Giotto Di Bondones Style and Technique

Giotto Di Bondones Style and Technique Briefly outline the characteristics of Giotto’s style and analyse the impact of his works on fourteenth-century Italian Art Giotto was a Florentine painter and architect who was recognized as an artistic genius and protagonist during the Italian Renaissance. For artist Giorgio Vasari the great biographer of Italian Renaissance artists the new art had its birth with Giotto[1]. Giotto lived and worked at a time when society was exploring and testing the boundaries of medieval traditions and institutions. This is reflected in his religious subjects where the earthly, full-blooded energy for which he was so famous was to spark the beginnings of artistic naturalism and humanism. For Vasari, Giotto’s work represents a period when painting woke from its long subjection to the Greeks. As Hale says: the stiffness of the Byzantine style gave way to something like grace, figures began to cast shadows and to be foreshortened, their drapery revealed movement and their faces reflected feeling, fear, hope, anger or love. [2] These characteristics are reflected in one of Giotto’s earliest works, Madonna and Child, where the child, although now lost, is affectionately clasping the Madonna’s hand, with its other hand outstretched to her face. The Madonna’s eyes meet those of the viewer with an elongated stare. Both of these qualities reflect Giotto’s desire to express human sentiment and his interest in the communication of feeling. Giotto also experiments with form so that the straight alignment of the Madonna’s features are juxtaposed against the shape of her gown which flows down and away from her face. Giotto is famous for his frescoes at Assisi where he perpetuated a new use of space and colour. For example, The Doctors of the Church sets portraits within areas framed by extravagantly decorative geometric, figurative, and floral motifs.[3] In The Scenes from the Life of St. Francis the strong portrayal of animals, plants, flowers, pottery and rocks are integrated into the human scenarios so that the two become integral to one another. In St. Francis Giving his Mantle to a Poor Knight the red of the knight’s robe is seen on the back of the mule and in the buildings and landscapes of the background. This is suggestive of Giotto’s desire to unify different elements of his paintings a theme which was to continue into the trends of the fourteenth century. Indeed in his frescoes at Padua (1302-5) where he painted the lives of Christ and the Virgin in the private chapel of Enrico Scrovegni, Padua’s richest citizen, his fusion between figures and space and his concep tion of them as a ‘single coherent unit’[4] is taken to a new extreme. A section of The Last Judgement shows Enrico Scrovegni offering a model of the chapel to Mary, who stands beside a saint and an angel. The gift symbolises Enrico seeking penitence for his father’s sin of usury.[5] This arrangement reflects man’s communication with God, and in turn the unification of the material and the spiritual. In The Last Judgement, where Christ sits surrounded by an aura, Giotto places figures at the centre of their world representing mankind’s place at the centre of history and his unique individuality, which was to become a fundamental of the humanist vision during the fourteenth century. Fourteenth century Italian art was intrinsically linked to the political developments occurring during the time. Giotto was certainly one of the first to assert a style based on observations of nature rather than the upholding of medieval traditions, and during a time when city states were becoming more independent, and democracies were governed by guilds associations of merchants, bankers, artisans, and other professionals[6] this form of artistic freedom was welcomed by those who had democratic or political influence. Giotto’s decorating of the family chapels of the wealthiest citizens of Florence and Padua suggests that art was seen as an ultimate aesthetic representation of virtue and power. In S. Croce Giotto painted the life of St. Francis in the Bardi chapel and those of the two St. Johns in the Peruzzi chapel. The Bardi and Peruzzi were the two greatest banker families of Florence and court bankers of the kings of England and Naples, to the latter of whom Giotto was court painter between 1328-32.[7] These were important developments for fourteenth century art as at Peruzzi Giotto incorporates portrait heads, presumably of the Peruzzi family. As Antal phrases it: ‘it was the wealthiest citizens of Florence who were the first to be represented, outside a fresco or religious painting, in almost wholly independent portraits, though still for the time being inside the same frame.’[8] Later artwork was to completely separate portraits from religious paintings so that the individual could be represented as independent of, but still connected to, the spiritual realm. Fourteenth-century frescoes reveal that individualism was greatly esteemed in the Italian city-republics, and a developing trend for freedom of expression can be seen in Giotto’s pupils and successors such as Taddeo Gaddi. The lives of Christ, the Virgin and the Saints were the subjects of many important paintings and sculptures commissioned at the time. However, although these subjects continue those used by Giotto, his style began to be adapted by his pupils. His idea of a painting as a single unified whole was taken further by incorporating a greater diversity of individual elements within that whole. As Antal explains it: The painters abandoned Giottos centripetal emphasis in order to obtain a fuller narrative; the number of figures is greater, they are individualised and more vehement in their movements, more passionate or more charming; sometimes landscape predominates, and the architecture is richer and more Gothic.[9] However, Giotto’s work was still to prove pivotal to the changes occurring during the fourteenth century. By mid-century, Italy saw a surge of artistic output which integrated new ideals into earlier modes of representation. Over time, figures became more naturalistic, and the linear and angular quality of clothing on figures became softened. As mentioned above, Giotto’s volumetric figures of Madonna and of Christ express these qualities nearly a century earlier. These works were to influence major fourteenth century artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael. As seen in Madonna and Child Giotto experimented with the form of the figure and created a shadow effect, adding three dimensionality to the painting. This solution to creating the illusion of solidity to his figures was developed by the later artists who are famous for their exquisite eye for detail. With Giotto, the two dimensional world of thirteenth-century Italian painting was transformed into an analogue for the real world.[10] It was the simplicity of his style and his mastery of illusion which captivated the audiences of his time. As Bernard Berenson puts it: With the simplest means, with almost rudimentary light and shade, and functional line, he contrives to render, out of all the possible outlines, out of all the possible variations of light and shade that a given figure may have, only those that we must isolate for special attention when we are actually realizing it.[11] Giotto was to lay the foundations of a radical artistic movement in fourteenth century Italy. Later artists developed the simplicity of his use of line, form and three-dimensionality. His bold use of colour and composition was to precipitate a wealth of changes in the styles and tastes of fourteenth century Italian art, and his contributions to the history of aesthetics are perhaps some of the most comprehensive in history. Bibliography Antal, F., 1947, Florentine Painting and Its Social Background; the Bourgeois Republic before Cosimo De Medicis Advent to Power: XIV and Early XV Centuries. London: K. Paul Bennett, A., 1999, Giotto. London: Dorling Kindersley Berenson, B., 1953, The Italian Painters of the Renaissance. Phaidon: New York Hale, J.R., 1954, England and the Italian Renaissance: The Growth of Interest in Its History and Art. London: Faber and Faber Osmond, S.F., 1998, The Renaissance Mind Mirrored in Art. World and I, Vol. 13 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/iptg/hd_iptg.htm. Further Reading Henderson, J., and Verdon, T., (eds), 1990, Christianity and the Renaissance: Image and Religious Imagination in the Quattrocento. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press Martindale, A., 1969, The Complete Paintings of Giotto. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson. Murray, L., and Murray, P., 1963, The Art of the Renaissance. New York: Praeger Footnotes [1] Osmond, S.F., 1998, The Renaissance Mind Mirrored in Art. World and I, Vol. 13. p.1. [2] Hale, J.R., 1954, England and the Italian Renaissance: The Growth of Interest in Its History and Art. London: Faber and Faber, p.60. [3] Bennett, A., 1999, Giotto. London: Dorling Kindersley, p.25. [4] Ibid, p.66. [5] Ibid, p.71. [6] Osmond, S.F., 1998, The Renaissance Mind Mirrored in Art. World and I, Vol. 13. [7] Antal, F., 1947, Florentine Painting and Its Social Background; the Bourgeois Republic before Cosimo De Medicis Advent to Power: XIV and Early XV Centuries. London: K. Paul, p.159. [8] Ibid, p.159. [9] Ibid, p.174. [10] http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/iptg/hd_iptg.htm. [11] Berenson, B., 1953, The Italian Painters of the Renaissance. Phaidon: New York, p.44.

Positive Impact In Women On Economic Labor Growth

Economic growth of any country depends on the labor input of men, women and children (where the laws of such countries permit children to work) concerted efforts by all are needed to ensure economic growth, having said that, it is prudent to note without prejudice to women, that men play a big role in economic growth of states that women in most countries in the world. This is evidenced by among others the statistics of the International Labor Organization (I. L. O. ) which ranks men highly. Secondly, it can be seen from the informal sector, small businesses and number of factory workers that men are above women in terms of input towards economic growth. Much that the foregoing is true, it does not mean that our women don’t play a role in economic growth. They on the contrary play a very big role in economic growth of any country/state. They do take time off to raise children, go to work and make life easy for their husbands to go on their work with ease. (They provide a good environment for men to make the economy grow). Finally this paper is all about the role women play in economic growth. It also recognizes the challenges women have to put with while so contributing to economic growth. It also recognizes the challenges women have to put with while so contributing to economic growth. These include, family obligations, negative perceptions against them and Discrimination The survey is to analyze whether women labor ha impact on economic growth. Much has been said about women role in the society and in the economic growth both in short term and long term. This can be said that women have both negative and positive impacts in the economic growth. The results show a negative association between intermittent attachment tot he labor market for fairly related reasons and women occupations prestige in casual terms the results provide evidence that women expecting to lift the labor force tend to choose lower prestige occupation in anticipation of future career interruption. In general, analysis the micro economic implication of cynical and circular movement in the women of the labor force and changes in the intensity of female household labor. This assumes that arise in the women of the labor force stimulates the investments while arise in the intensity of female household labor raised savings. The interaction of these two effects in the context of Keynesian growth cycle model and assess the likelihood of structurally adjusting economy experiencing a recovery through women labor. This analysis shows that for a gender based recovery to succeed the impact of women labor force on investments must be stronger than the impact of raising intensity of female household labor as on saving. In general, high and high middle income countries benefit from women labor for their economic growth. Introduction That women do not contribute to the growth of the economy is a misconception that should not be allowed to stand. The input of women towards economic growth cannot be compared to that of men; women must be given their due as regards matters economic growth. This is because their contribution is hindered by many factors, including maternity leaves where they have to take time off from active employment to give birth, and raise the children, during this time; there are a lot of man hours that literally go to waste. This has to be factored in when evaluating their contribution to economic growth. Family obligations are also a hindrance to their maximum participation and contribution to the economy. Another factor is the discrimination that women face in terms of promotions at the work place, loan advancement from banks and so on. On the flip side of the coin, women play a positive impact in economic growth in terms of being home makers thus giving their men ample time to go about promoting economic growth. This paper seeks out to show the positive impact of women labor in the growth of the economy, and further to elaborate the challenges they face when going about contributing to economic growth. Much has been said about the role women play tot he economy. Whether their role has nay impact on the economy of any country and this has led to the discrimination in the labor market based on gender and distribution of workers among jobs that generates discrimination on labor market outcomes. According to Naomi Wolf 1991, (Every worker brings some physical attractiveness tot he labor market along with other attributes and most are concerned perhaps in inordinately so with this aspect of labor market characteristics. This has led tot he US coming up with anti-discrimination legislation to prevent denying employment on the basis of gender, height, weight and personal appearances. In fact, in recent past many nations and states have been attempting to improve the status of women in their society. An important element in national policies is the improvement of women’s access wider range of jobs, including those at a managerial level so that their impact can be seen in the economic growth. Countries like, Britain have introduced legislation to prevent unfair discrimination against women in their workplace. Although such legislation cannot itself bring changes sought by the government but it can serve to influence male attitudes towards the role of women into e economic growth. Attitudes towards role of women as home maker vary from one country to the other. Some countries emphasize the women’s role as wife/mother and homemaker. Their attitude are biased against women taking on anything other than relatively low-level part time work even education for women tend to be moved towards this assumption about women roles. By comparison, the expectation of men as bread winners are high and thus social action is geared to the education, training and support of men in employment and in economic growth. In such a situation the chances of women labor in economic growth are minimized since they are given jobs such as infant teaching, nursing and social works which has very low impact on economic growth. Much effort has been made recently to remove the obstacles on the roles of women in career development and equal pay. This is aimed at encouraging greater fairness towards women at work. Other efforts to improve the lot of women employee include such developments as women into science and engineering. Arguments It is true that women have positive impact on economic labor growth like Taiwan has used women to develop their economy. Increased employment is a requirement for the survival of capitalism. It is not to be confused with division in gender equality. Economic and powerful domestic interest groups, political stability and access to market provided the conditions for Taiwan to develop a viable economic policy based on experts who led to his growth of their economy. Pursuit of labor intensive export oriented development required a particular labor force one that was relatively large in number, flexible in flow and in expensive. It was only women who were to fit in this job as per the requirements since female labor were cheap, were in large number and were flexible for any job. The ready supply of female labor has reduced labor cost and increased competitiveness in the world market in addition the use of female labor has helped to ease the impact of inflation in core countries like USA, Britain for their economy to grow. The elasticity of female labor relative to male labor is indicated by the greater fluctuations in the women participation rates over time. Most developed countries have used women for their economic growth, since women operates small businesses which are known as small micro-economic enterprises as entrepreneurs. This usually makes a country to grow for example Pakistan has grown due to small micro-economic enterprises which are mostly operated by women. They assist the economy of the country by payment of taxes to the government and job creation. More so, women play a very vital role in economic growth by giving their spouses good support that is by taking care of the young ones and doing household works, which could have been done by their husband hence making their husbands more productive. Counter Arguments In fact women have negative impaction on the economic growth. This can be seen from various perspectives women employment really affects the economy of the country due to their life cycle. Women tend to withdraw from their workplace between the age 25 – 34 years that is after their marriage and the birth of the first child hence, bringing very strong negative impact tot the economy since they will be taking most of the time attending household work and taking after their children. According tot he survey women return tot work after 35 years as their family responsibilities lighten. Also the survey say the majority leave the labor market after 55 years of age perhaps to care for their elderly members of their family, while the male stay in the job market that is, contributing tot he economic growth until they reach the age for retirement and then after they look for part time jobs to work until they are unable to work, that is they contribute tot he economy to their later years. The differential impact of marital status is more obvious when one compares female and male rates while gender makes a difference in labor force participation. The difference is the smallest for a single increased employment is a requirement for the survival of capitalism; it is not to be confused with a victory in gender equality. Most women due to women little level of education affect economic growth of the economy due to most of them work they will be doing will be unskilled, and lower paying hence no impact to the economy of any state. In addition growth is indirectly affected through the impact of gender in equality on investments and the population growth since women population is high in most sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia. This has affected the economy of those countries. According to the review of economic study, July 1989 the relationship between women share of labor force of the process of congestion economic development, and macroeconomic changes associated with structural adjustment it found out that the relationship between long term development and women’s share of the labor force is U-shaped. Women contributes very little to the economy since most of their work are part time or temporary work they take these jobs in order to juggle work with their domestic responsibility that is for children when the are young and for elderly relatives when they are older. Most women who work part time or temporary employment, make counterparts make assumptions that they are not interested in promotion where they will work as senior and contribute more to the economy. Most works are traditionally structured based to suit men who can work full time, hence closing out women who usually need part-time jobs. The implication that if women are to make greater progress in obtaining managerial posts so that they can contribute to the economy as their male counterparts work must then be structures to allow for greater flexibility of working including part time work for mangers so hat women can work and contribute to the economy and it should have a great agreed career breaks, improved arrangements for introduction of women into managers, work Structuring is not only problem for the women to contribute tot he economy. Men prejudice is another. According Flanders whilst pas t experience helps us to decide how to act in the present, it is nevertheless important to see if that experience is still valid. Male in particular needs to examine their current attitude towards employment of women into managerial posts since these attitudes may not always be based on sound evidence of a women performance. There is little evidence to justify why women cannot be given good jobs so that they can contribute to the economic growth. Minor excuses cannot be used unfairly to discriminate women in good jobs. In general women needs and wants and capability arise from assumption that men make about women in the workplace. Some studies have shown that he difference in leadership style and attitude towards work is the general principle behind me towards women taking a wide range of study into account, most of the research indicates that there are few important differences between the performance of a woman and men at work, especially in the situation where they are able to compete in equal terms so woman can bring a very positive impact in economic growth ,if given chances especially if they can be given jobs which men equally do and to be recognized as employee and not as woman . Although in physical strength men are superior to woman being generally taller, large and more muscular . this doesn’t mean they can bring more impact to the economy . Nowadays when purely physical strength is called fro are very rare in the working environment and thus the physical difference between the performance of men and woman are scarcely referent . When it comes to mental, there’s no difference between the two. According to colwills (1995) in her own studies , she comments in relation to verbal skills that :among adults men have an edge in the solving of analogies , but women outperform men in most other verbal tests, including vocabulary and verbal fluency . She notes that visual spatial ability which is important for engineers, architects and air crew ,is higher among men than woman . o too is advanced mathematical ability although at lower levels of performance there is little difference between sexes col wills research suggest that even though woman are verbally superior to men ,the styles of communication they adopt are taken as assign of weakness ,especially by men who she found typically listen less than woman interrupting more and use more aggressive language. Colwill comments that the verbal style associated with woman speech are not only devalued, there is evidence that they are devalued more for woman than for men . The research shows that woman who use disclaimers are seen as less intelligent and less knowledgeable than woman who do not use these feminine style and less intelligent and less knowledgeable than men who do use them† This evidence helps to medicate the deeply in grained made dominance of work environment . it is not a question . it is not a question of men prejudice against woman in management rules but their sheet lack of experience of woman in responsible roles in the workplace . This is a reflection of organizational culture where leadership culture of work has been established by men for men. According to marshall on the topic of woman and organization culture (1993)she says that ,† I see male and female values as qualities to which both sexes have access woman and men are both the same and different Marshall argues that western society has given predominance to make values which have shaped its organization its cultural worms. They are perceived as different to men, women are considered to be inferior. On the issue of woman and leadership, early and Johnson (1990) conducted literature reviews involving 370 comparison of styles between men and woman managers . The conclusions they drew from all the studies they investigated can be summarized as follows: woman generally adopted a more democratic or participate style compared with men who tend to prefer an autocratic or directive style ,in confined settings men tended to be more task oriented than woman ,but in ordinary work situations there were no noticeable differences in task oriented style between the sexes. The difficulties face by women in attempting to break into what has been and still is mainly a mans world has been refereed to as the (glass ceiling) analogy which attempts to describe the subtly transparent barrier that prevents women from gaining access tot he more senior roles in the organizations which eventually leads tot he economic growth. Given the nature of the male dominate over the workplace, what organization can do to achieve greater fairness for women and better balance of sexes in managerial roles in only by involving more women in decision making in setting the company policies. There are several possible actions that can be taken at an organizational level to improve a fairer framework for working conditions. These are more likely to succeed if they are open to both men and women, thus avoiding possible charges either of favoring men for patronizing women. These steps include; going beyond merely supporting the often minimal requirements of legislation; increasing part time opportunities for permanent staff. Making job sharing available, where this may be practicable, given the demands of the job and the skills it require. CONCLUSION In my view it is important to mix both parties that is men and women in economic labor market by so doing no party will be seen as superior or inferior but the total growth of the economic labor growth will be achieved. From above discussion we have seen the role played by women and men, and if they will combine their skills the economy of a country will grow. In simple terms no one party can claim that they contribute more than other party?

How to Write a Research Paper Essay

â€Å"This should be sent to a journal† â€Å"Very good work, but I’m not sure why Alan Bundy hasn’t written this? † Anonymous review: â€Å"Clearly the author fails to understands Walsh’s previous work on this topic† †¢ 1st Lesson †¢ Don’t lose heart †¢ Even if you do everything right, reviewing is imperfect Good papers will be rejected But try to learn from your knock-backs! †¢ †¢ Why you? †¢ Academic career †¢ Publish or perish †¢ Have an impact †¢ †¢ Communicate your results Many have not had the impact they deserve for being bad writers †¢ Writing is fun! Outline †¢ How to get your paper rejected. There are many traps even experienced researchers make Myself very much included †¢ †¢ Hints about how to write a paper †¢ Writing is a craft not a science! How to be rejected †¢ Submit over-length †¢ Blind man: send in 7 pages even though the instructions clearly say 5 Once they see quality of work, they’ll be pleased you sent in more material †¢ How to be rejected Submit over-length †¢ †¢ Diplomatic immunity: put extra 2 pages in appendix Appendices clearly don’t count Similarly, bibliography doesn’t count †¢ †¢ How to be rejected †¢ Submit over-length †¢ LaTeX hacker: †¢ †¢ †¢ change from 11 to 9 point font squeeze inter-line space †¦ †¢ No one will ever notice How to be rejected †¢ Submit late †¢ †¢ †¢ Deadlines are meant for everyone else Review schedules have plenty of slack Your paper is worth the wait! How to be rejected †¢ You don’t have room for space wasters like: †¢ Motivation, Background, Related work †¢ Why do review forms always have these on them anyway? How to be rejected †¢ Annoy reader/reviewer †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Proof is trivial, when it isn’t Prove the trivial Fail to cite their work Only cite yourself How to be rejected †¢ Annoy reader/reviewer †¢ Don’t bother to spell check †¢ What do computers know about spelling anyway? Use all the old cliches †¢ â€Å"There has been a lot of interest recently in global constraints. † How to be rejected †¢ Annoy reader/reviewer †¢ Be pompous, boring, †¦ †¢ This is science not literature guys, who said it should be fun? †¢ Be overly formal †¢ Theorems and formulas add weight How to be rejected †¢ Annoy reader/reviewer †¢ Make them really work †¢ After all, these are dif? cult concepts and it took you some time †¦ †¢ Ignore reviews †¢ Just keep sending paper in, eventually it will be accepted How to write a paper †¢ Hints about how to write †¢ †¢ †¢ Preparation Writing itself Ethics Preparation. Read, read, read! †¢ To learn how to write, read a lot †¢ I spend over 20% of my time reading †¢ 1 day/week in library Read, Read, Read †¢ Related literature †¢ †¢ †¢ So you can cite it So you don’t re-invent wheels So you know what others think are important research questions Read, Read, Read †¢ Other conference/journal papers where you intend to publish †¢ †¢ So you learn the â€Å"house† style So you can place your work within the bigger picture So you learn how to ask good questions †¢ Read, Read, Read †¢ Any sort of literature †¢ Magazines, novels, biographies, †¦ †¢ Writing is a skill, learn from others †¢ I read approx one novel/week as a way of trying to learn how to write And I have the luxury of writing in my own language! †¢ Review, Review, Review †¢ Review as much as you can †¢ †¢ †¢ So you see good/bad writing So you see the newest results (but see ethics) So you ask yourself good questions †¢ What is the contribution here? What are the weaknesses? †¦ Write, Write, Write †¢ The best preparation to writing is to write †¢ †¢ Writing gets easier the more you do it Writing is easier if you’ve drafted much of what you already need Writing is the best way to organize your thoughts Writing is a good way to record what you have done. †¢ †¢ Writing †¢ Work out the timetable †¢ †¢ †¢ Rushed papers frequently rejected Late papers are almost always rejected If you always write to deadlines, writing will seem more painful than it is Writing †¢ Work out the message †¢ You should be able to convey this in one sentence †¢ â€Å"We propose a new global constraint, provide a ? ltering algorithm and show it useful on some standard benchmarks† Writing †¢ Work out the message †¢ You should be able to convey this in one sentence †¢ â€Å"We identify an important class of symmetry, and show how to break it† †¢ Write to the message! Writing †¢ Distribute the work †¢ †¢ Play to your strengths If you have a native speaker, have them write intro/conclusion †¦ †¢ Write to length †¢ Brutally cut papers are frequently rejected Writing †¢ †¢ Structure paper before you write it I write template for paper with sections and subsection headings ? rst †¢ Intro, Background, Theoretical results, Empirical results, Related work, Conclusions Writing †¢ †¢ Start where you are most happy Often write from the middle outwards †¢ Theoretical results, Experiments, †¦ , Conclusions, Introduction, Abstract Writing †¢ †¢ Rule of Three Say everything 3 times! †¢ †¢ †¢ Introduce idea (introduction) Develop idea (body of paper) Summarize result (conclusions) †¢ But don’t copy verbatim the same text! Title †¢ Make it meaningful and brief †¢ †¢ Don’t make a joke Remember someone reading reference needs to be able to work out likely contents Good: the TSP phase transition Bad: Easy Problems are sometimes Hard †¢ †¢ Abstract †¢ Executive summary †¢ Try for one sentence or so on: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Motivation Method Key result Conclusions Introduction †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What is the problem? Why is it interesting? What are your contributions? What is the outline of what you will show? Introduction. †¢ Lure the reader in a with a good ? rst sentence †¢ Bad: There has been a lot of work recently on phase transition behaviour†¦ Good: Global constraints are central to the success of constraint programming†¦ †¢ Background †¢ Often need to set scene †¢ †¢ †¢ De? ne formalism Get reader up to speed Identify research problem Body of Paper †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Derive theoretical results Propose new algorithm Describe system engineered †¦ Results †¢ Bullet proof paper †¢ Theoretical results †¢ Experiments only provide a limited view †¢ Experimental results †¢ Theory doesn’t show if results are useful in practice. Related work †¢ Has many purposes †¢ †¢ †¢ You give proper credit to prior work You are not re-inventing wheel You can compare what you do with what has been done before Conclusions †¢ †¢ Remind reader of what you have done Place work in wider context †¢ â€Å"What general lessons might be learnt from this study? † †¢ Flag all the exciting open research directions Acknowledgements †¢ Thank all who have helped you †¢ Provided code, data sets, †¦ †¢ Thank ? nancial sponsors Writing †¢ Keep it simple! †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Active, not passive Present, not past or future Long words Short sentences Writing †¢ Avoid temptation to include every result you have †¢ †¢ †¢ Paper needs to be coherent Paper needs to be understandable Many papers are rejected for having too many results! Ethics of Writing †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Authorship Citation Submission Publication Authorship †¢ Who should be an author? †¢ Anyone who has made a signi? cant contribution May not have written any text! Always err on the side of caution †¢ †¢ Authorship †¢ Who should be an author? †¢ †¢ †¢ Ask! You’ll be surprised how often people refuse You can be sure they’ll not work with you again if they feel they should be Authorship †¢ Should my advisor be an author? In ? rst few years of thesis, probably yes .. Once you graduate, you should (be able to) write papers on your own Again, ask! †¢ Citation †¢ Cite all relevant work †¢ †¢ †¢ Reviews always ask about Related Work You’ll want them to cite you It’s central to the scienti? c method †¢ We stand on the shoulders of others Citation †¢ Do I cite myself for a blind review? †¢ †¢ †¢ Yes! You must credit all previous work Either cite [Author, 2004] Or write â€Å"As Walsh has shown previously [Walsh 2004] †¦ † Submission †¢ Can I submit to multiple conferences? †¢ What’s the deal with the disclaimer (†This paper is not under review ..†)? †¢ Can I submit to a journal immediately? †¢ †¢ No hard and fast rules My rule, once reviews are back and paper is effectively in press †¦ Publication †¢ Can I publish my conference paper as it is in a journal? †¢ Probably not, even though conference is not archival Most journals ask you to extend conference paper substantially †¢ †¢ Proofs, more experiments, †¦ Final words †¢ It takes time to learn how to write †¢ Don’t be put off if at ? rst your have papers rejected All of us have papers rejected †¢ †¢ Spend time learning how to write †¢ It will be worth the investment.

BPs Marketing Strategy in Changing Business Environment - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 12 Words: 3655 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Case study Level High school Did you like this example? BPs Marketing Strategy in Changing Business Environment 1. Introduction Multinational corporations operating in complex and diverse political, economic, social and cultural environments have to improve, adjust and develop their marketing strategies on a regular basis (Bamberg, 2009:46). Changing environmental factors create new conditions for their operating, which often require considerable and serious changes in strategic decision-making and positioning of companies. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "BPs Marketing Strategy in Changing Business Environment" essay for you Create order Inflexible and rigid firms will cease to be competitive in the market every time changes occur (Fight, 2006:85). The aim of the present report is to identify the past and present changes in marketing strategy of British Petroleum, which have occurred under the pressure of environmental factors. It is evaluated whether these changes were necessary, and future strategic options for British Petroleum are recommended. 2. Background British Petroleum (BP) is a multi-national gas and oil company located in the United Kingdom. Taking into consideration the size of revenues, BP proves to be the third largest energy company in the world. It is reported that its revenue was equal to as much as $308 billion in 2010 (BP, 2010:18). Working in the field of the gas and oil industry, the corporation carries out a wide range of operations, namely exploration, refining, production, trading, power generation, renewable energy production, etc. BP is presented in more than 80 countries all over the world and employs more than 80,000 workers. The company was founded in 1909 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, but only in 1954, it was known as the British Petroleum Company. 1998 was marked by the merger with Amoco (BP, 2011:1). Operating in turbulent and dynamic industrial sector, BP has always had to adequately react to the environmental changes and adjust their marketing strategy (Bamberg, 2009:49). 3. BP in Dynamic and Changing Environment Taking into account that this report analyses strategic positioning of BP as a response to environmental changes and influences, the external environment of the company should be carefully scanned. It is important to note that not only contemporary external influences ought to be investigated, but also the environmental factors that used to influence BP some time ago. This will allow for observing changes from a historical perspective. In this sense, the PESTEL framework appears to be a very useful tool. It is argued that the PESTEL framework helps to identify the relative importance of political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal influences, and can be used to identify the key long-term drivers of change (Fight, 2006:44). It may be critically stated that recent market events have provided a sharp reminder of the central role of energy for our near-term security; insecurity arises from a range of issues, including geopolitical instability, natural dis asters, terrorism and even poor regulatory design (ORCD, 2003:421). Indeed, geopolitical instability proves to be a powerful political factor, which can influence volatility in the energy markets. It is reported that the world is heavily dependent on Middle East since this region has more than 60% of the worlds oil reserves (Thomas White Global Investing, 2010:1). The key oil producing countries are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Venezuela, Russia and Libya. Oil reserves of these countries are demonstrated in the graph below. It is valid to argue that a number of instability symptoms have been observed in these countries recently, including military conflicts, authoritarian political regimes, corruption, etc. For instance, Venezuela tends to use its oil revenues to finance governmental programmes and ideology (Thomas White Global Investing, 2010:1). As it may be observed from the histogram, Saudi Arabia has the largest oil reserves in the world, namely 262.2 billion barrels. Canada, Iran and Iraq have 179.2 billion, 136.3 billion and 115 billion barrels respectively (Thomas White Global Investing, 2010:1). In response to the mentioned political influences, BPs strategy has been changed the following way. Generally, it is possible to observe two main tendencies. First, British Petroleum attempts to hedge political risks in the oil producing countries by means of partnership and deals with the governments. For instance, BP signed a contract with the Russian state-run oil company Rosneft in 2009 (Hernandez, 2011:1). Second, the company evacuated its personnel from northern Africa because of growing political instability in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Simultaneously, BP develops its cooperation with emerging economies in Asia, which are more politically stable, namely India (Hernandez, 2011:1). These changes were necessary in order to avoid political risks in the countries, which prove to be the leading producers of oil. Geopolitical ins tability in the world and political tensions in these countries can be viewed as important factors that have led to the fluctuations in oil prices, which may be illustrated by the following graph. As it may be grasped from the graph, crude oil price reached its maximum in 2008 and constituted as much as $91.48 per barrel (IBP Oil, 2011:1). The period from 2002 to 2008 was marked by the gradual rise in crude oil prices. In 2009, the indicator was equal to $53.56, and oil prices started growing again (IBP Oil, 2011:1). It may be argued that fluctuations in crude oil prices are also the result of economic influences. It is obvious from the graph that crude oil prices skyrocketed simultaneously with the coming of the global financial crisis. Another increase in oil prices occurred during the prolonged recession, in the long-term of the financial crisis (Bamberg, 2009:184; IBP Oil, 2011:1). In accordance with Brigham and Ehrhardt (2010:901), the main causes of fluctuations in crude oil prices are demand and supply forces, investment demand and monetary inflation. The US Dollar inflation can be graphically presented the following way. As it is observed, inflation reached its maximum in 2008 when the indicator was equal to 3.85% (Inflation Data, 2011:1). It has already been stated that the rapid growth of crude oil priced took place the same year. As argued by Brigham and Ehrhardt (2010:901), it is possible to establish cause-effect relations between high inflation and the growth of oil prices. Indeed, these environmental factors had economic influence on British Petroleum. The excessive dependence on non-renewable energy carriers and fluctuations in crude oil prices have contributed to the popularity of renewable energy, namely wind, solar and geothermal (Fight, 2006:93). The point is that the reserves of renewable energy are not limited. In response to these economic influences, BP reconsidered its business strategy the following way. It is re ported that the company started producing solar panels after the acquisitions of Lucas Energy Systems (1980) and Amoco (1998). At the present moment, the company proves to be the largest manufacturer of solar panels in the world. BP has launched two main types of solar energy products, namely products for individual consumers and products for organisations. For instance, the firm is planning to run a new solar energy project aimed at energy supply for Wal-Mart stores (BP, 2011:1). Furthermore, it is reported that BP invested more than $6 billion in wind and biofuel energy projects during the period from 2005 to 2010 (BP, 2010:61). These changes were necessary because the PB attempted to attract customers by cheaper and green energy. The volumes of green energy production by BP can be presented by the following graph. It is illustrated by the histogram that BP produced as much as 774 megawatts in 2010. The total volume of wind energy produced by the company is more than the volume of solar energy (BP, 2010:63). However, the company tends to produce more solar energy every following year. If 162 megawatts were produced in 2008, the indicator increased to the level of 325 megawatts in 2010 (BP, 2010:63). Global energy consumption patterns may be viewed as an important social influence on BP. The following histogram illustrates the changes in energy consumption during the last two decades. It can be observed that the worlds population consumed as much as 8,131 million tons in oil equivalent in 1990. However, the indicator constituted 11,808 million tons in 2010 (BP, 2011:1). However, it should be taken into consideration that energy is not consumed equally by different regions of the world (BP, 2011:1). The following graph illustrates energy consumption patterns by economic zones, unions and countries. As it may be understood, this social influence could lead to changes in marketing strategy of BP. It is reported that nearly 20% of the worl d energy is consumed in the US market. To be more specific, the indicator was equal to 89,021 kWh/hab in 1990 and decreased to the level of 87,216 kWh/hab in 2008 (BP, 2011:1). It can be observed that the EU countries consume half the amount of energy used in the US; it constitutes 40,812 kWh/hab. It is interesting to note that the EU consumption patterns had grown by 2008. Furthermore, it should be emphasised that such regions as Middle East and China have experienced enormous growth of energy consumption recently (BP, 2011:1). In response to these socials changes, BP has reconsidered and changed its strategy the following way. The company used to operate in the US market very actively and have large manufacturing facilities in this country during the 1990s. It is understandable that the region consuming nearly 20% of the world energy will be of strategic interest for British Petroleum (Bamberg, 2009:142). Nevertheless, the company attempted to move considerable part of its manufacturing facilities from the US to China during the 2000s. For instance, BPs factories in Frederick, Maryland were closed in 2000 (Wenying, 2004:100). Moving production facilities to China continued regardless of the fact that the Chinese government issued a number of protectionist laws, which require than no less than 85% of input materials must be manufactured in China (Bamberg, 2009:83). These changes were necessary because energy consumption patterns in the US market had reduced by 2008. It may be argued that technological progress is associated with the growth of energy consumption patterns by such sectors as industry and transport. The following graph can be presented to illustrate this relationship. All the four sectors have experienced growth in energy consumption recently. It is reported that in 2008, industry and transport used 27,273 TWh and 26,742 TWh respectively (BP, 2011). It may be explained by the fact that new technologies are more energy consumin g. Furthermore, rapid growth of the worlds population means that more and more oil should be spent on manufacturing of industrial goods and transportation (Bamberg, 2009:42). For example, there were about 400 million motor cars in 2000; however, the total amount of vehicles constitutes more than 750 million today (Heitmann, 2009:167). These technological changes have led to the following reconsiderations and amendments in BPs strategy. First, the company started popularising efficient use of energy and invested in energy efficiency of industrial enterprises and engines for motor vehicles (BP, 2010:53). Second, BP introduces new technologies in their own production process. It was officially stated by the Group Chief Executive that the answer to the problems caused by some technology is more and better technology to reduce the environmental impact of exploration, to reduce the carbon content of the fuels we use, to give people everywhere better choices (BP, 2001:1). To be m ore specific, BP has rationalised transportation of oil and its products and has reduced the content of carbon in its fuel (Bamberg, 2009:142). Being an energy company, BP is subjected to manifold environmental influences. It is possible to differentiate between environmental factors that refer to the global ecological changes and environmental influences provoked by the company itself. The latter are numerous chemical leaks, oil spills and dumping of hazardous substances. For instance, BP was blamed for dumping of chemical wasted in Alaska during the period from 1993 to 1995 (Roach, 2006:1). Prudhoe Bay oil spill, which occurred in August 2006, was the result of pipeline corrosion. More than 5,000 barrels of crude oil leaked and caused environmental damage to the sea life. Another problem was registered in Texas City in 2010 when there was a chemical leak of hazardous elements into the atmosphere (Aulds, 2010:1). Regardless of the fact that BP runs a great number of gre en practices and corporate social responsibilities (investment in renewable energy projects, restoration of the environment after oil accidents, funding of ecological projects and initiatives, etc.), the company was given the Greenwash Award in 2009 (Green Peace, 2010:24). The firm tends to manipulate the public paying considerable attention to its CSR activities. It is argued that BP spends on green practices less than it is proclaimed in official statements of the company (Green Peace, 2010:26). It can be summarised that BP attempted to build positive public image by its green practices in response to the mentioned environmental influences. However, these attempts cannot be classified as successful. These changes in strategy cannot be classified as a necessity. The company could have been more open and honest with the public, which could have created more positive public image. Finally, it may be stated that BP has already had a series of legal arguments with the governme nts and non-governmental organisations. It is reported that yet already BPs actions are facing unprecedented scrutiny, thanks to a years-long history of legal and ethical violations that critics, judges and members of Congress say shows that the London-based company has a penchant for putting profits ahead of just about everything else (Mauer and Tinsley, 2010:1). In response to these legal influences, the company has become more careful and prudent (Aulds, 2010:1). 4. Strategic Position of BP Prior to the identification of the generic strategy of BP, it is necessary to conduct a stakeholder analysis and detect the recent changes in BPs attitude towards different interest groups. The main stakeholders of the company are the government, the press, suppliers, ecological organisations, customers, alliance partners, shareholders, the public and employees (BP, 2010:34). The positioning of these interest groups in the stakeholder matrix can be presented the following way. It may be observed that role of the governments has changed under the influence of political influences and geopolitical instability. The governments of oil producing countries and suppliers appear to be very powerful (BP, 2010:74). At the present moment, BP has to build strong long-term relationships with governments in order to avoid political risks, limitations and possible restrictions (Thomas White Global Investing, 2010:1). It is argued that ecological organisations and customers are less power ful, but they tend to demonstrate greater interest to the company. Ecological organisations and the public are worried about harmful effects of the companys operations. Customers are interested in BP because the energy consumption patterns are growing and there is always demand for oil (Bamberg, 2009:34). The company has several groups of customers, namely car owners using service stations (Aral, ARCO, BP Connect, BP Express and BP2go), users of convenience stores, users of solar panels, users of motor oils and derived products, the transport industry and the aerospace industry (BP, 2010:74). Another important change that has happened recently is that employees power has increased. This change can be explained by several accidents, disasters and safety problems, which have occurred at British Petroleum. For instance, it is stated by the US Department of Labour (2011:1) that the explosion in the isomerisation unit of the BP refinery in Texas City led to the death of 15 worke rs and injury of 170 employees. Similar scandals attract the public attention and interest and stimulate better maintenance of safety standards and norms. It should be noted that the power of the press and the public has increased too (Green Peace, 2010:21). Discussing generic strategies of the company, it is also possible to identify changes. At the early stages of its development, BP was following the cost leadership strategy (Bamberg, 2009:132). Indeed, the company made considerable efforts to remain the leader in developing costs. Nevertheless, it is argued by Business Leadership (2011:1) that the firms cost reduction practices were the main reason for oil spills and leaks. Cost cutting measures prevented the company from timely and regular repairs and maintenance of the infrastructure (Business Leadership, 2011:1). BP has transformed the cost leadership strategy into the differentiation strategy by the present moment. It is argued that the company has endeavoured to redefine its market space by laying claim to activities beyond oil and gas such as alternative energy and a lower carbon future (Bright, 2011:4). As it may be seen, the turbulent and changing external environment has forced BP to undertake a series of new decisions, which were different from those undertaken in the past. These changes in the corporate marketing strategy can be evaluated as a normal reaction to external political, economic, social and technological influences. As a result, it is possible to observe the change in stakeholders power and interest towards the company. Furthermore, BPs generic strategy has evolved from cost leadership into differentiation (Business Leadership, 2011:1; Bright, 2011:4). 5. Future Strategic Options The discussion of future challenges for BP will reveal that future energy consumption patterns will continue growing. The forecast of future changes may be presented the following way. The total volume of energy consumed by the world will have constituted as much as 16,432 million tons in oil equivalent by 2030 (BP, 2011:1). Another important challenge that should be taken into account is possible growth and fluctuations of oil prices. The company should avoid accidents, disasters and safety problems, which prove to be serious challenges to British Petroleum. Finally growing popularity and demand for renewable energy are both opportunity and challenge for the firm (Aulds, 2010:4). Relying on the previously identified environmental influences and pressures, it can be suggested that British Petroleum should follow the diversification strategy as a future option. In accordance with Ansoff matrix, diversification is the strategy, which implies entering new markets with new p roducts (Meldrum and McDonald, 2007:142). This choice of the future strategic option can be explained by a number of reasons. First, growing geopolitical instability and political risks and oil producing countries have forced BP to entering new markets, which are characterised by considerable potential. Second, the company can continue running and developing renewable energy projects, which have become very popular (Hernandez, 2011:1). In the conditions of growing demand for energy, growing consumption patterns and increasing crude oil prices, the company should be more active in the field of alternative energy. A modified version of strategic options was offered by Turner (2005:340). As it can be grasped from the improved framework, BP should follow the offensive strategy in future. It is implied that new services should be delivered to more politically stable and balanced markets (Turner, 2005:340). It is expected that this choice of the future strategy will be consi stent with contemporary changes and tendencies in the industry, namely growing demand for renewable energy, unstable crude oil prices, ecological awareness and energy efficiency (Bamberg, 2009:153). 6. Conclusion and Recommendations It may be concluded that the main strategic changes undertaken by British Petroleum in response to the turbulent and dynamic environment are contracts with the governments to avoid political risks, moving to more stable countries such as India from the northern Africa, acquisition of the solar panel manufacturers, investment in wind and solar projects, moving manufacturing facilities to China, investment in energy efficiency, reduction of carbon content in fuels, participation in green activities an greenwashing. The company had to transform its generic strategy from cost leadership to differentiation since cost reducing practices had led to oil spills and leaks. It may be summarised that the identified changes were necessary. Nevertheless, the company could have been more honest and open in its CSR projects. It is recommended that BP should use the diversification strategy as a future strategic option in order to continue responding to the environmental challenges. The co mpany should diversify its product range associated with the production of solar and wind energy for individual and corporate customers. It is expected that these products will be popular in the emerging markets such as India and China where incomes are not high, but energy consumption patterns are growing very fast. Furthermore, it is recommended that the company should increase expenditures on infrastructure maintenance and employee safety. Together with alternative energy production, this will positively influence corporate reputation after the recent safety scandals and greenwashing. Finally, it is recommended that BP should continue popularising efficient use of energy by individual consumers and industrial enterprises. References Aulds, T. 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