The Conflict Between Tradition And Western Influence On...

In 2014, Binyavanga Wainaina, a well-known Kenyan author and journalist, wrote, â€Å"There is no country in the world with the diversity, confidence, talent and black pride like Nigeria.† There is certainly truth to these words. The west african country of Nigeria has proven itself to be a successful and enduring land. As the English began exploring and colonizing the land grounded in tradition and folklore, Nigeria effectively adapted and grew. Even when torn apart, Nigeria has pulled itself back together and grown stronger. There are many aspects to Nigeria’s culture that are worth considering. But one aspect of Nigeria has proven itself to be rich, transformative, and long-lasting: literature. Nigeria has produced rich literature that shows the conflict between tradition and western influence as well as dividing war. Further, Nigerian literature answers to this clash with a call to reconciliation and balance of the two. A brief look into the history of Nigeria would be beneficial before considering the literary culture and history of the country. Nigeria contains the greatest amount of historical cultures and empires than any other African country. The land is filled with a variety of peoples and tribes, such as the Fulani and the Bornu, the Igbo people and the Yoruba people. In the early 19th century, the unique land began attracting British explorers, Christian missionaries, activists, and traders. The British acquired the land soon after. Thus began direct rule of theShow MoreRelatedA White Man s Burden, And Achebe s Things Fall Apart1747 Words   |  7 PagesIn history, colonization was a truly popular tradition practiced by great and powerful empires in order to extract and retrieve all materials necessary to support their homeland. However, in order to achieve such sense of commerce and well-being, those colonists who had the power, had to colonize weaker and far less advanced societies. Grea t powers such as Britain and France would then travel to these societies and implement their rule in order to gain prosperity. Some, those who benefited from colonizationRead MoreA Study on the Author, Chinua Achebe 1467 Words   |  6 Pages A STUDY OF THE AUTHOR, CHINUA ACHEBE Chinua Achebe was born unto a Nigerian parents in Nigeria on November 16, 1930. He was from a family that born six kids; he being the fifth among them. Chinua Achebe’s parents were Isaiah Okafor Achebe and Janet Achebe. He begin an English at eight in Ogidi, Nigeria. Encouraged by his father, he was excited to learned English quickly. His father Isaiah Achebe was one of the first that converted from their religion to Christianity and he also foundedRead MoreSummary Of Wole Soyinkas The Lion And The Jewel1617 Words   |  7 Pages Throughout this play there is a constant battle between tradition and modernity as well as a post-colonial struggle seen both in a exhibited in the plays village of Ilujinle. Soyinka published this play at the time Nigeria was battling for independence and freedom under the British control around the 1940’s and 1950’s. Due to this, Nigeria was struggling with whether or not it was prepared for independence and able of conducting a modern western civilization. A few Nigerians perceive that it wasRead MoreBritish Colonize Nigeria Essay979 Words   |  4 PagesBritish Colonizing in Nigeria In the late 19th and early 20th century, Europeans had raced to colonize the country Africa. Great Britain was the leaders at this time in colonizing the land filled with rich natural recourses. These recourses were considered a necessity to the industrialization of the world, specifically Nigeria. During this colonization that Great Britain was doing in their new land, you could imagine that the locals were not too happy about this. The British had no respect forRead MoreEssay on African theatre1586 Words   |  7 PagesAfrica. African theatre is influenced by African dramatic traditions and Western theatre. The influence of Western styles originates from European presence, European education , and the artists training outside of Africa. The magnitude of foreign influence varies from country to country. This influence slowed the development of African theatre in Zimbabwe. For example, productions continued to exemplify Western theatre. The Afrocentricity in West Africa in the 1960s was a reaction toRead MoreColonization of Africa1542 Words   |  7 Pagestoday. The countries of the developing world subjected to colonialism have been faced with a number of impediments throughout the years which have hindered social and economic growth, and laid the foundation which bred cultural conflict. Colonialism, however, too bought Western civilization and all its attractions to underdeveloped countries during the process of colonialism. The following essay will highlight the effects of colonialism on the developing world from an economic, political and socialRead MoreBusiness And Human Rights : The Evolving International Agenda By John Gerard Ruggie1504 Words   |  7 Pagesfor individual responsibility. National legal systems provides criminal punishment for individuals and corporations as legal person. With yearly internal trade that sometimes exceed the gross national product of states and corresponding political influence, the corporations not only theoretically can, but in the past have, created detrimental effects for states and individuals in their sphere of operations. On the other hand, viable international solutions to subject multinational corporations to internationalRead MoreImperialism In The 19Th Century Resulted In European Countries1726 Words   |  7 Pagesteach readers that â€Å"their past-with all its imperfections-was not one long night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them†(Chinua Achebe on the Role of the Africa n Writer, 1964). Chinua Achebe helped change the western perception of African culture by using the characters and story of Things Fall Apart to give readers a different perspective of imperialism than one they had been brought up to believe. Moreover, George Orwell’s essay Shooting an Elephant, and WRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1414 Words   |  6 PagesOkonkwo builds trust. On the other side, the substance of â€Å"The Second Coming† recounted a chaotic world and a base that couldn t hold as its very own inner conflicts. In addition to the synonymous feeling both the book and poem give, they both uncover a great shift from an old era to new era. 2. What was the struggle between change and tradition in Things Fall Apart? As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall Apart deals with how the prospect and reality of change affect variousRead MoreChapter Nine : The Research Journey2945 Words   |  12 Pagesthe challenges of western methods and the concerns of creating valid feedback when multiple worldviews are present. Designing Research Developing a plan. Acknowledging the complexity inherent in the identities and worldviews of the parties involved in the research can provide a deeper understanding of the human experience of the research and its outcomes. In using participatory methods, a researcher must simultaneously acknowledge and question how their participation may influence or change group

The Relationship Between Ophelia and Hamlet William...

The play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, looks at the issue of madness and how it effects the characters of the play. Madness can be looked at from very different perspectives, such as strong and uncontrollable emotions, a person’s desires, and also a persons mental stability. Throughout the play, the audience is questioning the sanity of the main character, Hamlet, as he goes on his quest for revenge. The people around him also show signs of madness, such as Ophelia and Claudius, but in different forms. Existentialist philosopher Friedrich Nietzche says, â€Å"There is always some madness in love. But there is also some reason in madness.† What Nietzche is saying is that when you are in love with someone or something, there is always a little†¦show more content†¦By his cockle hat and staff and his sandal shoon.† (V. IV. 23-26) This shows how Ophelia has became crazy over Hamlet’s inability to show affection towards her and him rejecting her. Ophe lia’s madness soon spirals into her commuting suicide by drowning herself in the river. This can be linked to Nietzche’s statement that there is some madness in love, as Ophelia’s love for Hamlet caused her to become crazy. Hamlet also shows signs of madness due to his relationship with Ophelia. Throughout the play it is unknown to the audience if Hamlet truly has feelings for Ophelia. It is not until Act V that the audience becomes aware of Hamlet’s true feelings when he finds out about Ophelia’s death, Hamlet states, â€Å" I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?† (V.I. 255-257) This shows how Hamlet become mad with rage and sorrow as he hears of her death, finally revealing his true feelings. This relates to Nietzche’s statement that there is some madness in love, as Hamlet has not been able to show his true feeling for Ophelia, and once he become aware of her death he is filled with sorrow. This madness is shown when Hamlet develops a plan to fool everyone to thinking he is crazy. At the beginning of the play when Hamlet discovers that it was Claudius who killed his father, he decides he mustShow MoreRelatedEssay about Ophelia: Harshly Criticized1027 Words   |  5 PagesHamlet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare in the 16th century, has been subject to evaluation for centuries. Each character has been broken down and analyzed. The psychology of each character has been examined. Every relationship has been studied to find more answer surrounding the play. Harold Bloom and Sigmund Freud have examined it extensively. Scholars have dissected all parts of the play. One character that has recently been analyzed more and more is Ophelia. She has been defended byRead MoreShakespeare s Hamlet - Hamlet And Ophelia958 Words   |  4 PagesHamlet and Ophelia The play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare is the perfect example of how love can not always conquer all. Hamlet may be regarded as one of Shakespeare s greatest plays. This play follows the story of a young prince named Hamlet who lost his father and had his family torn apart by the hands of his Uncle, Claudius who is now king and step father to Hamlet. Subsequently, Hamlet was also having relational problems with his love, Ophelia. The relationship between Hamlet and OpheliaRead MoreDialogue Between Ophelia And Hamlet742 Words   |  3 Pages William Shakespeare has written some of the greatest plays of all time regarding love and war. In the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Ophelia and Hamlet exchange many comments about their relationship while Hamlet wages a form of war on the King. It is widely up to interpretation if the comments exchanged signal a friendship or if they allude to something more. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia and Hamlet maintain a serious relationship, yet lack a sense of affection, which describesRead MoreCharacters Influenced by Traumatic Internal Events: Hamlet, and Death of a Salesman1018 Words   |  5 Pagesdesire.† Demonstrating a link between internal thoughts and external action, characters in both William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman harness Aristotle’s philosophical ideology. In both plays, a main character becomes so overwhelmed by mental or psychological events that their actions become reflective of them. Although set in different time periods and involving entirely different circumstances, the fates of both Shakespeare’s Ophelia and Miller’s Willy Loman reachRead MoreSeeking Reveng in William Shakespeares Hamlet1018 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Hamlet,† is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare about a prince seeking revenge. Although this play was written around the sixteen hundreds, its main character is still relat able to people of this era through emotional issues, relationship issues, and internal conflicts. These categories will be further discussed starting first with a biography of the author, a plot summary, a discussion of how Hamlet relates to people of this time period, and a summary of a critical review of Hamlet. ThoughRead MoreThe Mind of the Mad: Analysis of Hamlet1552 Words   |  7 Pagesimportant to keep in mind when understanding whether Hamlet is truly mad or feigning madness as part of his ‘plan’ in which Shakespeare builds up throughout the play. This relates to the second aspect which must also be looked at when comprehending the fictional play Hamlet. This aspect is the certain ‘key’ events that take place, and how they not only provide a basis for, but also shape and mould the emotions of the character Hamlet. When Hamlet is first introduced into the story, his darkRead MoreThe Fatal Opposition Of Hamlet And Laertes1035 Words   |  5 Pages2 May 2016 Ms. Benns The Fatal Opposition of Hamlet and Laertes Newton s Third Law states that to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction (â€Å"Centripetal†). Many people have found this to not only be true in science but also in different situations, everyday life, and even in literature. In literature, when a character is equal but opposite to the protagonist, that character is called the foil. In the drama Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one character that is said to function as Hamlet’sRead MoreCharacter Analysis of Ophelia and Gertude in Shakespeare ´s Hamlet1128 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Shakespeare also known as the English nationalist poet is widely considered the greatest dramatist of all time. Shakespeare spent the majority of his life writing poems that captured the â€Å"complete range of human emotion and conflict† (â€Å"Biography of William Shakespeare†). Throughout the world, people have performed William Shakespeare’s plays, poems, and sonnets for over four hundred years. Sti ll to this day, Shakespeare’s plays have become very well known. One of William Shakespeares mostRead More Essay on Ophelia - The Innocent Victim in Shakespeares Hamlet830 Words   |  4 PagesOphelia - The Innocent Victim in Shakespeares Hamlet  Ã‚        Ã‚   Poor Ophelia, she lost her lover, her father, her mind, and, posthumously, her brother. Ophelia is the only truly innocent victim in Hamlet. This essay will examine Ophelias downward spiral from a chaste maiden to nervous wreck.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the beginning of the play, in Act I Scene iii, Laertes and Polonius are trying to convince her that Hamlet does not love her and only is interested in her so he can sleep with her. LaertesRead MoreHamlet, By William Shakespeare1178 Words   |  5 Pages In William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, the protagonist suffers from struggles with major characters, especially with the women in his life. While reading the play Hamlet, Hamlet appears to be a disillusioned man. Throughout the play, Shakespeare has only casted two females: Gertrude and Ophelia. Gertrude is defined to be incestuous, naà ¯ve and cold-hearted. On the other side, Ophelia is characterized to be ignorant, innocent and fearful. After the quick marriage of his mother and evil uncle, Hamlet’s

International Businesses Actual Applications Scenarios

Question: Describe about the International Businesses for Actual Applications Scenarios. Answer: Reflective Writing Introduction The current coursework introduced me to analytical thinking, and actual applications in case scenarios. The purpose of this reflective essay is to apply five ethical diagnostic tool results generated for my personality onto case studies. The Ford Pinto Case and the EastPac Bank case are used as the two case studies. The tools used are MCI score tool, the Values questionnaire, the BIG 5 personality inventory, the Ethnocentrism scale and the Material values scale. An analysis of what form of decisions would I have made and why I would have made it and if the results of diagnostics makes me change my opinion, now that I have a better understanding is discussed. Case Study 1 -Ford Pinto Case In the case of the Ford Pinto case study, in spite of following the US safety and construction standards, there is a known defect that could lead to rupturing of the Pinto fuel tank and could engulf both care and occupant in flames. The re-engineering necessary to address this defect was not done because it was deemed expensive and analysis proved that the re-engineering cost was set at 137.5 $ million which was estimated to be higher than that of the cost of 180 burn related deaths. Case Study 2- EastPac Bank EastPac bank is being fully privatized and as a result is only operating in high income areas, shutting down offices in other areas and have been laying off people in those branches. In addition, it uses the business process out casting model in order to move most of its business processes to countries like India and Philippines resulting in further job loss within Australia. With the cost savings, the company's CEO takes home a salary which is 10 percent higher than the next largest Australian Bank Moral Competency Inventory The Moral competency inventory MCI score scale indicates an alignment of High, at 80-89 percent. There are ten main competencies in the scoring (Park, Peterson, 2006; Martin Austin, 2010) which are as follows. In the context of Acting consistently with principles, values and beliefs, I have scored a medium with respect to the importance that I might give to my principles values and beliefs versus that of accomplishing my goals. It is true that working in a company like Ford and in setting up manufacturing I would also try my best to be aware of costs versus benefits. Costs would definitely be important to accomplish my goals, but not at the risk of harming someone else. My principles and my beliefs will never allow me to harm anybody or take advantage of anyone whatsoever. So if I was to make the decision, then I would recommend the reengineering as the only option and if an alternative decision making was to conflict with my goals then I would work on it. Secondly in terms of tel ling the truth, I have scored high in MCI and I have scored a medium in standing up for what I believe in, so it is more likely that I would even leave the company so as to push for the reengineering in Ford. The MCI scores also show that I would keep promises, admit my mistakes, and embrace responsibility as well care about others actively. These are definitely keeping with my character. With respect to my personal values when it comes to EastPac I would definitely believe that EastPac has the right to reduce costs for the company so as to bring good investments for the company and benefit its shareholders. However, sending a majority of the jobs as out sourced processes to countries with very limited banks or countries where it does not even have branches is not the right option. Many Australians lose their jobs and EastPac has a social responsibility to maintain. Secondly, I also believe that EastPac must not close all its branches, it must have some minimum functional branch for customers who need it too. Values questionnaire The values questionnaire attempts to present indicators of preferences with respect to different values (Lee et al, 2000). In terms of theoretical value, I have scores 83, and in terms of economic values I have scored 98 and in aesthetics I have scored 66. In terms of social, political and spiritual values I have scored 65, 63, and 47 respectively. People should give a lot of importance to data, facts and truths and from my scores it can be seen that I do so too. So in the case of the Ford Pinto case study, if there is established test data to show that the Ford Pinto could result in injury to a person then I would definitely not recommend manufacturing of the vehicle. I have scored 98 in economics, which indicates that the emphasis is on the practical and in particular the material values. Economic concerns of firm have to be taken into account but not at the risk to ones life. So even if there is a conflict, the chances are that I would decide in favor of data, facts and truths mor e than others. Emphasizing relationships and concerns for others is reflected in the social value (Cennamo, Gardner, 2008) A business must be such that it is able to connect with the society in which it is established and must strive to give back something to society as well (Inglehart et al, 1998). I have scored 65 in terms of social value which is very less compared to that of economic value scores. According to the scores and my own beliefs as well I would definitely factor in how reduction in jobs and branches and the outsourcing affects people in Australia, in the bank case study. BIG 5 personality inventory The Big 5 personality inventory is used by major organizations in order to attempt to understand and help their employee understand their personality traits (Hayes, Joseph, 2003). My Big 5 score indicates that I would be more inclined to be open to experiences as my score tends towards high and not low. Similarly, I would be a highly conscientiousness person and would be an extravert who is quite agreeable and is more neurotic. Now being a more open person would keep me more open to ideas such as outsourcing as in the case of the EastPac bank case study. However, my high level of conscientiousness would also help me consider my options carefully. People who are understand facts, analyze them and then take decisions would be helping all stakeholders. I believe my Big 5 personality traits as applied to case study shows that I would be balanced in decision making. In the case of the first case study, I would not be making the decision to go ahead with the original manufacturing model. My scores indicate that I have a high level of conscientiousness, so the chances of going ahead with a failure model that would affect others would be very low. My scores indicate that I am highly agreeable and as research on the Big 5 suggests that this means the person would very likely to avoid disagreements in the workplace or conflicts (Hurtz, Donovan, 2000; Fagley, 2012). Now this score opposes conscientiousness as seen from the first case study, as the decision to add re-engineering would definitely invite opposition within the company. However, I believe, conscientiousness would prevail when it comes to avoiding conflicts. Ethnocentrism scale Ethnocentrism is the evaluation of cultures according to one's own culture (Saffu Walker, 2005). The Gene generalized ethnocentrism scale is used here. In the scale it is mentioned that a score more than 55 indicates a high level of ethnocentricity. In my case the score is above 55 and hence it could be said that I am highly ethnocentric and might tend to evaluate others cultures and practices according to my own. This is a good trait, but has its cons too. The pros exist because I would be able to understand others problems and issues as my own and this would hence be good, however cons exist because I might be biased in my thinking (Frenkel-Brunswik, 1948). With respect to the bank case study, my ethnocentrism should have worked in favor of keeping jobs within the country. In a similar way I believe, according to my ethnocentric beliefs that life is valuable and cannot be put into jeopardy for the Ford Pinto case study. Material values scale Material values scale shows how much of material elements one is drien towards for defining life values (Richins, 1004; Burroughs, Rindfleisch, 2002). As part of the millennials, the acquisition centrality score is 2.8. High acquisition centrality score indicates that it is more probable for the person to see pursuit of material items as a primary life goal. In pursuit of happiness, my score is 2.8, indicating a drive towards material pursuit again. Now although this score tends towards being high I believe material acquisition and killing a life can be said to be equal. So in the Ford Pinto case, I would definitely go ahead with re-engineering to save lives rather than sell the faulty model. In terms of success definitions, the score is 2.4. I believe that I would be competitive in the case of the Bank study, but competitiveness would not lead to the tradeoff of values, there would be a balance here. Conclusion Two case studies were reflected on based on understanding of my personality through 5 diagnostic tools. Reflective writing undertaken in this coursework helps me understand my own personality traits as applicable to real world situations. The five diagnostic tools helped in self-evaluation and I was able to learn pros and cons in my trait. This course in particular helped me improve my analytical skills. The number of in-class cases that were analyzed in this semester taught me to observe details given a case scenario. Things are not always black and white, and in evaluating a case, many details have to be given consideration. I believe my analytical skills were improved during the course of this semester. References Balabanis, G., Diamantopoulos, A., Mueller, R. D., Melewar, T. C. (2001). The impact of nationalism, patriotism and internationalism on consumer ethnocentric tendencies. Journal of International Business Studies, 32(1), 157-175. Burroughs, J. E., Rindfleisch, A. (2002). Materialism and well-being: A conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer research, 29(3), 348-370. Cennamo, L., Gardner, D. (2008). Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organisation values fit. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(8), 891-906. Fagley, N. S. (2012). Appreciation uniquely predicts life satisfaction above demographics, the Big 5 personality factors, and gratitude. Personality and Individual Differences, 53(1), 59-63. Frenkel-Brunswik, E. (1948). A study of prejudice in children. Human relations, 1(3), 295-306. Hayes, N., Joseph, S. (2003). Big 5 correlates of three measures of subjective well- being. Personality and Individual differences, 34(4), 723-727. Hurtz, G. M., Donovan, J. J. (2000). Personality and job performance: the Big Five revisited. Journal of applied psychology, 85(6), 869. Inglehart, R. F., Basanez, M., Moreno, A. (1998). Human values and beliefs. University of Michigan Press. Lee, M. J., Whitehead, J., Balchin, N. (2000). The measurement of values in youth sport: Development of the Youth Sport Values Questionnaire. Journal of sport and exercise psychology, 22(4), 307-326. Martin, D. E., Austin, B. (2010). Validation of the moral competency inventory measurement instrument: Content, construct, convergent and discriminant approaches. Management Research Review, 33(5), 437-451. Park, N., Peterson, C. (2006). Moral competence and character strengths among adolescents. Journal of adolescence, 29(6), 891-909. Richins, M. L. (2004). The material values scale: Measurement properties and development of a short form. Journal of consumer Research, 31(1), 209-219. Saffu, K., Walker, J. H. (2005). An assessment of the consumer ethnocentric scale (CETSCALE) in an advanced and transitional country: The case of Canada and Russia. International Journal of Management, 22(4), 556.

Could Webvan.com Have Been Saved free essay sample

This paper analyzes the reasons why Webvan.com failed. This paper analyzes in detail the demise of the dotcom business, Webvan. The author states that Webvan ignored the most important lesson that good business is still based on basic rules of supply and demand, customer service, employee relations, and prudent expansion. It reached too far and too fast. In the boom days of the dotcoms, even with such ambitious scope, Webvan had no trouble raising capital; at its inception, investment analysts gave it the nod with assessments that ranged from attractive to strong buy But no sooner did the company go public in November of 1999 and raised $375 million, but the bottom dropped out, and it showed losses of $144.6 million in its first year of existence. At that point, from a market perspective, most of us would do what the analysts did urge holds and caution to give the brand-new baby business time to find its feet. We will write a custom essay sample on Could Webvan.com Have Been Saved? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page