Danone Company Analysis

Danone Company Analysis Group Danone or Danone is the French company which has the head quarter and stock exchange at Paris. Danone group produces variety of product in many business segmentations; fresh dairy product, water, baby food, medical nutrition and beverage. The group primarily operated in European country; UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, through it has operation in Asia, US, Mexico, Argentina, Russia, Brazil, Poland and other parts of the world. In this analysis, we are focusing on Danones bottled water division only in order to make it more specific and easy to use the secondary data. Our group also considers both UK market and Global market according to secondary data provided. Danones group is the second leading producer of packaged water in the world based on volume. The group is also second leading producer of packaged water in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin-America. (Data monitor, 2009). Their water division market packaged under Volvic, Badoit, Aqua, Naya, Lanjarà ³n, Font Vella, Bonafont (Brazil), Villa del Sur, Villa Vicencio. The group is focusing on natural mineral and spring water based business. There are two big brands from this group are operating in UK bottle water market; Evian and Volvic. On the figure two below has shown the Danones group key date from 1958 to 1997. Figure2: Danones group Key dates (company history, funding universe) Financial performance analyzing is equipment that the company has to be done every year in order to measure the company performance and company growth so, before we looking through each topic in market driven marketing, we have to consider and analyze their financial performance. Then, we will know that Danone is loss or gain the profit (Growth, stable or loss). Danone group using many strategies in order to make the company growth; growth strategy; joint venture, acquisitions by vertical integration, corporate governance etc. which will describe in detail later on. By looking at figure3, we can conclude that from year 2005 to 2006, revenues of Danone group on bottled water division is decreasing. Then, increasing two years from 2006 to 2008 and decreasing again between 2008 and 2009 (a little). We cannot totally conclude that this company has bad operation by considering only revenue so; we have to calculate percentage growth, financial ratio; profit margin, Debt-asset ratio, Return on assets, Average revenue per employee, average profit per employee and also consider the market share of Danone group in the industry in order to summarize the financial performance of the company. Now, lets calculate the percentage of growth rate by using equation below; By using this equation, we can calculate revenue growth, asset growth, liability growth as shown on the table2 by the next page. Then we calculate the profit margin by using equation below; Debt-asset ratio, return on assets, revenue per employee and profit per employee can be also calculated by using equation below; All result of calculation have displayed on table 2 below; There are many financial ratios in the business that the company has to calculate and consider but in this report, we have limited information therefore we calculate only important or key ratio in order to analyze the basic company performance. Now, lets consider each element on the table2; According to the profit margin equation, we can see that the pattern of profit and profit margin are showing into the same direction (Profit margin profit) that decrease trifling during 2005 to 2006 and exploding at year 2007 and decreasing down to the previous level at 2008 to 2009. We can notice the irregular pattern at year 2007 which may come from some unusual situation in the company. It may come from the policy of the company to lay out some employees or many employees may leave or retire in this year because we can notice from table1, number of employee in 2007 is decreasing down abundantly therefore the company will have less expense and high profit. Another possible reason is in 2007, Danone group joint venture with Dutch Mill group (Datamonitor, 2007) which they can expand their product to Thailand. Danone group also joint venture with others company around the world in this year but they expanded in others market division; milk, yogurt or daily products which we do not con sider in this report. We will discuss more detail on joint venture later on How brand growth? If we are considering only on profit margin element, we can conclude that Danone group operating their company very well because their profit margin shown all positive number. On the figure5 above has represented three graphs of growth; revenue growth, asset growth and liabilities growth. Revenue growth pattern is decreasing from 2005 to 2006 and keep increasing during 2006 to 2008. Then, decreasing again by the last period 2008 to 2009 which means the company had using good marketing strategies on the bottled water division; sale promotion, innovation of product, packaging, cutting price etc. therefore, the company can be able to generate more revenue during 2006 to 2008. However, if we look back to the profit (Net income) graph on figure4, during 2007 to 2008, the company lost the profit. Next, asset growth and liabilities growth pattern are nearly the same as shown on the figure 5 except last period (2008-2009) that asset is increasing but the liabilities is decreasing which looks take the benefit to the company; gain more asset with less liabilities. By this figure, we can notice that on the year 2007, revenue growth and asset growth is a lot increasin g same as profit margin pattern. Now, we may summarize that during 2007, Danone group acquires and joint venture with others company on the bottled water division which make the company have to use more money in order to invest more then, the liabilities is increasing. The company also had more profit and asset. We will not focusing on total liabilities and total asset much on this figure because we already discussed on their growth by the previous figure but, we plot these two elements because they are related to the debt and asset ratio in order to make more easy to understand this ratio. Recall back to the debt-asset ratio equation on the third page, we can see that debt-asset ratio is going to the same direction as liabilities (debt-asset ratio liabilities or debt). This ratio tells us about how the company manages their debt compare with the company asset. By looking through the pattern at the figure6 above, we can see that debt-asset ratio is decreasing during 2005-2006 then, increasing by two year and decreasing again during 2008 to 2009. We can conclude that Danone group can operate their debt and asset better during the last period (less liability, more assets). This figure doesnt tell us much about the company performance. It shows the average revenue and profit per employee which have the same pattern as profit and revenue and we can see that which less number of employees, the profit per employees is increasing. (2007) Now, the last and important ratio, the return on assets (ROA) percentage shows how profitable a companys assets are in generating revenue. Actually, Return on assets is an indicator of how profitable a company is before leverage, and is compared with companies in the same industry but there are a lot of Danone competitor which we will discuss later therefore with ROA of Danone group only, we can conclude that at 2007, Danone group has the highest ROA which mean good because it means the company can use their asset in order to generate high level of profit. (Well operation) Market share of Danone group bottled water division Market share is one of the most important elements that we have to consider in order to analyze the company performance. The figure9 below will show the market share of bottled water market in United Kingdom. By this pie chart, we can conclude that Group Danone is the leading player in the United Kingdom bottled water market, generating a 30.8% share of the markets volume. By the next page, we will see another set of data with show the company shares of bottled water by off-trade value 2006-2010. From this table, we also can see the same result as the previous source of data; Group Danone is the leading player in the United Kingdom bottled water market. As I have mentioned above Danone group owned a big two brand in the UK market; Evian and Volvic. We will discuss more detail about these two brands when we focus about brand equity, Duplication of purchase, Double Jeopardy etc. At that topic, we will show the share of each brand in the market. In this topic, we also notice the main competitors of Danone group; Tesco, Highland Spring, Nestle. How the company growth? Danone group use the many business strategies in order to move forward the company as I had mentioned some of them by the previous topic; acquisition, joint venture, finance agreement (vertical integration) which provide a lot of advantages to the company. Before we go through the company detail, lets we explain briefly about vertical integration to make more understand why this company can be growth by using this strategy. The degree to which a form owns its upstream supplier and its downstream buyer is referred as vertical integration. Because it can have a significant impact on a business units position in its industry with respect to cost, differentiation, and other strategic issues, the vertical scope of the firm is an important consideration on corporate strategy (Quick MBA, 2010) The expansion of activities downstream is referred as forward integration, and expansion upstream is referred as backward integration. There are some advantages of using vertical integration which mentioned by Quick MBA; reduce transportation cost id common worship results in closer geographic proximity, improve supply chain coordination, provide more opportunities by means of increased control over inputs, capture upstream or downstream profit margin, increase entry barriers to potential competitors, gain access to downstream distribution channels that otherwise would be inaccessible, facilitate investment in highly specialized assets in which upstream or downstream players may be reluctant to invest and lead to expansion of core competencies. For Danone group, the acquisitions initially took the shape of vertical integration, acquiring Alsacian brewer Kronenbourg and Evian mineral water who were the glassmakers largest customers. This move provided content with which to fill the factorys bottles. In 1973, the company merged with Gervais Danone and began to expand internationally. (Danone group, 2007) Joint venture is one of the strategies that make Danone growth, Danone group had joint venture with many country around the world; India, Israel, Pakistan, China, Thailand etc. which we can say that Danone is the Global company as you can see on the figure11. On the bottled water division, Danone group always looking for acquiring their suppliers, suppliers competitors and also competitors company in order to produced bottle to the company which low cost and eliminate their competitors. Danone group also joint venture with the foreign company for expanding the product to the new market (Dutch mill group in Thailand). In the others hand, Danone group also sell some part or some brand of their company to others company. For example, Arvie water which belonging to Danone group was acquired by Eurokin this year. (Datamonitor, 2010) etc. Establish the non-profitable organization is one of the key marketing strategies to growth: Danone Institute International. Danone Institute International is a non-profit organisation originally established in 1997 with funding from the company. The Danone International Prize for Nutrition, worthà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬120,000, is presented biennially to honor individuals or teams that have advanced the science of human nutrition. Brand equity There are many ways to measure the brand equity which mentioned differently in past journals and researches. We cant say exactly which element can measure the brand equity effectively because it depends on many factors on the brands on each industry (Daily product, technology product etc.). Those journals and researches are not totally accepted but they failed to reject because they may works in some brands and related situation. Recall back to case study 3 that I have mention about the metrics that we can use to measure brand equity. The brand equity measurement that I want to measure can be summarizing into five main groups as shown on the table5. On each sub element of each group can be measure in two ways; quantitative and qualitative measurement. From this topic until the end of this report, we will focus deeply to the brand of bottled water division of Danone group. The big two brand that I will focus on are Evian and Volvic but we will not describe into their history or their company profile for these two brands because they have operating under Danone group. We will go through the analyzing part of their secondary data on each topic. These two brands are the top leader brand in the UK market. Brand equity measurement Loyalty Perceived Quality Leadership Association Brand Price premium Perceived Quality Perceived Value Brand Awareness Satisfaction/ Loyalty Leadership Brand Personality Brand momentum Organization Association Brand Contribution Table5: Five main groups of brand equity measurement. Now, I will explain each element briefly how they work. Loyalty is core dimension of brand equity. Brand equity blunders that go to the heart of the customer relationship should affect loyalty. A loyalty consumer base represents a barrier to entry, a basis of price premium, time to respond to competitor innovation and a bulwark against deleterious price competition. The price premium is the basic indicator for brand loyalty. For the satisfaction measurement, we can measure them by the existing consumer who can perhaps be defined as those who have used the product within a certain time such as last year (use the experiences for the last experience customer view). The loyalty is focusing on the existing consumer only. Then, it does not enough to measure the total brand equity so, we need more elements; Market behavior, the market share with price and distribution indices, the performance of a brand as measured by market share [1] (and/or sales with other financial information i.e. grow th rate, profitability etc.) often provides a valid and sensitive reflection of the brands standing with customers. When the brand has a relative advantage in minds of consumers, its market share should increase or least one decrease. In contrast, when competitors improve their brand equity, their share should response. Market share can be particularly detective brand equity measure when it increases as a result of reduced price or prices promotion. Thus, it is important to measure the relative market price at which the brand is being sold. Brand, Brand awareness is an important and sometimes undervalued component of brand equity. Awareness can affect perceptions and attitudes. It also reflects the salience of the brand in the customers mind. Brand momentum is a metric which is a strong indicator of short-term growth, are either technology leaders or financial institutions that emerged from the recession on a gust of increased demand and brand contribution is metric reveals how effe ctively and closely the brand has connected with its customers that also effect to the brand equity. Next, lets move to Association measures, the key association component of brand equity usually involves images dimensions that are unique to a product class or to a brand. It can be generate general measure that will work across product classes. Measurement of association can be structure around three perspectives on the brand; the brand-as-product (value), the brand-as-person (brand personality) and the brand-as-organization (organizational association). The last group that can be chosen to measure brand equity is perceived quality and leadership, perceived quality is one of the key dimensions of brand equity, it has the important attributed of being applicable across product classes. Perceived quality can be measure with scale such as the comparison of high quality vs. average quality vs. inferior quality among the brand. For the leadership, we can say that the product is the leade r in the market segment or not. If they are the leader, it should have high brand equity. We may measure it by the leading brand vs. one of the leading brand vs. not one of the leading brand or innovative, first with advance in product. Now, we will analyze the secondary data in order to understand and ranging the brand equity of bottled water industry. From the figure12 below which shown the Top bottled water brands in the world 2010 (BandZ, 2010), we can conclude that Evian has the highest brand equity and well-known brand in the world on this market division and followed by Aquafina, Perrire, Dasani, Volvic etc. because it has the highest brand value, brand contribution, brand momentum and also very high brand value change (high growth rate of brand value). [How did three elements work, we discussed at appendix1]. We can say that Evian was especially successful in this market because the brand value grew 21 percent. Evian shifted from a rational explanation of it benefits to an emotion appeal that associated the brand with youthful vitality. Its one-minute video simulation of roller-skating babies entered the Guinness World Records last year as the most watched online ad ever, with over 45 million viewing (BrandZ, 2010) We also can noticed that two brand under Danone group has the positive brand value change various with others brand that got the negative percentage of brand value change. Evian also one of the top 20 raiser brand as you can see at the figure13, Evian enjoyed badge equity, especially in emergent market, which accounted for 52 percent of sakes. Hence, we can conclude about Danone Company that they had good operation on their brands in bottled water division on 2010. As I have mentioned at number 1 on page 10, market share is one of the equipment that we can use to measure brand equity. Figure14 above represented the market share of UK bottled water market, Volvic and Evian got the highest market share in UK market by three years (Black Box) therefore we can conclude that the Volvic and Evian has the highest brand equity in UK then follow by others brand even though Volvic and Evian have negative percentage change but they still get high market share rather than others brand. Donone group still the leader in the UK market with high brand equity. Leadership is one of key measurement of brand equity as well. Danone has been on the wrong end of the trend towards seeking British waters and its two market-leading brands have seen sales decline despite developing a much more environmentally-friendly positioning in recent times. The brands continental provenance, once a major asset, now puts them at odds with a more environmentally-aware consumer. However, after spending large amounts on above-the-line advertising in 2006 and 2007 (Mintel, 2009) Danone has reduced spend in 2008 and 2009. The next year will be pivotal if it is to reverse its brands fortunes, with the company set to increase its marketing budget markedly. If and when Britain pulls out of recession, it is likely to see a less protectionist consumer. However, the concern about food miles is unlikely to go away, and if anything will increase further in importance If we look through the table6 which presented brand share of bottled water by off-trade value 2007-2010, we also see the same result as above. Volvic and Evian got the highest percentage of off-trade value. Lets move to the next element, perceived quality, the quality is one of the most important of the product which effect to the brand equity. Healthy and refreshing are two personalities that people want to get from the bottled water brand. At the figure15 on the next page, we can see the percentage of people ranging about their perception to each personality in each bottled water brand. Evain got highest number of people who have ever heard this brand (Green box) and percentage on many personalities (Purple Box); Authentic, Cool, Genuine, Stylish, Natural, Healthy and Refreshing. Volvic is also the same, it got high percentage on Healthy, Natural and Refreshing. From this secondary data we can say that these two brands have high quality on the consumer view point so, we may conclude that Evian and Volvic have higher brand equity than others brands in the market even thought this time Evian get higher percentage than Volvic but two of them are operated under Danone group. The last element that we will use to measure brand equity in this report is Satisfaction. We will consider two graphs in order to conclude the satisfaction which displayed on figure16 and figure17. From the figure16, we can say that matching their leading positions in the market and marginally higher usage than other brands, Danones Evian and Volvic have the highest retention, of roughly two in five each. They have high brand intention. For the figure17, it show the level of sactisfaction by ranking into 6 levels; excellent, good, average, poor, unsectisfy, dont know. We can see the result directly that Evian and Volvic get highest excellent level in the market. Hence, from these two figures we can conclude that Evian and Volvic have highest sectisfaction in the UK bottled water market so, these two brand also have the highest brand equity in this market as well. Again, Danones two leading brands are also the best endorsed. Most of the companies around the word have their brands which represent what they are or we can say the brand is the identification of each company. Brands represent tremendously valuable pieces of company property, capable of influencing consumer behavior, being bought and sold, and providing the security of sustained future revenues to their owner. The brand equity is the value directly or indirectly accrued by these various benefits. There are many ways to measure the brand equity, in this assignment mentioned 5 main groups to measure brand equity; Loyalty, Perceived Quality Leadership, Association, Brand and Market Behavior. Brand equity is the combination of the many strong components of the brand (good operation, reputation, performance, CSR, supply chain etc.). It can generate trust and expectation of the customer. Trust can be change into value of the brand. If any customer trust some brand, they will have high brand loyalty means they will stick with that brand. Expectation is the factor that tells the future planning of the brand. These two words are very important for the brand. We know that the brand equity is very hard to get it and it also very difficult to protect it too. The normal way to protect brand equity is Brand Identity Manual because the symbol or logo is the thing that shows the equity of the brand. Everything in this world always has two sides (advantage and disadvantages). Brand equity also has two sides; companies can build high and good brand equity but it they do not protect them carefully, it also very easy to copy and there is still possibility of negative brand equity when the brand affects the market negatively. (We can consider Toyota as example, very hard to built brand equity and also very easy to lose some of them because their small mistake on the supply chain assemble line and design process).We can notice that the brand that has high brand value should be global brand. However, some brand may successful in some country so, they will get the high value brand only on that country. Its may depend on many factors; culture, lifestyle, religion, environment etc. Finally, we can put all elements of brand equity measurement together as the new model which we called brand value chain on the figure 6 below; Brand map This brand map is analyzed by Mintel which illustrates a three-dimensional brandscape based on; Differentiation, Trust and Experience. This map gives a snapshot of the current strength and quality of selected bottled water brands, where they are in their growth and how healthy they are. From the figure 18, we can see that the differentiation of the bottled market it very low because the water cannot be changed much. The product from Danone group; Vilvic and Evian got high percentage of Trust which takes an advantage to the company in term of brand equity and loyalty.

Greek Culture Essay

The Greek culture is one of the richest ancient cultures in the world. There are many aspects of this culture that has made it remain unique for centuries. The Greek culture has been evolving over the years and we can easily link this ancient culture with the modern day life. This will be the center of our discussion below where we’ll also look at ways in which one can understand the Greece culture better (Christiane. 2001). What makes Greek Culture Interesting? One thing that distinguished that Greece culture is the diversity. While many cultures of the time had only one ethnic group, the Greek culture had a number of cultures within one culture making it unique. The major characteristics of this culture were wines, food, religion, music and language. Greece culture was known to value traditions and customs very deeply. Every person in Greece was expected to follow these traditions to the letter. Religion was also crucial in the Greek culture with the largest population being made up of Christians while the rest were Muslims. The Greek culture was also famous for its architecture. The Greek people had unique designs of building various structures like temples and churches. The famous pyramids of Egypt have their origin in Greece. The Greek people are known of being proud of their culture as they view it as one that represents their nationality (Carol. 2008). Connections between the Greek Culture and Today One of the major connections that is seen between this ancient culture and the modern society is the celebration of religious festivals. This culture which is very common in today’s society began in the Greek culture and is still being practiced to date. The arts of the ancient Greece have survived the test of times and it is still used in modern day society as decorations (Christiane. 2001). The art of the Greek culture is commonly available in form of sculptures in today’s society. Yet another aspect that has been borrowed by the modern culture from the Greek culture is the building aspect. Almost all churches, mosques and temples in the modern day society have borrowed the designs from ancient Greek culture. The theatres and cinemas that are common in today’s society also originated from the ancient Greece. Perhaps due the fact that this culture is popular and famous throughout the world, it has evolved and is lowly finding its way in almost every culture of the world. This culture is greatly values as it is seen as link between the ancient society and today’s society (Carol. 2008). How to Understand the Greek Culture Better In order to understand the Greek culture better it one needs to read widely regarding this particular culture. Unlike other ancient cultures, the Greek culture has many sources from which one can learn and understand this ancient culture better. It is important to have background of this culture as it was one of the richest ancient cultures, and one which has survived the test of times as there are many aspects of this culture that have been borrowed by the modern culture. In order to enhance the Greek culture in the modern society even further it is important to embrace diversity just as it was in the Greek culture. There was harmony in this culture and people from many diversities lived together happily. References Carol. D. et al. (2008). The cultures within ancient Greek culture: contact, conflict, collaboration. New York: Cambridge University Press. Christiane. S. (2001). Reading’ Greek culture: texts and images, rituals and myths, New York: University of Virginia: Clarendon Press.

Postmodernism and Feminism

Ailene Brukman-Stivi Professor: Haim Deuel Lusky Postmodernism and Feminism The question of what happened to feminism during the postmodern times is not easily encapsulated in one phrase or idea as it is actually an amalgam of often purposely ambiguous and fluid ideas. One would have to start researching about postmodernism and what it means, let alone search about the history of feminism and its development. After one would research a little bit about postmodernism he or she would realize the knowledge about modernism is also extremely crucial to understand fully about postmodernism and feminism.Therefore this writing will conclude a few words about modernism. How did we as a culture develop into a postmodernist era? And of course how does this era have to do with feminism? This research paper will include different critiques about the subject of postmodernism and feminism as well. Before starting the writing on reviews, critiques and more in depth research of our subject I would li ke to give a general description, and background research, I would like to start with the two main terms: Feminism and postmodernism. FeminismRozen Tali, the writer of the book, What Is Feminism Anyways. Opens her book saying that she never really understood what feminism is exactly. She says people just call her a feminist every time she speaks her opinion about â€Å"differentiating her and a floor rag. † She writes about a sentence that was said in 1913 by a woman, was a British reporter, by the name Rebecca West, saying that if you are waiting for a current and modern definition of feminism, you have nothing to wait for. There is no definition. It is not that a definition does not exist, it exists and that is a for sure thing.It’s just that, there are so many definitions that there is no specific one. (Rozen) Rozen writes that the word ‘feminism’ actually was born about one hundred years ago. In the beginning this word was used as a medical term for a man that has female characteristics. As time passed the word feminism turned in to a term in the psychological world; also got a negative connotation to it, but this time not a male with female characteristics, but as a description of a woman with male character. Examples of a diagnosis for â€Å"feminism† would be like desire to study, courageous, and ambition.Tali Rozen gives a great example of this psychological diagnosis; thirty years ago, people said about the governor of the state of Israel, Golda Meir, that she is â€Å"the only man in the government† and until today the best way to describe a great woman in business is to say â€Å"she got balls. † The reincarnation of the term feminism indicates and highlights the problem of the actual term itself. Not only it was used in negative connotation but also millions in the past and even today have a hard time to define feminism.In the dictionary feminism is written to be the ideology of the emancipation of wo men. According to this definition, there is something in common to all the definitions and ideas that is, the one important belief that women suffer from injustice because of their sex. Rozen Suggests that instead of getting confused with the actual meaning of the word we can agree on the definition: Feminism is a theory that is based on the point of view of a woman, and that point of view give new light to knowledge that already exist.This knowledge could come from anywhere, film, literature, history, everything. But that does not mean that every woman that analyzes a specific subject, is doing a feministic act. To look and analyze something from a woman’s perspective means to put a woman in the center of the discussion. Bottom line is that, the question of what is feminism is not one answer. Rozen asks and answers: is feminism a woman who stands and fight for their right, yes. And is feminism a movement of freedom? Yes!Is it the history of half humanity? Also yes. And there is much more to what is feminism. Postmodernism Postmodernism represents the converge of three distinct cultural trends. These include an attack on the austerity and functionalism of modern art; the philosophical attack on structuralism, spear-headed in the 1970s by poststructuralist scholars such as Jacque Derrida, Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze; and the economic theories of postindustrial society developed by sociologist such as Daniel Bell and Alain Touraine. Callinicos 1989) In the book of Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern condition, where he summarized postmodernism as above all maintaining â€Å"an incredulity toward metanarratives† (1984:xxiii-iv, 5). Postmodernists, he argues, questions the assumption of the modern age, particularly the belief that rational thought and technological innovation can guarantee progress and enlightenment to humanity. They doubt the ability of thinkers from the West either to understand the world or to prescribe solutions for it.T he grand theories of t past, whether liberal or Marxist, have been dismissed as products of an age when Europeans and North Americans mistakenly believed in their own invincibility. The metanarratives of such thought are no longer seen as â€Å"truth,† but simply as privileged discourses that deny and silence competeing dissident voices. (Merchant & Parpart) Michel Foucault, one of the leading postmodernist (and poststructuralist) thinkers, has emphasized the inadequacies of metanarratives and the need to examine the specificities of power and its relation to knowledge and language (discourse. He dismisses â€Å"reason† as a fiction and sees â€Å"truth† as simply a partial, localized version of â€Å"reality† transformed into a fixed form in the long process of history. He argues that discourse- a historical, socially and institutionally specific structure of statements, terms, categories, and beliefs- is the site of where meanings are contested and powe r relations determined (Scott 1988:36. ) The ability to control knowledge and meaning, not only through writing but also through disciplinary and professional institutions, and in social relations, is the key to understanding and exercising power relations in society.According to Foucault, the false power of hegemonic knowledge can be challenged by counter-hegemonic discourses which offer alternative explanation of â€Å"reality† (Foucault 1972; 1979; 1980. ) The search to understand the construction of social meaning has led postmodernists/ poststructuralist scholars to recognize the contingent of the subject. As Judith Butler points out, â€Å"No subject is its own point of departure† (Butler, 1992; 9) Jacque Derrida (1976) emphasizes the crucial role played by binary opposites.Indeed, he argues that Western philosophy largely rests on opposites, such as truth/falsity, unity/diversity, or man/woman, whereby the nature and primacy of the first term is also superior to the second. These pairs are as embedded in the definition of their opposite as they are I the nature of the object being defined, and they shape our understanding in complex and often unrecognized ways. In order to better understand this process, Derrida and others have alled for the critical deconstruction of texts (both written and oral) and greater attention to the way differences, particularly those embedded in binary thinking, are constructed and maintained (Culler 1982) To conclude, postmodernist thinkers reject universal, simplified definitions of social phenomena, which, they argue, essentialize reality and fail to reveal the complexity of life as a lived experience. Drawing on this critique, postmodernists have rejected the search for broad generalizations.They emphasize the need for local, specific and historically informed analysis, carefully grounded in both spatial and cultural contexts. Above all, they call for the recognition and celebration of differences, the impor tance of encouraging the recovery of previously silenced voices and an acceptance of the partial nature of all knowledge claims and thus the limits of knowing. (Marchand &Papart) Postmodernism/feminism Today in the postmodernism era, the women’s identity is not stable, it changes.Postmodern researchers are against this idea, because the â€Å"I† is an autonomic identity that is disconnected from the social conversation. Also feminists and feminist writers, that identify themselves with the postmodernists, are objecting the enlightenment period; because there is an existent subject and because there is a possibility to reach the objective truth through the â€Å"bina† and the straight mind. (Zaken) Zaken claims that feminism is actually leaning on postmodern values, and it exists today to breakdown and defragment in a new way the idea or word â€Å"the woman. Simone de Beauvoir, a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, femin ist, and social theorist. While she did not consider herself a philosopher, de Beauvoir had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory. She had claimed that a woman is not born a woman, she is made a woman. Female traits are built through social influence and not biological destiny.She sees the social construction of femininity, which in it exists the subject; isn’t she a woman, the woman who thinks of herself as a woman, in a specific situation that her environment creates. A great example is the fact that most girls and boys play with their gender’s toys, girls with Barbies and dolls while boys with trucks and cars. From her article, The Ethics Ambiguity, comes up that women have internalized their gender hierarchy, to the point where it is hard for them to disconnect from their hierarchal position.Simone de Beauvoir came to a conclusion, in which the female subject had suffered from suppression- the woman is ‘different,’ lower, inferior in relation to men, and because of this suppression, the independence of a woman is destroyed in social situations. With that, there is an argument between postmodernism and feminism, which due to a postmodern claim, that power does not control and there is no axioms like private/public, or motherhood. If there is no category â€Å"woman,† then woman can be anything. She is free from the stereotype and the coercing.That being said, there is no general and unified identity for women. Feminists have responded to postmodern ideas in a number of ways. The strongest opposition has come from feminists working in the liberal (modern) or Marxist traditions, both of which are embedded in Enlightenment thinking (modern era). Liberal feminists, who have been preoccupied with policy formulation and the improvement of women’s statues within the structures of western thought and society, generally write as if postmodern critiques have little or no applicability for their own work.The possibility of â€Å"modernization† and â€Å"progress† may be unobtainable and undesirable goals in a postmodern world have rarely been considered by liberals working within these structures. (like World Bank, United Nations, and the International Labor Organization) Mackinnon Catherine’s influence on shaping feminism is extremely deep in the 80s and the first years of the 90s, so deep that the different â€Å"post-feministic† currents, in many ways are â€Å"post-Mackinnon,† and to be exact, â€Å"anti-Mackinnon. † Therefore whoever wants to become familiar with the feministic thinking there is no better place to do so with Mackinnon’s variables.The starting point of Mackinnon’s feminism is that the group of women are discriminated against and oppressed by the group of men, which are first and foremost caused by the way sexuality is built by society. According to Mackinnon, sexuality is the subject that its social patriarchal meaning changes the men to be in control and the women to be controlled. Dr Yaakov Gorbitz, in his book, â€Å"Postmodernism- Culture and Literature in the End of The 20th Century,† writes on the issue of feminism that modernism and postmodernism needs to remind us of two main phases: the first, the woman who tries to stand and tries to fortify herself against the en. -This is the model where women rebel against men and say we are not going to take of hair from our legs, we will not give you the pleasure of wanting a â€Å"feminine† woman. In the postmodern stage the woman understands that the seed of the problem is that she is always looking at herself in relation to men, and contrary to them, and so she says; â€Å"I am allowed to put makeup on and take care of my beauty- and not for the man but for me or for my friends. † When a woman stops being just an opposite model of a man she can internalize some new heterogeneity.Some feminists beli eve feminist theory has always dealt with postmodern issues and indeed, has more to offer women than male-centric postmodern writers. Feminist anthropologists, Frances Mascia-Lees, Patricia Sharpe and Colleen Cohen (1989), attack postmodern anthropology for it's profoundly sexists nature, nothing that studies such as George Marcus and Michael Fischer's Anthropology as Culture Critique, ignore feminist contributions to the discussion of the â€Å"other† and long-standing feminist critiques of Western notions of â€Å"truth. † Michel FoucaultContrary to liberals and Marxists, Foucault did not see the mechanisms of power in society, as something held by groups or institutions in society, and which does not exist for others; distribution that enables the control of a group of other parts of the society. Foucault referred to †political power†, as network relationships, imaginary strings interwoven within the community, and he saw no, one dominant factor, such as the state or economic elite. This means that in a society there are power centers that are not subject to economic relations (such as madhouses, for example).Foucault goes on to argue with the liberals and the Marxists. According to them every relationship, in which forces, is characterized by imposing restrictions and denial of freedoms. He argued that this approach stems from the fact that they recognize the political power with the legal system and enforcement. But for him, it is only one of the forms of expression of political power, embodied throughout history. Foucault examines the relationship between institutions (social) and the body (human). He opposes the very concept of â€Å"sexuality. According to him, in the 19th century, when sexuality was taboo, it increased desire to break the taboo and talk about sex, that also created behaviors which were categorized as social deviance. For example, sex between men, were â€Å"homosexual. † This was a setting, which has reference for those people, people who were born different. This is one of Foucault's contributions to understanding the relationship between sexual orientation and identity. According to Foucault, identity is created as part of a dialogue, in particular power relations in society.He demonstrates the change in sex ratio from permissiveness of the Middle Ages, where words related to sex revealed associations of â€Å"pleasures† and â€Å"alliance†, and the language of the 19th century, which has the sex talk not allowed or shameful to talk about. Hence, definitions of â€Å"heterosexual† and â€Å"homosexuality† are the product of modern times, from the 19th – century. As someone who has studied the sexual discourse in society, Foucault argued that the discourse on sexuality limits and defines the sexual content and created a social pattern. Once we understand how we talk about sex, we understand sexuality.That is, language reflects the thinking and perception also on sex and sexuality. The mechanisms of power in sexuality, expressed the distinction between what and what is not acceptable in society. Namely, that the discourse on sexuality is a society regime (as expressions of political power mechanisms); language created a situation, when the subject of sex is brought up, the person might feel sinful (sexual). Feeling which helps to suppress the desire for sex, because that person did not want to feel a sinner. The goal behind this repression is, to get the â€Å"different† forms of sex out of the people.That is, except for the non-reproductive sex. The society defines normal sexual norms, from early childhood to old age. Whoever goes beyond the norm, is placed under the situation of the â€Å"controlled mechanism† in order to create helpful sexual drive economically and politically beneficial to society. These mechanisms determine what is allowed and what is not right in society and what is wrong. Foucault arg ued that since the 18th century, the deviation began to violate the law (courts could, not so long ago, to convict homosexuals or partners who betrayed their spouse).By, new sexual settings, to different sexual behaviors (that were always there but never received cultural significance) changed the face of society. This means social definition creates the identity. The new terms â€Å"gay,† â€Å"lesbian† and â€Å"straight†, are the result of modern discourse, which created categorization and sub-categories of conversation. The term â€Å"homosexuality† has two interpretations, one, sexual preference. Second meaning is social labeling. This labeling is the concept of the rule of the person which identifies himself or herself, as †gay†. That is, each character turns shades of defining sexual identity.Experts (such as pedagogues, psychologists and psychiatrists), can be social power, which determine the legitimate content – normal and ide ntify the pathological contents of a person. Their power, according to Foucault, is due to their proximity to the dominant group in society, the bourgeoisie and the political elite. Extreme conclusion is that gender regime serves the interests of those groups, and that by using the institutions of marriage and heterosexuality. (Zaken) Conclusion Society is the cause of sexual identity and what makes the difference between sexual orientation, and how we identify who we are; A woman or a man.But there is change occurring and there could be more change as soon as we, as a society start â€Å"unlabeling† and just living with all types of sexual orientation, genders, and labels that are not labeled. This is all through a social process, of course. A note, it is extremely crucial to know the difference between sex and gender, because then we are giving legitimacy to popular belief, commemorating the situation in which women are subject to male social order. This follows the histori cal tradition of the patriarchal family and society.This approach considers the biological differences between the sexes, as the distribution of the different roles. In other words, gender inequality is prevailing social perceptions. Ultimately, the goal is to get into a relationship of equality between men and women in society, there would be no more women who are discriminated against on the basis of sex and / or gender. For, as de Beauvoir said, man and woman, depend on each other for sex and continuity of human society. Thus, each and every one will be able to shape their identity in accordance with their wishes and needs, and not according to social codes dictated and dried. ———————————————— Work Cited * Ankersmith, F. R. (1990) â€Å"Reply to Professor Zagorin,† History and Theory 29, 3: 275-96 * Beauvoir de Simone. The Ethics of Ambiguity. 1949. Translated by Bernard Frechten: Citadel Press, 2006 * Beauvoir de Simone. The Second Sex. 1949. Translated by Parshley, Penguin 1972. * Butler, J. (1992) â€Å"Contingent Foundations: Feminism and the Question of Postmodernism,† in J. Butler and J. W. Scott (eds) Feminists Theorize the Political, New York and London: Routledge. * Collinicos, A. (1989) Against Postmodernism, Oxford: Polity Press. Culler, J. (1982) On Deconstruction: Theory and criticism after structuralism, Ithaca, NY: Cornell university Press. * Evans, Judith. Feminist Theory Today: An Introduction to Second-Wave Feminism. London: SAGE publication, 1995. * Foucault, M. * † (1972) The Archaeology of knowledge and the Discourse on Language, New York: Tavistock Publications & Harper Colophon. * â€Å"(1979) (published in French, 1975) Discipline and Punish, Translated by S. Sheridan, New York: Penguin Books. * † (1980) Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977, translated by C. Gordon, New York: Harvest Press. Jameson, F. (1990) Postmodernism or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Durham, NC: Duke University Press. * Mackinnon A Catherine, â€Å"Sexuality, Pornography and Methods- Pleasure under Patriarchy,† Towards a Feminist Theory of the State, 1990. Translated and Permission of Harvard University Press. Reprinted by Permission of Catherine A Mackinnon, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, Copy Right c 1989 by Catherine Mackinnon. * Marchand H. Marianne and Parpart L. Jane. Feminism/Postmodernism/Development. London: Routledge, 1995. * Mascia-Lees, F. Sharpe, P. and Cohen, C.B (1989) â€Å"The Postmodernist Turn in Anthropology: Cautions from a Feminist Perspective,† Signs 15, 1: 394-408. * Palmer, I (1990) Gender and Population in the Adjustment of African Economics; Planning for Change, Women, Work and Development Series No. 19, Geneva: International Labour Organization. * Rozen, Tali. What is Feminism Anyway? And Why don’t we know anything about it. Tel Aviv: Zmora Bitan, 2000. * Scott, J. W. (1988) â€Å"Deconstructing Equality – versus Differences: Or the Use of Poststructuralist Theory of Feminism,† Feminist Studies14, 1: 33-50. * Sylvester Christine. Feminist Theory and International Relations in a Postmodern Era.Cambridge University Press, 1994. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Some western scholars, most notably Marxist reject postmodernism as dangerous and naive (Callinicos 1989; palmer 1990. ) Others , while sympathetic to Marxism, see Postmodernism as an outgrowth of the culture of late capitalism. Fredrick Jameson, for example, endorses an approach which draws on the strength of postmodernism without abandoning political action (Jameson 1991. ) Some scholars find postmodernism’s emphasis on difference and multiplicity useful for their work and not necessarily inimical to other app roaches (Ankersmit 1990; Parkash 1990)

Personality Traits From Jung Typology Test Essay - 1323 Words

Throughout this paper, I am going to talk about the personality â€Å"ENFJ†. ENFJ is one of the personality traits from Jung Typology Test. E stands for Extroversion, N stands for Intuition, F stands for feelings, and the J stands for Judging. All of the letter comes with different personality types. During this exercise I learned about this personality ENFJ. Some of the personality traits are good people skills, strong organizational skills, creative, imaginative, loyal, and committed. Some strengthens are good verbal communication skills, motivational, inspiring to others, and affectionate. Some weakness are tendency to be smothering, manipulative at times, controlling, and putting someone else needs over my own. I will talk about different career paths that fit my personality. Last but not least, how I treat my loves one and friends? Step 1 Personality Traits After completing my personality test, I am considered to be the giver (ENFJ). 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