The Whitsun Weddings Essay Example For Students

The Whitsun Weddings Essay But this is all he is talking about, in these poems he would be most discriminated for, yet all he is thinking about is his own feelings and thoughts, not about the womens at all, so i dont feel that anyone can judge if he sympathises with the women or not as he isnt taking them into consideration. True he does talk about women as objects but only because he wishes he could as this would give him more power in that respect. He proves he doesnt believe in himself through the fact that he ended up dating the friend who he didnt find as attractive as the other bosomy rose. We will write a custom essay on The Whitsun Weddings specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Like the previous two poems, Faith Healing could be thought of as also being about himself in the way that they were about his way of thinking and the way he acts or his relationships. Even though this poem is seemingly about women, we are able to notice a rather jealous tone when Larkin speaks about how women file up like a flock of sheep and will follow whatever is said to them using in this case a religious speaker. Larkin describes the speaker as being Godly; rimless glasses, silver hair, dark suit, white collar being able to persuade women to do whatever he wants them to do, believe whatever he wants them to believe. One may think that this is another mention of his fantasies; being able to tell women what to do yet i feel the poem does in-fact have a sympathetic tone to it. Either sympathetic towards the women not being able to think for themselves, even though he is rather patronising towards them by using animalistic terms such as hoarse tears, thick tongues and sheepishly stray or towards himself for not being the person who he wants to be. One poem that most definitely contrasts to the other poems is Selfs the Man, this is because there is blatant sympathy showed by Larkin, sympathy that still may not please people but i feel no-one will be able to argue with Larkins truthful feelings portrayed in this poem. Larkin tells us in this poem about his friend Arnold and his married life. Larkin tells us that Arnold is less selfish than he is in the way that Larkin feels he is a swine because he has a better life than him. He feels sorry for Arnold because he is stuck with a woman all day and she orders him round so much that he has no time at all. Larkin spends the first half of the poem describing Arnolds life, sympathising with him but also laughing at him for being such a fool. Towards the end of the poem we see Larkin starting to question his theory by asking himself if it was such a mistake and finishing off the poem saying he knows what i can stand or i suppose i can which shows he is thoroughly doubting who is better off. So in this poem we can see a change in Larkins views from the sympathetic, mocking view to hesitating on whether in-fact are people sympathising with him because of his situation. The final poem i will look at, i feel of one of the saddest poems Larkin has written as in Afternoons we see him describe a stage in a young mothers life where her youth is fading and she has got stuck into a routine. This routine is also described by saying the mothers assemble rather than meet up which suggests they have a strict and controlled life. The word hollows also conveys an emptiness in their lives, words such as hollows, fading and fall create a very sad tone that has not been seen in many of Larkins poems as they suggest a huge loss in their lives, causing Larkin to sympathise with the young mothers. .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 , .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .postImageUrl , .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 , .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09:hover , .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09:visited , .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09:active { border:0!important; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09:active , .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09 .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1f21fd6e54adb59675daceaf59419d09:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Beyond the arabin poetry EssayAlso we can see Larkin sympathise with married women in general which is very surprising in itself as he says that stand husbands, their children and an estateful of washing dominate their lives. From this i have come to the conclusion that in relation to the question how fair is the criticism Larkin has a lack of sympathy in his poetry i believe it is not fair, Larkin is sympathetic. Perhaps he is not as sympathetic as some poets but i feel that for a man with Larkins views, through his poetry he is able to sympathise with himself and his own views and also sympathise with others if that is what he was not to write about. I do not feel that Larkin should be discriminated because of his poetry purely because his poetry is his views; he should have to start sympathising with people if that is not what he believed in. From this selection of poems, i personally have identified sympathy in all the poems i have looked at. I feel that sympathy towards yourself can still count as being sympathetic and i honestly feel that Larkin often was not happy with himself in the ways he felt inadequate and not able to be someone he wishes he would be. Afternoons showed the most sympathy and unusually towards women which was very rare for him to look at a womans point of view. Still it proves he can still sympathise with women if he actually thinks about them and their views. In his other poems he usually only concentrates of himself which might cause readers to think that he isnt being sympathetic but why would you need to talk about other people in your own poetry? He would not have thought of a target audience that a novelist would. He usually does talk about himself but as proven in Afternoons, when he does choose to think away from his point of view Larkin does show a sympathetic side backed up with an even more surprising saddened tone. This showing that even a stubborn man such as Larkin can still identify with other people in a sympathetic manor. Georgina Sims Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Philip Larkin section.

Differences Between Fordist And Post-Fordist Work Essays

Differences Between Fordist And Post-Fordist Work Essays Differences Between Fordist And Post-Fordist Work Paper Differences Between Fordist And Post-Fordist Work Paper This essay will be examining the conceptual framework of both Fordism and Post Fordism alike. It will be examining how Fordism began, and how through many different changes, both within the industrial sector as well as Society as a whole, there was a switch to Post Fordism. It will incorporate my own experiences of working in retail, in order to demonstrate how I perceive the way in which Post Fordism is evident in the workplace, in addition to demonstrating that, Fordism has not been totally replaced and is still present in more ways than one. Fordism refers to the system of consumption and mass production characteristic of highly developed economies during the nineteen forties, right through until the nineteen sixties. Under Fordism, there was mass consumption combined with mass production, which produced sustained economic growth and widespread material advancement. The 1970s-1990s however have been a period of slower growth and increasing income inequality. During this period of time, the system of organisation of production and consumption has, almost, undergone a second transformation. This new system is often referred to as the flexible system of production or the Japanese management system. On the production side, the flexible system of production is characterised by remarkable reductions in information costs and expenses, total Quality Management, just-in-time inventory control, and leaderless work groups. On the consumption side: by the globalisation of consumer goods markets; faster product life cycles; far greater product/market segmentation and differentiation. Henry Ford, (born 1863- died 1947) founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903. In 1908 the company initiated the production of the Model-T, of which the company sold 15million. It was the first car of its kind to built using a new type of production. Fordism involves the mass production of consumer durables, which are made on moving assembly line techniques operated with the semi-skilled labour of the mass worker. Before cars were produced by hand which was both time consuming and very expensive. The actual physical production of the car was also a problem due to numerous parts involved, the Model T took only 12. hours per car to be built from start to finish, a build time which would have been impossible to sustain on a continuous basis before. It was from this new process of the production line that Fordism took its name. Henry Ford had come up with a way of producing cars that broke the overall production process down into hundreds and sometimes thousands of small, individualised, highly-specialised, parts. By introducing a complex division of labour, Ford r easoned (correctly) that costs could be lowered and profits increased. The production was a new way of thinking and doing, helped made possible by new advances in machinery. Fordism, or Henry Fords new ideas of manufacturing, came about as a solution to a problem: that of how to increase the amount produced and decrease the time needed to produce it. He saw the existing methods of production as being slow, laborious and inefficient. Previously, workers had been highly skilled and because of these specialised skills, they were highly paid. This however, was all about to change. Fords main contributions to mass production/consumption were in the area of process engineering. The hallmark of his system was standardisation. Standardised components, standardised manufacturing processes, and a simple, easy to manufacture and repair, standard product. Ford had done this by employing a workforce that needed the minimal training, and had little skills. Fords first factory was at River rouge in Detroit. The management principals that were in place at that time were that of intensive work-planning and close supervision of the workers. The job involved very little training, and involved the employee to insert a car part into a machine, to which the machine carried out the work, not the employee. Ford regulated how the employees worked, in the sense that he would calculate the speed at which an employee took to carry out a particular task, and then a standard was set. He carried out Time and Motion studies in order to ensure that there was maximum efficiency on the production line, in order to minimise waste. Anyone who didnt comply or couldnt keep up with the times set was dismissed. Ford took great pleasure hiring and firing, often replacing older employees, with younger, faster, more efficient employees. He also had many rules, such as no talking and whispering with fellow employees, as he felt that this distracted them from their work. Others however believed that due to his paranoid nature, he did not want his employees conspiring against his work ethics. Because the job was so repetitive, and restrictive to the employee, morale was also low and the staff turnover was high. This prompted Henry Ford to introduce the Five Dollar a Day. This was a relatively high wage level, however it could only be obtained when the worker had worked for a continuous six months and complied with all the rules that were in place at that time. Henry Ford decided that this was the best way to get the workers to work at the speed, and in the way that he wanted. And so Fordism began. It basically meant that the workforce should be recognised as a valuable, integral part of the production of a product, rather that being treated as a commodity to be kept at arms length. If the workers feel valued and appreciated, then they are much more likely to work harder, with a lot more thought put into their work However, during the great depression in the States, during the nineteen twenties and thirties, there was very little disposable income. Therefore, this meant that there was no longer a great demand for the Ford car. Furthermore, people had become tired of owning the same car as their friends and neighbours, and longed for a change, and a break from the norm. After the depression, during the Long Boom (1945-1970+), the Fordism way of working was no longer seen as a way of treating employees, as well as a way of working and managing working production. After this period, the white collar professionals replaced the assembly line worker in totally new line of work. This was done through the introduction of hi-technology companies, and a great influx in communications and marketing. Scientists, academics and university graduates, who had the skills to invent new information technologies, took the power away from the industrialists and bureaucrats, who for so long had dominated with economic power. The post-Fordist division of the work-force between a skill-flexible core and a time-flexible periphery, which is now replacing the old manual/non-manual distinction, underlies a shift from the post-war vision of a one-nation mass consumption system to a two-nations model based on the affluent flexible worker plus a social security state (Jessop et al. 1987: 109-10) The period of Post-Ford has also witnessed the introduction of better-paid jobs, which, unlike Fordism, also hold better job security. Skilled workers were also better paid and as such a far greater amount of people were taking up places at university, where the end result of an Honours degree meant that many were employed by large companies to design and build robots, which would slowly take over the work of previous employees. Many Functionalists would say that this change, from Fordism to Post Fordism was a momentous step, in the sense that things are changing for employees, and employers for the better. Through perks at work such as work incentives, as well as extra pay for working unsociable hours etc, workers nowadays, in all lines of work, feel that they have received a better deal. From the bin man, who is now referred to as the refuse collector, to the shop worker, who is now referred to as a sales advisor, most would agree that not only standards in the workplace have went up, but also morale, and how people view their jobs. But is this the case? Through examining my own experiences of work, it is apparent that yes, things have changed for better, but also for worse. And that often, the unsuspecting employee is being exploited and demoralised by Post Fordism, all in the name of profits. Whilst working in Marks Spencer before beginning university, employees were subjected to both indirect as well as direct forms of conformity, in every aspect of work. From the first day of work, employees had details of themselves taken for Marks Spencers uses only. These included broad details of Address, and bank account, right through to personal details about health and fitness. At which, on receipt of these, the company knew practically every detail about the employee, and therefore could run checks etc. n them without their knowledge. Employees were then initiated into the company by means of videos, depicting other employees who were so appreciative to Marks Spencer for the conditions and perks that they have in their job. In addition to this was a video in which the Managing Director thanked the new employees for deciding to work for the company. They w ere also told that their work would be well valued and appreciated, and that anything positive they do within the company would go towards prolonging the quality of the company. New employees were then given new, identical uniforms to each other and sent down to work on the shop floor where the policy is The customer is always right, and after watching the videos and being in receipt of the numerous pep talks, each felt they owed a duty to the company.. The Sales Advisor job, to many, is a more sophisticated term for shop worker, however most employees take the term seriously. Contracts were given strictly on a temporary basis. In that there was never any job security, because, employees were employed under the agreement that they would receive a trial run, so-to-speak. And when the period of employment that they had worked was up, they would be graded accordingly, in terms of how they spoke to and listened to customers, and managers alike, the employees appearance and attitude to working, and also most importantly, how hard they worked. Most contracts were given for a maximum of 8 to 10 weeks, and in this time, any employee that had three days of absence was told that their contract would not be renewed, regardless of how they performed in the other criteria of how they worked, i. . timekeeping and appearance. As mentioned previously, the employees wear identical uniforms to each other; this is to suppress individuality and to promote a sense that everyone is equal. Managers however wear smart suits, and show their superiority over the shop floor workers, making them aware that although everyone is important in their own way, some are a lot more important than others, and therefore should receive more respect, in terms of how they are spoken to and treated. During the Marks Spencer revamp during 1998, it was customary for the top managers to come down to the shop floor to engage in conversations with the floor workers about what they thought of the overhaul, giving the impression that the floor workers opinions counted. When in actual fact, the plans had already been drawn up, and so basically, what the managers were doing was to try to boost staff morale, with little impact. New staffs were unable to join the Union as it was thought that they should be on a permanent contract before they joined up, therefore it was hard for someone to voice concern or a complaint. Sales advisors are kept under close guard, in the sense that, there were hi-Tec CCTV cameras, strategically placed around the store, with extra cameras placed in front and behind every till, to record every move. Talking to fellow employees was discouraged, and only permitted if it was work related and relevant to that particular point in time. Although employees were initially welcomed and made to feel like an asset to the company, very soon this appreciation, turned to suspicion and distrust. However, through the intervention of CCTV and Managers, employees and their actions are scrutinised at every move, without them realising it. Overall, this essay has aimed to explain how social relations within the workplace are a result of Fordism and also post Fordism. It is evident that although Fordism proved not to be an acceptable or effective way of treating employees, it wasnt totally off tract. Now days, where Post Fordism is evident almost everywhere, it is apparent that the conceptual framework of Fordism still plays a major role in the company policies of many workforces, from the corner shop, to the large corporations, where keeping the employee on their toes and scrutinising their every move ensures that profits and sales remain high. Employees are ideologically conditioned into believing that they are working for the good of a company, who respects and values what they do. In some cases this is true, but in most cases employees are there merely to boost profits, and are easily replaceable, as they are more than aware of.