Ignorance Is Not A Bliss - 1765 Words

Ignorance Is Not a Bliss In his excerpt â€Å"Idiot Nation,† from his 2001 book Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation, Michael Moore argues that the American education system has failed to properly educate its students and has instead produced a standardized citizenry incapable of developing its own opinions and beliefs. As a political activist, the author is angered by how ignorant the country has become and continues to be, and tries to prove to his audience the need for an improved, better structured education system. He intends to change his young audience’s perspective on education by using a witty, sarcastic tone, by using personal anecdotes, and by providing evidential data that further support his case. Moore challenges and belittles authority, in order to motivate his audience and show them that they can become activists for their own education, that they have a voice to be heard. Moore fears for the future of the nation because he, himself, has gone through the system and understands the flaws within. During his early schooling, he was given the opportunity to skip first grade, but his mom pleaded that he would â€Å"always be the youngest and littlest kid through [his] schools years,† (126) so she prevented him from advancing to second grade. Since then, Moore has had the notion that schools are not nurturing the students’ minds, instead they force kids to â€Å"submerge any personal expression† (136). He grew up in an environment that suppressedShow MoreRelatedIgnorance is not Bliss Essay928 Words   |  4 Pagesof weight than children living in the hovels of Gaza, Palestine. After all, with very few sources of information, how can the American population understand anything, much less why a multitude of things make other cultures angry? Unfortunately, ignorance is where isolationism rests. Our foreign policy shows quite clearly that non-intervention is out. Not when non-intervention would cost us easy access to foreign resources, specifically foreign oil. The middle east has been dominated by war forRead MoreOedipus Rex - Bliss in Ignorance860 Words   |  4 Pageshimself would have saved Oedipus and his children/siblings much agony. However, in the typical Greek tragedy, we must see his fall from grace through, which is indeed what happens. In the bliss of ignorance, much pain and difficulty is averted. For what worries does the ignorant man have? In the case of Oedipus, ignorance would have suited him fine. The Socratic quote the unexamined life is not worth living certainly doesn t hold true in the case of Oedipus Rex. While it may hold importance and a substantialRead MoreIgnorance Is Bliss In Animal Farm1008 Words   |  5 Pages Chloe Tibbs Mrs.Weiss Honors English 9 9 August, 2017 Ignorance is Bliss During the course of mankind society has been subject to an endless line of good and bad leaders. In society it’s typically ruler to ruled, and often the ruled are mistreated and tricked by the ruler. Animal Farm is a prime example of the ruler to ruled stereotype. Leaders are someone society looks to for guidance, when the storm is too rough to bare on their own. Followers are devotee’s to a person, cause orRead MoreThe, Ignorance Is Bliss, By Albert Einstein And Steven Hawking1205 Words   |  5 PagesThere is a famous saying that goes, â€Å"Ignorance is bliss;† when superficially examining this saying, one might conclude that some things are better left unknown. After analyzing the maxim, one might be provoked to ask if an omniscient mind is superior. After all, it is geniuses such as Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking who acclaim their fame from their brilliance. Although the perception of knowledge varies, when earned, knowledge engenders an en lightenment and purity of mind; however, as evincedRead MoreIgnorance Is Not Bliss. Fox News Blared From The Television767 Words   |  4 PagesIgnorance is Not Bliss Fox news blared from the television as I walked into my grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving. Titles from the broadcast included: â€Å" HYPOCRITICAL THREAT? Obama takes heat over warning states can t legally refuse Syrian refugees.† â€Å"Names of key Paris attackers were known to Belgian mayor in 2014† â€Å"ISIS parks its cash in Bitcoin, experts say.† â€Å"Russia deploys missiles in Syria after Turkey shoots down bomber.† These are a few of the headlines that assaulted me as I greetedRead More Ignorance Is Bliss in Flannery OConnors Good Country People1067 Words   |  5 PagesFlannery OConnors Good Country People has a steady demonstration of irony, much of it based on the title of the story. Ignorance is also a major issue in the work, both Ms. Freeman and Ms. Hopewell exhibit this clearly. However ironically, Hulga exhibits this with her knowledge. She takes pride in her own intellect and in her knowledge of existentialism. Hulgas exi stentialist ideas come crashing down because of her naà ¯vetà © and lack of dependence on others. Hulga believes she is self sustainedRead MoreIgnorance, Ignorance And Ignorance1136 Words   |  5 PagesAccording to Mark Lilla’s â€Å"Ignorance and Bliss†, â€Å"The source of the proverb Ignorance is Bliss is a poem by the 18th century English poet Thomas Gray, who wrote in passing: â€Å"Where ignorance is bliss/ Tis folly to be wise† (Lilla). At the time the proverb was referring to the Enlightenment and Christianity’s glorification of blind faith, and its renunciation of both scientific reason and philosophical inquiry; however, today, it can be interpreted as whether or not man has the ability to maintainRead MoreTheme Of Ignorance In The House Of The Scorpion804 Words   |  4 Pagessincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity., says Martin Luther King Jr. Truer words have never been spoken, for when ignorance is bliss, there is a steep price t o pay. In The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer creates a character named Matteo Alacrà ¡n, and for the first half of the book, he is ignorance personified. When Matt learns the truth about his identity, his bubble of bliss is shattered, but perhaps it was for his own good. The great poet Thomas Gray writes, Where ignorance is bliss, / TisRead More A Comparison of Ignorance in The Tempest and Sonnet 93 Essay936 Words   |  4 PagesIgnorance in The Tempest and Sonnet 93      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ignorance has been said to be bliss.   To equate appearance with reality is a facet of ignorance, and leads to a part of the bliss.   Many of Shakespeares characters find the bliss of ignorance and revel in it, and some end up coming to terms with their gullibility.   Some few are unwilling to abandon their ignorance even when they can see real truth.   All are experiencing different stages of the human cycle.   Coming into the world, we are equippedRead MoreThe Matrix, By The Wachowski Brothers1454 Words   |  6 PagesIn the film, â€Å"The Matrix,† written by the Wachowski Brothers we see the great effects of being ignorant to the truth as all sense of reality is inexistent. In connection with Plato’s philosophies, the questions of blissful ignorance and what really makes reality are aspects of our lives that we ponder in search for truth and what is real. We know that what is clear and true to us is our individual sense of reality that co mes from the knowing of tr uth, our perceptions and beliefs in our minds. Though

Business Environment Especially in Technology

Question: Discuss about the Business Environment Especially in Technology. Answer: Profitable Customer Relationships in E-commerce Business Nowadays, rapid changes have been taking place in the business environment especially in technology. There are an increased number of internet users across the globe. Occurrence of such changes in the tastes and preferences of the customers and technology forces businesses to adopt online or e-commerce business model instead of traditional brick and mortar outlets. In order to establish a new business, it is requisite to gather information related to the changes taking place in the business environment where the business has to be set up. Nowadays, entrepreneurs plan to establish an online business as customers prefer to shop online rather than visiting to the traditional retail outlet. This is because; online business provides them convenience to receive products and services at their doorsteps by placing its order online (Phan, 2003). In addition to this, online businesses also provide them opportunity to either make the payment for the goods ordered online or can also make the payment at the time of delivery. Besides this, customers can also compare the products of different companies in terms of features, price, time of delivery, discounts offered and return policy. For example, e-bay offers online auctions of products and services. It acts as a middleman between sellers and buyers who bids and sells the products on the marketplace of e-bay. The company uses PayPal, payment system through which the sellers and buyers can easily make the payment of the goods and services. Besides this, there is also a requirement of understanding the needs of the customers by the company in order to make decisions related to the products and services to be offered to the customers. It is essential for the companies to make significant investments in establishing strong customer relationships. The company offers vouchers and issue membership cards in order to encourage them to make repeat purchases. Along with this, e-commerce businesses also provide 24x7 customer support in order to resolve the queries of the customers in a quick and convenient manner (Comb, 2004). Customers can provide feedback on the site which is reviewed by the employees and strategies have been formulated by considering the feedback in order to provide high quality products and services to them. This in turn helps in achieving high level of customer satisfaction. Keeping track of the trends in the tastes and preferences of the customers facilitates in providing customised products to them for the purpose of fulfilling their needs and demands. Nowadays, companies provide opportunity to its customers to provide the requirements regarding the features to be added in the product in order to provide tailored products to fulfil their needs. This helps in attracting large number of customers. This helps to achieve a competitive advantage over its competitors. Provision of customisation by e-commerce companies helps in gaining competitive advantage over its competitors by differentiating their products (Orlando, 2009). Use of internet helps customers to make comparisons of the prices of the products with standard features. Along with this, it also help companies to gain insights regarding the designs and preferences of the customers as they have gained a track of real time information of the customer preferences. This helps them to stay ahead of their competitors. For example, Brook Brothers uses the information gathered from its customers to provide the products and services aligned with their tastes and preferences in the next season in order to fulfil their demands. Besides this, Oakley has met with the strong customer demand by making mass customisation offerings across different categories which in turn facilitates in increasing the return on investment of the company. Besides this, the online store named Serena Lily offer the opportunity to its shoppers to design their own bedding combinations. Along with this, it is also requisite for the online business to provide secured online payment sy stem. Customers are reluctant to provide their personal details on the online site dear to fear of unauthorised use of the information (Comb, 2004). Online companies have made a secured payment system and promises customers that their information will be kept confidential. Along with this, e-commerce businesses also focus on making their websites attractive in visual terms. This helps in attracting more number of customers. In addition to this, if customers find difficulty in making use of the website for carrying out different transactions then company will face attracting customers which has a negative impact on the growth of the business. Customers prefer to shop online from those companies which has simple to use features on their websites and does not take long processing time to complete the transaction. This is the reason that it is requisite for the companies to focus on increasing the operation efficiency of their websites by managing traffic load in an effective and efficient manner (Phan, 2003). The use of internet forces companies to lower their prices as customers can easily compare the prices of the product offered by different players in the market at no or negligible cost. This is the reason that companies have adopted a product bundling strategy i.e. offering a combination of products in order to differentiate it from its competitors and makes it difficult for customers to compare the prices (Lpez, 2013). For example, Gateway offer computers along with its internet services in order to prevent the hurdle of reduction in the prices of computers. In addition to this, AOL has merged with Time Warner in order to provide different additional services like music and on demand television on computer, e-mail services on mobile phones with its existing services. This helps in selling the services at higher prices and becomes less expensive because it is sold to the existing customers. This results in reducing the threat from substitute products and competition in the market (Co mb, 2004). Along with this, use of internet for offering products and services to customers also results in reducing the cost of the business due to elimination of the middle man. In addition to this, it also provide opportunity to businesses to collect information from the customers regarding their tastes and preferences in order to provide them customised products for which they are ready to pay high prices. This results in increasing the sales and profits of the business and helps in achieving a competitive edge over its rivals (Evans, 2014). Besides this, e-commerce companies also expand their product lines by sharing the activities and transferring of the skills such as distribution and promotion. This results in reducing the cost and increasing the profits of the business and thereby achieving a competitive advantage over others. This also helps in achieving economies of scale as sharing of the activities leads in effective and efficient use of the resources of the company such as technical expertise, market information and knowledge. For example, Amazon sells personal computers to its customers by holding no inventory and shipped it to the customer directly from the distributor. This also results in saving of inventory holding cost. In order to differentiate the products and services offered to customers, companies adopt a dialogue based marketing through which companies provide information related to products and services to customers along with the collection of the information from them and engaging them in data mi ning. This helps companies to customise the products as per the needs of the customers so as to fulfil their needs. This results in building strong and profitable relationships with its customers which in turn helps in attaining a competitive advantage (Combe, 2012). In addition to this, provision of the opportunity to customers to share their experiences related to the services and products purchased from the company on the website helps in attracting more number of customers. This is because, reviews of the existing customers helps in creating an image in the minds of new customers regarding the company or the brand. Companies such as Amazon and Dell Computers have implemented affiliated programs in order to track the purchases made by the customers and attain potential customers. Along with this, it is also requisite for the e-businesses to deliver products and services to its customers in an effective manner (Behesbti, Sangari and Engstrom, 2006). For this purpose, there is a requirement of fully automated distribution warehouses by the e-businesses so as to meet the demands of the customers through internet. For example, Amazon has made investments in physical assets in order to distribute its products in an effective manner in order to comp ete with Barnes Noble in an effective manner (Orlando, 2009). Besides this, e-businesses can also attain more number of customers by increasing the search engine optimisation. It is requisite for the e-businesses to display the name of the company in top search results by the use of some specific keywords. This helps in increasing the ranking in the search results. Along with this, another factor that helps companies to attain competitive advantage is the use of appropriate design of the sites. In addition to this, it is also the requirement of the e-businesses to focus on certain issues that can be faced by them such as access of the information electronically by the hackers and security issues related to transferring of the corporate information. It is essential for the organisations to adapt to new technologies in order to increase the operational efficiency of the websites (Pilinkienel, Kurschus and Auskalnyte, 2013). This helps in attracting more number of customers as they get faster response to their queries and requirements. The companies also required providing training to its personnel related to the skills and expertise required to perform different tasks electronically for the purpose of dealing with is stakeholders such as suppliers and customers to achieve high level of satisfaction. This in turn results in building strong brand image and capture large market share. Businesses can reach large number of customers across the globe by going online. In addition to this, entering into strategic alliances help businesses to expand their product line which also helps in providing economies of scale which in turn helps in increasing its profitability. Along with this, due to increase in the number of online companies, it is requisite for the companies to deliver the products and services to customers in less time in order to reduce the switching cost. Besides this, nowadays companies also provide effective return policy to customers in case if the customers are not satisfied with the features provided in t he product as mentioned on the website then it can be returned back and replace it with the defined requirements (Comb, 2004). Along with this, e-businesses also adopt viral marketing in which the links of the online sites is given on the web pages of other companies. This helps in increasing the credibility of the businesses. It also helps in creating a positive brand image among the customers. This helps in providing a competitive edge over its rivals. This promotional technique has helped in increasing the reach of the e-business to large number of audiences in microseconds (Azadi, 2011). It can be concluded that increase in the use of internet by the customers compe companies to adopt online business model as it facilitates customers to make order online and receive products at their doorsteps. Besides this, it also provides opportunity to customers to make comparisons of different products offered by different companies virtually in terms of features and prices in order to make purchase decision. It facilitates in increasing the sales and profits of the company. It is also summarised that e-commerce businesses also track the information related to the tastes and preferences of customers and customise the products aligned to it in order to get high level of customer satisfaction. Online businesses such as Serena Lily offer the opportunity to customers to customise the products as per their needs. This results in building profitable customer relationship which helps in attaining a competitive advantage over its competitors. Thus, it can be said that along with the ma intenance of the profitable customer relationships, there is a requirement to consider other aspects as well by online businesses in order to gain competitive advantage. References Azadi, S. 2011. Strategies for Competitive Advantage in Electronic Commerce. Emerging Markets Journal 1, pp. 59-69. Behesbti, H.M., Sangari, E.S. and Engstrom, A. 2006. Competitive advantage with e-business: A survey of large American and Swedish Firms. CR 16(2), pp. 150-157. Comb, C. 2004. Assessing Customer Relationship Management Strategies For Creating Competitive Advantage In Electronic Business. Journal of Knowledge Management Practice. [Online]. Available at: https://www.tlainc.com/articl72.htm [Accessed on: 13 August 2016]. Combe, C. 2012. Introduction to E-Business. Routledge. Evans, M. 2014. 12 E-Commerce Strategies To Grow Your Business This Year. [Online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2014/01/16/12-e-commerce-strategies-to-grow-your-business-this-year/#53d3e656ec9d [Accessed on: 13 August 2016]. Lpez, F.J.M. 2013. Handbook of Strategic e-Business Management. Springer Science Business Media. Orlando, A. 2009. E-commerce uptake as SMEs seek a competitive advantage. [Online]. Available at: https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/E-commerce-uptake-as-SMEs-seek-a-competitive-advantage [Accessed on: 13 August 2016]. Phan, D.D. 2003. E-business development for competitive advantages: a case study. Information Management 40, pp. 581-590. Pilinkienel, V., Kurschus, R.J. and Auskalnyte, G. 2013. E-business as a source of competitive advantage. Economics and Management 18(1), pp. 77-85.