Bharti and Walmart in the Indian retail market

Bharti and Walmart in the Indian retail market India: A Preferred Destination? The cradle of one of the oldest human civilization, India is a kaleidoscope of cultures, ideologies and topographies. A democracy supported by mixed economy, it provides a market comprising of close to 1.2 billion consumers, most of whom are young (below 25 years of age). The judiciary is separate from legislative branch to facilitate a free and just society. The country has witnessed robust GDP growth over the past couple of decades, following economic liberalization in 91. The economy is expected to touch a growth rate of 9.5% in 2010. Some other key indicators are listed below. Source: World Bank Emerging relatively unscathed from the Global recession of 2008-09, India exhibited its prowess in managing foreign policies and business. It seems that it is poised for its next stage of growth. It is expected that if overall economic growth remains around 7 to 8 percent then consumption will soar. According to Mckinsey, real consumption will grow from 17 trillion Indian rupees today to 70 trillion Indian rupees by 2025, a fourfold increase. This will put India in the premier league among the worlds consumer markets. Presently, its consumer market ranks 12th. The Great Indian Bazaar With more than 12 million outlets, the retail industry contributes nearly 14% to the GDP of India and employs more than 18 million people. A.T. Kearneys annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) ranked India as No. 2 retail destination (India held the top spot from 2005-07). The history of this sector can be traced back to village melas and haats, which subsequently evolved into convenience stores and cooperatives until the modern day retailing formats such as hypermarts, malls and supercentres. However the industry is still fragmented; organized retail constitutes a meagre 4% of retail sector in this country. On the bright side, the organized retail is set to grow at a CAGR of 50% and set to be worth $90 billion by the end of 2010. Major factors contributing to this rapid growth are changing lifestyles, strong income growth and favourable demographic profile. A lot of multinational players like Carrefour, TESCO and Wal-Mart have been sitting on fence waiting to enter India and g ain a share of this increasing pie. WalMart WalMart a globally recognized retail format was started by Sam Walton. It relied on the concept of discounting products to attract buyers. WalMart relied on the concept of operating in mid-sized towns which didnt have a retail store and built its base by opening in smaller towns; which eliminated competition. It implemented a robust distribution channel while leveraging economies of scale to ensure on-time delivery for all its diverse range of SKUs. WalMart relied on the concept of EDLP (Every Day Low Price) to sell its products. WalMart proposes to enter India in the Cash Carry Format (CC) for which distribution and supply-chain management will be the key elements in determining its success.Its operating income in FY 2010 was $24 billion over revenue of $ 405 billion and in all 8500 retail units. 64% of sales still came from WalMart USA against 25% of international sales. As of today, the only retail unit opened in India is in Amritsar with plans of opening 15 more soon. Leadership in Operations Supply Chain Management Leadership in operations came through following certain basic principles such as: Every Day Low Prices WalMart is the preferred choice for various customers for providing the promise of constant prices every time a customer walked in the store. The prices were around 20% less than the competition. They also followed a variety of other philosophies such as: Rollback Philosophy All the savings made during the operational efficiency attained was passed down to the customer through continuous negotiations and whenever an opportunity arose. Special Buy Logo WalMart from time to time flagged many of its items with the Special Buy logo to attract customers. It could be any of the regularly available items with a mark-up in quantity or a mark-down in prices till stocks last. The focus on customer was relentless. Customer service received immense importance with a philosophy to exceed customer expectations through the Sundown Rule answering customer queries by the End of Business hours and Ten Feet Rule to serve customers by greeting and asking if he/she needed anything while at WalMart. Success Model of WalMart Cost Control Culture WalMart believes in controlling cost through reducing operational expenses and maintaining a lean organization. This is followed to an extent that it became WalMarts core capability. Everyone from the top management to employee followed this rule diligently. Scott Lee, Chairman of the Executive Board and CFO Tom Schoewe too followed by travelling economy class and sharing budget hotels. Supplier Network One of the notable features of WalMart is its large network of suppliers. It also enjoyed a major bargaining advantage with them. It maintained operational excellence by pushing its suppliers to do the same through various methods. Logistics Distribution WalMart owns one of the largest fleet of trucks which helps it in retail operations immensely when IT was not yet a strategic factor. Later sourcing was centralized and its hub-spoke distribution model became robust providing inventory to 8500 units. Advent of EDI and RFID for its shipments were also beneficial for its logistic systems. Small Town Locations The factor of running WalMart in small towns was a successful idea but something that WalMart will not do considering its leadership potential. Various Initiatives taken for SCM WalMart has been continuously working towards getting its costs down and provide its benefit to its customers. Some of the recent developments have been: Arrival of RFID chips to track shipments WalMart has become its own freight forwarder which means that it will provide logistics support using its 6500 trucks and 55000 trailers and help reduce suppliers their wholesale price wherever suppliers are not able to This will help use excess capacity of WalMart and at the same time ensure that they get better efficiency from their suppliers Movement towards green-SCM by being users of renewable energy 100% in 7 years, reduce energy consumption by 30% in 7 years, create zero waste WalMart also has the state-of-the-art ERP solutions to support its logistics infrastructure Bharti-WalMart in India Since Government regulations became a deterrent in FDI in India, WalMart was forced to create a JV between Bharti WalMart USA which was floated as a separate entity. With just 26% investment allowed by foreign player, prospect of WalMart to operate independently has become a distant dream. Another rule that works against them is the prohibition of foreign investment in Multi-brand retail. In April, a rule said that transactions between group companies should be limited to 25% of the sales was implemented. This was challenged by Bharti-WalMart Private Ltd. And the Finance Ministry conceded that such a rule was flawed but still the 25% cap on the volume of trade will continue to stay. Bharti-WalMart is adopting creative ways of gaining favor with the government by opening its second Bharti-WalMart training institute that would train and provide jobs to people in the field of cash and carry format of stores. This also comes as a strategic move in a scenario where talent acquisition is a challenge for WalMart. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between Bharti-WalMart and Department of Technical Education (New Delhi) Currently WalMart is leading the lobbying of opening up multi-brand retail in India by various requests being made to the Ministry of Industry Commerce. Analysis of a partnership between Bharti and Walmart Bharti and Walmart seem to be a good fit for each other. Bharti is a seasoned Indian player with good relationships with local enterprises and governments. Walmart has expertise in providing maximum value to consumers at lowest cost. Bharti knows the rules of the game and will save Wal-Mart a lot of time and energy to overcome the system. Walmarts logistics capability and Bhartis execution expertise will form a potent combination; therefore on paper the venture looks great. They have taken a step in the right direction by going in with Cash n carry format first as the government allows foreign partnership only in this sector, this will sort out the operational issues of the partnership. Though this franchise strategy with Bharti was a deviation from Wal-Marts usual way of entering countries, it was because the policy restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian retail sector. As part of the agreement, Bharti was expected to pay a royalty between 2 percent and 3 percent of sales to Wal-Mart for using the latters brand name. As the retail sector is opened up for foreign players Bharti-Walmart is expected to be a formidable force in the Indian retail. The retail industry in India is estimated at about US$ 300 billion and is expected to grow to US$ 427 billion in 2010 and US$ 637 billion in 2015. The biggest competitor for Bharti-Wal-Mart is expected to be Reliance Retail, the retail wing of Reliance, which had planned to establish 10,000 stores by end of 2010. Even Pantaloon Retail, the retail arm of the Future Group was expected to give stiff competition as it has a first-mover advantage. The strength of these companies lies in understanding the Indian consumer better, Bharti with years of experience with Indian consumer and a famed success story can help Walmart overcome the competition. Besides competitive forces a major threat to this venture is the Indian governments policies, the government under political pressure from huge mom and pop stores which control the majority of sales in Indian retail can not just allow big players like Walmart to enter Indian market. Entry of Walmart may put lot of middle class people out of business whose sole source of income are these small retail stores. Besides this Walmart-Bharti will find it tough to beat the economies of small stores which are most of the times just walking distance from the consumer and have long term relationships with consumers. In sum, the Bharti-Walmart venture has a lot of positives on paper but it will be interesting to see how the venture performs once Indian retail is opened up. There are lot of competitive forces and other factors which may put the relationship under immense stress. Porters Five Force Analysis Indian consumers are gradually transiting from their habit of saving. They are becoming more brand conscious and starting to look upon retail shopping as an experience rather than an obligation. Global retailers would be happy to serve Indian markets but a major challenge is the strict Government regulation policy which restricts FDI to wholesale business. As of 2006, GoI allowed 51% FDI in multi-brand retailers and 100% FDI in wholesale (typically cash and carry format) and back-end logistics. It is in this context that we need to analyze the entry of Wal-Mart into India. SWOT Analysis of Bharti Strengths Large group with diversified investments Expertise in operating in developing countries Deep pockets to funds new businesses Started by an entrepreneur, that sense still prevails in the top management Weaknesses Slowing growth because of competition in prime area of operations : telecom Large size, has made the company somewhat bureaucratic No big and streamlined plan for future Focus on defending its advantage in Indian telecom sector Present in just south Asia and Africa Opportunities Enjoys good relations with governments/companies in India- one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It can move into other businesses easily A lot of new sectors coming up in Indian economy like retail, financial services etc. Has invested in branding of Bharti over the years, consumers have instant brand recognition with Bharti brand With opening of Indian economy it can tie up with huge MNCs to get the technical expertise Investors ready to invest in Bhartis new businesses because of positive experience with Bharti Airtel Threats Huge in Indian Telecom sector, can be tied down by competition here A lot of its businesses can be highly impacted by governments licensing decisions Indian economy is opening up with large MNCs setting up bases on their own, these pose direct competitive threats to Bhartis businesses The governments in India can change and Bharti may not enjoy the same relationships with new government SWOT Analysis of Walmart Strengths Wal-Mart has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. Wal-Mart has grown exponentially over recent years, and has experienced global expansion (for example its purchase of the United Kingdom based retailer ASDA). The company is adept at using information technology to support its international logistics system. For instance, Wal-Mart can see how individual products are performing in different countries and stores at a glance. IT also supports Wal-Marts efficient procurement. Human resource management and development are key elements of Wal-Marts strategy. It invests time and money in training people, and retaining them. Weaknesses Wal-Mart is the Worlds largest retailer; despite its IT advantages its size poses an inherent weakness. Walmart lacks flexibility since it is spread across many product categories. Despite being global it is present in only few countries across the world. Opportunities To form strategic alliances with other global retailers in China and eastern Europe Walmart is present in limited number of countries, the opportunity exists for it to expand in growing markets like India and China New types of stores offer Wal-Mart opportunities to exploit market development. They diversified from large super centres, to local and mall-based sites. Opportunities exist for Wal-Mart to continue with its current strategy of large, super centres. Threats Being a leader means that Wal-Mart has to fend off competition, locally and globally. Walmart may be exposed to political environments in countries that it is present. The cost of producing many consumer products has reduced because of lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturing costs are also low due to outsourcing to low-cost regions of the World. This has lead to price competition, resulting in price deflation and such intense price competition is a threat. The story thus far The entry strategy of Wal-Mart in India has been drastically different from that followed by the company when it expanded first in the markets outside US. The launches in China and Germany were marked by huge media frenzy just before the opening day leading to a deluge of customers thronging the stores. Also, Wal-Mart opted for metros and major cities to kick-off their operations since the urban customer was expected to be more aware of the brand Wal-Mart and thus the target market selected. Wal-Mart tweaked its strategy by making a low-key entry in Amritsar, Punjab in May 2009. There was also a deliberate attempt to avoid attention to the brand Wal-Mart by naming the initiative Best Price Modern Wholesale. Bestprice-modern-wholesale.jpg The emphasis in the logo is on Best Price with both Bharti and Walmart logo in small font acting as the supporters rather than the drivers of the project. The reasons for such a strategy are as follows: Local Opposition: Over the past 5 years various pilot retail ventures in India have met with stiff resistance from local communities especially farmers and retail store owners. By making its entry a low-key affair, Wal-Mart does not want to attract undue attention. Also, since it is the Cash and Carry business, there is no to blow the trumpet when the target audience is itself the retailer and not the end customer. The requirement was a focused and not high profile entry and Wal-Mart executed it accordingly Competition: Metro and other Cash and Carry giants started off their operations in India by opening stores in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and other metros. The hinterland thus offered opportunities in terms of untapped market. Wal-Mart recognizes and acknowledges the fact that more than 10 million other tiny retailers in India are its greatest challenge and greatest opportunity. If it can win them over, they are likely to become its biggest customers. Anger them and they could use their political power to block expansion. Cash Rich State: At first glance, opting hinterland over metros seems consistent with Wal-Marts US strategy where the company expanded by targeting small towns because of low cost of entry. There is, in fact, more to the same. Punjab in years since the Green Revolution has had among the highest per capita income levels in the country. Thus, it makes sense for Wal-Mart to enter a cash-rich state. Brand Recognition: Even though Wal-Mart has made a low key entry de-emphasizing the brand Wal-Mart, the customer needs to have enough trust in the organization he is making the transaction with. The name Wal-Mart is in some ways familiar in Punjab due to the large diaspora from the region in US/Canada and thus breeds recognition. In order to make enhance their image in the region, Wal-Mart has also embarked upon a host of social initiatives. 1. Donation of push carts to village vendors. 2. Part time employment to cart vendors and senior citizens 3. Plantation drive: Planting saplings around the store 4. Mera Kirana and Business Solutions Centers to help small and medium retailers implement best retailing practices The Wal-Mart strategy so far has been low-decibel while steadily gaining acceptance of the local community. This is essential for when the FDI in retail is finally approved by the government, the company shall hope to make a smooth transition from Cash and Carry to their traditional stores and announce the same, hopefully, with a bang. Will WalMart succeed in India? India boasts of a buzzing retail market with growing incomes. However WalMart must realize that it will face woes in forward logistics considering that India loses 40% of its produce due to storage and transportation issues. Even if WalMart builds up its fleet in India, the logistics network in India is far from the best. Indias highway network can carry around 65% of freight traffic and 85% of passenger traffic and many National Highway Development projects not yet complete the challenge will be immense to be cost-effective. Many of the SCM initiatives followed by WalMart will take more time to get implemented in India including the RFID initiative, green SCM initiative. However freight forwarding is something that WalMart can look at to increase their effectiveness in India. Analysts say that typically cost-measures taken in investments in cold-storage and other logistics measures take around 3-5 years to yield benefits. Currently with the single-store in Amritsar, the backyard of wheat-bowl of India such a problem is averted. Analysts also have pointed out that a supply-chain of international standard will take at least a decade before it comes to India. WalMart is also facing issues in terms of keep itself away from its share of controversies. With an intention of staying low-profile in India to avoid any retaliation from local retailers it opted for an alternate name Best Price Modern Wholesalers logo, which was claimed to have 4 trademarks already by the Department of Trademarks. With the existing Government regulations the growth story of WalMart in India looks slow to moderate in medium term. With a new target of opening just 7 stores and hiring around 1100 employees against the existing 450 employees says about the sentiment of Bharti-WalMart in India. Commentary on Walmart WalMart is presumably doing many things right by playing its cards intelligently and in sync to the Indian sentiments of not being too pushy about its prospects in India. Also taking up initiatives to gain local sentiment is something that will work in its favor. Government on the other hand is also looking towards easing out rules in Cash and Carry Format which could benefit WalMart and speed up plans for same.

GlaxoSmithKline and the China Bribery Scandal Essay -- GSK Bribery in

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are investing and operating in many foreign markets around the world. With this globalization, it is becoming increasingly important for managers at all levels to become proficient in cross-cultural management. This paper will explore the challenges encountered by a British expatriate managing the Chinese business unit for a British pharmaceutical MNC. An assessment of the national cultural differences using Hofstede’s research on work-related values differences will be explored. The data will be analyzed to determine if these differences had an impact on the organizations ability to successfully manage cross-culturally. GlaxoSmithKline, Plc (GSK) is the largest British pharmaceutical company with a presence in more than 100 countries around the world. In July 2013, the Economic Crimes Investigations Unit of the China Public Security Ministry in Beijing accused GSK of bribing government officials and doctors to prescribe higher costing branded drugs to treat their patients. GSK reportedly offered approximately $489 million in illegitimate travel packages, meeting expenses, entertainment and cash over six years to these doctors and officials (Sukhija). Often, the incentives were funneled through travel agencies, who would send doctors on international trips and provide them with luxuries while at other times payments were simply made in cash. GSK released a statement explaining that the allegations made against the senior executives of the company are ‘shameful'. †We are deeply concerned and disappointed by these serious allegations of fraudulent behavior and ethical misconduct by certain individuals at the company and third-party agencies. Such behavior would be a clear breach of GSK'... ...013. El-emergente.com. Web. 20 May 2014. Okoro, Ephraim. "International Organizations and Operations: An Analysis of Cross-Cultural Communication Effectiveness and Management Orientation." Journal of Business & Management (2013): 1-13. Document. Philippidis, Alex. "China's Challenges Stretch Beyond the GSK Scandal." 01 August 2013. Genengnews.com. Web. 19 May 2014. Reilly, Mark. "Mark Reilly, China - GlaxoSmithKline." 10 December 2009. gsk.com. PDF file. 19 May 2014. Shobert, Benjamin. "Three Ways to Understand GSK's China Scandal." 04 September 2013. Forbes.com. Web. 18 May 2014. Sukhija , Sheetal . "GSK China scandal: What have been the highlights?" 31 July 2013. BioSpectrum Asia Web site. Web. 2014 May 16. Voreacos, David. "China's Bribery Culture Poses Risks for Multinationals." 21 November 2013. Bloomberg.com. Web. 19 May 2014.

Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Woodhouse Analysis

Both Emma Woodhouse and her father have a good deal of sway over the lives and affairs of the other members of their community. In the first scene of the book, we learn that Mr. Woodhouse finds homes for maids in other households, while Emma does essentially the same for her acquaintances, in attempting to pair them off with husbands and wives. The narrator presents this overzealous concern for other people's well being as an entirely harmless characteristic, in Mr. Woodhouse at least. While his intrusions into the personal lives of even non-family relations and frequent effusions of worry are bothersome to readers and characters alike, Mr. Woodhouse never actually does anyone the slightest bit of real or lasting harm. Read also Analysis of Characters in Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"The Life You Save May Be Your Own† Even Mr. John Knightley cannot stay mad at him for very long. Emma, on the other hand, is capable of doing real personal damage, and her wilful intrusions into the lives of her acquaintance are presented as arrogant presumption – her character's major flaw: â€Å"The real evils of Emma's situation [are] the power of having rather too much of her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself. † (4) The key difference between her acts of presumption and those of her father is that she has a stronger will and mind than he. Her actions are therefore not only more harmful to others but also more conscious and deliberate. Though she may, like her father, be acting out of good intentions, she is fully aware of the ways in which she manipulates. Emma not only sees that she is molding Harriet's weaker mind, she understands how best to do it. If awareness makes her more responsible for her actions than the fumbling Mr. Woodhouse, it also increases the distance she has to fall when she acts irresponsibly. Because Emma's station is the highest in her social circle, her machinations go largely unchecked, but for the rebukes of Mr. Knightley. The standard of goodness in the book and its moral compass, Mr Knightley's criticism is the narrator's way of alerting us to Emma's faults. After all, social protocol forbids anyone else from attempting such criticism. The fact that Knightley practices great forbearance with Mr. Woodhouse but takes exception to most of Emma's doings highlights the differences in each charact er's culpability. In short, Mr. Woodhouse is excused because he cannot help his effrontery, while Emma is not because she can. The distinction is related to each character's flexibility: Mr. Woodhouse is the most stagnant character of the book, while Emma is the one most capable of growth. Given Mr. Woodhouse's profound fear of change, it seems pointless to try to mend his flaws at this late age. Emma however, possesses the mental and spiritual instruments, which, applied correctly, and could bring her to a near-perfect existence, elevating her actions and awareness to a par with her social status. The work of the novel, and of Mr. Knightley himself, is to instil in Emma the humility that she lacks and help her evolve so as to become worthy of him, not only socially but also morally. The book's final â€Å"happy union† (448) is a sign that Emma has achieved that end. Unlike Emma, whose vibrancy of person and strength of intellect substantiate her claims to social prowess, Mr. Woodhouse's power derives solely from his landed status. In Emma and Knightley's first conversation, we are told that Mr. Woodhouse understands â€Å"but in part;† (5) as a person and a character he is static, lacking in awareness, and defined wholly by his limitations. People defer to Mr. Woodhouse's fortune and subsequent social standing rather than his intellect or any belief in his being right. The hypochondriac worries that he imposes on others are rarely given any credence because Mr. Woodhouse is never perceived as capable of solid reasoning. In fact, common sense almost always stands in opposition to Mr. Woodhouse's concerns. The likelihood of anyone getting trapped at Randall's on Christmas Eve because of half an inch of snow is not particularly high, yet the party is broken up early all the same. Everyone is quick to do Mr. Woodhouse's bidding, no matter how silly the cause. Such power, to make people act entirely counter to their own sense of reason, could be dangerous if put into more potent hands. Luckily Mr. Woodhouse would never deliberately manipulate anyone; in fact, he is shown to be quite harmless. In expressing his personal displeasure at his daughter Isabella's going to a particular seaside resort, he actually twists the truth, â€Å"attributing many of his own feelings and expressions† (99) to Mr. Perry. However, the narrator is emphatic in noting that this is done â€Å"unconsciously. † And even when Mr. Woodhouse is conscious of trying to prevail upon others, he affects no real damage. He is constantly trying to get other people to take a basin of gruel with him, but Isabella is the only one who ends up complying. When Mrs. Bates and Mrs. Goddard come to keep Mr. Woodhouse Company during the Coles' party, his power as host is actually trumped by Emma's. Against his wishes, she sees to it that all of their guests are well fed, with as much cake as they desire. Emma, like her father, enjoys a social dominion of fortune and station but joins it with a real superiority of intellect. Situations like the gruel debate point up the inversion of the traditional family structure at Highbury, in which the daughter's authority exceeds the parent's. Emma takes care of her father, and the book's only other mother-figure, Miss Taylor, has become more like a friend than a parent, at least at the point where the story picks up: â€Å"The shadow of authority being now long passed away,† Emma does â€Å"just what she like[s], highly esteeming Miss Taylor's judgement, but directed chiefly by her own† (1). Beyond the smaller family unit, there is no one but Knightley to challenge Emma's reign. She is at the highest spot on the social ladder, as indicated by the name of her estate, Highbury. Her peers are all inferior, in status as well as quickness and depth. Harriet is entirely vapid; she can â€Å"sit, without any idea of anything in the world, for full ten minutes. † (163) And although Emma may mistake the direction of Elton's gallantry, she sees right through it: there is â€Å"a sort of parade in his speeches which was very apt to incline her to laugh. (46) Even in comparison to her sister, Emma has the â€Å"stronger hand. † (241) In truth, Emma is wholly worthy of most of the praise bestowed upon her throughout the book. The most obvious example would be her â€Å"ready wit,† (66) which Mr. Elton cites in his charade. The obvious problem with Emma's ready wit, though, and all her other powers, is that they are so often put to bad use. Where Mr. Woodhouse's social power is always proved to be harmless, Emma is the one with the potent hands that can at times wreak havoc. At the party at Box Hill, Emma â€Å"cannot resist† (342) making a derisive comment to Miss Bates, simply because it is too â€Å"clever† to be kept in. The sole extenuating circumstance here (though it is one based on Emma's arrogance) is that she may not have anticipated its full effect – â€Å"I dare say she did not understand me. † (346) But Emma's misuse of her own power of understanding is evident. The remark is both consciously derisive and deliberately aimed, and the evident pain it causes Miss Bates brings home the reality that Emma's understanding at that moment has become more limited than Miss Bates'. Moreover, the impact of the harm extends both beyond the present moment and beyond the single personal relationship, revealing that unlike her father, Emma has the power to do real lasting damage. Miss Bates tries to hide when Emma next comes to visit, and it will take a while to repair their rapport. The event also affects the larger public sphere. As Mr. Knightley notes in his later reprimand, Emma's comment was made in the presence of others, â€Å"many of who would be entirely guided by your treatment of her. (346) In this social order, people who esteem the judgment of those superior in station use it as a model for their own. Not only has Emma spoken cruelly to Miss Bates, she has set up a standard of treatment which others may choose to follow. People cater to Mr. Woodhouse because they respect him, but they use Emma as a model because they take her opinion very seriously. Where until now Emma has been seeing power in terms only of its perks, the ripple effect of even a singl e lapse of judgment highlights the responsibilities that go with social power. The moment is an important turning point in Emma's progress of self-transformation. Knightley's earlier reprimand, â€Å"Better to be without sense, than misapply it as you do! † (51) targets this larger responsibility that Emma has been both too young and too blind to see. (As an interesting side note, the movie version of Emma actually has Knightley and Emma shooting during this scene, and while Knightly delivers this comment his arrow hits a bull's-eye. ) The most striking example of Emma's misapplication of sense – along with her most deliberate act of manipulation – appears in her treatment of Harriet. Emma literally tries to create Harriet, forging explanations of her parentage and painting portraits in which she alters Harriet's body structure. The craftsmanship of this artistic aspect of her assumed role is highlighted by Knightley's recognition, â€Å"she really does you credit. † (53) As pointed out in lecture, Emma even plays the literal puppet-master, using a set of strings, her bootlaces, to direct the scene when she and Harriet run into Mr. Elton after visiting the poor family. Emma presses on with her schemes despite the many clues that contradict her understanding. Whenever circumstances displease her, she creates explanations in her head that run contrary to her own sense of reason, yet accepts them all the same. When Mr. Elton's behaviour does not fit that of a lover, Emma makes various excuses for him, laughing at his description of what she presumes to be Harriet's â€Å"ready wit† but attributing such an ill-judged compliment to the consequence of his being â€Å"very much in love. † (66) Even when Mr. Elton himself tries to clear up the confusion, in the scene in the carriage, Emma attempts to convince them both that he is hopelessly drunk. Perhaps Emma's most blatant self-deception is her heedlessness of class and birth differences between Mr. Elton and Harriet: â€Å"You and Mr. Elton are by situation called together; you belong to one another by every circumstance of your respective homes. † (68) This statement could not stand in starker contrast to the acute, even over-conscious sense of social standing, which Emma displays throughout the rest of the book. She revolts at the idea of a union between Jane Fairfax and Mr. Knightley, but wilfully ignores the same obstacles in her matchmaking of Harriet and Mr. Elton. Emma presumes to know what is best for other people, and in pursuit of her slated end goal will even act contrary to her (often accurate) perceptions of their feelings. When she writes Harriet's letter of refusal to Robert Martin, (an intrusion in itself,) Emma senses that â€Å"if the young man had come in her way at that moment, he would have been accepted after all† (50) – yet she seals and sends it all the same. The comment testifies not only to Emma's consciousness of Harriet's true feelings, but to her arrogance, in deferring to her own judgment of Harriet's best interests rather than to Harriet's. The fact that Harriet ends up happily, but in exactly the same place that she started, is the narrator's way of putting Emma in her place. As in the encounter with Miss Bates, the gap between Emma's self knowledge and the perspective we are given on her suggests the conclusion that the proper sphere for exercising human judgment is on one's personal shortcomings instead of on anyone else's. What is most ironic about Emma's many social blunders is that, apart from Mr. Knightley, she has the deepest social consciousness of anyone in the book. Emma has a truly devoted sense of responsibility to her father, cares deeply for her family and friends, and is constantly smoothing over various social rifts that only she can foresee and repair, like those between her father and John Knightley. Readers understand the great possibilities that come with Emma's characteristic awareness – we see the possibilities for a perfection which goes beyond the mere appearance of perfection introduced in the first line of the book – and it is this consciousness that makes Emma's blunders seem all the more blind and regrettable. The turning point of the book is when Emma's awareness begins to work to her advantage – when she starts to become more aware of herself. Emma's ability to reflect and feel powerfully is what fuels her self-transformation once she directs that power inwards to observe her own heart instead of outwards to mold other people and events. It takes only the right catalyst, namely Mr. Knightley, for Emma to become able to realize her own wrongdoing. She responds to his reprimands about her treatment of Miss Bates, not with the defensiveness of someone truly arrogant but with â€Å"anger against herself, mortification, and deep concern. (347) A similar moment of realization and self-chastisement comes at the first big climax of the book, when Emma learns of Harriet's love for Mr. Knightley and realizes her own: â€Å"with insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of everybody's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange everybody's destiny. † (3 83) Emma proves herself capable of the character revolution which her father is not when she gives up her own pretensions to judge the best interests of others. The fact that it is Knightley who sparks Emma' reformation of character might seem to give ultimate power to him rather than to Emma herself. After all, his intrusion into her personal life ends up being the most positive force of the book. But it is important to keep in mind that Knightley is only a catalyst, a stand-in for the author's criticism of Emma's flaws, while Emma shares something like the role of the author herself. Like the playwright or novelist, she learns through trial and error the limitations of power exercised in trying to create and dictate the course of other people's lives.

Dissertation on Teamwork and Customer Service Quality Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION This chapter includes the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, and scope of the study, significance of the study, limitations of the study and operational definition of terms. 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Phil (2002) team working is a group of people who work together towards a shared and meaningful outcomes in ways that combine their individual skills and abilities and for which they are all responsible. He added that a real team does not just happen but an organization has to work at it, create it, maintain and sustain it for the development and provision of quality standards and expectations to the customers. Organizations need teamwork in order to promote innovation and synergy, improve their goal achievement, promote professional development of team members, achieve time reduction targets and get cross-boundary ownership of tasks and problems. Ronald (2004) argues that customer service depends on the expectations of the individual customer. However, all attempts to define customer service tend to focus on the relationships at the buyer/seller interface. He further added that to achieve the customer service levels expected, an organization need to ensure that for each of these two categories: the systems, measurements and the people are in place to respond to each customer group or market. Juran (2000) says that quality is the degree of excellence that is fitness for the purpose. It can also mean the degree in which customer requirements are met. Quality is built at every stage and teams solve problems where everyone is responsible for the quality of the product. A customer is a person or an organization that buys goods or services from the shop, business, etc on a regular basis. Woods et al (2001) assert that customer service quality as the satisfaction of the agreed customer requirements. This means that the total customer service quality is the mobilization of the whole organization to achieve quality, continuously and economically. National curriculum Development Centre is an arm of the Ministry of Education and sports responsible for the Inter-alia development of curricula and related materials for various levels of education. The National curriculum Development Centre was established by NCDC act chapter 135, laws of Uganda Revised Edition 2000 whose history is decree No 7 of 1973. Baale(2010) a curriculum specialist in math for secondary at NCDC, team working is very crucial in the development and review of curriculum that result into the satisfaction of parents, stakeholders, learners, teachers and the general public. He emphasized that team work cannot be avoided when developing curriculum as it includes a panel composed of members from different areas such as subject specialists, practicing teachers, teachers associations, UNEB representative, ESA representative, teacher trainers especially from some Universities and employers or parents. Team work comes when a subject curriculum is being developed. In this case a panel of 18 members from various institutions sits and develops the curriculum. Baseline survey is conducted from parents, teachers and sometimes from learners which result into child based curriculum. Then pilot study of selected teachers from few schools is done and cluster meetings held by teachers who carried out pilot study. The education system preparation trains all teachers about the developed curriculum and NCDC specifies instructional materials to the ministry of education that are purchased and sent to schools where implementation starts. In a period of 5- 10 years the developed curriculum is supposed to be reviewed. Enyutu (2005) stated that available test results from a wide variety of sources had demonstrated prior to the curriculum review that a majority of Ugandan children entering primary school were failing to achieve adequate literacy and numeric standards. Dropout rates were high with only 22% of the 1997 P1 cohort progressing through to P7 in 2003. NAPE test results in 2003 indicated that only approximately 20% of P6 students achieved basic standards of literacy. The combination of these two pieces of information suggested that of the 1997 P1 entry cohort, only 4-5% achieved basic literacy. NAPE testing also revealed very large and unacceptable regional differentials particularly between Kampala and the north of Uganda. Bearing in mind the enormous efforts and the substantial investments in primary education made by the government of Uganda with strong support from its development partners over the past 10 -15 years, these outcomes were disappointing. In all cases the proposals in these related areas have been discussed with senior staff in the Ministry of education and sports departments concerned and with the agencies and development partners directly involved in primary education in Uganda and there has been a very large measure of agreement on the way ahead. Nevertheless, the primary review team did conclude that there were significant flaws in the current primary curriculum and a failure to provide both sufficient time and an adequate syllabus concentration on the achievement of early literacy and numeracy in lower primary grades was by far the most important problem that needed to be addressed. Failure to achieve basic literacy and numeracy in any language in lower primary grades inevitably has a devastating impact on educational quality and student performance in all other subjects. Failure to achieve early literacy was clearly the issue of greatest concern to parents and the wider community that emerged from the primary curriculum review research. It was also perceived to be one of the major causes of drop- outs. National Curriculum Development Centre seems to be using teamwork when executing its functions. It is against this ground that the researcher will investigate how teamwork at NCDC meets customer requirements. 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Many organizations are focusing on teamwork as a measure to improve the quality of their services delivered through brainstorming, innovation and creativity. Amidst these efforts results are not achieved due to poor coordination, lack of commitment by top management and limited funds. To address these short comings of teamwork visa-a-vie customer service quality in non profit making institutions one needs to access the level of involvement of all stakeholders in order to achieve overall performance levels (Tony 2005). NAPE (2003) report shows poor performance of children in literacy and numeracy skills in either local languages or in English due to insufficient orientation, training and support provided to teachers before the implementation of the curriculum. School supervision by the district inspectorate outside urban areas was almost everywhere insufficient to ensure good school management, the effective delivery of curriculum and regular teacher attendance. Therefore it is the interest of the researcher to know whether customer service quality is achieved through teamwork. 1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of the study will be to examine the impact of team work on customer service quality using National Curriculum Development Centre located at Kyambogo as a case study. 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: The research objectives will be: i. To find out the benefits of using team work in organizations ii. To examine the appropriate team work techniques used in organizations to achieve customer service quality iii. To establish the level of customer service quality at National curriculum Development Centre 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS i. Are there benefits of team work gained by National curriculum Development Centre? ii. What team work techniques does National curriculum Development Centre use to achieve customer service quality? iii. What is the level of customer service quality at National curriculum Development Centre? 1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of the study will cover the subject, time, geographical and sample scope. 1.6.1 The subject Scope: The research will be limited to the impact of team work on one hand as the independent variable and customer service quality as the dependent variable. It will also focus on the achievements of team work at NCDC towards the development of curriculum for educational institutions in the country. 1.6.2 The Geographical Scope: The study will be carried out at National Curriculum Development Centre which is located at Kyambogo near Banda Trading centre off Kampala-Jinja road. NCDC will be an ideal case study because its core values include Respect and Team work, availability of well documented data, commitment to quality and Excellence. 1.6.3 The Time Scope The study will consider an operational time frame of a period of 2 years i.e. from the year 2010 to date. 1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The study is expected to be beneficial in the following ways: i. The study guides planners and policy makers in making factual decisions on serving customers which ensures that all the customers, shareholders and management needs are met satisfactorily. ii. To the academicians, this research gives recommendations for future research and may act as a reference for the entire world regarding contributions of team work on performance of organizations. iii. The study helps the government and customers to identify how team working at NCDC develop curriculum that is relevant to the future career of the learners. 1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS: Team work is working together towards a shared and meaningful out come in ways that combine their individual skills and abilities and for which they are all responsible. Customer service is the satisfaction of agreed customer requirements. Quality is the degree of excellence that is the extent to which something is fit for its purpose. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of what other people have said about the researched problem. The researcher therefore reviews some of the related literature for the better insight of the problem. The chapter includes definition of key terms, impact of team work on customer service quality, benefits of team work in organizations, team work techniques and the level of customer service quality. 2.1 DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS Team work is a group of people who work together towards a shared and meaningful out come in ways that combine their individual skills and abilities and for which they are all responsible Phil (2002) .He added that real team does not just happen but an organization has to work at it, create it, maintain and sustain it for the development and provision of quality standards and expectations to customers. Ronald (2004) argues that customer service depends on the expectations of each individual customer. However, all attempts to define customer service tend to focus on the relationships at the buyer/seller interface. He further added that to achieve customer service levels expected an organization need to ensure that for each of these categories; the systems, measurement and people are in place to respond to each customer group or market. Michael (1999) stated quality as satisfying customers’ and stakeholders’ needs by means of sufficient mutually agreed deliverables that ,meet all the agreed requirements and specifications every time, on time and in affordable manner. It can also mean meeting the requirements of the deliverables that satisfy the needs which have been identified and agreed upon by customers, stakeholders and contractors. 2.2 IMPACT OF TEAM WORK ON CUSTOMER SERVICE QUALITY According to Baguley (2002), team work has a great impact on customer service quality. He raised the following points; Efficiency: Team working is important if people are to continue to be efficient members of the organization. Efficiency is whereby employee’s performance is improved up to the standards of the organizational goals. Team working helps employees to achieve maximum efficiency in their current jobs. It also helps the organization to meet its targets for developing and keeping people with the right skills to meet future needs. It applies to all levels of employees in an organization that is the strategic level, tactical level and operational level. Improved customer service: Team working involves different members of the organization working together and combining their individual skills and abilities to come up with something that is either a product or a service that will be highly accepted by the customers (Baguley, 2002). Innovation and Creativity: Sometimes teams of employees work together to develop new products or services through contributing and combining their different ideas and skills. This helps organizations to have new services for customers that eventually improve on its performance and create and sustain customers (Baguley, 2002). Allan Woods et al (2001) stated that team working requires meetings of teams, sections or departments to understand clearly who does what and ensure reliability which is the single most important aspect of delivering outstanding customer service. The teams organize themselves to take the advantage of the individual skills team members bring with them, work together as a group in ways that bring out the best results and every member of the team must be accountable to each other for the success of the whole team. Team working makes it possible to define and insist upon the maintenance of the standards on behalf of the customers and clients as most of the times customers do not specify their needs by referring to the teams’ attitudes or reliability standards but complain bitterly when the team falls below their perceived standards. Michiel and Harold (1997) observed that cross functional teams are used in new product development to shorten development cycle times, improve quality and reduce development costs. These goals are attained because the functional areas perform their tasks in groups rather than each functional area performing its task and passing the project off to the next functional area and the key functional groups usually design engineering, manufacturing, quality assurance, purchasing and marketing work on the new product and development simultaneously. Baguley (2002) said that team working involves integrating individual skills like problem solving, communication, inter personal skills, decision-making and functional skills for the desired out comes. He further added that a good executive team provides a model for everybody in the organization that encourages cooperation and commonality of purpose at all levels of the organization. An assembly team, erection team, machine shop team add value by creating tangible out comes or products which are specific and clearly defined by others and such products meet the expectations of customers. Bradfield et al (1998) are of the view that direct competition is one of the factors that make companies form development teams. They further stated that to be effective, production has to provide a means by which an organization can focus its resources to meet the needs of their chosen customers efficiently. First it is important to know where you are starting from, second is the decision on where you wish to go in future and the outcome should be a commitment by the organization to a deliberate policy on which customers to serve with products or offerings. Woods et al (2001) further observed that the essence of team working skills lies in good communication and open approach to people and ideas and that all communication skills should be used in promoting good customer service. They also noted that for any organization to meet the needs of customers there is need for team work to obtain feedback from customers and colleagues (both within and outside the organization) as well as about the need to establish planning cycles. Each cycle of planning and doing should therefore reduce the amount of uncertainties being faced and obtain feedback not simply from planning but by doing. Adair (1990) argues that innovation calls for a special form of creativity which he called team creativity. He said that all organizations are teams or at least they are potentially so. For effective production and marketing of goods and services these days, delivery on time, at the required quality and at a competitive price calls for a high performance team work. But to improve these existing products or to develop new products and services requires a different order of teamwork (team creativity). Organizations that practice team creativity will survive and prosper while those that do not will decline and disappear. All employees need to participate as each person at work has approximately 10,000 million brain cells, together with a full range of mental faculties, analyzing, synthesizing and valuing abilities. In all of us these processes can take place intentionally on a conscious plane of thought and also less intentionally in our un conscious minds, giving us insights, intuitions, brain waves, gut feelings, intimations and the occasional pear of a genuinely new idea. As a general principle people with a â€Å"hands- on† involvement in any product or service providing they have a modicum of interest in their work will tend to have new ideas for doing it better. The important thing from the motivational perspective is the feeling of being really part of the enterprise with a full share of responsibility in developing the quality of the product or service. Developing a quality team takes hard work because development of team skills, time and patience is not something you can decide to have one day, then achieve overnight. The entire organization is part of the same team working toward meeting the requirements of its customers. Whether management, front line or behind the scenes employees, everyone’s work contributes to the end result. There are also specific work unit teams (departmental) with specific goals and assignments. Teams working together can and should be responsible for identifying problems not previously recognized; finding the root causes of problems; suggesting who should work on problems; solving manpower assignments and scheduling improvements; and providing communication throughout the organization. To be effective, teams in the workplace must develop standards and skills, and then implement ongoing training and coaching to ensure they are put into practice (Anand, 1997).

Fear and The Crucible essays

Fear and The Crucible essays Fear is one of the leading reasons that influence how we make important decisions. The dictionary defines fear as "A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger." This feeling, present in everyone's life at some point, is more influential then one might think. Everywhere in the world, today people live in fear. Whether it is because of terrorism, robbery, or something as simple as criticism, this feeling of apprehension causes people to do drastic things. These drastic things might not be the normal reaction of a person had fear not been present. Numerous embarrassing disasters in human history can be blamed on fear. The Holocaust rooted in fear of people that were other than Aryans. Thousands of Jewish people were killed at the hand of one man, a man who could evoke fear and anger in the hearts of many people. Fear of differences between cultures has been the cause of copious wars. Even today there is constant conflict between different religions because of the apprehension that the other religion is dangerous. After September 11th, life as Americans knew it completely changed. The threat of possible terrorist attacks has thrown the United States into having major security procedures to make the American people feel at ease. With just one major attack on U.S. soil, citizens were thrown into a national feeling of panic and fear. Airports became impossible to get through, and paranoia filled the minds of everyone in major cities. Everyone became the enemy. Studies report that it was fear itself that slid the economy into low er prosperity than before. Some philosophers state that the only thing to fear is fear itself. Fear holds each back from accomplishing their greatest dreams in life. One might not take a vacation in the tropical islands simply because of a fear of flying. For all they know, this vacation could have been necessary to relax for health reasons. Thousands of phobias are constant...

Biography of Betty Friedan, Feminist, Writer, Activist

Biography of Betty Friedan, Feminist, Writer, Activist Betty Friedan (February 4, 1921–February 4, 2006) was an author and activist whose seminal 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is credited with helping spark the modern feminist movement in the United States. Among her other accomplishments, Friedan was the founder and first president of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Fast Facts: Betty Friedan Known For: Helping spark the modern feminist movement; founder and first president of the National Organization of WomenAlso Known As: Betty Naomi GoldsteinBorn: February 4, 1921 in Peoria, IllinoisParents: Harry M. Goldstein, Miriam Goldstein  Horwitz OberndorfDied: February 4, 2006 in Washington, D.C.Education: Smith College  (BA), University of California, Berkeley (M.A.)Published Works: The Feminine Mystique (1963), The Second Stage (1981), Life so Far (2000)Awards and Honors: Humanist of the Year from the American Humanist Association (1975), Mort Weisinger Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (1979), Induction into the National Womens Hall of Fame (1993)Spouse: Carl Friedan (m. 1947–1969)Children: Daniel, Emily, JonathanNotable Quote:  A woman is handicapped by her sex, and handicaps society, either by slavishly copying the pattern of mans advance in the professions or by refusing to compete with man at all. Early Years Friedan was born on February 4, 1921, in Peoria, Illinois as Betty Naomi Goldstein. Her parents were immigrant Jews. Her father was a jeweler and her mother, who had been an editor of the womens pages of a newspaper, left her job to become a homemaker. Bettys mother was unhappy in that choice, and she pushed Betty to get a college education and pursue a career. Betty later dropped out of her doctoral program at the University of California at Berkeley, where she was studying group dynamics, and moved to New York to pursue a career. During World War II, she worked as a reporter for a labor service, and had to give up her job to a veteran who returned at the end of the war. She worked as a clinical psychologist and social researcher along with being a writer. She met and married theatrical producer Carl Friedan, and they moved to Greenwich Village. She took a maternity leave from her job for their first child; she was fired when she asked for maternity leave for her second child in 1949. The union gave her no help in fighting this firing, and so she became a housewife and mother, living in the suburbs. She also wrote freelance magazine articles, many for magazines directed at the middle-class housewife. Survey of Smith Graduates In 1957, for the 15th reunion of her graduating class at Smith, Friedan was asked to survey her classmates on how theyd used their education. She found that 89% were not using their education. Most were unhappy in their roles. Friedan analyzed the results and consulted experts. She found that both women and men were trapped in limiting roles. Friedan wrote up her results and tried to sell the article to magazines but could find no buyers. So she turned her work into a book, which was published in 1963 as The Feminine Mystique. It became a best-seller, eventually translated into 13 languages. Celebrity and Involvement Friedan also became a celebrity as a result of the book. She moved with her family back to the city and she became involved in the growing womens movement. In June 1966, she attended a Washington meeting of state commissions on the status of women. Friedan was among those present who decided that the meeting was unsatisfying, as it didnt generate any actions to implement the findings on the inequality of women. So in 1966, Friedan joined other women in founding the National Organization for Women (NOW). Friedan served as its first president for three years. In 1967, the first NOW convention took on the Equal Rights Amendment and abortion, though NOW viewed the abortion issue as highly controversial and focused more on political and employment equality. In 1969, Friedan helped found the National Conference for the Repeal of Abortion Laws to focus more on the abortion issue; this organization changed its name after the Roe v. Wade decision to become the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). In that same year, she stepped down as NOW president. In 1970, Friedan led in organizing the Womens Strike for Equality on the 50th anniversary of winning the vote for women. The turnout was beyond expectations; 50,000 women participated in New York alone. In 1971, Friedan helped form the National Womens Political Caucus for feminists who wanted to work through the traditional political structure, including political parties, and running or supporting women candidates. She was less active in NOW, which became more concerned with revolutionary action and sexual politics; Friedan was among those who wanted more focus on political and economic equality. Lavender Menace Friedan also took a controversial stand on lesbians in the movement. NOW activists and others in the womens movement struggled over how much to take on issues of lesbian rights and how welcoming to be of movement participation and leadership by lesbians. For Friedan, lesbianism was not a womens rights or equality issue but a matter of private life, and she warned the issue might diminish support for womens rights, using the term lavender menace. Later Years and Death In 1976, Friedan published It Changed My Life, with her thoughts on the womens movement. She urged the movement to avoid acting in ways that made it difficult for mainstream men and women to identify with feminism. By the 1980s, she was more critical of the focus on sexual politics among feminists. She published The Second Stage in 1981. In her 1963 book, Friedan wrote of the feminine mystique and the housewifes question, Is this all? Now Friedan wrote of the feminist mystique and the difficulties of trying to be Superwoman, doing it all. She was criticized by many feminists as abandoning the feminist critique of traditional womens roles, while Friedan credited the rise of Reagan and rightwing conservatism and various Neanderthal forces to the failure of feminism to value family life and children. In 1983, Friedan began to focus on researching fulfillment in the older years, and in 1993 published her findings as The Fountain of Age. In 1997, she published Beyond Gender: The New Politics of Work and Family Friedans writings, from The Feminine Mystique through Beyond Gender, were also criticized for representing the viewpoint of white, middle-class, educated women and for ignoring other womens voices. Among her other activities, Friedan often lectured and taught at colleges, wrote for many magazines, and was an organizer and director of the First Womens Bank and Trust. Friedan died on February 4, 2006, in Washington, D.C. Legacy Despite all of her later work and activism, it was the The Feminine Mystique that truly launched the second-wave feminist movement. It has sold several million copies and been translated into multiple languages. It is a key text in Women’s Studies and U.S. history classes. For years, Friedan toured the United States speaking about The Feminine Mystique and introducing audiences to her groundbreaking work and to feminism. Women have repeatedly described how they felt when reading the book: They realized they were not alone and that they could aspire to something more than the life they were being encouraged or even forced to lead. The idea Friedan expresses is that if women escaped the confines of â€Å"traditional† notions of femininity, they could then truly enjoy being women. Sources Friedan, Betty.  The Feminine Mystique. W.W. Norton Company, 2013.â€Å"Betty Friedan.†Ã‚  National Womens History MuseumFindagrave.com. Find a Grave.

The Best Way to Watch Whales from Shore on Cape Cod

The Best Way to Watch Whales from Shore on Cape Cod Thousands of people flock to Cape Cod each year to go whale watching. Most watch whales from boats, but in the spring, you can visit the Cape and watch whales from shore. The tip of Cape Cod is located only three miles from the southern end of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a prime feeding ground for whales. When the whales migrate north in the spring, the waters around Cape Cod are one of the first great feeding locations they encounter. Whale Species Common Off Cape Cod North Atlantic right whales, humpback, fin and minke whales may be seen off Cape Cod in the spring. Some stick around during the summer, too, although they may not always be close to shore. Other sightings in the area include Atlantic white-sided dolphins and occasionally other species such as pilot whales, common dolphins, harbor porpoise and Sei whales. Why Are They Here? Many whales migrate to breeding grounds further south or offshore during the winter. Depending on the species and location, the whales may fast this entire time. In the spring, these whales migrate north to feed, and Cape Cod Bay is one of the first major feeding areas they get to. The whales may stay in the area throughout the summer and fall or may migrate to more northern locations such as more northern areas of the Gulf of Maine, the Bay of Fundy, or off northeastern Canada. Whale Watching From Shore There are two locations close by from which you could watch whales, Race Point and Herring Cove. You will find humpbacks, fin whales, minkes and possibly even some right whales circling around the waters offshore.regardless of time of day whales are still visible and active. What To Bring If you go, make sure to bring binoculars and/or a camera with a long zoom lens (e.g., 100-300mm) as the whales are far enough offshore that it’s hard to pick out any details with the naked eye. One day we were lucky enough to spot one of the Gulf of Maines estimated 800 humpback whales with her calf, likely only a few months old. What To Look For When you go, the spouts are what you’ll look for. The spout, or â€Å"blow,† is the whale’s visible exhalation as it comes up to the surface to breathe. The spout may be 20’ high for a fin whale and look like columns or puffs of white over the water. If you’re lucky, you might also see surface activity such as kick-feeding (when the whale smacks its tail against the water in a feeding maneuver) or even the sight of a humpback’s open mouth as it lunges up through the water. When Where To Go Get to the Provincetown, MA area using MA Route 6. Take Route 6 East past Provincetown Center and youll see signs for Herring Cove, and then Race Point Beach. April is a good month to try your luck - you can also check out the near real-time right whale detection map to get an idea of how active the waters are when you visit. If there are lots of right whales around, you might see them and likely some other species, too. Other Ways to Watch Whales On Cape Cod If you want the chance to get closer to the whales and learn more about their natural history, you can try a whale watch.