Merger of Cadburys and Kraft | HR Analysis

Merger of Cadburys and Kraft | HR Analysis Cadbury being one of the top lead and almost 200 years old confectionery company having chocolate, gum and candy brands in the portfolio , with a power of making brands like Cadbury, Trident and Halls, that people love. John Cadbury, in 1824 started cocoa and chocolate selling shop in Birmingham. Since then the business kept expanding over time around the world, and today operates in more than 60 countries, with over 35000 direct and indirect suppliers and having more than 45000 employees Cadburys HR department Cadbury operates in more than 60 countries all around the world. Each of the factories has its own HR department that deal with the demand of the workers of the region according to their local situations and demands. Like all other HR departments, it deals with the efficient and effective utilization of resources available. The HR department actively takes care of the following: Recruitment of new staff that must have good skill level or past experience of working at factories of similar kind. Provision of training to new and existing staff so that they are fully equipped with knowledge of any new equipment or procedure brought in and will be able to use it efficiently. Helping the existing workers with problems that they may have at work place. The problems that Cadburys HR department is most likely to face are: Potential employees have in adequate skill or knowledge creating a skill gap. Other factories create competition among staff and creating a deficiency of new staff. Increase in staff turnover in different situation affect production GUEST MODEL: Through statistics and evidences we can easily identify the active management at Cadbury that not only seek betterment of its business but continuously strives for development for the people it holds and for the people that looks forward in joining hands with the company. In this way the Guest model fits in the best with the companys strategies and outcomes. The Cadburys powerful organizational policies can be understood by any good marketer through the managerial decision it takes in the market all over the world. The utmost emphasis on human resource development has helped Cadbury to gain the loyalty of its employees. The employees that are working with the company have created a good will of the company in market such a way that new graduates seek opportunity to work with the company. (Cadbury) The proactive approach of providing equal opportunities to the workers for their development and encouragement packages that the existing employees are enjoying helped to maximum decrease in the turnover and absenteeism percentage. The flexibility employees get during their tenure help them enjoy their work. The organizations communication system is well operated. The management gives a platform to its employees and not only that, they assure the employees that they have a devoted audience that will welcome whatever they place upon that platform. This strategy has helped tremendously that it has not only reduced the grievance level but have also again helped in the reducing the absences. Thus, all the statistics, feedback of employees and consumers and the well known companys market reputation indicates the companys conformance best with the Guest Model. KRAFT: ABOUT KRAFT: A US manufacturer, Kraft, being the second largest food company with approximately $ 50 billions revenue, doing business in more than 160 countries. A company that grew out of cheese whole sale and delivery business started in Chicago in 1903 by James L. Kraft. It later on incorporated as Kraft Bros, Co. in 1909. It acquired Philip Morris Cos in 1988 and later on renamed it as Altira Group Inc., in 2003. THE CULTURE: At Kraft, being open and inclusive a simple concept to follow that has became a part of their core company value in action and that guides their behavior. Being open and inclusive is critical to creating a delicious work experience for our employees and business partners. And its the foundation of our strategy to build a high-performing culture. (Krafts management) Their business style: Two words open and inclusive has become the core code of all the business Kraft do everyday, from training and development programs to the accountability in leadership objectives. THE HR PERSPECTIVE: The Kraft believe in attaining heights through their diverse workforce is one of the modern day technique. Krafts Human resource approach revolves around the same perspective. The management claimed to be providing equal opportunities and rights to different races and color people working at Kraft. At Kraft, following key points are emphasized and are followed religiously: Provision of training for every employee to value the diversity creating a sustainable culture of welcoming differences and values. Their diversity-focused council aligns objectives with the business strategies in order to enhance the impact. HARVARD MODEL: Kraft Foods Company fits in with the Harvard model for HRM. The reviews, feedbacks and statistics indicated that the company emphasis on the company as a whole with respect to its employees. The Kraft management is working with the situations of the worlds market in formulation of policies and making organization wide decision. It works in interest of all the members i.e. stakeholders, of the company. Although the model is weaker than the others and has a fair vulnerability to Unitarianism but it is a much more appropriate model of reference. The decisions the company have made over time had given us the idea that the company works in between constraints and choices that made the company a successful and still growing one. The influence of company itself on the unique contribution within the environmental and organizational parameters not only depicts the management as the real actor but also confirms its conformity with the model. The hr perspective also indicates the active HRM the company has that gives the 4 C outcome that is obvious enough through the employees feedbacks that have been reviewed. In the last the model gives three types of long term consequences i.e. individual based, organization based and societal level. At individual (employee) level, the psychological rewards a worker receives in exchange for efforts. At organizational level, increased effectiveness that ensures the survival and growth of organization. These two levels in turn, enable the societal level as; these two levels make its possible for fully utilization of human resource available and thus, societal goals like employment and growth are easily attained. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CADBURY: Strategic human resource management aims at the improvement of the way human resources are managed strategically within organizations, with the definitive goal of improving organizational performance, as judged by its impact on the organizations declared corporate strategy, the customer or shareholders. It is a philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important to sustain the success of a business. It can also be defined as the process of linking the human resource functions with the strategic objectives of the organization in order to improve performance. Strategic human resource management involves the linking of HRM with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization in order to achieve a progressive business performance and achieve an organizational structure that promotes innovation and flexibility. Strategic HRM according to text published in 2004 has emerged as a major approach to improving the competitive advantage of the firm. The strategic management is concerned with policy decisions effecting the entire organization, overall objective being to position the organization to deal effectively with its environment. Strategic HRM aims to provide a sense of direction in an often turbulent environment so that organizational and business needs can be translated into coherent and practical policies and programs. It provides competitive advantage over the others. (Malik, 2009) The goals and objectives of HRM are aligned with the strategic objectives and plans of the organization. The case referred presents a clear picture of an organization that works with clear business objectives i.e. to deliver shareholder performance. The company works with the aim at dividends. The company policy works with the vision that the people it holds are the most important asset that not only works for the company but also integral in achieving the desired goals. Through different papers and journals we saw that the management is managing its human resources in a contingent manner. Thus, we can say that they are following the contingency approach.ÂÂ   Many advocates of the contingency theory of SHRM a company can only be effective if its policies and strategies align with the other key factors and strategies of the firm. According to journal HR must be closely integrated into the planning process of a firm. They also believed that a firm can achieve success if it is able to develop HR policies and practices that complement and support other HR policies and practices and other elements of the organizations strategic plan. (TME) Thus it is evident enough in the case that Cadbury considers its people as a source of competitive advantage and believes that they work as the main contributors to the companys success. The company also seeks and welcomes changes. The goals and objectives are clear and in order to achieve the goals and set objectives it must be aligned with the efforts of its people. The only way to observe such a trend is through Strategic Human Resource. As the company requires active and effective communication with its human resource and it plays the most important role in the companys approach, and in conveying all the policies, plans and strategies so that people at work can synchronize their efforts. The mere fact that Cadbury Schweppes has an HR director on the main board and that HR is represented at every regional business unit make it obvious that the company recognizes the strategic importance of human resources and takes HR issues and concerns seriously. (Cadbury) Cadbury is a resource based company. The company core competencies make it a resource based company. Cadburys unique strategies and policy, the working conditions and the development opportunities it provides to its employees that in turn becomes the key asset or its edge over its competitors. (TME) KRAFT: Kraft unique style of providing training and development opportunities at all level and point of time during an employees tenure makes it a best fit, best practice based company. Through analysis we can see that all the employees from top to bottom have a particular thing to be on that position. The core strategies that are followed at Kraft begin with the aim of building a high-performing organization (Kraft Foods). The provision of best fit entitles an employee for his reward in terms of promotion or training or even other means of rewards and appraisals. It also provides the top management the opportunity of enjoying a decentralized decision making power. The best fit eventually leads to best practice where a good healthy employee who is psychologically satisfied through rewards and encouragements strives to work for better tomorrow. All these practices are observed in Krafts foods operations making it Best Fit, Best Practice based company. LITERATURE REVIEWS: Kraft wins BBC Big Challenge Award for Gloucestershire (Kraft Foods, 2006) Kraft Foods today announced that it has won the BBC Big Challenge Health Works Award for Healthiest Large Employer in the BBC Radio Gloucestershire area. This award is presented to employers who have made health in the workplace one of their top priorities in 2005 and beyond. Kraft won the award for its commitment to creating a working environment that encourages and supports employees in their efforts to lead a balanced, active and healthy lifestyle. Since its launch in July 2004, Krafts employee wellbeing programme has offered advice on living a healthy lifestyle, supported activities that promote wellbeing such as pilates and yoga, provided healthy options in its staff restaurants, and offered all employees the opportunity to obtain periodical health checks through the companys occupational health team. The programme also demonstrates Krafts commitment to being a global leader in Health and Wellness, and its vision to Help people around the world to eat and live better. Christine Harrop, Occupational Health Sister at Kraft Foods won the BBC Big Challenge Unsung Hero Award for Gloucestershire an award presented to employees who have done something to inspire and encourage their colleagues to lead healthier and fitter lives. Christine won the award for her commitment to the health and wellbeing of Kraft employees, and her role over the past 18 years in participating and encouraging Kraft employees to take part in the annual London to Brighton Bike Ride. Christine regularly manages to recruit up to 60 employees to participate in the initiative and has raised thousands of pounds for the events chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation. Commenting on the two awards, Jim Beaty, HR Director stated Its a terrific achievement and recognition for the efforts of all employees who have contributed to the success of the employee wellbeing programme. Kraft Foods Names May to Global Human Resources Post. (Busniess Wire, 2005) NORTHFIELD, Ill. Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT), a global leader in branded foods and beverages, announced today that Karen May, 47, is joining the company in October as Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources. May will provide leadership for all of Krafts human resources disciplines, including benefits, compensation, diversity, facilities management, labor and employee relations, human resources strategy, safety and security, and talent management. She will report to Roger Deromedi, Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Foods, and join the Kraft Executive Team. May replaces Terry Faulk, who is retiring after more than 38 years with the company. She will work closely with Faulk to ensure a smooth transition, prior to his retirement at the end of the year. We will truly miss Terrys vast experience and sound judgment, said Deromedi. I want to thank him for his many significant contributions to Kraft throughout his long and distinguished career, and wish him and his family the very best in his retirement. Karens broad range of experiences and thorough understanding of the Human Resources function will serve her well in this role, Deromedi noted. Im confident that shell play a key role in driving Krafts transformation to a more consumer-focused, innovative and nimble company in the years ahead. May joins Kraft from Baxter International, Inc., where she has been Corporate Vice President of Human Resources since 2001. She joined Baxter in 1990 as Director of Corporate Audit and held several positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Corporate Audit and Vice President of International Finance. In 1998, she became Vice President of Global Talent Planning and Staffing at Baxter and, prior to her most recent assignment, was named Vice President of Human Resources in 2000. May began her career in finance, with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She has a BS in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Kraft Foods markets many of the worlds leading food brands, including Kraft cheese, Maxwell House and Jacobs coffees, Nabisco cookies and crackers, Philadelphia cream cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, Post cereals and Milka chocolates, in more than 155 countries. CONCLUSION: After all the research it can be concluded being key players of same consumer good category companies, and apart from the merger or acquisition, both the companies have their own unique set of competitive advantage over each other. Challenges in Highway Construction | Research Proposal Challenges in Highway Construction | Research Proposal Dissertation Proposal Challenges in Highway Road Construction in Nigeria. Research Questions: Why is there a high number of highway roads in poor conditions especially in the eastern part of the country? Why is there abandoned highway roads across Nigeria despite huge investments in highway construction? Why this there a poor maintenance culture of roads across the country? Hence, this proposed dissertation would aim to address this gap in knowledge by challenges facing the highway road construction, focusing more on the supervision of highway roads of indigenous construction companies. AIM To review and identify the challenges facing the construction of highway roads in Nigeria and to provide relevant recommendations for minimising these problems. The objectives of this research proposal are: To clearly identify the challenges facing highway construction in Nigeria through literature review. To conduct a questionnaire survey and interview of professional bodies and engineers and obtain their perceptions on highway construction challenges in Nigeria (particularly professionals with 30years and over of experience). Analysis of the survey data. To recommend possible changes in the supervision of highway construction in Nigeria. Background Introduction Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of size and population of 174 million with landmass of 923,768 sq. km with diverse ethnic and cultures. It has 36 states with the Federal capital at Abuja with commercial states at Kano, Lagos, and Port Harcourt representing the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country. The Construction industry contributes about 7% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Nigeria annually and the GDP per capital was about $2,800 in 2013 and is made up of small, medium and large scale companies. It is dominated by foreign companies controlling about 95% of the construction works across the country with top construction companies namely Julius Berger, Dantana Sowoe, Borini Prono, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, etc. OVERVIEW OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA Nigeria has the largest road network in West Africa with a total of over 193,000km length which is generally funded and managed by government. Road transportation is the major means of movement in Nigeria and it accounts for about 90% of movement of goods and services (Akpogomeh, 2002). In terms of scale and value, the transport infrastructure sector is dominated by the roads and bridges which make up about 17.2% of the total construction industry in 2014. However less than 20% of the road network is paved. With the government’s commitment to development, large investments in highway roads has been awarded across the country and the sector is expected to grow. The road network in the South and eastern part of the country are denser than the other parts owing to the high population densities in the areas (Ubogu et al, 2011). For example, the population in Lagos is about 6 million which was the former capital state and is the commercial and production part of the country and hence the volume of usage of the highway roads to and fro Lagos is quite high. The total highway roads are separately owned with the responsibility for construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation.The Federal roads are about 17%, State owned roads 16%, rural and Local Government Areas (LGAs) about 67%. The funding of the construction of the highway roads comes from the allocation of budget and also revenues from excess crude oil sales. Also, some states generate funds through private partnering which is used in Lagos States. However, only about 27% of Federal roads are reported to be in good condition, of which a major cause is likely to be the instability of the country during the military regime, which later became civilian rule since 1999. Annual loss to the economy is estimated in the region of N175b (N75b due to reduction in asset value; N88b due to increased vehicle operating cost; N12b due to increased turn around and increased travel time). Due to the high cost of construction of highway roads especially in the southern part of the country characterized with poor soils, high cost of labour, the Federal government relies heavily on international aid especially from China and the World Bank. With the World Bank, funding erosion projects across the country worth over $500 million. In October 2012, in the Northern part, Kaduna State approved $176million for 31 rural and township roads, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed a loan of $170million for roads as part of the Nigeria Agriculture Transformation Agenda (NATA), which targets rural development. Also, a 128km road contract in Zamafara state worth $43.47million was awarded in 2013. Over in western part of Nigeria November 2012, in one of the biggest road developments, Ogun state awarded four companies a share of $568million for road contracts. Borini Prono, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Hi Tech and PW Construction will complete eight new roads by 2014, with a second phase of construction worth over $250 million. Also, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is one of the major road projects under development. The Infrastructure Bank Plc. is to raise NGN117bn for the reconstruction of the 127km road. Over in the Middle part of Nigeria, Delta where the country gets its crude oil from, a road construction contract worth $1.07 billion has been awarded to China Railway Construction in Nigeria. The Ministry of Delta Affairs of Nigeria awarded the package of works for Section V of the A121 East-West highway to China Civil Engineering Construction, a division of China Railway Construction with a 5 years duration to connect the main North-South highways. ITS route runs from the A1 highway at Shagamu in Ogun State to the A2 highway at Benin City in Edo State. More recently, in 2014, the governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of which Nigeria is strong member approved a $50million six dual lane road projects to link Lagos, Abidjan and Dakar together cutting across Benin, Togo and Ghana. Also, the African Development Bank is expected to provide $16million for the construction and rehabilitation of roads across Africa linking the major cities. In general, the present condition of the Nigerian roads require urgent attention, in terms of rehabilitation and had a negative effect on the cost of production, lengthy travel time and standard of living ((Ubogu et al, 2011). For example, travelling from Benin to Lagos normally should take 5hours, but due to the bad road, the journey takes 8hours. Table 1.0 showing highway construction projects, value in US dollars, capacity, contractors and status. Project Name Value(US$) Capacity/length Companies Status Benin-Sagamu Highway 156 9.93km NA Under construction from 2013 Edepie-Tombia road Reconstruction 63 13km Shell Petroleum Development Company Under construction Niger Delta East- West Highway 2,175.69 338km Setraco Limited Under construction from 2013 Akwa Ibom State roads reconstruction 726 266km NA Planning stage Six lane Rig road in Niger Delta Port Harcourt 1,000 125km Africa Finance Corporation, China Harbor Eng. Company Contract awarded in 2008 East-West Road Project 2,276.3 338km Setraco Nigeria Ltd, Reynolds Construction Company Ltd, Gitto Costruzioni General Nigeria Ltd. Under construction since 2012. 51% of work completed. Ibadan-Ilorin highway upgrade 292 52km Shikin Binui Housing and Construction Under construction awarded 2010 and includes new dual carriage with interchanging bridges. Lagos- Ibadan Expressway 1054 127.6km Julius Berger, Reynolds Construction Company Ltd. Awarded 2013. Concession awarded to Bi-Courtney Highway Services ltd and was terminated and granted to Messrs Julius Berger Plc, Reynolds Construction Company. Gbongan Akoda Omoluuabi Motorway widening 185.8 30km RATON construction Nigeria Awarded May 2013 Magami-Dangulbi Dankurmi, Sabon Birni, Bagega Anka road 94.91 128km Bonny Prono Awarded Nov. 2012 Charanchi Ganuwa-Rawayau road 8.18 17km Mothercat Under construction from Oct 2013 Kaduna roads 178.1 NA NA Project Finance Closure(Funding Approved) NA-Not Available Source- Nigeria Infrastructure Report 2014 (BMI key Projects Database) SUPERVISION IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA In Nigeria, supervision of highway construction is done by consultant engineers and middle level supervisors with few highway field experience, for example in the construction of say 10km rehabilitation in rural areas. A major factor affect supervision of highway projects is low knowledge of highway design and construction, understanding and interpretation of drawings, which is impossible to supervise what ones does not have knowledge of. Some processes in highway construction requires proper supervising such as the road alignment, soil tests, laying of asphalts or macadam as the case maybe. Also, the supervision should involve checking of quality of the material used for construction such as sand, laterite in accordance with the specifications in the highway drawings. In the awarding of highway roads contracts, the construction and supervision are awarded separately with competitive biddings. For example, Julius Berger, a foreign based company which specializes in highway construction which major works in Abuja city capital. The major issue is that for some construction works supervision contracts are awarded based on connection instead of actual knowledge of the supervision and hence there are no checks. But in general, most of the construction of highway roads by the foreign companies have stood the test of time. The case is not the same for home based construction companies who have limited resources and technical knowledge are awarded huge highway road contracts, with home based consultants supervising. Another issue is that the bill of the consultants supervising the construction is often times added to the entire contract and hence responsibility rests in the hands of the contractors and hence the consultants are often times forced to cut corners and save costs such as not putting a resident engineer to supervise daily and give reports. LOW KNOWLEDGE BASE. A major problem facing the highway construction is the lack of knowledge passage from the old and experienced engineers to the young, inexperienced engineers. Often times, due to the lack of availability of supervision works, most consulting firms do not employ and train engineers, engaging them in design and interpretation of drawings on site. Often times, when consulting firms get work, they employ contract based engineers to supervision leaving a huge gap of knowledge passage to the younger engineers and hence in Nigeria, most graduate Engineers have little or no construction experience. Also there is a lack of modern method of road construction especially the home based construction companies and hence many highway projects, such as highways and bridges, do not meet cost and time performance requirements. There is a poor maintenance culture of highway roads across the country and with the huge investments in highway construction, the average Nigerian lacks maintenance culture. In some cities across the country, some of the highways are constructed without the side drains and in some other cases only one side of the drains are constructed, which later causes failure of the roads. Also, litters can be seen in some of the highway roads especially in the eastern and western parts of the country which is a very serious issue which should be addressed. In the rural areas, most of the side drains are completely blocked especially in the eastern part which is prone to erosions. Another major issue within the highway construction in Nigeria is the failure of the Federal Government in paying contractors. For example, in the reconstruction of the 125km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which was re-awarded to Julius Berger and R.C.C in which the construction is due to start due lack of payment by the government which is one of the reasons for abandoned highway projects across the country. Nigeria still uses the traditional contracting approach in which procurement is done through advertisement and bid processes has failed in performance in both the quality of construction and the management of the highways, in many developed countries adopting performance-based contract in road construction and maintenance. The Federal Ministry of Works which has branches across the 36 states with head office in Abuja the capital is responsible for all the federal highways construction which involves planning, design, construction, and rehabilitation. It is responsible for awarding for major highway contracts across the country. It also supervises and monitors construction and maintenance of the federal roads. In terms of quality, the choice of materials used, methodology and supervision are key in improving the quality and life span roads. In this regard, (Arumala 1987; and Akpododje 1986) investigated how the design standards, poor supervision and the failure of highways and found little or no evidence supporting it. Also, studies on road failure caused by use of sub-standard materials and knowledge on the geotechnical properties of the soils in which the roads are built (Ibrahim 1980; and Ola 1978). For example, the cost of road construction in the south and eastern part of the country is higher than that in the northern part mainly on the bad conditions of the soil, high cost of labour and availability of construction materials. The British code of Highway practice (BS codes) are still used in Nigeria for both in highway construction and buildings as it was a former colony of the Britain and currently a member of the Common Wealth. The Federal ministry also supervises the activities of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) which is responsible for carryout maintenance works on the federal and state highways across the country. Research Method My proposed research method would be a qualitative research (questionnaire and interview survey). Interview survey for consultant engineers who have over 30 years’ experience in highway construction and questionnaire survey for contractors in highway construction in Nigeria. The reason being that the research requires an in depth perspective and in terms of numbers there are few engineers with over 30 years’ experience I can meet. The structure of the interview would be semi structured to allow for flexibility for 3 consultant engineers home based medium scale firms. Possible Problems Potential Solutions Possible limitations to my proposed study is the firstly the time management and a timetable has been drafted as shown below. Also the responsiveness of the interview survey could be challenging finding professional engineers and consultants with over 30 years’ experience. The research limited to home based construction companies and professionals. Conclusion Hopefully, at the end of research work, solutions could be recommended in the highway construction industry in Nigeria especially in the supervision area which would help in future planning of projects. References Alaba Adetola, et.al (2011) A critical appraisal of road transport infrastructure management in Nigeria International council for research and innovation CIB, pp.77-95. Abdulkareem, Y. and Adeoti, K. (2003), Road maintenance and National Development available at unilorin.edu.ng Adams, O. (1995) Indigenous Contractors’ Perceptions of the constraints on Contractors Performance and Development Programmes required in Nigeria. Habitat International, 19(4), pp.599-613. Adetola, A. (2011) A critical appraisal of road transport infrastructure management in Nigeria. International council for research and innovation CIB, pp.77-95. Aibinu, A. and Jagboro, G. (2002) The effects of Construction Industry, international Journal of Project Management. 20(8), pp.593-599. Nigerian Infrastructure report, 2013; 2014. (2014). A.E Okezie (2013) A case for Performance based road maintenance in Nigeria available at www.nseph.org Odeh, A. and Battaineh, H. (2002) Causes of construction delays: traditional contracts. International Journals of Project Management, 20, pp.67-73. Okigbo, N. (2012) Causes of Highway failures in Nigeria. International Journal for Engineering Science and Technology, 4(11).

Love in the English Medieval Period Essay

INTRODUCTION The romance of Courtly Love practiced during the Middle Ages was combined with the Code of Chivalry. There were strict rules of courtly love and the members of the courts practiced the art of courtly love across Europe during the Middle Ages. The romance, rules and art of courtly love allowed knights and ladies to show their admiration regardless of their marital state. It was a common occurrence for a married lady to give a token to a knight of her choice to be worn during a medieval tournament. There were rules, which governed courtly love, but sometimes the parties, who started their relationship with such elements of courtly love, would become deeply involved. Examples of relationships, which were stirred by romantic courtly love, chivalry and romance, are described in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Chaucer’s Wife of Bath. Many illicit court romances were fuelled by the practice and art of courtly love. The most fertile field of the romance genre was the Arthurian rom ance. Closely related to the romance tradition were two idealized standards of behavior: chivalry and courtly love. Many modern people think of chivalry as referring to a man’s gallant treatment of  women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry includes more than that. Many modern people think of chivalry as referring to a man’s gallant treatment of women, and although that sense is derived from the medieval chivalric ideal, chivalry includes more than that. Broadly speaking, chivalry, derived from the old French term for a soldier mounted on horseback, was a knight’s code of conduct. There was no single set of chivalric rules, but the existence of popular medieval chivalric handbooks testifies that chivalry was a well-known concept. Knights formed a distinct segment of medieval society, which was often thought of as being composed of three classes: those who pray (the clergy), those who fight (the nobility), and those who work (the peasants). Most knights belonged to the nobility, if only because a knight’s equipment horses, weapons, armor, required considerable resources to fund. Violence, often bloody and horrific violence, was at the heart of what knights did. As highly skilled and well-armed fighting men, knights could be a force either for creating social chaos or for maintaining public order. Unit 1- Background research on courtly love and chivalry 1.1 Courtly love developed in the twelfth century among the troubadours of southern France, but soon spread into the neighboring countries and eventually colored the literature of most of Western Europe for centuries. It originated in the writings of the poet Ovid Ars Amatoria (‘The Art of Love’). Andrà © the Chaplain (or Andreas Cappellanus), took as his model, Ovid’s ‘Ars Amatoria ‘ (the Art of Loving). Ovid’s work concerns how to seduce a woman, and among its rules are appropriate forms of dress, approach, conversation, and toying with a lady’s affections, all designed to amuse. In the Ars Amatoria, the man is in control, and the woman is simply his prey. But Andrà © turned the Ars Amatoria upside-down. In his â€Å"Liber de arte honeste amandi et reprobatione inhonesti amoris† (â€Å"Book of the Art of Loving Nobly and the Reprobation of Dishonourable Love†), the woman becomes the mistress of the game. It is she who sets the rules and passes judgment on the hopeful suitor. In Ovid’s work the lover sighs with passion for his pursuit, but in le Chapelain’s Liber the passion is pure and entirely for the love of a lady. The rules outlined in Andrà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s work are in many ways far  from the reality of the times. In the medieval world, women rarely had any power to speak of. The nobility were warriors, and the arts of war, leadership and politics occupied their minds. More often than not, a noblemen thought of his wife, (or future wife) as a breeder, a servant, and a source of sexual gratification (his, not hers). Fidelity on her part was absolutely necessary to ensure the validity of the bloodline. Fidelity on his part wasn’t an issue. Under any other circumstances, le Chapelain’s Liber might have remained an interesting literary exercise (as Ovid’s Ars Amatoria was intended to be); or it might have been ignored or laughed out of serious literary circles. But with the historical background at precisely the right stage of development, in the court of Eleanor and under the guidance of Marie, Andrà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s ‘Art of Loving Nobly’ was literature to be lived. Two women who had a particular influence on the development of romance were Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen first of France and then of England, and her daughter Marie, Countess of Champagne (in Eastern France). Eleanor brought to the English court her interest in poetry, music and the arts, all of which were cultivated at the court of Aquitaine where she grew up (her grandfather William was the first known troubadour poet). In the vernacular narratives that were written for and dedicated to Eleanor-early ‘romances’-we find an emphasis on the sort of love relationship that is depicted in troubadour poetry, commonly known as ‘courtly love’ (fin’amors in Provenà §al, the language of troubadour poetry). The ‘courtly love’ relationship is modeled on the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege lord. The knight serves his courtly lady (love service) with the same obedience and loyalty, which he owes to his liege lord. She is in complete control of the love relationship, while he owes her obedience and submission (a literary convention that did not correspond to actual practice!) The knight’s love for the lady inspires him to do great deeds, in order to be worthy of her love or to win her favor. Thus ‘courtly love’ was originally construed as an ennobling force whether or not it was consummated, and even whether or not the lady knew about the knight’s love or loved him in return. The ‘courtly love’ relationship typically was not between husband and wife, not because the poets and the audience were inherently immoral, but because  it was an idealized sort of relationship that could not exist within the context of ‘real life’ medieval marriages. In the middle ages, marriages amongst the nobility were typically based on practical and dynastic concerns rather than on love. The idea that a marriage could be based on love was a radical notion. But the audience for romance was perfectly aware that these romances were fictions, not models for actual behavior. The adulterous aspect that bothers many 20th-century readers was somewhat beside the point, which was to explore the potential influence of love on human behavior. Social historians such as Eric Kà ¶hler and Georges Duby have hypothesized that â€Å"courtly love† may have served a useful social purpose: providing a model of behavior for a class of unmarried young men that might otherwise have threatened social stability. Knights were typically younger brothers without land of their own (hence unable to support a wife) who became members of the household of the feudal lords whom they served. One reason why the lady in the courtly love relationship is typically older, married and of higher social status than the knight may be because she was modeled on the wife of the feudal lord, who might naturally become the focus of the young, unmarried knights’ desire. Kà ¶hler and Duby posit that the literary model of the courtly love relationship may have been invented in part to provide these young men with a model for appropriate behavior, teaching them to sublimate their desires and to channel their energy into socially useful behavior ( love service rather than wandering around the countryside, stealing or raping women like the knight in the ‘ Wife of Bath’s tale). Ovid described the â€Å"symptoms† of love as if it were a sickness. The â€Å"lovesick† knight became a conventional figure in medieval romance. Typical symptoms: sighing, turning pale, turning red, fever, inability to sleep, eat or drink. Romances often contained long interior monologues in which the lovers describe their feelings. For the troubadours of 12th C France who introduced it into literature, Courtly love had two basic, essential characteristics: Love is irresistible and it is an ennobling force. No one is exempt from the service of the God of love who rules this world and extramarital sexual love, sinful to Christians, is the sole source of worldly worth and excellence. All the other characteristics of love that appear in the Canterbury Tales, for example, are simply trappings  decorations. These belong to the general body of love literature. Yet these trappings, so ludicrous when exaggerated, have caused courtly love to be confused with romantic love and have brought it into disrepute. Since love is irresistible, nothing done under its compulsion can be immoral; since humans are worthless unless they acts under this compulsion, the necessity of practicing love in incumbent on each person. Courtly love not only approves and encourages whatever fans and provokes sensual desire, it not only condones fornication, adultery, and sacrilege, but it represents them as necessary sources of what it calls virtue. Love is a union of heart and mind as well as body. Sensuality for its own sake, the enjoyment of fleshly delights of and for themselves, is contrary to courtly love. The wanton and the promiscuous practice such love. Hence, in the courtly love code fidelity is its greatest virtue and infidelity its greatest vice. Yet the Roman Church formally condemned both principles of courtly love. Archbishop Stephen Tempier at Paris condemned the irresistibility of love and love as the sole source of human worth on March 7, 1277. 1.2 What is Chivalry? Chivalry is a system of discipline and social interaction that is derived from the warrior class of medieval times, especially and primarily the class of trained warriors who participated in the Crusades (12th-14th centuries). Chivalry has a discipline because those ancient soldiers trained themselves daily through learning and practicing the arts of attack and self-defense. These arts gave rise to the idea of control of the body, mind, and speech in the Knight. Further, the idea of social interaction developed because the Knight originally followed carefully the orders of his superiors who were interested only in battle with those who were eligible to fight, that is, civilians were not to be engaged in battle. From this idea of engaging only other Knights developed the idea of treating enemies and friends fairly and equally. Men who excelled in battle were honored with Knighthood, an honor first granted by Knights only. Then, later, as the honor of being a Knight grew, both Monarchy and the Church (Eastern Orthodox as well as Roman Catholic) began to participate in the selection and creation of Knights. While the ideals of Knighthood were often violated by the Knight warriors themselves, yet the  ideals survived as Knighthood came to be thought of as an honor to be bestowed upon those who had proven themselves worthy. When the practice of the volunteer army and the need for Knights as warriors faded away, the concept of the honorable and self-disciplined Knight remained, and the rank and status of Knight began to take on aspects of minor Nobility that one could achieve (rather than having to be born into). As an honor and status that men sought, Knighthood became a valuable gift and boon for Kings and Church to grant, either individually as a ‘Knight Bachelor’ or as membership in an Order of Chivalry. Chivalry sets a standard of conduct that transcends era or culture. It maintains a code of conduct that traditionally [upholds] a practical guide to living in a changing world, and it provides discipline within an undisciplined environment. Chivalry embraces a spiritual path of personal development that combines bravery and gentleness with a fierce compassion for the welfare of others. The knight’s interest and goal in life is to protect those who cannot defend, be it physical, spiritual, or economical and to fulfill a desire for personal excellence. UNIT 2 – The chivalrous ideal and courtly love in ’’Sir gawain and the Green Knight’’ and ’’The Wife of Bath ’’ 2.1 A knight’s behavior toward women, at least in the romance tradition, was governed by another standard known as courtly love. Medieval writers did not necessarily use that term, but it is a convenient modern label for an idea that appears frequently in medieval literature. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the poet’s term for it is â€Å"courtesy.† Scholars have debated whether courtly love was a social reality or purely a literary fiction, but in either case, it was a pervasive and influential notion. The ties between the romance genre and the courtly love tradition were well established even at this time, for when Cappellanus offered his â€Å"rules of love,† he brackets them with a story involving a knight on the way to the court of King Arthur. The courtly lover was a man (often a knight) who devoted himself to the service of his beloved lady, making himself her servant; if he was a knight; all of his brave deeds were dedicated to his lady. Marriage to others was not a barrier to such love affairs, which were to be kept secret, with clandestine meetings and messages between the lovers relayed by go-betweens.  The lovers usually exchanged gifts or favors, normally a personal item such as a ring, glove, or girdle, all of which appear in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. True lovers became faint or sick with the strength of their love; sleeplessness, lack of appetite, and jealousy were all symptoms of true love. A lover was expected to have fine manners and display perfect gentility. As with chivalry, the tension between courtly love and Christian morality was unavoidable. Much of the courtly love tradition assumed that the lovers would consummate their relationship sexually, regardless of whether they were married. A more Christianized version of courtly love placed the lover in courteous but decidedly chaste service to his beloved. Like chivalry, courtly love may have been more of an ideal than an actual practice, but that did not lessen its cultural importance. At first glance, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight seem to be a relatively simple story about the quest of a knight in Arthurian Camelot. Upon further examination, however, it becomes clear that interwoven within the simple plotline is an intricate relationship between men and women with an emphasis on the values of the time. Throughout this work, we are privy to a variety of literal and figurative dichotomies including those between men and women, court values and church values, girdle and pentacle, the Green Knight and Sir Gawain, Guinevere and Morgan de Fay, and the Virgin Mary and Lady Bertilak. During the medieval period, the court and the church were of utmost importance – codes of chivalry in the court were substantial factors in dictating the etiquette and specific behaviors of people – as demonstrated through its literature. What seems to have happened in medieval literature is this: the pre-courtly love literature presented a fairly accurate portrait of women’s role in society. Then, with the advent of courtly love some authors felt the need to conform the role of women in literature to that which was assigned to them by the philosophy of courtly love. (Malcor). In a sense, the medieval work in question does not seem to draw exclusively from either the pre-courtly or courtly genres in its discussion of the role of women, rather we see a multitude of different women portrayed in clearly contrasting manners. Most notably, Lady Bertalik becomes a major figure of this work, as well as a symbol of knightly virtues, or lack thereof. In the third part of Sir Gawain  and the Green Knight, the story turns to Sir Gawain and Lady Bertalik; on three successive days, Lady Bertalik meets Sir Gawain in his bedchambers and attempts to seduce him. During the first two days, though tempting, Gawain manages to remain a model of both courtly and religious restraint and behavior; meanwhile, Lady Bertalik extends herself as the aforementioned ‘’fairly accurate portrait of women’s role in society.’’ While some women of the time succeeded in being entirely pure, it was not uncommon for damsels to try and seduce men as they traveled about the lands. The third morning, however, Gawain succumbs to his own fear of death and accepts the â€Å"lesser† of two gifts offered by Lady Bertalik on promises that the magical girdle will protect him from all harm. ‘’[The girdle] was wrought of green silk, and gold, only braided by the fingers, and that she offered to the knight, and besought him though it were of little worth that he would take it,’’ while in reality, Lady Bertalik is knowingly tricking the unsuspecting knight (Weston, Part III). In addition, Lady Bertalik’s gift is a strong symbol of womanhood and parallels both facets of pre-courtly and courtly literature. Like Lady Bertalik, the girdle is similar to the depiction of pre-courtly realism – in which women maintained their outward appearance, but also had inner, wild sexual desires that were often unleashed – as it is meant to be tied, but then removed to allow for free movement and expression. In slight contrast, the girdle may also illustrate the more courtly and idealistic viewpoint due to its restrictive qualities, which in theory, forces the girdle-clad to appear as a woman. The idea of the girdle enforcing a female faà §ade is lost, however, when Gawain, himself, dons the green article; thereby, excusing the idea that the girdle has any semblance of courtly qualities. For purposes of this argument – that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight entertains two separate depictions of society through literature, the realistic and the philosophical – it is Guinevere who plays Lady Bertilak’s opposite. Though she appears only briefly in this text, her role in courtly society is quite obvious. Seen at the opening feast given by her husband, King Arthur, Guinevere sits regally, but quietly beside her husband. While she expresses some momentary discontent – when Arthur first offers himself up to the Green Knight – it is almost entirely based upon her role as a  woman and the wife of the king. In this particular piece of Arthurian literature, Guinevere is defined by specific binaries; she is only what the king is not and she behaves the way that Lady Bertalik does not. Given this role, Guinevere exemplifies the pre-courtly disposition of behavior and remains the passive and silent, but â€Å"perfect† queen. As demonstrated through the actions and general social conduct of Lady Bertalik and Guinevere, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight displays a variety of women in several blatantly contrasting roles. While this, does substantiate the suggestion that the behavior of women has been projected differently throughout medieval literature. Like most medieval literature, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight participate in several important literary traditions that its original audience would have instantly recognized. Medieval poets were expected to re-use established source materials in their own works. Modern readers sometimes mistakenly take this as evidence of how lacking in creativity and originality the Middle Ages were. In reality, much of the interest of medieval literature comes from recognizing how one work of literature pulls against those that came before it, makes subtle changes from its sources, and invests old material with new meanings. One can read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as simply a rollicking tale of adventure and magic or, alternatively, as a lesson in moral growth. However, understanding some of the literary and cultural background that Sir Gawain and the Green Knight draws upon can provide modern readers with a fuller view of the poem’s meaning. 2.2 The Prologue and Tale of the Wife of Bath are among the most popular parts of The Canterbury Tales, and also cause a lot of trouble for critics. There are many various opinions about the character of Alison, ranging from utter individuality of the character to her being only a refined archetype of the old go-between. Many consider the disparity of her Prologue and Tale so problematic that there is need to explain the duality of her personality, and again many others focus on the common features of the Prologue and Tale. Probably the only thing about Wife of Bath’s Tale on which the critics agree is that its narrative voice and choice of topic is distinctly feminine, the  world of her tale is inhabited by women with occasional obedient men. Alison is a feminist of her own making. Although many say that in the end she still submits to the rule of the patriarchal world, they do not take into account the time of her creation. When Alison struggles for respect in her own household, there is absolutely no awareness of feminine desire for equality, and it will still need several centuries before the Precieuses movement starts in France, influencing the whole Europe. Alison lives in a patriarchal world with strict views of women, and her domestic revolution seems outrageous in her times. Yet, in her Prologue, she argues that there is need for a distinctly feminine voice and tradition. Judging by Alison’s Prologue, it seems extremely difficult for a woman to accept her position in the male tradition. In her Prologue, she therefore uses the traditional patriarchal ideas and expression, and yet she bends them to suit her purpose. When she argues for marriage as an equally important alternative to virginity, she quotes St. Paul, the major male authority that prefers virginity. But it is obvious that the educated account of texts she shows the reader is only knowledge acquired from her husbands, as the read er is later to realize. She is incapable of reading the texts for herself; otherwise she would not use Jerome’s interpretation of the encounter of Jesus and the Samaritan woman beside a well. She would use the source text to impeach Jerome’s interpretation. But the Wife of Bath lacks the knowledge that it was not Jesus but the Samaritan woman herself who said she had no husband. Although the mind of the Wife is captured in medieval paradigms about women, she would gladly argue with Jerome just like she argued with her clerk husband, had she the knowledge of the original biblical text. The Wife also draws a decisive line between the biblical texts, which in no way express any obligation concerning the number of marriages, and the Church tradition created by men with no experience of marriage. What St. Paul says is not a rule, it is only advice: â€Å"Advice is no commandment in my view./ He left it in our judgment what to do† (CT, 278). After her biblical lecture where the Wife uses many examples from the Old Testament to show there are no strict rules established about marriage, she moves on to what she promises at the beginning of her Prologue, to experience: If there were no authority on earth Except experience; mine, for what it’s worth, And that’s enough for me, all goes to show That marriage is a misery and a woe; (CT,  276) Yet, as she has also shown, women’s reputation for zealous confessing paradoxically opened up opportunities of empowerment, as a number of female sham mystics, working with their attend- ant priests, created a lucrative theatre of spirituality in which the woman was the center of attention. The Wife of Bath’s Tale itself is another genre-experiment, which enacts the Wife’s speculation: By God! If women had written stories, As clerkes han withinne hire oratories, They wolde han written of men moore wikkednesse Than al the mark of Adam may redresse. (III (D), 693–6) The Tale is the retelling of a fairy mistress tale in which a knight finds that he can save his life only if he can find the answer to the question of what women want most. He goes on a quest in search of the answer and meets a loathsome old hag who tells him that women most want to have control over men. The knight escapes death at the hands of his enemies, but in return must marry the old hag. In bed on their marriage night, she persuades him to face her, whereupon he finds that she has transformed into a beautiful young girl. She asks him whether he would prefer to have her beautiful by day or by night, but tired by now of trick questions, the knight leaves the decision in her hands. Because he has capitulated to her, she promises to stay young and beautiful always, and they live happily ever after. What a synopsis effaces is the way in which this story can be adapted to prompt various responses. In the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the narrative framework is deployed to allow Gawain, as hero, to demonstrate extreme chivalric behavior and win audience approval. Chaucer’s adaptation is more radical. The hero is a rapist, forced into the bargain set by the ladies of the court to save his life. There is no indication that he is remorseful, nor that the quest is penitential. He comes upon the hag because he spies on some young girls dancing in a wood, and much less emphasis is put on the grotesque appearance of the hag than in other romance versions. The radical change, however, is that he walks into the bargain with the hag without knowing his part in advance. She accompanies him back to the court where the bargain is uttered in public. The quest is, therefore, manipulated so that instead of being morally enhanced, the hero is humiliated. He has no chance to dem onstrate Florent’s stoicism as all his opportunities for displaying bravery and chivalry are pre-empted by powerful and cynical  women. The values of chivalry are transposed ironically into a lecture given by the transformed hag to her husband on their wedding night in bed. The relationship between Prologue and Tale is not so much the simple matter of the Tale being adapted as the wish-fulfillment of the invented narrator; rather the two sit in parallel, drawing attention through their internal juxtapositions of authorities and lived experiences, to the gap between official society and its mores, as enshrined in textual traditions, and the operation of other behaviors and performances. Her struggle is not one for domination in the relationship, as both her Prologue and Tale show. It is a struggle for love. She wants to be treated like a beloved lady in the courtly tradition, and repay her loving husband with respect and obedience. The essentially better view is that â€Å"as a kind of special representative of Chaucer in the matter, she believes in harmony between partners, however it is arrived at† (Stone, 85). Of course, it is difficult to pass judgment on Chaucer’s personal views, as Chaucer was very careful about revealing his opinions, but the choice of the topic, and the portrayal of the shrewish wife as an understandable and rather likeable character might be a certain sign of Chaucer’s own attitude. For all the problems in her first four marriages, Alison does not lose hope yet. In her climactic marriage with Jankin, the only one that ends up as a success, she is looking for love. She already has enough money and a good social standing, she could be very satisfied as a widow, a woman no longer subjected to any man’s whim, and yet she decides to marry again. Alison needs her own money and the independence it gives. The General Prologue suggests that she also needs her own work and the status that goes with success. But she wants love as well and, in her relationship with Jankin, is romantic enough to believe that it will make money irrelevant .When Alison finds out she lost not only her money, which by the right of marriage now belongs to her husband, but also her integrity as her young husband tries to change her into an obedient wife with no life of her own, she starts to fight him. But before the physical struggle is described, Chaucer gives us a mental picture of Alison’s state, a picture of a tormented woman who lacks the words to defend herself, while her husband has all the available verbal weapons. CONCLUSION The poet positions Gawain at the center of the unresolved tensions between chivalry, courtly love, and Christianity. Gawain is famed as the most courteous of knights. In one sense, this creates the expectation that his behavior will be irreproachable; in another, it assumes that he will be the most delightful of lovers for the lady who can snare him. The Lady of Haut desert exploits this tension to the fullest as she attempts to seduce Gawain. But the poet has also made clear that the beloved lady whom Gawain serves first is the Virgin Mary. As a thoroughly Christianized knight, he is forced to walk a fine line in defending himself. He cannot offend a lady, but neither can he give his hostess what she wants, because in doing so, he would be committing a sexual sin, as well as breaking chivalric loyalty and honor by betraying his host. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight cannot, therefore, be called a straightforward romance. It makes use of most of the conventions and ideals of the Arthurian romance, yet also points out its contradictions and failings. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is not an anti-romance, however, nor is it a parody, despite its lightness and good humor. When Chaucer laughs at Sir Thopas, he is mocking a tired genre, but when the Gawain-poet laughs, it is the generous laughter of friendship. The poet’s conservative and traditional approach to his timeworn material is what allows him to make it so engaging: He understands and thoroughly appreciates the conventions of his genre. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight manages to highlight the weakest points of the chivalric tradition while still appreciating everything that makes chivalry so attractive, especially its uncompromising devotion to the highest ideals, even if those ideals are not necessarily attainable (accomplished). Andreas got the Christian world to accept his concept of love by the device of the â€Å"double truth.† Although Christian teaching and his De Amore are basically irreconcilable, they may exist side by side each in its own sphere. His main purpose was to provide a pseudo-psychological and logical basis for the ideas and ideals of the troubadours. Reasoning and building on the nature of love and of humanity, he showed that love is the greatest good in this world, that it constitutes earthly happiness, and that it is the place of origin of all earthly good. Andreas proposed logically that if humans are viewed solely as rational and natural creatures, subject  only to the laws of nature and reason, then they must enroll in the army of the god of love and seek the pleasures of the flesh so that they may be ennobled and grow in virtue and in worth. Aware of the immoral and heretical implications of his work, Andreas wrote On the Rejection of Love where he condemned Courtly love a nd implicitly retracted all he had written. A strong possibility exists that Chaucer knew of the so-called double truth. He would have been aware of the dangers involved in writing romances of Courtly Love, the risk of an accusation of upholding immorality and heresy. He possibly set out to meet these dangers: 1. He is not interested in giving Courtly love a logical and philosophical grounding; he simply uses it as a vehicle for his love stories. 2. Andreas suggests he writes from experience. Chaucer states again and again that he is not writing on love from personal knowledge from experience or from his own feelings on the subject. Chaucer’s status is always as a non-participant in love–a rank outsider. His relationship to love and lovers is to be their clerk, their servant and instrument to gladden them and advance them in their individual cause. He doesn’t participate because he is unsuitable. Chaucer did strive for religious orthodoxy when, in the words of the Parson’s Tale, he protests that he â€Å"will stand for correction.† If his repudiation is not in fear, it might be a salve to a Christian conscience revolted at the utter incompatibility of Courtly Love with the tenets of Christian morality and faith. SUFFERING Love brings with it love melancholy or suffering. This was studied and in fact written on at length during the Renaissance, but it was known and made part of the fictional lover during Chaucer’s time. All in all, Chaucer’s attitude to women in The Canterbury Tales can hardly be judged as anti ­feminist. His portrayals of women are splendid and still attractive centuries after. He does not assert the male dominance in all his tales but he realistically employs different narrators to express different attitudes. Some of the tales question the medieval system of authorities, yet none of them is openly subversive. Chaucer’s female narrators cannot be judged by today’s standards of feminism and when they are looked at from the medieval point of view, the undertone of feminism in their behavior and tales emerges. They are concerned with bettering the conditions for women; they challenge the authorities in their tales. And although the women of the male tales are no revolutionaries, they are still humane enough for a modern  reader to enjoy. Chaucer does not portray women’s struggle for self-assertion, he unfolds the complex web of his society. Chaucer’s attitude to women as shown in his works is more complex than that of his contemporaries, and at the same time remains within the borders given by the society. Chaucer is a very careful poet and as such may be found inconvenient by some modern feminists. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Primary sources: Sri Gawain and the Green Knight Wife of Bath Secondary sources: Umbetro, Eco. Cum se face o teza de licenta, Polirom, Bucuresti, 2006 Dutu, Carmen. Eseuri si dizertatii. Metodologia crearii unei lucrari stintifice, Editura Universitara Bucuresti, 2012 G. C. Thornley and Gwyneth Roberts. An Outline of English Literature, Longman, Essex, 2008 Chretien de Troyes. Arthurian romances, Penguin Books Ltd, Englad 1991 Andreas Capellanus, The art of courtly love, Columbia University Press, New York 1960 Bruce J. Douglas. Evolution of Arthurian romance from the beginnings down to the year 1300, Gloucester, Mass Peter Smith 1958 Michel, Pastoureanu. La vie quotidienne en France et en Angleterre au temps des chevaliers de la Table Ronde, Hachette, Paris, 1976 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Courtly love. Modern term popularized by C. S. Lewis to describe the various kinds of love between man and woman described in the works of *trou- badours and others between the 11c and the 13c. The range of feeling ran from the dutiful respect owed a lord’s wife, to the adulterously sexual. One relationship was excluded, that between husband and wife. The genre first appeared in Provence and then spread through Europe. Appearing at much the same time as Arthurian tales, the two created a potent and memorable mix of *chivalry and romance. The French phrase amour courtois is a 19c coin- age. – Cf. Aubade; Pastourelle [ 2 ]. b. 43 BCE, Roman who wrote a parody on the technical treatises on loving. [ 3 ]. The Ars amatoria (English: The Art of Love) is an instructional book series elegy in three books by Ancient Roman poet Ovid. It was written in 2 AD. It is about teaching basic Gentlemanly male and female relationship skills and techniques. [ 4 ]. Andreas Capellanus was the 12th-century author of a treatise commonly known as De amore (â€Å"About Love†), and often known in English, somewhat misleadingly, as The Art of Courtly Love, though its realistic, somewhat cynical tone suggests that it is in some measure an antidote to courtly love. [ 5 ]. Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages . As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France (1137–1152) and of England (1154–1189). She was the patroness of such literary figures as Wace, Benoà ®t de Sainte-Maure, and Bernart de Ventadorn. She belonged to the French House of Poitiers, the Ramnulfids. [ 6 ]. Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (1145 – March 11, 1198) was the elder daughter of Louis VII of France and his first wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. [ 8 ]. French bishop of Paris during the 13th century. He was Chancellor of the Sorbonne from 1263 and bisho p of Paris from 1268.He is best remembered for promulgating a Condemnation of 219 philosophical and theological propositions (or articles) that addressed ideas and concepts that were being discussed and disputed in the faculty of Arts at the University of Paris. [ 9 ]. Chivalry is as much about the skills and manners of a warrior class as with a literature derived from the deeds of those warriors, but presented in an idealized fashion which returned to define the manners of the warriors. Chivalry was a collocation of qualities made into a coherent ideal: skill and courage, and a craving for glory or fame acquired through knightly skills and its necessary courage. [ 10 ]. Linda Ann Malcor Ph. D is an American scholar of Arthurian legend. She was selected as an Overseas Associate Member of the Late Antiquity Research Group.

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1 RUNNING HEAD: Alcohol and Drug Abuse Adolescent Drug Abuse and Alcohol Nyria Madison Liberty University Coun 620 Abstract Around the world we are finding that most adolescent are experiencing drugs and alcohol. This has been a huge issue for years. This has become a trend in society as of today. This paper will discuss the perspective of adolescent alcohol and drugs. This paper will also identify and inform you on the common predictors of adolescent substance abuse. Substance abuse can lead to negative behavior such as problems at home and school, loss of friends, health issues, and lack of memory. This paper will focus on how peer, family characteristic, and individual and factors link with substance abuse in adolescents. It also will show a connection and variables linking to factors in at risk youth. It is a fact that most adolescent are influence by drugs and alcohol because of their peers, family and individual characteristic. Introduction Alcohol and drugs has increase and became a huge factor over the years among adolescents. Alcohol and other drug involvement and use among adolescents have been a society and public problem for decades (McWhirter, McWhirter, McWhirter McWhirter, 2013) Recent studies show that by late adolescence, 78.2% of US youth have consumed alcohol, while 47.1% had reached regular drinking levels, and 15.1% met lifetime abuse criteria (Tarter, 2002) This research areShow MoreRelatedAdolescent Drug And Alcohol Abuse Essay1895 Words   |  8 PagesOur society has numerous programs that are directed at preventing the use of drugs and alcohol in adolescents; however, very few of these programs are aimed at those who are already displaying the early stages of drug use problems. Teen Intervene is a program that does just that, and is aimed at people ages 12 to 19 who are suspected of experiencing mild to moderate problems associated with alcohol or other drug use. 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Summary Response:Read MoreThe Effects Of Substance Abuse Among Adolescents1296 Words   |  6 Pages Substance abuse has become a notable public health threat to today’s adolescents. Substance abuse is associated with an array of behavioral and psychological consequences that can jeopardize the future of the young people. Lifelong dependence is another possible consequence of drug abuse among adolescents. Ultimately, counselors are supposed to come up with effective programs to address addiction issues among the adolescents to prevent them from relying on drugs in future. Counselors rely onRead MoreThe Effects Of Drug Addiction On Children1506 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction When an individual is struggling with drug addiction problems, the family is affected physically, mentally, and emotionally. The disease not only changes the addict’s whole life, but it changes the lives of their family members as parents get torn apart from themselves and each other. 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What is Psychopathy Free Essays

Psychopathy is a problem for society as a whole, seeing that it could easily lead individuals that are suffering from this personality disorder to violent and criminal acts. The bases of psychopathy are known to be biological, sociological, and psychological. Whereas amygdala dysfunction is thought to be responsible for psychopathy, an individual’s frustration with his or her low socioeconomic status may also lead him or her to commit acts of crime revealing psychopathic features in the process. We will write a custom essay sample on What is Psychopathy? or any similar topic only for you Order Now Psychologists believe that low IQ may similarly be responsible for psychopathic behavior. Additionally, they have extensively studied personality traits, such as those on the Big Five personality dimensions, to understand psychopathic traits in particular. Apart from the above, this paper also discusses therapeutic interventions with respect to psychopathy. Introduction In children as well as adults, psychopathy is defined on the basis of three dimensions: (1) an â€Å"arrogant deceitful interpersonal style†¦including glibness or superficial charm, self-centeredness or a grandiose sense of self-worth, lying, conning, manipulation, and deceitfulness; (2) deficient affective experience†¦including low remorse, low guilt, a weak conscience, callousness, low empathy, shallow affect, and a failure to accept responsibility for actions (denials, excuses, etc. ; and (3) an impulsive or irresponsible behavioral style†¦including boredom, excitement-seeking, a lack of long-term goals, impulsiveness, failing to think before acting, and a parasitic lifestyle (debts, unsatisfactory work habits, etc. )† (Cooke Michie, 2001). No wonder, psychopathy is rigorously investigated with reference to criminal behavior. Psychologists are also very interested in learning about the roots of psychopathy in children. These studies are based on the premise that it is impossible to try to solve a problem without a thorough understanding of its roots. Psychopathy in Literature Blair (2001) explains that the roots of psychopathy may very well lie in amygdala dysfunction. The amygdala is related to the emotional response, in particular, the flight or fight response to threats. With impairment in this essential area of the human brain, the individual is unable to make appropriate emotional responses to threats. The emotional dysfunction in the person suffering from psychopathy is enough to serve as evidence that the parts of the brain connected with emotions are impaired in the case of those suffering from psychopathy (Blair). Moreover, Blair connects the conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder with psychopathy to describe that there are similarities between the problems. The author adds to our previous definition of psychopathy by stating that those that are suffering from this particular disorder reveal â€Å"emotional shallowness† in addition to antisocial behaviors that are often marked by aggression and taking of offence (Blair). Antisocial behavior is often related to the Intelligence Quotient as well as the socioeconomic status of the person that displays it. Thus, psychopathy may similarly be connected with the IQ and socioeconomic status of those that suffer from it. In particular, those who are less intelligent and who also suffer from lacks due to their present socioeconomic status, may express their emotional frustrations through antisocial behavior, thereby getting very close to the definition of psychopathy (Blair). Rutter (2005) argues that although antisocial behavior is not exactly the same as psychopathy, the importance of investigating the latter lies in the evidence that those that are classified as â€Å"psychopathic offenders† tend to begin their â€Å"criminal careers† at an early age. Besides, these individuals â€Å"are more likely to become persistent offenders than the criminals without psychopathy features† (Rutter). What is more, psychopathic offenders or criminals are often known to be violent and to resist therapeutic intervention. The author also mentions new instruments that have been developed to measure the traits of psychopathy in children as well as adults. These instruments include the â€Å"Antisocial Process Screening Device† (Rutter). Also according to Rutter, child psychiatrists and child psychologists have shown reluctance in diagnosing psychopathy in children and adolescents, based on the belief that the diagnosis might inevitably lead young individuals to bad outcomes in the days to come. On the other hand, it is thought that adults that are suffering from the personality disorder we understand as psychopathy, may have had the problem traits even in childhood. Hence, it is also believed to be easier to start therapeutic programs in childhood so as to help the young in avoiding bad outcomes in future (Rutter). Salekin Frick (2005) state that young individuals with psychopathic characteristics may be suffering from a particular set of cognitive as well as affective deficits. Knowledge of the â€Å"specific causal pathway† of psychopathy in children and adolescents could prove to be consequential in the design of â€Å"individualized interventions† for such youths (Salekin Frick). After all, the most important reason why psychologists would like to understand more about psychopathic traits in youths is that these traits help to â€Å"predict future antisocial, criminal, and violent behavior† (Salekin Frick). Psychologists are also aware that children with psychopathic traits exhibit the â€Å"highest rates of conduct problems, self-reported delinquency, and police contacts† (Salekin Frick). Salekin, Rogers, Machin (2001) conducted a study on youths with psychopathic traits. This research was conducted through a survey that was sent out to more than five hundred clinical psychologists, asking them to describe psychopathic traits in youths; gender differences between youths with psychopathic traits; and also the kinds of interventions that psychologists had used with such youths. The results of the study revealed that children with psychopathic features tend to share these features with adults that are also suffering from psychopathy. The mean age of the youngster with psychopathic traits is a little over fourteen years. The average youth with psychopathic features has an 8th grade level education. Moreover, there are more boys than girls showing psychopathic traits. Although the boys with psychopathic characteristics are more aggressive, and often violent; girls with psychopathic features tend to be less aggressive. Such girls reveal their psychopathic traits through antisocial behavior as well as hostility (Salekin, Rogers, Machin). The study further revealed the prevailing belief of clinical psychologists that it is quite difficult for them to treat psychopathy. Therapeutic interventions are also believed to work more effectively for youths as compared to adults. This is because the personality of children is often thought to be more fluid than the personality of adults. Hence, clinical psychologists reported that they had seen â€Å"moderate-to-marked gains† of psychotherapy in children and adolescents treated for psychopathy (Salekin, Rogers, Machin). Girls in general were seen to benefit more from psychotherapy than boys. Clinical psychologists found a marked reduction in violence, delinquency, in addition to verbal aggression, even after one year of psychotherapeutic treatment for children and adolescents suffering from psychopathy. Even so, the psychologists reported that antisocial behaviors are sometimes hidden in the natures of the youths and â€Å"outside the purview of psychotherapists† (Salekin, Rogers, Machin). Hence, this study called for further research to augment our understanding of psychotherapeutic treatment for youths with psychopathic features. Farrington (2005) points out that even though psychotherapeutic treatment for psychopathy should begin early, and should be extensive, there are various problems that make therapeutic intervention difficult. First, â€Å"psychopathy is extremely persistent throughout life,† and so, even though clinical psychologists have observed improvements in youths with psychopathic features after psychotherapy, the problem traits of such youths may not entirely go away (Farrington). Second, psychopathy is also believed to have a biological cause, i. e. amygdala dysfunction, and biological causes cannot be reversed through psychological interventions. Furthermore, psychopaths are manipulative individuals, and they are often able to lie to and deceive psychotherapists so as to become â€Å"treatment-resistant† (Farrington). Farrington also mentions the Big Five personality dimensions that psychologists have often used in an attempt to understand the problem traits of individuals suffering from psychopathy, before they can devise better therapeutic models to help them. The five personality dimensions are: â€Å"Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness† (Farrington). Out of these five dimensions, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism are most relevant to studies on psychopathy. The author describes how individuals with psychopathic characteristics are expected to fare on the Big Five personality dimensions: Agreeableness includes straightforwardness (with deceitfulness at the negative end), altruism (v. exploitativeness), modesty (v. arrogance), and tendermindedness (v. callousness). Conscientiousness includes dutifulness (with poor dependability at the negative end), achievement striving (v. aimlessness), self-discipline (v. hedonism), and deliberation (v. arelessness). Neuroticism includes impulsiveness and angry hostility, although it also includes self-consciousness (with glibness and shamelessness at the negative end) and vulnerability (with fearlessness at the negative end). Conclusion Indeed, with better understanding of the personality traits of individuals suffering from psychopathy – a problem with biological, sociolo gical, and psychological roots – psychologists are in a better position to help them. Yet, it is bad news for psychotherapists that psychopathy may have a biological cause that they would not be able to work their way around. Moreover, psychopaths are often able to escape treatment by conning and lying during psychotherapeutic interventions. Nevertheless, even the knowledge that psychopaths are able to do this is essential in devising new treatments for them. Our literature review has revealed the importance of understanding psychopathy especially in children and adolescents. Psychologists believe that early intervention is crucial in psychopathy, and youths that are suffering from this personality disorder should be treated extensively. This is because personalities are understood to be more fluid in youth. By helping children and adolescents to change their problem traits, psychologists may be able to save them from negative outcomes in the future. All the same, psychologists have reported that the problem traits of children and adolescents with psychopathic features may never entirely go away. Children and adolescents with psychopathic traits may easily turn out to be criminals in = future. Hence, it is even more important to understand the problem of psychopathy now before better treatments may be developed for the problem in question. How to cite What is Psychopathy?, Papers

Emerging Logistics and Retail Management †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Emerging Logistics and Retail Management. Answer: Introduction: Wal-Mart Inc, founded in the year 1962 by Sam Walton, is an American Multinational retail corporation which conducts its business through a web of grocery stores, hypermarkets and discounted departmental stores (Walmart.com. 2018). According to the Forbes Magazine (2016), Wal-Mart is the largest company in the world in terms of annual revenue (Forbes.com 2018). The annual revenue of the company for the year 2016 was $480 (Forbes.com. 2018). It is also one of the largest private employers of the world, employing more than 2.3 million people from diverse parts of the world (Walmart.com. 2018). The major part of operation of the company is based in the United States of America however the company has its branches and franchise stores in various diverse parts of the world as well. It is to be noted that the commercial rivalry between the retail giants Wal-Mart and Kmart began in 1962, the year of foundation of both the companies. However, in the thirty year following the foundation of Wal-Mart and the death of its founder, Walton had already made Wal-Mart the retail giant of the United States (Walmart.com. 2018). The strategies used by Walton were way head of his time and some of them even revolutionized the retail trade in the United States of America (Fernie and Sparks 2014). Some of the strategies used by Walton to capture the domestic market of the United States of America and also to out-rival his competitors like Kmart and others are discounted pricing, providing the facilities of low prices always on several brands commonly used by the American people, providing regular as well as periodical sales to the customers wherein they can buy goods and services at very attractive prices and others (Walmart.com. 2018). In addition to this, the cheerleading manag ement style adopted by Walton was lead to the rapid growth as well as the development of the company (Walmart.com. 2018). The advanced as well as innovative technology used by the company like its sophisticated, companywide point-of-sale and satellite-communications systems, and in service, symbolized by the greeters stationed at the front doors of its stores also contributed to the rise of the company as the premier company of America (Barney 2012). Another competitive which Wal-Mart had over Kmart was its focus on the operations section instead of promotion. Therefore, the company Wal-Mart by focusing on its supplier as well as delivery systems, companywide computer system, restocking policy for the products sold, cost control, opening of its branches in the urban areas and various others was able to beat its competitors like Kmart (Chekwa, Martin and Wells 2014). It is to be noted that there were primary four sources for the competitive advantage of Wal-Mart over its rivals like Kmart and others- its distribution capabilities, everyday low-cost products (EDLP), its workforce culture and finally its use of the latest innovations and technologies for the handling of its stores and data (Chekwa, Martin and Wells 2014). It is to be noted that all these four factors contributed equally towards the growth as well as the development of the company. The Buy it low, stack it high, sell it cheap policy of Walton worked really well for Wal-Mart and contributed greatly towards the overall growth as well as the development of the company (Annual Reviews 2018). However, there were many potential threats which the company faced in the 1990s. The primary threat which the company faced was obviously from its rivals like Kmart, Target Cooperation and others which were threatening to break the monopoly gained by Wal-Mart, which was in a precarious position especially after the death of Sam Walton, the founder as well as the primary reason behind the rise of the company as the major retail company not only of the United States of America but of the entire world (Annual Reviews 2018). The rise of the Big Box Phenomenon posed a serious threat to the company (Annual Reviews 2018). Another major Setback to the company was its average performance in the countries of Mexico, China and various other countries (Barney 2012). Another threat which th e company faced in the 1990s were the various reports which alleged that the company was hiring underage children to work in their retail stores as workers at a relatively .lower salary (Annual Reviews 2018). The company also had to face some labor disputes not only in far way countries like China, Mexico and others but in the United States of America as well. It is at this point of time that the efficient supplier and delivery system of China started to show signs of weaknesses. It is to be noted that at this point of time several of the companys women employees complained that the company had violated the stipulations of the 1964 Civil Rights Act according to which discrimination on the basis of gender related to job promotion, salary, placement and others is a punishable offense (Annual Reviews 2018). These in short were some of the potential threats which the company Wal-Mart faced in the 1990s. Kmart Corporation, started in the year 1962, is a Big Box department store chain which is headquartered in the United States of America (Kmart.com. 2018). The companies operates in most of the famous countries in world and back in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s it was considered to be a serious rival to Wal-Mart. It is to be noted that for the year 1987 the annual sale for Wal-Mart was $15.96 billion whereas the annual sale for Kmart was $25.63 billion (Kmart.com. 2018). However, the company soon lost its track because of its ineffective strategies, the monopolisation of the market by Wal-Mart and various other factors. The company Kmart Corporation can imitate the strategies followed by the company Wal-Mart. However, it is to be noted that the major reason behind the success achieved by the company Wal-Mart was the effective as well as efficient leadership provided by its founder, Sam Walton. He sought to speed up the growth through his cheerleading style of management and visite d almost all his retail stores on a regular basis in a bid to ensure that the policies as well as strategies innovated by him are effectively and efficiently applied at all his retail stores. It is to be noted that the company Kmart lacks such a leader who could lead the company from the front. Target Corporation, found by George Dayton, is the 2nd largest retail discount store in the United States of America, the 1st largest being Wal-Mart (Target.com. 2018). The company came into existence in the year 1902 however it had to wait till 1962 to open its first store in Roseville, Minnesota (Target.com. 2018). The company presently owns around 1,834 stores in the United States of America as well as in the diverse parts of the world in total (Target.com. 2018). The company focuses on "the needs of its younger, image-conscious shoppers" in direct contradiction to the company Wal-Mart which follows the policy of always low prices (Target.com. 2018). The company Target Corporation stands at the 449th position in terms of the largest companies on the basis of the annual revenues generated by them whereas on the same list Wal-Mart stands at the 17th position (Forbes.com. 2018). Some of the financial statistics of the company Target Corporation are listed below It is to be noted that both the companies Wal-Mart and Target Corporation belong to the retail sector and provide more or less the same kind of services to the people. However, the company Wal-Mart has a serious edge over Target Corporation not only in terms of the revenue generated by it on an annual basis but in the kind of strategies which they follow and also in the process of globalization followed by them. It is to be noted that the Canadian expansion of the company Target Corporation was a complete failure and the company ended up losing more than $2.1 billion (Target.com. 2018). Therefore, it can be said that although the company Target Corporation is the 2nd largest retail company of the United States of America it cannot be considered to be a serious rival of Wal-Mart. The company Amazon.com, Inc. or more simply Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos in the year 1994, is an American based company which specializes in the sphere of electronic commerce as well as cloud computing (Amazon Inc. 2018). The company operates in almost all the nations of the world and is the 4th most valuable public company in the world at the moment (Forbes.com. 2018). Amazon is also the largest internet company in the world in terms of revenue and the eight largest employer in the United States of America (Forbes.com. 2018). Some of the financial details of the company are listed below- The company Amazon though having a lower annual revenue generation than Wal-Mart is a serious competitor to it. It is interesting to note that in the year 2017, the company Whole Foods Market was purchased by Amazon (Amazon Inc. 2018). This purchase of the retail company is seen as a direct challenge to the company Wal-Mart. It is to be noted that the company provides online commerce facilities wherein they can get anything delivered at their door steps without having manually to go to the retail stores and the prices which the company charges its customers on par with the ones which the customers need to pay at the retail stores and sometimes even lesser than that (Amazon Inc. 2018). They also provide regular discounted sales to the customers wherein they can buy all kind of products of which ever brand they want. It is true that the company Wal-Mart did revolutionize the retail industry through its use of latest technologies as well as innovations back in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (Fernie and Sparks 2014). However, since then the company has not much upgraded the technologies used by it. Moreover, the people these days prefer to take the help of the electronic commerce and it is precisely here that Amazon scores more than Wal-Mart as it offers better electronic commerce options to the people. It is to be noted that the present world of technological advancement and innovations make it mandatory for all major business organizations as well as companies to develop effective business strategies for the promotion of the goods as well as services offered by them (Writers 2018). It is often seen that an effective digital market strategy helps in the overall growth as well as the business organization or company concerned. For example, the company Amazon follows a rigorous digital marketing strategy which helps to boost its electronic commerce which it offers to the customers. In synchronization with this particular view the company Wal-Mart should also develop an effective digital strategy in order to regain the monopoly which it once used to enjoy. The company first of all should do an extensive amount of promotion on the various social media channels and other digital platform about the range of services which it offers. Another thing which the company can do is to develop th eir own mobile phone app just the way other major electronic commerce companies use like Amazon, e-bay and others. The company should launch various youth and other social media campaigns which will increase its popularity among the youths. The company can also enhance its reputation by doing collaborative works with the various social events and award show organizers which will create a positive brand image of the company. It is interesting to note that a recent article reveals that the annual sales of Wal-Mart is expected to grow by 40% because of the new digital strategy implemented by them (Writers 2018). Ramesh Patel at Aragon Entertainment Limited The protagonist of this case study, Ramesh is obviously very unhappy with the not-so prompt behavior of Gibson. He needs to make him understand the value that Days of Knights holds not only for the company Aragon Entertainment Limited but for them as well as the newly elected members of the NHB (Mayo 2018). He needs to deliver a clear message to his friend that although he has more urgent or pressing tasks to complete but the Days of Knights is more important not only from the companys perspective but also from their own personal one as well. It is noted that even after making him understand the behavior of Gibson does not improves then Ramesh needs to report the behavior of Gibson to the other members of the NHB. Danielle Marcoux is the web designer at AdNet2Win Technologies which was initially designed by Charles Davide (Mayo 2018). In the recent time, the company is facing some problems due to the rise of the smart phones. However, when Marcoux tries to bring the issues of the designs and also to make innovations in the design in the team meetings, Charles changes the topic to some other irrelevant things (Mayo 2018). Therefore, Marcoux clearly needs to tell Davide that the entire team needs to discuss the issue which they are facing in the designing part and more specifically Davide. Davide is probably trying to leave in the image of the past however, Marcoux needs to give him a reality check and confront him with the problems with they are facing. Mary Griffin at Derby Foods In this particular case study Mary needs to deliver a message to Simon York, the brand manager of the company, Derby Foods. It is noted that York noted an aberration in the labeling of a product and went down to the manufacturing floor to vent out his anger (Mayo 2018). However, this behavior is very much resented by Shelburne, the director of production (Mayo 2018). Mary needs to make York understand that although he wishes the very best for the company yet he cannot interfere in the work of other departments. If he has noticed some kind of aberration he should convey it to Shelburne who would then handle the issue in his own manner. This kind of behavior is only going to weaken the unity of the management team. In this particular case study, Michael Lester in a very stiff situation as needs to make a presentation but has not been provided with adequate amount of information for the same by his colleague Nadine Roberts, who keeps on derailing it and on top of that his boss Karissa Gaffner is put pressure on him to deliver results (Mayo 2018). In this situation, he needs to have a one-on-one conversation with Roberts and tell her the issue which he is facing and clearly mention the importance of the information which she is delaying in providing and the stiff situation which it is causing. He also needs to convey clearly and completely all the activities of Roberts to his Gaffner. References Amazon Inc. 2018.Amazon Inc. [online] Available at: https://aws.amazon.com/free/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Annual Reviews 2018.Annual Reviews. [online] Available at: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115947 [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Barney, J.B., 2012. Purchasing, supply chain management and sustained competitive advantage: The relevance of resource?based theory.Journal of supply chain management,48(2), pp.3-6. Chekwa, E., Martin, J. and Wells, K., 2014. Riding on the waves of sustained competitive advantage: consumers perspectives on Walmart Corporation.International Journal of the Academic Business World,8(2), pp.13-25. Fernie, J. and Sparks, L., 2014.Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers. Forbes.com. 2018.Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/companies/target/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Forbes.com. 2018.Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/companies/wal-mart-stores/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Forbes.com. 2018.Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/companies/amazon/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Kmart.com. 2018.Kmart.com. [online] Available at: https://www.kmart.com/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Mayo, A. 2018.Damielle Marcoux at AdNet2Win Technologies. Harvard Business School, pp.1-2. Mayo, A. 2018.Mary Griffin at Derby Foods. Harvard Business School, pp.1-2. Mayo, A. 2018.Michael Lester at Lachlan Consulting. Harvard Business School, pp.1-2. Mayo, A. 2018.Ramesh Patel at Aragon Entertainment Limited. Harvard Business School, pp.1-2. Target.com. 2018.Target : Expect More. Pay Less.. [online] Available at: https://www.target.com/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Varley, R. and Rafiq, M., 2014.Principles of retailing. Palgrave macmillan. Walmart.com. 2018.Walmart.com. [online] Available at: https://www.walmart.com/ [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018]. Writers, A. 2018.Walmart lays out its digital strategy against Amazon. [online] Sarasota Herald. Available at: https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20171010/walmart-lays-out-its-digital-strategy-against-amazon [Accessed 10 Mar. 2018].