Of all his works written before the 1950s, the orchestral piece Amériques is perhaps mentioned the least. Analysts regard it as a formative-period work and thus with little value to their research. In the author’s opinion, however, it is one of the more important works of the 20th century, departing from convention in several fashions. This paper will explore its historical significance as well as several of its defining characteristics.

Varèse matured with influence from such respected minds as Guillame Apollinaire, Albert Gleizes, Jean Cocteau, Fernand Léger, and Max Jacob. Interestingly, he associated far more with artists, writers, and scientists than with composers; the few with whom he maintained working relationships were, like him, musicians searching in earnest for an original language. In Europe, his principal associates included Erik Satie, Ferruccio Busoni, Claude Debussy, and Charles Widor, and in the United States in the 1920s he worked most extensively with Carlos Salzedo, Carl Ruggles, Leopold Stokowski (who conducted the premiere of Amériques with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1926 (Slonimsky 1942)), and several other prominent musicians. At all times, he spoke vigorously against and determinedly avoided involvement with any schools of compositional thought, hence his shunning of most musicians (Bernard 1-2). Although he read some of the publications by members of the Futurist school of thought, he also denounced the Futurists as repetitive, imitative, and superficial (L. Varèse 106-07). He also contributed articles to the Dadaist magazine 391, which caused readers to connect him with that movement, also something against which he protested loudly, although he maintained a friendship with the magazine’s founder, Francis Picabia (L. Varèse 131-32).

Varèse was fond of analoguing music and the sciences, and he adopted many quotes from various authors as he felt they suited him, such as this from an unnamed writer:

Beauty in art is a relative result obtained from a mixture of different elements, often the most unexpected. One only of all these elements is stable and permanent and must be present in any combination: this is novelty. A work of art must be new and may be recognized as new if it gives one a sensation never before experienced (qtd. in Bernard 4).

The heightened gravitation toward innovation evidenced in that statement presents itself most clearly in the visual arts, where creators just after the turn of the 20^th century successfully liberated themselves from the restraints of traditional form and technique. Apollinaire wrote upon works by the artist Braque: “This painter composes his pictures in absolute devotion to newness, complete truth[…]each work becomes a new universe with its own laws” (qtd. in Bernard 4-5). The aesthetic Varèse sought after is a common theme among all of his colleagues, even the ones from previous generations, for Busoni, in his New Aesthetic of Music, remarked that “The role of the creative artist is to make new laws, not to follow those already made” (qtd. in Bernard 5).

Even long before the advent of electronic media, Varèse spoke of “[…]bodies of intelligent sound moving freely in space”; apparently, therefore, he was referring to the spatial element within the music as opposed to the spatial element outside of the music, something that Varèse would not be able to incorporate into his creative output until the late 1950s (Bernard 7). Even so, he spoke of his Intégrales (1924-25) as being intended for performance by “certain acoustical media that were not then in existence, but that [he] knew could be built and would be available sooner or later” (qtd. in Bernard 7). Even as early as Amériques (1918-21), the sound-shapes of the sirens employed in the orchestra’s percussion section were referred to at the time as “parabolic” and “hyperbolic,” and all of his music as “sound masses molded as though in space” by critics (qtd. in Bernard 8). According to Varèse, however, the first true realization of the spatial element in his music came about with the premiere of Poème électronique at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels, where the three channels of taped sound ran around the Philips Pavilion via an arrangement of 425 loudspeakers (8).

Further evidence of Varèse’s early interest in electronics appears in his correspondence with Jean Bertrand, the inventor of the dynaphone, an early sound synthesis instrument that Varèse, incidentally, never did write a part for in his music. He did, however, write parts for two theremins in his Ecuatorial, written a few years after the 1929 Paris performance of Amériques in which the siren was replaced by the newly invented Ondes martenot (Griffiths 274). Both the theremin and the Ondes martenot, thanks partly to Varèse’s application of them in his music, have found niches in contemporary music of many types.

In its significance as a step toward what Varèse termed “liberating sound” (qtd. in L. Varèse 173), the siren warrants a bit of its own discussion. Although many, many people think of the siren in Amériques as some kind of direct reference to city life (including Pierre Boulez when giving a brief talk from the podium of the Chicago Symphony in 1995) (Boulez), Varèse’s most familiar colleagues have contended ever since the piece’s world premiere that the siren’s function was far different (Ouellette 57). Instead, the siren’s steady rise and fall of pitch enables it to easily negotiate pitches in between those of ordinary instruments on the equal-tempered chromatic scale; In later works, microtones are written into certain of the instruments’ parts as another method of escaping the limitations of the chromatic scale.

Although it contains innovations as much as a generation ahead of their time, Amériques also lays bare its composer’s roots in his musical development. The orchestra itself, for example, exemplifies the Romantic partiality to a broad palette of tone-colors, and the scoring of individual parts in many ways evinces Varèse’s “debts to predecessors” (qtd. in Griffiths 276). His use of two sets of timpani, the harp, an alto flute in exposed passages (notably the recurring solo passage), and the size of the orchestra itself point toward this perpetuation of certain traditions (Griffiths 276). The forces employed in the piece far outnumber those of Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps and Strauss’ Ein Alpensinfonie, both of which use mammoth orchestras.

The original version of Amériques required so many players that Varèse agreed to create a second version designed with a considerably reduced ensemble and the removal of several minutes of music in mind. Even with minimized forces, the later edition includes parts for such things as a contrabass trombone, a Heckelphone, two tubas, and other similarly expanded wind sections (Ouellette 56).

Very large ensembles, though not written for very extensively in the 20^th century, still have a sizeable amount of contemporary music available to them, such as the Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, Penderecki’s most famous early work, which calls for some 58 string instruments, or any of the tone poems by Icelandic composer Jón Leifs, one of which includes rocks, chains, and a cannon in the percussion battery. Perhaps for this reason among others, Pierre Boulez speaks of Amériques (and indeed all of Varèse’s music) as a “hymn to modernity (Boulez).

Paul Rosenfeld, a prominent critic and friend of Varèse, wrote in an article that “Amériques is perhaps the transition between the series of tone poems produced by the young Varèse in Europe before the war and those born of the experience of the new world” (qtd. in L. Varèse 247). Varèse himself even acknowledged that with the work’s completion, he “[…]had begun working in a new idiom toward which his earlier scores had only been groping” (L. Varèse 102).

The writer Alejo Carpentier has said, of Varèse, that the New World gives him a “sensation of vastness and extent” (qtd. in Ouellette 55), brought both by towering waterfalls and yawning canyons and by the tremendous energy contained within the cities, especially New York. However, the title of Amériques does not refer to painting any kind of geographical picture, but instead to the concepts of exploration and discovery, both in the world and in the mind (Ouellette 55-56). In fact, Varèse is recorded as having written, “I might as well have called Amériques ‘The Himalayas’” (Wen-Chung 3).

Although most attempted analyses of Varèse’s music, until fairly recently, have been soundly defeated by the music’s uncompromising defiance of orthodox procedure, a few scholars with whom he associated have arrived at plausible explanations for several of its characteristics (and idiosyncrasies). Robert Morgan, one such analyst, presented this idea at a lecture:

There are many passages in Varèse’s music—and they are, moreover, just those that strike one as being most characteristically “Varèsian”—in which the pitches appear to have lost their sense of linear direction, to have relinquished their tendency to form connections defined principally by stepwise motion. The pitches, one might say, don’t want to go anywhere. Each seems content to occupy its own private place, without producing any particular expectation of an eventual move to a different place (qtd. in Morgan 9-10).

Although such passages are not as ubiquitous in Amériques as they are in later works, they are still quite common. For example, at the fourth measure of rehearsal marking 6, the notes in the upper woodwinds remain quite static, followed by more such notes in the low brass and again in the high woodwinds in the following measures (E. Varèse 16-17).

Rhythmically is where pitch is also of consequence, argues Morgan. Shifts in timbre and dynamics through time keep the music from stopping completely, and often when a single instrument carries a note, it constantly rearticulates it in irregular placements of emphasis. In this way, as well, an individual pitch retains energy enough to drive the music forward. Additionally, the rhythmic values in a specific section recur in patterns that transform with each reiteration, and the presence of those rhythms are very often what define particular sections of a given work (Morgan 11). This element appears readily in Amériques, especially in the percussion, but even the first notes of the entire piece take part in this process. Each statement of the opening alto flute motive is slightly different in duration from the previous, and two measures before rehearsal marking 5, the alto flute comes to final rest on the written E, rearticulating it in the fashion described by Morgan (E. Varèse 1-11).

As it exhibits all of Varèse’s unique musical characteristics in a fetal state, Amériques is an undeniably important part of the study of his compositional progression and of the entire aesthetic of much of the first half of the 20^th century. In it, sounds are heard which already portent the arrival of electronics some 35 years after and mark the establishment of a new way of treating the instruments already in existence. Something like Beethoven’s String Quartet in C-sharp Minor or Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire, it hearkens back to the foundation laid by the music of earlier periods while straining to establish a wholly original voice and mark the beginning of a new period of musical history, and as with those landmark pieces, its importance cannot be overstated.

Works cited:

Bernard, Jonathan W. The Music of Edgard Varèse. New York: Yale University Press, 1987. 1-8.

Boulez, Pierre. Untitled speech. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra [Concert]. Chicago. 1995.

Griffiths, Paul. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie. 2^nd ed. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2001. 273-80.

Ouellette, Fernand. Edgard Varèse. Trans. Derek Coltman. New York: The Orion Press, 1966.

Slonimsky, Nicholas. Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. 8^th ed. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992. 1942.

Morgan, Robert P. “Notes on Varèse’s Rhythm.” New Worlds of Edgard Varèse: A Symposium. Ed. Sherman Van Solkema. New York: Institute for Studies in American Music, 1979.

Varèse, Edgard. Amériques. Chou Wen-Chung, ed. New York: Colfranc Music, 1973.

Varèse, Louise. Varèse: A Looking-Glass Diary. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1972.

Wen-Chung, Chou. “Varèse: Who is He?” Grand Street 16.3 (Winter 1998): n. pag. Online. EbscoHost.

The Effects of Lend-Lease

The creation of lend-lease by President Roosevelt would give the United States the solid start it needed to go to war. Prior to lend-lease, Roosevelt had given the British old destroyers in exchange for the use of British naval bases in the Atlantic, but by November of 1940 Britain was broke. The threat of invasion by Nazi Germany had passed but Britain was quickly running out of resources that were vital for national defense. The President knew that helping America’s British allies was a must, but he was going to have a tough time aiding Britain without violating the Neutrality Act and the Johnson Act. Combined, the Neutrality Act and the Johnson Act prohibited the United States from becoming a belligerent in the European theater and from giving loans to countries that did not pay their debts for the first war. After receiving desperate letters for aid form British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and other foreign dignitaries Roosevelt decided that it was time for America to act.

In December of 1940 Roosevelt presented the idea of lend-lease to America in a famous fireside chat. Roosevelt stated that the United States must provide a great arsenal for its allies to fight the threat posed by the Nazis and other Axis powers. The lend-lease bill, ironically numbered H.R. 1776, went to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in early 1941. Military chiefs and cabinet heads went before congress to testify on behalf of the President’s historic proposal. These important public figures testified that the best way to defend the United States was to assist Britain in her time of need. The bill would also be a huge boost to America’s struggling defense industry and create many jobs. In the early spring of 1940 H.R. 1776 passed both the House and Senate with votes to spare.

President Roosevelt was given great economic powers and anything that the allies needed would become part of lend-lease. Lend-lease aid was provided to any country that could use the materials in a way that benefited or enhanced the national security of the United States. Lend-lease turned out to be simple charity because few nations gave anything back to the United States in return for aid provided. Lend-lease would prove to be one of Roosevelt’s greatest decisions; the aid given to Russia and Britain was invaluable and the production of that material would prove to be a “shot in the arm” for America’s struggling economy. Roosevelt and his supporters, hampered by a pacifist nation, showed great resilience in pushing through lend-lease legislation and the effort would prove to give American production a head start in preparing for the United States entry into World War II.

Paying for the War

Perhaps the biggest question on the eve of the Second World War was how the United States intended to pay for the raw materials and manpower needed to wage war all over the globe. Only two major avenues were available to the government: the raising of taxes, and the selling of government bonds to individuals and financial institutions.

Besides working in the defense industries and planting victory gardens, America contributed to the war effort by buying government bonds. “From May 1, 1941 to January 3, 1946, the people of the United States loaned the government $185.7 billion, the most money ever raised to fight a war.” A “postwar audit of the country’s wartime economy revealed that forty-six percent of the government’s operating budget was sourced through taxes, and fifty-four percent was realized through borrowing, that is, bonds.” Commercial banks held just over sixty-eight billion dollars worth of government bonds and this accounted for thirty-four percent of total bond sales. Private individuals held close to fifty-four billion dollars worth of bonds which accounted for twenty-seven percent of total bond sales. The other half of government bonds were purchased by corporations, Federal Reserve banks, insurance companies, mutual savings banks, and state and local banks. These figures show that people and groups from many different corners of the economy and social scale helped pay for the war. Rationing of goods and the scarcity of goods left people with a lot of money and the easiest and best way to use it was to buy bonds that would earn them a return on their money. Buying war bonds also made people feel patriotic; they were directly contributing.

Labor jumped onto the bond drive bandwagon with the AFL and the CIO competing against one another to see who could buy the most war bonds. The war bond program was especially strong among labor groups because the union members were benefiting from higher wages in defense industry jobs. The government rallied labor groups into buying war bonds by distributing pamphlets to over fifteen million union members encouraging them to buy defense bonds. “Bond drives also provided common ground between labor and management, as the shared effort to raise funds for defense at least postponed some conflicts between the two groups.” By purchasing war bonds labor would prove to many Americans, especially the political and wealthy class, that it was an essential part of the war effort and would give its sweat and paycheck to the war effort.

The buying of war bonds was not restricted to the white middle class and bankers. Minorities, African Americans in particular, were instrumental in the buying and promoting of war bonds. Blacks saw the buying of war bonds a step in the direction of gaining equality and putting an end to Jim Crow. The NAACP pursued a “two front” policy of being loyal to America and the war effort and still pursuing equal rights and the advancement of black interest, equality. “As the black protest movement shifted to the courts from the streets over the course of the war, bonds were a means of gaining social and economic power through official, institutional channels.” Many poor blacks gave everything they could spare to the war effort. A blind peanut vendor by the name of John Henry Harris saved enough money to buy a twenty-five dollar bond in 1943. Harris was married and had four children and his story of self sacrifice offered proof that people form any situation could help the war effort. By the end of the war African Americans were buying bonds at a rate higher than any other group in America. The NAACP and African Americans around the country thought that buying war bonds would lead them out of second class status. This would prove to be untrue, but there patriotism cannot be questioned. African Americans were unselfishly giving to America even though they were still segregated in all parts of society.

Buying war bonds and participating in bond drives was an activity that united all Americans. When a person heard about and saw pictures of bombs being dropped on the enemy they could see their money at work. Bonds united groups that were historically at odds with each other and allowed people of all ages to contribute to the war effort.

The Government soon realized that increased taxation would be needed to pay for the war. “The Revenue Act of 1942 brought nearly all Americans within the system, increased corporate taxes, and raised the excess profit tax from sixty to ninety percent.” In 1942 the number of taxable returns had increased by seven hundred percent from 1939. So many people were paying taxes that an automatic deduction system had to be implemented. In early 1943 taxes were directly taken out of a paycheck for the first time. In 1941 individual income collected by the federal government amounted to just under four billion dollars. The figure was close to nine billion in 1942 and shot up to fourteen and a half billion in 1943. By 1945 the federal income tax was bringing in seventeen billion dollars a year. In 1941, including the excess profits tax, corporations paid just under two billion dollars in income tax. By 1945 the corporate income tax was bringing in sixteen billion dollars a year. The excess tax was the bulk of corporate income tax; the government sought to stop profiteering but the efforts were largely in vain.

America could not borrow all the money needed to pay for the war. The income tax seemed to be a fair way to tax the people without hurting any one group of individuals. After the war the federal income tax was to become a staple of government finance.

Labor and the Second World War

In 1940, with war on the horizon, labor began to flex its muscle. Labor had begun to prosper after 1940 due to defense related spending and the effects of lend-lease aid to Great Britain and later to Russia. “Between April of 1940 and Pearl Harbor…non-farm employment grew from thirty-five million to more than forty-one million and wage rates increased nearly twenty percent.” Labor was making some gains and strikes were becoming a very common weapon to achieve those gains. By the end of 1941 labor was winning some major concessions from management. The United Automobile Workers negotiated a contract with Ford, a company historically against any type of unionization, which allowed dues check-off and the establishment of a union shop. A wage hike of ten-cents an hour was secured by the Steel Workers Organizing Committee which put an end to the strike with “Little Steel”, and wage differences between southern and northern coal fields were eliminated by the United Mine Workers. In 1941 over “2.3 million workers went on strike…and more walkouts occurred than in any year except 1919 and 1937.”

As early as March of 1941 Roosevelt knew something had to be done to avoid a potential labor crisis that could cripple a country that was on the brink of war. The President established the National Defense Mediation Board to settle labor disputes that could affect the program of national defense. The National Defense Mediation Board was composed of four labor representatives, four management representatives, and three members from the public; the chairman was Clarence A. Dykstra, a public representative. The board immediately ran into problems and it was soon discovered to be ineffective. Strikes continued to erupt and management became increasingly hostile and stubborn in its dealings with labor. While labor desperately wanted a rise in wages, a justifiable demand considering that defense contracts yielded high profits, management was worried that it would have to continue paying inflated wages after the war. This would turn out to be a false assumption by employers, a group that has experienced material gains almost every year since the war and usually to the detriment of their labor force and customers.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor the National War Labor Board, an agency designed to deal with labor problems that could disable war production, was established by the President. Roosevelt also managed to negotiate a no-lockout/no-strike agreement between management and unions. “By the end of the war the NWLB had imposed settlements in some twenty thousand wage disputes affecting some twenty million workers, and had approved 415,000 wage agreements.” Compared to the NDMB the NWLB was a huge success and likely saved millions of man hours by handling disputes between labor and management. Labor did about the best it could during the war, many goals of were realized and the ranks of union membership jumped form “10,500,00 at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack to about 14,750,000 when hostilities ended three years and eight months later.”

In September of 1940 congress passed Bill 1776, the Selective Service Act, and the drain on America’s manpower had started. At the time of the Selective Service Act only half a million citizens belonged to the United States Armed Services. The goal of the military was to have a total of twelve million enlisted personal. In 1940 the civilian labor force was made up of fifty-five million people, and eight million people in America were unemployed. During the war, from 1942 until 1945, unemployment was at its lowest level in American history. By 1944 the military had grown by eleven million people and employment among civilians had grown to over sixty million people. The labor force by 1945 had seven million more workers than a peacetime labor force would normally have. This surplus was made up of teenagers, formally retired men, college students, housewives, and “young married women, most of whose husbands were absent in the armed forces.” The Selective Service Act and American participation in the war helped promote many different groups not usually associated with the labor force or seen as below the average working white man. Women and minorities would rise in stature and become a very important element in labor.

By 1943, with production requirements rising, the “labor supply began to act as the ultimate limit on production. Industries offering relatively low wages or characterized by poor working conditions were unable to hold enough labor to attain desired production levels.” The War Manpower Commission tried to keep workers on the job through stabilization plans, usually implemented on the local level. Under the stabilization plan an employer in an industry considered essential to the war effort avoided hiring a worker that was previously employed “in an essential industry unless he presented a certificate of availability from his previous employer or from the Employment Service.” By the spring of 1943 over forty-four stabilization plans were introduced across the country. These plans did not have a huge effect on reducing turnover. An employee that could not get an availability certificate from their employer would simply get fired and apply for an availability certificate with the Employment Service. In theory, the more workers that were on file with the Employment Service the easier it would be to implement a system that managed labor priorities. Solving the manpower problem, or at least containing it, was a crucial matter and greatly helped the war effort and President Roosevelt’s agenda.

A country that is reading about vast labor problems and labor strife is not going to blame the situation on market forces and labor-management bickering. The public looks to the government for stability in a time of war. Knowing this, Roosevelt was quick to set up a board or agency to deal with any problem, old or new, that could affect American production.

American Production

The American production effort, started by FDR and lend-lease, was the deciding factor in war. “War production in 1939 was two percent of total output, in 1941 ten percent and in 1943 forty percent.” America was able to produce more than all of the Axis powers combined. American production was so high that employment was virtually eliminated. Unlike other countries, America had the burden of producing for its own defense and the defense of its allies. Productions levels of military goods were high because America shifted production away from civilian goods. Valuable resources that would have been used in the production of automobiles and refrigerators were diverted. “Viewing the war as a five-year period, almost 300,000 military and special-purpose aircraft were produced, 72,100 naval ships, 4,900 merchant ships, and 87,000 tanks” were made in U.S. factories. Whatever the United States Military lacked in training or quality it could more than make up for with its volume of weaponry. In the end, the Axis powers were overwhelmed, and the social, political, and natural limitations on their production caught up with them faster than they thought possible.

For small businesses the manufacturing of goods became a battleground. The small business fought hard to maintain a share of military orders and manpower and materials for the manufacturing of scarce civilian goods. “In the early stages of defense and war procurement small manufactures were widely ignored…The procurement agencies of the army and the navy favored the larger concern on grounds of timing and efficiency.” The army and navy were right; it was easier to deal with corporations on the basis of price and efficiency. Small business suffered a major setback during World War II and it would never recover the market share of production it once had. The “Senate and House committees on small business, in a February 1942 report, noted that 56 of the country’s estimated 184,000 manufacturing establishments had been awarded seventy-five percent of Army and Navy contracts.” Despite efforts by Republicans and Democrats, small business was unable to play a major role in the production of war materials.

The Businessmen behind the War Effort

President Roosevelt and the United States government turned to the business community for help in managing World War II. The president knew that he would need proven businessmen around him to deal with the business of mass production. Donald Nelson of Sears, Roebuck, and other successful businessmen came to Washington as “Dollar a Year” men and undertook the task of organizing the war effort.

Don Nelson was given the job of heading the War Production Board that was formed in January of 1942. President Roosevelt wanted Nelson to have the final say on the production and procurement of goods and resources. It was Nelson’s job to make sure that scarce materials were used appropriately; it was a tough job. Don Nelson soon discovered that he had little power. The WPB was “purely advisory, and served to bring around the council table for weekly meetings the top production representatives of the War, Navy, and Commerce Departments, the Board of Economic Warfare, and the Price Administrator as well as a representative of the White House.” Don Nelson was given a tough job of overseeing a vast bureaucracy that had many different interests and his best accomplishment was being able too put a face on production problems and figure out a way for them to be solved.

Other businessmen came to Washington during the war, but were usually put on ineffective boards that had little or no power. America’s image of the business leader and corporate giant improved during the war. Many people thought that the “dollar a year men” were giving something up for their country just like the average citizen. The placement of businessmen in the government may not have had as big of impact as the president would have liked, but it did increase consumer confidence and gave business a solid footing for after the war.

The War Ends

The deadliest war in history ended on the deck of the battleship Missouri on September 2, 1945. World War II was a crucial time in the history of America. The country faced many challenges and met those challenges through hard work and innovation. Much can be said about the leaders and the effect they had on shaping the economy and production habits of America. Eventually the credit has to go to the common worker. It was the common worker that went and fought on foreign battlefields and upon foreign seas. The common worker bought the war bonds and consented to taxes that should have been burdened by the wealthy. It was the wives, mothers, and daughters, of average families that went to work in factories for the first time. In the end the average person did not gain what it should have, and the elitist class still came out on top. The United States showed its muscle in World War II and propelled the allies to victory. It did not take long for the United States to gain the upper hand in the war and in the arms race. The United States laid the groundwork for victory years in advance and it was never a matter of, would America win, but when would America win.

Works Cited

1. Atleson, James B. Labor and the Wartime State. Chicago: University of Illinois, 1998.
2. Blum, John Morton. Years of War 1941-1945, from the Morgenthau Diaries. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1967.
3. Jeffries, John W. Wartime America, The World War II Home Front. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996.
4. Lawrence, Samuel R. Pledging Allegiance. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1997.
5. Leckie, Robert. Delivered from Evil. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.
6. Martel, Leon. Lend-Lease, Loans, and the Coming of the Cold War: A Study of the Implementation of Foreign Policy. Boulder: Westview, 1979.
7. McCraw, Thomas K. American Business, 1920-2000: How it Worked. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2000.
8. Milward, Alan S. War, Economy and Society. Los Angeles: University of California, 1977.
9. Polenberg, Richard. War and Society. New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1972.
10. Seidman, Joel. American Labor from Defense to Reconversion. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1953.
11. Vatter, Harold G. The U.S. Economy in World War II. New York: Columbia University, 1985.
12. United States Bureau of the Budget. The United States at War, Development and Administration of the War Program by the Federal Government. New York: Da Capo, 1972.
13. United States Bureau of the Census. The Statistical History of the United States, From Colonial Times to the Present. New York: Basic Books, 1970.

Muckraking, American journalism was born and created as a style of writing that was easily accessible by the common man and prided itself on being fair and balanced, and most importantly, telling the truth. Hand in hand with the huge wave of progressivism that came alongside it in the early 20th Century, muckraking influenced a series of changes and birth of government-sanctioned regulatory agencies like early forms of the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the rise of labor unions inspired to take action against greed and exploitation by journalists like Ida Tarbell. It was a time of many reforms, and the media of the day (largely newspapers and magazines) played a huge role in them.

The media 1 of today is much different from during the era of the muckrakers. Today, news organizations have the capability of getting their message to more people in more places through more media forms faster than ever before. At the same time, the media no longer seem to possess the spirit of progressivism, and no longer enlighten the public to the wrongdoings of government and big business in order to spark reform. On the contrary, the media is now big business itself, and only getting bigger with the rise of huge media conglomerates like AOL Time Warner, Disney, and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. When it comes down to it, the media is relatively incapable of serving the public good. It may keep them entertained, but by-and-large it does not serve their best interests.

Bias

One way to explain that the media does not look out for the public good is by showing how it looks out for its own interests and those of its advertisers and shareholders (aka — it is biased). It is, after all, the essence of a business to want to stay afloat and make money, and media outlets are businesses. If the outlet in question is concerned with staying in business, they will want to please the people that fund their operation through advertisement and large shareholdings in their company. One can deduce, then, that the media outlets, by looking out for their own best interest, are looking out for the interests of their advertisers and shareholders, and are thus inherently biased to report “good news” on these entities and also to not report “bad news” on them. Evidence to support this idea can be found in a recent study on how advertising affects media bias. The study, which focused on newspapers, showed that advertisers are significantly more likely to be mentioned in a positive light by the newspapers in question. In turn, positive mentions tend to boost the advertising that companies do with these newspapers, consequently making the newspaper more money (Reuter, 4-18).

If the purpose of journalism and news reporting is to give the public fair, balanced truths and reports on issues that may concern them, then sound journalism would serve the public good by keeping the public informed and able to make their own sound judgments on issues. However, journalism by definition cannot be sound if it is biased, and therefore the journalism presented by any corporate, advertisement-funded news organization cannot be sound, and thus does not serve the public good. Since all major news sources are publicly traded or part of publicly traded companies, and all media that air their news are funded by advertising, this statement of bias applies to all major news organizations and media.

Sensationalism in place of useful information

A related premise involves the media being sensationalist and out to sell their product (be it by gaining viewers or listeners or selling more newspapers) rather than to report fair and balanced news in the public interest. This topic is addressed in the Michael Moore film Bowling for Columbine, in part when Moore and interviewees talk about how American news is mostly filled with stories of bloodshed and danger, in order to trick the public into thinking that the media is looking out for our good. However, the case is actually more so that the media are putting out stories that will keep us afraid so that we come back for more information. In essence, they are putting out information that they know will drum up interest in people by playing on their fears so that people will continue to buy their papers and watch their news programs in anticipation of more information that will keep them safe from whatever sensationalized threat said media is reporting rather than focusing on information that will serve the public’s best interest. Moore points out that many of these stories turn out to be largely exaggerated, further illustrating the point that the stories were probably originally intended to boost sales rather than inform the public of a legitimate danger or concern.

Self-censorship

Another premise to support the conclusion that the mainstream media do not serve the public good is that the media keeps information from the public.

By its nature, the media and journalists working within the media have the access and know-how to readily research far more aspects of issues than a common person, who would probably not even know that said issues existed if it weren’t for the media. As a journalism student, I have learned that it is a news organization’s job to report stories to the public that the public needs to know and may not know without the reporting in question.

However, a book called The New News Business by former NBC news anchorman John Chancellor talks about how the Associated Press and other groups decide daily and weekly what stories will and will not be told to the American public. How can these groups be looking out for our best interests by withholding information from us? One could argue that perhaps these stories that are essentially censored are not important to the public good in the first place, but the fact remains that if the news is keeping some information from the public, we cannot know whether or not the information we’re not getting is for our good or not, and can only assume the worst. In essence, if there was nothing to hide in these stories, the media would not be hiding them.

The previous premise also relates to this one in that any media only has a certain amount of space to either run or air their stories in. If they are filling their space with sensationalist stories to boost sales, they must be leaving things out that could very well be in the public’s best interest, again sacrificing the public’s need to know for their need to make money. Here, we can see that there is no doubt a form of passive censorship going on in that stories are being omitted to make room for stories that may be less important to the public good that will sell more product (papers, programs, magazines) and in turn get the advertisers’ messages to more people as well. We can see clear ties within all of these premises.

Essence of the cartel/Shrinking competition

Perhaps the biggest premise to support the idea that the media does not look out for the public good is that there is an increasingly shrinking amount of competition in the media. With the rise of conglomerates and media mergers, oftentimes media formats are not even necessarily competing with each other, as many conglomerates own magazines, book publishers, websites, television and radio stations, and newspapers all under the same parent company(s).

With the death of progressivism and the muckraking spirit that I talked about earlier, news corporations now really only have their own regards for ethics as an inspiration to remain unbiased, thorough, and public-interest oriented. With many of these organizations now owned by parent entertainment and technology companies whose owners probably know little to nothing about the accepted code of ethics in journalism, the one thing that keeps them striving to put out an excellent product is fierce competition of so many media outlets (Purvis). However, competition is fading fast as more and more media are soaked up by conglomerates and larger corporations.

Competition would seem to exist in the sheer numbers of news organizations currently existing (even solely in America), however most of this is misleading as basically every major media outlet is run by the same company that is running more media outlets.

One example of this pseudo-competition can be described simply by naming the news outlets owned by any one of the ten multinational corporations–media powerhouses–that make up what critics call the “media cartel.” The ten include AOL Time Warner, Disney, General Electric, News Corp., Viacom, Vivendi, Sony, Bertelsmann, AT&T and Liberty Media (Miller, 1). To illustrate the point of shrinking and illusionary competition, I will list only news-producing companies owned by one of these — News Corp.

News Corp. owns seven newspapers and magazines in the United States, as well as over 40 network and cable television stations (mostly Fox related…not all are news channels but many offer news in some form), and about 20 different broadcast news companies in Australia, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The corporation clearly has holdings all over the world putting out news under many different names (“News Corporation”). To an unknowing consumer, this multitude of points of view would seem like a huge amount of competition existing in the world of news and would lead one to believe that each must be doing all they can to report good news to win viewers over from competitors. However, at their roots, all these organizations represent one point of view — that of the parent company, News Corp., and the competition isn’t real at all, thus not deterring any of these organizations from not holding themselves to the highest ethical news standards and really giving them the liberty to report what they want however they want under the guise and illusion that they’re being kept in check by huge amounts of competition. Even if competition exists among the other nine media giants, several own stock in each other or share ownership of outlets (“News Corporation”), and many outlets are constantly changing hands or being soaked up by the larger giants (i.e. News Corp., Disney, AOL-Time Warner are all considerably larger than Vivendi, Bertelsmann, or AT&T and over time may well soak them up or squeeze them out of the market).

So, now what?

The idea that the media does not serve the public good is reaffirmed by many different things. The media keeps information from us while filling us with information that we do not need, and look out for the interest of their corporate sponsors and owners rather than the interest of the people that they are supposed to be serving, the people that are buying their products — the public. With the shrinking amount of real, hardcore competition among news and media outlets and the rise of mergers and corporate ownership, the public is losing out on pertinent information and the ability to hear all the news and take from it what they want.

Perhaps the funniest part of all of this, to me, is that the U.S. government has laws in place to prevent foreign ownership of broadcast media. The rationale behind these laws is to keep out bias and reporting of information that could be detrimental to the public good (Japan). However, there are no laws against and no regulation of the shrinking competition and growth of influence among parent companies and advertisers that is contributing to the same thing — disregard of and detriment to the public good by news media reporting based on their own agendas. This brings me to my suggested solution, which is somewhat nonexistent.

As a firm believer in freedom of speech and freedom of the press, I do not think that it is necessarily the government’s job to step in and tell the press what they should be doing. Even in this case where it would be serving the public good, once we introduce government influence on the media, who is to say where it will end. Government influence would probably just introduce new bias and censorship, with the bias shifting toward government interest rather than corporate interest. Clearly, government regulation cannot be the answer, because many of the same problems with the media would still exist, though in slightly altered forms. This may not happen if the government simply placed stricter regulation on the ownership and consolidation of media forces, but again, who is to say that they would stop their regulation at that.

If we can’t turn to the government to solve the problems as it will only introduce more, what can we do?

The solution to me seems to lie with the public. If the public were educated on the problems in today’s media and motivated to fight these problems, who knows what might happen. Large-scale boycotts of media might send the message “look out for us or we won’t look out for you,” essentially giving the media the ultimatum to either give a fair, public-serving account of the news, or lose huge amounts of business. While a movement like this large enough to actually put a dent in some of these incredibly rich corporations would be extremely hard to organize, it is the only way I could see things changing. After all, most of the reasons that the media isn’t looking out for the public’s good have to do with making money, so naturally the way to get them to listen to complaints is by hitting them where it hurts — in the wallet.

After all, muckraking did not usher in so many changes on its own accord. It happened to come at a time that the American public was very progressive minded and ready to make changes. The media educated the people and the people fought to change things. This time, the fight seems harder, as we can’t rely on the media to educate us on how they are failing us, and basically have to figure it out for ourselves.

Journalistic and media ethics seem to be fading these days, with rising cases of fabricated news stories and sensationalism in the news, and bias and censorship becoming more and more pertinent and realized by those who care enough to look into the issues. Almost all negative aspects of any news industry can in some way be related to the rise of corporate ownership and shrinking competition in the field of news and in the media, and so far the American people have stood by idly while freedom of speech and the press are being balanced against the public’s right to know by huge corporations with a lot more on the line than their journalistic credibility.

It is a problem that could easily spiral even more out of control, and probably will, and yet it is almost impossible to offer a viable solution to the problem, because of the problems that would arise from government regulation and the fact that almost as unheard of as unbiased major media outlet these days is any kind of large-scale uprising that actually makes an impact (not to mention the fact that most people probably have no idea that this is even an issue, and might not even care).

It’s also quite an anomaly that the one thing capable of alerting HUGE amounts of people to what a problem this actually is is the one thing that would never dream of doing so — the multinational media cartel.

Argumentation

My arguments were generally deductive generalizations and causal arguments, in the sense that I deduced from sets of “facts,” statements and definitions that media is generally biased, or created a cause and effect relationship between corporate ownership and bias, or corporate ownership and lack of interest in the public good, etc. Other arguments were made by referencing and citing experts on various aspects of media, as well as by drawing contrast between past and present forms of journalism and news media.

Objections to my arguments and sources would probably be based around them being just as biased as I claim what I’m critiquing to be. I have no real response to these criticisms, except to say that the issue can’t be cut and dry without much more information on what exactly is and isn’t reported in the news and by which organizations (information that is not at all readily attainable), and we can more safely trust my deductions about mainstream media and seek our own truths than trust the media to look out for us.

Works Cited

Bowling For Columbine. Dir. Michael Moore. DVD.

Chancellor, John and Walter R. Mears. The New News Business. New York: Harper Perennial.

“Japan to tighten law on foreign ownership of broadcasters.” Kyodo News International (Japan).

Miller, Mark C. “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” Global Issues. Dubuque: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. pgs. 115-117

“News Corporation.” Who Owns What. Columbia Journalism Review.

Purvis, Stewart. “Digital future puts TV news in the spotlight.” The Times (UK).

Reuter, Johnathan, and Eric Zitzewitz. “Do Ads Influence Editors? Advertising and Bias in the Financial Media.” Quarterly Journal of Economics.

1 Throughout this paper, “the media” is used for all intensive purposes as a blanket term referring to all mainstream media that are corporate owned and/or part of a conglomerate. This includes any media that stay in business through advertisements, parent companies, and public trading and does not include underground media or exceptional cases of honest, unbiased media that are not easily accessible.

The secretary (Wanda) says that the boss is ready for you now, and with a nod you enter the office. Here it comes. You must be very careful. The boss reaches out to welcome you, and – yes! – you’re there with a firm and friendly handshake. One pump and you’re done. Perfect. You take a deep breath. You’ve done it. You’ve passed the test. Now it’s in the bag. All that’s left is the talking. Easy. You’ve got the words to say, and all you have to do is say them. Right?

Wrong. For there is more to communicating than the words you say. Much more. In fact, the “words themselves, or the verbal component of any presentation, only account for a mere 7 percent” of the total impact you make when communicating (Market 13). The other 93 percent comes from the nonverbal components of communication, and in a job interview this includes much more than the handshake. Nonverbal communication is not something that can be taken care of up front and then set aside when it’s time to get down to business. 93 percent of the time it is your nonverbal communication that is taking care of business for you, and therefore it must be consistently controlled, and made to say what you want it to say, in order for you to communicate effectively. With this in mind, there are three main areas of nonverbal communication that you need to focus on and regulate during a job interview: 1.) Facial expression; 2.) Vocal expression; and 3.) Body movement.

Facial Expression

If “a picture is worth a thousand words”, then your face is worth a million (Bohannon 22). For, no matter what words may be coming out of your mouth, your interviewer is going to be “listening” much more attentively to what he or she is “hearing” from your facial expression. Your face can be a tool used in conjunction with your message, or a rebel sending contrary signals to your listener. In order to avoid such rebellion it is important to know that “making eye contact is one of the key components of effective [facial expression]….Blinking, staring, or looking away whenever you begin speaking makes it hard for you to connect with your interviewer” (Bohannon 22). If your interviewer does not feel that he or she has a connection with you, he or she is much less likely to be open to trusting what you have to say. As Peter Guiliano, author of “Seven Benefits of Eye Contact,” puts it, “Poetically, [eye contact] builds a pathway to the soul. Less poetically, it keeps you from appearing shifty, which is inevitable if your eyes continually move their gaze” (104).

Another important element of facial expression is your smile. According to Lee McCoy, author of “First Impressions”, “Smiling can’t be overestimated in terms of the effect it has on interpersonal impression formation. When we smile, we tend to look more attractive and feel more positive. Even in a difficult discussion, a smile can be reassuring” (35). You must be careful, however, that you are smiling at the appropriate time, and that your smile is genuine. “Smiling at an inappropriate time or with a forced smile that does not reach your eyes tells the interviewer that you are not paying close attention,” which is often worse than if you’d remained stone-faced the entire time (Bohannon 22). By combining eye contact with smiling, you’ll be able to read your interviewer’s intentions more clearly, and avoid such mistakes.

Vocal Expression

So, now that you’re making the connection through the windows of your soul and flashing those pearly whites, can you get back to focusing on what you’ve prepared to say? Not yet. For, once again, nonverbal has risen its head to remind you that it’s not only what you say, but how you say it that determines how your message is received. This is where a few suggestions on proper vocal expression come in handy.

First, make sure that your vocal tone is clear and confident when speaking to your interviewer. As Lisa Frederiksen Bohannon states in her article, “Is Your Body Language On Your Side?”:

According to Bob Weinstein, author of eight books on careers,…“When you respond to an interviewer’s question in a tentative tone, your answer sounds like a question instead of a statement. This gives the interviewer the impression that you are unsure of yourself, or that you may be searching for what the interviewer wants to hear. (21)

Second, “modulate your voice, changing the rate of speech throughout the conversation for emphasis. Use inflection and moderate changes in pitch and volume to engage the listener’s attention” (More 18). Weinstein gives the dangers of not following this advice: “When you speak in a monotone voice, you leave the interviewer with the impression that you are not interested. Moreover, the interviewer may lose interest in what you’re saying” (Bohannon 21).

Third, choose a speed of delivery that fits the intended impression you wish to create. Dianna Booher, CEO of Booher Consultants, states the different messages different delivery speeds send:

When you speak slowly, listeners assume you’re choosing words carefully. A slower pace also underscores the message’s importance and gives the listener time to contemplate what you’re saying and determine the significance. Speaking fast creates interest and demands attention. The pace makes listeners work hard to hear and translate what you’re saying, and it eliminates the opportunity for their minds to wander. (36)

By becoming aware of these various benefits (and pitfalls), you can make sure that the words you’re saying are not only the right ones, but that they sound right, too.

Body Movement

Well, let’s see here. From the neck up you’re communicating quite clearly, and all appears to be going well. But what about what’s happening from your silk tie down? For good or bad, your body is sending a message. And while your face and voice are the most expressive weapons in your nonverbal arsenal, your body is the foundation upon which these others depend. In order to keep the foundation secure, there are three general guidelines to follow.

First, sit up straight. “Upright posture conveys confidence and courage. Slouching communicates uncertainty. In addition, straight posture makes us feel more energetic and appear likewise to others. Those who slouch seem worn-out and without any energy. Confidence and a sense of ‘can do’ is communicated when one [sits up] tall” (Buhler 25).

Second, sit still. While you may not be fully aware of the commotion your excessive body movement is creating, your listener certainly will be, and it will most likely be a distraction. “Sit still and erect, but relaxed….Don’t swivel, rock, lean, slump, or swing your legs. Don’t clasp your hands, fidget or grip your chair. Don’t drum on a chair or table with your fingers, jingle keys in your pockets, rustle papers, or toy with…pencils, water glasses and clothing” (Market 14).

Third, keep your hand gestures natural and minimal. “Don’t use flamboyant gestures. Using your hands to emphasize a point can be an effective tool, but keep hand movements to a

confined area, about the width of your body. Excessive gestures can be distracting or give the impression you are out of control” (More 19). Also, you need to be aware that there are some hand gestures (beyond the obvious) that can be perceived as negative. “Hands placed around the mouth tend to suggest that you’re unsure about what you’re saying” (McCoy 36). And, pointing your finger “is associated with disciplinarians and authority figures– such as a scolding from the elementary school principal or a reprimand from a boss. Most people are put off by a wagging finger in their faces” (Booher 38). So don’t do it.

Conclusion

In reference to his own experience as an interviewer, Robert M. Pepe, director of human resources at Co Steel Raritan, says, “I look for consistency between the verbal and nonverbal messages of an applicant or employee. When there is a contradiction, a ‘red flag’ goes up” (Arthur 22). Such ‘red flags’ often result in qualified applicants being sent away from an interview jobless. In order to keep yourself out of the ranks of these red-flag-waving job lookers, and into the company of clear-communicating job finders, you need to remember that both the verbal and nonverbal components of the communication process are crucial for success. In a job interview, as you have seen, the three areas of nonverbal communication to focus on are 1.) Facial expression; 2.) Vocal expression; and 3.) Body movement. If you concentrate on consistently regulating these three areas in cooperation with your verbal presentation, you will have a much greater chance of bagging that “sure thing.” So, go ahead and feel those palms slap together, relish that perfect pump, and then congratulate yourself on a hand well shook. You’ve conquered the first impression. Now, however, it’s time for the second, and the third, and the fourth, and the…

Works Cited

Arthur, Diane. “The Importance Of Body Language.” HR Focus.

Bohannon, Lisa Frederiksen. “Is Your Body Language On Your Side?” Career World.

Booher, Dianna. “Communicate With Confidence And Make Your Body Language Say The Right Thing.” Women In Business.

Buhler, Patricia. “Projecting A Positive Image.” Supervision.

Guiliano, Peter. “Seven Benefits Of Eye Contact.” Successful Meetings.

“Market Yourself Through Body Language.” Westchester County Business Journal.

McCoy, Lee. “First Impressions.” Canadian Banker.

“More Than Words Can Say: How Body Language Affects Your Ability To Communicate.” American Salesman.

Meager Beginnings

In his autobiography, Booker T. Washington described what it was like to be born into slavery and the difficult struggle to attain an education and rise above poverty. From the beginning, he always made an effort to better himself. As a slave, he had only the barest of necessities, and education was not within his reach.

At the end of the Civil War, Washington and his family were freed, and his stepfather sent for them to live in Malden, West Virginia. His stepfather had a job at a salt-furnace, and though Washington was still a small child, he and his brother were put to work at one of the salt-furnaces.2 The following statements by Washington describe an exceptional intellect and desire for learning as a young child, and he demonstrated, even as a child, the ability to make the most of his station in life, no matter how menial:

The first thing I ever learned in the way of book knowledge was while working in this salt-furnace. Each salt-packer had his barrels marked with a certain number. The number allotted to my stepfather was “18.” At the close of the day’s work, the boss of the packers would come around and put “18” on each of our barrels, and I soon learned to recognize that figure wherever I saw it, and after a while got to the point where I could make the figure, though I knew nothing about any other figures or letters.3

Struggle for Education

While he was working in the salt mines in West Virginia, Washington heard about the Hampton Institute and decided that he would pursue his dream of attaining an education. To further this pursuit, he left his job at the salt-furnace to take a vacant position in the household of General Lewis Ruffner, who owned the salt-furnace and coalmine. While employed at this new position, he worked under the supervision of the General’s wife, Mrs. Viola Ruffner. Ms. Ruffner was indeed a perfectionist and a strict taskmaster.4 From Ms. Viola, Washington learned discipline, perseverance and pride in a job well done, which later served him well.

Mrs. Ruffner gave Washington his first opportunity to attend school for an hour a day, and he studied at night, sometimes with the direction of a tutor that he managed to hire from his small earnings. He even started to assemble his first library while working at the Ruffners by knocking out one side of a dry-goods box, inserting some shelves and gathering every kind of book he could find to put in it.5

Though Washington was receiving some education and enjoying a modicum of success while working for Mrs. Ruffner, he still dreamed of going to the Hampton Institute; and by the fall of 1872, he was determined to make some effort to get there. Washington sought help wherever he could find it to gather money to set off for school. He had a small amount of savings and his brother contributed a small amount, as did many of the older black people in the town (they had been former slaves and were excited by the prospect of Booker attending school). Booker left for school—getting there as best he could—walking and begging rides. By the time he reached Richmond, Virginia, he was broke, tired and hungry. 6 Again, his ingenuity, initiative and perseverance landed him a job, and he worked and saved until he had enough money to get to Hampton. When he reached the Hampton Institute, he was so ragged and destitute, the head teacher refused to admit him. Again Washington called on his inner strength and determination to overcome this obstacle. At the head teacher’s offer, he swept the recitation room, and true to his nature, he did it at least five times better than she had asked—dusting, sweeping and polishing, going over the room several times (his stint with Ms. Viola had paid off). After the head-teacher inspected the room, it was not a surprise that Washington was accepted into the institute.7

Though it was hard, Washington worked his way through school and completed his course of regular study in 18758. While at Hampton, he developed an important association with General Samuel Armstrong, which would later prove beneficial in his emergence as a prominent black educational leader. It was also at Hampton that he acquired the ability of public speaking and first realized the importance of education for himself and his people. After the civil war and freedom, the black race’s single-most pursuit for improvement was acquiring an education. Washington, himself, described the black race’s struggle for education as:

Few people who were not right in the midst of the scenes can form any exact idea of the intense desire which the people of my race showed for education. It was a whole race trying to go to school. Few were too young, and none too old, to make the attempt to learn. (Washington quoted in Anderson, 1988).9

The Tuskegee Years

Washington started teaching in 1875 and in 1879 became a teacher and assistant at Hampton Institute. In 1881, General Samuel Armstrong recommended Washington to a group of educational commissioners in Tuskegee, Alabama, to become principal of their new, tuition-free black school. Washington arrived in the town of Tuskegee on June 24, 1881, to find that there was no school building. However, the Alabama state legislature had passed a bill for annual funding, but it could only be used for payment of the instructors’ salaries; and no provisions had been made for acquiring land, buildings or school supplies and books.10 Though the task before him seemed daunting, Washington set about acquiring the necessities to open the school. He wrote Hampton Institute asking for whatever books and supplies could be spared, and he found ways to save and raise money to acquire a farm on which to build the school. He also went about the community making friends with the people, both black and white. By July 4, 1881, Washington opened his normal school.11

Washington was very ingenious in his methods of growing the new school. He received donations from blacks, as well as whites. He believed in being self reliant and working to achieve the important things in life. He and his students cleared land for vegetable crops, and as the campus continued to enlarge, he began to incorporate the fundamentals of industrial education into the curriculum. By the fall of 1882, the first permanent building was added to the Tuskegee Institute. As the school continued to grow in size, it was preceded by its academic reputation, which helped Washington raise more money. In 1883, the Alabama state legislature allocated an additional $1,000 a year for the instructors’ salaries. It was also around 1883, that Washington started to add industrial education to the curriculum (farming, brick-making, carpentering, printing, blacksmithing for men, and housekeeping and sewing for women); and whenever possible, the academic courses were given a practical slant.12 This aided young black men and women of the day to learn a trade that would ensure that they could make valuable contributions to society.

During the early nineties, Tuskegee continued to prosper under Washington’s leadership. By 1895, enrollment had reached 800; there were 55 staff members and the school owned debt-free property worth more than $200,000. More importantly, 165 graduates of Tuskegee were in the field, most of them teachers, with some graduates founding schools of their own.13

Educational and Political Empowerment

As Tuskegee grew during the 1880’s and 90’s, Washington’s ideas also matured. He emerged as a national spokesman for blacks in race relations. In 1884, he spoke to 4,000 members of the National Education Association in Madison, Wisconsin. However, his speech at the Cotton States and International Exposition in 1985 launched his speaking career from the restricted field of Negro education to the broader aspects of Negro-white relationships. This one event, almost overnight, stamped Washington’s name into the minds of thousands of people who had never heard of him. This speech immediately widened his circle of influence.14

White America, tired of the topic of racism after the Civil War, was glad to have a prominent black leader like Washington to speak out on the subject. Washington, practical as usual, employed vocal accommodationism, hiding his secret efforts to work against Jim Crow policies. He often flattered white Americans and assured the world of their virtue, while championing a program for racial progress that posed no real challenge to segregation and white supremacy. Washington was a man who knew how to survive in a hostile white world, saying what he knew that whites wanted to hear. He tried to prevent whites from taking away what few possibilities blacks had for effective action and achievement by making black education appear unthreatening to whites.15

Washington’s accession to power and recognition was crowned in 1901 by dinner at the White House with President Theodore Roosevelt and his family. From his base at Tuskegee, he gradually built what became known as the Tuskegee Machine; and from 1901 to 1915, his personal career was at its best. Though during this same time, Alabama democrats were also convening to crown their political supremacy over blacks.16 Washington attempted in his usual practical and passive style to halt the Democrats’ taking apart of the black public school system. Schools, based on his practical teachings, sprang up throughout the rural south, helping blacks improve and expand their school systems by establishing a common understanding with powerful whites. However, white public education steadily gained ground on black public education; and though Washington failed at this one attempt, it is suggested that his pragmatic philosophy worked at the local level to systematically improve public educational opportunities in black communities. His pragmatic approach, emphasis on the work ethic, traditional morality, and industrial education may have saved black education from total destruction.17

In summary, Washington accomplished many amazing feats in his lifetime because he employed his practical approach of problem solving to every aspect of his life. He did not know the meaning of defeat and he never gave up. No matter how insurmountable the odds, he proved again and again that “it could be done.” He started at the bottom, a slave, with no money—not even the usual everyday comforts a person could expect in America, yet before he died, he had dinner at the Whitehouse with President Roosevelt. He took a rundown old church and a raggedy shanty in Alabama and built them into the most famous black educational institution of its time. He acquired an education for himself and countless others of his race. He even spoke out against racial inequality, but did it in a way that white America approved of his tactics. He did these things because he believed in making the most of what he had and using what God gave him to succeed. He never made excuses or felt sorry for himself. He believed that every man was accountable for his own destiny, no matter how low his station, and no one owed him anything. He lived these beliefs every day and did his best to pass them on to his fellow man.

Bibliography

Anderson, James D. “Black Rural Communities and the Struggle for Education During the Age of Booker T. Washington, 1877-1915.” Peabody Journal of Education 67, no. 4 (1990): 46-62.

Bruce, Dickson D. “Booker T. Washington’s ‘The Man Farthest Down’ and the Transformation of Race.” The Mississippi Quarterly 48, no. 2 (1995): 239+. Database on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/

Schroeder, Alan. Booker T. Washington: Educator and Racial Spokesman. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1992.

Spencer, Samuel R., Jr. Booker T. Washington and the Negro’s Place in American Life. New York: Longman, 1955.

Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery: An Autobiography. New York: A.L. Burt, 1901.

“Booker T. Washington, 1856 to 1915.” Available from http://www.virginia.edu/history/courses/fall.97/hius323/btw.html

Footnotes

1 “Booker T. Washington, 1856 to 1915.” Available from http://www.virginia.edu/history/courses/fall.97/hius323/btw.html

2 Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery: An Autobiography. (New York: A.L. Burt, 1901), 25-26.

3 Ibid., 26-27.

4 Ibid., 43-44.

5 Ibid 45.

6 Ibid., 47-48

7 Ibid., 53

8 Ibid., 73

9 James D. Anderson, “Black Rural Communities and the Struggle for Education during the Age of Booker T. Washington, 1877-1915,” Peabody Journal of Education 67, no. 4 (1990): 47.

10 Alan Schroeder, Booker T. Washington: Educator and Racial Spokesman. (New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1992), 49-51.

11 Ibid., 52-53.

12 Ibid., 60-61

13 Samuel R. Spencer, Jr. Booker T. Washington and the Negro’s Place in American Life. (New York: Longman, 1955), 86.

14 Ibid., 87-88.

15 Dickson D. Bruce, “Booker T. Washington’s ‘The Man Farthest Down’ and the Transformation of Race.” The Mississippi Quarterly 48, no. 2 (1995): 239+. Database on-line. Available from Questia, http://www.questia.com/

16 James D. Anderson, “Black Rural Communities and the Struggle for Education during the Age of Booker T. Washington, 1877-1915,” Peabody Journal of Education 67, no. 4 (1990): 56.

17 Ibid., 57,61.

-Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States

Three of the most important aspects of communication in negotiation are listening, speaking, and how information is interpreted. Carolyn Lee writes, “Effective communication skills are essential for negotiators. The gathering of support, selling of ideas, and motivation of staff all require speaking, listening, and interpretation skills,” (PM Magazine).

Lewicki points out that communication can come in two forms, verbal and non-verbal. Verbal communication is referred to as messages that are encoded into verbal language. For example, words and sentences. Non-verbal communication can be described as non-verbal expressions such as facial gestures or body language. Furthermore, Lewicki writes about types of listening and how they can impact the interpretation of communications. Throughout this paper, I will describe how verbal communication, listening, and interpretation of communications all work to affect negotiations both positively and negatively.

Verbal Communication (Speaking)

“Language is wine upon the lips.”

- Virginia Woolf, English Modernist Writer (1882-1941)

When two or more parties are involved in negotiations, speaking will be the most commonly used form of communication between the parties. Noted linguist and anthropologist John Kline has written much on the art of business speaking, while focusing much on the art of negotiating. The first step that Kline gives when one is preparing to negotiate is to “know your audience,” (www.au.af.mil/au). In other words, you must understand the background of the other party. For example, if you are negotiating with a foreign firm, you may not be able to speak your native language during the negotiations. In his writings about negotiations, Kline produced four steps to proper speaking during negotiations. The first of these four is “preparing the talk,” (Kline, www.au.af.mil/au.) This involves not only, knowing your audience, but also knowing what your firm’s goals are and how you effectively want to communicate these goals. Will your speaking need to be direct or indirect? Will the language used need to be proper or bucolic? These are questions that one must ask themselves before heading into negotiations with one or more other parties in order to make the other parties understand your firm’s needs and wants. Furthermore, Kline writes his second step of verbal negotiations as, “organizing your speech.” In this step of verbal communications, Kline says that proper verbal organization is a key to any firm’s success. By properly organizing your speech, one gives the other firm the opportunity to hear the organization’s point of view, as well as their wants and needs in a clear, cogent manner. The third step that Kline lists is, “support your talk.” In this step of verbal negotiation, Kline suggests that you back up your firm’s demands with verbal communication on why you deserve what you have asked for. As an example, Kline suggests the use of statistics, “When properly communicated, statistics are the most powerful support that we can use,” (www.au.af.mil) By properly using speech to communicate your support, such as statistics, the opposing firm(s) will further understand your plight. The final step that Kline gives is, “know when to end your speech.” When negotiation, there is a time when your verbal communications should end. If you pass this point, Kline writes that the opponents may suffer, “information overload,” (www.au.af.mil) In other words, if you continue verbal communication for to long, you may inundate the opposition with so much information that they cannot decipher your speech.

Lewicki also describes the use of language in communication. In Negotiations, he wrote “it is not only what is said, but how it is said. In other words, Lewicki has focused on how speech is delivered as to how it will be perceived by the other party. To further Kline’s steps for successful verbal communication, Lewicki writes, “a negotiator’s choice of words may not only signal a position but also shape and predict is,” (Lewicki).

”As one can see, the communication sender (Lewicki), is the first step in the communication process of negotiations. If the sender fails, the communications may very well fail due to a lack of understanding.

Listening

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force.”

- Karl A. Menninger, Psychologist (1893-1990)

The art of listening in negotiation is often overlooked by many. However, listening is of vital importance in that it leads directly to how the other party’s demands are understood, and how the other party is perceived.

Lewicki has identified three major forms of listening. The first of these is passive listening. This involves, “receiving the message while providing no feedback to the sender about the accuracy or completeness of the reception,” (Lewicki). Often times in negotiations, when one side is attempting to find their position, they will verbally communicate more than is necessary. In this case, passive listening involves the receiver listening to all that the sender has to say until they are able to work out their position.

The second form of listening that Lewicki has identified is referred to as acknowledgement. Acknowledgement is a slightly more active form of listening than passive listening. When a receiver is acknowledging, the receiver will “occasionally nod their heads, maintain eye contact, or interject responses like “I see,” “Mm-hmm,” “Really,” “Sure,” and “Go on,” (Lewicki). However, as Lewicki points out, acknowledgement can be useful to keep communications going, but has the chance to be misinterpreted by the sender as the receiver’s agreement with them, rather than as an acknowledgement of the message.

The final form of listening identified by Lewicki is active listening. Lewicki writes, “When receivers are actively listening, they restate or paraphrase the sender’s message in their own language.” Responding in a reflective way is a critical part of active listening. Lewicki reports that successful reflective responding is characterized by the following five points: 1.) a greater emphasis on listening than on speaking; 2.) responding to personal rather than abstract points; 3.) following the other rather than leading him or her into areas that the listener thinks should be explored; 4.) clarifying what the speaker has said about their own thoughts and feelings rather than questioning or suggesting what he or she should be thinking or feeling; and 5.) responding to the feelings the other has expressed. In negotiations, active listening works to have negotiators better understand their opponent’s “positions, the factors and information that support it, and the ways that the position can be compromised, reconciled, or negotiated in accordance with their own preferences and priorities,” (Lewicki).

“Listening is the ultimate strategic advantage,” (HighGain, www.highgain.com). Strong listening skills keep you attuned to what the marketplace, as well as your negotiation competitors are saying and thinking-with maximum clarity-so that your organization can innovate and compete successfully. The ability to listen in a penetrating, focused way gives you your negotiation opponents allows one to practice what HighGain refers to as the “Clarity Principle,” (HighGain, www.highgain.com). This principle is useful in negotiations and includes the following components: quality listening time, overcoming institutional barriers, fostering mutual respect, and creating management access. By practicing this principle in negotiations, active listening will increase and both sides will understand the wants and needs of the other party.

Despite the importance of listening, many negotiators receive much more training in reading, writing, and speaking. Listening often falls at the bottom of the hierarchy of negotiation skills. According to HighGain (www.highgain.com), 60% of a negotiators day is spent listening. With these recent statistics many top-of-the-line corporations such as IBM, Honda, Comcast, and Nordstrom, understanding the importance of listening skills, have begun enrolling their negotiators in special courses to teach them the art of listening. Linguist John Kline suggests that negotiators “Exercise their listening muscles,” (www.au.af.mil). What is meant by this is that listening, for many people, does not come easy. However, in order to be a successful negotiator, listening is one of the arts that must be mastered. In order to become a successful listener, Kline adds, one must “practice all types of listening at all available opportunities,” (www.au.af.mil).

As one can see, listening is often the most overlooked aspect of negotiation. However, it can be argued that it is the most important. By practicing proper listening skills, a negotiator can understand their opponent’s wants and needs, as well as weaknesses. Strong listening skills can give a negotiator the advantage that they need to succeed in all types of negotiations.

Interpretation

“Nothing can have value without being an object of utility.”

-Karl Marx, German Philosopher (1818-1883)

One of the most important areas of negotiation for both the sender and receiver is the area of interpretation. Interpretation in negotiation is how one party views the other party. Interpretation can be influenced by many different factors such as cultural differences, gender differences, language barriers, business ethics, and the ethnocentrism and stereotypes of the individual negotiator.

Cultural differences can play a large role in negotiations. As Morrison points out, “Different cultures arrive at truth in different ways.” In other words, what is true in one culture may not be true in another. Negotiators that deal in cross-cultural negotiations deal with many different factors that people who negotiate in one culture do not generally face. These can be as simple as language differences, or as in-depth and complex as issues of equality and inequality or sources of anxiety for different cultures. An example of how cultural differences in negotiations can be detrimental can be seen in Morrison’s description of the negotiations between the Thom McAn shoe company, and the stores that would sell the shoes in Bangladesh. During negotiations, many Bangladeshi stores refused to sell the shoes unless the stamp inside the shoe that bore the name of Thom McAn. The shoe company refused and was able to find other stores that would sell the shoe. However, when the shoes went on sale, a riot broke out in which fifty people were injured. It seems that the “Thom McAn” signature stamp inside the shoe looks like the Arabic script for “Allah.” Outraged Muslims felt that McAn was attempting to get Muslims to desecrate the name of God by walking on it. This entire scene could have been avoided had the Tom McAn Company, during negotiations, understood the cultural differences that they would encounter.

When experiencing cultural differences during negotiations, a negotiator may also face a language barrier. This barrier can cause negotiations to stall, possibly fail. Morrison suggests speaking in international languages during negotiations. International languages of business include English, French, and to some extent, Mandarin.

Gender differences can also affect interpretation during negotiations. Rizzo and Associates (www.rizzoandassociates.com) maintain that men and women have different viewpoints when negotiating and have different “goals for negotiations.” They suggest that having “mixed negotiation teams” made up of both men and women, will cut down on the misinterpretation that can take place during negotiations and will lead to more successful negotiations.

Business ethics also play a large role in interpretation during negotiation. If one party has below average ethical standards for their negotiators, they will be more likely to attempt actions such as intimidation and coercion (Lewicki). However, if an organization’s negotiators are strong in their business ethics, they are more likely to interpret the other party’s signals correctly, leading to more successful negotiations. Also, the firm with strong business ethics is less likely to use intimidation tactics during negotiations.

Finally, a negotiator’s own stereotypes or ethnocentrisms can affect the interpretation that is needed during a negotiation. Negotiators will often frame situations to make them better for themselves. Often times, they use their stereotypes or ethnocentrisms as justification for framing. Stereotypes are beliefs about another person, group, or culture that are based on falsities. Ethnocentrism is the belief that your culture or way of life is better than all others and is the way that should be followed. By taking a small amount of time and understanding the culture or people that you will be negotiating with, stereotypes and ethnocentrisms can be broken.

By undertaking a small amount of training, negotiators can be taught the proper way to interpret during a negotiation. By getting rid of institutional and individual biases, interpretation during negotiation will become a time where negotiators are able to clearly interprete their opponents and work out strategies that benefit both organizations.

Conclusion

“To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand.”

- Jose Ortega y Gasset, Spanish Philosopher

As evidenced from the resources used, the ideas of speaking, listening, and interpretation are valued skills among negotiators.

Throughout the course in negotiations, I have learned the ins and outs of the negotiation process. I feel that the three most important aspects of this process are verbal communication, listening, and interpretation. By mastering these three aspects, as well as by understanding negotiation procedure, one can become a successful negotiator.

Bibliography

1. Lewicki, R.J., Saunders, D.M, Minton, J.W., Barry, B. Negotiation, readings, exercises, and cases 4th edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. New York, NY, 10020, United States of America.
2. Lewicki, R.J., Saunders, D.M, Minton, J.W., Barry, B. Negotiation, 4th edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. New York, NY 10020, United States of America.
3. Kline, John. Leadership, Ethics, and Command Central: Communication Skills. www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-comm.htm
4. Lee, Caroline. Effective Speaking and Presentation. From PM Magazine. www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/dau/leej-f.pdf
5. Morrison, T., Conaway, A., Borden , G.A. Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries. Adams Media Corporation. Avon, Massachusetts, United States of America.
6. The Business of Listening. From www.highgain.com

In an effort to analyze the relationships between demographics and world commerce, we will focus our attention to several complex questions. How has the diffusion of ideas and technology impacted global commerce? What are the relationships among ideas, events, social climate and commerce? What future trends do you predict in regional demographics? How will these trends affect global commercial patterns? And lastly, what impact will thee commercial patterns have on the natural environment?

Diffusion is the process by which an idea or innovation is transmitted from one individual or group to another across space.

“Diffusion may assume a variety of forms, each different in its impact on social groups. Basically, however, two processes are involved: People move, for any of a number of reasons, to a new area and take their culture with them. And secondly, information about an innovation (e.g., hybrid corn or compact discs) may spread throughout a society, perhaps aided by local or mass media advertising; or new adopters of an ideology or way of life – for example, a new religious creed – may be inspired or recruited by immigrant or native converts. (Fellmann, J., Getis, A., & Getis, J.)

As we consider these two definitions, we can generalize and see exactly how diffusion along with technology has impacted world or global commerce. Process number one suggest that ideas and concepts of things are introduced from cultures during migration from one place to the other. While process number two suggest that information about things are spread through mass media inspired by the people. Technology today has aided society in ways completely unknown to man a little over a decade ago. Ideas from all different cultures have been brought together, analyzed and simplified. Some of the ideas introduced over the years have been adapted, some advanced, and some even credited towards the capitalization of technological advancements. Advancements in technology are rapidly evolving; evolving so fast that we have already simplified most forms of trading and commerce to “electronic transactions.” These such transactions happen almost instantaneously; making it so much easier for things to be done without the hassle of “pony express”, “snail mail” or any other, now less effective, means of conversion.

The relationships among ideas, events, social climate and commerce play important roles as to ensure the survival of society. All of these factors contribute to the efficacy of commerce. Ideas, such as innovations, simplified versions of technology; events such as bills, treaties and legislative measures; and social climate are all attributed to the inhibitions as well as the maintenance of commerce today.

Now lets take a look at demographics. Many demographic trends are quite easy to determine. This is due to the predictability of many demographic relationships. For example, if the birth rate increases during certain years (as indeed happened during the baby boom years), we can determine that there will be an increase in the demand for baby food and diapers in the very near future. (Wikipedia) Regional demograpics trends differ very little. Studies have shown that demographics, no matter what kind can be determined or estimated based on simple cause and effect strategies. Peter F. Drucker, author of article, “The Future That Has Already Happened,” suggest that “…it is pointless to try to predict the future, let alone attempt to look ahead 75 years. But in fact, it is possible to identify major events that have already happened, irrevocably, and that will have predictable effects in the next decade or two.” Research has suggested that the dominant factor for business in the next two decades – absent war,  pestilence, or collision with a comet – is not going to be economies or technology. It will be demographics. The key factors not being overpopulation of the world, but in fact the increasing underpopulation of the developed contries – Japan and the nations of Europe and North America. (Drucker) Statistics from the United States Census Bureau, support this rationalization by stating that in theUnited Statesalone, the number of birth, 2.4 or so per woman, is barely enough to maintain the current population now. Without the maintenance of the population, in my opinion, how are we to evolve? How will we be able to support a dominant world-economic power without the strength of a viable population base?

Demographics obviously plays an important role in the effect on global commerce, the real question is how? The trend of demographics show one of two options, the rise or global commerce or the fall of global commerce. Quite frankly, with current trends now, and technological advancements, global commerce will only get simpler, faster and more independent; but where does that leave the demographics view point. Well, with so many  modern advancements in technology, will people, figuratively speaking, be outsorced by robots? I don’t think so. “Knowledge is different from all other kinds of resources. It constantly makes itself obsolete, with the result that today’s advanced knowledge is tomorrow’s ignorance” (Drucker) All he seems to be suggesting is that demographics and global commerce go hand in hand. Even though advancements in innovations, ideas, social climate, technology, and so forth are inevitible, they all have to constantly evolve together to maintain the global commerce.

Commercial patterns are the same. Trends in demographics as well and world commerce will attribute itself to the trends of commercial patterns. Very little difference is seen with regards to the effects on commercial patterns. However, the impacts on global commerce, commercial patterns and demographics all play a significantly important role towards the natural environment. These roles include the overall success and or failure for that matter of the economy and the people that survive in it. Again in relation to the cause and effect strategy. It takes one thing to lead to another and visa versa, if this happened, it was a direct result of that happening.

Either way, it is and always will be believed that Demographics and World Commerce as a whole are key determinating factors to everyday living and the decisions, both business and non-business alike, that people face everyday. Without one the other can not happen. And evolution of these determining factors will only result in increased productivity with relation to World Commerce.

References

Census Bureau. U.S.Statistics. http://www.census.gov/.

Drucker, P. A Future That Has Already Happened: Harvard Business Review. EBSCOhost database.

Fellmann, J., Getis, A., & Getis, J. Human geography: Landscapes of human activities (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wikipedia. Demographics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics.

Communication around the world has been changed forever by the emergence of satellite television. With the introduction in 1975 of cable-satellite in United States, television dominated by three national networks evolved into a multichannel system with a huge programme choice for the viewers. (Parsons)

However, “the concept of satellite communications was traced to a seminal 1945 article by science fiction author and engineer Arthur C. Clarke, in which he offered for the first time a published description of three strategically placed, manned space stations in geosynchronous earth orbit. Television and radio signals beamed from these platforms could, he noted, cover the globe”. (Parsons) It was an extraordinary intuition that a few years later started becoming reality.

The signals that cover the globe well describe the power of satellite television as a communication medium that disseminates information and entertainment all over the world and also spreads out culture, traditions and way of life even from and to the furthest lands. “At the forefront of the technological changes in broadcasting technology was the satellite, which abolished distance and allowed for the first time the linking of remote territories into new viewing communities”. (Sinclair, Jacka, and Cunningham)

People living distant thousands and thousands of miles have been linking simply by television signals beamed from platforms in the space. For example, a Pakistan family can watch in London ARY Television, a satellite television in hurdu that in a few years has been spreading in Middle East, Europe and Asia. The content, the language and the format of the programmes are specifically made for a hurdu audience that is localized not only in Pakistan, but also in Europe, as the family in London. The programmes are transmitted from Middle East; the family living in London can watch them in the same time another family in Karachi does the same.

Thanks to this extraordinary invention, people distant from homeland do have the big chance to

keep and strength their relations with the origin world, a world that otherwise could have been lost forever. They could have travelled and kept in touch with the telephone, but the linkage to the homeland, to culture and traditions, should not have been constant and strong as it is watching TV and absorbing the message that arrives from their countries of origin. Migrants are virtually united by television signals and they become a sort of aerial communities, transnational communities.

Low cost and accessibility

The global migration trends have been growing sensitively in the last years for different reasons: wars, poverty, diseases, and persecutions. The mobility of people that the U.S. based anthropologist Arjun Appadurai defined Ethnoscape is characterized by refugees and immigrants, but also by tourists, students and professional. “Ethnoscape denotes the flow of people – such as tourists, refugees, immigrants, students and professional – from one part of the globe to another”. (Thussu) However, transnational communities, that are the object of this research, are essentially immigrants and refugees, escaping from wars, tyranny, persecution, starving, illness, and poverty. These people leave their countries and start a new life in a world completely different. In this new world they feel the need to build bridges with their country of origin. Satellite television is one of these bridges, one of the strongest due to the diffusion and accessibility. In fact, the lowered cost and the accessibility of satellite technology have permitted the wide spreading of this communication system among transnational communities and new satellite ethnic televisions mushroom.

“Satellite communication is economically distance-insensitive; once the capital investment is in place, the cost of transmission within the footprint of satellite is equal to all points. And the cost of adding additional receivers within the footprint is only the cost of the receiving equipment itself”. (Parsons) Digital technology is making satellite television even more accessible and widespread. “Direct broadcast satellite  (DBS) signals which can be received by small, relatively inexpensive dishes are now becoming common as the new video digital compression technology increases the channel capacity of satellite transponders up to ten times, and hence greatly increase the choice that can be offered by DBS”. (Hoskins, McFadyen, and Finn)

Television as source of identity

There is no doubt about the role of television as a source of identity. “While questions of identity have become the central theme of cultural studies, television, as the major form of communication in western societies, is one of its longstanding concerns. However, the case for exploring the economic and cultural significance of television is particularly acute at present because of changes in the pattern of global communications including a significant rise in transnational television. In turn, the globalization of the institutions of television raises crucial questions about culture and cultural identities. Thus, the globalization of television has provided a proliferating resource for both the deconstruction and reconstruction of cultural identities. That is, television has become a leading resource for the construction of identity projects”. (Barker)

Television creates images and ideas in which people can identify themselves to belong to a group, to a nation. In the past this role was covered by the print, but with the advent of television the new medium of communication became a major producer of self-representation. The root of the self-national consciousness of belonging to a community is in Benedict Anderson’s theory on the origin and spread of Nationalism. “In an anthropological spirit, I propose the following definition of the nation: it is an imagined political community […] It is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion”. (Anderson)

Citizens imagine and consider themselves being part of a nation within boundaries, linked by several factors as languages, traditions, and culture. The satellite television has expanded this idea. “Benedict Anderson’s concept of “imagined communities” has been one of the most influential tropes in theories of national consciousness for more than a decade, but as satellite television distribution transcends the borders of the nation-state, there is some value in applying it to the new audience entities which that process creates.”  (Sinclair, Jacka, and Cunningham)

“Benedict Anderson argued that print capitalism created the possibility of an imagined community, in which individuals came to feel intimately connected to millions of people they had never met. By the same token it is fair to suggest that migrant communities may be encouraged by the availability of different satellite channels to feel they belong to two or more imagined communities at the same time”. (Sakr)

Imagined transnational communities

The rise of print capitalism in Anderson’ theory has provided the condition to create a national identity. The rise of satellite television is at the root of the process for developing and sustaining a transnational identity. In fact, the accessibility and the availability of different satellite channels have given the chance to migrant communities spread around the globe to watch programme, information, entertainment, films, advertisement, products that “speak one, single language”: the homeland “language”. Naomi Sakr analyses the role of satellite television particularly referring to the Middle East and points out: “Satellite television broadcast in Middle Eastern languages have the capacity to respond to population movements, linking communities in different parts of the globe on the basis not of their nationality or location but of their linguistic and cultural affinities”. (Sakr)

Anderson’s theory of imagined community can be adapted to the transnational communities that can feel to belong to supranational communities with the instrument of satellite. People that had to or choose to leave their country now have the big chance to interact across boundaries. Even if they are migrant, they are living in different and distant places, they can participate to the life of the nation where they were living years before or where the forebears come from.

Watching TV and programmes about homeland, transnational communities realize that they are still part, even only in their feelings, of a nation they do not live in anymore, but they also understand being part of a new community, a transnational, diasporic community. They are living the same experience of others that are in a different part of the globe. However, they cannot ignore to be part of a nation in which they are living, studying, working. “Minority media can become symbols of empowerment, they can inform and communicate symbols of community and they can potentially mediate a group’s participation in the public sphere of the country where they live in, in the public sphere of their country of origin and in transnational public spheres that emerge in the diasporic experience – as people who come from a common distant homeland and are presently spread around the globe seek communication and community”. (Georgiou)

The result is the production of several identities that characterize transnational communities. “It becomes possible to think of identities which are multiple, although also often contradictory, corresponding to the different levels from which the televisual environment is composed in a given market. An Egyptian immigrant in Britain might think of herself as a Glaswegian when she watches her local Scottish channel, a British resident when she switches over to the BBC, an Islamic Arab expatriate in Europe when she tunes in to the satellite service from the Middle East, and a world citizen when she channel surfs on to CNN”. (Sinclair, Jacka, and Cunningham) Relations across boundaries mean also globalization as “the identification of world-wide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa”. (Giddens) In the search of their local, their world of origin, transnational communities are developing on the shape of global.

Two faces: global and local

Transnational communities are both global and local. This dualism is well explored in a study of the social anthropologist Marie Gillespie about the role of television in the formation and transformation of identity among young Punjabi Londoners as the researcher states in the first lines of her book “Television, ethnicity and cultural change”. Punjabi Londoners “are young people of Punjabi family background, mainly in the 14-18 age group, living in Southall, west London, the largest Asian community outside the Indian subcontinent”. (Gillespie)

They are cosmopolitan, but they are also involved in diasporic media; they are international, but they bring also their parents’ national traditions. “To describe them as Punjabi Londoners is to frame them in terms of two significant and related, but by no means comprehensive, aspects of their identity: their cosmopolitanism, and their involvement in the particular media experiences and cultural practices of the Punjabi, or more broadly Indian, diaspora”. (Gillespie)

People prefer ethnic television

The role of satellite seems to be central for migrant communities dispersed in the world. It represents a strong instrument of dissemination and survival for jeopardized cultures and it maintains the linkage with the country of origin and among dispersed groups. “Among a growing number of such groups, one can mention the Jewish, Armenian, Palestinian and Kurdish diasporas; Iranian exile groups in the U.S.; North African migrant communities in continental Europe; Pakistani and Indian communities in Britain. Though they do form small-scale communities locally – neighbourhoods, ‘street-corner’ or ‘housing-project’ societies – such groups often do not share a common space. Typically, they are spread over the territories of many nation-states and their members are exposed to an unusually vast range of potential identities”. (Dayan)

Groups and communities are growing dramatically especially in Western countries and ethnic television is becoming more important and stronger than hitherto. For this reason there are concerns that this satellite television is threatening long established television, such as BBC, as the Guardian newspaper reported.

“The BBC’s annual report showed that the corporation’s reach among Asian audiences – where it is already less popular than among the general population, is falling, and research published recently showed why. More than 70% of British Asian homes – twice the national average – have Sky digital or cable TV. The TV diet of more than two thirds of Asian viewers is made up of Asian-interest channels, featuring dramas set on the subcontinent, news from “back home” and Bollywood music. […] The BBC is concerned that, despite strenuous efforts to attract larger Asian audiences, increasing numbers of Britain’s 4.5 million ethnic minority viewers are paying the license fee for services they are no longer interested in consuming. The corporation’s annual report noted that radio’s reach among ethnic minorities had fallen from 46.9% to 45.2% and TV’s from 78.6% to 78.3%”. The decrease of the audience ratings is not high, but the phenomenon concerns corporation’s managers, as Vasagar and Brown reported on the Guardian. Transnational communities do watch the television of the country in which they live, but they are spending more time seeing programmes made by satellite television produced and originated from their homeland. The more time they spend seeing programme in their language from their countries, the less time they watch TV of the nation in which they move.

Croatian television: a case study

The BBC Monitoring World Media transmitted an excerpt from report by Croatian radio delivered the same day. The news was concise, but clear and detailed: “Announcer Croatian TV will begin a 24 hour transmission of its satellite programme for Croatian emigrants late on Tuesday 14 October and early on Wednesday morning 15 October, Croatian Radio-TV HRT reports. The transmission of the satellite TV programme for Croatian emigrants in North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe will officially begin on Wednesday 14 October at 0130 1130 gmt”. The headline of the news was: “Croatia: TV set to transmit 24 hour satellite programme for Diaspora”.

The case of Croatian TV is not the only one, but it is one of the most recent projects in the world to set a satellite television with programmes that must reach the Croatian population disseminated in several continents. The Croatian project is very ambitious and it is explained in detail in the Croatian Radiotelevision website that has two versions: in Croat and in English. In the website, it has been announced that the television “starts to broadcast on a regular basis 8 hours of programming for Croatian citizens abroad. The programme is broadcasted free to air for Europe from 2 am to 10 am CET and from 8 am to 4 pm for South America. In North America on the East Coast the broadcast begins at 8 pm and is broadcasted around the clock, 3×8 hours. On the West Coast (Los Angeles) the program begins at 5 pm local time and it is broadcasted around the clock too. The same round-the-clock programming is broadcasted over Australia and New Zealand, starting at 10 am (Sydney) and 8 am (Perth). New Zealand will see the start of broadcast at noon”. It means that a Croatian family that ten years ago escaped from the country due to the war in the Balkans and went to North America, on the East Coast, where Croatian friends or relatives were living, now has the chance to get inside the origin country life trough the instrument of satellite. “The program is bringing prime time shows from HRT’s own production. A part from news and current affairs programs like Croatia Today, Prime Time News and Meridian 16 and weekly interviews and news magazines, the programming will include sports, entertainment and musical shows. Also, there will be a pick up of children’s shows, education programs, youth interest programming, science shows, as well as those from  realms of culture, documentaries, religious programming and drama”.

Conclusion

The study shows that the role of satellite television is central for survival and development of transnational communities, people that for different reasons left, leave, are leaving and will leave the homeland for living in another countries more or less distant from their world of origin. Before the emergence of satellite television minorities could have had the chance to keep in touch with their countries thanks to the telephone and travelling; satellite television gives them the concrete opportunity to build a solid bridge to their culture and tradition that otherwise, living far away, could have been lost or weakened. There is evidence that this medium of communication helps to preserve and to strength the original identity of these populations. When people watch satellite television from a “foreign” country they feel to belong to a group of migrants that is spread through the globe; at the same time they also understand to belong to their native land. Therefore they feel being part of the nation in which they live and study or work, part of their country of origin and part of the globe in which they know other people with the same origin are living. Several identities characterize transnational communities that thanks to satellite television are becoming stronger and bigger than hitherto. “We may be entering a new, postmodern epoch in which the idea of a single, nation-state based identity is giving way to a more fragmented and hybridised spectrum of cultural identities. The new media – cable, satellite, video, and the Internet – offer rich sources for constructing these diasporic and hybrid identities”. (Thompson)

Bibliography

Books

Anderson, B (1983) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and the Spread of Nationalism London, Verso

Barker, C (1999) Television, Globalization and Cultural Identities Buckingham-Philadelphia, Open University Press

Dayan, D (1999) Media and Diasporas in Jostein Gripsrud, Television and Common Knowledge London, Routledge

Giddens, A (1990) The Consequences of Modernity Cambridge, Polity

Gillespie, M (1995) Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change London, Routledge

Hoskins, C, McFadyen, S and Finn, A (1997) Global Television and Film Oxford, Oxford University Press

Sakr, N (2001) Satellite Realms Transnational Television, Globalization and the Middle East London-New York, I.B. Tauris

Sinclair, J, Jacka, E and Cunningham, S (1996) New Patterns in Global Television Peripheral Vision Oxford, Oxford University Press

Thussu, D K (2000) International Communication Continuity and Change London, Arnold Publisher

Journal Articles

Parsons, P (2003) “The Evolution of the Cable-Satellite Distribution System” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Mediav. 47 i. 1

Thompson, K (2002) “Border Crossings and Diasporic Identities: Media Use and Leisure Practices of an Ethnic minority”Qualitative Sociology v. 25 i. 3

Newspaper articles

Vasagar, J and Brown, M (July 21, 2003) “Many Britons are shunning UK Television” The Guardian London

Websites

Georgiou, M (2002) “Mapping Minority Media in the EU: Mapping Participation in Communities Beyond a Bounded Europe” Barcelona

HRT: Naslovnica

BBC

When the first computer actually “came to life” is quite difficult to say. Some may say that it all began in the 1860′s when “Dorr Felt designed an experimental, multiple-order, key-driven, calculating machine”. (Great Men and Women of Computing p. 33). Still others may argue that “The Zuse Z3, completed in 1941, being the first fully functional, program controlled, general-purpose digital computer” (Great Men and Women of Computing p. 67), created by Konrad Zuse was really the major stepping stone in the creation of the computer. “Computers were invented to ‘compute’: to solve ‘complex mathematical problems’, as the dictionary still defines that word.” (Ceruzzi, Paul E.; A History of Modern Computing; P.1). The invention of the computer or even the calculator that preceded the computer made a huge impact on society in terms of convenience. Although the ease of use was nowhere near what we know today, it was a greatly significant improvement from what they had prior to it. Before the computer became as commonplace as it is now, people had to get their news and information from other sources. Many of which, they may have had to leave home for or in some instances possibly even travel some way for. Of course this was quite a while ago, but the significance should be looked upon with respect to those times. This is possibly the main reason that the computer was such an appealing source of news and information. Now we can get anything on the computer. News, weather, or entertainment are all at the tips of our fingers.

Within the creation of the computer there have been many notable people and different forms of technology that have been utilized.  Many of the pioneers of the computer invention were mathematicians. One important factor that was discovered and eventually helped aid the progress of the computer was logarithms. “John Napier provided science and mathematics with a vastly improved and rapid method of notation and calculation, also known as logarithms. This contribution should be considered a major milestone in humanities struggle to improve methods of processing information.” ( Great Men and Women of Computing p. 13). Another of the great technological advancements was the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (The ABC Computer). “In 1939, John Atanasoff built the prototype of an electronic digital computer, with the help of an assistant, Clifford Berry. The ABC was the first electronic digital computer and was assembled in 1942″. (Great Men and Women of Computing p. 85) This is an extremely notable invention because it unitized many of the components that we still use in the computers of today. The first large-scale computer, ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer), was built by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly in 1946. “Up until 1963, credit was given to John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert for the first electronic computer” (Great Men and Women of Computing p. 85). From what I have read on the subject of these inventors, I would say that John Atanasoff should really be the person credited with the invention of the prototype of the computers that are still in use today.

Many of the early pioneers of computing are women. Edith Clarke was a pioneer in the sense that she pushed for society to become more accepting of women in positions of power or authority. “In an interview with the Daily Texan she is quoted as saying ‘There is no demand for women engineers, as such, as there are for women doctors; but there’s always a demand for anyone who can do a good piece of work’” (yale.edu).

She also made an impact with her intelligence. “he translated what many engineers found to be esoteric mathematical methods into graphs or simpler forms during a time when power systems were becoming more complex and when the initial efforts were being made to develop electromechanical aids to problem solving” (yale.edu). Erna Schneider Hoover is another notable woman in the world of computing. “She invented a computerized switching system for telephone traffic, to replace existing hard-wired, mechanical switching equipment” (yale.edu).  For this accomplishment she received one of the first patents ever issued (Patent #3,623,007, Nov. 23, 1971). These women made a name for themselves in a profession that was predominantly male.

The creation of the computer as a form of mass communication has created many opportunities within society. With the creation of every new web page or every new news link, we are creating more jobs for the people in our communities. The computer industry has been beneficial to the economy in that it is a great source of employment and education. The computer plays a very important role in many aspects of our lives. Politicians often use the Internet as a forum to boast about whatever they are using as their sales pitch for that week. It reaches so many people by just posting something on an official web page. Voters can look up the past accomplishments of a candidate or just see what they like or dislike about each person before they head out to the polls.

A complication that the computer and Internet bring is the effect on social interaction. While in the past, we have not had many form of mass communication, we now find ourselves overwhelmed at all of the different ways to interact with another person. Most children today learn to use the computer at a very young age. My son is two years old and can already play certain games on the computer by himself. This type of learning is wonderful for his logical and intellectual side, but they may also hinder him in the social aspect of his future. Many children or even adults become so obsessed by the computer with its email and chat rooms that they have trouble relating to people on a face-to-face basis. They are so used to faceless people that they know only by a screen name that the interaction that they have outside of that is strained. I would not say that this is the norm for our society, but it is becoming more common that it was even just ten years ago. Within the next few years who knows how people will be interacting with each other. Especially with the new technological advances that are created every day. While many of the people in our society have access to a computer almost twenty-four hours a day there are many other societies or cultures that do not. Whether I am at work or at home, I have access to the computer and the Internet at all times, whereas a girl my age in Africa more that likely would not have the same privilege. This difference in our cultures may provide me a better education as well as a more definite future all because she would not have access to a computer and all the learning tools that come along with it. The computer is definitely something that would make a huge difference if it were more accessible to different cultures or societies that may not be able to afford this technology on their own.

While the computer is a very important and vital form of communication in today’s world, it is also a form of mass communication that is not regulated by the State and therefore cannot be one hundred percent private for anyone to use. (Cate, Frank H. p. 53) Privacy is a major concern for some people that are trying to be anonymous for one reason or another while online. You can have a certain amount of privacy when you go into a chat room or order something online, but there are other areas that we may not be able to control. “The Intel Corporation embedded unique network operators to identify specific users on the Internet” (Folkerts J., and Lacy. S 2001) making it impossible to be anonymous while searching the Web. As well as these forms of privacy, there is also the subject of “user accessibility” (Folkerts J., and Lacy. S 2001). User accessibility refers to what you are and are not able to see while on the Internet. A good example would be, what sites your children are allowed to go to. To prevent your children from going to inappropriate sites such as pornography sites, you can purchase a filter such as “Cybersitter or Clickchoice”. (Folkerts J., and Lacy. S 2001).  This is especially important with the rise of pedophiles looking for victims by using the internet.

Like anything else in the world, the future of the computer is not certain. I do think that with all of the technological advancements in the world of science and mathematics, it will only get more advanced. The options that the computer creates are limitless. I often wonder what more will be possible to do online. I often wonder what more can be created that we as a society really need. I think that much of what will be created or discovered in the future of the computer will be advancements made for personal gain rather than what we really need.

The technology that we have in today’s world is a great tool for us to use now and in the future, but I hope that we, as a society, are able to stay on one side of the line without crossing over it. We always need to be aware that nothing can replace human interaction and the need for privacy. While I feel that it is a wonderful tool for education I also think that it is abused and over used as a form of entertainment. One thing is for certain, and that is that we owe a great deal of respect to the pioneers of the computer and what they have accomplished. Without them, the world as we know it would be a very different place.

Works Cited

• The Media in Your Life: An Introduction to Mass Communication, Second Edition by Jean Folkerts and Stephen Lacy; Boston
• A History of Modern Computing; Paul Ceruzzi; Massachusetts
• Great Men and Women of Computing; Donald Spencer; Ormand Beach, Florida.
• www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/past-women-cs.html

Columbia Pictures Corporation
Directed by Frank Borzage
Based on a novel  by Ferenc Molnár
Written by Jo Swerling
Cinematography by Joseph H. August
Edited by Viola Lawrence

Nemecsek (George P. Breakston)
Boka (Jimmy Butler)
Gereb (Jackie Searl)
Feri Ats (Frankie Darro)
Csonakos (Donald Haines)
Ferdie Pasztor (Rolf Ernest)
Henry Pasztor (Julius Molnar)
Kolnay (Wesley Giraud)
Csele (Beaudine Anderson)

Within the medium of film, it’s easy to convince yourself that you know what a film is really trying to say by accepting the surface message. In the case of Frank Borzage’s “No Greater Glory,” the apparent surface message is essentially that war is bad. However, upon closer inspection it becomes clear that the war portrayed gives the characters purpose, and the war alone is responsible for the eventual unity reached by the end of the film. Through the use of deliberate staging and framing, Frank Borzage effectively represents the social status and progression through the social hierarchy of certain key characters within “No Greater Glory.”

The film opens with a war montage, before quickly cutting to a classroom packed with boys. A few of the boys are passing a note, and as a result are asked to stay after the class is dismissed. Here we are introduced to the primary characters including Nemecsek (George P. Breakston), Boka (Jimmy Butler), and Gereb (Jackie Searl), among others. Together, the boys form a faction known as The Paul Street Boys. One day, Gereb deliberately leaves the door to the Paul Street lot unlocked, giving Feri Ats (Frankie Darro), the head of rival gang the Red Shirts, the opportunity to steal the boy’s flag. Boka, Nemecsek and Csonakos (Donald Haines) go on a mission to recover their flag, only to discover that Gereb is the traitor.

Nemecsek falls ill from the previous night’s exploits, but still attempts once again to recover the flag. In doing so he earns the respect of Feri Ats, but exhausts himself even further. Eventually Nemecsek is bed-ridden. The Paul Street Boys and the Red Shirts agree to have an organized war for control of the flag. Nemecsek, out of a deep-seeded responsibility and an onset of hallucinations, forces himself to get to the lot in time for the war. He finds Feri Ats, and wrestles him to the ground for the flag, only to die moments later. The film concludes with his mother walking him back from the lot, with all the boys following closely behind. Shortly after, the boys memorialize Nemecsek in the lot, just as it is revealed that the vacant lot will be developed after all.

Borzage’s utilization of cinematic techniques has been pretty well exhibited in the portion of his works we’ve seen thus far this semester. By far, the most apparent element is the exposition he provides through the way characters are framed. Perhaps the only time we see all of the boys represented equally on the screen is in the classroom at the beginning of the film. There is a shot when the boys are addressing the teacher after class, which is essentially a profile shot of Nemecsek, Boka, and Gereb (from left to right). Each of them takes up almost exactly one third of the frame, and it is one of the only times Gereb appears to be almost as tall as Boka, presumably because of the slight upward angle it is shot from. Even Nemecsek in this scene appears to have more of a presence than his other appearances around this point in the film. The representation of a socially equal environment by Borzage through the staging here is unique to this moment in the film.

In the case of “No Greater Glory,” a good place to start when discussing the significance of framing would be with Gereb, the traitorous Paul Street boy, whom Borzage apparently has a lot to say about. Following the boys’ initial appearance in the classroom, the next time we are introduced to them, they are in their full military regalia in the Paul Street lot. During the scene, Nemecsek pleads to become an officer, like everyone else, and the camera frequently cuts back and forth between Nemecsek, and Boka and Gereb. It is at this point Borzage begins to develop his own commentary on the characters through framing, as is evidenced by Gereb’s apparent stature throughout these shots. The entire left half of the frame is devoted to Boka, and while Gereb is directly to his left (the audience’s right), he appears to be substantially shorter than he was when we were introduced to him one scene ago. What could otherwise be attributed to slouching seems deliberate on the part Borzage, because immediately behind Gereb is another unspecified Paul Street boy, who towers above him. Even though the boy placed behind Gereb is a few feet behind him, and slightly more to the right of the frame, his head actually touches the top of the frame, just as Boka’s does. This can hardly be attributed to the angle from which the shot was taken, because the camera appears to be at about eye level with Boka, pointed down at only a very slight angle.

At the conclusion of the previous scene, as well as in the next scene, Borzage uses the same techniques to once again portray Gereb as small of stature, or insignificant against the rest of the Paul Street boys. First there is a wide-angle shot of that described above. Nemecsek, in front of a number of the Paul Street boys, is on the left, and Boka and Gereb are in the right half of the frame, also backed by a number of the other boys. The shot is once again taken at a slight downward angle, from just about the level of the top of the boys’ caps. Only the profile of Gereb is visible, closest to the camera, but once again it is evident that he is shorter than the rest, with military caps behind him extending above his own. Moments later Borzage transitions to the election scene. Gereb is only visible on three occasions in this scene. First a wide-angle shot is utilized to once again show him backed by some of the other Paul Street Boys. Gereb is immediately in the center of the frame. Directly behind him is the single tallest Paul Street Boy so far. To the right of the frame is vacant lot’s watchman, a war veteran. Visible behind him, only by the top of his cap, is a very short boy (shorter than Gereb by about 6 inches or so), who position-wise is directly to the right of Gereb, as opposed to the watchman who is to his right and closer to the camera. As if the enormous boy behind him weren’t enough, Borzage cuts to a close up (a sequence he uses twice in the scene) of Gereb. His face is in the center of the frame taking up a good portion of it, however to the left of the frame you can see the body of the tall boy. He is so tall, however, that his face is out the top of the frame, and only his neck is visible. To the right of the frame, behind Gereb’s left shoulder, the short boy who was moments ago obviously dwarfed by Gereb is standing. His cap is entirely out of the frame and the majority of his face fills the upper right hand corner. This cannot be attributed to the angle, as the camera is at eye level with Gereb. Either Borzage swapped the boy for a taller boy for the close up, or he gave the short boy a box to stand on. When one begins to wonder why Borzage didn’t let the short boy fill the space behind Gereb, even though it contested the continuity of the scene, it becomes clear that he had an agenda,

That agenda apparently was to exhibit Gereb as diminutive and minuscule, in order to parallel the character he exhibits, or even the way the other Paul Street Boys think of him. Considering the literal interpretation of the plot, Gereb gets only two votes for the office of president out of the whole lot of the Paul Street boys, one from himself, and one from his gracious opponent. It stands to reason that Borzage could be sympathizing with this, by representing Gereb as an insignificant part of the group. His social status appears to be elevated only a few short scenes later, after framing Nemecsek for leaving the door to the lot open. In another shot, straight on from eye-level, Gereb is to the left of the frame, Boka is in the center, and Nemecsek is to the right. Finally, Nemecsek appears diminuitive in contrast to everyone else in the frame. At the same time, Gereb appears just as tall as Boka, both of their caps just barely leaving the top of the frame. How Borzage achieves this is unclear, as they appear to be standing directly next to one another. What is much more clear, is that the shot seems to signify an upward movement for Gereb. His deceit, while not yet apparent to the audience, has increased his social status among the Red Shirts, and seemingly bolstered his self confidence. The scene continues and the Paul Street Boys run to check on their flag. Gereb stays behind and is framed in alone, as Borzage cuts back and forth between him and the high angle shot of the rest of the Paul Street Boys. Once again, the framing here is indicative of Gereb’s social status as an outsider.

It is a stark contrast when Gereb is welcomed into the Red Shirts camp. The boys, gathered around with their spears at hand, kneel down so that Gereb is visually high above them all, in the very center of the frame. Feri Ats is the only Red Shirt left standing (or, sitting, but sitting high on a rock), and he practically sees eye to eye with Gereb. Moments later, the rest of the Red Shirts rise to their feet again, and Gereb in the foreground is practically the same height as these boys who are now standing in the background. This would be fine except these boys are supposedly older, and as evidenced elsewhere in the film, for the most part taller. It’s intriguing that the shot appears to be from approximately the same slight angle that the earlier shots are taken from. The only reason Borzage would possibly go to such great lengths to show Gereb in this manner is to visually depict the contrast between his social status among the Paul Street Boys and the Red Shirts. Through these techniques, Borzage doesn’t necessarily justify Gereb’s actions, but he does subtly inject sympathy into the audience. Through the framing and staging of Gereb, Borzage communicates the notion that he is appreciated and heralded as a welcome spy by the Red Shirts, while when he is with the Paul Street Boys  he is an outsider who has little or no value to the group. It seems as though Borzage is using this contrast in social status to ask the audience, can you blame him?

There is a shift later in the film for Gereb, at least among the Red Shirts. In a scene that is set up similar to how it was before, Gereb speaking with Feri Ats surrounded by the other Red Shirts, there is significant visual distinction setting it apart. While Feri Ats is once again sitting on his rock, at practically eye-level with Gereb, the rest of the Red Shirts are standing this time, for the entirety of the scene. A number of times the camera cuts to straight on angle, with Gereb centered in the frame, Feri Ats filling the left of the frame, and the Red Shirts this time standing taller than him in the background. His presence is minimized this time around, as he has lost some of his importance to the Red Shirts. To the contrary, in the final war scene of the film, Gereb is depicted as somewhat of an equal. He is never staged in front of the taller individuals, and he is not depicted alone in the frame at any point. Also, in his exchange with Boka, the two basically see eye to eye, before Gereb assumes his place among the other Paul Street Boys. While his social status may not be incredible with that faction, it has notably improved since the earliest scenes in the film. Borzage appears to be depicting a boy who has redeemed himself. He made a mistake, his sin was forgiven (through the selflessness of another), and he made good the second time around, content with his role in their microcosm of society.

The boy who helped Gereb to redeem himself is none other than Nemecsek, the individual Gereb tries to wrongly incriminate earlier in the film. It seems that Borzage has no less to say about Nemecsek than he did about his foil. Revisiting the opening scene where we are introduced to all of the boys, we once again encounter the socially equal environment mentioned earlier. In one shot, the teacher, his head practically reaching the top of the frame, takes up the leftmost quarter of the frame while the six boys are lined up in profile in the rest of it. The boys get further from the camera as they extend from the right of the frame,to the center, where Nemecsek stands. It is interesting to note that Nemecsek is the only boy at this point not in profile. He is literally facing the camera in the center of the frame, though his presence is still minimized because he is the furthest from the camera. The staging may be representative of the degree to which Nemecsek is exposed later in the film. Both his social difficulty early on, and social advancement later seem to stem from this degree of candidness (plot-wise, his willingness to cry and bare his feelings, and cinematically, the exposure Borzage grants him on the screen to emphasize the genuineness of his character).

One scene which reveals this vulnerability in particular is just a few scenes into the film, when the audience first encounters the Red Shirts. Descending from the top right corner of the frame, to the left center down a set of stairs no less, is Feri Ats and two of his henchmen. Feri Ats once again leans on the masonry to the far side of the stairs in the left of the frame, while his henchmen stand in approximately the center. The scene cuts to a wide angle shot of the whole scene, clearly taking place under a bridge which arcs over the top of the frame, jutting into the right half a bit. The stairs are visible in the background, with Feri Ats still leaning on the railing in the far left of the frame, directly above Nemecsek’s counterparts. Feri Ats’ henchmen approach Nemecsek who just crossed from the left of the frame to the right, against a wall constituting the base of the bridge. At this point there is a quick cutaway to the henchmen kicking Nemecsek over, before cutting directly back to this wide-angle shot. Nemecsek is huddled in the lower right corner of the frame, barely taking up a small fraction of it. Meanwhile, the two thugs standing in the dead center of the frame are hunched slightly over, which in of itself would be a monstrous sight even discounting the enormous shadows they throw over the inside wall of the bridge Nemecsek is leaning against. The idea Borzage is trying to supplant at this point seems to be that, as insignificant as Nemecsek may feel within his own ranks, he cannot so much as stand up to the enemy, literally or figuratively. At this point in the film, he is at the bottommost portion of the social hierarchy presented. Borzage does not clarify at this point if he feels that Nemecsek’s position is justified, purveying solely the idea of powers greater than him keeping him down.

Another interesting scene commenting on Nemecsek’s literal movement through the social hierarchy of the groups occurs when Gereb tries to frame him for leaving the gate to the lot open. The shot in question begins when Hector (the watchman’s dog) leads Nemecsek to one of the towers in the lot. There is a quick shot with the full frame being filled by Nemecsek’s face, looking upward before cutting quick to the dog and immediately back to Nemecsek. He begins to scale the pillar on the far left of the frame, grabbing and stepping onto planks jutting out from it as he ascends upwards in the frame. Borzage cuts to a closer angle, with Nemecsek framed directly center as he continues his ascent. Once he reaches the top, there is a shot of his face peeking over the corner of the pillar, before falling back down, scared of what he saw. The significance of this scene lies almost entirely in the slow ascent and rapid descent of Nemecsek. Borzage appears to be paralleling Nemecsek’s predicament. Here is an instance of Borzage positively portraying the idea of bravery, with Nemecsek overcoming his fear and scaling the pillar. There is no reason the pillar had to be as tall as it was, except that it gave Borzage an added excuse to show Nemecsek climbing upward, and making his fall from grace even that much more significant. On the one hand, one could say that Nemecsek’s climb was representative of his potential social improvement if he were to stop Feri Ats (the culprit at the top of the pillar) from stealing the flag. His failure to do so quite literally puts him right back where he started. On the other hand, this one scene could very well be representative of Nemecsek’s character through the entire film; a gradual increase in social status with both factions over the course of the film, with one traumatic fall from grace at the end.

There is one scene that comes to mind that parallels this scene. In a bold move, Nemecsek attempts to recapture the Paul Street Boys’ flag from the Red Shirts. He successfully does so, however he falls from his hiding place in a tree while the Red Shirts are gathered below. One moment the camera is locked on Nemecsek sitting on the branch of a tree, shot through the foliage. The next, it is a wide angle shot of the Red Shirts meeting which Nemecsek literally falls directly into the middle of, down from the top center of the frame to the bottom center. Where as before it was his fear of Feri Ats that caused him to fall, this time it was the fall that caused him to overcome his fear of Feri Ats. The bravery exemplified, a feature admired and respected by both Borzage and Feri Ats is the catalyst for Nemecsek’s upward movement within the social hierarchy of both camps.

The final two scenes of utmost significance for Nemecsek tie directly into one another. In the final conflict, Nemecsek dies after attacking Feri Ats for the flag. This is quite literally him overcoming his biggest fear, and in taking the flag, he achieves the highest renown within his own faction. The scene best representative of this is that immediately following his death. Nemecsek’s mother is at the center of the frame carrying him down the street, and behind her the street is literally filled with the boys. There is literally no empty space behind her that isn’t occupied by a boy. Nemecsek, by this point, has earned so much respect by the two warring factions that he literally has both sides fully behind him. The allusion becomes even more clear when his mother stumbles, and Boka and Feri Ats both rush to either side of her (immediately left and right of the center) and help lift Nemecsek. At this point, Nemecsek has reached the pinnacle… or almost. In the scene immediately afterward, the boys are gathered in two single file lines in the vacant lot. In between the lines, at the very center of the frame is a box with a flag. At the top of that flagpole sits Nemecsek’s hat, high above any of the other boys. Borzage at this point is just echoing his point that Nemecsek’s place in the social hierarchy has reached its apex. While his death may very well be considered a fall from grace, that does not change the fact that the imagery Borzage presents is consistent throughout.

There are simply too many instances to list every time Borzage uses clever framing or staging to signify the social significance of an individual within the film. There is no question that Borzage was deliberate and meticulous in his effort to do so, and the film resounds with sincerity because of it. Borzage’s admiration of quality character traits is fairly well represented, and through understanding his perspective of the film’s social hierarchy, we can attain a better understanding of Borzage himself.

US Airways:

Working Capital: (Year: 2001) Current Ratio: (Year 2001)

(Dollars in millions)

Current Assets $ 1,775 Current Assets $1,775 = 0.58

Less current Liabilities -3,026 Current Liabilities $3,026

Working Capital $1,231

Working Capital: (Year 2000) Current Ratio (Year 2000)

Current Assets $ 2,592 Current Assets $2,592 = 0.88

Less current Liabilities -2918 Current Liabilities $2,918

Working Capital $ 326

Compare to Southwest

(Dollars in millions)

Working Capital: (Year: 2001) Current Ratio: (Year: 2001)

Current Assets $2,520,219 Current Assets $2,520,219 = 1.12

Less current Liabilities -2,239,815 Current Liabilities $2,239,185

Working Capital $281,034

Working Capital: (Year: 2000) Current Ratio: (Year: 2000)

Current Assets $831,536 Current Assets $831,536 = 0.64

Less current Liabilities -1,298,403 Current Liabilities $1,298,403

Working Capital $466,867

In 2000, US Airways had more working capital and a higher current ratio then in 2001. In 2001, the current ratio was 0.58 compared to 0.88 in 2000, and its working capital in 2001 was $1,231 compared to $326 in 2000. Since current liabilities are paid out of current assets, US Airways could not cover its debts with its working capital from 2000 or 2001. The excess of current liabilities to current assets is the working capital that can be used to continue business, buy inventory, obtain credit, or expand sales (Financial Reports, ACT 161).

The current ratio is a good indicator of a company’s ability to pay its bills and repay loans (Ratio, ACT 161). Comparison of current ratios from 2001 to 2000 reveals a decrease of current assets for each $1.00 of current liabilities. US Airways’ current ratio was 0.58 in 2001 and 0.88 in 2000. An average current ratio of the airline industry is 0.9 (See Appendix H, pp.55-56). US Airways is under the average by a significant amount. Southwest followed close US Airways in 2000 with a current ratio of 0.64, but exceeded US Airways’ ratio in 2001 by 0.54. US Airways’ current position is unfavorable in the industry.

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

Plane Efficiency

US Airways has seen many recurrences of its planes not being used to their fullest capacity. For example, US Airways has Boeing 767-200ERs that hold, on average, 203 passengers and it also has Boeing 737-300s that hold an average of 126 passengers (16). If US Airways is planning on sending out a 767 to take 100 passengers to a destination, it should reconsider its choice of plane to use. In this instance, a 737 should be used because it will be more fuel-efficient and will get the load factor to the breakeven point or over the breakeven point than if it was to use the 767 aircraft.

US Airways needs to implement a strategy to figure out which planes are needed at what times. The text states that “…strategy implementation is managing forces during the action” (D 236). If the strategy of switching planes, in order to help create growth and reduce fuel and maintenance costs, is implemented and continually followed through, the company will help to raise the load factor and decrease costs. The result of raising the load factor and decreasing costs will lead to long run growth and freeing up of cash.

There are two options that US Airways can choose from when deciding which plane should be used on which fight. It can put a cap on the flights or make a last minute decision about which plane would be flying for each flight. If US Airways puts a cap on each flight, it will know exactly how many people can be transported from one destination to another; therefore, the company will know which plane will be used for each flight. If US Airways waits until the last minute before the flight is due to take off, the company will have to have different planes available to be used, such as having both a 737 and 767.

Pros – If US Airways used this course of action; the company would be more efficient in the use of its planes and its money.

Cons – Ticket sales have decreased for US Airways; therefore, the bigger planes may not be needed and may be sitting, waiting to be used. This result will end with the company paying unneeded hanger, maintenance, and depreciation costs.

Build More Hubs and Expand Westward

There are many hubs in the eastern region. The major eastern cities that US Airways hubs are located in are Boston, New York-La Guardia, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Charlotte (21). US Airways should try to build more hubs westward to expand its business to travelers in other parts of the country.

US Airways could conduct a feasibility study, which is a test to see if a company will have success at a new property and its main concentration is on location, guest demographics, the competition and financial analysis. If the study proves that US Airways will be profitable, it should open hubs in the West (Feasibility Studies, HTM 111). US Airways should also conduct a customer analysis, as well. Customer analysis is “…the examination and evaluation of customer needs, desires, and wants…” (D 133). The customer analysis “…involves administering customer surveys, analyzing consumer information, evaluating market positioning strategies, developing customer profiles, and determining optimal market segmentation strategies” (D 133). If the company concludes that customers will use its services, it should proceed with opening the new hubs in the West.

US Airways can get new routes and hubs in the West. For example, US Airways could buyout smaller airlines that are dominant in the West in order to expand and gain more business in the West. US Airways will have to spend money in order to acquire the new hubs and flights, but if the feasibility study and customer analysis were completed accurately, the company should be able to get on its feet quickly.

Pros – Because US Airways has so many hubs on the East Coast, it may be able to dominate it and move westward to make the company stronger and grow faster.

Cons – Adding more hubs will cost money; US Airways will have to struggle with its finances, but to make money the company will have to spend money. The money that will be spent will be the cost of opening and operating new hubs in new areas of the country.

Possible Mergers

US Airways is not doing well by itself; therefore, a possible merger and cooperative arrangements with a financially secure company, such as Southwest or Delta, may be an option that the company can explore before taking on additional debt and possibly losing the company. “A merger occurs when two organizations of about equal size unite to form one enterprise” (D 180). After the merger occurs, the two companies that have now become one should take part in cooperative agreements, which are “…research and development partnerships, cross-distribution agreements, cross-licensing agreements, cross-manufacturing agreements, and joint-bidding consortia” (D 177).

If these two companies can come to an agreement on all the important business decisions, they will be on a good starting ground for the newly merged company to begin. The two companies will have to agree on financial decisions, flight patterns, and employee retention and termination. When the two companies are on disagreeing terms about those decisions, problems can occur.

Pros – There are many reasons that companies merge, mainly to create advantages for both sides. The main reason that US Airways should merge with another company would be to improve capacity utilization (D 181). This way the right plane is used at the right time in order to conserve cash and gain profit. Other reasons that companies merge are “…to make better use of the existing sales force, to reduce the managerial staff, to gain economies of scale, to smooth out seasonal trends in sales…”(D 181). US Airways can also take advantage of those benefits of the merger.

Cons – The companies may not agree on terms, which may cause some problems. The two companies may not be able to help each other in ways that they thought they could.

Eliminating the Hub System

Southwest has a system of transportation that does not include hubs and they are very profitable. If US Airways partakes in benchmarking Southwest and how it maintains a profitable business without hubs, then perhaps US Airways could also try to work without a hub system. “Benchmarking simply involves comparing a firm against the best firms in the industry on a wide variety of performance-related criteria” (D 250). US Airways could compare how Southwest does without the hub systems and how other companies do with the hub systems. Although markets are different, in various parts of the country, US Airways can make decisions on whether it should do business in those parts of the country. If US Airways follows the way that Southwest runs its hub-free systems in various parts of the country, US Airways can adjust to the different markets depending on where in the country it is providing its services.

If US Airways discovers that Southwest’s system works the best, US Airways could eliminate the hub system and initiate point-to-point travel. If the point-to-point system will not be in the best interest for US Airways, it should create ways to improve its hub systems and flight patterns to possibly increase profitability.

Pros – If US Airways decides to take the point-to-point option, profitability can possibly occur. Also, US Airways will have to sell its hub locations; therefore, it will receive money, which will help to relieve some debt and free up cash.

Cons – The loss of the hubs, if the point-to-point system does not work, will destroy the company. The company will be without a hub system and flights that travel point-to-point; therefore, the company will not have many options in running its business without one of those two ways of providing customers with its business and service.

The Sale of Bonds

Because the stock share value decreased so much for US Airways, a possible solution for them would be to offer bonds from its company. The economy is in a lull right now; therefore, it would be a good option for the company to bring more cash flow into to the company (Bonds and Interest Rates, ECN 101). The bonds at this time in our economy would have an increased bond rate because of higher levels of risk. Although US Airways’ credit would likely be junk status, investors seeking large returns maybe interested in bonds because investors would be making more money. The result is that it would provide some cash for US Airways.

Pros – US Airways could have more cash on hand to relieve itself from debt, and buyers of the bonds would be gaining higher interest off the bonds because the interest rates, presently, are higher for bonds than they were in the past.

Cons – US Airways will have to pay back the buyers of the bonds eventually.

Partnerships with a Freight Company

US Airways could work in partnership with a company such as UPS or FedEx. US Airways could sell its planes to one of those companies so that they can use them for cargo and freight flights. If US Airways can create a deal with a freight company to sell the planes that are not used often enough to make a profit or not being used at all, then the company will decrease some of its major assets but gain more cash, which in turn can help to decrease the amount of debt that has been incurred (Assets and Cash On Hand, ACT 161).

Pros – US Airways will decrease the size of its fleet and get rid of the planes that are not contributing to making profits by selling them to a freight company. The company will free up cash from the sales of the planes, which can be used to pay off its existing debt.

Cons – US Airways will decrease in size.

Recruit Top Management from Another Company

US Airways could recruit top management from another airline company. If US Airways was able to recruit someone from another company that has good deal making and business skills, that individual could help US Airways recover from its financial problems. If US Airways recruits a top management person from the industry, the person may know information that US Airways does not about the industry and that information could contribute to US Airways becoming profitable (Recruiting, BUS 420). US Airways could hire a top management person from a financially successful company in the industry, such as Southwest. Their knowledge from previous experience in the industry can positively impact US Airways.

Pros – If US Airways has a top management person helping to fix its big financial problem, he or she can try to turn the company around and help it become profitable.

Cons – The person US Airways chooses may not be the best person for the job. The manager may try to sabotage US Airways in some way to help the other companies gain more business and profits.

Recommended Actions

With as much debt as US Airways has, it is hard to make one recommendation to solve its problems. The first thing that needs to be done is to raise capital. The fastest and easiest way to do this is to sell planes that are leased. US Airways leases 193 planes total. US Airways only owns 149 planes (16). Since express flying is efficient and profitable to US Airways, they should consider selling some of the larger and more costly planes. This will give US Airways more money to reinvest or pay back some debt.

If US Airways sells some of its leased planes, it will also be cutting its expenses. The downside to this, however, is the fact that some flights will need to be cut. With enough planning, US Airways can cut the least profitable flights and sell the planes that are used to make those flights. There is insufficient information available to say what exact flights should be cut. However, top management of US Airways should have this information at its fingertips. From the financial information presented to us, we strongly recommend cutting some of the unprofitable international flights. With employees, US Airways can ask them to relocate and keep them on the staff or make layoffs.

Since US Airways is dominant on the East Coast (due to the number of hubs), it should use this to its advantage. US Airways should have cut throat advertising starting in the East. Once it regains dominance in the eastern region, it can start to re-grow westward, at a rate that is controllable and not as costly. The number one recommendation that US Airways needs to follow, if it wants to survive, is the dismantling of their hub-and-spoke system. This system is outdated and proves too costly for longer flights. This system is no longer working because it is inefficient. With a point-to-point system, only one plane would be used for the trip. Fuel would also be saved with the point-to-point system. Along with fuel and the number of planes used, the number of employees needed would also be cut down. Customers would also welcome this new system because of convenience. Without a layover, consumers will experience quicker flights, less loss of luggage, and cheaper tickets. The hub system is sufficient for the shorter express flights, but for the longer flights, it is proving too costly. Delta just added a division, called Song, which uses the point-to-point flying. Their reason for doing this was to lower costs by relying more on their planes (See Appendix G, p.54).

One negative outcome of changing the system is time and money. It will cost money to move to the point-to-point system, but in the near future the profits would outweigh the costs. Even though US Airways would save money with the point-to-point system, it should switch over just to stay competitive. With other airlines (Southwestern and Delta) flying point-to-point, US Airways needs to keep competitive. As a consumer, I would fly with the company that flew me straight to my destination without layovers. Time is a problem because it is difficult to convert every hub, plane, and flight pattern into the point-to-point system overnight. The conversion needs to be done slowly and strategically to be most efficient and effective.

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

US Airways expanded into the international market to take advantage of an increase in foreign travel to and from the United States. To provide for this expansion, US Airways purchased new wide-bodied aircrafts, upgraded the Philadelphia international terminal, and expanded international destinations (23). However, after September 11 international travel statistics changed. There was “a 23 percent decline in service” and “a 1.3 percent decline in the first half of 2001” (23). US Airways continued its growth of the international market despite these statistics. Furthermore, US Airways reported that its current strategy is “aimed at reducing operating expenses and increasing expansion of its international operation” (22).

International expansion is a challenging task for US Airways. The weak global and United States economies are the main challenge in successful expansion. The weak economy prevents individuals and businessmen from traveling because they do not have the disposable income to afford it. The reduced number of travelers leaves the new wide-bodied aircrafts with empty seats. These empty seats create financial strain for US Airways because it costs the same to fly a full plane as it does to fly one half empty.

Fuel prices also continue to increase (16). Flying the new bigger planes will become more expensive. Farther destinations require more fuel. To cover fuel expenses, passengers must purchase tickets. Demand, however, is on a decline due to the economy.

In addition to terrorist fears and the weak economy, a pending war with Iraq decreases demand. Consumers already hesitate to fly because of September 11. If a war is being fought, consumers will be less likely to travel abroad. The war will also influence fuel prices and the economy. Fuel prices will increase because the United States purchases fuel from the Middle East. Increased fuel prices will force airlines to raise ticket prices to cover the added expense. If consumers are not flying at current war-free prices, they will not purchase more expensive tickets during wartime.

War with Iraq will change the economy and, therefore, demand. During wartime, disposable income decreases because the prices for everyday items increase. There will be no extra money for business or vacation travel.

The support provided by US Airways to facilitate international expansion given current international travel statistics are ineffective. The purchase of new aircraft, an improved international hub, and more destinations in a time of declined travel are risky ventures. US Airways is unclear of the potential payoff from international expansion (23). The corporation is investing a great deal of money to expand internationally while not knowing if any possible benefits will result.

US Airways strategically analyzed the expansion before implementing the plan. The expansion, however, does not have clear benefits to US Airways and, in a time of financial struggle, uncertain ventures create uncertain outcomes. US Airways does not have the flexibility to get involved in a failing venture. International expansion involves many unknown variables. The company should have closely analyzed external factors, such as the economy and the supply and demand of travelers. US Airways should also have planned for possible surprises in the world, such as a war. International expansion with possible external threats should have been strategically examined more closely before investing in it.

The airline industry traditionally runs on a one percent to two percent margin (21). This low margin creates a challenge for airline companies because there is little room for error, and any small financial effect could be critical to an airline’s success.

The one to two percent margin impacts US Airways through its load factor. With each flight, US Airways should sell enough seats to achieve a breakeven point. The goal of the company is to fill the plane to an above breakeven point so that a profit will result (Profits, ACT 162). This is done through raising the number of paying passengers per flight, by lowering operating costs, or by lowering a portion of fixed costs (21). US Airways is trying to increase the number of paying passengers by increasing international flights and adjusting ticket prices to compete with other airlines. External factors, such as the economy, terrorism, and war, negatively impact the number of tickets purchased and make it difficult for the airline industry to attract passengers.

US Airways does not address the one to two percent industry margin effectively. When operating on a tight margin, airlines need to be prepared for any emergencies that could hurt or improve profits. US Airways did not have a clear plan on what to do if an emergency occurred. For example, when September 11 brought a decline in travelers, US Airways expanded flights. US Airways should have adjusted to the decline by concentrating on domestic flights instead of trying to expand. This assisted in the company’s current financial troubles.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

US Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2002 (26). The corporation was awarded $75 million to continue flying through September 2002 and submitted a reorganization plan on December 31, 2002 (26). In recent court hearings, US Airways submitted a reorganization plan and developed a timeline that included an emergence from bankruptcy target date for March 31, 2003 (See Appendix B, pp. 43-45).

Corporate reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy code is a way for the debtor and creditors to create a plan. Under this reorganization plan, the debtor, US Airways, promises to pay a portion of their debts and is discharged from the balance of the debt (Bankruptcy, BUS 371). Important points of the reorganization plan include details of a $1 billion loan from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, discussions with the pilots union, retirement plans, and reconstruction of the Board of Directors (See Appendix B, pp. 43-45).

US Airways filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is an effective way to reorganize. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows US Airways to reduce the amount of money owed to creditors and allows them to continue to operate. US Airways should create a long-term financial plan to ensure emergence success.

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

5

-5

2

-6

6

-2

1

-3

1

-3

1

16

-19

2.67

-3.8

-2

6

-4

5

-4

2

-5

1

-15

14

-3.75

3.5

The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix is used to provide a company with the type of plan it should take in its business actions. The matrix indicates whether a company should be aggressive, conservative, defensive or competitive. Financial strength and competitive advantage are two internal dimensions of the matrix. The two external dimensions are industry strength and environmental stability.

The matrix on US Airways, which can be found in (See Appendix F p. 52), demonstrates that it should take a defensive approach in handling its business. This is important because it sets the framework for US Airways’ strategic plan. It also helps by giving the company a vision of how to continue doing business in the present and the future. US Airways is in the defensive quadrant, which means that it should focus on its internal weaknesses and try to avoid external threats. One way that US Airways could accomplish this is by selling planes that are currently leased, which frees up assets. US Airways needs to stop expanding and look at downsizing. US Airways needs to become a size that can be managed and be financially supported. Once this is achieved and the company is financially stable, it can consider expansion.

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

Weight

Rating

Weighted score

0.20

1

0.20

0.06

3

0.18

0.07

4

0.28

0.10

4

0.40

0.02

3

0.06

0.02

3

0.06

0.03

1

0.03

0.03

1

0.03

0.02

2

0.04

0.12

2

0.24

0.02

2

0.04

0.05

4

0.20

0.02

1

0.02

0.02

2

0.04

0.02

1

0.02

0.01

2

0.02

0.06

3

0.18

0.03

2

0.06

0.03

2

0.06

0.02

2

0.04

0.02

2

0.04

0.05

2

0.10

1.00

2.34

“An EFE Matrix allows strategists to summarize and evaluate economic, social, cultural, demographic, environmental, political, governmental, legal, technological, and competitive information” (D 110). To create this matrix, the first step is to list the key external factors, or opportunities and threats. Each of which must be specific. After these are listed, they must be given “…a weight that ranges from 0.0 (not important) to 1.0 (very important)” (D 110). This weight is used to determine its importance to the company. When comparing opportunities and threats, opportunities are usually given a higher weight, except when threats can be devastating to the company. The sum of the weights must equal 1.0.

After assigning the weights, the factors then must be given a rating between 1 and 4. “4 = the response is superior, 3 = the response is above average, 2 = the response is average and 1 = the response is poor” (D 110-111). These are based on the company and how effective it is at dealing with the factors. To determine the weighted score, multiply the weight by the rating. The weighted scores tell how effective the company is working. “The average total weighted score is 2.5” (D 111).

The EFE matrix is a valuable way to look at how effective the company is working with its external factors. A matrix for US Airways, listed above, includes each of the threats and opportunities from both the SWOT analysis and the TOWS diagram. The most heavily weighted factors were: point-to-point flight patterns, governmental aid, and selling assets. Each of these is vital for to company.

There were very few that were given a 4. The three that did receive a four were, partnership, governmental aid, and the economy. After giving the weight and the rating of the factors, the weighted score displayed that US Airways evaluation of its key external factors was an average of 2.34.

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

Weight

Rating

Weighted Score

0.11

4

0.44

0.04

3

0.12

0.01

3

0.03

0.07

4

0.28

0.04

3

0.12

0.05

3

0.15

0.10

1

0.10

0.13

1

0.13

0.06

1

0.06

0.00

2

0.00

0.04

2

0.08

0.01

2

0.02

0.02

2

0.04

0.05

1

0.05

0.04

2

0.08

0.03

2

0.06

0.06

1

0.06

0.08

1

0.08

0.06

1

0.06

1.00

1.96

This Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) is used to summarize and evaluate the major strengths and weaknesses of US Airways by assigning numerical importance (D 149). Each factor has been given a weight to indicate the relative importance to US Airways’ success in the airline industry, ranging from 0.0 (not important) to 1.0 (all important) (D 149-150). Each factor has also been assigned a rating of one to four, which represents a major weakness, 1, minor weakness, 2, minor strength, 3, or major strength, 4 (D 150). The weighted score is the product of each factor’s weight and rating. The total weighted score can range from 1.0 to 4.0, with an average of 2.5 (D150). Weighted scores below 2.5 indicate that an organization is internally weak (D 150).

The IFE of US Airways results in a total weighted score of 1.96. This represents internal weakness, which is accurate based on the current internal struggles US Airways faces. According to the IFE matrix, the greatest internal weaknesses US Airways must resolve are high overhead and excessive assets.

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

1. Variety of planes/ excessive assets
2. East coast dominance
3. Financial recognition of instability
4. Customer satisfaction
5. Competition
6. New CEO

1. Excessive assets
2. High overhead
3. Unprofitable flights
4. Grew too fast
5. Location of hubs
6. Resignation of CEO
7. Poor employee morale
8. Bankruptcy
9. Poor customer service
10. Non aggressive competition
11. Breakdown of merger with United
12. No contingency plan or vision
13. Plane crashes

1. Point to point flight patterns
2. Guaranteed money after bankruptcy
3. Partnership
4. Governmental aid
5. Increased consumer confidence
6. Stronger economy
7. Increase in bond rates
8. Decrease in interest rates
9. New technology
10. Chapter 11 bankruptcy
11. Selling assets
12.  New government   regulation

1. Size efficiency (S1, O1)
2. Reorganization with new CEO (S6, O10)
3. Possible financial gains (S3, O2, O4, O7, O8)
4. Expansion of East Coast dominance west with point to point flights (S2, O1)
5. Merging with another company (S3, S5, O3)
6. Sell bonds (S3, O7, O8)
7. Expand into freight industry (S1, O3, O6, O11)
8. Recruit CEO and executives (S6, O3, O10)
9. Regulations can promote fair competition (S5, O12)

1. Eliminate or restructure hubs (W5, O1, O11)
2. Save money by flying point to point and free up money by selling assets to increase liquidity (W1, W2, O1, O11)
3. Create strategic planning standards (W11, W12, O10, O3)
4. Use point-to-point flights to increase profitability (W3, W5, O1)
5. New technology will make business more consumer friendly (W9, O9)
6. Stronger economy will make breakeven more attainable (W2, O6)
7. Asset sales will restructure company size (W4, O11)
8. Restructuring after bankruptcy can promote employee morale and positive leadership (W6, W7, W8, W10, O2)
9. Can recover from bankruptcy through governmental aid, consumer or employee purchased bonds (W8, O4, O5, O7, O8, O12)

1. Economy
2. Demand for air travel
3. Web conferencing
4. International threats
5. War with Iraq
6. Terrorism
7. Oil / Fuel cost
8. Labor
9. Union strikes
10. ALPA cap flights
11. Government
12. Competition

1. Recognition of poor economy/cut throat competition with limited customers (S3, S4, S5, T1, T5, T6, T12)
2. Fluctuating fuel prices indirectly proportional to competition and customer satisfaction (S1, S4, S5, T5, T7)
3. New CEO can improve labor and union relations (S6, T8, T9)
4. Limited flight selection and regulations (S4, T10, T11)
5. Union more willing to negotiate (S4, T8, T9)
6. New CEO can promote East Coast air travel through business deals by discounting air fare to discourage web conferencing (S2, S6, T2, T3)

1. With expense increase, profits decrease and assets are harder to maintain (W1, W3, T7, T8, T12)
2. Poor employee morale can promote strike, which results in poor customer service falter (W7, W9, T9)
3. Terrorists hijackings (W13, T6)
4. Lack of aggressive competition results in lack of market share (W10, T2, T12)
5. High overhead, possible warfare, terrorism, international threats, and struggling economy decreases demand for air travel, which results in unprofitable flights (W2, W3, T1, T2, T4, T5, T6, T10, T11)
6. Hub expansion in a geographically close market decreased need for flying  (W4, W5, T2)

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

Variety of Planes

US Airways owns a variety of planes: 767s, 737s, and 727s, A330s, and A320s (22). The variety of aircrafts allow for more flexibility, versatility, mobility in passenger load options, and operating costs. A wide variety of planes provide the flexibility of matching the load capacity with the area of demand. The company attempts to match the aircraft to seat supply and route demand to increase the load factor. “This type of aircraft offers great flexibility since it has smaller capacity, is significantly more efficient to operate, and has a shorter turnaround time than larger aircraft” (22). If a route has less demand, a smaller aircraft can be used to increase capacity in order to meet the breakeven point of the aircraft. This helps US Airways reach their primary goal: “…to move load factor above the breakeven point into the profit range” (21).

The wide variety also allows for expansion and exploration into other routes because different size planes are readily available. The agreement between US Airways and Airbus allows modernization of their old aircraft to the new A320s (22). The new A320s are more fuel-efficient and replace the older aircraft with younger assets. The average age of US Airways’ planes as of 2001 are 9.1 years to 9.6 years (16). The younger assets require less expenditure for repair and maintenance (Assets, ACT 161).

Another benefit of having a variety of planes and excessive assets is to use the excess as leverage to free up money. The planes can be sold along with their lease in order to free up cash to pay debts and relieve some of the current expenses and costs (Leases, Debt, Expenses, ACT 161).

East Coast Dominance

US Airways uses the hub system which “…ideally allows any airline to fly passengers to any destination on the globe…The hub system also allows airlines to feed passengers from small markets into the carrier’s transcontinental and international routes, thus allowing competition in these markets as well” (20-21). The hubs are bunched together geographically on the East Coast allowing for market domination. The close market can promote lower expenses because ticket sales can be lowered with less interference from outside competition (Product Pricing, BUS 340). “By offering the lowest priced fares to a destination, an airline hopes to lure customers from competitors and even increase the amount of overall passenger traffic by attracting passengers who would not have considered air travel under a higher pricing structure” (21). Once market domination of the East Coast is prosperous, then the financial advantage can be used to integrate, expand and dominate westward.

US Airways’ short international express flights are making the most profit for the company. The flights from Washington, D.C. to New York and Baltimore to Boston are convenient routes for East Coast businesses. “…Revenue may be generated…by increasing profitability on the core routes to cover underperformance on other routes” (21).

Brand Loyalty

Businesses and US Airways’ consumers have strong brand loyalty to the air carrier. Although there has been a decline in air travel demand due to a slow economy and low consumer confidence, US Airways’ consumers reveal their loyalty through website comments (See Appendix A, pp.40-42). Customer satisfaction is high even though US Airways’ financial position is declining.

Airbus also opened an avenue of revenue and lowered operational costs by: lowering training costs, providing better fuel efficiency, lowering maintenance costs and providing longer operational ranges. The A320 Airbus aircraft offers more flexibility and reduced employee training costs and crew expenses (22). One way to improve their financial position is to decrease losses in operational expenses.

Financial

US Airways is aware of their current market decline and financial instability. This is deemed a strength because the company is using their position to implement changes and new organizational plans to correct the situation. The government passed legislation that freed US Airways of some of its expenses by “federalizing security.” The September 11 terrorist attacks pushed Congress to pass legislation and provide $14 billion to the airline industry (26).

Other actions that freed up cash are: consolidation of flights, a 23% cut in service, and decrease in routes. The postponement of shipping, and deferment of new A320s and A330s freed up cash. Also, the failed merger between United and US Airways provided $50 million to US Airways.

Competitive Advantage

US Airways provides strong competition to its competitors: Southwest, Delta Airlines, Jet Blue, Spirit Airlines, and Air Tran Airway to name a few. US Airways uses marketing to beat competition with fare reduction. “Fare wars” allow airlines to compete for market share and market dominance (Product Pricing, BUS 340). Offering low prices can draw in customers and increase load capacity (21). Fare reduction is the most common form of competitive strategy used by most airlines.

CEO/ Management

The current CEO David Siegel is a strong asset to US Airways. He is a strong negotiator and a good salesman. Siegel is known in the industry as a “master dealer.” Siegel will be a strong force as a leader for US Airways. The reorganization plan includes recruitment of new management and board members (Appendix B, pp.43-45). Change and leadership can be a strong force in the success of a company. A good CEO can make or break a company. Sam Walton is an example of a CEO that made a company what it is today. Leadership and management have a direct impact on the success of a company (HR communication, BUS 420).

Weaknesses

Excessive Assets

US Airways acquired approximately 400 Airbus planes since 1999. Some of these planes were purchased and others leased. Although excessive assets can be considered a strength for most airlines, for US Airways, it is a weakness. US Airways is paying a large amount of money for its leased planes, most of which are not being used. This directly affects the load factor, the percentage of filled seats on any given flight (21). However, US Airways’ main goal “…is to move “load factor” above the breakeven point into profit range” (21). US Airways’ inability to fill the seats is unprofitable for the company. The company is unable to produce at the breakeven point and, as a result, supply will not equal demand on the flights that they are trying to use (Supply and Demand, ECN 101). This causes the company to have a high overhead. The high overhead was a result of the growth of the company. The company grew too big in a short amount of time, which caused its supply to exceed its demand.

US Airways has an excessive number of planes to use for the few passengers that are boarding its planes. The load factor below breakeven causes most of the flights to be unprofitable. US Airways merged and acquired too much property within a short amount of time. However, the cancelled merger with United Airlines in 2000 caused the airline to put a stop to its growth. However this turned out to be a good idea for the airline, which was already experiencing problems in the financial area.

Location and size of Hubs

Most airline companies use a hub system that allows them to carry passengers around the globe (20). However, the hub system has changed and now causes passengers to make stops at various hubs and board transfer flights. US Airways follows this type of system, but its hubs are smaller than other airline hubs. Not as many planes can fit into them, which creates a bottleneck for the transfer of passengers (21).

Another weakness of US Airways’ hub system, is its East Coast locations, some of these include: Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. These hubs are located too geographically close to one another on the East Coast. By using this type of hub system, US Airways cannot defend itself and its route system from competitors (21). If US Airways relocated some or most of its hubs, it would be able to create a more efficient hub system. This allows the company to possibly move off the East Coast and expand into the West, which would allow US Airways to compete more efficiently with its major competitors. If they decided on this course of action, it would require the company to create a different strategy of both management and marketing.

Resignation of CEO

Rakesh Gangwal’s unexpected resignation in 2001 is a weakness of US Airways. Gangwal’s chief strengths under the current conditions were his attention to detail, airline industry, economics, and critical requirements (26). Stephen Wolf, a master dealmaker, replaced Gangwal. Gangwal was unable to make the company more successful and financially stable. Looking at the daily operations of the company was not one of Wolf’s strengths (26). This could be the main reason why US Airways does not have a contingency or vision plan. If the company is unable to look into the future or see the outlook of how its decisions will directly affect the company, it will be unable to choose any course of action that will create a stronger company.

Poor Employee Morale

Not only did US Airways have to deal with the unexpected resignation of CEO Gangwal, but with poor employee morale as well. After the September 11 incidents, and with business already declining, US Airways laid off 25 percent (11,000) of its employees (23). After the layoff, most of the employees still working lost many of their benefits and other incentives for working hard. In the end, this created a team of employees that had lost their desire to work hard for a company that they knew was having problems surviving.

Loss of Customers

There are various reasons why US Airways has been losing customers for a couple years. One major reason is that, after September 11, it stopped flights to numerous locations. Without a variety of locations that a customer can fly to and depart from, the customer base began to decrease because other competitors had the locations and flights customers wanted. Also, without these locations, US Airways is unable to compete with the airlines that were flying to more locations. US Airways is failing to use an aggressive approach to compete with other airlines. Without a stronger approach, many customers choose to take other airlines because their names are more recognizable, and they have more locations to which they can fly. An example of this is with Southwest Airlines, US Airways’ major competitor. Since US Airways has locations only on the East Coast, Southwest took over most of the West Coast. Southwest has non-stop flights, which most customers enjoy more. “…Southwest forced US Airways to essentially abandon its service to north-south California routes” (24). They also entered the market in Baltimore, one of US Airways’ hubs. This caused US Airways to eliminate 51 of its 75 mainland routes. If US Airways had been more aggressive against its main competitor, these routes would never have been abandoned.

Plane Crashes

Although plane crashes do not occur very often, there is still a chance one will happen. With all the problems that US Airways has been experiencing over the last few years, an unexpected plane crash of any sort would put the company out of business. While there is no way of ensuring that US Airways will never experience a plane crash, it is in its best interest that they should not. Not only would US Airways lose an asset, but they would also lose many of their repeat customers and many new ones as well. Since September 11, many people are still anxious about flying and watching another plane crash would push most people over the edge. This would cause many people to drive to their destinations, or cause them to just stay at home. If this happened, it would cause US Airways to lose more money, pushing them further into bankruptcy or out of business all together.

Bankruptcy

Each of the weaknesses explained above has been a direct influence on US Airways’ filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (Bankruptcy, BUS 371). Since 2000, after the failed merger with United Airlines, they have lost a total of $7.81 billion in assets and $7.83 billion in liabilities, most of which occurred in 2001 after the September 11 incident; a total of 2.11 billion in 2001(Appendix C, pp. 46-47).

Opportunities

The airline industry is one that is affected by many external factors. A change in fuel prices, by mere pennies, can force companies into bankruptcy. Even with the amount of debt that US Airways has acquired, it has many opportunities available. With strategic planning, help from the government, and a little luck, US Airways could once again see profits, market dominance, and growth internationally.

Point-to-Point

One opportunity that is available to US Airways is the use of point-to-point flying instead of their already established hub-and-spoke flight patterns. There are many positive outcomes from this change. Customers prefer to get on one plane and arrive at their destination, rather than have a layover. There would be more profit from this type of system because less fuel would be needed, fewer employees, and fewer airplanes. Costs would be lowered, therefore; ticket prices could be lowered. Fewer layovers and the lowered ticket prices could increase the number of customers flying with US Airways. The hub-and-spoke system worked for US Airways when it was seeing profits and there was more people flying. Today, it is costly, inefficient, and more of a burden on time-conscious travelers. This change will not happen overnight. It will take up to a year to change the type of system used. Changing one flight at a time can do this.

Changing from a hub-and-spoke system to a point-to-point system is an internal opportunity. However, it’s highly dependant on many external factors. Some of these factors include money from the government and investors, the views and attitudes of the customers, the cost of fuel, and the economy. One downside to this change is the transition of the employees. Many employees are trained and prefer the already established system. “Resistance to change can be considered the single greatest threat to successful strategic implementation” (D 254).

Partnerships

Another opportunity that would improve US Airways’ current condition is a partnership with a financially stable company (Partnerships, BUS 130). There are many companies that could become a partner with US Airways, one such company is FedEx. There are many obvious benefits from this action. The greatest advantage would be financially. With some solid financial backing, US Airways will be able to get back on its feet quicker. The idea of a partnership would prove beneficial for US Airways. If the government wants to keep perfect competition and avoid monopolies, then they would grant more funding and loans to US Airways.

Government

Without governmental funding, US Airways would have been another business that failed. When US Airways was in the middle of hard times in July 2002, the government granted them a federal loan of $900 million (See Appendix D, pp. 48-50). One downside to governmental funding is company image (Consumer Perception, BUS 340). If they keep receiving outrageous amounts of money, consumers will start to see US Airways as a money pit. After the September 11 tragedies, the government aided the airline industry monetarily. Following the aftermath of September 11, people were upset that their tax dollars went to independent companies. Without airline companies, our country would simply shut down.

Another governmental opportunity is the fact that John McCain is proposing a change to the Railway Labor Act. This new proposal would make it hard for unions to get wage increases (See Appendix E, p.51). The proposal would lock union members in at a certain wage. The wage freeze would help to keep US Airways’ labor costs down.

Consumer Confidence

An opportunity for every business today is the increase in consumer confidence (Consumer Confidence and Buying Power, BUS 341). Without consumers’ spending money, no company would survive. With the poor economy and September 11 tragedies, consumers are watching where they spend their money. As we move further and further away from September 11, people are starting to forget about terrorism and some risks that are involved with flying.

Another opportunity that US Airways can take advantage of is the fact that bond rates are high and interest rates are low right now. This would allow US Airways to refinance some of its debt to lock-in lower rates. US Airways could take advantage of high bond rates by selling bonds to investors. This would be a great opportunity because bonds are safer than stocks; in that they are secured and have a maturity date some years down the road (Corporate Bonds and Stocks, BUS 361).

Technology

Another industry wide opportunity is technology. US Airways can take advantage of outside technology. Simple advances, such as making reservations by the Internet, will help boost sales. New accessories are becoming available as well; these accessories would make flying more convenient. An example of a newly added accessory would be the complete workstation. More personal televisions, along with satellite radio, would be a welcomed attraction for flyers. This is extremely important to US Airways right now because with the addition of new accessories and technology, business travelers will insist on traveling with US Airways.

Not long ago, US Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. To fulfill this, US Airways had to file a report on its debt and its expected courses of action. The continuation of this filing is a huge opportunity for US Airways to get its feet back on the ground. While filing for bankruptcy, US Airways will be protected from creditors. Along with the completion of this filing, US Airways will have some of their debt forgiven (Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, BUS 371 / ACT 162). This gives US Airways an upper hand when negotiating with the union. US Airways’ employees are among the highest paid in the industry (See Appendix D, pp. 48-50). With the approval of their Chapter 11 filing, the pilots union will be forced to work with lower salaries because of the condition that the company is in currently.

Outside Capital

A final opportunity for US Airways is the promise of money after bankruptcy. The Texas Pacific Group has promised to provide US Airways with a $200 million investment in the new equity of the airline on its emergence from bankruptcy (See Appendix C, pp.46-47). This is money that US Airways does not have right now. However, if everything goes smoothly, it will have this money to further its investing. This allows leverage when finalizing finances. US Airways can take money away from investing and use it to pay off some debt because that money will be replaced upon the end of its bankruptcy.

A strategic plan is one thing that US Airways does not have, and because of that, US Airways is suffering. Opportunities in the airline industry are very uncertain. No one really knows if gasoline prices or consumer confidence will increase. Looking at US Airways’ past actions, it seems as if US Airways is going with a hit or miss theory. The company cut benefits and laid people off, that did not free up enough funds. So, now, US Airways is starting to cut some unprofitable flights. With all of its opportunities, even if it takes advantage of them, US Airways needs to be aggressive and regain market share. With spring and summer approaching, competition in the airline industry is only going to get tighter. The companies who take advantage of their opportunities and plan strategically will prove most profitable.

Threats

Economy

One of US Airways’ most important external threats is the current state of the world economy. The U.S. economy, which is believed to be in a recession, is one of the primary external forces that a company needs to focus on, especially if the business is one that has difficulty producing revenues in a downturn (External Forces, BUS 130, 230, 380).

Demand for Air Travel

As a subset of economy, the demand for air travel is a large threat currently facing US Airways. With the economy slowed, consumers with low disposable income or fixed income are unable to afford ticket prices, which drives the number of people willing to fly (demand) down (Discretionary Income, ECN 101). Demand becomes a threat because when demand is low US Airways will still incur high fixed costs with little revenue to cover the cost.

The demand for business related travel has also fallen as businesses try to save cash during the downturn. “Business traffic comprises 50 percent of airline traffic but generates 65 percent of ticket revenue” (25). Employers are sending employees to fewer seminars, or sending one delegate to attend and teach the material upon returning instead of sending multiple employees. “An economy in recession requires less business travel,” and businesses are using cheaper methods in response to cash crunches (25). Web conferencing allows businesses to conduct meetings across the nation without having to fly employees to the site.

Possible War with Iraq

War with Iraq is an important threat because customers will be less likely to travel to international destinations for fear of being civilian targets. War with Iraq, a member of OPEC, will cause Iraqi oil exports to decline and supply to drop. In addition, the military will be using more oil to fight a war, affecting supply. The result of both a decline in exports and an increase in usage will be a rise in oil prices, and fuel expenses for US Airways (Supply and Demand, ECN 102).

Any company that competes internationally must focus on the current political issues abroad that may hinder business in the future. Businesses should develop contingency plans on how to operate internationally when political instability occurs in other areas of the world (Contingency Planning, BUS 230).

Oil and Oil Producing Exporting Countries

Oil and OPEC can be a threat to US Airways whether or not the United States goes to war with Iraq. OPEC has the ability to control production of 13 oil-exporting countries. This allows OPEC to move oil and, subsequently, fuel prices as it chooses. As stated before, because OPEC can control supply, they can cause the price of fuel to increase, costing US Airways more in fuel expenses (Supply and Demand, ECN 102).

Possible Acts of Terrorism

Possible terrorist activity will greatly affect the number of people willing to travel domestically and internationally. The airline industry is still being affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks, which resulted in a large drop in air travel demand. If terrorist activity, across the globe, starts to become a problem again, US Airways will likely see a drop in ticket sales, which will cause revenues to decline.

Union Strikes

US Airways’ most costly expense is the amount of money it pays for personnel. Unions have strong negotiating positions inside companies because of their ability to stop production or services with walkouts and strikes (Organized Labor’s Rights, BUS 372, 420, DSP 326).

A potential strike by union workers at US Airways is a critical threat to the company’s success. Strikes by the pilots union, flight attendants union, and mechanics union can cause stoppages on many of US Airways’ flight routes. These unions will strike if they feel they are not receiving fair pay, benefits, safe working conditions, and other possible rewards (Compensation Packages, Union Grievances, BUS 420, DSP 326).

Air Line Pilots Association Region Flight Cap

The Air Line Pilots Association currently has a cap on the number of flights their pilots can fly on long region routes. The ALPA has limited the flights to address the pay equality of pilots who run these routes, which are on US Airways Express. The ALPA poses a threat if they continue to put pressure on US Airways Express, US Airways’ only current profitable division, because the higher labor costs will only add to US Airways’ cash problems.

Government Assistance and Stoppage of Federal Aid

The United States government, if they choose not to assist the airline industry any further, may be a threat to US Airways’ ability to turn the company around. Federal aid has been given to the industry in relief from the outcome from the September 11 terrorist attacks, which grounded all aircraft for a number of days causing the industry to lose billions in revenues. A stoppage in government aid may prevent US Airways from being able to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Cut Throat Competition

The current state of the economy has had similar effects on all major United States air carriers. All carriers have been using fare reduction pricing strategies to lure customers from rival airlines. This poses a threat because some carriers may have lower breakeven points allowing them to use a price leading strategy when pricing tickets (Price Leading Strategy, Breakeven, BUS 340, ACT 161). US Airways may not be able to cut fares as low as its competition because of its high breakeven point, caused by its large amount of overhead. Therefore, competitive forces could force US Airways out of business.

US Airways can try to affect only a few of these external threats. Any action taken by the company will not have any impact on the economy, but US Airways does have the ability to affect demand for air travel in some instances through fare reduction activities. US Airways also has the ability to negotiate with their unions, which they have minimal control over. The only other threat that US Airways can have a chance at eliminating is how the competition affects the company. The other threats are largely out of US Airways’ control, but still need to be watched to help US Airways with contingency planning.

1. Executive Summary
2. SWOT Analysis
3. TOWS Diagram
4. IFE Matrix
5. EFE Matrix
6. SPACE Matrix
7. Critical Issues
8. Courses of Action
9. Financial Analysis

- Thomas L. Friedman, in “Longitudes and Attitudes”

While it can be argued that globalization is not a new phenomenon, the nature of modern globalization is, in fact, completely different than the traditional exchange of ideas, people and goods through an excruciatingly slow process. Moving at an almost uncontrollable speed, the transfer of people, ideas, money, and goods primarily through technological advancements, has resulted in the formation of a new global power structure. In his highly popularized book, “Longitudes and Attitudes,” Thomas Friedman delineates the new international power structure under globalization. Breaking down this structure in to three main power balances, Friedman lists the first type of balance as the “traditional balance of power between nation-states,” with the United States as the sole hegemon or superpower.^[2] The second power balance that emerged from globalization is between “nation-states and global markets;” Friedman labels the major financial centers around the world – Wall Street, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, and London – as the “Supermarkets.”^[3] The third, and perhaps most pertinent of the power balances is the balance between “individuals and nation-states.” The availability of the internet worldwide has allowed individuals to communicate with one another, or transfer money, over great distances in the mere click of a mouse, giving the individual unprecedented power. Friedman labels these people as “super-empowered individuals.”^[4] Thus, under globalization, there are power struggles between states, the superpower of the United States in particular; between nation-states and supermarkets; and between both states and supermarkets and super-empowered individuals.

In order to begin to understand the events of September 11, 2001, it is necessary to step beyond the traditional notion of balance of power and into the new system of multiple actors influencing multiple power structures, creating what Maryann Cusimano Love calls, a new set of “transsovereign” problems. It is this current form of globalization that “gives breakdowns in state authority and capacity and transsovereign problems greater reach, speed, intensity, and impact.”^[5] September 11th is one of many recent conflicts whose genesis arose from perceived political, cultural and economic threats to certain “super-empowered individuals,” facilitated by open economies, societies, and most importantly, technologies created through globalization. The first section of this essay will discuss the perceived threats and how these threats were manipulated by Osama bin Laden and other actors in order to gain support for their terrorist acts. The second section will look at the aspects of globalization that facilitated and intensifiedthe terrorist activities of September 11th. The third, and final section will analyze the implications that September 11th has had on global peace and world conflict.

Perceived Threats

“Injustice is inflicted on us and on you [Western people] by your politicians.”^[6]

- Osama bin Laden

Some proponents of globalization – or “hyperglobalizers” as Manfred Steger labels them – may argue that globalization, through the promotion and internationalization of free trade, and the liberalization of financial transactions, is a means of reducing poverty globally and creating a global community. While it is true that some states have benefitted from economic globalization, it is impossible to ignore the gaping differences in wealth between developed and developing nations. Peter Dicken attributes these global economic inequalities to historical, political, economic, and social variations both between the developed and developing worlds, and more importantly among developing countries themselves.^[7]The asymmetry of wealth that is created leads other scholars to view globalization as “neoimperialism wearing Bill Gates’s face and Mickey Mouse’s ears, extending the web of global capitalism’s exploitation of women, minorities, the poor, and developing regions.”^[8] It is this exploitative and imperialistic aspect of globalization that al Qaeda used as propaganda against the West, and the United States in particular. Love describes the attacks of September 11th as a visual metaphor of this argument in which “planes piloted by hijackers from the developing world attacked symbols of international corporate wealth and control and U.S. military power.”^[9]

The intentions of al Qaeda must, however, be taken into question – Were they frustrated with disparities in wealth, or was this simply a manipulative recruiting mechanism? Was bin Laden sincere in his denouncement of the rich, corrupt, “hereditary and hypocritical” Arab regimes? The answer to both of these questions can be deducted from three pieces of information: 1). “most of the hijackers were young Saudis;” 2). “the main financing for Osama bin Laden – a Saudi – has been coming from other wealthy Saudis;” 3). and finally “Saudi Arabia’s government was the main funder of the Taliban.”^[10] It has become clear that the September 11th terrorists did not destroy the American symbol of financial power because they were poor; but rather, they strategically used the greed of U.S. politicians and their support for these corrupt Arab governments to gain support from masses of poor Arab citizens. In the PBS televised special, “Broken Promises” hosted by Bill Moyers, Vandana Shiva argues that globalization is a system of dispossessing the poor through the greed of large American multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola.^[11] Why target the United States as the sole factor in this process of dispossession when the Taliban created a backwards society in which women were deprived of all basic universal rights, only furthering the poverty levels of the already poorcitizens? Perhaps this question can be more adequately answered through a cultural perspective.

Before delving into the complexities of cultural aspects of globalization, it is first necessary to establish a comprehensive definition of cultural globalization. Steger defines the phenomenon as “the intensification and expansion of cultural flows across the globe.”^[12] Similar to the economic globalization debate, cultural globalization is sometimes viewed as a means of strengthening local cultures or creating a global culture through which diversity can be embraced. This view was obviously not taken by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. It is through the perceived threat of cultural imperialism and homogenization that these terrorists justify their hatred for the West, and more specifically the United States. Steger explains how this “Americanization” can lead to a political and cultural “‘Jihad’ – the parochial impulse to reject and repel the homogenizing forces of the West wherever they can be found…Jihad draws on the furies of religious fundamentalism and ethnonationalism which constitute the dark side of cultural particularism.”^[13] Religious authorities in many Muslim countries have established education systems that breed hatred for non-Muslim societies and result in a stagnant and unreformed Islam. It is through this antimodernism that fundamentalists such as Osama bin Laden can appeal to Muslims of all ages such as the twelve year-old Afghan refugee interviewed by Friedman, who when asked about his reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11th answered: “I am pleased that America has had to face pain, because the rest of the world has tasted its pain…[Americans] are unbelievers and do not like to befriend Muslims, and they want to dominate the world with their power.”^[14] The brainwashing of young minds has allowed these perceived threats of “Americanization” to transform from tolerance to terrorism with September 11th as the most obvious realization of these ideals. It is virtually impossible to discuss Muslim culture without mentioning the politics of these states.

The governments, and government structures of many Arab-Muslim nations are shaped, at least in part, by these traditionalist, fundamentalist religious institutions. While the actual governments are predominantly “secular autocratic regimes,” it is through convenient agreements that these increasingly unpopular regimes remain in power and the religious authorities have control over both religion and education.^[15] As long as these autocratic regimes remain in power, there will be an overarching dominant religious sector promoting antimoderism and anti-Americanism, and allowing any perceived political threats to spiral into aggressive actions. Such resentment is a product of years of “political, social, economic, and human degradation,” that is only further exacerbated by external factors.^[16]

United States military presence across the world, especially in Saudi Arabia, combined with the blatantly selective nature of both U.S. political support and condemnation that has provoked the “super-empowered individuals,” such as bin Laden to crusade against American imperialism. By supporting authoritarian regimes in pro-American states, and forcing democracy upon authoritarian regimes that are anti-American, United States politicians are simply aggravating both sets of states – the entire populations of the anti-American nations due to U.S. hypocrisy, and the citizens of pro-American nations due to the U.S. support of repressive regimes. This sentiment is articulated by Friedman when he says that “the Bush policy today is to punish its enemies with the threat of democracy and rewards its friends with silence on democratization. That’s a surefire formula for giving democracy a bad name.”^[17] It precisely this bad name of both democracy and the United States, combined with extremist religious cultures that has been a driving factor of anti-American sentiments among the populations of many Muslim nations.

Globalization – Facilitation and Intensification

“Terrorism depends on surprise to gain attention and generate fear, so terrorists must constantly be innovative in their means of attack or they lose the power to shock.”

-Martha Crenshaw and Maryann Cusimano Love, in “Networked Terror”

Terrorism has had many definitions over the course of history and within different groups, however, a general understanding of the concept’s current application is necessary in order to understand the catalyzing effects of globalization on terrorism, particularly al Qaeda’s aggression towards the United States on September 11, 2001. A general, and widely accepted framework for terrorism is “the use of violence against noncombatants, generally by nonstate actors to generate fear in furtherance of other political goals.”^[18]The most obvious aspect of globalization that facilitated and intensified the antagonistic actions of Osama bin Laden and his followers is technology.

The advent and spread of global media played a pivotal role in heightening terrorist frustrations, as well as providing an outlet for these terrorist to spread their message. The availability of Western programs all over the world – the Arab world being no exception – is an example of the aforementioned cultural imperialism that is considered a threat to many critics of Americanism. The global media has also facilitated terrorist efforts by allowing them to broadcast their message internationally – the infamous bin Laden tape is the most notable of these efforts. As modern technology spread to the more advanced of the developing countries, it became easier for different television networks all around the world to exchange footage and in this particular case, allowed for the rapid airing of the bin Laden tape.^[19] The condemnation and, in some cases, the banning of these global media sources in combination with the subsequent embracement and utilization of these resources as a tool is quite hypocritical and demonstrate the dependence of al Qaeda on advanced, Western-developed technologies.

The terrorists of September 11th used sources of technology other than the media, in particular common everyday items such as cellular phones, television, radio and computers in order to communicate and coordinate their intricate plots. The internet, perhaps the most influential and commonly used source of technology has raised the quantity, distance and speed of information, goods, and idea shared to unprecedented levels. Mohamed Atta, a hijacker and one of the masterminds behind the September 11th attacks used his laptop and the American Airlines website to reserve his ticket, while some of this fellow hijackers used Travelocity.com.^[20] These technologies have created a compression of time and space that have been a defining characteristic of globalization – a characteristic that makes globalization a nearly unavoidable phenomenon.

September 11th – Global Peace and World Conflict

“Where there should be a nation-state, there is a vacuum filled by warlords. What better place for the seeds of international terrorism and lawlessness to take root?

-Walter H. Kansteiner, U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs

Modern globalization, and the resulting international balance of power structure – the balance of power between states; the balance of power between states and “supermarkets;” and the balance of power between both states and supermarkets and the “super-empowered individual” – are phenomenons that have changed the nature of world conflict, making these conflicts inevitably more global in their scope. Susan Strange argues that state existence is being threatened by the globalization of the arms trade and the availability of technology has given power to nonstate actors, which has extracted the power of force from both strong and weak states. While conflicts were once wars between nation-states, they have evolved into conflicts between state and nonstate actors, or states and individuals, where the opponents do not engage in face-to-face combat but often have faceless enemies whose mere existence is perceived as threatening. September 11th has further perpetuated this trend by justifying, in the minds of many Americans, a war against “terrorism” – an idea, a product of globalization. The current war in Iraq has lost the vision of fighting against this idea that threatened American “freedom,” and has evolved into a war of excuses – the United States has used the promotion of democracy as an excuse to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime, while supporting the tyrannical, pro-American, regimes in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The leaders of the United States are not protecting the ideology of democracy, but rather the ideology of hypocrisy and injustice.

While the scope of conflict has been widened to a global scale, some optimists may argue that the possibility of peaceful solutions to these conflicts is also widened. It is through the very technologies that have catalyzed conflict that peace can be realized – with the compression of space and time, communication between opponents is facilitated, along with the ability for third party mediators to join the peace process. Perhaps a more realistic view on the effects of September 11th on global peace is presented by Friedman when he quotes Adrian Karatnycky, the president of Freedom House:

“…many of the terrorists we are not confronting are a Western phenomenon, existing inside the Islamic diaspora that is an established fact of life in the U.S. and Europe…and this means that the war against terrorism will require relentless efforts within the borders of the West, even as it is prosecuted in the far-flung outposts of the Islamic world. It means that networks of terrorists may well be found among students and scholars who today walk the halls of Western universities and congregate after hours in sundry political and ‘religious’ groups, not as ‘sleepers’ ready to act under orders, but as Islamic radicals minted right here.”^[21]

Globalization has been the source of extensive debate – does globalization bring promise or problems, peace or war, tolerance or hatred, homogenization or difference? By dissecting the events of September 11, 2001 it is clear that the fusion of perceived threats catalyzed by globalization and fundamentalist propaganda have proven to be a catastrophic combination, resulting in the most shocking terrorist attacks in modern history. Under the new system of power balances, with “supermarkets” and “super-empowered individuals” colliding with each other and with states, we begin to see “issues that are domestic in consequence but international in scope,” resulting in new types of world conflict and new challenges for global peace.^[22]

Bibliography

^[11] Bill Moyers, Broken Promises. 60 min. Public Broadcasting Service, April 2005. Videocassette.

^[6] Loretta Napoleoni, Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2005).

^{[5] [12] [19]} Manfred Steger, Globalization: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).

^{[8] [9] [18] [22]} Maryann Cusimano Love, Beyond Sovereignty: Issues for a Global Agenda, 2d ed. (Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003).

^[7] Peter Dicken, Global Shift: Reshaping the Global Economic Map in the 21st Century (New York: The Guilford Press, 2003).

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [10] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [20] [21]} Thomas L. Friedman, Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism (New York: Anchor Books, 2002).

The Roman Empire of the times of late antiquity was an establishment grown old, its knees giving out, and in the west, about to fall. The empire had seen large-scale Christian persecution followed by large-scale enforced-Christianity. The economy of this time was in peril. As J.M. Wallace-Hadrill puts it in his book, The Barbarian West: The Early Middle Ages a.d. 400-1000 (Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 1962), “the defense in depth of an immense frontier had combined with the need to exploit all food-producing land to make every able-bodied man the object of strict and anxious state-supervision. But…the more rigidly men were pinned down to their war-time tasks the less able society proved to adapt itself to a rapidly changing situation” (Wallace-Hadrill, pg.9). Arable land was stretched to, and perhaps beyond, its limits due to the growing population and campaigns of the Imperial army. Its frontiers, covered always by field armies, were weakening due to the increasing number of Barbarian tribes migrating from their homelands.

One of the larger groups of barbarians was the Goths, who lived mostly north of the Danube frontier around the Black sea. The Goths were one of the only groups to solidly defeat the Imperial army; in 378, at Adrianople, Valens, Emperor of the eastern Empire, was killed in battle along with hundreds of soldiers. This group greatly affected Roman history from here on out, particularly in the western part of the empire, the older portion. The east was too young and vital to be infiltrated by barbarians, and so they turned west, looking for better land and refuge from the Hunnic peoples that are theorized to have started the barbarian migrations. The Goths would later sack Rome (Visigoths, under Alaric in 410); start kingdoms in the Aquitaine, and settle all over western-Europe, shaping the events to come after the fall of the empire. Such an important group unfortunately left little historical resources on its own accord. Much of what is known of the people is derived from cemetery and village excavations, Roman historians like Jordanes, Tacitus, and Cassiodorus, and commentary and writings from people like Ammianus Marcellinus. However, from these sources historians have been able to understand Gothic society and politics, Gothic religion, and their direct involvement with late antiquity events that ended the Western Empire.

One of the questions historians are constantly confronted with, and trying to answer, is where the Goths originally came from. Peter J. Heather quotes a passage from Jordanes’ Getica in his book The Goths (Blackwell Publishers Ltd, Oxford, 1998), which is worth repeating here to try to answer where the Goths originated:

[Chapter 25] Now from this island of Scandza, as from a hive of races or a womb of nations, the Goths are said to have come forth long ago under their king, Berig by name. As soon as they disembarked from their ships and set foot on the land, they straightway gave their name to the place. And even today it is said to be called Gothiscandza. [26] Soon they moved from here to the abodes of the Ulmerugi, who then dwelt on the shores of the Ocean, where they pitched camp, joined battle with them and drove them from their homes…[27] In search of suitable homes and pleasant places they came to the land of Scythia, called Oium in that tongue (The Goths, 12).

Scandza, Heather goes on to clarify is Scandinavia (12). The migration was due to over-population, which eventually brought them to the Black Sea (Scythia). This migration was composed of men, women and children, known for a fact due to cemetery finds that lead in lines to certain areas. These migrations were led by military kings, who replaced tribal kings. Tribal kings were chosen for their noble blood. In the last years before Christ, tribal kings carried out the sacral duties of a high priest. They ruled alongside martial kings, who were chosen for their valor and their heroism. They did not have to have noble blood; they merely had to be responsible for some sort of victory. Herwig Wolfram equates these martial kings to the mythological hero in his book The Roman Empire and its German Peoples (tr. Thomas Dunlap, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1997), like Beowulf or Thor or King Arthur. These men were often outsiders who had to work under tribal kings in times of battle, and win the respect of the people by their courage. The early martial kings get intertwined in Scandinavian sagas and Anglo-Saxon mythology. This is why noblemen often trace their lineage back to Gods, whose powers they embodied, and who they ultimately consecrated themselves to (pp. 20-22, Wolfram).

However, both Heather and Wolfram are in agreement that martial kings, which by the fourth century had superseded tribal kings, by no means had complete power: “Controlling [the] men was far from easy…sources portray…Gothic leaders ‘urging’ and ‘persuading’ their followers rather than just issuing orders,” (Heather, p.57). This is not to say that social stratification hadn’t occurred by the fourth century. The deep respect for heroism and leadership in times of conflict had created a warrior aristocracy, made up of “…a freemen class among who there were already substantial differentials in wealth” (Heather, p.57). Often this class led only small bands of people, leading them around to arable land to procure food. However, one prominent example of traditional migration, that is, migration of large groups of people, is the continuous finding of women’s belongings at excavated cemeteries. Consistently, there was found brooches, necklaces, belts and fibulae, all of the same style, which Heather contributes to the Wielbark culture of the Goths (Heather, p.48). These larger migrations were “often preceded by the activities of ‘scouts’: small groups largely of young men checking on the possibilities of new areas” (Heather, p.49). These migrations left behind archeological finds in rather thin routes from old habitats to new, refuting the idea that the Goths came in waves of warbands. By the fourth century, these “many smaller units had given way to fewer larger ones,” (Heather, p.64) – across the frontiers.

The Rhine frontier’s Alamanni of the fourth century consistently raised up men as kings whenever Romans were busy fighting elsewhere, prompting Roman policy be altered specifically to contain them. On the Danube frontier, there were still small units, though the Goths had gained control of much more land than in the previous century. The Tervingi, unlike the Alamanni, were more peaceful with the Romans, due to Valens’ treaty alterations in 368. Though they lost their tributes, and had to deal with a more tightly regulated border, they were free from “much of the substance of Roman hegemony, particularly the requirement that they had to provide military contingents” (Heather, p.62). This resulted in certain practices that will be covered later. Fourth century Gothic society, as Heather states, “Was entirely typical of the contemporary Germanic world in having a well-entrenched elite” (Heather, p.65). Some of these noblemen are named in texts like The Passion of St. Saba, a source Heather cites because of its information on the martyrdom of Saba, a Gothic Christian. Atharid, his father Rothesteos, and Winguric were all men who played a part in the Christian persecutions of 368-372. Other men are named in Ammianus’ account of the battle of Adrianople- Alatheus, Saphrax and Farnobius (Ammianus Marcellnus Res Gestae, tr. J.C. Rolfe, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, 1939). “The Gothic term for such men was perhaps reiks…it had the general meaning of ‘leader of men’ or ‘distinguished’ (Heather, p.65). Evidence for these reiks is again found in burial sites, where more goods are buried with some than others (Heather, p.65). These reiks were never guaranteed this position of nobility, nor were their kin. If a man was lucky, he would earn this distinction in his life, and the title was not passed to his sons. He was subject to the men he tried to have follow his cause, and if he lost their support, he lost the title. It’s not until the seventh century that laws and codes are actually written down that separate the classes into three groups- “free, freed or half free and slaves” (Heather, p.75). It can be assumed that in the fourth century, these groups informally existed, and in the centuries to come, perhaps the tendency to Romanize their societies led them to establish formal classes.

As was noted before, the Gothic nobility had the say in what religion was practiced. Obviously the barbarians were pagan long after the Romans had become Christian. One of the Roman policies of containment was to send missionaries into frontier areas and try to convert the peoples, which would turn them against each other. Christianity first came across the Danube after the large-scale raids Goths acted out in 257 in the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor, the dominantly Christian areas of the Empire (Wolfram, p. 75). Goths took many of the people as booty from these lands, and from these people came one of the most famous Goths, Ulfilas (Wolfram, p.76). Ulfilas was born in 310 (Wolfram, p.76), and in 341 made bishop of the land he was from. He translated the bible some time between 348 and 350. According to Wolfram, “Ulfilas…used a Gothic alphabet of [his] own creation, which incorporated elements from Latin anf Runic writing into a base of Greek letters” (Wolfram, p.77). However, this was done in the tradition of Arianism, the belief that the Son is not of the same divinity as the Father. The reason for this was Ulfilas’s affiliation with Constantius II, who rejected the Nicene Creed. Because this was “mainstream imperial Christianity for its day” (Heather, p.61) many of the noblemen tried to thwart its presence in the Gothic lands as a means to resist Romanization. In 369, when the new treaty was created between the Tervingi and the Emperor Valens, the noblemen saw the chance to get rid of Christianity by staging persecutions until 372. One of the main reasons nobles ever even voluntarily converted to Christianity, which was still Arian above the Danube, was to get admission to the Empire in 376, so they could trade and live on the lands (Heather, p. 61). Christianity was accepted begrudgingly, and was slow in winning over the people. Christianity was also used by the Goths to settle blood feuds and gain power, to become reiks. In the persecutions of 368-c.372, Athanaric, one of the nobles granted leadership to fight against Valens, used the persecution to keep himself in power. Fritigern, another reiks, “took the side of the Arian-Christians – in a pro Valens sense – and took up arms against [Athanaric] (Wolfram, p.79).

By the fifth century, the Gothic peoples were more or less solidly Arian-Christian, and they used this as a means of identity. This didn’t start until kingdoms were actually being set up in the Empire. Conversion started at the top class and worked its way down. After Arianism went out of vogue with the imperial court, the Goths saw Arianism as something to separate themselves from the Romans. The desire to be different from the Romans came from the way Romans treated and viewed Germanic peoples. Writers like Orosius tore apart Roman-German people of rank like Stilicho (Oliver Nicholson, Lecture), characterizing him as a “ratty German” who tried to strike deals with the Vandals, when in reality Stilicho was trying to protect Honorius’s part of the empire. When the Vandals made it to Northern Africa, the Roman peoples made sure to let the invaders know they were not welcome, mainly due to the difference in religious dogma. This bible went on to be used by The Goths, the Gepids, the Vandals, the Rugians, Sciri, Heruli, and the Alans (Wolfram, p.77). Consequently, all of these peoples were Arians well into the years after the fall of the Western Empire. The only Barbarian tribes that invaded the empire who weren’t Arians were the Franks, who were Catholic-Christian (they converted in 492 under Clovis), who invaded Gaul, and the Jutes, pagans who along with Angles and Saxons invaded England (Nicholson, Lectures).

Many different things were weakening the empire- religion, agriculture, invasions, and power struggles- and the Goths were involved in almost all of these areas. The Goths put an end to Arianism in the Empire in 378, when at Adrianople the Eastern Emperor Valens, a pro-Arian like Constantius II before him, a force of Goths, “…the Therungi under the command of King Fritigern, and the Greuthungi led by Alatheus and Saphrax” (Ammianus, 31.12.18) ambushed Valens and his troops:

[31.18.4.] Here one might see a barbarian filled with loft courage, his cheeks contracted in a hiss, hamstrung or with right hand severed, or pierced through the side…and by the fall of the combatants on both sides the plains were covered with the bodies of the slain strewn over the ground, while the groans of the dying and of those who had suffered deep wounds caused immense fear when they were heard. (Ammianus)

In the course of action Valens was killed by an arrow, and his body was never found. As a result of this battle, Theodosius, Valens’ successor, was rather conciliatory with the Goths. They were now very near to Constantinople, and so Theodosius let a large body of Visigoths settle in the Balkans and retain their arms and tribal structures. This gave the Goths a refuge from the Huns who had pushed them from their former land above the Danube frontier, and it also gave them a home base to turn west and claim more land. Theodosius had to pacify the Visigoths because of the Persian and Roman dispute over Armenia, which needed his attention. With this attention taken away from the Visigoths, they were free to move across Europe. After Theodosius’ death in 395, his two sons Arcadius and Honorius succeeded him, Honorius taking the West, Arcadius the East. Both men were young, under the thumbs of their advisors, and so the emperor traveling throughout the empire ceased with these two, dividing the Empire, leaving the west at the mercy of the barbarians. Fifteen years after Theodosius dies, Rome is sacked by Alaric, who was once in the service of Rome against Constantine III in Gaul, but after Stilicho was killed, Alaric was free to rouse his people and take Rome. He attacked it twice, once in c.407, but ceased the siege to negotiate with Honorius in Ravenna. When Honorius stalled, Alaric took the city again and demanded annual payment, and when that didn’t happen, Alaric seized the port of Rome, cutting off the grain supply from North Africa. On August 24th, 410, he captured Rome, where he and his warband pillaged for three days before trying to get to North Africa, but when his fleet got wrecked, he stayed, and died, in Southern Italy. Rome had never been captured in all of its history. Now, not only had the Goths killed an emperor, they had taken the Central City of the Empire of which every citizen considered their home. Alaric helped to stress and undermine the cohesiveness of the two halves of the empire. Little to no help was sent from the East to the West in the fifteen years between Theodosius’ death and the sack of Rome. This is what made the Empire become two halves. Between Honorius’ death in 423 and the last Western Emperor, Romulus Augustulus’ end in Ravenna, the Barbarians had moved into Gaul, Italy, and Northern Africa. (Nicholson).

Most of the Gothic peoples had been trying to get to Northern Africa because of its grain. The Vandals were able to get ships and sail to North Africa, about 80,000 strong, and headed to Morocco, skipping the fertile land of Tunisia. By the late 420’s, the Vandals had gotten to Hippo, and as St. Augustine lay dying, the Arian-Vandals besieged the city. In 439 the Vandals took Carthage, where they set up a kingdom that lasted for a century. The king of the Vandals at the time was Giseric, who ruled until 477. The Vandals made sure to destroy all the walls of the North African cities as they passed. Giseric was also able to take control of the Western Mediterranean sea lane when he captured Sardinia and Corsica, and sacked Rome again. Giseric stole the Menora Titus had stolen from Jerusalem, and brought it to Carthage. This was what earned the Vandals the reputation of being despicable and in this time was the word “vandalism” created, due to Gothic tribes laying ruin to the Western world (Nicholson, 4/18). The Goths had effectively ruined the illusion that the old Roman way of life was still living, and separated the two halves of the Empire, through battles, religion, and power struggles.

As important as the Goths were to shaping the history of late antiquity, and beginning the middle ages, there is still much more to be learned of them. Not made up of a single ethnic disposition, they integrated with people all over Europe, changing bloodlines forever. They lived the stuff of legends, showing insane bravery on the battlefield, and living for war. But the voices of the Goths themselves are yet to be heard. What we know is shaped by observations made about them by Romans, and later Germanic-Romans of the 6th and 7th centuries. Their effect cannot be ignored. Without the Goths, Catholicism would not be what it is today. It is because of their severe disruption of Roman bureaucracy that Bishops were able to rise as central figures of power in cities, which would prove very important in the middle ages (Nicholson). The majority of Americans today contain some of that same blood in their veins that coursed through the bodies of barbarians long ago. These are our people. They have just as much influence on the modern world as the Romans from all the eras of the Empire. The Goths were monumental forces in shaping the societies and religion of the world that would come after the Empire, through their actions in the 4th and 5th century.

Works Cited

1. Heather, Peter J. The Goths. Oxford: Blackwell Ltd, 1998. (pp.11-12, 48-49, 57, 61- 62, 64-65, 75).
2. Marcellinus, Ammianus. Res Gestae. Trans. J.C. Rolfe. Cambridge: Loeb Classical Library, 1939. (XXXI., 12, 18; XXXI., 12, 18, 4)
3. Nicholson, Oliver P. Lecture. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. 2005.
4. Wallace-Hadrill, J.M.. The Barbarian West: The Early Middle Ages A.D.400-1000. New York: Harper & Row, 1962. p. 9 .
5. Wolfram, Herwig. The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples. Trans. Thomas Dunlap. Berkeley: University of California P, 1997. pp.20-22, 75-77, 79