The Haberdasher Essay -- Chaucer Essays

The Haberdasher The â€Å"orphan pilgrims† of the Canterbury Tales appear to be quite interesting with their â€Å"geere apiked (365).† A snapshot of the guildsmen determines that the men were wealthy, apart of some type of brotherhood, and had wives that were socially upstanding. Now an argument arises when trying to decide whether or not the craftsmen were actually in a guild or not. Evidence supports my view that, not only were they in a guild, but it was legitimate, exclusive, and included only those with similar occupations. A haberdasher was amongst the fraternity Chaucer mentions. During the medieval times, this hat maker was probably using a cloth called chaperon to make hats. Both men and women wore these types of hats; beaver hats became popular. Women also wore veils on their head to hide their hair (Britannica). At this point in history, there were no legal contracts. This became a problem when the townspeople needed credit to buy items and the craftsmen needed raw materials. The main solution was for the craftsmen to join guilds in an effort to boost their reputation. â€Å"The ‘solempne’ and ‘greet fraternitee’ in whose livery Chaucer dressed the five Burgesses in the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales was probably a craft fraternity (McCutchan 313).† Guilds were very important forces in the fourteenth century. A haberdasher or any craftsman would join â€Å"for personal establishment† and membership also was â€Å"the most frequently employed means of claiming such status in local society (Rosser 10).† The fraternities served as a form of kinship and inclusion amongst peers. The fictional kinship of a fraternity lent a moral force to the declarations of mutual respect sworn between the ‘... ... However, they are highly revered respected in the community and part of that is because of the product that they make. Clothing is a symbol for status, a political statement, and a first impression. Works Cited Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Garden City: Garden City Publishing Company, 1930. Chaucer, Geoffrey. Canterbury Tales. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987. Harwood, Britton J. â€Å"The ‘Fraternitee’ of Chaucer’s Guildsmen.† The Review of English Studies 39.155 (1988): 413-417. â€Å"Hat.† Encyclopedia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 13 Nov 2003 http://search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=40311. Kirby, Thomas A. â€Å"The Haberdasher and his Companions.† Modern Language Notes 53.7 (1938): 504-505. Rosser, Gervase. â€Å"Crafts, Guilds and the Negotiations of Work in the Medieval Town.† Past and Present 154 (1997): 3-31.

Pepe Jeans Case Essay

The main advantage of Pepe not carrying inventory is obviously the cost savings, as it is usually not efficient or cost effective for that matter, to carry excess inventory. The downside is not having enough pairs of jeans on hand to ship to stores when demand is high. An inventory would help alleviate this. The six month lead time is both an advantage and disadvantage for Pepe. The long lead time is positive in that once a retailer places an order, they only have a week to cancel the order. Pepe is able to realize a profit after only ten days rather than months later. The contract locked retailers in immediately and keeps them from reneging on the deal. The downside is that many stores may be turned off by the long lead. It was mentioned in the article that most manufacturers have lead times of a few months or less. The independent stores also tended to order less volume due to the inflexible order system, and the trouble with fashion is that items typically have a short wearable life before they go out of style. Corporate purchasers were worried that the jeans they ordered may go out of style before they even arrive. If I were the manager of Pepe, I would assure my retail partners that every reasonable action was currently being taken to help reduce the current lead time. I would mention the options being considered and thank them for their partnership. I would then sit down with the CFO as well as the best analysts in the company and run reports to forecast the most efficient method of reducing lead time. The case mentions two alternatives to reduce lead time: working with a Hong Kong sourcing agent or building a finishing operation in the UK. Without seeing the company’s financials, it is difficult to say which would be a better choice. The article does mention that Pepe has no long term debt and appears to have plenty of cash on hand. If that is truly the case, then the better option may be to invest in the finishing factory. There would be a large investment up front, but lead time could be cut in half while reducing costs by up to ten percent as well. On the other hand, the sourcing agent could possibly reduce lead time down to as little as six weeks. The problem with this option is that costs to soar by as much as thirty percent.

The Social Pressures Of Large Group On How Individuals...

Experiment designer Solomon Asch conducted a line study in 1951 to show the social pressures of large group on how individuals think, feel, act and respond in social situations . The test had been given to a group of subjects who were asked to pick out and match line lengths. Asch’s experiment showed how easy it is to just assimilate with the majority rather than fight the current of the group and inspired many other studies that kept adding on support to his claim. Thus, the analysis of the groupthink culture started. After Asch’s experiment was over, people began to analyze what this could mean for social psychology, thus it began a revolution of conformity tests. Milgram, Darley and Latanà ©, and Stanford Prison Study all created a buzz around the terminology ‘bystander effect’ and what being part of a large mass of others will do to a person’s stance in social situations. A few psychologist will argue that people, when not given a specific responsibility will float among the crowd, allowing others to carry the weight . Then we have a few different opinions saying that people will actually perform better when others are present. Contributing factors that would challenge the individual to either conform or retaliate against the opposing force is the behavior of group(s), the impact of the situation, the social norms and roles, aggression within the group, and if they’re more caring and have that maternal or paternal instinct. Darley and Latanà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s 1968 experiment had 72Show MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Media On Youth Violence911 Words   |  4 PagesMedia: According to the World Health Organization, more than 1.6 million individuals lose their life to violence each year (32). The mass media delivers messages to communicate with individuals and structure the world. 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