Dissertation Research Proposal

Dissertation research proposal Table of contents Introduction 1- Problem definition/statement 2-Research goals 3-Research objectives 4-Research hypothesis 5-Dissertation organization Chapter one: Literature review Chapter two: Research methodology -Introduction 1. Recipients of the research 2. Justification of the research 3. Research Methodology 3. 1. Research problem area 3. 2. Research question 3. 3. Research objectives 3. 4. Research hypothesis 3. 5. Research design 3. 5. 1. Research philosophy 3. 5. 2. Research approach 5. 3. 3. Research strategy 3. 5. 3. 1. Survey Strategy 3. 5. 4.Research method choice 3. 5. 5. Time horizon 3. 6. Population and Sample 4. Data collection, editing, and findings 4. 1. Date collection 4. 2. Data editing 4. 3. Data coding 4. 4. Limitation -Bibliography Appendices -interview outline -Time management -outline content of literature review -Email for interview -Email for questionnaire -Introduction This section outlines the background of the dissertati on. In the first chapter the researcher explains the choice of the topic and the issues. In the second, the researcher will describe the methodology used during the research process 1-Recipients of the researchThe primary recipients of this thesis are The Dublin Business School in Dublin Through Mr. Gary Bernie, my dissertation supervisor For fulfilment of the MA Marketing 2. Justification of the research 2. 1. Interest for the subject According to Saunders et al (2012:29) one of attributes of a good research topic is that the researcher should be extremely interested and fascinated about the topic 2. 2Academic background The researcher has graduated 2 years ago with a Licence in Humanitarian Science; and a significant side of the science was about the ethics and its positive role on people and communities . 3. Personal background The researcher has a strong interest in marketing ethics as he plans a career in this environment. So he has the motivation to proceed with this paper to conclusion. About the resources, the researcher has access to an Irish environment: people, communication, companies†¦. The researcher is working part-time, so he has a flexible time to carry on his research The first chapter Literature review It is my belief that good marketing is ethical marketing. Good marketing is about satisfying and developing a long-term relationship with our customers.Caring about your customers not only results in profits, it is the ethical thing to do. Deceiving customers may help a firm’s profits in the short-run, but is not the way to build a successful business. Marylyn Carrigan,  Lecturer, University of Birmingham, Department of Commerce, Birmingham, UK 1- Marketing ethics concepts and theories Business ethics’ definition Business ethics can be defined as â€Å"a set of principles that guides business practices to reflect a concern for society as a whole while pursuing profits, Nisberg, 1988 (cited from: Maureen Kilcullen, Judith Ohles Kooistra, (1999)The shame side of marketing Of all the management fields, marketing is probably that which seems the most Contradictable when it comes to ethical aspect. As Smith and Quelch (1993, p. 188) suggest that some of the most fundamental concepts in marketing, when looked at Afresh, raise important ethical issues (cited from Klein Thomas, 2011) According to Marylyn Carrigan, et al (2005) In later years marketing thought has focused upon the subject of marketing ethics, and in the 1980s there was a flurry of activity by marketing scholars who attempted to evaluate conceptually the nature and role of marketing ethics.Moreover, Carrigan (2005) gave many examples of scholars discussed the issue, such as, Ferrell and Gresham (1985) developed their contingency framework to evaluate ethical decision-making in a marketing organisation, Hunt and Chonko (1984) conducted their survey on ethical dilemmas for marketing managers, and the ethical problems faced by marketing research ers. Marketing ethics philosophy Ethical marketing is about whether firms marketing decision is morally right or wrong.The morality of the marketing decision can include any part of marketing from advertising to the pricing of product or service, to the sourcing of raw materials. Like many authors, Beauchamp (1980) divided the major philosophical trends in ethics into two categories; the utilitarian approach and the deontological approach. In the utilitarian approach, the notion of ethics is related to the consequences of an action. According to this approach, the manager will attempt to produce the greatest possible amount of positive value or the smallest possible amount of negative value for the consumers affected.In the other side, the deontological approach, based on the work of the philosopher Emmanuel Kant, this approach does not consider so much the consequences of an act, but pays a lot of intention to the manner in which the act is performed (cited from Jacques Nantel et a l, 1996). Definition is the problem According to Peter Drucker (1973) marketing is a discipline which provokes much debate. Very often, this controversy is linked to a lack of understanding of what the actual definition of marketing is.One definition of marketing, very often used is: â€Å"Marketing is human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange process; Kotler and Turner, 1981(cited from Jacques Nantel et al 1996) Jacques Nantel et al (1996) suggests that The most striking feature of this definition is its almost entirely utilitarian aspect, If we apply foundations of the utilitarian approach in ethics, one knows that an action is only ethical if it maximizes the positive consequences for the greatest number of people while at the same time minimizing negative consequences to the smallest number.An interesting case is that of sugar On the one hand, it is true that sugar is a product which responds to a gustatory need, but what about its medical and denta l effect. Jacques Nantel et al (1996) states that In order to extend both the range and the degree of marketing ethics, several authors (Fraedrich  et al. , 1991; Laczniak and Murphy, 1985; Martin, 1985) have suggested that we take into account not only the utilitarian criterion which is satisfaction but also the means used to obtain this satisfaction.Suggesting a solution towards this issue Jacques Nantel states that marketing, by its very definition, is principally grounded on a utilitarian approach to ethics but that managers could also develop a deontological approach to marketing. The reason for this development that the consumer is no longer merely concerned with the satisfaction obtained from a product or service, but also with the way in which this product or service is obtained.Consider, for example, the boycotting of certain products (Canadian paper products by German consumer. According to Jacques Nantel points out there is much reason to believe that the marketing func tion will turn towards a deontological approach for the simple reason that, Today there is a more concerted attack from well-organised activists in the form of protest groups such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth or the UK Consumers Association.The Internet has opened up a route for international groups of consumers and interested bodies to co-ordinate their activity globally, and this can be seen in Web sites such as www. saigon. com/nike, the homepage of the Boycott Nike campaign, or www. mcspotlight. org the homepage of the McDonalds boycott. In response, large organisations that had previously believed themselves immune from such activity find themselves now having to defend themselves against their global critics on their own company Web sites. Marylyn Carrigan, Ahmad Attalla, 2001) The researcher does not see a major difference between the suggestions was produced by Fraedrich, Laczniak and Murphy (the code of ethics) and Jacques’s notion, both of them are concerned regarding the means, the means should be as ethical as the aim, but the question which will be appearing and rising, who will determine these means, is it the marketing or the consumer or the law, who will judge these means by saying there are ethical or not. 2-The negative effect on marketing for ignoring the safety, health, and the environmental standards in children soft drinks Your brand is your lifebloodIf we foul up with consumers, we do our industry considerable damage. If you put out unsafe products you will be found out, somebody will get hurt, and you will get a massively bad reputation. If you openly exploit children and you mislead children, you will be found out. We go over and above to make sure that our products are built, manufactured in the right way, because if we don't, we lose forty or fifty years of all the hard work that we've built up in actually establishing these brands, because they are our lifeblood.We don't do anything that would leave us open to suspicio n, because it is not worth it; we don't need to operate that way. We've built our reputation on doing things the right way, so we don't do anything by the back door Stephen Hogan (2007) -Marketing ethics or pay the price There is evidence that companies do suffer commercially from boycotts, Shell were estimated to have lost between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of their sales during the Brent Spar boycott (Klein, 2000), and the Nestle boycott is said to have cost the firm $40 million (Nelson-Horchler, 1984).Gelb (1995) argues the power of consumer boycotts is increasing. . It has also been found that 44 per cent of the British public have boycotted a product for ethical reasons in the last 12 months (Mason, 2000). Marylyn Carrigan, Ahmad Attalla, (2001) Marketers are encouraged to behave in an ethical manner because information about a firm’s ethical behaviours is thought to influence product sales and consumers’ image of the company (Mascarenhas, 1995). A recent MORI po ll commissioned by the Co-operative Bank in the UK suggests that one-third of consumers are â€Å"seriously concerned† with ethical issues (Mason, 2000).Within the past year, over half had bought a product or recommended a company on the basis of its ethical reputation. Smith (1995)  argues that we are now living in the â€Å"ethics era†, whereby society's expectations of marketers have changed and we face challenges to basic marketing assumptions. Consumers are better informed, more educated and awareness is greater of consumer rights and product requirements at least in western society. Legislation has also played a part in raising consumer expectations of marketing behaviour used at the prospect of such uncharted territory -Marketing ethics or you loss long-term prospectsTwo Studies of scientific literature showed that ethics in the Marketing system is very important and in order to ensure good long-term prospects of the organization, it is necessary to maintain a high level of organizational moral. Ethical decisions stimulate public confidence and allow creating a favourable image of the organization, to maintain good relationship with market partners; they also increase competitiveness and the effectiveness of the marketing program (Vysniauskiene, V. Kundrotas (1999) -Four reasons to join marketing ethics Stanton, M.J. Etzel, B. J. Walker pointed out four main reasons Why marketing specialists must behave ethically: First reason; is that ethical marketing may help to increase a declining trust of society. Marketing prestige in the eyes of many people is down. Doubtful activities that are periodically made public also add to problematic issues of consumers. Despite its manifestation only in a small marketing share, reputation of all marketing specialists does suffer. So, it is very important to business leaders to demonstrate ethical responsibility assuredly.Second reason, why marketing specialists must behave ethically is that such behavio ur may allow bypassing an increasing regulation of the Government. Apathy, resistance or evidence of unethical behaviour in business Directly increases a possibility of the Governmental regulation. Third reason; ethical marketing helps to regain public confidence Fourth reason, ethical behaviour allows organizations to preserve their image. The second chapter The research Methodology -Introduction 1-Recipients of the research The primary recipients of this thesis are The Dublin Business School in Dublin Through Mr.Gary Bernie, my dissertation supervisor For fulfilment of the MA Marketing 2. Justification of the research 2. 1. Interest for the subject According to Saunders et al (2012:29) one of attributes of a good research topic is that the researcher should be extremely interested and fascinated about the topic 2. 2Academic background The researcher has graduated 2 years ago with a Licence in Humanitarian Science and a significant side of the science was about the ethics and its p ositive role on people and communities 2. 3. Personal background The researcher has a strong interest in marketing ethics as he plans a career in this environment.So he has the motivation to proceed with this paper to conclusion. About the resources, the researcher has access to an Irish environment: people, communication, companies†¦. The researcher is working part-time, so he has a flexible time to carry on his research 3. Research Methodology 3. 1 Research problem area Kumar (2011:48) argues that drawing up research problem is the most critical part of the research process, and the reason for this is because the quality and relevance of research rely on it The topic of the thesis has been chosen according to Saunders’s guidelines.According Saunders, et al (2012:28) attributes of a good research topic should: -Fulfil your examiner’s requirements -Something you are able to deal with and enhance your creativity – develop your research skills The researcher should: – Have enough time, money, and resources for proceeding -Be able to link his topic to academic theories -Have access to information he needs The research problem area of this dissertation is about two main subjects: – Marketing ethics n children soft drink – The negative effect on marketing for ignoring Health, safety, and environmental standards The major goal is to study and analysis the negative side on marketing for ignoring safety, health, and environmental standards in children soft drink and how marketing should response to this ethical issue. 3. 2. Research question Saunders et al (2012:40) argues the researcher should developed clear conclusion from the data he gathered so that he can introduce research question. The question must be involved enough so that can generate the required standards of the project The research question for this dissertation is:To what degree ignoring health, safety, and environmental standards in children soft drinks a ffecting the Marketing, and how Marketing should response to this ethical issue? 3. 3. Research objectives Kumar (2011) declares that the main objective is a general statement of the study and statement of the main associations and relations that you search to find and track down. The sub objective is the certain parts of the topic that you want explore within the main framework of your study. According to Saunders (2012) writing useful research objectives requires: -Transparency: the meaning of the objectives is clear Specificity (the aim of the objectives is clear and understood – Relevancy: the objectives linked to the research questions) – Interconnectivity: objectives explain the research process from the beginning to the conclusion – Answerability: the result of the research is achievable – Measurability: the aim of the research objective will be clear when it is achieved The general objectives are: -To measure the level of negative effectiveness of ignoring marketing ethics in children soft drink -To define marketing ethics -To understand marketing ethics To explore how consumer react towards the ethical marketing issues -To determine if the marketing has responsibility in this ethical issue or not -To explain how marketing professionals should respond to tackle this ethical problem -To determine the advantages of applying ethics in marketing ethics The personal objectives are: * To learn how to set up a Master Level Dissertation * To learn more about marketing ethics and health and health and safety in children soft drink * To learn how to set up an interview * To improve the researcher knowledge regarding Qualitative and quantitative research * To validate the dissertation . 4. Research hypothesis According to Grinnell (1988:200) â€Å"A hypothesis is written in such a written in certain way that can be proven or disproven by valid and reliable data- it is in order to obtain these data that we perform our study† (cit ed from Kumar 2011:83) Kumar (2011) also defined couple of considerations to keep in mind when constructing a hypothesis: * A hypothesis should be simple, specific, and clear * A hypothesis should be capable of verification * A hypothesis should be related to the existing body of knowledge * A hypothesis should be operationalisable; it can be expressed in terms that can be measuredFigure one: the process of testing Hypothesis Source: Kumar (2011) Research Methodology Phase 1| | Phase 2| | Phase 3| FormulateYour hunch or assumption| | Collect the requireData| | AnalysisData toDraw conclusion about that hunch- true or false| | | | | | The hypotheses set up for this dissertation are: H1: Ethical marketing is about whether firms marketing decision is morally right or wrong H2: Marketing ethics is significantly rising within marketing organization H3: Marketing ethics is facing serious problemsH4: Ignoring marketing ethics will have negative effect and damage on marketing H5: Taking care of marketing ethics would lead to positive impact on the marketing H6: The numbers of consumers who have some concern about the negative consequences of marketing are increasing 3. 5. Research design Saunders et al, (2012:159) describes the research design as the general plan of how the researcher will go about answering your research questions. Saunders et al, (2012) pointed out three types of research design: * Exploratory studies Descriptive studies * Explanatory studies For my dissertation, it will be used two types of research design: exploratory and Descriptive Exploratory studies: is valuable mean to ask open questions to discover what is happening, also it is useful if you wish to clarify your understanding of problem. One of its advantages that it is fixable and adaptable to change Descriptive studies: the object of this study is to gain an accurate profile of events, persons or situations (Saunders2012) 3. 5. 1 Research philosophyAccording to Saunders (2012) there are thr ee major ways of thinking about research philosophy: * Epistemology: positivism-realism-interpretivism * Ontology: Objectivism-subjectivism * Axiology The research philosophies have been chosen for this research positivism. According to Gill and Johnson (2010) if your research philosophy reflects positivism then you prefer collecting data about an observation reality and search for regularities and casual relationships in your data to create generalizations like those produced by scientists (cited from Saunders, 2012) 3. 5. Research approach According to Saunders (2012) there are three types of research approach: The deductive approach: It is a dominant research approach in the natural science, a theory and hypothesis are developed and a research strategy Designed to test the hypothesis Blaikie (2010) lists six steps of the approach’s process 1- Put forward a hypothesis or set of hypotheses to form a theory 2- By using existing literature, deduce a testable proposition 3- Exa mine the logic of the argument, compare the argument with existing theories to notice any advanced understanding.If it does, then continue 4- Test the logic by collecting appropriate data to measure the concepts and analysing it 5- If the result of the analysis is not consistent with the premises, and then the theory is false 6- If the result of the analysis is consistent with the premises then the theory is corroborated (cited from Saunders, 2012:145) -The inductive approach – The abductive approach For this project, the best approach is the deductive approach because the researcher uses existing theories and models to find data in order to check his hypotheses and explain the different phenomenon . 5. 3 Research strategy According to Saunders (2012) the key to your choice of research strategy is that you have to achieve a reasonable level of coherence through your research design which will enable you answer your research questions and meet your objectives. Moreover, Saunde rs describes eight types of research strategies: – Experiment – Survey – Archival Research – Case Study – Ethnography – Action Research – Grounded Theory – Narrative Inquiry For this project, the researcher will combined two different strategies: a survey strategy and Interview 3. 5. 3. 1. Survey StrategyAccording to Saunders et al (2012) Survey using questionnaires is popular. Survey strategy allows you to collect quantitative data which you can analyse using descriptive and inferential statistics. Also can suggest possible reasons for particular relationships between variables and produce models of these relationships. According to Burns et al (2006) there are five advantages of Survey: – Surveys provide for standardization – Easy to administer – Help to uncover unseen data – Easy to analyse – Reveal subgroup differences For this research, the questionnaire will be administered in person.Sau nders et al (2012) stated that Survey is used for exploratory and descriptive research. In this project, the questionnaire will be administered to adult population (over 18) for knowing the level of negative effect on marketing for ignoring health, safety, and environmental standards in children soft drink, and what marketing should response to this ethical issue Saunders (2012) mentioned some advantages of using survey strategy: – gives more control over the research process – Low cost – Data collected is less wide-ranging – Limited questions number – Allowing easy comparison – Easy to explain and understand 3. 5. 3. 2. InterviewAccording to Saunders (2012) there are three categories of interview -structured interview, identical set of questions (standardised) -semi-structured interviews; interviews are non-standardised, the researcher will have a list of themes and some key questions to be covered -unstructured interviews; you use it to ex plore in depth a general area in which you are interested This researcher in this project will take non-standardised interview (semi-structured and unstructured interviews) According to King (2004) unstandardised interviews referred as qualitative research interviews (cited from Saunders 2012) The researcher will take face to face interview and one to one, in public places for consumers. 3. 5. 4 Research method choiceQuantitative method; generally associated with positivism, and often used as a synonym for any data collection technique (such as questionnaire) or data analysis procedure (such as graphs or statistics) that generates or uses numerical data, Qualitative method; generally associated with an interpretive, and often used as a synonym for any data collection technique (such as an interview) or data analysis procedure (such as categories data) that generates or uses non-numerical data According to Blumberg et al, (2008: 218) in business research, qualitative as well as quant itative are appropriate for investigating business research problem What matters is not the choice between quantitative and qualitative, but the quality of the research design and how well the study is conducted This research will take both research methods Qualitative: Interview Quantitative: Questionnaire 3. 5. 5Time horizonSaunders (2012) identified two types of time horizon, and emphasis that the researcher should ask himself: Do I want my research to be at particular time? Or Do I want to be more related to dairy or events over a given period? -longitudinal: the main strength of this research is its capacity to study change and development -cross-sectional studies: The research will be the study of a certain phenomenon at a certain time. As this dissertation must be on restricted time, therefore, the time horizon will be cross-sectional study 3. 6. Population and Sample Saunders (2012) emphasise that it is impossible for you to collect or to analyse all data available to you ow ing to restriction of time, money, and access.Moreover S states that sampling techniques enable you to reduce the amount of data you need to collect by considering only data from a subgroup rather than all possible elements According to Becker (1998) in selecting a sample to study, it should represent the full set of cases in a way that is meaningful and which we can justify (cited from Saunders 2012) the full set of cases from which a sample is taken is called the population According to Saunders (2012) we should not assume that collecting data from every group(census)data from entire population would be more useful than collecting data from sample which represent the entire population because sampling provides a valid alternative to a According to Kinnear et al, (1996) the advantage of sampling rather than conducting a census is: – Saving money – Saving time – More accurate information – Avoiding the destruction of all element in the population Accordin g Teresa Brannick (1997) element refers to the subject in which we have a particular interest and population refers to the complete set of particular type of element 4. Data collection, editing, and findings The next step will be what to do with this information. How the information should be analysed, and proven. . 1. Data collection methods 4. 1. 1 Quantitative approach According to Saunders (2012:458) questionnaire must: – identify the form and layout – Pilot tested prior to their delivery -specify the information needed -the validity and reliability of your data dependents on the design of your questions -consider the wording of individual questions -arrange the question in the proper order 4. 1. 2 Qualitative approach In- depth interview According to Saunders (2012) the interviewer must be: -In proper appearance, -Use different types of questions, – In good behaviour -Good listening -Record data accurately -Able to deal with difficult participant Scope to s ummarise and understand -Open comments when the interview commences Interview advantages: – Flexibility. – Control of the interview situation. – High response rate. Interview disadvantages: – Higher cost – Interviewer bias – Lack of anonymity 4. 2. Data editing Data have to be edited, especially when they relate to responses to open-ended questions of interviews and questionnaires. In other words, information that may have been noted by interviewer or researcher in a hurry must be clearly deciphered so that it may be coded systematically in its entire. Lack of clarity at this stage will result later in confusion Sekaran (2003) 4. 2. 1. QuestionnaireAccording to deVaus (2002) questionnaire is a method of data collection in which each person is asked to respond to the same set of questions in predetermine order (cited from Saunders, 2012) According to Malhotra et al (2006) questionnaire has three objectives: -Translate the information needed t o a set of questions – Should be written to minimize demands imposed on respondents – Should minimize response error Saunders stated that questionnaire is one of the most widely used data collection method within the survey strategy. He emphasise that questionnaire should has precise data so that can answer your question and achieve your objective. Moreover, he gave some guidelines in order to maximise your response rate: -Carful design of individual questions -Clear and pleasing layout -Explanation of the purpose of the questionnaire -Pilot testing Carefully planned and executed delivery and return of -completed questionnaire The researcher followed recommendations from several authors in particular from Cooper (2003p456) to have the best data possible by examining answers of questions given to find, if some question were forgotten or half answered or illegibly 4. 2. 2. Semi-structured interview According to Kumar (2011) we must: -Check the data is free from inconsist encies and incompleteness -Practice for interview Kumar (2011) prefers for editing data is to examine all responses given to all the questions by one respondent at a time The researcher will use an audio tape during interview as well as hand written notes to avoid problems of editing 4. 3. Data Coding According to cooper et al (2003) coding is the process of assigning numbers and other symbols to answers so we can classify them to categories.According to Saunders (2012) all data type should be recorded using numerical codes. This enables you to enter data quickly and with few errors. It also makes subsequent analyses. He recommended using existing coding scheme as they: * Save time * Well tested * Allow comparison of your results with others These codes should be included on your data collection form as pre-set codes A code book as defined by Saunders is a complete list of all the codes used to code data variable. 4. 3. 1 Questionnaire Closed questions: To analyze quantitative data Kumar (2011:257) presented four steps: -developing a code book -pre-testing the code book -coding the data verifying the code data Opened questions: There are three ways proposed by Kumar (2011: 256) to cope with the main theme found: -To examine verbatim Reponses and integrate them with text of the report to either support or contradict the argument -to assign code to each theme and count how frequently each has occurred -to combine both methods to communicate findings The researcher combined methods to get the best information and to be more accurate and effective 4. 3. 2. Semi-structured interview Kumar (2011: 278) explained the process as following: -Identifying the main theme -assign cedes to the main theme -classify responses under the main theme Integrate themes and responses into the text of your report 4. 4. Limitation Qualitative research Quantitative research The references -Marketing research within a changing information, Hair Joseph et al, 2003) – Research metho ds for business students, Mark saunders et al, London,2012 -Marketing research, Alvin c Burns et al, New Jersey, 2006 – Basic Marketing research, Naresh K Malhotra et al, New Jersey, 2006 – Marketing research, Thomas C Kinnear, U. S. A, 1996 – Marketing research, Kumar, Gorge, 2011, third edition, London, sage publication -business research methods, Boris Blumberg et al, 2008, – Business research methods, Teresa brannick et al,1997,u. c. -research and writing dissertation, Colin fish, 2004,U. K -management research, Mark smith, 2008, London -Cross-Cultural Evaluation Laczniak, Gene R. , Journal of Public Policy ; Marketing, 07439156, Spring93, Vol. 12, Issue -http://www. learnmarketing. net/ethicalmarketing. htm – Marketing to children, Sharon Beder, Citation: Sharon Beder, New College Institute for Values Research, Sydney, 1998, pp. 101-111 – American Market associationhttp://www. marketingpower. com/_layouts/Dictionary. aspx? dLetter=M â⠂¬â€œ The myth of the ethical consumer – do ethics matter in purchase behaviour? Marylyn Carrigan, Ahmad Attalla, (2001) Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 Iss: 7, pp. 60 – 578 -Marketing Ethics: Onward Toward Greater Expectations. Laczniak, Gene R. Journal of Public Policy ; Marketing. Spring93, Vol. 12 Issue 1, p91-96. 6p. -Marketing ethics: is there more to it than the utilitarian approach? Jacques Nantel; William A. Weeks. European Journal of Marketing, Jan 1, 1996, Vol. 30, Issue 5 – Paul Cowell, The Marketing Review, 2001, 2, 71-87 – Marylyn Carrigan, Svetla Marinova, Isabelle Szmigin, (2005) â€Å"Ethics and international marketing: Research background and challenges†, International Marketing Review, Vol. 22 Iss: 5, pp. 481 – 493 -: Twedt, Dik Warren. Journal of Marketing. Oct63, Vol. 27 Issue 4, p48-50. 3p. Children and business: pluralistic ethics of marketers,Michelle Bergadaa, Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, HEC †“ University of Geneva, Geneva, – Sharpen up your soft options. Batham, Matthew, Caterer ; Hotelkeeper; 10/14/2004, Vol. 193 Issue 4345, p70-70, 1p, 1 Color Photograph -Business of ethics, Laura P. Hartman,2005, third edition. -Business of ethics, John Fraedrich, Linda Ferrell, 4 edition,2000. -Ethics and conduct of business, John R Boatright,2006,5edition -Business ethics, Andrew Crane, 2007, 2 edition. Appendixes Appendix1 Letter asking for an Interview Dear I am completing a master in Marketing with Dublin Business School and I am setting up a research. You are invited to participate in a research study.The purpose of this study is to understand the reactions of the customers towards the marketing for ignoring the safety and health in children soft drinks. I am asking you to help me by allowing an interview to discuss about this issue. I would like to share your opinions and ideas about the above subject the interview will take about 15 minutes. Could you please contact me or give another contact which could be able to answer my questions. Your participation is vital for the study, for my dissertation and for my graduation If you have any quiries please feel free to contact me on 0851229419 or by Email at [email  protected] com I hope to hear from you soon Thank you for taking time to help Fawzi alshike 9 drinaghmore court Ballyogan Appendix 2 A letter asking to fill the questionnaire Dear allI am completing a master in Marketing with Dublin Business School and I am setting up a research. You are invited to participate in a research study. The purpose of this study is to understand the reactions of the customers towards the marketing for ignoring the safety and health in children soft drinks. So I am asking for your help in completing the enclosed questionnaires which is part of my research. Your response is important in enabling me to obtain as full as understanding as possible of this topical issue. The questionnaire should only take about 5 mi nutes to complete. Please ensure the questions in the space provided. If you want to add further comments, please feel free to do so.Your participation is vital for the study, for my research and for my graduation. Please send me back the questionnaire to my personal Email. Pleas fill out the questionnaire by the 20 of this month. Thank you for taking time to help me. Fawzi alshike [email  protected] com Appendix 3 Outline of my literature review 1- The marketing ethics concepts and theories 2- The negative side on marketing for ignoring the health and safety in children soft drink Appendix 4 Timetable management 1 –their opinion about the health and safety in children soft drink 3- is marketing responsible for this ethical issue 4- -what should marketing do to tackle the problem –

Accounting (Managerial) 530 Portfolio Case Study - 978 Words

Accounting (Managerial) 530 Portfolio Case Study Imagine you are applying to become a trainee in a management consulting company, Solutions Inc., which claims to deliver innovative solutions. They are looking for innovative employees who engage with their work. The selection process will be rigorous. You know you will be asked to submit reports based on questions regarding your knowledge of management accounting practice and strategic management accounting. To provide a context for the reports, you have been provided with a scenario in the form a case study on which the questions are based. To answer the questions you are going to have to do some research in the library. Giving you the questions is a method to test your information†¦show more content†¦Prepare a submission for management on how this may be done, and the difficulties that they are likely to face in undertaking this sort of analysis. Issue 5: Previously the company did not use budgets because the owners were the managers of the business and close to activities being managed and did not feel the need for budgets. As the company has grown, and the operations have become more diverse, professional managers have been recruited. Include in your submission an argument for budgeting, indicating the benefits of budgeting, and the factors to take into consideration when faced with uncertainty regarding sales growth. Issue 6: The company has a need to make choices sometimes whether to make or buy certain of the products carrying their brand. On other occasions they are also required to make decisions on special prices when a potential retailer makes an offer to buy goods from them at a price lower than their normal price. The management currently make their decisions in these matters based on the average cost of goods sold in the previous accounting period. 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Market Efficiency Hypothesis Example For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2215 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Concept Essay Did you like this example? The notion of efficient market can be traced back to Bachelier(1900) in his dissertation. According to his research, the expected return for each investor can be seen as an independent event, and the samples are close to normal distribution. That means, therefore, the expected return for the security is zero and the stock prices are unpredictable. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Market Efficiency Hypothesis Example For Free" essay for you Create order As he stated, past, present and even discounted future events are reflected in market price, but often show no apparent relation to price changes The newly rising concept challenged the former economic theory which focus on estimating the future security prices, but unfortunately, his contribution was not valued until the later scholars had came up empirical evidence and developed to random walk theory, which is seen as the origin of market efficiency. With further understanding of random walk model, in which assuming the stock price is not predictable, Samuelson(1965) then carried out resembling researches in stock markets. He found that if there was a technical indicator implying that the stock price would rise, it would have already been raised by the coming investors. (cited in )Thus, the increased price led the indicator disappear and the stock price reset to the random position. Arguments like this are used to deduce that competitive prices must display price changesÃÆ' ¢ à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦that perform a random walk with no predictable bias. Basing on previous approaches, Fama(1969) concluded those literatures reviews and produced market efficiency hypothesis with relevant evidence. In his paper, he defined market efficiency hypothesis, in the meaning that the stock prices have fully reflected the related information in capital market. Therefore, it is unreasonable to earn abnormal profits by using the public news. In other words, those excess returns gained by speculators are merely occasional chances and may disappear through frequent operation.(Fama 1991) 2.2 The Problem of Hypothesis Assumptions Although it is important to establish a theory upon controlled assumptions, the background of those has also to be suspected if it is alive in reality. As Fama(1969) stated, the market hypothesis have to build up on four assumptions, which will be described as below. Nevertheless, a volume of researchers have proposed opposition to challenge the theory. The major criticism will then be presented. To begin with the first assumption, the hypothesis assumes there is no transaction cost, taxation, and other expense in capital market. Ruling out the cost, the stock prices are close to random walk theory and there are no opportunities to make profits because of the unpredictability. However, it is impossible to exist such pure economic surroundings as Fama(1969) state. Thus, The hypothesis have face the challenges of whether it is applicable in financial markets. The continuous point of control variable has been stated that the relevant information is spread to every investor at th e same time for free, so all of them have the same expectations for the security return. Those are other challenges in which not only how can the information be delivered to everyone simultaneously, but the different levels of risk taking for various revenue expectations. Although the development of technology has help reduced asymmetric information, there are difficulties to say the resource is fully shared and even without considering the delivery cost. Besides, the limitation of investors rationalities has to be discussed. Criticisms argue that the evidence here to support the points is too powerless. Moreover, the method supposes that people are all rational to share the same thoughts and regard the maximum return as major aims. Through analyzing, evaluating, and operating the assets, they participate on the market frequently and actively. However, in the hypothesis, the various considerations of investors are ignored. As the financial market is tend to be more complex recent ly, it is impossible to say profit is the major factor to affect decision makers. For instance, financial managers may use stocks to hedge risk and does not pursue the profitable return. Consequently, oppositions propose it is seem to be sustainable in favor of the hypothesis under this position. Last but not least, as Fama(1969) presumed, individual transactions would not affect the security prices and participators are price takers. That means investors are independent enough not to be influenced by others. However, Criticisms may say the supply of security quantities is limited, and if the stock exchanges have no impact on the prices, how can stock market be adjusted. This point is considered as a contrary side of the principle of stock exchange operation. Types of Market efficiency In section 2, the stock prices are defined to react to all relevant information. Actually, different information may influence the share prices at different speeds. The common categories are sorted information into historical price information, publicly available information, and all information which includes public and private resources. ( Hillier et al,2010) The three types of efficiency will be described and discussed in the next sections. In Engle and Morris(1991) studies, the price reaction is believed to be an indicator of future dividend market value , which comes from the profitability of companies. Thus, it can be said that the price changes reflect the company performance. For example, if there is a new technology patent received, investors may suppose the possibility of profitable income in the future and then buy in the securities. That implies the increasing strike amounts grow the stock price up. 2.3.1 Weak Form Market Efficiency In the weak form of market efficiency, the current security prices are asserted to fully contain the historical price changes. That means, therefore, that investors cannot get any help from past stock trend when choosing securities. Under the weak market efficiency, technical analysis cannot assist investors to find those stocks which are underestimated or overestimated in order to earn excess returns. Several research have conclude that most economic environment in the world belong to this type. 2.3.2 Semi-Strong Form Market Efficiency A market is defined as semi-strong form efficiency if current security prices have incorporated all publicly available information. In the semi- strong market efficiency, fundamental analysis cannot suggest investors any advance decisions. That is, investors are unable to gain excess returns even analyzing the published accounting statements and historical price information thoroughly, since the stock prices adjust to new information immediately. 2.3.3 Strong Form Market Efficiency A market is defined as strong form efficiency if current security price have reflected all kinds of information, including public and private. Once, new information appears the stock prices will modify to appropriate level rapidly. Thus, any investors, even insiders, cannot predict market performance. Empirical Test for Various Types of Efficiency To support the hypothesis, the evidence for Market efficiency hypothesis is also brought up. Because of the comprehensive ways of examining the method, just the major tests are explained below. With various intensities of efficiency, there are the empirical measurements here: Test for Weak Form Efficiency The weak form efficiency contains the notion that investors cannot earn any abnormal return from past price information, which have highly relationship with random walk theory. Fama(1965) suggested further evidence that security prices follow the random walk model. The test for weak efficiency has been developed extensively; however, two common methods are discussed. Since the weak efficiency is close to random walk theory, it is measured whether the stock prices are random. Serial correlation has been widely used to test for it. This method inspects the correlation between the past and the present return on one security. While Calculating the series of this period, if the coefficients are low and the expected return is close to zero, this market can be seen as Weak form efficiency. ( Hillier et al,2010) There is, in addition, filter rules is an alternative tool to examine weak form efficiency. As Fama and Blume(1966) defined, the principle states that setting a standard of b uying and selling points and operating the stocks once the prices reach the level, if the sum of the security returns is higher than the long-term strategy, we can say that price changes are related, and analysis can help investors to earn abnormal returns. That means, the market is not in weak efficiency form. For instance, Investigating 30 securities in U.S. stock market, Fama and Blume(1966) explored the effect of technical analysis and efficient market by using different levels of filter rules. As a result, although 15 of them achieved higher return on performance, the abnormal profits still vanished after considering transaction cost. Namely, technical analysis cannot be in favor of earning excess return in weak market efficiency. 3.2 Test for Semi-Strong Form Efficiency The major test for semi-strong efficiency is to measure the speed of adjusting security prices to new public information. The frequent used principle here is event study. Measuring the stock price changes over news announced period, the performance is used to judge whether the market is semi-strong efficient. According to Fama, Fisher, Jensen and Roll(1969) paper, they observed the security price adjustment for stock splits and earnings announcements. As a result, stock prices were surprisingly found that most reaction have completed before the news were released to market. Once the information announced, the changes continued rapidly. Actual events, which can be seen as applications of empirical evidence, are such announcements of dividends, earnings, mergers, initial public offerings, stock splits, or block trading. In these examples, security prices would carter to the appearance of new information. Thus, speculators cannot gain any abnormal profits even from fundamental a nalysis. 3.3 Test for Strong Form Efficiency The method of strong form efficiency is based on the position that security prices have already reflected all public and private information. Namely, no one can earn extra return in this market. Therefore, to test the market efficiency, many studies have been developed to investigate whether insiders can gain profit in long term. If they do, it can be seen as a symbol of inefficient strong market. For instance, mutual fund which managed by financial experts is an alternative examination for strong form efficiency, because those experts are seen to have close relationship with insiders and able to use private to control the fund in order to reap profits. According to the analysis of mutual fund performance published by Jensen (1968), the return of portfolio might have been offset by fees and expense. In other words, on average the funds apparently were not quite successful enough in their trading activities to recoup even their brokerage expenses. Furthermore, some studies also p oint out that the sustainable evidence are not strong enough to hold the hypothesis. In fact, as general identification, traders who have private information are easily to earn excess returns. 4.Anomalies There are, of course, critical studies with applied evidence showing the unusual phenomenon in reality. The next section will provide discussion of market anomalies. 4.1 Stock Return Anomalies Arguments about the predictability of stock return are still continued discussed. It is important to note that challengers controvert to market efficiency hypothesis by presenting exceptional appearance in real world. The first suspicions are drawn in return anomalies which violate the semi-strong hypothesis. Based on Fama(1969) in his paper, fundamental analysis do not provide stock prediction for investors, therefore, the seasonal anomalies such as January effect, weekend effect, and monthly effect are an indicator which debate the hypothesis and provide the opportunities to obtain the excess return. January effect is defined as a position that there is unusual price decreasing in every December, but the capital would have flowed back in January. That leads the stock returns in the first month of every year are normally greater than other months. Examining seasonal phenomenon between seventeen nations from 1959 to 1979, Mustafa and Gultekin(1983) discovered that most of the m consist with the January effect. The notion of weekend effect illustrates that the stock prices are frequently lower on Mondays. The reason for the anomalies is believed that most companies and government usually announce unfavorable news on Fridays and the stock prices all react to the information on Mondays. As the similar idea of weekend effect, monthly effect illustrates the higher return before every 15th than the following days. 4.1 Overreaction and Underreaction Famous literature published by De Bondt and Thaler(1985) brought up the notion of overreaction phenomenon. They looked at a long-term stock price changes and discovered those which had overreacted in the past would have rebounded back to former levels, and vice versa. De Bondt and Thaler explained this price reversal can be seen as strong evidence to prove the usefulness of fundamental analysis in predicting returns and suggested investors to use the constrain strategy of price overreaction to gain extra return. However, sharing a consensus with Fama and French(1988), Poterba and Summers(1988) stated Noise trading, trading by investors whose demand for shares is determined by factors other than their expected return, provides a plausible explanation for the transitory components in stock prices. Conclusion Samuelson, Paul (1965). Proof That Properly Anticipated Prices Fluctuate Randomly,Industrial Management Review, 6, pp. 41-49. Fama, Eugene (1965). The Behavior of St ock Market Prices, Journal of Business, 38, pp. 34-105. Fama, Eugene (1970). Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work, Journal of Finance, 25, pp. 383-417. Fama, Eugene (1991). Efficient Capital Markets II, Journal of Finance, 46, pp. 1575-617. Engel, C., Morris, C. S. (1991). Challenges to Stock Market efficiency: Evidence from Mean Reversion Studies. Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City , pp.21-35. ( Hillier et al,2010) De Bondt and Thaler(1985) Fama and Blume(1966) Fama, Fisher, Jensen and Roll(1969) Jensen (1968) Mustafa and Gultekin(1983) Fama and French(1988)

Sociological Event Analysis Michael Brown - 2123 Words

Sociological Event Analysis Michael Brown, a Ferguson Missouri teenager, lost his life on August 9th, 2014. Brown was fatally shot by a police officer after he had robbed a convenience store. Ferguson residents were outraged that the unarmed teen was killed and further infuriated when a grand jury elected not to indict the police officer. As a result, violence erupted in the streets of the town. Businesses were vandalized, robbed, and set ablaze. Protests escalated from peaceful gatherings to ones that required military presence in the town. Though this instance can be examined as a single occurrence, it can also be characterized as a greater sociological event that requires special attention. Sociology cannot explain the events of the day that led to Michael Brown s death. It does, however, illustrate how Brown was raised in a society where black men are suspect, where systematic inequalities in education and economic difficulties have formed intergenerational disadvantage. â€Å"The need for greater vigilance in assessing the specific ways in which social values and attitudes affect professional behavior is clearly indicated† (Brandt, 1978, p. 27). Given a sociological perspective, this event demonstrates a variety of underlying social contributing factors. Concepts from the conflict theory, as well as social stratification ideologies can be applied. In addition, the events in Ferguson also have contributing elements established in social structure, class, and racism.Show MoreRelatedWhere Do We Go After Fergus on?1075 Words   |  5 Pagesunionize. Overthrow those who been had them in oppression and haul what is theirs, that is everything. Even though segregation has been fought for so long, it seems as if it still exists. 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Meichenbaum’s Self-instructional training Free Essays

Problem: Feeling insecure about not being intelligent enough compared to my classmates. Phase 1: Self-observation I have been an average student all my life, and I am aware that at times I feel insecure and doubt my own abilities to be able to complete the required tasks and assignments in my classes to be able to finish this program. When an instructor gives out assignments or projects I always ask myself whether I could do it or not, most of the time I feel I can’t. We will write a custom essay sample on Meichenbaum’s Self-instructional training or any similar topic only for you Order Now Then when during class discussions or debates I listen to my classmates and I wonder how eloquently they are able to share their thoughts and argue their opinions. I often listen to myself and my internal dialogue had been how unsure I am of my answers, how I fear talking in front of my classmates because I might not be able to give the correct answer. I want to be able to change this behavior and negative self-perception; I want to be more confident and smart in class. Phase 2: Starting a new internal dialogue According to Meichenbaum, the second stage in the behavioral change process is to start a new internal dialogue that is not in accordance with the old negative internal dialogue. The client can work with this new internal dialogue with the therapist, but I guess I could do it without the help of the therapist. I could basically throw rebuttals to my negative internal dialogues. If for example, I say I am not smart, then my new internal dialogue would be that I always had good grades, I never failed a course and that is being smart. I could also say to myself that there will always be people who are better than me and that I am better than others too. Phase 3: Learning a new skill In this phase, the client learns new behaviors to cope with the negative internal dialogues and to be able to learn skills that would bring about behavior change. For me, I could probably learn how to be able to speak more confidently and I could do that by observing how my classmates put their thoughts together and how they deliver it in class. I could buy a book about public speaking or better communication skills and learn it. I could also ask my classmates their strategies for studying and maybe learn those strategies to be able to study better and have higher grades. How to cite Meichenbaum’s Self-instructional training, Papers

Madness, Performance, and Illusion in Victorian Literature free essay sample

Differing from centuries past, Victorian England expressed a desire to more closely understand the meaning of madness, as psychological historian Elaine Showalter notes: â€Å"By the middle of the century, however, visitors to the Victorian asylum saw madness domesticated, released from restraint, and unnervingly like the world outside the walls† (Showalter 158). The insane, warped perception of reality prompted questioning into the formation of the sane identity, especially through the medium of literature. Was â€Å"the self† so simple to understand and identify? The identity of humanity was much more complex and multi-faceted than the Romanticism of the early nineteenth century perceived it to be. Novels of the Victorian era, specifically Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey, examine this complexity through the lens of madness. Both Lady Audley and Dorian Grey adopt new selves, and so conceal their unacceptable secrets from the outside world; however, this act cannot be sustained, as Victorian literature would admonish. Performance creating a facade for the outside world is ultimately what drives Lady Audley and Dorian Grey mad because the illusion of entertainment becomes their reality, causing a fascination with their own self-creation and destruction, respectively. In hopes of escaping poverty, Helen Talboys creates a new identity that fractures who she is, leaving her vulnerable to scrutiny. Mary Elizabeth Braddon, author of Lady Audley’s Secret and the proclaimed â€Å"Queen of Sensation,† understood the goal of a performance: to distort reality. As an actress herself, Braddon witnessed the power of entertainment over a captivated audience, warping and disguising perception in order to achieve the desired effect. Helen Talboys, too, sees the temptation of masking her true self. Initially rational, Helen lives under the care of her alcoholic father because her mother is placed in an insane asylum when she is a child. The desire to advance her means is evident given her conditions; but, when George Talboys does not return for many years and she is left in destitution once more, she must make the difficult decision to leave her old life in favor of becoming Miss Lucy Graham. Undertaking such an act of empowerment was revolutionary and bold, as feminist critic Lynn Voskuil relates: â€Å"As players in this cultural drama, women were the compliant conduits of a transcendent notion of womanliness, weaker vessels perfectly type cast to express an idealized femininity reliably and coherently† (Voskuil 621). This further underscores the rationality of her choice to recreate her own identity because the likelihood of her discovery was slim while the benefits possible to her are innumerable. Although Lucy’s initial purpose in playing the role of performer is self-empowerment, it soon becomes a role of concealment. With George’s untimely return from her past life, the threads she weaves to create a tapestry of lies begin to unravel, until the constant scrutiny from her elevated status as mistress causes her intense psychological stress from her efforts. Literally tunneling their way into Lucy’s inner chambers, George and Robert Audley examine the representation of her secret, the pre-Raphaelite portrait that revealed â€Å"something of the aspect of a beautiful fiend† within her split identity (Braddon 71). This portrait of her conscience shows her deception, and reflects the conflict within her concerning her past life. In order to maintain this elaborate performance, she chooses self-creation over reality by attempting to murder her real husband. Lady Audley is absolutely determined to sustain her created identity by any means necessary in order to preserve the illusion to both the outside world and herself, awakening mental instability from the web of lies she spins. A monomaniacal obsession mandates Robert Audley to investigate the mystery of George’s disappearance, and this further pushes Lady Audley to the brink of insanity as her performance begins to overtake her. In The Picture of Dorian Grey, Sybil Vane offers an interesting comparison to Lady Audley. Sybil is utterly absorbed in her acting as a means of escaping her sordid life, shaping her reality through the characters she plays in the theater every evening. She emerges from the emptiness of the act when Dorian declares his undying love for her; on the other hand, Lady Audley is unable to escape the falsehood that clouds her reality. The obsession with self-creation has conquered her. She is the perpetual actress in an unending performance that she cannot quit. It is clear that Lady Audley begins to lose her grip on reality when it seems that Helen Talboys is screaming to return to the surface once more. For example, Lady Audley maliciously decides to manipulate Sir Michael into believing that his nephew is a madman bent on persecuting an innocent woman. Although Lady Audley sets the plan into motion, Helen hesitates for a moment, barely able to speak as she trembles and cries before him, aware of the horrid performance in which she plays the leading role. This apparent dichotomy between her two identities proves to only aid the wicked nature of the plan, though: â€Å"It was the one wild outcry, in which the woman’s feebler nature got the better of the syren’s art† (Braddon 283). Interestingly displayed, the glimpse of her genuine self that breaks the surface of her facade in these ephemeral moments offers a much more real exhibition of emotion- so much so that it immediately stirs Sir Michael into a frenzy, spell-bound for his lover as she continues to work her magic upon him. Helen’s voice is completely drowned out, projecting her own malady so articulately upon Robert because she is intimate with the lies and deceit she has created for herself: â€Å"They know that they are mad, but they know to keep their secret†¦[and] they may yield to the horrible temptation- the frightful, passionate, hungry craving for violence and horror† (Braddon 287). Her anxiety both to keep secrets and mask her reality places a burden upon her shoulders that she finds difficult to carry, but her newly-created self helps alleviate the stress that Helen so clearly exhibits as an integral part of her. Another example of the stress induced by performance upon the dual selves of Lady Audley occurs subsequent to her setting Luke’s public house ablaze. Robert Audley, the man who threatens to pull the curtain on her new life, increasingly threatens her stability on the stage by offering her an ultimatum- she must confess to Sir Michael or he will do it himself. She is so dedicated to this illusion that the madwoman within her demands she kill Robert, finally escaping the past lies that furtively pursue her. She contemplates to herself after leaving the inn: â€Å"Perhaps it would be wiser in me to run away, o take this man’s warning, and escape out of his power forever†¦What could I do? I must go back to the old life, the old, hard, cruel, wretched life- the life of poverty, and humiliation, and vexation, and discontent† (Braddon 316). Always in a struggle of duality, Lucy is again drawn back to the performance against her better judgment due to her initial go al of escaping poverty as an ambitious and self-assertive young woman. The will of the illusion proves too tempting; the madness is too entrenched within her. This secrecy cannot be sustained due to the scrutiny of Victorian society at large, as Braddon warns readers of the pitfalls of lies and false self-creation. Put simply by Voskuil: â€Å"Lady Audley is at once both a clinical case and a theatrical display, a madwoman and an actress† (Voskuil 633). The identity she fashioned as a tool to aid her struggle consumed her, making it impossible for Lady Audley to distinguish herself between Helen and Lucy, rational and mad. Two polar ideologies unknowingly influence Dorian Grey until they split how he sees himself, thereby hastening his internal self-destruction. Oscar Wilde, a master of language and author of The Picture of Dorian Grey, wrote for an age of increasingly realist outlook. Under the tutelage of John Ruskin, one of his mentors, Wilde’s vision of truth became that which shocked, awakened, and awed. Ruskin had profound influence on his direction, prompting Wilde to explain human identity through the case of Dorian Grey by examining his madness as a deeper metaphor for the battle that takes place within the human soul: â€Å"Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art,† Wilde directly addresses the readers in the preface before the story begins (Wilde 4). Dorian is easily influenced by his company at the onset of the novel as a boy, whether it is that of Basil Hallward or Lord Henry Wotton. Nonetheless, it is clear that his friend Harry gains influence, and eventually domination, over the creation of Dorian’s perception as he forms two separate understandings of the self. The human soul is not simply a product of one influence or another; it is an amalgamation of ideas, thoughts, and perceptions that frames identity in terms of a paradox, Wilde argues. Sheldon Liebman, author of a critical response entitled â€Å"Character Design in The Picture of Dorian Grey,† follows up on this thought: Dorian  Gray  is torn between two mutually exclusive interpretations of human experience: one, optimistic, religious, and emotional; the other, pessimistic, cynical, and intellectual. In the course of the novel, the reader (if not  Dorian) discovers that neither interpretation is adequate and that, from Wildes perspective, there are no alternatives (Liebman). In response to the frivolity of the Romantic identity, the Victorian era developed an outlook to mirror the complexity of the world, seeing illusion and paradox as the threshold to truth. The illusion present in the novel, the portrait of Dorian painted by Basil, represents the incumbent split within Dorian’s soul; he sees this as visual product of his indulgent self, his â€Å"mask of shame†, hiding it in order to maintain the illusion of beauty (Wilde 93). The sanity of Dorian is in no real threat when he is young, but as he progresses in years without actually aging his self-destructive habits degrade his soul and force the reader to question his grasp of reality. Capitulating to the illusion of a world of pure beauty, Dorian loses his understanding of reality, and himself in the process, leading him to madly conceal his soul from the outside. The magic of the wondrous picture before him fascinates his curiosity, his desire to pursue beauty and hedonism due to the Harry’s domination. This transformation begins when his life of secrecy begins. To put his identity in terms of reality and illusion, he switches places with Sybil upon nonchalantly discovering her tragic suicide. Sybil’s poor acting connotes her return to reality, while Dorian only falls deeper into his conception of polarity- beauty and ugliness, his physical vitality versus his corrupted soul. The beauty of the illusion on stage and the stirring of his imagination inspire him, but the drab and dull movements of reality, where Sybil now belongs, contradict his new way of understanding. Because Dorian sees beauty as the one and only means of perceiving reality after his contact with Lord Henry, he refuses to acknowledge the inherent brutality and indecency of the world at large. This subsequently encourages him to reject the ugliness within his own soul. Similar to Lady Audley, Dorian seeks to conceal the part of him that is abominable, and hides his painting away in a forgotten room of his household. No one can know his true self. â€Å"What did it matter what happened to the coloured image on the canvas? He would be safe. That was everything,† Dorian reflects (Wilde 103). His enchantment prevents anyone from directly seeing his act, but the real toll is inflicted on the part of his soul where Basil, the voice of morality, still holds sway. The portrait is, indeed, a window into his soul and the site of a conflict between two selves. Falling further and further into the depths of seedy London after receiving the poisonous French novel given to him by Lord Henry, Dorian’s inner strife is apparent as he indulges in every sin available to him. The entrenched obsession with beauty transforms into madness when the conflict comes to a climax as Dorian confronts the source of his moral identity, Basil: â€Å"Each of us has heaven and hell in him, Basil† (Wilde 150). The grisly stabbing of Basil is the culmination of his identity crisis- the illusion of outer beauty and hedonistic pleasure becomes his reality. The secrecy of a double life at first does not wear on the part of himself he symbolically destroyed: â€Å"Perhaps one never seems so much at one’s ease as when one has to play a part† (Wilde 167). In this grand performance, his beauty masked his secret to the outside world and kept him at complacent. The secret is safe from everyone but his conscience, the portrait itself, which eventually comes to destroy him. Dorian becomes obsessed with returning to his portrait after nights of sin and debauchery, fascinated by the change between the fiend depicted and the gentleman in the mirror. He fails to reconcile the lack of change in his physical appearance, of which he is so enamored, and soon he becomes disenchanted with the lifestyle of decadence that he lives. Indulging in opium, prostitution, and senselessness, Dorian self-destructs due to his double life: â€Å"Ugliness that had once been hateful to him because it made things real, became dear to him now for that very reason. Ugliness was the one reality†¦what he needed for forgetfulness† (Wilde 177). The respective conceptions of beauty, ugliness, and reality that vie for control within him are psychologically draining. Ultimately, the madness that seizes his character cannot be controlled. The battle of individual influences within him wear upon him, to the point where the concealment of his painting (and thus soul) from the world is a burden too difficult to be borne. Stabbing the painting in the heart in a performance imitating his murder of Basil, the two polarities of his identity return to a single being. Dorian’s ignorance of the uncomfortable realities of life explain his self-understanding. The illusion he submits to and the madness that ensues bring on his self-destruction because the flawed role of the beautiful in his understanding of reality causes him to lose his identity in the performance. Madness in Victorian literature is a means of understanding identity from a fractured perspective. Evident in the classic novels of Braddon and Wilde, the fascination with madness was both an examination and a cautionary tale. Both Dorian Grey and Lady Audley concede to their insanity due to the significance of their secrets, burdened by the weight of their â€Å"other† identity. Performances are a suspension of reality, and neglecting to take heed of the difference between the two aspects can lead to disastrous consequences and self-destruction.

Madness, Performance, and Illusion in Victorian Literature free essay sample

Differing from centuries past, Victorian England expressed a desire to more closely understand the meaning of madness, as psychological historian Elaine Showalter notes: â€Å"By the middle of the century, however, visitors to the Victorian asylum saw madness domesticated, released from restraint, and unnervingly like the world outside the walls† (Showalter 158). The insane, warped perception of reality prompted questioning into the formation of the sane identity, especially through the medium of literature. Was â€Å"the self† so simple to understand and identify? The identity of humanity was much more complex and multi-faceted than the Romanticism of the early nineteenth century perceived it to be. Novels of the Victorian era, specifically Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Grey, examine this complexity through the lens of madness. Both Lady Audley and Dorian Grey adopt new selves, and so conceal their unacceptable secrets from the outside world; however, this act cannot be sustained, as Victorian literature would admonish. Performance creating a facade for the outside world is ultimately what drives Lady Audley and Dorian Grey mad because the illusion of entertainment becomes their reality, causing a fascination with their own self-creation and destruction, respectively. In hopes of escaping poverty, Helen Talboys creates a new identity that fractures who she is, leaving her vulnerable to scrutiny. Mary Elizabeth Braddon, author of Lady Audley’s Secret and the proclaimed â€Å"Queen of Sensation,† understood the goal of a performance: to distort reality. As an actress herself, Braddon witnessed the power of entertainment over a captivated audience, warping and disguising perception in order to achieve the desired effect. Helen Talboys, too, sees the temptation of masking her true self. Initially rational, Helen lives under the care of her alcoholic father because her mother is placed in an insane asylum when she is a child. The desire to advance her means is evident given her conditions; but, when George Talboys does not return for many years and she is left in destitution once more, she must make the difficult decision to leave her old life in favor of becoming Miss Lucy Graham. Undertaking such an act of empowerment was revolutionary and bold, as feminist critic Lynn Voskuil relates: â€Å"As players in this cultural drama, women were the compliant conduits of a transcendent notion of womanliness, weaker vessels perfectly type cast to express an idealized femininity reliably and coherently† (Voskuil 621). This further underscores the rationality of her choice to recreate her own identity because the likelihood of her discovery was slim while the benefits possible to her are innumerable. Although Lucy’s initial purpose in playing the role of performer is self-empowerment, it soon becomes a role of concealment. With George’s untimely return from her past life, the threads she weaves to create a tapestry of lies begin to unravel, until the constant scrutiny from her elevated status as mistress causes her intense psychological stress from her efforts. Literally tunneling their way into Lucy’s inner chambers, George and Robert Audley examine the representation of her secret, the pre-Raphaelite portrait that revealed â€Å"something of the aspect of a beautiful fiend† within her split identity (Braddon 71). This portrait of her conscience shows her deception, and reflects the conflict within her concerning her past life. In order to maintain this elaborate performance, she chooses self-creation over reality by attempting to murder her real husband. Lady Audley is absolutely determined to sustain her created identity by any means necessary in order to preserve the illusion to both the outside world and herself, awakening mental instability from the web of lies she spins. A monomaniacal obsession mandates Robert Audley to investigate the mystery of George’s disappearance, and this further pushes Lady Audley to the brink of insanity as her performance begins to overtake her. In The Picture of Dorian Grey, Sybil Vane offers an interesting comparison to Lady Audley. Sybil is utterly absorbed in her acting as a means of escaping her sordid life, shaping her reality through the characters she plays in the theater every evening. She emerges from the emptiness of the act when Dorian declares his undying love for her; on the other hand, Lady Audley is unable to escape the falsehood that clouds her reality. The obsession with self-creation has conquered her. She is the perpetual actress in an unending performance that she cannot quit. It is clear that Lady Audley begins to lose her grip on reality when it seems that Helen Talboys is screaming to return to the surface once more. For example, Lady Audley maliciously decides to manipulate Sir Michael into believing that his nephew is a madman bent on persecuting an innocent woman. Although Lady Audley sets the plan into motion, Helen hesitates for a moment, barely able to speak as she trembles and cries before him, aware of the horrid performance in which she plays the leading role. This apparent dichotomy between her two identities proves to only aid the wicked nature of the plan, though: â€Å"It was the one wild outcry, in which the woman’s feebler nature got the better of the syren’s art† (Braddon 283). Interestingly displayed, the glimpse of her genuine self that breaks the surface of her facade in these ephemeral moments offers a much more real exhibition of emotion- so much so that it immediately stirs Sir Michael into a frenzy, spell-bound for his lover as she continues to work her magic upon him. Helen’s voice is completely drowned out, projecting her own malady so articulately upon Robert because she is intimate with the lies and deceit she has created for herself: â€Å"They know that they are mad, but they know to keep their secret†¦[and] they may yield to the horrible temptation- the frightful, passionate, hungry craving for violence and horror† (Braddon 287). Her anxiety both to keep secrets and mask her reality places a burden upon her shoulders that she finds difficult to carry, but her newly-created self helps alleviate the stress that Helen so clearly exhibits as an integral part of her. Another example of the stress induced by performance upon the dual selves of Lady Audley occurs subsequent to her setting Luke’s public house ablaze. Robert Audley, the man who threatens to pull the curtain on her new life, increasingly threatens her stability on the stage by offering her an ultimatum- she must confess to Sir Michael or he will do it himself. She is so dedicated to this illusion that the madwoman within her demands she kill Robert, finally escaping the past lies that furtively pursue her. She contemplates to herself after leaving the inn: â€Å"Perhaps it would be wiser in me to run away, o take this man’s warning, and escape out of his power forever†¦What could I do? I must go back to the old life, the old, hard, cruel, wretched life- the life of poverty, and humiliation, and vexation, and discontent† (Braddon 316). Always in a struggle of duality, Lucy is again drawn back to the performance against her better judgment due to her initial go al of escaping poverty as an ambitious and self-assertive young woman. The will of the illusion proves too tempting; the madness is too entrenched within her. This secrecy cannot be sustained due to the scrutiny of Victorian society at large, as Braddon warns readers of the pitfalls of lies and false self-creation. Put simply by Voskuil: â€Å"Lady Audley is at once both a clinical case and a theatrical display, a madwoman and an actress† (Voskuil 633). The identity she fashioned as a tool to aid her struggle consumed her, making it impossible for Lady Audley to distinguish herself between Helen and Lucy, rational and mad. Two polar ideologies unknowingly influence Dorian Grey until they split how he sees himself, thereby hastening his internal self-destruction. Oscar Wilde, a master of language and author of The Picture of Dorian Grey, wrote for an age of increasingly realist outlook. Under the tutelage of John Ruskin, one of his mentors, Wilde’s vision of truth became that which shocked, awakened, and awed. Ruskin had profound influence on his direction, prompting Wilde to explain human identity through the case of Dorian Grey by examining his madness as a deeper metaphor for the battle that takes place within the human soul: â€Å"Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art,† Wilde directly addresses the readers in the preface before the story begins (Wilde 4). Dorian is easily influenced by his company at the onset of the novel as a boy, whether it is that of Basil Hallward or Lord Henry Wotton. Nonetheless, it is clear that his friend Harry gains influence, and eventually domination, over the creation of Dorian’s perception as he forms two separate understandings of the self. The human soul is not simply a product of one influence or another; it is an amalgamation of ideas, thoughts, and perceptions that frames identity in terms of a paradox, Wilde argues. Sheldon Liebman, author of a critical response entitled â€Å"Character Design in The Picture of Dorian Grey,† follows up on this thought: Dorian  Gray  is torn between two mutually exclusive interpretations of human experience: one, optimistic, religious, and emotional; the other, pessimistic, cynical, and intellectual. In the course of the novel, the reader (if not  Dorian) discovers that neither interpretation is adequate and that, from Wildes perspective, there are no alternatives (Liebman). In response to the frivolity of the Romantic identity, the Victorian era developed an outlook to mirror the complexity of the world, seeing illusion and paradox as the threshold to truth. The illusion present in the novel, the portrait of Dorian painted by Basil, represents the incumbent split within Dorian’s soul; he sees this as visual product of his indulgent self, his â€Å"mask of shame†, hiding it in order to maintain the illusion of beauty (Wilde 93). The sanity of Dorian is in no real threat when he is young, but as he progresses in years without actually aging his self-destructive habits degrade his soul and force the reader to question his grasp of reality. Capitulating to the illusion of a world of pure beauty, Dorian loses his understanding of reality, and himself in the process, leading him to madly conceal his soul from the outside. The magic of the wondrous picture before him fascinates his curiosity, his desire to pursue beauty and hedonism due to the Harry’s domination. This transformation begins when his life of secrecy begins. To put his identity in terms of reality and illusion, he switches places with Sybil upon nonchalantly discovering her tragic suicide. Sybil’s poor acting connotes her return to reality, while Dorian only falls deeper into his conception of polarity- beauty and ugliness, his physical vitality versus his corrupted soul. The beauty of the illusion on stage and the stirring of his imagination inspire him, but the drab and dull movements of reality, where Sybil now belongs, contradict his new way of understanding. Because Dorian sees beauty as the one and only means of perceiving reality after his contact with Lord Henry, he refuses to acknowledge the inherent brutality and indecency of the world at large. This subsequently encourages him to reject the ugliness within his own soul. Similar to Lady Audley, Dorian seeks to conceal the part of him that is abominable, and hides his painting away in a forgotten room of his household. No one can know his true self. â€Å"What did it matter what happened to the coloured image on the canvas? He would be safe. That was everything,† Dorian reflects (Wilde 103). His enchantment prevents anyone from directly seeing his act, but the real toll is inflicted on the part of his soul where Basil, the voice of morality, still holds sway. The portrait is, indeed, a window into his soul and the site of a conflict between two selves. Falling further and further into the depths of seedy London after receiving the poisonous French novel given to him by Lord Henry, Dorian’s inner strife is apparent as he indulges in every sin available to him. The entrenched obsession with beauty transforms into madness when the conflict comes to a climax as Dorian confronts the source of his moral identity, Basil: â€Å"Each of us has heaven and hell in him, Basil† (Wilde 150). The grisly stabbing of Basil is the culmination of his identity crisis- the illusion of outer beauty and hedonistic pleasure becomes his reality. The secrecy of a double life at first does not wear on the part of himself he symbolically destroyed: â€Å"Perhaps one never seems so much at one’s ease as when one has to play a part† (Wilde 167). In this grand performance, his beauty masked his secret to the outside world and kept him at complacent. The secret is safe from everyone but his conscience, the portrait itself, which eventually comes to destroy him. Dorian becomes obsessed with returning to his portrait after nights of sin and debauchery, fascinated by the change between the fiend depicted and the gentleman in the mirror. He fails to reconcile the lack of change in his physical appearance, of which he is so enamored, and soon he becomes disenchanted with the lifestyle of decadence that he lives. Indulging in opium, prostitution, and senselessness, Dorian self-destructs due to his double life: â€Å"Ugliness that had once been hateful to him because it made things real, became dear to him now for that very reason. Ugliness was the one reality†¦what he needed for forgetfulness† (Wilde 177). The respective conceptions of beauty, ugliness, and reality that vie for control within him are psychologically draining. Ultimately, the madness that seizes his character cannot be controlled. The battle of individual influences within him wear upon him, to the point where the concealment of his painting (and thus soul) from the world is a burden too difficult to be borne. Stabbing the painting in the heart in a performance imitating his murder of Basil, the two polarities of his identity return to a single being. Dorian’s ignorance of the uncomfortable realities of life explain his self-understanding. The illusion he submits to and the madness that ensues bring on his self-destruction because the flawed role of the beautiful in his understanding of reality causes him to lose his identity in the performance. Madness in Victorian literature is a means of understanding identity from a fractured perspective. Evident in the classic novels of Braddon and Wilde, the fascination with madness was both an examination and a cautionary tale. Both Dorian Grey and Lady Audley concede to their insanity due to the significance of their secrets, burdened by the weight of their â€Å"other† identity. Performances are a suspension of reality, and neglecting to take heed of the difference between the two aspects can lead to disastrous consequences and self-destruction.