Service Improvement Essay Example for Free

Service Improvement Essay Abstract As the competition in the restaurant industry become more. Service quality becomes important to achieve the success restaurant. Service Blueprint is one of the methods that use to apply to improve the service system. The process of blueprint is a necessary tool that the restaurant can view all of process of the restaurant’s operation between the customer and providers. The paper aims to examine and apply to improve in the service processes of the restaurant by using the Service Blueprint to be the technique that used to understand customer service experiences. For the service blueprint design, an in-depth interview and a quantitative research method was used based on a customer expectation on the target customer who always to dining-out in the restaurant. The providing emphasize on value co-creation and design characteristics of service systems, and identifying the most important service system characteristics perceived by the customer, is the important way to improve the service. Keywords: blueprint, service, improvement, restaurant Introduction The trend of food and beverage industries in Thailand is growing in the positive direction because the customer behavior on eating out (Thansettakij Newspaper, 2012). Many reasons, hungry, social business and personal reason, affect guests to visit the restaurant. Whatever the reason, customers expect their dining experience to be positive (Ninemeier and Hayes, 2006). Developing high-quality dining experience (Rong and Jun, 2012) is the better way to create value of service to attraction (Sandstrà ¶m et al, 2008). Increasing market competition and growing customer service demands influence the organization to improve efficiency the service processes (Mascio, 2007). The good service process is the first for the restaurant to gain competitive advantage, to marketing success and to growing (Hee and Young, 2001). Restaurants that use the delivery of high service quality have the stronger competitive position (Kit and Ka, 2001). Customer Satisfaction and Customer Expectation The outcome of customers’ evaluation of a service is the satisfaction that based on a comparison of the recognition of service delivery with their previous expectations. (Johnston and Clark, 2005). Thus restaurant need to understand the customers’ service expectations (Johnston and Clark, 2001:2005; Ford and Heaton, 2000), that is an essential for delivering greater service because they represent implicit performance standards that customers use in assessing service quality (Andronikidis et al, 2009). Understanding customer expectations performed an importance part for delivering the customer satisfaction. Customer expectations include two levels are desired expectation and adequate expectation. Desired expectations represented the customer wanted the service to perform that the service â€Å"should be†. While adequate expectations are the satisfactory performance that the service â€Å"will be† (Yen and Soe, 2010). Customer Experience and Service Process Services are the experience that depends on human and delivery system. Because of the growing of Service Business, the organization should move into the customer experience management that is importance to creating customer loyalty by creating meaningful and memorable. (Bitner et al., 2007). Experience can be determined as the aggregate and increasing customer awareness created during the process of learning about, obtaining and using a product or service (Jiang, 2008). Customer experience has been treated as embedded in service quality. It is also measured by comparing expectations before, and perceptions after the experience, or perceptions only, through different predetermined service attributes (Walter et al, 2010). Service process is the part of the customer’s experience creation. (Johnston and Clark, 2001:2005) That includes the human element (the people who interacting with customers) and the material production process (Ford and Heaton, 2000). The service process is a collection of activities that represents all of the steps over a period of time (Bitner et al., 2007). Service Blueprint There are a lot of techniques that used to develop the service delivery system for the guest experience. One of them is the service blueprint that is the method of process modeling that use to visualize, analyze, organize, control and develop service processes for improving the internal and external of organization (Gersch et al., 2011). Service Blueprint helps the organization to see the key operational, human resources, and marketing issues that offering the service experience for the customer, easily (Bitner et al., 2007). Dong and Shiang (2010) suggested the service system bird’s eyeview that shows all of the steps in the service process can guarantee the customer satisfaction. The workflow description helps the organization to watch out all of service parts that can provide to improve the failure points. Service Blueprinting is the process of creating the delivering service standard that shows the personnel and equipment required (Mascio, 2007). This method adapts for service innovation, quality improvement, customer experience design, and strategic change focused around customers as a highly effective (Bitner et al., 2007) and effectiveness (Hummel and Murphy, 2011). Drucker (1977) mentions the effectiveness as â€Å"doing the right things† and the efficiency as â€Å"doing things right†. Moreover this technique involves a description of the different process steps visually and in continuity, helping to define the steps at which the customer uses the core service and to identify the additional benefits that make up the increased product (Pires et al., 2004). Components of Service Blueprint Coenen et al. (2011) defines a service blueprint as â€Å"†¦visually displays activities by simultaneously depicting the process of service delivery, the points of customer contact, the roles of customers and employees, and the physical surrounding of the perceived process†. A typical service blueprint consists of five components (Bitner et al., 2007): (1) Customer actions: All of steps that show the customers’ activity. (2) Onstage/visible contact employee actions: Face-to-face actions between the customers and employees (3) Backstage/invisible contact employee actions: All of the employee actions, but the customer can’t see. (4) Support processes: All the tangibles that customers are exposed to that can influence their quality perceptions. (5) Physical evidence: All the activities carried out by individuals and units within the company who are not contact employees. Moreover, there are the actions that separated by diverse â€Å"lines† (Coenen et al., 2011; Gersch et al., 2011). The â€Å"line of interaction† separates the customer activity from the provider action, showing the direct interactions between customer and provider. Above the â€Å"line of interaction†, there are the activities, choices, and interactions performed by the customer. The â€Å"line of visibility† differentiates between the visible (onstage) and invisible (backstage) to the customer. Above the â€Å"line of visibility†, there are the actions and decisions carried out by front office employees. The â€Å"line of internal interaction† distinguishes between front office and back office activities. Support processes which are necessary to aid front office employees in delivering the service are carried out below the â€Å"line of internal interaction†. Research Method Regarding to the aim of this paper the research must examine and apply to improve the service process for service experience. For the collection of comprehensive and detail information about customer’s expectation in the service delivery process. First of all, In-depth interview was used to be the method to help on creating the questionnaire. The questionnaire was devised to measure customer expectations in term of quality of service of the restaurant. References Andronikidis, A., Georgiou, A.C., Gotzamani, K., Kamvysi, K. The application of quality function deployment in service quality management. The TQM Journal, 21/4(2009), pp. 319-333 Bitner, M. J., Ostrom, A. L., and Morgan, F. N., 2007. Service Blueprint: A Practical Technique for Service Innovation. Center for Service Leadership, Arizona State University. Coenen, C., Felten, D.V., and Schmid, M., 2011. Managing effectiveness and efficiency through FM blueprinting. Facilities, Vol. 29 Iss: 9/10, pp.422 436 Dong, S.C. and Shiang, L.Y., Combining Kano model and service blueprint for adult day care service — A case study in Taiwan, Service Systems and Service Management (ICSSSM), 2010 7th Drucker, P. (1977), An Introductory View of Management, Harper College Press, New York, NY. Ford, R. C., and Heaton, C. P., 2000. Managing the Guest Experience in Hospitality. Delmar Thomson Learning. Gersch, M., Hewing, M., and Schà ¶ler B., Business Process Blueprinting – an enhanced vi ew on process performance. Business Process Management Journal, 17/5(2011), pp.732-747 Hee, W.K., Young, G.K., Rationalizing the customer service process. Business Process Management Journal, 7 /2(2001), pp. 139-156 Hummel, E. and Murphy, K.S., Using Service Blueprint to Analyze Restaurant Service Efficiency. Cornall Hospitalty Quarterly, 52/3(2011). Jiang, K., New Service Development for Interactive Experience. Service Operations and Logistics and Informatics 2008 International Conference on (2008) G

Advantage and Disadvantage of Hospitality Industry

Advantage and Disadvantage of Hospitality Industry Hospitality Industry is an industry that has lots of competitor because it is one of the fastest growing sectors among others industry. Besides that, the hospitality industry is one of the oldest businesses in the history. Nevertheless, it changed and expending drastically in areas such as tourism, meeting and convention planning as the time goes by. The huge growth of the hospitality industry required a high qualified and trained people to fill in the rapidly opening positions in hospitality management. Other than that, it is an exciting, never gets boring and offers unlimited opportunities to the people. The African Americans had lots of experience in hospitality but not always been positive. In the past, they usually carry out the hospitality operations in a low-level managerial position and from the lowest realm in service till the realistic opportunity of becoming general managers. The usage rate is an important variable for the hospitality industry as the owner would like to ha ve his or her productive asset in use as much as possible. Based on the business dictionary, the hospitality industry is defined as hotel, motels, inns, or such businesses that provides transitional or short-term lodging, with or without food. Besides that, to handle a competitor in the industry, it is very important to have the characteristics of the personnel working in direct contact with the guest. The person must have authenticity, professionalism, and actually concern about the happiness and well-being of the customers in order to success in competing with other competitor. Answer for Question 1 The hospitality industry covers a huge range of organizations which have lots of categories of fields. Those fields in the hospitality industry are travel tourism, restaurant, and recreation. Besides that, there are advantages as well as disadvantages in every businesses and people. Although hospitality industry is a very wide scope industry but it mainly focuses on the two largest establishments throughout the world. The figure below is two largest establishments in the hospitality industry. Lodging as known as accommodation is a place that allows someone to lives or stay temporarily. The people who need the lodging for sleep, rest, safety, shelter from cold temperature or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions. Commonly the lodging establishment consists of recreation, food service, entertainment and personal services to the travelers. Then, lodging is done in a hotel, hostel, resort, chalet, and motel. Other than that, the goal of all businesses is to link or match supply with the demand like hotels want to sell room and other kinds of services to guest who provides their demand. Supply which is the product and services is a holistic concept and it consists of tangibles and intangibles. Examples of tangibles are hotel type and physical amenities while intangibles are the personal services that provided by the lodging staff. Demand which is the customer wants and needs is always changing and varied. Hotel can be categorized by price, service l evels, guests or market segment served, and location. Advantages of Lodging Nowadays, people usually stay in other city or town and away from their home for some certain period of time. Lodging is the only place for them to stay during that time. Besides that, the advantages of lodging are that the guest can put away their stress on doing housework such as cleaning and laundry because in the lodging, those services are provided. Other than that, leisure places such as gymnastic room or swimming pool is another attraction for the consumer to make their choice staying in a hotel. In additional, lodging in hospitality industry on the economics angle is the ability to provide products or services of superior quality and reasonable price. Besides that, the company can provide a lower cost which can provide a lower price for the customer than the competition offers. Therefore, the hotel must always update their guest about the latest promotions and also the event organized from other competitors. Furthermore, localization is the advantages of the lodging in the hospitality industry. In localization part, hotel can be divided in two types which is the conference hotel and hotel that nearby the vocational locations. Conference hotel is mainly targeted on businessman and it is located in the city or a conference area of the certain country. Then, the hotel which is nearby the vocational locations is hotel which is located near beautiful such as beach resort. Besides that, these hotels also located in a tourism area and mainly targeted on family. This kind of hotel is very free during the peak working hour but will be very peak during the holiday period. Moreover, the environment is another factor of advantages in lodging. The strategic location of the hotel that can allow the guests to view nice and beautiful scenery. The guest can have a memorable view and release tension by just looking out from their room. Other than the lodging, customer also concern about the quality of entertainment such as pub, snooker center, golf field, casino and theme park. For guest who wanted to release stress and seeking for entertainment, this is the best attraction to them. Disadvantages of Lodging In large hotels, there are a large numbers of rooms, facilities and wide choices of dining to be chosen. All these are the advantages of lodging but it also the disadvantages of lodging. In large hotels, a long queued line at the reception area is the common things in most of the large lodging. The main reason that causes this problem is the failure of the management. As a hotelier, we must have a further planning in handling critical situation because we cant ensure that the guest will check out on time and wont causes the next guest to wait a period of time before they can check into their room. Furthermore, the most common problem that will be happened in large hotels is lack staffs in working. This problem can cause the guest to get angry while waiting to be served. Besides that, the insufficient of the staff may also cause another staff to suffer. This problem can cause a big problem and complains from a guest as they waiting something from the staff while the staff is busying handling another guest. Food service is a large industry which has connection with the preparation and service of food outside the home. Restaurant, catering a wedding party or function, and running a cafeteria are all the example of establishment in the food service industry. In this industry, the manager has to take a responsibility in ordering wholesale ingredients, maintaining the food processing and cooking equipment. The person who holds the manager position is usually gained several years of working experience in food and beverage jobs. In United States, food service industry is one of the largest employers working as servers and managers. Most of them are under the age of 30 and more than half of them are holding a high school diploma or less. Besides that, in food industry, there are 3 types of service provided to the guest. Firstly is counter service which is the food or drinks are all ordered at the counter. Secondly is the table service which is the food or drinks order were taken by the waiter or waitress. Lastly is the gueridon service which the food is served by a trolley that is well equipped to prepare, cook and serve the food to the guest. Other than that, there are many regulations that are needed to follow in order to maintain the quality food service. Generally, the food service director is working about 12hours each day and sometimes might be longer. Advantages of Food Service Food Service industry is an industry that needed a large amount of human energy to carry out the work from chef position, assistant chef until the waiter or waitress. Besides that, there are quite an amount of position in between chef and waiter, therefore this condition cause the increased the job opportunities. People with a higher education can hold a position in the management level while the people with a lower education can hold the lower position such as cleaner or waiter. Due to the increase of the lodging therefore the development of the dining will be improved based on the improvement of the lodging. Furthermore, this industry is mainly targeted on those who are finding something to consume when they are hungry. If this kind of business is located in the correct and suitable place, the result of the business will be very peak, successful, and gain revenue but if located in the wrong and not suitable place, the result will be totally opposite. Besides that, it must be easily to be found so the people who work can save their time during the rushing hour. Moreover, a professional trained staff is the way to lead the food service establishment to a success. Therefore, the staff must get to use nowadays technology in order to make their job more efficiencies and productive. With the help of technology, the food order were taken down by electronic devices, patron seating are all contributing in an efficient fast serving. Disadvantages The increased of job opportunities in this industry is an advantages for the job seeker and student but it is disadvantages for the hospitality company. The reason is because of the students are just fresh graded and doesnt have any working experience will directly affect the efficiency of the service in any establishment. Besides that, the employee should have an on-the-job training to take care the task and responsibility in a restaurant. Then, the expensive rental fee of the shop which makes the owner has to pay lots money just for the rent. In additional the shop might only get limited quantities and more competitors. Furthermore, the long working time in the food service industry is one of the disadvantages. People who work in this industry are always demanding and grueling. In additional, the waiter and waitress must be in good attitude and wont so easy get emotional when dealing with the guest. Hence, the salary is highly based on the tips given by the customers, and employees may have a limited access to the benefits and protections from the government such as minimum wage laws. Then, environment is another disadvantage in the food service industry. Energy conservation, hazardous chemical disposal, and waste management are important and often appear in the food service managers. The health of the staff and the world will be affected if these agents are not used and disposed in a proper method. Many companies are finding methods to reduce the waste before purchasing it. Conclusion The hospitality industry is mainly focuses on fulfilling customer satisfaction. In order to achieve customer satisfaction, the good service is the most important thing. There will be more loyal customer if the customer satisfaction is achieved. Besides the individually service, there are also services that are mainly for special event planning which are mostly for social and corporate functions. Finally, hospitality industry is an honorable profession and it is the industry that mostly deals with customers needs and wants. Question 2 Find out the factors that affecting travel and tourism. Explain in detail Introduction In hospitality industry, travel and tourism plays an important role in increasing the revenue in the lodging. Furthermore, it is mainly for recreation, leisure or business purposes. Travel can be defined as a journey that is made while tourism can be defined as the commercial organization and operation of vacations and visits to places of interest. Therefore, people who travel are called as a tourist. Besides that, there are many leisure oriented businesses with a major food service and some of the hospitality component also dependent on the traveler or tourism, such as theme park, shopping mall and many more. The importances of tourism and hospitality industry are increasing every year because tourism is health of the hospitality industry. Other than that, the tourism is the collection productive businesses and governmental organizations that serve the travelers ways from home. These kinds of organizations consist of restaurants, hotels, motels, and resorts. Then, travel trends are significant to students or family of hospitality because they represent the way in which many guests reach. Answer for Question 2 Travel and tourism industry had become more popular leisure activity day by day. Besides that, there are two purposes for travel which is wanderlust and sunlust. Wanderlust is people who travel to see other countrys cultures and gaining experience while the sunlust is people who travel to some places to escape from climate for a while. Tourism can be divided into two types which is domestic tourism and outbound tourism. Domestic tourism is like people who travel in their own country. Outbound tourism is like people who travel away from home and visit another country for leisure or business purpose. Furthermore, people travel because of leisure and they are finding more way to relax themselves and away from busy life. Of course the most important in the tourism is accommodation which allows the traveler to stay in a night or more. The following diagram is the factors that affecting travel and tourism. Factors Affecting Travel and Tourism Leisure time is time that spent for ease and relaxation. The increased of the leisure time is for people to have more time off from the job or school holidays. As the world is changing, the policies in all organization are changing too. Other than that, most of the companies are providing their employees paid holidays and for the large organization, it usually provides a three-day weekends. The liberal company policies had enables the employees to go for a vacation or travel to help them away from stress and giving them a break since they had a more flexible arrangement. Enabling factors is refers to some people that have the thought to go on a holiday but they cant do so because of some reasons. The main reasons of that are money and time. If people cant afford the money and have enough time, it means the people cant go. Besides that, the availability in travel such as flight to certain location, suitable products like the range of different holidays, having transports to travel easily, marketing of a destination for bringing attention, and ease of booking. These are the enabling factors which allow people to act on their motivators. Technology factors have always been an industry that has made extensive use of new technology equipment. In tourism, there are several changes of technology like the different factors from medical advances to the innovative tourism. Other than that, a better communication and transports such as cruise ships and new customer had the confidence in safety matter. This will be easier, quicker and cheaper service which is demand of the customer. Besides that, the shorter and efficient time period for a person to travel to another farer place. Moreover, through the technology changes, online booking which can allow people to check for the travelling packages from touring companies websites and direct purchase without going walking in to the company. In additional, MATTA FAIR had been successfully organized with the association and sponsored form the different touring companies and organizations. It is a fair which is an open public fair that provides discount to the travelling packages and it is affordable for that economical income family. Income is money received on a regular basis of work or through investments. Nowadays, many women are started to work in order to maintain their family income rather than just the men. The reason for the women to start working is they wanted to find some challenges and the most mainly reason is that they want to give a more comfortable living lifestyle to her family. Besides that, for a marriage woman, they still need to take care of their children and doing some house work after a tiring working day. At last, their leisure time will be scarified. Therefore, if they had free time, they will spend their money on the goods and services that they demanded. In additional, they wont care so much about the price of the products or their travel because the time is a bounty for them and this bounty is hard to gain. Therefore, a good rest in releasing the pressure and hectic life style, the good and quality travelling will always be their first and wise choice. Demographic is a particular sector of a population. In America, a significant demographic change had been proven that middle age people had higher income and greater propensity to travel. The people within the age of 35 to 44 are mostly stays in the accommodations or a longer outstation trip in which for leisure or business purpose. Besides that, people after the age of 55 mostly going for leisure purpose by using their retirement pay to travel. These groups of people are the main growth in the mature market for tourism. These people within the age of 55 to 65 as the first baby boomers had move to their mature years and being very excited and active in finding new experience by travelling and enjoy the leisure moment after retirement. Safety and security have been an important factor in every industry especially in the tourism industry. As tourism or traveler, they usually concern the safety and security of the hotels and the transportation for their journey. In hotels, the security department must ensure that customers are away from the situation such as assault, raping, larceny, robbery and fire within the premises. In order to prevent this situation, there must be lighting in every single area of the hotels. Besides that, the security department staff must be well-trained in handling any situation happened. These not only is the safety of the customer but worker as well. On the other hand, the safety transportation such as airplane, ships, train, bus and taxi are also concerned by the tourism and traveler. A good and well managed in the safety and security of the accommodation can give an good impression to the guest and they will continue staying instead intro it to their friends. Conclusion Travel and tourism is very important in the hospitality industry because it leads to large revenue through lodging establishment. Lots of people prefer travel by car than other transports such as airplane, motorbike, bus or train. Although travel by airplane is the fastest among other transports but it is too expensive. Besides that, the communications between airlines and tourism industry should have an agreement in lower down the price to improve the tourism industry. By adjusting the price of the airplane, more people will go for travel and only can bring the tourism industry to a new millennium.

Critically assess the main arguments in Outsiders

Critically assess the main arguments in Outsiders Arguing that social deviance is a more common phenomenon than perceived and that conventional wisdom that social deviants are pathological is incorrect Howard S. Becker, born April 18th 1928, is a well known renowned American Sociologist. Of all his many writings, Outsiders, which was written in 1963, is one of his most imperative and prominent works, regarded as critical classical study within the discipline of sociology and deviance. It can be said that it is one of Beckers most famous pieces of work which offered one of the first and clearest explanations for the labelling theory. Outsiders continues to be a seminal text on the Interactionists approach to deviance in society today. He states that the outsider the deviant from group rules has been the subject of much speculation, theorizing, and scientific study (Becker 1997: 3). Howard Becker elaborates the study of deviance specifically from a social perspective, and considers the processes by which people or different types of acts come to be labelled as deviant. His ideas and arguments are based upon his notion that deviance is not a quality of a bad person but it is the res ult of someone characterizing and labelling someones activity as bad. This essay asks one to critically assess the main arguments Becker puts forward in Outsiders. Becker sets the foundations for his ideas on labelling theory in his book and furthers the notions of other Sociologists such as Edwin Lemert. Lemert has been commonly credited with being the founder and one of the firsts to discuss what has been called the Societal Reaction theory. In Lemerts book Social Pathology written in 1951, Lemert summarized an approach which has been regarded and considered to be an original version of the labelling theory. In his book he focuses on the social construction of deviance and explained deviance to be the product of societys reaction to an act and the affixing of a deviant label to the actor. The book explains the concepts of primary and secondary deviance and according to Lemert; primary deviance is the initial incidence of an act causing someone of authority to label the actor as deviant. This initial labelling of an act deemed deviant would stay prima ry for as long as the actor can rationalize the process as a function of a socially acceptable role (Lemert 1951). As well as discussing the theory of labelling, Becker appraises the process in where users of marihuana become labelled as deviants and talks about jazz music. The main objective is to attempt to critically evaluate and analyse the ideas and themes contained within the book and assess his arguments. The book was written in the 60s and as a consequence it is quite outdated, and although some of his ideas and theories are relevant in todays society, some of them can not in context. In addition he uses the term `Negros rather than African American to describe black people and he puts homosexuality into the same deviant group such as alcoholics, gamblers and people who are on drugs. In Beckers book he coins and furthers the term labelling theory. It explains that if individuals or groups are defined as deviant, there will be important and often unanticipated consequences at the level of behaviour (Abercrombie et al. 1988: 132). Chapter one explains what deviance is and Becker argues the limitations of existing attempts to define deviance. He explained for deviance to exist, the behaviour has to be first observed and then judged to be deviant. Becker stated that social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance; and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them outsiders (Becker 1997: 9). When a rule is enforced, the person who is supposed to have broken it may be seen as a special kind of person, one cannot be trusted to live by the tiles agreed on by the group. He is regarded as an outsider (Becker 1997: 3). Furthermore, Becker points out that what one may define as a deviant; another perhaps in a different society would not. In addition the person who is thus labelled an outsider may have a different view of the matter and may believe that those that have judged them not to be legitimately entitled to do so so then the rule breakers may see those tha t judged as outsiders. Becker stated that different social groups created deviance by making the rules whose infraction constituted deviance and by applying those rules to particular people and labelling them as outsiders. Becker stated that after one has been ascribed as a deviant, they then progress down the path of a deviant career as that is what they have been labelled as. This then becomes hard to get rid of. Becker claimed though that when we are studying people who are deviant we should not take their deviance for granted due to the fact we cannot assume that these people have actually committed a deviant act or broken some rule, because the process of labelling theory may not be infallible. Furthermore, an individual who has been labelled as a deviant may not have committed the act intentionally believing that it was in fact deviant. In addition, this does not necessarily mean that the individual was even a deviant in the past which is a critical examination of the book. Wh en a person is labelled as such by society, they then accept this label so because they now seem themselves as criminals they then are likely to continue on their deviant behaviour (Becker 1997).  Deviant becomes a master status, it becomes the key definition in the eyes of the wider society of who and what you are. In chapter two Becker points outs and states that he is not here to argue that only acts which are regarded as deviant by others are really deviant (Becker 1997: 19). If we look at this in relation to homosexuality, in the 60s it was deemed as a criminal offence but too those who were homosexual it was who they were. Becker explains two different models of deviance; the simultaneous and sequential models. The simultaneous claims that particular behaviours occur as a result of a number of variables arising at the same time and the sequential model contends that particular behaviours are caused by sequence of occurrences. Becker criticises the implicit theoretical assumption in standard which attempts to explain deviancy; that all factor operate simultaneously and seek to predict behaviour. Becker used juvenile delinquency as an example and explained and argued that coming from a broken home or in an environment with negative influences will not necessarily lead to juvenile delinquency but rather would be one of a series of sequential events or circumstances.  The sequential model in addition is too apparent in the following two chapters which detail and explain how one learns the techniques of how to use marihuana and this in the process assists the formation of an individual identity. this may include joining a social group in which the drug is available and learning their techniques on how to smoke. For instance, most users agree that it cannot be smoked like tobacco if one is to get high (Becker 1997: 46). In addition without the use of some such technique the drug will produce no effects and the user will be unable to get high. In relation to a musician career, which is one of the topics Becker discusses, he stated that Members of the musicians demographic go from being `normal family men to dance musicians, adapting to the needs of that sub-culture as they do so. For example, a musician may feel pressurized and forced into playing commercial music to meet perceived demand, even if that is not the type of music they wanted to play or produce. Musicians in general continuously adapt their music to the needs of their sub-culture, even if this means compromising the quality of their music. As a result they may have been seen to be selling out, loosing their integrity and in addition they would have lost the respect from their musical counterparts.  In todays society this may be apparent in hip hop, with many people complaining that the integrity of the genre has gone with record labels interested on what sells more, rather than good music. In relation to deviance, Becker linked it and explained the processes through which dance musicians find work as deviant. Even though their culture may be different to that of an ordinary job, what they do is no different to what occurs in the music industry today. A popular quote used in show business is its not what you know, its who you know and it is just as imperative and important today as it was back in the 1960s. Nevertheless there is a contradiction when Becker talks about losing the respect of other dance musicians. It leads to the question though that how can respect be lost if all dance musicians act in the same way and manner. Thus can it be seemed deviant. The final chapter looks at problems and sympathies within the study of deviance, where Becker describes a lack of substance in the theories that exist, believing them to be faulty or inadequate. He believes that not enough is known about deviant groups such as homosexuals, and gaps exist not just with homosexuals but with other deviant groups. He also describes how access to information and to the groups that are the focus for study is restricted, because those classed as outsiders in turn reciprocate that label to the rest of society; this forms part of an element of protection on the deviants part. Questions are posed, such as `how do researchers find doctors who are drug-addicts themselves, or even homosexuals of certain kinds? Becker even asks what stand-point the researcher will take, due to the many levels of individual characteristics in any social group; essentially, how will a researcher remove any other factors that may influence his study beyond that which he intends to ma nipulate.   The work analysing how deviance is socially constructed is revelatory. This has pure presence. Becker shows how deviance is created through the appliance of rules by people who define deviance and then search for the miscreants. It is form of institutional violence enacted on the powerless outer groups to create an inner sense of camaraderie; the socially included.   Becker examines some of the criticisms and feels that labelling theory was created as a way of looking at a general area of human activity (1963). Moreover he suggests that it was created as a way of looking at a general area of human activity (1963).   However, it is not a theory, with all the achievements and obligations that go with the title, nor is it focussed exclusively on the act of labelling as some have thought. Moreover, Becker does mention some of the criticisms given to labelling theory. For example, he states how interactionist theories have been accused of giving aid and comfort to the enemy, be the enemy those who would upset the stability of the existing order of the Establishment. In essence, we have already mentioned the suggestion of Erikson that deviance is a necessary part of society, showing the difference between right and wrong, and encouraging the majority of society to toe the line at the expense of the deviant minority. A further criticism mentioned by Becker is that given by many conservative critics (although other non-conservative critics have also noted this) that is, that interactionist theories of deviance openly or covertly attack conventional morality. Becker acknowledges this, suggesting that int entionally or otherwise, they are corrosive of conventional modes of thought and established institutions. Becker (1967) goes as far as to say that the labelling theorist must side with the deviator, as it is up to the sociologists to remedy unfair situations. However, not all theorists would see the work of Becker and the other labelling theorists as quite so radical. As a matter of fact, many sociologists view labelling theory as an untestable and untrue theory. Furthermore, Becker (1963) acknowledges that his labelling theory is a theoretical approach, not a true theory. As well, Becker suggests that sociologists should attempt establishing empirical tests for his approach. As well, further criticism is given due to the fact that, following behaviour patterns is the mere result of the behaviour patterns being ascribed to it. Secondly, he suggests that while considering the more usual, everyday types of deviance, such as homosexuality, prostitution, and juvenile delinquency, the l abelling theorists have totally ignored a more dangerous and malevolent type of deviance, what Liazos himself terms covert institutional violence. He suggests that this type of violence leads to such things as poverty and exploitation, the war in Vietnam, unjust tax laws, racism, sexism, and so on (1972). However, it is questionable whether labelling theorists should even attempt to discuss forms of deviance such as this in the same way as more commonplace individual crimes, or whether the two should be kept totally separate, being so different in subject matter. Liazos also criticises the labelling theorists as they do not consider the extent of the importance of power in their substantive analysis, although all stress its importance. He says that the really powerful, the upper classes and the power elite, those that could be referred to as the top dogs, are not considered in any great detail by the labelling theorists. A further criticism of the labelling theory is that of Jack Gi bb (1966). He questions the success of the labelling theorists in terms of how they interpret the defining of behaviour as deviant, as well as, how much study is actually done in this area. In addition, Becker (1963) goes out of his way to explain the underlying problems of labelling theory. First of all, he suggests that there are not enough studies of deviant behaviour. He further implies that there are not enough studies of enough kinds of deviant behaviour. Finally, he insists that another deficiency of the labelling theory is that they dont have enough studies in which the persons doing the research achieve close contact with those that they study, in order for them to become aware of the complex and manifold character of the deviant activity. Becker (1963) also speaks of the difficulty with secrecy. As a matter of fact, in many cases the deviant individual performs deviant acts in secrecy and does not wish this behaviour to be known universally. For example, in the results fou nd by Humphreys in his study of the `Tearoom Trade`, many of the individuals partaking in homosexual behaviour were married with children. When asked later in questionnaires about their views on homosexuality, very few admitted to visiting the tearooms. In its entirety, the labelling theory has been imperative within the discipline of Sociology. What is more, after extensive critical analysis it appears to be evident that the theory has proven to be very significant in establishing a relative body of empirical research evidence on the study of crime and deviance. After an individual has been labelled a deviant they then lead a life of crime and become deviants which is the main focus Becker stressed. Nevertheless, Becker also pointed out that when studying deviant people one should not take their deviance for granted, as one cannot presuppose they had actually committed a deviant or criminal act for the reason that the process of labelling theory may not be foolproof and reliable. In other words, to be labelled deviant does not necessarily mean that the individual is, or has been deviant in the past.   Some sociologists dispute the labelling theory and insist it is not really a theory. Becker stressed the need for more empirical research on his study of it as he concluded Outsiders and many sociologists today have furthered his ideas and explanations. Nevertheless, the labelling theory will forever remain useful as long as deviant behaviour exists in society. Critically, Becker focuses on the way society reacts to people with criminal labels. He proposes that this label becomes a persons master status, meaning that this is a constant label, affecting and over-riding how others will view them. The status people use to identify and classify a person will always be that of a criminal and no matter what other social status the individual has, they will always be deemed deviant. He declared that one may be someone high in class, perhaps a sibling, parent or spouse nevertheless the first and major status that everyone would focus on was the criminal and deviant label (Becker 1963).  

Compare and contrast the two poems, focusing on how the poets use Essay

Compare and contrast the two poems, focusing on how the poets use language and imagery to represent war. Both poems are war poems of two different periods in history. 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', by Alfred Tennyson, was written before the twentieth century whereas 'Dulce et decorum est' was first drafted in 1917 by a poet named Wilfred Owen. Tennyson's poem was set in The Crimean War (1854-56) where the British commander made the mistake of charging at the main Russian position. He was meant to have retaken some guns held by the Russians. This had inevitably caused many deaths to the six hundred men that obeyed the order. Alfred Lord Tennyson was not at the battle scene, he created his poem through the description given in 'The Times' newspaper. Unlike Tennyson, Wilfred Owen's poem is based on his experience in the First World War. This poem describes how he and some soldiers were ambushed by a gas attack. Then he was forced to watch one of his men die after failing to put his gas mask on in time. His poem's title, 'Dulce et decorum est', is Latin for 'It is sweet and proper'. He sees war as being wrong and a 'lie', whilst Tennyson believes that enduring on war is 'Noble' and an 'Honour'. The 'Charge of The Light Brigade' consists of short lines giving the rhythm a fast pace. Although throughout the poem the rhyming is not regular, the rhyme is distinctive because the lines are short. Therefore rhymes like "onward" and "hundred are clearly heard. This helps give the poem a positive tone. We feel that the soldiers are heroic as the "Half a league" moves onwards into battle. When the poem is read allowed the tripling sounds like marching. This effect gives a sense of bravery from The Light Briga... ...be that the victim of the gas attack is so badly scared his face is like a sick devil. Tennyson, from what has been implied in the poem, views war something that is for the brave and people should respect those who have fought for Britain. Despite his patriotic view, he has repeated the danger of an early death in his poem, proving he is fully aware of war's horrors. Owen has shown war as being gruesome. His poem describes the war through the senses, which allows readers enter the shoes of Wilfred Owen, and understand war's tragedy. He believes that 'sweet and proper to die for your country' is a lie, unlike Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson's poem was based on a newspaper article that has made the poem biased and patriotic. I prefer Wilfred Owen's poem because I am able to see war through his experience and how The First World War has emotionally affected him.

Braveheart Essay example -- essays research papers

It has been said that the best things in life are worth fighting for. In the movie Braveheart starring Mel Gibson this thought is the basis for the whole movie. This film was based on the real life story of Scotland's rebellion from under English rule in the thirteenth century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Wallace, played by Gibson, was a son of a common soldier. He desired nothing more in life than to move back to his homeland years after his father's death and to start a farm and a family. Wallace's plans are drastically interrupted when the English lord of the land kills his wife in order to get to him. Instead of making him weak, the murder of his wife prompts William to begin a rebellion of English rule. He inspires thousands of Scotsmen to fight the English soldiers for their freedom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This movie is an incredible display of the ability of a country to fight against oppression from evil. Mel Gibson does a wonderful job playing a character who fights with passion for his country and for the memory of his wife. It is uncommon to find a movie where the main character fights with as much feeling and emotion as William Wallace does. He is an intelligent man and would not have fought in a war unless it was for a meaningful cause. Before the death of his wife he is approached by some of the villagers to fight against the English but refuses to because he doesn't feel it is necessary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  &n...

Going for the Look but Risking Discrimination Essay

In the society we all live in today, where outside beauty is emphasized more than inner beauty, businesses have realized how to utilize that view to their own benefit They have looked at trends and realized that it is profitable to hire those with outer beauty. However, since certain businesses are only hiring certain ethnicities in order to project that image, it has been questioned whether these businesses are discriminating. In the article, Going for the Look, but Risking Discrimination, it says that † hiring attractive people is not necessarily illegal, but discriminating on the basis of age, sex, and ethnicity is. The companies cannot help it that only certain types of people fit their marketing image and their hiring strategies are not exactly discrimination because they have nothing else against other people except that they aren’t selling material. Although it might be seen as discrimination in only hiring certain types of peoples, I agree with Cohen that it is a smart move to hire based on image because if is an effective marketing strategy. Image plays an important role in determining how much certain products can be sold. The differences in the prices of the clothes sold in for example, Walmart, and those of Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus is due to image. When you walk into places that look cheap and wear the clothes there, you do not feel all that glamorous. However, in designer stores, where all the models are what we call chic and all the products are in a fancy arrangement, everyone feels compelled to buy the product so that they can look like a million bucks. Also, chic models are featured in designer magazines such as Bazaar that give the impression to readers that if they have these certain items they can also be beautiful Because of this, Gucci,Louis Vuitton, and other brand items that are considered designer items can be sold at the price of thousands of dollars. This is beneficial for businesses because they can make a lot of money from items that do not take much to produce and also come from cheap labor probably. No one buys those bags because they are of particular good quality but just because the brand name tells others that you are â€Å"in† and that you are possibly rich. Looks are attractive to the eyes; that is human nature since it is the strongest sense and will not likely be subject to change. The first impression that someone always gets from another person is fbased on the way they look. Everyone basically has the same view on what is pretty and what is not and that view influences their decisions on what to buy. In a society where most people care about what they look like, it is essential for companies to portray an image that is attractive and makes the person want to look that certain way. Abercrombie and Fitch is an example of a store that excels at doing this. They hire buff guys and attractive white girls to portray a preppy, American style to be models and sellers. They also attract customers by appealing to another important human sense, smell; they spray the store with an intriguing perfume. When girls see good looking guys, they would want to walk into the store to check them out and the same for guys toward girls. This gives them an opportunity to also look at the clothes at the same time. This leads to increases in sales that generate profit and future profit. For the future profit, I mean that if many people go to a certain store, it would soon turn into a trend. Those that shop at the store would influence their friends to do so too. In some cases, businesses have to hire for image. If they do not do so, things become awkward and may not reflect a business’s culture. Since the United States is a diverse country with many ethnicities, this situation applies directly to this nation. Throuhout ths country, there are many restaurants that are designated to sell certain types of food such as Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, and many others. There are also areas that are designated to certain cultures such as Chinatown and Japantown. When customers walk in to those restaurants or areas, they immediately think that they should see people of a certain ethnicity working there. Also, the setup of the table and other decorations also seeks to portray a cultural image that influenced people’s views. Ths might seem stereotypical, but it has its practcalities. This cultural image gives the consumer an impression that the food made or the products sold are authentic, which is the whole reason that they visit those cultural places in the first place, which is to get a taste of other cultures. Cohen is correct in that hiring for image is essential for good business. It must be effective since all businesses pursue to do so. Hiring for image leads to the increased prices of product, increased sales of products, and can give the impression of authenticity which eventually leads to what businesses want, profit. It also is an important aspect in attracting the teenager group which is a large portion of consumers; Teens are well known for wanting to have a good image due to peer pressure and to be popular at school. The claim that businesses are discriminating are unreasonable; they may only be hiring certain types of people , but that is uncontrollable in pursuing to satisfy their customers’ wants and needs. They are only trying to do what they think will generate the most profit. If most people ask themselves, they would rather choose a place with good looking people than without. However, although it is beneficial for companies, the question of whether is it moral is another question. Is it right to not give others a chance just because they are not attractive even if they have more experience? That’s a very deep question that I think is very debatable.

Pe Paper

eMikiki Ellaine M. Bulanan 2011- 42642 Reaction Paper: Kinetics Festival 2012 (Thursday) For four nights (September 25-28), the Department of Human Kinetics held recital performances from different dancing classes of PE2. The entire show was conducted to demonstrate what the students have learned in their respective classes as well as for the entertainment of the whole student body. During the 4th night, a number of sections of line dance, modern dance, belly dance and street jazz danced their feet off flaunting their acquired knowledge of callisthenic techniques.And for a whole hour the entire show was filled with laughter, amazement, and pure entertainment. The performances consisted majority of street jazz and modern dances. Each group presented satisfactorily. Inevitably, some routines were less synchronized and their moves were not showcased well-enough. There were also moments when the movements and dance steps lack power and distinction. However, these mishaps were the source of comedy for the audience rousing them more. In addition, it can be suggested that the other groups should have chosen more appropriate song accompaniment and costumes to liven up their exhibition.There was also a set of performers which obviously did not incorporate more original steps and seemed to have gotten their moves from an existing performance found on the internet or a video somewhere. No matter what, the whole show was very much entertaining. The small cost of the ticket for that event was so much worth the spectacle. The students may have been busy since they also have academic works to attend to, still, they managed to take time to practice, choreograph and present their respective numbers. Mikki Ellaine M. Bulanan 2011-42642Reaction Paper: Kinetics Festival 2012 (Friday) The final night of a week-long celebration of the Kinetics Festival was comprised of various numbers from individual classes of Philippine Folk Dance, belly dance, line dance and tap dance. Following the previous nights, the whole show lasted for a little more than an hour but received a very high count of audience compared to the others. The whole Baker Hall stadium was filled with students who were expecting to be entertained as well as support their fellow students who were tasked to display the knowledge taught during their PE sessions.For a start multiple performances from line dance class perked up the crowd with their witty acts. Some members were really outstanding while there were a few who seemed to have forgotten their beats. One group of dancers chose a very matching set of costumes which enunciate their cowboy theme. Tap dance may not be the most popular here in the country yet the cluster which performed this specific routine did not fail to entertain everyone. Their funky moves and style were coordinated very well.The only belly dance number that night was very daring and bold in terms of their movements and poses. The young women performing were really seductive especially in their skimpy yet elegant sashes and â€Å"ringing belts. † Lastly, a count of Philippine folk dances wrapped up the night by exhibiting very solemn yet interesting moves which aroused the nationalistic views of the students. Their costumes were as colorful as the rich cultural heritage of the Filipinos. They were impressive that even though there were minor flaws on their in step, they still pull off the whole number.