An Analysis Of Strategies Mcdonalds Marketing Essay

An Analysis Of Strategies Mcdonalds Marketing Essay The founder and the builder of McDonald Corporation is Raymond Krocand he developed and changed the American fast food restaurant industry by striking and controlling the hamburger, French fries and milkshake production. He assured customer that the French fries bought in Topeka and New York City would be the same by developing a sophisticated operating and delivery system. Reliability of operating and delivery system made McDonalds brand name. 1.1 McDonalds Vision McDonalds vision is to be the worlds best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness and value so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile 1.2 McDonalds Objectives Sales Total revenue of the business earned by selling food and service Growth Provides a better or greater service by increasing the market share Profit Provide good sustainable profitable growth for its shareholders. Customer Satisfaction Friendly and fun environment for customers. McDonalds External Environment factors Environmental scanning is monitoring and evaluating of information from the external and internal environments to key people within the firm. When analyzing the external environment must consider the task environment as well. External environment could be categorizes as societal and task environment. Societal environment includes general forces that do not directly touch on the short-term activities but often influences its long-run decisions. Factors that affect the societal are economic, technological, political-legal and socio cultural. Task environment means a group of firms producing a similar product or service includes the stakeholders that have as interest over the activities of the company such as customers, suppliers, employees, pressure groups competitors etc. When analyzing McDonalds the external environment could be view as follows, 2.1 Economical Factors This includes GDP trends; interest rates, money supply, inflation rates, unemployment levels etc are some of them. If the interest rates were high, people would tend to save more and would affect the consumption income. When the disposable income is reduced demand for food items would reduce this in turn would affect McDonalds adversely .When the inflation rates are low the prices for products would reduce over time and would increase the demand for consumption goods 2.2 Political Legal Factors This would include environmental protection laws, tax laws, government subsidies, foreign trade regulations, stability of government etc. When the tax imposed on Eg. throughout the 1970s McDonalds became involved with a lot of charity word, further in 1974 they established a charity called Ronal McDonald House as temporary housing for the families of ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. 2.3 Technological Factors This involves spending on research and development, patent protection, new developments in technology, productivity improvements etc. Eg. McDonalds has added improvements for food processing such as filet o fish and burgers. 2.4 Sociocultural Factors This involves lifestyle changes, career expectations, consumer activism, growth rate of population, age distributions, regional shift in population etc. Eg. McDonalds caters its menu in different countries around the world and they cater specialized menus to suit different cultures such as in India non-vegetarian menu includes only chicken and fish and not beef as they consider cow as sacred. 2.5 Task Environment McDonalds task environment includes its suppliers of raw material such as meat items, customers, competitors such as Burger King, KFC, Juicy burger etc. Eg. McDonalds has created alliances with Disney, Coca-Cola etc to fight back the immense competition. When analyzing the industry of McDonalds it is vital that the most affected external factors are social, technology and economic and the affected factors under task are competitors and customers .This is due to the impact it has on the companys performance. Porters five forces 3.1 Rivalry Fast food restaurant chain is extremely competitive trade with numerous fast food businesses try to compete with each and improve their business being innovative and high in customer service. In view of the fact that McDonalds has outshined in this trade after establishment in 1940. However, McDonalds started with McCafe to being part of the competition. It was a great privilege to the company to being a major competitor in this sector. Another most important approach was bringing in the breakfast meal to contend existing business serving breakfast. Therefore, McDonalds should be advance and aware of customer taste and preferences to compete with this huge restaurant industry. 3.2 Barriers to entry Consequently, with this huge competition it is hard to get into this industry and establish a distinctive brand loyalty name as McDonalds. To get into the market there is a high research and development cost involved. Although, McDonalds has a huge reputable distinctiveness to make more difficult the new entrants to get into the market and accomplish the food chain industry with offering for a comparable price scale. 3.3 Threat of Substitutes Currently, we find many alternatives towards the food chain industry. Already there is wide range of commodities available for the customers either is substitute by McDonalds Burgers, Beverages, dairy products and many more. Eg: These substitute products may include products purchased from the local grocery store, food from sit-down restaurants, or delivery foods such as pizza 3.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers is very low within the restaurant industry on relative size and attentiveness of suppliers and the differentiation of the contribution supplied. However, if the main ingredient of the product is not available there is a high bargaining power of suppliers. 3.5 Bargaining Power Buyers It always allows customers to seek out for other competitors. In addition, fast food restaurant products buyers can always find alternative suppliers because their benchmarked, undifferentiated. Customers are unable to bargain as they always hold a fixed price. Therefore, there is a very low bargaining influence of buyers in the industry. Porters Value Chain Analysis of McDonalds McDonalds Support activities Margin Failed in India/ pulled out in USAProcurement: sought partners with expertise on down trade distribution. HRM specialists in RD and expertise in food formulation, education to raise Awareness of issues and raise demand Technology and development research and developments in quality assurance and packing was readdress to lower cost. Infrastructure: international organisation more than 50,000 employees works in more than 50 countries, company goal to developing low income products. McDonalds Primary Activities Inbound Logistics *Inbound goods to be used in products *information formed from nutritional studies Operations *RD in field research needs to end users. *Quality developed in collaboration with good supplies. Outbound Logistics *Lack of outbound failed in India Marketing and Sales Lack of understanding between the customers substitute products were easily launched in India. Margin Now outstanding in Singapore and Australia Services Provided by the companies enrolment standards SWOT Analysis 5.1 Strengths Generally, risk assortment factor is concerned with environment act. McDonalds logo is highly recognized worldwide McDonalds got branded menu items further promote products and services. Eg: Big Mac Chicken, Mc Nuggets It has a strong financial performance and a large market share by fast food sales as a property investor and from franchises of own restaurants. McDonalds owns the Ronald McDonalds House of childrens charity house. Precise food safety standards and McDonalds is very vigilant in this regard McDonalds was the first to provide customers about the food nurture Specialized training for managers at Hamburger University 5.2 Weaknesses Unhealthy food image and also yet to accomplish going on the trend of organic food Be deficient in new products Huge employee revenue More advertising on children Quality of the food is incompatible Compared to the other fast food chain order accuracy percentage is low 5.3 Opportunities Always easy to adopt the new product lines Low-cost menus are available to attract customers Easy diversification and acquisition to begin new franchises Franchising in other countries helps to raise the total revenue It can increase the locations with luxurious customer attractive places 5.4 Threats Weaker economy situations with bad impacts from recession though its diversified Health problems regarding quality of the food and healthier menu items Major problem of foreign currency fluctuations Diminish the market share with huge promotion investments McDonalds Existing Strategy McDonalds overall strategy can be view as plan to win; they are not focused on becoming the biggest fast food restaurant chain but the best fast food restaurant. They have customized their menus in different countries as part of their marketing strategy. For example in US they are more focused on breakfast, chicken, beverages and convenience in the outlets. McDonalds feels that by customizing the products and services to match different continents in the world would give them the competitive advantage over its rivals. McDonalds existing organisational strategy is to create better service restaurant operations, menu varieties, and better beverage choices such as hot beverages (hot chocolate, latte etc). Further, they have utilised the marketing mix in order to achieve the marketing strategy by operating the outlets for longer hours, offering everyday value meals and enhancing efficiency in drive-thru. In addition, they focused on becoming the lowest cost producer by minimising the waste; McDonalds reuse many of the disposable items to create higher value. Company focused on increasing profitability through minimising cost as per Porters generic strategies. McDonalds is famous for being differentiation focus as they offer customised products to its customers throughout the world. Recommended Porters Generic Strategies 7.1 Differentiation strategy Differentiation strategy core objective is to be a business oriented proactive market leader. This strategy explains continuously and slightly better prepared than the competitors to attract and force them for a competition. McDonalds have been rank as two in chain industry with a market share 33percent. When Burger King achieves 13 percent market share to stay on as a market leader in fast food industry McDonalds can implement and improve new ways of the ordinary process of the customer and technological development in their restaurants. On the other hand, McDonalds can also bring in new and superior products for customers to gratify their needs. McDonalds can take this strategy to enhance their customer service in a different approach. McDonalds new instructive modules and training process for to get better on poor quality features. 7.2 Cost Leadership strategy The principle of this strategy is always making it difficult for competitors to capture the market. This works well for the firms, which have already achieved business supremacy, while McDonalds is already the food chain leader to preserve and continue their position in the market industry need to select to new tactics using this strategy. Opening more stores around the world would able to increase the market growth and will facilitate to deject smaller companies to expand their market share. In addition, to remain cost competitive and technologically progressive McDonalds need to invest capital in Research and Development to support innovative technologies for their business. Conclusion McDonalds needs to increase its product line, by introducing more deserts and more items like Pizza McPuff. In addition, it should have prolonged quick supply in a clean friendly environment by reducing supply chain cost. McDonalds has the opportunity to improve and establish itself to shareholders, stakeholders and public with every issue challenge to retain and attract customers McDonalds is ready to develop their Happy meal choices and to serve finest coffees and other beverages along with introducing cakes, pastries in McCafees. McDonalds ought to supply extraordinary promos throughout festivals and need to increase space for sponsor college or company festivals and specially childrens birthday parties. In addition, a focal point of gifts for all generations such as kids, youth and adults. Subsequently, evaluating the marketing mix McDonalds achieved the think global, act local by combining the elements of globalization and internationalization.

Bipolar Disorder Essay example -- Research Disorders Bipolar Essays

Bipolar Disorder   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bipolar disorder is often considered a hereditary disease. According to the National Mental Health Association (2001) a specific genetic link to bipolar disorder has not been found. Studies show that 80 to 90 percent of those who suffer from bipolar disorder have relatives with some form of depression (NIMH, 2001). Bipolar disorder is a mental illness involving one or more episodes of serious mania and depression which causes individuals to feel an euphoric type high or feeling really low. Over 2.5 million people in America have bipolar disorder. This disorder usually occurs during adolescence or early adulthood and continues throughout life. Although, young children can be diagnosed with manic depression as well. Bipolar disorder also shows symptoms by being very irritable and having destructive tantrums throughout the day. Sommers (2000), wrote that teenage guys and girls are equally likely to experience manic depression, but it is often more apparent in girls ( p.15 ). This is because guys do not like admitting to being depressed because it makes them look weak and have no control, so they tend to hold back their feelings which will only make their life more difficult. In contrast girls are more prone to talk about their feelings than guys are. Diagnosing individuals with bipolar disorder is very difficult due to the fact that many people deny that anything is wrong because he or she likes the feeling of being in high mood. Another reason diagnosing is difficult is because the problem may be related to some other type of illness or accompanied with a coexisting problem like substance abuse, poor performance in schoolwork and jobs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bipolar disorder ( a.k.a. Manic Depressive illness) is a disorder that causes unusual shifts in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function ( National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2001 ). This disorder consist of severe episodes of highs and lows that individuals go through. These highs and lows have a much greater impact on an individuals life than the normal highs and lows people go through everyday. These episodes can lead to unwanted behaviors, depression, anxiety and can lead to suicide if not treated. There are four categories in which bipolar disorder is classified according to symp... ...s through medications. There are several different types of medications on the market today used for treating bipolar patients but the oldest one that has shown a significant decrease of episodes is known as lithium. Lithium is a natural and standard mood stabilizer that has been extremely beneficial in treating bipolar patients. Also, many BD patients will also be prescribed to some type of antidepressants like, Zoloft, Prozac, and Paxil. Sleeping aids are sometimes prescribed for short term therapy for patients dealing with insomnia. Most common prescribed sleeping aids are xanax, topamx. A combination of these medication has shown to be effective, but reported patients having hard-take side effects. Taking a combination of anti-psychotics, sleeping aids, thyroid supplements, and benzodiazepine is sometimes called med cocktails. Patients taking medications are also advised to seek professional help from psychiatrist, psychologist, psychotherapist, or some type of mental health professional. This is an essential part of treating people with bipolar disorder who want to keep this disease in control and not it controlling ones life.

Stone Henge :: European Europe History

Stone Henge Man has always been interested in mystery. Stonehenge is one of the most mysterious places that man has been interested in. Construction began on Stonehenge at about 2200 B.C. (Abels 9). The origin and uses of Stonehenge are still a great mystery. Stonehenge is a ruin of a stone building. Stonehenge is the oldest pre-historic structure in western Europe. The name "Stonehenge" is Saxon in origin and means hanging stones. Stonehenge is visible from around one to two miles (Chippindale 12). It has a plain structure and at first glance Stonehenge appears to be a large pile of rocks. But when looked at more closely, it is a structure of great mystery. (Abels 5). Stonehenge contains close to one hundred and sixty-five stones. All of the stones are arranged in a plain and simple manner. Stonehenge is not very large. It is only about thirty five paces or eighty feet wide. Stonehenge is three hundred and thirty feet above sea level and is eighty miles west of London. Stonehenge is located in Wiltshire in south central England. The closest town to Stonehenge is Amesbury. It is in the center of Salisbury Plains (Chippindale 10). The pillars at Stonehenge are extraordinary. All of the stones appear gray in color, but their natural colors vary from mostly orange to brown or blue. Many lichens grow all over the stones. About one half of the original stone pillars are missing today. All of the joints that join the stone pillars together are dry stone joints. There was no wet sand or clay used to join the pillars together (Chippindale 12). At Stonehenge there are five different types of stone circles. The five types are: outer sarsen circle, outer bluestone circles, inner sarsen trilithons, inner blue horseshoe, and the altar stone. The outer sarsen circle is one hundred feet in diameter. Each stone is about thirteen and a half feet tall and seven feet wide. The space between each of the stones is approximately four feet apart (Chippindale 12). The outer bluestone circle is close to seventy-five feet in diameter. Most of the stones height are six and a half feet or taller. The stones width are between three and four feet. The stones color is blue. Only six of the original sixty stones still remain standing straight. The others either lean or lie on their side. The inner sarsen trilithons lie just inside of the bluestone circle.

The Merger of Womens and Mens Sports will Benefit Women :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

The Merger of Women's and Men's Sports will Benefit Women Every sports fan hates to admit the fact that sports are simply business, but it is undeniable that sports are one of the most lucrative businesses in the U.S. Right now the market for women's professional sports is growing rapidly. The best way for women's sporting organizations to promote and sell this market is to align with previously established organizations such as the NBA, NCAA and the USOIC. Although joining with men's organizations is a difficult process that involves compromise, merging with these organizations helps to land big television contracts, gives greater publicity, and brings in endorsements, advertisers and investors. The lack of these benefits was among the key factors in the failure of the ABL. Inversely, these are the reasons for the successes of the WNBA and women's sports in the Olympics. Throughout the history of female athletics merging with male sports organizations has not always been a pleasant experience. In 1982 the AIAW merged with the NCAA, despite the NCAA fighting tooth and nail to try and find ways out of Title IX, an act of Congress that required Universities to provide equal funding for women's athletics. The NCAA did everything they could to stop the equal funding but finally gave in during the 1990's. Right now the NCAA embraces its women's sports programs and has had many women represented on the executive committee roster and even has a committee on women's athletics. Also, the NCAA has worked out television contracts with ESPN, FOX sports and CBS. This has lead to not only coverage of women's sports but publicity. Women's games are talked about on Sports Center and College Hoops Tonight everyday during the season. The addition of the women's to the Olympics did a lot more to promote commercial secures and the advancement of women's The Women's Olympic Games went out of business shortly after the Olympics allowed women to participate. Women lost a lot with this merger at first due to the fact that women were prohibited from many Olympic events that they could have participated in as part of the Women's Olympics. These restrictions weren't lifted until 1984. However in the long run co-ed Olympics are beneficial for women's sports. At the 2002 Olympics at Salt Lake City there was only two sports that USA women did not compete in, ski jumping and the Nordic combined.

Asia & Australia in World Affairs Essay

In as much as the unsuccessful Taiping Rebellion of 1850 played a significant role in ending China’s isolationist outlook, it also paralleled the socialist ideals put forth by Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto of 1848 to manifest itself in the communist seizure of power in China in the 20th century Student: Ben McCosker Teacher: Mr Hart Due Date: Thursday 24 March 2005 Against the backdrop of a passive and inflexible Chinese state devastated by the foreign incursions of the 1840 Opium War, the Taiping emerged to overthrow the Confucian Qing Dynasty and establish an egalitarian community based on the quasi-Christian beliefs of its leader, Hong Xiuquan. In their struggle to â€Å"adopt institutions of equality and communism† (Newsinger, J, 2000), Hong and his followers paved the way for the formation of the People’s Republic of China in October 1949 by tapping into the passionate anti-Manchu nationalism among the peasantry. In as much as the unsuccessful Taiping rebellion of 1850 played a significant role in ending China’s isolationist outlook, it also paralleled the socialist ideals put forth by Marx and Engels in the Communist Manifesto of 1848 to manifest itself in the communist seizure of power in China in the 20th century. While Hong’s dream for a ‘Kingdom of Heavenly Peace’ was not brought to fruition in his lifetime, his recognition and attacks upon dynastical weakness awakened an oppressed nation to rebellion and served as the catalyst for social and political reform in the 20th century. On the eve of the communist seizure of power in China, Mao Zedong spoke of the tireless efforts of Chinese reformists, including the Taiping, when he said that â€Å"I have witnessed the tremendous energy of the masses. On this foundation it is possible to accomplish any task whatsoever†. This essay will investigate the interconnection between the Taiping Rebellion of 1850 and the communist seizure of power in the 20th century against the backdrop of their shared socialist underpinnings. The exploitation of the peasant class and unerring belief in China as ‘Zhongguo’, or the centre of existence, were the main criticisms that Hong held of the feudalist Qing dynasty, led by Dao Guan. Hong disapproved of the Chinese system of reform, which historically had encompassed a series of deteriorations and restorations of dynastic houses with the aim of perfecting systems of the past rather than instituting true change. As an unsuccessful scholar of the civil service, Hong came under the influence of Christian missionaries and after suffering from an intense fever in which he claimed to have been visited by God, he proclaimed himself as â€Å"God’s Chinese Son† and declared a mission against the Confucian ideals and incompetent rule of the Qing Dynasty. In the context of 19th century China, where revolt was endemic and hatred for the gentry class was widespread among the peasant population, Hong’s call for revolution quickly gathered support. When rallying for the defeat of the Manchus, Hong would preach his distorted version of Christianity; â€Å"I have received the immediate command from God in his presence; the will of Heaven rests with me† (Xiuquan, H, 1850, quoted in Spence, 1996, p.67). Discontent with the unequal treaties and proliferation of Western activities among some sections of Chinese society, Hong and his Taiping rebels questioned not only traditional Confucian principles, but also the right of foreigners to rule, highlighting the powerful anti-Manchu theocracy that underpinned the revolution and encouraging the recognition of Chinese superiority. Spreading through the eastern valley of the Chang River, the Taiping movement captured Nanjing in 1853, before undergoing reform at the hands of Hong Rengan in 1859. Rengan understood the problems of Chinese society far more profoundly than his contemporaries and played a vital role in bringing Hong Xiuquan’s original ideas to maturity. Under Rengan, the Taiping continued to dominate the Qing resistance, capturing the port of Ningpo in 1862, until the death of Hong in 1864 and the resulting fragmentation of Taiping units. Although a technical failure, the Taiping rebellion played an integral role in changing the way Chinese government functioned. Under the Manchu government, as one poor peasant woman argues, â€Å"we were vulnerable and exploited†¦our anger was a cause of our government’s lack of power and increase in corruption† (Kong, H, 1870). With the rise and fall of the Taiping Rebellion, China was forced to adopt a broader and less centralised world view and relax its foreign policy, thereby ending the reign of the indolent and corrupt nobility of the Qing Dynasty. The egalitarian aspirations of the Taiping closely mirrored the ideals expressed by Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels in their publication â€Å"The Communist Manifesto†. Marx and Engel’s seminal work also formed the ideological foundation for the communist seizure of power in 1949, clearly identifying the Taiping rebellion as the antecedent to the Chinese communist state. Marx began the Communist Manifesto with the words â€Å"A spectre is haunting Europe–the spectre of Communism†; little did he know that less than two years after writing these words, this ‘spectre of Communism’ would be spreading ferociously across the Chinese mainland. With the capture of Nanjing in 1853, Hong and his followers built an autonomous state based on the principles of laissez faire, supported by the twin pillars of communalism (essentially a debased form of communism) and equality. This doctrine of ‘communalism’ involved the appropriation of all private property by the Taipings and its redistribution among the Chinese based on their needs, a concept that emerged in both the Communist Manifesto and the communist seizure of power almost a century later. Although it is almost certain that the Taiping rebels were oblivious to the socialist movement in the Western world, the similarities between the rebellion and the struggles of the proletariat in Europe are unmistakeable and are representative of the self-development of the Chinese people, culminating in the Communist seizure of power in 1949. The communist seizure of power in 1949 was not in itself the embryonic Chinese interpretation of European socialism it was perceived to be, but rather a fulfilment of the ideals espoused by the proto-communist Taiping rebels almost a century earlier. When viewed objectively, the Heavenly Kingdom of the Taipings is not so distant from the classless egalitarianism that Mao Zedong instituted on 1 October 1949 with the seizure of power by the Chinese Communist Party. Indeed, the doctrinal pillars upon which Hong built his Heavenly Kingdom have been described as â€Å"a primitive form of communism† (Hooker, R, 1986) and some have gone as far as to say that â€Å"the communist revolution may have been but a realisation of an underground movement in China [The Taiping Rebellion] which began in the mid eighteen-hundreds† (Ny, G, 1991). Like the Taiping Rebellion, the communist seizure of power was an example of western ideals being adapted to the Chinese condition and similarly , both revolutions started in the agrarian centres of the South before moving north towards the political epicentre of the Chinese state, Beijing (Peking). Both revolutions shared common egalitarian elements, the most notable of which was the immersion of women into society as the social and economic equals of men. Under Hong’s leadership, all members of Taiping society were seen as â€Å"brothers† and â€Å"sisters†, which both established equality among the sexes and discouraged the formation of relationships among those with administrative positions. This was a radical departure from the traditional Confucian philosophy promoted by the Qing Dynasty, which preached women’s inferiority and subservient role to men. Indeed, under the Manchu government, the practice of foot binding was still widespread, as women had to bind their feet to be eligible for marriage in the eyes of the law. Like the Taiping rebels, the Chinese Communist Party realised that the liberation of women was integral to the true emancipation of the country as an egalitarian nation; so in a parallel for the Fun Yu-Lan, or ‘rules of the Heavenly Kingdom’ laid down by Hong Rengan, the communist government enacted legislation that revolved around the protection of women including the Chinese Marriage Law of 1950 and the Labour Insurance Regulations Law of 1951. In their contextualisation of Western theologies, both the Taiping Rebellion and the communist seizure of power banished the traditional androcentric beliefs of their preceding governments, instituting systems of equality in their place. Sun Yat-Sen’s ‘Three People’s Principles’, as published in the Guomindang Manifesto of 1924, itself a forerunner to the ideals of the CCP, reflect the original motives of the Taiping rebels; increased power for the people (democracy), equality among the citizenry (people’s livelihood) and the development of a national identity for China (nationalism). The shared social institutions and egalitarian precepts of both uprisings serve only to illustrate the fact that the Taiping Rebellion of 1850 was the philosophical forerunner to the Communist seizure of power in the 20th century. While the Taiping philosophy was sound in itself, a combination of inadequate military strategy, diplomatic incompetence, ideological inconsistencies and insufficient resources condemned the rebellion to failure while its latter-day counterpart, the Chinese Communist Party, thrived due to more consistent and efficient management. The very basis of the Taiping movement, Hong’s distorted version of Christianity, detracted from the authenticity of the rebellion in the eyes of foreign onlookers, which meant that the Taiping were unable to forge valuable alliances with more conventional Christian powers in the west. This oversight had fatal implications in the summer of 1864, when the Taiping looked to foreigners for support, but encountered the opposition of Westerners opposed to Hong’s bastardised version of Christianity. Mao Zedong, Li Dazhao and the other leaders of the CCP had the benefit of viewing revolutionary precedent through the failure of the Taiping Rebellion, t hus it can be seen that the ‘lessons’ of the Taiping were able to be applied to CCP strategy, lessons which resulted in Mao’s inclusion of peasants against the Marxist model and drive for agrarian revolution over urban uprising. Both conflicts arose from a strong desire from the proletariat for social and political reform, but it was the Chinese Communist Party that most effectively gathered the people’s support, while largely avoiding the corruption and poor foreign policy that plagued the Taipings. While the Chinese Communist Party remained a tightly-networked organisation in its struggle for power, the Taiping force was split into various factions before capturing Nanjing in 1852, which had the two-fold consequence of denying the rebels the opportunity to conquer Shanghai and also foregoing the continued pursuit of the Manchus after capturing Nanjing, which, as Larlee argues, â€Å"proved to be a fatal flaw in the rebellion† (Larlee, D, 2000). The failure to adequately support the Northern Expedition of 1852 resulted in Western Powers, already antagonised by the suppression of opium from Taiping-controlled China, to forge allegiances with the Qing Dynasty, a movement which ultimately ended t he Taiping rebellion. Like its communist progeny in the 20th century, concubinage amongst leaders was prevalent in the upper echelons of the Taiping leadership, which invoked doubt in the peoples’ minds over the capacity of the rebels to institute true change. Finally, in 1860, intervention by foreign powers came in the form of a British Envoy led by Frederick Bruce, who supported Prince Gong (the leader of the opposing Manchu government) in his quest to â€Å"purge the country of the sinful rebels† (Poon, 2000). After the death of over 25 million Chinese citizens (McEvedy, 1978) and the devastation of 16 provinces, The Taiping Rebellion was finally suppressed in 1864, ending 16 years of reform but paving the way for the Communist Seizure of Power in the 20th century. Philosophically, the Taiping Rebellion of 1850 and the Communist Seizure of Power in the 20th century shared remarkable similarity in their egalitarian goals and quest to overthrow oppressive rule. Both were born out of a socioeconomic situation of deprivation and shame, with drought, famine, and overt foreign influence common to both uprisings. The Rebellion cannot be judged objectively on its failure as a revolution alone, as its primitive implementation of socialist ideals and reformation of China’s isolationist outlook manifested itself in the communist seizure of power 100 years later. Its failure to institute permanent reform reflected not only the ideological flaws of Hong and his followers, but also the society’s resistance to change, a result of hundreds of years of dynastical rule. As â€Å"one of the early tremors of a communist earthquake† (Franz, M, 1999), the Taiping rebellion played an integral role in the Communist seizure of power in the 20th century. Bibliography Charles, G, 2001, Taiping Rebellion[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://www.lcsc.edu/modernchina/u3s1p3.htm (accessed 4/3/05) Childs, R, 1987, Leading the Chinese Revolution, The MacMillan Company Ltd, Wellington China, Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopaedia, 2005, http://encarta.msn.com Cohen, J, 2004, Reader’s Companion to Military History – Taiping Rebellion[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/mil/html/mh_051600_taipingrebellion.htm (accessed 22/2/05) Diagonal Media Group, 2003, Hong Xiuquan – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopaedia[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://www.phatnav.com/wiki/index.php?title:Hong_Xiuquan (accessed 16/2/05) Dowling, M, 2002, The Electronic Passport to the Taiping Rebellion[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://www.mrdowling.com/613taiping.html (accessed 4/3/05) Garcia, S, Bart, C & Hart, S, 2005, History[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://samaratx.tripod.com/id6.htm (accessed 5/3/05) Heng, X, 1997, The Changing Role and Status of Women in China[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://www.1990institute.org/publications/pubs/ISUPAP8.html (accessed 4/3/05) Hooker, R, 1996, Ch’ing China : The Taiping Rebellion[ONLINE], Available from: URL: www.esu.edu:8080/~dee/CHING/TAIPING.htm (accessed 3/3/05) Larlee, D, 2000, The Taiping Rebellion[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://mutton.editthispage.com/stories/storyreader$18 accessed 22/2/05) Maher, J, 2001, China’s Confession[ONLINE], Available from: URL: www.chinasoul.com/e/e-wk/episode4.htm (accessed 4/3/05) Meisher, M, 1999, Mao’s China and After – A History of the People’s Republic. The Free Press, New York Ny, G, 1991, The Indian Mutiny and the Taiping Rebellion : Armed Conflicts Against Change, Washington University Press, St. Louis Poon, L, 2000, East and South East Asia on the Eve of European Expansion from the late 18th Century to 1860 : An Introductory Survey[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://homepage.mac.com/stray/ib/history/historyHLregional/option.pdf (accessed 4/3/05) Reilly, J, 1997, God’s Chinese Son[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://pages.prodigy.net/aesir/gcs.htm (accessed 5/3/05) Revision Notes UK, 2005, Effects of the Taiping Rebellion[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/815.html (accessed 4/3/05) Rius et. al. 1980, Mao for Beginners, Writery and Readery, London Seiler, M, 1997, The Taiping Rebellion – The Destruction of the Chinese Culture[ONLINE], Available from: URL: http://sun.menloschool.org/~sportman/westernstudies/second/24/gblock/matts (accessed 3/3/05) Spence, J, God’s Chinese Son, Norton, New York

‘Death of a Salesman’: Everyone fails in a waste of misplaced energy and Miller offers no comfort to his audience

‘Death of a Salesman' is dominated by the theme of failure and the protagonist Willy Loman is certainly the main exemplifier of this. The complexity of this play, however, makes it difficult to label with such a generalised comment. I would not disagree that the action of the play centres around failure but I feel that some comfort is offered through other characters such as Charley, Bernard, Howard and Ben. Willy Loman has undeniably failed in every aspect of his life. He has been defeated in business, he is a poor father and a poor husband. As Dukore says ‘The inadequacies of what he buys mirror the inadequacies in his sales, which in turn reflect his inadequacies as a parent'. Willy is not a success in business, despite describing himself as a ‘big-shot' to his sons. He dedicates a lot of time to his work and has been employed by the same firm for 34 years, however, he has to borrow money from his neighbour Charley as a means of survival as he is cruelly cast off by his ruthless boss, Howard. Willy unsurprisingly finds this humiliating and difficult to believe, ‘you can't eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man is not a piece of fruit'. Willy has no status as a businessman and he confesses that ‘the trouble is, Linda, people don't seem to take to me'. Willy believes in the fantasy of the American Dream which suggests that wealth and an attractive personality alone can make him happy. We even see Willy being patronised when his boss addresses Willy as ‘kid', representing that Willy is still seen as a kid in the business world. Willy is a failure at home and his sons, Biff and Happy, ‘both seem condemned to repeat their father's failure and relive his self-deception'. We see this as Biff steals a fountain pen from Bill Oliver as if the family are trying to grab onto any bit of success that they can find. Willy has brought his children up telling them that all they need is to be well liked to succeed. Happy rates success by how many girls he can seduce and he describes his relationships as ‘like bowling or something. I just keep knockin' them over and it doesn't mean anything'. Willy repeatedly sends contradicting messages to his sons desperately trying to find something to help them to become successes. Willy also fails as a husband. He had an affair which is only known to Biff, but Willy's guilt is represented through the stockings that Willy gave to his mistress. He has cheated Linda as she still has no knowledge of his affair. The play shows ‘a man's destruction through the tearing away of his protective covering of lies and self deceit' as Willy is constantly lying to himself and to his family about who he really is. Willy shares his faith in the American Dream with other fictional characters including Lennie and George in John Steinbeck's ‘Of Mice and Men' and others of Miller's characters like Marco and Rodolpho from Miller's play ‘A View From The Bridge'. Similar to this play, ‘Death of a Salesman' could be described as a modern Greek tragedy. Miller is very interested in this style of writing and applying it to a modern audience. ‘Death of a Salesman' could be described as a tragedy as it addresses many of the elements that Aristotle outlined. This play gives unity of time, place and action and we only see the last 24 hours of Willy's life. Again fitting in with Aristotle's ideas, the protagonist is flawed and this is Willy's determination and commitment to the American dream, and the play encourages the audience to feel catharsis at the catastrophe. Miller has, however, deliberately rejected Aristotle's idea of status and has made Willy an ‘un-heroic hero'. Miller wanted to show the ‘tragedy of a common man'. Even Willy's name ‘Loman' shows us that he is exactly that – a ‘low-man' and is similar to Elmer Rice's ‘Mr Zero' in his play ‘The Adding Machine' but Willy also seems to be an everyman and Miller said that ‘everyone knows Willy Loman' because as well as showing the destruction of one man. Despite its realistic trappings, ‘Death of a Salesman' is universal, thus a more vivid dramatisation of a modern everyman' – Willy is also representing the destruction of everyone who has bought in to the American dream, and in this way the play could also be called a political play. The mixture of traditional tragedy and Miller's own unique brand of drama allows the audience to recognise the protagonists' flaws in themselves. Willy's energy is certainly wasted as he spends the majority of his time at work, without anything to show for it. This could contribute to his failure as a husband and a father as dedicating more time to these things may help to repair broken relationships. Willy is so committed to the American Dream that everything else in his life seems to be breaking around him including household items like the fridge and the car. This symbolises Willy's race against age and limiting factors to be a success, and he fails to do this. We learn in the play that Willy is good at practical work and this work is admired by Charley, ‘That's a piece of work. To put up a ceiling is a mystery to me. How do you do it? ‘ Willy obviously has a skill but this skill is not used. Willy would be happier working in the country using his hands but he works in the city to try and satisfy his value of success which is to be working in the city and people have said of Willy that he has been ‘dwarfed by his surroundings' which I would agree with. Willy is in an environment in which he cannot survive and this idea is represented by the seeds that we see Willy desperately trying to plant at the end of the play. Like Willy, the seeds cannot grow in the environment that they are in. Willy wastes his energy as he ‘fears the present and romanticises the past' and his confusion of past and present is shown in the play through retrospective exposition. Willy spends a lot of his time talking to characters of the past instead of focussing on the present and facing up to his problems. The original title of the play was ‘The Inside of His Head' and this was because through the play we are seeing exactly what is happening inside Willy's head which is a mass of contradictions. He misplaces his energy in the past whilst still living in the present and this is what essentially causes Willy's eventual suicide. We see Happy also failing in the play as he is still a strong believer and follower of the American Dream to the end. He mirrors his father as he is still lying to himself about this fantasy and he refuses to admit that he is a failure. During The Requiem, Happy still insists that ‘He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have – to come out number-one man'. Happy is still fooling himself and he has learnt very little even after this tragic experience, and this offers no comfort to the audience, it merely demonstrates how Willy's failure still lives on in Happy and shows Happy's wasted energy. Other characters in the play, however, are successful showing that not everyone in the play fails, and in contrast to Willy's downfall we hear the story of Bernard, Biff's school friend who succeeds due to hard work and becomes a lawyer. He shares our pity for Willy. The audience also meet Charley, Bernard's father who is a very compassionate, benevolent and caring man who is also a success in business and we see through Charley and Bernard that you do not have to be ruthless to be successful. There are, however, ruthless characters such as Bill Oliver, Biff's former boss, and Howard Wagner who was Willy's boss. These men are ruthless businessmen as we see through Howard's dismissal of Willy and Bill Oliver's unwillingness to speak to Biff about business propositions. Both Bill Oliver and Howard Wagner understand the business world – something which Willy fails to do. They both acknowledge that to succeed they need to be brutal and this is what we see Howard do. It could be said that Howard is a cruel man for dismissing Willy, however, for his business to survive it would seem the obvious thing to do as Willy no longer credited the company. I would disagree that Miller offers no comfort to his audience. By the end of the play, Biff admits to his father that ‘I'm a dozen, and so are you' and instructs his father to ‘take that phony dream and burn it before something happens'. Biff's turns his back on the American Dream and this is certainly comfort to the audience because he has found himself and knows who he is unlike his brother, and his father. There is a lot of failure in this tragedy. The focus of the play is Willy Loman who does fail and it would also be true to say that Willy does misplace his energy and there is little comfort due to the emotion of Willy's suicide. Miller said that ‘Most human enterprises disappoint' and this view is certainly shown throughout the play and through Willy's life. Bernard and Howard, however, are very successful due to hard work and if nothing else this is comfort to the audience as they represent a type of success which isn't based around being ‘well liked'. Biff's enlightenment at the end of the play is also comforting as there is now some hope of success beyond the American Dream and hope that Biff's energy will be used in a more constructive way.

History Story Teaches Us That History Teaches Nothing: Discuss Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION All human cultures tell stories about the past, deeds of ancestors, heroes, gods, or animals. Songs sacred to particular peoples were chanted and memorized long before there was any writing with which to record them. Their truth was authenticated by the very fact of their continued repetition. History which can be considered as an account that purports to be true of events and ways of thinking and feeling in some part of the human past stems from this archetypal human narrative activity. While sharing a common ancestry with myth, legend, epic poetry, and the novel, history has of course diverged from these forms. Its claim to truth is based in part on the fact that all the persons or events it describes really existed or occurred at some time in the past. Historians can say nothing about these persons or events that cannot be supported, or at least suggested, by some kind of documentary evidence. Such evidence customarily takes the form of something written, such as a letter, a law, an administrative record, or the account of some previous historian. In addition, historians sometimes create their own evidence by interviewing people. In the 20th century, the scope of historical evidence was greatly expanded to include, inter alia, aerial photographs, clothes, motion pictures, and houses etc. Furthermore, all developed countries have their National Archives. This is in recognition of the simple fact that knowledge of the past is essential to society. What happens in the present, and what will happen in the future, is very much governed by what happened in the past. Without a thorough knowledge of past events and circumstances, we could not even attempt to grapple with these problems. Without knowledge of the past we would be without identity, we would be lost on an endless sea of time. However, it is obvious that knowledge of the past has not brought easy solutions to problems in, say, Nigeria, Mali, Zimbabwe, Palestine or even other parts of the world. Notwithstanding the fact that history is paramount in any society and in fact a necessary ingredient for its growth, but many practical facts staring us at the face have shown that people learn from  history that they do not learn from history. Thus, I would like to support and defend the assertion that ‘history teaches us that history teaches nothing’. But before delving into this argumentative cum intellectual excursus, I would like to clarify the term ‘History’ and ‘Why people study history’ 2.0 WHAT IS HISTORY? Etymologically, the term ‘history’ is from the Greek word ‘á ¼ ±ÃÆ'Ï„Î ¿Ã ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ±Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ – historia, meaning â€Å"inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation†. It was still in this Greek sense that Francis Bacon used the term in the late 16th century, when he wrote about â€Å"Natural History†. For him, history is â€Å"the knowledge of objects determined by space and time†. History is the study of the past, specifically how it relates to humans. It is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about these events. Scholars who write about history are called historians whereas the events occurring prior to written record were considered prehistory. By â€Å"prehistory†, historians mean the recovery of knowledge of the past in an area where no written records exist, or where the writing of a culture is not understood. By studying painti ng, drawings, carvings, and other artefacts, some information can be recovered even in the absence of a written record. Since the 20th century, the study of prehistory is considered essential to avoid history’s implicit exclusion of certain civilizations, such as those of Sub-Saharan Africa and pre-Columbian America. In 1961, British historian E. H. Carr wrote; ‘the line of demarcation between prehistoric and historical times is crossed when people cease to live only in the present, and become consciously interested both in their past and in their future. History begins with the handing down of tradition; and tradition means the carrying of the habits and lessons of the past into the future. Records of the past begin to be kept for the benefit of future generations’1 Herodotus of Halicarnassus (484 BC – 425 BC) has generally been acclaimed as the â€Å"father of history†. However, his contemporary Thucydides (460 BC – 400 BC) is credited with having first approached history with a well-developed historical method in his work ‘the History of the Peloponnesian War’. In his historical method, Thucydides emphasized chronology, a neutral point of view, and that the human world was  the result of the actions of human beings. Greek historians also viewed history as cyclical, with events regularly recurring. Suffice to say that the word ‘history’ entered the English language in 1390 with the meaning of â€Å"relation of incidents or story†. Professor Richard J. Evans defines histo ry as an academic discipline which uses a narrative to examine and analyse a sequence of past events, and objectively determine the patterns of cause and effect that determine them. According to Professor Arthur Marwick in his article titled ‘The Fundamentals of History’, history is ‘the bodies of knowledge about the past produced by historians, together with everything that is involved in the production, communication of, and teaching about that knowledge’.3 In E. H. Carr’s ‘What Is History? Carr draws on sources from Nietzsche to Herodotus to argue for a more subtle definition of history as ‘an unending dialogue between the present and the past’.4 No wonder, Whitney says that history is facilitated by the formation of a ‘true discourse of past’5 through the production of narrative and analysis of past events relating to the human race. History is the analysis and interpretation of the human past that enables us to study continuity and change over time. It is an act of both investigation and imagination that seeks to explain how people have changed over time. Historians use all forms of evidence t o examine, interpret, revisit, and reinterpret the past. These include not just written documents, but also oral communication and objects such as buildings, artefacts, photographs, and paintings. Historians are trained in the methods of discovering and evaluating these sources, and the challenging task of making historical sense out of them, that is to say they are aesthetically disinterested in their approach to events. According to Encarta electronic dictionary, history is ‘a chronological account of past events, it is the branch of knowledge that records and analyses past events’6. More so, Encyclopaedia Britannica defines history as ‘the discipline that studies the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or people), based on a critical examination of source materials and usually presenting an explanation of their causes’7. Understanding why historic events took place is important. To do this, historians often turn to geography. Weather patterns, the water supply, and the landscape of a place all affect the lives of the people who  live there. For example, to explain why the ancient Egyptians developed a successful civilization, st udying the geography of Egypt is essential. At this juncture, it is paramount to say that the writing of history, especially the writing of history based on the critical examination of sources, the selection of particular details from the authentic materials in those sources, and the synthesis of those details into a narrative that stands the test of critical examination is known as Historiography. 3.0 WHY THEN DO PEOPLE STUDY HISTORY? From my own personal observation, it does occur to me that people explore the field of history for myriads of reasons which are: History is a means to understand the past and present. The different interpretations of the past allow us to see the present differently and therefore imagine and work towards the future. Through the study of history we can investigate and interpret why society developed as it has and determine what influences have affected the past and present and shape the future. It helps one to understand the immense complexity of our world and provides insights to help cope with the problems and possibilities of the present and future. History also provides a sense of identity to understand the collective past that has made us what we are today. The way in which people identify and interact with one another is by and large a consequence of history, which shapes and conditions individuals and societies whether they fully understand it or not, relationship between differ ent ethnic groups in Nigeria can testify clearly to this. History is also a bridge to other disciplines. In order to understand the other humanities and sciences one needs a historical overview. Writers, artists, scientists, politicians, philosophers etc. are all conditioned by the historical milieu in which they lived. Historical knowledge is a prerequisite for understanding the world in which we live. History is magister vitae, â€Å"teacher of life.† History prepares us to live more humanely in the present and to meet the challenges of the future because it provides us with understanding of the human condition. Despite these reasons why people study history, it becomes disheartening to see that these reasons do not readily translate into practice considering what is on ground in the  world. Hence, one can say without any fear of equivocation or ambiguity that ‘history teaches us that history teaches nothing’. To explicate this standpoint further, I would like to delineate in a jiffy the essential factors to be consi dered in history, from there I would showcase why history teaches us that history teaches nothing. 3.1 ESSENTIAL FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED WHY STUDYING HISTORY These are; Persons, ( personal element ), Time element, Event, Place, Circumstance, People’s reaction or Effects, Post Reactions and the Lessons. It is from the standpoint of lessons meant to be learnt from history that I would defend the assertion that ‘history teaches us that history teaches nothing’. 4.0 HISTORY TEACHES US THAT HISTORY TEACHES NOTHING: USING NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY. Having explained the concept of history and why we study history, the problems that stare us at face are; how has the knowledge of the past positively influenced the present day society? To what extent is the history affecting the lives of people? Why is it that people, nations, continents etc. repeat the same mistake of the past? Does it mean that history has no positive influence on human development or that people have blatantly refused to learn from history? No wonder the prestigious German Philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in his lectures on the philosophy of history said; â€Å"What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it†¦ We learn from history that we do not learn from history†¦ [Hence] History teaches that history teaches us nothing. If we go on to cast a look at the f ate of the world historical personalities†¦ we shall find it to have been no happy one. They attained no calm enjoyment; their whole nature was labour and trouble; their whole nature was nothing but their master’s passion. When their object is attained they fall off like empty hulls from the kernel† To expatiate on this assertion that history teaches us that history teaches nothing, I would like to use Nigeria as a case study because I am more familiar with Nigerian history. Before delving into this intellectual discuss, I would like to posit certain questions: What is the percentage of Nigerians that are productively engaged? How many of them can  pay their bills? Education is one factor that can lift the fortunes of a nation overnight: as it is today, what is the percentage of the population that attain school till tertiary institution? What percentage of the population can afford the fees for their education? What has the government done to entrenched unity rather than ethnicity? Why has the government being unable to address these nagging issues? The most suitable answer to these interrogatives is that the government has failed to learn from history. In fact, the history of Nigeria has taught nothing to the government of this country considering what is on ground. The blame is mostly shifted to the government because as Achebe wrote in his book, ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’, the problem of Nigeria is that of leadership. Let me succinctly delineate and expatiate on this assertion that history teaches us that history teaches nothing with some major events that have taken place in Nigeria. To be more precise, I hold the opinion that we have been stagnant in a lot of ways, we have degenerated in so many more ways while very little, if any progress, has been made in our march to meaningful nationhood. A key reason for our lacklustre performance at nation-building as Soyinka prescribes in the Dance of the Forest is the failure to draw lessons from the past at every turn in our history. That is an enterprise in which Nigeria still fails woefully. Hear what I read in one of the National Dailies that Chief Obafemi Awolowo, one of the active participants in the move towards independence, said in a speech he delivered on the floor of the House of Representatives in Lagos on March 31, 1953; â€Å"†¦It has been customary for our friends from the North to threaten the rest of Nigeria with secession if this is done or if that is not done†¦ We find the northern majority is not only being used (by the colonialists, I presume) in having their way, but it is also being used in preventing the minority from having their say†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Such was the suspicion and distrust that existed amongst major ethnic nationalities in the country at the attainment of independence. This suspicion eventually led to many coups like that of; 15th January 1966 Nigeria Major Kaduna Nzeogwu which led to the death of many including Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the then prime minister, 29th July 1966, a bloody coup led by Col. Yakubu Gowon, whichà ‚  claimed the life of Major General JTU Aguyi Ironsi and many others, 29th July 1975, by General Murtala Mohammed against General Yakubu Gowon and was successful, 13th February 1976, by Col. Dinka which resulted to the death of the then Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed, 31st December 1983, by Major General Ibrahim B. Buhari against Alhaji Shehu Shagari took place and was successful, 27th August 1985, by Major General Ibrahim B. Babangida against General Buhari. This suspicion also led to the civil war in which millions of lives were lost. Now, has Nigeria learnt anything from these? I think, NO. This is because, fifty three years old, national integration is still abysmal in Nigeria. There are verbal missiles across the country by individuals who desire to promote the interest of their ethnic groups, all of them fanning the embers of strife and war. Ethnic militias exist in almost different parts of the country threatening the lives and existence of those who do not share their ethnic or religious pedigree. Many Nigerians especially Southerners have lost their lives due to Boko Haram insurgency. This was a kind of situation which made Ojukwu to declare the Republic of Biafra due the massacre of the Igbos in the North. This declaration later led to civil war. We have even seen the â€Å"deportation† of hapless Nigerians from one state to the other and the attendant emotional outbursts that followed it. In fact, Nigeria has failed woefully to learn from history because the lessons of history are never applied to better the life of her citizenry. At the moment, seven gov ernors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are on do or die mission to get a politician of northern extraction into the office of president come 2015. To them, it does not matter that the north had held that position for 37 out of Nigeria’s 53 years of independence, and that the region in particular and the nation in general, has nothing to show for it, all they are interested in is that the next President is from the North. To drive home the urgency of their desire, some of their supporters have actually threatened that Nigeria would be history if this pet project failed. Are these politicians unable to learn from history that born to rule mentality is a cankerworm that has threatened the fabrics of nationhood? Legendary writer, Chinua Achebe in his celebrated book, The Trouble with Nigeria once said: â€Å"But whereas tribalism might win  enough votes to install a reactionary jingoist in a tribal ghetto, the cult of mediocrity will bring the wheels of modernisation grinding to a halt throughout the land† That is the state of affairs in Nigeria currently. It is as bad as for past and present leaders in the country to brazenly tell the world that Nigeria’s major challenge is the lack of honest and dedicated leadership even as none of them has the nobility to plead guilty of the charge. This plague of bad leadership accounts for the frustrating level of ineptitude that we have in all areas of our national life. It seems to me that a cloud of cluelessness has descended on Nigeria over the years. Corruption in particular is one vice in which Nigeria has grown in leaps and bounds over the years. If there were pockets of corrupt practices in the country at the attainment of independence, Nigeria has within the last 53 years grown corruption to the extent that it has literarily acquired a life of its own. This has almost brought the nation to its knees with the resultant collapse of the middle class and the gap between the rich and the poor widening by the day. This means that Nigerian leaders in all sectors of life have failed to learn from history that corruptive practices retard the development of a nation and the excessive gap between the rich and poor can make the poor people to start a revolt against the rich. More still, agriculture which was the mainstay of the country’s economy up until the end of the First Republic has taken the back burner no thanks to the seeming ease with which petro-dollars have come to us since the oil boom in the 1970s. As Nigeria’s oil prospect increased, political leaders found more money to siphon or launder even as they neglect to sustain the structures which made life meaningful for the citizenry. Today, life is almost unbearable for the average Nigerian. Nigerian leaders seem to forget that it was this kind of atmosphere that ushered in the French revolution. Nigeria has not learnt from history. Hence, from this exposition of Nigerian experience, I continue to maintain that history teaches us that history teaches nothing because people have failed to learn from the lessons of history. 5.0 EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION Some may tend to argue that defending the idea that history teaches us that history teaches nothing is already affirming that history teaches something  because being aware that history teaches nothing is already learning something from history. Remember, the premise of my argument is that history teaches us that history teaches nothing, put in another way; we learn from history that we do not learn from history. This points to the fact that people and nations have failed woefully to apply the lessons of history to promote human well-fare. Thus, Hegel is right when he maintained that we learn very little from history in a global sense. Therefore, history teaches us nothing if we fail to observe the past, ask appropriate questions and learn from the lessons of history. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 Carr, Edward H. (1961). What is History? p.108 2 Evans, Richard J. â€Å"The Two Faces of E.H. Carr†. History In Focus. An article published by Palgrave, 2001. 3 Marwick, Arthur ‘The Nature of History’ The MacMillian Press LTD. pg. 169, 1970. 4 Professor Arthur Marwick in his article titled ‘The Fundamentals of History’ In E. H. Carr’s ‘What Is History? 5 Whitney, W. D. The Century dictionary; an encyclopaedic lexicon of English language. New York: The Century Co, 1889. 6 Encarta Microsoft Electronic Dictionary 2010 edition 7 Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 2011. 8 Hegel’s Lectures on Philosophy of History which was assessed online on the 3rd of November, 2013. 9 Achebe, Chinua. The Trouble with Nigeria, Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing. Co. Ltd.Reprinted 1998. Print.