Products and Services Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Products and Services - Assignment Example From this paper it is clear that MSC was going to make profits since they were going to focus mainly on the product that would satisfy their customer needs. They relocated their markets to areas where they knew that the prices they had placed would favor the residents. As an organization MSC did the right thing by forming the alliance since it closed down all the branches that were making little profit. They should move to areas where there is ready market. The products that MSC produced were to be advertised. This task was to be carried out by 3B, this will help MSC do away with promotion costs.This discussion highlights that  the benefits of going ahead with the plan are many for example some of the operation costs will be reduced. PLS employees will lead, but 3B will help with materials. There will be some advertising as part of this deal. This will be done by 3B and  PLS. Since it is an alliance, they will be holding meetings to discuss on new strategies and the way forward. This will be a major boost since there will be exchange of ideas by different people who have different skills, and they are from different companies.  MSC county government has been looking forward to support both private and public partnerships so that they get national attention.  3B also has a good public reputation in their community since its employees contribute to the growth of the economy. By forming an alliance with them, MSC is more likely to succeed.

Multicultural Managers In Global Teams

Multicultural Managers In Global Teams LOreal is an intriguing company: Very French in culture and image, and yet very global in products, brands and activities. It is poised to reach the next billion consumers mostly among the budding middle class of emerging economies. In this article we explore one facet of L Oreals success: Its very clever use of managers with bi-cultural backgrounds in the most critical process for the success of the company; new product development. Of course we all now recognize that cultural diversity is a good thing, and we value executives with expatriate assignments in their backgrounds, who claim themselves to have become cosmopolitan. LOreal goes one big step further: Rather than just diversity among executives it seeks diversity within each executive [2. Yves: Brannen Thomas, 2010: p.6 p.13: cultural diversity that exists within individuals and MYB Lee, forthcoming, p.23: diversity within a single person] Yves, i.e., it hires develops and uses strategically individual who usually by way of a multicultural early childhood-have gained the ability to understand and behave according to the cultural meanings and norms of two or more cultures. [3. Yves: This definition of multiculturalism. MYB can not argue to own the definition as hers. Previously other researchers define biculturalism such as Hong et al., 2000 in their phenomenal article, Multicultural minds] Not only can they be precious bridges between their cultures of origins, they can also be sensitive alert scouts in new cultures, with an ability to grasp them much greater than individuals from a single cultural origin. [4. Yves: This is about multiculturals cognitive complexity (BMV et al., 2006 and Tadmor et al., 2006/9. I think this sentence is more common sense. I heard a lot from those who participated in Bicultural thought leadership conference in Green Gulch and Abu Dhabi] Not every global company needs bi-cultural executives but many can greatly benefit and learn from them, thus instilling in their international executives -whose vast majority are from a single cultural origin-some of the critical cross-cultural skills that help make them effective. [5. Yves: Is this can be a common sense?, I dont find exactly same words or phrase in MYBs]In this article we draw a few lessons from examining LOreals decade long experience in using bi-cultural executives selectively. But first, what is the challenge bi-culturals allow to address successfully? [6. Yves: I dont know why she highlighted here] THE CHALLENGE: IT IS NOT EASY TO BE LOCAL AND GLOBAL Global competitors face an age-old tension: Serving regional or national markets requires adaptation to local conditions, and calls for differentiation in their products, services, and business models, but achieving economies of scale and scope across markets calls for uniformity and integration of activities. Local responsiveness and global integration are hard to combine. Some products are clearly global, such as TV sets, except for regulatory and language differences, and simple technical differences such as voltage. Others, such as restaurants, are intrinsically local, although global formulas and brands may succeed, such as Starbucks or Benihana. Many products, and to a lesser extent services, call both for responsiveness to local differences and for some form of global integration, of brands, marketing and advertising, manufacturing, product development, and research. They are affected by the global-local duality of knowledge differentiation and integration in innovation proces ses. Perhaps at the forefront are companies striving to develop global products in culture-sensitive and ethnically differentiated markets, such as cosmetics and skin or hair care. LOrà ©al very much faces this challenge: Its main product categories, skin care, hair care, hair color and beauty categories are sensitive to global economies of scale and scope, and they also need to be highly responsive to local market differences. Furthermore, not all of LOrà ©als product categories face the same mix of demands: Hair care may be very regional and dependent on ethnic differences, lipstick and most fragrances much more universal. Luxury brands are more global than mass market ones, which are often local. Figure 1: The complexity of product portfolio: Responsiveness and Integration Differences The global integration-local responsiveness issue is further complicated when the knowledge required to develop and market products is complex. Yet, such complex knowledge (tacit and collective, only revealed in action and interaction) now lies at the heart of innovation and global competitive advantage, not just for LOrà ©al but also for most global competitors. Other forms of arbitrage, for products, costs, or materialsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are easily imitated, and have been. Complex knowledge is hard to identify and observe, let alone imitate. It has become the main source of sustainable competitive advantage for global competitors. It drives hard to imitate innovations. LOrà ©al as a leading French multinational company in skin care and beauty products provides a remarkable example of relying on complex knowledge for innovation: Its products are not just chemicals, much more importantly, they depend on fashion, style, seduction, they convey national image of French womens sophisticationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ they elicit the idealized self-image of its customers and their value is conveyed through complex, often subliminal advertising and multiple distribution channels. Of course, some highly culture- and context-dependent products, with a strong national identity happen to find readily a global market. They are widely adopted worldwide with little or no adaptation (French perfumes, U.S. action movies, German classical music and high-end cars, Japanese Mangas, Korean K-Pop, Bollywood movie and TV productions or U.S. fast food). But these are exceptions more than the rule. In fact, a common language, high cultural and institutional homogeneity, greater density of interpersonal networks and friendships, and less not-invented-here resistance mean complex knowledge generally diffuses more rapidly within single countries than across national boundaries. So, in industries where complex knowledge drives innovative advantage success depends on face-to-face (or rather shoulder to shoulder) participation in local and national networks where new complex knowledge first arises. [7. Yves: Isnt this argument yours?] MNCs should build, manage, and globally integra te their local/global capabilities and dispersed inputs. Yet the quality of local knowledge access, being embedded in local cultures and networks, often makes global sharing more difficult, as local participants in global innovation processes are culturally very different and closely identify with their origins. [8. Yves: Isnt this yours as well? MYB doesnt do much about knowledge and global innovation, does she?] For many companies, such as LOrà ©al, this challenge is further complicated by an additional contradiction: While they want to be global, they do not want to relinquish the advantages associated with their country of origin. LOrà ©al does not just sell cosmetics, it mainly sells French-ness to women around the world. In other words, its identity, and its founders cultural inheritance need to be protected, and remain part and parcel of its global offerings. The company has maintained its founders spirit of entrepreneurship, and remains largely family-controlled, with a very strong shared culture. Over its 73 years, it has had only four CEOs (including the founder), all with very long tenures, and it promotes only from within. One becomes part of senior management over the years, as one weaves a dense network of relationships with colleagues and builds trust over time. In France, the company has a reputation for being the consumer marketing school, and many of its alumni have become successful entrepreneurs and business builders, such as LOccitane en Provence, a highly successful fast growing skin and body care company. Its third CEO, Welshman (and INSEAD graduate) Lindsey Owen Jones is widely credited for having transformed the company from a regional European challenger to a global leader, but the company still remains quite remarkably French. Traditional approaches to the internationalization of senior management would not work well for LOrà ©al, or might only work very slowly since a rapid infusion of international executives in the top ranks might compromise the tightly knit and informal French community of senior managers, operating as a global network. Furthermore at LOrà ©al, complex knowledge about products, cultures, and how to work together is progressively learned and internalized by individuals as their career develops, which makes a rapid internationalization of senior management through hiring from outside largely impossible. French managers are often assigned to international operations, and learn about the plurality of cultural and institutional contexts, as well as about differen t consumer priorities, but few foreigners become senior executives. The most promising international executives might be reluctant to join LOrà ©al anyway fearing the risk of a glass ceiling. Successful senior executives often identify themselves as partly French, for instance French and German, of French, Moroccan, and German. And even executives that identify themselves as foreigners take great pain to explain they have lived in France and worked for LOrà ©al for a long time and pride themselves on speaking perfect French. The main language of the company has remained French. [9. Yves: This is my observation and your informal discussion when you lead workshop with LOreal RD top management a while ago] STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS DO NOT WORK: For LOrà ©al, and for many multinational companies, to successfully address the global-local innovation duality, simple structural solutions such as regional units or global product divisions wont work, for at least two reasons. First, the product range puts both intensely global and intensely local demands on the way the company is run. No either-or organizational solution will work, the company needs both global and local priorities effectively taken into consideration in decision-making. Take perfumes (or fragrances as they are known in the industry). World products and famous world brands (think of Chanel No 5) are the name of the game, but the underlying knowledge needed to develop a perfume resides mainly in France, for historical reasons. Second, companies such as LOrà ©al need a wide range of products to maintain their strength in distribution: fragrances, cosmetics, skin care products, and hair products. Any simple structural approach such as local subsidiaries and regional entities or global business units would fit a few of their products but not all, given the diversity of demands for local responsiveness and global integration shown on Figure 1. Some are more global, such as perfumes or cosmeti cs, others are more regional or local, such as hair care or skin care. As the company considers increasingly the next billion customers (as the CEO stresses) in emerging economies, both the advantages of global scale and the need for local differentiation will increase even further. For some products, like fragrances, most relevant market and technical knowledge can be found in one place, for most though, like hair care, relevant knowledge is distributed around the world and will become even more so with the growing importance of emerging economies. Furthermore, speed is often of the essence: Knowledge-driven FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods, such as beauty and skin care products) industries call for a continuous stream of innovations across a wide product portfolio facing both local responsiveness demands and global integration advantages, but in varying degree among products. In new areas, such as anti-aging, competition is intense and fast, as well as technology based, in mature areas it is slower and marketing driven. Yet, any technological advantages are short-lived. Yet speed needs to be tempered by continuity. Even with constant innovation, markets quickly reduce the most advanced products to the condition of feature-less commodities unless brand equity has been built very quickly. Underlying ingredients are relatively stable and long-lived, but new products are frequent. Brands cover families of products (Lancà ´me, Biothermà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) to provide continuity and lasting brand strength but leave room for fast and fre quent product renewals. Continuity of brands, and of channels, and renewal of products have to be carefully integrated. No organizational structure, global business units or country organizations will be up to the task. Structure is too blunt a tool. Of course, some multinationals resort to matrix organizations, but adopting a matrix organization is a cop out: It just acknowledges that, as we just outlined, complex, varied and rapid trade offs between local responsiveness and global integration need to be made constantly on very specific issues: product packaging, marketing campaigns, specific chemical ingredients, etc. So rather than risk getting mired in the negotiations that end up being so characteristic on matrix organizations, many companies, LOreal included, go one step further: Global teams. GLOBAL TEAMS: PROMISE AND PITFALLS Faced with such challenges to achieve worldwide innovation, combine global knowledge integration and local knowledge differentiation, and be fast, global companies increasingly resort to global, and often virtual, teams. These teams hold the promise of effective knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, as well as flexibility, responsiveness, and speed. Yet, in practice in many companies these global teams are no panacea: they suffer from misunderstandings, conflicts and often fall prey to a Babel Syndrome: their members talk past each other, not together, and teamwork breaks down. The results of their work are often disappointing, particularly when complex knowledge is essential, like the proverbial camel designed by a (multi-cultural) committee. Actually, it is often difficult to transmit even explicit knowledge across cultural boundaries and it seems impossible to transmit tacit knowledge, where physical distance also gets in the way. Even seemingly universal and very precisely expli cit knowledge, such as mathematics, is liable to different perspectives and interpretations in different cultures. Tacit knowledge cannot be transmitted over distance because it is revealed only in action and cannot be meaningfully explained. It has to be learned through (co)-practice. [10. Yves: The difficulty to transfer tacit knowledge is common sense and not only MYB (2004) and much earlier, other researchers (Szulanski, 1996; Zander Kogut, 1995) already argued.] BI-CULTURAL MANAGERS AND GLOBAL TEAMS AT LORÉAL To avoid the pitfalls typical of global teams LOrà ©al makes extensive use of bi-cultural managers and professionals in its product development process (i.e., individuals, usually of mixed cultural backgrounds, who can switch their frame of reference, both in what they understand and in how they behave, between two or more cultures). Although bi- and multi-culturals only account for a very small proportion of LOrà ©als employees (a few dozens out of 69 000 employees in 130 subsidiaries) they play a key role in the most critical activity of the company: new product development, headquartered in Paris. No less than forty percent of about 160 product development project managers (among whom 40% come from foreign subsidiaries and 60% were recruited in France) are multicultural. LOrà ©al has maintained this recruitment balance in new product development leaders for over ten years. The task: New product development teams, each composed of a few people, some multicultural (the smaller circles on Figure 2), work closely with other groups such as research and development, the international marketing team, and local subsidiaries in a highly interactive process. It involves functional groups within HQ and across regional offices. Newly created product concepts also have to be coherent with existing product lines (e.g., hair care products that use only natural plants) and their reputation (e.g., environment-friendly and people-tested). So considerable inputs from the various subsidiaries are needed. Finally, the product has to be feasible for manufacturing without any risks. Developing a new product concept takes from six months to a year depending on the products level of novelty. In developing a new product concept, multicultural project managers have to present their work to top management on a regular basis, both formally and informally. Once they obtain approval for their new product concept, they present their project at the la journà ©e mondiale, LOrà ©als largest and most important yearly event at HQ. This event attracts all regional directors from all around the globe who come to evaluate future products (i.e., those that would hit the market in one or two years). If feedback from the regional directors attending this event is positive the multicultural project managers move from articulating product concepts to actually designing the products. In the design phase, multicultural project managers select and combine ingredients, choose product colors, and design packaging for the product with the packaging team (often outsourced) and manufacturing team (called the Factory). They interface intensely both with headquarter functions and local subsidiaries around the world. Through all phases, project managers work with their colleagues in teams within and across departments at HQ and local subsidiaries. Multicultural project managers work with others on three levels. First, they work in their own team (called the unit team), where they managed informal relationships with other product managers. One product development team is composed of two or three project managers who are responsible for developing different products for the same region in the same product category (e.g., hair products). For example, for Latin America, one multi-cultural manager (Lebanese-Spanish-American) was in charge of womens hair color, while another (French-Irish-Cambodian) was in charge of womens hair care (hair damage). They shared physical space so that they could exchange ideas, information, and feedback (the larger central circle on Figure 2). Second, they interact with their boss and the leaders of other functional departments in Paris. Although more than 40% of the project managers in the new product development division are multi-cultural, the majority of their direct bosses are mono-cultural, very French. Project managers meet their direct boss quite freely any time they needed or vice versa. Regular divisional team meetings with top management are held with other unit teams (for the same product line, such as hair care Asia and hair care international), other functional departments, and teams in local subsidiaries. Informal meetings with other functional departments (e.g., RD, supply chain, advertising, and packaging) are held based on the phase of the product development process. Third, project managers work with local subsidiaries, via email, phone calls, and videoconferences. They also visit local offices regularly. It is the project managers direct bosses, however, who visit local subsidiaries more frequently-at least once a month-as they are in charge of developing several products at the same time. In addition, because project managers are operating within a tight schedule and budget, they accompany their direct boss only when the visit is urgent and important. In the final development phase project managers involve employees who executed promotional campaigns through television, the Internet, and other advertising activities. They set up all visual images of products, articulate the products selling points, and choose the best way to promote the products they developed. Team leaders with more experience lead the promotion campaign directly. More specifically, experienced team leaders travel to local subsidiaries and direct all processes of promotion. Product promotion also involves various new tasks often outsourced to new groups. For example, to promote a make-up product for Chinese women, the promotion team hired a famous local movie star, local make-up and uniform team, local stage setting team, and a professional camera crew (which was a French team). Television commercials are typically expensive and take months to complete. The people: Beginning with their recruitment, multicultural project managers at LOrà ©al gained credibility for new product development by being labeled international talent by the Human Resource department, a prestigious title in a company trying to combine strong French roots with global reach. Most had at least five years of working experience in sales and marketing in local subsidiaries, or for those recruited in France, who were graduates of top business schools, twelve months of intensive training in product development and marketing department at HQ. At LOrà ©al, they were called the stars or crà ¨me de la crà ¨me (meaning the best of the best). LOrà ©al designated an HR manager who managed the performance and career development of these employees who were anticipated to be top performers. Figure 2: Team composition and its work within and across units at LOrà ©al !!!Yves: From this part till conclusion in p.19, all parts are from the 2nd chapter of my dissertation. Multiculturals in global teams: Multi-cultural individuals that have internalized more than a single cultural schema (i.e., the values, norms of behavior and beliefs of a given culture), [11. Yves: this is the definition of multiculturalism. See #3] bring unusual skills to solve challenges in knowledge transfer across international borders for global innovation. Not only do they bring the obvious knowledge of their own cultures, and the ability to translate and transfer complex knowledge between them, but also the latent skills to understand new third country knowledge in context, and being effective bridges to combine knowledge from these other countries.[12. Yves: understanding third culture knowledge is related to David Thomas metacognition (2008). I describe similar argument in my IJCCM paper as culture-general knowledge (Hong 2010: p. 96-97, I cited Thomas et al., 2008 Cultural Intelligence] LOrà ©al also recognizes multi-culturals creativity in new product development and thei r innovative ways to combine/ bridge knowledge in global teams. But more specifically, these bridging, translating and sense-making skills are key to the effectiveness [13. Yves: this is the 2nd chapter of my dissertation]of LOrà ©als global product development teams. Bi-culturals are uniquely able to play specific roles: Role 1: Managing Knowledge Processes in Teams In creating new products, multicultural project managers manage two kinds of knowledge: product- and market-related knowledge and organizational/practical knowledge. The multicultural project managers challenge is to integrate the creative options to be pursued, while transforming local market knowledge into global product knowledge for higher quality products and innovative concepts. To bring a creative product to fruition, their contribution to knowledge sharing processes in the team focused on three areas: (1) bringing new local product and market knowledge, (2) translating cultural nuances, (3) connecting geographically diverse knowledge and skills. [14.Yves: this is from my dissertation] Bringing new local product and market knowledge: Multicultural project managers were expected not only to know what evolving market attributes were but, more importantly, identify new market trends and generate market insights. In addition, to secure the new product concept, they worked with other members (e.g., team leaders, regional directors, RD, and local subsidiaries) by reviewing differing perspectives on the commercial viability of new product concepts. In response to these challenges, multicultural project managers brought both new product ideas and market understanding: Our team tries to find some natural ingredients for new hair care product. J (Hong Kong-Canadian-Singaporean) knows all the Chinese medicine that has no translation either in English or in French because its so authentic. J does not only explain these ingredients but also suggest some ways we (team) can use for our new products. (French Director) and bringing local market knowledge: The Polish-French project manager was raised in Poland until age 20. She described her life under the communist regime and after in terms of how she evaluates and appreciates make-up products. As our target consumers are about her age, everything she shared with other members is valuable for developing products and markets. She is actually educating us to get a better understanding of consumers in the region. (American-French regional director talking about Polish-French project manager) Translating cultural nuances: Even if a common syntax or language is present, as in mathematics or chemistry formulaes, interpretations are often difficult not in processing the information, but in learning about the sources of semantic differences across cultural boundaries.[15. Yves: MYB tends to argue as hers if there are phrases with language semantic. I just typed semantic difference in google scholars. There are so numerous papers talking about semantic difference across cultures from psychologists and linguists.]The problem then shifts to who interprets what. A French manager who planned a test of a new shampoo in a laboratory in Germany explained how his French-German-British multicultural manager who used to work in Germany helped him: If we say dry hair, dry hair on this floor (HQ) doesnt mean as same as German dry hair means. So, it is much safer to check with B who knows two cultures (French and German) and translate exactly what I mean as dry hair. (B is German-British-French multicultural) Connecting geographically diverse knowledge and skills: To generate creative ideas so that they can be implemented, multicultural project managers must be able to access expertise and draw analogies from one cultural group (e.g., local) to other cultural groups (e.g., other regions or globally). They synthesize those ideas from multiple sources-diverse cultural perspectives-for innovative products. [16. Yves: this is from my thesis] For example, a French-Cambodian-Irish project manager used the specificity of Asian womens skin care (reducing winkles) to develop a new product for the French market. He noted: While researching Asian skin-care products, I found that in Asia, some tinted cream (skin colored cream for make-up face) used face lifting effect, in France and Europe, none of tinted creams used face lifting effect. I developed a new tinted cream with face lifting effect for French market. It was a big success! (Team: French-Cambodian-Irish project manager, a Chinese-French and two French). Role 2: Managing Conflicts in Teams Cultural differences in teams increase the risk of conflict. Multicultural project managers manage conflicts in teams by (1) reducing misunderstandings and (2) displaying flexible behavior with people from diverse regions and cultures. [17.Yves: this is from my thesis] Reducing misunderstandings: Product development managers must gain cooperation from their colleagues at HQ and local subsidiaries. Multicultural project managers mitigated the negative effects of cultural distance and group boundaries on developing trust between HQ and local subsidiaries.[18. Yves: this is from my thesis] For example, an Indian-American-French project manager noted: If an Indian local manager said, India might have an issue with this ingredient for a new product because theres no written communication confirming this can be used to please our consumers. What they actually tried to tell me was, No, I wont do what you asked us to do and please lower your expectations. But I didnt make any negative comments on that. Instead I said, Okay, how about I discuss with RD at HQ and find out the way we solve this problem? In this way, I didnt make an uncomfortable situation. Instead, I got respect from them, which as a result had a positive influence on our work progress. (Indian-American-French manager; Team members at HQ: Chinese-French, French; Local teams: India, China, Thailand) This Indian-American-French project manager interpreted Ill try my best (Indian local team) as Its going to be difficult, or No, I am not going to do it. He preempted potential conflict and tried to avoid risky situations where the local team felt pushed by HQ. In this way, he could develop interpersonal trust between these two groups. However, although HQ members may not provide any negative comments immediately, but still hold a negative impression of the Indian. In other words, they prejudged that the Indian local team did not fulfill its responsibilities, and trust in the Indian team was lost. This may not cause a problem right away, but it may be a root for relational conflict that eventually harms the trust between HQ and local teams. This multicultural manager not only preempted potential conflict between two parties but also tried to avoid risky situations where the local team felt pushed by HQ. In this way, he could develop interpersonal trust between these two groups. Displaying flexible behavior to deal with people from diverse regions and cultures: Once conflicts erupt in teams, however, multicultural project managers handled those conflicts with tolerance. In other words, they were more accepting of different cultural values, less disturbed by them, and accordingly better at handling conflicts due to valuing cultural differences among members. [19. Yves: this is from my thesis] For example, a Hong Kong-British-Canadian-French multicultural director whose team members were Dutch-Chinese, Taiwanese-French, and Korean-British and whose boss was French noted how members handled a process conflict (e.g., time management), which was created by different work values regarding meetings: In terms of meeting time, we all seem to have different principles. For example, my French boss never starts meetings on time and quite often postpones or cancels them. H (Dutch-Chinese) is very strict on time and deadline (meeting is time for checking-up on each others work process). I and K (Taiwanese-French) we are a bit flexible regarding meeting time. So, whenever we have meeting with my French boss, or ourselves, we face frustrating moments. But, what is important for us is how to handle this frustrating moment. As we are conscious about each others differences, we come to compromise when such moments occur. For example, with my French boss, I need to be really flexible with time. With my team members, if I am behind my meeting schedule with my team members, I make sure to tell them in advance why I am behind and ask them next availabilities. Conflicts may still exist in my team. But we handle them at a much more tolerant level. (Hong Kong-British-Canadian-French director, Team : Dutch-Chinese, Taiwanese-French, Korean-British and French boss) LOrà ©als product development team members have cultural diversity within themselves. They are bi- or multi-cultural and play two critical roles in team innovation: (1) bridging between cultural contexts and combining knowledge across cultural/national boundaries; and(2) resolving cross-cultural conflicts. [20. Yves: this is from my thesis] WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM LORÉAL To a greater or lesser extent, most global companies face the four challenges, or dualities, we identified as so characteristic of LOrà ©al: Global-local, dispersed complex knowledge to be integrated, national image of the home base but glo

Hamlet - Act 5 Summary :: essays research papers

I have much to write about on this day, yet I cannot rightfully do it because I have tragically been killed. So, I will tell the story, as a spirit to the world. My life ended in a miserable way. Revenge was on my mind, as well as others. I completed the task that I had set forth to myself. I will start where I last left off.As I am walking with Horatio to the burial of Ophilia, we hear a gravedigger singing of odd things. We stop and watch him for a few moments and then when he begins to throw bones into the air, move out from our cover and inquire of his purpose. He then rambles on and on with strange wording, speaking of his call to be a gravedigger and his life existing since Hamlet Jr. was born. He continues to speak, telling me of a skull that was once Yorick. I tell him of how I had once known him and that he was one of my favorite jesters. Then, I began to carry-on about dying, and how people may be part of the wall. Then, as the funeral people begin to come in, Horatio and I move away, somewhat hidden and listen to the chitchat. The people are complaining of the unluxurious burial. Then, Laertes jumps onto the coffin and begins exclaiming that he wants to be buried next to her. I then enter, jumping onto the coffin with him and tell him of how he could never love her as much as I did. I then leave, after getting a 'load' off my chest.Horatio, still with me, listens as I tell him all the details of my trip to England, and back. I tell of rewriting the letters and being taken captive by the pirates. Then, Osric enters and after much speaking, informs of the request to a dual with Laertes. Then, when I am asked to come, I go to the dual. Laertes thinks I will lose, but I assure him that I have been working on my swordsmanship for some time.When I arrive, most of the royal people are there. I ask Laertes for my forgiveness before the dual begins and he won't except my apology until he has spoken to experts about his honor and reputation. I thank him and request for the swords and tell Laertes that he will be great, but he thinks I am making fun of him.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

In their chapter on ghosts in literature, Bennett and Royle propose that nineteenth century literature altered the widespread understanding of ghosts. The ghost now ‘move[d] into one's head. The ghost is internalised: it becomes a psychological symptom, and no longer a thing that goes bump in the night†¦ ‘ (p. 133). Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley certainly provides evidence for this argument that nineteenth century Gothic literature became more concerned with the haunted consciousness than the haunted house (Byron 2004: Stirling University). The tale like all Gothic works is concerned with the uncanny, and if we believed the popular representation of Frankenstein, we could be fooled into thinking that it is simply about a terrifying, grotesque monster. However, is this actually what Shelley's novel is about? By paying particular attention to chapter two in volume two of Frankenstein, and using Bennett and Royle's chapter on ghosts, I will consider to what extent Frankenstein can be described as a ghost story. Before we start to look at Frankenstein itself, we should first look at the context in which it was written. As is well known, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when travelling in Geneva with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. In her preface to Frankenstein, Shelley tells the reader that ‘in the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire, and, occasionally amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts†¦ ‘ She goes on to describe how ‘these tales excited us in a playful desire of imitation. [Percy Shelley, Lord Byron]†¦ and myself agreed to write each a story, founded on some supernatural occurrence' (Norton Anthology, p. 908). So before we have even read her tale, we know that she initially intended to write it as some form of ghost story. Did Shelley achieve her goal? Chapter two in volume two of Frankenstein does seem to provide evidence to the presence of the theme of the supernatural. This is the chapter in which Victor and his creature are reunited after Victor first ran away after bringing the creature to life because he was terrified by its horrific appearance. Prior to this, our only impression of the creature was very much a mysterious one; we knew him only by Victor's description of his hideous and deformed appearance. Now we get to ‘meet' him for ourselves, and our first impression may be that of shock; not because of his appearance (as of course we never really know what the creature looks like) but due to the eloquence with which he speaks. As Sparknotes summarise, ‘The monster's eloquent narration of events†¦ reveals his remarkable sensitivity and benevolence. ‘ The creature tells Victor of the pain and rejection he has had to suffer with great emotion; ‘All men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! (Norton Anthology, p. 960). His expressive words show us that the creature is not a purely evil being, as Victor would have had us believe. The creature's appearance has an otherworldly attribute, simply because we never know and never will know what he actually looks like; we can only rely on Victor's and Walton's descriptions which may be biased, and so his appearance remains a secret. Nicholas Abraham ventures that ‘ghosts have to do with unspeakable secrets' (Bennett and Royle, p. 134). As we know, Frankenstein felt his secret of creating life was unspeakable to his family and friends – the only person he recounts his tale to is Walton (that the reader knows of anyway). On the other hand, Victor never constantly reiterates the creature's horrific appearance, and pays much less attention to the humane, sensitive side of the creature. This turns out to be a fatal and tragic mistake, as the creature's human characteristics turn out to be the most important; it is his humane side that becomes blackened by rejection of society, and causes the creature to kill Victor's family and friends and eventually, Victor himself. The way in which the creature appears before Victor in this chapter is also extremely eerie. He ‘bound[s] over the crevices in the ice' as an answer to Victor's call to the spirits. Victor pleads with them ‘Wandering spirits, if indeed ye wander, and do not rest in your narrow beds, allow me this faint happiness, or take me, as your companion, away from the joys of life' (Norton Anthology, p. 959). The fact that the creature's arrival comes when Victor is pleading for someone to carry him away from his worries by means of death could foreshadow who Victor's ‘saviour' will be. The creature also has a distinguishable effect on Victor when the two are reunited; he becomes the catalyst to cause Victor to become haunted only by his sheer animal hatred of the creature. As the creature approaches Victor, Victor describes how ‘anger and hatred had at first deprived me of utterance, and I recovered only to overwhelm him with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt' (Norton Anthology, p. 959). The creature has a ghostlike effect on Victor, as he causes him to become paralysed, not by fear however, but by his pure loathing for him. If we take this further, we could even venture to say that from the creature's animation right until Victor's death, the creature ‘initiates a haunting theme that persists throughout the novel-the sense that the monster is inescapable, ever present, liable to appear at any moment and wreak havoc' (Sparknotes). Victor constantly lives in fear from the appearance of the creature, and also fears that he will kill all his family and friends. The way in which Frankenstein is narrated also carries on this haunting theme. It is told through a series of multiple narratives, as if Shelley was trying to recreate the way in which scary stories are passed down through generations, and perhaps also how they change over time. A noteworthy example of the creature's haunting effect on Victor comes when the two are reunited on the glacier. Victor describes with horror the feeling that came over him as he ‘beheld the figure of a man†¦ advancing towards me with superhuman speed. ‘ He tells the reader that ‘I felt a faintness seize me; but I was quickly restored by the cold gale of the mountains. I perceived as the shape came nearer, (sight tremendous and abhorred! that it was the wretch whom I had created. I trembled with rage and horror†¦ ‘ (Norton Anthology, p. 959). Victor must have, on some level, expected a reunion with his creature at some point; he knew he could only run from him for so long. However, his guilt has haunted him from the creature's creation, and so it could be that the creature is simply the embodiment of all of Victor's guilt and remorse for acting like God. This could explain why he is overwhelmed with horror – not by the creature's appearance, but because now he has to face his guilt head on, which he has attempted to put out of his mind for so long. We should also observe that Victor says he was ‘restored by the cold gale of the mountains' (Norton Anthology, p. 959) when he feels faint. This is the chapter in which the theme of sublime nature becomes utterly important in regard to understanding Victor Frankenstein, his creature and their remarkable relationship (Sparknotes). The majestic scenery of nature affects Victor's moods, has the power to move him and remind him of good times and also bad times. In a striking example, he goes so far as to say that ‘these sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of receiving' (Norton Anthology, p. 58). This comment may show that Victor takes greater comfort in God's creation, that is, nature, than his own family, to whom he has not told his awful secret, and thus a barrier has been created. Victor has chosen instead to isolate himself and take comfort from the inanimate and almost haunting scenes around him. The changing weather can also arouse in Victor his feelings of despondency. He remarks ‘†¦ the rain poured down in torrents, and thick mists hid the summits of the mountains. I rose early, but felt unusually melancholy. The rain depressed me; my old feelings recurred, and I was miserable' (Norton Anthology, p. 58). This could reveal that Victor's moods are ruled by some absent yet ever-present being – perhaps God. God is notable primarily by his distinct absence in the novel (Byron 2004: Stirling University). However, the way that Victor does not appear to have the power to control his own feelings could show us that he has lost some of his own life and vitality in creating the creature, and now leaves it up to the changing nature and weather to control his emotions. The place where Victor and his creature meet is also significant, as it first introduces the idea of the creature being Victor's doppelganger. The fact that they both meet at a rather random scene of beauty rather than an actual place could show that they are both isolate creatures, albeit that Victor is isolated because he chooses to be, and the creature because he has to hide from human eyes. The language that Victor uses indicates to the reader that he would prefer to be alone with his secret in nature than with other people. He uses phrases such as ‘solitary grandeur' and ‘terrifically desolate' (Norton Anthology, p. 958) to describe the scenes around him, and perhaps also his state of mind. The creature, like Victor, is affected by beautiful nature around him, and feels that ‘the desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge,' (Norton Anthology, p. 960) which also reflects how Victor feels. The creature and Victor are both so at home in nature, which could stress that there is more to this relationship than meets the eye; are these two really so different? Many modern critics believe that the creature is Victor's doppelganger. In earlier Gothic literature, evil was generally located in an external source, but Frankenstein sees a turn inwards to a focus on the evil within ourselves (Byron 2004: Stirling University). Bennett and Royle propose that ‘conflicting senses of the word ‘ghost' suggest ghosts are both exterior and central to our sense of the human' (p. 132). The creature in Frankenstein is the embodiment of this confusion. While he is physically exterior, he also pervades Victor's consciousness. It has to be remembered that it was Victor who created the creature, and so perhaps the creature is Victor's doppelganger, as he is ‘the embodiment of an internal and irreparable division in the human psyche' (Byron 2004: Stirling University). It is possible to see that the gaps between Frankenstein and his creature are not as wide as we may have initially believed. However, while I do believe that Frankenstein is a ghost story to a very large extent, I do not think one could describe the tale of Frankenstein without, at some point, mentioning the genre of science fiction. While at once being Gothic and having the style of the German ghost stories that Shelley and her companions were reading on their travels, the story would have much less of an impact if it were not for the role that science plays in the book. Victor becomes obsessed by the secret of life in the book, and it is he who creates the ‘ghost' in the story, so it is not simply a case of the bogey man in Frankenstein. The creature challenges our way of thinking about ghosts because he was brought to life made of dead parts, as if life can spring from death with the use of science. So, while I would argue that the tale is most definitely a ghost story, I do not think that Frankenstein would have become such a literary classic if Shelly had not chosen to use the role of science to show us what can happen if we mere mortals meddle too much with God's prerogative.

Ava Wrestles the Alligator

Three Dimensions Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain houses an unconventional triptych called The Garden of Earthly Delight painted by Hieronymus Bosch in 1504. A triptych works by combining three different panels and forming one picture, world, or scene. In the case of The Garden of Earthly Delight we are presented with a triptych that, not only has three complete scenes of Eden, Ecclesia’s Paradise, and Hell present when opened but when closed the viewer can see creation as a whole. In â€Å"Ava Wrestles the Alligator† the triptych given is Swamplandia!In this red neck fairytale the dimensions of Swamplandia! are parallel to the famous Bosch work due the ideas of Earth, Heaven, Hell, and Swamplandia! the kingdom. In Swamplandia! the idea of Earth is known as everyday activities; the running of the park, feeding the alligators. Ava and Ossie have pet lizards and giggle at night in the room they share. â€Å"We keep giggling, happy and nervous, tickled by an incomplete in nocence† (Russell 4). During these simple, earthly times of normality Ossie also begins to experiment with her newly formed womanly body.In The Garden of Earthly Delight the images of smiling, naked men and women cover the center panel. The figures in the painting are seen experiencing life as naturally as possible. Even the lives of two young girls can be represented in art painted hundreds of years before their time. This gives the reader and the avid art viewer the idea that it is human nature to experience, laugh, and dream about the world above and beyond the shell that is the human body. Ossie yearns to feel alive. With the use of her own body and her imagination she takes her kingdom and makes it her own.Far above the kingdom of Swamplandia! the spirits of past Swamplandians hover; most importantly the deceased mother of Ava and Ossie. Ava tells the reader â€Å"summer rain is still the most comforting sound I know. I like to pretend that it’s our dead motherâ⠂¬â„¢s fingers, drumming on the ceiling above us† (Russell 3). In The Garden of Earthly Delight the idea of Heaven is represented by animals, including alligators, relaxing by a pool of water and the lack of humans, comforted only by a single cloaked figure. In the ase of Ava and Ossie the cloaked figure is the thought of their mother’s spirit encasing their house with each drop of rain. One of the most focal points of The Garden of Earthly Delight is shown in the bottom right corner of the right hand panel. The image of a Bird Beast, or Prince of Hell, ruling over the Underworld is most prominent to the scene. The Prince lures in his prey and uses them for his benefit, whether it is food, pleasure, or manual labor. Like Ossie is a slave to her own pleasure and even attempts suicide to become one with her own twisted sense of desire.The women of The Garden of Earthly Delight are trapped by sex and pleasure, emotions commonly mistaken for love. Though the similarities ar e obvious between the two â€Å"men† of each story; the most striking common feature of â€Å"Ava Wrestles the Alligator† and The Garden of Earthly Delight comes from the Prince shown devouring a woman, much like how the Bird Man rapes Ava. As obvious as the painting, Ava identifies the Bird Man as â€Å"†¦no Prince Charming. He’s covered in feathers and bird shit† (Russell 11). With these three dimensions the idea of a kingdom is more apparent than the simple highway passing of Swamplandia!The reader is presented with a complex and mysterious gateway through the mind of a twelve year old and to the world of diamond lizards, grief, and the realistic notion that magic is above, below, and surrounding each human being that decides to open the doors of their own triptych. With a glance into Ava’s world and a single glance at a classic work of art each person can discover a fairytale. Works Cited Russell, Karen. â€Å"Ava Wrestles the Alligator. † St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. New York: Vintage Books, 2006. 3-25.