Information Of Wijaya Group Of Companies Information Technology Essay

Information Of Wijaya Group Of Companies Information Technology Essay The Wijaya Group Of Companies was established in 1977 with a limited number of employees to conduct the business. It has a history of over 3 decades today, and has created employment opportunities for nearly 1200 employees. The Chairman of Wijaya Group of Companies, Mr. K.R.G. Wijesundara came out with the initial idea of establishing this company with regard to apparel industry 30 yrs ago. As the owner of the company Mr. Wijesundara has faced a lot of challenges in directing the company to achieve its prime targets due to the continues changes in the external environmental factors which aroused from the newly introduced open economic trading policies to Sri Lanka at that time. The demand factors in the apparel industry changed completely and created many niche markets during this era, forcing Mr. Wijesundara to introduce many strategies and tactics in order to face these challenges and direct his employees continuously. Due to the correct controlling measures adopted, he was able to motivate his employees and carry out a friendly environment within the organization leaving a space for the employees to complete their individual tasks effectively and efficiently. The Wijaya Group of Companies was able to expand its core business to many new areas in the industry within a very shorter period of time due to the collective efforts by the employees of all categories starting from the top management to bottom level. Among its customers The Wijaya Group of Company, is well known as C.I.B Shopping Center today, and it provides many products under single roof, starting from imported as well as locally manufactured garments to other important house hold items. The prime target of this company is to invest in new business ventures and expand it locally as well as internationally, and as a result of this the management soon came up with the idea of specializing in some sectors and opened up special outlets for Sarees which was named as Wijaya Saree Mandhir. By the end of this year the Wijaya Group Of Companies, holds 22 branches in Sri Lanaka, and conducts its business based on a Divisional Structure headed by five separate Regional Managers from region s such as Western Province, Sabaragamuwa Province, North Western Province, North Central Province, and Central Province. This company has currently employed 21 branch managers, to direct the activities all around its branches. THE VISSION AND MISSION OF WIJAYA GROUP OF COMPANIES THE HIERARCHIAL STRUCTURE OF WIJAYA GROUP OF COMPANIES THE PROBMLEM IDENTIFIED THE ABSENCE OF ONLINE SELLING The Wijaya Group Of Companies currently holds the ownership of 22 outlets which includes Shopping Centers as well as special outlets for Sarees and Tailoring. As the management always tends to expand its operations in different sectors, today they are in brink of introducing its products to the global market. The C.I.B shopping centers have a wider variety of products ranging from garments to household items and today it holds a strong portion of loyal customers that shop in these centers regularly. At present the management of Wijaya Group of Company, is working hard on increasing the customer base they are holding currently, and the most common methods in use are the various marketing tactics which varies from Price differences to different Bonus Offers, through such measures the management has been able to attract customers continuously. But despite all this, our team was able to identify a problem which was a major drawback in this company, and that is the Absence of Online Selling Today we live in a highly globalized world, where each in every individual and a country is interconnected via Internet and as a result of this, selling tactics used by most of the organizations are moving towards a more web based structure. The marketing strategies used by most of these organizations are diverted to meet this new trend in order to achieve the competitive advantage over their competitors. Profit maximization is considered as a prime target in most of the organizations today, and in order to achieve this it is vital to approach a customer before the competitor, and provide updated information to them. A company can easily achieve this through online selling, where a complex procedure like selling can be done by a single click on the screen, rather than meeting different retailers, distributors etc.. providing many advantages to the customer as well as the company itself. Literature Review Internet Electronic Commerce The Internet The Internet is a vast public web of computer networks, which connects users of all types all around the world to each other and to an amazingly large information repository. It is been hailed as the new technology behind the New Economy. It allows anytime, anywhere connections to information, entertainment and communication. At present many companies use the Internet to build close relationships with customers, and marketing partners. Beyond competing in traditional market places, they now have access to exciting new market spaces. The Internet may help a business in the following methods. 1. Virtual storefront Sells physical products directly to consumers or to individual businesses. Example: Amazon.com 2. Information broker Provides product, pricing, and availability information to individuals and businesses and generates revenue from advertising or from directing buyers to sellers. Example: Edmunds.com, Kbb.com 3. Transaction broker Saves users money and time by processing online sales transactions, generating a fee each time a transaction occurs. Also provides information on rates and terms. Example: Expedia.com 4. Online marketplace Provides a digital environment where buyers and sellers can meet, search for products, display products, and establish prices for those products. It could provide online auctions or reverse auctions where buyers submit bids to multiple sellers to purchase at a buyer specified price as well as negotiate to fix pricing. Example: eBay.com, Priceline.com 5. Content Provider Creates revenue by providing digital content such as digital news, music, photos, or video, over the Web. The customer may to access the content. or revenue may be generated by selling advertising space. Example: CNN.com, TheStreet.com 6. Online service provider Provide online service for individuals and businesses and generates revenue from subscription or transaction fees, from advertising, or from collecting marketing information from users. Example: salesforce.com 7. Virtual community Provides online meeting place where people with similar interests can communicate and find useful information. Example: Fortunecity.com 8. Portal Provides initial point of entry to the Web along with specialized content and other services. Example: Yahoo.com, MSN.com Electronic Commerce Electronic commerce which is also known as e-commerce is a form of doing business via internet. It can be also known as the buying and selling processes supported by electronic means, primarily the internet. E-commerce includes e-marketing and e-purchasing. Ecommerce benefits both buyers and sellers in many ways such as ; it could be convenient, buying can be easy and private, it could provide greater product access to buyers, online buying and selling could be more interactive and immediate, it could be used as a tool for building good customer relationships, from the sellers point it could reduce costs, increase speed and efficiency, and also it could be more flexible way of conducting business. IT Based Solution Starting an online selling operation Implementation Issues Starting an Online Selling Operation The Wijaya Group Of Companies is a medium sized chain, which conducts its business as shopping centers and saree centers in five different provinces in Sri Lanka, and concentrates mainly in the apparel sector today, by providing imported as well as in house garments to varies levels of categories. Currently it uses traditional methods in selling operations and has not adopted itself to the latest method of selling, which is done through internet. Starting an online selling operation system and getting involved in e-commerce would benefit the company in many ways with the present days rapidly changing business world. Since Wijaya Group of Companies holds 22 outlets, they could build up an intranet which is an internal network based on Internet and World Wide Web technology standards. All the shopping centers therefore could be linked to one another. This system will help the chain to communicate and keep track of their stocks. Wijaya Group Of Companies could also develop an extranet, which is a private intranet that is accessible to authorized outsiders such as suppliers of the company. Suppliers could communicate with the company via extranet and supply products when needed and each shopping center may place orders when they reach a re-order level. This company could have their own lease line to keep connected to their most important suppliers. This company may start off their online selling procedure by launching their own Web site. This web site may include information about the chain, their products, and their branches, how to purchase a product online, payments, making orders, checking on new products, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. They could use banner ads which are graphic displays on web pages used for advertising and the banner should be linked on to the company web site so that the person clicking on the banner will be transported to the company web site immediately. They could develop a portal which is a web site or other service that provides an initial point of entry to the web pr to internal company data. This portal could provide its viewers with a directory of information on the internet along with news, telephone directories, maps, shopping and other services. They could also develop their own internal portals to provide employees with streamlined access to corporate information resources. CostWijaya Group Of companies will be able to sell their products directly to retail customers via internet, by passing intermediaries such as distributors or retail outlets. The purchase transaction costs could be reduced in great numbers by eliminating intermediaries in the distribution channel (disintermediation). The company could also reinforce re intermediation by shifting the intermediary role in a value chain to a new source. The benefits of disintermediation to the consumer are illustrated below. Rs.128 Rs.120 Rs.100 As this processes show, the selling operation of the company could be changed into a much simpler process if the company adopts the online selling method, by reducing the extra responsibilities of retail outlets and distributors which will help to cut down the costs. The company can use interactive features of web pages to hold consumers attention or to capture detailed information about their tastes and interests. The company web site can be a bountiful source of detailed information about customer behavior, preferences, needs, and buying patterns and the company can use this information to tailor promotions, products, services and pricing. The web site of the company could also obtain customer information by asking visitors to register online and provide information about them. These information along with the consumers previous purchases could be recorded in the company web site and the next time the same consumer logs in, the web page could greet him/her by his/her name (ex: Welcome Peter) and provide the consumer with products similar to the previous purchases. This system will motivate the consumer to purchase products more often from C.I.B shopping centers and will help build strong customer relationships. Communications and product offerings can be tailored precisely to individual customers. Wijaya Group of Companies can create a unique personalized web page which is also known as web personalization that displays content or ads for products of special interest to each user. Apart from these, they can develop their electronic payment systems and receive payments online, and could create blogs to gather customer suggestions, they could even use their web site and e-mail to customer questions and provide customers with helpful information. The web site may also have link such as push to talk for instance where visitors could click on and request for a phone call in case of any inquiry and the company should have a call center connected with this link to provide this service. STEPS TO CRATE AN ONLINE STOREFRONT SHOPPING CART PROGRAMME MERCHANT ACCOUNT (BANK) PAYEMENT GATEWAY E-COMMERCE WEB SITE SHOPPER The above picture shows the process of online selling. The procedure of online selling statrs with the creation of a website of the company and ends with a transaction which is done via credit cards. Get Signed Up with the Best Wholesale Distributors If a company plans to expand its operations to online, it is important to search for the best wholesale distributors, drop-shippers and sign up with them. In this case it is vital for Wijaya Group Of Companies, to complete this task first inorder to run the online selling process smoothly. These wholesale distributors offer the lowest wholesale prices around and drop-ship the products directly to the customers location with the name of the business on the box, so that it will appear to your customer as if the package came from the oraganization itself. This will be a brilliant concept for Wijaya Group of Companies as it will help to increase the loyality of customers towards their products. Build Up the Online Storefront Creating a website is the next major step in this,the company will have to create and register their own unique domain name. (eg : www.cib-shop.com). The company has to choose a reliable web hosting provider as well. After selecting the unique domain name,it is important to create and design a professional and profitable Internet Storefront that will entice visitors to buy the products on their first visit. Select a suitable E-Commerce Software It is important to select software that suits the needs of the company. Through this Wijaya Group Of Companies will be able to take and process orders. Recommended Software : Product Cart Software Select a suitable way to collect Payments A sophisticated payment method is a must in online selling. Most of the organizations accept the credit card system today as it simplifies the transaction to the customer as well as the company. Wijaya Group of Companies can select the system as it fits, and some of the methods used by other organizations are: Real time Credit Card Processing through a number of supported payment gateways, Offline Credit Card Processing (eg : A company can use their POS if they have retail stores), Checks, Purchase order, PayPal, Google Checkout etc.. Key Facts in Online Selling Choosing the Right Niche This is a vital factor in online selling. The products a company plans to sell through online has a greater impact on the final value of sales, and this could be only achieved by selecting the exact niche market. Even after selecting the correct niche market if a company fails to deliver the updated information through working hard and introducing new features to their site in a daily basis still a company will fail to meet the targets set by the management. The Wijaya Group Of Companies will have to consider this matter seriously, if they want to achieve competitive advantage over their competitors. They must be in a position to update information of the new products immediately to the site and present it to the customers creatively. In the physical world, niches are based on geography, but Geography is almost irrelevant on the Internet. So it is important for Wijaya Group to choose a niche small enough that they can dominate and maintain it through constant updates. High Production Value In a print catalog, production values refers to the quality of the paper and printing processes used, the number and quality of images, and the care taken with graphic design. High production values are critically important in catalogs, which have to convince consumers to buy based on a few sheets of paper. Production values are even more important on the Web. Consumers will not buy from an amateurish Web site. Most of the people who visit a site will still find the idea of ordering online unusual as it requires a number of special facilities. The management of this company will have to concentrate on this matter, because the site created by them needs to inspire visitors with confidence. It should say that it is a kind of company that does things right, and that if a customer order something from there, it will be a good experience for them. Promoting the Site Having a great Web site is not enough. The success of it, relies on how far the site is capable of bringing in people to it. But promoting an online store is different from promoting an ordinary Web site, because through an online store a company targets to sell its products. Earlier the only answer available for promoting a site was through a Search Engine that provides space for all kinds of products. But recently Internet Hubs like Yahoo! And MSN have created areas just for shopping, giving more prominence to frequently requested products. If a company plans to advertise its products and sell those before its competitors, it is important to make sure that the site created by the company appears in the first place as soon as the customer request for similar sites. A company can achieve this by using the key words which relates to the products frequently, as it creates a greater chance for the search engines to filter it out. So it is important for the management of the Wijaya Group of Companies to look in to this fact and create a site which can be easily filtered by the search engines. It is important to use these key words (eg : the word clothes) in a natural manner and give out the relevant information to the customer, without irritating them by using it repeatedly in each and every sentence and phrase. Emphasize the Services Online selling is becoming popular in a slow pace in Sri Lanka, and the number of uses who make use of this facility keeps on increasing in a daily basis today. As it is in the verge of growth most of the people who visit a store will still find the idea of buying online a little strange, so it is important to reassure these customers. The most powerful confidence builder is a top-quality site: high production values go to work directly on the visitors subconscious. But its also important to reassure visitors explicitly. It is important for a company to ensure the security level of their site and the transactions done, as it will have a great impact on the buying patterns of a customer, and if a company is capable of providing the required level of security, they have to highlight it and mention it to the customer clearly, and this can be considered as an emphasizing of a service provided by the company. Advantages and Disadvantages in Online selling Advantages Online shopping malls give an immediate online presence. Sector-specific malls can provide an effective route to your target market. Theyre easy to set up for people with moderate IT skills. You dont need to go through the process of setting up an  Internet  merchant account. You often get help and support in getting your store operational. Updating your subscribers can be done almost instantly through email. Visitors to your website can get up to the minute information on each visit. If you are having a sale, your customers can start shopping at the discounted prices literally as soon as they open their email. The cost of spreading your message is next to nothing. Emailing your subscription base is more often cheaper than sending a letter through the mail. Disadvantages The online selling operation would definitely benefit the company in many ways when comparing with the traditional method which is followed at present. But introducing the new technology to the company may be very costly from the companys point of view in terms of equipment, staff, buildings, maintenance cost, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. It may be very risky and the results would be unpredictable. Going online and selling online will require more professional and technical staff and since the system will eliminate paper work, a great number of employees will have to be terminated from their jobs. Incase the system fails the company will have to face the probability of losing its existing customers. Online selling operations require a special online payment scheme. These Payment Schemes have a greater risk of getting hacked, so the customers will be reluctant to give their credit card information and avoid this method of online selling. There is a lot of competition for the products introduced by an organization. By the time your customer finds you, they have tried out other links. Unless they can find what they are looking for quickly, they are gone. Recommendations The Wijaya Group of Companies should not directly stop conducting its business in the traditional method instead they should practice a parallel strategy where both the systems should be conducted. The company should adopt its web site according to the changing environment and not just stick to the basics of a web site ( ex: add more links) The company could develop a corporate intranet for the key departments in the business. ( ex: Finance and accounting, Human resources, Manufacturing and production, Sales and marketing) In order to attract the customers it is important to update the information available frequently.

The Process Model in Policy Changes

The Process Model in Policy Changes This paper advances the theoretical framework of the stagist heuristic framework or sometimes known as the process model in attempting to explain and analyze the policy activities which led to the enactment of Quebecs Tobacco Act  [1]  of 1998. The main premise of this paper is to evaluate the usefulness of the process model in understanding the policy making process through a comparative study between this model and the Advocacy Coalition framework (ACF). I employ, and borrow, the case study of Bretton et al., (2008) that offers an alternative outlook to the developments of the Tobacco Act using the Advocacy Coalition Framework. This paper concludes with a discussion of the models which satisfactorily reflect the reality of how policies are formulated and enforced. 1. Introduction This paper is organized into 4 parts. Part one sketches the theoretical perspectives of the stagist heuristic model and examines the factors and processes leading to the adoption of the Tobacco Act. Crucially, this part will highlight the critical role of policy actors in affecting policy processes and outcomes. Part Two provides a critical analysis to the effectiveness of the model by elaborating the advantages of the model. Part Three will go on to provide criticisms of the model by comparing it with the advocacy coalition framework used in analyzing the Tobacco Act of 1998. This part will present the many criticisms of the stagist model, using mainly contributions offered by Lindblom Woodhouse (1993) and Sabatier (1999). Finally, Part Four concludes with a brief overall assessment of the framework, considering in particular, its status as an analytical tool for understanding policy making in the real world. In the context of this paper, policy analysis is defined as a set of interrelated decisions taken by a group of political actor or group of actors concerning the selection of goals and the means of achieving them within a specified situation where those decisions should, in principle, be within the power of those actors to achieve (Jenkins, 1978: 35). From Jenkinss (1978) definition above, which acknowledges public policy as a set of interrelated decisions taken by numerous individuals and organizations in government, I will form the basis of this paper. I will focus solely in understanding the processes or what Jenkins (1978) referred to as interrelated decisions leading to the adoption of the Tobacco Act. His definition also correlates to Lasswells conceptualization of knowledge of rather than knowledge in policy making, in which the latter (i.e. knowledge in), is more substantive and prescriptive (Dunn, 1981; Hogwood Gunn, 1984, Hill, 1993). The policy domain is inherently complex, and so analysts have made use of various models of simplification to comprehend the overwhelming situation and to understand it more thoroughly. Through the lens of the stagist heuristic model, policy analysts have been able to synthesize the complexity of such process into a series of functional phases, which frame this overtly political process as a continuous process of policy making. 1.1. The Stagist Heuristic Framework As pioneered by Lasswell (1956), and modified by Jones (1970), Mack (1971), Rose (1973), Anderson (1975), Jenkins (1978), Brewer De Leon (1983) and Hogwood Gunn (1984), this ideal-type framework adopts a technocratic approach to public policymaking, embracing linear and logical progression from agenda setting and concluding with policy evaluation and termination. The chronological orders of the policy life cycle are commonly categorized as problem definition, agenda-setting, policy formulation, implementation and finally evaluation (Dunn, 1981; Hogwood Gunn, 1984; Sabatier, 1999; Dye, 2002; Colebatch, 2002). 1.1.2. Problem recognition and definition. Hitherto, the greatest impetus to the developments of policy science crystallizes on a response to a myriad of social problems within, what Lasswell terms as policy orientation (cited in Dunn, 1981; Hogwood Gunn, 1984; Howlett Ramesh, 2003). Similarly, the process model presupposes the recognition of problem triggered by a felt existence of problems or opportunities (Dunn, 1981). A problem is defined as an unrealized value, need, or opportunity which, however identified, may be attained through public attention (Dunn, 1981: 44) which needs to do something about as pointed out by Wildavsky (1979) a difficulty is a problem only if something can be done about it (Wildavsky, 1979:26). However, problem recognition and definition are not straight forward activities. According to Birkland (2007) because a problem is a process of social construction, as mirrored by Dunn (1981) who states how the problem is in the eye of the beholder (Dunn, 1981: 27), it depends on subjectivity of interpretations held by various stakeholders. And so, the majority ruling may be ill-defined and, at times, may even be misframed  [2]  (Baker, 1977). In addition, as Steiss Deneke (1980) suggests, problems are seldom mutually exclusive because they often exist in a hierarchical relationship to one another, and the solution of one may depend on the solution of another, either higher or lower in the hierarchy (Hogwood Gunn, 1984: 124); therefore may often lead to a further redefinition and modification of the problematical situations (Wohlestetter, 1976; Wildavsky, 1979; McRae Wilde, 1985), which, in turn, lead to the creation and realization of more problems (Wildavsky, 1979), which I go on to address in the following paragraph. Quebecs Tobacco Act was primarily enacted as a response to the growing concerns of the public towards the issue of passive smokers or secondary smokers. As reported by Breton et al. (2008), the Tobacco Act was enacted to protect the fundamental right of non smokers to enjoy a smoke free environment than by the harms to health (Breton, et al., 2008: 1682). However, the definition of the issue leads to the discovery of more social problems. On one hand, problems such as addictiveness of smoking, prevalence of youth smokers (which have significantly lead to raising educational awareness of the hazards of smoking), how the majority of the population are non smokers and, finally, the financial burden to the public health care system are brought to attention. On the other hand, protesters of the bill have contested the lethality to passive smokers, arguing that such intervention might impede the competitiveness of the tobacco industry (through the implementation of tax) and, thus, affect t he economy of the province. In liberal democracies, such as Quebec, problem identification and definition are conceptualized as highly pluralistic, involving diverse policy stakeholders such as the public (population, retailers), individuals (Minister of Health), organizations (e.g. Quebec Division of Cancer society, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Hospital industry), interest groups (e.g. Tobacco manufacturers, Non Smokers Right Association, Tobacco workers union, Events Rallying for the Freedom of Sponsorship group), the media, policy communities (Regional Public Health Directorates [RPHD], columnists and journalists, Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control [CQCT] and also mentioned U.S administration) (Dunn, 1981; Sabatier, 1991; Kingdon, 1995; Dye, 2002; Howlett Ramesh, 2003); the actual agenda setting is characterized by different patterns in terms of actor composition and the role of public. There are outside initiation as well as inside initiation  [3]  (May, 1991 cited in Fisher, Miller Sidney, 2007); mobilization and consolidation  [4]  (Howlett Ramesh, 2003). In this case, the tobacco control adheres to Howlett Ramesh (2003) concept of consolidation; whereby due to the impending agitation of the issue amongst the public and subsequent contraband crisis of cigarettes smuggling in the US, policy elites (prominently the new Minister of Health and the National Assembly [NMA]) have seized the opportunity for government legitimacy in tobacco control by, effectively, propagandizing the issue to the public via regularly intervening in the media on different aspects of tobacco control and visiting MNAs cabinets (Breton et al., 2008: 1685). 1.1.3. Agenda setting Next, I explore the agenda setting phase which Birkland (2007) defined as the process by which problems and alternative solutions gain or lose public and elite attention (cited in Fisher, Miller Sidney, 2007: 63). The elevation from systemic agenda into institutional agenda  [5]  is usually dominated by power struggles between groups competing to elevate or block issues from reaching the institutional agenda (Cobb Ross, 1997); acting singly or, more often, by building strategic coalition with others (Sabatier, 1991; Lindblom Woodhouse, 1993). From the case study, this process is signaled by the agenda of the new Minister of Health and the tabling of the bill by the Council of Ministers at the legislative meeting. As part of his strategy in building a winning coalition, the Minister successfully gathers allies and supporters for the bill by establishing the CQCT; embracing Sabatiers ACF model. In addition, Breton et al. (2008) mentioned that the Minister of Health has also announced plans to include in the bill provisions that prohibit active involvement of tobacco companies in sponsoring arts and sports events. Spearheaded by the centralized coordination of the CQCT, the winning coalitions which compose of Non Smokers Association and various municipalities through representatives from the RPHD, effectively debated the bill and gathered political support from the Council of Ministers at the parliamentary commission meetings, which resulted in the official adoption of the bill on February, 1998. 1.1.4. Policy formulation and decision-making. In the traditional stage model of the public policy process, policy formulation is part of the pre-decision phase of policy making in which the political interchange described by Lindblom (1993) as competition of ideas emanates. It involves identifying and/or crafting a set of policy alternatives to address a problem, and narrowing that set of solutions in preparation for the final policy decision. This approach to policy formulation, embedded in a stages model of the policy process, assumes that participants in the policy process recognize and define a policy problem, consequently moving it onto the policy agenda. During this stage of the policy cycle, expressed problems, proposals and demands are transformed into government programs. At the same time, studies of policy formulation have been strongly dominated by the effort to improve practices within governments by introducing the techniques and tools of rational decision making. In all political systems people gather facts, interpret them and debate issues. This stage is when the Minister establishes centralized command through CQCT to formulate the policy to tackle the issue of public smoking. In addition, the continuous dialogue and consultation involved in an agreement of the bill with NGOs, municipalities, health institution, local and regional organizations as well as oppositions falls into this stage. Crucially, the bill was also amended to streamline the phasing out of tobacco industry sponsorship but offered no alternative solution to youth smoking and did not contest the actual harms on health of tobacco use (Breton, et al., 2008: 1 686). Brewer DeLeon (1983) usefully define decision making as the choice among policy alternatives that have been generated and their likely effects on the problem estimatedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is the most overtly political stage in so far as the many potential solutions are winnowed down and but one or a select few picked and readied for use. (Howlett Ramesh, 2003:162). The models on decision making are classified as rationalism which asserts utility maximization to complex policy problems in which policy relevant information was gathered and then focused in a scientific fashion on the assessment of policy options (Howlett Ramesh, 2003:166); and incrementalism which describes policy making as a political activity of maintaining the status quo through gradual and continuation of past policies. 1.1.5. Implementation. Dye (2002) defined implementation as the implementation of policies through organized bureaucracies, public expenditures, and the activities of executive agencies (Dye, 2002: 15). Intra- and inter- organizational coordinating problem and interaction of field of agencies with the target group ranked as the most prominent variables accounting for implementation failures (MacRae Wilde, 1985; Howlett Ramesh, 2003). Another explanation focuses on the policy itself, acknowledging that unsuccessful policy implementation can be, though by no means the only, result of bad implementation, but also bad policy design, based on wrong assumptions about the cause-effect relationship (Hogwood Gunn, 1984; Fisher et al., 2007: 52). The study of implementation is dominated by the concept of top-down centralized implementation and bottom-up implementation. The top-down school or the vertical dimension represented, for instance, by scholars like Van Meter Van Horn (1975), Hood (1976), Gunn (1978), Nakamura Smallwood (1980) and Mazmanian Sabatier (1983), conceive of implementation as the hierarchical execution of centrally defined policy intentions (Fisher et al., 2007:89). Proponents of the bottom-up or horizontal approach include Lipsky (1971, 1980), Ingram (1977), Elmore (1980), and Hjern Hull (1983) who have emphasized the fact that implementation consists of everyday problem strategies of street-level bureaucrats (Pressman Wildavsky, 1973; Colebatch, 2002; Fisher et al., 2007). In this case, the policy implementation correlates closely with the top-down approach because the implementation is based on the commitments and directives from the top echelon of the government i.e. Minister of Health and Ministry of Health. 1.1.5. Evaluation. Finally, evaluation is the post hoc analysis of policies and programmes carried out by government agencies themselves, outside consultants, the press, and the public (Dye, 2002:15) through collecting, testing, and interpreting information about the implementation and effectiveness of existing policies and public programmes (Majone, 1989: 167). The plausible normative rationale is that policy making should be appraised against intended objectives and impacts form the starting point of policy evaluation, which forms the basis for justifying government actions for continuation or termination of public programmes and enables accountability of government offices especially in democratic setting (Majone, 1989). However, from the case study, it is unclear whether any form of evaluation was carried out or not. 2. Advantages. Despite depicting the developments of the Tobacco Act in a series of stages, as mentioned by Hogwood Gunn (1984) in the dividing lines between the various activities are artificial and policy makers are unlikely to perform them consciously or in the implied logical order (Hogwood Gunn, 58), Lasswell, as Hudson Lowe (2004) note, did not conceptualized these stages as real, in the sense that they encompass clear beginnings and ends. Rather, their function being merely analytic-to help us explore different dimensions of the policy process. He [Lasswell] is more concerned with the value systems, institutions and wider social processes that shaped policy in the real world (Hudson Lowe, 2004: 5). Therefore the process model does provide valuable descriptive analysis of the policy process. As explained above, the process model helps to disaggregate an otherwise seamless web of public policy transactions, as each segment and transition are distinguished by differentiated actions and purposes. Furthermore, the cumulative analyses of the various stages, arguably, contribute to the disentangling of the intricate political and social interdependencies, manifested in the policy arena, to bring about an ordered and manageable system  [6]  (DeLeon, 1983). Furthermore, this process framework has significant strategic implications. Firstly, by analyzing the policy actors and processes in discrete stages, it assists in identifying how stakeholders may support or resist health policies (ODI, 2007); and therefore develop strategies in building winning coalitions as mentioned by Easton (1979) which states how the process model lend themselves to the identification and study of interactions, not only among the various stages in the process but also among various participating organizations and between organizations and the lager social and economic environment (cited in Hogwood Gunn, 1989: 25). Although this might be more applicable to the ACF, such advantage also applies to the process model especially during the agenda setting phase. As described above, in the agenda setting phase, the process model highlighted and identified various policy stakeholders and analyzed the relationship of policy advocacies which resisted (Tobacco Manufacture rs and Tobacco Workers Union) against those whom supported the bill (Minister of Health and Non Smokers Association); thereby enabling the assessment of the cumulative effects of various actors  [7]  , forces, and institutions that interacts in the policy process and therefore shape its outcome(s) (Jann Wegrich [2007] cited in Fisher, Miller, Sidney, 2007: 44). Secondly, it also helps in identifying and addressing various obstacles that undermine successful implementation of policies (ODI, 2007). The process model follows the assumption of how public policy making is a goal oriented process aimed to reach a goal or realize an objective or a purpose (Anderson, 1984 cited in Colebatch, 2002:85), henceforth policy makers are able to identify constraints, which in this case, a negotiation with oppositions and gathering public support for the bill ensured the successful adoption of the bill. Finally as pointed out by Hogwood Gunn (1984), the process framework is rather flexible in the sense that it enables us to systematize existing knowledge without precluding the integrating of future insights (about stages, influences, interactions, etc) to the framework (Hogwood Gunn, 1984: 25). In other words, it improves the prospects of technical evidence considered during policy formulation leading to evidence based policy making. The most common method in the British government in gathering technical information for systematic analysis of policies is through trial and error achieved by carrying out a pilot test before actual implementation of policies. 3. Criticisms: A better understanding in policy making. On the contrary, Parkinson (2008) in his lecture, quite rightly so, argue that the process model resembles a mechanistic tool that describes checklists of parts present in the policy making arena; parallel to Nakamuras (1987) notion of a textbook approach (Sabatier, 1999). Henceforth, the top down legalistic framework is an artificial portrayal of the policy process (Dunn, 1981; Sabatier, 1999) as stated by Lindblom (1993) that deliberate, orderly steps are therefore not an accurate portrayal of how the policy process actually works. Policy making is, instead, a complexly inter-active process without beginning or end (Lindblom Woodhouse, 1993: 11). In other words, these processes do not evolve in a pattern of clear cut sequences; instead the stages are constantly meshed and entangled in an ongoing process which is more accurately resembles a primeval soup (Kingdon, 1995; Howlett Ramesh; 1995). Therefore, the process model leads to the imposition of hypothetical explanation of future events which may be inappropriate or misleading with actions occurring fitfully as problems become matched with policy ideas considered to be in the political interests of a working majority of the partisans with influence over the policy domain (Lindblom Woodhouse, 1993 : 10). 3.1. Rationalization of processes. Hogwood Gunn (1984) question the coherence and rationality of the process model as a blueprint for action by giving rational explanation or justification of past acts, even when the acts in question do not lend themselves to such treatment (Hogwood Gunn, 1984: 26). Furthermore, Lindblom (1993) also argue that the stages are not hierarchical which proceeds from agenda setting and concluding with evaluation; rather they often overlap loop with each other as analysis proceeds. This is further elaborated below. Firstly, Lindblom (1993) argue that there may not even be a stage when problem definition occurs, since participants often vary widely in their ideas about the problem (Lindblom Woodhouse, 1993:10). He explains that this is because policy sometimes is formed from a compromise among political participants, moreover, none of whom had in mind quite the problem to which the agreed policy responds (Lindblom Woodhouse, 1993:10). Secondly, Lindblom Woodhouse (1993) also point out the inaccuracy to suggest that the decision-making phase exist. As suggested by Heclo (1972) a policy can consist of what is not being done (Hogwood Gunn, 1984: 21) and, thus, equally important, are the decisions to keep issues, that would be inconvenient, firmly off the agenda for political success in winning the disputes that arise. In other words, policy may emerge without any explicit decision, by failure to act as or the power of nondecision making (Bachrach Baratz, 1962; Heclo, 1972). Bachrach Baratz (1962) which exhibits the existence of institutional bias so that key groups are excluded in what is termed as the three dimensional view of power, in which power is used to exercise to control over the agenda of politics and of the ways in which potential issues are kept out of the political process (Lukes, 2005: 25). Furthermore, stating decisions are taken exclusively in the decision-making phase is rather inaccurate, becaus e in reality, decisions are constantly being made regardless of the stages you are in. For example, during the policy formulation, policy makers makes decisions on which alternatives to adopt for consideration and hence to implement; and during the implementation stages, policy makers make decisions on the choices of policy instruments to be utilized (Hill, 1993; Howlett Ramesh, 2003). Thirdly, Lindblom Woodhouse (1993) also argued that implementation and evaluation cannot be separated from the other steps. As mentioned by Lindblom Woodhouse (1993) an attempt to implement one policy almost always brings new problems onto the agenda, meaning the implementation and the step called agenda building collapse into each other (Lindblom Woodhouse, 1993: 10). An example from the case study is that during the implementation of the Quebec Tobacco Act, to include taxation on tobacco and a ban on tobacco sponsored arts and sports event, subsequently led to the discovery that such measure might impinge the competitiveness of tobacco industries and affect the economy of the province. Finally, policy evaluation often regarded as the end of the line, does not actually constitute a step in policy making unless it throws light on possible next moves in policy, in which case evaluation becomes intertwined with all other attempts to appraise and formulate options for reshaping government activity (Lindblom Woodhouse, 1993: 10). Moreover, I think that the evaluation phase overlaps with the agenda setting phase and the policy formulation phase. During the agenda setting and policy formulation phase, policies are also evaluated needed to persuade and influence people in adopting and supporting the bill. 3.2. Multiplicity of interactions. On the other hand, Sabatier (1999) note the framework oriented scholars towards looking at just one stage at a time, thus neglecting the entirety of the process by stating that they portrayed a disjointed, episodic process rather than a more ongoing, continuous one (Sabatier, 1999: 23). In addition, Sabatier Jenkins Smith (1999) set out 5 major deficiency of the heuristic approach; it provides little description of how policy moves from one stage to another; it cannot be tested empirically; it is essentially a top down which fails to take account of street-level and other actors; and it disregards multiple levels of governmental interactions. Finally, it does not provide an integrated view on the gathering of policy related information, apart from the evaluation phase (Parsons, 1995; Sabatier, 1999) as pointed out by (Majone, 1989) the effectiveness in solving social problems centres in bringing more information and systematic analysis into the policy making process. From the case study, it is clear that the process model is limited in its capacity to provide institutional analysis of government interactions because it is primarily conceived to provide systematic analysis of the overall policy making process, unlike institutionalism perspective which focuses on the role and relationship of government institutions which regards public policy as an institutional output of the mechanisms of the government where it is authoritatively determined, implemented and enforced by these institutions (Dye, 2002:12). Furthermore, the process model adheres to the view that policy making is a hierarchical top down process which initiates from agenda setting and finally ends with evaluation stage and therefore only takes account of authorized decision makers. Finally it is also rather limited in empirical research on each stage and only makes an attempt to describe systematic gathering of information in the evaluation phase only. However, on the other hand, I wou ld have to disagree with Sabatier (1999) in that the process model does not provide clear distinction between the stages and the progression from one phase to another. I think the primary distinction of the stagist model lies in the context of policy environment and policy stakeholders involved  [8]  . Henceforth taking the definitions which I presented above of each stage and the ones offered by Dye (2002: 14-15), the demarcations between the stages are summarized in the table below: Phase Policy Stakeholder (i.e. who are involved) Policy Environment (i.e. where does it take place) 1. Problem identification Individuals, public and private organizations, interest groups, think tanks, mass media and policy communities. Public debates, consultation with public, and sometimes top level government officials identify it themselves. 2. Agenda setting Public officials acting as gatekeepers as well as involvement of policy entrepreneurs. Mostly done by the Executive branch of the government and in government offices. 3. Policy formulation Primarily done by government officials in Executive agencies, but may also involve interest groups, congressional committees, and think tanks. Again done in Executive government offices but may also involve the Legislative branch of the government i.e. Parliament or Senate. 4. Implementation Primarily street-level bureaucrats and occasionally involving public participation. Carried out in formal government institutions. 5. Evaluation Done by government agencies but may also involve the public through medias, consultants and think tank organizations. Also very important is the use of citizen juries to evaluate public programmes. Evaluation is carried out in government offices, but also may be carried out in NGO organizations (such as EU, UN etc) and non-governmental institutions. In addition, Breton et al., (2008) successfully utilize the ACF to explain how the interactions of multiple policy advocacies have impacted policy change, which is another major deficiency of the stagist heuristic model. As mentioned by Majone (1989), both continuity and change are inherent in the conception of policy (Majone, 1989: 35) and therefore should be accounted for in the models in its capacity to comprehensively capture the policy making process. For example, the ACF manage to show how the changes in the external events directly impact the core beliefs of tobacco subsystems and hence resulted in the adoption of Tobacco Act (Refer to Fig.2 in Breton et al., 2002: 1683). However unlike the ACF, process model does not provide description on how policies are impacted by change. Moreover the process model assumes that every policies starts from scratch i.e. always starts by identification of problems. Conversely, policies may be enacted not from new problems or opportunities that emerge, rather continuation of past policies in which case, the problem identification phase may be invalid. 4. Conclusion In conclusion, the process model provides valuable insights in directing analysts attention to critical features in the policymaking process, and on elucidating the policy process paradigm. Furthermore, although the ACF model is conceived to account for the entire policy process, it is limited in its capacity to explain only the policy formation (i.e. agenda setting and decision making). In other words, both models differ in their level of analysis, which I hope have been successfully demonstrated above. On the other hand, the idea of breaking down the making of public policy into phases, may well impose stages on reality that is infinitely more complex, fluid and interactive; but to adopt a cyclical metaphor, it is not necessarily an unreasonable or unrealistic way of looking at what happens when public policy is made. Nonetheless, the process model does still provide some useful insights in public policy making. In my opinion, the most important thing is not to look at one best model to explain a particular policy rather a combination of models is needed as pointed out by Dye (2002: 12): These models are not competitive in the sense that any one of them could be judged best. Each one provides a separate focus on political life, and each can help us to understand different things about public policy. Although some policies appear at first glance to lend themselves to explanation by one particular model, most policies are a combination of rational planning, incrementalism, interest group activity, elite preferences, game playing, public choice, political processes, and institutional influences.

Interpreting the Meaning of Private :: Definition Essays

Interpreting the Meaning of Private Hearing the word private, one could think of infinite meanings and uses. Some people think, for their own safety, certain people should not be private. Others believe it is their human right to have privacy, because it defines oneself. The dictionary-defined term of private has had subtle changes through the past 300 years. In the past three years, the definition of private in the US has changed to very little meaning, granting an even more important reason to find the true definition. The pre-9/11 definitions never limit privacy to certain groups or people, and they never seem to grant more privacy to other people. In 1634, the OED defined private as â€Å"not open to the public; restricted †¦ for †¦ privileged persons†. The focus of this definition is the exclusive rights to view or interact with an object. As time passed, in 1913, the meaning grew to â€Å"personal property† (Webster's). More property everyday became private, as people feared a large government controlling their lives. A current definition includes seclusion â€Å"from sight, presence or intrusion of others† and focuses on a lack of knowledge of under privileged people (AHD, 2000). Lately, the government has been passing radical laws violating many people’s privacy rights. The USA PATRIOT ACT and the USA PATRIOT ACT II critically injure many of the definitions of private. Through the acts, people residing in the United States can have meetings tapped, their personal property searched without knowledge, and followed/harassed within the confines of their own home. To many people, the word private brings forth a view of secrecy or personal belongings. Bathrooms and locker rooms, attorneys and their clients, to name a couple, are hoped to be private by most people. Privacy does not depend on the person, as privacy is a human right everyone should be granted. In Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore shows a peace group who had an undercover agent infiltrate them, violating their privacy. The group was not criminals, and had not been found guilty of anything, yet big brother decided these people’s rights should be limited. With the passing of these laws, privacy is decreasing. People may wonder what would life be without privacy? No walls in the bathroom, shared locker rooms, records of who you talked to and about what, not to mention trying to build a legal defense if charged with a crime. How could one defend him/herself against an accusation if there could be no planning involved?

Women In Slavery in Harriet Jacobs Incidents in the life of a Slave Gi

The notion of slavery, as unpleasant as it is, must nonetheless be examined to understand the hardships that were caused in the lives of enslaved African-Americans. Without a doubt, conditions that the slaves lived under could be easily described as intolerable and inhumane. As painful as the slave's treatment by the masters was, it proved to be more unbearable for the women who were enslaved. Why did the women suffer a grimmer fate as slaves? The answer lies in the readings, Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl and Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative which both imply that sexual abuse, jealous mistresses', and loss of children caused the female slaves to endure a more dreadful and hard life in captivity. It is a difficult predicament to be in when one is held in captivity. The situation is that much worse if a child finds himself held as a slave. From a young age the child must endure the fact that he is owned and not free to live life on his own terms. A child slave is already denied his freedom and childhood in the sole fact that he is a slave. However, female child slaves had to endure yet another hardship that made life that much more difficult. Young African girls that were enslaved were sexually abused from an early age. Olaudah Equiano, in Interesting Narrative, tells of misfortunes that the female slaves met with at the hands of white men that he witnessed aboard a ship that belonged to his master, he writes: "I have even known them gratify their brutal passion with females not ten years old" (p. 483) Equia... ...re taken advantage of, put down, and stripped of their dignity after they were victimized and sexually abused. Jealous and enraged mistresses, who were dismayed at the fact that their husbands were living a life of infidelity, mistreated them. In some cases, they were deprived of their most prized possessions, their children. This kind of life for the female slaves was overwhelmingly painful. They dealt with many circumstances that were not a part of the lives of male slaves. For this reason, it is fair to say that the lives of female slaves were harsher than the lives of male slaves. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. 1861. Ed. Olaudah, Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Yassa, Written by Himself. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. Women In Slavery in Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the life of a Slave Gi The notion of slavery, as unpleasant as it is, must nonetheless be examined to understand the hardships that were caused in the lives of enslaved African-Americans. Without a doubt, conditions that the slaves lived under could be easily described as intolerable and inhumane. As painful as the slave's treatment by the masters was, it proved to be more unbearable for the women who were enslaved. Why did the women suffer a grimmer fate as slaves? The answer lies in the readings, Harriet Jacob's Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl and Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative which both imply that sexual abuse, jealous mistresses', and loss of children caused the female slaves to endure a more dreadful and hard life in captivity. It is a difficult predicament to be in when one is held in captivity. The situation is that much worse if a child finds himself held as a slave. From a young age the child must endure the fact that he is owned and not free to live life on his own terms. A child slave is already denied his freedom and childhood in the sole fact that he is a slave. However, female child slaves had to endure yet another hardship that made life that much more difficult. Young African girls that were enslaved were sexually abused from an early age. Olaudah Equiano, in Interesting Narrative, tells of misfortunes that the female slaves met with at the hands of white men that he witnessed aboard a ship that belonged to his master, he writes: "I have even known them gratify their brutal passion with females not ten years old" (p. 483) Equia... ...re taken advantage of, put down, and stripped of their dignity after they were victimized and sexually abused. Jealous and enraged mistresses, who were dismayed at the fact that their husbands were living a life of infidelity, mistreated them. In some cases, they were deprived of their most prized possessions, their children. This kind of life for the female slaves was overwhelmingly painful. They dealt with many circumstances that were not a part of the lives of male slaves. For this reason, it is fair to say that the lives of female slaves were harsher than the lives of male slaves. Works Cited Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself. 1861. Ed. Olaudah, Equiano. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Yassa, Written by Himself. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.

Essay --

â€Å"Promises that you make to yourself are often like the Japanese plum tree- they bear no fruit,† said Francis Marion. The youngest son of six children from Gabriel and Esther Marion was born in 1732 at the family plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina, whose name was soon to be Francis Marion. The Marion family moved to a plantation in St. George when Francis was only a toddler so that the children could receive an education in Georgetown, SC. When Francis turned fifteen, he decided to take a job as a sailor and register as the sixth crewman on a schooner, which is a type of sailing vessel with several masts. After a voyage to the West Indies, on the trip back the ship was reported to be hit by whale and sunken. After a week in a small boat under the blazing sun, two men have died due to exposure and dehydration, while the Marion and the rest have survived and made it back to shore. Soon to come throughout Francis Marion’s life more adventurous scenarios wil l been seen and greatly affect America’s history which will show how Francis Marion receives the nickname the ,†Swap Fox.† With a disaster at sea, Francis made a bright decision to go back to his home plantation. With another disaster brewing on land, the French & Indian War was crucial for Francis Marion because warfare was seen for the first time but far from the last time. Marion mobilized into a militia company in 1757 serving as a lieutenant to defend the frontier. Taking orders under Captain William Moultrie, Francis pursued in a barbarous movement facing the Native American tribe called the Cherokees. Throughout the short war, Francis took important notes of Cherokee tactics which stressed on tools like camouflage, utilizing the terrain for advantage, and ambushi... ... appointed Loyalist militias to pursue Marion. Through no militia could stop him, he won victories at Black Mingo Creek, Blue Savannah, and Tearcoat Swamp. Still No one could touch him, Major Patrick Ferguson's force was defeated at the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7. Cornwallis became increasingly concerned about Marion, so as a result he dispatched the feared Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to destroy Marion's command. With nicknames like â€Å"Bloody Man† or â€Å"Butcher† Lieutenant Colonel Banastre was not the best choice to mess with, even after the â€Å"Waxhaw’s Massacre† slaughtering hundreds. Tarleton was told intelligence spilling Marion’s location. Closing on Marion's camp, Tarleton hunted for the patriot for seven hours and across 26 miles before stopping in swampy territory and stating, "As for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him."

Comparing Dignity in A Lesson Before Dying, Jane Pittman, and Of Love a

Dignity in Southern Society in A Lesson Before Dying, Autobiography of Jane Pittman, and Of Love and Dust      Ã‚  Ã‚   The ante-bellum Southern social system put blacks in a low economic and social class and limited their pursuit of happiness.   The aristocracy firmly held blacks in emotional and spiritual slavery. Cajuns, Creoles and poor whites maintained a low status in society, which frustrated them because they felt they should be superior to blacks and equal to whites. Racism was a base of southern society and a hope to improve life and gain respect.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ernest J. Gaines grew up in Southern Louisiana and his aunt Augusteen Jefferson taught him "the art of living with dignity" (Current 201).   In The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, the main character, Jane, narrates her life that spans from the Civil War to the 1960's.   She portrays the lives of black people fighting against the stigma of social inferiority in order to live out their dreams.   Of Love and Dust depicts rebellious radical characters striving for new standards of equality in the reformation of a small traditional community.   A Lesson Before Dying shows Grant Wiggins's and Jefferson's personal battles toward reforming themselves, and their community's battle to earn self-respect.   Living in subordination compromises freedoms of socio-economic mobility.   Gaines's characters rebel by fighting against suppression to achieve deserved rights and privileges. They achieve dignity through the struggle to hold onto the honor won fro m   society. . Ernest J. Gaines describes people surviving within the social system at the same time as they overcome it to find dignity and freedom from prejudices.    Living in subordination compromises freedoms of soci... ... Yearbook, 1994. New York: Gale, 1995. Estes, David C. ed. Critical Reflections on the Fiction of Ernest J. Gaines. Athens: University of Georgia, 1994, 1-29, 89-123, 139-157, 250-264. Gaines, Ernest J. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. New York: Bantam, 1971. _____. A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Vintage, 1993. _____.   Of Love and Dust. New York: Vintage, 1967. Graham, Judith, ed. "Ernest J. Gaines." Current Biography Yearbook   1994. New York: H. Wilson, 1994, 200-204. Larson, Charles R. "End as a Man." Chigago Tribune.   May 9 1993, 5.   Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism Yearbook, 1994. New York: Gale, 1995. Senna, Carl. "Dying like a Man: A Novel about Race and Dignity in   the South." The New York Times Book Review. August 8 1993, 21.   Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism Yearbook, 1994.   New York: Gale, 1995.

Kate Chopins The Awakening †In Defense of Edna Pontellier :: Chopin Awakening Essays

The Awakening – In Defense of Edna    Does everyone have the right to happiness?   It is stated in the Constitution that we as Americans have the right to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.  Ã‚   In the novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin the main Character Edna has a comfortable life.   A sweet loving husband, cute children, enormous amounts of money and an extremely large house.   Yet with all of this Edna is not fulfilled. Edna never took time to examine her life to see what she wanted out of it.   After marriage, Edna wanted the freedom to explore her mind, find herself and find what this person liked.   In the following I will defend the actions Edna took to find her happiness as irrational as they may seem.    This story took place in the late 1800's when women's liberation was never heard of.   In this era women were supposed to find happiness in serving their husbands and taking care of the children.   There were no other options within the restrictive boundaries of marriage, and divorce was never an alternative. Women's lives were austere and self enrichment or self gratification were often times cast aside relative to the more mundane tasks of daily life.   Most women accepted this but Edna did not.   She figured that life was more than constantly doing for someone else.   She wanted time for herself in order to figure out who she was.   Some may see this as selfish but everyone is entitled to â€Å"me† time and space.   Although I admit she did not go about it in the best way at times; Edna still was in going in the right direction.    Edna's marriage to Leonce Pontellier was to spite her father the Colonel because Leonce was of a different religious faith.   Also, Leonce was unceasingly devoted to Edna which was something that had never occurred in any other relationship. Edna, who had not experienced many male relationships before this was naive when it came to men.   This naivetà © affected her in such a way that she neither knew love and it's limitations nor the experience it took to make it through a relationship.   This showed Edna's immaturity which was a big issue in this story. This shown as the woman inside who had been asleep all those years. Her relationship with Leonce was what she sought to find happiness in.    After six years of marriage to Leonce,   Edna felt an ever-growing void in her life.   She gave up all of her responsibilities such as taking care of her children when they were sick and she never spent time playing with them.