The Impact Of The Norman Conquest English Language Essay

The Impact Of The Norman Conquest English Language Essay By the end of the Old English period an event took place which had a major impact on the English language. This event was the Norman Conquest, in 1066, which marks the beginning of the Middle English Period. The invasion is a milestone in the history of England, and played a key role in the development of Modern English. But another view sees the events of the occupation as having a negative effect on English, and as a national catastrophe that destroyed a sophisticated native Anglo-Saxon culture (Graddol et al, 1996:120) and disrupted the progression of the English language. Short states that Higden Ranulf, an English chronicler and Benedictine monk, saw French as one of the principal reasons why the English language had degenerated in Medieval England (2007: 29). Nevertheless, others claim that the Norman Conquest contributed to an enormous enrichment of the English vocabulary (Hughes, 2000: 111). English would probably have pursued another evolution had William the Conqueror not s ucceeded in appropriating the English throne. It would most likely lack the immense amount of French vocabulary that characterizes the English language today, and that make English look, on the side of lexicon, like a Romance language. No other previous event had had such an impact on the language. The Scandinavian invasion in the eighth century had affected English, but not as profoundly as the Norman Conquest. This is because the speakers of Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse could understand each other, since they were communicating through similar Germanic-root words. Whereas, Norman French was a foreign Romance language which was completely alien to a population speaking a Germanic language. The conquerors continued to speak their own language in Britain. Watson argues that Normans were ruthless people who had no interest in the culture, literature and learning the language of the conquered people. English, which had been the official and literary language, was demoted to be the languag e of the serfs (Watson, 2002: 17). Since the two languages, Norman French and English, were not mutually understandable and French was the language of the rulers, English speakers had to adapt to the newcomers and learn some key expressions. Thus, the Norman invasion brought bilingualism in the British Isles with French and English living alongside each other for a long time. It is estimated that around 10 000 French words (Mcrum et al, 1986: 82) poured into English during the Norman rule. These words are found in every sphere: art, literature, law and government. Modern English has retained a large number of these words which have been completely assimilated into English in their structure, pronunciation and spelling. The Normans represented a small proportion of the population, however, their language had a massive impact upon society, since they were in position of power. According to Short, the number of French speaking incomers at the start of the 12 century was around 15 000, which would represent less than 1% of the total population of some 1.75 million (2007: 26). This is the reason why Norman French is not the spoken language of England today, despite its dominance in Britain for almost three centuries. Baugh Cable claim that the Norman Conquest changed the whole course of the English language (2002: 208). Thus, such a consequential event deserves to be explored in detail. First Chapter Historical Background Normans were descendent of Vikings from Scandinavia who settled down in the northern region of France in the ninth and tenth centuries. This region was known as Northmannia, the land of the Northmen, later shortened to Normandy. The Normans became Frenchmen culturally and linguistically (Pyles, 1964:153) soon assimilating the French customs, marrying local women, converting to Christianity, and giving up their own language and acquiring French. England had had close ties with Normandy long before the conquest in 1066. In 1002 Æthelred the Unready, king of England between 78-1016, had married a Norman woman and his son known as Edward the Confessor, who was raised in France, was more French than English. During the 24 years of his reign, Edward brought many of his Norman friends over to England giving them important positions in the government. When Edward the Confessor died childless, William the Conqueror, who was a second cousin of the late king, believed he was entitled to be Edwards successor even though he had no right to inherit the English throne. (Loyn, 1991: 65-67). So when the accession to the throne was denied to him, he attacked England, and with his exceptional abilities he won the battle of Hastings and on Christmas Day 1066, William was crowned king of England (Baugh Cable, 2002: 112). The rule of William the Conqueror brought with it vast changes to the social, political, religious and linguistic (Fennell, 2001: 95) structure of England. Dominance of the French language in England Williams possession of the English throne had far-reaching consequences. One of the repercussions was the introduction of a new nobility. The old English nobility was virtually annihilated and replaced with Norman followers. Mcrum et al. (1986: 73) argue that William also purged the English church: gradually Norman bishops and abbots occupied the cathedrals and monasteries, and for many generations after the conquest, the great estates and important positions were held by French-speaking Normans. The most significant consequence, however, was the dominion that the French language acquired in England. The Norman Conquest brought not only a new way of life but also a new way of speaking. The Norman incomers mother tongue was French and it remained so until the second half of the 12th century. French became the language of the ruling class and their servants. It was adopted across the entire range of written registers: literature, legal proceedings, commerce, government businesses and p rivate correspondence (Ingham, 2010: 1). The members of the new commanding class continued to use their own language once they settled in England. First, only those of Norman origin would speak French, but soon through intermarriage and relation with the supreme class, many English people found it to their benefit to master the new language. Therefore French became the language of power and prestige (Hughes, 2000: 13). The status of French in England from 1066 onwards is comparable to the importance of English in the British Empire in the 19th and 20th century (Freeborn, 1998: 81). For almost three hundred years after the conquest English ceased to be the official language of the land (Hughes, 2000: 110), existing only as language of the masses. Short claims that the survival of French for three centuries, even after the loss of Normandy in 1204, is the result of a desire on the part of the Norman descendants to retain and strengthen their sense of separate identity (2007: 13). He b elieves that Anglo-Norman was a means of social and political self-definition and self-preservation. All the kings of England spoke French as their first language. Command of French would also be found amongst the middle class. Knights also had a tendency to using it, even if they were English natives. Merchants and tradesmen spoke French, and also clerks and bailiffs would use the language due to the fact that different services were conducted in that language. Nonetheless Latin remained the language of church and scholarship. It was the language of records used for any documents that were felt to be important to be left to posterity. Though French had cultural and social prestige in this period, both English and French were regarded as inferior to Latin (Knowles, 1997: 47). So from 1066 there were three languages that pervaded medieval England: Latin, French and English, and literature, religion, law, science were all conducted in languages other than English (Mcrum et al, 1986: 7 3). Short estimates that 80% of the population in Britain was monolingual English speakers, 16.5% bilingual French speakers, and 3.5% trilingual Latin, French and English (2007: 28). Latin was the unifying European language par excellence (Totter, 2000: 23). It was learned and studied in the schools and universities in England. Latin was the language of religion, culture and power and it was established all over Europe. Nonetheless Latin was mainly used for written purposes. The language was spoken by a tiny minority of the English and it was employed only in the highest ecclesiastical circles (Trotter, 2000: 24). Latin, however, was certainly not the spoken language used in court. French was the language used in the kings court (Ingham, 2010: 95). Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that English was ousted by the two prestigious languages, it was never wiped out. It had a low status and it was reduced to an informal- colloquial vernacular, but it was still used to a great extent by the lower classes. Fennell states that there was diglossia in England for a long time with French as the High language and English as the Low language (Fenell, 2001: 117). However, Baugh Cable maintain that if the Normans did not appreciate English as a vernacular this should not be interpreted as an oppressive language attitude towards English. A few generations before they had themselves renounced their own Germanic language in favour of Latin and French. The perception that Normans were hostile to the English language is without foundation (Baugh Cable, 2002: 117). It is true that English was considered to be an unsophisticated tongue, however there is sufficient evidence of mutual respect and peaceful cooperation between the English and the Normans (Baugh Cable, 2002: 117). William the Conqueror himself made an effort at the age of forty-three to learn English without succeeding. In general, the upper classes were indifferent towards the English language because their activit ies in England did not require the use of it, and French was for them more useful. Survival of English How did English manage to survive and not get absorbed in the dominant Norman tongue? Mcrum et al (1986: 75) suggest that there are three important motives that explain the survival of English. First of all, Old English was too established, too vigorous, and, thanks to its fusion with Scandinavian languages, too hardy to be wiped out (Mcrum et al, 1986: 75). Despite the written records becoming Latin and French, English continued being the speech of commoners and it would have needed many centuries of French rule to obliterate it as the vernacular of ordinary people. They were not going to stop speaking English just because they had been conquered by a foreigner. Second, the fusion between Normans and English was rapid, as Normans intermarried with English people. The French-born mixed with the English-born. Thus, future generations living in Britain would feel more English. The Norman ancestors were forgotten with time and young people identified with the natural language of most in habitants in Britain. One hundred years after the invasion, an anonymous chronicler wrote that The two nations had become so mixed that it is scarcely possible today, speaking of free men, to tell who is English and who is of Norman race (Baugh Cable, 2009: 120). The Francophone incomers seemed to have become fully integrated with English people. Third, and most important reason, the Anglo-Normans lost control of their French territory across the Channel. When King John lost Normandy in 1204, conflict began to develop between France and England, which concluded with the Hundred Years War. The ex Norman nobility became English, as many nobles had to declare themselves either French or English. The loss of Normandy established an independent English nation and a feeling of national consciousness and identity began to arise in the British Isles (Short, 2007: 31). English people began to be more interested in their native language, therefore the trilingual setting of medieval England e xisting following the Norman Conquest started to disappear. The initial trilingual situation developed into oral bilingualism, although it was not omnipresent in England, and progressively culminated into vernacular monolinguism (Trotter, 2000: 25). Chapter 2 Re-establishment of English The rivalry created between England and France meant that interests between English and French were no longer the same. This resulted in the decline of French and re-establishment of English. Fennell believes that if England had remained in the control of France, French might have continued to be used in England forever (Fennell 2001: 117). This did not happen though. While French had been necessary to the English upper class during the two centuries following the Norman Conquest, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries its use was artificial. French lost its importance gradually and became a second acquired language after English till it disappeared. Evidence of the passage of Anglo-Norman from a mother tongue to an acquired language has its roots in 1160s but also the first murmurings of discontent surfacing form those of Anglo-Saxon stock who see themselves as excluded an denied professional advancement by their ignorance of French (Short, 2007: 26). At the start of the fourtee nth century Anglo-Norman seemed to have lost its prestige completely. Slowly English won its way back to being ubiquitous in England. French passed into oblivion in the fifteenth and English was re-established, but it was a new language in vocabulary and in spirit, wholly different in character, rhythm and feeling from the Anglo-Saxon (Watson, 2002: 18). Under the influence of Chaucer poets began to write in English, but also literature was highly influenced by French. When English re-emerged as the written language of England, it was extremely altered in structure; however, Romaine claims that debate still continues about the extent to which change was internally or externally motivated (1998: 7). These differences in the English language remained immutable. Freeborn (1998: 51) argues that when reading English texts from the 12th century onwards, there are changes in grammar, vocabulary, spelling and word form. Of course, the English language did not change overnight in response to the Norman Conquest. Fennell, on the other hand, maintains changes in English did not happen as a result of the conquest. He states th at the influence of French on English is neither extreme nor special (Fennell, 2001: 130). Many loan words have been borrowed from French, but there is no marked structural change that can be revealed. It is also hard to demonstrate French influence on word order. There is no influence on concord as well. According to Fennell, changes in the English language are simply due to gradual change (2001: 131). The Lexicon: Loan Words from French While the loss of inflection was only indirectly due to the use of French in England, French impact is much more noticeable on the vocabulary. A huge body of French words became part of the English language. The influx of French words began slowly and continued with varying pace for a long time. Most of the Norman French loanwords entered English during the Middle English period, and they actually came fastest when French was dying out (Barber et al., 2010: 155). Some scholars argue that actually the main borrowings by English tool place from 1250 onwards (Hughes, 2000:110). In the eleventh and twelfth century the number of words borrowed from French was minimal, and in the thirteenth and fourteenth century the amount of loanwords increased significantly. When bilingual speakers changed over to English for such purposes as literature and government, they needed specialized terms that they were habituated to in these domains (Barber et al., 2010: 156). The influence, however, was reci procal. Numerous English words were introduced into the French spoken in England as well. From the very start of the century it is possible to find Anglo-Norman poets incorporating words of Old English origin into their works (Short, 2007: 22). Where two languages live alongside each other for a long time a substantial transference of words from one language to another is unavoidable. Despite that, English had more to gain form French than vice versa, therefore the number of French words that entered English was incredibly vast. Many of the words borrowed by English are words to do with war, ecclesiastical matters, heraldry, hunting, the law, arts and fashion. The earliest adoptions from Norman French are encountered in 1137: tresor treasury, Canceler Chancellor prisun justice and tenserie protection money (Hughes, 2000: 111). These words indicate a whole new Norman vocabulary of power. Other words that infiltrated English in the 12th century are: duc duke, cuntess countess, curt court, messe mass, clerc scholar (Graddol et al, 1996: 123). Also these loanwords demonstrate the domination of the Normans in influential institutions such as the church and the royal court. The Norman Conquest made French the language of the official class in England. Therefore it is not the least bit astonishing that many word having to do with administration and government are of French origin. Some of the earliest loans from French are: service, prison and castle (Pyles, 1980: 324). Other words include: crown, state, empire, au thority, sovereign, parliament, assembly, treaty, alliance, country, attorney, chancellor, judge, jury, noble, royal. The word office and the titles of many offices are also French: coroner, treasurer, marshal, governor, councillor, minister, warden, and castellan (Baugh Cable, 2009: 169). In the religious domain amongst many words there terms such as: abbot, clergy, preach, sacrament, vestment. As English was the language of the masses, it is not surprising that the original terms for livestock were retained: ox, sheep swine, deer, calf. Whereas words such as beef, mutton, pork, bacon, venison, veal were used for the flesh of the animals, eaten mostly by the higher classes (Fennell, 2001: 107). Family relationships such as: mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter kept their Germanic names. Nevertheless, family relationships expressing more compound social relations such as: uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece were designated by French terms. The terms father-in-law and mot her-in-law show native English words, but they are in fact calques, loan translations from Old French. Numbers did not lose their original, native names, and parts of the body kept their English terms. This is because such terms are core words and resistant to borrowing except in situations of exceptionally long and fervent contact. One remarkable example is the word face: this term was borrowed from French in the late thirteenth century as an informal term (Fennell, 2001:107). Titles of rank were taken from French such as: baron, count, duke, marquees, peer, prince and sovereign (Barber et al., 2010:156). However, English words were retained such as: earl, king, knight, lady, lord, and queen. Literary borrowings of French only entered English in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. English writers started borrowing French words, as they were certain about an acquaintance with French on the part of their readers. While a considerable amount of French words came into English thro ugh this method, many are no longer in use since they filled no real communicative need. Norman French vs. Central French An interesting fact in Modern English is that despite many words being borrowed from French, the pronunciation of the English words differs considerably from their French counterparts. An important thing to be pointed out is that Modern French is not like eleventh-century French. There were two main dialect groups in Old French: the language of the north langue doÃÆ'Â ¯l, and the language of the south and central France langue doc also known as the dialect of Paris (Knowles, 1997: 47). The Norman Conquest brought with it the Northern dialect which developed characteristics of its own and then is called Anglo-Norman. There were significant differences in the pronunciation between the two vernaculars. In Anglo-Norman ca- was pronounced as cha- chie- in Central French. So for instance, the Anglo-Norman word caitif caitiff changed its pronunciation into chaitif in Central French. The same can be said for other words that are pronounced with ca in English and cha in French such as: ca tch which has derived form Anglo-Norman catel, became chacier in Central French and subsequently chaser in Modern French. Other differences in the manner of speaking of the two dialects are the pronunciation of some consonants. Where the langue doÃÆ'Â ¯l had [w, k, ts] would be pronounced as [g, ts, s] in the langue doc. The English word wicket (AN wiket) was transformed into guichet in the Parisian dialect. In the same way waste representing the Anglo-Norman waster was in Central French guaster. Consequently, there were two French sources often leading to the same word being borrowed twice. Many adoptions from Norman French coexisted with the Central French equivalent words which were assimilated at a later date. So we have Norman French: catch, warranty, launch, wage, warden, convey, gaol, beside Central French: chase, guarantee, lance, gauge, guardian, convoy, jail (Graddol et al, 1996: 123). In the thirteenth century, the Anglo-Norman dialect lost some of its importance in England, and the Anglo-Norman realised that the French they spoke was no longer fit for purpose. The Central French dialect of Paris had begun to exercise a strong influence in France, therefore the Anglo-Norman patois was regarded as uncouth and obsolescent (Barber et al. 2009: 151). Giraldus Cambrensis, a writer of the early Middle Ages, contrasts the elegant French of France to its unsophisticated Insular counterpart which he disregards as gutter French (Short, 2007: 14). Due to its prestige, the dialect of Central France became the standard language in court and fashionable society in England. As Central French became fashionable it was from this dialect that many words were borrowed at this period. After the Norman Conquest duplications in English were very common. Many of the French words that came into use conveyed meanings that were already expressed by a native English word. In this case one of two things occurred: either one of the words was lost, or they both survived but they had different meanings. In some cases the French word died out, but in most cases it was the Old English word that ceased to exist. For example the OE word anda competed for its status with the word envy and managed to survive until the time of Chaucer, but at some point the word became obsolete and died out. The replacement was not always sudden; often both words carried on to being used for some time, and the English word often persists in the dialect today. The Old English word eam which has been substituted by the French word uncle is still used in Scotland (eme). Where both the French and the English words existed they acquired different significations. English was not deficient in vocabulary, and in many cases when a new word poured into English it existed side by side with newer borrowed word. Hence, there are many pairs of words in English whose meaning is similar. So there are the native words which survive alongside the French words such as: begin/commence; freedom/liberty; child/infant; happiness/felicity; friendly/amicable; hearty/cordial; house/mansion (Watson, 2002: 19). Watson argues that the native words are vivid and homely whereas the French words are colder, more aloof, formal, dignified (Watson, 2002: 19). French had also an impact on the increase of the number of prepositions, which was already considerable in Old English. Strang (1970: 274) maintains that during the period 1170-1370 the number of prepositions was larger than any before. She attributes this process to two processes. The first of these is compounding and analogical formation. The second process includes loans from French. A number of prepositions such as countre, sans and save were borrowed directly from French. Others, such as during, excepting and saving were anglicised versions of French words. Some prepositions are calques on originally French equivalents, e.g. notwithstanding derives from Old French non obstant. The borrowing of French words had also an impact on English grammar. Many grammatical points were reconstructed on the French model. For instance, the use of who was remodelled on French qui. Old English used who just to ask questions such as who are you?, and this the equivalent of the use of qui. But qui was used in French also in a relative clause, such as the boy who lives next to me, for which English used the. Middle English started to use who as a relative pronoun under French influence (Mustanoja, 1960: 187-206). English was influenced by French also in the formation of passive forms. Old English used the verb weorpan (to become) to form passive idioms, but this became unusual after the Norman Conquest. Modern English uses the verb to be to construct passive sentences just like Modern French (Mustanoja, 1960: 438-9). Another point of Middle English grammar such as the counterfactual modal perfect is attributed to the influence of French. Old English lacked the modal and auxiliary have combination. Its appearance starts in southern Middle English and then it seems to have spread in the north, given that the use of Anglo-Norman was more prevailing in the south of England. Fischer, on the other hand, claims that French did not play any role in the development of the modal perfect construction in English. Kida (2007: 285) argues that there was also some French influence on word order in Middle English which changed from VO (verb + object) to OV (object + verb). When analysing the word order pattern in Foedera, she notices that Norman French was more in favour of the OV word order positioning than of the VO ones, and this fact led to the development of OV word order configuration in the English language after the Norman Conquest. Kida believes that this change in word order disposition in English must have probably come via an increasing quantity of bilingual speakers, speaking both English and Norman French, who created more OV word order structures in English than monolingual native speakers. Nonetheless, this influence was not permanent as English went back to its VO word order few years subsequent to the Norman Conquest. Another grammatical characteristic of Norman French comparable to the English grammar is the placement of modifiers in front of the noun. This explains why English did not dispose of premodification in the Middle Ages and still preserves this feature in Modern English. Premodification is generally a feature of OV languages and English had a VO structure. Hence, it can be deduced that Anglo-Norman played also a role in the conservation of premodification in English up to the present day (Kida, 2007: 285-290). French influence is most obviously marked in the spelling. New conventions were used for the [S] sound creating spellings such as and eventually . The word house had an [u:] sound, so the Old English spelling was . However the [u] sound was represented by [ou] in French, therefore, the spelling was changed to . The pronunciation of the word changed later in time (Knowles, 1997: 40-50). Other French conventions were adopted in English such as the use of for and for (Freeborn, 2001: 82). Mustoja (1960: 45) affirms that the influence of foreign languages such as Latin and French plays a considerable role in the development of gender in Middle English. This is due to a large proportion of ME literature being translated directly from French. Additionally, the authors of original works were usually acquainted with French. Therefore, it frequently occurs that a noun is assigned the gender of the corresponding French noun even though it is not a direct loan. For example, death (OE masculine) becomes feminine in ME under the influence of French la mort. Also moon (OE mone), which is masculine in Old English, has become feminine in ME, again influenced by French la lune. Ship (OE scip, neuter) becomes feminine in ME on the analogy of OF la nef. But the nouns moon and ship have often been encountered as masculine nouns as well. This dual application of genders to the same noun is explained as the general confusion between the masculine and feminine forms of the definite artic le in Picard and Anglo-Norman (Mustanoja, 1960: 47) two OF dialects which played a key role in the influence of French upon Middle English. Conclusion The Norman Conquest has had a significant impact on the English language. As the examples above demonstrate, the invasion has influenced English considerably not only in terms of vocabulary but also spelling, pronunciation and grammar. If English is today the richest It is astonishing that engli

Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers

The death penalty has both supporters and non-supporters. The following essay will not solve the issue; I will only try to persuade the reader to understand my point of view. The death penalty is justified in certain cases such as Mcveigh Vs State of Indiana; however it is unjustified in other cases, including Bloodsworth Vs State of Maryland. The death penalty is a must, especially in today’s society. With the increase in vicious crimes today, the government must act just as harsh with our justice system to try and prevent these types of crimes. Non-supporters argue that the death penalty is inhumane and should be considered murder. People of this malicious caliber must be dealt with in the same way, an eye for an eye. Putting these criminals to death doesn’t solve the crime that they committed, but it helps the victim’s family and friends to feel a sense of justification for what’s happened to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capital Punishment has been part of the criminal justice system since the earliest of times. The earliest historical record that contains evidence of capital punishment is the Babylonian Hammurabi Code. â€Å"It ordered death for crimes as minor as the fraudulent sale of beer. Egyptians could be put to death for disclosing the location of sacred burial sites.† During the time of the code you were put to death for the smallest crimes, which now would be a minor offense or even considered being nothing Today, capital punishment is still apparent in society. People are put to death because of murder or rape. The different types of punishment used are anywhere from hanging to lethal injection. The death penalty is a better deterrent than imprisonment because taking offenders life is more of a severe punishment. By using the death penalty as a type of punishment, it will in the future prevent other criminals from committing similar crimes and eventually make our society a much better place to live. The concept is very simple, the death penalty prevents a murders by putting the fear of death into would be killers. A person is less likely to do something, if he or she thinks that harm will come to him. Another way the death penalty prevent murder, is the fact that if the killer is dead, he will not be able to kill again. As Issac Ehlrich is quoted saying, â€Å"If the execution of a guilty capital murderer deters the murder of one innocent life, the execution is just... ...pen everyday, and many get away with it. Those who do get caught don't stay in a jail cell for the rest of there live. If we could rig our streets of murderers, it could mean a safer place for everyone. Men and women could feel safer jogging or doing errands at night. Single women could feel safer in their homes. Children could feel safe playing in their yards. No executed murderer has ever killed again. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1.Bright, Steven B. â€Å"Judges and the Politics of Death: Deciding Between the Bill of Rights and the Next Election in Capital Cases.† Boston University Law Review 75 (1995) 2.Connors, Edward, www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/row/dye.htm 3.Flanders, Stephen A. Capital Punishment. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1991. 4.Long, Robert Emmet. Criminal Sentencing. New York, NY: H.W. Company, 1995. 5.Nathanson S. 1987 An eye for an eye Totowa: Rowman and littlefield 6.Robinson, Bryan, www.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/mcveigh001228.html 7.Tabak, Ronald J. â€Å"Report: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Lack of Due Process in Death Penalty Cases.† Human Rights 22.Winter (1995) 8.Zondervan Bible Publishers, The Holy Bible, pg. 12 Genesis 9:6

Boeing E-enabled Advantages Essay

Boeing is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures and sells fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft, rockets and satellites. It also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing is among the largest global aircraft manufacturers, is the second-largest aerospace & defense contractor in the world based on 2012 revenue and is the US’ largest exporter by dollar value. Boeing stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Boeing Company’s corporate headquarters are located in Chicago and the company is led by Chairman and CEO James McNerney. Boeing is organized into five primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA); Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Engineering, Operations & Technology; Boeing Capital; and Boeing Shared Services Group. In 2013, Boeing recorded $86.623 billion in sales, ranked 30th on the Fortune magazine â€Å"Fortune 500† list (2013), ranked 95th on the â€Å"Fortune Global 500† list (2013 ), and ranked 26th on the â€Å"World’s Most Admired Companies† list (2013). The success of this aviation company began when the founder of Boeing, William E.Boeing, bought a shipyard in Seattle on the Duwamish River, which later became his first airplane factory. Boeing, a graduate from Yale University incorporated Boeing on July 15. 1916 as ‘Pacific Aero Products Co.’ which later transformed the company into a world’s largest aircraft manufacturer throughout the aviation history. Between World War I and II, Boeing grew to be one of the largest aircraft by supplying the military with training and fighting planes, pioneering airmail planes and routes, and developing early passenger planes. During World War II, Boeing was ‘one of the country’s leading defense and space contractors’. The B-17 â€Å"Flying Fortress† and B-29 ‘Super Fortress’ bombers were an essential military force, and the B-52, and eight-engine bomber that made debut in 1952, had been used in the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf-War 1991 and in Afghanistan in 2001. Research and development that took place during the war years set the stage for the coming age of commercial jetliners, which Boeing would dominate for the remainder of the 20th century. Boeing’s Aircraft Production Boeing made its entry into commercial aviation in 1954, by introducing Boeing 707 to the world. The aircraft, four-engine jetliner based largely on ‘C-97 Stratofreighter’, a military-tanker transport which competed directly with the Douglas DC-8. While Boeing’s foray into commercial aviation was risky at first, the success of 707 eventually helped establish Boeing as a leader in commercial aviation, which until then had been dominated by DAC (Douglas Aircraft Company). The 707 was followed by the 727 in 1962 and the 737 in 1967, and in 1968, Boeing rolled out the 747-its flagship aircraft and the largest civilian aircraft the time. 757, 767 has been added to the 7-series of jetliners right after the ‘impending disaster’, when the Congress had pulled the plug on funding for development of the Apollo Project. During that time, cyclical aviation industry faced a massive downturn, and Boeing had to bear the high start-up cost. Wilson, the president of Boeing at that ‘downfall period’ was force to cut Boeing’s employees from 105,000 to just 38,000, just to maintain the company’s relevancy on financial. Throughout the 1980s, Boeing was virtually unrivalled in commercial aviation. Its 2 main competitors, McDonnell Douglas in the US and Airbus in Europe, held less than half of the market share combined ad neither had a family of airplanes that could compete with Boeing’s versatile 7-series. The second half of 1980 and the early 1990s witnessed nearly unmitigated growth for Boeing. Although the defense and space sectors struggles as the US government cut funding, the commercial aviation division prospered. Air travel had been growing steadily since 1970; ad Boeing broke its own sales record for 6 years in a row starting in 1985. In the 1980s alone, Boeing received orders for more than 3,500 jet liners, which represented half of all jetliners sold by Boeing since the first 707 order was placed in 1956, and in 1987, the 737 surpassed the 727 as the world’s best-selling jetliner. In 1989, Boeing announced plans to develop the next airplane in the 7-series, the 777, to be rel eased in 1995. By 1992, Boeing employed nearly 150,000 people and posted net earnings of 1.5 billion. It was the country’s leading exporter and was considered one of  the nation’s most admired companies. The company that started a mere hobby had become ‘the king of the jet makers.’ Problem Statement Throughout the e-Enable program, Lou Manchini, the Vice President of CAS (Commercial Aviation Service), stated that the main goal of the program was to continue running a profitable business while integrating each business unit with the strategy. This strategy was the implementation specifically for Vision 2016, on how to bear the challenges ahead and putting ideas into practice. The entire effort to implement the goals was handed to Chris Kettering, the program director of e-Enabled. ‘e-Enable’, which adverse the cost-cutting of long term financial strength of BOEING, has revealed Scott Carson’s proposal on breaking down sops of communication among different units. In order to sustain the business through cost-management, the problem of this case has been identified as how e-Enabled can aid the program for long-run sustainability. Could e-Enabled provide the advantage that airplanes used to provide? How concrete the advantages were to withstand the tight competit ion from other makers, and would BOEING’s transition into services prove to be the silver bullet – the solution to the airlines financial woes and to BOEING’s aggressive competition with Airbus? SWOT Analysis Strength Weaknesses World leading/largest aircraft company, used by many Airlines Company and military. Having full concentration especially more on R&D activities/ Wide product and service range, which consists of commercial airplanes, defence work and aerospace The practise of having a healthy financial performance, despite some losses from previous business deals. Strong product and strong technology. Issues of safety (example: 787) Problems on labour forces due to committing into large numbers of workers. Communication issue between departments in the company because of the  company size and high number of staff. In order to stay in business, the company is too dependent with contract with U.S government. Opportunities Threats Aircraft demands from other continents. The increased demand for fuel efficiency in aircraft may lead to company to invest in developing efficient aircrafts. Data availability that can be provided to airlines operators, security agencies may lead to improvisation on the products. Military expansion in new country will requires more aircraft. (Eg: U.S invasion to middle-east) The growth of freight transport market. Competition arises as reported that Airbus are in pursuit to offer services for the military and commercial aircraft sector. New entrants of competitor also exist in defence sector. Uncertain airlines industry environment. The need for lighter version of fuel-efficient planes. Case Analysis ‘e-Enabled Advantage’ strategy was first unveiled in June 2003, the Paris Air Show. Core concept of the strategy, whereby all data and information system relating to airplane maintenance, flight operations and passenger needs would be seamlessly interconnected to effectively bring the airplane into the airline’s network during flight. Through acquisitions, Boeing has increased the value of its e-Enabled campaign by holdings companies that offered different advantages to support its IT credibility of the airline system and established a consumer-friendly website to increase airline technical awareness. The participating companies are: Companies Support Type Preston Aviation Solutions A Comprehensive suite of IT Solutions to need the needs of aviation customers. Jeppesen Sanderson Inc. Provides a full range of print and electronic flight information services. Continental Data Graphic Corp Customized information and documentation to airlines including illustrating and editing materials. MyBoeingFleet.com Provides powerful and flexible tools to manage crew scheduling in both regulated and deregulated environments. SBS International Provides IT maintenance and platform stability Hughes Electronics Corp. Recognized as the world leader in, reconnaissance, surveillance, and imaging systems. After the acquisition, the company further their long-reign campaign IT based strategy with e-Enabled to reach customers on feedback of how to improve the operational quality of Boeing services by introducing ValSim in 2004 (Valuation Simulation), a program that visualized its customer’s business structure using Microsoft Visio to demonstrate how the CAS Software portfolio adds value to the operations. Efficiency is the core success for survival in any airlines industry. When we talk about operational, efficiently is the ‘heart’ that pumps the ‘life’ into the core. With e-Enabled, many within Boeing believed that it is the ‘fundamental’ to deal with the pressures of cost against revenue on demand over supply and aviation competitive market. Also by looking at its e-Enabled environment, the objective is to ensure integrated solutions to services and product will be realized from time to time. As forecasted by analysts, Boeing will have an average of 5% growth in passenger volume over next 2 decades. Summary & Recommendations Boeing’s e-Enabled Advantages has proven that’s the functionality of the strategy has strengthen up the company’s financial position as well as embedding better IT solution in aircraft industry. Boeing has proved a strategy that could sustain their organization for many long years ahead, while having a competitive advantage in the airline industry especially to compete with Europe’s Airbus. One of the most talkative subjects coherent with the powerful e-Enabled Advantage is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It is a plane that defined the while e-Enabled Advantage campaign, which fully embedded enabled features. Since  the safety of the aircraft is being questioned from time to time, research and development if Boeing still has ample time to carry out strategic analysing on the aircraft in order to strengthen up e-Enabled advantage. e-Enabled campaign is a serious campaign, thus full support from other bodies and JVs are required for the sake of e-Enabled functionality. This is to recommend that Boeing should look for more promising companies (as a failover backup) that could support e-Enabled if the current supporting bodies fail to deliver through its standards. Other recommendation that can be described in this study case is to offer certain features or software on a free trial or discounted fee to allow airline operator to understand the advantages and scope of e-Enabled services. The awareness and widespread of understanding may need to be improved through not only websites but also other sources of medias.

Life Is Dictated By Choices - 1392 Words

Our life is dictated by choices. Oftentimes, we are given the opportunity for a wide array of options. The decision we usually arrive at is based on a set of criteria on the foundation of what we hold significant in our existence. Effortless selections are expected when it comes to intricate essentials of necessities such as water, food, clothing and shelter. However, when one is obligated on choosing the hospital or health insurance for that matter, several factors are taken for consideration. The decision element then becomes a thought-provoking process. When I first came to the United States in 2008, apart from the culture and the weather that I had to get accustomed to – I was surprised with the importance of health insurance. My husband had the urgency to file me as his dependent so I could be included in the open enrollment that was around the same month that I arrived in Baltimore, roughly the second week of November. Back then; I did not understand the worth of getting insurance. But, when the kids entered America a year thereafter, I was aggressively participating in cherry-picking the best health plan that would suit the needs of our family. Admittedly, I am not adept in understanding the insurance jargon as well as the details stipulated in the health care plan. Initially, the critical part of deciding which health plans to pick from the available choices is centered on the amount of co-payment for primary care, urgent care, specialist and ED visit. It was onlyShow MoreRelatedIndigenous Australian And Middle Eastern C ultures1600 Words   |  7 PagesAustralian and Middle Eastern cultures have many similarities when it comes to the factors that influenced their dietary choices throughout history and today. However with these similarities also came many differences as well. 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