Hamlet Essays - Characters In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet, King Claudius

Hamlet In the first three acts of the play Hamlet, King Claudius go through a subtle, but defined change in character. Claudius role in the play begins as the newly corrinated king of Denmark. The former king, King Hamlet, was poisoned by his brother, Claudius, while he was asleep. Claudius, however, made it known to everyone that the king died of a snakebite in the garden, and thus no one knew of the murder that had just taken place making his murder the perfect crime. The only problem that Claudius must deal with now is his conscience. After Claudius commits the deed of killing King Hamlet, he almost immediately marries Hamlet's wife, Queen Gertrude. Claudius also gains a new son, his former nephew Hamlet, the son of King Hamlet. Young Hamlet is very displeased with his mother's hasty marriage of Claudius and is angered by this incest. Hamlet has a deep attraction for his mother which goes beyond the traditional, mother-son relationship. At this point in the play, Hamlet does not know that Claudius has murdered his father, but he dislikes him anyway. Claudius is not a bad king, which is demonstrated by his handling of the situation between Young Fortinbras and Denmark, but he is not extremely popular with the people and has brought back the obnoxious custom of firing the cannons whenever the king takes a drink. Claudius' conscience, here is non-existent. After the ghost of the dead King Hamlet tells Hamlet to avenge his murder, Hamlet has a reason to truly hate Claudius. From this point on in the play, there is definitely friction between the two. When Claudius offers Hamlet the throne after he dies, Hamlet acts apathetic as if the rule of Denmark was, but a mere trifle. Hamlet enters a deep depression which the king and others, see as madness. First they think that Hamlet is lovesick over Polonius' daughter, Ophelia, but after the king spies on Hamlet and Ophelia in conversation, he comes to the conclusion that Hamlet is mad, a threat to his rule, and must be sent to England to be executed. This is a sign of the king's uneasiness over the mettle of Hamlet's anger which is directed towards him. The last thing that Claudius wants is for Hamlet to be unhappy with him, in fear that Hamlet will overthrow him, discover the murder, or possibly kill him. The king becomes increasingly nervous as time passes, making him a bit paranoid over Hamlet. By the beginning of Act III, Hamlet is almost ready to kill Claudius, but he still needs more proof that Claudius killed his father, and he also wants to put off the murder because he is a bit of a coward. Claudius is beginning to lose his composure. Hamlet decides to set a trap for him in the form of a play. The subject of the play is the murder of a king by his brother who, in turn, marries the king's wife. The plot of the play is strikingly similar to the circumstances of King Hamlet's murder, which strikes a disharmonious chord in the conscience of Claudius. In the middle of the play during the murder scene, Claudius gets up and begs for the play to stop so that he can get some air. Hamlet is very angered by this because it confirms that Claudius did kill his father. Later that night, Claudius prays to god to forgive him for his sins, but he is not ready to give up his new crown and his new wife. Guilt has begun to cloud over Claudius' thoughts, and it will indeed drive him to the brink of insanity and beyond. Hamlet spies Claudius, praying with his back turned and on his knees, but he passes up the opportunity to kill the monarch with the excuse of not wanting to accidentally send Claudius to Heaven. The development of Claudius' guilt is a gradual transformation. This metamorphosis will come to a head later in the play. The guilt though, has already begun to affect the actions of Claudius in his everyday life, by transforming a normal night out to the theater into a devastating insight into his own life. Hamlet, although he

USS Oriskany CV-34 US NavyAircraft Carrier

USS Oriskany CV-34 US NavyAircraft Carrier USS Oriskany (CV-34)   Overview Nation: United StatesType: Aircraft CarrierShipyard: New York Naval ShipyardLaid Down: May 1, 1944Launched: October 13, 1945Commissioned: September 25, 1950Fate: Sunk as artificial reef in 2006 Specifications (as built) Displacement: 30,800 tonsLength: 904 ft.Beam: 129 ft.Draft: 30 ft., 6 in.Propulsion: 8 Ãâ€" boilers, 4 Westinghouse geared turbines, 4 shaftsSpeed: 33 knotsRange: 20,000 miles at 15 knotsComplement: 2,600 men Aircraft 90-100 aircraft USS Oriskany (CV-34) Construction Laid down at the New York Naval Shipyard on May 1, 1944, USS Oriskany (CV-34) was intended to be a long-hull Essex-class aircraft carrier. Named for the 1777 Battle of Oriskany which was fought during the American Revolution, the carrier was launched on October 13, 1945 with Ida Cannon serving as sponsor. With the end of World War II, work on Oriskany was halted in August 1947 when the vessel was 85% complete. Assessing its needs, the US Navy redesigned Oriskany to serve as the prototype for the new SCB-27 modernization program. This called for the installation of more powerful catapults, stronger elevators, a new island layout, and the addition of blisters to the hull. Many of upgrades made during the SCB-27 program were intended to allow the carrier to handle the jet aircraft that were coming into service. Completed in 1950, Oriskany was commissioned on September 25 with Captain Percy Lyon in command. Early Deployments Departing New York in December, Oriskany conducted training and shakedown exercises in the Atlantic and Caribbean into early 1951. With these complete, the carrier embarked Carrier Air Group 4 and began a deployment to the Mediterranean with the 6th Fleet that May. Returning in November, Oriskany entered the yard for an overhaul which saw changes to its island, flight deck, and steering system. With the completion of this work in May 1952, the ship received orders to join the Pacific Fleet. Rather than use the Panama Canal, Oriskany sailed around South America and made port calls at Rio de Janeiro, Valparaiso, and Callao. After conducting training exercises near San Diego, Oriskany crossed the Pacific to support United Nations forces during the Korean War. Korea After a port call in Japan, Oriskany joined Task Force 77 off the coast of Korea in October 1952. Commencing air strikes against enemy targets, the carriers aircraft attacked troop positions, supply lines, and artillery emplacements. In addition, Oriskanys pilots had success in combating Chinese MiG-15 fighters. With the exception of brief overhaul in Japan, the carrier remained in action until April 22, 1953 when it left the Korean coast and proceeded to San Diego. For its service in Korean War, Oriskany was awarded two battle stars. Spending the summer in California, the carrier underwent routine upkeep before returning to Korea that September. Operating in the Sea of Japan and East China Sea, it worked to maintain the uneasy peace which had been established in July. In the Pacific Following another Far East deployment, Oriskany arrived at San Francisco in August 1956. Decommissioned on January 2, 1957, it entered the yard to undergo a SCB-125A modernization. This saw the addition of an angled flight deck, enclosed hurricane bow, steam catapults, and improved elevators. Taking over two years to complete, Oriskany was re-commissioned on March 7, 1959 with Captain James M. Wright in command. After conducting a deployment to the Western Pacific in 1960, Oriskany was overhauled the following year and became the first carrier to receive the US Navys new Naval Tactical Data System. In 1963, Oriskany arrived off the coast of South Vietnam to safeguard American interests following a coup detat which saw President Ngo Dinh Diem deposed. Vietnam War Overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in 1964, Oriskany conducted refresher training off the West Coast before being directed to sail for the Western Pacific in April 1965. This was in response to the American entry into the Vietnam War. Largely carrying an air wing equipped with LTV F-8A Crusaders and Douglas A4D Skyhawks, Oriskany began combat operations against North Vietnamese targets as part of Operation Rolling Thunder. Over the next several months the carrier operated from either Yankee or Dixie Station depending on the targets to be attacked. Flying over 12,000 combat sorties, Oriskany earned the Navy Unit Commendation for its performance. A Deadly Fire Returning to San Diego in December 1965, Oriskany underwent an overhaul before again steaming for Vietnam. Resuming combat operations in June 1966, the carrier was struck by tragedy later that year. On October 26, a massive fire erupted when a mishandled magnesium parachute flare ignited in the forward flare locker of Hangar Bay 1. This flare led to the explosion of around 700 other flares in the locker. Fire and smoke quickly spread through the forward part of the ship. Though damage control teams were finally able to extinguish the fire, it killed 43 men, many of them pilots, and wounded 38. Sailing to Subic Bay, Philippines, the wounded were removed from Oriskany and damaged carrier began the voyage back to San Francisco. Back to Vietnam Repaired, Oriskany returned to Vietnam in July 1967. Serving as the flagship of Carrier Division 9, it resumed combat operations from Yankee Station on July 14. On October 26, 1967, one of Oriskanys pilots, Lieutenant Commander John McCain, was shot down over North Vietnam. A future senator and presidential candidate, McCain endured over five years as a prisoner of war. As had become a pattern, Oriskany completed its tour in January 1968 and underwent an overhaul at San Francisco. This complete, it arrived back off Vietnam in May 1969. Operating from Yankee Station, Oriskanys aircraft attacked targets on the Ho Chi Minh Trail as part of Operation Steel Tiger. Flying strike missions through the summer, the carrier sailed for Alameda in November. In dry dock over the winter, Oriskany was upgraded to handle the new LTV A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft. This work complete, Oriskany commenced its fifth Vietnam deployment on May 14, 1970. Continuing attacks on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the carriers air wing also flew diversionary strikes as part of the Son Tay rescue mission that November. After another overhaul at San Francisco that December, Oriskany departed for its sixth tour off Vietnam. En route, the carrier encountered four Soviet Tupolev TU-95 Bear strategic bombers east of the Philippines. Launching, fighters from Oriskany shadowed the Soviet aircraft as they moved through the area. Completing its deployment in November, the carrier moved through its usual pattern of upkeep in San Francisco before returning to Vietnam in June 1972. Though Oriskany was damaged in a collision with the ammunition ship USS Nitro on June 28, it remained on station and took part in Operation Linebacker. Continuing to hammer enemy targets, the carriers aircraft remained active until January 27, 1973 when the Paris Peace Accords were signed. Retirement After conducting final strikes in Laos in mid-February, Oriskany sailed for Alameda in late March. Refitting, the carrier began a new mission to the Western Pacific which saw it operate in the South China Sea before conducting training in the Indian Ocean. The ship remained in region until mid-1974. Entering Long Beach Naval Ship Yard in August, work began to overhaul the carrier. Completed in April 1975, Oriskany conducted a final deployment to the Far East later that year. Returning home in March 1976, it was designated for deactivation the following month due to defense budget cuts and its old age. Decommissioned on September 30, 1976, Oriskany was held in reserve at Bremerton, WA until being struck from the Navy List on July 25, 1989. Sold for scrap in 1995, Oriskany was reclaimed by the US Navy two years later as the buyer had made no progress in demolishing the ship. Taken to Beaumont, TX, the US Navy announced in 2004 that the ship would be given to the State of Florida for use as an artificial reef. After extensive environmental remediation to remove toxic substances from the vessel, Oriskany was sunk off the coast of Florida on May 17, 2006. The largest vessel to be used as an artificial reef, the carrier has become popular with recreational divers. Selected Sources NavSource: USS OriskanyOriskany HistoryDANFS: USS  Oriskany  (CV-34)

Cultural,socio-phycho,migrant Identity and magic realism in the works Dissertation

Cultural,socio-phycho,migrant Identity and magic realism in the works of salman Rushdie - Dissertation Example Rushdie’s second novel, Midnight’s Children is a book that had elements of magic realism in it. Several literatures shall be reviewed to show the extent at which Salman Rushdie integrated cultural, socio-psycho, migrant identity and migrant identity into his works. Rushdie is an author that actually writes in English, but the fact remains that he is an author that still keeps the culture of his Indian origin at heart and this is evident in his writings. Zimringa believes that this adds to the cultural elements that Rushdie integrates into his works (Zmiringa 5-6). In his article, The passionate cosmopolitan in Salman Rushdie's Fury, Zmiringa came to the conclusion that Rushdie tried to reach out to his readers on the issue of cultural diversity and how some cultures and countries try to dominate other cultures and countries. Zmiringa believed that Rushdie’s Fury that was written in 2001 was his (Rushdie) attempt to show the extent at which his works contained ele ments of migrant identity as Zmiringa’s The passionate cosmopolitan in Salman Rushdie's Fury highlights the experience of American immigrants that was evident in Rushdie’s works.

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Journal - Essay Example Do not wear white or tight things unless you use our products, they warn. If you get your clothes stained, it will be the greatest shame in your life. Even your boyfriend should not know that you’ve got menstruation, suggest some ads of tampons. You get the message. As to the menarche, I did feel some discomfort about it. It was a mixture if pride and sorrow. It was the sign of my growing up, but it also signaled the official end of my childhood. It is always that way: girls are proud of becoming mature, but they feel discomfort about their sexuality. Continuing the topic of shame, it is really very common among women. Many mothers do not tell their daughters of menstruation until it starts. They keep it in secret just like issues connected with sex. So girls often get frightened and feel shame, inherited from their mothers. I think it is very important to make girls acquainted with the stages of their development early in their lives, so that they could know that it is quite normal and would not be afraid of developing. #2. Like many other girls, I acquire my notions of beauty from mass media. I am lucky to have the ‘proper’ figure: to be slim. This way I could avoid pressures associated with weight. On the other hand, I do feel sometimes that I need to loose some kilograms, I realize that it is stupid but those fears simply come to my head. I do make-up both because I feel the necessity and because I like it. However, I can go out without make-up and feel OK. As to clothes, I am influenced by the demands of fashion. When I wear some clothes that are too out-of-date or baggy I feel discomfort. I like to be fluffy. Underwear, perfumes, nail varnish, handbags, jewelry – all those things attract me. They are beautiful and make you feel attractive and pleasant to look at. They give you the feeling of being rich and able to permit the life of luxury. If used properly, they make women look and smell very nice. I see nothing

Coursework 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Coursework 2 - Essay Example The project must be delivered within the stipulated time and within the projected budget cost. Such expectations with time require strict operation and ultimate discipline especially with procurement and implementation. Considerations when Accepting a Contractor’s Work Programme When evaluating the possibility of accepting a contractor’s work programme in regard to a construction project, various points must be considered. Ashworth (2006) asserts that the key concerns towards the acceptance of the programme will be considered in the pre-construction conference. During this conference, I as the contract administrator will verify whether the contractor has been able to provide pre-requisite documents as required for the project before issuing the Notice to Proceed. These documents include certificates of insurance, letters of credit as bond for the project cost which should be 40% of the project cost, building permits and contractor’s license. This process ensure t hat third party liability and accidents surrounding the project are adequately covered thus ensuring the safety of the project. The contractor’s license will give an assurance towards the eligibility of the contractor and give an indication into his experience to carry out the stipulated works (Chappell 2006). Further to the contractor complying with the documentation and security and safety measures, it is important to ensure that the contractor will be able to accomplish the project requirements within the time lines. In this regard, the proposed programme provided by the contractor is to be evaluated to ascertain practicability. The programme should ensure that the construction works are completed in good time to allow for inspection and mitigation where issues could arise (Stoll & Reilly 2006). The programme provided by the contractor in this project does not include road improvement and cabling works. However, this programme runs into the expected time for completion of the entire project. Though the cabling works is a separate contract by another contractor, it is clear that the road improvement and electricity cabling works should come after the construction of the production units and so the contractor should have allowed enough time for such related works. In light of the above, as the Contract Administrator, I will not be able to approve such a programme due to the risk of not being able to deliver the project within the time deadline. Advice to Help Complete the Construction work earlier From the initial contract agreement, the lead contractor is to take charge of the construction of the factory units and the improvement of the service lane as well as the junction with the dual carriageway. The other works of diversion of electrical cabling is to be undertaken by a different contractor but one who must start work after the construction of the factory unit and the service lane. Therefore, to ensure that all the project deliverables are achieve d within the deadline of 1st June, the construction of the factory units and the service lane must be completed before then. Consequently for the construction work to be completed by mid May, the employer has three options to pursue: a. The employer may have to bring forward the commencement date so that the actual construction work begin two weeks earlier. This could mean the works beginning by mid December as opposed to 1st January. This is likely to be impossible because of the

Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry

Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry Determination of elements of customer satisfaction in delivering fuel through retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas Introduction The Indian Petroleum Industry The Indian petroleum Industry started way back in the end of the 19th century, with the discovery of petroleum in Digboi Assam .The industry was initially opened for international players and global oil majors such as Caltex, Esso and Burmah Shell. However after 1970s, the Indian division of the international companies was nationalized by government of India and the industry became strictly regulate din the country. The government nationalized the refining and marketing sectors and subsequently introduced regulatory controls on the production, import and distribution and pricing of crude oil and petroleum products by establishing the Oil coordination Committee (OCC). Through the OCC, the government administered the prices of petroleum products after establishing a complex oil pool account system. Producers, refiners and marketers were compensated for operating cost and were also assured of a fair return on their assets through the Administered Price Mechanism (APM). During this period, government controlled entities accounted for 90% of the market share. Major players like IOC, BPCL and HPCL dominated the market in the downstream sector, while the upstream sector was dominated by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India claiming approximately 84% of the share of the total market. After the liberalization of the Indian economy, the industry witnessed some fundamental changes. The policy makers realized that APM will no longer be working successfully as it had in the past and the sector will have to be opened completely. Thus the government initiated the process of deregulation in 1995, whereas APM was replaced by Market Determined Price Mechanism (MDPM).With the introduction of MDMP and deregulation of the marketing and refining sectors, the industry was opened completely for private and foreign participation. The government allowed four companies Reliance Petroleum, ONGC, Essar and Numaligarh Refineries to market petroleum products through their retail outlets. During the APM regime, public sector companies ‘owned the mark et and hence they never felt the need to pay attention towards brand building and customer loyalty. Branding initiatives were limited to lubricant market only. With the entry of these new players, competition intensified and posed a serious threat for the existing players. This lead to change in the way oil marketing companies looked at the fuel retail business. This was the time when all players started understanding the fact that fuel products has to be moved from commodity-convenience purchase behaviour to service-customer loyalty quadrant. This will initiate cross selling and thus leading to increase in per square feet revenue from retail space. This increased the players effort towards branding and Non Fuel Revenue initiatives. Fuel Retailing in Indian Petroleum Industry Fuel retail business in India has undergone a huge change from a fully regulated market to semi regulated market. Till 2002 the sector was completely under government control. During all these years, the marketing function of organisations received the least importance. Distribution was the only marketing function. The market was sellers market. The customers had no option other than to buy products from public sector oil companies. The entry private players in the market have brought in options for customers and the concept of customer service has evolved in fuel retail business. At present there are nearly 34000 PSU fuel retail outlets spread across India. There are around 3000 fuel retail outlets by private players. The brand war is spreading to petrol pump stations. The players are becoming more customers centric and once the market becomes fully deregulated in coming years with number of players becoming double of present, the competition on price will die and the competition will be to gain customer loyalty by providing different services to customer. Thus it becomes important to know the hierarchical level of services which need to be provided to achieve customer satisfaction and gain customer loyalty. The study by Kumar Sahay(2004) says that the behaviour of customer at fuel retail outlets on highways is to park the vehicle and relax, which is very different from behaviour on outlets within urban limits. Thus it becomes evident from the above that fuel retail business in India can divided into two types, which are â€Å"Fuel Retail Business with in Urban Limits† and â€Å"Fuel Retail Business on Highways and Suburbs†. The hierarchical level discussed above is dependent upon type of fuel retail business the player is operating in. This demarcation into two businesses happens due to the difference in the customer behaviour while travelling with in urban limits and on highways. There are many researches done on highway travellers and their expectation and preferences of services on fuel stations, but these are geography specific and nothing has been done in the Indian context. The determination of hierarchical level of services at fuel stations till date is confined to urban limits only. The customer behaviour and expectations on outlets situated on highways and suburbs are different from customer segments visiting outlets with in urban limits. This research aims at finding different services at fuel retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas other than refuelling which will help in creating loyal customers. Also there can be number of services, but which are more important for particular outlet always remains a question. The research also aims to find relationship between the location of outlets to the kind of services required in order to build a decision making process model to select important added services with an objective of increasing per squ are feet revenue from the real state space and development of customer loyalty. Literature review Fuel Retailing â€Å"Retailing is the set of activities that markets products or services to final consumers for their own personal or household use whereas Retailer is someone who cuts off or sheds a small piece from something† Before moving to Indian context it is important to create a parallel with western markets where fuel or gasoline retailing is in more developed stage in comparison to Indian fuel retailing. The fuel retailing in India has started to move from commodity to service from 2002 after the emergence of private and global players. But this phenomenon happened far before in US, European and Asia Pacific markets. Since 1960 there have been substantial changes in the structure of the petrol retailing industry of Europe and North America (Lowe J. , 1976)There was influx of new companies in UK market which were either independent or wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign giants. Lowe (1976) analyzed that after the influx of new firms in UK, the price competition became fierce and all the new companies tried different things to differentiate and gain customer loyalty. The fuel or gasoline retail structure in US had full service gasoline stations. The full service gasoline station was the one that offered minor services and repairs, where wind shield was cleaned, where credit was offered and where rest rooms were available (Mitchell 1980). Mitchell(1980) also stated that these services were sold as a part of a package along with the gasoline itself and was done entirely with the objective of building a long term relationship between the service station and the customer. The companies in the western countries started looking for various services which can supplement their gasoline sales in the event of increased competition. One of the most popular additions of service was car wash, which proved to be a successful strategy in selling tremendous volumes of gasoline. This made customers to come for car wash and also get their vehicles refuelled. ‘A dealer in Dallas, estimated that more than half of his anticipated $ 700,000 sales would come from an automated car wash. What more he claimed that the presence of car wash boosted his gasoline sales to an annual rate more than 1,000,00 gallons from 680,000 gallons three before that.( Steele 1966) Steele (1966) also predicted that as time passes by more and more gasoline stations will turn into large service centres offering a combination of gasoline, car wash, tire and battery service, restaurant and so on. Thus the future will be a complete one stop solution. This can hold true in Indian context also, but the bouquet of services will be definitely very different from outlets in developed markets. The bouquet will be entirely different depending upon the different customer requirements and purchasing power. Mitchell (1980) also predicted the movement of gasoline stations from independent full service stations to company owned self service gasoline stations. The reason stated was the pressure of margins and aim to drive customer loyalty by providing customers with a large service bouquet at gasoline station with in the same margin. This can also be seen happening in Indian context with Indian Oil Corporation being the first among all PSUs moving towards company owned outlets to increase service standards at their pumps and recently Shell entering into Indian market with company owned outlets. The conceptual model (Brown Ingene 1987) on fuel or gasoline retail structure in US explains the influence of demographic environmental characteristics on marketing mix offerings. The model also explained the influence of location of the outlet on demographic, environmental, and marketing mix characteristics. The research by Brown and Ingene (1987) demonstrated that while defining marketing mix elements for fuel and gasoline retailing it becomes important to consider the impact of demographic and environmental characteristics. The major changes started to happen in fuel retailing and fuel stations started to move towards differentiating themselves due to increase in competition. This was the development of forecourt retailing phenomenon at gasoline stations in western markets. The major changes occurred with petrol forecourt retailing where transition of fuel stations within a contextual framework happened. They had sought differentiation in the face of increased competition. One strategy undertaken was to develop a convenience store format to supplement fuel sales (Denning Freathy 1996). A clear analogy can be drawn for Indian fuel retail also, where with emergence of many private players to tap the biggest consumer market, the players or fuel companies will have to try and do something to differentiate themselves. As the competition grew the fuel retailers faced more and more pressure on profits and it became important for them to generate loyal customers and increase the ticket sales value of loyal customers at the fuel outlet. They move to others forms of revenue generation. The objective was to compensate for erosion with alternative forms of profit generation. The issue for the petrol retailers has been to identify ways of adding value to their operation in the face of these competitive threats. One of the main methods of achieving this has been through forecourt shop. Many petrol retailers have attempted to reduce the risk posed by petrol price fluctuation by expanding the facilities at their outlets. (Keynote, 1993) Denning and Freathy (1996) established that different customer segments depending upon their income levels and profession purchased different products from convenience stores at petrol stations. This indicates that determination major visiting customer segment becomes important at any fuel retail outlet. The product mix at any fuel retail outlet is also dependent upon purchasing power of the customer segments at that outlet. The exact form that the formats have taken has varied by operator location and site type. This is a reflection of the fact that the convenience store does not necessarily follow a single set pattern. The limited space available within each unit, it is possible that services take priority over other categories of goods.(Denning Freathy 1996) An important feature to note here is that, the development of fuel stations did not happen only in areas with in urban limits. The development of interstate highways and urban express ways had made many fuel stations obsolete in western world. This made many oil companies to build new facilities to meet the changing traffic patterns. More and more oil companies began to realize that former gas outlets of the conventional style were no longer getting customer visits. The primary objective of service bouquet is to add to the convenience of the customer visiting the outlet. Convenience is especially important in attracting repeat customers. It becomes fairly important to understand what adds to customer convenience and what not. Convenience results from various factors such as site size, site plan, traffic impacts and parking (Smalley 1996). The factors are not limited to the ones stated above; the factors vary with different geographies and markets. Fuel retail business is of two types one with retail outlets with in urban limits and other with retail outlets on highways and suburbs. The behaviour of the customer is very different at these two different types of business. The marketer likewise faces a distinct business environment to which marketing strategy must be adapted. The Highway market is not necessarily different from traditional markets because objectives remain the same. It is unique, however, because new approaches are needed to achieve the objectives.(Beaton 2001) Interstate or highway motorists seek five basic services: gasoline, rest rooms, food, relaxation and lodging. Aside from the need for gasoline as the prime factor, marketers differ somewhat in their opinions as to the exact ordering of these needs as stopping power factors. (Beaton 2001) The development of new factors is prompting rapid growth of different services at fuel retail outlets at highways. Competition and changing travel patterns mean that to remain competitive the oil companies must meet the overall needs of the motorist at one stop. (Beaton Hall, 1968) For a fuel retail outlet on highways, petroleum companies apply the same criteria for building service bouquet as that of the outlets with in urban limits. This happens due to the profit criteria only as the main objective of existence of outlet instead of customer satisfaction. A good station site does not guarantee a good service station. Site and location factor analysis indicates what a particular fuel outlet should do. (Beaton Hall 1968) Fuel Retailing India Fuel retail business on highways is geography dependent; the above researchers have kept their study confined to more developed and liberalised markets than India. All those factors may be or may not be applied to Indian conditions. As the Indian fuel retail business becomes more deregulation, the customer expectations will start to rise. The variables like competitive market, promotional effort to attract customers by competitors, etc. raise the customer expectations and create customer gap. (Kumar Sahay 2004) In India the study by Kumar Sahay, to find out the elements that determine customer satisfaction in delivering petrol/diesel through retail outlets is confined to fuel retail with in urban limits. The market survey was carried out in Delhi. Stratified non-probability sampling method was used for sample collection. The target population has been defined as: The people who drive ‘Cars / jeeps or ‘Motorcycles/scooters or ‘Buses or ‘Goods vehicles on the roads of Delhi (state)†. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Through cluster analysis the initially found segments reduced to three segments and customer expectations level for various services determined. This has lead to development of hierarchical levels of services for different segments and a conclusion that a player offering all the six levels of services will be able to bridge gap between customer expectations and services offered. These levels of expectations, if met successfully, create â€Å"wow† effect and customer would indulge in word-of-mouth communication. Word-of-mouth communication is the most powerful tool for creating customer base. Not only the existing customers are retained but also they bring-in new customers to outlets. Prospects with continued satisfaction with the products and services become advocates. Such customers start singing marketers song and begin to praise. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Fuel and Non Fuel retailing Initiatives by Indian Oil Marketing Companies The three major players in the domain of oil marketing companies in India are PSUs namely BPCL, HPCL and IOC enjoying majority share. Rest of the pie is served by private players like Reliance, Essar and Shell. All the three PSUs have taken initiatives to add non fuel revenues and build customer loyalty. These initiatives had been taken on outlets both within urban limits and also on outlets on highways and suburbs. The reason behind all the initiatives had been to gain customer loyalty and thus increase customer satisfaction. http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/BPCL.htm Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) is one of the largest public sector undertakings in India, with the Government of India having a more than 50% shareholding in the company as of 31 March 2008 (Euromonitor International, April 2009). BPCL is engaged in the refining and retailing of petroleum and petroleum products, with around 8,251 retail outlets. By December 2008, around 400 of these outlets had an organised convenience store attached, branded as In Out, with an aggregate retailing space of 18,600 sq m. BPCLs key strategy to increase revenues from the In Out outlets has been to expand the basket of products and services offered through the outlets. Apart from offering packaged food, soft and hot drinks, cosmetics and toiletries, household care items and consumer foodservice, BPCL has also tried to add other additional services at the outlets over the years to add to the customer satisfaction levels. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is planning to grow its non-fuel retail business by expanding its fuel retail network, with sufficient size to emphasise non-fuel offerings, and enlarge the portfolio of non-fuel offerings in its outlets located at highways and urban locations, with a focus on food, shopping and entertainment in these outlets. It will also increase consumer services for example, through its recent tie-up with an agency for international money transfer services at its existing urban outlets. During the forecast period, BPCL proposes to invest Rs 6 billion to expand its retail network. The outlets will be built mainly on national highways and at urban locations, and will offer mobile consumers high quality food, and also provide them with access to entertainment through an on-site multiplex screen. BPCL has tied up with Cinemata, a film distribution unit of Sony Entertainment Television, to establish cinema halls at its fuel outlets on highways across the country by 2010. In order to expand its range of services, In Out launched an e-traveller facility at its forecourt retail outlets. The facility enables consumers to book rail, airline and bus tickets, as well as hotel accommodation, and is available in 37 stores. BPCL is working on Phase II of the deployment of this service, when it will make it available in an additional 100 stores. Revenues from the e-traveller facility were around Rs15 million in 2007/2008; its first full year of operation, with sales of 7,782 tickets (Euromonitor International, April 2009). To provide added convenience services to its customers close to their homes, BPCL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Money Gram Internationals agent Airwings Services, to offer international money transfer service in India from its selected In Out outlets. Meanwhile, its alliance initiative with Western Union Money Transfer saw the In Out network record 36,677 transactions in the year ending March 2008, with a turnover of Rs 699 million, an increase of 26% over the previous year. (Euromonitor International, April 2009) BPCLs quick service restaurant sales through its alliance network partners McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Cafà © Coffee Day, Subway, Nirulas and other foodservice brands grew by 40% to Rs 249 million in the year ending March 2008. BPCLs outlets on highways are branded as Ghar Dhaba, and represent the companys foray into food. BPCL has developed a concept covering theme design, kitchen layout and menu planning, and established the standard operating processes for the outlets in-house. As of March 2008, it had 21 Ghar Dhaba outlets in operation, with total sales of Rs23 million. Developed on a large area of three to five acres (12,000-20,000sq m), these outlets provide the requisite space to allow BPCL to experiment with a multiplex cinema for stop-over entertainment (Business Standard, Sep 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bpcl-to-mix-moviesoil-at-pumps/297583/ If the concept is successful, the company will roll this out in more Ghar Dhaba outlets. The multiplex screens, especially in outlets located on highways, will also serve a social purpose for nearby rural consumers. BPCL plans to screen social awareness, health and literacy content in these multiplexes for rural audiences. The majority of the products through the In Out outlets are manufactured by third parties. However, BPCL proposes to offer its own brand of bottled water at the outlets, where the water will be a by-product of its captive power plant, based on hydrogen fuel cell technology. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) was the leading forecourt retailer in India in 2008, with 400 outlets. The company added 17 outlets to the total in that year. Rather than expanding rapidly, BPCL has focused on ensuring that its outlets are profitable, and also on adding additional services to its existing outlets. In 2008, sales revenues of BPCLs non-fuel retail arm, Allied Retail Business (ARB), grew by 32%, to Rs2,089 million, making it the largest non-fuel revenue generator in the oil industry. During the year, In Outs sales revenues grew by 41%, to Rs 1092 million. 15 of the In Out outlets achieved average sales of Rs1 million per month, compared to eight in the previous year. This is clear indication of the fact that now oil marketing companies are understanding the importance of non fuel retail revenue initiatives and also working over it not only for outlets with in urban limits but also for outlets on highways. But as discussed the scientific framework to decide what to offer still remains a mystery, as all the efforts for highway fuel retail outlets have been o trial and error basis. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) HPCL is a Fortune 500 Company, with an annual turnover of over Rs 74044 Crores, a 20% refining and marketing share in India and a strong market infrastructure. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) The corporation operates two major refineries, producing a wide variety of petroleum fuels and specialities, one in Mumbai (West Coast) with a 5.5 MMTPA capacity and the other in Vishakapatnam (East Coast) with a capacity of 7.5 MMTPA (Oil Gas, IBEF Report Sep 2009) HPCL holds an equity stake of 16.95% in Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Limited, a state-of-the-art refinery at Mangalore with a capacity of 9 MMTPA. In addition, HPCL is progressing towards the setting up of a refinery in the state of Punjab. HPCL also owns and operates the largest lube refinery in the country, producing lube base oils to international standards. With a capacity of 335,000 metric tonnes this lube refinery accounts for over 40% of the countrys total lube base oil production. The vast marketing network of the corporation consists of zonal offices in the four metro cities and 85 regional offices facilitated by a supply and distribution infrastructure comprising terminals, aviation service stations, bottling plants, and inland relay depots and retail outlets. The Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) focus is on providing broader services to its customers with an experience that is unmatched. Through its retail channels, HPCL offers a nationwide chain of convenience stores, has forged tie-ups with leading fast food and refreshment companies to set up food counters, a special arrangement with FedEx to provide a world class courier service, vehicle insurance and international money faster counters. The focus is on complete customer satisfaction and an experience that will make a customer drive in again and again to HPCL forecourt retailing and convenience stores. In 2006, the chain developed its forecourt operations substantially through a series of agreements with a number of prominent foodservice and retail players. HPCL is increasingly adopting a focus on loyalty, it has put in extra efforts and an aggressive marketing campaign to retain customer loyalty. It runs Indias largest loyalty programme and has products such as the HPCL credit card, HPCL debit card and I-mint loyalty programme. Another focus is on brand equity; HP has been investing in increasing its brand presence and has taken on brand ambassadors such as Sania Mirza and Narayan Karthikeyan to promote its different products. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is a central government commercial enterprise engaged in the refinement and sale of crude oil. It also manufactures other petroleum products like LPG, lubricants, greases, petrochemicals and aviation turbine fuel. HPCL launched its Club HP forecourt retailing chain in 2001. From the beginning, the chain sought to offer other facilities besides selling petrol, diesel and other products. These include free vehicle checks, vehicle finance and insurance related services, bill payment services, HPCL-ICICI credit cards and loyalty programmes. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) Club HP outlets are classified as Standard, Mega and Max, depending on the services and amenities available. In its first phase of expansion, HPCL set up 85 Club HP outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Each of these outlets was converted at an estimated cost of between Rs1 and Rs3 million. It subsequently introduced its supermarket sub brand HP Speed mart, and developed its foodservice operations through an agreement with US Pizza. The success of this deal prompted HPCL to enter into similar agreements with players such as Cafà © Coffee Day (vending and foodservice), Dairy Den (ice cream parlours), Western Union (money transfer points) and Tata Motors (car care services) (Business Standard, Jan 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ In order to improve its image among Indian consumers in terms of the quality of its fuel, during the review period the company launched the PCL Quality Assurance initiative under the Good Fuel Promise slogan. This involved the pioneering concept of mobile laboratories to carry out regular checks on fuel sold at Club HP outlets. It also entered into an agreement with the international agency Bureau Veritas to conduct a surveillance audit of Club HP Outlets. After having a market share of around 20-22% for a long time, recently it has improved its market position to number two, with a market share of close to 25% of the total service station market in India (Business Standard, April 2005). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ For most of the review period, Club HP played second fiddle to BPCLs In Out chain in terms of revenues from forecourt operations, although it garnered considerable brand awareness among consumers. A deal with US Pizza was expected to witness the opening of over 500 pizza and fast food delivery units at Club HP service station outlets across India between 2005 and 2007. Apna Bazaar Co-operative (a supermarket chain) is involved in a pilot project with HPCL to establish Apna Bazaar outlets at three Club HP outlets in Mumbai. If successful, the alliance will be extended to other Club HP outlets nationwide. This agreement will also enable Apna Bazaar to upgrade its image by targeting more upper and middle class consumers. http://www.hindustanpetroleum.com/En/UI/RetailClubHP.aspx While neither of these deals on their own are likely to have any major impact on constant value sales of impulse food and drink products through Club HP outlets, they will almost certainly benefit from the rise in consumer traffic that these foodservice and supermarket operations will entail. A loyalty card deal with low-cost airline Air Deccan should also ensure a higher volume of consumer traffic in Club HP outlets over the forecast period. Similarly, an agreement with Federal Express (FedEx) during the review period to open cargo collection centres at various Club HP outlets should continue to attract consumers between 2005 and 2010. FedEx is slowly gaining a reputation in India as a reliable cargo delivery agent; in 2005, there were FedEx cargo collection centres at HP outlets in eight major Indian cities. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Reliance Petroleum Reliance Petroleum is aggressively targeting the service station channel, planning a pan-Indian presence over the next couple of years in cities as well as on main roads. The biggest challenge it faces is in terms of return on investment and whether it is a wise move to invest so heavily in forecourt retailing in India, which is still relatively underdeveloped. With Reliances strong presence across India, food and beverage manufacturers can aim to push major volumes through Reliance service stations. Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) is a subsidiary of Indias largest private group Reliance Industries Ltd. RPL was set up to harness an emerging value creation opportunity in the global refining sector and currently RPL is a 75% owned subsidiary of RIL. RPL also benefits from a strategic alliance with Chevron India Holdings Pte Limited, Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation USA (Chevron), which currently holds a 5% equity stake in the company. RPL was formed to set up a Greenfield petroleum refinery and polypropylene plant in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar in Gujarat. This global sized, highly complex refinery is being located adjacent to RILs existing refinery and petrochemicals complex, which is amongst the largest and most efficient in the world, thus offering significant synergies. With an annual crude processing capacity of 580,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD), RPL will be the sixth largest refinery in the world. It will have a complexity of 14.0, using the Nelson Complexity Index, ranking it among the highest in the sector. The polypropylene plant will have a capacity to produce 0.9 million metric tonnes per annum. (Euromonitor International, July 2008) With its Reliance A1 Plaza chain, Reliance aims to provide consumers with a wide choice of products in convenient locations. The company had planned to open more than a 1,000 service stations in the next 2-3 years, so it was clearly targeting leadership in the petroleum retailing segment. But during economic crisis and with high crude rates, Reliance had shut their outlets as serving fuel at comparative prices was becoming non-profit making business for them. Shell India Marketing Private Limited Shell India Marketing Private Limited (SIMPL) is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell and the first multinational corporation to obtain government approval to open 2,000 servic Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry Customer Satisfaction in the Indian Petroleum Industry Determination of elements of customer satisfaction in delivering fuel through retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas Introduction The Indian Petroleum Industry The Indian petroleum Industry started way back in the end of the 19th century, with the discovery of petroleum in Digboi Assam .The industry was initially opened for international players and global oil majors such as Caltex, Esso and Burmah Shell. However after 1970s, the Indian division of the international companies was nationalized by government of India and the industry became strictly regulate din the country. The government nationalized the refining and marketing sectors and subsequently introduced regulatory controls on the production, import and distribution and pricing of crude oil and petroleum products by establishing the Oil coordination Committee (OCC). Through the OCC, the government administered the prices of petroleum products after establishing a complex oil pool account system. Producers, refiners and marketers were compensated for operating cost and were also assured of a fair return on their assets through the Administered Price Mechanism (APM). During this period, government controlled entities accounted for 90% of the market share. Major players like IOC, BPCL and HPCL dominated the market in the downstream sector, while the upstream sector was dominated by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India claiming approximately 84% of the share of the total market. After the liberalization of the Indian economy, the industry witnessed some fundamental changes. The policy makers realized that APM will no longer be working successfully as it had in the past and the sector will have to be opened completely. Thus the government initiated the process of deregulation in 1995, whereas APM was replaced by Market Determined Price Mechanism (MDPM).With the introduction of MDMP and deregulation of the marketing and refining sectors, the industry was opened completely for private and foreign participation. The government allowed four companies Reliance Petroleum, ONGC, Essar and Numaligarh Refineries to market petroleum products through their retail outlets. During the APM regime, public sector companies ‘owned the mark et and hence they never felt the need to pay attention towards brand building and customer loyalty. Branding initiatives were limited to lubricant market only. With the entry of these new players, competition intensified and posed a serious threat for the existing players. This lead to change in the way oil marketing companies looked at the fuel retail business. This was the time when all players started understanding the fact that fuel products has to be moved from commodity-convenience purchase behaviour to service-customer loyalty quadrant. This will initiate cross selling and thus leading to increase in per square feet revenue from retail space. This increased the players effort towards branding and Non Fuel Revenue initiatives. Fuel Retailing in Indian Petroleum Industry Fuel retail business in India has undergone a huge change from a fully regulated market to semi regulated market. Till 2002 the sector was completely under government control. During all these years, the marketing function of organisations received the least importance. Distribution was the only marketing function. The market was sellers market. The customers had no option other than to buy products from public sector oil companies. The entry private players in the market have brought in options for customers and the concept of customer service has evolved in fuel retail business. At present there are nearly 34000 PSU fuel retail outlets spread across India. There are around 3000 fuel retail outlets by private players. The brand war is spreading to petrol pump stations. The players are becoming more customers centric and once the market becomes fully deregulated in coming years with number of players becoming double of present, the competition on price will die and the competition will be to gain customer loyalty by providing different services to customer. Thus it becomes important to know the hierarchical level of services which need to be provided to achieve customer satisfaction and gain customer loyalty. The study by Kumar Sahay(2004) says that the behaviour of customer at fuel retail outlets on highways is to park the vehicle and relax, which is very different from behaviour on outlets within urban limits. Thus it becomes evident from the above that fuel retail business in India can divided into two types, which are â€Å"Fuel Retail Business with in Urban Limits† and â€Å"Fuel Retail Business on Highways and Suburbs†. The hierarchical level discussed above is dependent upon type of fuel retail business the player is operating in. This demarcation into two businesses happens due to the difference in the customer behaviour while travelling with in urban limits and on highways. There are many researches done on highway travellers and their expectation and preferences of services on fuel stations, but these are geography specific and nothing has been done in the Indian context. The determination of hierarchical level of services at fuel stations till date is confined to urban limits only. The customer behaviour and expectations on outlets situated on highways and suburbs are different from customer segments visiting outlets with in urban limits. This research aims at finding different services at fuel retail outlets on highways and in suburban areas other than refuelling which will help in creating loyal customers. Also there can be number of services, but which are more important for particular outlet always remains a question. The research also aims to find relationship between the location of outlets to the kind of services required in order to build a decision making process model to select important added services with an objective of increasing per squ are feet revenue from the real state space and development of customer loyalty. Literature review Fuel Retailing â€Å"Retailing is the set of activities that markets products or services to final consumers for their own personal or household use whereas Retailer is someone who cuts off or sheds a small piece from something† Before moving to Indian context it is important to create a parallel with western markets where fuel or gasoline retailing is in more developed stage in comparison to Indian fuel retailing. The fuel retailing in India has started to move from commodity to service from 2002 after the emergence of private and global players. But this phenomenon happened far before in US, European and Asia Pacific markets. Since 1960 there have been substantial changes in the structure of the petrol retailing industry of Europe and North America (Lowe J. , 1976)There was influx of new companies in UK market which were either independent or wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign giants. Lowe (1976) analyzed that after the influx of new firms in UK, the price competition became fierce and all the new companies tried different things to differentiate and gain customer loyalty. The fuel or gasoline retail structure in US had full service gasoline stations. The full service gasoline station was the one that offered minor services and repairs, where wind shield was cleaned, where credit was offered and where rest rooms were available (Mitchell 1980). Mitchell(1980) also stated that these services were sold as a part of a package along with the gasoline itself and was done entirely with the objective of building a long term relationship between the service station and the customer. The companies in the western countries started looking for various services which can supplement their gasoline sales in the event of increased competition. One of the most popular additions of service was car wash, which proved to be a successful strategy in selling tremendous volumes of gasoline. This made customers to come for car wash and also get their vehicles refuelled. ‘A dealer in Dallas, estimated that more than half of his anticipated $ 700,000 sales would come from an automated car wash. What more he claimed that the presence of car wash boosted his gasoline sales to an annual rate more than 1,000,00 gallons from 680,000 gallons three before that.( Steele 1966) Steele (1966) also predicted that as time passes by more and more gasoline stations will turn into large service centres offering a combination of gasoline, car wash, tire and battery service, restaurant and so on. Thus the future will be a complete one stop solution. This can hold true in Indian context also, but the bouquet of services will be definitely very different from outlets in developed markets. The bouquet will be entirely different depending upon the different customer requirements and purchasing power. Mitchell (1980) also predicted the movement of gasoline stations from independent full service stations to company owned self service gasoline stations. The reason stated was the pressure of margins and aim to drive customer loyalty by providing customers with a large service bouquet at gasoline station with in the same margin. This can also be seen happening in Indian context with Indian Oil Corporation being the first among all PSUs moving towards company owned outlets to increase service standards at their pumps and recently Shell entering into Indian market with company owned outlets. The conceptual model (Brown Ingene 1987) on fuel or gasoline retail structure in US explains the influence of demographic environmental characteristics on marketing mix offerings. The model also explained the influence of location of the outlet on demographic, environmental, and marketing mix characteristics. The research by Brown and Ingene (1987) demonstrated that while defining marketing mix elements for fuel and gasoline retailing it becomes important to consider the impact of demographic and environmental characteristics. The major changes started to happen in fuel retailing and fuel stations started to move towards differentiating themselves due to increase in competition. This was the development of forecourt retailing phenomenon at gasoline stations in western markets. The major changes occurred with petrol forecourt retailing where transition of fuel stations within a contextual framework happened. They had sought differentiation in the face of increased competition. One strategy undertaken was to develop a convenience store format to supplement fuel sales (Denning Freathy 1996). A clear analogy can be drawn for Indian fuel retail also, where with emergence of many private players to tap the biggest consumer market, the players or fuel companies will have to try and do something to differentiate themselves. As the competition grew the fuel retailers faced more and more pressure on profits and it became important for them to generate loyal customers and increase the ticket sales value of loyal customers at the fuel outlet. They move to others forms of revenue generation. The objective was to compensate for erosion with alternative forms of profit generation. The issue for the petrol retailers has been to identify ways of adding value to their operation in the face of these competitive threats. One of the main methods of achieving this has been through forecourt shop. Many petrol retailers have attempted to reduce the risk posed by petrol price fluctuation by expanding the facilities at their outlets. (Keynote, 1993) Denning and Freathy (1996) established that different customer segments depending upon their income levels and profession purchased different products from convenience stores at petrol stations. This indicates that determination major visiting customer segment becomes important at any fuel retail outlet. The product mix at any fuel retail outlet is also dependent upon purchasing power of the customer segments at that outlet. The exact form that the formats have taken has varied by operator location and site type. This is a reflection of the fact that the convenience store does not necessarily follow a single set pattern. The limited space available within each unit, it is possible that services take priority over other categories of goods.(Denning Freathy 1996) An important feature to note here is that, the development of fuel stations did not happen only in areas with in urban limits. The development of interstate highways and urban express ways had made many fuel stations obsolete in western world. This made many oil companies to build new facilities to meet the changing traffic patterns. More and more oil companies began to realize that former gas outlets of the conventional style were no longer getting customer visits. The primary objective of service bouquet is to add to the convenience of the customer visiting the outlet. Convenience is especially important in attracting repeat customers. It becomes fairly important to understand what adds to customer convenience and what not. Convenience results from various factors such as site size, site plan, traffic impacts and parking (Smalley 1996). The factors are not limited to the ones stated above; the factors vary with different geographies and markets. Fuel retail business is of two types one with retail outlets with in urban limits and other with retail outlets on highways and suburbs. The behaviour of the customer is very different at these two different types of business. The marketer likewise faces a distinct business environment to which marketing strategy must be adapted. The Highway market is not necessarily different from traditional markets because objectives remain the same. It is unique, however, because new approaches are needed to achieve the objectives.(Beaton 2001) Interstate or highway motorists seek five basic services: gasoline, rest rooms, food, relaxation and lodging. Aside from the need for gasoline as the prime factor, marketers differ somewhat in their opinions as to the exact ordering of these needs as stopping power factors. (Beaton 2001) The development of new factors is prompting rapid growth of different services at fuel retail outlets at highways. Competition and changing travel patterns mean that to remain competitive the oil companies must meet the overall needs of the motorist at one stop. (Beaton Hall, 1968) For a fuel retail outlet on highways, petroleum companies apply the same criteria for building service bouquet as that of the outlets with in urban limits. This happens due to the profit criteria only as the main objective of existence of outlet instead of customer satisfaction. A good station site does not guarantee a good service station. Site and location factor analysis indicates what a particular fuel outlet should do. (Beaton Hall 1968) Fuel Retailing India Fuel retail business on highways is geography dependent; the above researchers have kept their study confined to more developed and liberalised markets than India. All those factors may be or may not be applied to Indian conditions. As the Indian fuel retail business becomes more deregulation, the customer expectations will start to rise. The variables like competitive market, promotional effort to attract customers by competitors, etc. raise the customer expectations and create customer gap. (Kumar Sahay 2004) In India the study by Kumar Sahay, to find out the elements that determine customer satisfaction in delivering petrol/diesel through retail outlets is confined to fuel retail with in urban limits. The market survey was carried out in Delhi. Stratified non-probability sampling method was used for sample collection. The target population has been defined as: The people who drive ‘Cars / jeeps or ‘Motorcycles/scooters or ‘Buses or ‘Goods vehicles on the roads of Delhi (state)†. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Through cluster analysis the initially found segments reduced to three segments and customer expectations level for various services determined. This has lead to development of hierarchical levels of services for different segments and a conclusion that a player offering all the six levels of services will be able to bridge gap between customer expectations and services offered. These levels of expectations, if met successfully, create â€Å"wow† effect and customer would indulge in word-of-mouth communication. Word-of-mouth communication is the most powerful tool for creating customer base. Not only the existing customers are retained but also they bring-in new customers to outlets. Prospects with continued satisfaction with the products and services become advocates. Such customers start singing marketers song and begin to praise. (Kumar Sahay 2004) Fuel and Non Fuel retailing Initiatives by Indian Oil Marketing Companies The three major players in the domain of oil marketing companies in India are PSUs namely BPCL, HPCL and IOC enjoying majority share. Rest of the pie is served by private players like Reliance, Essar and Shell. All the three PSUs have taken initiatives to add non fuel revenues and build customer loyalty. These initiatives had been taken on outlets both within urban limits and also on outlets on highways and suburbs. The reason behind all the initiatives had been to gain customer loyalty and thus increase customer satisfaction. http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/BPCL.htm Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) is one of the largest public sector undertakings in India, with the Government of India having a more than 50% shareholding in the company as of 31 March 2008 (Euromonitor International, April 2009). BPCL is engaged in the refining and retailing of petroleum and petroleum products, with around 8,251 retail outlets. By December 2008, around 400 of these outlets had an organised convenience store attached, branded as In Out, with an aggregate retailing space of 18,600 sq m. BPCLs key strategy to increase revenues from the In Out outlets has been to expand the basket of products and services offered through the outlets. Apart from offering packaged food, soft and hot drinks, cosmetics and toiletries, household care items and consumer foodservice, BPCL has also tried to add other additional services at the outlets over the years to add to the customer satisfaction levels. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is planning to grow its non-fuel retail business by expanding its fuel retail network, with sufficient size to emphasise non-fuel offerings, and enlarge the portfolio of non-fuel offerings in its outlets located at highways and urban locations, with a focus on food, shopping and entertainment in these outlets. It will also increase consumer services for example, through its recent tie-up with an agency for international money transfer services at its existing urban outlets. During the forecast period, BPCL proposes to invest Rs 6 billion to expand its retail network. The outlets will be built mainly on national highways and at urban locations, and will offer mobile consumers high quality food, and also provide them with access to entertainment through an on-site multiplex screen. BPCL has tied up with Cinemata, a film distribution unit of Sony Entertainment Television, to establish cinema halls at its fuel outlets on highways across the country by 2010. In order to expand its range of services, In Out launched an e-traveller facility at its forecourt retail outlets. The facility enables consumers to book rail, airline and bus tickets, as well as hotel accommodation, and is available in 37 stores. BPCL is working on Phase II of the deployment of this service, when it will make it available in an additional 100 stores. Revenues from the e-traveller facility were around Rs15 million in 2007/2008; its first full year of operation, with sales of 7,782 tickets (Euromonitor International, April 2009). To provide added convenience services to its customers close to their homes, BPCL has signed a memorandum of understanding with Money Gram Internationals agent Airwings Services, to offer international money transfer service in India from its selected In Out outlets. Meanwhile, its alliance initiative with Western Union Money Transfer saw the In Out network record 36,677 transactions in the year ending March 2008, with a turnover of Rs 699 million, an increase of 26% over the previous year. (Euromonitor International, April 2009) BPCLs quick service restaurant sales through its alliance network partners McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Cafà © Coffee Day, Subway, Nirulas and other foodservice brands grew by 40% to Rs 249 million in the year ending March 2008. BPCLs outlets on highways are branded as Ghar Dhaba, and represent the companys foray into food. BPCL has developed a concept covering theme design, kitchen layout and menu planning, and established the standard operating processes for the outlets in-house. As of March 2008, it had 21 Ghar Dhaba outlets in operation, with total sales of Rs23 million. Developed on a large area of three to five acres (12,000-20,000sq m), these outlets provide the requisite space to allow BPCL to experiment with a multiplex cinema for stop-over entertainment (Business Standard, Sep 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bpcl-to-mix-moviesoil-at-pumps/297583/ If the concept is successful, the company will roll this out in more Ghar Dhaba outlets. The multiplex screens, especially in outlets located on highways, will also serve a social purpose for nearby rural consumers. BPCL plans to screen social awareness, health and literacy content in these multiplexes for rural audiences. The majority of the products through the In Out outlets are manufactured by third parties. However, BPCL proposes to offer its own brand of bottled water at the outlets, where the water will be a by-product of its captive power plant, based on hydrogen fuel cell technology. Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) was the leading forecourt retailer in India in 2008, with 400 outlets. The company added 17 outlets to the total in that year. Rather than expanding rapidly, BPCL has focused on ensuring that its outlets are profitable, and also on adding additional services to its existing outlets. In 2008, sales revenues of BPCLs non-fuel retail arm, Allied Retail Business (ARB), grew by 32%, to Rs2,089 million, making it the largest non-fuel revenue generator in the oil industry. During the year, In Outs sales revenues grew by 41%, to Rs 1092 million. 15 of the In Out outlets achieved average sales of Rs1 million per month, compared to eight in the previous year. This is clear indication of the fact that now oil marketing companies are understanding the importance of non fuel retail revenue initiatives and also working over it not only for outlets with in urban limits but also for outlets on highways. But as discussed the scientific framework to decide what to offer still remains a mystery, as all the efforts for highway fuel retail outlets have been o trial and error basis. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) HPCL is a Fortune 500 Company, with an annual turnover of over Rs 74044 Crores, a 20% refining and marketing share in India and a strong market infrastructure. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) The corporation operates two major refineries, producing a wide variety of petroleum fuels and specialities, one in Mumbai (West Coast) with a 5.5 MMTPA capacity and the other in Vishakapatnam (East Coast) with a capacity of 7.5 MMTPA (Oil Gas, IBEF Report Sep 2009) HPCL holds an equity stake of 16.95% in Mangalore Refinery Petrochemicals Limited, a state-of-the-art refinery at Mangalore with a capacity of 9 MMTPA. In addition, HPCL is progressing towards the setting up of a refinery in the state of Punjab. HPCL also owns and operates the largest lube refinery in the country, producing lube base oils to international standards. With a capacity of 335,000 metric tonnes this lube refinery accounts for over 40% of the countrys total lube base oil production. The vast marketing network of the corporation consists of zonal offices in the four metro cities and 85 regional offices facilitated by a supply and distribution infrastructure comprising terminals, aviation service stations, bottling plants, and inland relay depots and retail outlets. The Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) focus is on providing broader services to its customers with an experience that is unmatched. Through its retail channels, HPCL offers a nationwide chain of convenience stores, has forged tie-ups with leading fast food and refreshment companies to set up food counters, a special arrangement with FedEx to provide a world class courier service, vehicle insurance and international money faster counters. The focus is on complete customer satisfaction and an experience that will make a customer drive in again and again to HPCL forecourt retailing and convenience stores. In 2006, the chain developed its forecourt operations substantially through a series of agreements with a number of prominent foodservice and retail players. HPCL is increasingly adopting a focus on loyalty, it has put in extra efforts and an aggressive marketing campaign to retain customer loyalty. It runs Indias largest loyalty programme and has products such as the HPCL credit card, HPCL debit card and I-mint loyalty programme. Another focus is on brand equity; HP has been investing in increasing its brand presence and has taken on brand ambassadors such as Sania Mirza and Narayan Karthikeyan to promote its different products. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is a central government commercial enterprise engaged in the refinement and sale of crude oil. It also manufactures other petroleum products like LPG, lubricants, greases, petrochemicals and aviation turbine fuel. HPCL launched its Club HP forecourt retailing chain in 2001. From the beginning, the chain sought to offer other facilities besides selling petrol, diesel and other products. These include free vehicle checks, vehicle finance and insurance related services, bill payment services, HPCL-ICICI credit cards and loyalty programmes. (Euromonitor International, July 2007) Club HP outlets are classified as Standard, Mega and Max, depending on the services and amenities available. In its first phase of expansion, HPCL set up 85 Club HP outlets in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Each of these outlets was converted at an estimated cost of between Rs1 and Rs3 million. It subsequently introduced its supermarket sub brand HP Speed mart, and developed its foodservice operations through an agreement with US Pizza. The success of this deal prompted HPCL to enter into similar agreements with players such as Cafà © Coffee Day (vending and foodservice), Dairy Den (ice cream parlours), Western Union (money transfer points) and Tata Motors (car care services) (Business Standard, Jan 2007). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ In order to improve its image among Indian consumers in terms of the quality of its fuel, during the review period the company launched the PCL Quality Assurance initiative under the Good Fuel Promise slogan. This involved the pioneering concept of mobile laboratories to carry out regular checks on fuel sold at Club HP outlets. It also entered into an agreement with the international agency Bureau Veritas to conduct a surveillance audit of Club HP Outlets. After having a market share of around 20-22% for a long time, recently it has improved its market position to number two, with a market share of close to 25% of the total service station market in India (Business Standard, April 2005). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/fuel-stations-to-offer-one-stop-shopping/269785/ For most of the review period, Club HP played second fiddle to BPCLs In Out chain in terms of revenues from forecourt operations, although it garnered considerable brand awareness among consumers. A deal with US Pizza was expected to witness the opening of over 500 pizza and fast food delivery units at Club HP service station outlets across India between 2005 and 2007. Apna Bazaar Co-operative (a supermarket chain) is involved in a pilot project with HPCL to establish Apna Bazaar outlets at three Club HP outlets in Mumbai. If successful, the alliance will be extended to other Club HP outlets nationwide. This agreement will also enable Apna Bazaar to upgrade its image by targeting more upper and middle class consumers. http://www.hindustanpetroleum.com/En/UI/RetailClubHP.aspx While neither of these deals on their own are likely to have any major impact on constant value sales of impulse food and drink products through Club HP outlets, they will almost certainly benefit from the rise in consumer traffic that these foodservice and supermarket operations will entail. A loyalty card deal with low-cost airline Air Deccan should also ensure a higher volume of consumer traffic in Club HP outlets over the forecast period. Similarly, an agreement with Federal Express (FedEx) during the review period to open cargo collection centres at various Club HP outlets should continue to attract consumers between 2005 and 2010. FedEx is slowly gaining a reputation in India as a reliable cargo delivery agent; in 2005, there were FedEx cargo collection centres at HP outlets in eight major Indian cities. Source: Euromonitor International from trade press Reliance Petroleum Reliance Petroleum is aggressively targeting the service station channel, planning a pan-Indian presence over the next couple of years in cities as well as on main roads. The biggest challenge it faces is in terms of return on investment and whether it is a wise move to invest so heavily in forecourt retailing in India, which is still relatively underdeveloped. With Reliances strong presence across India, food and beverage manufacturers can aim to push major volumes through Reliance service stations. Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) is a subsidiary of Indias largest private group Reliance Industries Ltd. RPL was set up to harness an emerging value creation opportunity in the global refining sector and currently RPL is a 75% owned subsidiary of RIL. RPL also benefits from a strategic alliance with Chevron India Holdings Pte Limited, Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chevron Corporation USA (Chevron), which currently holds a 5% equity stake in the company. RPL was formed to set up a Greenfield petroleum refinery and polypropylene plant in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar in Gujarat. This global sized, highly complex refinery is being located adjacent to RILs existing refinery and petrochemicals complex, which is amongst the largest and most efficient in the world, thus offering significant synergies. With an annual crude processing capacity of 580,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD), RPL will be the sixth largest refinery in the world. It will have a complexity of 14.0, using the Nelson Complexity Index, ranking it among the highest in the sector. The polypropylene plant will have a capacity to produce 0.9 million metric tonnes per annum. (Euromonitor International, July 2008) With its Reliance A1 Plaza chain, Reliance aims to provide consumers with a wide choice of products in convenient locations. The company had planned to open more than a 1,000 service stations in the next 2-3 years, so it was clearly targeting leadership in the petroleum retailing segment. But during economic crisis and with high crude rates, Reliance had shut their outlets as serving fuel at comparative prices was becoming non-profit making business for them. Shell India Marketing Private Limited Shell India Marketing Private Limited (SIMPL) is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell and the first multinational corporation to obtain government approval to open 2,000 servic

Cultural Communities Essay -- Sociology, Culture

In this essay, I will argue that to understand a person’s behaviour, ways of life and their development, we need to understand their cultural practices and circumstances of their communities. I will also discuss how this can be done and the implication for this in early childhood education. Rogoff (2003) argues that humans are develops as cultural beings: â€Å"people develop as participants in cultural communities. Their development can be understood only in light of the cultural practices and circumstances of their communities- which also change† (p. 3-4) According to Gonzalez- Mena (2003), understanding cultural differences can be confusing and no one can possibly know all about the culture of every family who might come into early childhood centres. So she questions whether this means that should educators ‘throw up their hand’ and give up rather than seek answers by understanding cultural difference, by exploring its broad themes and organising concepts. Everyone’s activities are from their â€Å"universal social-ecological community. Their social relationships, political influences, historical events, movements, economic situation and cultural background affect their activities† (Prout, 2005, p. 25). Understanding deeply the reasons behind their activities is more important than lightly watching their surface activities. By understanding the reasons behind their activities, one gains more knowledge about another’s ethnic context and is less likely to misunderstand the other’s ethnic life meaning. Whether the activity is an everyday chore or academic performance depends in large part on the circumstances that are routine in their community and on the cultural practices they are used to. An example in the Democratic Republic of Con... ...ment the beliefs and the cultural activities in the individual ways. So, I might avoid activities, which against the child’s family’s culture and beliefs, to the child. In Te WhÄ riki (Ministry of Education [MoE], 1996) under Communication strand: the languages and symbols of their own and other cultures are promoted and protected. The curriculum goal states â€Å"children experience an environment where: they experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cultures† (p. 16). In conclusion, understanding reasons behind people’s activities is more important, because the understanding could help us to suspend our own interpretations and values and beliefs in order to make sense of others actions and culture. As well as this, the accurate understanding about young children, family and community could help me to implement early childhood education better.

Business Law Assignment Essay

The main point for consideration in this situation is whether the initial agreement between Packard and Hewlett constitutes as a contract that has a legal relationship, and if so, is Hewlett within his rights to void the established contract and sell the laptop to the offeror with a higher price. The General Principle of Law here would imply here that Hewlett and Packard, are in a contract due to consensus ad idem, in that a meeting of minds must be between the two parties to be counted as a contract (Don Mayer, 2011). This contract is enforceable as the following factors are present: 1)Offer: Hewlett had made a bilateral offer to his classmates to sell his laptop at $800/-. This is an offer as the offeror had indicated his intention to sell his laptop to any member of his class at $800. 2)Acceptance: Packard had clearly communicated his unconditional acceptance of his offer, thereby closing the offer. 3)Consideration and Legal Relations: Consideration under the Law is defined as â€Å"some right, interest, profit or benefit accruing to one party, or some forbearance detriment, loss or responsibility given, suffered or undertaken by the other† Currie v Misa (1875) (InBrief: Free Legal Information, 2014). Hewlett promised to do the transaction of the laptop tomorrow after he transferred his data in the laptop and Packard agreed. This is executory consideration and shows that due consideration has been done on the part of the promisee. Legal relations are thus also created. They are thus in a legally binding contract and either party can sue should there be a breach. Hewlett is not able to revoke his offer once accepted even if someone were to offer him a higher price for the laptop. However, Hewlett sold his laptop to Compac for $1000, discharging his contract with Packard by Breach. Hewlett has by his own act disabled himself from performing the contract and Packard can thus bring action against him for the Breach of Contract. The Principle guiding this was established in Synge v Synge (1894). Recommendation and Conclusion In conclusion, Packard is able to bring action against Hewlett for selling the laptop to Compac even after an initial contract was established with Packard. He is able to sue under Discharge of Contract by Breach and the Court will likely move possession of the laptop back to Packard after Packard pays Hewlett the $800 as agreed. Hewlett will also have to refund Compac his $1000.

The Different Cultural Viewpoints

The Different Cultural Viewpoints Introduction Culture is one of the major factors that dictate the way in which people act under given circumstances. Vance Paik (2006) define culture as â€Å"a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that, taken together, constitute a design for living. The influence of culture on life is all encompassing and culture impacts on all relationships, be they personal or professional. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Why People May Not Appreciate the Cultural Point of View of Others? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper shall begin by stating and analyzing the reasons why people may not appreciate the cultural point of view of others. It shall then proceed to discuss how appreciating cultural diversity affects peoples ability to communicate effectively in the context of a multinational corporation. Reasons why People may not Appreciate Different Viewpoints One of the reasons why pe ople may not appreciate the cultural point of view of others is because of the differences in cultural values. This is contrary to the fact that for people to peacefully coexist with each other, they have to have a uniform sense of what is acceptable. This sense of shared moral and social values† according to which the members of the community are expected to behave is the defining characteristics of a community. Bridgeman, Lind and Keating (2008) state that this shared morals and values are learnt from the unique society in which one comes from. Another reason for lack of appreciation is because different cultures lay emphasis on different values. For example, in the Chinese culture, values such as modesty and cooperation are held in high esteem (Singelis Brown, 1995). The Western world on the other hand places greater value on individualism and personal ambition and success. A person brought up in a highly collectivist culture (such as the Chinese) will not relate with the person from the individualistic culture. There exists some competition between cultures and this may cause people not to appreciate the culture of others. This competition may lead people to see their own traditions and roots as being better than those of others. Kuran Sandholm (2008) rightfully reveal that in all interactions, individuals face tradeoffs and a person has to contend with competing needs. A person from one culture may therefore fail to appreciate the views of another person since they see their culture as the â€Å"right one†. Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This rigid stance will result in a breakdown in communication relationships since effective communication demands that all parties to the communication effort appreciate each others views (Tourish Hargie, 2004). One can only overcome this by learning to adjust their behavior so to accommo date the cultural systems of others. Culture dictates the roles that different people have to play in the society. These roles may include into categories such as gender or even age. In Western cultures, gender does not play an important role in business relationship where equality is encouraged (Novinger, 2001). In this setting, the inputs of all members of the organization are equally appreciated. In contrast, paternalistic cultures which are highly masculine view women as being second to men. In such a setting, the opinion and view of females may be disregarded by the male. How Appreciating cultural Diversity Affects communication Effective communication is deemed as the corner stone on which any successful relationship, be it business or personal, is built (Adair, 2009). Intercultural interactions if not properly handled may result in a breakdown of communication. Multinational Corporations are one of the places where a lot of intercultural interactions have taken place. In thi s context, an appreciation of cultural diversity may aid in the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. This is because cultural diversity calls for the respecting and acknowledging of differences among people in relation to their age, sex, ethnicity, abilities and beliefs (Hankin, 2008). People from different cultures may develop different and unique interpretations to a similar message (Rosenbloom and Larsen, 2003). Without this understanding, a person may take it for granted that his/her message has been well received by others. This may result in miscommunication which may have huge negative repercussions for the organization. A person who appreciates cultural diversity will take into consideration the cultural context both when sending and receiving messages in the multicultural setting (Gudykunst Mody, 2002). The time consciousness of a person is influenced by their culture. Katsioloudes and Hadjidakis (2007) reveal that the sense of time differs by culture and w hile some cultures favor exactness, others are more relative. For the individual from the exact culture such as Germany, time is viewed as a tangible asset and timeliness and promptness is rewarded.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Why People May Not Appreciate the Cultural Point of View of Others? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In cultures such as the Latin American, time is stated in relative terms. Phrases such as some time in the future are therefore commonly used as opposed to giving exact times. A person who appreciates these cultural differences will avoid the conflict and frustration that may arise as a result of differing concepts of time among cultures. Conclusion This paper set out to analyze the reason why people may fail to appreciate the cultural view points of others as well as discuss how appreciating cultural diversity may result in effective communication in the context of a multinational corporat ion. From the analysis herein, it is clear that culture impacts on how we relate with other people. Culture may cause one to disregard the opinion and views of other people. Appreciating cultural diversity offsets the negative results of intercultural interactions. This results in effective communication which is necessary for the achievement of organizational goals. References Adair, J. (2009). Effective Communication: The Most Important Management Skill of All. New York: Pan Macmillan, 2009. Print. Bridgeman, J., Lind, C., Keating, M. (2008). Responsibility, Law and the Family. USA: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Hankin, H. (2005). The New Workforce: Five Sweeping Trends that will Shape your Companys Future. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn Gudykunst, WEB, Mody, B. (2002). Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication. Sage.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Katsioloudes, M.I., Hadjidakis, S. (2007). International Business: A Global Perspective. Butterworth-Heinemann. Kuran, T., Sandholm, W.H. (2008). â€Å"Cultural Integration and Its Discontents.† Review of Economic Studies, vol. 75, pp. 201 – 228. Novinger, T. (2001). Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide. Texas: University of Texas Press. Rosenbloom, B., Larsen, T. (2003). â€Å"Communication in International Business-to-Business Marketing Channels does Culture Matter?† Industrial Marketing Management, 32 (2003) 309– 315 Singelis, T. M., Brown, W. J. (1995). â€Å"Culture, self, and collectivist communication: Linking culture to individual behavior†. Human Communication Research, 21, 354-389 Tourish, D., Hargie, O. (2004). Key Issues in Organizational Communication. Routledge.

Athesim Is The New Fundamentalism Religion Essays

Athesim Is The New Fundamentalism Religion Essays Athesim Is The New Fundamentalism Religion Essay Athesim Is The New Fundamentalism Religion Essay Merely what is all the dither about? Well, I suppose that depends on who you talk to. Some people say the existent inquiry is whether god exists or non. Other folks will state that it is an statement about fundamentalism ( with its built-in dangers ) and that both sides accuse each other of being merely that. Even more province that it is about holding creationism and the ( alleged ) thought of intelligent design being allowed back into the schoolroom. For me, I have already stated my ain personal beliefs. This is NOT a complicated issue for me. No God exists and the universe can make merely ticket WITHOUT my believing that one DOES be. The Earth will go on to revolve on it s ain axis ; will go on to revolve in an oval around the Sun each twelvemonth. We will go on to love household and friends, flowers will blossom in the spring and the future consequences of planetary warming-good OR bad- will go on without my belief in a super-natural being. For the benefit of those that have non seen the arguments, nor had an disposition to read tonss of books on the topic, possibly I can cast some visible radiation on at least some of the more major subjects being debated between theists and atheists today. Another chapter or 2 will be devoted to existent claims by theists and the sensible rebuttals of those places. One recent argument was about whether athesim is the new fundamentalism . A cardinal statement from the theistic side was that atheists normally did non understand the committedness one makes sing being close to god, etc.. It was felt that atheists by and large dismiss that every bit merely another one of faiths idiosyncrasies. Again the unbelieving point of view trades with the statement straight and merely provinces that the great bulk of non-religious people USED TO BE, and have become, non-religious because they ve given up the committedness that they were led into as kids, taught in school, taught by their community, church, mosque, temple, etc.. Sometimes, even, they have given it up with changing grades of uncomfortableness and hurting, but they understand really good what is involved and what the narrative is that their oppositions, in the treatment, are committed to . We all know that virtually every faith in the universe has their holy book , or original manuscript of the compacts, regulations, narratives, and fables that combine to organize the footing FOR that faith. In Judaism you have the TORAH and Hinduism has the BHAVAGA GITA. Islam has the QURAN, the Bahai religion has the KITAB-i-IQAN and Christianity has the NEW TESTAMENT. Atheists have been accused of holding a philosophy, some common base to which all anti-theists subscribe. There is no holy book of godlessness and neer COULD be , states Professor Richard Dawkins in a recent argument. Atheism is non a belief system , there is merely publically-verified grounds . This goes against the very definition of fundamentalisms rigorous attachment to a holy book, and instead provinces that godlessness contains a committedness to alter, every bit shortly as new grounds comes in . Along with the accusals of godlessness being fundamentalist , there is besides the misconception that we know all there is to cognize, that we know the truth . In fact, any intelligent atheist runs pretty-much along the same lines as the idea processes of scientists. That is to state that we glorification in what we yet DO NT cognize . We are non bored with the yesteryear ( as theists would impeach us, associating to our comparative neutrality in the history of the bible, for case ) but instead we are excited by what it leads on toaˆÂ ¦ . What we DO NT knowaˆÂ ¦.. It can be, once more, compared to the scientific sphere where the spreads in our cognition ( the dodo record, as we have already talked about, for illustration ) are the beginning of derision from the theistic side. They maintain that, because of big spreads in our grounds or cognition, that no more inquiries have to be askedaˆÂ ¦ the reply is that god did it . On the contrary, scientists and atheists li kewise take pride in the fact that they are ready to roll up their arms and acquire down to working out things , trying to FILL IN those spreads. Any effort to de-rail unbelieving, rational, critical idea by claiming a holy book written by antediluvian, desert nomads is the reply, is foolish so. Dawkins concludes, Science may non cognize what happened before the Big Bang , scientific discipline may non cognize yet how life began, but if SCIENCE does nt cognize the replies to those inquiries, so there s perfectly no ground to say the reply is to be found in an ancient sanctum book, or ANY spiritual textaˆÂ ¦.. To believe THAT would be True FUNDAMENTALISM aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦ Another muddying-the-water theist technique is to seek to hold long, intellectually-formed articles, trying to depict what an atheist truly stands for. What type of atheist ARE you , one might state. Materialism, pantheism, agnosticism, negative theoretic godlessness, practical godlessness. These are some of the categories of godlessness defined. They tell of philosophical differences, and changing degrees of committedness towards anti-theism. Suffice-it-to-say that each of these have their footing in history, but you will happen that most modern-day atheists are of the normal type, merely basking life without the demand to believe in an omniscient super-natural creatoraˆÂ ¦ . terminal of narrative. A 2nd point to see sing accusals of being fundamentalist, are the charges that we are extremists , that we are similar to the people involved in abortion-clinic bombardments or the ill-famed events of Sept. 11th, 2001. These, possibly, are accusals of the highly despairing or ill-informed, nevertheless I feel the demand to compose on this a spot. There have been many atrocious things in our history done in the name of faith, but when have you of all time heard of something atrocious being done in the name of Atheism? It is easy to take out and depict atrocious things like the extinction of 1000s of intellectuals and more by the despotic leader POL POT, for illustration, and state he did these atrocious things BECAUSE he was an atheist. In his early beginnings, because of hapless classs in school, he was considered to be a premier campaigner for inclusion into the philistine PCF group but that was 20 old ages before he came to power. I suppose that being an anti-intellectual organisation histories for their targeting of atheists, as a big per centum of true atheists do so hold ( or possess in some manner ) an rational mentality. POL POT evidently did non. Furthermore, POL POT was into many things, and if you take a sound expression into his life, he was more about killing people indiscriminately and doing problem in the name of groups within his state instead than killing people BECAUSE he was an atheist. If he WAS an atheist, he was surely NOT killing people based on that minor personal belief. He was nuts, pure-and-simple! ! ! The same can be said of STALIN, another individual frequently lumped in with the few tyrants the universe has had to postulate with who happened to be atheists ( in changing grades, I might add ) , but did NOT perpetrate their offenses BECAUSE they were atheists. He was an evil adult male who had a place of power and was a marionette of LENIN. He was a totalitarian dictator and if he had killed spiritual people, it would be because they would certainly be against the province and thereby him every bit good. Further research into Stalins life reveals that possibly he was non so anti-theist as people think. In the documental Mysteries of the Century: Kremlin Kids ( having Stalins girl, Svetlana Alliluyeva Stalin ) she recalled the followingaˆÂ ¦ . In male parent s library, between other books, were few tomes of Christ . It was history of Christ written by vox democrat Morozov. I said to my male parent: But Christ did nt be! and he answered Oh no, Christ, certainly exist ed. She goes on to speak about a few Acts of the Apostless that would look to propose Stalin was instead soft on covering with the religious-mindedaˆÂ ¦ . Under Stalins insistingaˆÂ ¦ . The Politburo of the Central Committee has admitted prosecutions of trusters inexpedient . Stalin besides canceled Lenin s direction from May, 1st, 1919 for N 13666-2 About battle against priests and faith and gave orders to People s Commissariat of Internal Affairs ( NKVD ) to let go of from detention already arrested priests if activity of these citizens did nt harm the Soviet authorization . The 9/11 calamity was committed by 19 highjackers who did all in the name of faith . They candidly and unfeignedly believed they were acting in a good and righteous manner , explains Richard Dawkins. They believed they were making what their God wanted them to make, they believed they were traveling to a martyrs wages . There is a logical patterned advance towards extreme spiritual indoctrination and these types of tragic events. Atheists beliefs have no such sort of logical, awful effects. These Muslim extremist folks have been taught these sorts of things since childhood in their religion schools. If there WERE a school of religion for godlessness there most surely would Not be any instructions which would demand a violent onslaught on people. If there WERE such schools they would be taught critical-thinking and how to do up their ain heads . Another accusal placed upon atheists ( more so on the more vocal 1s like the people I refer to in this book ) is the manner in which they use words to explicate their instance. Theists will state that they are utilizing the linguistic communication of extremism in seeking to acquire their facts across. In fact, this alleged new godlessness is the current phrase being bandied about on the argument circuit. Some of the more vocal of the unbelieving supporters, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, as illustrations, are accused by assorted and assorted as being militant , dogmatic , radical , or extremist in their positions. The amusing thing about all this ( if you can name it funny ) is the immense spread in the existent extremism practiced, when comparing other societal motions like ISLAM, CHRISTIANITY and the BLACK PANTHERS. From saintgasoline.com you get What is being branded as extremism, combativeness, and fundamentalism in the New Atheist motion is barely correspondent to the extremism found in most other societal motions. In Islam, for case, the extremists talk of destroying heathens and western society, strap bombs to themselves, and wing planes into edifices. In Christianity, extremists and fundamentalists vilify homophiles and the generative picks of adult females, frequently trying to restrict their rights through statute law. In the civil rights motion, groups like the Black Panthers advocated and even practiced force. Meanwhile, in the New Atheist motion at worst you might happen Hitchens doing a self-satisfied comment, and that is what constitutes atheist fundamentalism and ext remism to so many critics of this motion. Passion for the attempt and work, plus the energy and enthusiasm observed with these two atheists is frequently mistaken for an utmost point of view, but is misguided as you can see. Another argument subject is the idea, by some theists, that atheists are truly agnostics-in-disguise. They go on to impeach atheists of being close-minded in their beliefs and that agnosticism is a more acceptable point of view. It is, nevertheless, false to accept the position that being agnostic is the middle-ground between theism and godlessness. Agnostics merely province that they can non claim to cognize for certain if any Gods exist or non. Atheists merely have an absence of belief in any God. In this manner, agnosticism is wholly compatible with both theism and godlessness. A individual can believe in a God ( theism ) without claiming to cognize for certain if that God exists ; the consequence is agnostic theism. On the other manus, a individual can discredit in Gods ( godlessness ) without claiming to cognize for certain that no Gods can or make exist ; the consequence is agnostic godlessness. The fact is that it is wholly possible for a individual to be agnostic AND atheist at the same clip. The averment by theists that atheists are more close-minded than doubters barely is a point in their favour. If atheists are close-minded for their rejection of Gods so, by really definition, so are the theists for their positions on the existent being of Gods! ! Far be it for atheists to really Be close-minded to the being of God though. It is apparent that some theists WANT their unbelieving oppositions to acknowledge that they are agnostic, as they can so impeach them of non being perfectly certain that God exists and of holding a faith place and hence have the upper manus in arguments, as that averment would do the theists feel more comfy. There are truly two definitions of godlessness that are considered in this subject. The THEIST version of an atheist is one who is certain there is no God, whereas the Agnostic is non certain. The ATHEIST version is one who BELIEVES there is no God, whereas an Agnostic merely does non cognize. I realize the two sound similar, but the ground most atheists say they do nt Believe in a God indicates something less than an absolute certainty of a Gods non-existance. In my sentiment, any moderately intelligent atheist would acknowledge that he/she would let 2 or 3 per centum points in favour of the possibil ty that there may be a God. It is non a sitting-on-the-fence scenario, instead it is an intelligent, reasoned position based on their apprehension of the work scientific discipline contributes to the universe. It is the truth brought about by the balance of grounds ( instead than a faith-based place ) that motivates atheists. They are cognizant that some piece of grounds might demo itself in the hereafter, and they respect that possibility ( againaˆÂ ¦ evidenceaˆÂ ¦ ) At any rate, theists are ever seeking to happen that angle to do the unbelieving side more vulnerable, but nil seems to be making the fast one so faraˆÂ ¦ . One of the chief implicit in subjects of argument certainly would hold to include the manner both scientific discipline and faith view the universe. In a spiritual world-view it s the supernatural construct of being that is the starting-point for peoples ethical motives and mentality on life, whereas that is non present in a non-religioius world-view. That is the basic premiss, nevertheless theologists are frequently excessively speedy to indicate out, harmonizing to www.teachingaboutreligion.org ( in the opportunism of their debating place ) that a worldview is acquired on an on-going footing, and many an person s worldview model blends spiritual impressions and patterns he or she acquires from a battalion of experiences over clip. A individual with exposure to several spiritual traditions is likely to hold a life mentality that is cobbled from the varied experiences and apprehensions to which they have been exposed. Although that statement might be true plenty, it does non take into history the absolute bulk of people who lazily go by the one-and-only faith in which they have been brought up. To propose that most have such an nonsubjective position of their ain faith is to propose that most use REASON to their spiritual beliefs and that does non look to be justifiable. The quotation mark says a individual with exposure to several spiritual traditions aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦ . Where ARE these people? Surely non in the bible-belt of the United States. Surely non in North Korea. Freedom of faith does non be in Saudi Arabia, and a batch of other Muslim provinces. Harmonizing to www.pewforum.org, mentioning to the Pentecostal arm of Christianity..aˆÂ ¦ at least a one-fourth of the universe s 2 billion Christians are thought to be members of these lively, extremely personal religions, which emphasize such spiritually regenerating gifts of the Holy Spirit as speech production in linguas, Godhead healing and prophesying. Even more than other Christians, Pentecostals and other renewalists believe that God, moving through the Holy Spirit, continues to play a direct, active function in mundane life. I think this quotation mark goes a long manner to explicating the real-life position of the truster in our contemporary society. Add the fact that ( from www.religioustolerance.org ) over 33 % of the universe is Christian, Muslims history for about 20 % , Hindus 13 % and 21 % of the universes population patterns all the other signifiers of faith, and one gets a pretty clear image of the sheer Numberss. I would Love to cognize what per centum of these people are free-thinkers when it comes to embracing other peoples world-views ? Some of the arguments and treatments are nonreversible. These theists are at that place non to larn anything, but are at that place to make the sermon they know all excessively good. Arguments are a bipartisan street and one should ever hold a small spot of an unfastened head when come ining into such a argument. Preparation should be compulsory, but so should a willingness to larn niceties of the other sides place that, perchance, you were before of unaware. At a recent argument at a local auditorium, I had the good luck of being able to present a inquiry ( spoken as a remark because I did non desire to come across TOO harsh ) to the theists on the phase. I merely asked whether their statements on their existent belief in the being of God were echt, or did they merely reflect the fact that they had much to derive from holding dedicated a life to faith and spiritual surveies and holding written books and profited greatly by their publication etc.. I besides stated that would look a normal and baronial thing, to support oneself against an onslaught of unfavorable judgment over positions tightly held, but that all statements made SHOULD be done with a nod to common-sense and ground, things NOT apparently high on the docket of the theistic side. In fact, a sound self-look into 1s ain spiritual beliefs may problem many a truster, so of course we do nt anticipate their statements to incorporate much critical-thinking. I neer truly did acquire a satisfactory response to my inquiry that afternoon.