Soft Drink Industry Case Study Essay Example for Free

Soft Drink Industry Case Study Essay Introduction Description The soft drink industry is concentrated with the three major players, Coca-Cola Co. , PepsiCo Inc. , and Cadbury Schweppes Plc. , making up 90 percent of the $52 billion dollar a year domestic soft drink market (Santa, 1996). The soft drink market is a relatively mature market with annual growth of 4-5% causing intense rivalry among brands for market share and growth (Crouch, Steve). This paper will explore Porters Five Forces to determine whether or not this is an attractive industry and what barriers to entry (if any) exist. In addition, we will discuss several critical success factors and the future of the industry. Segments The soft drink industry has two major segments, the flavor segment and the distribution segment. The flavor segment is divided into 6 categories and is listed in table 1 by market share. The distribution segment is divided in to 7 segments: Supermarkets 31. 9%, fountain operators 26. 8%, vending machines 11. 5%, convenience stores 11. 4%, delis and drug stores 7. 9%, club stores 7. 3%, and restaurants 3. 2%. Table 1: Market Share 19901991199219931994 Cola69. 9 69. 768. 36765. 9 Lemon-Lime11. 711. 812 12. 112. 3 Pepper5. 66. 26. 97. 37. 6 Root 2. 72. 82. 32. 72. 7 Orange2. 32. 3 2. 62. 32. 3 Other7. 87. 27. 98. 69. 2 Source: Industry Surveys, 1995 Caveats The only limitations on access to information were: 1. Financial information has not yet been made available for 1996. 2. The majority of the information targets the end consumer and not the sales volume from the major soft drink producers to local distributors. 3. There was no data available to determine over capacity. Socio-Economic Relevant Governmental or Environmental Factors, etc. The Federal Government regulates the soft drink industry, like any industry where the public ingests the products. The regulations vary from ensuring clean, safe products to regulating what those products can contain. For example, the government has only approved four sweeteners that can be used in the making of a soft drink (Crouch, Steve). The soft drink industry currently has had very little impact on the environment. One environmental issue of concern is that the use of plastics adversely affects the environment due to the unusually long time it takes for it to degrade. To combat this, the major competitors have lead in the recycling effort which starting with aluminum and now plastics. The only other adverse environmental impact is the plastic straps that hold the cans together in 6-packs. These straps have been blamed for the deaths of fish and mammals in both fresh and salt water. Economic Indicators Relevant for this Industry The general growth of the economy has had a slight positive influence on the growth of the industry. The general growth in volume for the industry, 4-5 percent, has been barely keeping up with inflation and growths on margins have been even less, only 2-3 percent (Crouch, Steve). Threat of New Entrants Economies of Scale Size is a crucial factor in reducing operating expenses and being able to make strategic capital outlays. By consolidating the fragmented bottling side of the industry, operating expenses may be spread over a larger sales base, which reduces the per case cost of production. In addition, larger corporate coffers allow for capital investment in automated high speed bottling lines that increase efficiency (Industry Surveys, 1995). This trend is supported by the decline in the number of production workers employed by the industry at higher wages and fewer hours. This in conjunction with the increased value of shipments over the period shows the increase in efficiency and the economies gained by consolidation (See table 2). Table 2 General Statistics: Year CompaniesWorkersHoursWagesValue of Shipments 1982162642. 485. 27. 84 16807. 5 198341. 585. 18. 2417320. 8 198439. 8 81. 78. 5118052 1985141437. 277. 89. 119358. 2 1986 133535. 573. 59. 7720686. 8 1987119035. 471. 510. 45 22006 1988113535. 271. 810. 7823310. 3 1989102733. 4 67. 710. 9823002. 1 19909413265. 711. 4823847. 5 1991 31. 966. 811. 8525191. 1 199229. 861. 612. 46 26260. 4 199328. 659. 312. 9327224. 4 199427. 4 56. 913. 3928188. 5 199526. 254. 513. 8629152. 5 1996 2552. 114. 3230116. 5 Source: Manufacturing USA, 4th Ed. Further evidence of economies is supported by the increased return on assets from 1992-1995, as shown in table 3. Coke and Pepsi clearly show increased return on assets as the asset base increases. However, Cadbury/Schweppes does not show conclusive evidence from 95 to 96. Table 3 CADBURY/SCHWEPPES93949596 ASSETS2963100 326690035015004595000 SALES33724003724800 40296004776000 NET INCOME195600236800261900300000 Sales/Income5. 80%6. 36% 6. 50%6. 28% Income/Assets6. 60%7. 25%7. 48%6. 53% COKE ASSETS11051934120210001387300015041000 SALES 13073860139630001618100018018000 NET INCOME1664382217600025540002986000 Sales/Income12. 73%15. 58%15. 78%16. 57% Income/Assets15. 06%18. 10% 18. 41%19. 85% PEPSI ASSETS20951200237058002479200025432000 SALES 21970000250210002847240030421000 NET INCOME374300158800017520001606000 Sales/Income 1. 70%6. 35%6. 15%5. 28% Income/Assets1. 79%6. 70%7. 07%6. 31% Source: Compact Disclosure Capital Requirements The requirements within this industry are very high. Production and distribution systems are extensive and necessary to compete with the industry leaders. Table 4 shows the average capital expenditures by the three industry leaders. Table 4 Dec-95Dec-94Jan-94Jan-93 Receivables1624333 138576712266331077912 Inventories867666. 7 803666. 7777366. 7716673. 7 Plant Equip5986333 579536752466004642058 Total Assets15022667 140555001299790011655411 Source: Compact Disclosure The magnitude of these expenditures causes this to be a high barrier to entry. Proprietary Product Differences Each firm has brands that are unique in packaging and image, however any of the product differences that may develop are easily duplicated. However, secret formulas do create a difference or good will that cannot be duplicated. The best example of this is the New Coke fiasco of 1985. Coke reformulated its product due to test marketing results that showed New Coke beat Pepsi 47% to 43% and New Coke was preferred over old Coke by a 10% margin. However, Coke executives did not take into account the good will created by the old Coke name and formula. The introduction of New Coke as a replacement of Coke was met by outrage and unrelenting protest by the public. Three months from the initial launch of New Coke, management apologized to the public and reissued the old Coke formula. Test marking shows that there is only a small difference in actual product taste (52% Pepsi, 48% Coke), but the good will created by a brand can have significant proprietary differences (Dess, 1993). This is a high barrier to entry. Absolute Cost Advantage Brands do have secret formulas, which makes them unique and new entry into the industry difficult. New products must remain outside of patented zones but these differences can be slight. This leads to the conclusion that the absolute cost advantage is a low barrier within this industry. Learning Curve The shift in the manufacturing of soft drinks is gravitating toward automation due to speed and cost. However, industry technology is low and the manufacturing process is not difficult, therefore the learning curve will be short and will have a low barrier to entry. Access to Inputs All the inputs within the soft drink industry are commodity items. These include cane, beet, corn syrup, honey, concentrated fruit juice, plastic, glass, and aluminum. Access to these inputs is not a barrier to enter the industry. Proprietary Low Cost Production The process of manufacturing soft drinks is not a proprietary process. The methods used in the process are relatively standard within the industry and the knowledge needed to begin production can easily be acquired. This is not a barrier to entry. Brand Identity This is a very strong force within the industry. It takes a long time to develop a brand that has recognition and customer loyalty. Brand loyalty is indeed the HOLY GRAIL to American consumer product companies. (Industry Surveys, 1995) A well recognized brand will foster customer loyalty and creates the opportunity for real market share growth, price flexibility, and above average profitability (Industry Surveys, 1995). Therefore this is a high barrier to entry. Access to Distribution Distribution is a critical success factor within the industry. Without the network, the product cannot get to the final consumer. The most successful soft drink producers are aggressively expanding their distribution channels and consolidating the independent bottling and distribution centers. From 1978 to the present, the number of Coca-Cola bottlers decreased from 370 to 120 (Industry Surveys, 1995). In addition, 31. 9% of the soft drink business is in supermarkets, where acquiring shelf space is very difficult (Santa, 1996). This is a high barrier to entry. Expected Retaliation Market share within the industry is critical; therefore any attempt to take market share from the leaders will result in significant retaliation. The soft drink industry is a moderately mature market with slow single digit growth (Industry Surveys, 1995). Projected growth rates are 4-5% in sales volume and 2- 3% in margin (Crouch, Steve). Therefore, growth in market share is obtained by stealing share from rivals causing retaliation to be high in defense of current market position. This is a high barrier to entry. Conclusion To be successful on a large scale, the high capital requirements for manufacturing, distribution, and marketing are high barriers to entry. Therefore the threat of new entrants is low making this an attractive industry. Suppliers Supplier concentration Supplier concentration is low due to the fact that the main ingredients are sugar (cane and beet), water, various chemicals, and aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles. There are many places to get sugar and ingredients for soft drinks because they are commodity items. The containers (aluminum cans, bottles etc.) make up 36 percent of all the inputs that the industry uses. Other supplies like sugars, syrups and extracts account for 23 percent of the inputs (Manufacturing USA). There are five major suppliers of glass bottles. Altrista Corp. , Anchor Glass Container, Glassware of Chile, Owens Illinois, and Vistro Sa are the major makers of glass bottles (Compact Disclosure). This is a fair amount of suppliers considering that only five percent of soft drink sales are in glass bottles. There are even more suppliers of plastic bottles. This is good because 43% of all sales are from plastic bottles (Prince, 1996). All this makes the concentration for glass and plastic suppliers moderate. The aluminum can industry is even older and more established than the plastic industry. Reynolds Metal Products, American National Can Company and Metal Container Corp. are the main suppliers of aluminum cans. 50. 6% of total soft drink sales are packaged in aluminum cans (Prince, 1996). Since the aluminum industry is older and more established, these are likely to be the only manufacturers for a while. Even though the concentration of aluminum producers are low there are only three major players in the industry, Coke, Pepsi, and Cadbury. These three account for nearly 90% of domestic soft drink sales (Dawson, 1996). This makes the balance of power slightly favor the suppliers of aluminum cans, even though the number of producers and buyers are equal (3). Syrups and extracts account for 16. 7% of input costs to the soft drink industry (Manufacturing USA, Fourth Ed. ). Even though these are a small percentage of inputs, all the major soft drink companies own companies that produce flavoring extracts and syrups (Industry Surveys, 1995). This is probably due to the fact that they all have secret formulas and this is how they protect the secret. Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper all have secret formulas. This makes the concentration of suppliers for extracts very low but they are owned by the soft drink industry. This backward integration by the major players makes the power question moot. Suppliers do have limited power over the soft drink industry. The concentration of suppliers remains relatively low, which would seem to give the supplier power. The shear mass and volume that the industry buys negates that effect and balances, if not tips it back toward the soft drink industry. Presence of Substitute Inputs There is not a lot of variety in inputs. The biggest substitute input was when the industry switched from aluminum cans to plastic bottles. This made the glass industry almost shake out completely. The next big substitute input was for sugar. Since people were demanding more and more ways to lose weight and consume fewer calories, the diet soft drink exploded in sales. This demand made the soft drink industry find an alternative to sugar to sweeten their product. This substitute turned out to be Nutrasweet non-sugar sweetener. This was found to reduce the calories and retain the taste of their respective products. Other sweeteners, like molasses, do not work because they change the flavor of the product. Most of these substitute inputs had already taken place so they become less relevant to the industry as time marched on. Substitute inputs usually do not become important until the customer or market changes dramatically. This happens when new studies come out from the government about how harmful something is. This was the case when scientists came out with the study that stated that saccharin was harmful to rats. The industry had to respond by reducing its use of saccharin and look for a substitute. At this time, the industry found Nutrasweet to be a reasonable substitute for saccharin, which was used more heavily in diet drinks. All in all, there are a lot of substitutes for packaging but not for sweeteners because these sweeteners must have government approval (Crouch, Steve). This makes suppliers have power over the industry as seen in the almost overnight empire of Nutrasweet. This will most likely change drastically when Aspirtain (Nutrasweet) loses its patent in a few years. Differentiation of InputsÃ'Ž Sugar is commonly available while Nutrasweet is patented. There is no differentiation for sugar and only one choice in Nutrasweet. As far as the other chemicals and inputs, they are commodity items, and it does not matter who supplies them. This makes suppliers have little power over the soft drink industry. Importance of Volume to Supplier The soft drink industry buys a large portion of the Nutrasweet market but their percentage of purchases are falling as other products begin to use it. Sugar is bought but not in the volume that the grocery store or other industries do. The aluminum can, plastic bottles and glass bottles (less now) are all pretty much dependent on the soft drink industry for their livelihood. This makes the supplier have pretty much no power over the industry. Impact of Input on Cost or Differentiation Since the inputs are basic elements there is no differentiation and therefore no impact on the final product for using different inputs. If the price of the input changed, it would dramatically change the price of the product as the aluminum cartel did in 1994. Since the major inputs are commodity items, the prices can change dramatically due to environmental forces. If the sugar industry suffers a loss due to weather or because of political unrest (like in Cuba), then the prices go up and the soft drink industry is usually left absorbing them. The soft drink industry can not, in all cases, simply pass along the price increase. Customers and distributors are more price sensitive than ever. This makes the supplier have a fair amount of bargaining power over the industry. Threat of Backward or Forward Integration With the current climate of sticking to the core of the company, there is little threat of backward integration into the suppliers industry. This is after the fact that they already have integrated into the extracts to protect their secrets. The integration into the extract-producing segment of the suppliers will be the extent of the backward integration. The suppliers do not have the capital required to forward integrate into the soft drink industry. This makes the industry attractive for investment. Access to Capital The soft drink industry is very profitable and therefore looked upon favorably by financial institutions. This includes the stock market, direct investors (bondholders), and banks. Currently the operating margins for the industry have grown from 17. 9% in 1992 to 19. 5% in 1996. The projected operating margins are projected to grow to 20. 5% from 1997 to 2001 (Value Line 1996). The profit margins and demand are increasing for the soft drink industry (Industry Surveys, 1995). What this means is that capital is available for expansion or upgrading, if additional capital is required. This is favorable to the industry. Access to Labor The industry is not highly technical except for chemical engineering. This means that the demands for skilled labor are not very high. Which means that the soft drink industry will not have trouble finding labor. There are no established labor unions. The average labor cost is no more than in any other industry. The average hourly wage is $11. 85 per hour, which just about the same as all manufacturing firms of $11. 49 (Manufacturing USA). Summary of Suppliers When you sum up the different aspects of the suppliers you come to the quick conclusion that the power is definitely in the hands of the soft drink industry. This makes the industry very attractive for investment and for the companies already in the industry from the supply aspect. This means that it is attractive to new entrants as well. Buyers Buyer Concentration versus Industry Concentration The buyers for the soft drink industry are members of a large network of bottlers and distributors that represent the major soft drink companies at the local level. Distributors purchase the finished, packaged product from the soft drink companies while bottlers purchase the major ingredients. With the consolidation that has occurred within the industry, there is little difference between the two. Distributors are assigned to represent a specific geographic area, for example a town or a county. In turn, these distributors are responsible for distributing the product to the retailers who sell the products to the end consumer. In recent years, the national companies have been purchasing independent bottlers in an effort to consolidate the business and gain some distribution economies of scale (Thompson and Strickland, 1993). Buyer Volume The contractual agreements, which are present in this industry, dictate that the major soft drink companies will sell their products to the distributors. Therefore, buyer volume is not a factor for this industry. Buyer Switching CostÃ'Ž Independent bottlers have contractual agreements to represent that company within a certain area. Switching costs would include establishing new relationships with other companies to represent and the legal costs associated with distributors being released from the contract. Buyer Information Distributors are very informed about the product that they are distributing. Information flows freely between the soft drink Companies and the local distributors and down to the retailers. There are many co-operative promotions where distributors and soft drink companies collaborate on price and advertising campaigns (Crouch, Steve). For example, major soft drink firms will send a regular report out to its distributors describing upcoming promotional events where the cost will be shared between the two companies. For promotions that fall outside of this report, the distributors will have to coordinate that sponsorship with the soft drink company. Threat of Backward Integration It is doubtful that local distributors will move into the actual production process of soft drinks. Distributors specialize in the transportation and promotion of the product that they rely on the carbonated beverage companies produce. However, major retailers; for example Wal-Mart and Harris Teeter have begun distributing their own private label brands of soft drinks. Wal-Mart now offers Sams Choice and Harris Teeter offers Presidents Choice at a significantly lower price. These private label competitors will not provide the variety of packaging alternatives, which make the national leaders so successful (PepsiCo 1995 Annual Report). For example, Pepsi offers 12-ounce cans, 20 ounce bottles, 1 liter bottles, six packs, twelve packs, cases and The Cube 24 can boxes. Pull Through Pull through is not a factor from the independent bottlers perspective. These bottlers have a franchise agreement to represent a major carbonated beverage company on the local level. These distributors are legally bound to represent these companies and therefore cannot choose not to promote certain types of beverages. Brand Identity of Buyers Brand identity of buyers is not relevant to the distributors because of the contractual relationship that exists where distributors represent the soft drink companies. The distributors have an exclusive contractual agreement to represent that soft drink brand. Price Sensitivity Distributors are not highly price sensitive buyers. Independent bottlers are on a national contract so all distributors pay the same price for the same products. Price to Total Purchases Soft drinks are the single product that the distributors are concerned with so price is very important to them. Soft drink companies rely on these distributors to represent them on the local level, so it is important to maintain a healthy relationship. Impact on Quality and Performance All three of the leading carbonated beverage producers, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Cadbury Schweppes believe that their buyers (distributors) are an important step in taking their products to the end consumer. The service, which their distributors provide to the retailers, makes a difference to the retailers who sell the product to the end consumer. The actions of that distributor reflect on the soft drink company so if the distributor does not provide the level of service that retailer or restaurant desires, it may harm the companys image. Substitute Products Relative price/performance relationship of Substitutes The carbonated beverage industry provides a non-alcoholic means of satisfying an individuals desire to quench their thirst. Traditionally, coffee and tea would be considered substitute products. In recent years, carbonated beverages have seen the emergence of many new substitute products that wish to reduce soft drinks market share. The soft drink market has been traditionally competitive, without the added friction from ready to drink tea, shelf stable juice, sports drinks and still-water competitors also. (Gleason, 1996) Leaders in these emerging segments include Quaker Oats, with their Snapple and Gatorade products, Perrier, and Arizona Iced Teas. In other words, Pepsi isnt Cokes biggest competition, Tap water is. (Gleason, 1996). Generally speaking, soft drinks are less expensive to the consumer than these substitute products. Buyer Propensity to Substitute Buyer propensity to substitute is low due to the contractual relationships between the soft drink companies and the distributors. Rivalry Degree of Concentration and Balance among Competitors Three main competitors: Pepsico, Coca-Cola, and Dr. Pepper/Cadbury control the Soft Drink industry. Their combined total sales revenues account for 90 percent of the entire domestic market. This market dominance makes the industry a fiercely competitive and dynamic business environment to operate in. The single market leader is Coca-Cola with a 42 percent market share and over $18 billion in sales worldwide. PepsiCo maintains a 31 percent market share with $10. 5 billion in sales worldwide. The smallest of the three leaders is Dr. Pepper/Cadbury, which holds roughly 16 percent of the market. Cokes consistent dominance of both Pepsi and Dr. Pepper/Cadbury has caused Coke to become a household name when referring to soft drinks. As far as balance among competitors is concerned, PepsiCo is a much larger company than Coke and Dr. Pepper/Cadbury combined. The reason being that PepsiCo also owns companies in the snack and food industries (Frito-Lay, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC). With a work force of 480,000 people, PepsiCo is the worlds third largest employer behind General Motors and Wal-Mart. This has not lead to a more profitable soft drink business, nor has it helped PepsiCo use its size to steal market share from Coke or Dr. Pepper/Cadbury. Diversity among Competitors Though Coca-Cola dominates the industry in sales volume and market share, it does not dominate when it comes to innovative marketing and business strategy efforts. For instance, PepsiCo generates 71 percent of its revenues from the U. S. , while Coca-Cola derives 71 percent of its from international markets. Similarly, PepsiCo only gets 41 percent of its total revenues from soft drinks. The remaining 59 percent come from its snack and food business. Coke on the other hand gets all of its revenues from its soft drinks. Clearly both of the industry leaders have different strategies as far as revenue generation is concerned. However, as far as their product lines are concerned they are very similar and operate parallel to one another. Pepsi and Coca-Cola both have lemon-lime, citrus, root beer, and cola flavors. Dr. Pepper/Cadbury does not have as similar a product line to that of Pepsico and Coca-Cola. It manufactures Dr. Pepper (a unique spicy cola drink), ginger ale, tonic water, and carbonated water under its Schweppes and Canada Dry brands. Coke does have an answer to Dr. Pepper in its Mr. Pibb, but only holds a . 4 percent market share compared to Dr. Peppers 6 percent market share. The relatively low level of diversity makes the soft drink industry unattractive for investment. Industry Growth Rate Although new product lines have come into the beverage industry over the past two to three years, the soft drink segment has held and grown its share steadily. The onslaught of the sport drink and bottled tea have proven to be a passing fad that has gained little if no long term market share from soft drinks. Growth figures for the soft drink industry have been very steady since 1993, and are projected to continue to be so into the last part of the twentieth century. As can be seen in Figure 1, volatility was somewhat prevalent in the 1980s but has since lessened and leveled off (Valueline, 1996). Figure 1 Year87-8888-8989-9090-9191- 9292-9393-9494-95 Growth5. 7%5. 2%2% 3%2. 9%4%4. 4%4% Over the past ten years soft drinks have gained 5 percent of total beverage sales, putting them over the 25 percent share level for all beverage sales. As for new and emerging markets, both Coke and Pepsi are attacking the international environment. Coca-Cola generates 80 percent of its revenues abroad, and Pepsi is attempting but failing to put more emphasis there as well. Pepsi is losing customers to Coke in every major foreign territory. The company has always struggled overseas, but in the past few months it has lost key strongholds in Russia and Venezuela to Coke (Sellers, 1996). Because of the consistent growth of both the domestic and foreign markets, the soft drink industry is attractive for investment. Fixed Costs The SP Industry Survey has shown the soft drink industry profit margin to be on a steady incline over the past fifteen years. Levels in 1980 were near 14%, while as of year-end 1995 were over 20% and expected to flatten a bit. This flattening effect may be an indication that fixed costs are on the rise due to expansionÃ'Ž

My Online Experience Essay -- Internet Personal Narrative Papers

My Online Experience Being a college student, it is important that one learns to become computer literate. Although I have had the opportunity to go on the Internet, I have never had the opportunity to go beyond doing research, or finding information simply for pleasure. Up to this day, I had not entered the intriguing world of the online communities, and what they can offer. I really did not know much about chat rooms nor had the interested in finding out. From hearing on the news what takes place in the chat rooms, I have had a very narrow perspective on chat rooms and what goes on in them. The reasons, I figured people explored the chat rooms was for friendship, romance, or excitement. In which case, I did not need from a computer. Since it was part of one of the class assignments to find about and explore the chat communities, I did, but I was hesitant. Because it was a personal choice as to what topic we would like to explore, I chose a topic, which I had been interested for a long time. I decided on a topic that I would be able to gain information, as well as to receive helpful insights. This interest led me to research the subject on how to maintain a small fish aquarium. Ever since I can remember I have wanted to have a small fish aquarium filled with many different kinds of fish. But an incident that I experienced at the age of seven has kept me from doing so. Since I was seven years old I have been intimidated to even dare have one fish, due to the incident that happened to me at that time. I remember coming home from a carnival with two prized goldfish that I won at a local fair. I was so excited to have for the very first time a pet of my own. I remember having both fish in a soup bowl for a day or two. I can... ... much information on fish aquariums I can imagine the possibilities on a search that deals with primary educational materials. Now that i have opened my mind to the use of the internet and chat rooms, I see myself using it more often, especially in the field to gathered information that can be of great help to me when planning for a lesson or any extra curricular activities. I want to thank you professor cross for integrating the computer work in this class. I consider myself somewhat computer literate. I know there's much more to learn, and with time and a little effort I think I can manage! Works Cited Rosenstein,Mark http://actwin.com/fish/index.cgi (Dec 10,99) http://wwwanimalforum.com/fishmain.htm (Dec 10,99) http://wwwaqcuariacentral.com (Dec 10,99) http://wwwfishlinkcentral.com (Dec 10,99) lhttp://fishroom.com/java.html (Dec10,99)

Civil Disobedience : Bane of Boon to the Concept of Just Society? Essay

Even as the nations are engaged in tackling the menace of terrorism among its rank and file, the debate over what makes a ‘just society’ has renewed itself with fresh questions evolving out of it, especially from the perspective of civil disobedience, where issues on ethics, emotion, justification and morality are embedded in an inseparable way and therefore add complexities in the comprehension of just society. Thus this paper weighs some pertinent points involving the concept of just society from the perspective of civil disobedience before arriving at an inference on whether civil disobedience is a bane or a boon to the concept of just society. A Brief Definition of Just Society â€Å"Just Society† refers to a particular condition of a society, where its subjects enjoy some freedom beyond laws that are framed, provided that freedom should ideally be directed towards garnering collective benefits for the society. This facility of a citizen goes down under the head of â€Å"fair treatment† of the state to its subjects and is commonly known as social justice. With time, this freedom has become a medium of the thinkers and well wishers of the society to share and air their views to draw the attention of the government on several issues pertaining to the well-being of the concerned society. Different political ideas, ideologies or situations create different interpretations of a just society. As for example, the left-wing ideology could prescribe an extensive use of income redistribution after judging its present state as a deterrent to the just society, while a right-wing political party could stress on philanthropy, open market system or charity to attain social justice for the society. However, the broad base of just society is powered by the concepts like equality and human rights. A Brief Definition of Civil Disobedience The briefest definition of civil disobedience could be like â€Å"an act guided by conscience towards preventing or developing a condition in the society, which might overstep certain areas of written law, yet that overstepping is not intended to oppose the law†. Civil disobedience is supposed to be an outcome of a serious observation of any flaw or the scope of development in the society, totally backed up by moral and ethical values and totally devoted towards a positive change in the society. Here the gray area lies in the quality of such an observation and inference. For example, a group of thinker might observe that certain areas of taxes are burdening the citizens and thus be waived, while another group might observe a positive impact of taxes on the citizen. However, civil disobedience is supposed to act under the guideline of equality and human rights and it has to be morally justified. Understandably, these preconditions are liable to vary according the laws of various states. The Questions The preconditions of civil obedience raises certain questions like why a civil disobedience would be considered as anarchy, if it fails to remain within such preconditions like moral justification or total submission to the written law of the land. Reasonably, questions like that evolve out of human rights’ parameter or the natural human qualities like emotion – where driven by the cause, one might go overboard and breach the law to end up in the prison. There are questions too, about the applicable yardstick of identifying the nature of civil disobedience or distinguishing it from ordinary offences. Civil disobedience is generally not considered as a crime in a democratic society. Thus, if a civil disobedient is jailed or otherwise punished, it becomes a recognized offence, which, in other words, stands as a different interpretation of the person’s motive. Perhaps it is for this reason even the founder of the very coinage ‘civil disobedience’, Henry David Thoreau, once rued over the apathy of the society towards the plight of the intellectuals who raise voice for the society itself – after he was jailed for refusing to pay the state poll tax to American government as a protest against governmental plan to prosecute a war in Mexico. An agitated Thoreau wrote in his essay – â€Å"Only a very few people – heroes, martyrs, patriots, reformers in the best sense – serve their society with their consciences, and so necessarily resist society for the most part, and are commonly treated by it as enemies† (Thoreau, 1991). Towards Making a Just Society Thus questions like above validate another query like ‘what makes a just state’, and stress on garnering more flexibility through legal parameters instead of leaving the subject on the leniency of the government – like when, in spite of acting on moral drive, a civil disobedient stands at a crossroad where the state can either overlook his/her offence or jail him/her. In either of the action, the government stands to loose – if it overlooks the situation it might be blamed for not doing its duty, and if it imprisons the person, it might be condemned of violating human rights. This indicates that to create a just state, states have a role to formulate a convincing script of the division of justice like Compensatory (corrective) justice, Retributive justice or Distributive justice. The observation of Thoreau as mentioned earlier, also points towards another roadblock towards making a just society. Since the range of values like transparency, security, privacy, integrity and autonomy cannot be fully defined by the scripts of justice, the governmental interpretations of them can invoke mixed reaction among people – some might resort to civil disobedience, some might remain skeptic to the situation. Majority should be able to justify the situation and their best role in it, before pursuing a cause. Thus people should be equipped to meet the standards of civil disobedience or to reap any benefit out of it – â€Å"Justified civil disobedience†, says John Rawls, â€Å"can serve to inhibit departures from justice and to correct departures when they occur; thus it can act as a stabilising force in society† (Rawls, 1971). This situation speaks about the important role of the civil society too – that it is their duty to educate and inform the mass about the nature of civil disobedience (direct or indirect) and the possible consequences attached to them. Alongside it should be a joint effort by state and the civil society to spread awareness about how civil disobedience differs from legal protest, rule departures and conscientious objection – and more importantly how it has no relation with the breakaway groups like radical protesters and extremists. CONCLUSION There can be no doubt that civil disobedience keeps the society lively and interacting, besides being instrumental in guarding the common interest of people through the conscientious voice of the citizens. Without this vigilance, the concept of just society cannot be put into action. While the governmental interpretation of just society determines the scope and outcome of civil disobedience, the clarity of perception of the civil society about ‘just society’ keeps civil disobedience movement on its desired track. Thus, both state and the civil society have to share the task of disseminating appropriate education at the every corner of the society to invoke awareness on judiciary system and the scope of civil rights. This awareness would then automatically serve as a shield to the civilians and as an alert to the state. However, in the modern context of terrorism or increasing rate of violence, some might opine that civil disobedience has lost its sting – which is in fact, not true. Now the new world order evokes global citizens to resort to civil disobedience on global issues like terrorism or environment, which might have no bearing with the local state’s policy or its actions. This speaks about how the civil societies across the globe have adapted itself to the new avatar of civilization – they are now connected to one another for the sake of making a ‘just global society’ – all the while depending on a common tool like civil disobedience. Thus, in both of its new and old role, civil disobedience proves to be a boon to the concept of just society. Ends Works Cited Rawls, John (1971), A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Thoreau, Henry David (1991), ‘Civil Disobedience’ in Civil Disobedience in Focus. Hugo A. Bedau (ed. ), London: Routledge. Works Consulted Brownlee, K. (2007). Civil Disobedience. Web Article. Retrieved on Dec 1, 2007, from http://plato. stanford. edu/entries/civil-disobedience/#FeaCivDis Civil Disobedience. Web Article. Retrieved on Dec 1, 2007, from http://www. answers. com/topic/civil-disobedience

Madame de Stael French Salonist and Writer

Madame de Stael was one of the best-known women of history to writers in the 19th century, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, who often quoted her, though she is not nearly so well known today.     She was famous for her salons (intellectual gatherings).   She fled to Switzerland during the French Revolution, though she had at first been in sympathy. After her return to France, she found herself in conflict with Napoleon  after criticizing him. Background Madame de Staà «l, born April 22, 1766,  was the well-educated daughter of a Swiss banker who was a financial advisor to King Louis XVI and a Swiss-French mother. Germaine Necker was married in 1786 in an arranged and loveless match, ending with a legal separation in 1797. Madame de Stael had two children with her husband, another with a lover, and another born just before she secretly married the father, an army officer who was 23 to her 44. Madame de Stael is known for her own salon, for her support of the French Revolution and eventually for the more moderate elements in that, and for her criticisms of Napoleon Bonaparte, who drove her from France knowing that her influence was great. She died on Bastille Day, July 14, 1817. Madame de Stael was one of the best-known women of history to writers in the 19th century, who often quoted her, though she is not nearly so well known today. Selected Madame de Stael Quotations †¢ Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike. †¢ I learn life from the poets. †¢ O Earth! all bathed with blood and years, yet never / Hast thou ceased putting forth thy fruit and flowers. †¢ Society develops wit, but its contemplation alone forms genius. †¢ The human mind always makes progress, but it is a progress in spirals. †¢ Lesprit humain fait progres toujours, mais cest progres en spirale †¢ Search for the truth is the noblest occupation of man; its publication is a duty. †¢ Far from being reassured, the more I saw of Napoleon Bonaparte, the more alarmed I became .... [H]e is a man without emotions.... †¢ Everything is controlled by one man, and no person can take a step, or form a wish, without him. Not only liberty but free will seems banished from the earth. [after Napoleon banned her book On Germany] †¢ If it were not for respect for human opinions, I would not open my window to see the Bay of Naples for the first time, whilst I would go five hundred leagues to talk with a man of genius whom I had not seen. †¢ Genius is essentially creative; it bears the stamp of the individual who possesses it. †¢ Courage of soul is necessary for the triumphs of genius. †¢ One must chose in life between boredom and suffering. †¢ Innocence in genius, and candor in power, are both noble qualities. †¢ Scientific progress makes moral progress a necessity; for if mans power is increased, the checks that restrain him from abusing it must be strengthened. †¢ Enthusiasm gives life to what is invisible; and interest to what has no immediate action on our comfort in this world. †¢ The sense of this word among the Greeks affords the noblest definition of it; enthusiasm signifies God in us. †¢ Conscience is doubtless sufficient to conduct the coldest character into the road of virtue; but enthusiasm is to conscience what honor is to duty; there is in us a superfluity of soul, which it is sweet to consecrate to the beautiful when the good has been accomplished. †¢ The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it; but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it. †¢ Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts. †¢ The more I see of men the more I like dogs. †¢ A man must know how to fly in the face of opinion; a woman to submit to it. †¢ The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man. †¢ Men err from selfishness; women because they are weak. †¢ When women oppose themselves to the projects and ambition of men, they excite their lively resentment; if in their youth they meddle with political intrigues, their modesty must suffer. †¢ Glory can be for a woman but the brilliant mourning of happiness. †¢ The egotism of woman is always for two. †¢ Love is the whole history of a womans life, it is but an episode in a mans. †¢ There are women vain of advantages not connected with their persons, such as birth, rank, and fortune; it is difficult to feel less the dignity of the sex. The origin of all women may be called celestial, for their power is the offspring of the gifts of Nature; by yielding to pride and ambition they soon destroy the magic of their charms. †¢ Love is the emblem of eternity; it confounds all notion of time; effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end. †¢ In matters of the heart, nothing is true except the improbable. †¢ We cease loving ourselves if no one loves us. †¢ Sow good services: sweet remembrances will grow them. †¢ Speech happens to not be his language. †¢ The greatest happiness is to transform ones feelings into action. †¢ Be happy, but be so by piety. †¢ The mystery of existence is the connection between our faults and our misfortunes. †¢ As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely. †¢ To live beneath sorrow, one must yield to it. †¢ When we destroy an old prejudice, we have need of a new virtue. †¢ Gaiety pleases more when we are assured that it does not cover carelessness. †¢ Frivolity, under whatever form it appears, takes from attention its strength, from thought its originality, from feeling its earnestness. †¢ The education of life perfects the thinking mind, but depraves the frivolous. †¢ A religious life is a struggle and not a hymn. †¢ The language of religion can alone suit every situation and every mode of feeling. †¢ Prayer is more than meditation. In meditation, the source of strength is ones self. When one prays, he goes to a source of strength greater than his own. †¢ To pray together, in whatever tongue or ritual, is the most tender brotherhood of hope and sympathy that men can contract in this life. †¢ The soul is a fire that darts its rays through all the senses; it is in this fire that existence consists; all the observations and all the efforts of philosophers ought to turn towards this Me, the centre and moving power of our sentiments and our ideas. †¢ Have you not observed that faith is generally strongest in those whose character may be called the weakest? †¢ Superstition is related to this life, religion to the next; superstition is allied to fatality, religion to virtue; it is by the vivacity of earthly desires that we become superstitious; it is. on the contrary, by the sacrifice of these desires that we become religious. †¢ When at eve, at the bounding of the landscape, the heavens appear to recline so slowly on the earth, imagination pictures beyond the horizon an asylum of hope -- a native land of love; and nature seems silently to repeat that man is immortal. †¢ Divine wisdom, intending to detain us some time on earth, has done well to cover with a veil the prospect of life to come; for if our sight could clearly distinguish the opposite bank, who would remain on this tempestuous coast? †¢ When a noble life has prepared old age, it is not decline that it reveals, but the first days of immortality. †¢ It is difficult to grow old gracefully. †¢ However old a conjugal union, it still garners some sweetness. Winter has some cloudless days, and under the snow a few flowers still bloom. †¢ We understand death for the first time when he puts his hand upon one whom we love. †¢ How true it is that, sooner or later, the most rebellious must bow beneath the yoke of misfortune! †¢ Men have made of fortune an all-powerful goddess, in order that she may be made responsible for all their blunders. †¢ Life often seems like a long shipwreck, of which the debris are friendship, glory, and love; the shores of existence are strewn with them. †¢ I see that time divided is never long, and that regularity abridges all things. †¢ Doubtless the human face is the grandest of all mysteries; yet fixed on canvas it can hardly tell of more than one sensation; no struggle, no successive contrasts accessible to dramatic art, can painting give, as neither time nor motion exists for her. †¢ The face of a woman, whatever be the force or extent of her mind, whatever be the importance of the object she pursues, is always an obstacle or a reason in the story of her life. †¢ Good taste cannot supply the place of genius in literature, for the best proof of taste, when there is no genius, would be, not to write at all. †¢ Architecture is frozen music! †¢ Music revives the recollections it would appease. †¢ Truth and, by consequence, liberty, will always be the chief power of honest men. †¢ When once enthusiasm has been turned into ridicule, everything is undone except money and power. †¢ Where no interest is takes in science, literature and liberal pursuits, mere facts and insignificant criticisms necessarily become the themes of discourse; and minds, strangers alike to activity and meditation, become so limited as to render all intercourse with them at once tasteless and oppressive. †¢ Whatever is natural admits of variety. †¢ And all the bustle of departure -- sometimes sad, sometimes intoxicating--just as fear or hope may be inspired by the new chances of coming destiny. †¢ The only equitable manner in my opinion, of judging the character of a man is to examine if there are personal calculations in his conduct; if there are not, we may blame his manner of judging, but we are not the less bound to esteem him. †¢ The most careful reasoning characters are very often the most easily abashed. †¢ To be totally understanding makes one very indulgent. †¢ [O]ld and free England should be inspired with admiration by the progress of America. †¢ Napoleon Bonaparte, about Madame de Stael: They say that she does not speak of politics or me; but how does it happen that all who speak to her come to like me less? †¢ About her, after Napoleon fell: There are only three powers left in Europe -- Russia, England, and Madame de Staà «l. Also known as: Germaine de Staà «l, Germaine Necker, and Anne-Louise-Germaine de Staà «l-Holstein Related: Olympe de Gouges and the Rights of WomanMary WollstonecraftJudith Sargent Murray About These Quotes Quote collection assembled by Jone Johnson Lewis. Each quotation page in this collection and the entire collection  © Jone Johnson Lewis. This is an informal collection assembled over many years. I regret that I am not be able to provide the original source if it is not listed with the quote.