Double-Consciousness in Audre Lorde’s Coal Essay -- Audre Lorde Coal E

Double-Consciousness in Audre Lorde’s â€Å"Coal† There is a double-consciousness, according to W.E Burghardt Du Bois, in which we view ourselves through a veil. Underneath of this veil is the true self. The person that we are in our purest state. The veil itself, however, is how society sees us and our realization of that projection. Looking in a mirror, both layers can be seen. However, the true self is still covered, muddled, unclear beneath the sheer outer shell of expectation. In her poem â€Å"Coal†, Audre Lorde alludes to this concept through the dual image of a piece of coal and a diamond. As a black woman, Lorde only transforms from coal to diamond when she embraces her blackness as coal and, ironically, rejects the societal pressure to conform by speaking her words and embracing that she is black and coal. In the beginning, Lorde equates herself with a piece of coal. She says that she is â€Å"the total black†(2068). As a piece of coal, she is black both inside and out. Being outwardly black, she may still be oppressed by the society around her, her identity being engulfed by the world. In the state of coal, she is merely â€Å"being spoken from the earth’s inside†(2068). Words would be stifled by the surrounding layers of dirt that engulf her. As coal, Lorde is susceptible to the double-consciousness described by Dubois. The poem begins with an â€Å"I†, and continues in the second line to say â€Å"is the total black†(2068). She separates herself from the total black here, indicating that her true self is not necessarily within that â€Å"total black†(2068). She also separates herself from the bad grammar associated with illiteracy that characterizes many black communities. The total black, is not Lorde herself, but in fact,... ...ry occurs when Lorde says â€Å"At this point in time, I believe that women carry within ourselves the possibility for fusion of these two approaches so necessary for survival, and we come closest to this combination in our poetry† (Lorde 2210). Thus, through further exploration of Lorde as a person, new insight is given to the poem â€Å"Coal†. The poem also inadvertently raises questions about other poems when upheld as an example for comparison to elucidate Lorde’s feelings about double-consciousness. This greater understanding and discourse on the subject of double-consciousness is vital to understanding the poem â€Å"Coal† because it is vital to the identity of Audre Lorde as a person. Since her writing is almost exclusively and scrutinizingly about herself, learning about the broader topics and events in Lorde’s life are intrinsic to the specific poem of â€Å"Coal†.

Shipper Manufacturing Company Case Study

In order for the APD Division at Shipper to gradually shift from a low volume/sole-source product line to a higher volume/continuous product, manufacturing will need to adopt new operations objectives with respect to cost, delivery, quality and flexibility. The current customized products allow for costs to be passed through to the customer but with a producer designed product, more of the costs could fall internally and have a larger affect on profits. The price tag of the product will become a more important objective due to increased competition and we will therefore want to reduce costs and should be emphasized as the mission objective. The shift from customer to producer designs will reduce flexibility since Shipper will aim for fewer manufactured products marketed at a wider audience. The quality objective should not change much from the current; Shipper would still want to maintain the quality standards they are known for, which may already provide for a distinct competence. Quality would be an order qualifier supporting the order winner of cost and can aide in positioning APD’s products as a strong competitor in the anticipated market. Delivery as a qualifier will also help win orders in a more competitive environment and thus the objective should be to trim it down. New expectations may require stocking a finished goods inventory and possibly maintaining supplies to quickly produce the goods during peaks of demand. Higher and more normal volume shipping routines may also benefit the end of delivery process. Shipper can help solidify a competitive role in the expected market by establishing a competitive advantage derived from maintaining these objectives when moving towards a multiple customer and high production volume strategy. Many, if not all elements of operations will need adjustment to account for this change in strategy and manufacturing operations objectives. A low cost and improved delivery objective will put a more normal routine on many items and that ideally can improve a number of processes and costs along the way. The process should trend toward a high volume/low cost basis and involve repetition ov er a long period of time. Since these processes would be continually run, it would now be worth the investment of capital into more automated equipment to speed up production and duplication. This should also reduce the labor intensity needed to produce the finished good and be more effective as a line flow as opposed to the current job shop approach. Furthermore, placing orders and stocking inventory will no longer run parallel as easily and may need to be separated in the process for more direct control and efficiency. The materials supply is already integrated vertically and is an existing benefit of the structure, greater possible savings might be achievable due to economies of scale with higher volumes. The work force would be directly affected by the changes in the manufacturing equipment towards automation. Fewer and lower skilled laborers will be necessary, which will draw lower wages and reduce costs but open the potential for dissatisfaction with the job. Management of labor will still be as important as always and the need to maintain morale and a positive attitude could possibly come into play in order to keep workers motivated and production at a high level of quality. More growth opportunities may reveal themselves to laborers with the need for more direct control in manufacturing. Quality control would need to evolve to consider the newer higher volume production versus the existing project orientation. The teamwork mentality may also suffer from the change to a line flow and may require a quality control panel to make up for the quality attitude lost by leaving a group project orientation. Other control factors need to evolve to accommodate the shift. More raw inputs and finished goods may have to be stocked on site and require better organization than the manual system. Production and inventory control will need to get the manual system updated to the new computer system, to eliminate the dependency for expediting and stock chasing, which could only get worse with a larger production. Improved capacity should follow once operations move more towards the higher volume product line and fully utilize new equipment. Scheduling will most likely get more intricate and be streamlined to ensure maximum efficiency from the growing capacity as the operation changes to a line flow. The organization may want to accommodate the new strategy and open up a trained production/inventory control position specific to APD, in addition to the materials management service for all divisions. Developing a quality control area directly under APD also may be advantageous, to incorporate quality assurance into the different steps of manufacturing instead of an end process inspection. It might create a better opportunity to prevent errors in house and reduce the need to correct them after the fact, preventatively reducing costs.

Customer Complaints A Of Life And A Part Of Doing Business

Customer complaints are a fact of life and a part of doing business. You can never make everyone happy all of the time, but an organisation must have procedures in place based on organisational policies, legislation and/or codes of practice for processing complaints in an attempt to make the customer happy. You must be aware of these procedures and follow them. A good organisation does not hide from complaints, it: †¢ Is open to receiving a complaint †¢ Knows how to deal with a complaint †¢ Is happy to deal with the complaint †¢ Uses complaints as a learning exercise †¢ Follows procedure and works within legislation and codes of practice A company that hides from a complaint avoids the opportunity to resolve the complaint, which reduces the†¦show more content†¦Look at alternatives you can offer, use any discretion you have to provide a solution. Give the customer the range of options available. Once the customer has chosen an option they are happy with, the next step is to follow up and ask them if everything is satisfactory. A loyal customer can be gained by simply making sure they feel like their complaint was dealt with professionally and fairly. Learning from complaints is critical. Every complaint that the organisation receives is an opportunity to evaluate and maybe do things better in the future. Good organisational complaint processes allow the organisation to make positive changes to the way that it does things. Legislation Every industry is covered by legislation. They will have their own codes of practice and these are developed to meet the standards of the legislation. They do have variations, usually in excess of basic requirements. There is various state and federal legislation governing sales in Australia to protect the rights of consumers which also imposes conditions on them in terms of their behaviour and expectations. Within each industry there may be a particular or special conditions and these should be reflected in the organisation’s procedures. Customers can return something: †¢ For a refund of the monies paid; †¢ For repair of the goods or replacement of the goods if the goodsShow MoreRelatedCompetitive Advantage of Store Design and Customer Handling in Retail1380 Words   |  6 PagesCOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF STORE DESIGN AND CUSTOMER HANDLING IN RETAIL STORE DESIGN Good design creates the vital difference in today s competitive marketplace. Successful companies use design as a powerful tool in their marketing strategy by making better products and building a strong retail identity. Design creates a better environment at the workplace and projects the organizational image. 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