Report On The Transformational Grammar English Language Essay

Report On The Transformational Grammar English Language Essay The relationship between grammar and language helps in understanding the Chomskian principle of transformational grammar. David W. Carroll views grammar as a description of a persons linguistic knowledge. Language is considered to be an infinite set of well formulated sentences and it can be deduced by grammar, like that of mathematics or logic. Hence grammars are the theories of language composed of hypotheses of the structure of some part of the language. Chomsky suggests three criteria about the theory of language. First criterion is known as observational adequacy. It is applied in several levels of language in which grammar defines, what is and what is not an acceptable sequence in the language. At the other level grammar should have rules that generate grammatical sentence. The second criterion is the descriptive adequacy which indicates that grammar specifies the sequence in a language. Grammar should also explain how it relates with sentences which have the same or opposite meaning .The third criterion is the explanatory adequacy. Chomsky views that it is theoretically possible for a number of grammars, all based on different principles to attain the other two forms of adequacy and determines that the best descriptively adequate grammar pertains to the language acquisition in children. He suggests that the child learning a language is presented with samples of the language and must determine the grammar from the samples. Chomsky notes that children choose one particular grammar from the incoming data consistent with a number of grammars. Hence this implies that there are certain innate language constraints enable the child to deduce the correct grammar. The final level of adequacy goes beyond the ability to explain to describe patterns in a particular language; instead, it involves the ability to explain the role of linguistic universals in language acquisition. These theories played a significant role in the development of linguistic theories. Chomsky initially developed transformational grammar because of the descriptive inadequacy of grammar based on phrase structure rules. In transformational grammar, the insight that sentences have more than one level of structure is captured in the distinction between deep structure and surface structure. These are both tree structures, which differ in emphasis. Deep structure is considered as the underlying structure of the sentence that conveys the meaning of a sentence. Deep structures are the output of the phrase structure rules and lexical rules; transformations operate on these and gave rise to the surface structure. Surface structure refers to the superficial arrangement of the constituents and reflects the order in which the words are pronounced. David Carrol refers to three arguments regarding the usefulness of the distinction by considering the following sentence as an example. Ex: Flying planes can be dangerous. The ambiguity in this sentence is called deep-structure as it may be paraphrased as, The act of flying planes can be dangerous or Planes that are flying can be dangerous. This type of ambiguity comes from a single surface structure that is derived from two distinct deep structures. The second reason for the distinction is that some pairs of sentences are similar in their phrase structure but not in their underlying structure. Ex: John is easy to please. (2) John is eager to please. (3) The above sentences, when paraphrased reveal their dissimilarity even though they are apparently similar. John is the object of the deep structure in (2) and the deep structure subject (3). The next set of sentences in active and passive voice is distinct in their surface arrangement but similar in their deep structure. Ex: Arlene played the tuba. (active) The tuba was played by Arlene. (passive) So the active and the passive sentences are considered as two manifestation of the same deep structure. These grammatical relationships posit a second level of structure with a new set of rules called transformational rules. The entire deviation of a sentence is known to be a two part process in transformational grammar. In phrase structure the assumed largest syntactic unit, the sentence is progressively expanded by the application of rules into strings of smaller units, terminating with a combination of lexical items and grammatical elements. The phrase structure is explained with labeled tree diagrams and they are said to be inadequate for a full structural exposition. Therefore phrase structure is incapable of explaining the open ended creativity of a natural language. Upon the output of the phrase structure rules transformation rules are applied. These transformational rules involve not the division of the sentences or its parts into smaller parts, but, the alteration or rearrangement of a structure in various ways. Transformation also reflects parts of the speakers intuitive awareness of relations between sentences of different basic types. The associations of active and passive sentences , positive and negative sentences and statements, commands, and questions rests on native speakers recognition of their semantic relatedness, which is expressed by the relatedness of grammatical structure. The phrase structure rules are said to be useful in generating the underlying tree structure which is referred to as deep structures and secondly a sequence of transformational rules is applied to deep structure and the intermediate structures, ultimately generating the surface structure of the sentence. The transformations apply to the entire strings of constituents where as phrase structure rules apply to only one constituent at a time. These transformations are done by adding, deleting or moving the constituents. David Carroll gives a few transformations and explains how they work. One such transformation is called the particle -movement transformation. From the following two sentences know that they mean the same thing: EX: John phoned up the woman. (4) John phoned the woman up. (5) Here the concern is with the placement of the particle up; in these sentences, the particle may occur either just before or just after the noun phrase. Accordingly, we might write two different phrase structure rules for the two instances, the first might write two different phrase structure rules for the two instances, the first conforming to (PS) VP Æ’Â   V + (part) +NP And the second to (PS) VP Æ’Â   V + NP + (part) The problem with this approach is that it lacks descriptive adequacyit does not reveal the similarity of the two sentences. In this approach, the two sentences are derived from two different phase-structure rules. An alternative approach is to assume that the two sentences have the same deep structure and to apply the particle- movement transformation to (4). The transformational rule looks like this: (T1) V + part + NP Æ’Â   V + NP + part It can be noticed that the transformational rule simply moves the last two constituents of the verb phrase. Phrase -structure rules rewrite one constituent into a series of constituents but transformational rules begin with a series of the constituents and transform them. Then he goes on to explain it considering the following sentences: John phoned up the interesting woman. (6) John phoned the interesting woman up. (7) John phoned up the woman with the curly hair. (8) John phoned the woman with the curly hair up. (9) In each case the particle is shifted around the entire NPtwo words in (5), three in (7), and six in (9). The particle movement is defined in terms of constituents, not words. This condition gives transformational grammar tremendous power to apply to an infinite no of NPs. Instead of stating the number of words which varies from sentence to sentence, it is stated that in terms of grammatical structure it is known as structure dependent. One final property of transformational rules is that it may be blocked under certain circumstances. For example, the particle movement transformation does not work with pronouns: (35) John called them up. (36) *John called up them. These restrictions and transformations would be specified in the description of the rule. The rule would operate under specified conditions but would be blocked when these conditions did not apply. The earliest work shows the inadequacy of context free grammar for the analysis of natural languages. In the 1960s, transformational grammarians concentrated on the relationship between syntax and semantics. Transformational grammar explains certain aspects of language such as deep-structure ambiguity and the limitations of the phrase-structure rules. Transformational grammar has evolved over the decades and there were many changes and alternative approaches that gave rise to other new theories on transformation. The influence of Chomskys revolutionary theories on linguistics and his contributions like Syntactic Structures, Aspects of the theory of syntax, stands out as the most significant development which led to the beginning of various other transformations in grammar and linguistics.

Beloved :: essays research papers

Beloved is a novel set in Ohio during 1873, several years after the Civil War. The book centers on characters that struggle to keep their painful recollections of the past at bay. The whole story revolves around issues of race, gender, family relationships and the supernatural, covering two generations and three decades up to the 19th century. Concentrating on events arising from the Fugitive Slave Act of 1856, it describes the consequences of an escape from slavery for Sethe, her children and Paul D. The narrative begins 18 years after Sethe's break for freedom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children...by 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims". The novel is divided into three parts. Each part opens with statements to indicate the progress of the haunting--from the poltergeist to the materialized spirit to the final freeing of both the spirit and Sethe. These parts reflect the progressive of a betrayed child and her desperate mother. Overall s ymbolizing the gradual acceptance of freedom and the enormous work and continuous struggle that would persist for the next 100 years. Events that occurred prior and during the 18 years of Sethe's freedom are slowly revealed and pieced together throughout the novel. Painfully, Sethe is in need of rebuilding her identity and remembering the past and her origins: "Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But it's not. Places, places, are still there. If a house burns down it's gone, but the place--the picture of it--stays, and not just in rememory, but out there in the world". Baby Suggs' horror at her grandchild's murder is displayed: "Baby Suggs had got the boys inside and was bathing their heads, rubbing their hands, lifting their lids, whispering, Within this horror, the insensitivity of her landlord is shown when Baby Suggs is approached by her landlord's kids regarding fixing some shoes, not knowing and not caring to know they just give her the shoes: "Baby Suggs ... She took the shoes from him...saying, 'I beg your pardon. Lord, I beg your pardon. I sure do" Paul D's memories of Sweet Home are remembered to confront his and Sethe's past: "Paul D smiled then, remembering the bedding dress. Sethe was thirteen when she came to Sweet Home and already iron-eyed" these various voices act as witnesses to Sethe's experiences and showing how black women had no control over their husbands, children or own bodies.

We Must Stop Legislation to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Cell phones began with only a select few could afford a cell phone. Today with most Americans owning cell phones we must look at the benefits and downfalls of cellular technology. The issue of driving while dialing brings up the most controversy. The legislation in place to govern the use of cellular phones in certain cities is justified, but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. The cell phone has been around since the fifties when they first had the idea from using CB radio frequencies. AT&T was the first to bring about the technology back in the late forties and early fifties. The FCC regulated all radio frequencies broadcast and limited AT&T to twenty-three phone calls simultaneously in the same service area. In the seventies the FCC later allowed more use of the radio waves. In the late seventies the first trials were made in Chicago with 2000 initial customers (Bellis 1). In the 1987 cellular customers hit one million. Today one half of the people living in the United States own a cell phone. It is true that drivers can be clearly distracted from the road from cellular phones. Drivers will have them in a purse in the backseat or in an inaccessible pocket that they will be startled to get to when someone calls. Drivers will struggle to get to the phone in a timely manner and that becomes their priority instead of the road in front of them. Drivers may swerve or cut off another driver in while trying to answer a cell phone or trying dialing a ten digit telephone number. An Ohio insurance company took a poll of eight hundred drivers. The results of the poll are as follows: 43% said they had accelerated on at least one occasion while using their mobile phone; 23% said they had tailgated; 18% said they had cut someone off; 10% ran a red light; and 41% said they had accelerated to get away from someone else in another vehicle on a mobile phone (Ropeik 16). It is obvious that cell phones are a distraction but are the distractions caused by cell phones outweighed by the security and added convenience of a cell phone? There are hundreds of benefits from cellular phones. The convenience more than anything is what appeals to most users. Cell phones can be used for work or for personal use. Businessmen and women will use them to call clients and parents will use them to check on the babysitter.

Shortage of Skilled workers :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is 1am on a summer Saturday night, the wind is gently blowing through your hair and your favorite song is playing on the radio. The stress of your daily, white-collar routine is left behind for just one night – a single evening out with your friends to catch up on the chaos of your lives. You cannot help but enjoy this rare crack in your hectic, nine-to-five schedule; a fleeting moment when everything feels right and you feel free. In the distance, you notice flashing lights. Thinking little of what they could mean, you continue your journey. Suddenly, you come face-to-face with one of the most despised enemies of urban life: traffic. As you slow to a grinding halt, you cannot help but feel irritation, anger and helplessness. It is ruined. Your one night is completely ruined. As you take your place in the endless parking lot that was once a four-lane highway, you realize that the source stoppage is a massive construction project. You look and hear them p ound at the pavement with their jackhammers. Trying to control your frustration, you take a deep breath, exhale, and turn your head away. Again, you feel the victim of this deepening social crisis: the shortage of skilled workers. You may have heard the topic raised on some morning show or another, but likely thought little of it. However, the figures are quite shocking. According to one author's research, '52 percent of skilled trades are expected to retire within the next 15 years, with 41 per cent of respondents indicating they will face a skills shortage in their industry within five years.'; (Arnold, par. 12).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The shortage of skilled workers in the coming decade poses a serious threat to all aspects of the Canadian economy. Like all others, our economy is comprised of three major elements: primary products, secondary goods and services. My research indicates that primary products constitute just over 7% of Canada's GDP, secondary goods account for 21%, and the services comprise 72%. This distribution although heavily in favor of the service industry still shows the importance of the secondary/manufacturing industry in Canada's modern day economy. Taking into fact that since the late nineteenth century, Canada's centre of manufacturing is focused in two provinces, Ontario and Quebec. Consistently, year after year, Ontario contributes about 50% of the Canadian total of manufactured goods produced, measured by value, and Quebec 25%.

The Scarlet Letter Intro Essay

In the sixteenth century. Puritans immigrated to America from Great Britain in order to get away spiritual persecution. and by the mid seventeenth century they had erected a good established society based on their theological beliefs. The Puritan faith was one of asceticism and geared towards religious devotedness instead than secular ownerships. Puritans followed stiff Torahs which seldom changed with clip. They besides had small tolerance for anyone who broke these Torahs. Persons who did go against these Torahs nevertheless. faced penalty on assorted degrees and would hold to turn out their penitence to themselves and society. The Scarlet Letter. set in mid seventeenth century Boston. portrays such signifiers of penitence from two positions. The writer. Nathaniel Hawthorne. constructs the secret plan to go around around the journey of penitence of two characters: Hester Prynne and Rev. Dimmesdale. Both characters have committed the profane wickedness of criminal conversation toget her. but merely Hester has been punished for it. whereas Dimmesdale has yet to be discovered for his engagement in the misbehavior. Hester’s terrible penalty is to transport the ageless load of the vermilion missive A. a symbol that apprises everyone of her position as an fornicator. and outcasts her from the remainder of society. Even though she is shunned by society. Hester still manages to commit Acts of the Apostless of repentance to expiate for her wickedness. However. Hester is non the lone character who seeks penitence ; Rev. Dimmesdale self-inflicts penalty as a signifier of repentance. Throughout the novel. both characters strive to accomplish true penitence. a feeling of compunction which comes from the psyche. Equally committed as they are to expiating for their wickedness. neither Hester nor Dimmesdale genuinely of all time make the province of penitence. Their failure to accomplish true penitence can be perceived through their similar ends of repentance and their different signifiers of penalty. Through the class of the novel. Hawthorne invariably evinces analogues and similiarities between the journeys of repentance of both Hester and Dimmesdale. Both journeys for penitence terminal in the same topographic point ; failure to experience compunction for their wickedness. In chapter 17. Hawthorne eventually brings Hester and Dimmesdale together in an confidant puting since their committing of criminal conversation. A actual and metaphorical symbol of their parallel journey. The lovers meet up in the wood. a dark topographic point symbolic of immorality. to talk in private for the first clip in old ages about their programs for the hereafter. Throughout the novel the reader has been able to track the Acts of the Apostless of repentance. nevertheless. it has ne'er been obviously stated that these Acts of the Apostless of repentance have been in vain and no true penitence has come from them. Hawthorne decides that in this chapter both characters will blatantly province their fail ure to repent. In this chapter. Hester states to Dimmesdale. â€Å"What we did had a consecration of its own† ( 203 ) . Hester has non merely failed to atone at this point. but she has besides stated that their criminal conversation has had a valid intent. Due to the fact that Pearl has come out of their fornication. she has non wronged in saying this but. any person who has genuinely repented for their action would be excessively contrite to warrant their misbehavior. Literary critic. Samuel Chase Coale. summarizes Hester’s vain journey for penitence by composing that â€Å"her public show of sorrow and repentance†¦ is in world a hollow rite. non echt penitence† ( Coale 37 ) . In analogue. Dimmesdale admits his deficiency of sorrow for his criminal conversation with Hester. Of the two. Dimmesdale journey has been the most strict in repentance. yet. like Hester. his journey of repentance has ended in failure. He openly admits. â€Å"Of repentance. I have had adequate! Of repentance. there has been none! † ( 200 ) . Dimmesdale does non experience the least spot regretful for his wickedness with Hester. Hawthorne parallels their journey for the end of penitence for 17 chapters. until he eventually brings about their ultimate failure. This length of clip allowed the reader to see two similar. coincident journeys which finally ends literally and metaphorically in one topographic point. failure in the wood. a topographic point of immorality. wickedness. and insincere repentance. Although both Hester and Dimmesdale have had a similiar end of true penitence. the inside informations of their journey are wholly different. Hawthorne structures the novel like this for assorted ground. the most obvious being redundancy. If Hawthorne had made Dimmesdale’s and Hester’s journey precisely likewise. the narrative would look highly excess and would lose the involvement of the reader. On the other manus. Hawthorne creates this contrast in their journeys in order to set up some societal commentary. He establishes a journey of repentance through two different struggles. individual vs. society and individual vs. ego. Hester repentance. of class. is established through individual vs. society. â€Å"Spatial relationships. those based on the arrangement of images within the text. uncover a set of constructions and codifications that embody the societal organisation of a community. both in footings of its political orientation and its civilization. How one is seen and for what reasons–and what is being seen–suggest the nature of societal powers at work in early Boston. Therefore when Hester emerges from the prison to stand â€Å"fully revealed† ( 52 ) before the crowd. she is traveling from enclosed darkness to open sunlight. from the present enclosure of her offense into the public regard that has branded her a felon. Hawthorne has made so much of the prison to get down with. nevertheless. that no affair how cherished â€Å"the unfastened air† now seems. to step from that prison and mount the scaffold is to travel from one enclosed infinite to another. each underscored by â€Å"the whole blue badness of the Puritanic codification of law† ( 52 ) as embodied in the people and the magistrates who fasten their â€Å"thousand unrelenting eyes† ( 57 ) upon her. Their eyes go our eyes. for we as readers are as interested in detecting the spectacle. in order to understand precisely what is traveling on. as they are. although unlike us they do so assured of justness in their regard. † In contrast. Dimmesdale. faces interna l struggle in the signifier of individual vs. ego. He self inflicts anguish as a signifier of his repentance in an effort to repent. Both supporter. Hester and Dimmesdale have failed to make a similar end of true penitence through really distinguishable journeys.

One Act Play

There is a card table, folding chairs, newspapers, trade magazines. TERESA is sitting on a folding chair at the desk , talking to JAKE, who is consulting THE JOB FINDER'S GUIDE and taking notes in a notebook from his briefcase. DEBBIE enters, looks around. TERESA I wear an extra sweater and a hat. That's what my mother did when she was a girl, during the Depression. The kitchen stove was their heat. (notices DEBBIE) Can we be of help, dear? DEBBIE Group's supposed to be at 10:30, isn't it? TERESA Yes, but– DEBBIE I'll wait. ( DEBBIE sits, takes out newspaper, begins reading. ) TERESA (to JAKE) How is Janet doing?JAKE Better. Takes her a couple weeks to bounce back from chemotherapy. But she's up and around, now. Cleaning out the kitchen drawers. TERESA And your boy? JAKE I told Park School I was going to have to pull Jason out of there. (sits) They came up with a scholarship. TERESA (pats JAKE's shoulder) Well, now. That's good news. JAKE Is it? Jason's grades are dropping. He 's out too late, comes back with bullshit –sorry. You'd think that being out of work I'd have time to ride herd on him, but with hustling a job and taking care of Janet–. TERESA A boy that age can be a real pill. Especially at a time of crisis.JAKE You're telling me this is normal? TERESA I saw it my boys. There's stress, and a boy feels he ought to be pitching in to help. But there isn't much he can do, really, is there? JAKE He can at least not add to our worries! TERESA That's true, but at his age– . Probably the guilt is driving him wild. JAKE School's Jason's job. Seems to me it's that simple. DEBBIE Maybe your kid's just not the kind who can block out the real world. JAKE (rises, turns to DEBBIE) Seems to me a person can at least try! (pause. DEBBIE hides behind newspaper) TERESA ( brings JAKE back) It was a real shame about that position in Nashua.JAKE Yeah. I thought they'd–. But–. You know –I could never mention this to Janet, it'd kill her— but I wonder. Can a personnel office find out about cancer? Go though medical files? TERESA Doctors' records are confidential. DEBBIE (lowers paper) Ha! Sure. And Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. (pause) Sorry. S'none of my business. JAKE Maybe it's my age. I'm fit, but — do you think I should get a hairpiece? DEBBIE (laughs, loud. JAKE and TERESA look at her. She holds up the comic page) Dilbert. (they turn back) MERRIK (enters ) Good morning. JAKE (goes to Merrik) Hey, look, it's Merrik back!How's it going, big guy? MERRIK (shaking hands) Good. It's going good, praise the Lord. JAKE I thought you had a job. MERRIK I did. I mean, I do. Just taking longer than we figured. JAKE Georgia, wasn't it? MERRIK Right. Georgia for training, and then traveling between the territories. TERESA But your wife's career–. MERRIK Secretarial stuff. A woman can do that anywhere. DEBBIE Anywhere there's a job. MERRIK There's secretarial in Georgia. Alice says,  "At $5. 15 an hour? † But money goes farther down there. No oil bills, housing's less than half. †¦ JAKE I'd say, sell while you can!This market is so overpriced– MERRIK Alice says the company will fold: a job that can be done cheap in Georgia will be done even cheaper in Pakistan or Prague. JAKE Well, if you do put your house on the market, give me first shot at the listing, will you? (KIM enters, stands silently) MERRIK You're still part time at real estate? JAKE Me and everybody else who's run out their unemployment. KIM Is this Bright Horizons? DEBBIE That's what they call it. KIM I had trouble finding– TERESA Don't worry, you're not late. DEBBIE You are, but the Counselor's later. MERRIK What's going on? crosses to phone) When I called, the overnight message was still on the answering machine. (fusses w/ machine) TERESA Oh, dear. KIM What does that mean? TERESA People have had to give up their phones, sometimes, or they may even be homeless. Being able to use this answering service makes them– JAKE Seem normal. TERESA Employable. Able to return calls. MERRIK â€Å"Executive Offices†, it says. After ten, and nobody's here? ( DEBBIE laughs) TERESA Can we reset it? JAKE How hard can it be? Half the unemployed people here used to be in high tech. TERESA If you can't change the message, at least turn it off.DEBBIE (unplugs machine) Off with the bullshit! (to MERRIK) Your Georgia job — Did you get it through this office? MERRIK Not really- DEBBIE (goes back to her chair and paper) Now, how did I guess that? KIM How did you get it? MERRIK I heard about it from my cousin, a friend of his– DEBBIE My Dad ‘ s cousin got him work in construction, once. In Jersey. He'd only get home about every third weekend. Meant he and Mom never had time to work things out. All they did was fight. TERESA That sounds so like my mother's stories of the Depression. When my grandfather went looking for odd jobs, weeks at a time †¦..MERRIK The job's like auditing, but there's a sales aspect, too. First our team has to convince the company that we can save them money. JAKE Sales ability! Now, that doesn't surprise me, Merrik. I can see that in you. MERRIK You think so? I can do it, I have the– . JAKE 90% of any job is sales. KIM Is that really true? I'm terrible. Couldn't even sell girl scout cookies. JAKE Got to market your personality as well as your skills. MERRIK As soon as interest rates rise, real estate will be in the toilet– JAKE Depends on what market. I mean, it's not the class of people who can afford a couple million bucks who are hurting, is it?But those sales take time, those people are choosey– MERRIK The Georgia job, I don't get paid until the adjustments come in. It can take 6 months, 9 months– I tell my wife, have faith– TERESA If you can be sure– MERRIK My kids are all the time after me, they want stay here where their friends are, but I tell them have faith. The church down there's strong, s'got real spirit. They'd make new friends– KIM My brother was sent South for basic training. He said the people treated him like dirt. DEBBIE (reading, exclaims aloud) Jesus Christ! MERRIK Young lady! DEBBIE Sorry. I didn't mean — this story, did you see it?Unemployed postal worker in St. Louis, shot up his boss and three carriers and a cop. At his house, he'd already killed his wife and kids. MERRIK Let me see. (takes newspaper) TERESA I heard about that. On the radio. JAKE There were a rash of these things 10, 12 years ago. DEBBIE During the last round of lay offs. MERRIK The Post Office must be hiring straight out of the loony bin. TERESA Veterans get extra points on the exam, so there may be a lot who are trained in firearms. MERRIK Combat flash back, you think? JAKE Post traumatic. DEBBIE Postal traumatic. MERRIK Well, they'd better weed out the crazies, and fast.DEBBIE Oh, the crazies are being weeded out. Along w ith the alcoholic, lazy, and the ones who can't put in enough overtime. MERRIK About time! DEBBIE Good thing they didn't start weeding till my uncle Adam took the pension. He'd have been mad crazy enough to get down his shotgun. course, he drank, some, and he was certainly slow. But neither rain nor snow– MERRIK Four days, for a letter from my wife! If the mail went private– DEBBIE There'd be no mail on Saturday, carriers would be green carders getting $5. 15 an hour– KIM And no veteran's preference points? MERRIK What's your point?KIM My brother enlisted to get training for a good job. TERESA â€Å"Be all you can be†? KIM I've thought about enlisting too. But Buddy lost the fingers off his right hand: what's he going to do when he gets out? He can't go back to meat cutting. MERRIK Don't expect the VA. They're shutting down, one by one. TERESA This office could find him something, dear. Helen's a lifesaver. DEBBIE Something â€Å"Executive†? TERESA Education. Retraining. This is a really good program, at least for young people. Oldsters like me, nobody wants to hire us whatever we can do. KIM They'd better find Buddy something. Cause he's so angry, he might–MERRIK So it's OK to shoot people? If you lose your job? DEBBIE No, it's not OK. But I understand it. Don't you? At least a story like this one makes more sense to me than the crap that's in the business section: DOW up; GE announces more layoffs; the Technology Council wants more â€Å"flexibility† in the visa program, to meet the overseas competition Do they really think all these computer whizzes who used to make a hundred thou a year are going to go quietly into burger-flipping? KIM What else can they do? DEBBIE How many Luddites does it take to unscrew all the light bulbs? JAKE God knows there's a lot of frustration.MERRIK (to KIM) God knows, that's a true saying. If we cleanse our hearts, and trust Him, He answers our prayers. JAKE I've had bosses it wo uldn't break my heart to see bleed. But shoot his own kids? MERRIK Now, that makes sense, in a certain cock-eyed way. If a father's desperate enough to kill, but he loves his kids, how could he leave those kids to face it? I'm not saying he's thinking right, but– ! TERESA I wish Helen would get here. With two new clients– DEBBIE I'm not new. This is lay off number 5. Or maybe 25, depending on how you count it. TERESA Temp jobs? I don't think those count. KIM They'd count for me!I can't find anything at all. TERESA Substituting, temping, you know from the start it's not going to last. JAKE Nothing lasts, these days. You got to plan ahead. Train or re-train. KIM Sure, train. But for what? DEBBIE Train, they told me. So now I'm in debt up to my ears for what it cost me to learn programming. JAKE Programming used to be hot. DEBBIE And now it's not. JAKE Still. In a downturn, that's the recommendation. Retrain, add new skills to your resume. DEBBIE Keep paying tuition. Dang le that â€Å"good job† carrot, the old donkey keeps plodding along. TERESA Education is a person's best investment.DEBBIE Oh? Where's it got you, lady? You just here to write a book? TERESA I never seemed to be in the right place at the right time. If I hadn't left teaching to raise my boys, I'd be retired on a pension by now. But as a substitute, I– DEBBIE I started out in the tool shop, with my dad. $12. 50 an hour, 18 for overtime. After the 3rd layoff I took the Expert Advice. Went to college. Got my 2 year certificate. Officially qualified to do scut work for some creep in a suit at seven fifty an hour. Seven fifty! With which I'm supposed to buy all this fashion shit and â€Å"look professional† for Chrissake!But even in drag, all I could get was temp work. So then it's back to school for Programming†¦. KIM I can't even get part time Walmart! I thought anybody could get that. TERESA As soon as Helen gets here she'll help you. She has a comprehensive list: openings, training programs, subsidies, scholarships†¦.. (phone rings) JAKE Should we answer it? DEBBIE Well, they can't leave a message, we unplugged the machine. MERRIK (answers) Executive offices. KIM (to TERESA) I hope you're right. This feels like it may be my last chance. DEBBIE Everybody's last chance. JAKE You're young, you're healthy.It's not the end of the world. MERRIK Yeah. I'll tell people. (hangs up) This office is closed. TERESA Oh, my dear God. Are you sure? This office? KIM Should we go to some other one? MERRIK Nobody knows. They've all been laid off, here. Budget's gone, the governor vetoed the restoration. JAKE That was Helen? TERESA But what will we do? MERRIK Leave, she says. And lock the door behind us. 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Pillsbury Case Marketing

Mike Johnson Pillsbury Case Beth Gallant 1) What are the challenges that Ivan Guillen faces in his role as marketing manager of the RBG business? As marketing manager of the RBG business, Ivan Guillen must propose a solution to repair Pillsbury refrigerated baked goods (RGB)’s business performance. Since the refrigerated-cookie product line consisted of 62% of RBG’s unit sales and over 75% of the company’s profits, Guillen found it appropriate to alter this segment in the market.Proposing this idea to GMCC would require Guillen to consider all the challenges he faces. Guillen will have to discover a strategy to increase household penetration since it has fallen to 24% in the past few years. The lack in market penetration has caused a miniscule growth of only one percent in the past three years. In order for Guillen to increase the penetration percent, he will need to reevaluate the â€Å"Kisses† commercial. The assessment of this advertisement revealed the lack of effectiveness for brand recognition and relevance. Introducing.Also, when reviewing the â€Å"Purchase Drivers In Canada As Compared To The US† it is apparent that consumers are concerned with the quality of the dough, the flavors offered, and the amount of cookies offered. Either Guillen is going to need to draw up a marketing plan that addresses these issues are alter the cookie in some way. Lastly, Guillen will have to conduct marketing research to understand the difference between Canadian and US markets. The â€Å"Kisses† commercial was adopted from the US and slightly changed for the Canadian market.Seeing as it failed to generate the projected annual growth of five to seven percent, there is a clear difference between the Canadian and US advertising markets. 2) What are consumer insights (in general)? What types of business challenges can benefit from consumer insights? How are these insights obtained? Consumer insight is when a marketer researches unid entified/unmet needs in the marketplace or a new/better way to satisfy an existing need. The job of the marketer is to analyze the information and capitalize on the identified need.There are two main types of research, quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research revolves around the measurement and analysis of relationships between variables. Random sampling techniques, like questionnaires and surveys, provide marketers with results that can be generalized to a larger population. Qualitative research, on the other hand, takes on a more understanding and conceptual approach. Through focus groups, marketers can gather an in-depth understanding of consumer behavior.The most common type of research used at GMCC are the focus groups. Focus groups are where a small group of people have a moderated discussion about a marketing-oriented issue. The group then summarizes its opinions and eventually comes to a solution they find fit. Summarizing all of the opinions of the focus groups c an aid in new product development, brand messaging, and promotional campaigns. Another type of marketing research GMCC uses are concept tests. Concept tests are commonly used to improve new product development and develop brand messaging.Concept tests provide an image of the product, pricing information, instructions, and key benefits to a consumer in verbal or visual form. The consumer then quantitatively evaluates the product by stating their degree of purchase intent. Lastly, GMCC also performs creative testing in order to evaluate the effectiveness of ads. When an add is put through the creative test, they are being judged on their purchase intent, relevance, and brand linkage scores. Having a powerful add that influences the consumer can significantly increase brand recognition.This â€Å"Kisses† commercial that Pillsbury had launched in Canada did not meet its expectations due to the lack of creative testing. 3) Given the key learnings from the usage and attitude study on pp 6-7 of the case, what are the corresponding implications for what actions the team should take? (Format this into a chart of key learning, implication, action) Key Learning| Implication| Action| Scratch baking is the dominant method of baking cookies in Canada. In Canada, 56% bake only from scratch. In the US, use of refrigerated dough is the most popular baking method. The refrigerated dough market does not seem to have a strong presence in Canada. It seems as if people are either unaware of refrigerated dough or they just do not prefer it. | Either research how to make refrigerated dough more appealing to Canadian consumers or ignore the Canadian market and focus on the US market (since it has a stronger demand for refrigerated dough). | Top four purchase drivers are the same in both countries. Convenience and taste are at the top of both lists. The quality of the cookie dough is not valued as highly in Canada and kids have more of an influence in driving purchases. Clearly there is a big gap between the quality perception in Canada and the United States. Canadian consumers are implying that they want a higher quality product and a product that is more convenient for children. | Propose a marketing strategy that addresses the quality of the cookie or targets children. Since children have a stronger influence in Canadian markets than US markets, reaching out to them could increase brand recognition and sales. | Both users and lapsed users perceive refrigerated cookie dough as convenient.Lapsed agree that RBG cookies are convenient, but non-users do not rate them as convenient. | Lapsed and current users agree on convenience, leaving marketers to believe this is actually true. Non-users, however, are not receiving this message. Non-users in Canada are not as aware of the product as they should be. | Reaching out to non-users through ads and commercials can increase the convenience recognition for RBG cookies. If non-users considered the cookies convenien t they would be more likely to purchase them. | 4) Why did Guillen and his team conduct the in-home and discovery workshops?To find out what? Conducting a qualitative research was proposed in order to gain a better understanding of consumer perceptions, beliefs, and feelings towards RBG cookies. The usage and attitude study portrayed the differences between Canada and the United States, whereas this study will determine which aspects of the baking experience are most appealing to consumers. The ethnography study RBG conducted, In-home Immersions, sought to gain an in-depth understanding of personal motivations and actions towards a particular product. RBG entered the homes of two lapsed users and wo brand champions while the consumers were baking the good. During the visit, the marketers hoped to develop an understanding of the consumer-brand relationship, what surrounds it, the environment around it, and the bigger-picture influences. For example, RBG found out that when it came to feeding the family, the solutions had to be easy, quick, and pleasing to children. It also showed the sense of happiness that arises when baking occurs. Knowing this information could help propose the idea of implementing comfortable implications in future ads.The discovery workshop was similar to the ethnography study, except the study group consisted of 18-27 consumers working together. This comfortable environment allows consumers to discuss opportunities and criticize issues of the product. 6) What actions would you suggest that Guillen and his team take? a. What should their value proposition be? b. Which consumers should they target? Why? c. What should the brand messaging be? Guillen has numerous tough decisions ahead of him when proposing his new marketing strategy.However, Guillen conducted a multitudinous of studies to provide him some insight on what an appropriate solution would be. In terms of the product itself, there are many alterations that could be made. Children have more of an influence in Canadian markets than in US markets. Providing kid themed offerings could increase brand recognition and demand from children. Simple ideas such as adding famous cartoon characters or sports themes could sway a child to want RBG cookies. Also, adding new flavors/types of cookies could increase the width of customers.Providing healthier options, dietary restrictions (gluten free, low sodium), and new flavors would reach out to more consumers. Expanding new product development would also be benefit to brand recognition. Providing Pillsbury baking tools like cookie cutters, timers, oven mitts, and aprons would cause the experience of baking to be more enjoyable. Another recommendation to Guillen would be to re-new and strengthen relationships with consumers. In doing so, Guillen should stress the nostalgic and experiential aspect.Through the in-home study, it has been concluded that baking introduces a sense of happiness in the kitchen. Having this percepti on instilled in a consumers mind may persuade them to purchase the refrigerated dough for themselves or as a gift. Having a celebrity spokesperson influence consumers can have a positive impact as well. In previous commercials, RBG cookies solely relied on the Pillsbury doughboy. Although he is a very recognizable character, maybe the consumers do not find him as trustworthy as they would a celebrity.The celebrity could stress the easiness, convenience, and â€Å"homemade† feeling RBG cookies provide. In-store display and packaging also has a significant impact on the consumer. Having a brand portrayed in a positive way gives the consumer the feeling that he or she is making the right choice. Research showed that most purchases of refrigerated dough were out of impulse. Sales can simply increase by strategically placing the product to locations where consumers frequently buy on impulse. Increasing the visibility with the doughboy logo would have the consumers more likely thin king about the product.If the cookies are going to be strategically placed and visible, then they are going to need to have attractive packaging. Offering trial packages with three different flavors would also allow consumers to have the opportunity to try out new flavors. Offering different serving sizes and holiday themes also expands the horizon of consumer tastes and preferences. In the short run, investing in social media, advertisement, and a spokesperson is most beneficial action to take. It is a quick opportunity for consumers to be persuaded into purchasing the object.However, in the long run it would be most beneficial to introduce new product flavors and healthy and dietary restrictive options. By renewing and strengthening its relationship with existing and lapsed consumers, Pillsbury can increase household penetration. Changing the perception of the product in the minds of the consumer from food to family activity/gift can influence the non-users to sample the product. Lastly, acknowledging new 21st century dynamics of healthy lifestyles and smaller servings can appeal to new market segments and eventually increase sales.