Marketing Concept and Marketing Segmentation in Practice Essay

INTRODUCTION Haagen-Dazs were the pioneers in the market for creating distinctive and indulgent taste experiences by marketing to an untapped segment – the adult ice cream lovers. The Haagen-Dazs brand quickly developed a loyal following. Its early success was created by word of mouth and praise. Without the benefit of advertising the story of an incredibly rich and creamy confection spread rapidly. At first, it was only available at gourmet shops but soon distribution expanded In 1983 Haagen-Dazs was sold to The Pillsbury Company , which remained committed to the tradition of superior quality and innovation on which Haagen-Dazs was founded. Since then, it has become a global phenomenon. Ice Cream lovers the world over now recognize the unique Haagen-Dazs logo as synonymous with the ultimate super-premium ice cream. However, for the company to reach where it is today, a sincere marketing effort was undertaken from its early days to understand customers and their needs. Since the beginning, Haagen-Dazs has kept a keen focus on developing an internal & external marketing orientation. They obtained their current competitive strengths to establish premium pricing from: *Developing the brand with an attached history of perfection and luxury *Using the finest ingredients to deliver product excellence *Invested in consumer research to understand tastes and preferences of customers *Used selective distribution and did not mass market until the minimum critical mass of opinion leaders were established *Did not change their objectives in between *Used creativity and innovativeness to support brand identity This report will discuss in detail the evidence that Haagen-Dazs does, indeed, practise the marketing concept of keeping customers needs as a priority for the rest of the business to follow. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Year by year, new products and their competing items have entered into the field and have successfully created a slot for themselves. This phenomenon is greatly supported by the open down policy of the local government to the people coming from other lands for settlement and tourism. Ice creams are a product that has not seen their prime in the U.A.E. Its potential is tapped in a meagre form. Not that the commodity is in short supply. There is ample ice-cream available even at the moment. But, there is great scope of habitualizing the inhabitants of this place to consume more of the product, by exploiting the U.A.E. climate to its best potential. The United Arab Emirates has an ice cream market of Dh140 million, yet it has one of the lowest consumption (6.00 per capita/ pints) of ice-cream when compared to Australia which consumes 36.87 per capita / pints and USA 30.04 pints . In spite of these low figures, Haagen-Dazs began its Middle East venture by opening its outlet in Al Diyafa Street in Satwa and from then on rapidly opened up cafes in Deira City Centre, Rigga Street, Palm Strip Shopping Mall and Thunderbowl. However, prior to their entry into this market, a proper industry analysis was undertaken, similar to the one described below using the Porter’s Industry Analysis. Rivalry in the Industry – Medium Rivalry is strong due to a number of factors. Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs dominate the global super-premium ice cream market. Each of these competitors has approximately 42% of the market, with the remaining 15% being divided up between a number of smaller firms that compete on either a local or national basis . However, within the U.A.E., Haagen-Dazs made its entry while Ben & Jerry’s was still concentrating on Europe. Globally, Haagen-Dazs was competing for a larger slice of what was a shrinking pie. The ice-cream sector has been stagnating in the recent years. In addition to this, new government labelling regulations, a rise in consumer price sensitivity, and other factors have led to further slow growth. In the U.A.E. however, the major competitor at the time was the highest priced ice-cream at that stage, namely Baskin Robbins. Baskin Robbins ice-cream parlours are still not considered direct competitors because they do not portray the image and class associated with a Haagen-Dazs cafà ©. Further, industry lead times for copying a new flavour are lowering, making it harder to maintain a competitive advantage in this area. Haagen-Dazs has been facing intense competition from a relatively similar priced entrant ‘London Dairy’ which has positioned itself as a premium ice-cream but still made itself accessible at every petrol station and convenience store in town. Haagen-Dazs quite readily imitated them and are now available in select petrol pumps and supermarkets. Threat of new entrants – Weak Though there are a significant number of competitors in the market, the largest firms still have such large market shares that they are somewhat â€Å"insulated† against smaller competition. Barriers to entry into this market are relatively low, especially since a firm that already competes in the premium or standard ice cream market could easily convert to the super-premium market (though not with guaranteed success). There is not a significant threat for a new firm to enter the market and establish itself as a rival to the main competitors though brands like Unikai, Kwality and London Dairy have been introducing ice creams to attract this market. Substitute Products – Weak This is not a significant force, even though there are a number of substitute products for this market. Because this is the super-premium ice cream and yogurt market, and the products have prices that reflect this super-premium  standard, the buyer who is interested in this type of product is probably going to be an ice cream lover that is willing to pay the extra price to receive the higher level of quality . One of the driving forces in this industry is the ability to produce a range of flavours, and to keep introducing new ones. Many sales could be attributed to the buyer attempting to satisfy a craving for some unconventional flavour of ice cream. Such a buyer would probably not be satisfied with a substitute product. Though there is sure to be some competition from products such as high quality cakes and cheesecakes, other frozen dessert products, and other snack products such as chips and dips, these products are not a significant factor to this super-premium ice cream market . Power of Suppliers – Weak This force is also weak since, in some cases, Haagen-Dazs is paying well above market prices in an effort to stay true to their mission of producing super-premium quality ice-cream and exotic flavours. Should the need arise, it would be quite easy for them to find a new supplier for any of its products. The advantage the Haagen-Dazs and Baskin Robbins have over the smaller producers are that since they purchase on a global scale, being such a large buyer, gives them more power in the supplier/buyer relationship. Power of Buyers – Strong This is obviously not a product that is necessary to the consumer. There is a declining level of the price elasticity of demand. This puts more of the power in the relationship into the hands of the consumer. Producers in this market must respect this and be sensitive to consumer attitudes concerning their products or face declining sales. Most of this revolves around flavours that they produce and for this reason, Haagen-Dazs is continuously innovating on newer and more exotic flavours to keep their customers continuously attracted to them. FOCUS ON CUSTOMER NEEDS Haagen-Dazs continuously researches its market because this is exactly what got them into the business in the first place. Effective marketing is based on three key elements, the marketing philosophy, market segmentation and consumer behaviour. Haagen-Dazs has been noted to practise the consumer-driven philosophy whereby they rely on research to discover consumer preferences, desires and needs before production actually begins. This philosophy stresses the need for marketing research to be conducted in order to better understand where or who a market is and to develop a strategy targeted toward that group . The core business they are in is production of ice-cream. This industry primarily focuses on consumer tastes and preferences and only research can help identify these. However, it is not enough that research is conducted only prior to production of a particular flavour. They need to constantly research the movement of this flavour in the market and get feedback from customers about this. Market research has given Haagen-Dazs many advantages, such as, *Unique environmental insight, which they used to spot opportunities others overlooked – Reuben Mattus found a segment in the market he believed to be un-served, namely, the adult ice-cream lover segment. While other companies focussed on enticing kids with ice cream, Mattus decided to tap the older, mature segment that had the disposable income to ‘indulge’ themselves. *Are proactive to competitor moves by following them closely – Haagen-Dazs quite readily met all of competitors’ Ben & Jerry’s moves by continuously introducing new flavours focussing on their niche while others lost focus and were mass marketing heir ice creams. This helps makes them fiercely competitive constantly striving to defend their turf. *Identify customer wants thus focussing energies on giving them exactly what they want – research helped them realise that Japanese love tea and hence introduced the Green Tea flavour which was an instant success in that market . They are not the only ones undertaking market research. The UK Super Premium  ice cream market had a retail value of  £56 million in the UK in February 2000. Ben & Jerry’s accounted for fully 83 per cent of the overall growth in the UK Super Premium market in 2000. Multiple grocers account for 70 per cent of all Super Premium ice cream sold in the UK, and in September 2000 Ben & Jerry’s secured parity with Haagen Dazs in terms of sales through this channel, with Ben & Jerry’s securing a 52 per cent share of the market as against 48 per cent for Haagen Dazs . In the U.A.E. though, despite being of reasonably higher price, the brand established itself quite comfortably as a ‘must try’ product among the elite and middle-class. This is exactly what Haagen-Dazs had hoped to achieve when it first came here. The management were counting on the expat population of the U.A.E. who were already familiar with the brand to spread word of mouth about its high quality, unique flavours and prestige associated. MARKET SEGMENTATION As simple as it looks, every little detail of the ice cream is meticulously planned for the final consumer to buy the product. Of the money that goes into paying for the ice cream, nearly 80% is returned into marketing costs for the company. The rest of the 20% represents the actual production costs. Consumers are an integral part of the industry and the market research helps identify the core market segments that Haagen-Dazs caters to. Market segmentation is the process of identifying a specific set of characteristics that differentiate one group of consumers from the rest. In respect to ice creams, although many people eat them, the market can quite easily be segmented on bases of taste and price. Some individuals prefer high-quality ice cream made with real sugar and cream because of its taste while others cannot tell the difference in quality and would buy primarily based on price and availability. Lower-priced competitors are into mass marketing while premium priced ice creams makers have followed a niche strategy to target that one single segment consisting of affluent upper-middle to upper class segment. Haagen-Dazs uses a few main segmentation bases for dividing their market,  namely, demographic, socio-cultural and psychographic. Under demographic segmentation, they focus on the income bracket of consumers. Their products are mainly aimed at the affluent with higher disposable income to spend on frivolous luxuries like super-premium ice cream. Although they do not segregate flavours by gender they do tend to highlight he romantic and sensuous image of ice-cream by featuring couples in all their international adverts. They tend to link their ice creams directly to sex in order to highlight that the indulgence and pleasure felt is similar in both cases and just as fulfilling for inner desires. This leverage gives it extreme importance among the adult population as they can understand this feeling and hence relate consumption of this product directly to this feeling. The socio-cultural segmentation looks at various cultures and nationalities and their preferences. Certain cultural groups tend to have similar needs especially when it comes to food, confectionery and drinks. For this, Haagen-Dazs has taken into account various national tastes and preferences in their innovative product line by introducing flavours like Cheesecake ice cream for the UK, Green Tea ice cream for Japan, Belgian chocolate for those in East Europe, and so on . Finally, probably the most important type of segmentation bases in this case is the psychographic segmentation. To be attracted to eating super-premium ice cream, people need to be part of a particular lifestyle segment. They should technically be among those that enjoy the luxury and indulgence associated with the brand. Haagen-Dazs has been portrayed to be a reflection of pleasure and for this reason, the brand creates an ambience behind its cafes too by ensuring that furniture is cozy and in deep shades of browns, burgundy and red to add a feeling of cocooning and intimacy . Using these segmentation means, Haagen-Dazs has narrowed down its business to cater to specifically two main target markets, namely, *Affluent, pleasure seeking adults who are generally brand conscious, innovators & trend followers *Health conscious, young adults who are interested in desserts but prefer natural ingredients and low fat substitutes By identifying only two target segments and focussing on a small but profitable segment of the market, Haagen-Dazs is practising a niche market strategy. They have been fairly successful in identifying and catering to this segment and this can be determined by their growth from gourmet stores in New York City to its global presence now in over 54 countries. Identification which segments are profitable to market to is not enough. Companies need to design a marketing mix to cater to each of these segments. The next section discusses Haagen-Dazs current marketing mix for the mentioned segments. MARKETING MIX INDULGENT & AFFLUENT ADULTSHEALTH CONSCIOUS ADULTS PRODUCT – All products made with exotic ingredients to add to the luxury and fine taste by sourcing nuts from Hawaii, vanilla from Madagascar, and chocolate from Belgium, etc. – Ice cream flavours ranging from Bailey’s Irish Cream and Blueberry Cheesecake to Cherry Vanilla and Chocolate Caramel, etc. Velvety Gelato in flavours from Cappuccino to Raspberry. Ice cream, sorbet, gelato bars for the adult palate in all flavours of the tubs – Frozen yoghurts where the fat content is derived directly from fresh cream and fresh egg-yolk. Sorbets are sweetened only with ‘pectin’ which is derived from fruit sugar thus ensuring no extra artificial sweeteners – All low-fat bars & tubs are marked with accurate calorie counts and fat content on the packaging to ensure that this segment knows exactly what it’s eating PRICE – premium priced at AED 7-10 a scoop while regular ice-creams are only priced at a maximum of AED 5 per scoop – no price discounts or special offers to keep in line with the luxury and prestige associated with the brand – for the health conscious, Haagen-Dazs have not reduced price to try and attract them simply because this segment already exists and they are willing to pay the same amount and purchase the product PROMOTION – although initially advertising was only through word of mouth, today Haagen-Dazs uses its print adverts to entice customers worldwide. Due to regulations in the Middle East region, they have refrained from linking their product attributes to sex, intimacy, alcohol, etc. and have focussed on highlighting the pleasure of eating ice cream made from the finest ingredients in the world – advertising for this segment has focussed on the fact that you can still maintain a great body and still treat yourself to an occasional ice-cream and not add on pounds for it – in store displays of the actual number of calories in each scoop and endorsements from fitness conscious stars are evidence enough of how Haagen-Dazs is continuously trying to attract people from this segment. PLACE – cafes with comfortable seating for couples, bar stools, dim lighting, rich colours all help to create an ambience of intimacy & love – all cafes are located on prime streets or malls where young adults tend to hang out or socialise thus enabling maximum accessibility for the elite – focus for this segment has moved away from actual cafes where they may be tempted by the non-low fat products and towards supermarkets, petrol pumps and other convenient areas where they can pick a scoop while their on go. The current marketing mix does quite effectively meet the needs of the target segment and my only recommendation to Haagen-Dazs would be to start targeting emerging segments such as the affluent teenage segment that would have more time to spend in cafes an who would be more easily convinced to experiment with flavours. Haagen-Dazs major success factor was the way it positioned itself in the minds of the consumer. It took a strategic marketing outlook to achieve this positioning. All said and done, Haagen-Dazs core business is still in the production of ice cream. However, differentiation using the finest products and developing of a premium ice cream brand was the positioning they portrayed. The next section will look into how they achieved this. POSITIONING Superior flavour and texture are principal to Haagen-Dazs and their definition of quality extends much further. From the ingredients they choose to the recipes they develop, from the packaging materials they select to the care with which they deliver the ice creams, from the ambience of each Haagen-Dazs cafà © to the attention with which they serve, the Haagen-Dazs brand quite obviously signifies its commitment to perfection. However, it is not enough that they believe they have done this. At the end of the day, the customers would base their decision on the tangible aspects of the brand such as the taste of the products, the quality of service offered at the cafes and so on. Product-wise, Haagen-Dazs ensures to maintain the high quality and luxurious taste associated with the brand by using best-selected ingredients from  around the world and ensuring that fresh cream is used for a rich creamy flavour, fresh skimmed milk for body and texture and fresh egg yolk for delicate flavour As a matter of differentiation, they advertise that their ice cream is ALL ICE CREAM by ensuring that the ice cream is perfectly rich because it contains no excess air. Further, unlike mass marketed brands, no artificial flavourings or colours are used. Haagen-Dazs prefers to find better natural alternatives and make sure that their customers know about this. Although most companies limit their product quality testing only within their manufacturing process, Haagen-Dazs takes it a step further to ensure that quality tests take place at every stage of production by visiting and testing ingredients suppliers, checking manufacturing processes and equipment daily, tasting ice cream in-store on a regular basis for temperature and taste. From this we can see how Haagen-Dazs positioning is based primarily on product & image differentiation. For this to be understood by customers, Haagen-Dazs has tried to convey this through every available communication vehicle such as the deep maroon & gold logo, to the Scandinavian name and lettering, and the seductive adverts mentioning the various exotic flavours. The only possible aspect that they need to modify with regards to their positioning would be to start co-branding the product in the U.A.E. with luxury events, shows, etc. Although currently premium ice creams like Godiva and Haagen-Dazs are served at all the major five-star hotels in town, they have not really ventured into sponsoring or conducting events. Locally held international-level fashion shows, horse races and golf tournaments are splendid opportunities to link the brand with the ‘best of the best’. Being primarily based on an actual product and its augmented offerings, Haagen-Dazs has not been very successful in differentiating its products from its services. The next section will look at this in further detail. SERVICE VS. PRODUCT ASPECTS Haagen-Dazs product aspects have already been discussed and this section will now concentrate on the services that they offer that acts as evidence of their marketing orientation. Haagen-Dazs has a global website that offers customer information on all the newest flavours, special recipes, current promotions, events, links to other Haagen-Dazs international websites and even access to their loyalty programme called REWARDS . This is a free membership to all their loyal customers who like to enjoy the uncompromising quality and indulgent taste of their products. This gives customers VIP access to all Haagen-Dazs sponsored events, fashion and art shows, early announcement of all new products, trial coupons and free gift vouchers. An excellent means to keep their customers coming back to them time and time again. The website also gives investors information on how to open a franchise outlet and company highlights which gives a better understanding of the company’s early beginnings. The primary mode of service at Haagen-Dazs was through their numerous high-street cafes. The website is a feature that was established of late but to actually receive the welcoming, customer-friendly service, one must visit a cafà ©. All Haagen-Dazs cafes are staffed with well-trained staff whose primary concern is to keep their customers feel relaxed in the cozy ambience of the outlet. The staff are always impeccably dressed in fine uniforms and are sure to be there at every customer’s beck and call whether asked for or not. The feeling is almost as if being served in a five star hotel. Even within the various cafes, club memberships are offered for all regular customers . These customers get free privileges like attending flavour launches, sample testing and focus group meetings. All these features help Haagen-Dazs continuously cater to its niche affluent segment who are willing to pay that extra premium for this high grade of service. Extra services offered at the cafes are the free ‘love’ postcards and mugs that are given as giveaways to promote the feeling of love, intimacy, sensuousness and passion that the brand is directly linked to. CONCLUSION Haagen-Dazs’ main challenges will be faced from the growing media effect on consumer preferences and tastes. New segments are emerging constantly and they need to continuously innovate and broaden their target market to incorporate these. In the 1980s, the premium brands were faced with intense competition from consumers changing preferences to low-fat, fat free and light ice-creams . Now, the media is actually convincing people that they deserve to indulge and this has resulted in many ice cream marketers to come up with products that are both indulgent, yet not high in calories. Currently, Haagen-Dazs just has frozen yoghurts and sorbets to cater to this segment, but they need to come up with newer recipes and ideas for getting this segment to eat more of their ice-cream. Haagen-Dazs need to realize that the world is moving to a general economic trend of higher earnings, more disposable income and leisure time and they need to understand that its not just the affluent that are eating their ice-creams but also those of the lower and upper middle-income segments. They have focussed on capturing the innovators in the market but need to start developing their marketing strategies to include the early and late majorities into this segment because they pose as a larger market. The brand has repositioned itself from being exclusive to being accessible yet high-class and quality. This needs to be further capitalised on by convincing the market move it from being something to be eaten at the cafà © to something in all family fridges to indulge in when important guests come for dinner. Their clear marketing orientation has given them an established brand. They managed to educate their customers on how they should indulge themselves occasionally even if it means buying a relatively more expensive ice-cream. Now they need to change focus to monitor international tastes and trends to better predict changing customer tastes and preferences. BIBLIOGRAPHY BOOKS Lancaster, G., and Massingham, L., 1993, Essentials of Marketing, 2nd edition, McGraw Hill Book Company Dickinson, P., 1994, Marketing Management, The Dryden Press ARTICLES Business News Publishing Group, September 2001, Sales Flat, Prices up for Top 12 Ice Cream brands, Dairy Foods Liebman, B., May 2002, Frozen Desserts Fatten Up, Nutrition Action Healthletter Reyes, S., 7th February 2000, Haagen-Dazs Extends Dulce’s Reach, Brandweek Wallace, K., 4th July 2002, Consumer Reports has the Scoop on the Best Ice Cream, Consumers Union of U.S. WEBSITES www.haagendazs.com www.finadarticles.com/cf_0/m0BDW/6_41/59779529 www.finadarticles.com/cf_0/m0813/4_29/85915465 www.finadarticles.com/cf_0/m3301/9_102/79007885 www.hauserbeiten.de/faecher/hausarbeit/bwu/5732.html www.wral.com/money/1544486/detail.html

The Merchant Of Venice

Portia is also manipulative, using silent humor as to not embarrass herself, having discussed with Inertias her displeasure in the choice of suitors, she cleverly replies, ‘Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair as any comer I have looked on yet for my affection. ‘ (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 20) this demonstrates the use of her words as not to cause embarrassment, whilst being honest and telling Inertias he literally that he had no chance. The language Shakespeare uses for Portia and Shylock is different, both Portia and Shylock are very formal in the way they speak.Shylock is formal in a polite way in the judgment scene out of respect, ‘your grace' (Act 4, Scene 1 Line 35). As a sign of nobility Portia is formal in the way that she speaks, mostly she uses verse in more important scenes such as the judgment scene, which further emphasizes her portrayal as a formal male character. However, Portion's language is far more informal when she speaks to Inertias ‘Y ou know I say nothing to him, for he hath neither Latin, French nor Italian' this clearly accentuates their relationship as close; Portia speaks to Inertias in prose.Shylock on the other hand speaks predominantly in prose showing his lower status, particularly in his conversation with Tuba, ‘How now, Tuba, what news from Genoa? Hast thou found my daughter? ‘ (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 71), enhancing the informality of the conversation, and also the lower social status of Shylock as a Jew and Tuba as a Christian. In contrast to the majority of the play where Shylock speaks mostly in prose, in the judgment scene Shylock starts his opening speech with verse, ‘l have possessed your grace of what I purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. .. As losing suit against him.Are you answered? ‘ ( Act 4, Scene 1, Line 35-63) this indicates the formality of where they are and this particular occasion, towards the end of the judgment Shylock language changes to prose making it less formal, when h e no longer has the upper hand, ‘ take this offer then. Pay the bond thrice and let the Christian go. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1 r Line 31 6) Portia however, maintains her style of language throughout the scene which reinforces her position and the formality of the situation they are in. In the beginning Of the scene, Shylock is very in control using lengthy paragraphs and verse.He is knowledgeable about the law, ‘If you deny me, fie upon your law: There is no force in the decrees of Venice. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 101 ) and adamant that he will succeed in the debt being paid, ‘The pound of flesh which I demand of him is dearly bought; ‘its mine and I will have it. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 99) However, Portia is also both very knowledgeable of the law and very cleverly using a literal interpretation of the law to undermine Shylock case ‘The bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are' a pound of flesh'. ‘(ACTA, Scene 1, Line 304) going on to say ‘One rope of Christian blood†¦Are by the laws of Venice confiscate. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 308) The difference between Portia and Shylock is that Portia maintains her control. Throughout this process Shylock responses become much shorter as his confidence diminishes. By literally interpreting the words Portia manipulates Shylock to a point were he becomes submissive, ‘l pray you give me leave to go from hence; I am not well. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 3, Line 97) Portia, even she though is portraying a man still has a higher stature than Shylock even as a woman. Shylock is refereed to as ‘the Jew an insult and a means of singling IM out as a lower class of person.By calling him ‘Jew' throughout the scene the Christians are putting him in his place. By Portion's reference to Christian blood being shed as being ‘By the laws of Venice confiscate' she is indicating that Christians are more special in the eyes of the law. However, Shylock shows a similar prejudice towards Christians as they do toward Jews, by addressing Antonio as the Christian, And let the Christian go. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 31 7) Shylock shows no mercy, at any point during this scene, even when he realizes he may not get everything he desires ‘Is that the law? Act 4, Scene 1, Line 312) he still continues to try to get the best deal he can ‘l take this offer then. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 31 6) Portia begins to contradict herself when she appeals to Shylock with her The quality of Mercy' speech (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 182) as throughout the scene she in fact shows no mercy, ‘Soft. The Jew shall have all justice; soft, no haste; He shall have nothing but the penalty. ‘ (ACTA, Scene 1, Line 31 8) Portia then manipulates the concept of mercy, by asking the criminal what mercy he desires towards Shylock, leaving him with nothing, not even his faith. The Merchant of Venice Parent-Child Relationship Between Jessica and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice After reading The Merchant of Venice, we should ask ourselves if Shylock, who many people perceive as tragedy stricken and victimized, is in fact so hard done by after all. When it comes to family matters, I believe that Shylock is the ultimate cause behind his awful relationship with Jessica. In this play, Shakespeare portrays an old fashioned child-parent relationship in which the child feels inferior to the parent.Shylock and Jessica lack trustworthiness, care, love, and consideration for one another. Their horrible relationship, which is a huge attribute to the play, is not due to conflicting personalities as commonly believed, but rather to the fact that Shylock is a terrible father. Over the course of the novel, Shylock and Jessica have numerous disagreements on certain issues, and Shylock is too stubborn to compromise. Firstly, when it comes to issues regarding religion, the two dispute because Jes sica is ashamed to be Jewish while Shylock takes pride in it.Jessica clearly shows how upset she is to be Jewish when she says, â€Å"Alack, what heinous sin it is in me to be asham’d to be my father’s child! But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners† (2. 3. 18). When Jessica is speaking to Launcelot, she essentially says that she would never act like she a Jew, which displays the lack of pride and hatred she has towards this â€Å"flaw† of hers. Secondly, Shylock persistently will not give Jessica any more freedom, and the ability to make her own decisions. Before the party that Shylock decides to attend, he says to Jessica: †¦ Hear you me, Jessica.Lock up my doors, and when you hear the drum and the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife, clamber not you up to the casements then, nor thrust your head into the public street, to gaze on Christian fools with varnished faces. But stop my house’s ears—I mean my caseme nts—let not the sound of shallow foppery enter my sober house (2. 5. 27-35). Shylock gives strict instructions to Jessica to lock up the house, not reveal her face to anyone outside and not participate part in the Christian activities taking place, showing his lack of trust in her and demonstrating the restriction that Jessica is under.In many novels and other literature, not only are characters able to overcome conflicting personalities but in some cases, those are the characters that compliment each other best. Therefore, Shylock is simply stubborn preventing his relationship from progressing with Jessica. Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent that Shylock values materialistic things, putting them before Jessica. Firstly, when Jessica escapes home and her well being is questionable, Shylock’s concern lies in his possessions that she had taken with her. While speaking to Tubal, Shlock says, â€Å"I would my daughter were dead at my food and the jewels in her ear! Would she were hearsed at my foot and the ducats in her coffin! †¦ The thief gone with so much, and so much to find the thief—and no satisfaction, no revenge†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3. 1. 79-84). This shows that Shylock is a very materialistic person and considers his daughter to be of less importance than his goods. He even goes to the extent of wishing that she was dead in front of his feet so he could take all of his precious jewels back. Secondly, throughout Venice, Shylock is known as the ‘greedy money lender’ and we see him live up to his name on a few occasions.Shylock speaks to Jessica and says, â€Å"There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest, for I did dream of money bags tonight† (2. 5. 17-18). This tells us that he knows things aren’t going in his favor because he had dreamt of money bags previously and therefor he lives up to his name of being greedy and money-oriented. As a parent, Shylock should set his priorities straight and put Jessic a before material possessions and money. Shylock is uninvolved in Jessica’s life and doesn’t invest enough effort or consideration into her. Firstly, Jessica is in love with Lorenzo, a christian, but Shylock resists stubbornly.Jessica says, â€Å"O Lorenzo, if thou keep promise, I shall end this strife, become a Christian and thy loving wife† (2. 4. 18-20). Jessica is basically admitting that life with Shylock is unpleasant and if all goes according to plan, she can marry Lorenzo and leave. Shylock is restricting her from doing this. Secondly, Shylock spends too much time worrying about his own issues in the book such as interacting with Lancelot, moneylending to Bassanio as well as others, and seeing through his promise for a pound of Antonio’s flesh. In act three, we can see a segment of Shylock’s busy life when he says: I’ll have my bond; I will not hear thee speak;I’ll have my bond, and therefore speak no more I’ll not be m ade a soft and dull-eyed fool, To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield To Christian intercessors. Follow not! I’ll have no speaking, I will have my bond (3. 3. 12-17). This is one of many examples of Shylock seeking Antonio’s flesh intently. As a caregiver, Shylocks priorities need to be in his children but it is apparent that his time is consumed adversely. Shylock is a terrible father because he does not involve himself in Jessica’s life enough and make time for her.Wether it’s in being too busy to take interest in Jessica, persistently restricting her, cringing at the thought of his inheritance to go to her, or being extremely money orientated, Shylock is most definitely the source of the poor father-daughter relationship between himself and Jessica. At numerous points within the novel, we can see Shylock’s lack of care, acceptance, involvement, love and trust that he has in Jessica. These are all essential behavioral traits that a caregi ver and role model should have. In conclusion, Shylock is an inadequate father to Jessica and therefore, he is more of a villain than a victim. The Merchant Of Venice Portia is also manipulative, using silent humor as to not embarrass herself, having discussed with Inertias her displeasure in the choice of suitors, she cleverly replies, ‘Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair as any comer I have looked on yet for my affection. ‘ (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 20) this demonstrates the use of her words as not to cause embarrassment, whilst being honest and telling Inertias he literally that he had no chance. The language Shakespeare uses for Portia and Shylock is different, both Portia and Shylock are very formal in the way they speak.Shylock is formal in a polite way in the judgment scene out of respect, ‘your grace' (Act 4, Scene 1 Line 35). As a sign of nobility Portia is formal in the way that she speaks, mostly she uses verse in more important scenes such as the judgment scene, which further emphasizes her portrayal as a formal male character. However, Portion's language is far more informal when she speaks to Inertias ‘Y ou know I say nothing to him, for he hath neither Latin, French nor Italian' this clearly accentuates their relationship as close; Portia speaks to Inertias in prose.Shylock on the other hand speaks predominantly in prose showing his lower status, particularly in his conversation with Tuba, ‘How now, Tuba, what news from Genoa? Hast thou found my daughter? ‘ (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 71), enhancing the informality of the conversation, and also the lower social status of Shylock as a Jew and Tuba as a Christian. In contrast to the majority of the play where Shylock speaks mostly in prose, in the judgment scene Shylock starts his opening speech with verse, ‘l have possessed your grace of what I purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. .. As losing suit against him.Are you answered? ‘ ( Act 4, Scene 1, Line 35-63) this indicates the formality of where they are and this particular occasion, towards the end of the judgment Shylock language changes to prose making it less formal, when h e no longer has the upper hand, ‘ take this offer then. Pay the bond thrice and let the Christian go. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1 r Line 31 6) Portia however, maintains her style of language throughout the scene which reinforces her position and the formality of the situation they are in. In the beginning Of the scene, Shylock is very in control using lengthy paragraphs and verse.He is knowledgeable about the law, ‘If you deny me, fie upon your law: There is no force in the decrees of Venice. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 101 ) and adamant that he will succeed in the debt being paid, ‘The pound of flesh which I demand of him is dearly bought; ‘its mine and I will have it. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 99) However, Portia is also both very knowledgeable of the law and very cleverly using a literal interpretation of the law to undermine Shylock case ‘The bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are' a pound of flesh'. ‘(ACTA, Scene 1, Line 304) going on to say ‘One rope of Christian blood†¦Are by the laws of Venice confiscate. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 308) The difference between Portia and Shylock is that Portia maintains her control. Throughout this process Shylock responses become much shorter as his confidence diminishes. By literally interpreting the words Portia manipulates Shylock to a point were he becomes submissive, ‘l pray you give me leave to go from hence; I am not well. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 3, Line 97) Portia, even she though is portraying a man still has a higher stature than Shylock even as a woman. Shylock is refereed to as ‘the Jew an insult and a means of singling IM out as a lower class of person.By calling him ‘Jew' throughout the scene the Christians are putting him in his place. By Portion's reference to Christian blood being shed as being ‘By the laws of Venice confiscate' she is indicating that Christians are more special in the eyes of the law. However, Shylock shows a similar prejudice towards Christians as they do toward Jews, by addressing Antonio as the Christian, And let the Christian go. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 31 7) Shylock shows no mercy, at any point during this scene, even when he realizes he may not get everything he desires ‘Is that the law? Act 4, Scene 1, Line 312) he still continues to try to get the best deal he can ‘l take this offer then. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 31 6) Portia begins to contradict herself when she appeals to Shylock with her The quality of Mercy' speech (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 182) as throughout the scene she in fact shows no mercy, ‘Soft. The Jew shall have all justice; soft, no haste; He shall have nothing but the penalty. ‘ (ACTA, Scene 1, Line 31 8) Portia then manipulates the concept of mercy, by asking the criminal what mercy he desires towards Shylock, leaving him with nothing, not even his faith. The Merchant of Venice How is your prescribed text made memorable through the interaction of ideas and the ways these ideas are represented? â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† by William Shakespeare contains many memorable themes. Through the use of techniques ideas are represented. These ideas are the power of money, conflict/prejudice between Jews and Christians and the role of women. The memorable ideas represented throughout the play are extremely important to â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† and is the reason why it is called a ‘problem play’. Shylock is often classed as the stereotypical miserably Jew, and some use his repetition of â€Å"Three thousand ducats† to show how his life is dominated and ruled by money. Shylock is obsessed with money this becomes clear in Act 2, Scene 8 as Solanio mimics Shylock’s anguished cries of repetition â€Å"My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter†. In Act 3 Scene 1 as Tubal notifies Shylock of Jessica spending â€Å"fourscore ducats† in one night, Shylocks reaction supports the fact that he is obsessed with money, â€Å"I shall never see my gold again†. Christians and anti-Semitism are extremely important to â€Å"The Merchant of Venice†. Shylock who is constantly vilified and ridiculed by the Christians throughout the play portrays the Elizabethan era of which the play was written, and it is no coincidence that the heroes in the play are Christians and the villain is Jewish. The society, which is mostly Christians, degrades and ostracises the Jews because of the different ways of life and beliefs. Hence, the idea of anti-Semitism is brought into the play. Shylock is frequently called â€Å"the devil† (Lancelot 2:2) or linked with dehumanising imagery â€Å"cut-throat dog, this is evident in Act 1 Scene 3 as Shylock is in conversation with Antonio. Antonio thinks of the Jew when he calls Shylock a â€Å"misbeliever† and â€Å"spat upon his Jewish gabardine†. Consequently Shylock displays the same hatred and disrespect for Antonio as he publicly expresses that he â€Å"hates him for he is Christian†. The use of rhetorical questions is a vivid dramatic change, climaxing in his taunting lines: â€Å" Hath a dog money? In this play, we can see that religious prejudices outweigh justice. In the trial scene (4:1), the way in which they address Shylock as â€Å"the Jew† implies the hearing is unfavorable towards Shylock. Portia argues that there must be â€Å"no jot of blood†¦ in the cutting it†. Though this reasoning is flawed in the actual context, it is done to save a fellow Christian from a Jew. The Duke also tries to defend Antonio and ask Shylock to â€Å"forgive a moiety of the principal†. However, when Shylock is undone by Portia's interpretation of the law, none of them show â€Å"mercy† to the losses he suffers. He loses â€Å"one half of his good† to the state â€Å"the other half† to Lorenzo and Jessica upon his death and most significantly he loses his religion. The Christians put on a veil of â€Å"justice† by stating that â€Å"the Jew shall have all justice†. However, for the state of Venice to take away one's religion unwillingly to be christened shows that the rule of law is in fact, one-sided and does not serve justice for the Jews. Conclusively, it seems evident that prejudice prevails over justice. The role of women is also explored in the trial scene (4:1). The traditional idea of men and women has been subverted as Portia dresses as a man. Portia’s intellectual qualities are highlighted in the trial scene, where she illustrates her ability to reason with a legal approach â€Å"this bond is forfeit†. Portia also shows her wit and intellect as she comments on Bassanio’s will to sacrifice his wife to save Antonio, â€Å" your wife would give you little thanks for that, if she were by to hear you make the offer. Thus Portia can be regarded as the ideal compound of intellect and romance, who blots her copybook only once, and that is in her catlike playing with Shylock. Based on the play, Shakespeare exploits the themes of power of money; the role of women and the prejudice between Christians and Jew. These memorable ideas are represented primarily through the characters of Shylock and Portia , whom give us an accurate idea of Christians and Jews during the Elizabethan era. The Merchant of Venice Parent-Child Relationship Between Jessica and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice After reading The Merchant of Venice, we should ask ourselves if Shylock, who many people perceive as tragedy stricken and victimized, is in fact so hard done by after all. When it comes to family matters, I believe that Shylock is the ultimate cause behind his awful relationship with Jessica. In this play, Shakespeare portrays an old fashioned child-parent relationship in which the child feels inferior to the parent.Shylock and Jessica lack trustworthiness, care, love, and consideration for one another. Their horrible relationship, which is a huge attribute to the play, is not due to conflicting personalities as commonly believed, but rather to the fact that Shylock is a terrible father. Over the course of the novel, Shylock and Jessica have numerous disagreements on certain issues, and Shylock is too stubborn to compromise. Firstly, when it comes to issues regarding religion, the two dispute because Jes sica is ashamed to be Jewish while Shylock takes pride in it.Jessica clearly shows how upset she is to be Jewish when she says, â€Å"Alack, what heinous sin it is in me to be asham’d to be my father’s child! But though I am a daughter to his blood, I am not to his manners† (2. 3. 18). When Jessica is speaking to Launcelot, she essentially says that she would never act like she a Jew, which displays the lack of pride and hatred she has towards this â€Å"flaw† of hers. Secondly, Shylock persistently will not give Jessica any more freedom, and the ability to make her own decisions. Before the party that Shylock decides to attend, he says to Jessica: †¦ Hear you me, Jessica.Lock up my doors, and when you hear the drum and the vile squealing of the wry-necked fife, clamber not you up to the casements then, nor thrust your head into the public street, to gaze on Christian fools with varnished faces. But stop my house’s ears—I mean my caseme nts—let not the sound of shallow foppery enter my sober house (2. 5. 27-35). Shylock gives strict instructions to Jessica to lock up the house, not reveal her face to anyone outside and not participate part in the Christian activities taking place, showing his lack of trust in her and demonstrating the restriction that Jessica is under.In many novels and other literature, not only are characters able to overcome conflicting personalities but in some cases, those are the characters that compliment each other best. Therefore, Shylock is simply stubborn preventing his relationship from progressing with Jessica. Throughout the novel, it becomes apparent that Shylock values materialistic things, putting them before Jessica. Firstly, when Jessica escapes home and her well being is questionable, Shylock’s concern lies in his possessions that she had taken with her. While speaking to Tubal, Shlock says, â€Å"I would my daughter were dead at my food and the jewels in her ear! Would she were hearsed at my foot and the ducats in her coffin! †¦ The thief gone with so much, and so much to find the thief—and no satisfaction, no revenge†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3. 1. 79-84). This shows that Shylock is a very materialistic person and considers his daughter to be of less importance than his goods. He even goes to the extent of wishing that she was dead in front of his feet so he could take all of his precious jewels back. Secondly, throughout Venice, Shylock is known as the ‘greedy money lender’ and we see him live up to his name on a few occasions.Shylock speaks to Jessica and says, â€Å"There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest, for I did dream of money bags tonight† (2. 5. 17-18). This tells us that he knows things aren’t going in his favor because he had dreamt of money bags previously and therefor he lives up to his name of being greedy and money-oriented. As a parent, Shylock should set his priorities straight and put Jessic a before material possessions and money. Shylock is uninvolved in Jessica’s life and doesn’t invest enough effort or consideration into her. Firstly, Jessica is in love with Lorenzo, a christian, but Shylock resists stubbornly.Jessica says, â€Å"O Lorenzo, if thou keep promise, I shall end this strife, become a Christian and thy loving wife† (2. 4. 18-20). Jessica is basically admitting that life with Shylock is unpleasant and if all goes according to plan, she can marry Lorenzo and leave. Shylock is restricting her from doing this. Secondly, Shylock spends too much time worrying about his own issues in the book such as interacting with Lancelot, moneylending to Bassanio as well as others, and seeing through his promise for a pound of Antonio’s flesh. In act three, we can see a segment of Shylock’s busy life when he says: I’ll have my bond; I will not hear thee speak;I’ll have my bond, and therefore speak no more I’ll not be m ade a soft and dull-eyed fool, To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield To Christian intercessors. Follow not! I’ll have no speaking, I will have my bond (3. 3. 12-17). This is one of many examples of Shylock seeking Antonio’s flesh intently. As a caregiver, Shylocks priorities need to be in his children but it is apparent that his time is consumed adversely. Shylock is a terrible father because he does not involve himself in Jessica’s life enough and make time for her.Wether it’s in being too busy to take interest in Jessica, persistently restricting her, cringing at the thought of his inheritance to go to her, or being extremely money orientated, Shylock is most definitely the source of the poor father-daughter relationship between himself and Jessica. At numerous points within the novel, we can see Shylock’s lack of care, acceptance, involvement, love and trust that he has in Jessica. These are all essential behavioral traits that a caregi ver and role model should have. In conclusion, Shylock is an inadequate father to Jessica and therefore, he is more of a villain than a victim. The Merchant of Venice How is your prescribed text made memorable through the interaction of ideas and the ways these ideas are represented? â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† by William Shakespeare contains many memorable themes. Through the use of techniques ideas are represented. These ideas are the power of money, conflict/prejudice between Jews and Christians and the role of women. The memorable ideas represented throughout the play are extremely important to â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† and is the reason why it is called a ‘problem play’. Shylock is often classed as the stereotypical miserably Jew, and some use his repetition of â€Å"Three thousand ducats† to show how his life is dominated and ruled by money. Shylock is obsessed with money this becomes clear in Act 2, Scene 8 as Solanio mimics Shylock’s anguished cries of repetition â€Å"My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter†. In Act 3 Scene 1 as Tubal notifies Shylock of Jessica spending â€Å"fourscore ducats† in one night, Shylocks reaction supports the fact that he is obsessed with money, â€Å"I shall never see my gold again†. Christians and anti-Semitism are extremely important to â€Å"The Merchant of Venice†. Shylock who is constantly vilified and ridiculed by the Christians throughout the play portrays the Elizabethan era of which the play was written, and it is no coincidence that the heroes in the play are Christians and the villain is Jewish. The society, which is mostly Christians, degrades and ostracises the Jews because of the different ways of life and beliefs. Hence, the idea of anti-Semitism is brought into the play. Shylock is frequently called â€Å"the devil† (Lancelot 2:2) or linked with dehumanising imagery â€Å"cut-throat dog, this is evident in Act 1 Scene 3 as Shylock is in conversation with Antonio. Antonio thinks of the Jew when he calls Shylock a â€Å"misbeliever† and â€Å"spat upon his Jewish gabardine†. Consequently Shylock displays the same hatred and disrespect for Antonio as he publicly expresses that he â€Å"hates him for he is Christian†. The use of rhetorical questions is a vivid dramatic change, climaxing in his taunting lines: â€Å" Hath a dog money? In this play, we can see that religious prejudices outweigh justice. In the trial scene (4:1), the way in which they address Shylock as â€Å"the Jew† implies the hearing is unfavorable towards Shylock. Portia argues that there must be â€Å"no jot of blood†¦ in the cutting it†. Though this reasoning is flawed in the actual context, it is done to save a fellow Christian from a Jew. The Duke also tries to defend Antonio and ask Shylock to â€Å"forgive a moiety of the principal†. However, when Shylock is undone by Portia's interpretation of the law, none of them show â€Å"mercy† to the losses he suffers. He loses â€Å"one half of his good† to the state â€Å"the other half† to Lorenzo and Jessica upon his death and most significantly he loses his religion. The Christians put on a veil of â€Å"justice† by stating that â€Å"the Jew shall have all justice†. However, for the state of Venice to take away one's religion unwillingly to be christened shows that the rule of law is in fact, one-sided and does not serve justice for the Jews. Conclusively, it seems evident that prejudice prevails over justice. The role of women is also explored in the trial scene (4:1). The traditional idea of men and women has been subverted as Portia dresses as a man. Portia’s intellectual qualities are highlighted in the trial scene, where she illustrates her ability to reason with a legal approach â€Å"this bond is forfeit†. Portia also shows her wit and intellect as she comments on Bassanio’s will to sacrifice his wife to save Antonio, â€Å" your wife would give you little thanks for that, if she were by to hear you make the offer. Thus Portia can be regarded as the ideal compound of intellect and romance, who blots her copybook only once, and that is in her catlike playing with Shylock. Based on the play, Shakespeare exploits the themes of power of money; the role of women and the prejudice between Christians and Jew. These memorable ideas are represented primarily through the characters of Shylock and Portia , whom give us an accurate idea of Christians and Jews during the Elizabethan era. The Merchant Of Venice Portia is also manipulative, using silent humor as to not embarrass herself, having discussed with Inertias her displeasure in the choice of suitors, she cleverly replies, ‘Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair as any comer I have looked on yet for my affection. ‘ (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 20) this demonstrates the use of her words as not to cause embarrassment, whilst being honest and telling Inertias he literally that he had no chance. The language Shakespeare uses for Portia and Shylock is different, both Portia and Shylock are very formal in the way they speak.Shylock is formal in a polite way in the judgment scene out of respect, ‘your grace' (Act 4, Scene 1 Line 35). As a sign of nobility Portia is formal in the way that she speaks, mostly she uses verse in more important scenes such as the judgment scene, which further emphasizes her portrayal as a formal male character. However, Portion's language is far more informal when she speaks to Inertias ‘Y ou know I say nothing to him, for he hath neither Latin, French nor Italian' this clearly accentuates their relationship as close; Portia speaks to Inertias in prose.Shylock on the other hand speaks predominantly in prose showing his lower status, particularly in his conversation with Tuba, ‘How now, Tuba, what news from Genoa? Hast thou found my daughter? ‘ (Act 3, Scene 1, Line 71), enhancing the informality of the conversation, and also the lower social status of Shylock as a Jew and Tuba as a Christian. In contrast to the majority of the play where Shylock speaks mostly in prose, in the judgment scene Shylock starts his opening speech with verse, ‘l have possessed your grace of what I purpose†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. .. As losing suit against him.Are you answered? ‘ ( Act 4, Scene 1, Line 35-63) this indicates the formality of where they are and this particular occasion, towards the end of the judgment Shylock language changes to prose making it less formal, when h e no longer has the upper hand, ‘ take this offer then. Pay the bond thrice and let the Christian go. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1 r Line 31 6) Portia however, maintains her style of language throughout the scene which reinforces her position and the formality of the situation they are in. In the beginning Of the scene, Shylock is very in control using lengthy paragraphs and verse.He is knowledgeable about the law, ‘If you deny me, fie upon your law: There is no force in the decrees of Venice. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 101 ) and adamant that he will succeed in the debt being paid, ‘The pound of flesh which I demand of him is dearly bought; ‘its mine and I will have it. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 99) However, Portia is also both very knowledgeable of the law and very cleverly using a literal interpretation of the law to undermine Shylock case ‘The bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are' a pound of flesh'. ‘(ACTA, Scene 1, Line 304) going on to say ‘One rope of Christian blood†¦Are by the laws of Venice confiscate. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 308) The difference between Portia and Shylock is that Portia maintains her control. Throughout this process Shylock responses become much shorter as his confidence diminishes. By literally interpreting the words Portia manipulates Shylock to a point were he becomes submissive, ‘l pray you give me leave to go from hence; I am not well. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 3, Line 97) Portia, even she though is portraying a man still has a higher stature than Shylock even as a woman. Shylock is refereed to as ‘the Jew an insult and a means of singling IM out as a lower class of person.By calling him ‘Jew' throughout the scene the Christians are putting him in his place. By Portion's reference to Christian blood being shed as being ‘By the laws of Venice confiscate' she is indicating that Christians are more special in the eyes of the law. However, Shylock shows a similar prejudice towards Christians as they do toward Jews, by addressing Antonio as the Christian, And let the Christian go. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 31 7) Shylock shows no mercy, at any point during this scene, even when he realizes he may not get everything he desires ‘Is that the law? Act 4, Scene 1, Line 312) he still continues to try to get the best deal he can ‘l take this offer then. ‘ (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 31 6) Portia begins to contradict herself when she appeals to Shylock with her The quality of Mercy' speech (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 182) as throughout the scene she in fact shows no mercy, ‘Soft. The Jew shall have all justice; soft, no haste; He shall have nothing but the penalty. ‘ (ACTA, Scene 1, Line 31 8) Portia then manipulates the concept of mercy, by asking the criminal what mercy he desires towards Shylock, leaving him with nothing, not even his faith.

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Electronic Customer Relationship Management - Essay Example For businesses that have online presence, e-CRM systems provide the necessary relationship management with customers. This is a critical area because there is minimal human intervention from the company's employees when a customer logs on to the website. Hence, the impression and/ or the services that the customer gets exposed to from the website might be a decisive factor towards his/ her decision to continue business with that particular company. This paper presents an analysis of a business entity in form of an audit of its efforts to promote and use e-CRM systems. E-CRM theory is discussed and recommendations are provided to the business to improve the state of affairs. The target company for this audit is HSBC Bank Australia Limited. HSBC is a commercial bank based in London but has a huge network of branches around the globe. It is listed on the London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong and Bermuda stock exchanges and operates in a truly global fashion (HSBC, 2007). In Australia, HSBC has 35 branches and offices and provides a wide range of personal and commercial financial services in addition to other services like trade finance, investment advisory, treasury and other traditional banking operations. As a customer browsing a financial institution's websites, the ideal e-experience should not be distinguishable from the experience the user would have when he or she visits the bank physically. In a nut shell, this means that the contents of the web site should be such that no human intervention is required by the user to locate the desired information. One of the biggest advantage and disadvantage of a business website is the quantity of information that is provided on it for users (Feinberg and Kadam, 2002, p.435). This is because of the fact that the customer may not be able to identify and access the required information from a big pool of data provided on the website. Though, every piece of information might be there, yet it may take hours to find the one that is required. Hence, the website must be divided into areas with relevant information being clubbed into each area for clarity and ease of use. In addition, it should have a search facility to locate the desired information without having to navigate through the entire website for it. There are many ways that business may use to contact potential e-customers. In addition to the traditional telephone and cellular phone numbers, the business website should be able to store customers' email address, his or her website URL (if available) and other details. The electronic Customer Relationship Management e-CRM system must be equipped with appropriate records about users and customers and should use alternate channels to contact the customer. Similarly, alternate channels should be provided to the customers to contact the business. These might include email address, telephone, fax number, live chat and others. Ideally though, email addresses are easiest to use if there is no live chat feature available on the website. In addition, ideally the business website should remember the customer. This can be done by saving cookies on customers' computers that can be used during customers' next visit to the website, to track the information that they viewed during their last visit. The relationship with business

Economics for Business and Management Assignment

Economics for Business and Management - Assignment Example Market forces generally are not controlled by any external forces and depend entirely upon the buying and selling traits of the producers and consumers. Scarce goods are associated with an inelastic supply so that a slight change in demand could result to a huge change in the price of the commodity. Moreover, their break-even price is set at a high level which automatically makes adjustments at the consumer base. Usually, scarce resources are found to be the ones associated with a high amount of demand which is why it is wrongful to bar buyers from consuming the same. In many cases the consumers are found to be prepared for paying a high price for acquiring a marginal amount of the commodity. If the distribution of such commodities are rationed and controlled by some external factor, the society is unlikely of reaching the optimum level of efficiency. In fact, in order to restore efficiency in market mechanisms, it is highly essential to incorporate competition in the field. The grea ter the competition is, higher will be the propensity among sellers to deduce ways through which they might be able to distribute a particular good at reasonable rates (Buigues & Rey, 2004, p. 183). However, maintaining such a stance in case of a scarce good might turn out to be detrimental for the society in the long run if the commodity is exhaustible in nature. Hence, some amount of restriction must be present to specify the level of price floor, which automatically curtails the aggregate market demand. On the other hand, if the commodity in question is not an exhaustible one, i.e., gets replenished over time, then an unrestricted market mechanism could be regarded as the best option to instil efficiency and eventually, a good investment climate in the economy. Scarcity of a good often leads to innovation and greater productivity in order to invent substitute commodities of the said item. A successful innovation is thus, often triggered by excess demand in the market. The substit ute commodity is quite often associated with a lower price level so that even the poorer consumers are able to afford the same. Furthermore, the scarce good is deployed as little as possible which drives its supply schedule leftwards thus lowering the equilibrium market price. An effective innovation is likely to rouse demands which could be beneficial for the economy. Higher the prospects of innovation and productivity is, better are the employment prospects and thus, of output generation. Answer to Question 2 Although efficient allocation of resources could be accomplished best through the introduction of market system in the society, there are some exceptions where government intervention could turn out to be beneficial for the society as a whole. In situations where the commodity in question is a scarce good, it being exposed to market forces might lead to excessive deployment of the same. If the good is an exhaustible one like fossil fuels, the ultimate consequence could turn o ut to be quite damaging. Even if the commodity is inexhaustible in nature, too much use of the same could lead to exigent situations when the good is unavailable. In such situations, it is necessary for the government body to intervene in market

Social media for business communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Social media for business communication - Essay Example This year the amount generated on the single day is $816 million becoming the heaviest online sales volume received in a single day (Diers, 2012, p. 23). The overall U.S. retail e-commerce spending for the month has increased by 15 percent. There is greater access to online shopping on Cyber Monday. This is a marketing term developed in 2005 by online retailers that define the increase of online shopping activities on Monday. Approximately 50 million Americans visited online retail sites on a black Friday representing a 35 percent increase from the previous year. The number of customers accessing the top five retail sites namely: Amazon, Walmart, BestBuy, Target, and Apple increased by double digits. This result shows that multichannel retailers recorded strong growth in visitors’ access. The increased use of online retailing has greater marketing implications to marketing principles. The need for change in the marketing strategy to absorb the increasing online visitors is ess ential for any firm because it leads to greater sales volume. The success for any company lately is based on the focus on the customer and commitment to market change. Globalization affects marketing in a drastic way by affecting marketing. Use of World Wide Web in marketing and online shopping is the next revolution. The data obtained for visitors to the online sites depict the success attainable by venturing in it. Consequently, the need for strategizing and formulating of online strategy in ensuring increase in sales volume is essential. Product innovation is powered by the consumers. Therefore, marketing of the products must ensure correct feedback is obtained from consumers to facilitate understanding of new product development. Driven by the need of simplicity, consumers need must be catered for. For instance, online shopping is a product

Politics course work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Politics course work - Essay Example The main principles of the cabinet government are as follows. The monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) has the power to appoint or dismiss any ministers to the government, although this is usually done ‘on the advice of the Prime Minister’ (Heyward, 2008, p20), meaning that the monarch has very little political influence. When these changes are made, this is referred to as a reshuffle, something which generally happens on a yearly basis. The cabinet are generally chosen from the current Prime Minister’s own political party, with the shadow cabinet – those who hold a corresponding role to those in the cabinet – being formed of the official opposition (the largest non-Governmental party, currently the Labour Party) (Heyward, 2008, p17). The various titles and duties held by the members of the cabinet (and the corresponding shadow cabinet) change depending on the demands of the UK population and the views of the currently elected premier. The currently appointe d cabinet government have weekly meetings to discuss potential and actual policy changes. These weekly meetings have ensured that the Institute of Government see the cabinet government as having a reduced capacity as a decision-making body (Blick & Jones, 2010, p97) due to their infrequency and short length. Despite this, however, it is the cabinet that makes policy decisions and thus hold all responsibility for these decisions. The various ministers and secretaries within the cabinet must exhibit public support for the decisions made for the government and all policy choices must be made collectively. In practise, many decisions can be and are delegated to the sub-committees of the cabinet, such as education, who carry out all research, present findings and seriously influence the final choice of the governmental cabinet (Heyward, 2008, p14). As previously mentioned, the cabinet is generally chosen from members of the current Governmental party, such as the Labour Party under Tony Blair (Kavanagh et al., 2006, pp32-34). The current Governmental party is chosen using the first-past-the-post system – the party with the most seats gains power, despite how many votes they may have in total. This system requires that the winning party holds at least 326 seats in Parliament to hold a majority, or else a hung parliament will occur. In the event of a hung parliament, it is necessary to create a coalition government of two or more political parties so that the total number of seats held by these parties totals at least 326. In the case of the 2010 elections, the Conservative Party won 306 seats and formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, who won 57 seats, giving a total of 363 seats. The shadow cabinet is thus formed from members of the Labour Party, who hold a total number of 258 seats (BBC News, 2010). The creation of this coalition government means that the current cabinet is formed from members of both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. There are 18 cabinet ministers or secretaries from the Conservative Party and 5 from the Liberal Democrats (BBC News, 2010). This ratio must be maintained throughout Cameron’s premiership – if a Liberal Democrat leaves cabinet, another must be appointed in their place (Daily Telegraph, 2010). The traditional role of Prime Minister has also been affected – David Cameron currently holds the office, but Nick

Resolving conflicts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Resolving conflicts - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that teams and groups are inherent parts of the organization, where they exist naturally. Even the formation of groups within organization occurs as part of an instinctive process that involves forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. According to social identity theory, people tend to identify themselves with a particular group, reacting in certain ways to the success or failure of that particular group. A great variety of projects are completed in groups where each individual member contributes with his or her share of knowledge and skills. Thus, groups exist as central players in the workplace. Groups contribute immensely to the corporate culture of an organization. The present research has identified that groups shape member behavior to a great extent and this has implications on efficiency. The right set of group dynamics play a vital role in determining successful execution of an objective. It is evidently clear from th e discussion that groups also turn out to be more efficient than their individual counterparts. It takes the right combination of individuals within the group to work successfully and it is common for members to face with diverse peers within a group. This paper illustrates that in order to enhance the productivity of the group, some variables such as size, cohesiveness, and group culture, can be adjusted.

Disabled by Winifred Owen (Not Very Good) Essay Example for Free

Disabled by Winifred Owen (Not Very Good) Essay The poem â€Å"Disabled† by Winifred Owen uses many physical and mental contrasts/changes within the poem to help the reader understand the theme that lies beneath about how war is ironic, brutal and destructive. One of these changes is how the protagonist soldier goes from being a young sports hero to an old, disabled man in a wheelchair. Throughout the poem Winifred Owen uses quotes such as â€Å"smiling they wrote his lie aged nineteen† to imply that the soldier was under aged at his time of joining the army. Winifred also writes â€Å"After matches carried shoulder-high† which demonstrates the irony of how the soldier is â€Å"legless, sewn short at elbow† but talks about how he used to think so gloriously about his days when he used to be a sports hero and â€Å"liked a blood-smear down his leg† after his football matches. This helped me understand the theme that war is ironic and destructive by showing the dire contrast from a healthy boy to a crippled war veteran. The alliteration â€Å"half his lifetime lapsed in a hot race† is used to demonstrate again the irony and brutality of war by how half his life has passed by but it is described so quickly as a â€Å"hot race.† Alliteration was used to draw the readers’ attention to the line by exaggerating the first letter of nearly every word. This helped me understand the theme by demonstrating the consequences of war, how it feels like half his lifetime has gone by when wars really only last a few years. The important change of a young, fit man becoming a paraplegic is a perfect example of the destructive nature of war as it is such a major difference in a person’s life. This made me think about the wars going on all around the world and how good New Zealand men and women soldiers are being seriously injured.

What Is The Concept Of Social Justice Social Work Essay

What Is The Concept Of Social Justice Social Work Essay There have been issues of inequality for centuries such as oppression, discrimination, and prejudices. The government has the task of making certain that those laws are set in place to protect those when conflicts of social justice arise But the government is a reflection of the majoritys will, so there has been and continues to be a struggle to achieve social justice in our society (Segal, 2010, p. 93). When it comes to social issues and or problems on behalf of society, individuals and society has a responsibility for the well-being of others. The development of social welfare programs and policies happens by responding when the problem already exists and by preventing the problem before it arises. Final Exam Essay Questions Our society as I see it has always been one that has appeared to be a nation concerned with the well-being of members of mainstream society, yet we have always had issues that embark on social justice and inequality for non-mainstream members of society. However we have had those individuals that were and are willing to battle for fairness, advocate and aid those that are in need, single handedly and as an assemblage effort such as the social work profession. As an inspiring social worker I ask, what is the concept of social justice? Moreover, why is it relevant to social work practice, which is responsible for a persons well-being an individual or society? In addition, I will show the differences between residual and institutional approaches to social welfare policy and programs, for these two models respond when the problem already exist and help prevent problems before they occur. . What is the Concept of Social Justice? And why it is Relevant to Social Work Practice As a member of a society, each member should have all the same rights, opportunities, and fairness within. The concept of social justice is society fairness. Social justice describes the level of fairness that exists in society (Segal, 2010, p.14). All members in society have the right to this level of fairness. The description, in which our society upholds social justice, unfortunately is not what we all live by. There have been issues of inequality for centuries such as oppression, discrimination, and prejudices. Fairness has not been our strongpoint among each other. The government has the task of making certain that those laws are set in place to protect those when conflicts of social justice arise with attaining fairness, same opportunities, and rights. But the government is a reflection of the majoritys will, so there has been and continues to be a struggle to achieve social justice in our society (Segal, 2010, p. 93). For this reason, social justice has been essential and relevant to social work practice. Social work practice will bring forward those who will advocate, and help to set policies in place to help protect, promote, and advance change for those individuals that struggle with having the same rights and basic human needs that all deserve to have as a member of society, Social workers should be aware of the impact of the politi-cal arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice (Segal, 2010, p. 70). Social work practice works towards changing social conditions, a crucial part of that change is taking the responsibility to improve the social welfare of our society. Who is Responsible for Peoples well-being Each Individual or Society? Who is responsible for peoples well-being, individuals, or society? The responsibility of a persons well-being is societies as well as in individual. As a member of society, we have social obligations when it comes to social issues and or problems on behalf of society. Community programs, religious institutions, for-profit and non-profit organizations are in the business of promoting and supporting the well-being of individuals as a person, however from a social work perspective some would beg to differ when it comes to a for-profit organization working toward the well-being of others for it is a private service. For-profit agencies focus is to profit from the services they provide and they provide it from a business principle, therefore even though an individual may need the service they possibly will not receive it if they cannot afford the cost of service. Their mission and the concern drive non-profit social services and care of those, they serve, despite the cost. From a social work perspective, this is ideal for anyone can get the service needed and knowingly the client is going to get the best care possible. In the Federal, state and local governments there are government agencies and social welfare programs in place to contend with the efforts with providing for the well-being of society, such as Social security, Medicaid and Medicare. As social work professionals, we have a mission that outlines public support and therefore the provision of social welfare services directly or in partnership with our government (Segal, 2010, p.89). Basic human needs such as housing, healthcare, and food are some of the biggest social issues in our society. At one time most of the social welfare services were in the private sector by the government. Yet many services, such as providing schools for children, including those with disabilities and metal issues cannot be services by a private sector. Many families are unable to afford the cost therefore public services are needed when it comes to the well-being of people, Much of the work done by public social service providers would not be done by private o rganizations ( Segal, 2010, p. 83). These social issues bring social welfare policies in to play, Social welfare programs are the product of social welfare policies (Segal, 2010, p. 3) When society does not take action to change issues and problems, that exists for people, then individuals step in and attempt to make the change come to pass. It will take individuals and society responsibility for the well-being of others, by public, private social services and through other ways and means. The values and beliefs of those who practice social work, is based on professional principles, ethics and driven by promoting social change for the betterment of social welfare of others and to promote the well-being of others by social welfare policies. What are the Differences between Residual and Intuitional Approaches to Social welfare policy? The development of social welfare programs and policies happens by responding when the problem already exist and preventing the problem before it arise, these two approaches is known as residual and intuitional approach. Members of our society confuse the term welfare; they see it as handicap-keeping individuals from moving forward and becoming productive and self-sufficient. The truth is social welfare is to help members in society by addressing their well-being in any area needed, not just monetary or providing food by a residual or intuitional approach, however there are differences between the two. Residual approach to social welfare policy is provided only when needs are not met by other institutions, families, religious institutions and is viewed as negative. When people are unable to address the problem themselves, then emergency assistance is given once the problem is identified. This is looked at as an individuals personal issue, not society as a whole. It is a means of intervention. It sees the poor as incompetent, second-class citizens and provides second-class services. The residual welfare is looked upon as the problem of the unfortunate classes through middle and upper class benevolence. An example of residual approach would be Work organizations primary function is employment and the social welfare service would be unemployment benefits, which are in the area of residual approach, for the unemployment is the existing problem yet it is only in place temporary, until a person can become employed or other means of financial support. Institutional approach to social welfare policy is proactive and no stigma is attached, for difficulty is bound to present itself for an individual, therefore it is looked upon as normal to need assistance. Social problems are rooted in social structure and hence planned social change, and seen as a normal and accepted way of fulfilling social needs. It is seen as a preventative effort to a persons well-being, set in place automatically for society as a whole. An example of intuitional would be national, regional and local government organization primary function mobilization and distribution of goods for collective goals has a social welfare function of anti poverty, economic security, health, education such as government scholarship programs and subsidizes for housing which falls into the area of preventive services. If we looked at the residual and intuitional approach of social welfare policy by a universal and selective approach, selectively only those who would fall into the criteria needed to qualify for services would be provided therefore even though an individual may need the service now they would not receive it. For this can lead to a permanent problem for an individual. Universally any and everyone would receive the service, which would prevent problems for society. Conclusion Social work practice works towards changing social conditions, a crucial part of that change is taking the responsibility to improve the social welfare of our society and individuals. Members of society have social obligations when it comes to social issues and or problems on behalf of society. Social welfare policies and programs are societys safety net, provide a way to set preventions and interventions in place to help and protect those in need. In order to receive you have to be willing to give, and to help one another collectively and individually.

Corruption In Latin America The Case Of Ecuador Politics Essay

Corruption In Latin America The Case Of Ecuador Politics Essay As part of an activity in the area of studies in Latin America, the purpose of this essay is to analyze Corruption as one of todays most marked problematic in politics, but more specific the paper will focus in discuss the reasons and consequences of corruption and its manifestation in Ecuador. The background of the regions domestic politics, neighboring countries like Bolivia and Venezuela and its influence over national politics, and the actual events which have determined the situation Ecuador is facing nowadays; during the development of the essay some of these variants will be explained. In this essay, effects of legality and legitimacy will be addressed towards corruption, and how the failure of one of them, lead to larger possibilities of corruption. It will be also explained the reason corruption causes poverty and creates barriers to overcome this problem and the explanation of how corruption affects more to the poor people due to their fewer options to deal with its consequences. It has also shown the negative impact on programs for the eradication of poverty, making them ineffective. Another trend of corruption addressed in this paper is the tendency to the misallocation of resources and the resulting stagnation of economic development. Some of the key factors related to corruption participation, questioning the authority and the observation of law citizens have towards their governments, have being reflected it variables like the income per capita, percentage of poverty, lack of opportunities for education and health care, all of them negative correlated with Corruption. Corruption not only violates the economic and social rights but also violates civil and political rights, distorting or invalidating the political processes and institutions, weakening the role of the judiciary and law enforcement officials. Latin America, a continent full of contrast, determined by a wide variety of climates and natural resources, it also occupies the status as having some of the most corrupted countries in the world. The main issues drawn into this problematic derived from the dilemma of Legality and Legitimacy; the first one is defined as situations accepted by the establish law, while legitimacy consists in the credibility of this law. For many decades Latin American presidents have faced coups and judicial proceedings for corruption cases, Pinochet and Fujimori are clear examples. These violations to democracy and citizen rights have resulted in the lack of credibility in the governors and government institutions by the population. Corruption has had greater impact in the macroeconomic variables, reducing the opportunities to be part of an important international trade and scaring away any forms of foreign investment. Latin Americas institutions are viewed as obsoletes, and due to the high corruption public officials are involved into, the inexistence of governmental institutions provide more chances for all types of corruption, among others, cronyism and embezzlement. Another important factor inducing to corruption in the Latin states is the lack of vertical accountability, which is the standards citizen must have for their political leaders and the punishment they should received, if doing something wrong. Despite many Latin nations counts with a system of elected representatives, the empowerment giving for decision makings to individuals and institutions exert a disproportionate influence in national politics, state and local levels through corruption; This creates loss of public confidence in the institutions of democracy, losing their legitimacy among their citizens. Some of the most common examples of corruption are related to taxation, distribution of public resources and trade regulations. It is important to mention not all the countries posses the same grade of corruption, for instance Panama and Peru have shown a rapid growth (except in 2008-2009), Brazil, Mexico Colombia and Chile have grown into political maturity and a certain economic prosperity; But countries like Honduras, Venezuela, Paraguay and Ecuador have gone backwards, sustaining political instability, the rising of poverty and new opposition parties. In general terms corruption is a phenomenon which many democratic nations face around the globe, its best defined as political corruption involves the abuse of public power for some private benefit (Canache et al, 2005). In the case chosen for this paper, Ecuador, a country in Latin America with a population of 14 million of people is consider according to the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2009 as the fourth most corrupt country in Latin America after Haiti, Venezuela and Paraguay respectively. To understand Ecuador todays situation, it is crucial to stress some key facts in the countrys political system. Since the 90s was marked by The Confederation of Ecuadorian Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE) consider as of Latin America ´s most active indigenous movement, who despite the efforts was unable to reach a vigorous participation in the political system. During the years to come (1997-2005) Ecuador counted with five different presidents, Abdala Bucaram, Fabian Alarcon, Jamil Mah uad, Gustavo Nova and Lucio Gutierrez, three of them elected by popular vote and then forced to leave office by coup dà ©tat; Some of the causes were the severe Ecuadorian Financial crisis in 1999 by the falling of international oil and the latest one caused by popular revolts known as rebelià ³n de los forajidos leader by Rafael Correa. Ecuador actual formal president Correa ran for presidency in 2006 with MPAIS as his electoral movement, competing against the PRIAN and PSP two of the most powerful parties in the country. His strategic formula to win the spot was defined by anti neoliberals formulas, promising a political reform, redesigned the governmental institutions and placed the state as the main actor in regulating the national economy. Correa, characterized by left turn ideology, played his first card by calling to a plebiscite to support his idea of a new constituent agenda annexed to the creation of a new constitution, winning by 82% yes vote; the triumph was indubitable in double sense, not only he placed 80 of the 130 seats with his viewers (MPAIS) in the constituent assembly, but he appeal for the public opinion as a democrat, taking peoples voice into account and increasing public content on his government. Due to the new constitution elections were call again in 2009, this time Correa won in the first round with an overwhelming 51,69% of approval. Despite his triumph during the last year his popularity has dropped from an initial 73% to 52%; Correa Falling in the polls was due, among other things, the scandal sparked by millionaires public contracts awarded to Fabricio Correa, brother of the president. This Abuse of public power for private gain is consider as one of the most popular form of corruption, which results into a mistrust of the population in the government and its institut ions. According to Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International when basic institutions are weak and nonexistent, corruption spirals out of control and the increased looting of public resources, enhance the insecurity and impunity. 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Country Rank 82 74 79 89 113 112 117 138 150 151 146 CPI Score 2,4 2,6 2,3 2,2 2,2 2,4 2,5 2,3 2,1 2,0 2,2 The above graphic shows the Corruption Perception Index during the past 10 years in Ecuador, the score maintains a similar range, but more surprising regardless of the many different presidents Ecuador has counted with, and the different policies applied, they seem to be trapped in the same problem: Corruption When Correa took office he argued to be part of todays new wage of leftist president, with domestic and foreign policies to be implemented according to the 21st century socialism. Although he increased social expenditure by rising salary wages and conceding credits to small businesses, they were likely to be short term concessions, per suiting a permanent campaign and keeping opposite parties under control. Part of Correas government initial trend was retuning the exploitation of natural resources done by foreign multinationals to the Ecuadorians, instead in practice, he signed contracts with outsider companies for the exploitation of strategic mining and energy resources, the real question here is what was under this rare contradiction, or perhaps is a form of clientelism? In this process, Indian communities living and working the lands signed to the mineral multinational complained, but Correa dismissed the movements, replacing and rejecting claims; in other words, his new socialism proved to have a lack any social structural changes, but more into what he opposed or not. Some other initiatives took by Correa and his government, relying in the countrys development strategy, was granting telecommunication monopolies to private firms, an opposition to land reforms by attacking the agro-commercial class (located mainly in Guayaquil) and a subsidy with clear support to the capitalist class. Some responses by the people have resulted in protests, and a consider drop in the polls. One cannot assume the surplus of money for private benefits in Correas government, but the lack of transparency in the actions made with the public budgets; prove the non existence control by Ecuador legislature, an ineffective judiciary, as well as non independent oversight bodys institutions and a weak implementation of the law. In the International Arena, the situation of Ecuador has followed two paths; the most visible influence by other states in Ecuadors government orientation is the clear support from other leftist presidents, as it is the Case of Venezuela with Hugo Chavez, and Bolivia with Evo Morales. The alignment for new plans of cooperation within the nations and the ideas of imperialism by remain in power, adds more reasons to believe the impunity of corruption Ecuador posses. The idea of refusing to pay the external debt by Correa, stressing an illegitimate foreign debt, contracted by past corrupt governments was conceive by the World Bank as a way to mislead public budgets into actions leaded for private gains, and although Correa did not take the risk, the hinders for development and the investment in the country has maintain a low range due to the apparent instability of Ecuador The opposition by renewing the U.S. military base in Manta expired in 2009, the resistance of signing a FTA with U.S., and the diplomatic crisis handle with Colombia in 2008, have been some of the events which placed the country resistant against globalization, and rumors of ties with the terrorist group FARC with president Correa have damage the states image considerably. Some other scandals have included the spenditure of more than US$ 4 billion in subsidizing sectors which do not require, like petroleum products and the electrical sector, consuming over 80% of total subsidies; the benefits seem to be directed to the elite classes, leaving behind the thousands of people living in poverty conditions. When corruption is spread in a country variedly segments are involved, but the most affected Part of the population is the poor due to their incapability to absorb the costs, and this is exactly the consequences of corruption in Ecuador, where the percentages of poverty have raised dramatically over the past years. Corruption has undermined the people in many ways, traducing in inequality, remote access to health and education, and therefore the illiteracy of the population. One of the main consequences is a conversion to a society very tolerant with corruption, perpetuating a vicious cycle ending again in more corruption. Nowadays Ecuadors domestic politics is highly oppressed by Correas government, leaving narrow participation for the opposition parties PRIAN and PSP, and almost no room for the rising of new parties. Also in encounters coercion to Indigenous movements, dismissing any kind of ideas nonaligned with Correas conceptions. President Rafael Correa admitted this year that there is widespread corruption in the society of his country and announced his government is preparing a national campaign to fight against corruption. Correa stated corruption has not yet reached the levels of the upper government, it has taken not only the public sector but the private sector as well. Actually there is a campaign which evolves the entire population, acknowledging the population they must denunciate anyone who enriches with public money, and avoid paying taxes is a form of stealing to the state, and therefore is a form of corruption. Among other strategies the campaign promulgates to claim any information regarding to politicians visiting them with special offers. Corruption is negative related to the countrys performance in terms of GDP, international trade, foreign investment, economic diversity and wealth (Volkema, 2001) meaning corruption will have to be taken seriously by the government, the strategies implement m ust focus on addressing the real causes of corruption in order to balance Ecuador to a more prosperous and equal country. PERSONAL OPINION AND FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS As stated in the preamble to the United Nations Convention against corruption, the scourge poses a serious threat to stability and security of societies, undermining the institutions and values of democracy, ethics and justice and jeopardizing sustainable development and the rule of law in my opinion this phase can be linked to Ecuador actual situation, where no real institutions exist for defending populations rights, and the coercion of opinion from other movements and a constituent assembly who obeys to Correas mandates encloses the country with clear and pure examples of corruption. Ecuador is a country with its majority are indigenous living to merely filling some of their needs, leaving aside the idea of attending to schools and very weak health system, consequently they do not bother to really claim for a more transparency government. Although is it true many protests are done in Ecuadorian lands, they seem not be effecting with lowering corruption, in my opinion the country must concentrate in creating proper institutions in order to audit this process, but society itself must engage into one voice, proclaiming their rights and cease the toleration of corruption. It is wicked to say elections should be call again and chose another candidate from a more capitalist party, and one of the main reasons is that history have shown despite the wing a president comes, corruption still persists, so even mayor changes should be done. One of my recommendations is the creation of programs that develop the economy of the poorest ones, and based in hypothesis made Davis and Ruhe (pag 6) countries with a high per capita income and upper foreign investment are perceived as less corrupted. At the same time this part of the population will have more opportunities for education, and the generations to come will be more aware of how deep corruption hurts a country. I do not criticize the new leftist in their in basis or proclamations, but I contentedly oppose the way the ideas from the 21st century socialism its being applied, contemplating a more equal distribution, but in reality the only beneficiaries are the ones who receive mayor contracts for being brother of the high commanders, or the elite people who keeps the subsidies supposed to be for helping the real needs of one economy, and neither the suppression of voice, which is why after studying the different variables in Ecuadors corruption I finish this paper by pointing Mahadma Ghandis quote Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today.