The Three Musketeers :: essays research papers

D’Artagnan goes to France to become a Musketeer. But on his way he gets into a fight with a tall ,dark haired nobleman with a scar on his right cheek. He sees the man talking to a woman named Milady de Winter. D’Artagnan finally finds the captain of the musketeers Monsieur de Treville. D’Artagnan sees the man that defeated him and runs after him. But on his way he runs over wounded Athos and he also runs into Porthos. He ran through the street but could not find the man. Athos gets mad and challenges D’Artagnan to a duel. But when they were about to fight five Cardinal Guards attack them, and D’Artagnan is rewarded for his bravery. One day his landlord comes to him with a favor and he excepts it because he has not paid his bill for three months rent. Constance Bonacieux was kidnapped. While he is telling his friends the whole story he hears his landlord yelling because he was being arrested. But they do not save him for if they get arrested then they will not be able to rescue him. At night he heard someone crying. He looked through the hole on the floor of his apartment, and saw the guards tying up a young woman. He brakes the door and scares the guards away. She thanks him and they fall in love .He then guides her safely to the palace where she is a maid for the Queen of France. But a man comes beside her and D’Artagnan is about to fight him but she stops them and tells D’Artagnan that it is only the Duke of Buckingham and that he has come to meet the Queen. The Queen tells him to leave because he might be in danger .He asks her to give him something to remember her by ,so she gives him a ribbon with twelve diamonds on it. She didn’t know but on of her maids were spying on her, the maid immediately reported it to Richelieu. Richelieu told the King to schedule a ball in ten days in the Queens’ honor. He told Milady de Winter to steal two of the diamonds from the ribbon to show the King that his Queen gave it to another man. Constance asks D’Artagnan to tell the Duke about the ribbon, and the Queens’ danger. The Duke gets someone to make a pair that looks just the same so he can get the Queen out of great danger.

How College Aids You in Life :: Education College University

Have you ever thought how college could help you improve in life? College is important because it helps you get a good career, good education, and rewards you with vacations. To begin with, college helps one get a good career. In particular, people that have a good education have a much easier time finding success in their life. Most of the highest paying jobs in the world require a college education. In the same way, a college education helps one earn much more money. Having a degree makes sure that you will keep that job and will help you earn a bigger salary within the years you work. In addition, having a college education can help your health and keep you happy. People that enjoy their careers are much happier and have a higher level of well being. Unquestionably, a college education gives you a better paying job. In addition, going to college gives you a good education. For example, a good college education gives you wisdom. Most of college educated people have lots of education, and gives you lots of knowledge. Next, a college education gives you lots of intelligence. A college educated person will a lot on many things especially on what they majored in. Also, a college educated person has autonomy. A person with a college education that has autonomy is independent and has freedom. Obviously, having s college education makes you a better person. Next, going to college rewards you with vacations. Specifically, you go on many vacations. When you have a steady job you earn at least two vacations. Correspondingly, when you are on a vacation you learn that culture. If you go to different places you learn how people talk, eat, how they dress, and how they act. In addition, when you take vacations you go wherever place you want. How College Aids You in Life :: Education College University Have you ever thought how college could help you improve in life? College is important because it helps you get a good career, good education, and rewards you with vacations. To begin with, college helps one get a good career. In particular, people that have a good education have a much easier time finding success in their life. Most of the highest paying jobs in the world require a college education. In the same way, a college education helps one earn much more money. Having a degree makes sure that you will keep that job and will help you earn a bigger salary within the years you work. In addition, having a college education can help your health and keep you happy. People that enjoy their careers are much happier and have a higher level of well being. Unquestionably, a college education gives you a better paying job. In addition, going to college gives you a good education. For example, a good college education gives you wisdom. Most of college educated people have lots of education, and gives you lots of knowledge. Next, a college education gives you lots of intelligence. A college educated person will a lot on many things especially on what they majored in. Also, a college educated person has autonomy. A person with a college education that has autonomy is independent and has freedom. Obviously, having s college education makes you a better person. Next, going to college rewards you with vacations. Specifically, you go on many vacations. When you have a steady job you earn at least two vacations. Correspondingly, when you are on a vacation you learn that culture. If you go to different places you learn how people talk, eat, how they dress, and how they act. In addition, when you take vacations you go wherever place you want.

Character Analysis of John in “The Yellow Wallpaper” Essay

John is the typical Victorian husband. He is authoritative, strict, head of the household. He is a physician of â€Å"high standing†. He is very controlling and expects his wife to obey his orders which was quite normal for the time. He is a doctor but only understands physical illnesses. He cannot relate to any mental problems particularly as far as women are concerned. For him, it is something she will get over, mind over matter: â€Å"You see he does not believe I am sick!† He dictates how his wife should be treated and says she needs lots of sleep and quiet. He forbids her from writing her feelings down or from seeing anyone. We get the feeling this is more about him hiding her away rather than it being for her own good. He shows no empathy of how she is feeling and dismisses it as nervous depression or hysteria. He is very stiff and buttoned up: â€Å"John is practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of things not be felt and seen and put down in figures.† He is undoubtedly fond of his wife and loves her in his own way. However, he treats her like a child or a pet and sees her as something fragile to be protected: â€Å"He took me in his arms and called me a blessed little goose.† He does not see her as an equal but as someone who should look up to him, to be meek and mild and not to be taken seriously: â€Å"John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in a marriage.† John is rather a cold character showing no understanding or even wanting to understand his wife’s illness. He does not see it even as an illness but rather as her needing to pull herself together. He is almost fearful of any mention of mental illness and when she suggests her body is well but not her mind he gives her â€Å"a stern reproachful look† and describes it as a â€Å"false and foolish fancy†. His prime concern is to keep his standing in society and does not want his wife to be an embarrassment to him.

An analysis of variations in style in comparison to Standard English Essay

1. Introduction As in every language there are many different dialect in British English. It has always been and continues to be a language of dialects. Wherever one goes in England there are very obvious differences between the ways in which people speak in different places. This is often a big shock for people who have been learning Standard English which is the variety of English that is held to be ‘correct’ in the sense that it shows none of the regional or other variations that are considered by some to be ungrammatical, or non-standard English. Non-English school-kids learn SE at school and expect to understand every English person once they enter the country. But the English they learn at school differs from the language which is being spoken in Britain. Of course, SE is used in the media and by public figures, and therefore it has prestige status and is regarded by many as the most desirable form of the language.1 But the English do not speak like that – linguistic reality is different. Not only the words which are being used sometimes differ from Standard English even the grammatical structures vary at times. This work tries to present the differences between Standard English which is being taught at German schools and the dialects which are spoken in England. Altogether these factors might lead to confusing situations at times. German school-kids could hear words in England which they were told not to pronounce in that way when they were learning English at school. Hughes and Trudgill2 speak of two ways of dealing with the problem of native Britons not being able to speak their own language correctly. They point out that for learners it is not relevant weather their hear correct English or not. The problem which their are confronted with is to understand what they hear from the native speakers and which language-features they can adapt into their own speech. The second point they speak of is if that â€Å"the notion of ‘correctness’ is not really useful or appropriate in describing the language of native speakers.†3 To find those differences I will analyse German English books from a Orientierungsstufe4, literature about dialects in Britain as well as private sources. I will try to analyse the gap between German school English an find possible solutions for that problem. 11 At the beginning of my approach I will be presenting a selection of different accents regarding their regional usage. In the following point I will analyse Standard English which is being taught in German schools and compare these results with the accents mentioned beforehand. After that I will summarize my approaches and try to find explanations as well as possible solutions. 2. The main dialects I want to start off with the presentation of the main dialects of the English language. For this I will adapt the Dialectology of Baugh5 who differentiates between Northern, West Midlands, East Midlands and Southern. In Old English they were divided into Northumbrian, Mercian, West Saxon and Kentish6. Of course there are far more divisions of accents but this would exceed the length of this piece of work. Additionally, I will conclude Cockney7 in my analysis. 2.1. Northern English This dialect is also knows as Geordie8. The Northeast area contains the urban centres of Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesborough and neighboring areas. Trudgill9 defines some of the best-known characteristics of the modern Northeast pronunciation which include the following. According to him the accent, as we have seen, does not have the diphthongal pronunciations of the long ‘a’ vowel in made, gate, face that are more typical of the south of England, and the same is true of long ‘o’ as in boat, road, load. It can be defined as a certain kind of simplification. Instead of the Standard English Combination of two vowels in boat [bà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ut] only one vowel is being used: [oo] The same phenomenon can be found within the pronunciation of words like made, which are not being pronounced [mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½id] but simplified [mehd]. Trudgill also points out that words that have al in the spelling are pronounced with a vowel of the type ‘ah’, so that all is ‘ahl’ and walk is ‘wahk’. A Geordie-joke makes this difference clear in a funny way: A non-Geordie doctor who asks his patient if he is able to walk makes the patient interprets as a query about work ans replies â€Å"Wawk! I cannot even wahk yet!† 11 The second part of the Northern area, the Lower North and Central North, covers, according to Trudgill, a large area stretching down from Carlisle to Sheffield and covering Cumbria, most of Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire. He points out that this dialect differs from the Northeast by not having ‘ee’ in very. 10 Another remarkable factor he mentions is that he Central North also contains a sub-area in which an interesting type of consonantal change takes place in certain conditions. What happens is that the voiced consonants ‘b’, ‘d’, ‘g’, ‘v’, ‘z’ and ‘j’ change to their voiceless counterpart ‘p’, ‘t’, ‘k’, ‘f’, ‘s’, and ‘ch’ if they occur immediately before any of these same voiceless consonants.11 The examples â€Å"E wood goh† (â€Å"He would go†) and â€Å"E woot coom† (â€Å"He would comeà ¢â‚¬ ). They would pronounce the expression â€Å"I don’t know† like â€Å"I doont noo†. Another point is that this dialect is quite similar to the accent Indians or Pakistanis have when they talk English. Many of these dialectal features also appear in their accent. These shared features could be analysed in future for the Asian community in Britain is increasing steadily is growing. Which words, expressions are being brought into English through them would be interesting to find out. 2.2. West Midlands The central town for this accent is Liverpool. for the accent is very distinctive for this area called Merseyside. It has been mainly influenced by Irish immigrants during the nineteenth century. Hughes/Trudgill12 describe the Liverpool accent defining several features of which I will be mentioning a few. 1. a) There is no contrast between pairs of words like put and putt, both being pronounced [put]. b) [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½] occurs in words like dance, daft etc. [†¦] c) Words like book and cook have the vowel [u:] 2. Unlike in other northern urban accents (but in common with Newcastle), the final vowels of words like city and seedy is [i:] 3. A relative infrequency of glottal stop occurs. 4. [h] is usually absent, but is sometimes present (him an her) 5. The suffix -ing is [in] 11 2.3. East Midlands Based on own experience I can say that one of the clearest markers for the East Midland accent can be defined as a kind of parallelism to German which also appear in the Liverpool accent at times. The word bus, for instance, is not being pronounced [bas] but [bus]. Here, the vowel [u] is being pronounced the same way as in German. The same phenomenon can be found in words like. Another marker for East Midland accent is the pronunciation of the vowel combination [oe] like in shoes, where it is being changed to [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½] – [shà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½z]. Speakers in this area may even have short ‘e’ at the end of words like coffeh13. Trudgill mentions a diagnostic sentence for this area: â€Å"Veri few cahs mayd it up the long ill.†14 2.4. Southern English Some of these dialectal features of Southern English are similar to the welsh accent. Trudgill states that the Bristol speech is famous for the presence in this accent of a phenomenon called the â€Å"Bristol I†. He explains that in the Bristol area, words such as America, India, Diana, Gloria are pronounced with a final ‘I’. Undoubtedly, foreigners would be quite confused hearing words like Americal, Indial and Dianal. This feature might be a result of hypercorrection, according to Trudgill.15 In the South the glottal stop is very common as a pronunciation of ‘t’ which can be found in words like better, water, bet and what. This feature can also be found in Cockney or Midland areas. Trudgill mentions the diagnostic feature of the South are the lack of ‘y’ in few, which differentiates it from all other English regions except the Northeast, although today ‘h’ is rapidly being lost.16 He also notes that it a typical factor for East Anglia is â€Å"the lack of distinction between the vowels of here and there, so that peer sounds like pair, here like hair and deer like dare.†17 2.5. Cockney Cockney can be counted as a very special dialect because it can only be found amongst people who live in and around the London area. Let alone the name for this accent is special because it does not refer directly to the region. 11 The term Cockney originally stems from the middles ages where it was applied to an effeminate person, simpleton or a particularly weak man from a town as opposed to a countryman who was regarded as tougher. In the 17th century the term changed and came to mean specifically a Londoner. The six most striking features of Cockney are18: 1. r is pronounced only when followed immediately by a vowel-sound. So, in the demonstration below, no r is pronounced in flowers. (Some New England accents and Southern U.S. accents have this same feature.) 2. h is usually omitted (home in the demonstration words); in self-conscious speech it’s articulated very strongly. 3. l is pronounced only when a vowel-sound follows (so no l is pronounced in hole, etc.). 4. Voiceless th is often, but not always, pronounced as f (breath, etc.). 5. Voiced th is likewise often but not always pronounced as v (breathe, etc.) This feature is also found in Southern U.S. lower social class speech. 6. The long vowels are all diphthongs, as one can hear from the demonstration words. Notice especially the difference between force etc. (spelled with r followed by a consonant, though the r is not pronounced) and poor etc. (spelled with r not followed by a consonant, though again the r is not pronounced). More examples for this would be: price [proià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½] mother [mawa] little [li’ou] –> with a glottal stop in the middle note [no’] –> with a glottal stop at the end bowl [bao] Cockney has another speciality. It consists of a special vocabulary which is called Cockney rhyming slang. It has been evolving in the East End of London since the sixteenth century. It is thought to have originated from the seamen and soldiers who used the London docks, from the Gypsies who arrived in the fifteen hundreds, from the Irish residents and the Jewish faction and from all the other ethnic minorities which have made up the population of the city.19 11 It is said to have started as a way for costermongers20 to communicate without letting their customers know what they were saying. The slang usually consists of two words, e.g. butcher’s hook = look but sometimes only the first word is used in conversation. For example, someone might say â€Å"I had a butchers at her barnet and her titfer† meaning I had a look at her hair (barnet fair) and her hat (tit for tat). One has to know, though, when to use the whole phrase and when to abbreviate. Another example: â€Å"Would you Adam and Eve it? I was on me Jack Jones when I saw me old china half inching a whistle from the market. Well, I ain’t no grass and he’s borassic, so I kept me north and south shut.† Translation: â€Å"Would you believe it? I was on my own when I saw my old mate (friend) pinching (stealing) a suit from the market. Well, I’m not a nark (informer) and he’s skint (got no money, hard up) so I kept my mouth shut.† In the Internet a whole dictionary can be found consisting of old and new Rhyming-Slang. The freshest contribution was the expression â€Å"Becks and Posh† for food. Food is also called nosh which rhymes with the nicknames of the famous David and Victoria Beckham, nationwide known as â€Å"Becks and Posh†21. This last example makes it clear that the rhyming slang does not have and economical reasons behind. It is more or less result of playing with words which the English are very fond of (for example in newspaper headlines). Additionally it is of course, the sense of togetherness, a kind of linguistic fellowship by defining a secret language as a code of London residents whereas this point, regarding the high population rate, refers more to small groups of people. 3. Standard English – English-teaching in lower-saxony English has the status of a global language – nearly everybody applying for a good job needs to prove his or her English skills. The competition is getting harder and harder. This is one of the factors leading to the current discussion whether to introduce English to schoolchildren at an even earlier age then 10. Some primary schools offer this already. Another interesting fact is that more and more schools offer bilingual teaching. The Ricarda-Huch-Schule in Braunschweig, for instance, offers several subjects being taught in English to make the children learn both, biology and English, at once. 11 Like this English finds its way into our life in more and more ways. But coming back to education a problem arises. Of course, children cannot learn every single accent being spoken in England, so that is why there are set forms for the learning process. They are identical to the language understood by the term of Standard English. Different then in Germany there cannot be found any accent-free regions in England. In comparison to that you can find unofficial figures which tell us that Hanover is most likely to be accent-free. Standard English, on the other hand, is more of an indicator for an upper social status, it can be seen as a class-dialect, owing it’s origin in the main not to geographical but to socio-economic causes. At the end it is quite a thin border between the English which is being taught at foreign schools and the English which is meant to represent â€Å"poshness†. Wakelin22 marks â€Å"that a distinction must be made between Standard English, which is a dialect in use by educated speakers of English throughout the world, and ‘Received Pronunciation, which is the accent of English usually associated with a higher social or academic background, with the BBC and the professions, and that most commonly taught to students learning English as a foreign language.†23 So one has to clearly differentiate between Received Pronunciation (RP) and Standard English (SE). So, why is Standard English so different from the other accents then? Wakelin defines that â€Å"Standard English is the sort of language used when communicating beyond the family, close friends and acquaintances, whereas dialect is nowadays often kept for intimate circles.†24 So it can be seen as the most relevant English accent which can be understood everywhere and is compatible to every region in England. This type of English as being called â€Å"normal English† by Randolph Quirk25 is being taught children and adults all around the world. The following graphic tries to illustrate the violation which arises when both Standard English and regional accents clash. 11 People with different mother tongues learn English as their first or as another foreign language. They all refer to the same Vocabulary, use the same grammar and expressions which have been set by the Standard English-norm. 3.1. Comparison to English accents The chapter of â€Å"English Sounds† prepares the learning schoolchildren with the explanation that English words are often being pronounced differently than they are written and defines some words by using the phonetical alphabet.26 I want to show the differences of Standard English and English accents by directly comparing several words to each other. Referring to the pronunciation I want to compare the word but which is being pronounced with a short [u] in South England and with a long [oo] in Northern England27 whereas schoolchildren learn to pronounce the word but with an [28? There is one area of England where the ‘y’ sound has been lost as a result of a historical process. This can be found in words like beauty [booty], music [moosic] and few [foo]29 and is probably going to spread more with the years. 11 Whereas in foreign schools it is still being taught that music should be pronounced [‘mju:zik]30 and beautiful [‘bju:t?f?l]31. The pronunciation of milk also differs. â€Å"Camden Market† teaches the children to pronounce it [mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½lk]32 but the pronunciation according to the modern dialectology says that â€Å"in a large area of southeastern England this consonant has aquired a short ‘oo’-like vowel in fron of it, or, especially in London itself, has disappeared altogether, leaving only the ‘oo’ behind.†33 So in this case the word milk is being pronounced [mioolk] which is being defined as a quite a recent change but spreading rapidly through the country. Now shifting over to the less problematical field of lexical variations it can be said that there are several words with the same meaning – but regionally fixed. Words like the Standard English term gymshoe are known as the general term but in England they have more expressions for that. In the southern region they are called plimsolls, in middle English they are called pumps and people living in and around Newcastle talk about sandshoes.34 The word ear has also has different regional variations. In the North they talk about lugs and around Nottinghamshire one can also hear them talking about tabs. The Eastern part of England also might use lug. Standard English, of course, only teaches ear. 4. Summary On the whole it there is a big gap to be found between the English which is being taught in schools and the English which is being spoken in England. My analysis makes it quite clear that several difficulties occur when a person who has been learning English for five years and thinks he is now prepared for the linguistic challenge in England. The reality is different, as my paper shows. There is nearly nobody who speaks accent-free English but on the other hand Standard English mixes into the accents more and more. The loss of pure dialects is being mourned about in the whole country. The dialects are no longer ‘pure’, if they ever were, but contain a large admixture of Standard English or pseudo-Standard forms, as Wakelin35 mentions. The main reason for this development might be the result of the following problem: 11 In England is that people often get discriminated because of their language. The dialect is a clear social marker these days. Many countries have problem with racism, but in England people sometimes get discriminated against if they sound different. For example: A Scouse accent refers to a very rough area and there are chances are that the speaker is a thief A Posh accent: If people talk like this then they are supposedly educated, and can be trusted. Others would think your a rich person, and that your stuck up and you went to a boarding school. A Brummie accent: If a person speaks like this, then chances are that people think he is stupid. A Geordie accent: For some reason, the geordie accent is more comforting to southerners in England out of all the northern accents. Even though a Geordie can live in just as much a rough area, than a scouser if not rougher. A Yorkshire accent: There is a saying about this dialect called â€Å"Yorkshire born, yorkshire bread, thick in the arm and thick in the head?† A Cornish accent: If somebody talks like this most people think they are a farmer. The significance of accents and their cultural and social associations is well represented in films and on television in Britain. The critically acclaimed 1964 file â€Å"My fair Lady† based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1912 play, Pygmalion is often referenced in linguistic discussions as a example of how social class and accent were, and are still, inextricably linked in Britain. Over the past years, numerous television series have also provided viewers with a glimpse of the lives and accents of the Cockney population of London. The Cockney English section talks more about the current, very popular long running television series â€Å"EastEnders†. This opposes my supposition that Standard English might not be the right form to teach people English or should only form the basis of the linguistic education. The fact that the dialects are slowly dying and Standard English is spreading all over the world questions this. Additionally, more and more immigrants from mainly the Asian region bring in a new Standard English which I have been mentioning in point 2.1. At the end, I would say that English language teaching should be more concerned about real life and the real speech avoiding throwing the young learners into a cold pool when they enter the country. 11 A possible solution for this could be to strengthen the bonds of international relations between schools. Pen-friendships and school-exchanges could provide the basis of a more reality-based teaching which would undoubtedly also have the effect of arousing the children’s enthusiasm of learning English. 5. Literature Baugh, A.C.: A History of the English Language, p. 235 Davis, Lawrence M.: English Dialectology. Alabama/USA: 1983, p. 8 Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 146 Hughes, Arthur and Trudgill, Peter: English Accents and Dialects, London: 1996. p. 1 Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 51 Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5 Quirk, Randolph: The Use of English. London: 1962, p. 95 Internet: http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/ http://www.derek.co.uk/cockney.htm http://www.geordie.org.uk/ http://www.phespirit.info/cockney/ http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/standard-english.html 1http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/standard-english.html 2Hughes, Arthur and Trudgill, Peter: English Accents and Dialects. London: 1996, p. 1 3s. a. 4Orientierungsstufe Westhagen/Wolfsburg 5Baugh, A.C.: A History of the English Language, p. 235 6Davis, Lawrence M.: English Dialectology. Alabama/USA: 1983, p. 8 7Most common accent in and around London 8http://www.geordie.org.uk/ 9Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 67 10Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 67 11see above 12Hughes, Arthur and Trudgill, Peter: English Accents and Dialects. New York (1996), p. 92 13Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 71 14see above, p. 72 15see above, p. 73 16see above, p. 72 17see above, p. 74 18http://www.derek.co.uk/cockney.htm 19http://www.phespirit.info/cockney/ 20= street and market sellers 21http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/ 22Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977 23Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5 24Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5 25Quirk, Randolph: The Use of English. London: 1962, p. 95 26Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 146 27Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 51 28Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 146 29Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 57 30Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 179 31see above, p. 173 32see above, p. 178 33Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 60 34see above, p. 102 35Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5

Meet and Welcome Visitors

Understand procedures for meeting and welcoming visitors1.1) Describe different reasons for people visiting a business, their requirements and how their needs may be met. Different reasons why people visit businesses is to see if their requirements are met are by; managing their own performance in a business environment by improving your own performance, working in a business environment, communicating in a business environment.The requirements you would need are; to solve business problems, organise and report data, prepare text from note, support the organisation of an event, meet and welcome visitors word processing software. Customers are people who buy products and services from other people (usually companies of one sort or another). What customers think, and feel about a company and/or its products is a key aspect of business success. Irrespective of whether a business' customers are consumers or organizations, it is the job of marketers to understand the needs of their custom ers. In doing so they can develop goods or services which meet their needs more precisely than their competitors.1.2) Explain the purpose of dealing with visitors promptly and courteously.The reason to dealing with visitors promptly and courteously is to insure whilst working in reception you're the first person people see when they enter the business. You're a big part of the first impression they'll have of the business. The first thing you can do in order to represent your organisation in a positive way is to be professional. The public will expect to see you dressed in a certain way; for example, if your organisation has a uniform you will need to be wearing it correctly at all times when representing your organisation in public. You will need to follow procedures on addressing people, distributing information, answering the telephone, etc.Members will take notice and form judgments on the image you present. This includes taking notice of your attitude, appearance, facial expres sions, the way you address people, tone of voice, courtesy toward others and your overall level of professionalism. People don't want to spend their money with companies that they're not confident can competently provide the products or services they are seeking. If you're organized and  professional, you increase the chances that your customers will see your company in a positive light, and they'll be more likely to spend their money with you.1.3) Explain the purpose of presenting a positive image of self and the organisation. The reason of presenting a positive image of your self and the organisation is because it is important to influence people in taking you seriously. This attracts the best workforce when employment opportunities arise in the organisation and the best clients when attracting business. All this translates into better returns and a higher profitability for the organisation.You are expected to present a positive image of yourself and your organisation because yo u will be able to; listen to and absorb the information that others are giving you, ask questions, when necessary, provide information to other people clearly and accurately, contribute to and allow others to contribute to, discussions, select and read written information that contains the information you need, communicate well in writing, establish good working relationships with other people.1.4) Explain the purpose of following health, safety and security procedures when dealing the visitors, including own responsibility. The reasons for following the health, safety and security when dealing with visitors, including your own responsibilities is to make sure equipment in the workplace is safely kept and maintained, also making sure fire exits remain accessible, which will reduce hazards in the workplace.It sets out a lot of your responsibilities for your health and safety at work and the health and safety executive is responsible for enforcing health and safety at work.The Data Pr otection Act 1998 is concerned with personal data which must be kept private. Expect staff/manager other people must not have access to confidential information about identifiable individuals held on computer or in certain structured manual filing systems.1.5) Describe different types of problems that may occur with visitors including, conflict and aggression.The types of problems which may occur whilst dealing with problems caused by visitors can be tough, whether you’re working in a customer service position or receptionist, it’s important to know what can happen.Different of problems which may occur are when he or she may shout, swear, or threaten you and the people around you due to various reasons such as their needs not being met.Understanding problems related to aggressive visitors can help you formulate responses and actions that help to keep you safe. First of all, you should consider creating a barrier between you and the people who come in as a layer of prot ection between visitors and employees. If this isn’t feasible at your location, you should consider beefing up security so you will be protected in the event of an emergency.1.6) Describe ways of dealing with different problems and when to refer them to an appropriate colleague.Dealing with problems when referring to an appropriate colleague is to try and soothe the colleague through calm discussion that will address his or her concerns.However, your first priority should always be a backup system that allows you to call for help when things spiral out of control. A button you can press to call for help, or a cell phone in your pocket can be helpful, try to program emergency numbers into your phone or security system well in advance of when they are actually needed.Vocations where aggressive visitors are common include the health care field, education, government services, and police work. Schools, hospitals, and government offices see their fair share of angry and agitated v isitors. In some cases, courses in self defence may provide you with important coping skills. Understanding how to defuse anger with a calm response can also be  helpful. Explaining the reality of rules, wait times, regulations, and service restrictions may be of assistance. It’s important to avoid angry emotions of your own while dealing with an agitated visitor.1.7) Explain the purpose of communicating with visitors.The more visitors communicate with you, the easier it is for you to build a relationship with them. The purpose of communicating with visitors is so that it allows them to understand each other in different ways and for several reasons and connect, also so that the information is disseminated.You would need to develop your communicative skills so that you can use it as a tool to help you understand and the visitor.We also communicate with visitors to listen to each their problems, and solve the difficulties which they may be facing, it helps to find solutions, which will help you to would receive information and know more about them which will help you to know what their needs are so that it is met.1.8) Describe organisation structures and communication channels within the organisation.The organisation structural channels in an organisation are when you are communicating with several levels of channels, (does not include your colleagues). For example if the management furnishes information about how things are going, notifies the supervisor of what the problems are, and provides requests for clarification and help. Supervisors, in turn, keep their employees informed and render assistance. Supervisors continually facilitate the process of gaining necessary clarification and problem solving; both up and down the organization. Also, supervisors communicate with sources outside the organization, such as vendors and customers.Communication channels within the organisation are structured fabric made up of the system of lines, or channels, whic h are interconnected. Organizational communication is really the flow of information through the  networks.Communication under the formal network is narrow, but it allows for flow of essential information. Moreover, it is easy to maintain, orderly in nature, supports the authority of the superiors and provides for closeness of contact thereby reducing channels of miscommunication. It has certain limitations, such as, bottlenecks in the flow, enhancing organizational distance, greater possibilities of transmission, errors, screening at various filter points, etc.

Foreign Workers in Malaysia

Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. At least that’s what quite a lot of Malaysians I know feel about them. Deputy Human Resources Minister, Senator said that there are 1. 403 million foreigners here holding the Temporary Employment Visit Pass, which accounts for 11. 2% of Malaysia’s total workforce. That’s actually quite a lot of foreigners for a country with a 2. 7% unemployment rate as of last year. But it’s no use denying the fact that we need them. The fact that we still don’t have minimum wage means that there are just too many jobs out there that pay too little (from the perspective of Malaysians) and are considered not worth the trouble by Malaysians. As our cost of living continues to rise against stagnating wages, even fresh graduates earning around RM2,000 will sometimes find it hard to keep things afloat living in Kuala Lumpur, let alone having to survive on a construction worker’s wages. And even now we can see foreign workers in supermarkets and restaurants, jobs that are considered ‘comfortable’ and not ‘heavy’, but more and more locals are turning away from them simply because in the current economic climate the pay is nowhere near good enough. On the one hand it’s a shame that we prefer being unemployed rather than at least earning something, even if it means working a hard job with not very good pay. But on the other hand it’s also understandable why we’d prefer to hold out and keep looking for something better, considering the economic realities that we have to face in our daily lives. The side effect of being dependent on foreign workers is that it puts a strain on a lot of things – public amenities and services especially. They also compete with the poor for low cost accommodation, and the congested living conditions have also contributed to societal and environmental problems. But blaming things on them will not solve anything. The fact of the matter is, these are men and women trying to make an honest living in a foreign country where their presence is not exactly welcomed with open arms. They had to leave their family behind, live in sometimes abominable and unacceptable conditions, and push themselves to the limit to work as many hours as possible in order to send as much money as they can home to their families. Try doing that and see if you won’t find yourself in similar social problems should you be in their exact same shoes. It’s easy to blame the ‘other’ when you’re comfortably on the other side of the fence, but not so easy when you really look and try to empathize with them. Trying to combat these problems will definitely cost money, and if we’re being honest with ourselves, it’s just like dousing a raging fire – it’s unlikely that we can totally put a stop to it. The only way we can avoid these problems is by not having them here or not being too dependent on foreign workforce. Paying the 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and difficult) better wages to attract locals to do it is a start. A good minimum wage is a start too. Of course companies employing foreign workers will moan that this is not good business, but that is why we vote and have a government – to think about how best to solve this dilemma, because what’s a government here for if not to take care of its people?

Fashion Business and marketing report PRINTXKNIT Essay

Fashion Business and marketing report PRINTXKNIT - Essay Example The paper "Fashion Business and marketing report PRINTXKNIT" provides report of the business marketing of PRINTXKNIT. The retail brand aimed to be created is a collection of luxury casual wear that comes with a sportswear edge. This means that the brand shall combine simplicity with class to ensure that the focus strategic option can have a highly transcending reach. This is because the farther the reach, the higher the number of customers that can be brought on board. Because PRINTXKNIT will combine simplicity with class, its unique selling point is expected to be the offer of high tech leisure wear fabrics and yarns which combine luxurious feel with active wear sensation. This is indeed expected to be the brand’s identity as most competitors fail to offer such combination but only dwell on either cost leadership (non-luxurious product) or differentiation. The customer is a young lady in the age group of 28 to 38. Such a lady can be said to be one who is looking to achieve a wardrobe of contrast by having different shades, colours, designs, and materials of clothing. The customer is also expected to be a city lady largely affected by weather and climate and thus concerned about both mixed and matched wear depending on prevailing conditions. As can be seen below, the customer is a dynamic and versatile young woman who believes in both class and simplicity, depending on prevailing circumstance. Weather and climate are also important factors in the selection of wear, as well as venue.