Balcony and monument scenes Essay Example for Free

Balcony and monument scenes Essay Write about the effectiveness of Shakespeares imagery in The Banquet, Balcony and Monument Scenes of Romeo and Juliet That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet. Shakespeare uses imagery and metaphors throughout Romeo and Juliet to great effect. By using language, instead of props or backdrops to produce a vivid picture, he is engaging the audience more and making them think for themselves. This dramatic technique is used to the best effect in the Banquet, Balcony and Monument scenes, when portraying Romeo and Juliets love. The Banquet scene is the first time Romeo sees Juliet, so the language used has to make a big impact so as to convey to the Elizabethan audience that this is true love, in contrast with Romeos infatuation with Rosaline. O she doth teach the torches to burn bright. Shakespeare uses alliteration on teach the torches and burn bright to make Romeos words sound more beautiful and poetic, ideally like a sonnet. The words are coincidently very much like one of Shakespeares sonnets, Sonnet 21, where he contrasts light with dark. Shakespeare uses this same comparison throughout the play to convey emotions, foreshadow tragedy and express the stages of the young love to the audience. In a way, Romeo and Juliets devotion is like light against the dark background of feuding families. By claiming that Juliet is brighter than any other torch, Romeo is directly comparing her to other girls, in particular Rosaline. When Romeo speaks of Rosaline, he uses the language of Elizabethan courtly love. All his feelings are quite contained in comparison to the poetic imagery he uses upon seeing Juliet for the first time. He says about Rosaline Shes fair I love, which in Shakespeares time was the sort of language one would use when describing their love. However, Romeo describes Juliets beauty as too rich for use and later claims that he neer saw true beauty till this night. The audience knows straight away that this is true love. But the audience is also aware of the fact that this love is doomed, and there is some irony in a number of Romeos lines. Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. This suggests that Juliet is out of Romeos reach, which, being a Capulet, she is. He is also comparing her to an angel or heavenly creature, which he does throughout the play. This is Shakespeares way of showing that although these are young lovers, they are very spiritual too. The idea that she belongs to heaven because she is too good for earth builds up a feeling of unease and sadness in the audience, as they know she is going to die and therefore will not belong to the Earth anymore. This spiritual imagery is used when the lovers exchange their first words. Romeo tries to entice Juliet by referring to her as his holy shrine and to his lips as two blushing pilgrims. This shows Romeo to be a more sensitive and poetic character, which makes the audience, and Juliet, fall in love with him. By referring to her as his holy shrine he is showing the audience that he idolises her, and sees himself as lowly compared to her beauty. This speech between them is laid out in sonnet form. Sonnets are generally about love, which emphasises to the audience that Romeo and Juliet are in love. It also contributes to Romeos poetic image. Upon walking home later that evening, Romeo decides he has to see Juliet again. He finds his way into her garden and stands by the balcony. Romeo sees Juliet at her window. He exaggerates the pale flicker of the candlelight to describe it as the East. But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun. Shakespeare is using Romeos dialogue to light the stage. He puts a clear image into the audiences minds. Again Romeo is comparing Juliet to light; this time the sun, the brightest light of all. This is his poetic way of declaring that she is the brightest and most beautiful of girls. It also signifies how very important she is to him, as the sun is imperative to everyday life. The light from Juliets window is said to break through. This could imply a breakthrough in Romeos love life; he has found his soul mate. In the Balcony scene Shakespeare uses language about the moon to help create a scene in the audience members mind. This means they are more involved in the play, and can imagine themselves there in the moonlight. Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou her maid art far more fair than she. It is interesting that Romeo compares Juliets beauty to the moon here, as he has just described her as his sun. In mythology, Diana, the Goddess of the moon, is served by virgin maids. Being a virgin, Juliet is depicted as one of these maids, but Romeo believes that Diana is jealous of Juliets beauty. He asks her to stop serving the moon, and therefore stop being a virgin and become his lover instead. This shows Romeo is passionate in a sexual way about Juliet, which would be quite exciting to an Elizabethan audience member, as sex was not as commonly talked about as it is now. The fact that the moon is sick and pale with grief could be foreshadowing future grief for the couple. By asking the sun to arise, Romeo is wishing the day to come, therefore reminding the audience that it is night. When Romeo decides to reveal himself to Juliet she, feeling embarrassed and shocked, asks him who he is. Of course he has recently discovered she is the daughter of his familys enemy, and feels his name is hurtful to her. By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am. My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,Because it is an enemy to thee. Romeo and Juliet strongly believe in their names being a now unwanted allegiance to their family. Despite the fact that their names are just words, both of the star crossed lovers feel they are chains, locking them to their families, and keeping them away from each other. Again he refers to Juliet as a saint. This would seem high praise to an audience of very religious Elizabethans. In Shakespearean times, exploring was very popular and a lot of new lands were being found. Because travel was not as easy then as it is now, and the knowledge of the world was not as advanced, exploring new lands was very exciting and appealing to the Elizabethans, which was why it was a popular subject matter and why Shakespeare used it throughout the play. I am no pilot, yet wert thou as far, As that vast shore washed with the farthest sea, I should adventure for such merchandise. The word adventure is used here because in the Elizabethan times, international traders were known as Merchant adventurers. It also suggests that Romeo finds his and Juliets love very exciting, as adventure is usually associated with new and exciting things. Shakespeares use of imagery to convey Romeos love as a new found land helps to set a picture in the audiences minds of a far off tropical shore. In Shakespeares time there would not have been a lot of back drops and flats setting the stage, so it would be up to the audience to imagine their own scenery, and up to the playwright to use the correct language to stimulate these thoughts. Romeo describes himself being hidden from the eyes of Juliets guards and family. I have nights cloak to hide me from their eyes. Again Shakespeare is using light and dark to set a scene for the audience. His actors would not have had the electrical lighting actors have now, so he would have to create moods and light by using words. Romeo is telling the audience it is dark, so it is easier to imagine. This contrast is used a lot in the monument scene too. When Romeo hears that Juliet is dead he goes to the tomb where she is said to be. After killing Paris he looks at Juliet for the last time. He describes the days they spent together as A lightning before death, because it was believed in those days that before somebody died, they would seem very well and happy temporarily. This is the contrast between light and dark again, which adds mood to the scene; the audience knows Romeo is deeply saddened by the sudden death of Juliet and, because of this, so are they. The word lightning makes you think of lightning as in a quick flash. Their romance was very sudden and over quickly, but very enlightening all the same. Romeo mentions Juliets beauty despite her death too, especially concentrating on her lips and cheeks. Beautys ensign yet Is crimson in thy lips and in thy cheeks Romeo talks about Juliets beauty a lot throughout the play. In the balcony scene he says The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars and then proclaims O that I were a cheek upon that hand. It is interesting how Romeo talks of Juliets cheeks so much. Perhaps Shakespeare is trying to link the two scenes together to show that Romeos love for Juliet was present from the beginning to the end of their relationship. He still felt the same for her when she was dead as he did when their love was blooming. I will raise her statue in pure gold Montague says this of Juliet in the last scene. Gold was a very expensive and prized material to the Elizabethan audience and so proves that Montague means well. It is a bit ironic that he is comparing her to a statue, because in the first scene Romeo and Juliet meet, the banquet scene, he describes her as a holy shrine. It is a very sad moment as the audience are reminded how happy the lovers used to be. The audience really benefits from Shakespeares imagery as it brings the play to life. It makes the words far more beautiful and the characters easier to relate to. Romeo seems more poetic and easier to fall in love with. Juliet appears to be intelligent and loving. Without the imagery the audience would not feel as involved with the plot, and would therefore not sympathise with the characters. The imagery heightens the emotions of the audience and confirms Romeo and Juliet as one a Shakespeares greatest tragedies.

Market Size :: essays research papers

Market size and Growth The perspective size of the market is based on the number of schools that will potentially allow our organization to teach their students. There are only 13 states in which financial education is required or offered which leaves us with a large potential to spread financial education to 37 other states as well as better cater to the school systems who already have a finance program. This is our key to market growth and ultimately market potential. Since the fall 2001 68.5 million people were enrolled in school the potential for growth is rather larger. Since our company focuses primarily on teens and finance it is our specialty, our primary and only target market, where as for other companies it is a secondary market. Diversity in the United State There continue to be problems on the job caused by peoples' racial and cultural misunderstanding of their differences. It is possible to hire people to respect those of other cultures and races. As I enter into this subject of diversity I would like to give a clear definition t what diversity is? According to an article from the University of Maryland Diversity Database~" Moving Towards Community" entitled Diversity in the workplace Work Teams and Diversity. It is define as the ways people in organizations differ in many ways race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, and more. There is also the fact that diversity not only involves how people think of others and how this affects their interaction but how they conceive of themselves. What are the problems that relate to diversity in the American workplace? Race is one of the problems in the American workplace, for some time whites male has dominated the workforce for generations, but things has changed since so many different nationalities of other ethnic groups are now living in American that this work domination of white males can longer exist in its present controlling state. According to Angeles Arrien "Cultural diversity is a business reality today. The ability to build bridges between people from different countries, with different ethnic backgrounds, is as important as any other business function. Working in a culturally and ethnically diverse organization does not mean elimination differences in style and approach, but celebrating those differences and tapping into the much strength diversity brings to and organization. Angeles Arrien goes on to say that The Bureau of Vocational Guidance at Harvard, found that at least two-thirds of the people that lose their jobs do not do so because they cannot do the work, but because of their inability to deal effectively with people.

Importance of Marketing Essay

Marketing helps guide businesses in making strategic decisions by identifying growth opportunities and developing creative ways to approach those opportunities. Through successful marketing, a business will conduct extensive research, strategize and plan, brand the product, conduct product development, train the sales force, establish points of purchase, use public relations, and follow-up with good customer service. Marketing is the activity of a business organization that identifies customers, markets, as well as market segments and develops products or services to meet the needs of the customers by offering value of a product or service in exchange for profits and revenues for the business. In brief, marketing informs, educates, and persuades and it is paramount to the achievement of business success2. INTRODUCTION 2.1. BackgroundMarketing can be described as advertising a product. Marketing occurs when a company is trying to persuade costumers to buy the product that they produce over another company’s product. Marketing includes intensive research so that the company can get an outlook at what is the current trend in the marketplace. The problem is that marketing in theory contains these following activities also known as the 4-Ps which are developing the product, pricing the product, promoting the product and deciding what people to sell the product. 2.2. Purpose of the reportThis report aims to give basics of marketing comcept that is the most vital fact in business life for success. This report will tell why marketing has become so important in business life. 2.3. Statement of the problemAn organization cannot be successful unless the organization is satisfying its customers’ needs. This is because a product cannot simply be produced and expected to be sold. Although the idea for most is to create a product or service that â€Å"sells itself,† the product or service must create some consumer satisfaction to be able to sell itself. In order for there to be consumer satisfaction, economic utility must be derived from the product or service3. METHODOLOGY Information has been gathered through research of websites, journals and books as well as own interpretation and ideas on how marketing is seen important in contributing to the profitability of any company. 4. FINDINGS4.1. What is marketing?Marketing is a very general term that has no specific definition to it. However, it is best described as â€Å"A social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). It is an understanding of how the company works with its consumers and how it generates in the society. Marketing is seen to be the process of ‘bringing in the businesses’. It is not seen to be an alternative, but a necessity (Forsyth, 2004). Many people consider marketing as a tactic. However it is more than just a tactic. Marketing is analysis. According to Allen Weiss (2002), marketing is the analysis of customers, competitors, and a company by incorporating the understanding of competitive analysis and company capabilities into a general understanding of what the existing segments are. 4.2. Impact of MarketingMarketing deals with identifying and meeting human and social needs. Marketing can be defined as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. (Kotler, 2004) According to the American Marketing Association defines marketing as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stake holders. (Kotler, 2004)According to the Marketing Principals book marketing can be defined as an organizational philosophy has been based on the marketing concept. This concept consists of three interrelated principles such as:†¢An organization’s basic purpose is to satisfy customer needs. †¢Satisfying customer needs requires integrated and coordinated efforts throughout the organization. †¢Organizations should focus on long-term success. Based on these definitions, explain the importance of marketing in organizational success. Marketing is important in an organization success. Marketing is a broad topic that covers a range of aspects, including advertising, public relations, sales, and promotions. Marketing is important because it creates the core for the company. Marketing helps provide a service for the customer. Making the customer happy is the goal of the company. If a company does not know what the client wants the company will not survive. The strategy in which the company uses is important to the company success. Marketing is the key for an organization to succeed. First, marketers create a need in the mind of consumers. If they do not have a need for the product, they won’t buy it. Then they have to come up with a product which will delight the consumers, and keep them coming back again and again. This is needed to build a long-term relationship with consumers. If marketing gets them to purchase the product once, this would be a good outcome, but marketing should work to make them into lifelong loyal customers. A company is coming out with a new produce which will revolutionize the building industry. It makes building homes effortless. Sales of the product are lower than predicted. Research has found that many people are unaware of the product. One has made an idea to have a campaign marketing the benefits of the new product. Customers began to realize that there was a great need for the product which was being advertised. So, the customers began to purchase the product. No awareness is equated to any sales. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)An established brand of toothpaste is seeing its sale’s drop. No one can understand why. The product has been used for years; however, the company has done little advertising in the past few years because the product was so well established. Once a new ad campaign hit the waves, sales increased once more. Why? Well customers forget about products if they are not reminded. To maintain long-term customers, they need to be continues reminded of the product and they need to remember how much the product delights them, and how well the product performs. But re-establishing advertising, one must reinforce the communication link with customers. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)A person is looking to buy a luxury car. They have the money, and one has the knowledge about the many competitors. What decision should the guy make? The guy ends up buying a car with the company that has the best customer relations. They buy it at the place where they are treated with respect and class, where they feel involved in every step of the journey, where they know they made the right decision. After they buy the car, their relationship with the company does not end there; the customer can join clubs, attend financial seminars, attend wine and cheese events. All things build customer relationships which are strong and make the consumer happy. And the next time the consumer is in the market for a new car, they won’t shop around – they will return to the same dealership. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)Marketing is more than just a company trying to sell the product. Marketing involves a great deal of research. Marketing also includes developing the product, pricing the product, promoting the product and deciding what people to sell the product. One has to be able to understand marketing so that it can be used in real life situations. 4.3. Why Marketing is Importantâ€Å"Marketing management is accomplished by carrying out marketing research, planning, implementation, and control† (Kotler, 2004). Marketing plays a major role in every business. It is very important as it contributes to the profitability of the company itself. â€Å"Relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining and enhancing strong, value-laden relationship with customers and other stakeholders. â€Å"They must build strong economic and social ties by promising and consistently delivering high quality products, good service and fair prices,† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Furthermore, when both customers and producers are mutually beneficial from this relationship, profitable transactions will follow. Knowledge of marketing strategy and market research is crucial in order to excel in marketing. 4.3.1 Five key factors to an effective marketingForsyth (2004) stated five factors which summarizes the effectiveness of marketing. a)Customer oriented. Company needs to focus on the wants and demands of the consumers. Profits come only after the consumers are satisfied. b)Continuously deployed. Marketing must be ready all the time as the company operates. c)Effective coordination. Marketing must logically co-ordinate its activities with the involvement of other departments and senior management team. d)Creativeness. Creativeness is needed during competitive times. By adding creativeness, marketing will be stronger. e)Underpinning culture. What makes marketing possible is not only depended on the people in marketing, but also the contributions from professional staffs in other departments are indeed needed (Forsyth, 2004). 4.3.2 Market Researchâ€Å"Marketing Research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information–information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). â€Å"By 1957 †¦ as markets moved from seller to buyer, new ideas of ‘marketing were taking hold. Companies began to grasp the importance of understanding what the consumers really wanted; it could no longer be assumed to be the same as it always had,† (V alentine & Gordon, 2000)Marketing research is basically the function that connects the consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information. There are four steps of market research. The first step is defining the problem; this is the hardest step of market research. If an inexperience manager define the problem wrongly, the whole market research will be affected hence the information will be inappropriate. Once, the problem has defined, the manager should determine, the research objectives which may fall in the three categories such as exploratory, descriptive or casual research. The second step is designing the research which will consist of determining what information should be gathered and how data will be collected. In this case, the data can be primary data collection or secondary data collection. The third step is implementing the plan which usually can be done by the internal staff or external firm. After the plan has implemented, the raw data will be prepared in order to get the information. The last step is interpreting the data; the researches will need to present the overall information to the marketing manager to be carried out to the next marketing process. 4.3.3 Marketing EnvironmentIt is important to determine the environment that the company is working in. The marketing environment refers to the actors and forces outside the marketing management’s skills to cultivate as well as maintain successful transactions with targeted customers (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Certain environmental complications and issues can severely affect the profitability of the company. Environmental complications and issues include the breakdown of economy (local economy and international economy), inflation, boom, trend, customer’s dissatisfaction and others. The company should be able to adapt to such changes of the environment, or else the company’s profit will significantly decrease. This would affect the company’s growth as well as driving o ff loyal customers. 4.3.3.1 The micro-environmentIt could simply be defined as the forces nearest to the company, which affect the company’s capability of serving its customers. Certain types of micro-environments that the company needs to take notice of are, for example, other departments, major suppliers, marketing representatives, customers and competitors (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Most of these environments can be ‘controlled’ by the company itself. 4.3.3.2 The Macro-environmentâ€Å"The macro-environment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the whole micro-environment – demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces,† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Most of these cannot be ‘controlled’ by the company. 4.3.4 Marketing Segmenting, Targeting, Positioningâ€Å"Market segmentation is the act of grouping customers in markets with some heterogeneity into smaller, more similar or homogene ous segments† (Dibb and Simkin, 2001). There are four variables that the business can choose to segment their markets; geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral variables. The business can choose to segment in one variable or a combination between two or three variables. However, in order to achieve an effective segmentation, the business should have the characteristic of measurability, accessibility, and substantiality and action ability. The next step, the business has to decide on which market segment they should target on, which classified of undifferentiated marketing, differentiated marketing or concentrated marketing. Once a business has decided which segments of the market it will enter, they must decide which ‘positions’ they want to occupy in those segments. Product position means â€Å"the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes; the place product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). They can position their products according to specific product attributes, benefits, users’ occasions, certain classes of users, against a competitor, away from competitor and product classes. In brief, by dividing market into a group of consumers who have a similar needs and wants, the business can achieve consumers’ satisfaction easier rather than if they concentrate on broadly market. Hence, when the business can satisfy the consumers, the consumers will develop a brand loyalty. â€Å"Customers can’t fully give loyalty until they believe a company genuinely cares about them and cares about their needs† (Hein, 2004). Moreover, as brand loyalty has formed, the business will be able to receive a profit, which should be supported with accurate product positioning. 4.3.5 Marketing MixMarketing mix is a set of â€Å"controllable marketing variables that the company combines to produce the feedback it wants in the targeted market† (Kotler, Brown, Adam a nd Armstrong, 2004). Marketing mix consists of 4Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Product is defined as â€Å"anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004).In order to produce a product, a business has to concern about the level of product; core, actual and augmented product. The core product is â€Å"the problem solving services or core benefits that the consumers are really buying when they obtained the product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Actual product is â€Å"product’s part, styling, features, brand name, packaging a d other attributes that combine to deliver core product benefits† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Whereas the augmented product is â€Å"additional consumer services and benefits build around the core and actual products† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). The second element of marketin g mix is price. Price is â€Å"the amount of money charged for a product or the sum of value consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using a product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). There two factors that the business should apply before set up the price; internal and external factors. Then, they can choose which type of pricing that suit the product; cost-plus, value-based, competitive or relationship-based pricing. The third element is Place, which is defined as â€Å"making products available in the right quantities and locations when customers want them† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). It includes physical distributions, inventory, location, transport, and channels. Intermediaries (marketing channel) are the one which distribute the product from the producer to consumer. The last element is Promotion. It simply means the transmitting merits of the products and persuading target consumers to buy them. At the start of the products lifecycle, promotion is necessary so that potential customers know of the existence of the product. Once the product grows, promotion must become more persuasive and encourage consumers to make a purchase. 4.3.6 ImplementationMarketing implementing is to translate the plans into actions. For the successful marketing implementation, â€Å"company has to blend these elements: action programs, organization structure, decision and reward system, human resources and company culture – into a cohesive program that supports its strategies† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). 4.3.7 ControllingMarketing control referred as â€Å"the process of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing strategies and plans, and taking corrective action to ensure that marketing objectives are attained† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). The manager should control the marketing implementation by setting a goal , measure and evaluate the performance and also correcting the error of implementation. 4.4. Marketing and BrandingProduct is the core of marketing, which including tangible goods like food or drinks or intangible services, as it is the major way to embody customers requirements; and, branding is directly associated with it. In fact, branding is all about decisio ns of products, like brand names or trademarks. Stork (2007) asserted that a brand is a unique business identity which represents the personality, quality or origin of products. And, such a product which added value by branding would appear in every activity of marketing, namely, branding is actually react on the whole marketing system directly and indirectly. In addition, Stork (2007) also argued that branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. This is significant, as it accords with the objective of marketing, and it is the first step to attract customers. By contrast with those basic branding factors, brand loyalty is more complicated but significant. Attracting customers is not enough, organizations demand loyalty of customers to brands to make them competitive among others. Therefore, based on the analysis of theories above, branding and brand loyalty is vital to successful marketing, but there are still many other factors could affect their importance within the dynamic environment, like the different industry will have different types of marketing and branding. Subsequently, the further and deeper investigation will be conducted with examples of Virgin Atlantic Airway, which is a super brand in airline industry. Virtually, Design Council of UK (2007) defined that the airline industry is difficult to operate. Fixed costs are high, demand can fluctuate quite dramatically and shortages of key airport infrastructure all make it difficult for airlines to operate profitably. Relatively, the marketing for airline industry is not easy as well; the promotion or pricing would be totally different to other industries like food or drink, because its products are distinctive. However, Virgin Atlantic is doing quite well in general, it is famous on its branding and its services and it did won many rewards on that, like it came out on top in a consumer survey of travel brands in 2006. (Business Source Premier, 2006) As discussed before, a brand is a unique business identity, and a well managed one would be the asset of an organization, and the marketing and financial value associated with its strength in a market is so-called brand equity. (Dibb et al, 2001) According to Dibb et al (2001), there are four main elements underlie the brand equity, which are brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived brand quality and brand associations. It is good for customers to know the brand names of products which they do or do not like, thereby, they can recognize and purchase products that satisfy their needs simply. Otherwise, the product selection would be complicated or even wrongly selection. At the same time, it is clear that brand name awareness is the very first step for sellers, which would cause familiarity; and a unique brand name or logo may reinforce the familiarity to be memorable, which will strongly remain custom ers to come again. Due to that, organizations should promote their brand names or logos as much as possible within this stage, to gain awareness of their brands from customers. For example, one of marketing techniques of Virgin Atlantic is to advertising activity in the UK includes TV, press, magazines, outdoor posters and taxi sides, all featuring their distinctive logo. Advertising is used to encourage people to try the airline, to raise awareness of new product developments and new routes. (Virgin Atlantic, 2007)The perceived brand quality means certain perception of customers over the brand quality. This sort of perception mainly depends on consumers’ using experiences or the way organizations branded. Well marketed brands would become the indicators of quality or choice making for consumers as they have less or no ideas about the quality of certain goods in some case. As branded of its services, Virgin Atlantic is giving their customers what they want, by offering limousine services, full m eal catering, multi-class services, and entertainment consoles on every seat-back. (Stealing Share, 2006) Thus, the perceived brand quality of Virgin aircrafts is quite high; customers probably would consider it firstly or secondly while they are choosing an airline that is good at customer services. Thirdly, the brand would be more attractive and memorable if it associated with certain lifestyle or other characteristics. Virgin is one of the best choices for illustrating this point. As one of extended brands of Virgin Group, Virgin Atlantic is absolutely under the organizational culture as well, which characterized by Richard Branson, the founder of the company. Virgin’s brand values are really Branson style, which are innovative, competitive challenging, fun and so on and this also embodies in Virgin Atlantic. For instance, Virgin’s design teams always working on challenging new technologies or services, like the design of its upper class suite. (Design Council, 2007) Or, the entertainment consoles on every seat-back shows their focus on providing fun to customers. Like other three elements discussed above, brand loyalty is also valued to brand equity thanks to its function. Dibb et al (2001) defined that brand loyalty is a strongly motivated and long standing decision to purchase a particular product or service. Once customers loyal to one specific product, the market share of that product for the company would be relatively stable, allowing the company to use its resources more effectively or obtain premium prices. In line with what discussed before, organizations could be competitive with a relative stable market share among their competitors through brand loyalty, and meanwhile companies can diminish certain costs like the cost of attracting new customers. Moreover, brand loyalty has three degrees that are recognition, preference and insistence. The recognition is just alike as awareness of brand name; customers realize that brand is an alternative to purchase. Brand preference is stronger than recognition, as customers is showing certainly prefers on one brand over others, but they would accept substitutes wh ile the brand is not available. The last degree is the strongest one as consumers would insistent on the particular brand and will accept no substitutes. (Dibb et al, 2001) Though, it is less to happen due to various reasons, like in the airline industry, it is difficult for customers to insistent on one brand thanks to limitation of airline routes and destinations. 5. CONCLUSION Marketing is a unique and vast area of business. All the success of a business depends on a successful marketing campaign. There is also much more to marketing than what is discussed here. One fundamental of any marketing program is that it work toward meeting the wants and needs of customers in the target area. Trying to force feed a product or service to an unwanting public is seldom successful and is very expensive. Which is why it is very important to research and develop all new marketing ideas so that they fit the product being offered. Do you sell ice cold lemonade on a freezing winter day? A better suggestion would be hot chocolate. However, innovation and new marketing techniques can be offered where you can do both at their respective seasons. Its all about marketing. The challenges and obstacles involved with corporate longevity are faced and championed through marketing and its strategies. Important aspects of marketing are the acquisition of new clients, branding, and influencing behaviors that encourage sales. Each of these categories promotes business expansion and prosperity. Each organization has their own recipe for marketing and succes. 6. REFERENCESD ibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferrell (2001), Marketing—Concepts and Strategies, Houghton Mifflin CompanyEleven lessons: Managing design in eleven global brands (Virgin Atlantic), (2007), In: Design Council [online]. Available from: http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/managingdesign/Design-at-Virgin-Atlantic-Airways/Virgin-Atlantic-case-study-designing-the-upper-class-suite/Marcia Yudkin, Head Stork (2005-2007), the Benefits of Branding, In: Name At Last [online]. Available from: http://www.namedatlast.com/branding3.htmStealing Share (10/10/2006), Global Branding: Virgin Atlantic gets it Right, In: Stealing Share—Beyond Theory [online]. Available from: http://www.stealingshare.com/content/1160504877375.htmVirgin Atlantic (2007), Student Information Pack—Marketing, In: Virgin Atlantic Website [online]. Available from: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/allaboutus/ourstory/forstudents.jsp#marketingVirgin tops loyalty league (2006), Travel Weekly: The Choice of Travel Professionals (00494577), 00494577, 2006, Issue 1806 [online], In: Business Source Primer [online]. Available from: http://web.ebscohost.com.chain.kent.ac.uk/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=102&sid=a0e44807-1ff0-44bf-bf32-80e054ac90da%40sessionmgr104Forsyth, P (2004) ‘Marketing is a must’, IEE Engineering ManagementKotler, P., Adam, S., Armstrong, G.,

The Four-Tiered Class System of Feudal Japan

Between the 12th and 19th centuries, feudal Japan had an elaborate four-tiered class system. Unlike European feudal society, in which the peasants (or serfs) were at the bottom, the Japanese feudal class structure placed merchants on the lowest rung. Confucian ideals emphasized the importance of productivity, so farmers and fishermen had higher status than shop-keepers in Japan, and the samurai class had the most prestige of all. Samurai Feudal Japanese society had some famous ninjas and was dominated by the samurai warrior class. Although they made up only about 10 percent of the population, samurai and their daimyo lords wielded enormous power. When a samurai passed, members of the lower classes were required to bow and show respect. If a farmer or artisan refused to bow, the samurai was legally entitled to chop off the recalcitrant persons head. Samurai answered only to the daimyo for whom they worked. The daimyo, in turn, answered only to the shogun. There were about 260 daimyo by the end of the feudal era. Each daimyo controlled a broad area of land and had an army of samurai. Farmers and Peasants Just below the samurai on the social ladder were the farmers and peasants. According to Confucian ideals, farmers were superior to artisans and merchants because they produced the food that all the other classes depended upon. Although technically they were considered an honored class, farmers lived under a crushing tax burden for much of the feudal era. During the reign of the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, farmers were not allowed to eat any of the rice they grew. They had to hand it all over to their daimyo  and then wait for him to give some back as charity. Artisans Although artisans produced many beautiful and necessary goods, such as clothes, cooking utensils, and woodblock prints, they were considered less important than farmers. Even skilled samurai sword makers and boatwrights belonged to this third tier of society in feudal Japan. The artisan class lived in its own section of the major cities, segregated from the samurai (who usually lived in the daimyos castles) and from the lower merchant class. Merchants The bottom rung of feudal Japanese society was occupied by merchants, which included both traveling traders and shopkeepers. Merchants were often ostracized as parasites who profited from the labor of the more productive peasant and artisan classes. Not only did merchants live in a separate section of each city, but the higher classes were forbidden to mix with them except when conducting business. Nonetheless, many merchant families were able to amass large fortunes. As their economic power grew, so did their political influence, and the restrictions against them weakened. People Above the Four-Tiered System Although feudal Japan is said to have had a four-tiered social system, some Japanese lived above the system, and some below. At the very pinnacle of society was the shogun, the military ruler. He was generally the most powerful daimyo; when the Tokugawa family seized power in 1603, the shogunate became hereditary. The Tokugawa ruled for 15 generations until 1868. Although the shoguns ran the show, they ruled in the name of the emperor. The emperor, his family, and the court nobility had little power, but they were at least nominally above the shogun, and also above the four-tiered system. The emperor served as a figurehead for the shogun, and as the religious leader of Japan. Buddhist and Shinto priests and monks were above the four-tiered system as well. People Below the Four-Tiered System Some unfortunate people also fell below the lowest rung of the four-tiered ladder. These people included the ethnic minority Ainu, the descendants of slaves, and those employed in taboo industries. Buddhist and Shinto tradition condemned people who worked as butchers, executioners, and tanners as unclean. They were known as the eta. Another class of social outcasts was the hinin, which included actors, wandering bards, and convicted criminals. Prostitutes and courtesans, including oiran, tayu, and geisha, also lived outside of the four-tiered system. They were ranked against one another by beauty and accomplishment. Today, all of these people are collectively called burakumin. Officially, families descended from the burakumin are just ordinary people, but they can still face discrimination from other Japanese in hiring and marriage. The Transformation of the Four-Tiered System During the Tokugawa era, the samurai class lost power. It was an era of peace, so the samurai warriors skills were not needed. Gradually they transformed into either bureaucrats or wandering troublemakers, as personality and luck dictated. Even then, however, samurai were both allowed and required to carry the two swords that marked their social status. As the samurai lost importance, and the merchants gained wealth and power, taboos against the different classes mingling were broken with increasing regularity. A new class title, chonin, came to describe upwardly mobile merchants and artisans. During the time of the Floating World, when angst-ridden Japanese samurai and merchants gathered to enjoy the company of courtesans or watch kabuki plays, class mixing became the rule rather than the exception. This was a time of ennui for Japanese society. Many people felt locked into a meaningless existence, in which all they did was seek out the pleasures of earthly entertainment as they waited to pass on to the next world. An array of great poetry described the discontent of the samurai and the chonin. In haiku clubs, members chose pen names to obscure their social rank. That way, the classes could mingle freely. The End of the Four-Tiered System In 1868, the Floating World came to an end, as a number of radical shocks completely remade Japanese society. The emperor retook power in his own right, as part of the Meiji Restoration, and abolished the office of the shogun. The samurai class was dissolved, and a modern military force created in its stead. This revolution came about in part because of increasing military and trade contacts with the outside world, (which, incidentally, served to raise the status of Japanese merchants all the more). Prior to the 1850s, the Tokugawa shoguns had maintained an isolationist policy toward the nations of the western world; the only Europeans allowed in Japan were a tiny camp of Dutch traders who lived on an island in the bay. Any other foreigners, even those ship-wrecked on Japanese territory, were likely to be executed. Likewise, any Japanese citizen who went overseas was not permitted to return. When Commodore Matthew Perrys U.S. Naval fleet steamed into Tokyo Bay in 1853 and demanded that Japan open its borders to foreign trade, it sounded the death-knell of the shogunate and of the four-tiered social system.