The Kite Runner And Atonement | Analysis

The Kite Runner And Atonement | Analysis In this essay I pretend to demonstrate what betrayal is. In both books it presents a long variety of examples of betrayal. As we know betray is something that has existed in all over the world is also considered as a sin. Most of the people have been betrayed more than one time in their lives, but anyone can tell or express their feelings when they feel betrayed. The only way that people can express that feeling is writing, Khaled Hosseini and Ian McEwan show us in their books how betrayal is presented in the characters. The first time when Amir commits a betrayal is when he saw Assef raping Hassan when Amir won the Kites contest because Hassan denied giving up the Amirs blue kite to Assef; when Assef was raping Hassan said, A loyal Hazara, loyal as a dog. (Khaled Hosseini, 2003 the kite runner pages 71-78). With this quote I try to explain how betrayal is clearly presented because he betrayed his confidence. Amir should have tried to do something to help Hassan and stop that act of insanity. Also Amir felt that he deserved it because Amir comes from and high social class. Because their cultural differences are so strong, because Amirs and Hassans father is the same but he made love with the servant but Amir is a Pashtu and Hassan is a Hazara. In Atonement Briony betrays her sister, because Briony saw her sister having sex in the library with Robbie, When she took another few steps she saw then, dark shapes in the furthest corner. Though they were immobile, her immediately understanding was that she had interrupted an attack, a hand-to-hand fight. The scene was so entirely a realization of her worst fears that she sensed that her overanxious imagination had projected the figures onto the packed spines of books. This illusion, or hope of one, was dispelled as her eyes adjusted to the gloom. No one moved. Briony stared past Robbies shoulder into terrified eyes of her sister. (Ian McEwan, 2001, Atonement page 116), but when the twins carrot head escaped to their home, Briony was looking for them and suddenly saw that Lola was being raped by an unknown person, Briony thought that Robbie did it because she thought that he was a sexual maniac because she had read the letter that Robbie had sent to her sister. Briony betrays her sister because she told the police that Robbie tried to rape Lola, suddenly Briony showed them the letter that Robbie wrote to Cecilia. Briony never realized that she destroyed two lives (Cecilia and Robbie). Here I tried to explain in both books how families can betray their relatives and destroy a life, also these two books have are relation in the same way of betrayal. Why do I say this, well, because Briony and Amir had betrayed in one purpose; to feel secure themselves and demonstrate who is in charge or demonstrate that they are not weak. As we know when Amir came back to his real country he realized that his father had betrayed him, because his father Baba had sex with Sanaubar, a Hazara servant and he realized that Hassan was his stepbrother. We realized that Amirs father betrayed his family with the Zahara woman. As I said, most of the men betray women when they feel empty but they forgt the main purpose of getting married, when Baba had sex with Sanaubar, he never thought about his family and the consequences that would bring. I think that Robbie betrays Briony because she fell in love with him, I realized that because when they were in the swamp she jumped into the lake because she asked him if he will save her, Robbie got angry with her because no one has to do something like that only for love. Somehow these kinds of manners will be respected, because children always have a platonic love and are blind when they make or take unexpected actions and do not take a lot of responsibility on their actions. On the other hand children, in this case Briony, think that if they do things to attract the attention, of Robbie for example, somehow children experience the platonic love. But when you tell them the reality they get upset and may even hate people that hurt them, in this case Robbie hurts Briony. What are the cultural differences between Kite Runner and Atonement Next, Im going to explain what a cultural difference is for me. A cultural difference is a another way of think and act referring to other people, in this case referring to their society, religion, race, social class, color and the way you think. Several years the cultural differences made people create incertitude between people. When people believe in the cultural differences; they create manners, when these manners are out of control in which people lose their values and their culture for one purpose, around the world religions appeared in which unconformity between religions is created and they fight between them and against them. When these cultural differences make people hate or just get angry without purpose. When different people of different cultures get together on one platform like in a university, or in some multinational company, and then many problems arise, this is called cultural differences. One thing that is considered good in one culture might be felt as abused in the other culture. Like I have heard in one country green hats are worn by those people whose wives are not happy with them and in other cultures wearing cap of any color is not considered awkward. Similarly many other problems arise as well (http://www.blurtit.com/q306924.html) In The Kite Runner the cultural differences are strong because as I said Amir and Hassan, are from different culture Amir is Pashtu and Hassan is Hazara, both cultures are so different because the Pashtu culture thinks that their religion is the pure and the dominant than the Hazaras, they still thinking that the Hazaras only born to deserve the Pashtu families. We saw the cultural difference when Amir is playing in the Kite Runner contest, Hassan only helps Amir because he wants the respect of Amir, when Assef ask for the kite of Amir Hassan refuses to give it to him the Assef rapes Hassan, Amir witnessed the rape but he was to scare to intervene, but he thought that there is no problem because Hassan is a Hazara. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying For you, a thousand times over. (Khaled Hosseini, 2003, The Kite Runner, page 2 and 67) Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two friends. Hassan refuses to give up Amirs kite, so Assef exacts his revenge by raping Hassan. Hassan did not give up the kite because he wanted Amirs respect. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir Searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assefs voice A loyal Hazara. Loyal as a dog. (Khaled Hosseini, 2003, The Kite Runner, page 72). He witnesses the rape but is too scared to intervene. He The Kite Runner page 2 and 67) 4 The Kite Runner page 72)5thinks that to himself, since Hassan is just a Hazara. In Atonement I saw cultural differences in the beginning of the novel when Bryony asked her sister why she does not talk to Robbie. The answer of Cecilia was because he is not like our social class, why she said this to her youngest sister, she tried to explain that different social classes exist, the high social class and the lower social class, Briony understood the differences because Robbies family was helped by Brionys family. Another factor that makes the difference in social classes is Robbie family because they live in the land of Brionys family. Robbies mother is a servant because she does the laundry and irons the clothes for the family. Brionys father helped Robbie to enter the College because he does not have money to support a university. The most important fact is when someone tried to rape Lola they believe in Briony and they really thought that Robbie did it. Another factor that I found in the novel is when Robbie is in the Second World War, their partners told him why a person who studied a lot and speaks another language is a soldier, and he told them that he was in jail and that is the reason why is in the army and also he said that he is no rich. The Kite Runner present us how the discrimination and social class is presented showing us how people are racist with different cultures in this case Pashtunes with Hazaras. For example Hassan is a Hazara, when Amir is looking for Hassan and he asked one of his classmates, Omar told him Your Hazara (Khaled Hosseini, 2003, The Kite Runner, page 68.) I realized that the cultural differences are strong because the Pashtunes think that they are the highest social class. Another fact that I realized is Amir asked the old merchant if he saw his friend, the merchant answered, what is a boy like you doing here at this time of the day looking for a Hazara? and he told him he needs to find him and the merchant ask him, what is he to you? And Amir answered Hes our servant son (Khaled Hosseini, 2003, The Kite Runner, Page 69.) here I totally realized that all Hazaras are hated by the Pashtunes and they treat them like a thing not like a person or like servants. When Hassan was trapped by Assef and his friends; Assef told him, but before you sacrifice yourself for him, think about this: Would he do the same for you? Have you ever wondered why he never includes you in games when he has guests? Ill tell you why, Hazara. Because to him, youre nothing but an ugly pet. Something he can play with when hes bored something he can kick when hes angry. Dont ever fool yourself and think youre something more. (Khaled Hosseini, 2003, The Kite Runner, page 72) here Assef is provoking Hassan because he wants to create a discord between Amir an Hassan but the loyalty of Hassan is stronger than a few words from Assef. The most important act of coward ness is when Amir didnt do anything to help Hassan of being raped because he was afraid and because he is from the highest social class Pashtu and Hassan is only a servant. Another important factor of betrayal is when Amir accused Hassan of stealing money and his gift for birthday because Amir cannot live with Hassan because he is a servant and he is a Zahara. The most of important thing here is the loyalty that Hassan has for Amir because he accepted that he stole the money and the watch, and Hassan really knew that Amir saw everything In that alley Amir thought that, He knew I had betrayed him and yet he was rescuing me once again, maybe for the last time. (Khaled Hosseini, 2003, The Kite Runner, page 105) Amir wants to start a new life without pain and he wants to breathe again, because he thinks that his father loves Hassan more than him, thats the reason why he do this to Hassan and his family. In Atonement I read how the army betrays Robbie and his group because they wants to return to their homes but the army man who was in charged told him that he has to wait because they are more soldiers that want to return to their homes. The government betrays all the soldiers because they were forgotten in the battlefield. Also the government promised them ships to take them over there, Robbie got angry because he is waiting for his outlet pass and find his love in this case is Cecilia. I realized this because the government promised something that is never accomplished because it always has excuses for not doing the right thing and leaving people without dreams. Also soldiers betray themselves because when they are in the middle of a fight they are scared and they forget their values and they start being demoralized and lose consciousness and go scared about it. In the book Ian McEwan explains how the war is the worst place to be as demoralizing as a person and makes you change your way of being and lose little innocence you have left. How Briony and Amir redeem themselves In both books I realized how Briony and Amir betray their families and commit a lot of crimes, well not crimes but they create unconformity in the family, they destroy the confidence between brothers. In The Kite Runner Amir, commits a betrayal, but he wants to redeem himself because he destroyed a family and he felt guilty because he realized that his step brother had died. He returns to Afghanistan and adopts Hassans son Sohrab and takes him to USA, because in Afghanistan Sohrab had been raped by Assef. At the end of the book Amir is trying to fly a kite but suddenly he felt a presence, it was Sohrab, Amir asks him if he wants to try to fly the Kite. With this Amir feels that he redeems himself, because he betrayed Hassan when he said to Baba that Hassan stole the money and the Watch, Amir is going to take care of Sohrab as his son. In Atonement Briony, commits a betrayal because he told the police that Robbie is the person, who tried to rape Lola, but Robbie is sent to the war and he died. Cecilia joins a nursery school and she is sent to the war too, but she died waiting for her boyfriend Robbie in a train station. Thats the reason why Briony wants to redeem herself for the betrayal that she committed with her sister and her lover because she had destroyed two lives because she always knew that she lied about Lolas rape. In conclusion both books showed us how people betrayed just only to get one purpose, but when these people realized that they are wrong they tried to redeem themselves because they cannot live with guilt, also most of the people commits some sort of betrayal but they redeem themselves because they help people who they betrayed. In The Kite Runner and Atonement Amir and Briony redeem themselves because they could not live with that guilt and they realized they needed to do something to become better people, they matured as people and the way they think and they grew because they realized the mistakes of the past. As a person I have made mistakes and Ive searched and redeem them, I think over time one begins to mature as a person and to correct errors that one had made because if you die, you will die with guilt. Most of the characters in both novels had suffered betrayal but the way for them to redeem themselves is correcting their errors and having a new life without pain and realizi ng that life becomes easy without guilty.

Student Issues

Our group selected and discussed eight different essays addressing a range of subjects. Some of these essays focused on issues related to students, while others focused on issues related to our citizenship in this country and the world. The essays allowed us to consider issues that were familiar to us, as well as issues that were beyond our own personal experiences. Each essay provided us an opportunity to consider our future and how we view the world and the discussion allowed us to explore and gain insight into how we and our group members felt about these important issues. â€Å"Could Your Facebook Profile Throw a Wrench in Your Future? discusses the danger to future employment posed by information posted by students on Facebook (Dince 44-48). While some of the information in the article seems somewhat out of date, but the overall point of the essay remains relevant: You should be careful about what you put on your Facebook page because employers may be looking at it. Some people may be offended by this and it is certainly not very professional for an employer to go to great efforts to find out private information about you, but job applicants should not be surprised if employers choose to look for information about them on the Internet. Employers have difficult decisions to make when hiring employees and they want to use all the resources that are available to find out who the applicants really are. When we apply for jobs, we work hard to put our best foot forward and employers often want to know what we are really like. Information on the Internet is one way to see how an individual interacts with friends and family, personal issues he or she may have, and problems he or she may have. Many of us may feel it is an invasion of our privacy to have employers looking at our personal relationships or how we use our private time. However, we need to accept that information we put on the Internet, whether it is on Facebook, MySpace, a blog, or a website, is never truly private. We also need to be looking forward to our future plans and goals when we put personal information on the Internet. Information that seems appropriate or innocuous to us as students may appear immature or irresponsible when we are looking for professional employment. Once we put information on the Internet, it may never truly ever go away, so we have to consider that when deciding what to put on the Internet. â€Å"Earning and Learning: Are Students Working Too Much? focused on how college students are increasing focusing more time on working. I have seen this phenomenon first hand through my own college experiences (Kramer 61-65). I originally attended college right out of high school more than ten years ago and lived in the dorms and did not work. I knew students that worked, but they generally only worked a few hours a week and most of my fellow students did not work. As I have gotten older, I have observed relatives, acquaintances, and my fellow students after I returned to school feel an increasing expectation and pressure to work while they are going to school. Some of this may simply be out of necessity because of the decreasing availability of student aid. I also think that changes in cultural and societal influences have encouraged students to expect more material objects such as computers, cell phones, home theaters, game systems, and vehicles. When I was in college, the expectation was that we would eat ramen for four years and very few students had a television or computer. We all knew we were â€Å"starving students† who live a more deprived life for years, but that when we graduated we would be able work towards all those material objects. When I talk to students just starting out now, they seem to expect all the comforts and privileges that had living at home with their parents and this leads them to focus more on earning money and less on their schoolwork. While this is certainly not true for every student, I think cultural and societal pressures have affected the priorities of many students. â€Å"The Nontraditional Student in You† article (Compton & Shock 169-173) reminded me of my own experience as a non-traditional student. When I started college, I never expected that I would become a non-traditional student. I expected that I would complete college in four years and continue on to a career with my college degree. Much like many other students I know, my plans were interrupted by other circumstances of life. I took a break from school because of health problems. I then got married and for financial and practical reasons, decided to help support my wife while she finished school. At that point in my life, I felt as if I had moved on from the â€Å"college† stage of life and continued working. After working several years, I became frustrated with my ability to progress in my job and wanted to be able to have more career options. I was not able to pick up and move to a town with a university and the local community college offered extremely limited options for me since I had already completed two years of college. When I investigated other opportunities, I became aware of the increasing number of programs available online, which were option that were not available in the past. I was able to enroll in the online program and Chadron State and will finally be able to complete my degree next spring. I have encountered many nontraditional students with similar experiences. Their life experiences led them to other paths besides a college degree. After frustrations with their career options or earning potential, they decided they needed to complete college. The opportunities provided by the Internet have allowed many of these students, like me, to complete their degree and open up new opportunities. â€Å"Independent Media Alternatives† discussed the importance of independent sources of news (Barsamian 189-194). Most mainstream sources of media such as major news networks and newspapers focus on what will be popular or appealing to the general public or advertisers. While some good reporting undoubtedly takes place, the mainstream media outlets tend to shy away from positions or stories that are controversial or â€Å"rock the boat. † They sometimes focus so much on appearing fair and unbiased that they miss the truth. Since independent media sources are less focused on corporate success and less indebted to the powers that be, they can tackle controversial or groundbreaking issues. They can also help keep mainstream media focused on the important issues and make sure they are being honest. The Internet has provided even more opportunities for independent sources of media. Regular citizens can create blogs or websites to report news information at little to no cost. This allows even more individuals to report on what they observe. This allows media to belong not just to corporations, but to any individual who wants to share his observations and experiences with the world. This allows us to get more honest, unfiltered access to news from more diverse perspective. â€Å"Less Privacy is Good for Us (and You)† advocates for invasions of our privacy when they benefit others (Etzioni 131-135). The underlying issue is that many Americans think the right to privacy is inviolable, but protection of privacy at the expense of the danger of others is more important. There are undeniably situations where the life of another depends revealing someone’s private information would lead most people to agree that it would be appropriate to violate that right to privacy. However, privacy should not be violated anytime there is a potential benefit. While the right to privacy is not specifically listed in the U. S.  Constitution, many of the Amendments protect specific privacy interests and many other state and federal laws protect other aspects of privacy. It’s fundamental to a free society to protect citizens from undue intrusion by the government, and protecting privacy is an essential piece of that. While there are valid reasons to violate privacy when more significant interests are at stake, all interests and rights should be carefully balanced. Privacy should not be violated when the threat to other interests is only speculative, but only when it is truly necessary. Hate Radio† focuses on the hateful or racist statements made by commentators, most of who are on right-wing or conservative radio (William 163-172). While I do not listen to these stations, I have heard reports of some of the most outrageous and offensive comments. I find racist statements deplorable and believe that radio or TV personalities that make them are having a negative impact on society. However, I would never advocate censoring them because as much as I find their comments reprehensible, the same free speech rights that allow me to criticize them protects their right to say whatever they choose, regardless of how harmful it is. I think the appropriate response is not to censor them, but to speak out against them and encourage others to do the same. Pressuring companies to pull their ads from radio or TV shows that contain hate speech and encouraging consumers to boycott the products of companies that advertise on them can be an effective tool to make a statement against them. â€Å"Who and What is American? † discusses the way we define ourselves as American (Lapham 3-15). Lapham argues that define ourselves by labels such as â€Å"Asian-American† or â€Å"African-American† divide us and is contrary to the idea of us all being American. American culture and history is full of diverse people from diverse backgrounds all united by a common identity of being American. I believe that it is important for us each to recognize and celebrate our own background and culture as well as recognize and celebrate our common purpose as Americans. In that sense, labels can be positive and destructive, depending on how we use them. As long as labels are used to celebrate our personal and cultural heritage, they can help us identify with others and express our unique backgrounds, which is all part of the experience of being an American. If we use these kind of labels to reinforce stereotypes or create divisions, they can be destructive. Unlike the author, I don’t believe that the use of labels is inherently negative, but that we should instead use them carefully and be sure that we are using them in a positive, constructive manner. â€Å"The Internet: A Clear And Present Danger? † raises concerns about the harmful information that is available to children on the Internet and advocates for more restrictions and regulations to Internet content (Cleaver 173-178). It is clear that the Internet is full of pornography and predators. Some regulations and enforcement is important to keep children from accessing offensive or damaging information or being the victim of predators. The government has limited power to regulate and control those that post information on the Internet, especially since it is difficult to trace some Internet activity and many posting information are outside of the United States and beyond our government’s jurisdiction. The most important defense against the risk the Internet poses to children is parents. Parents need to control and monitor their children’s access to the Internet to ensure they are using it safely. Parents can observe their children while they are using the Internet, keep their computer in a public place in the home to monitor it, view their children’s past Internet activity, limit access to chat rooms, and block inappropriate sites. They can also teach their children about appropriate Internet use so that when they do use the Internet on their own, they can make safe choices. While some government action is can be helpful, the most effective way to protect children is through their parents. Parents should take the initiative and the responsibility of making sure their children’s use of the Internet is safe and productive.

The Good, the Bad and Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples

The Good, the Bad and Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples You may dig in the web for simple retrieval of any appropriate info. There are lots of ideas and data about mind mapping on the internet, therefore it's simple to learn more about it. The college students have to concentrate on the major idea for writing the content which may aid them in presenting effective content. Besides, for each kind of writing, you can come across a lot of examples in our database. The future of promotion is indeed in social networking. Social media also provides a lot once it comes to fiscal considerations. Without writing the results there's no sense to work on the entire research paper. In many instances, the students doing independent research about a particular topic can boost the storyline of the text selected to show extra facts about the content. A great idea is to pick a topic associated with your previous experience because your readers will be impressed how well-informed yo u're. There are a lot of things worth sharing. Then, when you get prepared to select a topic, you'll have lots of alternatives. Some folks also prefer using notebooks for each of their thoughts. Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples - What Is It? If you have to write agriculture essays, choose which country you are likely to describe as an example. You must discover facts about the state of agriculture in the nation of your pick. It is a superb concept to have a peek at the examples of good topics shared by the best college students with our blog. It's with you every day, and you may enter ideas since they come to you. Ok, I Think I Understand Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples, Now Tell Me About Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples! You can also attempt mind mapping to pick the topic you need to talk about. Selecting an intriguing topic is crucial for the success of your research project because it is going to send you in the proper direction and help you to stay interested and motivated during the whole writing process. It isn't important whether or not a writer describes and explains a long-lasting procedure or a quick action. Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples - What Is It? If you're looking at a college admissions essay, and you have the time to generate topic ideas, establish a file on your mobile phone. The very first room, through the door, is the principal portion of the restaurant. An ideal summary of the document can limit unnecessary things and can provide no more than the particular details before the audience. In any case, if you would like to be successful, perfect understanding of the English academic style is also a necessity. A personal narrative essay is just one of the greatest tools to stop social issues which are frequently disregarded. In the event the teacher does not offer a particular topic, it means the students got lucky to pick the processes they know the very best. Though it's not si mple for the students to pick the appropriate topic, there are assorted online writing sites from which the students may acquire adequate information regarding writing the paper. College students must make big imagination so they can fill the gaps in the thinking criteria. The Argument About Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples There's no need to discover extraordinary stories to compose a narrative essay that's interesting to read. There are struggles that could easily be eliminated when you're in the early phases of writing your personal narrative essay. If you select a topic which is too broad, you will wind up writing just an overall overview without an in-depth comprehension. When the students may draft the paper correctly, then it usually means they can demonstrate the article in the front of the readers too. The Dirty Truth About Narrative Essay Interesting Market Samples Elaborate guide on how best to begin an essay After an instructor assigns an essay, among t he very first questions that students ask is the best way to begin their essays. Students can find a lot of examples of essays on the internet by going into the necessary keyword phrases. Before starting the narrative essay task, they have to choose the proper topic so that the audience can go through the entire essay paper. The college students want to include all the important info and concepts in the central portion of the essay paper. It isn't necessary to include things like the facts, but the students will need to keep on the storyline of the report. A superb ending is when it's linked to the very first portion of the start of the story, and it ought to be correlated to the whole areas of the story. Whether your story is true or a fiction, ensure you relay a collection of events in an emotionally engaging way. The challenge with writing an anecdote is truly creating an intriguing story. The variety of points should correspond to the range of paragraphs in the primary part. Offer your verdict dependent on the points you have sufficiently exhausted within the body. Besides the content, an ideal topic chosen by the college students may emphasize the most important concerned and can demonstrate the evidence to the audience. The students of college or universities have to stick to a number of the appropriate writing guidelines to create their article distinctive and original to receive presented facing the audience. The standard kind of the industry scene is part of the city or town where there are several stalls for customers to have the ability to browse, taste, and choose merchandise. You may also benefit from working on topics linked to your existing job since you'll have a good chance to collect the main data. It's understandable, since a sector is an area of constant competition. Additionally, the social and financial trends donate to the speedy evolution of online markets. The story ought to be well-detailed and organized to spell o ut the entire story and connect different sections of it. If you're saying something, ensure you're making any sense. You're sharing a frequent fear and you aren't alone! My main fear You could also share your main fear or fears.

The University of Sydney - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2820 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Education Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? The University of Sydney (UoS) is a research- intensive university in the top tier tertiary education sector and is the oldest University in Australia, being founded in 1850. Strategic Plan aspirations are 1,5,40, which is to be recognised as number one in Australia, ranked in the top five in the Asia-Pacific and ranked in the top 40 universities in the world. Student enrolments are over 47,000 and the UoS employees over 6,700 staff [i]. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The University of Sydney" essay for you Create order Procurement Services (PS) was established as a Greenfield unit within the UoS in 2006 and works in partnership with the University and external suppliers to achieve efficiencies, cost reductions and value added services, as well as fair value for money in procurement. The range of goods and services UoS procures includes but is not limited to: Infrastructure, Services, Technology and Commodities and the total UoS spend in 2008 was $1.1 Billion. It is the PS vision to â€Å"create value through best practise procurement solutions dedicated to supporting the Universitys research and teaching, and enhancing the student experience† (i-doc 1), which is centred on supporting the overall University. In actuality, the main objective that the COO now CFO require PS to deliver is a cost savings of $24M +, every year. PS offers products and services to customers including: self help tools and templates, procurement advice, end to end tendering services, category management and contract implementation[ii]. Procurement is a relatively new profession in Australia. Indeed, the professional body for Procurement professionals, CIPSA, has only been in existence for the last 5 years within Australia [iii]. Prior to the PS groups existence at the UoS, purchasing needs were managed by the department requiring the good or service in a completely decentralised system. As there is a lack of awareness about the profession even the word â€Å"procurement† in Australia, the PS group has had a selling orientation to marketing for the majority of customers, as evidenced by a â€Å"road show† where PS promoted what they felt was valuable- early involvement of PS staff in customers projects, whereas the majority of customers just wanted someone to rush in at the end and help them get the job done (i-doc 2). However, PS has used more of a marketing orientation with some customers, including the COO, by delivering what he valued which was $23M in savings in 2009 (i-doc 3 ). PS also has a societal orientation to marketing for all internal and external customers as evidenced by PSs delivery of a transparent procurement process for the overall good of the University, government and society. The PS brand is not well known internally and therefore has not been used in the marketing strategy to –date. Feedback from some 30 target customers has indicated that most dont know what Procurement is. 14 out of 22 customers over the age of 55 also indicated that Procurement used to have a meaning to do with prostitution (i- survey), therefore these customers are in the non-recognition state or brand rejection, respectively. The PS marketing strategy for external customers capitalises on the University reputation by using the quadrangle as a symbol in our promotional materials (i-doc 1) and by having the COO attend key procurement events. Issue 2- Below is a comprehensive SWOT for PS: Strengths (generally internal) Weaknesses (generally internal) (www.xe.com) Issue 3- PS collects mainly internal information through a number of sources. To learn about the University direction and internal customers wants and needs, the green paper has been utilised as this includes high level staff feedback including on the Universitys professional services. Regarding which competitors pose a threat and how the context is changing, PS is largely reliant informal internal feedback from the CFO or other Business Unit Directors (i-knowledge). Further information on context and collaborators is considered in the wider environment through Higher Education Services (HES) which collects benchmarking information on all Universities in Australia. A limitation is that formal HES information is only published annually (www.hes.edu.au). In addition, PS captures staff knowledge and experience through â€Å"lessons learned† register and presentation at the weekly staff meeting which covers the 5Cs (i-knowledge). However, this could be formalised more as some staff never participate in this current voluntary process and there is no conscious decision to ensure all 5Cs are discussed. PS collects Customer information to try and answer the question, â€Å"what do customers want?† Client satisfaction surveys have 5 key questions using a Likert scale ranging from 1-5, with 5 being outstanding and 0 being dissatisfactory (i-doc 5). In addition in 2009 2010, PS issued a procurement maturity survey to answer â€Å"Where are we now, where do we want to be?† with a Likert scale of 1-5 in 8 key areas (i-doc 6). Moreover, PS has measured â€Å"timely delivery of services†(i-doc 7), although I would argue that this is not necessarily value that the customer sees or wants and it another example of PS â€Å"selling orientation† to marketing. Furthermore, the spend analysis of the entire University shows PS which customers spend the most money and although it hasnt yet, it could be used to focus the marketing strategy (i-doc 3). Intern al CRM plans have been filled out jointly between PS the internal customers (i-doc 8), as well as tracking of enquiries complaints on an excel register (i-doc 9). Operational Information: PS tracks Return on Investment for group as a whole and has the breakdown on a project basis but rarely use it. Other operational data PS captures include a register of current contracts, savings of all past projects and a staff non-compliance register. Market Intelligence is collected through Dunn Bradstreet for reports for external competitors and suppliers. In addition, CIPSA and HES provide industry trend information and Aberdeen and Gartner journals are used for more specific projects. PS has not fully utilised market research, in fact the only specific questions asked to help develop the marketing strategy was a University wide Dean and Director level communication to ask â€Å"What are your forward tender requirements?†(www.usyd.edu.au). PS was hoping to find out how likely custome rs will be to use PS in order to better manage demand. In addition, UoS asked other universities what their savings and contract register data was in order to benchmark against other universities, however only a limited response was received (i-doc 10). Issue 4- The main product service of focus for this section is Category Management as this will achieve the objective of $24M + in savings for the UoS each year, which is the most â€Å"profitable† product ( i-doc 3) Category management is defined as implementing a sourcing strategy and subsequent contract for the whole of categories of spend across the University such as lab or office consumables (i-doc 11). The main aim of the PS marketing strategy is to convince internal customers to be involved in the sourcing process and subsequently use and buy from the category management contracts. However, the other products and services that PS offers are intertwined with the focus on category management. As a semi-public organisation, PS must serve all customers with procurement needs over $200K for total contract volume. Therefore, in order to be able to focus on the category management, clients who have a â€Å"one-off† procurement requirement of, for example, $220K must be convi nced to use self-help tools and templates. PS to- date has done a good job at informally identifying the total customer/stakeholder market but not the roles they play in the â€Å"buying process† (i- knowledge) . Using the roles in a B2B Decision Making Unit, I would argue the External and Executive Internal customers listed above are the key â€Å"influencers† in order to get other customers on board to utilise PS services. The Internal direct customers have the power and reach to encourage (or not) their staff to utilise PS, therefore they act as â€Å"influencers, deciders and buyers† on whether to use PS category management contracts. The â€Å"gatekeepers† are often the decentralised local finance group as they should be ensuring that the University staff comply and use the category management service and products. At the moment PS customers are everyone, and PS has been trying to be all things to all customers. However, PS has segmented customers ac cording to total yearly spend analysis which could be a form of behaviour segmentation, based on usage status. However, it is important to note that this segmentation is based on overall annual spend at the University not just the spend that went through the PS group, therefore this overcomes the limitation that Kotler identified that â€Å" Usage is a result not a cause† ( MM 5-18) and is therefore a more accurate segmentation dimension. Through this analysis PS has found that 80% of the total spend is from 2.76% of the customers (i-doc 12). Although this segmentation has been identified, it has not been widely used, as PS cannot â€Å"fire† lower value customers as due an inherent obligation to help all University staff with compliance to procurement policy. An example is that our of the 99 projects that were worked on by PS in the last 1.5 years, only 8 projects were for category management (i-doc 13), due to lower value one-off projects taking up too much PS time. Within this behavioural segmentation identified, there are further heterogeneous dimensions that could occur as evidenced by the differences in PS perception in age, as discussed in the introduction to brand above. PS also has not formally profiled each segment nor formally assessed the segment attractiveness or selected target markets. However in order to achieve $24M in savings with a team of 13 staff, this must be done. PS wants the category management product service to be viewed by Executive Internal customers as necessary to achieve the main objective of $24M in savings to ensure they continue in the role of â€Å"influencers† in the first instance. In addition the perceptual map below is a current indication of how customers view PS based on internal surveys, which demonstrates that PS fulfils the compliance aspect. However, PS isnt always perceived to obtain the best solution for the University. A limitation to this application of the map is that it is based on an in formal, internal survey and has not been subject to statistical techniques. An important element of a change to category management approach is marketing and convincing the stakeholders of the value it offers them (www.psc.executiveboard.com), therefore in order to move to the top right hand corner of this diagram further work needs to be done. Issue 5- Recommendations The direct outcomes of the current marketing approach is that nearly all of the PS staff time gets spent on the relatively more unprofitable products such as â€Å"One-off†, non-category projects and customer satisfaction is low at approximately 55% being satisfied or more (i-doc 14). PS has access to a wealth of useful internal information, however this on excel spreadsheets and is not organised properly as evidenced by the need to create a â€Å"register of registers†( i-doc 15) to keep track of what information is available and in what excel sheet. As such, some of this information such as the Procurement Maturity survey has fed into PS Business plan document ( i-doc 1), however other information such as the CRM plans (i-doc 8) have been largely ignored or used by 1 or 2 individuals on the team (i- knowledge). Because there is so much information in various locations, staff stated that they sometimes miss key information or have â€Å"analysi s paralysis†. Initial discussions took place with companies such as Salesforce.com regarding a basic CRM system for PS, which would be worth further investigating. In any case, a more formal and streamlined process for analysing the 5 Cs should be implemented so that data that can help in the marketing strategy can be utilised and staff time spend more efficiently. The business plan strategy document (i-doc 1) is good in the sense that it feeds directly into the overall University –wide business plan (www.usyd.edu.au), however it would be worth creating a marketing plan and one that aligns with the business plan. Indeed, a good place to start would be with the objective to implement a category management approach with the initial segmentation data of 2.76% of customers that spend 80% of the University money, as this would help focus the Universitys strategy on Quadrant 2 the important but not urgent (Covey, 1994, p.77) . This market can be further segmented by demog raphic factors, such as age over 55+, psychographic factors such as â€Å"change adverse†, buyer readiness factors and behavioural factors such as â€Å"high influencers†, as required. These segmentation dimensions are Homogenous within and Heterogeneous between, however PS would need to further asses if they are easily Measureable, Sustainable and Actionable. A profile of each segment created is required to ensure that more targeted messages are possible. PS has assumed that the forecast demand will be similar patterns year on year, as evidenced in the past 2 years of spend analysis (i-doc 12). As the entire segment that is driving 80% of spend, is only 2.76% of the University, the cost in targeting this segment will be much lower than targeting all markets. Using the driving choices model, the PS ability to compete and segment attractiveness make this 2.76% of spenders a prime target to select for the future. In addition, the Executive Internal customers are a prime target, as they must be an attractive market in order for PS to stay in business and the ability to compete is high as evidenced in getting the past COO support, presence and funding at external Procurement events. However especially with the recent restructure changes, PS needs focus in the future on the prime target customers, the majority of which PS has previously been ‘missing†. The communication activity plan (i-doc 3) is a good foundation to start with for the Executive Internal customers, however it would be worth adding more specific actions discussed above, as well as dates and owners to ensure implementation. Historically, PS has been operating primarily in the opportunistic pursuits section, as evidenced from lower value one-off project work, which is a relatively unattractive market, even though PS has a high ability to compete (i-doc12). However, in some cases PS also worked in the de-select section, as evidenced by some failed projects such as the mass spe ctrometer and zebra fish project (i-knowledge) where PS ability to complete was low and the attractiveness of the project was low. Moreover, PS failed to recognise that â€Å"some customers are not willing to engage in relationships† (MM 10-35). These bad choices resulting from a PS lack of selecting target markets have been at the opportunity cost of not engaging with a majority of ‘right† customers. Therefore, going forward, self- help tools and procurement advice should be offered to those markets classified as â€Å"opportunistic pursuits† and â€Å"de-select†. Regarding the â€Å"build competency† market, of which the high grant spenders could be in this category, this could be something that PS chooses to select as a market if and when they are able to build more capacity into the team. By implementing the above, the PS can still fulfil its societal obligation by migrating â€Å"unprofitable† markets to other â€Å"mediums† of utilising PS. Moreover, market research could be done on the relatively small number of customers in the target markets in order to position the category management product and service by benefit, once it is further understood what the prime target markets perceive to be of value and the â€Å"best solution†. This could be combined with a differentiated and concentrated marketing strategy at relatively lower cost due to low numbers in the target markets. PS should still combine this with an undifferentiated marketing strategy for the overall University market aimed at increasing PS awareness and utilisation as well as addressing the homogenous demand for compliance. These recommendations are based on the assumption that the market size and category management profitability information is correct as evidenced in the spend analysis ( i-doc 3). These assumptions will need to be monitored and the strategy may need to be adjusted if required, as adaptability is one of the k ey factors to a successful plan implementation. If these changes are implemented, it will improve the target markets perception that PS can provide the best solution. REFERENCES: Marketing Management-Intensive (MM), Session 1, 2010, Units 1-11, AGSM MBA Programs Graduate Diploma in Management, Sydney, Australian School of Business 2010, AGSM MBA (Executive Program) Covey, Stephen R., Merrill, A Roger and Merrill, Rebecca R., 1994, First Things First, Fireside, Simon Schuster, New York Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply (CIPSA) website: https://www.cips.org (accessed 20 April 2010) Australasia Higher Education Services website: https://www.hes.edu.au (accessed 22 April 2010) Procurement Strategy Council website: https://www.psc.executiveboard.com (accessed 6 April 2010) PSC_ Category Management_ Playbook ( attached as Appendix A, because log-in details required to access this publication) University of Sydney website: https://www.sydney.edu.au (accessed 8 April 2010) Internal documents Internal Documents are cited as i-doc 1- 15 throughout the document and are attached when possible as appendices with assignment submission. Documents 3, 4, 5, 9, 13, 14, are available on request for limited borrowing. Internal Knowledge is cited as i-knowledge throughout the document. [i] www.usyd.edu.au [ii] www.usyd.edu.au/procurement_services [iii]www.cips.org