Expectations

Of late, there has arisen a concern that public and auditors have different beliefs about duties, responsibilities and messages conveyed by audit reports. Subsequent implication of the reporting auditors and well established corporate collapses have signaled audit expectation gap. As a result, public misperceptions have apparently caused legal liability crisis in the accounting profession. Audit expectations gap is an important issue concerned with independent auditing function and with potential implications in the process of developing auditing practices and standards.

Because of the global increase in demand for accounting applicability, the rise of expectation gap should be investigated and countered with sound measures. On a general perspective, there is a strong evidence of expectations gap in this field. This is realized when the role of external auditors is compared to the expectations of the general public and various user groups regarding outcomes and the process of the external audit. The difference in understanding of these two sides creates the audit expectations gap (Belkaoui, 2009, p. 22). After viewing the above arguments and prescriptions, expectation gap in auditing can be said to be the difference between the auditor’s actual performance and various expectation s of the public on auditor’s performance, as opposed to the requirements of their standard of performance. According to the expectations of the public auditors should certify financial statements, accept prime responsibility for financial statements and also perform a 100% check, by guaranteeing the accuracy of financial statements.

In case of business failure auditors are expected by the public to give early warning as they are too obligated to detect fraud. Some of these expectations of the public are quite beyond their actual standards of performance, leading to the expectations gap. Thos is because the public expects a lot from auditors, more than what they are supposed to deliver within their limits. A disparity therefore occurs between what auditors believe to be their responsibility entailment or else what financial statement users and the public perceive to be the responsibilities of the auditors (Murray, 2000, p. 27). In the accounting literature, the notion of this divergence has received a lot of attention. A great percentage of research activities conducted around the world in corporate management and performance indicate that expectation gap in auditing exists. This is because investors have been noted to have higher expectations for assurances and various facets of the auditing process than the auditors themselves. Individual investors and public accountants have been surveyed to compare the perceptions and what they expect from one another.

The reason as to why attention is paid to the investors is because they are the main users of information in financial statements. They are also the most appropriate subjects that can be employed to represent financial and public financial statement users. Many studies have revealed that the expectation gap exist because investors need high expectations in facets and assurances in fraud, internal control, disclosure and illegal operations.

Public also expects auditors to act as watchdogs for the public The concern on this gap has raised alarm to accounting academics, the public, auditors and other parties involved in audit oversight and rule making. Potential efforts are being made to seek practitioners and users input to make clarifications and development in auditing standards and this render auditing process meaningful and trustworthy to the public (Pollitt, 1999, p. 21). In recent trends of auditing and accounting, the integrity of accounting process carried out by auditors is not sufficient, pointing out one indicator of prevalence of expectations gap.

It is the duty of auditors to ensure aggregate presentation fairness in preparing financial statements, with a clear unbiased judgment whether utilization of accounting principles has taken place appropriately to the prevailing circumstances. Auditors still are expected to evaluate the reasonableness of accounting estimates that are released by the entire management in the context of financial statements. Standard audit report is said encompass significant estimates from management department and accounting principles employed by the client.

In recent scenario, several auditing firms have been observed to provide wrong estimates to investors (Karim, 2004, p. 11). This has made several ventures to close, because of the reliance on false information. Manipulating financial statements is usually made to assure the investors or stakeholders that the company or enterprise is still on the right path. Sometimes, public expects auditors to control any challenge or threat in business operations by sensing it in advance, and developing measures to combat the effects, that may be detrimental to the venture, clients, investors and stakeholders.

Some market challenges can not be contained by the role of auditors. Such changes include effects due to forces of demand and supply, change in government regulations governing business operations, overall change in market prices and decline of economic status of the trading grounds. Under these circumstances, investors lay their hope in auditors, who may be highly limited to counter the vices. This is evidence that audit expectations gap exists and is it may not be eliminated in the near future (Abdolmohammadi, 2005, p. 18).

Auditing department is expected to provide full disclosure about the business operations to all stakeholders. The information provided by the auditors should be useful and real to potential and present creditors, investors and other users to enable them make rational credit, investment or other similar decisions. It is therefore important for this group of people to realize and recognize the importance or relevance of their information, as well as its impacts. It is therefore advisable for them to be cut off subordination of their judgment to other sectors.

They should instead avoid special interests which in turn warps their judgment subconsciously. This is a drive towards ensuring that financial position as well as net income is fairly presented and analyzed, thus giving people hope and potential future of their venture. In this context, independence implies lack of biasness or objectivity in the processes of making delicate judgments. Accuracy and fairness of information provided in the corporate auditing activities has soiled publics interest and trust in this accounting profession.

The actual figures pertaining to the status of the companies and corporatives are manipulated to serve special interests and purposes. This has been highlighted by the global public outcry on corruption and bribery activities (Power, 2007, p. 27). Auditors are expected by the public to be transparent, but may be instructed otherwise by the top authority of organizations to produce figures favoring their private interests. As a result, a wrong figure is given to public, giving them a false categorization of their venture and raising their expectations from their enterprise.

When the truth about the organization is learnt through the hard way, the public blame now rests upon auditors because the real revelation can not be made to them. This means the public does not understand auditors are under other head departments and equally poses specific functions as any other department. The public believes everything is under the jurisdiction of the auditors. This further widens the expectations gap between the public and auditors, an ideology that may be very hard to rub off from their minds (Hollingsworth, 2001, p. 17). The large society expects auditors to play a significant role as a reliable watchdog. For example in the United States, Supreme Court describes auditing independence as a public watchdog. Generally, public domain believes that auditors serve as advocates for clients and thus value of auditing can not be lost in their presence. Although watchdog prescription seems to be an apt description, the word suggests the degree of public interest sand responsibility attachment to auditors.

It is an operational indication of auditor client relationship. Internal entity’s control of any organization should be enhanced with the highest affordable effectiveness and efficiency. This promotes detection and determent of fraud, by emphasizing on full evolution of the internal controls. Acting like a watchdog means that every activity of move made by the organization or else in carrying out transactions, the absence of the public does not means injustice or unfairness prevails.

The public expects auditors to sound as alarms in case organizational management or authority happens to behave in manner that can harm them. It is why the public believes that investors and the public unqualified audit opinion are more relevant to the public than signal issued by other parts of management. On the other hand, the public does not understand that rules and regulations accompany corporations and serious hierarchy of power and duties jurisdiction exists. The lack of knowledge on the scope of mandates given to auditors widens the expectations gap. According to the above coverage and revelation, it is logical to argue that the gap exists, and its expansion is attributed to both sides; the public and the auditors, because of lack of information (Karim, 2004, p. 11).

Bibliography

1. Abdolmohammadi Mohammad, 2005. The assessment of task structure, decision aids and knowledge base. Westport, CT: Quorum Books; pp. 18
2. Belkaoui Ahmed, 2009. Corporate social awareness and financial outcomes. Westport, CT: Quorum books; pp. 22
3. Hollingsworth Kathryn, 2001. Audit, accountability and government. New York: Clarendon press; pp. 17
4. Karim Khondkar, 2004. Environment disclosure practices and financial performance. Mahwah, NJ: Praeger; pp. 11
5. Murray James, 2000. Accountability and effectiveness evaluation in non profit organizations. London: Rutledge; pp. 27
6. Pollitt Christopher, 1999. Performance or compliance: Performance audit and public management. Oxford: Oxford University press; pp. 21
7. Power Michael, 1997. The audit society: Rituals of verification. Oxford: Oxford University press; pp. 26

How many times, did we hear about cultural problems affecting industries? But, it is still not being given much attention by some instead they continue to strengthen their process as well as implementing technological advancement, just to find some effort that could replace human service in the organization. Take for instance manufacturing industries, where robotics and systems are primarily the one that performs in the production line. Companies would find it more efficient and has high quality results that having to assign humans in the process.

But, this is may not be applicable in service oriented companies, where people are still the most vital part of its operation. It is also in service oriented company where great deal of quality service and customer satisfaction are two of the most important key factors that is being considered and may give companies a leverage against the competition. Take for instance, in the restaurant industry, which would be the main focus of this paper.

Understanding how these industries faced challenges that brought out by cross-cultural, may not be an easy task to do. Many service oriented industries may focus actually may vary from developing effective and highly efficient personnel, with a promise that it will be enough and of course with the use of best processes is essential. Others may however focused or creates their core strategy in managing their customer effectively, like providing discounts, free services or any other things that customers most likely will appreciate.

Like in the case of EKS&H Company, a service oriented company where its strategy mainly revolves only to its hardworking people and loyal clients. This type of culture has made the company be known and continue to sustain good revenue results as well as satisfying both its employee and their customers. Another key actions that was done by the company, just like most multi-national companies is that it involves itself in the community, having to participate in some meaningful programs with a cause, has made the company being well appreciated.

Its core values involves:

• Integrity and high ethical standards,
• Direct, open and honest communication,
• Commitment to client,
• Product quality and reliability,
• Continual self-improvement / self-renewal,
• Having fun,
• People are the source of our strength,
• Team orientation/Commitment to each other,
• Creativity / Innovation / Risk-taking, and lastly,
• Strong work ethic.

These core values have put the company in a high level of standard in its service to its clients that is somewhat unmatched to some or hard to achieve by many. Since the company was driven by a passion for its culture, they have provided a guarantee for best service for their clients by providing the following commitment to any work that they will do for their most precious clients: Services that exceed their expectations, Timely service, Service at the highest quality standard, A team of experts who assist them by providing creative counsel, Personalized services and products built on business relationships, A networking base in the business community that serves their needs. . It is also true that services standards may vary from one place to another or one region to another. And that will be carefully discussed by understanding the standard service done in the US, Europe as well as in the Middle Eastern region. Just like in any other place in the world, US also has faced tremendous challenge in providing better service for its customers, most especially those culturally bond ones. As based from the standard of living by most Americans nowadays or even during the latter part of the 19th century.

It shows that the US is very much put more attention on convenience and play. Most of its standard service oriented company would focus on the desire to serve its customer more on the unconventional way and not that very much focusing on the very formal approach. But there are still some industries that may adopt to it, but these may be challenge a lot by the many convenient and easy to go to establishment, where Americans are used to. Americans are typically would always find a way to serve its customers not only in a fast and convenient way but also efficient as well.

What is more lacking in the standard service was the genuine touch, which is however much common to Asian counterparts, where they value more on the traits and how they can really show genuine feeling towards their jobs, the only problem really is being too sensitive. Take for instance, one of the well known American entertainment and cafe establishment, Hard Rock Cafe, which the main reputation was a fun and never ordinary experience that is being offered to its customers.

The main objective of the business is to offer a unique but fun service as well as relaxation for its valued customers. These value approach or strategies being used by the establishment have also been applied through its recruitment process, where they only hire dynamic and jolly looking and light hearted individuals in order for the new staff to easily adapt to the current processes the company is using. The company also had shown a very unconventional approach of introducing new and innovative ideas through “trial and error”.

The establishments even have implemented eight unique cultures in its operation. Train the employees in their language and style,  Assist your staff in creating a volunteer philanthropy group,  enforce standards, but give out “permission slips. ” Create as many plusses as possible to make mental shelf space, means “Guest arrive using the reality versus expectations scale,” Treat each customer like he/she was a guest in your home, the CEO of the company or your first date.

“We emphasize that employees need to deliver the vision-excellence is our standard, nothing else will do; memorable experiences will be created for every guest; and always err in favor of the guest-plus one,”  Treat employees like they are volunteers, Flawlessly execute one initiative in each area of the Employee Life Cycle, and lastly, Do what you say you will do (values + methods=culture).

Based on research, still in the US most high performing service-oriented companies have shown focus on customer-centered. But still, most number of companies continues to have a steady decline in customer satisfaction. This is due to lack of focus on customer culture and percentage would go between 50% to 70%, even though most companies have provided highly customized customer service training. But still, the result was failure.

The reason being is that many staffs are not serious enough in doing their job, for them it is just a day in at work and even they do greet loudly their clients or customers but the real showing of genuine feeling is not there, which can easily be felt by customers. (Building a Service Oriented Culture, 2005). In the Middle East, the service standards are commonly driven by safety by its customers. Not to mention the many security issues that the region is facing has made safety as one of the main importance of service by most companies in the Middle East.

Managing safety in the workplace, but what made Middle East service popular in the global standard, is through its combination of luxury touch and quality service. It is known for a fact that Middle East is one of the richest regions in the world, with most of the world’s oil reserved is located, and has made the region made a number of companies or establishment that is an envy of many because of its very aristocratic and very expensive architectural buildings and highly expensive entertainment venues.

That is why the type of service that will be experienced is more of a “royal class” type. But what made Middle east business “boom” in this present time, is by the region employing highly effective and values oriented Asian people, which adds more cultural way of providing service, which is known for most Asian people who normally shows genuine heart and honesty towards work and they would even do all their best to work very hard not only for their serviced company but more on the money they would earn for their family back home.

That is why in this service approach that is happening in the Middle East have just made the business to grow and will be expected to grow more in the coming years and much opportunities will also be available for the neighboring Asian counterparts. While in Europe, it is somewhat a combination of Middle East and US approach. Where the region has focused more on the convenience of its people as well as security, where they treasure more now these days.

This even shows in most of their department stores and other service oriented establishments, like it has curfew time and limited hours are only being given to its public in order to prevent such irregularities or terrorist attacks. The region, most especially with the spearheading of the European Union Council, it provides a careful study on the security issue, which gives its people the well needed attention, which caters mainly on the welfare of its people and peace and prosperity across the region. Most services are mainly focuses in this idea.

European services also shown great importance to information technology, which can also be shown on how common business works and this gives a lot of savings in their operations. Like the one developed by Denmark, the electronic invoicing is just one good example that gives 5o million euros a year savings for the business and at the same time given taxpayers another savings of 120 to 150 million euros each year. With these latest trends, it provides the company a bigger savings and d at the same time efficient and accurate services.

These may also be the trend that will go on for the European region.  But as the European service industry is working primarily in employing technology and other innovative ideas, there are still reports that culture will still be the competitive edge of Europe against the other region. This is because the Europe is managed by their own union, where implementation of such new ideas would not be hard to realize. The Europe’s unique ability to unite culturally could be the driving force in the future.

With the standard policy making and practices and guidelines being followed, there will be no doubt that service standards could easily be achieved. (Europe’s competitive edge: culture, 1995). But to focus primarily in the restaurant industry, how these three regions may differ on how they provide service to cross-cultural customers. To start with the United States, satisfaction of customers is not the only one that is well experience, but satisfaction from the staff themselves as well.

It maybe not known for many that the approximate amount of 42 billion US dollar annually for tips given to food industry is quite a big amount to say the least. This is how much food services establishment receives every year may truly be an enticing development for the food service industries. In this study conducted, usually customers received quality service when they give nice tip to the staff. In this article, it was look into as a bad tradition to follow, but in the US, this way has given quality service for its customers, it also gives not only excellent customer service but also allows to avoid costly monitoring of workers.

This was easily been estimated because as based from the US Census Bureau, 2006) summing the numbers gives sales of 222. 2 billion USD which is enough to see how tips can be taken from this huge sales from food industries. In fact study showed that the average tip of $6. 52 for every $34. 67 was studied. Many US restaurants for example when serving for large parties with added plates for its service is enough to say that they have offered a good service for their clients. But in fact that the cost of the tip was actually been charged but it turns out to be a sign of gratuity for the customer.

Another reason for tipping was also the culture that foes along in the establishment like in a particular restaurant where customers are used of giving tip in replace of quality service. (Azar, O, 2005). In the Middle East, the adaptation of “smart casual” is becoming a trend to most restaurants and food industries in the Middle East, since the growing standard of culture where people are always on the go for either at work or at school has made the region adopting the same approach from the US.

Currently as based from the latest trends in the restaurant industry in the Middle Easy, with the right values being practiced and the two different types of food industries like, for smart casual and formal aristocratic type of dining is what the region is employing. (Smart Casual, 2007). In Europe more urban nature and cultural tradition, their grouping of full-service restaurants offers the destination value that a multiplex cinema offers, providing a range of choices associated with high-quality food, presentation and service.

This only shows that because of European known for quality foods and exemplary service, their approach to their customers will always be a satisfying experience. This shows on how they treat customers well. In other words, quality of service and quality foods are common to most restaurants in Europe, and they even continually do some studies and creating new ideas on how they improve the business is very common. (Retail Districting, 2007). To compare the three regions as to how they provide service to their customers, most especially those cross-cultural clients.

For Americans, it shows that the drive for excellent quality service for its customers, may come customer’s recognition by giving tip is essential, and it was proven that the company performance is also reaching higher grounds. While on the other hand, for Middle Eastern type of service, with the region financial capabilities, it has created a service oriented process that works on both on hiring highly efficient staff and the luxurious setting in its restaurant has made the service a more satisfying and at the same time worthwhile experience.

It also focuses on safety, which needs to be implemented in all its workplace and restaurant industries. Lastly, for the European service, the priority of safety and convenience is what it matters the most, with the proper implementation of Information Technology, not to mention that Europe is already known for best service and quality foods and best ambiance, has made the region still one of the best place to go to. And has even earned the region a better appreciation from most of its clients.

Clearly, no business can ever survive without customers. Thus, it is important that any company with an aim of being successful in its business operations has to satisfy its customers in order to retain them and probably get new ones. To achieve this, companies are forced to create a good working relationship with its customers, to know their expectations and endeavour to satisfy these expectations. However, this is a great challenge to many companies since, each customer has different physically and psychological needs which determines his/her expectations from the same company.

Consequently, different customers will have different expectations regarding the same company. As such it requires extra efforts from a company to be able to satisfy its customers. Customer satisfaction According to Joby (2003) he describes customers’ satisfaction as a gauge used to assess how an organization’s products or services meets or exceeds the expectations of customers. This is seen as crucial indictor in a business and can be used as a scorecard of the performance of the business. In the current competitive marketplace, customer satisfaction is increasingly becoming a key aspect in competitive strategy.

This report is going to analyze Starbucks Corporation on how it manages customer satisfaction and expectations. Company selected: Starbucks Corporation Starbucks Corporation is a big multinational coffee and coffeehouse chain/outlet company which is based in United States. Starbucks currently is the biggest coffeehouse company in the whole world, with a record number of 15,011 stores located in 42 countries. Starbucks sells brewed coffee, espresso-based hot drinks, hot and also cold drinks, snacks and products for instance, mugs and coffee beans.

Starbucks has an entertainment division; Hear Music brand. Starbucks also markets music, books and film. A lot of these items are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Some grocery stores sell Starbucks branded ice cream and coffee. (Starbucks Corporation, 2007) My expectation Starbucks is reputed for premium cup of coffee, and any customer walking into Starbucks stores expects first class service and high quality coffee. Thus, I expected the same and more in terms of quick service, respect, excellent snacks, good ambiance and variety of good hot drinks.

Why I expected that from Starbucks The customer expectations come from the fact that, Starbucks positions its products based upon quality and its image. Starbucks Corporation created the coffee shop revolution in America, and it has had the capacity to be the public instructor on espresso coffee. Starbucks coffeehouse chain is the leading specialty of coffee retailer in the America, with many locations in around the globe. Basing on these facts, any customer going to Starbucks will expect high quality service and innovative products and services.

How Starbucks delivers it services in relation to the customer’s expectations Starbucks Corporation has clearly stated guidelines which are followed and uses them as a direction device for the future of the company business. Among these guidelines two of them clearly show that the company strives to satisfy its customer’s expectations; these are stated as: 1. Relate the utmost standards of quality when making a purchase, roasting and delivering of our coffee. 2. Develop passionately satisfied customers at all the time. Before arriving: The company staffs is welcoming and approachable

The company staffs are friendly and very approachable, even when you call them you can easily “hear their smiles on the phone”. The company stresses courtesy, this makes one feel as if already he/she is a friend of the company or the employees, and definitely, one becomes satisfied with the services before even being offered the services. After arriving Starbucks Corporation is highly interested in retaining the old customers and capturing new ones. To achieve this, the staffs ensure that the customer is well served and enjoy his/her time at Starbucks.

I was thus, asked by the employees how much I enjoyed my coffee and if there was an area I wished should be improved. In general Starbucks shows a lot of attention to customers even after serving them. Assessing customer satisfaction In order for Starbucks to know how well it responding to customer needs it has to have ways and methods of evaluating its measures or services in relations to customers expectations. Hermon, et al (1999) noted that, customer satisfaction is abstract and vague; one customer may be satisfied with the company services while another may be dissatisfied with the same services.

Thus, it is not easy to have a specific outcome but normally a general viewpoint can be reached upon, regarding variables such as quality, timeliness, value, and efficiency of the company to provide its services. Hermon, et al (1999) Starbucks Corporation has undertaken measuring and assessing its customer satisfaction so as to obtain a clue of how efficient and successful its customer’s satisfaction programs are. To this end, the company has undertaken the following way:

Interviews

The company carries out interviews, this is done through customers being offered questionnaires physically or online which they fill and email back. The company then assess the responses of the customers and makes the necessary improvements where possible to improve its general customer satisfaction. Additional information is provided on the questionnaires regarding customers’ expectations of the company. Collecting information and not using it wound be of any benefit, Starbucks Corporation has realized this and try to implement realistic and achievable customer satisfaction measures.

After collecting information on customer satisfaction, the company then, examines and find out the most significant aspects raised by the customers. The aspects are then passed to relevant sections that then discuss over them and outline how to incorporate these aspects in the product process or services delivery. One of the ways Starbucks assesses its customers’ satisfaction is through Non linear way shown in the appendix. Starbucks’ ways of ensuring customer satisfaction A clear customer policy is outlined by the company, this save a lot of time and trouble for the customer.

The policies are defined in a sense that if a customer has any trouble customer care desk is available where the customer can report his complains or troubles, and the customer care personnel has a full responsibility of solving the customer complaints to best of his/her ability. If the problem is too big them the store manager is called upon to sort out the customer. For example if the customer is complaining about the quality of food order then he is given a new order can be made.

If the complain is about the duration taken to deliver an order, then time can be reduced if it is possible, if not possible then the customer is informed to wait. Evenson (2005) observes that, customers becomes very annoyed if no body is there to attend to their complaints or the customer is moved round and round to different people without any clear assistance. Training Starbucks Corporation training can be termed as systematic enhancement of knowledge, skills and attitudes of the needed by an employee in order to perform a given task. Development is the growth of an employee in terms of capability, understanding and awareness.

In Starbucks Corporation training and development has helped the company to increase efficiency, effectiveness and standards of performance by the employee and to recognize the customer needs and expectations and be able to fulfil them. (Hoovers. com, 2007) Being customer oriented Starbucks is Customer orientated and in order to ensure that it keeps the customers satisfied it ensures that, customer requirements and satisfaction are the main concern of a company. Customer orientation centres on dynamic relations between the customers and the company together with the internal stakeholders of the company.

Customer orientation entails continuous improvement of business processes. According to Gronroos (2000) it is results are viewed from the customer view point. Starbucks puts a lot of importance on listening to the customers, for example, trying to understand want type of an item can best be helpful to the customer. There are seven main attitudes that strongly indicate that Starbucks is customer oriented, this are:

1. Thinking and also taking more about customers
2. Continually analyzing the company customers’ perceptions
3. Determining priority aspects in basing on favouring the customer
4.  Making corrections to customers when poorly treated
5. Giving in for or adding value because of the customer
6. Using “whatever it takes” strategy to satisfy any special needs of the customer
7. Redesigning procedures, re-organizing resources if they hinder service delivery (Gronroos, 2000)

Customer care team and quality assurance team The company invests over a lot of money each year to make sure that quality set standards fundamental to the company brands are maintained using a quality support network that is deployed on the ground to check on the company’s coffee stores located in different countries.

Starbucks also have expert teams available for customers; these experts ensure that products are supplied and also maintained within first-class conditions. The company work according to standards set in the industry; the control standards include all features of quality. (Fortune. com, 2002) Quality assurance Starbucks Corporation has a technical support team which visits over 15,011 stores located in 42 countries regularly. The team is involved in ensuring that quality and set standards are maintained and consumers continue to enjoy a steady experience irrespective of the location where the company brands are purchased from.

The company also has created a customer contact centre which is available for all consumers which provides various support to the customers from taking customer orders to providing information on all company activities. (Fortune. com, 2002) Conclusion Customer satisfaction is vital for the success of a company, with ever increasing competition on the market those company that focus on customer satisfaction and customer expectations have chances of maintaining and even improving their customer base.

As Schachter (2006) states, enhancing customer satisfaction is a process that calls for various approaches. Starbucks Corporation has put a lot of effort in customer satisfaction to reach where it is; however, more efforts need to be done especially in assessment of customer requirement to get proper and accurate data which can be used to implement correct measures of improving quality in accordance to customer expectations.

Reference:

1. Evenson, R. (2005): Customer Service Training 101: Quick and easy techniques that get great results: New York; AMACOM.
2. Fortune. com (2002): Best Companies to Work For: Retrieved 27/4/2008 on the World Wide Web: http://www. fortune. com/lists/bestcompanies .
3. Gronroos, C. (2000): Service Management and Marketing; A Customer Relationship Management Approach, Second Edition, Wiley, New York
4. Hermon, P. ; Nitecki, D. ; Danuta, A. ; & Altman, E. (1999): Service quality and customer satisfaction; an assessment and future directions;
5. Journal of Business management Hoovers. com. (2007): Starbucks services; Retrieved 10 February, 2008 on the World Wide Web: http://www. hoovers. com
6. Joby, J (2003): Fundamentals of Customer Focused Management: Competing Through Service International Marketing Review 21, no. 1
7. Lawrence, J and Carl, D (2005): The Future of Business: The Essentials, Essex, and Pearson Education Sanders, B. (1995): Fabled service: ordinary acts; extraordinary outcomes; San Francisco;
8. Jossey-Bass Schachter, D. (2006): The true value of customer service: Information Outlook, 10(8) Starbucks Corporation, (2007): Retrieved 27/4/2008 on the World Wide Web: http://www. starbucks. com

Here at Travel Weekly one of the representatives at Virgin Atlantic have honoured us by writing an article about ‘A day as a representative’ Lets see what Kaye Goodwin from Virgin Atlantic has to say! In a day of a representative at Virgin Atlantic I have to look at how these needs are identified and I must cover: Customer requests in writing Customer requests to representatives of organisations verbally (face to face or telephone) Recognition of unstated needs Customer type one: Families

If a family was too put in a request in writing, because they may have young children, they could possibly write their requests to me in an email because of convenience and time. For example: a mother and father of two young children will not have time to come into the travel agents to sit down and tell me what type of holiday they would like. Therefore by sending me an email with the requests they would like, it would save a lot of time, and I can look up all of the information for them and respond back to them via email.

Customer type two: Couples If a young couple would like to go on a short break or a holiday, they would come into the travel agent and sit down with me too tell me where they would like to go and what type of holiday they would like. For example: a young couple from Central London would like to book a holiday for early December. They come into the travel agent and sit down with me and tell me what type of holiday they would like. After looking up and discussing different holidays, they would make a decision and hopefully book the holiday.

If they would like more time to think about it, I would give them a few broachers to take home with them while they thought about it. Customer type two: Elderly couple An elderly couple are most likely to come into the travel agents and sit down with me to discuss the holiday they would like to go on. After discussing a few holidays, I would recommend a holiday. E. g. I would say ‘there is a lovely villa in Spain that is on offer at the moment that is about half a mile away from the beach. If one of the couples were to say that they have been to Spain before and it was too hot, or that their partner was not able to walk very far, that would be known as a recognition of unstated needs, meaning that they would like to go to a destination that is at a cooler climate or they would like to stay in accommodation closer to the beach. Customer type four: Disabled People that have a disability can communicate with me in any way, i. e. face to face, via email or on the telephone.

If a customer was to call me and ask for information on different holidays but said that they were disabled, I would realise that this would mean they would be a unstated need, and they would need special assistance. For example if a lady who wanted to book a holiday and was blind or visually impaired, I would know that they would need maps or signs to be put up in Brail and raised floors so they know when they are too close to a swimming pool. Task 2b – explain how travel and recognition of their needs.

Tourism organisations meet and exceed customer expectations using examples from companies in the travel and tourism industry that you have researched. When our company (VA) recognise customer needs, the customers can be face for face with one of our representatives, have an online chat with one of our representatives or write their requests too us. We meet customer needs by making sure that all of the flights operate on time, airline staff are always available for assistance and always make sure that customers are kept up to date with important information such as flight times, flight delays and check in times.

The way that we meet these needs are by keeping staff updated with information, regular announcements for customers at the airports and making sure that landings/take off are planned properly to avoid delays if possible. Task 2c – analyse how travel and tourism organisations meet and exceed the customer needs and expectations through the recognition of their needs. You should expand the links between needs, identification of needs and being able to meet and exceed customers expectations. Here at Virgin Atlantic, we identify and meet customer needs through customer survey questionnaires/ comment cards and customer forums/focus groups.

When the survey questionnaires or comment cards have been read by a member for our staff, usually the customer service manager, they then analyse all of the comments to find areas of improvement in order to meet customer needs. For example, if a number of customers have complained about staff not knowing obvious information i. e. directions around the airport, prices of products or check in times, that would tell us that our staff are unequipped to help our customers. From this, we will then need to realise and work our a way to get more information into our staff in order to meet the needs of our customers more efficiently.

This can be done in many ways, however the most ideal one for this situation would be to hold regular morning/afternoon meetings to keep staff updated with information. When we exceed customer expectations, we like to go that extra mile by giving out customers more in-depth information. An example of this would be when a customer asks simply the time of their flight, we like to make sure that our staff will fully inform our customers of their flight time, boarding time, gate number and if there will be any delays.

At the Martime Museum (NMM) they meet and exceed customers expectations by making sure that the company works like clock work. All of the staff are given a two day induction and then on-going training pro grammes are offered to all staff. All staff are fully trained and new members of staff are teamed up with an experienced team member to meet all of the customers needs. At NMM there are customer comment cards, customer surveys and focus groups to ensure that the organization knows what their customers want and if there are any complaints being made.

For an example if the museum had a number of complaints about staff not having enough product knowledge/information i. e. background history of the area they were working in, that would tell the managers/owners that their staff are unequipped to help their customers. From this information, they work their way to getting more knowledge into their staff. This can be done in so many ways but the most effective way would be to give the staff more training and hold meetings regularly o make sure that they have acceptable knowledge to be working with the customers.

Shakespeare, with his brilliant portrayal of Lear’s conflict with two opposing forces: aesthetics and reality, continues to draw both readers and audiences with Lear’s many meanings and interpretations. The main character, King Lear, is the object of universal identification with his obliviousness as to who people truly are, and the discovery of truth. It is this identification that exceeds the Elizabethan period, making King Lear a play for all times.

With his world about to be shattered, Lear will realize that the world he was living in as King, is not so nice as it seems. King Lear is the story of how a man “once obsessed with image and power”(Hamilton 175) is forced to see that those around him are not who he believes they are. The issue of vision and insight, and the absence of it, is a major theme in Lear. This theme is portrayed through the characters of King Lear, Gloucester and Edgar. The lack of insight, or “blindness”, is very symbolic.

Blindness is defined as “unable to see; lacking the sense of sight;”(Dictionary). For Lear, blindness was not physical; it was his flaw. Lear’s blindness to see who a person really was, based on their character and personality, was obvious at the beginning of the play regarding Cordelia and Kent. Gloucester, on the other hand, was originally blind because he also had a flaw against seeing the truth. He is physically blinded by Cornwall, but after he gains the vision that Lear lacks.

Lear’s understanding that vision is not only physical came too late, and is the cause of his downfall. Lear knows absolutely that he is not only a King, but the father of the family unit, the patriarchal figurehead. He believes these titles makes him better than everybody else, that everyone else bows to him. Because of this, he demands high levels of public affection, that he wholly expects to receive. Lear emphasizes his expectations at the start of the play, repeatedly referring to nature and “offices of nature”(2. 4. 94-202) to which he thinks everyone must listen to because it would be “unnatural” to ignore them. (2. 4. 320) Lear thinks it is his right for others, especially his family, to bestow pure and unlimited love and devotion on him; it is this belief that causes him to split the Kingdom – which to the Elizabethan audience would be something only crazy people would do. Lear’s oldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, as trained, exaggerate their feelings by proclaiming their love for their father exceeds all others, and they are rewarded for their expressions “… ith wealth but with the power to dictate the conditions of public life, the power to make a new kingdom in the shell of the old, to become the new Lears. ” (Basney 18) Sharon Hamilton compares Baptista (The Taming of the Shrew) and Lear, explaining their behaviour: “In both plays, the fathers show preference to the hypocritical daughters and set down, by direct statement and implication, the public role that they want them to play. Both Baptista and Lear flatter themselves on being good fathers, and both see as the test of their effectiveness the daughter’s compliance with her prescribed role.

Above all, each man values reputation and status and eschews any word or act that reflects badly on his public image. The shallowness of their outlook is revealed by the presence of a sister who is the…. daughter’s temperamental opposite”(Hamilton 93). Lear then turns to Cordelia, and knowing she loves him he demands the same thing: to speak her love for him to recieve a portion of the kingdom. However, unlike her sisters, Cordelia is not going to follow her father’s expectations. Cordelia “raises the issue of obligation itself in an unprotected….. way.

She states the moral framework”(Basney 18) of how she can’t love Lear all forever; her love will be split when she is married – like how her sisters should have been. Of course, Lear is outraged by the thought that his expectations, that Cordelia fawn over him and flaunt her love for him publicly, will not come true. Lear then disowns Cordelia. Kent, having more insight than Lear, is able to see the honest love Cordelia has for Lear. Kent tries to prove to Lear that he is making the wrong choice in disowning his daughter and he is not seeing her love for him.

Lear replies angrily with “Out of my sight! ”(1. 1. 179) to which Kent answers, “See better, Lear, and let me still remain/ The true blank of thine eye. ” Lear’s windows to reality, Kent and Cordelia, are banished and for now, Lear alone is able to make his own decisions. Meanwhile, Gloucester is also a victim of blindness. Like Lear, Gloucester can’t see which of his two sons truly love him. Edmund forged the letter that was allegedly written by his brother, saying Edgar is planning to kill Gloucester.

His father sees the letter and is instantly convinced. He was made to believe, by his blindness and some help from Edmund, that Edmund loved him and Edgar was the son plotting to kill him. G. Wilson Knight comments on the parallels between the main plot of Lear and Gloucester’s sub-plot: “The Gloucester-theme is a certain indication of our vision and helps us to understand, and feel the enduring agony of Lear…… Now all the Lear effects are exaggerated in the Gloucester theme. ” (Knight 139)

Unlike Lear though, Gloucester is blinded by the Duke of Cornwall; from that moment on, Gloucester’s vision starts clearing up. “I have no way and therefore want no eyes; I stumbled when I saw”(4. 1. 19-20) is the climax for Gloucester as he can now see the truth. Gloucester realized he was blind to the truth and how he was more blind when he could see physically. He knows now that he doesn’t need his eyes to see and understand because he can understand better in his mind, without the aesthetics, or the outward appearance, to trick him.

Eventually, Lear’s strong trust in his expectations eventually spirals down into severe instability and “madness as he figures out –by the events of the play- that his expectations can’t be achieved. Lear’s downfall caused is because of this fault of his mind, And he knows it: O Lear, Lear, Lear! Beat at this gate that let thy folly in, And thy dear judgement out. (1. 4. 287) Lear now see’s his daughters “as aspects of his self, now tainted”(Hamilton 118). The insanity he goes through is the punishment for his “blindness”.

Lear was once a master of nature itself, as he believed, as a God; he realizes that he is ‘slave’ to nature in the form of weather. The arduous, painful power of the storm drowns him, in desperate fallacy, and creates a strong nostalgia and the extreme longing for affection. Lear “see[s] how this world goes” like blinded Gloucester, “see[s] it feelingly”. (4. 6. 162-4) The blinding of Gloucester was an exaggeration of cruelty, the same horrible cruelty that led Lear to madness. Lear and Gloucester gain sympathy from the audience, adding to the heaviness of the tragedy’s ending.

Edgar and Cordelia are the rays of hope in Lear, because even after their fathers have wronged them because of their blindness, the children return to their fathers and “… put all their efforts into comforting and restoring them…. ”(Hamilton 174) The irony of Lear and Gloucester’s blindness is made even more sad because Kent, Cordelia and the Fool are aware of their ignorance. These three characters can tell what is going on, but they cannot do anything to fix it. Lear is blind to Cordelia’s honest love for her father, instead embracing Goneril and Regan’s expected proclamations of, what really is false love.

As Lear goes mad, he finally see’s what he has done by placing “roles” on those around him, and see’s the roles his daughters play, that he created, are not who Regan and Goneril truly are. Yet as soon as he realizes his mistake, shredding his blindness, insanity moves in. The Fool and Kent both remain loyal to Lear, always trying to make him see what is really going on. “Lear is constantly reminding us with convincing representations of obligation, faithfulness, and care, without allowing us to take the kind of comfort from them that we want. ” (Basney 27)

What Basney means here, is that while Cordelia, the Fool and Kent show their faithfulness in Lear, while Edgar cares for his blind father, Lear and Gloucester are not aware that they have people who care for them and love them unconditionally. The audience wants Gloucester and Lear to see that the most loyal people have never left or betrayed them. However, Kent and Edgar “must go underground. The disguise of goodness is the principle of Lear’s new kingdom. ”(Basney 20) Through Cordelia, the Fool, and Kent, Shakespeare created a connection for the audience to sympathize with, drawing the audience emotionally closer to each character.

With every piece of advice disregarded or neglected, a feeling of urgency rises, until the audience can only wish that there is hope somewhere. Everyone see’s what they wish to believe; that is, people’s expectations shape what is actually in front of them, so that they see what they want to see. It’s these factors that makes Lear’s characters so relate-able. G. Wilson Knight expands on this: “Our vision has thus been uniquely focused to understand that vision of the grotesque, the incongruous, the fantastically horrible, which [was] the agony of Lear’s mind” (Knight 142).

We can feel Lear’s pain, we can sympathize with him. This play shows that we need to look beyond what our eyes can see and pay more attention to what is really going on. We must avoid seeing what we should not see, and stop not seeing what we should. We must be able to see blinded and not be blinded by sight. In King Lear those who appear blind have the best vision, those who seem fools are the wisest, and those who don’t speak much really know the most.

Mounia RBIHA SSK1204 Social Expectations and Identity Development 1 The task that the individual is confronted to during his adolescence is to get socialized. Adolescents are strongly requested to deal with socialization. During this process, the adolescent encounters all the society’s demands and standards. The challenge that remains at that stage for the adolescent is to form his own place in the society where he lives. Moreover, he has to feel that he fits in that place.

All through the socialization, the adolescent has to consider the social expectations because he can’t forge his personality regardless of the surrounding environment and the external rules. Social expectations can push the adolescents to change their behaviors, their way of thinking. Actually, social expectations shape the identity of the adolescent. Freedom and independence are two major concepts that the individual tries to search for during his adolescence. Freedom and independence have a special meaning for the adolescent which is to not to be compelled or forced to do something.

The adolescent doesn’t want to feel the pressure on him. This pressure becomes greater when it comes to social rules and expectations because the adolescent may feel that he is judged according to the society’s standards and conventions. Sometimes, adolescents may perceive these expectations as a challenge that they have to win, and according to Crockett and Silbereisen, “adolescents are thought to perceive social expectations and to define tasks for themselves based on these expectations”, (p. 6, 1999). From this view, the social expectations seem inescapable. The adolescent can’t deal with the external world without these expectations.

This requirement is frequently responsible for the rebellion. (Geldard, Geldard, 2004). The adolescent feels that he is surrounded by different rules that don’t fit necessarily his personality. So, sometimes he feels the need to make some changes in his behavior to make it more socialized. This change that occurs varies from an adolescent to 2 another depending on how the adolescent accept it. Some of them can perceive that change as a necessity and as a need. So, he would do his best to create a space where he can match his own needs and what he is expected to do.

Others would perceive it as a duty where they feel no responsibility. Their change would be not effective since they don’t think that they are in a need of such adjustment to create a harmony between themselves and the society’s expectations. The social expectations involve the interaction with others. In fact, the adolescent cannot form his identity without developing some relationships that link him with the others, as it is said by David Geldard and Kathryn Geldard in their book Counseling Adolescents, “ the adolescent can only construct a personal identity in the context of relationship with others” (2004, p. 1). This fact leads to recall the childhood. Childhood is also a stage in one’s life where the individual is being used to get in touch with the external world. By starting to be socialized, social expectations begin at that specific period of life. Children are supposed to behave in such a way that would make the others call them, sweet or cute. Nobody would hear someone call a kid a devil in a serious way. Actually, children are expected to be angels. No one can imagine an evil act done by a kid.

In the Moroccan society, children are often asked to call someone that they don’t really know khalti or aami depending on the gender, which can be translated as “aunt” or “uncle”. Everybody becomes an aunt and an uncle, from the friend of the mother to the neighbor passing by the seller. This naming is spread all over Morocco. It is a rule that links young people and older people. It is a sign of respect regards the older persons. This fact shows one of the society’s expectations regards the individual that starts from childhood and continue during adolescence until adulthood. At that point, children begin to be aware of the presence of different behaviors that are not all accepted and where the choice is not allowed. In fact, they understand that the choice had been done by the society, and this society expects from that child to behave according to its choice. Actually, while being a child, the individual is not given a lot of choice. Most of the time, he does what older people ask him to do, which he believes is the best alternatives. But at the same time, these demands at this age help children to get used to such expectations that will become bigger and heavier to stand over the next coming years.

During the growing up process, the adolescent meets at each stage more social expectations. Sometimes, they get more complicated. In fact, social expectations are the mould where the identity of the individual is put. They define and draw the borders of the identity. According to Levesque in his book Not by Faith Alone, “social expectations inspire the identity formation process as much as the more obvious biological and cognitive changes. ” (2001, p. 36). This is to say that they play a huge role in determining the attitude of the adolescent towards himself and towards the whole society.

Due to the hardness of the task of coping with these expectations, there are some adolescents that meet them and others who are unable to achieve them. At the adolescence stage, it is difficult to deal with the society’s expectations. People who are in this case are overwhelmed by these expectations. (Geldard. K, Geldard. D) . For those people, this feeling of inability that haunts them would push them to an “anti-social behavior” (Geldard. D, Geldard. K. , p. 12, 2004), which is most of the time rebellion.

Since he cannot get socialized, the individual chooses isolation. Other times, he can choose to do exactly the opposite of what he is expected to do. For instance, following a set of expectations and rules that don’t belong to the society where he lives, but rather to a 4 foreign society. The outcomes of those situations are several. Delinquency is one of them. The adolescent can’t find his place among the society members. He starts to search for ways to belong to the marginalized peers, which meets the isolation concept.

In fact, this turning to that marginalized members reveals a real lack in the need of belonging. The belonging need is not met, (Geldard,D. , Geldard, K. , 2004). The inability to belong to a group may affect the self esteem of the adolescent. Thus, it can bring a sense of doubt in his own capacities about undertaking some initiatives. This lack of self confidence may push the adolescent to avoid any kind of susceptible situation, as it was said by Eriksson (Muuss, 1999) in his theory of identity development in the conflict about autonomy, shame and doubt.

In contrast, people who achieve these expectations feel that their goal is reached, which is about to get socialized. They feel more and more comfortable in that new place where they have just settled. This achieved goal can bring a feeling of satisfaction. The individual can start to be proud of himself and more self confident. Thus, a higher self-esteem of himself could be attained. It would allow him to undertake more initiatives and to be more willing to take actions. In that situation, it is the autonomy part of Eriksson’s theory that it is being satisfied.

The adolescent would be no more afraid of relying on himself because he knows that he succeeded in doing the hardest task that he would be asked to accomplish during his entire life, which is to get socialized. Social expectations vary from a society to another depending on its standards and conventions that are tightly related to culture and religion. But in fact, Havighurst, (as cited in Geldar, Geldar. , 2004), has defined some tasks that the adolescent has to make adjustments on and has to achieve. These tasks concern at first the gender and sexual role 5 of the adolescence.

The adolescent must accept the role that is attributed to him and create according to that role relationships with peers who belong to that society. Secondly, the adolescent is expected to start preparing his future life by developing some intellectual skills which would help him to have an occupation that will ensure an economic independence. This economic independence will bring the adolescent to prepare for a family life. Finally, the adolescent is required to build a set of values that fit with the environment where he lives in. These expectations form a sequence of achievements.

Each expectation generates another one. Also, as the individual goes into age, he faces more complicated expectations that aim mainly the future life that is about adulthood. Moreover, those social expectations vary according to gender. Females and males are not expected to do the same things or to have the same goals or values. In fact, the expectation that was previously mentioned about the sex role is tightly related to this one. Each gender has its own role. Girls may feel that their main goal is to get married and to have children. Boys have to be always strong and never display or show any weakness.

These expectations exert a huge pressure on both genders. Additionally, due to these expectations, girls may form long-term goals. They would stop thinking about the present moment, but rather start to prepare for their future lives as spouses and as mothers. Boys, would never act like they feel like to. They would always remember that they don’t have to show their feelings. Failing in achieving these goals and coping with them is often responsible for the appearance of the violent behavior as it is said in Counseling Adolescents. Social expectations could be perceived as a limitation of the development of the dentity. But in some cases, it is considered as the element that saves the individual from 6 identity confusion. The adolescent has to find a landmark that would guide him through the process of the development of his identity. Eriksson refers to peers’ expectations that can be considered also as social expectations since they are members of the society. According to him, the adolescent is in need of these expectations that come specifically from his peers to start having a sense of his identity which is different from the one that he gets from his parents.

This distance that the adolescent creates towards his parents marks the end of the strong emotional dependence that he had with them—the departure. To maintain this relationship with parents, the adolescent has to respond to some expectations. Parents often, expect from their children to be and to do what they had wanted to be in their youth. Sometimes they don’t realize deeply what they are asking their children to do. These behaviors can bring the adolescent to form what is called a false identity. The individual doesn’t consider his own needs, or sometimes he can only perceive his needs through the others’ needs.

As it is said in Normal Child and Adolescent Development, “a false identity is also established in adolescents who have grown up in a family in which they continually adapted to their parents’ needs and expectations at the expense of their own innate needs”, (Gemelli, p. 478, 1996). They just want to see and recall their own youth through the one of their children. But at a certain moment, parents find themselves in the obligation of withdrawing from their children’s lives (Geldard, Geldard. , 2004) to give them the opportunity to become independent.

Eriksson (Muuss, 1996) believes that this stage of independence is crucial for the adolescent “to attain a mature identity”, (p. 52). In fact, while the parents’ expectations vanish from the adolescent life, the social expectations in contrast, follow him through all his life. Actually, these expectations help him to stay focus on his own identity and 7 according to Erikson (Muuss, 1996), these expectations becomes more important at the period of entering adulthood because they are more likely to cause crisis due to the fundamental changes that they may set off.

Living in a community requires giving oneself up to its rules. Social expectations are the primary rules that the individual is confronted to during all his life. So, the individual can not act and react only depending on his own point of view. A whole society must be considered. In fact, it is not a simple task for an adolescent, especially when he is in a position that doesn’t allow him to judge any of those expectations. Thus, the formation of his identity depends on how he coped with these social expectations and if he reached his goals by accomplishing the tasks that these expectations define for him.

Social expectations are something every person faces. No matter one’s gender, ethnicity, or class, everyone feels pressure to behave a certain way, and I believe one of the most defining character traits is whether one chooses to conform to these social pressures or to pave his or her own path in life. Despite the existence of social norms in every culture, certain cultures hold these expectations in much higher regards than others, and breaking such social laws can have detrimental consequences.

In Women of the Silk and Jasmine, we see numerous examples of societal expectations of women, as well as the different ways in which the women characters respond. This gives us insight into their individual strengths and weaknesses, specifically involving how they cope with the struggle between what they want and what is expected of them. In Women of the Silk, there is great significance placed on expectations of women, specifically in China circa 1920’s, including pressures to live a certain lifestyle and behave in an appropriate manner at all times.

The differences between how women react to these pressures is first depicted by the contrast between Pei and her older sister Li. While from my modern American perspective Pei is clearly the stronger, more admirable of the two, this is quite opposite from the traditional Chinese perspective of the time. Li is a principal example of the ideal woman from the Chinese culture perspective. She is, by nature, a dutiful and submissive girl, who wishes to please others and stick to the status quo. This is evident throughout childhood, and continues as she gets older and is expected to marry.

In contrast, Pei is curious by nature, always asking questions and seeking answers, despite being reprimanded frequently for doing so. Li’s passive nature and Pei’s bold, defiant manner are revealed throughout the novel, beginning with their childhood. For example, whenever the two girls play together, Pei is always the one running ahead and then stopping to wait on her sister. Pei asks questions which Li calmly answers, and while Pei explores her surroundings, Li is content to sit still and quietly.

One passage on page 19 of the text reads, “…Next to [Pei], she could hear Li’s even breathing and feel her calmness. Li’s hands rested quietly on her knees, while Pei’s felt the ground beside them for anything that would make the water splash. ” This example depicts the dissimilarity between the two girls’ personalities and contrasts Pei’s curiosity with Li’s contentment. This difference between the sisters is significant in that it is the factor that ultimately dictates which of them their father, Pao, will decide to send to work in the silk factory.

After visiting a fortune teller, who predicts that Li will get married but is unsure of Pei’s fate, Pao decides that Pei is better suited to work at the factory, as there is no guarantee of being able to marry her off and lighten the family’s financial burden. Consequently, Pei’s life is set in motion on an unusual path, and one that certainly does not conform to the standards and expectations of women at the time. Li’s subservient nature is further proven later in the novel, when she marries a much older farmer simply because she thinks it is what is expected of her.

While her father does not force her to marry the farmer, she does anyway because it is what she is “supposed” to do, and she assumes it will please her family. Likewise, she still does not go back to her family when she finds out that her new husband is violent and abusive, as women are expected to be loyal to their husbands no matter what. Although this trait of being passive and obedient is considered to be a positive attribute within her culture, it is one that seems to come at a much larger price than it is worth.

While Pei may not be overjoyed to be sent to the factory, I would consider her fate far less tragic than that of Li’s marriage to the farmer. Just as Li’s compliance stays with her as she matures out of childhood, so does Pei’s curiosity. At the silk factory, Pei asks questions primarily to Lin, who answers them with a kind of patience and willingness that Pei is not accustomed to. Pei’s impulsive nature is exposed once again when she decides, on a whim, that she wants to go through the hair dressing ceremony with Lin.

Pei and Li’s mother, Yu-sung, grew up in a family that allowed her to forego social expectations for women and instead encouraged her lively spirit and curiosity. However, when she marries, she faces much heavier social pressure to become quiet and submissive. Rather than refusing to conform to these expectations, she adapts to the fullest extent. Now, as we see by her obedience to Pao, her entire disposition has changed drastically since her childhood. Yu-sung never states her thoughts if they conflict with those of her husband.

For example, although she does not necessarily agree that Pei should be sent to work, she would never utter a single word of protest, especially to Pao. While in our culture it is expected that a married couple make important decisions together, Yu-sung does not get involved in any critical family decisions throughout the novel, no matter how strongly she feels. This isn’t to say she is apathetic by any means, as it is revealed upon Pei’s return how much she truly cares.

However, it does show the high priority she places on fulfilling her roles as a woman and a wife properly and in the way anticipated of her. Another example of a character that, like Pei, refuses to conform to social norms and expectations is Auntie Yee’s daughter, Chen Ling. Chen Ling is portrayed as a charismatic leader among the girls at the silk factory, and it is made evident that she lives according to her own expectations of herself rather than pressure she feels from others and/or society in general.

For example, Chen Ling is the first to decide to go through a hair dressing ceremony, clearly showing that she likes to pave her own path in life rather than taking a trail someone else has already paved. For this reason, although Chen Ling is not a particularly sociable character, she captures my respect and admiration throughout the novel. The intensity of the pressure placed on women in this culture is difficult to comprehend in this day and age. However, the character in the novel that helps me develop a better understanding of the true force behind these pressures is Mei-li.

Mei-li faces her family’s expectation of her to marry the man they chose for her, whether love exists between the two or not. She also faces society’s expectations, which dictate that sex outside of marriage is inexcusable. All of the stress and weight of these pressures are what ultimately drive Mei-li to commit suicide. In this instance, it seems to me that Mei-li’s actions are less representative of her own character, but rather say more about the society as a whole.

Her suicide calls attention to the injustice in the existence of such extreme pressure and inequality that is capable of causing someone to end their own life. In Jasmine, the main character, Jasmine, shows characteristics of both strength and weakness. The expectations she faces are somewhat different between the Indian background she comes from and the American culture circa 1980’s in which she becomes immersed, and she handles them in different ways as well. The first time we see Jasmine refusing to follow the “gender rules” of society is when she kills Half Face in chapter 17 of the novel.

She mentions that this is not her first time being raped; it has happened on many other accounts before. However, this time, rather than act in a submissive manner again as one would expect of an Indian woman, especially one so badly frightened, Jasmine loses control of her calm facade and brutally kills her rapist, referred to as Half Face. The second instance I notice in which Jasmine is nonconforming in regards to social norms is when she stays at the house of the Vadhera family.

Rather than keeping her thoughts to herself, she takes matters into her own hands and is open about being unhappy there, which ultimately leads to her moving to New York. If she had not made anyone else aware of her depressed feelings, Jasmine would have stayed true to her role as a traditional Indian woman, at the expense of her true hopes and dreams. In contrast to these examples and to what we had learned throughout the book of Jasmine’s somewhat rebellious nature, one might argue that she “settles” when moves to Iowa and stays with Bud.

Although she is not in love with Bud, she stays at first because he is good to her and because she feels pity for him. However, when Taylor shows up to bring her back with him, Jasmine’s true colors shine through again, as she is unwilling to refuse herself happiness to convenience others or satisfy their expectations of her. While it may be mistaken as selfishness that leads her to behave this way, I think of it more as a strength. Jasmine is able to claim her own life by refusing to conform to the social expectations of her Indian culture or of American ulture. While characters from these two novels approach societal expectations in different manners, I think the same is true in every culture. There will always be a large contrast between those who go after what they want and refuse to be deterred by social pressure versus those who would rather fold to authority and please everyone around them. While there are assets to be found in both types of women, it is the “Chen Ling’s” and “Jasmine’s” that the world seems to remember and adore.

Everyone has fears, and when we see someone able to throw fear to the wind and behave as they wish rather than as they believe they should, it is hard not to admire that person. From my perspective, people like Jasmine, Pei, and Chen Ling, who chase happiness and refuse to abide by social dictations, should not be ashamed in the least. Rather, those such as Li and Yu-sung, who conform to their roles so completely that they deny themselves of happiness in the process, need to learn their self-worth and realize that they are smart and capable of thinking for themselves.