Feminist Criticism From Critical Theory Today A User...

In her article, â€Å"â€Å"Feminist Criticism† from Critical Theory Today: A User Friendly Guide (2006), author Lois Tyson endorses the idea of â€Å"bad girls† versus â€Å"good girls† in the world today. She feels that people view feminism through only two different lenses; the positive and also the negative perspectives of women. The norm of the â€Å"bad girls† is that they â€Å"violate patriarchal norms in some way: they’re sexually forward in appearance or behavior, or they have multiple sex partners† (Tyson 3). In other words, Tyson is acknowledging that these women are also known as â€Å"whores† or â€Å"sluts†. This is the only way these women are looked at through these lenses. Along with this, Tyson also explains that since they violate patriarchal norms, â€Å"‘bad†¦show more content†¦Going against social norms can lead those to be slighted by even the ones they love and can leave a stinging effe ct on oneself. In Daisy Miller, Daisy is portrayed as a delicate, pretty girl, but in reality she is one who is leading men on and allowing for them to chase her. Her family members along with the people in her community look down onto her because of her actions. Daisy wants to show herself off to be able to get men to talk to her and break social norms. Back in her day, having men come up and talk to women without a formal introduction by another person they know, was not to be done. With Daisy’s flirtatious ways, she lures in an older man named Winterbourne who catches her attention. Overtime, they begin the form a relationship. But Winterbourne’s aunt, Mrs. Costello, doesn’t approve of the way she is living life in the way of her relationships with men. Mrs. Costello eventually confronts Winterbourne and tells him that daisy is no good and that he should stay away from her because she treats all men like this and that he isn’t anyone special. The comme nts from Mrs. Costello didn’t scare Winterbourne away, but â€Å"he has assented to the idea that she was ‘common’; but was she so, after all, or was he simply getting used to her commonness† (James 24)? This idea didn’t bother him because he really liked her. Being common means that you are promiscuous whichShow MoreRelatedIn The Novel â€Å"Pride And Prejudice†, By Jane Austen, Elizabeth1306 Words   |  6 Pagespost structural challenges and the idea that women are more limited to social obligations. In Feminist criticism, the lens allows the reader to see how different races and genders are distinguished differently based on the time period and/or setting. 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Kmart Essay Example For Students

Kmart Essay KMART CORP. A SEASONED PERFORMER The venerable retailers bid to recoup its fortunes includes a system that overhauls the management of highly profitable seasonal merchandise BY MEGAN SANTOSUS For retailers, the effective management of seasonal merchandise is a delicate proposition. The selling window is of limited duration and the goal is not to get caught with too much-or too little-inventory at the wrong point in the seasonal cycle. Take Christmas items. If there were no tinsel or wrapping paper or spare tree lights on the shelves the week before Christmas, customers would head for the exits. But if, on Dec. 26, the shelves were still well-stocked with these items, that too would be egregious. And, because of the shorter selling season, the profit margins are kept higher on seasonal items than on regular stock; so, when it comes to maximizing profits, the balancing act between supply and demand is all the more crucial. If at first blush all that tinsel doesnt seem like such a big d eal, it can definitely add up. For ESPRIT Award honoree Kmart Corp., holiday merchandise totals some $2 billion-and Kmarts Seasonal Merchandise Management System (SMMS) currently handles only a fraction of the seasonal goods Kmart sells. (The inaugural project was limited to holiday items; it was recently extended to include back-to-school merchandise, and there are plans for further expansion.) The universe of seasonal retail merchandise is potentially quite broad and might include such items as snow blowers, lawn mowers, bathing suits and bags of peat moss. Kmart, however, declines to reveal the total percentage of revenues for which its seasonal inventory accounts. According to David M. Carlson, Kmarts senior vice president of corporate information systems, managing seasonal inventory perfectly would mean the last customer who wants a particular item will find the last one in stock. Editors note: After this article was reported, Carlson was shifted out of Kmarts top IS spot to ot her unspecified duties, reportedly because of dissatisfaction over problems plaguing Kmarts inventory replenishment systems. While perfection is elusive, Kmarts use of client/server-based technology to fine-tune seasonal merchandise management and centralize decision making at its Troy, Mich., headquarters is paying off big. Through fiscal 1996, Kmart projects a total return from SMMS in the neighborhood of $240 million. Not bad for an investment of roughly $2.5 million. Kmart could certainly use the money. Earnings at the $34 billion-a-year discount department store chain have been plunging lately. The company recently announced a restructuring effort that calls for closing 110 stores and eliminating 6,000 jobs. But many retail analysts contend that shedding unprofitable stores alone will not cure all of the companys ills. If Kmart hopes to regain healthy earnings, it must reduce overhead in existing stores and further exploit the strategic use of information technology, according to Seth Kranz, a management consultant with CSC in Newton, Mass. SMMS is a step in the right direction. By providing buyers and planners at headquarters with daily sales and inventory data, the system has transformed the way Kmart manages the seasonal goods in 2,350 stores in the United States. Inventory and pricing decisions are now based on sales performance at the individual stores. As a result, Kmart can maximize profits by preserving full price-and gross margins-in stores where seasonal items are selling at or above plan. In stores where sales are lagging, the company can tailor an appropriate merchandising strategy to eliminate inventory by seasons end. Since implementation in fiscal 1992, the system has improved seasonal merchandise sell-through-the total number of items sold divided by the total received-by 5 percent. While that may not seem like much, selling more seasonal merchandise at the optimum profit margin, rather than at a loss or at break-even, translates into mill ions of dollars. In 1992 and 1993, higher sell-through rates on seasonal merchandise accounted for incremental profits of $28.9 million and $37.2 million respectively. Historically, Kmart managed seasonal merchandise chainwide, measuring total sales against total purchase orders. Chainwide markdowns were mandated when sales fell behind plan. This blanket approach meant there was no rational link between local prices and local demand. Thus, the needed stimulus of a price promotion in stores where sales of an item were slow became a drain of profits out of stores where sales were brisk. Worse, in stores with high demand, the discounted price led to premature depletion of inventories, causing shelves to empty before seasons end. And moving merchandise between understocked and overstocked stores in time to do any good was both costly and logistically difficult. District managers manually took inventory at each store, explains David A. Wegscheid, the divisional vice president of merchand ising. There was no practical way to figure out which items could be transferred by eyeballing the stuff. Even if it was known that a store was running low on an item, it took too long to scour the reports to locate stores with surpluses. It fell to Joseph G. Lichocki, a project manager in corporate systems development, to work with Kmarts merchandising group to link price to demand on a store-by-store basis. Lichocki was familiar with the frustration felt by planners and buyers. In 1987, Kmart had acquired a massively parallel relational-database server from Teradata (now an NCR division of ATT Global Information Systems). It was used to process sales, purchase-order and inventory data. But there had been no easy way to view the data. While hefty weekly reports were produced, merchants had to flip through hundreds of pages to find what they wanted. What merchants needed was daily sales information that could be easily manipulated so that action could be taken in time. Our challenge was managing the volume of data while providing our end users with ultimate flexibility, says Lichocki, the architect of the SMMS. We had the Teradata, but we werent sure how to make the data fingertip ready and useful. According to Lichocki, the system had to recommend, execute and track action on behalf of merchants. Any system with those capabilities, he asserts, will provide a return. Still, it took a bit of effort to forge a productive partnership between the IS and merchandising groups because, as Wegscheid diplomatically explains it, merchants and systems worked separately before. However, because SMMS was Kmarts first venture into client/server computing, developing it required both groups to work closely together. The IS group enhanced its credibility with the merchandising group considerably by quickly demonstrating the benefits of client/server; the first release of the SMMS was delivered in six weeks using prototyping and rapid system development techniques. Thanks in p art to this approach, Wegscheid reports that IS and merchandising regularly work together and now enjoy a productive and cooperative partnership. SMMS features NCR workstations linked to the central Teradata via the corporate Novell LAN. Overnight sales and inventory data from each store is automatically uploaded to the database. In the morning, buyers and planners at corporate headquarters and merchandising coordinators at regional sites can quickly assess the status of seasonal merchandise by using intuitive GUIs to drill down into the huge database. For example, a coordinator wondering whether a merchandise transfer could eliminate understocking in one store and overstocking in another can execute a query that graphically identifies the appropriate stores and merchandise and notifies local store managers to take action. Buyers and planners can view sales performance at a variety of levels, including item, department, store and region. An interface with an existing system also let s merchants analyze performance based on specific store attributes; if anyone wants to know how Easter baskets are faring at stores in college towns, SMMS will provide the answer quickly. Every morning, my buyers can see exactly how many pieces have been sold, where they have sold and at what price, says Wegscheid. In addition, the system lets merchants better manage merchandise to meet sales targets. If the target stipulates an 80 percent sell-through three weeks before the season ends, a store at 40 percent can transfer merchandise, reduce prices, even change the way merchandise is displayed. (One buyer tracked the sales of inflatable pool toys and saved $300,000 by avoiding a shipment of merchandise that would have resulted in severe overstocks.) We now manage every item end-to-end, from the decision to buy it and stock the store, until it is sold to a-hopefully-satisfied customer, says Wegscheid. Technical Profile Old System: Weekly paper-based reports generated from the NCR/Ter adata DBC/1012 database server via a 3278 terminal New System: The client/server-based Seasonal Merchandise Management System (SMMS) Hardware: NCR Teradata DBC/1012 relational database server that stores and processes sales and inventory data; DOS-based NCR 3330 486 workstations with color monitors; three MVS mainframes for transferring sales and inventory data every morning. Software: Packaged software on workstations include DOS, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Excel and Win/CLI, which allows communication with the Teradata server. SMMS was developed using the Asymetrix Toolbook language. Communications: Novell Token Ring local area network links client workstations with the Teradata server. Remote users in the United States have transparent access to the LAN via Kmarts satellite communications system. All content copyright CXO Media Inc., 1994-2001. All rights are reserved. No material may be reproduced electronically or in print without written permission from CXO Media, 492 Old Co nnecticut Path, Framingham, MA 01701Santa Barbara News-Press (Santa Barbara, California) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News), March 12, 2005 pNATargeting a new look: Troubled Kmart undergoes a massive makeover. Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2005 Santa Barbara News-PressByline: Maria Zate Mar. 12If you cant beat em, imitate em. Thats the war cry of discount retailer Kmart these days as it struggles to keep up with its trendier and more popular rival, Target. To reinvigorate sales and shopper interest, Kmart apparently has pulled out the manual that Target used to transform itself from frumpy to hip. Tidy-looking stores, a streamlined Web site and fun, design-conscious products form the elements of Kmarts massive makeover. South Coast residents may not recognize the Kmart in Goleta when it completes a major remodel next month. The store at 6865 Hollister Ave. is one of nine locations in the chain currently morphing into a new, improved Kmart that shoppers say looks more like a Target. Changes at the Goleta Kmart started in January and include the shuffling of aisles and departments to air out the store that once had the feeling of a cluttered walk-in closet. And employees who were often hard to find n ow pop up in nearly every aisle, eager to offer assistance. Santa Barbara resident Mignon Bradley said she has absolutely noticed the changes. On a recent afternoon, she had stopped at the store to buy a small glass-topped table to prepare for a family dinner party. The most positive change is the demeanor of all the employees. Its like night and day. Its a pleasure to shop there now, Ms. Bradley said. Theyve obviously done a lot of employee training, and theyve cleaned it up a lot. It was yucky in there before. Creating an open view at the entrance and a fresh look was one of Kmarts primary objectives when it embarked on the store remodels last year, said Stephen Pagnani, a spokesman for the chain based in Troy, Mich. What customers will see immediately when they walk in is that they have an open view of the store, and its easy to see where everything is and where they need to go to find something. Weve created new signage with brighter colors of oranges and yellows, he explained. Weve also made a number of merchandising changes. In apparel, were going for a more lifestyle presentation where outfits are grouped together, he added. In the furniture area, where things used to be in boxes up on shelves, weve put them on the floor and accessorized them with other items in the store. Kmarts most obvious merchandise change includes the revamping of its private-label home dcor line called Home Essentials. The name has changed to Essential Home, and the line reflects a modern sensibility meant to reel in shoppers seeking an alternative to the traditional looks of the popular Martha Stewart collection. A contemporary color palette and funky patterns dominate the Essential Home items such as kitchen towels, potholders and chair cushions. Streamlined silhouettes and a modern mood show up in bathroom accessories, furniture and lamps. Its no accident that Essential Home feels more upscale and hip. Kmart assembled a new product design team last year with executives recruit ed from Gap and the world of Donna Karan. The changes have led some observers to note that Kmart is taking cues not only from Target but from budget-conscious furniture retailer Ikea, as well. Target officials at its Minnesota headquarters declined to discuss Kmarts strategy, citing that it has a policy never to comment on its competitors. Given that the South Coast has neither a Target nor an Ikea, the strategy to fill a void by emulating the absent competitors could work well, industry experts said. If youre going to compete, you need to compete head-on, said Kurt Barnard, a retail analyst and publisher of Barnards Retail Trends Report in New Jersey. I think its a wise move for Kmart to copy what has worked for Target, and theres room in the market for that niche. Mr. Barnard warned, however, that its too soon to tell if Kmarts strategy will work, given the uncertainties created by its impending merger with Sears. Kmart announced last November that it would acquire Sears for $11ab illion, creating the third-largest retailer in the nation, behind Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Shareholders of Kmart and Sears will vote on the proposed merger at special March 24 meetings. No plans have been announced for how the merger would influence the countys handful of Sears and Kmart stores. Sears has locations in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc, while the countys only other Kmart store is in Santa Maria. Competition is growing more intense in the retail industry every day and Kmarts changes are essential to survival, said local economist Mark Schniepp. If theyre copying Target or Wal-Mart, its not just a matter of strategy, its a matter of staying alive, he said. Theyre competing not only with those stores but places like Longs and Rite-Aid and the new Bed Bath Beyond. The local Kmart may soon face even greater heat from the nations biggest big box. Wal-Mart has expressed interest in building a store in Buellton, at the Oak Springs Village shopping center that is in deve lopment. There are already well-established Wal-Marts in Santa Maria and Lompoc, as well as in Oxnard in Ventura County. Developers floated the idea of bringing Target to a parcel near the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport last year, but that campaign died in August when Bermant Development Co. opted to try to bring in another tenant for the site. At this point, it isnt likely that Target would partner with another developer because of the lack of available land. While it may take many years for either Wal-Mart or Target to come to the South Coast, Kmarts moves to copy competitors could be an advantage for local shoppers and the company, said Tracy Pfautch, director of marketing for the Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center. Everybody has wanted a Target here. There was a big campaign to bring the store to the South Coast, and that failed, she said. So there is an identifiable need. If Kmart is trying to rise to the occasion to fill that need, then I think it should work for them and shoppers. You know what they said in that Kevin Costner movie, If you build it, they will come.a To see more of the Santa Barbara News-Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newspress.com. Copyright (c) 2005, Santa Barbara News-Press, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail emailprotected TICKER SYMBOL(S): KMRT, TGTArticle CJ130197835 IDEA Article March 2003:Lessons Learned from KmartBy: Mike RiouxMuch has been written about the downfall of Kmart. Some poignant insight revealed many lessons and strategic miscues in marketing, customer service and purchasing, all of which contributed to the dimming of the Blue Light. Andrew Dietderich in Detroit Business chronicled how Kmart executives waffled between a technology for technologys sake position and an if it aint broke attitude. This ambivalence postponed and deferred technology expenditures as a method to protect short-term profitability and cost Kmart in the long term. The perspective on Kmarts failures may be symptomatic of many industries including the electrical industry: guilty of the same technology avoidance or complacency or even outright Technophobia?What were Kmarts compelling problems, or, what kept them up at night? The short list included depressed margins and sagging prices, stagnant inventory turns, overstock at every level, mounting returns, increased warranty claims, and increasingly unreasonable demands from customers. Many of the Kmarts problems or for that matter, any companys problems, are not really problems but are symptoms of a larger, more problematic issue, specifically technology. Have companies individually or collectively spurned the technology that helps make leaps in efficiencies because they dont understand it? We look back to the September 27, 1999 Business Week e.biz Strategies Article by Roger Crockett A Neanderthal Industry Smartens Up, How the electrical-parts biz got the glitches out and wonder how much progress has been made in the electrical industry? A large percentage of manufacturers and distributors still dont understand the purpose and objectives of e-commerce, IDEA, IDX2 and the IDW, or fear the investment, or thought what they were doing was good enough? Is the electrical industry guilty, like Kmart of neglecting that, which can help us? Is supply chain technology the cure of what ails us? We should always be careful not to place too much faith in any technology. It is, after all, people who ultimately solve problems, but the short answer is, Yes, along with a caveat. Consider how supply chain technology can address the myriad of symptoms. Overstocks are typically the result of benign or passive neglect in inventory management. They result in stagnant inventory turns, especially in slow-moving parts. Clearly, this is an area where supply chain software can truly shine. Software that projects future demand based on historic usage has been around for years. What is exciting is the ability of new applications to consider a greater range of factors in developing an inventory projection. Software that, for example, resides on a server between trading partners has the ability to consider circumstances and factors of both the buyer and the seller. It can also schedule shipments in accordance with production schedules, availability of inventory, even the schedule of freight carriers. Todays systems can quickly and easily perform countless sophisticated, algorithmic calculations over and over, continually refining themselves. Buyers and stock managers just dont have the time to do as good a job as todays technology can do. The application of this sort of technology routinely serves to improve stock profiles, improve inventory turns or both. Mounting returns, increased warranty claims and unreasonable buyer requests are ways that customers are attempting to deal with their problems. These areas have become part of the default strategy of many business people as a way of dealing with the pain of their individual situation. Unfortunately, the pain is added to the next step in the supply chain. Jay Ferron, a Price Waterhouse financial analyst, described this phenomenon as the strategy of squeeze. This is an insidious behavior where everyone in the channel bangs on anyone above them or below them in an attempt to find relief from their problems. You probably experienced it, some times as the squeezee, sometimes as the squeezor. The manifestations of squeeze come in the form of: insisting on returning more than the stated sales policy under the threat of changing suppliers, in demanding price and discount concessions or extended terms, even as increased alleged defectives that are nothing more than stock adjustment returns masquerading as warranties. The problem is that while reaching out to others is the right thing; we arent doing it in the right way. Squeezing vendors or customers for relief in an effort to compensate for our own problems or shortcomings is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The implementation of effective supply chain technology can and will address the roots of these problems. Effective supply chain technology prevents inventory from getting out of whack by performing an ongoing daily inventory analysis against history, usage, even statistical models factoring product builds and failure rates. Its not some kind of magic business bean as the current IBM TV advertisement explains, just the ability of systems to perform countless mechanical calculations over and over that buyer and stock managers just dont have the time and patience to do. When stocks and net sales are analyzed daily, parts that are not going to sell are not reordered. When small returns are made regularly, store and distributor inventories never get so far out of whack that huge returns, or surreptitious warranty claims (returns) or other outrageous demands are required. Accountability Of Our Government EssayKmart was the first major discount merchandiser in the United States, and enjoyed the first mover advantage for several decades. Wal-Mart and Target started in the 1960s, and at this point both have by-passed Kmart on a number of strategic measures. Wal-Mart has a formidable advantage in its position as the low price retailer for the merchandise it features in its stores. Moving forward, it can selectively exploit the weaknesses that Kmart currently faces, and expand its store categories to further meet its customers needs, such as the need for grocery products. Flawless execution of strategy is imperative in this category. Target and Wal-Mart not only understand the need for a clear strategy, they also execute it. Kmart does neither of these well at present Target positions itself as providing higher-end, higher-image merchandise at prices lower than found at boutiques or main line department stores. It can take advantage of the confusion of Kmart shoppers who react favorably to the Martha Stewart labeled products, but do not find the total shopping experience at Kmart to be consistent with the store branded approach Target has taken. Kmart is in trouble. It has been squeezed by these two well-run competitors, and is struggling to figure out how its value proposition compares with that of Wal-Mart and Target. It has some loyalty among the urban and minority groups of consumers which its competitors have avoided, but needs to develop a complete strategy that effectively serves these targets. Moving beyond the groups that Kmart owns, the company should selectively operate stores where it can profitably compete with Wal-Mart and Target, and exit markets that Wal-Mart and Target together dominate. At the end of the day, most consumers come out as winners in this category of shopping. The exception may be the urban shopper, for whom Kmart has been the primary retailer, while being carefully avoided by Wal-Mart and Target. Flawless execution of strategy is imperative in this category. Target and Wal-Mart not only understand the need for a clear strategy, they also execute it. Kmart does neither well at present, and must develop a clear point of differentiation from its competition, and re-tool its operations to support the re-positioned entity. There is a great opportunity for Kmart if the management team creates the right strategy and deploys, manages and evolves the appropriate business models. STRATEGY EVOLVEDThe discount merchandising category is growing by gaining greater share of wallet (process share) from the mall stores and conventional department stores, so Kmart is in an even more ironic position of being a losing player in a winning category. In the next 2 to 4 years , both Wal-Mart and Target can continue the strategies they have developed, and achieve same store expansion along with new store growth merely by gaining disaffected Kmart customers. Kmart is struggling for an identity and for survival. It does have a niche market of urban shoppers and minority groups that it can continue to own, but it will likely find itself attempting several different strategies with this audience before settling on one that stabilizes it financially. Both Wal-Mart and Target will likely take advantage of their respective positions during the Kmart mayhem, and take initiatives that extend them beyond their core strategies. Wal-Marts approach will be more ambitious and far-reaching. It will expand the sizes of its stores, and undertake a more aggressive effort to introduce new lines of merchandise, particularly grocery items. While Kmart met its comeuppance employing this approach, it is expected that Wal-Marts deeper management capacity and powerful information systems will enable it to execute this more effectively than did Kmart. It will also expand its exclusive store brands to more departments of the store. It will leverage the Internet to improve its logistics operations, giving it an even better window both from the point of sale and to the suppliers, improving the connectivity between inventory purchased and produced. Since Target is a smaller entity than either Wal-Mart or Kmart, it will get a proportionately higher boost in sales growth as a result of the Kmart malaise. It will continue to develop its exclusive store brands, that will expand its initiatives of working with branded and fashion label manufacturers to develop lines of products that are sold exclusively at Target. Compared to Wal-Mart, Targets evolved strategy will be more focused and incremental, and the company is less likely to aggressively move into entirely new categories of merchandise or expand geographically outside of the suburbs. The question for Kmart is as much Can it survive? as How can it survive? It suffers from a number of structural disadvantages, only some of which can be eliminated during the time in which it is in bankruptcy protection. Announced plans to target urban minorities as its primary audience may make sense, but it has significant implications for the types of products featured in stores. While many of the brands and merchandise appeal equally to all target audiences-household cleaning products, for example-there is ample market research that shows that a store designed to cater to different minority groups must feature and promote merchandise that has specific appeal to these groups. This presents a different business model challenge for Kmart, and it will require its management to re-tool thinking and business practices that have been ingrained in the company for dozens of years. It is unclear whether the leadership will formulate the vision and execute it, since the companys current man agement comprises turnaround executives with expertise in getting out of bankruptcy, rather than niche merchandising. Although the vision appears to be the right one, Kmart is further handicapped since it cannot fully focus on it until the bankruptcy issues are behind it. To summarize its dilemma, Kmart lacks the operational and low cost position of Wal-Mart, the product innovativeness of Target, and doesnt appear to have gained a good understanding of the customers it serves, as is exhibited by its varied merchandising approach. STRATEGY MANAGEDWal-Mart is generally recognized for a number of best practices. Target is also a largely well-run operation. Kmart remains the also ran of the three. Since it positions itself as a low cost provider, Wal-Mart has been ruthless in controlling its main cost areas: personnel, cost of goods sold, distribution, and real estate. Store employees are paid just slightly above minimum wage, and it is entirely a non-union shop. Yet, in many locations, Wal-Mart is the employer of choice, since it provides more employee benefits and a better work environment compared with other job options in the area. The employees, called associates, are generally a highly motivated group, thanks to the family style of store management that is part of the company culture. This enables store managers to use employees more flexibly, without the resistance or unionized workforce rules that can be found at other retailers. The buying power the company has by virtue of the volumes it orders has enabled it to negotiate the best terms from the manufacturers with which it does business. It also makes sure to purchase merchandise from countries and locations that ass ure the lowest total landed cost at any given time, and will adjust the volumes it orders from suppliers opportunistically to keep this low cost position. Wal-Marts distribution system in North America gives it another significant cost advantage. It strategically locates distribution centers to support clusters of stores, and uses state of the art automation to manage and move inventory from these centers to the stores. It has forged deep and long-term strategic alliances such as JB Hunt for truckload carriage of freight, and Union Pacific for moving containers and trailers by rail. Data from its point of sale systems at the stores are captured in real time and transmitted to company headquarters to determine trends, merchandise turns and other key metrics. Consequently, Wal-Mart is very effective at minimizing slow turning items, and leveraging information about products that are performing particularly well. Since it located its initial stores primarily in non-urban areas, or the outskirts of town, the cost of land and related expenses such as taxes, utilities, roadways and other infrastructure are also relatively lower, and sometime s subsidized by the local communities via business development funds. While Wal-Mart has more recently moved into suburban locations, it has fundamentally stayed away from putting stores in dense inner city venues. So while its real estate costs for some of its newer stores may be greater than the stores it developed earlier in its history, it continues to avoid high-end commercial real estate investments. Targets relative cost position does not match Wal-Marts. Since Target tends to locate its stores in suburban areas, has a different merchandising strategy, and has fewer stores than both of its competitors, all the key cost areas are greater relative to Wal-Mart. This higher cost position is offset by its strategy of offering what are perceived to be more upscale, and, consequently, higher margin goods. The store is able to do this because many of the lines of merchandise it offers are perceived as competing with department store and shopping mall retailers, which generally charge higher prices than does Target, for the lines they carry. Kmarts recent filing for bankruptcy, and announced plans to lay off 22,000 employees and close at least 284 stores provides ample evidence that the company has a cost management problem. There are problems in each of the key cost components of its operations. With its tendency to locate in more urban areas, and with some parts of the company unionized, Kmarts personnel costs tend to be higher than either of its competitors. Employee turnover also tends to be higher, since these jobs are still low paying compared to non-retail jobs, and opportunities in denser areas for better paying employment are somewhat better for qualified workers. Kmarts scale should provide it with a strong hand in negotiating favorable prices for its merchandise, but it seems to have taken some mis-steps when compared to Wal-Mart. In particular, the company is closing down many of its Jumbo stores that sold grocery items in addition to the dry goods found in its traditional stores. So while the concept of getting greater share of wallet from a Kmart shopper had a certain appeal, Kmarts operations were not tuned appropriately to handle perishables and non-dry goods, along with its traditional lines of merchandise. As mentioned earlier, Kmart also suffers from the problem of using Targets approach of merchandising with its Martha Stewart product lines, and using a low price approach for the other lines in its stores. This mixed message appears to have confused customers, and needs to be carefully examined by the company leadership as it transitions from bankruptcy. Kmarts automation and distribution system is also quite formidable, but Wal-Mart appears to have a stronger management group overseeing this portion of the operation, and simply does a better job of keeping costs low and leveraging information more effectively to keep a high inventory turn ratio. Kmart tends to have relatively more stores, than does Wal-Mart, in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, where winter weather conditions can contribute to greater costs of doing business as compared to the Sun Belt, where Wal-Mart has a disproportionately higher presence. With a more urban skew toward its store locations, Kmart faces other cost disadvantages in addition to personnel costs. Costs of real estate, local taxes, and developing and maintaining support infrastructure for urban stores are greater than for a store found in a less dense location. To summarize its dilemma, Kmart lacks the operational and low cost position of Wal-Mart, the product innovativeness of Target, and doesnt appear to have gained a good understanding of the customers it serves, as is exhibited by its varied merchandising approach. STRATEGY DEPLOYEDThe discount merchandising business is huge, and consequently can be divided into various segments for analytical purposes. Geography, target demographic groups, and merchandise offerings are key to this category. Geographically, Wal-Mart took more of a rural focus, Target stores tended to focus on suburban locations, and Kmart historically concentrated its stores in denser urban areas-all three companies providing greater selection and lower prices to people who previously had only local retailers or shopping malls for their shopping needs. Over time, each company has muscled into the others territories, so it is common to see two, or even all three, of these retailers located in close proximity to each other in different communities, especially in suburbia. While at a high level, the participants served by all the three companies are the same (retail consumers), the target demographics have different roots with each retailer. While Wal-Mart has positioned itself toward families with children and Target has focused on younger women (ages 25-40) and teenaged girls, Kmart tends to reach out more toward minorities and others who are found in greater proportions in urban areas (in fact, Kmart has recently announced a renewed effort to reach this audience.) While these target groups also overlap to various degrees, there are distinctions found in each which the stores attempt to leverage. In terms of the respective companys merchandising process, Wal-Mart takes a consistent low cost provider position and selects products that meet this formula. Target positions itself as offering higher end and unique merchandise and fashion items at more affordable prices. Both companies are very effective in understanding what appeals to their customers (the discover component of Process in the Value Framework), negotiating effectively with their suppliers to develop product offerings that meet their overall missions, and performing quite effectively at the store level in managing the merchandise and promoting it to its shoppers. Kmart finds itself being squeezed in by its two merchandising competitors. For example, its Martha Stewart lines of household products would suggest a strategy that parallels Targets. However, since it tends to serve lower income households, their target audience is highly motivated to get bargain prices. Since its distribution system is less cost effective than Wal-Marts, Kmarts margins are severely eroded when it attempts to compete head-to-head with Wal-Mart on price. It is unclear how good a fit the Martha Stewart image is for the urban, minority audience that comprises an estimated 39% of Kmarts current revenues. This may become even more problematic for Kmart as it re-trenches by shutting down suburban stores and intensifying it marketing efforts to reach this audience. Whats more, both Target and Wal-Mart have taken the Martha Stewart approach to certain lines of merchandise. For example, Wal-Mart now offers the Mary Kate and Ashley line of clothing and accessories for teenaged girls. Target has used its attractive red logo to develop Private Label lines of merchandise with a distinct, somewhat irreverent personality. Target also features clothing categories with designer names that sell in higher end fashion boutiques with different lines of merchandise. More important is how these companies are using the Internet to manage their vendors across the supply chain. All three companies have Internet sites and provide e-commerce for their customers. From a functionality standpoint, there appear to be more similarities than differences among them. Each company has taken a different approach to how its Web sites are organized. Wal-Mart.com is a joint venture between Wal-Mart and the venture capital firm Accel Partners, and operates out of Silicon Valley, not in Wal-Marts Arkansas headquarters. Kmart has had several different approaches for its BlueLight.com site, and although it remains based in San Francisco (Kmart is headquartered in Michigan), more of the strategic decisions are now being made in Troy. Target from the start has kept its Web operations at its Minnesota headquarter offices, and has not attempted to create a stand-alone entity as its two competitors originally have. More important is how these companies are using the Internet to manage their vendors across the supply chain. All three have significant initiatives to take advantage of this opportunity. Wal-Mart is furthest along, and uses its larger scale to leverage its vendors to do more business with it via the Internet. Since the fashion and design component of Targets merchandise is a critical part of its stores strategy, design collaboration with its vendors, and inventory management of these items is the most sophisticated part of its Internet strategy. Kmart is also increasing its investment and commitment to the Internet, and it can actually take advantage of its competitors efforts as they are often the groundbreakers for the same vendors that Kmart does business with. FOURTH-QUARTER PROFIT INCREASED 14 PERCENT AT KMART. (Business/Financial Desk)(COMPANY NEWS)(Brief Article)Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2005 The New York Times CompanyKmart said yesterday that it posted a $309 million profit in the fiscal fourth quarter, a 14 percent increase over the period a year earlier. The retailer, which is expected to soon complete its acquisition of Sears, Roebuck, said that sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, fell but that the pace of decline was less than in the two previous periods. Kmart, based in Troy, Mich., earned $3.09 a share in the quarter ended Jan. 26, compared with $2.78 a share a year earlier. Revenue fell 7 percent to $5.9 billion. Same-store sales, which are considered a good measure of a retailers health, declined 4.5 percent. Kmarts 10 Deadly Sins. (Editorial)(Book Review)Tony Lisanti Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2003 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission. The latest retail book to be released is the fourth major book so far this year that focuses on the nations largest and most prominent retail companies. Over the past several months, books have been released on Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy (see DSN Retailing Today, June 18, page 11) that were all positive stories about successful retail strategies oftentimes providing a solid historical perspective and business insight with little mention of controversial issues. The latest book, Kmarts 10 Deadly Sins: How Incompetence Tainted an American Icon, by Marcia Layton Turner (Wiley), is quite obviously from its title the complete opposite to the aforementioned books. In fact, the preface begins asking the question Where did Kmart go wrong? as the author points out that this is the central question she tries to answer for myself and others seeking to understand how an industry pioneer became a laggard. Turner then asks, What caused the companys prospects to become so bleak that bankruptcy p rotection was the only answer? Some say the answer is Chuck Conaway Out of what looks like pure greed, former managers pushed Kmart into bankruptcy by draining the corporate coffers, in the process giving themselves extensive compensation packages and embarking on ill-advised price wars. Well, the opening salvo of the book quickly sets the tone for readers and has them immediately immersed in the downfall of Kmart and clamoring for more of the sordid details. Unfortunately, Kmarts 10 Deadly Sins never really fulfills that initial interest the author creates for the scintillating details, but instead it falls into a rather mundane second- and third-hand account of the oftentold stories of the problems that Kmart faced throughout its history. It extols the what ifs and rehashes the coulda, shoulda, woulda syndrome. Turner, who is also the author of The Unofficial Guide to Starting a Small Business, no doubt did her research and obviously spent hundreds of hours interviewing retail ex perts as well as searching news archives. Her due diligence is immediately apparent as Chapter One, entitled Br

Toys That Gender Stereotypes Essays - Play, Toy, Barbie, Tonka, Doll

Toys That Gender Stereotypes To Great of a Toy Toys describe how children should act. Adults expect girls to play with dolls like Barbie and Cabbage Patch dolls. They expect boys to play with action toys such as X-men, GI JOE dolls, and Hot Wheels. This sexually stereotypes a kid, because this is suggesting that they girls to chase after so called cute looking guys at the mall and always be interested in fashion and money. For boys they are expected to be tuff and buff and shed no tears they are the ones with the racecars, and the toys also makes them violent. Toy is a major contributor to sexually stereotype girls and boys. Barbie dolls help stereotype girls by making them the airheads type. Mattel Toy makes the doll with big breast and always a blonde hair doll that always has a boyfriend to the side of her. The always have things that includes with her like with its line of dolls outfits and accessories. For example Mattel toys recently introduced Cool Shoopin Barbie with an unlimited credit limit MasterCard that sings credit approved when run through a tiny toy scanner (Hua 1998) This makes girls want to shop and go out and do things like an older woman. This is showing that girls are suppose to be which the girls are going to want do in the near future. A recent article in the Corvallis Gazette-Times Newspaper demonstrates the stereotypical marketing tactics used by a major toy company, Hasbro. Hasbro is targeting little girls in their marketing by reintroducing the toy My Little Pony and by developing new toys such as the McDonaldland Happy Meal Girl and the Dial-A-Doctor Baby, which includes a cellular phone to call the doctor when baby is sick (Schlank). In a real-life survey made by Oregon State University, they found out that 40% of the respondents said they would buy a toy truck or car as a gift for a little boy. 61% percent answered they would buy a doll as a gift for a little girl. More importantly, the majority of the gifts for boys included activity and/or violence-oriented toys such as legos, games, sporting goods, sling shots, and guns. The gift list for girls included gifts such as stuffed animals, dress-up outfits, toy houses, kitchen sets, and medicine kits. This again shows how the stereotypical gender roles are introduced to children by the toys they interact with, which are introduced by adults. This teaches them that Rachel is learning how to be a good mother. She is learning the importance of nurturing her children, which imp lies that the female role is in the home (Goodman, 52). GI JOE toys are another factor towards sexually stereotyping but this is towards boys. They provide a stereotype by having the toys are have a lot of muscles, they have ruff or mean names. Also when boys tend to play with GI JOE they want to be the good guy who wants to fight crime. Another toy, which is Tonka Construction Kit, it includes tools like a power saw, drill, and screwdriver. This is teaching boys that they have to use their hands instead of thinking. They are the ones who always have to fix up things. Tonka also makes a toy called Tonka Car Kit, this includes tools and car parts that the kids have to connect and try to build a car. This is teaching them that they have to have a fancy car, always add new things to the car, and always have to fix on it. Another toy that contributes to this is an electronic game system called Nintendo, mostly all the games are targeted to boys. They mostly have games that are has violence or sports game. There are very few video games for children so boys play the sports and the fighting games. Toys stereotypes kids in a big way. They represent whom they are and what they are suppose to do. Girls are supposed to be going to the malls and chasing after the guys and are the ones who have to stay home and raise babies. As for as boys they are suppose to be the ones who has to be

buy custom The Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations essay

buy custom The Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations essay During the development of Mesopotamia and Egyptian cultures, other cultures developed in Greece, Italy, Asia Minor coasts, in Cyprus, Crete, and the Cycladic Islands, and the Aegean Sea beaches (McNeese 56). However, the cultures that emerged to be the most developed are Minoan and Mycenaean cultures. These two civilizations were influenced by Asia and Egypt, but each civilization maintained their uniqueness. The Minoan civilization is the most ancient culture of the Aegean cultures; it grew among the Europe, Africa and Asia crossroads, and it was named after King Minos, who was the founder of the neighboring dynasty in 2000 BCE (Scarre, and Stefoff 25). The Mycenaean culture developed during the Late Bronze Age on the Mycenae Hill in Greece mainland; later, this culture became more powerful and rich, and replaced the Minoan civilization; they took control of the Minoan trade routes in Crete and Aegean Islands (McNeese 142). The Mycenaean had a unique way of life, however, it was partly influenced by the Minoan style of life; this was because they produced pitchers which had Minoan elements, they also learnt metalwork, which was done by the Minoans and employed many Minoan workers and stayed with them for long periods (McNeese 169). This paper discusses similarities and differences between these two civilizations. Religion According to the inscriptions found in Mycenaean and Knossos cities, written in Linear B script on tablets, the Mycenaean worshiped gods. The names of the gods were Posedone, the Greek god Poseidon, Atana, the Greek goddess Athena, Zeus, who appeared as Diuja and was identified as the god of sky (Dietrich 116). They also had other gods such as Marineus, Diwia, Komawenteia and Dirimijo, however, the Mycenaeans main god was Poseidon. The Mycenaean, believed in supernatural gods, they perceived these gods as unique and according to Mycenaean, their gods were not omnipotent, they did not know everything and were not found everywhere (Dietrich 213). However, their abilities were considered as greater than human power; they could foresee the future, as well as interfere with human actions. The Mycenaeans gods were also considered to have feeling, love and could fight just like human beings. The Minoan, like the Mycenaean, worshiped many gods, which were headed by one god; they worshiped a snake, a dove and other objects such as double axes, horns and bulls. All the gods were headed by the snake goddess, who was considered as a universal mother, goddess of crops, animals, sea, land, weather, fertility, birth and death. The goddess was also a source of food and brought curses and blessings to the people. However, according to Dietrich, the Minoan gods, contrary to the Mycenaean, had no human feelings, and they could not love and fight, but just like the Mycenaean, the Minoan gods were assumed to have greater power than human power, and they could foresee the future, as well as interfere with human actions (Dietrich 326). Unlike the Mycenaean, which had a male god, the Minoan had only female gods, and according to the researcher, the Minoan goddesses represented only one goddess. The religious worship for both Mycenaean and Minoan was held in temples, palaces, courtyards, houses, caves and mountain peaks. Architecture Mycenaean civilization had similar building and miniature designs to those from Mesopotamia. However, the building techniques were similar to those of Minoan; they sed post and beams in most of their constructions. The Mycenaean builders expressed their creativeness through developing and building new forms of building from the existing ones. The important structure among the Mycenaean and Minoans are the tholos tombs, palaces and residential houses. Tholos Tombs In the earlier years, Minoan buried the dead in cave; they changed this to cemeteries during the middle period, and this was also changed to rectangular burial structure. Each had a burial structure where it buried the dead; the structure was used for over hundred years, first, they buried in the ground, and the bones were later transferred to the tombs (McNeese 148). The most common burial structure among the Minoan was the tholos; this was a circular stone tomb built in a hill slope or the ground, and designed with a dome shape with 4-13 meters diameter and a thickness of 0.7-2.5 meters. An example of tholos is Tholos A, a tomb that was found in the Phourni cemetery; it had a long entrance corridor, and the inside wall was coated with stone (McNeese 154). The lintel of the entrance was positioned at the ground level, and beneath the lintel was a grave. The tholos tombs of the Mycenaean, like the Minoan tholos, were built in hills, and had a dome shape; the royal family members were buried in these tombs. According to McNeese, the tholos structures of the Mycenaean were influenced by the smaller tholos of Minoan civilization; initially they were built in gravel, however, with time, they started building them in ashlar stones (McNeese 159). An example of the Mycenaean tholos was the Minyas treasury house and Atreus treasury house found in Greece, the ground plan of these tholos resembled that of the Minoan tholos. Palaces Like the Minoan, the Mycenaean architecture emphasized more on the palaces than temples. However, a Mycenaean palace looked more like a fortress while a Minoan palace looked like a labyrinth. The fortification was because of the foreign invasions, and its outline was based on the topography with the outline of the walls following the natural site contour, thus creating a barrier for invaders (Ireland 104). The example of the fortification architecture can be found in Tiryns and Mycenae. The Mycenaean palace was laid along a tough axis, and was built as a one-story building with walls surrounded by massive stones; this was different from the palaces of the Minoan, which were built as two-story structures (Ireland 316). The Mycenaean and Minoan had similar inside walls; they were plastered, and then decorated with frescoes. In the Minoan palace the focus was placed more on the large inner courtyard, while the in the Mycenaean palace the emphasis was put on the megaron; the megaron was considered as a center for worship and was used for the coronation and. The megaron in the Minoan palace did not receive much attention but was used for ceremonial purposes; it had a round hearth, with a quadratic plan of four columns, which supported the ceiling with an opening for smoke (McNeese 246). The megaron in both Mycenaean and Minoan civilization had corridors, which sometimes opened to additional rooms. Residential Buildings The Minoan residential houses were designed as urban houses; most of them were one-story, but there were also two and three-story. This was a contrast to the Mycenaean hhouses, which were built in a shape like that of a megaron; the entrance of the house was shaped like a deep portico with lines leading to the central door that lead into the residence (Ireland 209). The house back was designed as an apse, it had a half-circle shaped base; however, it was mostly rectangular in shape. The residential houses of the two civilizations were different in design, but the building materials were similar; the walls of these houses were built of gravel or stone, and the upper section was built of mud, and the ceiling was made of wood (McNeese 215). The Cities Most of the Minoan cities were built on the coastline; they had irregular plans, with almost all of them being built with blocks, and the streets were paved, the cities also had drainage channels (McNeese 523). These cities, which included most cities of Crete were grouped around the palace or the market area, and, palaces dominated Minoan cities as well as Mycenaean cities . An example of Minoan cities is Knossos, which was also a palace, this city had an irregular plan, and it was surrounded by residential houses of the upper class, with a narrow alley separating them (Scarre, Stefoff 36). The Mycenaean cities, unlike the Minoan cities which were build on the coastline, were built on the hill steep or on acropolis, which are high plains. Bussagli, highlights that the Mycenaeans associated hills with status; the palace was the highest point. The Mycenaean cities, unlike the Minoan cities, had fortifications except for Tiryns and Mycenae; the fortified cities looked majestic with an array of courtyards, rooms positioned on one axis and staircases (Bussagli 69). The city of Tiryns is an example of Mycenaean cities; this city is situated on the southeast of Mycenae, and was built on a cliff that towered the plane of Argolis. The terrain of this city rises from north to south with the kings palace at the highest point. Language The Minoan civilization had many languages; the Minoan used a primitive hieroglyphic script during the Prepalatial period. According to Kristiansen and Larsson, later, during the Protopalatial period, they developed Linear A language, which they continued to use in the Neopalatial period; this language featured many symbols, and each symbol represented a number, a word or a syllable. Linear A was used in some religious functions as well as in record keeping (Kristiansen, Larsson 407). The Mycenaeans language was different from the Minoan; they conquered the Minoan and replaced Linear A with Linear B, which later evolved as the Modern Greek language. Conclusion The Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations developed in different ways, lived in different times, but they have some similarities. The Mycenaean civilization customs, architecture, and the way of life were influenced by the Minoan civilization. The influence came after the Mycenaean defeated the Minoan; they lived and used Minoan workers over a long time, and this influenced their religion, their burial customs and the way they built their structures. As we have seen above their burial structures the tholos were similar, and the way they built their palaces was also similar. The two civilizations worshiped many gods, but the Minoan had only female gods. The similarities and differences show that although, Mycenaeans way of life was influenced by the Minoan, they still maintained their uniqueness. 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The good, the bad, and the ugly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The good, the bad, and the ugly - Essay Example These evil things come in different ways, including, ethnicity, race, corruption, sex discrimination, drug abuse and even physical appearance. Occurrences of the wrong doing and evil things in To Kill a Mockingbird further maturity of Scout’s into a young woman. Representation of Evil according to Plato Plato must have had the love for art work since he talks about them often in his work. He was also perfect in literature style and story-telling; history has it that he was a poet before he met Socrates and became a philosopher. His influence on the western culture is enormous as shown in his work, and this includes Art work and its theories (Ife 30). He also provides a thought-experiment that is shown to teach human beings most of ideas on human nature, and this include our own. When Plato, through his character Glaucon, was discussing the definition of justice with the Socrates, they both try to give their best definitions (Ife 31). Socrates through his character Thrasymachus explains that justice is when the stronger in the society hold their interest, while the young Glaucon argues that more by questioning the commitment of human beings to justice. This story is portrayed as thought-experiment to human beings. ... As a tradition, Gyges was working for the king as a shepherd, and one day there was a strong storm followed by continuous earthquake, which made an opening in the earth at the same spot where Gyges was grazing his flock (Stewart & Levy 198). He jumped into the opening, and to his surprise he saw a body which appeared more than human to him than a stature and it had a glittering gold ring on it. When the shepherds met together to send their monthly report to the king, he became invisible and the other began speaking of him feeling he was not present. Through his powers, he was chosen as a messenger who was being sent to the court, to try and manage to seduce the queen. Moreover he conspired against the king and took over the kingdom (Stewart & Levy 198). This story of the magic ring is important to human beings as it shows what we can do when we acquire power. If it is true that Plato’s allegory of the ring is right, then we should watch consciously when we get power over other s. This mostly relates to politicians whom we give powers, with the expectation that they will do what is right to us (Stewart & Levy 198). Representation of evil in â€Å"To kill a mocking the bird† To kill a mocking bird explores human morality in the world, shows a perfect conversation in relation to evilness of human beings and inherent goodness. The novel approaches this by dramatizing Scout and Jem at their childhood age. They tend to believed that people are good on earth before they see evil, and transform at the adult stage when they have confronted evil (Bloom 95). In our world today we face numerous things in several forms, including racism, social inequality, discrimination of sex and even physical appearance. The occurrences of the bad and ugly in To kill a mocking

Poem explanation for Rumi Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poem explanation for Rumi - Essay Example The poem’s form is very loose, rhyme free, almost like a flow of free thought from the heart, a confession of a soul not confused any more, but illuminated and free. Its haunting aura of deep simplicity almost borders on atheism: â€Å"Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Man is the bedrock of all religious and cultural systems, but he is always taught what to believe in and what to feel, while in fact, he should believe in what he feels. For Rumi, religion is a highly personal experience, not necessarily limited to logical arguments or perceptions of the senses, and in this particular poem, he disregards the importance of outward religious observance. Faith and love, just like breath, are invisible, yet inextricably present, and he truly believes that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in ecumenical peace and harmony. His words come from the heart and ache to explain the often perplexing worl d of personal, spiritual growth, and are aimed at everyone, every single human being on earth. He continues to list contrasting worlds of â€Å"the East or the West†¦ the ocean or†¦ the ground, not natural or ethereal† pushing his existence away from all those cultural and natural systems. He is neither, yet he is all of them.

Tulsa Race Riot Essay Example for Free

Tulsa Race Riot Essay During the early 1900’s, America has experienced an act of hatred and despair. Envy became the motive to suppress the masses and the death of hundreds of innocent people became the result. But how did all of this occur without any written record except for the painful memories forever instilled in the minds of the victims? Where were the authorities? Where was the so called â€Å"justice† that these people deserved? All of these questions replayed in my mind that night. On February 11, 2011, I attended an enrichment program at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College. At this enrichment program, there was a special viewing of the documentary Soundtrack for a Revolution followed up by a questions and answers segment. Before the showing, there was nice musical performance presented by two individuals. The performance itself gave an overview of the Tulsa Race Riot. Shortly afterwards, the film started. Prior to this event, I have the opportunity to do research on this tragedy about a year ago, but never had been as deeply concerned about the incident just by reading about it. The film was well put together and definitely caught my attention. Soundtrack for a Revolution told the story of Tulsa, Oklahoma during the early 1900’s and how it was a haven of flourishing black business. Everyone’s wealth within the black community helped boost each other’s business. It literally was considered the â€Å"Black Wall Street†. The dollar there circulated approximately thirty to one thousand times and sometimes took an entire year before the currency left the community. But, many people did not take a liking to the amount of wealth and success the black people of Tulsa, Oklahoma had. They grew envious and felt the need to suppress and even eliminate this epidemic. On May 31st through June 1st in 1921, they took action and for eighteen hours straight, they attacked. On those two days, hundreds of whites had gathered arms against the unarmed African Americans. So many of them were murdered and those who survived were left with nothing but tears and the painful memories. The movie forwarded to a more recent time and focused on the survivors of that dreadful day. It has been so many years since that event and the survivors have yet seen justice from the state and country whose purpose was to ensure their equality. I’ve watched the film and how they were ignored by court judges and the only reconciliation that those who have managed to live received was nothing but a bronze metal. From what I have been watching, that piece of metal could not have given them proper justice. In the 1950s and 60s, America became a volatile and confused nation as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, and black Americans demanded equality, both in the eyes of the legal and social systems. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. orked tirelessly in the fight against injustice and inequality, and ultimately paid for his dedication with his very life. His main goal was to have peace for both whites and blacks. He wanted everyone no matter what color to get along and live among each other instead of being segregated. His advice, as his speech implies, was not to judge one another by the color of their skin but by the contents of their characters. This injustice that occurred in Tulsa was the exact opposite of Martin Luther King Jr. s vision for the world. This is why he fought so long and hard for. As far as the survivors, I really hope that they will get the justice that they truly deserve. I do not know exactly how they can accomplish this specifically, but I do know that, with persistence and being resilient, they will finally accomplish this long awaited justice. The Tulsa Race Riot was more than just a tragedy against another race, I believe it was another tragedy against mankind.