Innovation Management at Airlines Industry

Innovation Management at Airlines Industry Executive summary In a business context, innovation as a new idea means the creation of value proposition where customers needs are fulfilled through an integrated combination of goods, service, systems, process and technologies. This paper brought out an innovative idea for airlines industry, which could minimize the cost by reducing the cabin crew in order expand the market growth for the low cost budget airlines. The idea was the installation of vending machine in the aircraft. As a cross functional team, the idea would be implemented by the low cost budget airline: Easyjet, whose main objective is to be the best low-fare airline in the world. As a cross function team of Easyjet, quite few ideas were assessed before come to the final one. By analysing feasibility and justifying, the team found that if Easy jet installs the vending machine in their aircraft, they could cut one of their cabin crews in an operation. It would reduce their cost as well as bring flexibility of customer service. The minimisation of cost paves the way to competitive low-fare by reducing the ticket price. In this report, the team also sorted out the potential problem which could arise at start of the introduction of vending machine in aircraft as well as recommend how to overcome these situations. Setting up of vending machines requires a slight change of aircraft design as well as needs special version of vending machine, which is suitable for aircraft use. The teams design unit made a probable design of the aircraft, which is displayed in the report. Additionally, the maintenance unit provided solutions for the future maintenance of this product. Introduction Innovation is the commercialization of creativity. European Foundation for quality Management defined innovation more precisely, as innovation is the transformation of ideas into product, service, process and systems and social interaction. It creates new streams of value that satisfied stakeholders and drive sustainable growth (cited in Mele, 2009). This is the new emerging phenomenon in business philosophy. In fact, innovation could be continuous improvements and radical or even discontinuous idea of any product, process or it could be any service industry (Stamm, 2008). Innovation is crucial for present competitive and ever changing environment. As a mature industry, Airlines companies are encountering massive competition. As a result, innovation or creating a value for customer is the key in this business. However, continuous or regular changing is not quite possible for this highly expensive and risky industry. Although, the airlines industry which take an initiative to create a value for money, it can be a leader in this business arena. The selected company is Easyjet following the cost leadership strategy. Thus, the new proposed idea as well follows the cost leadership strategy. Before selecting this idea, a lot of ideas were generated. At the end, the installation of vending machine in aircraft is selected to create a new value for the Easy jet airlines. Why the innovation is crucial for Easyjet and viability of the proposed idea are explained in justification and reason for adopting innovative strategy section. Meanwhile, the proposed design of setting up vending machine in aircraft has been presented in this report. L ater, the predicted problem is identified and recommended the solution as well. At the end, learning process will show how this idea was developed. Preliminary investigation: This is the first step to develop any potential idea at which stage projects technical and marketplace merits are determined (Stamm, 2009). This project has centred the market of airlines industry. As a mature industry, airlines companies are generating and implementing different innovative projection in order to survive in a highly competitive market. One of them is the cost strategic innovation has been brought in the UK by the two airlines industry, namely: Ryan air and Easy jet. Easy jet is the proposed company in this project. Analysing its market share, market growth, consumer needs and priorities and core competencies, this project identified the cost effective innovative idea, which is installation of vending machine in the aircraft primarily for short haul distance. Logic behind this proposal is reducing the cabin crew in order to cutting the cost. On the other hand, it would bring the flexibility in customer service because customers need not to wait for food or drink. Furt hermore, there would be variety of food and drink in the vending machine. Considering technical side of setting up vending machine, aircraft will be redesigned to a small extent. Justification for the Innovation Easyjet is currently the second largest low budget airline in Europe. In 2009 passenger numbers increased by 3.4% to 45.2 million this is as a result of Easyjets unique selling proposition of offering the lowest prices to the most convenient airports. It currently flights to 114 destinations on over 400 routes. It compares favourably with the model of Ryanair (currently the largest airline in Europe) which offers the lowest fares but to secondary airports (EasyJet, 2010). Easyjets strategy and business model is based on four key indicators (Appendix-2) As suggested by Buckman (2007), the next big wave in automation, and travel technology overall, will focus less on the process and more on the people. Moving forward, it will be more about how technology can enhance and improve the travel experience from booking to baggage. Low price, a variety of destinations, value for money and efficiency are core competencies of Easyjet. Those core values should not change regardless of environmental turbulence (Collins and Porras, 1996). Its strategies require cost reduction and other profit sources are more important than travel fares as a source of revenue. The chart below shows an outline of how Easyjet compares to its nearest competitors in the airline industry in Europe. Easyjet RyanAir British Airways Quality of Service: The quality of Easyjets service compares favourably with that of Ryanair which is the leading brand in the low-cost Airline model. It however does not provide the same level of service as the network airline British Airways. Destinations: Easyjet goes to fewer destinations than Ryanair. However, it does favour primary airports over secondary airports which give it a marginal advantage to customers who prefer to arrive closer to the city centres. It goes to more destinations than British Airways in Europe. Price Advantage: Easyjet has a distinct price advantage over the network airlines due to its no-frills pricing model. Its prices are low but can be lower if it chooses more secondary airports like Ryanair. The analysis above shows that Easyjet is not the market leader in any of its key competencies. it is therefore necessary for Easyjet to improve its position. This can be done through innovative change in customer service. Reasons for Adopting Innovative Strategy With the opening of political boundaries across Europe, the airline industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years. More and more passengers are travelling across Europe for business and leisure. This has allowed for the emergence of low cost airlines right across Europe. There has also been increased competition from the high speed rail industry with companies like Eurostar increasing their market share in the transport industry. The airlines have also been affected by the recent fluctuations in fuel prices and economic downturn. In 2009 Easyjet was able to make modest profits of  £54.7million despite these challenges. Moreover, there was a higher increase in revenue from ancillary sources (Appendix-2). As the company model is based on reducing ticket price, it is preferable to maximise revenue from ancillary sources while reducing cost. In line with easyjets strategic priority of developing a winning customer proposition and its ability to use technology for innovative change it has been reviewed various possibilities for improving the customer experience to achieve growth. They include: Offering a standing service for short haul flights. (Appendix-2) Enhancing the EasyjetPlus card service (Appendix-2) In-flight vending machine, which is explained below. This product would allow customers a low-cost self service that is easily available once on the flight. It would also reduce the workload of the flight attendants. It opens avenues for direct sales of products from Easyjet and third parties. This option allows Easyjet the opportunity to increase revenue by providing advertising space for third party suppliers. This would help improve the brand and ancillary revenue. It would be innovative as it is a new product to the market and Easyjet could possibly gain additional revenue by licensing the product to other airlines once developed. It would however require investment in development of the concept and implementation. Design Easy machine (vending) are going to locate in some part of the Galley (kitchen) where not only food and beverages kept but also contain flight attendant jump seats, emergency equipment storage, and anything else that flight attendants may need during the flight. As below image indicate, normal aircraft like A319 has two galley areas which usable one for coffee machine and one for food and beverages. Easy machine in fact could be installed in galley area for more safety issue and as mention above just occupy some space and it produces from very light and strong plastic material. It is necessary to state that Easy machine totally redesigned and resized in order to fit and stick in galley. The colourful design of setup vending machine in aircraft and possible installation place is displayed below in two pictures: Potential problem and related solutions: In this part, the aim is to identify potential problems and threats, which could hinder the process of setting up the vending machine. At the same time, how to overcome these issues are explained here. In order to set up vending machine in an aircraft, Easy jet could ask some additional modification to their supplier for introducing compatible vending machines. However, setting up vending machine in an aircraft is not an easy task. It is estimated that, the following issues could be occurred when Easy jet will install the vending machine in the aircraft. These are broadly analysed as well as finding the problems with solution have been stated below. Safety Problem analysis: safety measure is considered to be the prime reason of concern while installing the vending machine. As there is a potential risk when plane taking off or landing and there is a possibility of vending machine to falling down on the floor. Furthermore, it could bring an enormous accident for the aircraft. It could also injured careless sort of passengers when they pass the vending machine. After analysing safety reason, two main issues are identified, which are potential threats for installing vending machine. The issues are:  · Stickiness of vending machine on the aircraft  · Indication of vending machine, where it would place Solution: the proposed installation of vending machine in the aircraft should be designed especially as it could viable for aircraft use. For the first issue of safety, vending machine should be attached on the floor as well as stick in the aircraft ceiling. As it should be unmoveable, even if when plane taking off and landing on the ground. Considering the second issue; a flashy sign can be tagged on the vending machine or around the vending machine. It would act as caution when anyone is passing by the vending machine. It would also remove traditional trolley as well as reduce congestion in the galley area, which has a potential benefit for in-fight staffs (Appendix-4). Weight Problem: The weight of the vending machine was discussed as one of the key issue and needed thorough analyses while setting up vending machine in the aircrafts. Since, many instances of plane accident indicate the underlying weight related problems; Easy Jet should consider it from plan to implementation. As a result, it should be viable for aircraft capacity. Also, the weight is related with carrying passengers as well as luggage. Thus, Easyjet should consider two issues for weight related problem. These are:  · The weight of the vending machine  · The weight capacity of aircraft Solution: the proposed vending machine should be specially built for aircraft. Meanwhile, Average vending machine weight is 310 kg with 360 can capacity (Cokevending, 2010). It is built with metal and as a result, it is heavy. However, using plastic can reduce the weight. Recently, plastic vending machines are available in the market. Thus, it is feasible to think for installing plastic vending machine in the aircraft. Legal Problem: this potential threat might come from government approval. This is because; it is related with aircraft safety. In the meantime, public pressure could be arising as a new innovation process. Since, it is related with aircraft reengineering. Another question would be aroused about the cutting down of staff as there is standard ratio of staff should available in service operation. As a result, the following issues should consider before launching the vending machine in the aircraft.  · Managing related governmental department for approval  · Increasing public trust  · Staff reduction issue Solution: for pursuing government approval, Easy jet could prove that this innovative changing is viable for aircraft. It is taken because of reduce cost. Since, it is not a radical innovation. Thus, it is not tough enough to make people believe that this change is feasible for aircraft carrying capacity. Consequently, easy jet can introduce advertisement campaign for bringing the trust on public. One of the main objectives of the fitting up vending machine in aircraft is reducing the staff. Thus, this low cost leadership airlines industry can be bringing down their operation cost. However, there is a legal issue about the standard ratio of cabin crew, which has to be considered before reducing the staff (Appendix-2). Space reduction Problem: installing vending machine in the aircraft means shrinking the space of the aircraft. Length of existing vending machine of coca cola is 102 cm. Though, vending for aircraft would be customized, but it will take some space. Thus, potential issues could be:  · Occupancy of space by installing vending machine  · Reducing the space from aircraft Solution: though vending machine will occupy some space, it has other potential benefits. Drink and food service will be self served. However, this space reduction could not impact hugely in aircraft. Meanwhile, it would be competitive trade off to be set up vending machine for aircraft, which would be customized only for aircraft. Finance Problem: Easy jet has to invest some money to restructure of its aircraft for setting up vending machine. Thus, following issues could be installing vending machine:  · Restructuring cost  · Set up cost Solution: moderately less amount of money is related for installing vending machine. The proposed vending machine in aircraft would be specially made for Easy jet aircraft. Thus, its production cost will be split in such as; material cost, setting cost and other related cost. Considering all this aspect, it could be assumed that setting up vending machine would not be an expensive venture. Consumer credibility Problem: restructuring and redesigning the aircraft is more risky than ground vehicle. Public intimidation would be high if the restructuring will not be proved to be safe. Thus, significant threats of safety should be measured. These could be accounted below:  · Inconvenience for passengers  · Possible queuing for food and drink Solution: Easyjet carries passengers for short haul distance. The installation of vending machine is primarily for short haul distance air travel. As a result, inconvenience of passenger would not be high. Rather, passengers do not need to wait for crew member as it is self service. Keeping attention of possible queuing, the member of staffs could check all over the flight as passengers could take food or drink without any hassle. Maintenance of vending machine innovation The Easyjet has to consider the following issues for the maintenance of vending machine: Customer use of vending machine Customer can buy any product by coin, paper note and debit or credit card (chip pin). It is big issue for customer which currency will accepted by this vending machine. For solving this problem machine have to set the program that it will accept most of the familiar currency. Vending machine supervising Before start the flight, supervisor (cabin crew) has to visits machines and dispenses soft drinks, candy and snacks, and other items. They collect money from the coin and cash-operated machines, restock merchandise, and change labels to indicate new selections. They also keep the machines clean and appealing. Supervisor should have enough training to supervise this machine and to manage the passengers to assist them to buy their food, drinks or other things. Break down and solution If machine break down, it would be advisable that most of the control functions can be managed by an integrated circuit board (Appendix-2). Managing vending machine food supply Easy jet already has contracted with some brand food and drinks company. In year 2009 they started contract with world famous coffee company Starbucks (EasyJet, 2009). These types of company can supply vending machine food. Reflection of learning process: The new big innovative idea was developed by the four members. As it has been known that innovative idea always needs brainstorming and lots of challenges have to overcome before evolving any viable idea. Since it has been instructed that this potential idea should increase the opportunities of market growth for the selected company, the four members have worked through generating ideas related with different business. Officially, as it is assigned by administration to compile the report in six week period. The task was organised weekly such that the first two weeks was developing different ideas and subsequent researching as well as collecting relevant materials based on the selected idea and company. Meanwhile the team has contacted with different vending machine companies for the suggestion to setting up vending machine in aircraft. Discussion of first meeting was basically organising the team members, structural format, assigning the role to the members, and deciding who would maintain the contact with all others members as a coordinator. The role of Coordinator implies by Crossman (2008) as this person will have a clear view of the team objectives and will be skilled at inviting the contribution of team members in achieving these objectives (p.198). The following meeting was to come in the point where the team decided to select an airlines company as topic to develop innovative idea. The session was garnished with quite a few exchanges of ideas, views, comments and critical discussion. Finally, the team has picked the idea of setting up vending machine in the aircraft. On the other hand, as a cross functional team, team members are viewed themselves as a members of their function (Crossman, 2008). Thus, this project work was split such as market and cost analyses for new innovation, identifying problem and related solution, design the aircraft for setting up vending machine and maintaining after installation. As a completely new idea, the team faced a lot of challenges to prove the viability of project. All of the subsequent meeting held on bases of testifying the perfection of this project. While making the progress in setting up the vending machine for aircraft, the team encountered few key issues. As challenges grew more, the team rather focused on uses of the light weight plastic material, instead of heavy metal made vending machine. Furthermore, it has been estimated by the team that, this step would be suitable like low-cost strategic airlines mainly Easyjet. Because they can adapt the policy by reducing the numbers of cabin crew and recap the installation cost of vending machine. Additionally, it could sustain steady market growth. The team observed the innovation would bring about a competitive advantage even in the time of severe economic downturn. The above development of idea and analysing process revealed the learning of the core motive of innovation for the team members. Reference: Coca-Cola Enterprises (2004). Vending machine specification. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.cokevending.co.uk/ven_vending_machines_coke_bottle.html> [Accessed 1 march 2010] 3M United Kingdom PLC (2000). Vending machine weight. [online] Available at :< URL: http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/Tapes-and-Adhesives/Home/DocumentCentre/Datasheets/?PC_7_RJH9U5230GVA6027OM7C9G2AG3_nid=4XX438M9Z6be7B9QQ3C521gl > [Accessed 25 February 2010] Easy Jet Airline Company Limited. Major new easy jet aircraft order. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.easyjet.com/en/investor/major_new_aircraft_order.html> [Accessed 25 February 2010] Austrian cargo. Aircraft specification. 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Sample: Summary Mini-Lesson

Dr. R: Let’s talk about summary. Based on the APA homework and the diagnostic rough drafts, it's pretty clear some folks are still having difficulties discerning between summary and paraphrase. The distinction between these two is incredibly important to grasp, as your summary in your Essay 1 must be clear and concise. Note that you should be able to summarize the main argument claims of your chosen article in a single paragraph. OK, so what is a summary?When we talk about summaries, we are usually talking about the summary of the main ideas of an entire work (although, if we’re focusing on a specific chapter or article in a larger work, we’d then be summarizing that one major component. For instance, most of us are summarizing individual articles, not the entire issue of a magazine or journal). Summary is used to â€Å"state the major ideas of an entire source or part of a source [see above] in your own words† (Faigley, 2010, p. 20). Note that the summari es are significantly shorter than the source.Most academic guides recommend that a summary be no longer than ? the length of the original source. In other words, if you have a four page article and your summary is two pages long, that’s not an effective summary. Faigley even mentions that summaries are often â€Å"a paragraph or perhaps even a sentence† (emphasis mine] (2010, p. 631). Note the key ideas in the section above—summaries are short and they are in your own words. They only focus on the â€Å"main points, not most of the examples or supporting materials† (Faigley, 2010, p. 20).To put this in layman’s terms for you as you check your summary work, note that this means that words like â€Å"uses examples† or â€Å"uses statistics† or â€Å"Smith discusses a man in Ireland who† are not summary appropriate—those are areas where you are actually paraphrasing supporting data/details, not summarizing the authorâ€℠¢s main ideas. How are paraphrase and summary different? First, we tend to paraphrase specific examples or sentences. A paraphrase of a statement is often used to help clarify the ideas in that one statement, rather than to give an overview of an entire work.We most often use paraphrase after we’ve quoted a work—you use that paraphrasing to help situate and show connection between the quoted material and your own ideas, for instance. As Faigley notes, â€Å"[w]hen you paraphrase, you represent the idea of the source in your own words at about the same length as the original† (emphasis mine] (Faigley, 2010, p. 631). Note that the main distinctions between summary and paraphrase are the length and the purpose of the tasks. Paraphrase is all about explaining a specific single idea at about the same length while summary is an overview of the entire piece that is much shorter.What are some strategies for effective summary? One tip is to look at the overall document. Are there headings in the source? If so, those headings should directly relate to the main ideas—they are like little summary bullet points for the article, which means the author did some of the work for you! If there are not clearly marked sections of the source (which there often are not), you’re going to have to create some notes to work from. Read the article from start to finish, just reading. Then, on a second reading, read one paragraph at a time.Once you read the paragraph over, write in the margins what the main point of that paragraph is. ( A print out of the article is great for this, but if you are paperless, you can copy the article into Word and type in your paragraph notes in a different color font or use the insert comment feature to annotate the source). Once you have created that list of notes—one phrase or sentence per paragraph—you can then take those and read through them. What main ideas are repeated that you can group together? Wha t paragraphs seem to just list supporting examples and should be therefore excluded from your summary?Use those notes to actually develop a single paragraph of summary—your summary should have no more sentences in it than the source has paragraphs (and in most cases, should have fewer). Common Summary Errors 1. Including supporting details or discussing data and examples from the source. 2. Adding evaluation or commentary to the summary from your own point of view. 3. Writing the summary by focusing on retelling the entire source—this is paraphrasing and can often be identified by the keywords in the long section that include things like â€Å"he begins† and â€Å"he goes on to discuss† and† having covered X, he moves on to Y. Those are phrases that indicate you’re including minor details an retelling everything, not summarizing. 4. Including quotations. 5. Incorporating additional sources (other than the thing you are summarizing). 6. Lackin g signal phrasing that indicates key points. Your summary should set up the thesis/position of what is being summarized and follow with the main ideas or claims. Using signal phrasing like â€Å"Smith’s main argument is† and â€Å"one reason Smith argues X is† will help you make smoother transitions and remind the reader you are summarizing the main points only. Resources Columbia University School of Social Work (n. . ). Writing summaries. Writing Center Handouts. Retrieved from http://www. columbia. edu/cu/ssw/write/handouts/summary. html Faigley, L. (2010). Writing: A guide for college and beyond. New York: Longman. Student Development Centre (2009). Writing resources: Summary Writing. The University of Western Ontario. Retrieved from http://www. sdc. uwo. ca/writing/index. html? handouts [direct link: www. sdc. uwo. ca/writing/handouts/Summary%20Writing. pdf ] The Write Place (1997). Process for writing a summary. LEO: Literacy Education Online. Retrieved fr om http://leo. stcloudstate. edu/acadwrite/summary. html

How are gender relationships depicted in Chaucers “Wife of Bath”?

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale is one of the twenty-four stories which make up The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer towards the end of the 14th century. The premise for The Tales is that of a group of pilgrims each telling stories in order to win the prize of a free meal, the primary narrator is a naà ¯ve pilgrim who is not described. The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English, which bears a close visual resemblance to the English written and spoken today. The Tales were unfinished as Chaucer died before their completion and the order of the stories has been disputed due to the fragmented nature of his work. This essay will be looking at gender relationships in The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale and in medieval Literature as a whole. Chaucer’s Wife of Bath is a middle-aged woman from the west country, who strides into The Canterbury Tales on a large horse with her spurs jangling and riding in the fashion of a man rather than the side saddle that was typical of women, ready to assert herself in the company of pilgrims made almost entirely of men. Rich and elaborate in design, the Wife’s clothes reek of extravagance, her stockings â€Å"weren of fyn scarlet reede† and â€Å"on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe† show how wealthy she has become from her conquests of men. In the General Prologue where each of the characters is described in terms of their profession she is clearly a ‘professional wife’ who has travelled more than almost all of the other pilgrims making her a bold, adventurous and sociable character. Men were the ones who travelled to distant lands in search of adventure, this challenges the accepted ideas about gender of the time. This portrait of a woman is very peculiar for a piece of medieval literature, men tend to have the starring role and women are usually featured as beautiful ladies in distress or as villainous old hags. The Wife of Bath is neither a helpless damsel in distress nor a typical old crone. She is the first of her kind in English literature. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is the life story of Alison who has married five times, this in itself is unusual for a woman in medieval literature as it is usually the rogue male who has multiple lovers. Chaucer certainly informs us of Alison’s backstory to a higher degree than he does the other pilgrims. There are many pieces of literature which condemn women, from the highest class to the lowest, Chaucer does not ignore this with his characterisation of the Wife but rather embraces it to make her who she is. The Wife is noisy and bossy, she torments her husbands and has a large enough sexual appetite to compete with the most sexual of men. But Chaucer has also made her capable of love, vulnerable, optimistic and argumentative against medieval anti-woman ideas. It is not clear whether Chaucer wants us to sympathise with the Wife and see her as the first feminist and defender of women’s rights or if we are to view her as an elaborate joke of what would happen if a women were to ever have as much freedom as a man. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue is different from any literature which had been encountered, as is her Tale. The male lead is not a typical heroic knight but a rapist, the main female role is an ugly old woman and the force of good in the story is a court full of powerful women. All the standard ideas of gender relationships are both turned on their heads and brought into sharp focus. The Wife conforms to a number of anti-female stereotypes of the medieval period, stereotypes which were created by men for the purpose of a patriarchal society. She claims that she has a great sexual appetite whilst also boasting that she uses sex to gain wealth. The Wife also tells of how she controls her husbands through the use of her body, a fear which is common of villainous females in medieval literature and which males dread. The Wife points out that there are many husbands and wives in the Bible. Some of the greatest men in the Old Testament were not only married but had multiple wives. â€Å"Lo, heere the wise kyng, daun Salomon; I trowe he hadde wyves mo than oon. As wolde God it leveful were unto me To be refresshed half so ofte as he!† (35-38) This is a double standard in that these men have multiple lovers but that women apparently can’t. By calling King Solomon â€Å"wise† she is conveying that wise men have multiple marriages. The Wife successfully gives examples from the Bible of people whose marriages were blessed by God despite the polygamous nature of these marriages. The Pardoner who is shocked by the Wife’s revelations so far interrupts her story, he says that he was about to marry but is now not so sure that it is a good idea. â€Å"Now, dame,† quod he, â€Å"by God and by Seint John!†¦ I was aboute to wedde a wyf; allas!†¦ What sholde I bye it on my flessh so deere? Yet hadde I levere wedde no wyf to-yeere!† (164-168) The Wife then tells a short story about a medieval pardoner who worked for the Church collecting donations from those sorry for their sins and anxious to find forgiveness. His manhood is called into question throughout the canterbury tales and his talk of taking a wife is probably an empty boast. This is a continuation of Wife of Bath’s theme of male impotence, she regularly taunts her celibate male adversaries in this way throughout the prologue. It was unheard of for a woman to speak this way about such matters, even a man would think before directly insulting men of the Church. The first three husbands the Wife had were rich old men who were financially secure. The Wife treated each of these husbands badly and in a very dominating way. By being argumentative and eager to start trouble she ensured that they would be careful to please her. â€Å"What sholde I taken keep hem for to plese, But it were for my profit and myn ese?† (213-14) Here the Wife of Bath uses a rhetorical question, it is clear from the tone that she doesn’t think she needs to care about her husbands. The misogynists classed all women together as bad and all wives as nothing but trouble. Chaucer both confirms this stereotype here with the way the Wife treated her first three husbands but also turns it around so that the woman is in control for once and the men are indistinguishable without even a single name between them. Chaucer makes us pity the husbands but it also shows us how unfairly women are usually treated. Chaucer outlines the Wife’s general techniques on how she handles Marital trouble which are lying, cheating and accusing the opposite gender before they accuse you. Lying and cheating were the things that medieval literature always accused the villainous women in a story of doing. The Wife is therefore acting in a very stereotypically manipulative way, and comes very close to becoming the old villainous hag which was a staple of medieval literature. Chaucer makes it clear that the Wife is a complex character and that our response to her as readers should be one of uncertainty. He makes sure we see the good aswell as the bad. The Wife of Bath goes on to describe the lies she would use to keep her first three husbands in line. She’d accuse them of lecherous behaviour and of chasing after the neighbours or servants and then unfairly accusing her about her relationship with her ‘friend’. She uses powerful but offensive imagery towards woman in order to get her point across. â€Å"For as a spanyel she wol on hym lepe,†¦ But folk of wyves maken noon assay, Til they be wedded — olde dotard shrewe! And thanne, seistow, we wol oure vices shewe.† (267-292) The Wife of Bath uses simile’s to compare women first of all to animals, which should be tried by men before they are bought. They are then reduced even further being compared to ordinary objects such as basins, washbowls, spoons and stools. The men did not say these things and this paints the Wife of Bath in a very negative light for her deceit but at the same time other men during her period are guilty of thinking such things. The Wife boasts about how she lied to her husbands about what they said whilst drunk in order to make them feel guilty. This extract is some of the Wife’s most blatant deceit and if all women were to be like this in medieval times it would be surprising if men and women ever managed to live together at all. â€Å"Thou liknest eek wommenes love to helle, To bareyne lond, ther water may nat dwelle. Thou liknest it also to wilde fyr;† (371-372) The Wife doesn’t see the wickedness of her ways as is obvious when she states â€Å"Yet tikled I his herte, for that he Wende that I hadde of hym so greet chiertee!† The choice of verb is an interesting one because it is much lighter than the passage as a whole. The Wife claims that either her or her husband must give in if they are to live in peace, and she says â€Å"And sith a man is moore resonable† he should be the one to give in more easily. She then slyly puts in a comment about how she is his alone, implying that this could easily change at any moment. She is exploiting male and female stereotypes here, using a man’s image of themselves as reasonable and superior against them. She is manipulating by saying that if women are so stupid and emotional, clever men should just let them have their way in order for there to be peace. The Wife of Bath’s youth may have now passed her by but she has no regrets. Her fourth husband however was not a very happy memory for her. She even goes on to tell us about his unfaithfulness â€Å"This is to seyn, he hadde a paramour†. Her dominance and power over her first three husbands now gives way to the more melancholy story of her next husband. Old women in medieval literature quite often show bitterness and loathing when they remember their youth but the Wife has no regrets. Her optimism and her grace in the way that she accepts the passing of her youth shows a softer and more vulnerable side to this manipulative and domineering woman. With the death of her fourth husband The Wife then falls in love with a man named Jankyn who was half her age. Within a month she had married him and as an act of love she signed over all her property to him. However, Jankyn was typical of a medieval gender role. He was a dominant man who won’t be told what to do by a woman. He demands her to stop going on pilgrimages, stop gossiping and to generally stop all the mischievous behaviour from her past. He beats her for tearing pages out of a book and tells her of husbands who left their wives because the wives would not do as they were told. â€Å"And me of olde Romayn geestes teche; How he Symplicius Gallus lefte his wyf, And hire forsook for terme of al his lyf† (642-644) The Wife now has to be on the receiving end of the abuse that she has up until then caused, she is the one being dominated and controlled. She has previously been at a distance from the anti-women literature of the period, even used it to her advantage against her past husbands. Now she must endure the stereotypically male dominated household she has avoided for so long. The reason the Wife of Bath is deaf is because she was struck by Jankyn for tearing out a few pages from his favourite book. It consisted of stories by the best known authors of the middle ages which condemned women. â€Å"For trusteth wel, it is an impossible That any clerk wol speke good of wyves,† (688-689) She hated this book as Jankyn used it to cause her a great deal of grief, she stated that these men don’t understand women yet they are the ones writing these stories. What’s quite interesting is that all the literature she used to control her past husbands was now coming at her in a very real sense. The Wife of Bath asks the question â€Å"Who peyntede the leon, tel me who?† which points out that medieval women existed in a world where everything including art, religion, work, family life and literature was controlled by men. Chaucer pointing this out is well ahead of his time in terms of social gender commentary. The Wife’s ripping of the book could be seen as a symbolic gesture. The Wife used this literature against her past husbands, she had it used against her by her fifth husband. The tearing of the book is symbolic of the Wife moving away from medieval stereotypes. After finally finishing the prologue to her story the Wife of Bath moves onto her Tale. The story opens with the rape of a young maiden, the rape is described very casually as though it is somehow entirely natural that a woman is violently attacked this way. â€Å"He saugh a mayde walkynge hym biforn, Of which mayde anon, maugree hir heed, By verray force, he rafte hire maydenhed;† (886-888) The word ‘raft’ means he took her ‘maydenhead’ which is not a very violent verb but it still has powerful imagery because of how casual a word it is. This can be seen as an extreme example of the way in which women are regarded as mere property. The knight’s offence was against a woman so it is therefore ironic that women should step in to save his life. They don’t do this out of compassion or mercy though, he is to be placed in a powerless position in which the fate of his body is in the hands of another, similar to when a woman is raped. After a year of searching for the answer to the question of what women want the knight rides back to the court in despair, this is when he encounters an extremely ugly old woman who agrees to give him the answer to his question if he agrees to do something for her. After answering with â€Å"†Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee† the old hag asks the knight to marry her. Because our knight did not know what the condition would be he is placed in a far more vulnerable position. He is completely under the old woman’s dominance, a reversal of the normal male female relationship. The â€Å"lusty bacheler† from the start of the story now â€Å"hidde hym as an owle†, no longer dominant and in control or a stereotype of medieval man. The old woman then gives the knight an ultimatum, she can either be beautiful and unfaithful or faithful and ugly. The knight considers for a moment but decides in the end to let her make the decision which results in her being both beautiful and faithful. With the mastery handed over to the old lady, there is a switching of gender roles with the knight also getting what he wants. The knight is no longer the misogynist monster he was at the start of The Wife of Bath’s Tale. It could be argued that the Wife of Bath is giving a voice to the excluded women of medieval society. Through her voice we hear and see all the devaluation and oppression which is always silent in medieval literature due to the authors being almost entirely male. The Wife could also be interpreted as a representation of stereotypical medieval fear by men about women as cruel, emotional and sexually deviant. It is not clear in what way Chaucer meant for her to be conveyed, it is clear however that he wanted her to become a complicated character with many different layers whose gender was a driving force for the story.

Erikson s Stage Intimacy Vs. Isolation - 1078 Words

Social History: The patient widowed and lives in a house with her two daughters. Currently employed as a supervisor at Walmart and has health insurance through her work. Works full time and enjoy her work. She enjoys spending time with her family. She is sexually active. She is currently in an intimate relationship for the past one year after the death of her husband and used condoms occasionally when having sex. Highest level of education is bachelor’s degree Erikson’s Stage: Intimacy vs. Isolation †¢ At this stage a person is settled down in their relationship with their partner to share a lifelong commitment and start families, and they involve themselves in community activities. The patient is successfully completing this stage of†¦show more content†¦Denies arm, neck, or leg pain, cramping, weakness, joint swelling. Denies weakness, numbness and tingling in the extremities †¢ Neurological: Patient denies syncope, seizures, headaches, or paralysis. Denies having thought of harming self †¢ Hemodynamic: Denies bleeding tendencies, anemia or clotting. †¢ Endocrine: Denies heat or cold intolerance. No thyroid disorders †¢ Psychosocial: Admits she is in good mood most times. Denies unusual stress, depression or anxiety. No suicidal ideation Objective Data General Appearance: The patient is 36-year-old Caucasian woman who is in no apparent distress. Patient is alert and oriented to person, place, time and situation, cooperative, well-nourished, well-groomed, and dressed appropriately for the weather. Hygiene is excellent Vital Signs: †¢ BP: 92/60 (Left upper arm, sitting, manual cuff) †¢ HR: 68 (monitor) †¢ Temp: 96.7F (oral) †¢ Resp: 18 (observed) †¢ O2: 99% on room air †¢ Height: 5’7† (measured) †¢ Weight: 135 lbs (scale) †¢ BMI: 21.1(normal) Physical Exam: †¢ Head and Neck: Patient skull is of normocephalic, atraumatic and without masses. The patient s facial expression and facial contours are normal. The parotid glands are normal. The sinuses are non-tender. Palpation of the temporal and masseter muscles reveals normal strength of muscle contraction. There is symmetry of the nasolabial folds. There is no facial droop noted. Trachea midline. Thyroid is smooth, no goiter orShow MoreRelatedErik Erikson s Psychosocial Theory Essay1641 Words   |  7 Pagesthrough 8 developmental stages in life. Erikson states that these stages are necessary in the progression and development of human growth from infancy into adulthood. Each developmental stage presents a crisis that must be resolved during that stage for a healthy development. Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory outlines that we develop in psychosocial stages instead of psychosexual ones. 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