Breaking Clod Hierarchical Transformation in Popes An Essay on Man - Literature Essay Samples

Popes An Essay on Man can be read as a self-conscious consideration of the idea of formal systems, both at the level of the poem and of the world. Pope moves philosophically from the lowest- to the highest-ranked levels of being and back, charting these hierarchies through a series of rhymed iambic pentameter couplets. While this structure is not in itself noteworthy, as it is a common phenomenon in Popes work, it gains significance when one considers it in the context of the poems subject matter. The concept of hierarchy, both as a cause of limitation and as praise of mans place in the world, is brought into focus as Pope considers the confines of these hierarchies, and the ways in which a lower and a higher level might merge. For example, with the question The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,/ Had he thy Reason, would he skip and play?, Pope highlights the limited mental world of the lamb, and suggests that the limitation may, in this case, be purposeful. Because of mans b rutality, Pope argues, the lamb is better off in a state of ignorance; in this way, he will not have to suffer the presentiment of death. Such passages, Nuttall suggests, argue that Man, so limited [to a particular state,] would never know that he was limited (Nuttall 54), and as such raise the issues of hierarchy and knowledge within the poem. By questioning the boundaries between lamb and man, between man and God, and so on, Pope attempts to understand the essence of particular hierarchies, as well as the possible transformation of one thing into the next. Far from espousing a quietist viewpoint, Pope seeks to understand the very nature of the worlds distinctions, to juxtapose elements of different levels against each other and see what equation will result. His use of the couplet, rather than a list or other form, allows chiasmus to occur throughout the poem, with room for comparison or contrast of elements in every set of rhymes. Through the placement and grammatical linking of each of the four parts of the couplet, Pope posits distinctions between concepts at the very level of the line. Through the use of poetic enactment, he is able to envision the transformation of one being into the next, to move a creature from the lowest to the highest level of society through words. It is this poetic enactment, Pope suggests, this particular structuring and breaking of the line, which allows for dramatic departures from the hierarchies the world traditionally holds. Through describing and enacting transformations in the hierarchy of things, Pope utilizes his own metaphor of concentric circles (As the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake;/The centre movd, a circle strait succeeds), examining hierarchies at the smallest, most reduced level of the line in the hope that they will radiate out into the world of the poem.Popes consistent usage of the iambic pentameter couplet has beenoften discussed, with critics sometimes decrying the rigidity and formality this ver se form imposes. Whether or not the couplet does represent a particular ideology (a question Hunters Form as Meaning discusses), it is clear that its formal requirements must be carefully considered by the poet composing in such relatively strict verse. As Hunter notes in Form as Meaning, Absolute and unbending loyalties or essential values for the heroic couplet as a verse form may be impossible to establish, but expectations, patterns, leanings, tendencies, and appropriate formal associations can all be culturally described (Hunter 259). Because of the tradition arising from such a recognizable form, it is inevitable that a canon of heroic-couplet poems have come into being, all with similar concerns as to the forms particular constraints. With little leeway metrically and even less in rhyme, the poet must choose those elements strategically, in order that he might both hold to the requirements of the heroic couplet and have the freedom for the expression he desires. While su ch strategy clearly exists in other forms, such as the sonnet, the heroic couplet is unusual, in that it has both open and closed elements. There is no set line length, fourteen or otherwise, which offers the poet a prescribed place to draw the poem to a close.Because of this dichotomy a strict limitation in rhyme and meter at the level of the pair, and the absence of any length limitation but that of the poets capacities the heroic-couplet poem requires that the poet have both the ability to work within tightly-prescribed limits and the consideration to build these limited pairs into a self-regulated, self-sized whole. The form offers neither the freedom of vers libre nor the comfortable rules of a set-length poem; thus, the poet must define the balance of regulation and freedom himself. Because of this open-closed dichotomy, the form seems already suited to a self-conscious questioning of itself. As the form is, from the very beginning, obvious to the reader, it is perhaps te mpting for a writer to foreground this formal obviousness when constructing a poem of this kind. Yet Pope, in writing An Essay on Man, takes this questioning a step farther, in that he makes the concept of boundaries, the open and closed nature of hierarchies, into the very subject of his poem. Hunter calls Pope a conscious worker in the couplet tradition (Hunter 266); as such, it seems he has transferred his knowledge of that traditions limitations into the questioning of the worlds. The poems form supports this questioning, in that it allows for two sets of pairs to be placed next to each other if nothing else, to be displayed in the space of the poem as they would not normally be in the world. Hunter argues that Pope is not only able to display his terms through this poetic form, but is in fact able to suggest a sense of causality: Each couplet involvesa structure of four fundamental unitsdivided rhetorically by a caesura and syntactically by some crucial grammatical relatio nship that implies cause/effect (Hunter 267). In this way, Hunter argues, the four fundamental units are both separated, in the sense that the caesura and the punctuation divide them, and are brought together, in that a crucial grammatical relationship links their terms. Through such a statement, Hunter seems to assert not only that the form itself is conducive to claims of causality and comparison, but also that Popes particular use of the English grammar causes them to be further linked.For example, in Epistle I, the lines When the dull Ox, why now he breaks the clod,/ Is now a victim, and now Egypts God (I., 63-4) not only propose a strict progression of events, but actually move the image of the ox through a series of philosophical and mythological transformations. In part one (first half of the first line), the ox is simply dull and presumably motionless; though there is the time marker when given, there is no verb at all, and one is able to characterize the ox only through the adjective dull. This initial characterization marks perhaps the least dramatic of a series of transformations, in which the readers expectations will be radically shifted within the space of the two lines.In part two, for example (the second half of the first line), the characterization has become dramatic and full of motion not only through the interjection why, which suggests surprise as well as conjunction, but also through the straightforward word order, the strong action verb breaks and the extremely present-tense adverb now. Through this adverb, Pope moves the line from describing an instance, when, to a particular, contemporaneous moment in time, now. The now forces the reader to reconsider the ox, which was first only characterized as dull, as a creature who makes strong movements in the present time. The presence and immediacy of the stresses also changes, from two in the first half-line to three in the second, and from a vague or secondary stress in the first ( perhaps on When and dull) to a very articulated and regular sense of stress in the second (strong stress on now, breaks, and clod.) The meter has moved from uncertain and partially stressed in the first to completely regular in the second, reflecting not only the completion of an iambic pentameter line, but more significantly, the difference in metrical description of the first two parts. One might even perhaps consider the significance of breaks in the second half-line; though used to refer to the ox, it is possible that it references the poet as well, and the breaking occurs, not only of the clod, but of the line as well.If this theory of enacted metaphor is continued, it might suggest that the poet himself is implicitly being compared to the ox dull in the first half-line, and then, as the breakage and turning of the line occurs, transformed into an active, transformative being. Indeed, as the Latin versus derives from the turning of the plow, this self-reflexive metaphor ha s a basis in the language itself. The line breaks right after now he breaks the clod, enacting what may have been first considered simply descriptive terms. Whether or not this metaphor is borne out by the readers ear, it does at least seem that Pope transforms the figure of the ox from a state of dull stasis into a more exciting, consequential one, as he goes through the action of breaking. The placement of these two terms, part one and part two, directly beside one another, and separated by a comma, allow them to be considered as equivalencies, not necessarily equal terms, but terms whose equality comes, through their placement, into question. Through reading the two terms, one after the other, one is struck by the dramatic movement from one to the other state.Similarly, in terms three and four, an equally stark transformation takes place. Both terms include, through parallelism, the being verb is; both also contain the word now and the sense that the ox is being renamed. Be cause of the similarities in structure between the two parts, one might initially assume that the sharp distinction of parts one and two is not here taking place. The meter also does remain relatively regular and iambic, rather than moving from less to more regular as in parts one and two. However, the parallelism of parts three and four allows a different sort of transformation to take place: one based not on a difference of sentence structure, but rather on the violence of the animal renamed. The phrase is not structured around the difference between the dull ox and the ox breaking clod, but rather around the opposition between the oxs status as a victim and that of Egypts God. The opposition is as dramatic as can be imagined, and may be said to parallel, in more drastic terms, that of the first two parts.The ox as victim is one who has been beaten, who is inactive because of a stronger force; the ox as Egypts God is one who has triumphed, has won over the hearts and minds of the people and attained the status of a deity. Taken by themselves, these two phrases force the reader to consider a simple opposition between the two; taken together, though, they force the reader to make a philosophical and chronological link between the two. Popes use of the word now twice in this line creates a sense not only of contemporaneousness and spontaneity now this happens, and now this happens, as though the author could not get down the words fast enough but also a sense that the author is all-powerful, capable of making the impossible real through the use of his pen. The use of the double now suggests that the author has the power to create the ox anew, perhaps not in physical reality, but at least in the minds of the perceived audience. It seems either that the ox, perhaps through his breaking of the clod, has actually changed from a victim to a deity, or that the author, with his use of the adverb marking time, has the ability to create it so. The perceptio n of the animal changes as Pope changes from part three to four; perhaps a change in perception is all that is necessary to re-envision the ox as a god. Through the use of now, Pope allows the reader to follow along as he makes this change; indeed, through the proximity of parts three and four, Pope suggests that almost no time is needed for the change to occur. In addition, because this line involves only the verb is, the reader is invited to contrast it with the previous line, in which an action verb occurs. There is, Pope suggests, an analogy-based relationship between the dull ox and the ox as Egypts God, and alternately between the ox breaking clod and the victim. Though such relationship is not made explicit, it seems that, based on the use of enactment before, Pope implies that the action is itself transformative, that it is the breaking of clod which allows the ox to become more grand.To follow the enactment metaphor, this suggests that it is the work of the poet itself which causes change, the writing of now and now again which forces the reader to consider concepts in a new way. The ox is not physically recreated in three different guises; it is rather the lines of the poet which, through juxtaposition, force such recreation to occur.Indeed, as the ox moves from being dull to breaking clod, to a victim to Egypts God, it seems it is undergoing a parallel transformation in both lines. The ox moves from a dull, passive object to an active force, and from a victim, one of the lowest states in society, to one of the highest, as Egypts God. This quick, seemingly miraculous transformation becomes believable if created poetically by the author himself; if the readers perception is made to shift with each clause the author makes after now.Without necessarily proposing hierarchies, then, Pope suggests them implicitly through the very pairing of the images he selects. An apparently simple couplet, when examined, expands to reveal the authors insistence on the transformative properties of his own hand. Though the terms themselves may not be of particular importance, they help to reveal the consideration of the juxtaposing process itself, and thus enter into importance as terms of a logical argument. For instance, Hunter argues that the closed couplet tends to privilege the balancing itself the preservation and acceptance of difference rather than a working out of modification or compromise (Hunter 266) and Nuttall, in Popes Essay on Man, suggests that it is bestto speak of the elements of the line as positions, which may be variously occupied (Nuttall 21). In considering the verse, then, it seems that explicit commentary on Popes part may not be necessary for elements to be compared. The form itself seems a kind of argument, whose logic allows for pairs of premises and terms. When these premises are read more closely, it seems evident that they suggest a kind of transformation that cannot occur in reality. The heroic coup let, it seems, acts as a kind of Gedankensexperiment in which wildly different terms may be worked out to their own conclusions. As Sissela Box says of Popes metaphor of concentric circles, It is a metaphor long used to urge us to stretch our concern outward from the narrowest personal confines toward the needs of outsiders, strangers, all of humanity (Nussbam 39);Popes four-part juxtaposition seems to be doing much the same work, though considering humanitys essences more than its needs. Through comparison by the written word, the narrow concept of a dull ox may be quickly transformed into grandeur, and then back into dejection again.Through the writing of verse, the breaking of the line as well as the oxs clod, the poet may enact such hierarchical transformations, thus envisioning a broadening and a transforming of the (at least poetic) world.

Improve Grades with These Study Group Ideas

Many students get more out of study time when they study with a group. Group study can improve your grades, because group work  gives you more opportunity for comparing class notes and brainstorming potential test questions. If you are facing a big exam, you should try studying with a group. Use these tips to make the most of your time. If you cant get together face-to-face, you can create an online study group, too. Exchange contact information. Students should exchange email addresses, Facebook  info, and phone numbers, so everyone can be contacted to help the others. Find meeting times that work for everybody. The bigger the group, the more effective the study time will be. If necessary, you could assign two times a day, and those who show up each scheduled time can study together. Everybody bring a question. Each member of the study group should write and bring a test question and quiz the other group members. Hold a discussion about the quiz questions you bring. Discuss the questions and see if everyone agrees. Compare class notes and textbooks to find answers. Create fill-in and essay questions for more impact. Divide a pack of blank note cards and have everyone write a fill-in or essay question. In your study session, swap cards several time so everyone can study each question. Discuss your results. Make sure each member contributes. Nobody wants to deal with a slacker, so dont be one! You can avoid this by having a conversation and agreeing to commit on the first day. Communication is a wonderful thing! Try communicating via Google Docs or Facebook. There are lots of ways you can study without actually gathering together, if necessary. Its possible to quiz one another online.

The Importance of Setting in Developing a Theme for...

When Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights England was going through a time of great change. It?s past agrarian society was changing and the common man was able to obtain wealth. Setting helps us to further understand the conflict between the natural world and cultured humanity, through the two main houses in text, and the social situation on the English Moors. Wuthering Heights uses this time of social unrest to develop the theme of the natural world in conflict with cultured humanity. An example of the natural world is the house, Wuthering Heights which the text is named after. It is a place of violent emotion inside, and violent weather outside. The narrator, Lockwood describes it through the medium of his diary ?pure bracing†¦show more content†¦and located in a pleasant valley, sheltered from the harshness of nature. This house shows us the upper-class civilised humanity. The Linton?s, who live at the Grange are of a higher-class than Catherine and Heathcliff. The valley in which the Grange is located protects the inhabitants from the raging emotion that is nature. In our first encounter with Thrushcross Grange, we are told that, ?the light came from thence,? and we see Thrushcross Grange as a educated civilised place, filled with books, music and other lovely things. Religion was an important aspect of the setting, to the contextual reader religion was a important aspect of their daily life. The inhabitants of the Heights disregard for cultured religion would have been seen as shocking and blasphemous and is an example of nature in opposition to civilisation. While the inhabitants of Thrushcross Grange have the standard appreciation for religion at the time, Catherine and Heathcliff have their own version of heaven from the start when Mr Earnshaw dies no ?parson in the world ever pictured heaven so beautifully as they did, in their innocent talk.? This foreshadows Catherine?s dream, ?I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home, and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth, and the angels were so angry that they flung me out into the middle of theShow MoreRelatedNelly Is Confronted By.2436 Words   |  10 Pagesheart and an empty stomach, said I. Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves. But, if you be asha med of your touchiness, you must ask pardon, mind, when she comes in. You must go up and offer to kiss her, and say - you know best what to say† (Bronte, 47). (Nelly and Heathcliff are speaking) Nelly is talking to Heathcliff about Heathcliff’s relationship with Catherine. Heathcliff share’s his personal emotion with Nelly, who tries to understand the situation. She knows of Heathcliff’s love ofRead MoreVictorian Novel9605 Words   |  39 Pagesmentioning the importance of the expansion of railways. In a short time it greatly influenced not only the landscape of the country but also the perception of the space and time. Books, journals, reviews, magazines, papers became the portion of travelling. Even libraries, like those of Edward Mudie and W.H. Smith, thanks to the railways could send different forms of literature to provinces and overseas. Changes in the industry and society were equal to the changes in the novel. Themes like sea adventuresRead MoreRise of the English Novel5132 Words   |  21 Pagesoriginality and apply them to literature. Their stories were completely unique and used realism to show how people actually live (Watt 14). As the English novel developed the idea of characterization changed dramatically. A wide variety of characters and settings began to be used like â€Å"a man on an island, a servant-girl under siege, or a solitary eccentric oddly recapturing his prenatal past† (Longman 3067) Another characteristic of the novel is the use of ordinary names for people instead of symbolic namesRead MoreInterpretation of the Text13649 Words   |  55 PagesYet in analyzing works of fiction it might be useful to adhere to a certain scheme, like the one given in the box below. In studying fiction, use the following questions as a guide: What are the theme and the message? How does the title relate to them? What is the plot structure like? What does the setting contribute to it? What central conflict drives the plot? What are other conflicts? How is the story told? What does the particular type of narrator contribute? Which narrative modes are used? How

Flogging a Dead Cow Can Be Profitable in Argentina

Latin America’s second biggest economy is regarding the arrival of unconventional oil and gas on the scene is regarded as an opportunity to reverse the steady decline the country has experienced in oil and gas production. Argentinian outlook appear to be looking up, industry insiders suggest that the prospects are certainly taking many of the right boxes. Nevertheless, there are problems such as the country’s energy policies, regular tree environment and energy markets, that make the country at first sight a challenging place to invest in. However, there has been a turnaround in government attitudes towards investors as the realisation that for Argentina to duplicate the American unconventional revolution. Already, there have been a number of policy and regulatory changes to reverse the past downward spiral in investment in exploration and production, that resulted in Argentina turning itself from a net energy exporter to a net energy importer, which although politicall y popular has put severe economic strains on its economy. Resources Argentina has some of the world’s biggest and best quality reserves of shale hydrocarbons states KPMG Shale Development: Global Update 7 October 2013. The US Energy Information Administration June 2013 report estimates suggest that Argentina could have reserves of at least 2732 TCF of shale gas of which 774 TCF is technically recoverable. In comparison with its neighbour Brazil which is thought to hold a potential 906 TCF of which 206 is

The Problem Of Healthcare Providers - 1236 Words

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Information And Communication Technology Management †Free Samples

Questions: 1.Describe and discuss what cultural issues may impact on you as an ICT professional if your organisation merges with another. Try to think deeply about some of the possible impacts on you and your career path that could result from an organisation merger or restructure. 2.From your readings this week, especially in Part 3 of this week's seminar, which framework are you going to use to analyse the scenarios in Assignment 1? Choose either MacDonald or White. Provide reasons to support why have you chosen this one. 3.You are faced with a situation you feel may be unethical. How would you set about analysing the situation? Think carefully about the ethical analysis process, not the potential ethical dilemma. That is to say, try not to get caught up in developing and describing a scenario that is unethical. Rather, your focus is on the procedural aspect of dealing with a situation you feel may be unethical. 4.Where you are working in your internship, locate your company's Values statement or Code of Ethics, and ask your supervisor if you can either link to it from the company website in the discussion forum or reproduce it in the forum. If your supervisor refuses permission, or there is no Values statement or Code of Ethics, prepare one for their use based on the reading you have done. You might model it on one you have come across. If you need, look at the Western Australia Public Sector Code of Ethics as a guide. Answers: 1. Company mergers are termed as unifying of the business prospects between two different companies to create a single entity that will have the power to rule among all the employees associated with the individual companies. This is mainly done for the sharing of resources and to get more business revenue. They are also done sometimes when one company is unable to do business while the other takes charge making it their own. There are many cultural issues that may arise due to the merger between two organizations (Ford and Richardson 2013). The first issue that will arise is the cross-cultural issues of doing work that will affect the way of doing work. In addition, the major issues in the aspect of ICT are the security and privacy. Due to the merger between two organizations, the profiles of an employee can be directly accessible by the other organization. This in term increases uneasiness in the employee. 2. The case of conflict of interest, the accepted methodology is considered the McDonald framework. The McDonald framework for ethical management is an efficient methodology for solving ethics related problems. As Hardeep is involved with an ethical dilemma of whether choosing his friends motives above the company, the need for this framework is required. The first step in this framework involves the collection of information and identification of the problem. This is used for analysis of the problem. The next step is the inclusion of alternatives in the solutions. These are then used to address the business. The third step involves identification of moral issues and other factors in cases of the alternatives (Leipziger 2017). The fourth step involves implementation of the solutions so that the best scenario can be taken. The last step involved is the decision making process which is extremely crucial for a conclusion. 3. The 3 step ethical process involves the first step being gathering of the data, the second step being defining the issues and the third step being the application of problem solving process. The first step is the gathering of information for information analysis (Resolving an Ethical Dilemma, 2017). This process is usually implemented by various research methods like surveys or questionnaires. In addition, the report analysis is another way for getting information regarding an unethical issues being done. The major data to be collected involves knowing the parameters like who will be affected the most and the what types of solutions can be applied to lessen that. In addition, this section is also used to know the impact of the solution to other stakeholders associated. Furthermore, the ethical consideration should also include the effects on the long-run implementation of the applied alternative. 4. The use of the various ethical codes is required for better addressing the ethics related section of a company (Schwartz 2013). If the higher authorities do not abide by the use of a code for ethics, it is the need to create one. The standards to be integrated include various steps which are as follows: Personal integrity: This section of the code is used for taking diligence and care in applying decisions so that the undertaken decisions are meant to be honest and fair. Relationship: The company will treat people with courtesy and respect to comply with the business standards. Accountability: The use of the company resources is to be used in an efficient and responsible way for affecting the business in hand or other financial and natural resources. References: Ford, R.C. and Richardson, W.D., 2013. Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. InCitation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics(pp. 19-44). Springer Netherlands. Leipziger, D., 2017.The corporate responsibility code book. Routledge. Resolving an Ethical Dilemma. (2017). [ebook] Thomas I. White. Available at: https://bourbon.usc.edu/engr102-f09/ethics.pdf [Accessed 31 Oct. 2017]. Schwartz, M.S., 2013. Developing and sustaining an ethical corporate culture: The core elements.Business Horizons,56(1), pp.39-50.

Categorization of Multiple Channel Retailing †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Categorization of Multiple Channel Retailing. Answer: Introduction Most business managers are urged to take wise decisions regarding their businesses. In order to evaluate the direction, goals, objectives and plans of a business a basis of reference is needed. Strategic management is a goal based management of resources to achieve a specific objective; it helps the managers to focus on effectiveness and efficiency of their decisions and actions(Hillet al.2014). Most practitioners and researchers may agree that strategic management of a company involves at least three elements i.e. strategic goal setting, management of core competence and corporate governance. Fixing appropriate goals based on the core competences and resources available helps the business position itself favorably in the market. Core competences of a business are the things an enterprise does best or better than others. Researchers have identified three major factors to qualify core competence of a business i.e. competences that are difficult to copy by the competitors, competences that are used to produce specific products and services, and competences that lead to solutions to customer problems or create customer satisfaction (Bharadwaj et al 1993). Corporate governance is the manner in which a company is run and its shareholders are managed. Corporations are different from other business structures such as partnership, Limited Liability private enterprise, etc. (Smith 2017). Corporations are required to meet certain legal requirements such as incorporation rules, listing in stock exchanges, etc. and are considered as separate from the promoters or owners. Often, corporations are owned by many people through shareholding i.e. a set of individuals share the profit and losses generated by the company through its intended operations. The shareholders and Board of governors have limited liability to the creditors of the company and the enterprise continues to exist beyond life span of its owners because the shares of a company can be transferred to others through sales or gift of shares. Analysis of strategic management helps the business managers to evaluate their business direction (Wheelenet al. 2015); and it helps the investors to assess the present and future position of the company. In order to demonstrate the strategic management of a company, an analysis of a listed company in the Australia i.e. Adairs is performed. Adairsproduct and service portfolio Adairs is a well-known retail brand in Australia and New Zealand that offers specialty home furnishing materials to its customers (AO, D.R.H.M 2017). It operates through specialized retail stores across Australia and New Zealand and through a dedicated e-commerce web site. The major strategy of the organization is to offer their customers trendy materials for home furnishing, backed by strong values and enhanced shopping experience (Mall 2017). Adairs has relatively large product portfolio. A product portfolio is a set or categories of all the products or services offered by a business enterprise. Information on product portfolio provides an opportunity to understand the market segment of a company, the current trends related to the product consumption, the probable profit margins, future growth prospects, market leadership of the company, etc. Information on product portfolio is critical for investors to assess the potential of the company. Currently, Adairs product portfolio has a wider range than its nearest competitor. The variety of home decorator product is large (Adairs 2018). However, the business managers in the small business units balance the range of products to meet the customer demands, optimally utilize the floor spaces in retail outlets, and create an ambience for shopping experience. It is reported that Adairs have included wall art, bedroom chairs, household fragrances, floor carpets, bed side lamps, decorative mirrors, etc. to the product portfolio. The critical aspects of product selection for offer depend on the Adairs strategy of categorizing products on fashionability, quality, aesthetics, and value for money. The product categorization helps the customers to have an integrated view of products and enables the retail staff to provide superior service (Varley 2014). The company focuses on enhancing living in the customers homes. Adairs operation includes, rolling out new points of sales i.e. specialized stores, manage the merchandise in it, and provide customer friendly web platform for the customers to do shopping sitting in their places of comfort. Adair focuses on four kinds of specialty stores (Adairs 2018). i.e. Adairs home maker, Adairs Kids, Adairs Outlet and Urban Home Republic. Each outlet of the Adairs, functions as a business unit of a larger system. Astrategic business unit(SBU) is considered as aprofit centerthat offers specific product range to a market segment with a discrete marketing plan to capture local market share, may be a city, town or a region. Adairs Product and Service lines The product portfolio of Adairs include, bedroom accessories, bathroom accessories, furniture division, home wares and kids section. In each of these product portfolios, specific product lines mark the retail inventory. A product line is a set of interrelated products under a category, brand or utility. Adairs sell multiple product lines in each of its portfolio, for example bedroom accessories portfolio included product lines such as pillows, quilts, blankets, bed spreads mattresses, etc. And, within each of product lines there are various brands and variants to meet the demands of the customers. Inventory of Adairs is complex. Having wider product portfolios and product lines helps the company to meet the specific needs of the customers (Beck Rygl 2015). From the media reports , it is evident that Adairs have not been doing good in terms of earning profits, but have increased revenues from the retail outlets and e-commerce. The reports indicate that revenues from online sales have increased by 26 percent and retail sales have increased by 7 percent in the year 2016. Revenue is the income from sale of products or use of capital / assets associated with the major operation of a company (Bannikovaet al. 2015). The revenue is indicated on the top of the profit and loss statement. Subtracting all costs, overheads, expenses and charges from the revenue, net income of an organization can be calculated. Revenues are sometimes equated with total sales and turnover. The operational environment or external environment of an organization stands for political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legislative factors around it. These factors are critical in accomplishing strategic plan and typically a strategy must effectively address these factors (Edelman Webster 2015). The local conditions of each store also affect its business. With respect to operational environment, there are a number of risk factors specific to Adairs and in general for the lifestyle retail. The performance of the Adairs is affected by a range of economic and business conditions such as changes in consumer spending for lifestyle products, inflation rate, interest on loans, and exchange rates in the international market. Government policies regarding taxation, people management, etc. also affects the retail business. The risk factors that are to be considered by Adairs include the following. Changes in consumers buying pattern General economic condition in Australia and New Zealand Entry of new competitors and strategic changes of existing competitors Management may lag in execution of the strategy Rented retail locations may have to be vacated Product range expansion and retail store expansion must be backed by sufficient resources. SWOT Analysis of Adair would help to understand the effectiveness of the strategies that have been implemented by the organization. Strength: Being one of the largest retail industries in Australia covers a larger area of market share. Moreover, the leader position of the organization promotes the company in exploiting the target market with the help of its strong resources. The organization has strong resources in the form of human and technological resources and also has a very good presence of the industry (Culley et al. 2017). Apart from that, one of the strength of the organization is its large number of quality products and services that targets large number of customers from Australia and from other parts. Prior to this, Adair has a strong commitment to the environment and the sustainability. Weakness: Apart from the strength, the organization has certain weakness also, as its presence in the International market is very low. Till now, it could not able to make a profitable market share in the International market. One of the major weaknesses is the impact of the external environment in the growth strategy of the organization (Jain 2015). Moreover, Adair has failed to sustain the competitive advantage of the market and entering the online retail lately had resulted negative impact on the organization. Opportunities: Retail industries in Australia shows a good growth within the market area and the organization tries to promote its brand through advertising, sponsorship and more. Apart from this factors such as the lifestyles of the consumers in Australia, advent technologies, supply chains provides good opportunities for the retail industries to expand their market share in Australia. In order to increase their productivity and revenue growth, the organization tends to implement strategic acquisitions in the emerging economies (Segarra et al. 2016). Threats: The major threats for the Adair organization is mainly from the larger retail industries in Australia such as Woolworths and the Coles Supermarket. Another threat to Adair comes from the intervention of the Government in their business procedure (Kew and Stredwick 2017). Apart from this, economic recession in the country could hinder the growth of the organization. Porter Five Forces Analysis Bargaining Power of the Buyers: In respect to the Australian retail market, the bargaining power of the buyers is higher as there is large number of retail industries that provides variety of products to thee customers (Corona 2015). It has been stated that the strong power of the customers forces the organization to decrease their products process in order to target large number of customers. Bargaining Power of the Suppliers: In the context of porter, it has been stated that higher the importance of suppliers, higher is the power of the suppliers. Therefore, Adair organization tends to have lower dependence on their suppliers, that means the bargaining power of the suppliers are low (Wanjohi 2017). The main reason behind this is the amount of shares of retail market in Australia and the large number of products that are being sold to the industries. Threat of new Entrants: In case of Adair, the threat from new entrants tends to be lower as the bigger retail industries do not keep any pace for the entry of new players in the market. And if any new player enters the market, it becomes difficult for them to survive in that particular retail industry and therefore it tends to reduce the threat from the new entrants (Kew and Stredwick 2017). Apart from this, Adair is consider as a dominant player with larger access to various distribution channel and trusted brands in the retail sector. Rivalry among the Existing Firms: The threat from the existing firms in case of Adair organization is higher, as there are major competitors in the Australian supermarket. Dominant market players include Woolworths, Coles supermarket and more that tends to exercise their power in the overall retail industries in Australia and for dominating the largest supermarket they tends to fight among themselves. Threat of Substitutes: As Adair is mainly a retail industry that deals with products that are essential for daily needs, therefore consumers need to avail those products as there are no other substitutes of those products (Segarra et al. 2016). Therefore, the threat of substitutes for the organization is low; consumers need to buy all those retail products that are important to them. Profit and loss figures shares in stock exchange 2017 (Net Revenue) 2017 (Sales) Adair $ 6.8 billion $ 15.04 B Woolsworth $ 25.7 billion $ 41.15 B Tesco $ 19.2 Billion $ 78.43 B From the above table, it could be seen that in case of the generation of revenue in terms of profit and loss, Adair ranks third. Woolsworth being one of the largest retail industries in Australia ranked at the top most level by earning $ 25.7 billion. Tesco ranks second by generating profit of $ 19.2 billion, whereas, Adair earned $ 6.8 billion, whereas in terms of sales, Adair has a low sales profit than its competitors (Wanjohi 2017). In order to increase its profit, Adair needs to target larger customers in order to sell more products. Factors of sustainable competitive advantage The company has been following a strategic direction for long but has recently attempted to improve the execution of the plans. The company believes that improvement in execution will have corresponding improvement in results i.e. some of the key drivers of Adairs strategy are discussed here(Rosemann vom Brocke 2015). One of the major strategies followed by Adairs to attract more customers to its stores is product differentiation and product line expansion. Presenting high quality and appealing products to the customers is critical in home dcor business. Adairs, over the years have developed an ability to address broad range of customer needs by offering differentiated products that are superior in quality but at attractive prices. This strategy of Adairs has been successful so far and the trend shows the company is likely to pursue incremental steps in adding new range of products and reaping corresponding increments in sales. Second strategic measure by Adairs is increasing their retail store network. In spite of the reduced profit margins, the company is betting their luck on not only expanding store network but also upgrading the floor spaces in existing network. One of the executives has said that the company plans to open at least eight new outlets in Australia and New Zealand every year. However, the history of two to three years indicates that the company has opened only four outlets on average. The finance managers have reported that stores that upgraded their physical space have stated to give better returns in terms of revenue and profit margins. Company has learnt that providing customers with broader range of products, and differentiated customer experience can lead to better profitability (Shockleyet al. 2015). Recently, Adairs have started a concept called omni channel retailing. The customers have the choice to buy the products from retail outlets or from online site (Gao Su 2016). Irrespective of the customers style of buying, the company has decided to provide flexible customer experience. The company has introduced loyalty programs to retain customers and enhance engagement with the company. It is apparent that online sales is likely to post higher rate of growth and company is focusing in developing various services around it such as hassle free returns, etc. Capable staff is considered as part of the strategy at Adairs. The company values passionate and high performing team members as critical for the success of the company. The company aims to provide excellent shopping experience to its customers along with service. Great service can be provided by people only, for which the company encourages and trains the staff to provide excellent service (Vieiraet al 2017). Overall, Adairs is placed to expand its international presence, especially in New Zealand. The executives in the company are confident that with their competitive advantage of larger product range, omni channel sales, and appealing price it can do better in the coming years in terms of profitability. Competitive advantage of company is the reason for sustained business from the customers. As per the five forces analysis, the entry barriers to a new competitor are high as the capital needed to start a retail chain is huge. The threat of substitutes is high as there are many retailers who provide home dcor items. The bargaining power of suppliers is neutralized by the brand value of the Adairs and the bargaining power of the customers is high as they have many alternatives to satisfy their needs. The industry rivalry in home dcor retail is neither intense nor trivial; the company needs to respond to the customer needs quickly.It is a set of attributes that allow a company to perform be tter than the competitors. The increase in sales in retail outlets and online site indicates strong competitive advantage for the company. Recommendations for Future Strategic Direction It appears that strategic direction of the company is right, but the management should focus on the execution of the strategy i.e. product differentiation and store expansion. The correlation between the new stores development and store up gradation, and the growth of revenue and profitability are strong, and it must be pursued (Davcik Sharma 2015). The company managers have acquired unique ability to include new products that meet the needs of the customers; the company must encourage and nourish such initiatives of the managers. The product differentiation with affordable price range and product category expansion also needs to focus to keep away the competitors. The ambition of starting eight stores per year appears to be a bit impractical, looking at the profitability and the resources of the company. It would be safe to start four new stores per year for next two years and four floor expansion projects. Physical floor expansion in the existing stores has been more profitable than opening new stores (Nishida Yang 2015). The managers must pay attention to the profitability of the retail store differentiation i.e. home maker, kids, urban republic, etc. Overall the company may adopt the following recommendations. Continue the loyalty programs Strengthen online presence and develop web pages to enhance shopping experience Facilitate broader range of products availability Provide realistic and precise product information in the online facility Reduce number of clicks in the purchase process and simplify payment procedures Expand to new and unrepresented areas depending on the recognized demands Look for newer international markets Initiate mobile marketing and mobile commerce Conclusion Analyzing a companys strategic management has several benefits (Puntet al. 2016). Strategic evaluations present an opportunity to objectively analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of the current strategy. To helps the investors and job seekers to assess the future potential of the company. For the managers and decision makers, it provides an opportunity to take corrective actions bring back the company to right direction. 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