The topic of this very essay is such an abstract but, at the same time, very specific concept as courage. It has been studied by a lot of scientists and literary creators. The former explored the psychological aspect of the issue, the latter pondered on the human and spiritual sides of it. What we are going to consider in this essay is the concept of courage as reflected in the literature, namely in two short stories by famous modern authors. These stories are “On The Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien and “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich. We are going to see the embodiments of courage, or its absence, using the examples from the two stories. To be more specific, the consideration of actions and motivations of the protagonists of the stories so that to see what courage meant to them and to the authors (Clarke, 2003).
Discussion
The first story, “On The Rainy River”, is a rather skillful peace of psychological writing and concepts of fear and courage are described in it with the true-to-life effect. The main hero, who is, at the same time, the author of the work, is a young man living in 1960s. The main problem of the story is that this man has to go to war in Vietnam but has no whish to do it. Moreover, he is afraid of a lot of thing connected with the war – blood, dirt, killing and death: “Beyond all this, or at the very center, was the raw fact of terror. I did not want to die. Not ever. But certainly not then, not there, not in a wrong war.” (O’Brien, 1990, p. 3) The concept of courage that was a usual thing for the man in an ordinary life, disappeared suddenly as soon as the situation demanded its presence:” Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an inheritance, and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn interest, we steadily increase our moral capital in preparation for that day when the account must be drawn down.
It was a comforting theory. It dispensed with all those bothersome little acts of daily courage; it offered hope and grace to the repetitive coward; it justified the past while amortizing the future.” (O’Brien, p.1)Thoughts of an untimely death were terrifying. The man thought with a pity about all the things that he could not finish and about all the prospects he had and that were destroyed by that war. But at the same time, courage fought inside the man with his cowardice and finally won the battle. The man initially decided to run away from war to Canada but stopped at the last moment crossing the Rainy River to return and demonstrate his courage. He was regretting his being a coward but the only way to prove that he was not was to go to that war. Courage finally won, but the hero still can not forgive himself being a coward, at least for some time.
As for the second story under consideration, the concept of courage is much more hidden here. “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich is a different story and presents no inner conflict between courage and cowardice. The concept of courage can be seen in this story in the life of Henry Lamartine and his brother Lyman. When they were together no idea of cowardice was familiar to them, but everything changed after Henry returned from the Vietnamese war (Clarke, 2003). Courage of his disappeared and he could not communicate with other people in a usual manner and he became reserved. And to a great extent, cowardice made him change, the cowardice he came to know about during the war. Although his brother tried to bring him back to reality all he could say was: “I know it. I can’t help it. It’s no use.” (Erdrich, 2001, p. 12) But Henry managed to regain courage, although some people can call it another manifestation of cowardice. He stepped into the river and stayed there until the current took him to its depth. Thus, courage and cowardice demonstrated their close interrelation in the life of every ordinary person.
Works Cited
Clarke, M.B. & Clarke, A. G. Retellings: A Thematic Literature Anthology. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 1 edition, 2003.
Erdrich, L. The Red Convertible. Penguin Books: New York, 2001.
O’Brien, T. On The Rainy River. Authors House: New York, 1990.
Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children is an eternal creation
Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children is one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. It raises essential issues which any person should try to respond. Being written during the most horrible war in the history of humanity it cannot but maintain its importance throughout times.
Of course, this play was played by many performers and interpreted by many play writers and theatre directors. One of the most remarkable interpretations of Brecht’s masterpiece is George C. Wolf’s play which forces people to think about the eternal values and the horrors of war which should be stopped on the Earth and in each person’s heart. The purpose of the present paper is to reveal the great power of the play which is aimed at revealing the filthy nature of war.
The theme of the play
The Brecht’s play depicts several episodes of the main heroine’s life during the Thirty Years’ War. The play’s structure is linear since there is always a definite time reference in each scene. For instance the play opens up with certain year identification: Spring, 1624 (Brecht 23).
The main character of the play is Mother Courage, a canteen woman who tries to trade to survive during the war. She has three children, two sons Eilif and Swiss Cheese, and a daughter, Kattrin. Mother Courage is a strong woman who has to live in a very difficult time. She loses her children because of the war but still tries to move on.
The play’s main idea and the way it is revealed
Brecht reveals cruelty of death and senselessness of war depicting the poor woman losing her children. In this play he reflects the events of the real life which he could witness since so many women were wailing over their children. Brecht’s main idea, the horror and foolishness of war is especially vivid in the scene where Mother Courage is singing over her daughter’s body.
The sorrow of one mother reveals the tragedy of many countries. Of course, not only the plot makes it one of the greatest plays. Any detail of this work is thoughtful and meaningful, even silence is always an emphasis of a feeing or a certain atmosphere.
Every word is very precise and serves to create the necessary effect. For instance, Mother Courage always uses really simple language and describes really terrible events as if it was not a big deal. Thus, she speaks about her going through bombardment as if it is absolutely logical and simple to save her products (bread) under bombs: “They were going moldy, what else could I do?”(Brecht 25).
So, every word or pause drives a deep image of horrible war into viewers mind. The canteen wagon itself impacts greatly the viewers since it creates an image of unsettled life of ordinary people facing danger every minute of their lives. There is no much setting but it is as precise as the verbal means. Thus, the wagon speaks louder than even performers can.
The Public Theatre interpretation of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children
As far as the stage interpretations of the play are concerned it is necessary to point out that the play is quite easy to put on stage. Brecht though everything over to every tiny detail: the plot, the themes, characters. It may seem that it is not so easy to perform such epic play, especially it is very hard for the cast. However, the emotions evoked by the play inspire everyone to perform in the best possible way and reveal the main idea of the play.
A good example of such great work is the Public Theatre (New York 2006) interpretation of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. George C. Wolf made a really great play managing to feel Brecht ideas and create the necessary atmosphere. The context of the modern life, where the war is still present, the contemporary society shares Brecht’s beliefs about the war. Meryl Streep who performed in the play (Mother Courage) was inspired by the play and agreed to participate in the project at once.
In the film, Theatre of War, she said that she thought of those women who were still losing their children and she had no hesitations as for the participation. Her performance proves that she was totally committed to performance since she succeeded to create unforgettable vital image of Mother Courage. Her song over Kattrin is really heartfelt and touching.
The value of the interpretation of 2006
Perhaps, such dedication made this interpretation not only a very successful play but a genuine masterpiece. To my mind, George C. Wolf created the interpretation which could flatter the author. First of all, Wolf managed to reveal the atmosphere of Brecht’s work and the main idea of the play.
The performance in the Public Theatre was a precise reflection of the main purpose of Brecht’s work since every detail was thought over. Thus, the precision of both Brecht and Wolf reminds people about the eternal values of humanity and the horrors of the war in peoples’ hearts.
Work Cited
Brecht, B. Mother Courage and Her Children: A Chronicle of the Thirty Years’ War. New York: Grove Press, 1991.
It is often said that it is easy to find moral courage in various individuals that have been celebrated for their actions throughout history yet it is far harder and a lot more interesting to try to find moral courage in historical figures that have been vilified for their actions and treated as cowards.
In the history of choices and the way in which they leave an indelible mark by which a person is judged the decision of betrayal made by Benedict Arnold has forever marked him in infamy as a traitor to the American Revolution and the measure by which future traitors are compared to (Evisum, 1).
While history has marked him a traitor to America Benedict Arnold was actually a revolutionary hero before he became traitor. His actions at the Battle of Valcour Island, the Battle of Ridgefield and the Battle of Saratoga contributed immensely towards ensuring the survival of the revolution. Unfortunately, despite his successes at the battlefield he was repeatedly passed over for promotion and was accused numerous times by political and military opponents of corruption.
Despite these accusations Arnold continued to faithfully serve the early Continental Congress and was actually one of the cornerstones of the revolutionary effort as indicated by various historical records and historians alike. It must be noted that even though he had contributed vast sums to the war effort the early Continental Congress accused him of owing them money (Evisum, 1).
From these events it can be seen that initially, Arnold displayed courage, conviction and utter selflessness risking his life numerous times and nearly driving himself to bankruptcy in order to liberate the original 13 colonies from British rule. As a result of all these allegations in spite of his efforts to help win the war Arnold became disenchanted and turned traitor to the revolution.
Under the theory of utilitarianism the moral worth of a perceived action is actually reliant on its resulting outcome. This means that the overall usefulness of a particular action is dependent on the resulting positive utility created and the reduction in negative utility.
In the case of Benedict Arnold his contributions helped to ensure the success of the revolution yet the resulting outcome has him betraying his nation due to the maltreatment he suffered under their hands. American historians do agree that if it was not for the actions of Benedict Arnold the American Revolution would not have succeeded. Under the theory of utilitarianism the maximizing utility that was initially created was the contribution of Arnold towards the liberation of America under British rule.
As such, his actions could be considered as being morally courageous in the face of possible negative circumstances. His subsequent betrayal of the American people on the other hand can actually be explained by two concepts namely the theory of egoism and the psychological humanist theory under Maslow.
Under the theory of egoism it is expressly stated that people are moral agents that should accomplish actions that are in their own self-interests.
In a way the theory assumes that since people are moral agents they will not pursue lines of behavior that will negatively affect the well being of other people but rather enhances one’s own well being through self-action. In the case of Benedict Arnold his betrayal of the American Revolution was a direct result of the maltreatment he received at their hands, a facet of information conveniently left out in most historical text known to the general public.
As such in order to pursue an action that would be to his own well-being he would choose to leave those who maltreated him and join those who promised to treat him better. Records do show that after the war was over Benedict Arnold was treated rather well by the British government and as such his pursuit of ethical egoism where the self is put first before others was a success.
The humanist theory on the other hand takes a different approach to interpreting the actions of Arnold. According to the humanist theory, human behavior is motivated to achieve the so called “maximum potential” of the self and as such people will always attempt to reach this maximum potential unless they are hindered by obstacles (Hefner Media Group, 1). The best way of explaining the actions of Arnold would be to use Maslow’s pyramid of the hierarchy of needs.
Maslow suggests that all humans have specific needs which they try to meet which come in a certain hierarchical order. It can be assumed that after the war was over Arnold planned to return to his life as a merchant yet with the accusations hurled against him and his supposed debt to Congress this would not be feasible. Here the obstacles to Arnold meeting his needs under Maslow’s pyramid are the debts he has to congress and the accusations against him (Hefner Media Group, 1).
For him to continue to achieve his maximum potential he would need to overcome these obstacles and as a result he chose to betray the revolution and join the British which did result in him gaining enough money to become a merchant again. Care ethics on the other hand does not support the actions of Arnold, while it may be true that he contributed to the war the fact remains that once he betrayed the nation his knowledge of the tactics and stratagems of the various military commanders actually cost several men their lives.
The fact is care ethics focuses on the interdependence of individuals and vulnerability some individuals have over the course of actions of others. It is a theory that helps to determine whether the course of action a person took was right or wrong. In the case of Benedict Arnold, though he may have helped defend the nation early on the fact remains that his actions later on in the course of the war resulted in hundreds of deaths and as such under the theory of care ethics his actions are condemned.
The theories of intuition, Divine Command, Kant, and Ross come into play in this particular study when examining the legality, morality and ethicality behind the reasons of particular actions. In the case of Benedict Arnold his actions were in a way illegal and unethical due to the violation in trust that the American public at the time had placed in him.
It must be noted though that unethical and immoral types of behavior were first done against him by his opponents in the continental congress before he even tried to betray the American people. His actions, immoral and unethical as they may be, are nothing more than the result of him rebelling against the continued slander and torment that was hurled against him.
The most useful theory in identifying the reasoning behind the actions of Arnold would be that of Consequentialism and its judgment that a morally right act would have the consequence of producing a morally right result and vice versa. In the case of Arnold his self sacrifice on the battlefield resulted in numerous victories for the early army of the U.S. It has been clearly stated that if Arnold had not joined the revolution at the time it would have been likely that the original 13 colonies would have lost the war.
As such his morally right action produced a good result in the form of America winning the war. Arnold’s betrayal could actually be considered the result of consequentialism as well since it was the immoral and unethical actions of the continental congress against Arnold that caused him to betray them in the first place.
Though it may be somewhat morbid the best lesson that can be learned from examination of Benedict Arnold is that no matter how strong your ethical conviction is everyone has a tipping point. From being one of the revolutions greatest heroes to becoming one of its most hated villains Arnold initially did try to stay true to his ethical convictions.
Unfortunately the utterly contemptible manner in which he was treated despite his efforts resulted in him being disgusted over what the revolution was about resulting in him abandoning their cause.
References
Evisum. Benedict Arnold. (2000). pg.1. Web.
Hefner Media Group. Personality Synopsis. Allpsychonline (2004). pg. 1. Web.
Medicine is an area in which workers need to have a set of certain moral characteristics. Moral courage is the ability to take certain actions, guided by ethical considerations (Kleemola et al., 2020). Difficulties arise when it is necessary to take action in the face of fears about possible negative outcomes. Moral courage involves careful consideration and calculation of all risks. A health administrator must act in accordance with the principle of moral courage, despite the possibility of negative consequences.
The Importance of Exhibiting Moral Courage
A healthcare administrator often has a decisive voice in making decisions that can affect the health and life of the patient. That is why the administrator must show moral courage, despite the consequences. Moral courage is the only way to ethically behave and meet the standards of a medical professional (Numminen et al., 2019). The manifestation of this quality is especially important for health administrators since these professionals must weigh all the risks and make an informed decision. This choice must always be based on ethical principles, and the professional must be prepared to deal with all the consequences of this choice. If the health administrator does not show moral courage, it can jeopardize the functioning of the entire health facility. Acting for personal gain, or ignoring ethical principles, harms patients. Since the main role of the administrator is to maintain good patient care, the display of moral courage is a fundamental feature of professionalism.
The Impact of Showing Moral Courage on a Team of Medical Professionals
A healthcare administrator is a link in the entire team of medical professionals. The level of patient care will depend on the actions of the administrator. That is why the manifestation of moral courage is important for the formation of a common team spirit. If a healthcare administrator demonstrates ethical behavior and is guided by high moral principles, this creates a certain atmosphere in the team. Demonstrating by example the importance of observing moral and ethical standards, the administrator shows the rest of the team what qualities a medical professional should have. Thus, the administrator develops a general collective norm, which the whole team will strive to comply with. In addition, upholding ethics and demonstrating moral courage encourages healthcare professionals to be self-reliant and take responsibility for their own decisions.
If the health administrator does not show proper moral and ethical qualities, the team can become disunited. Without showing a personal example of correct behavior, medical personnel may begin to avoid responsibility or act in their interests. Following the wrong pattern of behavior can lead to emotional burnout. Since the work of doctors is extremely important and responsible, it is necessary to constantly maintain a positive attitude. Without a single leader in the form of an administrator, the general mood will disappear, and the team can wait for unnecessary stress and overwork (Wang & Li, 2019). Tired staff not having a leader with established moral and ethical standards can harm the health of patients.
Conclusion
A health worker must possess a wide range of characteristics to be successful, and moral courage is one of them. This quality is a guarantee that in a stressful situation, a professional will be able to make an informed decision and independently cope with its consequences. Administrators in health care must have this characteristic since they act as a link in the team of medical professionals. If the administrator neglects this quality, teamwork will become impossible, and the risks of emotional burnout will increase. With proper management under the guidance of moral and ethical principles and the proper level of responsibility, patient care will be provided at the highest level.
References
Kleemola, E., Leino-Kilpi, H., & Numminen, O. (2020). Care situations demanding moral courage: content analysis of nurses’ experiences. Nursing ethics, 27(3), 714-725.
Numminen, O., Katajisto, J., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2019). Development and validation of nurses’ moral courage scale. Nursing ethics, 26(7-8), 2438-2455.
Wang, Y., & Li, H. (2019). Moral leadership and unethical pro-organizational behavior: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(1), 26-40.
In modern English, there are many words with a deep meaning that are sometimes used without proper thinking. Courage can be listed among such words because in some cases, it is applied to individuals who engage in risky behaviors that are not related to worthy goals and beliefs. This essay argues that courage is the ability to overcome fears and doubts to do something necessary and meaningful that can have different situation-specific sources.
To describe the meaning of the word courage, it is possible to summarize different people’s experiences related to this concept. This strategy allows understanding any word in the context of dissimilar situations taking place in real life, thus adding depth to the analysis. In general, having courage can be understood as demonstrating an ability to stay strong in any circumstances. However, particular verbal subtleties associated with the term may vary depending on specific cases.
Main body
In his work devoted to psychological health issues and mental suffering associated with schizoaffective disorder, Colori provides an interesting definition of the term in question (703). It encapsulates both common understandings of being courageous and the context-specific meaning of the word associated with the social burden of mental illnesses (Colori 703). Presenting the memories about the worst periods of his disease and living a life that was very “dark” and empty, Colori defines courage as “the ability to face something that can potentially be damaging,” which aligns with the term’s common definitions (704). However, to make his thoughts more specific, the author adds that courage is something that “always has a source,” and he knows it since his courage was fuelled by his faith in a better future (Colori 704).
Personally, I totally agree with the point about having a source, and from my experience, the sources of courage and mental strength are not permanent and universal. For instance, when I was about six years old, I managed to protect my younger friends from a bully who was four years my senior, and my parents said that I had the courage to stand up for others despite my young age.
As a child, I did not think about such terms and their meanings, but now, this example helps me to realize that courage can be understood as an ability to overcome fear and take steps that are the most appropriate from a moral standpoint. As a mentally ill person, Colori drew courage from his aspirations for a better life, whereas in my case, I had to conquer my fear because there was nobody else to protect the youngest children (704). Based on that, the comprehensive definition of courage should explain that it can have case-specific sources.
Applying the method of comparison and contrast is another way to better understand the term. The word courage has a variety of synonyms, the majority of which refer to personality traits that people usually mention in a positive context. Since it relates to the ability to do something despite fear, doubts, and even threats, the discussed term is close in meaning to bravery, audaciousness, manfulness, fortitude, and similar nouns.
These words are among the first associations with courage, and the fact that all of them are typically used to characterize a person or an action in a positive way allows making conclusions about the perceptions of the term in question. Although the listed words can also be used in ironic jokes to highlight some individuals’ lack of mental strength, the term being discussed encourages people to think about something that can save the world.
There are also numerous words that convey the opposite meaning, thus highlighting positive associations with the term being analyzed. The word courage is drastically different from such terms as cowardice, timidity, or faint-heartedness. All of them can be used to describe people who do not have enough internal resources to overcome fear and do something necessary but dangerous. However, it needs to be said that some concepts are mistakenly regarded as being close in meaning.
For instance, in some contexts, courage can be associated with recklessness, and their meanings seem to be quite similar if no attention is paid to such components as the key motivating factor. In their work, Gukiina et al. cite Shelp’s definition of courage, according to which it can be understood as “the ability to act meaningfully” despite fear and associated threats (20). The degree to which actions are meaningful presents the key detail explaining the difference between courage and its quasi-synonyms. To some extent, both recklessness and courage involve looking away from the dangerous consequences of certain actions, but only the latter is related to justified risks and the presence of higher purposes.
Conclusion
To sum it up, courage can be understood as a person’s ability to master fear and doubts to fulfill a meaningful goal and take risks that will pay off and lead to positive changes. Also, it needs to be recognized that courage can have different sources depending on particular situations. These sources can range from people’s willingness to cope with mental health issues and return to normal life to the urgent need to defend those who cannot stand up for themselves for some reason.
Works Cited
Colori, Steve. “Fear, Faith, Hope, and Courage.” Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol. 44, no. 4, 2016, pp. 703-705.
Gukiina, Joshua, et al. “Organizational Virtuousness: The Customers Perspective.” International Journal on Customer Relations, vol. 5, no. 2, 2017, pp. 18-36.
One of the most important purposes of any educational process is to encourage students to learn languages and improve their level of knowledge. The necessity to choose languages for studies in Australia undergoes considerable changes and challenges since the latter part of the 21st century. English is the language spoken by the vast majority of population, however, there are also many other languages like French, German, Japanese, or Italian that has to be encouraged to be learnt in addition to English.
While some teachers and students may consider the offered idea as a negative or unnecessary practice in student life, it seems interesting and effective to encourage education of different languages in addition to English in order to support multilingual population of Australia as well as promote communication with different people for personal and professional needs.
One of the first reasons to encourage a language to be learnt by Australian students in addition to English is the fact that there are migrants in the country who speak different languages at the same time.
There are “fifteen percent of students spoke another language in addition to English” (Oliver, Purdie & Rochecouste 2005, p. 29). Such cultural diversity among students is observed in all schools around the world, and the success of a particular educational system depends on how the teachers are able to integrate cultures and promote the use of various languages.
While it is often argued by some teachers that a variety of language may become an obstacle to general student education and “the process of integrating the graduate attributes into the academic curriculum has been far from unproblematic” (Dunworth 2010, p. 8). However, if students cannot express their thoughts and ideas using English only, the results of education cannot be called successful. Thus the idea to implement other languages education in addition to English seems to be a good and justified.
To support the idea of different languages education in addition to English, the importance of communication between different people to meet personal and professional goals has to be considered. Current technological and computing progress promotes the need of for communication. “Languages have a key role to play in this process of harmonisation and promotion of cultural diversity” (Cunningham 2001, p. 201).
Moreover, to succeed in communicative processes, people have to get appropriate level of knowledge and understand the meaning of each phrase and each point. While international relations may be developed by means of one language only so that people should spend much time of studying new information but strength their knowledge in some particular spheres.
However, it happens that people are not aware of English but still eager to develop communication so that it seems to be better to use another language that was studied in addition to English at school. Thus the idea to encourage each student study a new language does not have any negative outcomes but, vice versa, helps to improve future challenges and misunderstandings.
Although it is not always easy and appropriate to study several languages at the same time, some students want to improve their knowledge and get all chance to promote successful future. Teachers have to appreciate students’ desire and interests as well as take into consideration the fact cultural diversity that is inherent ti Australia. A language in addition to English should be studied by students who have to be encouraged, supported, and understood with their intentions and demands.
Reference List
Cunningham D 2001, ‘Language, technology, and teaching: challenges and solutions for the 21st century’, SAALT Journal for Language Teaching, vol. 35, pp. 201-222.
Dunworth, K 2010, ‘Clothing the emperor: addressing the issue of English language proficiency in Australian universities’, Australian Universities’ Review, vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 5-10.
Oliver, R, Purdie, N, & Rochecouste, J 2005, ‘Affective aspects of language learning: beliefs, attitudes, efficacy’, Babel, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 29-38.
In Britain, small and medium-sized organizations play a very significant role in the economy. These enterprises play a major role in enhancing sustainable community development and economic growth. The production processes of SMEs are environmental friendly which reduces the level of environmental pollution.
However, these enterprises are faced with various difficulties which threaten their success. They are sometimes threatened by the market imperfections which significantly affects their performance.
Their small size nature also makes these enterprises to be more affected by the change in the economic and social environment in their locations than the larger organizations. This raises concern on their performance. There is a need for the British government to come up with necessary measures to suppress negative impacts of the social and economic situations on these enterprises.
These enterprises are also faced with difficulties in getting financial resources for capital or research and development. These limitations hinder them from accessing advanced technologies which reduces their chances of succeeding.
Therefore, the British government should promote policies which aim at promoting good business environment in order to facilitate the development of the small and medium size organizations. The British government has the responsibility of initiating measures which are necessary for improvement of products, processes, organizational functions and marketing processes of the small and medium size enterprises. These aspects are essential in determining the performance of the SMEs.
Discussion
As already seen, SMEs have a significant role in the economy. The British government should, therefore, employ the necessary measures to promote the performance of these enterprises. According to Spence (2010), government policies significantly determine the performance of the SMEs (p. 5). The British government, therefore, has a role to play in improving small and medium size enterprises. There are several ways through which the British government can promote the SMEs.
Taxation
One of the measures the British government should consider in promoting SMEs is through taxation. The government can contribute to the success of the small and medium size organizations through taxation in two different ways.
First, the British government can improve the performance of the SMEs by reducing the taxes charged on them. Stamp taxes and taxes on sales threaten the financial stability of small and medium enterprises and, therefore, are discouraged for the SMEs. The government need to cut down the taxes charged on the raw materials used by the small and medium enterprises in the production process. By so doing, the government will enable the SMEs to reduce their costs hence maximizing their profits.
Another way through which the British government can promote the small and medium size enterprises is by taxing a higher proportion on large enterprises than the SMEs. This will improve the competitiveness of the small and medium size enterprises. This will significantly contribute to their success.
Promoting Research and Development and Technology Transfer
Research and development has an essential role in determining the performance of the small and middle size enterprises. The British government has the responsibility of facilitating an appropriate infrastructure which has the capacity to encourage research and development by SMEs.
For instance, the government can establish intermediary organizations which can promote inter-firm networks. Such organisation facilitates the linkage of these enterprises with the necessary support services. These organizations also facilitate technology transfer. This contributes in improving their performance.
According to Etemad (2004), emerging SMEs suffer from the fact that they don’t have high reputation and their brand is not clearly established (p. 75). Research and development promotes the development of these enterprises by increasing the organisation’s reputation through quality products.
Adoption of high level of technology enables SMEs to add value to their products. This increases their market share in the global market. Consequently, this leads to an increase in the level of their revenues.
Subsidies
Subsidy is a form of assistance in terms of finance or other resources that are aimed at improving a business or an enterprise. The British government should use subsidies to promote the growth of SMEs. One of the subsidies is providing credit facilities at lower interest rates. This enables these organizations to increase their investment levels efficiently. This significantly contributes to their success. Low interest credit facilities also encourage research and development in the small and medium size organizations.
Through subsidies, the governments increase the level of competitiveness of the domestic goods and services against the imported goods and services. This significantly contributes to expansion of the market share for the domestic organizations. However, the government should be very careful while providing subsidies to the SMEs. In some cases, subsidies can lead to market distortions which may come along with a very large economic cost.
Market Based Industrial Policy
Another way through which the government should promote the SMEs is by pursuing a market based industrial policy. By so doing, the government will promote the market mechanisms in generating an effective and vibrant industrial structure. The government should only intervene in special cases for instance when there is market failure.
Otherwise, the British government should refrain from interfering withy the general market operations. For instance, it should not advocate for lowering of prices below the equilibrium level in favour of consumers. Such act will be discouraging the development of the small as well as the medium sized enterprises in the country.
This policy promotes financial support for the developing or declining small and medium size enterprises through research and development. It also targets developing employee training as a way of boosting poor regions to maintain equality in income distribution. In some cases, government intervention due to market failures leads to complexities worse than those resulting to imperfect market conditions. In such cases, a government policy becomes impotent.
The British government should also promote the development of market externalities which will most likely encourage the SMEs to undertake research and development.
For instance, if the social benefit of undertaking a research is greater than that the returns derived by the organisation, then there will be little incentive for the organizations to invest in research and development. In order to promote small and medium enterprise, government should fund the research and development as a way of encouraging these enterprises to invest in knowledge.
Research and development plays a very important role in the performance of companies. For instance, research and development improves the quality of goods and services. High quality products attract customers hence expanding the market share for the SMEs. Therefore, continued research assists an organisation in attracting as well as retaining customers. Poor research and development are the major factors which obstruct the development of changing industrial base.
There is a need to recognize that different SMEs needs different level of support. More attention should be paid on declining enterprises to prevent their complete fall. Industrial approach method of British government intervention can be directed to save these specific enterprises as well as prevention of loss of employment opportunities.
The British government can also employ this method to save Small and medium sized enterprises which are declining due to unhealthy competition from large enterprises. While promoting SMEs in the country, the British government should propose measures which enhance the development of the productive capacities of the poor regions. This effort contributes in reduction of the level of unemployment and poverty in these areas. Supporting such enterprises will also contribute in increasing the level of income in the region.
Improvement of the Regulatory Processes for Small and Medium Size Enterprises
The British government should eliminate regulatory measures which are associated with high costs in terms of money and time resources. The government should promote measures which can help the establishment and operations of the small and medium enterprises.
This includes establishment of necessary measures to promote the exchange of views between these enterprises with the local authority. This will significantly contribute in the development of the small and medium enterprises at the local level. These measures will also promote the development of a favourable environment which improves the performance of SMEs.
Promoting inter-firm cooperation
Inter-firm cooperation has a significant role in promoting the development and performance of the small and medium size organizations. Cooperation among the firms offers these firms a benchmark on which they can gauge their individual performances in relation to the overall performance of the industry.
For instance an enterprise can gauge itself to determine how far they are behind the leading enterprises. This encourages these enterprises to apply the necessary measures to improve the performance of these enterprises. The British government should therefore consider facilitating cooperation among the SMEs in the country in order to promote their success. One of such organization was SME Task-Force in 1986. This organisation significantly contributed to social and economic growth (Dyson 1989: 17).
Giaoutzi et al (1988) noted that the location and the amount of employment opportunities generated by the small and medium enterprises depend on their relationship with larger enterprises as well as the level of independence with respect to large firms (p.164). The British government should not only encourage cooperation among the small enterprises, but also with the large firms.
The government can realize this by carrying the necessary measures to provide incentives for interaction between these two categories of enterprises. For instance, SME may be highly innovative and dynamic. However, it may not have the necessary financial resources to carry out research and development functions. In such a situation, the large enterprise may cover the financial requirements for the research and development for the small enterprise (Giaoutzi et al 1988: 165). This contributes in development of the SMEs.
Inter-firm cooperation encourages the agglomeration. When the SMEs come together, they enjoy the advantages of clustering and economies of scale. For instance, by clustering, small enterprises can purchase their inputs in bulk. In the process, they save a lot of money on such discounts. This reduces the operational costs hence increasing the profit margins.
Trade Liberalization
Another way through which the British government can promote SMEs is through trade liberalization. Trade liberalization plays a significant role in promoting the performance of the SMEs. However, not all SMEs are enthusiastic about the liberalization of trade (Susman 2007: 264).
Trade liberalization may favour larger organizations to relocate their productive factors overseas. This poses a threat to the small enterprises from cheaper imports coming from multinational companies. Therefore, the British government should be very careful with the effects of liberalization of trade.
The government should come up with the necessary measures to avoid negative impacts of the trade liberalization on the small and medium enterprises in the country. For instance, the government may suppress negative impacts of liberalization to the SMEs through subsidies. This helps in reducing operational costs of these enterprises hence increasing their competitiveness.
According to Susman (2007), a number of small and medium size enterprises have gone out of business due high level of global competition (264). Therefore, the British government should carefully gauge the impact of trade liberalization in every category of SMEs before its implementation. Some are favoured while others are disfavoured by the policy. The government should pay more attention to the organizations which are negatively affected.
Others
In most cases, the small and medium size enterprises face unhealthy competition from imports. The British government should intervene in the market to protect the SMEs. One of the methods which the government can apply to avoid unhealthy competition is through tariffs. By imposing tariffs on the imports, the government can significantly improve the competitiveness of the domestic goods. This promotes the development of small and medium size enterprises.
The registration and licensing processes can also affect the development of the SMEs. High costs of processing licenses Is a big burden on the SMEs. Complicated legal processes and delays also increase the operational costs of these enterprises.
Advantages of the Small and medium size enterprises in the British economy
One of the advantages of the SMEs is that their small size nature increases their flexibility and ability to sustain adverse economic situations. This limits the chances of their failure.
Another advantage of the small and medium size enterprises is they are more labour intensive than the large sized enterprises. This significantly reduces the level of costs. In other words, the SMEs have less capital requirement compared with the large sized enterprises. Due to their labour intensiveness, these small and medium size enterprises contributes in creating employment in the economy.
Role of small and medium sized enterprises
In the British economy, the small and medium sized enterprises have a significant role to play. They are major contributors in job creation and innovation in the country.
These enterprises therefore play a significant role in maintaining economic stability in the British economy.
The small and middle sized organizations play a significant role in the community. They contribute in community development through various ways. They contribute in maintenance of sustainable development levels in the British economy.
Another advantage of the medium sized enterprises is that they create sustainable level of employment in the economy as already noted. According to Damassa (2006), the small enterprises are labour intensive and hence help in reducing the level of unemployment in the economy.
On the other hand, the large sized enterprises are capital intensive and therefore do not have a significant role in reducing the level of unemployment. SMEs provide employment and opportunities for millions of people around the world which relatively high compared with the large enterprises (Hillary 2000: p. 148). Through employment creation, small sized enterprises help in maintaining economic stability. In general, SMEs significantly contribute to the competitiveness of the economy.
Another important role of small and medium size enterprises is that they promote income equality in the economy. Income inequality is one of the main factors which are used in measuring the poverty level in an economy. Poor countries are characterized by unequal income distribution. Therefore, by promoting equality in income distribution, small and medium size enterprises reduces the poverty levels in the economy.
SMEs also promote innovation since they are associated with a high level of flexibility and ability to take risks. This contributes to economic growth and development through increased exports.
Due to the fact that small and medium size enterprises are less mobile than the larger corporations, it leads to the creation of ties of dependence as well as familiarity to the community which cultivates good reputation and relationships among the customers and neighbours (Damassa 2006: par 4 ).
Conclusion
In conclusion, this discussion has clearly shown that the British government has a significant role to play in encouraging small and medium enterprises. The government has power to formulate policies which can promote the development of these enterprises.
It is, therefore, the duty of the government to come up with the most appropriate measures which will facilitate the development of necessary policies to boost small and medium size enterprises. However, there are certain policies which can promote development of some of SMEs and at the same time poses a threat to others. The British government should critically consider the resultant effects of each policy to avoid unintended results.
Reference List
Damassa, T., 2006. The Role of Small- And Medium-Sized Enterprises. [Online] Web.
Dyson, K., 1989. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. London, Routledge.
Etemad, H., 2004. International Entrepreneurship in Small and Medium Size Enterprises: Orientation, Environment and Strategy. Cheltenham U.K., Edward Elgar Publishing.
Giaoutzi, M. et al. 1988. Small and Medium Size Enterprises and Regional Development. London, Routledge.
Hillary, R., 2000. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment: Business Imperatives. Sheffield, Greenleaf.
Spence, l., 2010. Ethics in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises. London, Springer
Susman, G., 2007. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Global Economy. Cheltenham, U.K., Edward Elgar.
Rob and Pablo, the co-proprietors of SNOG (a chain of U.K. based yogurt shops), mention that the secret behind their success lies not only in the type of product they sell but rather in the way in which they make each transaction an “experience” for their customers.
What these two entrepreneurs are referring to is the general ambiance and “feel” that permeates a particular store or shopping area.
Studies such as those by Cadogan (2007) indicate that consumer patronage of particular retail locations is influenced not only by the products that are being sold but the experience they garner from shopping at a particular location (Cadogan, 583-604).
Grunert (2012) mentions that the concept of “experience” has increasingly being brought to the forefront of business planning for stores, restaurants and variety of establishments due to the correlation between experience and repeat patronage (Grunert, 445-456).
Creating an Experience
Rob and Pablo state the following regarding what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur “now we are in a recession and we see businesses that are successful; I think the one thing you see that they all have is a form of experience for their customers which is an important aspect of operations, so we made sure that there was an experience at Snog”.
The “experience” that Rob and Pablo are referring is not just the quality of the product itself but what customers feel when they enter into a particular establishment. In the case of Snog, all their outlets have a warm and friendly ambiance which is not only family friendly but actually promotes, in their words, “a happy feeling” for customers.
For example, it can be seen that in the case of Apple Inc. (which is considered the world’s most valuable company) all their stores, no matter what country they are present in, have a stylish and ergonomic design that looks “clean, modern and cutting edge” which has come to exemplify the experience of buying products at an Apple store.
Based on the popularity of Snog and Apple, it can be seen that by making their store into an “experience” rather than just a store this helps to encourage buying behavior among their clientele and even repeat visits (Ofir and Simonson 164-174).
As such, for any business that wants to increase their customer base, it is important to develop the experience their venue provides in order to appeal to consumers and create repeat business (Sathish and Venkatesakumar, 67-76).
Research Strategy
The research strategy for this particular paper is actually quite simple, by combining academic literature with questionnaires distributed to members of the local populace the researcher will be able to determine what specific “experience” factors encourage consumers to patronize a given establishment.
Data Availability
A brief overview of various academic journal websites showed a plethora of different articles that can be utilized as references.
Not only that, the general availability of various brand name stores in the general vicinity of the researcher as well as potential survey takers in the campus shows that there are numerous sources of data that the researcher can utilize.
Theoretical Framework
Attribution theory centers around the derived assumption of a particular individual/group of people regarding a particular process, product or service based on their experience with it. It is often used as means of investigating consumer opinions regarding a particular product and to determine the level of satisfaction derived from its use.
By utilizing this particular theory as the framework for this study, the researcher will be able to correlate the opinions of the research subjects regarding their assumptions over what practices lead to job satisfaction thus resulting improved performance and staying longer with the company.
Works Cited
Cadogan, John. “Enjoyment Of The Shopping Experience: Impact On Customers’ Repatronage Intentions And Gender Influence.” Service Industries Journal 27.5 (2007): 583-604. Business Source Premier. Web.
Grunert, Klaus. “An Integrative Conceptual Framework For Analyzing Customer Satisfaction With Shopping Trip Experiences In Grocery Retailing.” Journal Of Retailing & Consumer Services 19.4 (2012): 445-456. Business Source Premier. Web.
Ofir, Chezy, and Itamar Simonson. “The Effect Of Stating Expectations On Customer Satisfaction And Shopping Experience.” Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR) 44.1 (2007): 164-174. Business Source Premier. Web.
Sathish, A. S., and Ramakrishnan Venkatesakumar. “Customer Experience Management And Store Loyalty In Corporate Retailing – With Special Reference To “Sony World.” Annamalai International Journal Of Business Studies & Research 3.1 (2011): 67-76. Business Source Premier. Web.
Economic hardships like the recent economic meltdown, call for ways of jump starting different areas or aspects of a countries economy. It is for this reason that many countries have in the recent past designed packages to help breathe life into an otherwise failing economy. Foreign direct investment comes in handy to support government efforts at growing an economy. Ireland is a good example of a country that benefited immensely from FDI. From the brink of bankruptcy, FDI enabled it to transform its economy into a very promising one.
FDI becomes necessary because many governments especially in the developing and third worlds cannot afford the kind of capital necessary for setting up of industrial facilities or singly rolling out infrastructural projects like airports development.
Convincing foreign investors to invest in a country is not easy. It is for this reason that governments engage public relations firms and carry out fully fledged marketing campaigns. The aim of such campaigns is to help potential investors realize the investment potential in given countries. To effectively campaign and create awareness about investment opportunities, many countries have well organized agencies that promote investment. IDA in Ireland has been very instrumental in helping attract FDI through its promotional programs.
Foreign investors are not philanthropists; therefore, they do not invest where they do not foresee awesome returns or profits. Therefore, to discourage or encourage FDI, a government has to look into the attractiveness of its economy and play around with its control on industries in the economy.
Some of the control measures a country can manipulate include taxes, licensing, laws regarding partnerships with foreigners, risk security etc. By manipulating such measures, a country encourages international trading or discourages the same completely.
One factor that largely attracts foreign direct investment is availability of natural resources. However, availability of resources alone is not enough; government policies on resource management either attract or discourage investors. Much foreign direct investment goes into the oil well in the Arab world.
However, some oil rich countries have over time attracted more FDI than others. For example, for a long time, UAE has been the centre of the Arab world; attracting the bulk of FDI. However, in the recent past, small countries like Qatar have become the centre of focus. The countries attract FDI because they have natural resources (oil) but, most importantly, they have instituted friendly government control or policies with regard to the resources. When a country with resources applies anti-FDI policies, it affects growth of international trade.
Another factor that a government has to look into to attract foreign direct investment is the infrastructure. Depending on infrastructural developments, a government indirectly controls what sectors are invested into. Investors only go into a country where operation costs allow for a handsome return on investment. Therefore, when a country improves its airports, road transport and has good water access (ports), it is more likely to attract higher FDI than another with poor roads or one that is landlocked.
Privatization policies also attract or discourage FDI. In the recent past, due to the structural adjustment programs demanded of Africa by the IMF, most national companies were privatized.
A consistent privatization policy often attracts foreign investors. For instance, most telecommunication companies in Africa are owned in part by foreign investors. Taking Kenya as an example, Vodafone from the UK has a majority stake in Safaricom a leading telecommunication company. Privatization and participation of foreign investors helps integrate small economies into the international business.
Pollution from the automobile industry has highlighted the need to find “green” means of transport. The development of electric cars has emerged as a viable option to meet this goal. However, there has been a slow adoption of this type of car because of its high purchase costs and its limited usability and practicality (Great Britain Parliament, 2012).
Since it is not feasible to continue using the internal combustion engine model for long, there is a need to solve some of the inherent challenges inhibiting the adoption of the electric car. This paper proposes different strategies for reducing the cost of electric cars and encouraging people to buy them.
How to Solve Pricing Problems of Electric Cars and Encourage People to buy them
Subsidizing Costs of Electric Cars
This paper has already shown that the high cost of purchasing electric cars is part of the problem inhibiting their adoption. To manage this problem, governments should subsidize the cost of purchasing an electric car and make them affordable to the general populace (Klöckner, 2015).
Exempting them from tax is one way of doing so because it would make them cheaper than buying a conventional car (Ndege, 2012). To make sure such a strategy is effective, governments could increase the taxes levied on conventional cars to discourage people from buying them. Norway has adopted such a strategy successfully (Klöckner, 2015). It has subsidized electric cars at the expense of conventional cars, thereby encouraging its citizens to buy them (Boxwell, 2014).
This is why experts say the country is among the best adopters of the electric car model (Klöckner, 2015). In fact, electric car sales account for one-fifth of the total car sales in the country (Klöckner, 2015). The United Kingdom (U.K) has also adopted similar measures because in 2011, it allocated more than 230 million pounds as subsidies for people who bought electric cars (Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2015).
However, this action was controversial because the government excluded people who bought hybrid vehicles from enjoying the subsidy. Critics of this proposal say that subsidizing electric cars is “taking taxpayers for a ride” because the government subsidizes these cars using taxes (Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2015).
Instead, they have proposed to adopt tax relief measures, as it is more acceptable. This is why the proposal has been adopted relatively well in America. Nonetheless, introducing subsidies to encourage the purchase of electric cars remains a viable option for governments.
Increase Cost of Operating Conventional Cars
Subsidizing the cost of electric cars is one way of encouraging people to buy electric cars. However, another side of the cost strategy is to increase the cost of operating conventional cars. Governments could achieve this goal by using different strategies, including increasing parking fees, hiking the cost of transporting a conventional car via sea vessels, and increasing toll charges on the same cars (Chiras, 2013).
The government also needs to exempt electric cars from such charges to make sure this strategy is effective. Part of this suggestion involves recommending local authorities to exempt electric cars from parking charges. This proposal comes from research studies, which have shown that 65% of car buyers would be inclined to buy an electric car if they got free parking (Duer, Rosenhagen, & Nordic Council of Ministers, 2011).
Improve Vehicle-Charging Infrastructure
Part of the problem noted for the failure of countries to embrace electric cars is the lack of proper infrastructure to charge vehicles. Observers have reported this problem in many cities around the world that struggle to embrace electric cars as the main form of transportation (Duer et al., 2011).
For example, Los Angeles suffers from this problem (Westbrook, Institution of Electrical Engineers & Society of Automotive Engineers, 2001). In fact, in some places, there have been cases where customers have nearly fought for charging spots. Norwegian cities are also suffering the same problem (Klöckner, 2015).
Its existence shows that the demand for electric cars has outstripped the capacity available to support it. In this regard, governments need to provide more incentives for investors to build this infrastructure because it would be futile to manage the demand side of the problem and neglect the supply side (Neckermann, 2015). For example, they could provide incentives for utilities centers to have a charging point for electric vehicles.
Israel has been on the forefront in adopting such recommendations because, recently, it started an initiative to build hundreds of thousands of charging stations across the country (Anderson & Anderson, 2004). In line with this recommendation, the country also reduced the tax rate for electric cars to 10% to encourage more people to purchase electric cars (taxes in Israel could be as high as 100%) (Anderson & Anderson, 2004).
To tackle the problem of drivers who may want to drive longer distances, Israel contracted American companies to supply new batteries to drivers who may want to swap their batteries for new ones when they exhaust their charge (Anderson & Anderson, 2004). There are proposals to replicate the same concept in China because this market is also a fan of electric cars (Anderson & Anderson, 2004).
However, experts are yet to know how Israel’s proposals would work in a small country. Similarly, we are yet to know how the proposals of such a small country, such as Israel, could work in a big country such as China.
Conclusion
The insights highlighted in this paper provide us with valuable insight regarding what potential electric car buyers could be looking for when considering the decision of whether to buy an electric car, or not. Particularly, it draws our attention to the potential for merging government and private efforts in instilling the idea that electric cars are not only good for the environment, but also cheaper to own, compared to conventional cars.
Although most of the recommendations highlighted in this paper are plausible, it is difficult to predict future consumer behavior. Therefore, it is important to apply some of the recommendations proposed in this paper cautiously because they may not have a lot of merit once conventional cars become mainstream.
References
Anderson, C., & Anderson, J. (2004). Electric and Hybrid Cars: A History, 2d ed. New York, NY: McFarland.
Boxwell, M. (2014). The Electric Car Guide – 2015 Edition: Discover the truth about owning and using electric cars. New York, NY: Greenstream Publishing Limited.
Chiras, D. (2013). EcoKids: Raising Children Who Care for the Earth. New York, NY: New Society Publishers.
Duer, H., Rosenhagen, C., & Nordic Council of Ministers. (2011). A Comparative Analysis of Taxes and CO2 Emissions from Passenger Cars in the Nordic Countries. London, UK: Nordic Council of Ministers.
Great Britain Parliament. (2012). Plug-In Vehicles, Plugged in Policy?: Fourth Report of Session 2012-13: Report, Together With Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence, Volume 1. London, UK: The Stationery Office.
Klöckner, C. (2015). The Psychology of Pro-Environmental Communication: Beyond Standard Information Strategies. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ndege, J. (2012). Solutions America. New York, NY: Trafford Publishing.
Neckermann, L. (2015). The Mobility Revolution: Zero Emissions, Zero Accidents, Zero Ownership. New York, NY: Troubador Publishing Ltd.
Veloce Publishing Ltd. (2015). Electric Cars – The Future is Now! London, UK: Veloce Publishing Ltd.
Westbrook, N., Institution of Electrical Engineers., & Society of Automotive Engineers. (2001). The Electric Car: Development and Future of Battery, Hybrid and Fuel-cell Cars. New York, NY: IET.