Americana Group Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Americana Group - Research Paper Example The group encompasses the most recognized brands globally and includes in its list of franchise brands worldwide known brands like Pizza Hut, KFC, Hardee’s Costa Coffee, Krispy Kreme, and TGI Friday’s; recently the group has took over the franchisee of Signor Sassi. In addition, with a proper understanding of the Middle Eastern taste the Americana Group has created 6 own brands which are also equally successful among its consumers as global counterparts of the aforementioned successful brands (Americana Group, 2012). The project critically evaluates the trends of marketing environment by using the PEST analysis, a complete market analysis is performed to gather information about the nature of product, market operations along with the type of strategy the firm has undertaken over the years and also determine the strategic option which is made available to the firm. Finally, a set of recommendation has been provided to America group stating the strategy that the company s hould adopt for its further operation considering the skills, resources and capabilities available to the firm. ... Americana Group deals in restaurants and holds franchise for some big brands globally and includes consumer food and food related products in its product category. It has been analyzed there exists a huge demand for Quick Service, Casual Dining and Fine Dining categories and with change in consumers taste and preference the fast food centers have gained a huge attraction and are expected to grow globally in the near future. Therefore, PEST analysis has been adopted to critically evaluate the marketing trends. PEST Analysis PEST is used to scan the general market environment and is referred to political, economical, social and technological factors. It helps to detect as well as monitor the weak signals that might affect the working of the organization (Henry, 2008, p. 51). Political Factor: Americana Group deals with restaurants and consumer food products and operates on international grounds and therefore the political factors plays an important role in dealing and setting up of fra nchise in foreign countries. Different countries impose different laws and it is important for the company to comply with the concerned rules and regulation to successfully operate in international countries. Economic Factor: When the countries perform well the business operating in the area also seems to have performed well and has an opportunity to increase its revenue and profit. Americana Group based in Kuwait has been operating in the MENA region and has tasted success over the years and has its operation franchised globally. It can be inferred that the economic condition are important while implementing the marketing strategies. For example, when Americana Group goes for international expansion along with the political factors

The Han Dynasty and Rome Essay Example for Free

The Han Dynasty and Rome Essay From 206 B.C.E. 220 C.E., the Han dynasty, in China, accumulated many political control methods, as did Imperial Rome reigning from 31 B.C.E. – 476 C.E. However, there were more differences than similarities between the two empires/dynasties. Two main differences were China and Rome’s territorial expansion and their political philosophies (mandate of heaven and monarchy). A similarity between these two empires would be their centralized government adopting bureaucracy. China put their trust in the mandate of heaven, which is a Chinese political theory that gave those in power the right to rule from a divine authority. Imperial Rome relied on a monarchy system, which put Augustus Caesar (Julius Caesar’s son) into power. Another factor that differentiated Han China and Imperial Rome was their territorial expansion. Imperial Rome expanded from Italy to Spain, Gaul, Macedonia, Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece and Britannia. However, although Han China expands throughout Asia, they felt they did not need to expand much to sustain their power. Nonetheless, what allowed Han China and Imperial Rome to resemble each other, was there centralized bureaucracies. This is a government system in which all of the important decisions are made by one or a few authorities in a region. Rowland 2 Han China (206 B.C.E. 220 C.E.) and Imperial Rome (31 B.C.E. – 476 C.E.) discriminate more with their political methods, than relate to one another. Two distinctions would be their political philosophies, mandate of heaven and monarchy, and their territorial expansion concepts. One aspect that helped them relate to one another was that they shared the ideal of a centralized bureaucracy.

Developing a marketing strategy at Tesco

Developing a marketing strategy at Tesco Marketing is to establish, maintain and enhance relationship with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties involved are met. This is achieved by mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises. Brassington F and Pettitt S( FT Prentice hall,2006) Developing a marketing strategy is a very fragile process and all organizations make extra effort for it to gain customers. Customers knowledge is very essential to gain them. Marketing strategy has a vital role to play in an organization. Customer relationship is very important for a business. Customer needs should adhere to organisational objectives and this is important. In a nutshell we are statisfying needs of customers with profit. According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing, they offer recognised qualifications and trainings and also provide advice on marketing, their base line is : SATISFYING NEEDS AND WANTS OF CUSTOMERS AT PROFIT Marketing strategy should be adhered to customer needs and wants. Customer is an essential factor of an organisation, his likes and dislikes, thoughts and wants change with time. Its very natural, that human beings change their attitude, desires after a certain time period. The strategy should respond to those changes effectively. To capture market, companies should adopt affective techniques. Customer should know what we are doing. Monitoring and control after strategy implementation is very important. COMPANY PROFILE OF TESCO Tesco PLC holds the leading position among food retailers in Great Britain, with a market share that exceeds 15 percent. In England, Scotland, and Wales, the company runs 588 supermarkets, 257 of which are superstoresstores that sell food items in addition to a variety of other products, including gasoline, clothing, housewares, and alcoholic beverages. Tesco also operates 32 stores in Northern Ireland and 77 in the Republic of Ireland under various brands, 43 in Hungary under the Global and Tesco names, 31 in Poland under the Savia name, and 13 in the Czech Republic and Slovakia under the Tesco brand. In Northern Ireland, the company also runs 52 Wine Barrel off-license outlets. Tesco is the largest independent gasoline retailer in Britain; its 288 gas stations sell 12.5 percent of the gasoline sold in the United Kingdom. Recent company innovations include the Clubcard loyalty card as well as offerings from Tesco Personal Finance, which include a grocery budgeting account called Clu bcard Plus, a Tesco Visa Card, and a Tesco savings account. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/11/Tesco-Plc.html BASIC PLANNING RULES FOR A STRATEGY VISION AND MISSION All companies have their vision and mission statements which describe the organization.Some organizations have two statements. Reputed companies have one vision statement. It is a small description of an organizations future. What is the business? Customers? How value of customer can be increased? Tesco Vision is EVERY LITTLE HELPS A LOT Concept A strategy should be customer oriented, customer knowledge is essential. To know your customer, customer diversification in categories is important. They can be divided into segments according to their liking and disliking trends. A market research can be conducted to know the trends. After trend analysis, competitive advantage can be attained. According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. For quality oriented customers we should make a strategy that draws their attention to our quality products and prices. Strategy should match our strengths. After strategy formulation, customer awareness is important. We need to develop channels to makle the customers aware of our offers. Systematic Approach To develop a systematic approach is hard and fragile task then all the other marketing tasks. Its id nutshell which includes all the companies objectives and plans.(Malcolm Macdonald,2008) Sequencing and scheduling of Activities Organisational managers are responsible for executing all the marketing activities and scheduling them. The main steps to make the execution on time are: 1 Identify activities to be performed 2 Determine the time required for activity completion 3 Determine the activity sequence. 4 Timing of all activities. 5 Assign responsibility(O.C Ferrel,Michael D,2007) Integration of activities Integration are of two types Simple Complex In simple, organizations subcontract the easy activities to other countries and keep complicated duties to themselves. Small companies support this strategy. In complex, the companies make decisions at the headquarters.(Bradley F,2005) Resource requirements Companies go with diversification if they have strong assets. Such Organizations introduce themselves in markets where the resources are according to their abilities. They have more opportunities if the resources are general. (Bradley F,2005) Time Scaling Time scaling is of two types 1 Production time scale 2`Commercial time Scale Both of them have different requirements according to the production and Marketing departments of the organization.(Suerie C,2005) Implementation and control:- A plan is nothing unless it degenerates into work.(peter drucker) Control is the way that we catch faults in strategy. Types of control:- Annual plan control Profitability control Efficiency control Strategy control STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING PROCESS This Process consists of a pattern of sensible steps that are taken to arrive at a Marketing plan. The next step would be to analyze the Market. Inorder to analyze the market there are some dimensions which need to be covered. Growing submarkets Size of Markets Market growth Profitability of Market Structure of Cost Distribution system Development and Trends Success indicators (Mcloughlin D, A.Aker D, 2010) SETTING MARKETING OBJECTIVES There are two factors Customer oriented objectives Market oriented objectives Both objectives should be designed to earn profit and gain customer. Goal setting should keep the organizations internal and external environments in centre. Only then a realistic business strategy can be developed. The goals should be smart, measurable, realistic, achievable, specific and time bound. (McCorkell G,1997) http://www.businesslink.gov.uk STRATEGIC MARKETING A strategy is a plan that integrates an organizations major goals,`policies,decisions and sequences of action into cohesive whole.(Proctor T,2000) MARKETING STRATEGY A marketing strategy should be coherent to the marketing plan. It should always be the same practically. SEGMENTATION In order to put in place a marketing strategy, the first step is to understand the market. Divide the market in to different categories. E.g. the business sector is huge market. This market can be categorized business nature. Banking industry is separate market. Steel industry is a separate market and similarly Textile is a separate market. The next step is to analyse, number of businesses working in each sector. Size of each business, their level of working. After doing this analysis, customer trends need to be analyzed , what do they want. Then after analysing we should be understand where we have the competitive advantage. And how can we bring it to use. POSITIONING Positioning means to make an image in the mind of the customer. His perception about us. What he thinks about us. What do we want him to think. How can we do that is part of the marketing strategy. Some businesses want to offer quality and some offer cheaper rates. This is where we want the customer class comes in. Does he fall in the higher class, middle class or lower class. MARKETING MIX Afetr segmentation, market selection and positioning the product, the next step is to make a marketing mix. Business should then evaluate its different marketing mix strategies which include the 4 ps. According to Adcock et al The right product, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right price PRODUCT Organizations should work on the product. How the customer values the product. It also depends a little on the company where it wants to draw attention. Existing products should have a different line of action on how the product should be modified. PRICE The price aspect is critical. If customers want quality at any price. Then in the above P(Product), the company might focus on quality. If the price set is low then the customer might see it as low quality, others might favour it to meet the finances. PLACE Accessibility is the answer to gain customers. Products available to customer in his local area, then this is an advantage. Because if products are of basic or daily needs, customers have many options and will prefer the nearest one. Internet shopping is another plus point. PROMOTION Customer awareness to product is also important. Either through internet, media or print media. Until and unless the customer does not have the knowledge, we wont make any sales. Tesco Tesco,s way promotion are advertising, public relations, direct mail, sales promotion and personal selling http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php These were the 4ps. For more detailed and comprehensive study, 3 more ps were included: PEOPLE An organisation needs to make sure that its resources such as the employees are fully trained. They should have enough product knowledge to satisfy customers. PROCESSES The processes of the company should be efficient enough to handle customers and satisfy them according to their needs. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE This factor refers to the companys appearance. How the employees look, the premises. These elements put an immense impression about the business in their mind. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk DISADVANTAGES These tools are just like the ingredients of a strategic marketing plan. If any one of it is not focused and given a detailed consideration then chances are of failure. TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES SWOT ANALYSIS If an organisation works honestly with it self, this will lead to success. A business should look in its internal and external environments. For every business it is important that it analyses its strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats (SWOT analysis). Then it realises where it stands. After it knows what its actual picture is, then accordingly strategies should take shape. A companys strength could be Good customer service Good offers, packages Excellent knowledge According to a report some of Tesco,s strengths are Diverse ranges of products à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Open 24 hours service à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strong flow of cash à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Increasing turnover and profits à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strong Balance Sheet à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Growing Supermarket Chain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brand Awareness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Online Shopping http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php Weaknesses Weaknesses could be like Lack of resources Average reputation Accounting system is not good Tesco,s weaknesses There is a mind positioning of low quality -(Tesco value brands) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lack of local knowledge of customers and culture THREATS à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Competition which is strong à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unpredictability in Price of raw materials à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Recession à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shift of market to globalisation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Takeover bids http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php Opportunities Internet as a source of new markets New technologies can help product improvement. Threats New competitor in market http://www.businesslink.gov.uk In order to identify the Macrofactors, we use Step: stands for Social, Technological, Economic, Political factors Steeple: Social, Technological, Economic, Ecological, Political factors, Legal and Ethical Fators. Pestle: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Ecological factors. Now these three tools vary from organization to organization.(Blythe J, 2006) PESTLE External environment includes the forces outside the organisation. Its called the PEST analysis. PEST are the factors that make the business wade in the external environment. But businesses have to survive. POLITICAL Political changes also affect the business. If a new regulation is imposed like taxes, this could effect the companies cost. TESCO After the European Integration and agreement of free trade, the market has opened up for British Companies to invest in Eastern Europe. Tesco already has 60 Hypermarket store in Hungary.  Ã‚   ECONOMIC Economic factors like change interest rates, exchange rates also affect the business. SOCIAL Social factors include change of lifestyle, fashion, attitudes of people which change demand for certain product. Tesco Changes in consumer demands, trends and lifestyle show both opportunities and threats for the company. Opportunities in terms of new market and consumers, however, there are added threats of developed Swedish retailers. http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php TECHNONLOGICAL Technology has immensely changed the way businesses work now. Tesco Changes in retailing sales through the Internet is now very common. Paperless operation, access through secure servers; provide flexibility in the business running. Sweden is going through technological development with companies like Ericsson, Tesco would enjoy the logistic and distribution channels already in place http://www.universitydissertations.com/Marketing/Tesco-Marketing-Strategy.php LEGAL Tesco National legislation for health and safety both in terms of consumer rights and also in terms of production of own natural renewable resources for making clothes ENVIRONMENTAL Businesses do not have control over these factors what they can do is react to these changes by accordingly adjusting the SWOT environment. http://www.businesslink.gov.uk BCG MATRIX Stars ? Cash cows Dogs This tool is used by businesses to evaluate their different business units (SBU).It was developed by the Boston Consulting group. It places the different SBUs of the business in each quadrant according to their market share and reputation STARS These products are market leaders have good market share and growth CASH COWS These products have high market share in low growth markets. QUESTION MARK These have low market share in high growth markets. These products need considerable thought if they should be supported or not. They are not generating much income. DOGS These products have low share in low growth markets. Very poor performance and should be withdrawn.(L. Kurtz D,2008) PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE It is a model which represents the life of a product. It has four basic stages INTRODUCTION The product is developed and introduced in the market. GROWTH This phase of the cycle is where the product gains market share and generates income. MATURITY In this stage the product has achieved the maximum share and is at its maturity point. DECLINE After achieving the maximum share the product undergoes a decline phase where it has no more demand for it self.(Saaksvuori A,Immonen A,2008) Product Life Cycle Model PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL Threat of new Entrants Industry competitors Bargaining power of Supplier Bargaining power of Buyer Substitute Threat Porter argued the strategy is not just as series of models at the corporate level of strategy. He noted that strategy includes analyzing potential entrants, suppliers,buyers,substitutes, and competitors. BARGAINING POWER OF BUYER It is the ability of the buyer to bargain. This power increases as the buyer has more options to buy from. NEW ENTRANTS These are the new companies entering into the industry and are a threat to the existing ones. BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIER It is the ability of the suppliers to decide the price for their product and the terms. SUBSTITUTE THREAT Alternate products offered by companies for a particular product are also threat to existing entities.(Michael J. Stahl, DavidW. Grigsby,1997) MARKETING STRATEGY OPTIONS According to Michael Porter, orgaizations can continue with three strategies, 1 Differentiation Strategy 2 Cost Leadership 3 Focus Strategy DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY This strategy is used by an organization to make itself different from other businesses. This strategy helps the organization to charge more from customers as compared to competitors. One thing is for sure that if customers get extra value they can pay more. Rolex watches charge more for there product. They earn their reputation by the quality of metal, stainless steel. They undergo special test for quality assurance. COST LEADERSHIP This strategy is used by companies to boost sales. They reduce their cost slightly below the cost of rivals and sell the products more. Timex has been a cost market leader for long. They make simple watches at low price for mass market. FOCUS STRATEGY Organizations using this strategy focus at particular market or group of buyers. Organizations might make thier focus using differentiation or cost leadership strategy in that specific market.(Ricky W. G,2007) CORE COMPETENCES These are skills used by organizations to provide customers with extra benefits. Competences could be Speed Consistency Acuity Agility Innovativeness (Hamel.G, Prahalad CK,1996) RISING EXPECTATIONS Customer expectation has increased due to companies continuing improvement towards their product to satisfy them. Since every company competing with Tesco is giving almost comparable products so the only way to get an edge is to give something extra to surprise them. Employee training is also very important to cope with customer expectation like giving a free delivery at home. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE Technology is changing at a very fast rate so companies need to be good supporters or followers. Tesco can and is improving towards reducing the ques inside the stores by improving the websites so grocery orders can be taken online. COMPETITION Competition has increased tremendously in many industries and so many companies who were weak have fallen out, due to added factor weak economic conditions. Tesco club card scheme has really helped it to get through the economic condition. GLOBALISATION In this era every business considers and makes decisions according to the international market. Now the world has developed it self to be a global village. Spread of information, media, internet many different of doing business online has raised the competition even more. (Doyle.P, Stern. P, 2006) Tesco is becoming a growing chain and is one. This chain has helped it to secure strong profits.It has and should continue to operate in other countries to gain customer bank and explore new markets. IMPLEMENTATION. Tescos functional areas are Administration The administration department should keep the internal operations maintained. Finance Finance department should take care of cash flows and also take measures to control cost with out effecting profit. Marketing Marketing department should focus on sales increase and product training for employees. Research and development Research and development should maintain the standards of product quality. Information Technology Tesco has introduced self checkout machines through which people can pay themselves instead of waiting in ques. If the objective is to increase sales. To increase the sale, Tesco should work on its sales and marketing Department. Employee training is important. Product knowledge for employees so that customer satisfaction is guaranteed. It will help the human resource to market the product and give the customer what they need. As a result, we will experience an increase in sales. Customer awareness is very essential. E-marketing is also an important tool in this era to make it easy for people to buy products online. It is more easy for people to do transactions online and get delivery on time. CONCLUSION In a nutshel, i would say that marketing should have proper department in every business and it should work on an genuine plan. The rules and principles of marketing should be adhered to make the marketing plan successful. A company should also keep up with its functional areas so that the plan work smoothly.

Inherit The Wind Essay -- essays research papers

In Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s tense drama, â€Å"Inherit the Wind†, three strong characters express powerful opinions: Bertrum Cates , Henry Drummond, and Mathew Harrison Brady. First, Bert Cates, the defendant, is charged with teaching â€Å"Darwinism† to his sophomore class . Second, Henry Drummond, the defense attorney for Cates, displays his beliefs of the right to think. third, Mathew Harrison Brady, the â€Å"big-shot† prosecuting attorney, illustrates his bigotry of creationism. To conclude, these three essential characters are fighting for their personal beliefs. Primarily, Bert Cates, a 10th grade teacher, struggles to obtain his right to have an open-mind, and encourages others to do so. The defendant, simply tries to teach a lesson in his Hunter’s Civic Biology, but while doing so is hastily over charged by the bigots of Hillsboro, Tennessee. As he explains himself to a fellow school teacher: â€Å"I did it because...I had the book in my hand...and read to my sophomore science class chapter 17, Darwin’s Origin of Species...All it says is that man wasn’t stuck here like a geranium in a flower pot; that living things come from a long miracle, it didn’t just happen in seven days†. It seems odd, or even bizarre that this premise is so hard to accept in Hillsboro. All in all, Cates is merely opening another aspect to the beginning of time. Another powerful opinion yearning to be exposed, is the one held by Henry Drummond, the defense’s attorney. The lawyer undoubtedly came to d...

Margaret Atwood; Cat’s Eye Analysis- Refraction and Self Essay

â€Å"Our commonsense explanations of the world and ourselves are problematised by Atwood through her novel. Nothing is quite as it seems, when we look at anything (in a mirror, in the past, at others) it is refracted as if through water.† Discuss the ideas and issues in the novel in relation to this statement, paying particular attention to the techniques and narrative elements used to show this. Our commonsense explanations of the world are based on the absolutes in our lives. Ways of seeing have been socially constructed embedded with values and attitudes that influence our behaviour and view of the world and ourselves. Reality cannot be captured and is interpreted differently by every individual as if refracted through water. Cat’s Eye is a work of influential English by author Margaret Atwood. The novel’s central area of exploration is of different versions of reality, and the accuracy and truthfulness of our own visions of how we see the world and ourselves. These visions are problematised by Atwood, as she uses various techniques that allow her to discretely proffer her idea of ‘nothing is quite as it seems’ to position the audience. This results in our own endorsement of these beliefs, and leads us to question our own lives as just a version of reality, with a sense of disillusionment. Our world and our own lives are challenged by Atwood’s novel, as in questioning the idea of no absolutes and constants in our lives, we also begin to question the other constants in our society such as religion being just another version of reality and not an absolute. This distresses many people and problematises our lives. Measurable, knowable, constant, and absolute qualities of life provide security in our beliefs and understanding of the world and our place within it. Absolutes help us make sense of the world, and provide a connection to the world and our own inner selves generating a sense of belonging. Atwood challenges the concept of absolutes, fixed/knowable identities, and common truths through various techniques. She uses narrative elements to proffer her ideas, such as autobiographical writing to encourage us to question the one and only version of reality that is being told (through Elaine and her life). Imagery/symbolism and intertextuality are recurring techniques, for example her repetitive use reflective surfaces such a glass, water and mirrors are all symbols used to question reflection, and how we see  ourselves; is what we see what we get? These techniques are used in order to provoke self-doubt and insecurity, to unsettle and complicate the way we see ourselves and our world, through the provocative questions that it asks of us. Cat’s eye challenges the naturalized and socially constructed views and encourages the reader to question the dominant views of the world and themselves. Refraction is the distortment of light, as it travels, it’s broken-up as it changes and moves through different mediums. Atwood uses refraction as a symbol representing the key belief that our vision of life and ourselves is refracted, broken up, distorted, and that as a result our perceptions aren’t always accurate. Atwood uses Elaine’s second encounter at the bridge to imply that our views, especially on other people are refracted, and not necessarily as they seem to be. Cordelia is seen to effect Elaine the most significantly, and it is not until the end of the book, when Elaine is finally coming back to herself (the bridge) that Elaine realises that Cordelia was not what she seemed to be. â€Å"There is the same shame, the sick feeling in my body, the same knowledge of my own wrongness, awkwardness, weakness; the same wish to be loved; the same loneliness; the same fear. But these are not my own emotions anymore. They are Cordelia’s; as they always were.†It is only at the end of Elaine’s life when she realizes that her emotions that traumatized her childhood (and adult life) were in fact Cordelia’s, who in order to escape them and cope transferred them to Elaine. Elaine feels stronger with this knowledge and finally releases Cordelia, as the Virgin Mary once released her â€Å"Its ok, you can go home now.† Elaine’s mourning is over and she is free of Cordelia, she can see clearly now- â€Å"The snow in my eyes withdraws like smoke† and is starting to make sense of her past. Atwood also uses Elaine’s misconception of Cordelia to exemplify how our ‘refracted’ view of others substantially affects our view of ourselves and the world; our experience of the present is coloured by our past events. Elaine realises that all these years, she still did not ‘know’ Cordelia, supporting Atwood’s dispute of the notion that there can really be a ‘fixed’ and ‘knowable’ identity. Atwood employs this metaphor in order to position the reader to be receptive to the idea  that our views on others, the world, and ourselves are not absolute but equivocal. In Cat’s Eye the first person limited narration is unreliable in the sense that Elaine cannot ‘see’ enough – either because of her own maturation and desires and the forces conditioning them, or of the consequences of her choices. The novel questions whether ‘lives’, ‘stories’ or autobiographical narratives can ever be accurate. A novel that presents a straightforward linear narrative that moves through events sequentially and constructs a complete set of ideas about life that seem unproblematic. It accepts that our experience of life, our thoughts and feeling, motivations, movement through time – our very representation in a literary text, can be captured accurately. It implies order, coherence, unity and stability; a rational basis for our actions and thoughts thus presenting a conservative worldview. The structure of Cat’s Eye serves as a critique of this unproblematic view of the world. The novel constantly shifts between past and present and her narration as a young Elaine and an old Elaine. This shifting represents Elaine’s life, as she feels it is barley comprehensible. Because the story is written in first person, its only presents one version of reality- Elaine’s version. This leads us to question Elaine’s version and its accuracy. Atwood’s purpose behind this is to bring to light the complexity of character in Elaine, and highlight her struggle in coming to terms with her own identity. This challenge on the common qualities of autobiographical narratives even leads the reader to question Cat’s Eye as just another version of reality that is presented to us in life. Atwood questions the belief that the individual is knowable and that appearance corresponds with fixed reality; she critiques the notion that reality can be ‘captured’. This is shown through her questioning of autobiographical writing, and is perpetuated through the use of Elaine’s paintings at her gallery Sub-versions. Cordelia subjected Elaine to subtle, psychological bullying as a child, and destroyed her self-confidence, which lasts well into her adult life. Her art is a way of expressing these bottled-up emotions and a means of dealing with her trauma; her art presents a different version of reality of her life, one that she is unable to  confront in her everyday life. â€Å"I can no longer control these paintings, or tell them what to mean. Whatever energy they have came out of me. I’m what’s left over.†Through her art she exerts a power that she did have in her childhood, taking revenge on Mrs. Smeath and confronting other issues such as her bullying in the painting Cat’s Eye, where Elaine appropriates the idea of the pier glass reflecting figures outside the frames of the main picture. This glass hangs behind a self-portrait that shows only half of Elaine’s head and incorporates signs of aging. In her childhood the three girls watch her from behind yet the young Elaine in the picture is turned around, facing her tormentors. The painting symbolises the claiming and relinquishing of control. The child, Elaine looks back at the three girls, the adult Elaine looks back at the outside viewer. The back of the head is crucial: a mirror that shows only the ruined half of your face. Elaine’s art reflects the psychological state she is in and has faced in her childhood. This is symbolic of Elaine looking back on her life and seeing her childhood in a different light-‘Nothing is what it really seems.’ The gallery is appropriately named, contributing to Atwood’s hypothesis; Life is a series of different and conflicting versions of reality, identity and reality are not fixed and the concept of ‘exact truth’ can never be captured. Atwood’s novel Cat’s Eye shapes the reality by which we view the world and ourselves. Our lives operate around security (especially of ourselves) and we generate and understanding and connect ourselves to the world through various versions of reality that we reinforce to become believed ‘absolutes’ upon which we base our lives Without the ‘fixed reality’ we create for ourselves and the absolutes that structure our lives, our sense of purpose, and meaning diminishes. Distress is brought upon us through Cat’s Eye because Atwood critiques our quest for identity as she suggests that we will never ‘know ourselves’ and will never have a fixed identity. It is therefore the reader’s choice on weather to comprehend the notions Atwood is proffering. Atwood uses varied techniques and narrative elements such as imagery, symbolism, and the narrative point of view to allude her beliefs. Through the particular employment of these techniques Atwood strengthens her case to the reader and positions them to support her indited criticisms of a knowable identity, and a fixed reality and truth. Cats Eye challenges the  measurable, and the way we qualify things as knowable and existing and a truth. Bibliography: Atwood, Margaret, Cat’s Eye, Penguin, Montreal 1968

Elaboration Theory in Learning Psychology Essay

The concept of elaboration theory centers greatly on progressive learning. That is, the steps in learning are built upon each other in a series of increasingly complex steps. In other words, rather than plateau the learning progress, it increases in complexity as time goes on. However, what was learned in the earlier portion of the progression is not discarded. So, the concept of elaboration can be visualized as an upside down pyramid. It starts at a small point and expands. However, the progression is always connected to its origination point. An example of this is as follows: a student is taught basic sentence structure. Then, the basics of sentence structure are expanded into the proper way to devise a paragraph. This later extends further as the students is taught to the create a series of paragraphs that form a coherent essay. An essay can later be expanded into a lengthy research paper. Really, there is no limit to the progression as long as it never deviates from the origination point of proper grammar and structure. Why theorists recommend that learners elaborate as much as possible. Many theorists believe that the elaboration theory provide a cohesive approach to learning. This provides for an increase in retention and overall improvements in learning. How schemas and scripts are often involved in elaboration. The way schemas and scripts work in the realm of elaboration is that they involve the individual’s prior accumulation of knowledge. This can be a help or a hindrance depending upon whether the prior knowledge improves or impedes the facilitation of new knowledge. Why different people may elaborate differently on the same information. Different people may have different strengths and weaknesses. They also may have different goals for learning the material. Since elaboration is a process and not a product, it is understandable that different approaches to present the same material are needed. Why elaboration sometimes leads to the storage of inaccurate information. No system of learning is perfect and elaboration theory is not free of such problems. One possible reason that elaboration theory can lead to inaccurate information is because the progression of learning goes off on tangents. If this occurs, then it may prove difficult to develop a coherent learning paradigm.