Principles of Responsible Commerce

Most businesses operate to make profit in the society. Apart from the profit-making objective, businesses should ensure that their operations bring positive changes in the society. The positive changes can be through job creation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Principles of Responsible Commerce specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The latter does not exclude non-corporate businesses since any act on the environment affect all businesses irrespective of size (Supporting Corporate Social Responsibility 2012). A business that creates wealth, offer products that satisfy the needs of customers and employs members of a society is dubbed a responsible business. Moreover, a responsible business strives to uphold the principle of equity and fairness to its entire stakeholders and the local community in general. The essay will analyze the principles of responsible commerce in light t o the utilitarianism theory and the learning trend that I have experienced in this course. In addition, the essay will analyse the Hewlett Packard Case Study and compare it to the theory of utilitarianism in an ethical dimension. In CSR, businesses have to align their objectives with the societal requirements. For example, businesses can engage in ethical practices through participating in environmental protection in the community, which they operate. Companies always engage in CSR as an ethical practice and not a legal requirement (Supporting Corporate Social Responsibility 2012). On the other hand, organizations can decide not to engage in CSR, but does not imply that they have gone against a legal requirement. In the journey of learning this course, I have learnt that not all ethical practices are lawful. In essence, principles of responsible commerce involve engaging in ethical activities that may affect the stakeholders.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another example involves a situation where a driver may notice an accident while driving and decides to drive away from the scene. Ethically, he should have stopped and offered help to the victims; however, his/her action has not violated the law. Again, if a business decides to take care of the poor in the community by offering educational scholarship programmes, it becomes an ethical practice. Conversely, a business that has the capability of supporting a local community, but decides not to do so has not violated the law, but its negligence results to an unethical practice. It becomes unethical since it has the potential to do so but opts to avoid it. An ethical practice involves what is right or wrong while law deals with what is unlawful or lawful (Njoka 2012). The two terms do not have direct implications on each other. In business perspectives, businesses outline their acceptable conducts that they consider fit to guide their operations. Responsible businesses consider the needs of all participants hence they lay their foundation on trust and confidence that forms the core of ethical practices (Njoka 2012). Social enterprises are the main practitioners of these principles as their goals and objectives gear towards social responsibility. However, business enterprises that are profit making in nature ought to understand that their ethical practices directly affect human needs. For instance, if there are lapses in integrity on the employer or employees side, the consumers are the final group that bear the consequences. According to Njoka 2012, such incidences of integrity lapses lower consumers’ trust and confidence in the business. Businesses should realize that the consumers that they feel should purchase their products in order to maximize profit require due attention, which only come from ethical engagements.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Principles of Responsible Commerce specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More If businesses neglect the interests and needs of their customers, the market can become unsustainable hence leading to business failure. Noticeably, organizations that desire to survive in this global and competitive market should instil ethical leadership in their management systems in order to attract and maintain their customers (Njoka 2012). Therefore, it is the role of the Human Resource Management (HRM) to ensure that the employees adhere to the set out ethical procedures. Moreover, business survival in the competitive market requires a high level of morality and responsibility. This aspect touches on giving back to the community in order to improve their living standards. Some of the activities that support ethical behaviours include offering sponsorship programmes for needy and bright students, training the local community how to engage in agricultural practi ces and even subsidising the cost of farming. Businesses that participate in these activities acquire high societal approval for their services (Corrales 2011). Even though other businesses may view CSR as an additional expense, the benefits that arise after the process are numerous; they include increased profitability hence assurance on continuity and the sustainable economic development.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For example, activities like environmental conservation programmes assist businesses to minimize their costs of production since they can mitigate the effects of climate change. An effect of climate change like drought has a direct impact on the costs of production for organizations that rely on agricultural products. In addition, the consumers will experience a low standard of living, which results to low purchases of goods and services that businesses offer. Moreover, environmental conservation will give the businesses opportunities to exploit their potentials in the present and even assure them of the same in future. Sustainable economic development offers businesses potentials both at present and in the future; therefore, it ensures that businesses survive into the future (Corrales 2011). Notably, businesses are only assured of sustainable economic development if they inculcate ethical practices in their operations. Distinctly, a responsible business should engage in CSR since t he major beneficiary is the business and not the surrounding community. The utilitarianism theory conceives that an act is moral if the results create a positive impact to several individuals (Moreland 2009). It believes that no moral act or regulation is right or wrong; one can only determine their rightness or wrongness of an act by studying the consequences. This theory deals with the philosophy of the end justify the means. This theory analyzes all the courses of action that are available and the possible effects that can occur owing to the action before deciding on a course that is morally right and the situation that one may find himself. The possible effects include the benefits and harms that may result from such an action. In the final part, a course of action that presents highest benefits is chosen after considering the costs (Andre Velasquez 2010). It does not matter whether the means that one uses is right or wrong provided the results are beneficial to many people. Fo r example, a person can break into a chemist and steal a drug that can assist a patient to recover if they cannot afford to purchase the drug. According to the utilitarianism theory, the whole process is ethical since the drug helped in saving life. Clearly, the theory oversees the unethical behaviour of stealing. In this aspect, the theory may encourage some acts, which are unethical in the business environment since they may result to positive feedbacks. As a result, the theory analyzes the morality of any effect. If the effect is good, the process is acceptable. From the above scenario, stealing produced a good and not an evil effect-rescuing life. The theory supports some acts that the societal norms consider as unethical practices. However, the theory does not consider whether the doctor has received justice for the act that made him lose his drug and experience destruction of property or not. In the business point of view, the benefits that the utilitarianism theory defines ar e the satisfaction levels and the number of stakeholders that will receive the benefits. The theory expects managers to make decisions that have greatest benefits to the majority of the stakeholders in order to ensure their satisfaction. Human Resource Managers should treat consumers as ends not as means; they should not involve consumers in the whole process of management, but must ensure that the results of the management process benefit a majority of them (Andre Velasquez 2010). From the above example of rescuing life, responsible businesses should consider the life of a human being as the most important parameter. For instance, if a business realizes that it will spend heavily in order to produce healthy products, it should do so since unhealthy products will negatively affect the lives of consumers. Even if the action of producing healthy products will result into losses, human dignity still overrides it. It is the responsibility of a business to provide high quality products to its customers and not for purposes of making profit. A responsible business will view apt employees’ remuneration as its responsibility and not a means of attracting skilful employees (Moreland 2009). The Hewlett Packard Case involved pretexting where a person pretended to be the owner of some information. This action made the private investigator access phone records of different individuals within the company. The act reveals information leakage to third parties, which were putting the company at risk of stakeholders’ withdrawal hence creating low trade values for their shares. Moreover, other drivers were leaking vital personal information to the press. Some board members could access data of the company’s customers at will. The company after investigating the issue had to reconstitute the Board of Directors in order to salvage the company’s reputation from other stakeholders (Sebastian 2011). In this manner, the company made a risky decision, which proved to be best alternative after analysing the overall costs and benefits of the consequences. This incident saw most board members resign from their posts as others tarnished their reputations. On the issue of legality, the issue of pretexting was presumed not illegal (Sebastian 2011). However, this does not imply that the act is ethical. The board members presumed that the legality of pretexting was all that could affect the operations of the company hence neglecting the ethical dimension. Despite the fact that the board members did not break any law, their acts could have affected the entire group of shareholders, stakeholders, and employees. In this dimension, the board members failed to analyse the effects of this deceptive practice in relation to the interests of the stakeholders. The pretexting ethical dilemma discloses a management system that is short-sighted, unprofessional, and egocentric in their operations. In relating the HP case and the utilitarianism theory, the decision by the company to lay-off some board members was an option that saved the reputation of the company as it considered the majority beneficiaries in the whole aspect. The interests of the stakeholders, shareholders, and employees overrode that of the few board members. The consequences of the company’s action on the pretexting incident affected the few board members negatively but benefited the stakeholders of the company. Hewlett Packard was experiencing organisational challenges at the time when the incident took place thereby giving loopholes on the ethical practices. During this time, the company’s shares had fluctuated in the market. Therefore, the case study supports the need for applying the principles of responsible commerce in all business operations irrespective of the legality. Businesses ought to act ethically when making decisions on their course of actions since the consequences may either protect or destroy the image of the businesses. This reflec tive essay has revealed that businesses that adhere to their ethical practices in order to improve their reputation among their stakeholders and shareholders hence obtaining the survival assurance in the present dynamic market. Businesses have to consider their decisions in a longsighted and humane manner. For example, they must include the interests of the local community since the community offers both social and operational security to the business (Corrales 2011). A responsible business should strive to prevent pollution and use proper waste disposal techniques. The Hewlett Packard case study and the utilitarianism theory have also analysed the need for businesses to make professional and long-sighted decisions that benefit the majority in the mix. References Andre, C. Velasquez, M. 2010, Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics, Santa Clara University -Welcome.  Web Corrales, M. E. 2011, Caux Round Table – Principles for Responsible Business, Slide share.  Web. Moreland, J. 2009, Ethics Theories: Utilitarianism Vs. Deontological Ethics, Christian Research Institute.  Web. Njoka, F. 2012, Principles of Business, Scribd.  Web. Sebastian, E. R. 2011, The Ethical Problem of Pretexting: The Hewlett Packard Case Study, Yahoo Voices.  Web. Supporting Corporate Social Responsibility 2012, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC).  Web. This essay on Principles of Responsible Commerce was written and submitted by user Farrah J. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

buy custom Fractures and Myopathy essay

buy custom Fractures and Myopathy essay A fracture may be defined as a crack or break in the bone. Fractures result from excessive pressure exalted on the bone surface or due to weakening of the bones due to a medical condition, also called osteoporosis (Cavendish, 2008). Generally, fractures can be categorized as closed or simple where the skin is still intact with the bone, or as open or compound in which there are wounds within the fracture or where it is exposed to the surrounding, thus can be easily contaminated. Fractures can be complete, where broken bones are completely separated, or incomplete (greenstick) where broken bones are not completely separated. Impacted fracture is where the bone-ends have been drawn together, avulsion fractures result when a portion of the bone is pulled off by a tendon whereas pathologic fractures result from minor injuries to bones already weakened by diseases. Fractures may lead to excessive loss of blood through bleeding, swellings and itching around the affected areas and overall body weakness. Bone fractures are characterized by extreme pain due to breaking of the periosteum, edema of soft tissues caused by bleeding from periosteal blood vessels which evokes pressure and pain, muscle spasms and swelling at the fracture site. Some people also experience paralysis or itchiness in areas below the fracture. Weakness and inability to bear weight may also indicate the presence of a bone fracure (Egol, Koval Zuckerman, 2010). Diagnosis of fractures involves assessing the history of the fracture: how, when, where and why it occurred. This is often followed by pain control and minor operations. Treatment include First Aid to prevent bleeding, covering open wounds, X-Rays of affected areas, maneuver of displaced bones, and anesthesia treatment for severe fractures, surgery and physical therapy to repair fractures. Pain relievers and muscle relaxants are also administered. People should avoid risky activities and reckless behaviors that may increase chances of accidents. One should wear protective clothes when involved in exposure activities such as construction and sports. Those with fractures should seek medical attention immediately and take more of Vitamin C and Zinc supplements to promote healing of the fractures. Myopathy Myopathy refers to a condition in which muscles of the body fail to function properly due to weaknesses in their fibers and strands. Myopathy is primarily associated with body muscles only. Other forms of myopathy may include muscle spasms and cramps (Lawrence, 2011). Myopathy is caused by muscle weakening, spasms or tetany and inflammations of the muscles. It develops due to genetics (inherited) or acquired conditions of the muuscles that may result from fatigue, body dehydration or stiffness. Vinken suggest that myopathy usually takes two forms; inherited such as nemaline, congenital and mitochondrial Myopathy, and acquired myopathy for example polymyositis and dermatomyositis (Vinken, 1992). Myopathy causes body weakness, inflammation of muscles, dysfunction of the metabolic system and muscle rigidity thereby hindering free movement. In comparison, acquired myopathy resolves quicker than inherited myopathy. They also show varied symptoms in different individuals. Myopathy is generally characterized by weakness of muscles, general body weakness and inactiveness and sometimes muscle pains. In rare cases, a person may pass out discolored urine. Treatment of myopathy starts by undergoing diagnosis testing, after which drug therapy, massage and acupuncture and yoga may follow. Physical therapy and minor surgery may be used as well. Pain management is usually essential. Full medical care may involve administration of immune-suppressive drugs that ease inflammation, for example, Trexall (Kagen, 2009). People who are experiencing muscle cramps and inflammations should seek medical attention as soon as possible. It is advisable to do regular exercises to increase muscle flexibility and blood circulation within the body, muscles and nerves. Buy custom Fractures and Myopathy essay

Improving Team Performance Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Improving Team Performance - Article Example e personality indicators, the objectives being given to the teams, the leadership and most commonly the organizational culture that helps in developing competent and effective teams. A person who is professionally well developed might not have the ability to work in collectivist society and might prefer to work alone. Moreover, few of the individuals prefer to act as passive partner regardless of their professional development point of view and this emancipates problems like social loafing. Keeping in view this, personnel selection and development is of critical importance Suman (2009). This is true to an extent because the organizations in an attempt to achieve the competitive advantage and to develop individuals in a way that they can work effectively in teams and can adapt to the changing environment work towards developing such strategies or hiring such agencies that can hunt the talent desired by the organization. This gives rise to the introduction of such training and development modules that aim to develop personnel professionally. Different models have been introduced to highlight the usefulness of personality and behavioral assessment instruments. DISC model is the one that relates that individuals and situations are related in a way that their behavior cannot be predicted and understood without proper understanding of environment Suman (2009). Critically analyzing this one can conclude that employees develop themselves at strategic level only when they understand their organizations’ culture and environment. Employees can work in teams effectively only when there are clear communication channels, the decentralization that enables employees to have their say in organizations’ decision making process and the ability to adapt to the changing organizations’ environment. In addition to this, the MBTI personality type is another assessment instrument that talks about the personality types. They argued that there are 16 types of personalities and all

Michelle Obama should be one of 2010 most influnce people in TIME Essay

Michelle Obama should be one of 2010 most influnce people in TIME Magezine - Essay Example Jamie Oliver, a chef and founder of the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation believes she is a true revolutionary. Oliver commended her for standing firm in her conviction â€Å"that if we all just eat better and move more, then we can fight obesity† (Oliver, par.4). First, Obama dedicates a great deal of her time on helping the military families. America is currently engaged in two wars; one in Afghanistan and another in Iraq. Both of these war conflicts cause a lot of death on America's fighting men and women. Family members are away for months at a time on active duty, away from their spouses and children. They are always in harm’s way; family members are always waiting beside the phone for the dreaded call. In this great trouble time their families need support and comfort. This is one of the best things that Michelle Obama does. She spent a lot of time working with these families to bring their stories to light and ensure that they are not forgotten in the middle of the ne ws cycle. She knows that they face a lot of problems and are sometimes ignored by the press and by the government. What she wants is a country that will recognize the sacrifices of those men and women who serve in the arm force to protect the country. Above all, she promotes and helps military families to ensure that they get the respect that they so richly deserve. She makes sure that their financial needs are met. She encourages them and appreciates them for their family service. Obama is not seeking attention or popularity, but she does it from the good of her heart. She also encourages everyone to support them and comfort them, while their family is on a mission to fight for the country we love. She will tell everyone, we are living free because they are fighting and protecting us. She helped those who are wounded while serving the country. She makes sure they get the proper medical attention that they need. Obama makes sure that the country recognizes the men and women who sacr ifice themselves to protect the United States of America. Obama, together with Jill Baden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden recently launched the â€Å"Joining Forces† campaign. According to Obama, this campaign is a way of giving back to the military families for their sacrifices. It aims to assist military families who confront unique challenges, such as frequently moving or having a parent or spouse at war. Obama realizes the difficulties that military families experience because of their separation from home. She has called on companies to recruit and hire members of the military and their spouses to help them in their financial needs. The three areas of concern of the â€Å"Joining Forces† campaign of Obama are in the fields of employment, education and wellness. In the area of education, â€Å"Joining Forces† will help schools to become more responsive to the unique needs of military children and families. It will also promote higher education institutions and programs of military-connected students and expand job-training opportunities for military spouses and veterans (Whitehouse.gov, par.7). In the field of employment, â€Å"Joining Forces† will highlight the workforce potential and expand the employment and career development opportunities of military spouses and veterans. It will also assist employers to create military family-friendly workplaces (Whitehouse.gov, par. 5). Obama believes that the military fami

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. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.austriancargo.com/cg/eng/Network/Fleet/airbus+319/> [Accessed 3 March 2010] Flight Attendants Association of Australia(2010). Ratio of cabin crew. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.faaadomestic.org.au/news.asp?id=993> [Accessed 25 February 2010] Mele, C (2009). Innovation in B2B: learning, creativity, and the provision of solutions within Service-Dominant Logic. Journal of costumer behaviour Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 199-220. Stamm V. B. (2008). Managing innovation design and creativity. Second edition. (West Sussex) Crossman A. (2007), managing human assets management of human resources, Pearson Education limited, (Harlow) Occupational Outlook Handbook (2006). Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers., p1-3, 3p [online] Available at :< URL: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3hid=5[emailprotected]bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWF0aGVucyxpcCxjb29raWUsdXJsLHVpZCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmU%3d#db=bthAN=28094800> [Accessed 5 March 2010] easy Jet Airline Company Limited. How to manage vending machine food. [online] Available at :< URL: http://corporate.easyjet.com/en/media/latest-news/news-year-2009/21-04-09a.aspx> [Accessed 10 march2010] Yahoo UK Ltd. Flickr.[Print]. [online] Available at :< URL: www.flickr.com/photos/irishflyguy/2425240215/> [Accessed 10 march2010] Tomas Gonzales (2006). Seatmaestro.[Print]. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.seatmaestro.com/images/newmaps/446_A319.jpg> [Accessed 10 March2010] Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. [Print]. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.beg.aero/passengers/flights.239.html?flightId=43564> [Accessed 10 March2010] SimMarket, in-solution. [Print]. [online] Available at :< URL: http://secure.simmarket.com/wilco-airbus-series-vol-1-deluxe.phtml> [Accessed 10 March 2010] Easy Jet Airline Company Limited. Annual (report 2009). [online] Available at :< URL: http://2009annualreport.easyjet.com/> [Accessed 5 March2010] Easy Jet Airline Company Limited. Easy Jet announces major innovation for business travellers. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.easyjet.com/en/News/20050309_01.html> [Accessed 10 March 2010] Easy Jet Airline Company Limited. Duncan Williamson, EasyJet plc: A basic analysis of the company. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.duncanwil.co.uk/pdfs/easyjet.pdf> [Accessed 9 March 2010] Easy Jet Airline Company Limited. Easy Jet is now the UKs national airline. [online] Available at :< URL: http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2010/easyJet%20is%20now%20the%20UKs%20National%20Airline.aspx> [Accessed 9 March 2010] Easy Jet Airline Company Limited. Speedy boarding from Easy Jet. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.easyjet.com/en/News/speedy_boarding_plus_launched.html> [Accessed 10 March 2010] David J Skyrme(2008). Europes progress to a knowledge Economy. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.skyrme.com/updates/u71_f3.htm> [Accessed 5 March 2010] SAABIRA CHAUDHURI(2007). Mansueto Ventures LLC. The future of air travel. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2007/09/buckman.html> [Accessed 10 March 2010] Condà © Nast Digital(2009). The Menace of Standing-Only Flights Spreads. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/7/02543/58462/travel/From+China+to+Ryanair:+The+Menace+of+Standing-Only+Flights+Spreads> [Accessed 9 march 2010] Easy Jet Airline Company Limited. EasyJetPlus whats it all about?. [online] Available at :< URL: http://easyjetplus.com/find-out-more.php> [Accessed 10 March 2010] Martin Roll (2004). Singapore Airlines case study . BrandChannel. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.brandchannel.com/features_profile.asp?pr_id=209> [Accessed 9 March 2010] JEFFREY N. SHANE(2004). American Bar Association 2004 Annual Meeting Aircraft Financing Subcommittee. US department of transport. [online] Available at :< URL: http://ostpxweb.dot.gov/s-3/data/aba%20finance%20subcomte%20speech%20%20(8-6-04).pdf> [Accessed 10 March 2010] CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT (2006). Will you stand for less room on flights?. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC. [online] Available at :< URL: http://www.seattlepi.com/business/267888_seats25.html> [Accessed 10 March 2010]

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.