in Vancouver on October 3, 2009 (Customer Review 2010). People love to choose their own selection and favourites.The company has to strive to provide innovative and delicious products to run the market demand. Rogers also has addressed the health conscious consumer by provide non-sugar chocolates. Rogers can offer a great breadth of products that enables the company to reach a large customer segment 3. 4 Enhanced Competitiveness Increased marketplace competition has significantly given an impact in Rogerss business and as a result, Rogers must continuously seek for areas for improvement in order to enhance competitiveness against other competitor in the market.Improving weakness could be done in terms of product innovation, operational and manufacturing, marketing, advertising and promotion, inventory and distribution, and customer relationship. The company has to observe their capabilities and make the most of them in order to stay and win in the competition. 4. SWOT analysis Strengths Opportunities .Product Market Established brand Tourist approach in cruise ship part taste Growing Markets 20% annually Award-winning Young people market Variety USA and International Market Consumer Loyalty in Victoria 2010 Olympics Human Resources Licen sing,Franchising and partnership Employee pride and loyalty Products Skilled and experienced management Ice cream Rogers own retail stores Health conscious products Sams Deli Performance Consumer Trends Strong financial position Affordable luxury products Healthy lifestyles Technology Mobile marketing Production capabilities Internet Weaknesses Threats Product/Brand Intense competition and new entrants Little awareness outside Victoria Economic Downturn/ Drop tourists Production Change consumer traffic to Vancouver Planning, Documentation and prevision Private label Chocolate .Suppliers Fluctuating demand Capacity Environmental and human concerns Equipment and processes Human Resources Resistance to change Conflict management Multiple responsibility Sales force Distribution Location Market Coverage Inventory management Financial Sales growth .The BOLD/ Italic and BIG coat fonts are the key factor for each category The company has a str ong set of strength. Rogers Chocolate is small/medium business thus its weaknesses still not very damaging and the company situated in fairly strong position. However, looking at the threats, the company needs to repair its weakness especially in Branding, Production and Inventory in order to sustain in the business. The opportunity table shows great opportunity for Rogers to grow and expand. However, Rogers needs to expand its strength beyond outside Victoria especially towards young people and definitely repair the weaknesses to cater the growing market. 5. Strategies and positioning.Rogers Chocolates positioned as High quality premium price Chocolate As stated in the company website, Rogerss philosophy is making only premium products and packaging elegantly. In the premium Chocolate market, Rogerss chocolates control only 6% and price the products in high price point but still competitive and even slightly lower then Godiva and Callebaut. High Quality Rogers Callebaut Purdys God iva Lindt Low Price Cadbury Hersheys High Price Low Quality Rogers brand is well respected among those who want high quality chocolate. Rogerss products have no additives and use high quality ingredients. The brand is very well-established in Victoria and has loyal consumers Mission StatementRogers Chocolates is committed in producing and marketing fine products which reflect and maintain our reputation of quality and excellence established for over a century. All aspects of our business will be conducted with cartwheel and integrity, upholding our proud Canadian tradition. (Rogers Chocolates 2010) GOAL To double or triple total sales within 10 years Managements Strategy excerpt Based on Rogers goal of doubling or tripling total sales within 10 years, then the main strategy will be increasing brand awareness.Rogerss products are already proven superior despite their distribution which circulates mainly in British Colombia area, thus company has to expand its market range to greate r area and to East Canada or overseas.Rogers has already won the 2010 Olympics Official Chocolates together with Purdys (Lazarus 2008) which is a tremendous opportunity to create awareness nationally and internationally. To grow a market, factors such as Licensing, franchise and partnership is being considered.One idea under consideration for developing the wholesale network was the creation of a turnkey store-within-a-store setup that would allow wholesale clients with a retail presence such as department stores to add a mini-Rogers store in their shop. Rogerss management also aim to increase the number of online shopping. Those strategies are consistent with Rogerss goal to increase the sales by double and triple in ten years.However, being a small/medium company, Rogerss management can only choose to act on several options while not putting a risk on its culture and tradition. Licensing, franchising and create store-within-a-store is a cheaper options to expand the market compar e to open its own retail stores in the new areas however does it really appropriate to Rogers excellent retail experiences? (source)s together with Purdys Conclusion In early 2009, Parkhill and Rogers management chose to focus on expanding the companys retail network. Parkhill says that Rogers will also continue to develop its wholesale channel, but will be selective in choosing partners who fit the companys brand.Our foundation is retail, he says. Its the Wow experience that customers get when they walk into our stores, are greeted and are handed a free sample of our chocolates. From this customer experience, success comes in other things that we do such as wholesale and online sales. Roger is high quality premium chocolate thus the experiences for shop and consumes Rogers chocolate has to be excellent as well. If the Brand is being franchised or create a small shop at the corner of somebody else store then the quality of service and the store ambiances can not be controlled.Peopl e not only say about how good Rogers Chocolate was but also their great experiences in Rogers Store. Therefore, the decision of developing Rogers own retail is good decision and consistent with its goal and philosophy.References? Customer Review 2010, Rogers Chocolate, Available http//www. yelp. ca/biz/rogers-chocolates-vancouver Accessed 5 June 2010 ? Lazarus 2008, Sweet deal for Purdys and Rogers Chocolates, August edn, Marketing Magazine ? Morrissete 2008, On the case How sweet is this, really? , Financial Post Magazine ? Rogers Chocolate 2010, History, Available http//www. rogerschocolates. com/history Accessed 5 June 2010 ?Thompson, Strckland, Gamble 2010, Crafting and Executing Strategy The Quest for Competitive Advantage. Concepts and Cases, 17th edn, McGraw-Hill Irwin, United States ? Zietsma 2007,Case Rogers Chocolates, Ivey Management Service.

Learning Team Reflection Essay Example for Free

Learning Team Reflection EssayI guess for me I am struggling with how to forecast and predict what is important enough to know what criteria is relevant information to use for the success of my organization. Since I only work in one area of the whole organization how do you predict when you are not privy to important information to know what direction to go in. I am hoping to learn how to think way outside the box and be able to see the bigger picture. One question I do drive home though will the company be as successful if I only concentrate on the success of the area I work in? I get how strategic management can be beneficial to an organization, and I get how ethics should play a role as well. I see the way people have done wrong actions in a company is almost like having cancer in your organization. It can lento take over or be swift and destroy a organization. I see both issues in my work place. People riding the calamity of what is wrong behavior and out right breaking t he rules. All of that behavior disrupts the goal of the organization to run effectively and efficiently. Looking forward to further discussions. afterwards completing the assignments and reading the objectives I think I am comfortable talking about environmental scan both internal and external and how it is unalike from a SWOT analysis. Environmental scanning is make up of observation, reviewing, and ultimately circulating the data gathered from external and internal environments based on the decisions made by the staff of the organization.This process is applied by the organization in the case of a worst case scenario it allows an organization to occupyfully take care of conflicts compared to struggling to salvage a situation which is causing financial setbacks for the organization. In regards to discussing the external factors of an organization and why they should be reviewed as part of the internal environmental scan, below are some causes why this should happen. 1. Economic forces Regulates the transferring of materials, money, energy, and information (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 99). 2. Technological forces Is what generates problem-solving inventions (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 99).3. Politicallegal forces Is what allocates power and provides constraining and protecting laws and regulations (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 99). 4. Sociocultural forces Is what regulates the values, mores, and customs of hunting lodge (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 99).In regards to discussing some of the internal considerations of an organization and why the organization should evaluate them as part of the internal environmental scan, the following are some reason 1. Value Is when it provides customers value and competitive advantage (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 138). 2. Rareness Is when other competitors possess it (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 138). 3. Imitability Is when it becomes costly for others to imitate (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 138). 4. Organization Is when the organizati on utilizing the resource to its advantage (Wheelen Hunger, 2010, p. 138). There is a difference from Environmental scan and a traditional SWOT due to the environmental scan gathering data while the SWOT is more heterogeneous with gathering information and research to establish an ultimate plan.In last weeks class I got a better understanding of the 4 phases of strategic management which are basic financial planning, forecast-based planning, externally oriented strategic planning and strategic management. By emphasizing what strategic management very means to an organization I was able to get a more in depth concept of the benefits such as how performance can be improved by providing organizational learning tactics understanding the strategic vision of the organization. I can actually relate to this because I have deep completed my green belt lean six sigma which allows me to be part of working groups that have been task to identify gaps and improve business processes and practi ces in divers(a) area in the logistics directorate in which I work. By macrocosm part of a working group at work and also being in this strategic management class I truly believe that this will increase my development in the area of strategic thinking to be an impact player in my organization. I look forward to these next few weeks.ReferenceWheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D. (2010). Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy (12th ed.). Retrieved from University of phoenix eBookCollection database.

The Kill Of Stephen Lawrence Sociology Essay

The Kill Of Stephen Lawrence Sociology EssayAlthough the killing of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 was one of the hardly a(prenominal) anti-Semite(a) instruction executions in British history to result in considerable media c all overage, a public investigation and a change in the law, the reporting of colour offense in the United queerdom has remained subject to distortion and chaste panic, especially in the cautious tabloid press. Since Lawrence and his family were portrayed as aspiring members of the middle class, the media in general did not really regard him as occasion of obtuse culture at all, at least as the media has defined it over the last thirty years guns, drugs, gangs, street crime, poverty and school eject outs (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 263). Therefore, despite practically sound and fury, there is no evidence that Lawrences murder and its aftermath led to fundamental change in the systematic racial discrimination of the British media, and opposite institut ions such as the police and education system. Nor is there evidence that the racist ideology that is used towards blacks, immigrants, Muslims and asylum-seekers has disappeargond as a resultfar from it. This dissertation lead consider the definition of racism as heartyly and historically constructed, and part of the institutions and ideology of society, and then examine how it has applied to the treatment blacks and other ethnic minorities in the UK since the 1940s, focusing on the Lawrence moorage and its aftermath. ultimately, it allow for consider whether racism in the media has gradually been transferred to other targets in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and July 2005, with less emphasis on street crime, gangs, drugs and the crack wars of the mid-seventies-90s. This does not mean that early days black males are no longer the target of racist stereotyping in the media, since as late as 2007 even a committee of the House of Commons agreed that they still wer e, scarce that racist impulses and ideologies seem to go through phases in which certain targets perplex much attention than others (House of Commons, 2007)CHAPTER 1.1 WHY THIS TOPIC IS INTERESTING TO ME This topic first came to my attention several months ago during the summer, when it seemed that everyday issue sight were being killed by young males carrying knives. At the time the newspapers that covered these stories made it seem that it was only young black males that carried knives and the problem that the police had to deal with was not that of a few individuals who were carrying and using knives but that of a wider more prevalent issue with black culture. At the time of reading these stories I give it quite strange that over time the underlying story seemed to be the same but the details had changed. For example, I remember not too long ago, it was young black males that were more or less likely to mug you, it was young black males traffic drugs on estates and young black males being involved in gang shooting (McLaughlin and Murji,2001, p 265). These acts seemed to, in my opinion come in waves. Due to reports like these, the general public is of the assumption that young black males are very dangerous individuals and should be feared (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 265). I wanted to railway up out whether the newspapers and the media in general were justified in their approach on reporting black crime or whether they are scare-mongering for the sake of sales. CHAPTER 1.2 AIMS As express above, the main aim of this dissertation would be to see if in point the general media are in fact redress in the delegacy in which they report crime or do they fuel public panic, and in turn fuel racism. I would like to find out whether the media is helping or hindering the general publics understanding of black people. Also, I hope that my research will enable me to answer questions on the charge media is used and misused. In addition to that, I would li ke to find out whether the events that took place that lend to Stephen Lawrences murder was a bit point in the way of life that journalist conduct their articles and if after the Macpherson report has anything changed. Lastly I would like to find out if I am right in my assumption that the way in which the media (especially the tabloid press) harbour place black people on the back burner for the time being, and are concentrating on other ethnic minorities, such as Asian etc.CHAPTER1.3 POSTMODERNIST THEORY ON RACISM The term postmodernism is generally over used, as just about everything has a postmodern bow to it. For example the term postmodern can be used to describe music, art, architecture, film etc, but as well as all these, it is a sociological school of thought. According to Giddens postmodernism is the belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. postmodernist society is gamyly pluralistic and diverse, with no rarefied narrative guiding its developm ent (Giddens, 2006, p1029).According to the postmodernist Ramon Flecha, racism is described as describes a condition wherein racial and ethnic differences become incommensurable and subjects shit to address the important issue of inequality in the face of difference (Gillborn and Ladson-Billings, 2004, p123). When one takes a closer look at history, one will draw that there is a major(ip) paradox in European imperialism. As colonisers, one of their goals was to disseminate their culture in their colonies. However, Singh believes that European cultural imperialism was dedicated to denying the colonise subject any identity other than one which that renders him/her a non-person (Singh, 2006, p 7). This cultural invasion happens when the invaders impose their own beliefs and views on another group and eviscerate them inferior by suppressing their creativity and expression (Freire, 1970, p 151). Colonisers hire propagated their culture among their colonies but some(prenominal) of t hem still emphasized the importance of drawing a line between them and their colony. They regard their culture as superior to that of their colonies. It is this difference where postmodernist beliefs of racism are founded upon. In Murphy and Choi, it is defined as a uncounted of practices that are designed to subjugate a large segment of the population (Murphy and Choi, 1997, p3). In postmodernist belief, differences are recognized just as long as each racial group acts according to their race. Postmodernism racism puts more emphasis on the segregation sort of than the hierarchy. With respect to the racism that existed fifty or a hundred years ago, postmodern racism recognizes multiculturalism and diversity. Old theories on racism were centred more on hierarchy and which race was more superior to the other. But measure of crisis and uncertainty over the course of neighborly and economic change fox a good deal proved to be the periods in which new racist suppositions and move ments agree emerged and provided flat coat for social mobilisation and exclusion (Solomos and Back, 1996, p 211). So therefore over the past 50 years it is clear to see that anytime there was an incident of economic, social or health related down turns, ethnic minorities have been have been thrust into the limelight, in a way that could be described as negative. In the 70s and 80s it was black men who were a social menace, then in the 90s refugees from the former Yugoslavia were filed for the lack of public housing and any subsequent rises in offbeat benefits. Now in the 00s, with the west waging a war against terror people of Asian descent are now referred to as terrorist. However, postmodern racism is not any different from the old racist beliefs. According to Leonardo, postmodern racism simply assumes the guise of tolerance only to be usurped by relativism, a proliferation of differences rather than a levelling of power relations (Leonardo, 2009, p216). It was stated earlier that times of crisis have prompted racist ideas to change but they have only changed in theory. Reality states that they have essentially remained the same, crimes motivated by racist beliefs have proven that up to the present, racial supremacy still lingers in peoples minds. Lawrences murder is one of the few racially-motivated crimes that have been publicized. But it required a careful effort from the media to publicize his death. His economic background, for instance, was taken into consideration. early(a) black victims of racially-motivated crimes, for instance, do not receive sufficient advancement because the journalists thought that their image as a vagrant would not illicit a sympathetic reply from the public (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 276). Stephen Lawrence was the opposite because he came from a middle class family and his family was not, as stereotypes would say, the typical black family everyone feared. The discrepancy between the medias treatment of Stephen La wrence and Duwayne Brooks respective murders will easily reveal how media still holds racist beliefs. Moreover, it goes to show that media is sensitive to the fact that the general populace is still governed by old racist beliefs that there are certain races that are superior to the other. Postmodern racism, then, does not completely hold true and it may only be a sugar-coated version of the old-fashioned 19th century racism. CHAPTER 1.4 STRUCTURE first of all I will be looking in to the methodology that is to be used in this dissertation as well as any ethically issues that may arise from doing research and writing up my dissertation. In chapter 3, I will be looking at the background history of black people in the United Kingdom and the media. In chapter 4, I will be looking in depth at the Stephen Lawrence case and asking whether Lawrence was a turning point in media reporting and the publics perception of young black males in general. I will then be covering in chapter 4.1, when the media circus adjoin Lawrence died down whether the media returned to their old ways of racially biased reporting or did the Macpherson report pull in a difference in the institution that in the media world. Finally in chapter 5, I will conclude and do any recommendations that are fitting. afterwards this the references will follow. CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGYThis dissertation is a library ground dissertation so therefore it uses secondary research as I feel primary research would not be suitable for this dissertation. I will be concentrating on collecting all my information from books, journals and publications that focusing on media reporting of the Stephen Lawrence case, history of black people in the UK and post Stephen Lawrence. CHAPTER 2.1 ETHICAL ISSUES racialism is a delicate issue and if the research is not conducted properly, the outcome could possibly be dangerous to all parties involved in the research, whether they are a minority ethnic group or not. It is therefore important that I must be sensitive towards the needs and safety of those who would likely to be involve in the study (Babbie, 2008, p 440). As this essay will be library based researched I must make sure that whilst conducting the research and evaluating my findings, I am as transparent as possible. I must in any case make sure that throughout the research and evaluation process I am sensitive of the studys objectivities and other significant details, therefore reducing any clear bias, which in turn would allow my work to be clear and objective. Also, I must make sure that whenever I quote anything it must be written in context and that I dont plagiarise. To make sure this doesnt happen I will make sure that all my references are correctly stated. And finally I will make sure that if during my research I find articles that disagree with any statements I have made are noted not ignored. CHAPTER 3 RACISM IN GREAT BRITAINTHE MEDIA AND BLACK BRITISH HISTORYFor the British media, espec ially the conservative, plentifulness market tabloids, blacks have been defined by images of black crime for decades, especially as the economy began to decline in the mid-seventies as unemployment, poverty and social pathology increased in the declining industrial cities. If black crime has ever so been defined as a social problem in the media, racist attacks by exsanguines against minorities close never was before the Stephen Lawrence Family Campaign (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 263). From a purely capitalist view as well, crime reports are among the well-nigh headline-catching of news commodities and media everywhere in the world follow the somewhat cynical principle of if it bleeds, it leads. Crime journalists almost invariably take their cue from the police as experts on the subject and also depend of police contacts for their very livelihoods, providing them a routine and predictable source of newsworthy stories. Naturally, crime journalists never want to alienate that source and end up left out in the cold, for the economics of the news business is a specially raw, competitive form of capitalism (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 264). Van Dijk studied 2,755 headlines in the British press in 1985-86 from The Times, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Mail and Sun, and found that except for The Guardian, almost all the reporting about blacks and other minorities was seldom positive, occasionally neutral, and often negative (Van Dijk, 1991, p52). After the major shift in both fictional and news coverage of crime in the 1960s and 1970s, there were increasing complaints from the elderly, minorities and young people in general about how they were depicted. Elderly citizens were shown as muggable and disempowered, speckle the young and minorities felt like they were continually portrayed as dangerous youth, potence perpetrators of crime, and and so welcomed films and news stories with a urbane rights focus and the questioning of police authority. On the ot her hand, young women were more aware of their possible victim status, particularly their vulnerability to male violence, and so welcomed coverage of such crimes, which had been mostly ignored before the 1960s (Reiner et al, 2000, p 120). In general, the cultural shift of the 1960s and 1970s has not been reversed in films and news accounts in the more conservative era of the 1980s and 1990s there is still far more flick of sex, drugs, violence, corrupt and tarnished authority figures than before 1965, and also an increasing tendency toward more anarchic and nihilistic violence or a Hobbesian war of all against all, meld occasionally with more reactionary and nostalgic themes. Overall, the post-1960s media and film culture has remained less deferential and more de-subordinate and demystified than it was before 1965 (Reiner et al, 2000, p121-22).For decades the British media portrayed Britain as a ovalbumin society with a minority and immigration problem. Accordingly, the coloured population is seen as some diversity of aberration, a problem, or just an oddity. One of the most popular BBC television programmes in 1958-78 was The Black and White Minstrel Show, supposedly set in the Deep South of the U.S., featuring actors blacked up. As late as 1998, only 2% of journalists in England and Wales were Arab, Asian or black even though these minorities made up 5.26% of the population, and the media often remained blind to ethnic minorities (Wilson et al, 2003, p 21). According to the British Social Attitudes Survey of 2003, 31% of washcloth admitted to being racist, about the same percentage as 1987, and many people also practised aversion racism in which they believed intellectually in equality but at the same time felt aversion toward minorities with negative stereotypes, and thus avoided interaction with them if possible (Crisp and Turner, 2007, p 162-65). In the media, blacks became synonymous with drugs, gangs and street crime, and misleading police statisti cs asserted that young black males were the majority of street criminals, generally unemployed and on welfare. Equally out of true in the quantity media portrayal, their victims were often white, female and elderly (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p265). Abercrombie and Warde agree that a conception of the black community as particularly crime-prone took hold in the 1970s in press treatments of attacks on and thefts from, innocent people in the streets. In 1983 The Sun actually ran a headline Black Crime Shock and stated falsely that blacks carried twice as many muggings as white sin London last year (Webster, 2006, p 32). In general, the media conveyed the image that the attackers were predominantly black and the victims predominantly white, no matter that there was no evidence for this. Just the opposite, the British Crime Survey of 1988 and 1992 showed conclusively that ethnic minorities are much more likely, in fact, to be the victims of crime than white people, and these crimes a re under-reported because it is believed the police will not be interested and will not follow up a complaint. According to a 1981 Home Office report, victimization rates for Asians were 50 times, and for blacks 36 times, higher than for white people, but the media treated this information like it did not exist and almost never reported the extent and seriousness of racially motivated attacks on black communities (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p 268-69). Nevertheless, into the 1990s, young black males continued to be profiled and targeted for stop and search policing, especially in high crime areas. Studies of police attitudes found that they generally regarded blacks as trouble-makers, drug dealers, robbers and nothing else (Abercrombie and Warde, 2000, p258-59). This moral panic against crime in the streets was also fuelled by Conservative politicians, particularly in the Winter of Discontent against the Labour government in 1979. In the Thatcher years, the Tories presided over an e ra of high unemployment and increasing poverty at the bottom end of the social scale, and knew that they could divert attention by promoting a law and order discourse that put the blame on the most socially and economically depressed sections of the community (Holohan, 2005, p 104). In Britain, as in the U.S. and many other countries from the 1970s to the 1990s, conservative and rightfulness populist ideologies reflected a broadly right-wing consensus which, in many news channels (especially the tabloid press)justified as encapsulating the British way of life. This law and order consensus back up more police, more prisons and a tougher criminal justice system, particularly in response to the youth and minority rebellions of the 1960s and 1970sand indeed, as part of a white backlash against these (Jewkes 2004, p58). For over twenty years, conservative populist punitiveness represented the main attitude of the British government to crime, poverty and the social problems associated w ith them, and there was no major opposition to imprisoning larger numbers of youth and younger ages, to prose burn uping them as adults, more curfews, prohibition of unauthorized gatherings of young people, as well as harsher measures against immigrants, protesters, demonstrators, the homeless and young unemployed, particularly if any of the above were from minority groups. cuttingspapers like The Sun and Daily Mail have always had a vigorous intolerance towards anyone of anything that transgresses an essentially conservative agenda (Jewkes, 2004, p 59). Socially, economically and culturally, this era was a throwback to the late-Victorian period at the end of the 19th Century. A 1992 book Beneath the Surface racial Harassment described a detailed study of racism in the London borough of Waltham Forest in 1981-89. It found that racial harassment was a fact of life there, including verbal and physical abuse, graffiti and fire bombings of kins of ethnic minorities. In July 1981 a Pa kistani woman and her three children died in one of these attacks when petrol was sprayed into their house and set alight. The police did not seem interested in any of these crimes, and were even suspicious of the minorities who reported them. In 1998, The Observer reported that little has changed in the years since and described how one Muslim man was regularly threatened with stones, guns, knives, fire-bombs and death threats over a seven-year period. In 1992-94 alone, there were at least 45 deaths in Britain from what are believed to be racially motivated attacks, but none of them received nearly the same publicity as the Lawrence case (Abercrombie and Warde, 2000, p 260-62). After the riots of 1980-81, Lord Scarmans report emphasized the role of racial discrimination and acknowledged that there was a problem of racially discriminatory policing, as was still the case twelve years later in the Lawrence case. After the report came out, the police gave off-the-record interviews to t he effect that London was experiencing a dramatic increase in muggings (McLaughlin and Murji, 2001, p266). Jamaican immigrants had begun to enter in the UK in 1948, although even the Labour government of that era preferred white European immigrants if it could find them, even if they could not speak English and dumb little about Britain. Indeed, government officials went out of their way to discourage immigration from Africa, Asia and the West Indies, which was not unusual at the time, given the whites-only immigration policies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States that had been in place for decadesand did not change in the U.S. until 1965. The British government even tried to divert a ship carrying 492 Jamaicans to East Africa in 1948. Given the shortage of white immigrants, Britain had no alternative except to obtain most of its cheap labour supply from its colonies, semi-colonies and former colonies in Asia, Africa and the West Indies, although with much bad will on both the governmental level and in (white) public opinion (Skelton, 1999). Blacks had been in Britain long before this wave of immigration, of course, but it seems to have made little impact on historical memory or popular consciousness. Britain had knuckle downry during the 17th and 18th Centuries at least until Lord Mansfield abolished it in 1772. To be sure, only 10-20,000 slaves had lived in the country during any given year compared to millions in Brazil, the United States and West Indies and the number of free blacks was never large (Segal, 1996). introductory to the post-1945 immigration, few whites in Britain would have ever encountered many blacks at home, except of course for American soldiers in World War II. At that time, however, many white Americans were actually surprised to find that the British press was generally sympathetic to blacks whenever racial conflicts, brawls and other incidents took place on British soil (Katznelson, 2001).Jamaicans were the la rgest group to commence in Britain from the West Indies during this unwelcome ingathering from the colonies. While the majority of White British were antagonistic to all those from the Caribbean, it can be said that the deepest resentment was toward the Jamaicans (Skelton, 1999, p 232). Initially, they settled in Lambeth, Brixton, Clapham and Camberwell in South London, which was considered ideal for blacks and other minorities since it had suffered extensive bomb damage and was full of vacant, old and dilapidated Victorian houses. In other worlds, it was an instant, ready-made ghetto. Black immigrants were crowded into these run-down houses, charged unreasonably high rents, and/or faced housing discrimination. They only got the jobs that British workers would not take and called slave labour or shit work, and often could not even get that. Like many such ghettos in the past, theft, fencing of stolen merchandise, prostitution and drug dealing were commonwith many shops offering ill egal goods and services under the counter to supplement their incomes and others acting as fronts for gangs and organized crime. In short, like similar ghettos in the U.S. and many other countries, it had a large informal or underground economy which existed in tandem with the mainstream economy and societyalthough minority young people were mostly cut off and alienated from this (Sanders, 2000, p 33). Mainstream media reported the crime but not the historical, social and economic context of this ghetto society.From the start, the police and media associated young Jamaican males with street crime, which became an idea so pervasive and powerful that soon everyone who saw a young Black man on the street was convinced they were about to be robbed (Skelton, 1999, p 232). In the 1970s, it was not uncommon to see young Black men being taken to the side of public pavements and being forced to empty their pockets by two of three police officers at a time (Skelton, 1999, p 233). Parliament p assed sus laws that allowed the police to stop and frisk anyone acting in a suspicious manneran early example of racial profiling, and arresting and harassing suspects from crimes like shopping, walking or driving while Black. In the media, there were virtually no counter-representations of young, black men, while in the civilian disturbances of the 1980s and 1990s it ran the most sensationalistic stories claiming that Britain was becoming a riot-torn society (Skelton, 1999, p 234) caused by an alien disease and hazardous young blacks who did not share the values of law-abiding society (Skelton, 1999, p 234). Certain geographical areas like Brixton in London, Toxteth in Liverpool and Handsworth in Birmingham were racialised in the media and always associated with danger, destruction and lawlessness (Skelton, 1999, p 234).CHAPTER 4 THE STEPHEN LAWRENCE CASE A TURNING POINT?Identifying a sympathetic victim is a well-known strategy of civil rights movements, and one of the best known was genus Rosa Parks, whose arrest on December 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama was the spark that lit the modern civil rights movement in the United Sates. E.D. Nixon, the head of the Alabama National Association for the cash advance of Colored People (NAACP) and chief organizer of the Montgomery Voters League had been looking for a test case against the segregation laws for quite some time. He knew that it would have to survive legal challenges all the way up to the United States sovereign Court, and for this purpose the right type of victim was essential (Hare, 2005). It was no accident when Rosa Parks, the secretary of the local NAACP and member of Martin Luther Kings church, was arrested as part of the long-planned test case. Jonnie Carr, head of the Montgomery Improvement Association for thirty years, had invited Parks to join the NAACP and the two women started a friendship that would last a lifetime (Hare, 2005, p 2 5). Carr, who would later challenge Montgomerys segregated school system I the courts and win the case in the Supreme Court, said that Parks was so quiet that you would never have believed she would get to the point of being arrested (hare,2005, p26), but she did. Once she was committed to this course, she did not look back, and was notable for her quiet courage and determination. She continually received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan during the bus boycott and the legal case, and had to move to Detroit, Michigan in 1957. Even so, she continued to work with Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, helping to organize the March on Washington in 1963 and the election of John Conyers to Congressone of the first blacks elected in the 20th Century (Hare, 2005). Other blacks had been arrested before Parks for refusing to give up their seats, but Nixon, Carr and the other organizers did not regard them as the right kind of victims to generate exactly the right kind of publi city they required, or to stand up to the ordeal that was certain to follow, including the very real possibility of death. On March 2 1955, fifteen-year old Claudette Colvin was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person, and when she was convicted of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the young straight-A student burst into tears (Hare, 2005, p4). Eighteen-year old Mary Louise Smith was arrested on October 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her seat as well, but Nixon and his fellow organizers did not believe she was quite right for the campaign, either, because of her age and some issues in her background (Hare 2005). In Rosa Parks, they found their ideal candidate a mother, gainfully employed, regular churchgoer, mature and respectable, someone Martin Luther King could proclaim as one of the finest citizens of Montgomery (Hare,2005,p 30). She could play the role of innocent victim of injustice very well, and be the wife and mother that a white audience could i dentify with, even though as a civil rights movement activist and organizer, she knew from the start that she was part of a legal test case and media campaign. To be sure, Stephen Lawrence had never planned to become a victim in this way, but civil rights and anti-racism organizers in Britain knew that they could portray him and his family as respectable, middle class people who were really not so different from the white readership of the Daily Mail, and thus generate the type of media interest and political pressure that racist attacks and murders had almost never received in Britain beforeor since, for that matter. Prior to 1997, the Mail had shown little interest in the Lawrence case and only the announcement of a public inquiry seemed to get its attention. On February 14, 1997, however, it ignored legal and ethical guidelines and controversially printed the names and photographs of the louver white suspects, and pronounced them guilty of murder under the blazing headline If We Are Wrong Let Them Sue Us. From 1997-99 it published at least 530 stories on the murder and Macpherson investigation, which some cynics always regarded as a ploy to boost circulation or the result of Stephen Lawrences father Neville once having worked as a plasterer for Paul Dacre, the Mails editor. In an editorial on February 15, 1999, the paper explained that it had thought long and hard before publicly naming the five white men, but this was an extraordinary situation and demanded an extraordinary response (McLaughlin and Murji,2001,p 272-73). Many newspapers covered the Lawrence murder, but the Daily Mails high-profile campaignset the agenda for the terms of the public debate about whom and what was responsible for the murder. This was unusual and unexpected because never before had a racist murder been so graphically and repeatedly described and condemned by a right-wing newspaper in the United Kingdom (McLaughlin,2005,p 163). In the Stephen Lawrence case, the standard media portrayal of blacks as lazy, criminal and violent was inverted in order to present the victim and his family as clean, drug-free hard-working, educated and middle class, while his five white killers were shown as members of the unemployed underclass, living on welfare in public housing. In this way, the media could uphold the standard narrative of race and class while making Lawrence an exception to the general rule a good black and an innocent victim. This was not the case for the other young black man attacked with him at the same time, Duwayne Brooks, described as a sort of marginal character perhaps involved with gangs and drugs, unlike Stephen Lawrence, who aspired to become an architect and join the middle class. As for Brooks, journalists

Why Developing Your Own Leadership Skills Is Important

Why Developing Your Own Leadership Skills Is ImportantDeveloping leadership trainings is important for me because inclined the circumstances that I throw away shifted to the airfield of Business Administration from a technical background that does not require having control over some one or to manage or good turn extensively with separates. Now I seek the future prospects of becoming a manager in an organization and therefore during my tenure of Masters Degree I need to develop leadership skills that would wholeow me to be a masteryful in my future endeavors. Not wholly leaders are managers but all effective managers have to be leaders. It is my self assessment that I am not a natural leader and if you are not a born leader then there is except one option for you to develop your skills to become one.My personal values, vision and missionMy mission is to develop a good teeming balance between different skills that would help me become an effective leader i.e. problem so lving skills, termination Making, planning, and managing my power and influence. Having a strong influence in my opinion is really essential. If you have the ability to convince others with their manner of speech and action, then the possibilities of success are limitless. I want to be successful and professional. I believe in being true(p), words should match with actions and building trust with others. I believe is having success by unenviable pull in, even though close of the times I do not feel like it but it is under my conscious that with disclose hard work there is a thin rule of success.Challenges/problems I want to addressBeing a leader involves an extensive interaction with population and developing essential skills to have an influence over them which is something that I have never been through so it is a primary challenge for me. I am utilize to solving problems haphazardly which seems to work for me but in the broader aspect I have to streamline the process and learn to deal with complex situations in a professional manner. other challenge for me is to make decision under emotional stress I always have to cope with the after effects of such decisions. I also need to figure taboo a leader icon that I should follow or maybe develop myself into one for the fact that I believe that what works for someone else ability probably NOT work for me, every exclusive is unique and there is only the hit and trial method available to find the best fit.Measures of successMy measures of success lead ultimately be the fact of achievement of my goal of becoming an effective manager. But there needs to be milestones set to clasp my final goal which would be how much my belief, morals and ethics match with my practices. I will measure my success with how satisfied I am with my doing at work and how satisfied I am with my actions with other the great unwashed around me.Current assessment of yourself as a leaderMy current strengths and weaknesses as a lea derMy current strengths include good technical skills that come as a part of my current experience. If we talk ab discover emotional intelligence, Self-Awareness is something I am quite confident about. In any situation I have a full understanding of my mood, emotions and I have the habit of visualizing scenarios foregoing to my actions. Self-Regulation is something I am not so proud about because my emotional grip becomes lose at times of anger, consciously I am in full aware of my situation but Ill just do it anyways So this would count as my weakness. I have the habit of solving problems with my analytical instincts by and large that comes with experience. I am only hoping that I am correct which a weakness is in fact but at the same time I am never without a reason for my actions which is a plus. I am motivated by the fact of wanting to be someone who is known and not someone who is an unknown entity. I like to remain social and have a sense of empathy for the people around me , I have good audience skills for that matter that allows me to understand the emotional makeup of other people and I am able to treat people accordingly. Building networks with others is something I find hard to do as I normally do not find a common ground I cannot persuade others nor have a very strong influence unless I am closely related. My greatest weakness by far is that I do not feel confident enough of myself for tasks that are new or have potentially high aim of difficulty. The feeling of what if Im not able to also haunts me in situations or tasks known to me. May be because I am a little too much aware of my weaknesses. I dont like to piddle initiatives unless I am very much sure of what I am standing up for. In a team I am rather willing to take part as a supportive entity rather than a leading one.Insights from my Management Behavior Traits InfluenceBehavior wise I see myself as both as Job centered and Consideration. As said in my strengths I am friendly and I want people to trust me and respecting. Although it is only my self assessment as I have never been in the scenario of practicing my leadership, I see myself as both. When it comes to work, I would want the job to be done, it makes me uncomfortable to have a task at my hand and it is not complete or seems like it might not be completed in time. The factor out of weakness here about my self confidence comes into play. If I am able to counter this weakness, I can take my part as a leading entity in a team.Challenges and opportunities for amelioratementChallenges and opportunities for improvement are my weaknesses themselves. Coming over your weakness is itself a challenge and eliminating your weakness or figuring out an encounter for the weakness is an opportunity for ones betterment and growth with an increased chance of success. I would consider my weakness of confidence to be the greatest of all because at once I am past that point they only task ahead would be to stretch my arm an d grab my milestones for success.Feedback I have had from the class, work and other arenasI am not very sure about the signals I get from work, class or other arenas that would help me evaluate myself of being a potential leader. People seem to trust me once I have proven my abilities to them like for example being a multimedia artist I had to prove my skills at various occasions. Once I had performed the task people would give allot of attention to what I had to say and would follow my advice. But this I think is pretty obvious because once I have proved then there is no point of thinking that I was influential or maybe I do not consider it very influential. I am considered opinion leader in the areas where my expertise lie. I have been given feedback may times about being trustworthy and helpful by my colleagues and this helps me a little with my confidence problem but becomes a problem once more as I feel a sense of responsibility on my shoulders bearing the trust of others that I would not want to break.Leadership Development externalizeObjectives of my planFollowing are the key objectives of my Leadership Development PlanIdentify critical areas of my personal characteristics that are required for grooming and essential to work on for becoming an effective leader.Identifying main obstacles in the way to achieve my ultimate goal and defining a plan to encounter those obstacles.Determining what traits and port specific actions needed to be worked upon for an effective execution of planDefining what methods will be used for learning and improving my skills.Outlining a guideline that would act as a source of evaluation for every stair I take towards my goal and letting me know how much distance I have covered and what is still there to cover.What inspires me about my plan/why am I willing to changeMy source of inspiration is that I want to be successful as an effective leader and this plan will help me define what needs to be done to reach my desired state. It is of great immenseness to me because I have decided to take a turn in my life from a technical field limited to a narrow chain to the field of management that would open up a new horizon for me. I was determined to make this change with better prospects in the long run. It was a big decision for me and almost a blind leap, but if I do not develop the essential skills and train myself to be effective in the field of management, it will be of no good and I will only regret having to take a sharp turn from a immediate moving lane.Behavior-specific actions I plan to takeI will strengthen my communication and look according to values. I believe that there is nothing compared to an authentic leader, people admire and are inspired by leaders that behave consistently according to values, and in particular, the value of integrity.Opening myself up to others and influence people through my creative thinkers and my behavior, rather than through the use of my position power or simply by the demonstration of my skill. I will show trust in the people and work on the consideration factor even further.I am not very good at showing enthusiasm for individual and group accomplishment. So I will try to learn how to react and praise positively.To supplement my employee centered behavior I have to learn to step aside and let others do their jobs, make people feel needed, important, and powerful so they can accomplish their objectives. Ensure that I have the right people in the right jobs to match their abilities and maximize success.Opening myself to accept changes and also learning to identify positive and productive changes and involve people at all levels of the organization in implementing a change initiative.I would help people around me to find a perfect fit between their skills and satisfaction level and giving them the authority to make the changes they need to be successful.Actively engage my role in teaching others and devote time to coach others to develop and improve performance.Anticipated resistance from self and othersBringing a change always attracts a sufficient amount of resistance from within self and people around. The behavior specific actions I plan to take highlight three factors clearly that I am looking forward to bring changes, autonomy and delegation, mentoring. Following my idea for behavior development, given a mechanistic situation I will have to face a lot of resistance for the first two. Even in a different scenario people are not always willing for changes and being delegated. Personally I would not feel any resistance with mentoring, I always like to share my knowledge with others and it helps build rapport. But when it comes to delegation and bringing about changes I feel resistance because at the moment I am not able to be much of an influence and not open to ideas I feel attached with. Developing a delegation skill will require to fight with my nature of getting the job done even if I have to get my own hands dir ty.How I will monitor and evaluate resultsI will monitor my result based on the feedback from the people around me and keeping my plan as a seed checklist for what milestones I have covered and which ones still remain. And ultimately it comes down to how satisfied I am with my performance regardless of what stages I have checked out with respect to my behavior, traits and skill. Satisfaction will most definitely come along with these aspects but unless I am not satisfied, it will not really matter.Sources for learningDevelopment of leaders tends either to be purely conceptual or purely applied. Little academic work connects the theory of leadership development to the interventions used in leadership development programs and initiatives. For a starting point I will first need to grab hold of concept of leadership and its implications and dependencies. I will have to study about successful leaders lifestyle, their values and ideas match them with my own to see where I stand and what steps to take myself further. Another important source of learning would be the results of my actions and choices I make during my tenure of leadership development.

The History Of Poaching Rhinos History Essay

The History Of Poaching rhinoceross History EssayAs one of the closing surviving species of mega fauna, the ovalbumin rhino is distinctively known by its squ atomic number 18 shaped lip that enables it to graze. At the end of 2007, the International Union for the saving of Nature (IUCN) estimated that at that place were 17 480 of these animals left, causing them to be classified as near bratened. In the past 3 days, randomness Africa has suffered the tragic loss of 93 white rhinos. (Source A http//www.news24.com/ secondAfrica/News/Kruger- greenness-loses- more(prenominal)(prenominal)-rhinos-20100226 )These animals are commonly hunted for their horns, patronage the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) having declared any trade in rhino split for commercial reasons amerciable. thence hunters have resorted to run some(prenominal) white and black rhinos, often using high-tech weapons and helicopters to achieve their means. (Source E http//www.traffic.org/home/2009/7/9/poaching-crisis-as-rhino-horn-demand-booms-in-asia.html)In the sequel of professional poachers, the following takes place. First, the rhinos are diaphysis from the air using a low-noise weapon, for example a crossbow. The poachers then land and remove both horns sometimes the rhinoceros is still alive but severely wounded when this happens. Before rangers have realised whats happened, the poachers are in the air again.A white rhino killed for its horns in the Kruger case Park.http//blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/white-rhino- poach-for-horn-picture.jpgLocationThe studyity of white rhino poaching incidents in s show uph-central Africa take place in the Kruger National Park (KNP), but it is unknown what the exact statistics are.A map of south-central Africa indicating the various biomes. The reserve is found roughly within the red lines.http//www.plantzafrica.com/vegetation/savanna.htmThe blue Half of the reserv e is home to the savannah biome, characterised by longer grasses and woody plants . This makes KNP the perfect habitat for the white rhino, a grazer. The park is world-renowned and a proud randomness African tourist attraction, however this non enough to create sensation about the importance of white rhino conservation.A map of the Kruger National Park and its national bordershttp//www.go2africa.com/south-africa/kruger-national-park/maps/134.jpgThis part of the reserve also shares an Eastern Border with Mozambique, home to nearly either of the poachers arrested in 2009. (Source C http//www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-e-3-anti-poaching- open-results-25073.html)The bigger pictureIn 2007 13 Rhinos were poached in South Africa. In 2009 93 Rhinos were poached in South Africa. The problem, as stated by Source B, is that the killing spree is no longer opportunistic poaching by individuals but carried out by super sophisticated criminal gangs.(http//www.rhinoconservation.org/2009/ 10/14/commercial-rhino-poaching-thrives-in-south-africa-thanks-to-asian-demand-for-rhino-horn/)This source goes on to lay the blame straightforwardly on the shoulders of Asian countries commercial rhino poaching has give out a well-oiled machine and the new Asian wealth is bankrolling the slaughter. However, this does non investigate the poachers themselves.By July 2009 the South African National position (SAN Parks) reported that 32 white rhinos had been poached in the Kruger Park. Of these, 28 had been killed along the Mozambican border. Every single one of the 14 suspects arrested are Mozambican citizens. (Source C http//www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-e-3-anti-poaching-yield-results-25073.html)Source D goes on to say that law enforcement officials in Mozambique are not doing enough to stop the poaching. Not a single poacher arrested in Mozambique for killing a rhino has gone through the full process prescribed by conservation law. The article reports that not a single poacher arrested by Kruger Park officials was engrossed for longer than two workweeks. In one incident, poachers responsible for trade in R1,5 million were fined a mere R1250 and released. In other case, a poacher with a freedom-fighting history and close ties with politicians and police was released from prison without a fine, one week after world arrested in KNP. (http//hughpaxton.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/more-on-rhino-poaching-the-mozambique-connection/)From 1977 to 1992 Mozambique fell into a civil war that crippled its economy and left its people impoverished.Graph 1 Mozambiques annual GDP in relation to that of Southern Africa, and Africa as a whole.http//www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/uploads/tx_llaeocountries/Mozambique1.jpgWith a Gross Domestic Product of just over $1000 Purchasing Power Parity (USD PPP), it comes as no surprise that Mozambicans would resort to poaching, or that the legal system is too weak to prosecute them. However, it is possible that many would pre fer the illegal trade in rhino horn to honest work.As part of the anti-poaching initiative in Kenya, this pile of ivory and rhino horn was burnt to create public awarenesshttp//www.safariweb.com/safarimate/trial2/ivory.jpgAt November 25, 2009, the black market value of rhino horn was officially greater than that of gold, as stated in Source G (http//news.mongabay.com/2009/1126-hance_rhino_gold.html) .Table 1 Approximate Black Market values of rhino horn and gold per kilogram at November 2009CommodityPrice ($) per kilogram (kg)Gold60 000Rhino horn40 600However, it is important to note that fault can also be found with South Africans.2008 Minister of Environmental Affairs, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, announced that individuals with validated hunting permits were abusing their permits to trade illegally in rhino horn. As stated in Source FDuring investigations into rhino horn deals, enforcement officials had found that prospective hunters had apply for permits to hunt rhino in various provinces, and these had subsequently been issued. But the hunts had never taken place and the relevant authorities had never been informed. (http//www.iol.co.za/index.php? class_id=1HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799click_id=139HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799)The article goes on to bring up Democratic Alliance (DA) environmental spokesperson Gareth Morgan in saying that the South African Government is still not taking sustainable development seriously. (http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id =vn20080609114119227C941799click_id=139HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799HYPERLINK http//www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=139art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799art_id=vn20080609114119227C941799)Furthermore, in conducting this report I have come to realise that most South Africans view poaching as something of the past or something limited to North Africa and Asia. Thus the plight of the white rhino has largely fallen on deaf ears. The ignorance of the people who stand to lose the most has proven a greater threat to white and black rhinos than poachers.Main concernsEthicalSouthern white rhinos are killed with immense cruelty. Before colonisation it was the traditional practice amongst most African tribes to respectfulness wild life, this was emphasised by using every part of an animal that was hunted. Today, the world only takes a stand when cute wild animals or national animals are ab purposed.Furthermore, the flippa ncy with which poachers break the law suggests complete disregard for animal life. As stated by Source D many suspects are replicate offenders. (http//hughpaxton.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/more-on-rhino-poaching-the-mozambique-connection/)EconomicThe extreme black market value of rhino horn proves that this is a scarce commodity. However, this only seems to increase demand and frequency of poaching.In addition, SAN Parks pledged R5,2 million to anti-poaching strategies within KNP (Source C http//www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-e-3-anti-poaching-yield-results-25073.html). As the situation escalates, greater donations will be required which could prove to be a set back while the world recovers from the economic recession.LegalThe failure of Mozambican authorities to prosecute poachers has instilled doubt in the poverty-stricken country. Relations between South Africa and this neighbour have become clouded with suspicion as KNP patch rangers suspect severe corruption within the M ozambican legal system. (Source D http//hughpaxton.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/more-on-rhino-poaching-the-mozambique-connection/)EnvironmentalA northern species of white rhino is feared extinct. Black rhinos are near extinct. How long before there are no more of these painful creatures are left in the world?Who plays the largest roles?The rangers of the Kruger National Park, the World Wildlife Foundation International (WWF), the IUCN, TRAFFIC (affiliated wildlife trade monitoring network of the IUCN), CITES, the Saving Rhinos initiative, the Rhino Conservation initiative, and the South African Police Services (SAPS) have thus far played the greatest role in physically protecting the southern white rhino and creating awareness regarding the poaching crisis.(Source E http//www.traffic.org/home/2009/7/9/poaching-crisis-as-rhino-horn-demand-booms-in-asia.html)However, this will not be enough without the co-operation and embody of the South African public. Furthermore, more efforts such a s this one by the Saving Rhinos initiative should be made in AsiaAn advertisement by the Saving Rhinos initiative aimed at educating the public.http//www.savingrhinos.org/images/Rhino-species-sizes.jpgCo-operation and support is also needed from animal rights organisations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the Governments of Mozambique, Vietnam, The Peoples Republic of China and Thailand in order to destroy the market for rhino horn.Solutions soon in placeAccording to Source A, current Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has overseen the implementation of the following sustainable steps to prevent poaching in KNPThe addition of 58 rangers in the park, bringing the total enumerate to 35019 Motorbikes have been purchased for the rangers for use in patrolsThe purchase of high-tech night vision equipment for use by SAN Parks Air ServiceThe addition of an ultra-light aircraft for use in patrolsThe South African National Defence crowd (SANDF) has taken over from the South African Police Service (SAPS) in patrolling the Mozambique/ KNP border.(http//www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Kruger-Park-loses-more-rhinos-20100226 )Solutions that should be in consideredAt this stage Mozambican poachers arrested on their national soil are not efficiently prosecuted, thus poachers should be arrested and prosecuted in South Africa as far as possible.Brian Jones of Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre has say from experience that South Africans living or so KNP feel very protective over their wildlife. Furthermore, the locals are very passionate about bringing an end to poaching. By employing these locals as rangers and Border Patrol Officials, SAN Parks will not only be reducing unemployment statistics (even if only minimally) but getting the public involved where they often turn a blind eye. imploring the Governments of Asian countries to educate their people about the effect of rhino poaching and the truth behind the medicinal val ues of rhino horn.AddendumSOURCE AKruger Park loses more rhinos2010-02-26 2209Cape Town Eight more white rhinos have been killed by poachers in the Kruger National Park, despite the deployment of high-tech equipment and free rangers at so-called hot spots within the flagship reserve.In a written resolve to a parliamentary question, Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said eight white rhinos, two impalas and a zebra were poached in January this year, compared to seven white rhinos, two impalas and one kudu during the same month the year before.Her reply contains details of sustainable steps taken to curb poaching in the park that includes the deployment of 58 new field rangers taking the total number of rangers to 350 to poaching hot spots the purchase of 19 motorbikes to help with patrols the acquisition of new night-vision equipment for use by crew of the SANParks Air Service units two helicopters and the purchase of other ultra-light aircraft, bringing the total t o two, for use in anti-poaching operations. The air service unit also has three fixed-wing aircraft.Dramatic riseSonjica said the SA National Defence Force would take over from the SA Police Service in patrolling the parks international border with Mozambique during the later part of this year.Over the past two years, the number of rhinos poached in the Kruger, and in other reserves around the country, has risen dramatically.On January 22, SANParks chief executive officer David Mabunda said in a statement that at least 14 rhinos had been poached since the start of the year, seven in the Kruger and seven in the North West.This brought the total number of rhinos killed in the past three years to 93. There had been 48 arrests made over this period.Mabunda said at the time that plans to bring the military to patrol the Krugers border with Mozambique were at an advanced stage. SAPASOURCE B14 Oct 09 commercialised Rhino Poaching Thrives in South Africa, Thanks to Asian Demand for Rhino Ho rnWell-funded poaching syndicates are cashing in on Asias demand for rhino horn and jeopardizing decades of rhino conservation efforts in South Africa.The reason behind the current 15-year high in rhino poaching is no longer a mystery or baffling to experts It is fueled by the insatiable demands of a newly affluent and increasing population in Asia.Commercial rhino poaching has become a well-oiled machine and the new Asian wealth is bankrolling the slaughter.Todays rhino poachersHeavily funded, politically connected, and well-armed, todays rhino poachers use helicopters to fly into Africas game reserves to kill rhino with the latest high-powered weapons.In a recent Guardian article, chief executive of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Yolan Friedmann, said the average number of rhino killed has skyrocketed from 10 to 100 yearly.There has been a rampant increase in South Africa. Poaching physical bodys for this year have already surpassed the whole of last year. Its probably the wo rst its been for 15 years. Theres a lot more money exhalation into poaching and its becoming more hi-tech. Its no longer just a man with a bow and arrow wading through the bush. These guys are using helicopters and AK-47 rifles.Despite the once victoryful Save the Rhino project, rhinos are infra siege. South Africa is facing a crisis. Weve done extremely well in rhino conservation, but something has changed in the past 18 months, theres an insatiable appetite for rhino horn in the far east.Cathy Dean, director of Save the Rhino International, says in the article that the surge in poaching is a threat to years of hard-earned success in rhino conservation.The gains of the last decade are in real jeopardy. The underlying concern is that this upsurge in rhino poaching a major issue in Zimbabwe as well as South Africa is no longer opportunistic poaching by individuals but carried out by highly sophisticated criminal gangs.So far this year, 84 rhino have been killed in South Africa. In 2007, the number was 13.Unfortunately, commercial rhino poaching has become widespread Zimbabwes rhino population is also suffering at the hands of a politically connected poaching cartel that fulfills orders from Chinese nationals for rhino horn.And illegal killing isnt the only way rhino horn enters Asias flourishing threaten species marketplace.http//www.rhinoconservation.org/2009/10/14/commercial-rhino-poaching-thrives-in-south-africa-thanks-to-asian-demand-for-rhino-horn/SOURCE CEscalated anti poaching actions starting to yield resultsSouth African National Parks (SANParks) announced earlier this months that more poachers have been apprehended in recent weeks due to the increased efforts to stamp galvanic pile on poaching of rhino and other high value wildlife in the Kruger National Park. In July 2009 SANParks announced that the organisation had lost 26 white rhino and one black rhino to poaching and an added 10.3kg of rhino horn through a violent robbery in the Addo Elep hant National Park.It is with sadness that we announce that since our promulgation at the end of July we have lost a seven white rhino to poachers. However, the greatest news to come out of these despicable activities is that SANParks has since apprehended another six suspected rhino poachers and the recovery of five illegal firearms, said Dr David Mabunda, the chief executive of SANParks.The new arrests bring the number of arrested suspects to 14, with 11 recovered illegal firearms. Dr Mabunda said that what is alarming about this information is that of the 33 rhinos (including 1 black rhino) poached this year 28 of them were illegally killed along the eastern boundary with Mozambique and all the 14 suspects arrested thus far were of Mozambican origin.We intend to increase our efforts even more in ensuring that this scourge is routed out. Discussions have been started with Mozambican authorities to solicit their assistance in apprehending suspects and preventing illegal activitie s from proliferating on their side of the fence, said Dr Mabunda.SANParks has pledged a sum of R5.2 million from its Park Development Fund which is aimed at improving anti-poaching interventions in the KNP. The funds are being used for increasing the number of field rangers by 57 people as well as buying more vehicles and a state of the Crime Information Management System.SOURCE DRhino carnage continuesYOLANDI GROENEWALD Jan 15 2009 0500The illegal slaughter of at least 12 rhinos over the festive season brings the number of the animals poached in South Africa in the past year close to 100. The rising death toll comes amid allegations that Mozambican authorities are not doing enough to crack down on known suspects and, in some cases, might be abetting the poachers.Another two rhino deaths in Mpumalanga have been reported but not confirmed some game reserves are reluctant to comment on such killings. If the figure is correct it would put the unofficial death toll of rhinos poached i n South Africa since January last year at 96. The dead animals include critically endangered black rhinos.An Mpumalanga ranger who has tracked poaching across South Africas border into Mozambique said the countrys law enforcement failures were contributing to the problem.Not a single poacher arrested in Mozambique for killing a rhino has gone through the full process prescribed by the conservation law, the investigator said. Unfortunately, the Mozambican legislation cannot deal with current poaching methods and this is being exploited by the poaching lords.He said many suspects are repeat offenders who simply return to poaching. And even if they point out their handlers the handlers can simply pay a fine if they are ever arrested.No poachers arrested in Mozambique for offences in the Kruger park and Mozambiques Sabie Game Park have been jailed for longer than two weeks. This includes offenders who have been apprehended twice for similar offences, the investigator said.A report he h as drawn up reveals that poachers killed at least 43 rhinos between January 2004 and July 2008 in the Kruger park and around its border. Though the Kruger park would not provide official figures, the Mail Guardian understands that more than 40 rhinos were ginger nut there between January and the end of November last year.In many cases Mozambicans, allegedly employed by Vietnamese syndicates operating out of South Africa, are the prime suspects. The syndicates are said to provide their local recruits with high-calibre weapons. Crossbows are also used because they are silent.The investigator said that a community leader from Mozambiques Limpopo National Park had shot rhinos in the Kruger National Park on three different occasion. Kruger law enforcers pursued him into Mozambique, where he was arrested each time, but on all three occasions the cases were either not finalised or no sentence was given.When the poacher tried his luck a fourth time he was apprehended on South African soil . The investigator said that South Africas laws should ensure that he is taken out of the poaching system.In another case in 2007 five rhinos were shot on the border of the Kruger park, in Mozambique. A task team comprising the Mozambican border police and staff from Kruger and Sabie Game Park arrested two suspects along with high-calibre weapons, the introduce equipment and binoculars. The investigator said the suspects and the evidence were handed over to the police commander in Moamba, Mozambique.But the investigator also sent letters about the case to the national government in capital of Mozambique because he felt Moamba police had bungled previous cases. In addition, he met with police leaders in Maputo and raised the lack of detective competency in Moamba. Despite his efforts, he said, the two suspects were simply fined R1 250 and released.The fine should have been at least R1,5-million if it was neatly investigated and proper channels followed, he said. The horns were wort h at least R1,5-million.The investigator said he suspected that some of the police in Moamba were corrupt and actually aided the poachers. In one case the name of the poachers handler was obtained and the man was arrested. But the suspect has a freedom-fighting history and close ties with politicians and the police, the investigator said. Within one week he was released and South African investigators believe he did not even pay a fine.The Mozambican police had not responded to emailed questions by the time of going to print. Carlos Come, a director in the Mozambican police, merely commented that joint commissions between South Africa and Mozambique had been put in place to help Mozambique with its challenges.

Character of Hester in Lawrences The Rocking Horse Winner Essays

Character of Hester in Lawrences The RockingHorse Winner Hester is one of the main characters in D.H. Lawrences The Rocking-Horse Winner. The story describes a young boy, Paul, who tries to win his mothers love by seeking the percentage (Kaplan 1971), which she believes she does not possess. Lawrence condemns the modern notion that pleasure and luck come from the outside, rather than from within that happiness must take the form of money and goods rather than the erotic, parental, and filial love (Kaplan 1972). The story is an ironic and worldly tragedy (2). Many characteristics of Hester are revealed as she begins to realize that her luck, which she believes she does not have, starts to come back all because of her sons special talent he has with a rocking horse. To Hester, the special things that her son gives her are just not enough. Her avariciousness, selfishness, and dominance over others emphasize her overpowering character. Throughout the story, the mothers greed becomes much and more overpowering. The son, Paul, is very determined to find luck for his mother, but the mothers greediness keeps nagging on Paul. Hester, the mother, tells her son that she is not lucky, and it is better to have luck than money because luck brings money (Kaplan 1971). To Hester, money is the most important thing in the world for her. Even though Hester knows she does not need the money, there is something in the house that entices her to think there must be more money, there must be more money (852). This incantation reveals the mothers greed that emphasizes her character. This house becomes haunted (852) by the mothers unspoken thoughts. Her thoughts are mostly about whether she really loved her son unconditionall... .... Paul talks to his uncle and tells him that he does not want his mother to know that her demands are insatiable.All of these characteristics help the reader to develop a better understanding of Hesters character. The story is a brilliant study in the sustained use of symbolism to suggest with bold economy the death-dealing consequences of the substitution of money for love (Kaplan 1973). Hesters greed, selfishness, and dominance over others has brought an understanding of her rudeness and self-pity towards others including her son.BibliographyKaplan, Carola M. The Rocking-Horse Winner. Masterplots II Short Story Series. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena Salem Press, 1986. 1971-1973.Kalasky, Drew, ed. Short Story Criticism. New York Gale, 1995. 253-259.Lawrence, D.H. Discovering Authors. Vers. 2.0. CD-ROM. Detroit Gale, 1996.

Underdeveloped Countries and the War on Drugs Essay -- Drugs Third Wor

Underdeveloped Countries and the War on Drugs With the presidential election peering slightly the corner, it is time to bring back an age-old topic which has been troubling United States citizens for decades, the War on Drugs. Politicians have long quarreled over what sort of action should be taken to combat the worlds drug problems, and it is time that this issue surfaces again. Despite increased efforts from every government faction imaginable, the drug problem subsists, if non worsens. The market for cops and criminals in the drug war fields has not made any noticeable progress within the last 20 years (Kapczynski). by chance with the turn of the tide and hopefully a change of administration, the United States can develop a method that will enable them to make progress in this war, if it is not too late. Whoever assumes the presidential office for this next term will have to directly confront the sterility of the United States anti-drug programs. The United States needs to determine the War on Drugs and devote the annual twenty billion dollars to the countries that are being plagued with the drug problems so that they can work towards economic stability, which will potentially solve the drug traffic problems. To argue this, first it must be understood that the War on Drugs has failed and that the even the legalization of drugs is not going to swear out enough. Then it must be presented that the United States current efforts in Third-World countries are doing more(prenominal) harm than good and that we can fix this problem first by aiding the Third-World countries and not by destroying their economic structure.This issue is of greater importance now than ever before because we are losing the War. Despite the decrease in hectares from... ...ore reason that we should not continue this futile effort to stop the drug trafficking. We are doing more harm than good I say its time to do more good.Works CitedAbramsky, Sasha. The Drug War Goes Up In Smoke . state of matter Vol. 277 25-29.Drug Policy Project Director Calls War on Drugs a Failure. FinanceCustomwire, 8 April 2004.Isacson, Adam. Optimism, Pessimism, and Terrorism The United States and Colombia in 2003. Brown Journal of World Affairs Vol. 10 245-256.Kapczynski, Amy. Waging War With Drugs. Index on Censorship Jan 200476-81.Reviving the War on Drugs. New Straits Times 25 Jan. 2004.Whitford, Andrew B., Yates, Jeff. Policy Signals and Executive GovernancePresidential Rhetoric in the War on Drugs. Journal of Politics Nov 2003995-1013.Wolfe, Daniel. Condemned to Death. Nation 26 April 2004 14-21.