Strategic Analysis of Delta Airlines free essay sample

This report will be discussing strategic management to a company in the airline industry. This report will examine a chosen company’s strategic management and outline the stages. Strategic management is analyzing the situation facing the firm, also on the foundation of analysis formulating a strategy and lastly implementing strategy. Strategic management is the identification and the description of strategies that can be used by managers so as to attain better performance which in turn will ensure competitive advantage for their organization. It can be used to determine things like the mission, vision, goal, values, mission, timeline objectives, roles and responsibilities. 1. 0 Introduction There are three ongoing processes that strategic management of an organization entails; these are the analysis, decision making and action. The main concern of strategic management is the analysis of strategic goals, as well as the analysis of both the external and internal environment of an organization. A strategic management directs the overall company goals, which includes multiple stakeholders, incorporates short term as well as long term objectives, and oversees the trade-offs between effectiveness and efficiency. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Analysis of Delta Airlines or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Having a good management strategy, an organisation is able to achieve its goals and meets its expectations. With the used use of well formulated strategies, a company will always prosper and generate great results. Without well formulated objective goals a company or an organisation cannot exist, since every company has a reason for it existence. After analyzing of the organization’s objective goals and a good strategic plan, leaders are expected to make strategic decisions; the decisions should address two basic questions: What is the industry that we should compete with? What formula should be used to compete in those industries? A company needs to know its immediate competitors once it starts operating. A company should formulate a well design that will enable the company to beat all its competitors in the market and so that it can make more profits from its consumers or customers. These questions can be useful for the organization in both domestic and international environment. Finally comes the action that must be acted upon; unless action is taken, decisions are useless. It is the actions that are taken by firms, which implement the strategy (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel, 2009). In this analysis, three major processes of strategic management processes will be discussed in a more detailed manner. These strategic processes are strategy analysis, strategy formulation, and strategy implementation. They help the company in overcoming the many challenges that companies are facing in today’s global market place. Strategy Analysis- contains general environment analysis and competitive environment. It is the starting point of a strategic management. Strategy implementation is the process in which the management sees that all the set objectives and goals are effective and have value to the company. It ensure that the organisation has a proper strategic controls. Strategy formulation is of how the organization is to compete in different business environment to attain competitive advantage. To see that the company’s set strategies have become a reality, leaders should take the necessary resource and take time to design the organization. Strategy Implementation Strategy Formulation Strategy Analysis 2. 0 Strategic Analysis Strategy analysis might be seemed upon as the first spot of the strategic management development. It is made up the ‘advance work’ that has to be done so as to efficiently formulate and implement strategies. Lots of strategies are not succeed for the reason that manager might fancy to formulate and implement strategies, not including a cautious analysis of the important goals of the organization and not including a thorough analysis of its external and internal environment (Lumpkin amp; Dess, 2005). 2. 1 The General Environment The general environment define that the progression of developing strategy for a business by exploring the environment and business in which it activates (Business dictionary, n. d. ). 2. 1. 1 PEST Analysis PEST analysis will be able to be utilized to help detect trends in the external environment that will eventually discover their method into the competitive environment. It gives a relation between the general and competitive environments in that weak signals in the general environment are able to become main forces for transform in the competitive environment. (Henry, 2011) 2. 1. 2 Strength Delta airline uses merger so as to be able to expend its business. In 2008 the company merged with Northwest airlines. It operates in Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific regions. Once the merger was complete, Northwest Airlines and all its constituents become wholly-owned by Delta Airlines. The merger saw to it that Delta Airlines started operating in the Northwest for FY 2008. In the period of two month that is from October of 2008 the time the merger was completed to December of 2008, the company had increased it revenues to $2 billion. Having a flexible nature, allows Delta to improve customer services, and in the long run be able to achieve its strategic objectives. Delta airlines have multilateral and formed alliances with other airlines. This is beneficial since the airline is able to gain access to international airlines. By forming alliance, the airlines share codes, access to passenger lounges, promotions, airport gate and ticket counter, marketing agreement and ticket office co-location. 2. 1. 3 Weakness Delta airline tend to be over depended on North America airlines for its revenues. 66. 4% of the company’s revenues are derived from North America. By having heavy dependency on the market, the company is susceptible to any change that s associated with that geographical region. Delta airline has high indebtedness, in the final financial year of 2008 of $16,571 million which was an increase of 84. 1% over the financial year ending in 2007. The industry also has poor communication method; there is no clear link from the management to the passengers. The airline is not innovative, in that it does not come up with new ideas, what the airline does, is the same thing that is being done by other airlines. 2. 1. 4 Opportunities. There is an expected growth of international boarding on big careers, and smaller regions are expected to grow. Total aviation fleet is expected to grow to 1% an year. This is an advantage to for Delta airline that is engaged in the air transport system, it is therefore position to capitalize on the ever increasing US region airline industry. The growth of maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) market is the other thing that gives support and opportunity for Delta airline. There is a lot of service that is offered by Delta that is from MRO, and with the growth of MRO, creates an opportunity for delta to capitalize on the industry as well as expanding its revenues and profits. . 1. 5 Threats. The economical crises that is global, has affected Delta airline severely. The crunch from the credit, the financial crises and the oil prices going up affect the airline industry directly. A don turn in the economy posses as a challenge for Delta airline, the financial turmoil has put delta airline in a fix, and any further global economic recession will hinder Delta’s ability to be able to achieve and sustain profitability. 2. 2 The Competitive Environment The competitive environment impact on an organization’s performance more directly. Some of the factors that influence competition are cost, events, labour and season. These factors do not only affect competition, they also influence how the competition will be rendered. By identifying certain competitors, cost can be reduced, and firm can put more efforts on identifying the risks. For Delta airlines to be able to deal with competition, they should recognize the need to grow. 2. 2. 1 Porter’s Five Forces Framework. Evaluating some of the determinants of industry profitability and assessing firm performance by Porter’s five forces framework is a suitable tool of analysis. The framework allows a firm to evaluate the attraction of its business founded on the relation strength of those five forces. Given its resources, a firm is able to take a judgment as to which industries it is able to compete in most effectively and place it to decrease the opposing effect of those forces. According to critics of the 5 forces framework, the main limitation is its static nature (Henry, 2011). 2. 2. 2 The Threat of new Entrants. In terms of The Threat of new Entrants means of transportation, especially airlines are vulnerable. Because of the deregulation in 1970’s~1980’s, legal entry barriers removed. According to the latest statistics, if someone invest only $ 35 million, it is possible to advance the airline industry. This is tolerable if you would afford enough amounts for small and medium enterprises. The threat of new entrant is quite high. (Gross, S. , Schroeder, A. 2007) The bargaining power of suppliers in the airlines industry is vulnerable from In terms of the bargaining power of suppliers. The bargaining power of suppliers will be stronger when the demand of supplier is low, when the supplier to supply the goods has been differentiated and when there is no alternative to the provider (Lynch, 2008). . 2. 3 The threat of substitutes. There are three main forms of threat of substitutes in the airline industry. Rail, road and boat services are existed. Of these, the rail is definitely the main threat in the air industry. It serves a great service delivery around the major city. However, Delta airline promise that offer faster journeys. For instance, from New York to LA it t akes 5-6 hours by airplane, on the other hand, train takes 2-3 days. 2. 3 The internal environment. An internal environment is the environment that is within the firm. They are the policies, manage, employees and working condition that has been set for them. SWOT analysis is important for the firm as it will enable it to create a situation where it can attain competitive advantage (Thompson and Martin, 2005). Using Porter’s five force Delta airline should be able to determine the best approach that they can use so as to attain stability in the internal environment (Henry, 2011); by doing so the firm is ensuring that   all the areas that constitutes the internal environment have been looked at and no loop hole has be left. This will strengthen the operations of the firm, creating policies that will stabilize the firm, as well as ensuring long term results. 2. 3. 1 Value Chain Analysis. Value Chain Analysis is a strategy tool using to analyze internal company actions. Its aims are recognizing, which undertakings are the most valuable (i. e. are the foundation of cost or diversity benefit) to the company and which ones is able to be improved to offer competitive benefits (Strategic management insight, 2012). 2. 3. 2 The resource-based view of strategy. The height of competition in an industry is important if the industry is to underlay its strategy. An organization should be able to understand the elements that make the structure, and take action in order to influence or perhaps mitigate the brought effects. Managers should be able o identify the sources and how they are likely to affect the strategic decision. For instance, the concern of the simply nature that other firms are allowed o join the industry. Since if everything is constant, and then entry barriers should be put so that they can ensure profits that are above average ((Henry, 2011). . 0 Strategy Formulation The process of choosing most excellent course of action for achieving organizational objectives and from accomplishing organizational purpose Strategy implementation- contains planning the organization’s structure, managing human resources, developing decision making process, distributing resources. There are two things that should be determined by the manage rs when it comes to attaining competitive advantage in the market, producing substances that are unique, or selling at low-cost, and at times a combination of both (Henry, 2011). When organizations come up with idea that works, they are copied by their competitors, almost immediately. For instance in the 1980’s, American Airlines tried to attain a competitive advantage by creation of frequently flyer program. A few weeks later all the airlines had copied this idea. This made frequently flyer program change from a competitive advantage to a measure of competitive parity. Delta Air Lines Industry: Airline Founded: 1928 Country: United States Employees: 78,400 Sales: $35. 12 B (April 2012) Asset: $43. 5 B (April 2012) Profit: $854 M (April 2012) Delta Air Lines (Delta) is a principal United States airline. Delta Airlines was established by Huff Daland Dusterson May 30, 1924 in Georgia. Delta Air Lines and branches control over 5,000 flights daily and have nearly 80,000 employees. Delta offers reserved air transport for customers and cargo all through the United States and all around the world. The Companys path network gives it existence in all domestic and global market. Deltas route network is placed on the core system it controls at airport thus enabling it to reach different destinations. Each of these core processes contains flights that collect and allocate traffic from markets in the geographical area surrounding the hub to domestic and international cities and to other hubs (Forbes, 2012). 3. 1 Business strategy level. When it comes to business level, Delta airlines is focused in ensuring customer satisfaction, despite what other airlines are doing. Though competition might be proliferated, Delta airlines have always managed to be on top by ensuring that customers get the best. The airline does not follow the rules that are set by other business when it comes to prices and fare. In the airline industry, Delta, united, Southwest, US airways, American airline consist of large companies and between them dominate the airline industry with a combined market share of around 71 percent. These are the close rivals of Delta airlines, and when the firm is doing its strategic management, it should also look into these rivals, so as to plan a way to say a head which is the whole point of strategics and planning. The point is not copying what these firms do, but finding a weakness in these firms and using that weakness to attain advantage. 3. 2 Corporate level. In order for an organization to attain success, they should link human resource management and corporate together. This would be helpful in situation where the firm is required to make quick decisions and respond rapidly to a situation. The Delta airline makes the necessary moves in order to establish great chance in the survival in different business fields and achieve an appropriate amount of diversification. The main concept of corporate strategy is that the organisation identifies the types of business the company should invest in. It also tackles the question of in which line f business is the company suitable to take? For a company to be success it should always do a survey on the best business market to invest in. The management does estimates of every business and the competitors in the market even when starting the organisation. Delta airline has linked the two together, and this is the reason that the company is always active and does not take a long time to respond to situ ations. The expansion of Delta airline has been as a result of the way is doing well in the airline industry. Otherwise corporate strategy helps the company to review its ability to expand or reduce its expansion. When airline form alliances, they gain opportunities to handling the airport ground, maintainers of aircraft and in-sourcing. Code sharing enables airlines to sell seat as well as expansion of the number of destinations. Airlines with the code sharing are allowed to offer. Consistency is another thing that has made Delta makes it in this competitive industry. Since Delta is a large airline, and even during the slowdown, the company has recorded a finical performance that is significant in the past years. The company has increased its revenues, due to the mergers, increase in fare, and also increased service to international destinations. . 3 International strategy and Globalization. The fact that airlines had gone global, even before globalization, one might expect that as the global experience enriches, then the airlines especially the legacy carriers would be well positioned and take advantage of globalization. That has not been the case, globalization unlike the opportunity that i t has offered other industries, when it comes to airlines, it has been a threat. This is the reason that Delta airline has secured its position, globally by forming mergers and partnership. This has made it to be on top and deal with competition as well as issues like restrictions and antitrust. 3. 4 Assessing organizational Performance. So as to be able to analyze how a firm is doing in the industry. This is important as it will enable the firm to identify the areas that they need o improve on, as well as compare what they are doing and what other firms are doing (Capon, 2008). Performance should not be assessed as a firm in general, but to be able to attain results, firms should analyze the performance of every sector. This would enable the firm to see the area that re bringing it down, and plan for the best method that these areas can be improved. If one sector is not working well, then chances are this could spread out to other fields and in the long run; the firm can be affected entirely. Delta airlines have a method that they use to analyze the performance of the firm. In fact, their website has been open for customer’s feedback, so that they can be able to identify some of the areas that the customers were not satisfied with. Analyzing of the performance and operation of this organization is hat has kept it on the top. The company strives to ensure that customers are satisfied, and happy with the service. Delta strives due to the fact that the management has ensured that the organization is characterized with the right people, guidelines, and principles. The company has also created an anonymous channel where complains can be forwarded by the customers. When it comes to the workers, Delta Airlines offers the best employee package. In the website one can be able to read some of the feedback that have been given by the employees, both who are still working with the airline, and those who are not. Ensuring that the employees are satisfied is one of the strategies that Delta Airlines use to deal with competition. It is believed that if employees are happy, chances are they will deliver service that are of quality to the passengers. 4. 0 Strategic implementation 4. 1 System change Delta is recognized throughout the industry as unique, due to the extensive flight and brand legacy. This is evident after the merger between Delta and U. S. airlines, even thou these companies were both public acknowledge, they opted to go with the Delta airlines as the brand name. Delta has been faced with bankruptcy, but has managed to fair well, it has attempted airline at a low cost, and any route implementation, thou some of the route mentioned have not been implemented. Even after the enormous proliferation of competition schemes in business strategic literature, the most influential proliferation in the last two decades have been, competitive positioning and resource base view. Firm’s resource includes; assets, process of organization, capabilities, attributes, knowledge and information. They are inputs that are used to facilitate an organization to be able to function. Not all resources that are available to the organization have importance, there are only a few that can be used to insert value and create strategy, which puts the organization in a competitive advantage. 4. 2 Strategic leadership. The formulation that an organization uses to stay ahead and attain competitive advantage should be unique and original. The mistake that is done by many firms, is copying he strategic from other firms in the industry and by the end of the day, there is no level competition since everyone is offering the same things, techniques and innovation ends up being a forgotten element. So as to see that the set strategies have become a reality, leaders should take the necessary resource and take time to design the organization. The study of strategic management is a study that enables one to understand why some organization outperforms others. For are this reason, manager are expected to have a plan on how the organization is to compete, o that it can not only attain competitive advantage, but also to have this advantage over a long period of time. There are two important questions that the firm should focus on if they want to attain a length competitive advantage (McGee, Thomas and Wilson, 2005). What method must we use in order to attain competitive advantage? How can we create a competitive advantage that is unique, long lasting and not easy to be substituted of copied? 4. 2. 1 Political. In a political context, Delta airlines have dealt with various political issues over the past few years. It has been tasked with balancing and satisfying both its potential customers and the numerous governments it continues to operate its business with. Over the past few years, Delta has run into hot water over its policies in the middle east and domestically, in America. A prominent example was its controversial tie up with Saudi Arabian Airlines in 2011; whereby it agreed to refuse services to Israeli passport holders and Jews while operating over Saudi Arabian soil. This was agreed in principle and practice, in accordance with Saudi Arabian laws. 4. 2. 2 Economical. The airline industry has been subject to a handful of economic impacts. Such as, slowdown in the growth rate, rising Crude Oil Price. The most significant impact in recent years has been oil price, rising all around the world. Airline ticket price is adjusted by Crude Oil Price, and its effects are harshly felt on the airline industry. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), crude oil for transport in June rose by an additional 40 cents to $91. 83 a barrel; and Brent North Sea crude for June transport improved 32 cents to $102. 05 in the morning trade (The News, 2013). Another economical factor is worldwide economic crisis. The recent financial disaster is the worst the world had realized since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Therefore, airline industry is affected by the world financial crisis (Yale global, 2013). . 2. 3 Social. Increasing needs of popularity of holidays overseas has been tending to an explosion in a request for air travel. All around the world, an average age of the population is growing steadily. Babies are born fewer. Moreover, enhancing medical skills have made many people live longer. Therefore, family and aged people have influence on the airline industry. Air travel demands are increasi ng gradually. 4. 2. 4 Technological Current airplane is more economical to manage. The 777 can hold the seats around 270 passengers, while another one can seat around 240. Furthermore, these are purchased using for the far distance routes. Delta had come to be the biggest air company consuming the Boeing’s out of production 717 planes under the contract that was produced in May, 2012 (US daily voice, 2013). Moreover, Delta has started to invest over $3 billion in technological facilities, service and technology global products to improve the passenger experience in the air. The investment has begun in 2010, and it will be maintained until 2015. Delta has finished setting up of full flat-bed seats in all deltas’ aircraft cabin (Marianas variety, 2013). . 3 Cooperate governance Having the right channel and right people to work in the airline, and guidelines is what has made delta airlines to be on top. The management has implemented that having connection with the right people and doing business in the right manner is what will put the business on top. 5. 0 SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis consents an organization to evaluate the suitable of its recent strategic to its moving environment, and to support turn possible treats into opportunities, and weaknesses into strengths. It can assist an organization to recognize its possessions and abilities more obviously, and or evaluate whether those are advantage or a restraint to developing opportunities in the market field. Finally, it is able to be used to support the organization’s formulate strategy (Henry, 2011). SWOT analysis is an important part of strategic management as it can be used to pointer for the manager at the areas that need to be looked into, and the area that are working, for the advantage of the company. It can also be used for planning of the organization future plans, by taking advantages of the opportunities that are available for the firm. Firms owe it to the clients; and these are the repository of firm’s activities. At the heart of both the management and at the heart of resides customer. Delta airlines are aware of the importance of the resources, they tend to fish all the resources that are necessary to satisfy customer, and put it at the bases of the policy. Delta uses the resources that are available to them to attain competitive advantage. Things like planning flight, more destinations in comparison to other airlines and also the fact that customers trust the airline since it has been in existence for a long time. 6. 0 Conclusion Delta airlines seems to have a bright future, this is due to the fact that despite the turbulence that has affected the airlines during the past decade, Delta has managed to beat the storm and be more successful in comparison with the competitors. Delta has come up with innovative customer friendly features as well as creation of a look that is more defined, that is in terms of their route structure and business practices. Even when fuel and labour cost went high, Delta managed to offer up to standard customer service at rates that are comparable. With the pans and changes outlined in the report, Delta airlines seems to safe for takeoff, but one should be trends with care, it might appear that the airline is headed for a ride that is bumpy. References: Business dictionary. (n. d). Strategic Analysis. Available: http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/strategic-analysis. html. Last accessed 10th May 2013. Capon, C. (2008). Understanding Strategic Management, FT Prentice Hall. Gross, S. , Schroeder, A. (2007). Handbook of low cost airlines: strategies, business processes  and market environment. 1st ed. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag. Henry A. E. (2011). Understanding Strategic Management, Oxford University Press. http://www. strategy-business. com/article/00047? gko=19274 http://usdailyvoice. com/delta-airlines-plan-to-make-some-major-purchases-from-boeing-or-airbus-sas-715. html http://www. mvariety. com/cnmi/cnmi-news/local/55403-delta-air-lines-upgrades-products-services http://www. huffingtonpost. om/rabbi-jason-miller/delta-airlines-saudi-arabia_b_883202. html http://www. thenews. com. pk/article-98312-Oil-prices-rise-in-Asia http://yaleglobal. yale. edu/content/global-economic-crisis http://www. managementstudyguide. com/resource-based-view. htm Lynch R. (2008). Strategic Management. (6th edn). FT Prentice Hall. Lumpkin, B. , Dess, G. (2005). Strategic Management: Text and Cases. 2nd ed. New York: Irwin       Professional. McGee J. Thomas H. and Wilson D. (2005). Strategy: Analysis and Practice,   McGraw-Hill Mintzberg H. , Ahlstrand B. and Lampel J. B. (2009). Strategy Safari: The Complete Guide. Shaw, S. , (2007). Airline marketing and management. 6th ed. USA: Ashgate Publishing. Strategic Management Insight. (2012). Value Chain Analysis. [Online] Available at:    http://www. strategicmanagementinsight. com/tools/value-chain-analysis. html [Accessed 10th May 2013]. Thompson J. L. and Martin F. (2005). Strategic Management (5th edn. ) Thomson. Witcher, B. J. , amp; Chau, V. S. (2010). Strategic management: principles and practice. [S. l. ],    Cengage Learning. www. delta. com/content/www/en delta/ /corporate-governance

How to Write a Psychology Research Paper

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Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay - 1

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Successful FDI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Manifestation of Anorexia Nervosa in East-Asian Culture

Manifestation of Anorexia Nervosa in East-Asian Culture Tharushi Kaluarachchi Mental illnesses do not exist independent of their social and historical context. Although it is generally accepted that sociocultural factors are key in the development of Anorexia Nervosa (AN), presently, it is bound by Western notions of disease as its criterion is focused on the obsession with thinness for women with the disorder. However with its evolution being mirrored in East-Asia, it has been hypothesised that an increased risk for eating disorders in those countries arises from a greater exposure to Western popular culture, diets and values. However this in itself does not explain the spread of the disorder as a more complex historical view is needed to explain its conception in East-Asia. Being complex in aetiology, there is much debate centred on the motivation behind food refusal in being the most challenging factor to interpret (Keel Klump, 2003). In Western countries, the promotion of thinness as the ideal female form today has forged a template for the diagnosis of AN as eating disorders have become more common among younger females with a period of icons of the American beauty becoming thinner during the late twentieth Century (Keel Klump, 2003). As a result of this campaign, Lee (1995) claims that modern biomedical views of AN have attributed the avoidance of food purely to a fear of fatness while the sufferer becomes emaciated. The essential criteria for Anorexia Nervosa includes an intense fear of weight gain even with a significantly low weight (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Hence it is insisted that the resolution of this fat phobia needs to presuppose recovery. However this explanation is inadequate as East-Asian cultures have a historically unique evolution essentially apart from modern Western culture (Keel and Klump, 2003). Hence in East-Asian countries AN was previously noted to be unknown with the fear of fatness noted to be frequently absent among these rare anorexics. A culturally sensitive study of AN in Hong Kong revealed that although they bore a convincing resemblance to Western Anorectics in terms of physicality, a large portion, 59%, did not exhibit any fat phobia, instead rationalising their food refusal through bloating and oesophageal blockages (Lee, Ho Hsu, 1993) . Hence these East-Asian Anorexics resulted to organic causes for self-starvation, endorsing the body as a social response to illness (Watters, 2010). Thus, an individual’s distress is culturally defined, as these bodily sensations indicate psychological distress carrying as much meaning and impact as a Western complaint of anxiety or depression (Lee, 1995) . Regarding a case study by Lee (1995), a thirty-one year old patient from Hong Kong began complaining of abdominal discomfort and reduced her food intake due to her boyfriend deserting her. Despite seeing doctors, her weight continued to decrease with her attributing it to abdominal problems, denying any fear of fatness or intentionally restricting diet. Clearly this patient did not fit the diagnostic criteria for AN according to the DSM due to the discrepancy between the biomedical explanation of fat phobia and the patient’s personal explanations (Watters, 2010). Aetiological explanations that were sought through Chinese herbalists attributed the self-starvation to imbalances with bodily organs being devoid of normal hunger sensations, yet was found to be ineffective in treatment. As a result, what was needed was a more local understanding of the personal and cultural forces at play instead of relying on a global template driven by the use of Western diagnostic categories as n either Western nor Eastern healing modalities were having an impact. It is imperative to document that cultural forces are often mediated throughout history to mould the contextual factors which result in the mental illnesses of that time. Hence in pursuing an aetiological explanation for atypical Anorexics, hysteria is of particular interest as its symptoms tend to be shaped by the surrounding culture which is constantly changing in accordance with what is deemed to be female by society. (Shorter, 1986:1). Although the patient’s condition cannot be explained through modern conceptualisations of AN, the symptoms exhibited can be traced back to nineteenth century hysteria. This was an extremely popular form of illness manifesting in a variety of symptoms such as convulsive fits, paralysis and muscle contractions, which the patient believed was physical in origin and perceived as being beyond the control of their conscious mind (Shorter, 1986). Lasà ¨gue (1873 as cited in Malson, 1998) presented hysterical anorexia as a form of hysteria caused by the ‘mental perverseness’ of the patient regarded as an illness of female nervousness. Lasà ¨gue (1873 as cited in Malson, 1998) constructs the typical patient to be a young woman who is mentally weak, aged fifteen to twenty years suffering from a personal trauma who is unable to voluntarily resist ascending to the illness. Hence in failing to differentiate between a typical patient and other young girls, he pathologized all young girls, depicting them as being incapable of controlling their symptoms. Hence his report inadvertently enabled a dialogue between the medical society and Victorian middle class females (Brumberg, 1985). Sir William Gull (1873) who shortly succeeded Lasà ¨gue drew the conclusion subsequent to observing similarities across a number of cases, due to the consistent absence of gastric dysfunction which he used as evidence to attribute the loss of appetite to a morbid mental state. Hence Gull defined the loss of appetite as Anorexia Nervosa with the motive for self-starvation being as a result of mental wilfulness differentiated form hysteria which had an organic cause (Gull, 1873). In constructing a weak minded, young nervous girl, Gull (1873) and Lasà ¨gue (1873) presented AN to be viewed as a characteristic or archetype of all young women (Malson, 1998). The ensuing public debate established AN as a distinct disease entity reifying it as a common female disorder which was typified by an aversion to eating food with the patient reporting abdominal pains (Mackenzie, 1888 as cited in Malson, 1998). Yet, as found with the case of atypical East-Asian anorexics, it was repeatedly asserted that careful examinations found no sign of any organic causes that could be attributed to the disorder (Marshall, 1895 as cited in Malson, 1998). Hence a phobia of gaining weight is not the reason for extreme self-starvation, as gastric discomfort was legitimized by physicians, instead attributing anorectic patients’ starvation as the wish not to eat or loss of appetite with the behaviour being as destructive as patients today with anorexia nervosa (Shorter, 1985 as cited in Lee, 1995). Hence non-fat phobia anorexia displays no particular cultural features as it was found in early conceptions of hysteria and atypical anorexics in East-Asia. Oppenheim (1991 as cited in Watters, 2010) documents the influence of hysteria in Victorian culture in the early twentieth century that led to the rise of the disorder as it was mentioned in not only medical literature but also in popular magazines and newspapers that were easily accessible to lay people. Hysteria was encountered everywhere in the public, seen in an ad in Modern Mechanix – Physical Culture that promoted devices such as body braces to remedy â€Å"female weakness, backache, stomach trouble†¦the result of incorrect posture, misplaced organs† (Stop Suffering, 1934). Further an ad in Photoplay generalised woman as having â€Å"no control of herself† with â€Å"constant headache, backache and dizzy spells† prescribing tablets that would give women back their youth, beauty and health (These Hysterical Woman, 1932). Hence this reification of disease by medical professionals and consequently the media can have an unconscious yet powerful effe ct on people as the psychosomatic symptoms of anorexia nervosa were shaped by their beliefs of what constitutes a disease (Shorter, 1986 as cited in Watters, 2010). Shorter (1986) claims that as these expectations change, it targets a specific population and provides patients with a model of how to behave and which symptoms to present. Hence as seen with hysteria, this rapid increase in incidence of a pattern of symptoms coming into vogue through a public interest in medical discourse presents with a problem of incidences of diseases rising (Shorter, 1986). As a result the illness manifested in the population at large and the incidence of the disease drastically rose as self-starvation which was once a rare symptom became common. Shorter (1994:268 as cited in Malt, 1996) postulated that the medical society stimulated the eating disorder behaviour as it influences patients’ ways of communicating their distress to be more recognized and accepted as it offers a person who can no longer cope with their situation to be free of blame through a non-stigmatic label corresponding to medical diagnostics. Hence this rise in hysteria symptoms in early nineteenth century can be matched with atypical anorexics in East-Asian countries in the late twentieth century, with the speculation that the lack of public awareness in East-Asia correlated with the rarity of the disorder, as distressed individuals were less likely to select AN as the illness of choice (Watters, 2010). In the late 1990’s the cultural and individual differences in diagnosis became blurred as the influence of the Western diagnostic manual grew and wouldn’t be confirmed as AN unless the patient fulfilled the DSM criteria which presents a large problem in treating them (Watters, 2010). Although increasing industrialisation and fraying of traditional forms of family occurred in the 1990’s, this Westernisation is inadequate in describing the rise in the incidence of eating disorders in Asian countries (Pike Borovy, 2004). This clash between traditional and modernism formed a belief system suspended between East-Asian and Western conceptions at the point where modern attitudes have fragmented families yet not enough to overturn the traditional familism (Chan Lee, 1995). As a result, Cummins, Simmons and Zane (2005) criticise DSM as a diagnostic tool as it requires endorsing specific symptoms, yet it presents as less relevant to East-Asian populations as they may exhibit a different pattern of symptom presentation. However Rogler (1992 as cited in Aderibigbe and Pandurangi, 1995) claim that when translating international instruments such as the DSM, they should be culturally sensitive to ensure an accurate assessment of symptoms as they should be described freely without any Westernised prejudice. Further, Aderibigbe and Pandurangi (1995) call for more flexibly structured diagnostic systems where the diagnostic inclusion and exclusion criteria is applied in the context of the local culture as diagnosis would be improved if there are alternate classifications of disorders that were more suitable to East-Asian countries. Western conceptualisations often neglect the conception of AN in contemporary East-Asia is affected by the dominant cultural expectations for young woman as traditional notions of love, marriage and adulthood create a context which offers financial stability whilst simultaneously limiting their social lives (Pike Borovy, 2004). As a result of this culture, Pike and Borovy (2004) suggest that eating disorders may reflect the individual’s distress in negotiating these constraints which still values women in their traditional roles of domesticity. This is contrasted with Western cultural valuation of women where the tension arises from a result of striving for achievement and autonomy in being required to negotiate the demands of competitive worlds with a devaluation of traditional dependency work (Pike Borovy, 2004). Western societal standards of beauty often overvalue size and weight, expressed through a general distorted body image and fat phobia of the population. Although this pursuit of thinness has been absorbed by East-Asian culture, it is not the central causing factor of East-Asian AN. Instead there is a need to recognise that this fear manifests as a loss of control, which is the more critical factor in developing AN (Lee, 2001 as cited in Pike Borovy, 2004). This is where the culture acts as a guide for the individual by providing a range of symptoms to express distress as it provides a range of physical symptoms for the unconscious mind to physically express the psychological conflict (Shorter, 1986:1). Hence it is important that the aetiological model of AN integrates the local East-Asian culture and the universal need to express distress and global Westernisation. The rise in incidence of fat phobia anorexics can be ascribed to the popularisation of the DSM essential criteria of a fear of fatness in Hong Kong through the media. Instances such as the death of a young anorexic girl, Charlene Hsu Chi-Ying sparked the attention of the media with newspaper headlines from local Chinese-language daily papers such as â€Å"Schoolgirl Falls Dead on Street: Thinner than a yellow Flower† (Watters, 2010). With little local professional knowledge, Western experts were quoted, ascribing her demise to weight loss and dieting (Watters, 2010). Hence this media attention not only generated public interest resulting in the rise of this disorder, but especially a rise in the Westernised form of AN in a different subpopulation, modelling DSM symptoms. A newspaper article in The Nation claimed that eating disorders were estimated to afflict â€Å"one in 100 young Japanese women† (Effron, 1997:14) similar to the incidence rate in the United States. The extent of Western acculturation in Asian countries can be seen as Effron claims that â€Å"a weight-loss craze has swept the developed countries of Asia, sending women†¦scurrying to exercise studios and slimming salons† (Effron, 1997:14 as appearance and figures became very important to young people. Hence raising awareness of AN in Asian culture inadvertently became a double-edged sword as it could draw a susceptible reader in, with Shaw (2006) finding that adolescents tend to respond more to fashion images. Further, vulnerable adolescents who were dissatisfied with their body and perceived the pressure to fit in were adversely affected by exposure to images of thin models (Stice, Spangler and Agras, 2001). Therefore, there is a need to change the perception of AN portrayed in the media as it has become a culturally manipulated syndrome in East-Asian societies, leading to mimic anorexics as they regard the process of self-starvation with veneration rather than pain (Brumberg, 1985). Hence this proliferation of the promotion of starvation as glamorizing the disease for girls who seek it as an outlet of distress can encourage imitation. As a result, Psychiatry today in East-Asian cultures are treating the subpopulation affected by Western manifestations of AN which is inadequate a s it dismisses the genuine atypical anorexics. In summation, it is important to consider AN as cultural artefact which has been refined over time, as well as integrating a biomedical and personal subjective models. Hence there is no single adequate suggestion that media and advertising or society alone have increased the incidence of AN. It is rather that culture is a layered process of history and social expectations which put modern adolescents at a greater risk for developing the disease such that a deeper historical view, as pursued here, can be sought to explain how expectations of AN have changed. However, the mediation of factors such as media, which help form a dialogue between the disease and the public need to be controlled and take into account the local culture in order to aid in treating and restricting the rise of the incidence of AN in East-Asian countries.

Societal Drug Use in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World :: essays research papers

â€Å"There is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half-holiday, a gramme for a week-end, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon, returning whence they find themselves on the other side of the crevice, safe on the solid ground of daily labour and distraction, scampering from feely to feely, from girl to pneumatic girl, from Electromagnetic Golf course to †¦" In a perfect society, humans do not need to resort to drugs to keep society in balance. In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, society is based on keeping everyone happy- and if for some reason someone becomes unhappy then there is always soma- the â€Å"perfect† drug. Humans are conditioned from the very start to be happy while performing their specific tasks. â€Å"We also predestine and condition. We decant out babies as socialized human beings, as Alphas or Epsilons, as future sewage workers or future Directors of Hatcheries.† (Page 13) Brave New World’s society is built on keeping everyone happy and keeping everyone working in balance with civilization. However, without soma, Brave New World’s society wouldn’t function properly. The soma helps to keep the society moving, always working to keep production moving, just like Ford’s assembly line. However, is there something wrong with depending on a drug to keep a society working? Huxley’s portrayed society does in fact work to an extent. People know what they need to do, people are happy, people have soma, and people can have pleasure whenever they like. Things get done, but those same things could get done in a different way. The introduction of the Savage starts to show a different side of the story. The Savage, not conditioned and born to an actual mother, has different ideas about society- especially soma. â€Å"Listen, I beg of you. Lend me your ears†¦ Don’t take that horrible stuff. It’s poison, it’s poison.† The Savage is not happy with the life that the â€Å"civilized† people live. To him it seems like a big illusion. The people are conditioned to not have emotions, but humans cannot really be humans without emotions. Humans are different from all the other creatures in this world because they do indeed have emotions. The advanced human brain has allowed people to have emotions- which affect their lives daily. â€Å"The emotions aren't always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action† (William James) The Savage had several chances to â€Å"have† Lenina any time he wanted but he didn’t want that.