Oppositional World Views: Plato & The Sophists Essay -- essays researc

The Sophist views and beliefs originated in Ancient Greece around 400 B.C.E. The Sophists were known as wandering rhetoricians who gave speeches to those who could afford to listen. The Sophists deeply believed in the power of rhetoric and how it could improve one’s life. Plato on the other hand was opposed to all Sophist beliefs. He viewed the Sophists as rhetorical manipulators who were only interested in how people could be persuaded that they learned the truth, regardless if it was in fact the truth. Plato basically opposed every view the Sophists held true and tried to disprove them throughout his many dialogues. The Sophists and Plato held two very contrasting views and this paper will attempt to sift through them all in hopes of illustrating each one. This paper will first focus on each group. It will begin by identifying both the Sophists and Plato and then citing the significant principles associated with each world view. This paper will then focus on how each compon ent of their world views relate specifically to rhetoric. Finally, this paper will focus on illustrating each world view by way of current newspaper editorial.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As noted, the Sophists were rooted in ancient Greece but traveled to many places, giving speeches on rhetoric to those who could afford to listen. Within their teachings, the Sophists focused on rhetorical techniques and how they could be used to successfully argue any side of an argument. They harped on the idea that through their teachings, self improvement could be achieved because those who controlled language had the power. The Sophists were relativists, which means they believed that an individual or society’s beliefs, while true for that particular individual or society, might be untrue for others. (Bizzell P. & Herzberg, B., 2001, pg. 6) The Sophists referred to this as kairos and said that because of it, there could be no absolute truth because the truth was dependent on that particular person’s point of view. They believed that the only knowledge that humans could achieve is knowledge that is probable because absolute knowledge is unattaina ble. The Sophists feel that this probable knowledge can be boiled down through what they refer to as dissoi logoi. This technique, in which each opposing side of an argument is examined in order to identify the probable truth, was developed by Protago... ..., this would be dusting away the debris (the myths) and uncovering the absolute truth of what really happened. Through rhetoric, probable truths such as McDonalds had to pay three million, are cleared out and absolute truths, McDonalds had to pay $640,000, are uncovered. (Doroshow, J. pg.1-3) This is exactly how Plato would have had it. To summarize, the Sophists were traveling rhetoricians who were paid to teach people techniques to becoming great arguers and persuaders. They were relativists who believed there was no absolute truth, only probable. This probable truth was discovered through kairos, dependent on a person’s situation, or dissoi logoi, the truth is uncovered by examining opposing arguments. The philosopher Plato was in opposition to virtually every belief the Sophists had. He believed in absolute truth and that rhetoric and discourse should be used to uncover this truth. He also believed that false rhetoric was that of the Sophists. Whether the Sophist view is correct or Plato’s view is, there is some sort of truth out there and maybe one day it can be decided as to which method best uncovered it. But until then, the debate will rage on, as it did within this paper. Oppositional World Views: Plato & The Sophists Essay -- essays researc The Sophist views and beliefs originated in Ancient Greece around 400 B.C.E. The Sophists were known as wandering rhetoricians who gave speeches to those who could afford to listen. The Sophists deeply believed in the power of rhetoric and how it could improve one’s life. Plato on the other hand was opposed to all Sophist beliefs. He viewed the Sophists as rhetorical manipulators who were only interested in how people could be persuaded that they learned the truth, regardless if it was in fact the truth. Plato basically opposed every view the Sophists held true and tried to disprove them throughout his many dialogues. The Sophists and Plato held two very contrasting views and this paper will attempt to sift through them all in hopes of illustrating each one. This paper will first focus on each group. It will begin by identifying both the Sophists and Plato and then citing the significant principles associated with each world view. This paper will then focus on how each compon ent of their world views relate specifically to rhetoric. Finally, this paper will focus on illustrating each world view by way of current newspaper editorial.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As noted, the Sophists were rooted in ancient Greece but traveled to many places, giving speeches on rhetoric to those who could afford to listen. Within their teachings, the Sophists focused on rhetorical techniques and how they could be used to successfully argue any side of an argument. They harped on the idea that through their teachings, self improvement could be achieved because those who controlled language had the power. The Sophists were relativists, which means they believed that an individual or society’s beliefs, while true for that particular individual or society, might be untrue for others. (Bizzell P. & Herzberg, B., 2001, pg. 6) The Sophists referred to this as kairos and said that because of it, there could be no absolute truth because the truth was dependent on that particular person’s point of view. They believed that the only knowledge that humans could achieve is knowledge that is probable because absolute knowledge is unattaina ble. The Sophists feel that this probable knowledge can be boiled down through what they refer to as dissoi logoi. This technique, in which each opposing side of an argument is examined in order to identify the probable truth, was developed by Protago... ..., this would be dusting away the debris (the myths) and uncovering the absolute truth of what really happened. Through rhetoric, probable truths such as McDonalds had to pay three million, are cleared out and absolute truths, McDonalds had to pay $640,000, are uncovered. (Doroshow, J. pg.1-3) This is exactly how Plato would have had it. To summarize, the Sophists were traveling rhetoricians who were paid to teach people techniques to becoming great arguers and persuaders. They were relativists who believed there was no absolute truth, only probable. This probable truth was discovered through kairos, dependent on a person’s situation, or dissoi logoi, the truth is uncovered by examining opposing arguments. The philosopher Plato was in opposition to virtually every belief the Sophists had. He believed in absolute truth and that rhetoric and discourse should be used to uncover this truth. He also believed that false rhetoric was that of the Sophists. Whether the Sophist view is correct or Plato’s view is, there is some sort of truth out there and maybe one day it can be decided as to which method best uncovered it. But until then, the debate will rage on, as it did within this paper.

My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover by Robert Browning Essay -- Rober

Robert Browning wrote the two poems, "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover." Both poems convey an thoughtful, examination profound commentary about the concept of love. communicates two interpretations concerning Both poems describe the behavior of people who are in loving, romantic relationships. There are several aspects common in both poems. Using the literary technique of dramatic dialogue, the author reveals the plot and central idea of each poem. Robert Browning tells each poetic story through a single speaker. Both poems reveal an account in which the admirer kills the object of his love. This paper will compare and contrast the following characteristics: the setting, the speaker, the mood and tone, and theme found "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover." One speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, tells the story of "My Last Duchess." The story occurs prior to a meeting between the Count, his emissary, and other dignitaries. Duke Ferrara is speaking privately with the Count's emissary in a room located upstairs within the residence. The Duke is describing a painting of his last wife. The room is stately, well furnished, and decorated with several artistic items. Similarly, a speaker whose identity is unknown tells the poem "Porphyria's Lover." In a dramatic monologue, each speaker relates the details of his poem. Unlike "My Last Duchess," the poem, "Porphyria's Lover," has a very different setting. The events that transpire in "Porphyria's Lover" happen in a secluded cottage on a stormy night. The speaker is alone in the cottage. The strong wind and the unceasing rain are heard and felt inside the dwelling. The cottage is located near a lake and is surrounded by a dense forest. The storyteller has a speci... ... of the love shared between a man and a woman. The aspects of jealousy, vanity, pride, obsessive desire, beauty, and flirtatious behavior are contained in both poems. The desire to completely possess another person's love and affection are related through a dramatic monologue. Robert Browning compares the love Duke Ferrara has for his Duchess with the obsession of Porphyria's lover. The Duke's has a jealous, stubborn, and irrational love for his Duchess. Likewise, Porphyria's is the recipient of a sinister, uncontrolled, and destructive love. Her mysterious admirer is overwhelmed by Porphyria's supreme beauty and her sensual mannerisms. His jealousy and obsession for Porphyria, compels him to act upon his depraved thoughts that will secure her total love and devotion. Porphyria and the Duchess experience similar outcomes that result in the death of both women.

I Am Proud to Be An American Soldier Essay -- I Am Happy To Be A Soldi

The United States has long been known for having a military presence that few would dare to challenge. The catalyst has not been in having billions in defense funds, it has not been in having huge weapons of mass destruction, it is the heart and spirit of the soldier. I am very proud to be a part of this long and proud tradition of upholding the ideals set forth in the U.S. Constitution. It is something that I would recommend to all willing and able college students. It instills a sense of pride and satisfaction that is matched by no other. As a soldier, there are many options as far as what type of soldier you wish to be. It is similar to choosing a career in the civilian world. The first step in this process is choosing your military branch. There are four main branches in the military; the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Army is the branch that I chose. The Army is the largest branch, in terms of the number of soldiers, with an impressive five hundred thousand soldiers on active duty, five-hundred thousand in the Reserves, and three-hundred thousand in the National Guard. The Army is responsible for the majority of land combat in a War. These soldiers are also trained to occupy other countries if necessary (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Mogadishu.) In peace time, the Army’s main deterrent of other country’s aggression is its large presence throughout the world. There are deployed soldiers in over one-hundred countries at any certain time, along with huge ship...

Arya Samaj

CHAPTER-III THE ARYA SAMAJ AS A MOVEMENT Every religious movement aims at not only initiating a spiritual awakening but also reforming the contemporary society by trying to remove ignorance,superstitions,doubts and dogmas from the minds of people,thus ushering in a new kind of religious renaissance. In this respect,the Arya Samaj,as a religious movement,did not fall far behind,as it made a dynamic impact upon the Indians,forming a interesting and conspicuous chapter in the modern Hindu thought.Through the preaching of Vedic ideals,it succeeded to a great extent,in reforming the then Indian society,inculcating in the people the moral values of life. In this chapter,we shall attempt to throw light on how the Arya Samaj as a movement was able to achieve its desired goalof revitalising the Indians from their stupor of lethargy and ignorance,initiating them to learn the invaluable greatness of the Vedic ideals and making them understand and accept these ideals as a way of life.To be preci se,the Arya Samaj tried its best to remove the social ills such as untouchability,cow-slaughter,forced widowhood,child-marriage and bringing above reforms through female educastion,permission for going abroad for higher learning,reconversion to Hinduism,and many other philanthropic work to inject a new life and vigour into the then morbid socio-religious enviromentof the Indian society. The major thrust of the movement was in the field of religion. The religious scene among the Hindus in the nineteenth century had become morbid.Many religious beliefs and practices prevailed among the Hindu society which were not an essential inseparable part of true Hinduism. The puranik Hinduism had practically usurpesd the rightful place of the Vedas and the Upanishads. Hinduism had evolved many sects like Saivism,Vaisnavism,Saktism,Tantrism,the Swaminarayan and others. Religion degenerated intothe performance of religious worship of idol and rigid rituals and its spiritualism began to be clouded and confused.Religion began to be equated with temple going ,the observance of shradha ceremony,pilgrimage to the holy places,observance of vratas and fasts in the expectation of fantastic earthly rewards,and beliefs in astrology. They did not know much about their holy books. They believed that anything written in Sanskrit was sacred. They often read books in Sanskrit which were not really good,only a few of them read Gita which was supposed to be composed by Lord Krishna:some read the Ramayana and the Mahabharata,the two great epics of India;but very few of them knew anything about the four Vedas,the sacred books of Hindus.As a matter of fact the so called religious leaders of Hinduism,the members of the preistly class,upported by the pandits of Banaras,were interested in keeping the established order of things unchanged,as it brought them pecuinary gains and rewards in the form of charity and religious fees. Apart from the internal disease in the form of priestly domination,there were Christian missionaries,who with the tactit backing of European officials,were reaping a rich harvest by the religious conversions of the lower classes of Hindus.In the religious sphere,the Arya Samaj has vigorously campainged for the freedom of thought. Earlier all the words uttered by a Holy person were regarded as authoritative. None dared to criticise the interpolated Sanskrit verses and non-Vedic teachings of the orthodox schools. It was the Arya Samaj that revolutionised the religious thought and ideas of the people. The Arya Samaj taught the people to think rationally. They were asked to determine the value of a percept in terms of the degree of truth it contained. They were urged to use their intellect and to reason out things for themselves before accepting them.The scientific truths and the laws that govern nature were given their rightful place in religion. Dayananda wasd inspired by his Vedic knowledge and his deeo study of the Shastras to reform Hinduism and make i t free all vices. He was of the opinion that in order to appreciate religious truth in its proper perspective,one should absolutely be free from prejudices and superstitions. He was of the view that human beings had the capacity to follow the path of truth which was the essence of religion, but were prevented from so doing by selfishness,ego,greed and avarice.The Arya Samaj is not a new religion. It preaches the doctrines of the Vedas revealed to mankind by God in the beginning of the universe. It attemps at rehabilitating and reviving the Vedic truths which mankind had forgotten through ignorance and the advent of puranic literature, which blurred our vision and sent the vedic culture into the background. The Arya Samaj has dug out the Vedas down from the debris of the puranas,and installed them on the high pedestal of morality and infallibility they deserve. The Arta Samaj teaches the unity and oneness of God,the brotherhood pf God:the conception f the God head-given in the vedas is the loftiest. It is this conception which the Arya Samaj has put forth before the world. It does not believe in idol worship,reincarnation of God,shradhas,satisfaction of the departed souls by offerings in their name. It believes in the transmigration of the souls and the beginningless and endlessness of God,soul and matter. It believes in the return of the soulin the form of Mukti,a state of beautitude and immense happiness for a long period. There is no place in the Arya Samaj for the hereditary priest or for an ecclesiastical authority over the people.It does not accept the innumerable rituals and ceremonies which choke the spirit and mock the religion. They interpreted the Vedas to justify the puranic mythology and thus they tried to give the present degenerate popular Hindu religion a Vedic sanction. Dayananda tried to interpret the Vedas on the basis of original texts without being influenced by the works of the commentators of the later age. In the book Satyarth Prakash Sw ami Dayananda tries to establish the thesis that the Vedic religion was absolutely monotheistic in nature.In the Vedas there are hymns which assert the unity of God. In the words of Benjamin Walker,â€Å"Whereas Rammohan Roy had been attracted by the Upanishads and Vivekananda by the Vedanta,Dayananda went straight to the source of both these systems,the Vedas. He regarded the Vedas as the eternal,inaffiable,perfect and complete revelation of God,given to the world one hundred billion years ago. †Rishi Aurobindo accepts that,â€Å"There is then nothing fantastic in Dayananda’s idea that Veda contains truth of science as well as truth of religion. †Lastly Rishi Aurobindo says:Dayananda will be honored as the first who discovered the right clues,amidst the chaos and obscurity of ignorance and age-long misunderstanding. His was the eye of direct vision that pierced to the truth and fastened on that which was essential. He found the keys of the doors that time had c losed and rent asunder the seals of the imprisoned fountains. His lion like roaring voice ‘Back to Vedas’ appealed highly to the contemporary Indian sensitibility groping since long In the dark. It was the origin of this Arya Dharma advancing with the motto:- We are Aryans’and our religion is ‘Veda’ ‘Om’ is our God and Truth the duty. We would establish the Arya Samaja’s’ i. e the societies of the noble men,throughout The world and teach all and sundry to practice all the true principles of course,having practiced them first ourselves. The Arya Samaj is nort a religious sect as it does not believe in the human representation of God in the form of prophet,mediator or savior or Avatar(incarnation). Every man is directly connected with the supreme being and the worship of God means the holding of direct spiritual communion with Him.Thus the Arya Samaj is deadly against all kinds of fetish-worship,idolatory,image-worship,tree-w orship,river-worship,mountain-worship,star-worship,cow-worship,bird-worship or even man-worship. The worshiper’s heart is the real temple of God,and meditation on the attributes of God is the true worship. Swami Dayananda has prescribed a simple mode of worship called prarthana or prayer consisting of eight Veda mantras and sandhya or worship which consists o the recitation of some Vedic mantras which speak of the attributes of God and seeking His blessings of one’s efforts. It included yogic pranayam,that is the breath exercise.All this does not take more than 15 to 20 mins a day. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century,the Arya Samaj movement was perhaps the most powerful of socio-revival movements,which gave a new,more dynamic and concrete dimension to the social and religious regeneration movement in the country. The Arya Samaj has had a greater dynamic impact on Indians over several generations than any other religious or social reform movement has in modern times. It is the most conspicuous movement of the tim,es and one of the most important and interesting chapters of modern Hindu thought.Not only did it want to bring about spiritual regeneration of India by purifying Hindu religion and Indian society,but also it tried to reestablish the pristine glory of Vedas and the Vedic religion. It was a crusade against socio-religious superstitions and prejudices like idolatory,child-marriage,rituals,etc,it upheld supremacy and the infallibility of the Vedas and the vedic knowledge. It was a part of the nineteenth century renaissance movement,that believed in Hindu revivalism and back to the Vedas was its call to the people. A number of social thoughts and practices were operating as erious obstacles to the growth and development of the nation’s economy and traditions;to the state of ridicule and scorn of the western educated men and women. Some of these social evils were :untouchability,child-marriage,enforced widowhood,the denial of equality to women in religions and education,the ban on crossing the seas,the forced extravagance on marriage and death events,the compulsory use of fireworks in the public,the dowry system,the barter system in girls marraige and several other social ills,the Hindu society of the period suffered.These evil customs were regarded as ordained by God and,therefore,they were as inseparable essential part of Hinduism. The Arya Samaj struggled hard to cure the society of this malady and make it socially healthy and culturally strong. Its contribution in the social fiels was so singular and distinct that even if it had done nothing else,it would still have a place of pioneer in the social reformation movement of this period. It aimed at establishing a universal religion and purifying the Indian society of its evils.Lala Lajpat Rai says:The social ideals of the Arya Samaj are the ideals of the ancient Rishis of India. They were based on :- (1) The father of God and the brotherhood of men. (2 ) The equality of sexes. (3) Absolute justice and fair play between men and men and nations and nations. Equal oppurtunities to all according to their nature,karma and merit. (4) Love and charity towards all. The stigma that had darkened the name of the Hindu was the practice of untouchability,which was an off-shoot of the pernicious caste system. Dayananda had farsighted vision to see that the caste is the greater curse on India.Based on a wrong interpretation of the well known purushsa-sukta,it had been working for the disruption of the Hindu society. Dayanada first thought to exorcise the obnoxious spell of untouchability. He vehemently opposed the practice of untouchability and worked for the upliftment of the oppressed and the so-called low castes of the society. Dayananda quoted the Vedas to prove that the varna of a person was determined by his character,good deeds and his sanskar. Truthfulness,self-sacrifice,knowledge of God and the Vedas can enable a sudra to enter into a h igher varna.Similarly,due to bad conduct,evil deeds,selfishness,a person belonging to the higher varna,may be degraded to a lower one in the social hierarchy. A person may be born of Brahmin parents,but he may become a sudra if he acts like one. Swami Dayananda preached the equality of mankind. He did not believe in any kind of distinctions between high and the low,the high-caste and the low-caste. He taught the people to love one another and root out all thoughts of hate from the heart. Love was highest religion. One could win over enemies by Love.Nut Love should not be confined to Human beings;even animals should be loved. It was cruel to inflict any kind of pain to them. The temples of the Arya Samaj are ever open to all the depressed classes. Many missionaries sacrificed their lives to secure equal social and religious status for the so called untouchables. They were not only declared for the first time eligible to study Sanskrit and the Vedas,but many of them became the preache rs and teachers of Vedas in the Aryan Samaj. In many Arya Samaj temples there were preists who were born in the tso called untouchables castes.They now performed sacramental rituals such as marriage,sacred thread ceremonial havans and other rituals,which were formerly performed exclusively by Brahamans. The Arya Samaj took up the cudgels for the people of the Hindu society,who were the victims of the then prevailing social ills as of child marriage and old marriage resulting in increased number of young widows,women who were ignorant of the world around them and they had turned widows at a tender age. The young widow’s life was intolerable in the Hindu society.She was held responsible for all the misfortune of the family and was treated worse than a servant. Generally she was not allowed to marry again,and sometimes she was forced to burn herself to death with her husband. Swami Dayananda began his tirade in favour of wodow-remarraige and favoured the institution of Niyoga,as Niyoga was in vogue in ancient times. In 1856,Pt Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s praise-worthy advocacy was successful in getting the widow-remarriage Act passed. But it was rotting in the shelves of the lawyers as public prejudices were too strong to drive benefits from the law.The Arya Samaj took the masses and succeeded in popularizing widow-remarraige. In bringing out reforms to the life to these young widows Sir Gangaram Trust has done a notable work. The trust has opened many Vidhwa-Ashrams in the northeren parts of India. Thousands of widows for whom life was truly a living hell were leading a pourposeful and meaningful lives under the roofs of these Ashrams. Today,of course,marriage of the widows has become an acceptable fact in the Hindu society. Another evil was the child marriage and the Arya Samaj did not leg behindin its attempts to remove this social evil.Child-marriage was introduced into the Hindu society when the hordes of invaders began to pour into India at abo ut the beginning of the Christian era,and the honour and chastity of women became unsafe. The Arya Samaj carried on a velement crusade against this institution,and may be congratulated on the success it has met with in rallying public opinion in favour of its view. As regards the age of marriage,Swami Dayananda says in the 4th chapter of the Satya Prakashâ€Å"the best time of for the marriage of girls is from sixteen to twenty-four years of age.The lo0west age for a girls for marriage is sixteen and for a man twenty-five. †He was aware of the evil if after impacts of child marriage,hence he suggested that there should be legislation to stop this evil practice. Social legislations sponsored by the Arya Samajists were passed as Acts in the central legislature. The Child Marriage Act known designed by prominent Arya Samajist were milestones on the road of the Indian Society. In the nineteenth century,among the orthodox Hindu,there was a strong prejudice against the education of girls.They thought they should not be sent to school,as they believed that if women learnt to read and write they would come to grief and as a result they were married illiterate. The old saying was accepted Stei-Shudras-Nadhiyetam which meant women and low castes should never be taught. The custom of child marriage erected further barrier to the education of girls. Swami Dayananda pleaded for the equality of men and women and laid emphasis on the education for girls. He argued that an uneducated wife will be a liability to her husband and will also fail to discharge the real duties of a mother.He condemned the economic and social injustice to which women were subjected. 50 years ago,all female education was under the direct management of the Arya Samaj. The Arya Samaj educational institutions were the first to open special and separate institutions for girls,where they were taught Sanskrit and Vedas,for which they were not eligible according to the orthodox Hindus. Besides learnin g Sankrit and Vedas,girls were declared entitled to wear the sacred thread like the boys. Noe female education has become so common that the people of his generation can’t imagine what formidable opposition Arya Samaj had to encounter even for such a simple thing ,as it now appears. Then also an unhealthy system was in full force which forbade the women to expose their face to the view of the males. as a result her face,was kept practically covered both indoors and outdoors during the day. Hence the Arya Samaj tried its best to remove the purdah system,following the line of the great ancient Indian tradition. In the nineteenth century,for some reason,the orthodox Hinduism had turned its head resolutely against the indulgence of foreign travel by its members.Crossing a sea outside the country was considered to be a veritable sin,the dire consequences for which was the out-casting of such culprits. This tended to cut off the contact of the Hindus with the outside world which ma de their thoughts and practices in various fielsd of life-culture,religion,social educational and politics narrow and stale. Dayananda’s repudiation of the Hindu taboo against foreign travel was also motivated with similar concern for the welfare of the and the prosperity of the country.Rejecting the popular Hindu belief that to go abroad is aginst Hindu religion,he said: This is all nonsense and propagated by ignorant and foolish people. Formerly people Aryavarta(India) used to go outside country for trade,state affairs and even as tourists,Now-a-days the fear of losing caste and religion is wrongly spread. Those who do not hesitate to visit different countries and Islands come in contact with different kinds of people and learn their customs and ways of living thus help the progress and better relations of their country.They develop fearlessness and bravery. They adopt whatever is good in other countries and shun what is not good and thus achieve prosperity. Another,bold st ep undertaken by the Arya Samaj was to initiate the process of reconversion to Hinduism despite the stiff resisitance of the orthodox religionists. Vedic religion is meant for all,it is universal in its teachings thus the Arya Samaj opens the door of the Vedic Dharma to all non-Hindus,to-what-so ever religion they may belong. For centuries the Hindus have been the victimsof religious fantacism and proselytization by Muslim and Christian preachers.In the Shuddhi Movement,Maharshi Dayananda introduced one revolutionary item in the programme of the Arya Samaj. He believed that ‘lost’Hindus,that is the Hindus converted to other religions,should be brought back within the process known as the Shuddhi Movement. With Vedic liberalism and rationalism,he believed that the door of Hinduism should not remain closed to those who once had left it for some reason or other. In the years before World War I Shuddhi campaign was conducted among various untouchable groups in the northwest :On June 23,1911 at Allahabad,the all India Shuddhi Sabha was founded by Ram Bhaj Dutta.The Arya Samaj had developed Shuddhi as a weapon of defence fom the conversion threaht posed by both Christianity and Islam. Keeping in line the sentiment of the Hindus,the Arya Samaj also took up the cause of the protection of the cows. ’Goraksha’ or protection of the cow was an integral part of Swami Dayananda’s teachings and work. He was the first great man who raised his voice against cow-slaughter. Wherever he went,he vigorously preached against it,not on religious grounds,but for purely utilitarian,humanitarian and economic considerations.It is because cow’s milk is so essential for the sustenance and the well-being for human life physically,intellectually,mentally and spiritually that he so strongly pleaded for cow protection and condemned their slaughter. He appealed to high British administrative officials wherever he met them,for instance,at Ajmer to Col. Bro oke,the Agent Governor for Rajputana,at Farukhabad to Mr. Muri Lt. Governor of the Northwest province to abolish the slaughter of cows explaining to them the material benefits the cow yields to mankind.Later,he wrote ‘Gokaunanudhi’,fully showing the harm that the slaughter of cows was doing,and recounting the benefits that man derived from the cows. He even preached a memorial to ne signed by two or three crores of people from all over the country including the Indian Princes,to be submitted to Queen Victoria and the British Parliament asking for the abolition of cow slaughter in India. Lakhs of signatures were obtained those of several ruling princes such as their Highness Moharana of udaipur,Maharaja of Jodhpur and Maharaja of Bundi.His premature death,however,put a stop to the movement. In India,the land of Gods,because of their innocence and implicit faith in the supernatural,the people were victims of a number of superstitions. People believed in planetary influenc e like astrolgy,omens,evil spirits and ghosts. They tried to satisfy the deities for the fullfilment of their desires and believed in miracles. The Arya Samaj is the institution which strove hard to fight against the superstitions in India and abroad. Superstitious beliefs are responsible for the degradation of a nation.Untill and unless these beliefs are not wiped out no nation can progress. Arya Samaj deserves credit for this revolutionary action. It will be curious to note that even the Bhagabat Purana deprecates superstitious beliefs and hypocrisy. The Arya Samaj was the first body to denounce these malpractrices. The Arya Samaj engages in philanthropic work on a large scale. Outside Christian circle it was the first purely Indian Association to organize orphanages and widow homes. The first Hindu orphanage was established in Ferozepur,on Punjab in the lifetime of the founder of the Samaj.It still retains its position as the premier Hindu orphanage in India,has splendid ans comm odius buildings,all erected by private charity,and maintains schools and workshops for the training of boys and girls,There are a number of other orphanages on similar lines in Northern India,controlled by the Arya Samaj;besides these,many Hindu institutions and orphanages apread over India bear the impress and influence of the Arya Samaj. The Arya Samaj has also organised relief in the times of distress caused by natural calamities like famine,flood and earthquake. During the famine of 1897-98,1900,1902,1907-08.The Arya Samaj provided reliefs to the people affected by the calamities in effected areas in India. It was a very commendable service rendered by the Arya Samaj in organising reliefs operations for the famine stricken people. An important episode in the history of the Arya Samaj concerns its educational programme. In the 19th century India had come under the british rule and the conduct with the west began in a direct and more powerful and effective way. The social renaissa nce movement in the country opened up new vistas inder the impact of the spread of western education.There was introduction of English education in India. Indian youths lost their cultural moorings and national pride about glorious ancient cultural heritage. Though in body and colour of their skin,they remained Indians,yet in everything else;in dress,in mode of living,in opinion,in habits,in manners,in values,in attitude they became Englishmen,Disintegration set in,communalism went deep into the Indian mind and education didn’t help for the enlightenment,character,social change,national integration,but it became a tool for getting jobs as clerks in government offices or as subordinate

Causes of World War One Essay

World War One was a turning point in history. Many scholars study this event and what caused this huge conflict. Germany used to be the sole one responsible for this war, but many controversial debates later, the blame was gradually put on the other great powers of Europe as well. In this essay, I will be analyzing the main causes of WWI, especially targeting the long-term causes. Most of these causes and events may be classified into 4 main themes: imperialism, the alliance system, militarism & nationalism. Imperialism contributed greatly to the outbreak of WWI. Imperialism is when a country takes over other lands and subjects them to their rule to extend their power and influence. In the pre-WWI era, the great powers of Europe strove to expand their empires. Germany, who only became an united nation in 1871, desired a large empire like Britain’s, who at the time had an empire that stretched out over 5 continents and colonized about 1/3 of the world. However, Germany only had a few pieces of Africa. Soon, though, they decided they wanted more. In 1896, Admiral Muller said to Prince Henry of Germany, â€Å"†¦either we harness the total strength of the nation ruthlessly, even if it means accepting the risk of a major war, or we limit ourselves to continental power alone.† This shows how much Germany would do for more land and power. It clearly shows they prioritized developing their empire over suppressing war if it arose. In 1897, Prince von Bulow of Germany said, â€Å"We don’t want to put anyone else in the shade but we too demand a place in the sun.† It is suggested that Germany wanted more of Africa and Asia. The fierce competition over lands caused incredible tension between the great powers. Each country wanted to dominate more lands to increase their trades and power. This can also be seen in the First Moroccan Crisis. France and Germany had begun to motion towards war over the colonization of Morocco. France, assisted by Britain and Russia, wanted to colonize Morocco, whilst Germany, who was weakly supported by Austria-Hungary wanted to annoy France and create strain in the Entente Cordiale’s friendship, as well as keep Morocco independent so it would be easier to conquer and keep trading with them. This shows how easily countries may begin to consider war and attack to take over new lands. Another event that shows clear intent of imperialism is the Bosnian Crisis in 1908, when Austria-Hungary took over Bosnia, tension grew so thick between Austria-Hungary and Serbia that with one tiny trigger, war would be a possible threat. Another main cause of WWI was militarism. Britain, who had the strongest navy at that time, felt threatened when Germany decided they wanted to build their navy power as well. The Anglo-German naval race of 1906-12 started when Kaiser William II of Germany released the Tirpitz Plan, which was a plan to increase Germany’s naval size. The British brought out the HMS Dreadnought, a deadly battleship, in 1906. Though Britain eventually won, it was clear Germany posed a serious threat. There was also an increase of armed forces which created the mood and atmosphere for war. By 1900, Russia had the biggest army of 1.1 million, though the number had decreased to 0.8 million by 1914. The armies of Germany and France had more than doubled from 1870, though England’s army had not increased much as they prioritized the naval race over building their army. With this attitude to building their military power, it was inevitable that these thoughts would eventually lead to putting the m to use. The alliance system also contributed greatly to the war. An alliance is when 2 or more countries form a type of ‘friendship’ where if one country is in trouble, the other/others would step in and help. The two main alliances were the Triple Entente, which consisted of France, Britain and Russia, and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. The Triple Entente, formed in 1907, remained strong as ever even when Germany tried to sever their bonds in an argument with France over Morocco. Additionally, Russia and Germany signed unofficial secret ‘reassurance treaties’ though it was not renewed in 1890 when William II of Germany took over. This led Russia to search for a new ally. In the end, France and Russia formed an alliance in 1894. This was exactly what Germany had hoped to avoid as now they were sandwiched between the 2 countries, leaving them extremely vulnerable in the case of an attack. However, William II was young and felt no need to have Russia on their side. It should be taken into account that if there wasn’t an alliance system, WII might not have been a ‘world war’, just one between Austria-Hungary and Serbia after an immediate cause- the trigger event of the assassination of the heir of the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Bosnia on 28th, June 1914. The assassination of the Archduke was committed by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist. He was part of the ‘Black Hand’, a secret Serbian nationalist society. This links to nationalism as the Serbs were tired of being ruled by the Austro-Hungarians, and in return, murdered Austro-Hungary’s heir. This shows how much they were wiling to do to make their point. This also links back to the alliance system. France, bound by treaty to Russia, found themselves at war against Germany, and by extension, war against Austria Hungary. Meanwhile, Britain who was allied to France, declared war on Germany. Once again, it should be mentioned that if it were not for the alliance system, perhaps not as many countries would’ve been involved in the war.

Implementing Relationship Marketing: the Role of Internal and External Customer Orientation

Developing an internal and external customer orientation will facilitate the implementation of relationship marketing principles by businesses. Relationship marketing highlights the need for an external customer orientation, which in turn raises the need for customer-oriented employees. Employees will only be customer-oriented if an internal customer orientation is evident in the business. Four constructs pertaining to the internal customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province were identified.After checking for internal consistency, effect sizes were determined for these constructs analysing the practical significance of employees’ as opposed to management’s opinion on the underlying constructs. Similarly, four constructs referring to the external customer orientation of the same businesses were identified. The four identified constructs underpinning an external customer orientation were also checked for internal consistency and the practical significance of customers’ as opposed to management’s opinion on the underlying constructs was determined through effect sizes.It was found that the identified businesses lack both an internal and external customer orientation. Recommendations are made to improve internal customer orientation for the sake of an improved external customer orientation. An improved external customer orientation will facilitate implementation of relationship marketing principles in these businesses. INTRODUCTION According to Saren and Tzokas (1998:187) researchers in relationship marketing have come to realise that there is a need for detailed empirical evidence on how this approach could be implemented in order to promote a beneficial customer-business relationship.Morris, Brunegee and Page (1998:360) and Fornier (1998:343) argue that a lack of knowledge and consensus about relationship marketing and the activities involved in the implementation thereof has led to diffi culties in operationalising the construct. This study addresses this concern by arguing that a relationship marketing orientation is facilitated by management being sufficiently orientated to the needs and expectations of employees (internal customer orientation) as well as to those of customers (external customer orientation).The internal and external customer orientations of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province were investigated by means of effect size analyses. The goal and objectives of the study are subsequently explained, followed by a theoretical exposition on the interface between relationship marketing as well as internal and external customer orientation. A description of the research methodology is followed by the empirical results on internal and external customer orientation of the businesses that participated in the study.Conclusions are drawn from these empirical findings. Finally, managerial implications are discussed based on the concl usions. GOAL AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The goal of this study is to explore internal and external customer orientation as elements facilitating relationship marketing implementation by small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province. This goal will be achieved through the following objectives: to explore the interface between relationship marketing, and internal and external customer orientation; †¢ to report on empirical findings related to internal and external customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province; and †¢ to consider the managerial implications of the above empirical findings for managing these retailers. FOSTERING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION TO FACILITATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETINGSheth and Parvatiyar (1995:261) define relationship marketing as â€Å"an orientation that seeks to develop close interaction with selected customers, suppliers and competitors for va lue creation through co-operative and collaborative efforts†. This definition suggests that businesses should pursue profitable business relationships. Morgan and Hunt (1994:22) define relationship marketing as â€Å"all marketing activities directed towards establishing, developing and maintaining successful relational exchanges†. This definition sets out the ultimate goals of relationship marketing, but does not show what relationship marketing entails.Attempts have been made to address this limitation by emphasising the dimensions and activities of relationship marketing. These dimensions and activities include (Too, Souchon and Thirkell, 2001:290): †¢ customer retention; †¢ product benefits; †¢ quality improvement; †¢ customer service; †¢ customer commitment by the business; and †¢ frequent contact with the customer. The first four issues refer to the business’ customer orientation while the last two relate to customer relationsh ip management practices.Kotler and Armstrong (2001:9, 667-681) indicate that relationship marketing is the process of creating, maintaining and enhancing strong value-laden relationships with customers and other stakeholders. According to this definition, relationship marketing does not end with customers, but includes all stakeholders (i. e. employees, channel members, stockholders and others). Relationship marketing advocates the establishment of long-term and profitable relationships between (both internal and external) partners or stakeholders (Zikmund and d’Amico, 2001:8).These relationships are not naturally sustained and should therefore not be taken for granted (Day, 2000:25). Long-term and profitable relationships are only established when trust, commitment and service are inculcated in relationship partners (Buttle, 1996:8-9). Stakeholder relationships also have to transcend functional boundaries (Beth, Burt, Copacino, Gopal, Lee, Lynch and Morris, 2003:67-68). Rela tionship marketing advocates that an engineer should, for example, take time to see how he could best design the product to satisfy the customer’s needs.The same applies to the accounting department – it should develop credit and payment terms that will best suit the customer while it needs also realising a profit for the business (Ostroff and Smith, 1992:22-23). In this respect Day (2000:24-30) argues that the ability to create and maintain relationships depends, inter alia, on the integration of key internal processes in the business. The implementation of relationship marketing therefore depends on a well-developed internal (employee) and external customer orientation.Taher, Leigh and French (1996:218) argue that in order to be customer-oriented, marketers should provide exceptional performance in quality, delivery and cost competitiveness (i. e. customer orientation). The business should also understand how customers measure value and how these value expectations c an be met. To win orders, a business should exhibit an external customer orientation that manifests the relative strength of the business in relation to its competitors (Koufteros, Vonderembse and Doll, 2000:526).To attain lasting customer orientation careful attention should be given to detail, meeting promises and swift response to the requirements of customers – i. e. competitive capabilities. The same authors define competitive capabilities further as a business’ ability to meet customer expectations compared to its competitor’s ability to do the same. Day (2000:28) argues that a customer orientation should be â€Å"immediately evident† in the mindset of those who deal directly with the customer. Kennedy, Goolsby and Arnould (2003:77-79) found that the development of an external customer orientation will be facilitated by: leadership. Staff members must experience â€Å"an unbroken circuit of passionate, sincere, unified and committed leadership from top levels to local managers†; †¢ centrality of customer requirements and performance feedback. This will also assist in achieving the required inter-functional co-ordination and alignment; and †¢ collection and dissemination of external customer data. This data, however, only becomes conducive for customer orientation development when it is widely circulated in the business to become a shared organisation-wide platform from which decisions are made.Patterson and Smith (2001:438) also support this notion. It is stressed that customer orientation should be explicit, otherwise the business risks over-serving unprofitable accounts and wasting resources that might be allocated to profitable customer groups. In this respect Reinartz and Kumar (2002) distinguished between customer groups and suggested ways of managing each group for increased profitability. Relationship marketing raises the need for customer orientation, which in turn raises the need for customer-oriented employees.Bendapudi and Leone (2002:83) indicate that customers form relationships with employees who serve them, and that these relationships may be stronger than the customer’s relationship with the business represented by the employee. Employees will not be able to develop social relationships with customers if they were not recruited and trained with this in mind (Patterson and Smith, 2001:438). Without customer oriented employees it will be difficult to implement customer orientation because employees are the ones who have to make it happen.If customer-orientation is lacking, the implementation of relationship marketing will suffer. This is because dissatisfied customers will never develop good relationships with the business (Engel, Blackwell and Miniard, 1995:47). Attracting, developing and motivating employees as internal partners foster an internal customer orientation (Conway and Willcocks, 2000:81). Day (2000:28-29) recalls the efforts made by many businesses to m ake employee satisfaction and retention a top priority in recognition of the damage that high employee turnover and disgruntled employees can cause to customer relationships.Employee performance and attitude play an important role in service delivery to external customers. Employee satisfaction impacts on employee attitudes, which in turn influence employee performance and interaction with external customers. Employee interaction with external customers obviously plays a pivotal role in the ultimate success of the business (Lewis, 1989:41). Strauss (1995:62-77) distinguishes between internal customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. He argues that internal customer satisfaction entails employees’ satisfaction with the performance of internal suppliers (workflow satisfaction).Internal customer satisfaction should, however, not be confused with employee satisfaction – i. e. the satisfaction of employees with their working conditions. He argues further that interna l customer satisfaction reflects in external customer satisfaction. For purposes of this study the identified relationship between internal and external customer satisfaction is acknowledged, but the distinction between internal customer orientation and employee satisfaction is rejected. Employees in small- to medium-sized textile retailing businesses are not dependent on intricate internal workflow processes.As they derive their workflow inputs directly from management, a distinction between management inputs (relating to Strauss’ employee satisfaction concept) and workflow inputs will be vague. Strauss (1995:63) himself points out that if managers are prepared to take responsibility for quality and act as role models, they can expect commitment from their employees – which will eventually result in improved bottom-line results. Sasser (2003) explains the relationship between employee and customer satisfaction in terms of value the business creates for employees, who in turn will be able to create value for customers.If the value created for employees and customers exceeds costs, value is being created for investors. Internal customer orientation is the result of a conscious management decision about the â€Å"organizational setting† (Strauss, 1995:68). Concerning this organisational setting Malherbe and Pearse (2003:2-12) found significant positive relationships between job enrichment characteristics and job satisfaction, and eventually between job satisfaction and service quality in the South African retail industry.Chaston (1995:332-349) investigated possible actions to establish a stronger internal customer orientation in UK clearing banks, and concluded, inter alia, that management’s improved understanding of internal customer needs will be helpful in this regard. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Small- to medium-sized textile retailers from six selected towns and cities in the North-West Province were investigated to assess their interna l and external customer orientation. Retailers from Brits, Klerksdorp, Lichtenburg, Mafikeng, Potchefstroom and Rustenburg were sampled.These cities and towns were chosen on the basis of their geographical representation in the province. They also represent the largest centres of economic activity in the province. A sampling frame of 61 small- to medium-sized textile retailing businesses were constituted by using information obtained from the Potchefstroom City Council, the Bureau of Marketing Research and Braby’s databases. The sampling frame included independent tailoring businesses, textile, fabrics, and cloth retailing businesses (retailers, merchants or distributors).Forty-eight (N1=48) of the 61 business owners/managers were willing to participate in the study and were subsequently interviewed. One hundred and four (N2=104) employees, as found on the 48 premises, were also interviewed. Finally, two hundred and thirty (N3=230) customer responses were gathered using avail ability sampling for periods of two hours at each of the 48 business premises. Separate questionnaires, incorporating close-ended structured items, were developed for management, employees and customers as three separate groups of respondents. Owners/managers had to respond to 77 items.Thirty one (31) of these items pertaining to internal customer orientation were duplicated in the employees’ questionnaire, requiring respondents to respond to them from an employee’s perspective. Thirty-three (33) of the items on external customer orientation related to owners/managers were also put to customers, requiring them to evaluate it from their perspective. Respondents had to respond to the items according to a four-measure Likert scale where: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree and 4 = strongly agree. The responses were statistically processed with the help of SAS software (SAS Institute Inc. 1999). The reliability of constructs associated with internal and external customer orientation was tested by means of Cronbach’s Alpha values and average inter item correlations (Clark and Watson, 1995) as reported below. The practical significant difference between specifically defined constructs for employees and owners/managers (internal customer orientation) as well as for customers and owners/managers (external customer orientation) is indicated by using effect sizes. Effect sizes are calculated as availability sampling was used instead of random sampling.As explained above, the six cities and towns, the businesses who participated in the study, the interviewed employees and the interviewed customers of these businesses were not randomly selected. Statistical inference is therefore not relevant. This eliminates the use of t-tests and p-values as a technique to analyse statistically significant differences between means of responses from management and employees (or management and customers). Unlike t-tests, effect sizes are independent from s ample size, as a standardised difference based on the maximum standard deviation between compared groups is calculated (Steyn, 2000).The effect sizes (d-values) were calculated by using the following formula (Cohen, 1988:20-27): [pic] where: †¢ d = effect size; †¢ [pic] is the difference between means of two compared groups (e. g. management and employees or management and customers); and †¢ [pic] is the maximum standard deviation of the two compared groups. To calculate effect sizes, the maximum standard deviation is used instead of a mean standard deviation to allow for a more conservative approach to practical significance (Steyn, 2000). Cohen (1988:20-27) gives the following guidelines for interpreting effect sizes: †¢ d ? 0. indicating no practically significant effect; †¢ d ? 0. 5 indicating a moderate effect that could be significant if more data had been collected; and †¢ d ? 0. 8 or larger indicating a practically significant effect. EMPIRICAL RESULTS Empirical results regarding both the internal and external customer orientations of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province are subsequently discussed. Empirical results: internal customer orientation Four constructs associated with internal customer orientation, as well as the items comprising these constructs, are reported in Table 1.The items comprising these constructs are also indicated. The four constructs exhibited Cronbach’s Alpha values all greater than 0. 6, indicating â€Å"good or adequate† reliability of the measurement scale (Clark and Watson, 1995:315). Average inter item correlations ([pic]) are also reported in Table 1. Clark and Watson (1995:316) indicate that the average inter item correlation should also be used as a measure of internal consistency. They recommend that the average inter item correlation should lie between 0. 15 – 0. 50.It is evident from Table 1 that the average inter item correlations fall within this range, indicating internal consistency of the constructs. TABLE 1 CRONBACH’S ALPHA AND AVERAGE INTER ITEM CORRELATIONS FOR INTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION |Construct |Cronbach’s Alpha |Average inter item | | | |correlation ([pic]) | |1. Management’s involvement with employees |0. 752 |0. 1 | |Applying management principles strictly | | | |Seeking people who can think of new strategies | | | |Culture of supporting staff | | | |Treating staff the same as external customers | | | |Creating an enabling culture for staff creativity | | | |Exercising staff chievement recognition and reward | | | |Following fair disciplinary action | | | |Development and training of staff | | | |Appreciation of staff contribution to business success | | | |Conducting formal performance appraisals | | | |Making staff a part of solutions | | | |Aggressively competing for talented staff | | | |2. Employee development through communication and participative management |0. 713 |0 . 4 | |Promoting staff learning | | | |Encouraging a learning culture | | | |Practising participative management | | | |Marketing the business’ vision to staff | | | |Creating messages to inspire staff action | | | |Understanding the reality staff experiences | | | |Consulting staff with regard to leadership style | | | |Maintaining a two-way channel of communication in the business | | | |3. Acknowledgement of employees’ expertise and potential |0. 659 |0. 5 | |Incorporating knowledgeable staff inputs into business decisions and activities | | | |Acknowledging that staff is the business’ primary asset | | | |Involving current staff in the process of appointing new staff | | | |Giving responsibility and accountability to staff for their respective performance | | | |areas | | | |Collaborating with staff to draw up strategies, plans and objectives | | | |Arranging for staff to visit customers | | | |4. Satisfaction of customer needs is realised through an integra ted effort by all |0. 623 |0. 5 | |involved in the business | | | |All departments working in collaboration with customer focus in mind | | | |Successfully satisfying customers’ needs and wants | | | To indicate the practically significant differences between employees’ and owners’/managers’ view on internal customer orientation, effect sizes were calculated on the respective constructs. These effect sizes are reported in Table 2. Practically significant effects on constructs 1, 2 and 3 are revealed. Construct 4 only revealed a small effect.TABLE 2 EFFECT SIZES FOR INTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION Construct description |Business owners |Employees |Effect size | | |Mean |Standard deviation|Mean |Standard deviation| | |1. Management’s involvement with employees |3. 103 |0. 447 |2. 787 |0. 445 |0. 707 | |2. Employee development through communication and |3. 137 |0. 504 |2. 767 |0. 504 |0. 734 | |participative management | | | | | | |3. Acknowledgement of employees’ expertise and potential |3. 086 |0. 557 |2. 674 |0. 554 |0. 40 | |4. Satisfaction of customer needs is realised through an |3. 489 |0. 695 |3. 327 |0. 750 |0. 216 | |integrated effort by all involved in the business | | | | | | Empirical results: external customer orientation Four constructs relating to external customer orientation, as well as the items associated with these constructs, are reported in Table 3. The correspondent Cronbach’s Alpha values for the four constructs are all above 0. 6, indicating â€Å"good or adequate† reliability of the measurement scale (Clark and Watson, 1995:315).Average inter item correlations ([pic]) are once again reported in Table 3. These correlations fall within the range of 0. 15 – 0. 50 indicating internal consistency of the constructs (Clark and Watson, 1995:316). TABLE 3 CRONBACH’S ALPHA AND AVERAGE INTER ITEM CORRELATIONS FOR EXTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION |Construct |Cronbach’s Alpha |A verage inter item | | | |correlation ([pic]) | |Building customer relationships through the efforts of employees is important |0. 762 |0. 7 | |Attracting, maintaining and enhancing relationships with customers | | | |Establishing and maintaining profitable customer relationships | | | |Maintaining a mutually committed long-term oriented relationship with customers | | | |Moving customers from one level of the relationship to the next | | | |Extending priority treatment to regular customers over irregular ones | | | |Interacting with regular customers | | | |Forging long-term committed relationships with customers | | | |Employees developing business relationships with customers | | | |Fostering an intimate understanding between customers and staff | | | |The business’ offer to customers is geared towards satisfying customer needs |0. 665 |0. 6 | |Delivering an offer exactly as required | | | |Extending quality and durability as the business’ core offer | | | |Deliverin g superior offers not available from competitors | | | |Continue improving the total offer to customers | | | |Delivering a tailor-made offer to customers | | | |Viewing delivery of the offer from customers’ perspective | | | |Delivering customer satisfaction |0. 642 |0. 6 | |Offering high levels of customer service | | | |Managing and maintaining the delivery of customer satisfaction | | | |Successfully satisfying customers’ needs and wants | | | |Custom fitting service to customers’ particular requirements | | | |Delivering services to the satisfaction of customer desires | | | |Customer orientation of employees |0. 619 |0. 6 | |Instilling customer orientation among staff | | | |Formulating and realising a customer orientated mission statement | | | The effect sizes on the respective constructs for the practically significant difference between customers’ and owners’/managers’ view on external customer orientation are reported in Table 4. Practically significant effects are revealed on constructs 2 and 3, while construct 4 exhibit a moderate effect size. Construct 1 revealed a small effect size.TABLE 4 EFFECT SIZES FOR EXTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION Construct description |Business owners |Employees |Effect size | | |Mean |Standard deviation|Mean |Standard deviation| | |1. Building customer relationships through the efforts of |3. 303 |0. 557 |3. 100 |0. 442 |0. 364 | |employees is important | | | | | | |2. The business’ offer to customers is geared towards |3. 408 |0. 423 |2. 928 |0. 465 |1. 32 | |satisfying customer needs | | | | | | |3. Delivering customer satisfaction |3. 528 |0. 445 |3. 202 |0. 399 |0. 733 | |4. Customer orientation of employees |3. 360 |0. 591 |2. 991 |0. 635 |0. 581 | CONCLUSIONS From the above empirical results the following conclusions regarding the internal and external customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers included in this study can be drawn. Internal custom er orientationFrom the effect sizes reported in Table 2 it is evident that management and employees differ significantly (practically significant effect sizes) on the following issues: †¢ management’s involvement with employees (construct 1). Management feels more involved with employees than employees experience it to be the case ([pic] > 0); †¢ employee development through communication and participative management (construct 2). Management is of the opinion that employee development takes place through communication and participative management, while employees do not experience the same ([pic] > 0) ; and †¢ acknowledgement of employees’ expertise and potential (construct 3).Management feels that employees expertise’ and potential is acknowledged, while employees do not feel the same ([pic]> 0). An small effect size was calculated for construct 4. Management and employees therefore agree that satisfying customer needs is realised throu gh an integrated effort by all involved in the business (construct 4, Table 2, [pic] and [pic] both > 3. 0, indicating agreement on the Likert-type scale). External customer orientation As far as external customer orientation, as reported in Table 4, is concerned, owners/managers and customers differ significantly (practically significant effect sizes) on: †¢ whether the businesses’ offer to customers is geared towards satisfying customer needs (construct 2).Management feels it to be the case, while customers differ significantly ([pic] > 0); and †¢ delivery of customer satisfaction (construct 3). Customers feel significantly less satisfied than management thought them to be ([pic] > 0). As far as customer orientation of employees is concerned, a moderate effect size was determined (Table 4, construct 4). Owners/managers are of the opinion that employees are customer-oriented ([pic] > 3. 0) while customers do not experience it to the same degree ([pic] & lt; 3. 0). Table 4 also indicates an insignificant effect size on construct 1. Management and customers therefore agree that it is important to build customer relationships through the efforts of employees (construct 1, [pic] and [pic] both > 3. 0). MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONSWhen considering the internal customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers participating in this study, it is evident that employees do not feel appreciated by management. Employees indicated that management is not involved with them and that their expertise and potential is subsequently ignored. They also do not feel empowered through communication or participative management initiatives (or rather the lack thereof) from management’s side. Management and employees agree on a basic principle of the marketing concept (Barnes, 2001:7), namely that customer satisfaction is dependent on an integrated effort of all involved in the business. From the above it is clear that a certain amount o f goodwill is evident among employees.Employees recognise the importance of an integrated effort of all involved in the business to satisfy customer needs. It is recommended that management of these businesses capitalise on this aptitude of employees. Communication with employees on matters relating to management of the business will encourage employee participation, paving the way for the implementation of participative management techniques. This will draw on the latent expertise and potential of employees and will ultimately contribute to employee development and a sense of management involvement. As indicated by the empirical results, small- to medium-sized textile retailers participating in this study lack a pronounced external customer orientation.Customers do not regard the businesses as being geared towards satisfying their needs. They are also of the opinion that employees of small- to medium-sized textile businesses are not sufficiently customer-oriented. By improving thei r internal customer orientation as suggested above, the external customer orientation of businesses may take a turn for the better. This may contribute to greater customer satisfaction as the interaction between customers and (more appreciated, and thus better satisfied and motivated) employees improve. After all: management and customers both agreed that the efforts of employees are important to build customer relationships.This is consistent with Sasser’s (2003) exposition that an improved internal customer orientation will contribute towards a better external customer orientation that will result in more satisfied customers.

Spectator Violence at Sporting Events

â€Å"These people want to hurt you. It†s frightening. You feel like you†re in a cage out there†. Reggie Smith, (Berger, 1990). Spectator violence at sporting events has been recorded throughout history. People who have power over the events, often team owners, indirectly influence the amount of spectator violence by encouraging the factors contributing to violence, in order to benefit themselves. Sale of alcohol, encouraging crowd intensity, creating rivalries, and targeting social groups, are factors affecting the degree of spectator violence and can be proven to be influenced by the owner†s actions. Therefore the blame for spectator violence can be attributed to whoever has power over the sport. Many historians suggest that an increase in spectator violence coincides with the commercialization of sports. Anthropologists agree that in societies where games were not for profit, they were enjoyed as celebrations of physical skill without competitiveness or violence between players or spectators (Berger, 1990). However, when people gained power or financially from the sporting events, spectator violence increased (Berger, 1990). Public spectacles and games were part of the Roman Empire. Each emperor had an amphitheater and the size of the crowd reflected the emperor†s wealth or power. The emperor through crowd excitement could influence spectator violence to such an extent that gladiators could be killed or freed depending on the crowd†s effect on the emperor (Robinson, 1998). The emperor encouraged the Roman working class, â€Å"to forget their own suffering, by seeing others suffer,† while the senators, and emperor would benefit financially from gambling profits (Robinson, 1998). With the commercialization of sports, owners† profits increased with alcohol sales. Beer drinking has been an integral part of sports since the late 1870†³s. Chris van der Alie noticed that his saloon did well when St. Louis Brown Stockings were in town. As a result, he decided to sell beer at the games. On February 12, 1880, Alie signed a contract with the Browns allowing him to sell alcohol on their property (Johnson, 1988). During a game on July 6, 1881, the first alcohol related brawl broke out in the crowd, injuring twenty spectators and killing two (Johnson, 1998). The signed contract with the Browns† was a financial bonus for the owner, however permitting alcohol to be sold, might have indirectly contributed to the injuries and deaths. Alcohol sales contribute financial support to teams. â€Å"Without beer companies as sponsors, the teams would have trouble making ends meet. † Bob Whitsitt, president of Seattle Supersonics, (Berger, 1990). The more alcohol consumed, the more revenue for the owners. During the 1987-1988 season the Cincinnati Reds sold 12,610 half-barrels and 35,365 cases of beer. The amount of beer consumed averages out to a pint for every man, woman, and child who attended the 81 games the team played at home (Johnson, 1988). The team†s owner benefited with a financial profit of over 1 million dollars. Sponsorship or ownership of teams by alcohol manufacturers, increases the alcohol sales. The first major partnership of beer and baseball dates from the 1953 purchase of the Cardinals by August A. Busch, Jr. , president of the Anheuser-Busch brewery (Johnson, 1988). In twenty-five years its† sales soared from fewer than 6 million barrels a year to more than 35 million (Johnson, 1988). In addition to direct profit, alcohol also indirectly increases profit through increased attendance. In 1974, when the Cleveland Indians† fan attendance was down, the owner implemented â€Å"Beer Night† where they sold beers for 10 cents at the first game of a three game series against the Texas Rangers (Berger, 1990). Attendance was up by 3500. The night turned out to be the first and last â€Å"Beer Night†. When a brawl occurred during the 5th inning, hundreds of Indian fans charged the field and beat up the Texas Ranger players. Seventy-six people were arrested. All were intoxicated (Berger, 1990). There†s no question that the beer played a great part in the affair† (GM Eddie Robinson). Eddie Robinson did not apologize for the incident, and it took Lee MacPhail, president of American League to intervene and ban the beer nights (Johnson, 1988). The rowdy behavior contributed by alcohol consumption often accompanies the throwing of beverage containers. Cups, bottles, and cans act as stimuli and provide a throwing opportunity. In 1988, Pete Rose of Cincinnati Reds was pelted with full cups of beer and whiskey bottles, when he stormed out of the dugout to dispute a call. It was insane, many of the fans were throwing unopened beer cans† Pete Rose, (Johnson, 1988). To restrain spectator violence, many agree with not selling alcohol at sporting events. â€Å"The selling of alcohol at sporting events should be banned† (Johnson, 1988). Other solutions have been implemented, such as limiting drinking to designated areas, selling low alcohol beer, and making it more difficult to buy. The solution of prohibiting alcohol at games was never implemented (Johnson, 1988) Alcohol sales increase revenue; profits keep the owners satisfied. The owners to increase entertainment and increase attendance often promote other stimulants such as music, hearing obscenities, and aggressive play in the event or in the stands. Since sports are a source of entertainment, loud music and aggressive play in the event pump up the crowds, increasing the fans† enthusiasm. Hearing obscenities can be contagious and escalate into more swearing, name calling and fighting. An obscene cheer starts with two fans, increases to eight and soon a whole section is vibrating to the pulse. If fans take exception to the obscenities individual fights break out building into group fights, as friends come to assist. Owners are often able to control the crowd†s involvement in the game with the type of music they play and how loud they control the volume (Robinson, 1998). An excited, participatory crowd heightens the atmosphere and increases future ticket sales, benefiting the owner. However, the same atmosphere can increase hostility leading to fan violence. Basketball games attract anywhere from twenty to thirty thousand fans, whereas a gymnastic competition may attract a few hundred (Robinson, 1998). This is party due to the loud, exciting atmosphere at a basketball game. Goldstein did a study comparing crowd hostility before and after a basketball game to before and after a gymnastic competition. He proved that the hostility increased considerably for the basketball fans, and also discovered that hostility occurred no matter if the fan was rooting for the winning or the losing team (Robinson, 1998). Large sport events like basketball often use music to increase the crowd†s hostility and competitive awareness of the game. Owners often don†t realize at what point hostility turns to fan violence. This may have been the situation for Dan Goodenow, organizer of the 1988 Martin Luther King Classic basketball tournament where 5 fans were arrested, a man's face slashed, and a police officer injured during a riot (Atyeo, 1979). Coaches and game officials blamed the rap group Public Enemy, who played before the game shouting obscenities, carrying plastic guns, and working up the crowd to an extent of raucous excitement (Chapman, 1988). Owners or school leaders help create team rivalry by encouraging fans, through city or school patriotism, to support their team. With media support, owners use historical team rivalry, competitive stories, propaganda and team loyalty to promote high-ticket sales and increase profits. Excessive promotion of rivalry changes crowd cheers to jeers that can lead to violence. The most common rivalries are school rivalries. Starting as far back as 1899 the students of Colorado School of Mines and those of Colorado College would celebrate victory by using dynamite to blow up the rival†s goal posts (Taylor, 1992). During one game the presidents of the universities promoted the final game, as â€Å"The top college in Colorado will win† (Taylor, 1992). By game time, most students from both schools were there to cheer their teams on. When Colorado College was down their fans, frustrated by the score and the name-calling, stormed the field at half time where a riot broke out. When rivalry was claimed to be a factor it was no longer promoted, and violence diminished (Taylor, 1992). A similar example of rivalry leading to hostility occurred in the 1999 Red Feather game Banting vs. Westminster. To encourage attendance and raise money for charities both schools had pep rallies to pump up the students by using music, videos and chants. During half time the two schools emerged towards the center of the field taunting each other. The organizers of the rallies intent on boosting ticket sales inadvertently encouraged spectator violence. There is an increase in violence following sporting events promoting rivalry as compared to regular promotion, as seen in professional boxing following a highly talked about match. The promoters in boxing do everything they can to make sure the matches turn out violent to satisfy the crowd. David C. Phillips a sociologist studied the rate of homicides following highly publicized heavyweight championship fights. The survey was done the 3 weeks following each of 18 highly publicized bouts from 1973-1978 compared to those bouts with normal publicity (Davidson, 1983). Phillips found that there were 193 more murders, in the surrounding areas, after the promoted fights as compared to the norms (Davidson, 1983). After the highly promoted Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier fight on October 1, 1975, the murder rate shot up thirty-two percent (Davidson, 1983). Phillips theory is â€Å"people see how violence is prized in the boxing ring and come to believe that violence outside the ring will also be rewarded† (Davidson, 1983). The rewards however, are the financial rewards to the owners, through increased ticket sales and media advertising. Spectator violence may be parallel to violence in the society. For example in a violent society, play will be violent, whereas in a peaceful society play will be more peaceful. The make up of the social group contributes to the possibility of violence. Spectators can be divided into different social classes and the event advertised in areas where a particular social group is targeted for ticket sales. Often working class males are targeted, as their values and attitudes of aggressiveness, fearlessness and toughness are well suited to competitive sports (Bonney & Giulianotti, 1994). They are likely to be the fans that are betting on the game or are there for the thrills (Berger, 1990). These fans are more likely to attend contact sporting events such as rugby and to be violent, compared to the upper class fans who analyze the game are more likely to attend a cricket match. In the sport soccer, hooligans who dominate the crowds are mainly males who generally act in rough, noisy behavior (Taylor, 1992). They have lawless fun, fighting spectators, throwing objects and vandalizing property. Most hooligans are from the working class. They have low ambitions, violent behavior and high stress levels (Bonney & Giulianotti, 1994). They act out their frustrations, like the Roman working class, by attending sporting events where they loose their individualities. Fans in Glasgow, Scotland, trampled sixty-six persons to death when they tried to return to the stadium they had just left upon hearing that a last-minute goal had been scored. Berger, 1982). â€Å"Hooliganism gives the organization of a team motivation with their traditional cheers and it builds the atmosphere which builds a team† Lesie Davis, management of Peru†s soccer organization (Taylor, 1992). Major soccer teams target this low-income social class because it brings atmosphere to the game and alcohol sales and profits increase (Shumacher, 1975). In marketing ticket sales for most team sports, owners target males nineteen to forty-five. Sixty three percent of males and twenty percent of females in that age range are involved with sports whether they participate in them, or follow them (Oliver, 1971). Team owners often exclusively target males, resulting in an increase of ticket sales and merchandise. However, when males are bonded they often act violently emphasizing their masculinity, machismo, bravery and fighting skills (Tiger, 1970). Many teams in the American Baseball League in the 1970†³s were having problems concerning fan violence, and found the main instigators were males. They changed the games to Sunday, traditionally a family day and encouraged female fans by admitting them free. With women and family present the men were less likely to loose their individuality and act violently as a group. The results for the next 5 years were positive as fan violence decreased by 30 percent (Berger, 1990). By studying the occurrences, degrees, and causes of fan violence over history, owners are able to decrease the incidents of fan violence while maintaining profits and entertainment value of their organization. Slowly but effectively owners, teams, coaches and professional leagues are creating solutions to minimize fan violence. The American Baseball League, National Baseball League and the National Basketball Association participate in TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management), which is a program for training everyone from vendors to ushers in handling people who have had too much to drink (Berger, 1982). Many of the NFL teams have moved their tailgate parties outside the stadium to eliminate the hostility caused by loud rock bands on the premises (Berger. 1990). Security cameras have been installed in many of the soccer stadiums and transportation centers to games, spotting the fans that cause the violence, and acting as deterrents for others. Controlled drinking areas, entrance controlled security checks, and increased visible security personnel are measures, which have helped to reduce fan violence in all sports. Most important, the owners need to be aware that some of their actions to benefit their organization have an indirect influence on the factors for fan violence. Sport is a basic feature of Australian culture. The achievements of Australian athletes have enhanced our image as a nation. Participation in sporting activities contributes to the health of millions of Australians; the teamwork and fair play which Australians learn on the playing field provide the basis for a good society. But Australian sport is not without shortcomings. Whilst sporting violence, on the part of both participants and spectators, is less frequent and less severe in Australia than in many overseas locations, it remains grounds for concern. Violence on the playing field sets a bad example for impressionable young Australians. Unruly crowd behaviour can spoil a pleasant family outing.