Essay on Huckleberry Finn Paper Slave Conditions

In the years leading up to the American Civil War, life for slaves was arduous and full of hard work and servitude. They were tied to their masters, with the notable exceptions of when they were resold and traded among other slavers. Violence was common as a form of coercion and punishment, due to the harsh conditions that slaves often had to work under; men were beaten, and women were sexually assaulted on a regular basis. Slave families were very difficult to form and keep together, due to the frivolous sale and purchase of slaves by plantation owners. Often, parents and children were torn apart as they were sold to different plantations, as there was no way to protect themselves from this sort of harsh fate. With these difficult circumstances in mind, and the plight of the slave in 19th century America, the tale of Jim in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an uplifting, if darkly realistic one, especially as the events that inspired his escape attempt were all too common in that er a, and his problems were very indicative of the average slave of the time. As soon as newly transported slaves made it to their new homes with their masters, they were typically put to work in some of the most physically demanding and unforgiving jobs possible at the time, such as clearing trees, breaking in fields with new crops, and picking cotton. Their hours were harsh, often working from sunrise to sunset, and their immune systems were not used to the new diseases and illnesses that awaited them in America, which was not helped by the presence of mosquitoes near the water beds where they were forced to toil. So many slaves died in such great numbers that many planters opted to rent slaves for the harder work, instead of risking the ones that they owned. (Berlin, 174) The women did not have it any better: they were always expected or forced to have sexual relations with their owners, and illegitimate children with slave women were common. In Harriet Jacob’s semi-autobiographical novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, she writes that her master â€Å"tried his utmost to corrupt the pure principles my grandmother had instilled. He peopled my young mind with unclean images, such as only a vile monster could think of. I turned from him with disgust and hatred. But he was my master. I was compelled to live under the sameroof with himwhere I saw a man forty years my senior daily violating the most sacred commandments of nature.† (Jacobs, 21) This clearly illustrated the sexual abuse that she had to endure at the hands of her master, something that she did not escape even when she moved on to other masters and owners. As a result, whether you had to work out in the fields or in the master’s home, being a slave was an environmen t that few wished upon themselves. Despite all this, there were slaves who attempted to make the best of it and form families of their own. Granted, these times were few, as not many slaves attempted to form families, due to the lack of travel opportunities in order to find a mate or lower success rates of births because of the stress associated with slave life. It was also tough to keep families together if you were slaves, as slave owners would buy and sell their slaves at a moment’s notice, thereby tearing apart families that had been formed within the ranks of their workers. There was no official church or legal recognition of slave marriages. (â€Å"African American Family†)   Even the most tenuous of connections to a slave family after being moved made it harder still to cope with the separation, as seen in Lewis Clarke’s book Narrative of the Sufferings of Lewis Clarke:But all my severe labor, bitter and cruel punishments for these ten years of captivity with this worse than Arab family, all these were as nothing to the sufferings experienced by being separated from my mother, brothers and sisters; the same things, with them near to sympathize with me, to hear my story of sorrow, would have been comparatively tolerable. They were distant only about thirty miles, and yet in ten long, lonely years of childhood, I was only permitted to see them three times.  (22) All of these facts about the lives of slaves are in the background or come directly into play in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, especially where it pertains to the life of Jim. The entire impetus of Jim deciding to escape in the first place is his realization that he is going to be sold downriver to worse slave owners by Mrs. Watson (60). This kind of thing was common at the time, as slaves were sold whenever a better price could be found; Jim’s serendipitous eavesdropping allowed him to take action before it was too late. If he had not done so, he would have had to resign himself to further enslavement and worse conditions than he had experienced before; while he was still a slave, Jim recognized the favor that he carried with Mrs. Watson, and selling him to another slave owner ran the incredible risk of putting him in harsher labor than he was experiencing now. With that in mind, Jim opted to try for freedom rather than be sold further south, where he would surely be treate d worse. Jim’s objectives also play into the fact that slave families were hard to keep together, as he sought to escape to Ohio, where he could then attempt to purchase the freedom of his family and forego the normal hardships that would go along with the typical slave family experience. Much like many slaves repeatedly were during the era of slavery in the Americas, Jim was a commodity, a product, something to be bought and sold as soon as the right bargain came along. African Americans had an extremely hard time in the United States, due to the environment they were brought to and forced to work in. Even their basest attempts to form families and create some sort of independent happiness for themselves were made nearly impossible, given the incredible circumstances they were put through. The book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was allowed to illustrate this point, and possibly helped shed some light on the humanity of these slaves to those who may not have given them a second glance. This is the sad truth of such an ugly part of our history, but a necessary one to remember if we are to move on and not repeat the same mistakes. Works Cited The African American Family : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site.  Becoming Americans. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.  Colonial Williamsburg Official History Site. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. http://www.history.org/almanack/life/family/black.cfm. Berlin, Ira.  Generations of Captivity: a History of African-American Slaves. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2003. Print. Jacobs, Harriet A.  Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1987. Print. Clarke, Lewis. Narrative of the Sufferings of Lewis Clarke, During a Captivity of More than Twenty-Five Years, Among the Algerines of Kentucky, One of the So Called Christian States of North America. Boston: David H. Ela, Printer, 1845. Twain, Mark.  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Berkeley: University of California, 2003. Print.

Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 Essay - 552 Words

In the book Fahrenheit 451 the theme is a society/world that revolves around being basically brain washed or programmed because of the lack of people not thinking for themselves concerning the loss of knowledge, and imagination from books that dont exist to them. In such stories as the Kurt Vonneguts quot;You have insulted me letterquot; also involving censorship to better society from vulgarity and from certain aspects of life that could be seen as disruptive to day to day society which leads to censorship of language and books. Both stories deal with censorship and by that society is destructed in a certain way by the loss of knowledge from books. Fahrenheit 451 involves such characters as Guy Montag, Mildred Montag, Captain†¦show more content†¦In quot;You Have Insulted Mequot; a letter by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. is another good example of censorship in our own society. That relates to Fahrenheit 451 concerning censorship but there is also a difference in Fahrenheit 451 compared to the quot;the letterquot; by Vonnegut. In Fahrenheit the idea of censorship are no books what so ever because of the lack of society reading, but in quot;the letterquot; books are denied to younger readers and the public because of content, such as vulgarity, and sexuality. They both lack knowledge that is given but never fully taken in and which makes them both a censored society/world. Censorship is widely used in our society to prevent us from seeing or hearing things that could disrupt our surroundings. Is it right to censor or not, its tough question and that question appears in Fahrenheit 451, The Letter, and our own day to day lifes. In Fahrenheit and The Letter they were censored to better the society without knowing the true aspects of the life. Also in both stories it seems as though censorship is fear, afraid of something that could be wonderful and even knowledgeable to society. In Fahrenheit 451 the lack of books later turns the book in an avalanche effect of conformity leading toShow MoreRelatedRay Bradburys Fahrenheit 4511020 Words   |  5 Pagesthe penalty for their possession—to watch them combust into ashes. Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451, illustrates just such a society. Bradbury wrote his science fiction in 1951 depicting a society of modern age with technology abundant in this day and age—even though such technology was unheard of in his day. Electronics such as headphones, wall-sized television sets, and automatic doors were all a significant part of Bradbury’s description of humanity. Human life styles were also predicted; theRead MoreAnalysis of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451525 Words   |  2 Pages Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel, â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† depicts a future in which all books are outlawed, and the main character, Guy Montag, is a â€Å"fireman†, someone hired to burn books. T he novel has won multiple awards and is widely regarded as one of Bradbury’s best works. â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† is largely subjected to interpretation, surrounded by many theories as to why it was written. â€Å"Fahrenheit 451† is strongly themed and can lead the reader to produce a plethora of ideas for it’s meaning , and theRead MoreSummary Of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451912 Words   |  4 PagesBradbury uses a characters to represent the lives of other characters. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Clarisse causes Guy Montag to question his wife, Beatty, and his society (Bradbury, 1953). Clarisse McClellan makes Montag realise how unhappy he is in his marriage and that he really does not have a good relationship with Mildred (Bradbury, 1953). Montag soon begins to question being a fireman and working alongside Captain Beatty. Montag gets very tired living fast past and not getting the timeRead MoreAnalysis Of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 4511113 Word s   |  5 Pagesand Dying, once imagined that, â€Å"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.† The text’s collection focus on Ray Bradbury’s science fiction, Fahrenheit 451 discusses about the growth and struggles of Guy Montag’s beliefs against his society. Montag is a fireman and his job is to restrain people from learning by burning books. He meets special people and realizes the stimulation andRead MoreAnalysis Of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 4511038 Words   |  5 Pagesexpressionless faces connected to even more mindless robotic people. A world where one just breathes and eats, but never truly feels any emotion. Our world is on the way to becoming this, but for Millie and Montag this was a sad, sad, reality in Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451. Everything grows with time as did our main character Montag throughout the boo k. Montag begins as a mindless follower and evolves into a fearless leader. As he grows into this leader his relationship with Mildred goes through multipleRead MoreCensorship in Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451777 Words   |  3 PagesFahrenheit 451 accurately portrays Censorship as it has been throughout history. Ray Bradbury was probably influenced by world events during his time, such as the cold war and other diplomatic leaders who have censored their citizens to avoid the truth from getting out. From politicians right now and their attempts to censor the media, to censorship from the history of other foreign countries the actions of the â€Å"Firemen† in Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451 are similar in method and meaning. The actionRead MoreRay Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 Essay875 Words   |  4 PagesIn Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses the life of Guy Montag, a fireman in a near future dystopia, to make an argument against mindless conformity and bli ssful ignorance. In Bradbury’s world, the firemen that Montag is a part of create fires to burn books instead of putting out fires. By burning books, the firemen eliminate anything that might be controversial and make people think, thus creating a conforming population that never live a full life. Montag is part of this population forRead MoreRay Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 Character Analysis708 Words   |  3 Pagesworld is like for Guy Montag in Ray Bradburys novel Fahrenheit 451. In the beginning of the novel, Guy Montag is a fireman who believes that there has never been and will never be a need for books and every book should burn. As the story progresses, he interacts with people and experiences events in his life that change his beliefs and views of the world. By the end of the novel, Guy Montag can recite parts of books off the top of his head. In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Guy Montag learns the truthRead MoreReview of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 Essay1496 W ords   |  6 PagesReview of Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 In Ray Bradburys novel Fahrenheit 451, the author utilizes the luxuries of life in America today, in addition to various occupations Read MoreEssay about Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 4512103 Words   |  9 Pagesthe point where they cannot entertain their minds with anything meaningful. Above all, the people of this society shun books and remain ignorant about their history and anything beyond their lifestyles. This is the society which Ray Bradbury conjures up in Fahrenheit 451 using science fictional elements to convey the importance of remembering, freedom of speech, and less reliance on machinery. Science fiction was the best medium to help Bradbury express his ideas because it provides the proper balance

Chapter 16 Outline, World Civilizations Free Essays

string(78) " the north and west in their search for new trade routes and unsettled lands\." The postclassical period in the West is referred to as the Middle Ages. After recovering from the fall of Rome’s ancient empire, civilization gradually spread beyond the Mediterranean to the rest of western Europe. Most of the West was converted to Christianity. We will write a custom essay sample on Chapter 16 Outline, World Civilizations or any similar topic only for you Order Now During the Middle Ages, Europe began to establish stronger ties with other Eurasian civilizations and with Africa. As a result of these connections, Europe learned new technologies. The Flavor of the Middle Ages: Inferiority and VitalityEurope lagged behind other civilizations in terms of its economy, technological development, and learning during much of the Middle Ages. The inferiority of European civilization helps to explain hostility toward the more powerful world of Islam. The Crusades were an outgrowth of Western anxiety about the growth of Islam. Western political structures were somewhat similar to other developing civilization centers in Africa and Japan. Despite its backwardness in comparison to other core civilizations, the West advanced significantly during the Middle Ages. Stages of Postclassical DevelopmentIntroduction The political structure of the West remained chaotic between the fifth and tenth centuries. The center of the postclassical West moved out of the Mediterranean to the northern plains that stretched from the Low Countries across France and into western Germany. The West remained vulnerable to continued invasions during this period. Given the political instability, cultural achievements in the first five centuries of the Middle Ages were limited. The Manorial System: Obligations and Allegiances Although there were kingdoms established, the most effective political organization was local.Manorialism, a system designed to establish communal agricultural activity, featured serfs, who farmed land belonging to lords in return for which the militarized aristocracy provided protection. Technology was limited and production was dependent on the number of man hours applied to the tasks of agricultural labor. In addition to their labor, serfs were required to pay a portion of their produce to their lords. Serfs retained ownership of their houses and could pass property on from one generation to another. The Church: Political and Spiritual PowerPerhaps the most effective supranational government during the five centuries after the fall of the western empire was the Catholic Church. Popes attempted to appoint bishops, regulated doctrine, sent missionaries, and sought to impose a centralized government based on the old Roman Empire. Germanic kings, such as Clovis of the Franks, converted to Christianity as a means of buttressing their own authority. Western monasticism provided another source of Church authority, helped preserve some ancient texts, and contributed to the spiritual focus of the early Middle Ages.Charlemagne and His Successors In the eighth century, the Carolingian family took over the Frankish monarchy. The most important of the Carolingian rulers was Charles the Great, or Charlemagne. Charles was able to unify much of western Europe under his control and to renew the title of emperor by 800. After his death, however, the Carolingian empire rapidly splintered into numerous successor kingdoms.? After the decline of the Carolingian empire, the political history of western Europe consisted of the development of regional monarchies, although the title of emperor was retained.In the period immediately after the collapse of the Carolingian empire, rulers in Germany were most powerful. They styled themselves â€Å"holy Roman emperors. † In fact, the kingdom of the Germans was among the least centralized governments of the early Middle Ages. New Economic and Urban Vigor In the ninth and tenth centuries, a series of technological innovations began to increase agricultural productivity in western Europe and enhance economic prosperity. External invasions began to diminish, leading to greater political stability. Most importantly, the population of western Europe began to increase.The increased population both provided more labor for the agricultural system and also created a demand for other goods. Regional centers of trade and a merchant class developed.? Whole regions, like northeastern Germany, were colonized by landlords and serfs. To encourage settlement, lords tended to relax the requirements of serfdom. In both the Low Countries and Italy, town life recovered or started anew. Towns remained small, but they were important contributors to the spread of literacy and the acceleration of the economic recovery. Within the towns, a formal education system, at first organized around cathedrals, began to emerge.From these foundations sprang the medieval universities, specializing in theology, law, and medicine. Feudal Monarchies and Political Advances From the sixth century, the most important political relationships involved feudalism a system linking landlords in military alliances. Greater landlords provided protection and aid to lesser lords, called vassals, in return for loyalty and military service. Charlemagne’s relatively fragmented empire accelerated the development of regional feudalism. While feudalism inhibited the growth of centralized states, it did help to end local warfare.Over time feudal monarchy based on the king’s relationship to powerful regional vassals came into existence. Kings of France improved their position after the tenth century and began to develop a small bureaucracy.? The Norman Conquest of 1066 introduced feudal monarchy into England. Because of the ability of William the Conqueror to introduce the feudal system abruptly, England was more centralized than other feudal monarchies. By the thirteenth century, a centralized system of feudal monarchy complete with a bureaucracy and links to regional administration existed in France. Limited GovernmentNot all of western Europe managed to create centralized monarchies. Much of Germany, the Low Countries, and Italy remained fragmented into regional states and city- states. The power of the church limited political claims of some monarchs, and feudalism also created limits. In England the Magna Carta confirmed feudal rights, and parliaments, generally, resulted from the same sort of feudal balance between lord and vassals. In some cases local battles gave way to larger wars like the Hundred Years’ War. The West’s Expansionist Impulse Population growth and religious evangelism were the hallmarks of western expansion.On the eastern frontiers of Germany and the southern frontiers of the Christian kingdoms of Spain settlers moved outward into new regions. Scandinavian voyagers pushed ever farther to the north and west in their search for new trade routes and unsettled lands. You read "Chapter 16 Outline, World Civilizations" in category "Papers" The most dramatic aspect of western expansion was the Crusades launched initially to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. Pope Urban II called the First Crusade in 1095. The first crusading effort resulted in the creation of Christian lordships in the Holy Land by 1099. Subsequent Crusades were less successful, and the focus on recovering the Holy Land was lost.The Fourth Crusade actually resulted in the conquest of Christian Constantinople. Religious Reform and Evolution Church reform arose in the eleventh century to attack increasing secularism. In monasticism, the thirteenth century saw the founding of such reforming orders as the Franciscans and the Poor Clares, founded by St Francis and St. Clare, both of Assisi. Pope Gregory VII launched an attempt to free the Church hierarchy from secular manipulation in the late eleventh century. The issue of lay investiture of bishops led to conflict between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire.Subsequent popes attempted to establish the supremacy of the Church government over secular monarchies. A system of ecclesiastical courts arose torule on matters of church law. The High Middle Ages During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the postclassical West enjoyed its greatest creativity and economic prosperity. Tensions existed between the agents of regional control, the developing monarchies, and the Church’s claims to universal authority. The social order was increasingly forced to expand in order to deal with the new significance of urban residents and merchants. Western Culture in the Postclassical EraIntroduction Christian culture provided the common denominator for western Europe. Theology: Assimilating Faith and Reason Until 1000, most theological inquiry was restricted to collection of ancient texts related to important theological questions. Efforts were made to incorporate logical thinking in theological inquiry. Use of logic, particularly reflecting the influence of Aristotle, led to new theological lines of inquiry after 1000. Peter Abelard was one of the more important theologians involved in the process of eliminating contradictions in earlier theological works through the use of logic.Others, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, opposed the growing popularity of logic and rationalism and chose to stress the means to mystical union with the divine. The tension between rational inquiry and mystical devotion was also common to Islamic theology. The pursuit of rationalism within theology led to the growth of western universities and reinvigorated the pursuit of ancient knowledge and imports from the Islamic world. ? Benefiting from the importation of ideas, Thomas Aquinas of the University of Paris attempted to summarize all knowledge in his Summas. His work marked the high point of scholasticism.Emphasis on classical knowledge tended to discourage new scientific discoveries. Scientific investigation accelerated after the thirteenth century. Popular Religion Less is known about popular belief than about theological investigation in the universities. Veneration of saints remained popular, as the masses sought intermediaries with God. Magic and popular festivals also remained features of popular piety. Religious Themes in Art and Literature Much art and architecture was devoted to the Church. Western artists concentrated on religious subjects almost exclusively.Medieval architecture developed from Roman models. During the eleventh century, Gothic architecture replaced the more derivative Romanesque style. Writing in Latin was primarily devoted to theology, government, and law. Popular literature emerged in the vernacular languages of Europe. Although always with some reference to religion, vernacular literature often featured more earthly concerns as well. Changing Economic and Social Forms in the Postclassical Centuries Introduction Economic activity and social structure also provided common elements for Western civilization during the postclassical period.The medieval economy rapidly departed from classical norms to develop a more expansive and productive economic life. New Strains in Rural Life Agricultural improvements after 800 allowed some peasants to become virtually free landholders. Lords used trade based on improved productivity to improve their standards of living. Tensions between peasants and lords emerged, as peasants sought greater freedom in the face of landlords’ attempts to increase fees and exactions from the land. On the whole, however, the conditions of peasants improved as productivity surpassed that of the ancient world.Growth of Trade and Banking Greater agricultural production led to urbanization and more specialized commercial activities. Banking arose in Italy as well as southern Germany, the Low Countries, France, and Britain. As the market expertise of western merchants increased, Italians began to connect Europe with other parts of Eurasia through Mediterranean trade routes. Commercial alliances resulted in the formation of urban leagues, such as the Hanseatic League of northern Germany. The development of banking helped create the business environment that spawned capitalism.Because governments were less centralized, merchants had greater freedom in the West than in other civilizations.? Despite the beginnings of the capitalistic spirit, protectionist organization the guilds dominated European cities. Both merchants and artisans grouped together to control their commercial and industrial endeavors, monopolize their businesses, and regulate training. Membership in guilds was the key to importance in urban politics. Despite the general conservatism of the guilds, western industrial technology did make strides to overtake other civilizations during the Middle Ages.Limited Sphere for Women As in other civilizations, the postclassical West increasingly limited the roles for women in the economy. Western women enjoyed some relative advantages; they were not confined to the household, veiled, or legally deprived of rights. Yet western women found themselves increasingly limited by the power of male organizations. Patriarchal structures became more powerful. The Decline of the Medieval Synthesis Introduction After 1300, elements of the medieval culture began to change under the pressure of lengthy warfare, agricultural shortages, and plague. Plague diminished the population prompting a renewal of social tensions between peasantry and landlords. Signs of Strain There were numerous indications of the disruption of the medieval synthesis. The landowning aristocracy lost its monopoly over the execution of war. Aristocratic life became progressively more mannered. The ability of the Church to manage the development of Christianity, the most important unifying element of the medieval West, declined during the later Middle Ages. As a result, popular heresies flourished. Scholasticism lost its dynamism, as it became more difficult to blend rationalism and religion. Intellectuals began to search for different emphases. Conclusion: The Postclassical West and Its Heritage: A Balance Sheet In some ways, the medieval West did remain backward in comparison to civilizations in China and South Asia. There were some advances. Medieval thinkers did help to recapture the rationalism of their classical past. Art and architecture showed some creativity in leaving classical forms. In politics, medieval rulers abandoned the imperial past to create more limited regional monarchies. The medieval economy prepared the way for the development of western capitalism. In short, the medieval West created its own, distinct culture. The postclassical West shared some characteristics with other civilized cores. Conversion to Christianity bore some resemblance to Islamic civilization. Medieval rulers mimicked some of the tactics of centralization found in Chinese civilization. Like Africa, western monarchies remained small and regionalized. As in Japan, feudalism emerged. Unlike either Africa or Japan, the West was more expansive and established much more extensive contacts with other civilizations. http://occawlonline. pearsoned. com/bookbind/pubbooks/stearns_awl/chapter16/objectives/deluxe-content. html How to cite Chapter 16 Outline, World Civilizations, Papers

Five Competitive Forces That Shape Organisation

Question1: Analyse the effectiveness of a range of strategies which an organization could use to improve engagement with its employees. Using an organization of your knowledge, comment on how the company has implemented employee engagement techniques. Answer1: The strategies and their effectiveness which the organisation use to improve employee engagement are as under. Fringe benefits: Along with the salary, companies provide additional benefits to its employees like fuel expenses, communication expenses, utility services, housing etc. This can be one of the good strategies depending upon the demography of the employees. (Luthans et al, 2002). Work environment: Companies provide a friendly and an open work environment to the employees to add to their comfort while in office. It add to the overall happiness and satisfaction to the employee in the long run. (Luthans et al, 2002). Bonus and rewards: Organisations generally have programs to recognise the exceptional work done by the employees by providing them bonus and awards which not only motivates them but also instils a sense of competition among employees. (Kompaso et al, 2010). Extra-curricular activities: Companies organize sports meets, informal get-togethers and outings for employees for them to unwind and de-stress themselves from day to day work. This is very important as it gives employees a sense of togetherness and unity. (Kompaso et al, 2010). Southwest airlines is one such employer who have implemented the employee engagement strategies really well. Employee recognition program: Under this, they recognize and rewards the exceptional hard work the employee has done in addition to the roles and responsibilities provided to him. (Czaplewski et al, 2001). Biennial survey: They carry out surveys to gather feedback and suggestions from the employees on a biennial basis and on the basis of these, they make improvements and changes to the modus operandi of the organisation. (Czaplewski et al, 2001). Trainings: Southwest airlines carries out a number of training programs for its professional and customers from time to time. This not only enhance the skills and knowledge but also engage employees and the customer together. (Czaplewski et al, 2001). Employees are provided with the same concern, respect and care by the leadership. There is no discrimination on any basis. Southwest airlines believe that what you give to the employees is what your employees give to the customers. (Czaplewski et al, 2001). Question2: Explain each element of porters Five Forces Analysis. Apply each element of Porters Five Forces Analysis to an organisation of your choice. Answer2: Porters five forces with their explanation is as below. Bargaining power of the suppliers. In a market where either there are very few suppliers or the supplier is having a monopoly of certain product, the supplier enjoys the bargaining power over the buyer. It is high-demand and low-supply situation. (Porter et al, 2008). Threat of substitute. Whenever there is a product which is low on supply but is high on demand, the price tends to shoot up. To avoid such a problem, buyers generally look for the alternative product which is easily available and is lower on cost. This poses as a threat to the existing product. (Porter et al, 2008). Bargaining power of the buyers. With the availability of more than one product in the market and many suppliers to cater to the demand, buyers enjoy the bargaining power and benefit from the competition. (Porter et al, 2008). Threat of new entrants. Market scenario which is profitable for suppliers and manufacturers as a result of high demand from buyers always tends to attract new entrants who would want to take their share of the pie. This poses a threat to the existing manufacturers and products. (Porter et al, 2008). Competitive rivalry. In a market where there are many suppliers who offers similar products and service, there bound to have competition. To survive and thrive in such a situation, suppliers often comes up with offering additional benefits and try to gain as many buyers as they can. (Porter et al, 2008). Porters five forces can be explained by taking an example of Wal-Mart. Bargaining power of the suppliers. Wal-Mart holds a lot of market and being associated with it is beneficial to its suppliers. This gives Wal-Mart more bargaining power. It also have suppliers who are large in themselves and have more bargaining power than the small suppliers. (Gold et al, 2004). Threat of substitute. Wal-Mart who boasts of its robust business model which provides great variety to the customers at the lowest price. This can hardly be substituted by any competitor in the market. Although, there is a little competition provided by the online stores who provide convenience with great price. (Senauer et al, 2010). Bargaining power of the buyers. As Wal-Mart is having huge market share and is still unique in providing convenience and lower price, buyers have almost no bargaining power. If they move to a competitor, they would lose either lower price or the convenience. (Gold et al, 2004). Threat of new entrant. Wal-Mart enjoys such a position in the market which cannot be threatened by any new entrant provided the value it provides to the customers and the brand it has established. (Senauer et al, 2010). Competitive rivalry. There are three main competitors to the Wal-Mart in the market as of now. They are Sears, Target and K Mart. Target is the strongest of the three in retail sector. They have grown tremendously over the years in the domestic markets and promises a good rival to Wal-Mart in future. (Senauer et al, 2010). References: Czaplewski, A. J., Ferguson, J. M., Milliman, J. F. 2001. Southwest Airlines: How internal marketing pilots success. Marketing Management, 10(3), 14-17. Porter, M. E. 2008. The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40. Gold, M. A., Godsey, L. D., Josiah, S. J. 2004. Markets and marketing strategies for agroforestry specialty products in North America. Agroforestry systems, 61(1-3), 371-384. Senauer, B., Seltzer, J. 2010. The changing face of food retailing. Choices, 25(4). Kompaso, S. M., Sridevi, M. S. 2010. Employee engagement: The key to improving performance. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(12), p89. Luthans, F., Peterson, S. J. 2002. Employee engagement and manager self-efficacy. Journal of management development, 21(5), 376-387.