Beowulf Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Beowulf - Essay Example It is also evident in the way that he does not touch the treasures that he finds in beside the dead body of Grendel’s mother. This shows he is rich enough already, with his own wealth and the gifts that he receives for defeating the monsters, and not greedy in the way that a lesser warrior might be. Beowulf’s nobility is the kind that comes with breeding and character, and not the kind that comes with material wealth. Beowulf is ambitious because he sets off to fight an enemy that no one else has managed to defeat. He has a great belief in himself and his own powers, and this is an important quality for someone who leads others. He is undoubtedly very brave, because he tackles and kills Grendel with his bare hands. The scene with Grendel’s mother is very scary because of the monsters and the dark, slimy cave location, as well as the superhuman elements that surround the figure of Grendel. He is almost defeated, but does not give up, and grasps the strange sword with great courage. It is obvious that he is quite willing to sacrifice himself in the attempt to kill the monsters troubling the Scyldings. Beowulf is physically very strong. His hands are able to kill Grendel and wield the huge magic sword. This physical strength is a necessary quality for a Germanic hero because there was so much fighting and war in those days, and a hero had to be able to hold his own on the battle field. Beowulf is stronger and braver than everyone else, which makes him the ideal warrior hero. The quality of generosity is seen in the way that Beowulf takes the gifts he has received from Hrothgar for his feats of strength, and gives them all to his King Hygelac. The economy of the time was based on exchange of goods and services, and it was extremely important that subordinates show loyalty to their superiors. Beowulf is not obliged to give the treasures to the king, but he does so to demonstrate

Double Standard Of Masculinity In Gender Role Socialization Essay

Masculinity is a topic that has been debated in our society extensively, through research as well as in informal settings. Many wonder what it means to be masculine, and if we can really assign a definition to such a subjective term. After all, shouldn't one's own perception be the determinant of what constitutes masculinity? This self-construction would be the ideal in our society, but unfortunately, it represents a false belief. Masculinity has certain characteristics assigned to it by our culture. In this paper I will explore the many facets of masculinity and demonstrate how certain beliefs pertaining to it are perpetuated in our society. I will also uncover many of the contradictions between society's assigned definition of masculinity and the expectation that males will somehow learn how to act contrary to that assigned and learned meaning.Definition of Masculinity Men are primarily and secondarily socialized into believing certain characteristics are definitive in determining their manliness and masculinity. These characteristics range from not crying when they get hurt to being and playing violently. The socialization of masculinity in our society begins as early as the first stages of infancy. A child's burgeoning sense of self or self-concept is a result of the multitude of ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs to which he is exposed (Witt 1997). Later in this paper the question of whether there are genetic factors will be discussed. However, to further my argument at this point, I will discuss masculinity as it is socially defined. From the outset of a boy's life he is socialized into the belief that he should be 'tough'. Often when boys get hurt, 'scrape their knee', or come whimpering to their mother or father, the fated words, "Little boys don't cry", issue forth. Children internalize parental messages regarding gender at an early age, with awareness of adult sex role differences being found in two-year-old children. One study found that children at two and a half years of age use gender stereotypes in negotiating their world and are likely to generalize gender stereotypes to a variety of activities, objects, and occupations (Witt 1997). This legitimization teaches males that boys and men are not allowed to cry. There also exists the belief that boys are often required to do 'men's work' outside of the home such as mowing th... ...iographyBetcher, William R. et al. (1993) In a time of fallen Heroes. New York, NY, Macmillan Publishing Company. Bowker, Lee H. (1998) Masculinities and Violence. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, Inc.Buss, David. (1994) The Evolution of Desire. New York, NY, St. Martin's Press, Inc. Gwartney, Debra. (October 17, 1998) "Double bind of boys concerns psychologists." Oregon Times.Katz, Jackson. (1995) "Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity" In Dines, Gail and Humez, Jean. (Eds.) Gender, Race and Class in Media. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications. Pollack, William. (1995) "Deconstructing Dis-identification: Rethinking psychoanalytic Concepts of male development." Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. 12(1)30-45.Stearns, Peter N. (1990) Be A Man! Males in Modern Society. New York, NY, Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc.Thompson, Neil. (1995) "Men and Anti-Sexism" British Journal of Social Work. 25(4)459-475.Witt, Susan D. (1997) "Parental influence on children's socialization to gender roles." Adolescence. 32(126)253-257.Wrangham R. et al. (1997) Relationship Violence in Demonic Males. New York, NY, Routledge.

Kraft Case Coffee Pod Essay

Competition: Market Share of Competition This chart of the market share shows that Kraft Foods was the world leader in coffee sales with 15% of the global market. In Canada Kraft’s/Nabob and Maxwell had a combined share of 35%, where Nestle had 19%, Private labels accounted for 25%, and smaller companies summed 21%. With grocery markets carrying a selection of coffee brands and flavors along with major retailers such as Starbucks and Tim Horton’s selling their coffee beans in grocery outlets, competition in the Canadian coffee market remains very aggressive. There are four major coffee pod competitors in Canada and they are One-to-one, Home Cafà ©, Senseo, and Bunn My Cafà ©. One-to-one One-to-one brews coffee pods in two different sizes and has a bar quality. This machine has advantage that it can also change its spout in order to make iced tea or regular tea. They also use the biggest coffee pods at 9.7 grams vs. the other 7 gram pods used in regular machines. One-to-one also has three different varieties to choose from; You can purchase a 16 pack of pods for $4.99. These coffee pod machines are available at the Bay, Canadian Tire, Zellers, and Home Outfitters. Home Cafà © Home Cafà © has pressure brewing coffee pods while getting the full flavor of the bean. This machine has a removable platform to avoid spilling and can brew three different cup sizes. This type of coffee pod has 4 different flavors to choose from and a 16 pack of single coffee pods cost $4.99. Senseo Senseo has a specialized machine that creates a rich froth on each coffee brewed. Each blend is brewed in 30 seconds and has an automatic shutoff after one hour of no use. Senseo uses premium beans and offers four flavors that come in packages of 18 for $4.99. Bunn My Cafà © Bunn My Cafà © use special spray head and delivers maximum flavor in each cup. This machine can also brew a cup in 30 seconds and has 9 brewing settings to change the strength of the coffee. Out of all the machines listed above Bunn My cafà © machines sell in retail for $150 per machine, the highest price out of the four. The cheapest machine is the One-To-One selling in retail from $60 – $75. The best deal for retail selling price of pods is Senseo at $4.99 per 18 packs of pods Social/Cultural Canada compering to other countries work with faster technology and faster workforce. Before Canadians, coffee drinkers were taking them longer to get their coffee. Today the Canadian coffee drinker can get their coffee in one minute. These advanced technologies reflect to overall Canadian technology and the fast-paced environment that Canadians live in. Technology Even though coffee pods may cost a little bit more per cup of coffee, it has its benefits. Whit use of the prepackaging for the single serving coffee the SSP machines can deliver coffee in less than 1 min. The SSP machine measure the water tank or the amount of ground coffee for your cup, just place pod and press a button. You no longer have to throw away the nasty wet filter with used coffee you just have to recycle the little plastic pod. Pods also do not use an actual coffee pot, so you do not need to clean the pot of coffee every day. This is perfect for people that usually make only one coffee, instead of making a batch, only a single cup is processed. Different kinds are also available in terms of taste. Environment Kraft has taken some significant actions to keep the environment safe and clean. One aspect relating to environmental factors is that, the SSP machines are much easier to clean than the other pods on the market. It  allows you to have cluttered ground coffee that is unable to be used, no leftover coffee to pour away and no pot to clean. When finished, users would simply dispose of the pod in the garbage or compost bins, whereas regular disposable coffee cups and filters must be thrown away in the garbage. Micro Environment The 4 P’s Price $0.50 per cup Product Single-Serve Coffee Pods (SSP) Promotion – Consumer shows, demo program booth, television sponsorship campaign, giveaways, print ad buy one get one free coupons Place – Consumer shows and big retail outlets across Canada. Three different merchandising tools: Shelf-strips with coupon AdPad that holds 12 bags and coupon holder, On-Shelf Racking that holds 14 bags, Branded Off-Shelf Bins that holds 48 bags. Mission Statement: â€Å"Helping people around the world to eat and live better.† Kraft Foods Inc., Consolidated Income Statement USD $ in millions Marketing Objectives Herzog’s goal was to obtain 45% market share at the end of 2006 He also expected 6% from a 12.5 million household in 2004 and 8% in 2006. For advertising, Kraft wants to use TV sponsorship using all television programs for 3.5 launching. Production for a 30-second English-language contest spot would cost $10000; airtime to run English language spot for one week would cost $15000, giveaways would cost $5400. Promotional execution would cost $5000. Herzog also wanted to use direct marketing through an email campaign. This is where customers would be sent an email inviting them to visit a website and register to win a fee year’s supply of coffee pods. Merchandising objectives for Kraft’s coffee pods includes shelf-strips with coupon AdPad, on-shelf racking, as well as branded off-shelf bins. The cost for the total campaign is $961400 and there would be $38600 left from the $1000000 budget. Proposed Marketing Strategy Price: To create better value for our customers we decided that price of $4.99 for 16 pods is perfect. Our competitors have the same price but we have better value. This price of $4.99 will target Melitta in direct competition since they offer the same value. Maybe a slight increase (18 pods instead of 16 pods). This will ensure that Kraft would win in the competition. The wholesale price for the coffee pods should be $49.99 for 200 coffee pods. And for market share, we recommend Mr. Herzog to start at 20% with an increase of 5% per year that will lead him to those desired 35%; 20% is very possible for Kraft and its very profitable Product: Kraft’s branding Our Branding strategy focuses on the packaging. The branding strategy for Kraft’s Maxwell House and Nabob Brand should reflect the consistent branding strategy already being implemented by the company. However, Kraft should use upscale packaging and back up the upscale high quality product that they have. An example of an upscale packaging concept by current market entrant is Melitta. The reason for my branding strategy focus on the packaging is due to the principle of first impression and mental association that a potential consumer will have especially Kraft’s target market. The target market for single serving pods is high-income individuals and families ($91,000) and well-educated individuals. Place: Most Canadians have their cup of coffee at home or at the nearest available store. Kraft should make coffee so good it enhances the time we spend with friends and family while enjoying a cup of it. A good way to go about it would be dividing the Country in regions and market the product targeted right at their consumer profiles. Furthermore delivery straight to retail stores would make the supply chain shorter hence costs will be less. Even better would be to encourage most buyers to buy it on the Website, with free delivery or a more effective promotion tactic. If the Consumer buys the product straight from the manufacturer the dividend will scale up rather then selling them in bulk to wholesalers and retailers. Promotion: Promotion is the most important element of the proposed marketing strategy; all medium must be evaluated then used to acquire as many consumers as possible. One of the things that can be used is print advertising; billboards, magazines, newspapers etc. Another option is also TV sponsorship, using almost all television programs for 3.5 months launching. Direct Marketing can also be suggested for example email invite consumers to visit the Website then put an offer like click to win a free supply of coffee pods for a year. Merchandising has its own promotional options too like on shelf racking, shelf-strips with coupon AdPad or branded off shelf bins. References Stephanie Larkin (2007) Current Trends Of Coffee Consumption. Retrieved from: http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/beverages/coffee/current_trends_of_coffee_consumption.html Ben Berry (Oct.2011) Coffee and Tea Industry Trends from the Canadian Coffee and Tea Show. Retrieved from: http://www.ats-sea.agr.gc.ca/eve/6060-eng.htm NPD Group(July 2012)More Canadians opting to brew their favourite drinks at home Retrieved from: https://www.npdgroup.ca/wps/portal/npd/ca/news/prca_120720/ Stock Analysis on net(2012)Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) | Income Statement. Retrieved from: http://www.stock-analysis-on.net/NYSE/Company/Kraft-Foods-Inc/Financial-Statement/Income-Statement Dolcera Public (August 2009)Premium Coffee Market Segmentation. Retrieved from: http://www.dolcera.com/wiki/index.php?title=Premium_Coffee_Consumers_Market_Segmentation

Battle of Savages Station in the Civil War

The Battle of Savages Station was fought June 29, 1862, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The fourth of the Seven Days Battles outside Richmond, VA, Savages Station saw  General Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia pursuing Major General George B. McClellans retreating Army of the Potomac. Striking the Union rear guard, centered on Major General Edwin V. Sumners II Corps, Confederate forces proved unable to dislodge the enemy. Fighting continued into the evening until a strong thunderstorm ended the engagement. Union troops continued their retreat that night. Background Having begun the Peninsula Campaign earlier in the spring, Major General George McClellans Army of the Potomac stalled before the gates of Richmond in late May 1862 after a stalemate at the Battle of Seven Pines. This was mostly due to the Union commanders overly-cautious approach and the inaccurate belief that General Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia badly outnumbered him. While McClellan remained inactive for much of June, Lee tirelessly worked to improve Richmonds defenses and plan a counterattack. Though outnumbered himself, Lee understood his army could not hope to win an extended siege in the Richmond defenses. On June 25, McClellan finally moved and he ordered the divisions of Brigadier Generals Joseph Hooker and Philip Kearny to push up the Williamsburg Road. The resulting Battle of Oak Grove saw the Union attack halted by Major General Benjamin Hugers division. Lee Attacks This proved fortunate for Lee as he had moved the bulk of his army north of the Chickahominy River with the goal of crushing Brigadier General Fitz John Porters isolated V Corps. Striking on June 26, Lees forces were bloodily repulsed by Porters men at the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville). That night, McClellan, concerned about the presence of Major General Thomas Stonewall Jacksons command to the north, directed Porter to retreat and shifted the armys supply line from the Richmond and York River Railroad south to the James River. In doing so, McClellan effectively ended his own campaign as the abandonment of the railroad meant that heavy guns could not be carried to Richmond for the planned siege. Taking a strong position behind Boatswains Swamp, V Corps came under heavy attack on June 27. In the resulting Battle of Gaines Mill, Porters men turned back several enemy assaults through the day until being compelled to retreat near sunset. As Porters men shifted to the south bank of the Chickahominy, a badly shaken McClellan ended the campaign and began moving the army towards the safety of the James River. With McClellan providing little guidance to his men, the Army of the Potomac fought off Confederate forces at Garnetts and Goldings Farms on June 27-28. Remaining away from the fighting, McClellan made the situation worse by failing to name a second in command. This was largely due to his dislike and distrust of his senior corps commander, Major General Edwin V. Sumner. Lees Plan Despite McClellans personal feelings, Sumner effectively led the 26,600-man Union rear guard which had concentrated near Savages Station. This force comprised elements of his own II Corps, Brigadier General Samuel P. Heintzelmans III Corps, and a division of Brigadier General William B. Franklins VI Corps. Pursuing McClellan, Lee sought to engage and defeat the Union forces at Savages Station. To due so, Lee ordered Brigadier General John B. Magruder to push his division down the Williamsburg Road and York River Railroad while Jacksons division was to rebuild the bridges across the Chickahominy and attack south. These forces were to converge and overwhelm the Union defenders. Moving out early on June 29, Magruders men began encountering Union troops around 9:00 AM. Armies Commanders Union Major General George B. McClellanMajor General Edwin V. Sumner26,600 men Confederate General Robert E. LeeBrigadier General John B. Magruder14,000 The Fighting Begins Pressing forward, two regiments from Brigadier General George T. Andersons brigade engaged two Union regiments from Sumners command. Skirmishing through the morning, the Confederates were able to push the enemy back, but Magruder became increasingly concerned about the size of Sumners command. Seeking reinforcements from Lee, he received two brigades from Hugers division on the stipulation that if they were not engaged by 2:00 PM they would be withdrawn. As Magruder contemplated his next move, Jackson received a confusing message from Lee that suggested that his men were to remain north of the Chickahominy. Due to this, he did not cross the river to attack from the north. At Savages Station, Heintzelman decided that his corps was not necessary to the Union defense and began withdrawing without first informing Sumner. The Battle Renewed At 2:00 PM, having not advanced, Magruder returned Hugers men. Waiting another three hours, he finally resumed his advance with the brigades of Brigadier Generals Joseph B. Kershaw and Paul J. Semmes. These troops were aided on the right by part of a brigade led by Colonel William Barksdale. Supporting the attack was a 32-pounder Brooke naval rifle mounted on a rail car and protected by an iron casemate. Dubbed the Land Merrimack, this weapon was slowly pushed down the railroad. Despite being outnumbered, Magruder elected to attack with only part of his command. The Confederate movement was first noticed by Franklin and Brigadier General John Sedgwick who were scouting west of Savages Station. After initially thinking the approaching troops belonged to Heintzelman, they recognized their mistake and informed Sumner. It was at this time that an irate Sumner discovered that III Corps had departed. Advancing, Magruder encountered Brigadier General William W. Burns Philadelphia Brigade just south of the railroad. Mounting a tenacious defense, Burns men soon faced envelopment by the larger Confederate force. To stabilize the line, Sumner randomly began feeding regiments from other brigades into the battle. Coming up on Burns left, the 1st Minnesota Infantry joined the fight followed by two regiments from Brigadier General Israel Richardsons division. As the forces engaged were largely equal in size, a stalemate developed as darkness and foul weather approached. Operating on Burns left and south of the Williamsburg Road, Brigadier General William T.H. Brooks Vermont Brigade sought to protect the Union flank and charged forward. Attacking into a stand of woods, they met intense Confederate fire and were repulsed with heavy losses. The two sides remained engaged, with neither making any progress, until a storm ended the battle around 9:00 PM. Aftermath In the fighting at Savages Station, Sumner suffered 1,083 killed, wounded, and missing while Magruder sustained 473. The bulk of the Union losses were incurred during the Vermont Brigades ill-fated charge. With the end of the fighting, Union troops continued withdrawing across White Oak Swamp but were forced to abandon a field hospital and 2,500 wounded. In the wake of the battle, Lee reprimanded Magruder for not attacking more forcefully stating that the pursuit should be most vigorous. By noon the following day, Union troops had crossed the swamp. Later in the day, Lee resumed his offensive by attacking McClellans army at the Battles of Glendale (Fraysers Farm) and White Oak Swamp.