Category: Uncategorized

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Liberal Arts Education in the 21st Century

In an overall view, all are familiar with the importance of liberal education. Ollis, Neeley & Luegnbiehl consider liberal education to serve as a transmission of a good cultural heritage to citizens making them loyal for an ideal society (12). In another perspective as discussed by Schneider in her article “In Defence of a Liberal Education”, liberal education can be defined as incorporation of critical thinking and other analytical skills in the curriculum. Today, many students leave the university with the knowledge of solving multiple choice questions, yet while in the job market, they are unable to critically analyse situations and come up with the necessary solutions. This is a major issue that has been brought forth by many employers forcing the universities to incorporate Liberal Arts Education in the school curriculum. This paper seeks to examine the importance of Liberal Arts Education in the 21st Century by supporting the statement “Liberal Arts Education is not successfully implemented in schools and colleges”

As explored in the article “In Defence of a Liberal Education”, the curriculum in different institutions are designed in different ways. Some of them are excellently executed preparing students to make analytical and critical decisions being keen of the ethical, societal and civic implications that come with the decisions they make. Programs charged with the responsibility of providing such kind of knowledge and skills are present in all colleges both in public or private and others are also found in high schools. The question that lingers is; why are the students not benefiting from these programs?

Some of the courses are narrowly framed providing job skills and technical training, but little or no insight into the community, global issues and the society. Such program will definitely prepare the students to get employment but will not help them in the world where industries are changing to conform to the world economic changes as discussed in the article “Looking forward: liberal education in the 21st century”

As explored by Schneider, other courses are incoherent and fragmented causing confusion to the students. Most of them do not understand why they are required to take combinations of both Science and Arts classes. Therefore most science students lack liberal Arts education which according to ollis et al is necessary for one to be considered well educated (17).

Today, it is easy for an employer to differentiate between students who have gone through the liberal art programs that were well implemented as compared to those whose courses were incoherent and fragmented. It is for this reason that the government has taken keen interest in reintroducing liberal arts education in colleges to curb this escalating problem of “half-baked” professionals. In Schneider’s views in the article “In Defence of a Liberal Education”, curriculum designed to incorporate liberal education will be the best investment the United States will make for continued prosperity.

Works Cited

Fong Bobby. “Looking forward: liberal education in the 21st century”, 2004

Ollis, Neeley & Luegnbiehl. Liberal Education in the 21st Century. New York:

Lang Publishing, Inc, 2004. Print.

Schneider Carol. “In Defence of a Liberal Education”. Forbes. October 08,

2009.

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Marketing Future Technologies

The use of smartphones, the introduction of cloud computing, the use of multi-touch tablets, and other revolutionary innovations have changed how we live and operate. However, this is just the beginning, and there is no doubt technology will only get better. In the future, life will resemble Sci-Fi films. These revolutionary products, in particular, will transform the next decade-Google glass, 3D printing, leap motion, eye-tracking technology, smart things, driverless cars, wearable electronics, screenless displays, artificial intelligence, and wireless energy transfer (Falcon).

Marketing technology products substantially differs from marketing other products and services. It requires aggressive technical understating combined with business knowledge and the acknowledgment of decision-making arrangements (Godha). Consumers of technology make buying decisions on the realization of the value of a product in complex situations. A technology marketer relies on digital technologies to interact with the buyer and guide them through their journey. Video content is one way to introduce products. Most technology product offerings are presented as a demonstration of their usage. Today people have no time to go through datasheets, brochures, and other written material but will spend two to three minutes watching captivating content. Furthermore, consumers are usually not adept with the technology when it is first offered, and video content showing it in use is the most effective means of communication.

Every content created to communicate complex products such as smart things, 3D printing, wireless energy transfer, and all the other technologies should start with a narrative that is easy to understand. The specifics come later. There should also be a clear demonstration of how useful the technology is and the value they bring to their life.

The sale of certain items such as robots in the wake of artificial intelligence may be more complex because these items will target businesses, which, unlike individuals, must find excellent value in the product. The adoption and acceptance of these changes will definitely be faced with resistance. Artificial intelligence, for instance, is feared to take over the world from humans and will be a difficult concept to sell.

The issue that will make the sale of this technology easier will be the increased demand for convenience. People are looking for things like wireless energy transfer where they can avoid the bulkiness of cables, the convenience of sitting in a car on a long journey and relaxing or having cheap labor provided by machines that will not require payment. The challenges to marketing will be there but will not be substantial enough to prevent the success of these products.

Works Cited

Falcon, A. “10 Upcoming Technology That May Change The World.” Hongkiat. N.p., 3 Jan. 2019. Web. 4 Mar. 2020.

Godha, M. “How To Market Technology In Digital Era.” Entrepreneur. N.p., 28 Apr. 2016. Web. 4 Mar. 2020.

Marketing management process

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Introduction

Marketing is an essential part of an industry. It provides access for a product into the market and as such the marketing manager has a critical role in ensuring that is achieved. Being the marketing manager of Target wines, I am supposed to make sure that its products find their niche in the market and that it is able to stay at par with new development in the wines industry. The marketing managing process emphasis on the importance of marketing and that covers wide area including analysis, planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluating and.

Marketing management process

Analysis provides all data needed that is likely to affect the selling of our products. It gives information within and without the company besides giving information about the needs of our target market, its competitiveness and behavior and activity of all stakeholders (Luminita, 2009, p.135). The stakeholders range from consumers of our products, suppliers, dealers, competitors and to the public at large. At this stage I employ marketing and intensive marketing research and also form informational system that is viable and operational. As a manager I focus on intensive analysis when introducing a new product into the market, when sales drop and when competition is stiff. It will help our product pick up rapidly and also recover faster in the incident of reduced sales.

Secondly, planning comes handy especially now that Target Wines and spirits limited is seeking entry into new markets. Planning provides a sense of direction and also acts as a reference point in our prospects for the future. Planning links the industry to resources available and existing opportunities, and is used in the formulation of long-term strategy and objectives, setting a course for future action. More specifically, planning helps me to give our company a competitive advantage, focus on marketing strategy and provide a clear pattern that will lead to successful selling (Luminita, 2009, p.136). As focus is given to gaining entry in the new markets, and aspire to do that we are forced to plan how to get our wines on the shelves of local bars and joint of the targeted markets. In short, planning helps define what our goals, the approach that will see its achievement, tactics to be used and how to execute it. It brings about simplicity, discipline, consistency and easy evaluation of progress (Luminita, 2009, p.136).

Implementation of the marketing strategy or plan comes in as the ultimate goal of marketing and my duty as the marketing manager. It is the basis for analysis and planning and leads to achievement of goals. The plan must be adaptable to the market conditions and its effectiveness is determined by its consistency with the overall objective of the company. Implementation affects the initial processes of analyzing and planning and as such forms the major coordinate for planning (Challagalla, Murtha and Jaworski, 2014, p.789). Being the manager I ensure good and effective communication with all workers towards achievement of the goal. Concerning this, attention is given to implementation as the wine is being sold so that it gets to the targeted market and sold in quantities expected.

Marketing management is not complete without monitoring and evaluation. According to Luminita, this last process examines the marketing plan, its efficiency and effectiveness (2009, p.136). Monitoring and valuation shows disparity that arises between objectives and expected performance enabling corrective measures to be taken. Furthermore, it provides for valuation of marketing plans of competitor and also their reaction to a company’s marketing plans. For instance, in 2003 when we introduced Target IV vanilla flavored drink, our competitors came up with other flavored drinks that. To counter it we came up with Target VI, with same flavor but stronger.

Importance of marketing

Cleaning items found in nursing homes are not sold everywhere, therefore difficult to trace the suppliers who are also rare to find. Sticking to a known supplier saves the buyer (nursing home) the trouble of finding them (Challagalla et al, 2014, p.804). It’s good that the clients advertise as it will make them known to their customers and are more likely to remain the sole suppliers. The benefit will with no doubts outweigh the cost incurred.

Secondly, through advertising the client will develop thrust in sellers’ product. Challagalla et al argue that many potential buyers shun way from products or their suppliers simply because they do not know them or have never used your product ( 2014, p.807). Simply, they cannot take the risk. The same maybe happening to the cleaning services products and advertising will play a vital role in building customer confidence, especially for such rare products. The overall effect is that it gives a fare play ground and all stands an equal chance of winning customers. The client’s company might be lucky if its products are superior to those of competitors.

It the client still refuses, examples of other successful advertising may help in changing his mind. Such examples give real life example that may change the client’s decision (Challagalla et al, p.815). For instance, Techno Mobile has made itself a choice of millions among the big player in the industry such as Nokia and Samsung. Moreover, I will challenge the client to observe the activities of the competitors to ascertain if they are to gain from the advertising or losing.

Conclusion

The marketing section of company is essential for its development. A company’s development largely depends on the marketing management process of a company and this can be best performed the importance of marketing is understood. With effective marketing even poor quality product can be sold while another one that is superior does not sell.

References

Luminita, Z. (2009). The process of marketing management-between the management marketing

Activities and the operational marketing. Studies and scientific researches, 14(5), 129-136.

Challagalla, G., Murtha, B. R., & Jaworski, B. (2014). Marketing Doctrine: A Principles- Based

Approach to Guiding Marketing Decision Making in Firms. Journal Of Marketing, 784-820.

MarketingTrevin Howard

Glenville State College

11/27/2018

Table of Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc530613714 h 3Marketing plan for a spa PAGEREF _Toc530613715 h 3The vision of the business PAGEREF _Toc530613716 h 3The business goals PAGEREF _Toc530613717 h 3The marketing goals of the company PAGEREF _Toc530613718 h 4The strategic goal of the business PAGEREF _Toc530613719 h 4The tactical goals PAGEREF _Toc530613720 h 4Business purpose PAGEREF _Toc530613721 h 4Reputation PAGEREF _Toc530613722 h 4Gaps Dashboard PAGEREF _Toc530613723 h 4The ideal clients PAGEREF _Toc530613724 h 5Characteristics of the target market PAGEREF _Toc530613725 h 5Notable difference PAGEREF _Toc530613726 h 5What is unique PAGEREF _Toc530613727 h 5The core strategy of the business PAGEREF _Toc530613728 h 6The core elements that will be used in branding PAGEREF _Toc530613729 h 6Services and product innovation PAGEREF _Toc530613730 h 6The rationale of the price PAGEREF _Toc530613731 h 6Marketing materials PAGEREF _Toc530613732 h 7Web and social media plan PAGEREF _Toc530613733 h 7Plan for generating leads PAGEREF _Toc530613734 h 8Plan for converting the leads PAGEREF _Toc530613735 h 8Customer service experience PAGEREF _Toc530613736 h 8Marketing calendar PAGEREF _Toc530613737 h 9Critical numbers PAGEREF _Toc530613738 h 9Sales forecast PAGEREF _Toc530613739 h 9Marketing expense budget PAGEREF _Toc530613740 h 10Essential marketing metrics and training PAGEREF _Toc530613741 h 10Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc530613742 h 10References PAGEREF _Toc530613743 h 11

MARKETING PLAN

IntroductionA marketing plan refers to a business document that outlines the strategies that the company will use to sell its products and services (Cohen, 2005). The plan has a scope that is limited to a specific time frame, e.g. one year. The plan covers different aspects that are related to marketing, e.g. costs and activities that the business will undertake as well as the action procedures to be followed. Marketing plan involves steps such as analysis of the business situation to establish what is happening within the business and creating the market goals (McDonald & Wilson, 2016). After setting the market goals, the business highlights the steps to get there. The marketing plan also has a budget to highlight the costs and timing of different activities. Finally, the plan contains metrics and adjustment that highlights things to be done and things to change.

Marketing plan for a SPAThe vision of the businessDelaware spa is a business that offers the best skin care and massage in a quiet and serene environment to enable the clients to attain and develop healthy lifestyles. The marketing vision is to ensure that the clients have the business in the heart due to the nature of the service that it offers. The business also envisions to present itself uniquely to offer the best customer experience.

The business goalsThe goals of the CEO are to decrease the management time of the shifts to about 20% to channel the remaining time into the marketing. The other goal of the CEO is to dedicate about 3 hours every single day towards marketing related activities.

The marketing goals of the companyThe marketing goals of the business are to increase its revenue to over 1 million US dollars and open another spa by the year 2019.

The strategic goal of the businessThe strategic goal of the business is to become the best spa in Delaware by the year 2019.

The tactical goalsThe tactical goals of the business are to ensure that there are programs that target customer loyalty. The business also aims to put in place a customer feedback segment as well as offer incentives to the staff to motivate them. Another key tactical goal is to optimize the use of the online marketing platform through its Facebook page.

Business purposeDelaware spa aims at creating a convenient and comfortable spa that offers relaxation and convenience to the clients. The marketing strategies aimed at creating a good relationship between the business and the clients so as ensure clients’ satisfaction.

Reputation

The business will hold the best image to keep more people interested. Through its website, the business will post more pictures to attract more people. While clients visit the spa, equal and dignified treatment will be a major purpose to keep the customers happy. The business will also put more efforts towards the cleanliness of the premises.

Gaps DashboardA gap dashboard will track down any important personal, strategic, marketing, or tactical goals deficits. The tracking will be done on a quarterly basis to ensure that the essential marketing metrics are available to compare the performance against the goals.

The ideal clientsThe spa will offer its products and services at premium prices. The goal here is to reach out to high-end clients at premium prices. High-end clients need the best quality of services to get the best value for their money. The spa will offer a wide range of services, therefore, to meet the expectations of the clients. The resort will attract more customers by partnering with other businesses and the local community. The business will also focus on more promotional activities to attract more clients.

Characteristics of the target marketDelaware spa will seek to serve clients who fit the following description. Professionals especially the white-collar employees, residents within the state, the age of 18 years and above, those concerned with healthy living, and those who can pay up for the premium services. The business will also focus on those people who need a massage, facial, and body treatment.

Notable differenceDelaware spa is not just like any other in the state. The spa offers the best quality premium services to its clients. The business aims to offer the best customer experience so that the customers can always come back.

What is uniqueDelaware spa offers unique services in a relaxing and environment. The uniqueness is defined by the use of Booker to get more customers, use of websites which are guest-friendly, engaging more customers using Pinterest, use of follow-up systems to check the clients experience, use of video marketing, and combining the SEO strategies with social media. Having social promotions, marketing calendar for the spa and the use of online bookings will also define the uniqueness of the business.

The core strategy of the businessThe business will use an external communication strategy that seeks to create the best customer experience. The spa will position itself in a way that it promotes comfort among the clients, authenticity, and a sense of pride. The desired results will include holding a theme night every month, ensuring return visits of up to 30% of the clients after their two months of their initial visit, increasing the weekend and evening client capacity to 90%.

The core elements that will be used in brandingThe key message of the business is ‘rejuvenate, revitalize, relax, and renew.’ The core message connects the business services with the customer experience. The business core elements will include; a website that highlights the vision and mission of the business, wide range of products and services, up-to-date equipment and furniture, excellent décor, advertisement, and theme nights.

Services and product innovation

The spa will attract more customers by providing a unique and exciting experience. High-quality services, professional services, entertainment, relaxing and serene environment, and friendly employees will ensure that the business is different from its rivals. The market will be subdivided as prospects and premium clients. Prospects are those who receive a discount for the first time, and they are expected to return. Premium are those who come several times and bring other customers, e.g. friends and family members.

The rationale of the priceDelaware spa intents to offer products and services above the market average. The rationale of the price is to reach high-end clients who like premium goods and services. The pricing is, therefore, 25% higher than that offered by similar businesses. The idea is to get a few people who appreciate the quality and value for their money. Regular premium customers will get discounts and loyalty points as a token of appreciation.

Marketing materialsThe business logo will be the first marketing strategy since it communicates to the customers. The logo will, therefore, be changed to be catchy. The business will also use business cards to both investors and prospective customers. The spa will also use a website as important marketing material. The website will seek to highlight the credibility and professionalism of the business. The site will have the name of the company, a brief section about the business, the contact information, e.g., email address, physical address, and phone number, the hours which it operates, social media links, and the necessary information on the products and services that it offers. Postcards and flayers marketing materials will also be used. Another vital marketing material that will be used is social media. Customers who rely on the digital platform will, therefore, be treated with a unique customer experience through sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

A marketing kit will ensure that there is a good relationship with the customers to ensure that they provide referrals. The materials will have case statements, the summary of differences, description of the ideal customers, prices, past theme nights experience, FAQs, list of the next theme nights, as well as the general testimonials from the clients.

Web and social media planThe business will have a website that will educate the prospects to encourage them to visit the spa. The site will also inform the clients about upcoming theme nights and other events. Social media is a growing marketing tool in the world (Wikipedia, 2018). The tool will be used by the business to create a buzz on the coming events and to ensure that the clients share their experience online.

Plan for generating leadsThe business will generate leads via the following ways. Advertising via radio, local media, and online pay-per-click method of advertisement. The business will also create leads through client and member organizations referrals. Delaware spa will also seek to use direct campaign through emails to reach about 500 new clients annually. The business will ensure that lead tracking is done via the POS system.

Plan for converting the leadsLeads will be made through the distribution of coupons to a certain category of people. The coupons will attract people to attend events such as theme nights. Other plans for creating leads will be through customer referrals and via the Delaware spa website. Plans for creating leads will ensure that the clients are updated on the products and services as well as promotional events. The goals of converting leads are to keep the customers coming over and over.

Customer service experience

Customer experience is an important aspect of the success of a business. The spa will improve the experience of the clients by creating a clear client vision. The clear client-based strategy will seek to communicate clearly to the customers as act as the guiding strategy for the business. The business will also seek to understand the customers and create an emotional link with them. Another vital way through which the business will increase the customer experience is through collecting and responding to their feedback in real time. The spa will also have a quality framework that will guide the marketing team and regularly act on any feedback from the employees.

Client loyalty will be encouraged and rewarded as well. The encouragement and reward will be through financial ways and qualitative ways such as free session at the spa. The customers will be required to give feedback about their experience through customer review segments and emails. The business will address the concerns raised in the review segments and reply the emails.

Marketing calendarA marketing calendar will comprise both the daily and monthly activities. Daily activities will include staff activities’ review and reading through suggestions made by customers. Time will be set in the morning to discuss different facets of marketing the business. Monthly marketing activities will be divided into the entire four weeks of the month. Every week will have unique activities that will ensure that the business increases the sale of products and services.

Critical numbersThe business will track critical numbers via the CRM marketing system. The system incorporates information that POS system obtains. The system tracks client sales as well as the important marketing information. After entering this information, the system will generate a report on the vital marketing metrics.

Sales forecast

The sales forecasts are given by the increase of the clients who attend the spa every month. The sales forecast is 10% monthly increase to reach the annual target of 500 new customers. First timers are very important since they are likely to bring others if their customer experience is good. Since one of the important marketing tools is through referrals, sales forecasts are projected to grow over the months in the entire 12 months. Marketing expense budget

The marketing budget for the entire year is 50,000 US dollars. The budget caters for both the internal and external aspects of the marketing such as training and logistics. It also includes a one-time plan and the costs of development.

Essential marketing metrics and trainingThe important marketing metrics that are expected to increase the sales of products and services are testimonials, customer relations, and referrals. The marketing manager will review these marketing metrics every month and compare with the goals to measure the marketing progress. The company will train the marketing team and the staff in general. The critical areas of training will be; the positioning and the core message of the business, marketing components and materials, efforts to attain marketing goals, and referral program.

ConclusionThe primary goal of a marketing plan is to ensure that the company maximize the sale of products and services by highlighting different procedures to be followed. The above plan highlights those crucial steps that stipulate ways through which different activities will be done, the time, and costs for each one of them. Forecasts are also important since they provide the prospects of the company and thus, they can be predictors for measuring the success of the company.

ReferencesCohen, W. A. (2005). The marketing plan. John Wiley & Sons.

McDonald, M., & Wilson, H. (2016). Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to profit from them. John Wiley & Sons.

Marketing manager

Job description

Plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers. Develop pricing strategies with the goal of maximizing the firm’s profits or share of the market while ensuring the firm’s customers are satisfied. Oversee product development or monitor trends that indicate the need for new products and services.

Job analysis method

I would use a task-oriented job-analysis method to define a marketing manager position. To meet the requirements of this job, an employee must be able to take on tasks related to planning, organizing and controlling marketing activities of an organization. The task-oriented method of job analysis focuses on measurable work tasks and key activities that are central to the performance of a role. This type of analysis uses knowledge about specific skills, experiences, and other qualifications for job applicants to evaluate their qualifications for that particular position. The applicant would be educated about their skills through the interviews and resume reading process with several hiring managers before being offered a position in which they already have some history in.

Task analysis is a tool for identifying duties, responsibilities and job requirements. The task analysis method can be applied to the Marketing Manager position. This task-oriented approach would help in defining the essential functions of a role by assessing the knowledge, skills, abilities and other personal characteristics required in order to perform successfully in that position. In addition the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities are assigned a relative value to ensure relevancy and importance when developing specific training programs for employees who occupy that position or similar positions. This management job is responsible for managing a marketing team of diverse levels: entry level or highly experienced people with varying degrees of management and expertise.

Job analysis technique

I would use a task inventory approach to analyze the job of marketing manager. Marketing managers are responsible for overseeing a company’s marketing objectives and strategies to increase sales by developing, implementing and monitoring advertising campaigns, promotions and other activities. They also manage the product development process and coordinate with other departments to determine appropriate product mix. Marketing managers analyze customer needs, estimate competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, determine pricing strategy, negotiate contracts with vendors…etc. Marketing managers may be replaced by account executives in some cases because they both perform similar tasks in different fields. But they have a different expertise so they will never completely replace each other like generalists or specialists do in a team. I believe the most important skills for marketing managers are identifying customer needs and finding solutions to satisfy them, excellent communication skills, good leadership and management ability with strong problem solving skills and creativity.

We can divide marketing manager’s tasks into three parts: planning activities, control activities and supporting activities. Planning activities include market analysis, product planning, forecasting of sales or revenues, channel planning…etc. Control activities include budgeting, cost control, market research and competitor analysis while supporting activities include staffing, training…etc. I believe marketing managers spend more time on planning than controlling because they will have to change the plan according to different situations once the plan is set.



Traditional Chinese History

Student’s Name

Institution

Traditional Chinese History

Li’s role in the Tradition of Chinese History

The literal meaning of li is rituals or ceremonies, social conduct rules and proper code of conduct or propriety. In the society of Chinese, the li concept is a peace, harmony and discipline promotion factor. Li has three categorical concepts as discussed in the next paragraph.

Ceremony or ritual as the first li concept is a service of religion involved with actions that are performed in an order that is fixed. Proper code of conduct or propriety is li’s second concept. It defines special relationships within a well organized system where everyone has explicit attitudes toward another. It makes a man to have moral discipline in his own conduct. Social conduct rules are li’s third notion that means laws of customs. It discourages punishment as a form of correction (Ritual and the Life Cycle, ppt).

Li is a type of law mainly concerned with the observation of the cultural and customs of the Chinese. It encourages the use of common sense in every aspect of life one is involved in. In China, rituals were performed as a way of reconciling with others and also as a show of respect which was considered a responsibility to the society. As a result, few squabbles were witnessed among the Chinese (Ebrey 2010, 76).

Sage uses li to find that which is appropriate as it sets example admired and followed by others. The word ritual in China refers to ancestral worship ceremonies, parent’s burial and rules guiding the relationship between children and parents: rulers and servants. Propriety is concerned with what should be done in the right manner.

As a result, several schools of thought for philosophy emerged. Consequently, only three traditions of philosophy have shaped and had a great impact on the culture of Chinese. Such include Confucianism that deals with relationships between humans, Buddhism that favors philosophy than religion and Taoism that deals with how nature brings harmony to human. The three are teachings of philosophy but not religions as far as the Chinese are concerned (Ppt, The Hundred Schools of Thought).

Confucianism

It is a religion of a family, a daily life and an organizations social philosophy. It is a school of thought with lots of emphasis on individual’s mutual relationship with fellow man. Despite being a religion belief system, it is ethical and based on the relationship’s concept. According to philosopher Confucius, obligations and responsibility has a dual aspect in relationships that must be fulfilled (Ebrey 2010, 82). Confucianicism states that man can be improved through teaching and perfected via communal and endeavour that is personal. Basically, it stresses the vitality of the relationships of human and how they should live in harmony (Confucius and Confucianism ppt).

Confucius argues that man’s behavior and actions are portrayed in his personality in the five relationships. Such include parental, conjugal, governmental, friendship and fraternal. For instance, mundane such as helping an old man carry a load can cause a different feeling on a person. By doing what one loves and enjoys, his desires are satisfied. A person is well positioned if she is aware of her likes and dislikes (Ebrey 2010, 43). Eventually, a person will understand herself much better and even be extra ordinary with an influence that is incredible.

The ethical ideas of philosophy of Confucian are perfected through practice. Under the right circumstances and with encouragement, Confucianism holds that individuals can control their emotions. It is also considered that for the mind to be thoughtful enough then it should be in its fresh and pure state. Li is embodied in the mind and is not influenced by the external factors. It is a fact that knowing what to do and doing it rightly is compatible. Additionally, Confucius argues that the heart and the mind work together and one should not just do what he thinks should be done but also what his heart desires. In so doing, the desired decisions and responses are achieved simultaneously (Ppt, Confucius and Confucianism).

TaoismTaoism emerged the same time as Confuniacism. It was the Chinese tradition of religion practiced centuries ago. Lao-Tse is believed by many as the founder of Taoism, a present-day of Confucius. It is the power that governs both the living and non-living things and provides equality in the universe. It indicates that for anything right to exist, then its opposite wrong side exists too. Though it commenced as a combination of both the philosophy and psychology, Taoism, in 440CE, evolved into a religious faith and the state adopted it as a religion.

Taoism state support ended in 1911 with the end of Ching dynasty. In the next period of warlordism, heritage of Taoism was destroyed and there was no more freedom of religion after the victory of Communist in 1949. Temples were confiscated and treasures pillaged as manual labor was put to monks.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated from India after being established by Siddhartha Gautama who was a Confucius contemporary. It got its way into China during Empire Han Ming Ti ruling. Its impact was not immediately felt as the Chinese were resistant to it due to their emphasis toward relationship’s rituals that revolve around society and family. Eventually, its fame came during the great time of barbaric and social indecision (Ppt, Buddhism in China).

Gautama realized and felt saddened by the fact that human was suffering and decided to look for alternative means of bringing comfort. He realized that the human can overcome pain by overcoming his own desires. He, therefore, came up with a set of rules known as the Eightfold Path that are similar to the biblical Ten Commandments. The mindset was to bring peace that is spiritual where it is believed that harmony substitutes pain.In summation, li concept is a factor that aids in the promotion of peace in the society of Chinese as it encourages living together harmoniously. China Buddhism incorporates practices of religion that the Chinese believe bring salvation to them. There has been a mix of Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism since the incoming rule of Song Dynasty. The resultant mix is the philosophy and culture of Chinese. However, the role of li changed a bit as a result of the changes in governance.

The Han DynastyFounded by the rebel leader, Liu Bang, the imperial Han Dynasty was the first in China that lasted for a longer time. It rebelled against Qin Dynasty that was the government so oppressive. Liu Bang and his lieutenants created a stable government after several years of political instability. The Han Dynasty is more of a golden age to the Chinese in their history. It is composed of two periods that include the former Han Qianhan and the later Han Houhan. Geographically, Han Qianhan represents the western Han Xihan and the Han Houhan represents the Eastern Han Donghan (The Han Dynasty–Part One, Political History ppt).The court residence was in Changan during the Western Han rule and in the Luoyang during the Eastern Han government. The capital shifting from Western to Eastern is a pattern similar to those preceding governments. The only variation is that unlike the other dynasties that shifted as a result of military divergences, the Han Dynasty capital shifting was due to economic and political reasons.Equipped with apparatus of administration inherited from the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang formed a government run on the basis of the Confucianism doctrines which ensured that the people’s welfare were well-taken care of. Measures of strict control of the finances of the state were put into place. Qin’s policy of legalists was adopted and a system that is censorial applied for registration of all the members of households. Bang’s administration came up with strict measures to put the local government into check (Ppt, The Han Dynasty–Part One, Political History)In the Han Dynasty, there were regions that were under the extreme control of the central government called commanderies which were administered by military commanders. The commanders were responsible for revenue collection and ensuring that peace prevailed. Due to rebellion from seven other states, these commanderies lost their independence. In 200BC, the Han Dynasty was defeated by Xiongnu and was forced to join the government as an inferior member. Xiongnu’s continued attacks on the Han’s borders forced the leader then, emperor Wu to launch a counter military strike that finally led to the defeat of Xiangnu.The sovereignty of Han thus extended to the basin of Tarim of Central Asia after the conquering of Xiongnu, which was then divided into two distinct confederations. As a result, there was the start of trade along the Silk Road that extended all the way to the Mediterranean. Chinese silk had demand in the Roman Empire market and, as a result, there was an increment in the level of their wealth. Precious ores such as silver and gold were also traded on.Schools were established under the Han administration so as to promote the ideals of the official scholars. Additionally, the university was further established where the classics of Confucian were studied and thereafter the young graduates became bureaucrats. As the number of graduates increased the state became autocratic (Ebrey 2010, 53). With time, a political culture that was bureaucratic was formed. It helped balance the partnership among the scholars, political and economic elite. The Economy and the Social OrderThe Han leadership formed coalitions with other leaders thus they were able to get social support from other diverse regions. The strategy ensured that the tax base widened hence there was more revenue collection. Promotion of business growth by the state pushed the merchants to form a business partnership with the ruling elites. Funds raised through trade in salt and silk was used in financing the military functions.There was paper invention that improved the Chinese lifestyle. People started writing as painting with scroll commenced. Confucius teaching would be written as well as literature. The Han administration controlled the businesses of merchants as peasants got dignified treatment for being productive Expansion of the Silk Road and the EmpireSignificant economic achievement of the Han’s Dynasty was the opening and expansion of the Silk Road. Canals were built for better and efficient movement of goods and merchants who took advantage of the canals made wealth and invested. Eventually, this opened up other routes that merchants could follow to reach out to the customers. As a result, the empire prospered economically and the intermingling led in exchange of cultures. The creation and expansion of an army that is powerful was essential to the expansion of the empire borders. The traders were, therefore, assured of security along the Silk Road Settlement of traders and farmers brought lots of development along the Silk Road due to the government’s support.Canals were built for better and efficient movement of goods and merchants who took advantage of the canals made wealth and invested. The largest Chinese work of historiography known as the Grand Historian Records was done during the Han Dynasty by Sima Qian. The historiography contains the Chinese history that dates back to 2,000 years ago. It is also during the Han’s reign that the whole modern China proper the Northern Vietnam among others was incorporated into China.Generally, the Han Dynasty rule brought about changes in social, political and economic arena due to trade expansion and political stability.

Purpose and Effects of Zheng He Voyages

Expedition and admirals of the eunuch are extensively addressed by Dreyer. Zheng He led seven voyages of the Chinese to Asian Southeast and the Indian Ocean accompanied by thousands of men in a fleet of ships. He followed the routes of trade already known by his men. The idea of the explorations was to make foreign emperors submit to China.Zheng He, a eunuch, and others were instructed to take orders of Imperial to the Western’s oceans various countries. They were to appropriately bestow upon the kings of the countries they visited with thin silks that were variegated and entwined with threads of gold. On the second day of October, 1407, Zheng He, who was the eunuch’s director, returned from the various western ocean’s countries where he had been. He brought with him, Chen Zu-yi who was a pirate and others in shackles (Zheng He: Ambassador of Peace or Conqueror?).

Of the seven voyages, one occurred under the reign of Xuande while the other remaining six happened during the reign of Yongle. Zheng He used valuable gifts during the voyages which he gave to the ruling elites as a way of easy dialogue and persuasion. His ability to conceptual the customs and practices of the hosts was key to making quick mutual ties. It is during this period that China’s business connections with the outside world expanded (Ebrey, 64). The empire was always pleased with He and gave him a go ahead to organize several voyages during his tenure. As a result, though other kingdoms were captured and borders expanded, the Chinese economy grew due to the expansion in growth. Every single voyage had a stipulated target.

He had previously come across Zu-yi and others when he arrived at Old Port 1 and sent his people to bring them to the pacification that had been negotiated. He discovered that Zu-yi pretended to have surrendered yet he had a secret plan to attack the Imperial army. His over 5,000 bandit gangs were killed, ten of the ships of the Zu-yi gang were burnt too and the number of ships captured was seven. It was Zu-yi’s greatest loss and defeat. An order was issued that all the captured prisoners be beheaded on arrival at the capital (Zheng He: Ambassador of Peace or Conqueror?).

On eighth October, 1407, temple 3 of the new heaven’s Tempress at Long jiang 4 was accomplished. The Court of Imperial sacrifice’s vice minister, Zhu Zhuo, was sent to dedicate the temple and offer sacrifices. It was at a time when the eunuch Zheng He had returned from Melaka, Calicut and other five countries of fan on a mission. The temple was eventually erected since Zheng He said that the spirits were of great help during his missions (Zheng He: Ambassador of Peace or Conqueror?).

The purpose of Zheng He’s voyages was to create a relationship of trading ties between China and other global countries. Though He managed to connect China with other nations, during his voyages, there were casualties they faced with his troop. The number of lives and property lost during this phase is of great negative effect than the positive effects. Zheng He did little to protect other people’s lives and property while he was on a mission to connect his country on matters related to trade (Ebrey 2010, 48). Contrary to the Chinese belief on relationships, Zheng’s missions during his expeditions were not totally pro propriety. The missions were based on developing business ties and expansion of China borders and actually having a mutual kind of relationships with the visited nations.

References

Ebrey, P. B. (2010). The Cambridge illustrated history of China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ppt, Buddhism in China

Ppt, Ritual and the Life Cycle

Ppt, The Han Dynasty–Part One, Political History

Ppt, The Han Dynasty–Part One, Political History

Ppt, The Hundred Schools of ThoughtZheng He: Ambassador of Peace or Conqueror?).

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Introduction

The concept of problem play emerged during the 19th Century as a form of a realism drama that addressed contentious social issues. The problem play engages characters on a stage who typically have conflicting issues within a realistic social context. Not to mention that debates have been staged for a long time, the problem play assumes the debate presentation to show the dilemma among characters. The problem play addresses realistic social problems such as prostitution, immorality and entrapment of women, particularly in the tragicomic drama of “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen. Quite the opposite of escapism, Ibsen’s play focuses on the realities of anxieties and lives of the bourgeoisie. The concept of problem play as revealed A Doll’s House play shows the struggles of the financially and aristocratic well-off families in terms of education and employment. The goal of Ibsen when creating the play was to expose the toxic societal norms perceived in the society. From the play, the problem play exhibits four major characteristics. For instance, the problems in the play are made the subject of debate by the characters, the action happens in a contemporary setting, and the characters present people’s everyday situations. In addition, Ibsen shows how the characters develop socio-critical perspective by not creating a theater that shows leisure time activity, but a society of soul-searching and of changing events.

A Doll House Play

The main conflict in the play revolves around money. For instance, the main character, Nora Helmer, borrows large sums of money from Krogstad on a trip to save her husband’s life. She does not want her husband (Torvald) to know since if he realized she got the money without his consent, it would hurt his pride. Ibsen reveals the problem of social status ailing Torvald’s character since borrowing money to him was bad to his eyes and unthinkable. Torvald could not even borrow money to cater for his wellbeing due to his stubborn pride and commitment to saving his status quo before their middle class the era. Ostensibly, he is unable to save his face, and Nora exclaims that the money was, “the most wonderful thing of all” that could save their marriage. As a result, Nora leaves Torvald although he does not understand the cause of her action. From the play, Ibsen challenges of the problem of the bourgeoisie mindset during the middle-class era in relation to both male/female relationships and money (Kellenberger 18).

As the stage opens, a dozen of problems is propounded in the A Doll’s House play. The real problem of the play is more concrete on the reflection of the modern life enveloped various styles and aspects to provide the deeper meaning of the marriage relations. Ibsen uses tarantella, symbolism, characterization, themes, dress and costumes, motifs and setting to support his thesis.

Tarantelle

Tarantelle is a form of dance that brings a natural course in the play. With what seems like a mere stage device, the fancy dress-ball dance becomes a major episode of the play. Considering the dance movement, tarantelle is not just an ordinary dance. The dance is named after tarantula, a dance that involves dizzying rounds and swift movements which to the victims, are measured as a poisonous sting. The dance creates frenzied, round and hurried-swift movements. After the victim breaks into chattering and laughter, she drops dead at the climax of the dance. The victim only hopes for a miracle to save her from her troubles.

From the play, Tarantelle symbolizes Nora. The play presents Nora as performing a wild and unsettling movement as the tragedy of her nature. Nora appears as frivolous and light on the surface; however, she conceals a dreadful secret underneath. The gruesome climax of Nora’s dolls life comes to surface at the end of the play. Nora’s character is consistent throughout the play, but her nature is filled with inconsequence. To calm herself, she dances and flits since her fear is heavy and poisons her veins because of the problem of women entrapment that prevails in her marriage. Her husband prohibits her attempt to look for money and uplift their social status in an effort to match the middle class in their social niche. Although she could not escape harm from those she loved, she hoped for a miracle from Torvald’s love. After a dull-helpless-melancholy fight, Nora discovers Torvald is naturally selfish and mean. She dances and laughs with a wild desire to set her free from the problem of entrapment, and eventually leaves the doll’s house. And while her heart is broken, only miracle can make her return. She says with clear eyes, “Yes, I have changed my dress,” to symbolize she no longer lives a masquerade life (Siddall 31).

Ibsen uses the tools of characterization to elaborate the concept of the problem play. For example, he uses actions, social status and names of characters to emphasize the problem of women’s living lives of restriction in the play. For instance, he uses the social status to show how different characters are bound to their roles by the society that has set them.

Social status

Arguably, the most important characterization tool used in the play is the social status in A Doll’s House. For example, Nora is presented as a dutiful wife. Her dutiful and submissive nature to Torvald shows the problems housewife women face under their condescending husbands in the social realities. Same as a character of a dutiful woman, she flirts, begs and even dances to the tune of her husband, Torvald. She is almost child-like when she is communicating with her husband. Although she seems playful, she behaves obediently in his presence and coaxes for favor in spite of the fact that she should be communicating with him as equals. She is an example of how women live in restrictive families under the husband’s condescending prowess. It becomes a problem to women liberalization since throughout the play; Torvald chides her gently, and she naturally responds to his criticism in a dutiful manner and as a loyal pet. In addition, the characters in the play represent specific roles that help to expose the problem of family conflicts. For instance, Christine stays happy as a way of fulfilling her role of being a dutiful woman while Torvald remains as the dominant husband. Krogstad struggles to maintain his social status despite what the community perceives of him for committing crimes of forgeries of signatures at the bank. For the majority of characters in the play, social status is their dominant feature (Ibsen 90).

Action

Most dramas use actions of characters to define them. Ibsen uses character actions to display the problem of people struggling to keep their social status. For example, Krostad spends a lot of his time blackmailing and threatening to show the audience the how nasty he can be in an effort to maintain his job that his family depends on. He helps Helmers from his clutches to show he has compassion other than the community’s accusation of forgery of signatures. Christine through her actions tries to be the best of help to Nora by her caring nature. Ibsen uses Christine to show women struggles to achieve liberation from the problem of dominance by men. For instance, she forces Nora to start a confrontation with Torvald, with the intention to help them end their family conflict. Also, the central action that stirs up the play is Nora’s action. Her doomed struggles to conceal the secret of the borrowed money show the audience how the society has forced her into desperation. In the end, her change of character represents her final actions to put to an end the struggles of women segregation from family responsibilities. She tells Torvald the truth about the money and desserts him so that she stop from being anyone’s doll (Ibsen 125).

Names

A closer examination of the names of the two couples in the play gives the realistic feature of the struggles of family relationships and the social status. Ibsen uses specific names to portray the genuine identity of the characters in their roles to bring out the concept of the problem play. For example, Christine is synonymous to Christ-ine. As such, Christine lives a Christ-like life which is characterized by self-sacrifice. For example, from her motherly figure and tough love for Nora, she helps Nora throughout the play when the family is going through tough times. Christine accepts Nora to confide in her about a debt secret which compromises her integrity, despite she advocates truthfulness and honesty. Also, without Christine’s self-sacrifice to help Nora free from her husband’s entrapment, she would not have had the courage to confront Torvald. She would have ended the problem of women living like a doll in their houses (Ibsen 39).

Krogstad’s name is synonymous to Norwegian word for the crooked. From the play, we can see situation Ibsen uses to show the problem of social status. For instance, He does a lot of crooked things such as blackmailing and threatening anyone who tried to uncover his nasty activities at the bank. Perhaps the Satan to Christine Jesus and Krogstad is in antagonism with her. At the reckoning of his redemption for his crooked actions and to restore harmony in the social status, he retracts the threatening letter he had sent to Torvald. Ibsen uses the moment to show how families can resolve their family conflicts despite their social inequities. On the other hand, Nora and Torvald names have pagan origin. Torvald originates from Thor, the god of thunder while Nora-Elenora. Throughout the play, the Helmers participate in pagan-like activities such as Nora feasting, dancing and celebrating that is similar to pagan celebration of Yule. Ibsen uses their names to symbolize families in real life who would do anything to fight for their social status. For instance, Nora secretly secrets hides her debt secret and when she frees herself from her husband’s entrapment, she breaks into dancing laughter to celebrate her liberalization (Ibsen 80).

Overall, the couples such as Korgtad and Christine live a Christian life who works hard to achieve the social status in an honest way. They represent the reality view of families that toil and moil to climb the social ladders through the honest ways. Ibsen uses the couples to symbolize couples that achieve their social wealth through hard work and honesty. Conversely, Torvald and Nora represent the pairs living a pagan insouciance. Not to claim they are pagan, but the play uses them to show families who live a life of Adam and Eve’s tenancy. With their innocence shattered on the onset of family struggles, they toil through the social ladders to obtain an aura of social recognition. The problem play introduces them as families who are still struggling for a higher status in order to save their face (Ibsen 51).

Motifs

Motifs refer to recurring structures, devices of contrasts that help to bring out major themes in the play. For instance, Ibsen uses motifs such as Nora’s definition of freedom and letters.

Nora’s definition of freedom

Her understanding of freedom continues to evolve throughout the play. From the perspective of the problem play, Nora represents women who are on the verge of liberalization. In Act One, she understands she will be totally “free” when she has completed paying back the debt in full (Ibsen 25). She foresees having complete freedom and having enough time to devote herself toward serving her husband on domestic responsibilities. Nevertheless, when Krogstad blackmails her, she again reconsiders her definition of freedom and questions how happy she is with Torvard considering his edicts and orders. Her quests for freedom manifest at the end of the play when she relieves herself of the familial obligations and seeks for a new identity, ambitions and believes. She represents the problem women face in social realities for being submissive to their husbands’ orders. Regardless, they struggle to be free to pursue their interests (Ibsen 113).

Letters

The letters bring to the plot twists and turns that serve as a function of a subtext that uncovers the unpleasant reality of Tarvold and Nora’s obscured beautification. The letters develop the problem play by exposing the internal conflicts the families are going through, which otherwise are not revealed in the traits. There are two letters written by Krogstad. The first one shows Nora’s attempt to commit a crime of forgery to Torvald, the second one is sent to retract his threats of blackmail and the return of the promissory note belonging to Nora. In the first letter, the letter shows Nora’s past and her inevitable dissolutions and initiatives to save her marriage. When Nora tries to retrieve the letter from Torvald, we learn that she is in denial of her marriage (Ibsen 74).

Conclusion

A Doll House criticizes the scandalous traditional roles of men and women in their families during the 19th Century. Using the concept of the problem play, Ibsen tries to explain why freedom is important to a woman by showing the domestic life of Nora when she is confined in her husband’s home. Nora’s awakening to freedom symbolizes the inevitable nature of human nature to get liberalized from oppression, selfishness and social dominance.

Works Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Maryland: Arc Manor LLC, 2009. Print.

Kellenberger, James. Relationship Morality. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 2010. Print.

Siddall, S. H. Henrik Ibsen: A Doll’s House. New York, NY: Humanities-Ebooks, 2008. Print.

A domain name Due to the advancement of technology more and more firms are turning on the websites to look for information as well as sell their services to potential clients. As a result of that more and more websites are being put up every day to help such businesses to venture into the global site. Various websites offer different services, some have become well known while others are still struggling to make a breakthrough (Shi, 2003).

A domain name can be referred to as “a case-insensitive string of letters, numbers, and hyphens that is used to define the location of a website”. The domain names act as pointers to different IP addresses (Gil, 2013). Normally the domain names are arranged in a hierarchy with generic name usually placed on the right (Websites. 2005). A big number of website domain names usually start with “www”, the reason for that is because they were put on the World Wide Web for their various firms (Lang, 2003). It should however be noted that a firm can have some other domain names that are not necessarily websites such as email servers (Claxton, 2008). Domain names are usually divided into three sections usually separated by periods, the first part comprises of the site name, second part company name and finally the third part is made up of the domain name (com) (Potts, 2007).

Research methodology and design

So as to be able to carry out my research on the best websites that I would recommend as a source for data warehousing/business intelligence research concerning best practices of design, development & implementation of data warehouse, I had to visit different web sites. From the different websites I was able to look at the services provided and was able to compare them, some websites were even comparing the different services offered by the Domains. I also had to find out why some websites had vey many people logging onto it while others had very few people (McManus, 2001).

Websites

Some of the web sites that I considered as good enough and among the top ten were the ones such as Altis consulting, www.now-here.com, twdi.org, www.sap.com, www. Grtcorp.com, greenplum.com, www.agilisinternational.com, www.datamation.com, www.ipage.com ,www.networksolutions.com . All the firms had some common similarity, but others had an edge over the type of service and regular updates that were meant to help the clients (Abrams, 2006). Some of the firm offered customized services to fit the diverse needs of the clients (Websites. 2002) . The difference came in the type of information that one could get from some of the web sites, some had scanty information thus could not be relied on entirely (Berkman, 2004).

Conclusion

Using the most appropriate website can have a significant effect, the presence of very many websites give a diverse options of choosing the best website that can fulfill the needs of a firm, the number of people logging onto a website does not necessarily mean that the website is either good or bad. A website may have few visitors or people who log onto hit by it may be very good another site may have plenty of people logging onto it but it may not be the best. It is advisable to first look at the contents of a website before making a conclusion as many small websites are known to have very good information. The well known firms also started small and eventually made it and became big names.

References

Abrams, R. M. (2006). Successful business research: straight to the numbers you need– fast!. New York: Planning Shop.

Berkman, R. I. (2004). The skeptical business searcher: the information advisor’s guide to evaluating Web data, sites, and sources. New York: Information Today, Inc..

Claxton, L., & Woo, A. (2008). How to say it: marketing with new media : a guide to promoting your small business using websites, E-zines, blogs, and podcasts. New York: Prentice Hall Press.

Gil, E. L., & Reyes, A. (2013). International business research: strategies and resources. New York: Scarecrow Press.

Lang, E. M., & Tudor, J. D. (2003). Best websites for financial professionals, business appraisers, and accountants (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley & Sons.

McManus, S. (2001). Small business websites that work: get online to grow your company. London: Prentice Hall.

Potts, K. (2007). Web design and marketing solutions for business websites. New York: Friends of Ed ;.

Shi, N., & Murthy, V. K. (2003). Architectural issues of Web-enabled electronic business. London: Idea Group Pub..

Websites. (2002). New York: 4 Learning.

Websites. (2005). London: Feierabend.

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Barbaric Nature of ‘The Mongolians’

Mongolians were majorly known for how they waged war and how they fought the different battles they were engaged in. they were a group of communities forming one society with almost similar culture and manner of living. This situation made it difficult for the people who interacted with them to see them differently. However, they had a completely separate life, and even though can be considered to have been barbaric they also had their own culture and manner of living which was peaceful. Their hospitality and good nature can be displayed when William accounts for how they offered him an option to choose between oxen and horse.

On the barbaric side, we can see in ‘escaping the Mongols’ story that they can be very brutal and barbaric when it was about war. Their nature of war can be termed as very destructive and uncaring about human nature. This is despite the Christianisation which was tried by Rome in the Williams story. Their barbaric nature can also be stated as the major cause to why the Vatican or Rome tried to have them fight against the Muslims in the crusades and therefore this was an important part of their life as their nature landed them an opportunity to work with the Catholic Church. Therefore it is true that they were barbaric. However, at the same time, they had a life away from war and within their confines they were peaceful.

Works cited

“William of Rubruck’s Account of the Mongols.” Washington.edu, 2002, depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/rubruck.html.

Medievalists.net. “Escaping the Mongols: A Survivor’s Account from the 13th Century.” Medievalists.net, 23 Jan. 2018, www.medievalists.net/2018/01/escaping-mongols-survivors-account-13th-century/.

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Barbie Doll Campaign Critique

Barbie is taking a step towards developing a more inclusive brand and creating an equal society for children. The company has launched a new advertisement that features influential women of color and disabilities. The Barbie campaign was conceptualized by the Los Angeles advertising agency, BBH. The Mattel-owned brand, Barbie, launched the global campaign on 3rd May 2021. The one-minute advertisement themed ‘A Doll Can Help Change The World’ features numerous children, including both boys and girls, playing with dolls. The dolls range from white Barbie dolls to colored dolls. The children are seen putting their dolls to sleep, reading them books, putting them to bed and even kissing them goodnight. After reading the dolls a novel, the boy asks if they have questions. Afterwards, the children are seen feeding their pets and welcoming their guests into their homes. The advertisement also features a disabled child combing her doll’s hair, a boy pretending to feed his doll and a girl pretending to swim with her mermaid dolls in the bathtub.

Ad campaign link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=862sbukhpesGoals

The Barbie doll campaign aims to convey the message that allowing children to play with dolls has emotional benefits. The campaign that was launched early last year is hell-bent on showing that dolls can help change the world to become a better place. The campaign focuses on how dolls help nurture specific traits of empathy, patience, generosity, and leadership in children. Through the simple tasks that children do, such as washing, and reading to their dolls, children are bound to become better individuals as they grow up. Barbie dolls are important in early childhood development as they help children become more empathetic and generous.

Target

The Barbie Doll campaign themed ‘A Doll Can Help Change the World’ was initiated following a recent study at Cardiff University. Barbie carried out the study showed that allowing children to play with dolls helps build their social information processing skills. The campaign targets young children between the age of four and eight. The study carried out by Barbie carried on for 18 months. A team was tasked with monitoring the brain activities of 33 children between four and eight years while they played with dolls versus with tablets.

Insight

By the end of 2015, Barbie had registered ten quarters in sales decline. The Barbie doll has been viewed as a symbol of the destructive body expectations that girls deal with in current society. Notably, the Barbie doll has become the subject of wide criticism for its lack of diversity and heteronormativity. Mattel came up with an idea to change this negative perception as it was affecting the company’s sales. To do this, Mattel launched a chain of campaigns that focused on inclusivity and empowerment. They even undertook changing the body shapes of their Barbie dolls. Barbies’ 2015 campaign named ‘Imagine the Possibilities’ became fundamental in repositioning the company as a doll which helped girls recognize their potential (“Campaign Of The Week: A Doll Can Help Change The World”). As a result, Mattel was successful in transforming Barbie into a worthwhile role model that reflects the 21st century. Following a change in communications, Barbie registered enormous growth by 2016. Some of the more conservative countries seemed less emphatic about the modernization of Barbie dolls. Despite this, there is no doubt that the doll sector was headed in a progressive direction. In 2019, South America’s Hasbro launched a sweet yet straightforward advertisement showing children, and particularly boys playing with dolls and the emotional advantages of the same. The recent products that Barbie has developed features a variety of gender-neutral models, varied body sizes and differently-abled dolls. Today, toy representation has transformed from the usual nice-to-have form to a more relatable and expected norm and we have Mattel to thank for paving the way.

Coming up with engaging strategies to communicate the benefits of products is a common problem for many brands. In the past, we have encountered brands that go uncommon places to deliver messages in interesting and fresh ways. In this case, Mattel repackaged the notion that playing with Barbies impacts children’s well-being positively. The Mattel Barbie campaign came at a time when parents were nervous concerning the emotional impact that the curfews and lockdown had on children.

Big Idea

Mattel’s Barbie campaign ‘A Doll Can Help Change the World’, is the biggest advertisement campaign that the company has ventured into in five years. The big idea is that making these changes on the design and appearance of dolls was important because it impacts children’s ability to show empathy and other traits such as generosity. Although Mattel is yet to release the exact figures, Kantar estimates that the company has doubled its year-on-year spending on advertisements in 2021 and it spent $53 million on brand advertising in 2020. The first quarter of 2021 saw Barbie sales rise 87% compared to 2020 and the campaign is a clear indication to keep the momentum going.

Results

The ‘A Doll Can Help Change the World’ campaign started with research that compared brain activity of children that played with tablets versus dolls. The 33 child participants were between the age of four and eight. According to the study’s lead author, Dr. Sarah Gerson, the results of the study were rather impressive. Dr. Gerson reported that they noted that the posterior superior temporal sulcus being more active in children as they played with dolls. This is an indication that allowing children to play with dolls helps them rehearse some social skills that they will need later in life. Noteworthy, these findings are probably country agnostic since the said region of the brain has been found to play similar roles in supporting social processing and empathy across six continents. The results of the study found that playing with dolls activates the section of the brain related to empathy. Additionally, the study showed that playing with dolls affects how children interact with other people in future. The explanation is that it is only in childhood that people tend to build castles of imagination because they tend to be living in their own world. If the child castle has diverse people of all shapes, colors and sizes, the child is likely to grow to becoming more empathetic towards the people they will meet in the future.

Key Activations

For a long time, Barbie dolls used to be blonde which satisfied ideal beauty standards and sold a picture of white supremacy. Consumers viewed the brand as shallow and vapid as it promoted a negative body image, lacked Barbie diversity and perceived sexism (Sharma, 1). The first Barbie doll hit the shelves in 1959. It had perfect makeup, wore striped swimming attire, a petite figure, and a blond ponytail. In 1960, it was hard dark air and got a job. In 1969, Mattel made its first colored Barbie. In 1986, the Barbie landed on the moon. It donned a Kimono and stepped out of America in 2003. The first curvy doll was introduced in 2016 and a year later, the first doll with a hijab came. Since the Company’s makeover in 2015, the brand has introduced a variety of products called Barbie Fashionista doll, that includes 24 dolls that have eight shades of skin tone and a variety of curly hair options. Since then, the company has been making a conscious effort to develop more inclusive products.

Works Cited

“Campaign Of The Week: A Doll Can Help Change The World”. Contagious, 2021, https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/barbie-says-dolls-boost-empathy-in-year-long-global-campaign.

Sharma, Karuna. “Barbie’S Global Campaign Reminds Us How Kids Playing With Dolls Can Aid In Developing Empathy And Generosity At An Early Age”. Business Insider, 2022, https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/barbies-global-campaign-reminds-us-how-kids-playing-with-dolls-can-aid-in-developing-empahttps://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/brands/article/barbies-global-campaign-reminds-us-how-kids-playing-with-dolls-can-aid-in-developing-empathy-and-generosity-at-an-early-age/articleshow/82405523.cmsthy-and-generosity-at-an-early-age/articleshow/82405523.cms.