Ritz – Carlton

?The case â€Å"The Ritz- Carlton: Managing the Mystique† deals with the strategic marketing decision of how the hotel chain should continue its operations in order to satisfy its customers more. By overcoming the challenges of being one of the top ranking hotels in the world and hiring the right people to do so, the success of your marketing startegy would be inevitable. In this way Ritz- Carlton could potentially increase its sales and and expand in different countries.Therefore, this case will deal with possible solutions and ways of operating in order to create hotel uniqueness and gain a cometitive advantage compare to other five- stars hotels. Ranked as the best luxury hotel chain in America out of thousands others, for the past years it still provides the same exceptional standard of quality, comfort and fittings (Power, 2012). The essence of the Ritz Carlton experience lies in the quality of the service provided by the company which is also the intangible product the c ompany is selling.The manager makes sure that the service is tailored to the individual and is earnest and helpful. Every guest and employee is treated with respect and the general managers pay special attention to every visitor from the moment of airport picking until the moment the visitor leaves the hotel. An essential part of the service process is the guest recognition procedure, part of the service quality indicators (SQIs) which when implemented â€Å"creates a sticky relationship† between the guest and employee, in particular or the hotel, in general.The staff’s responsibility is to make each â€Å"guest feels well when they leave† and create an unforgettable, personalised experience which satisfies even the most discerning visitors. Moreover, the company also recognize the technology as a key to a high service level. It is something that the customer expects to receive when stays at a five- star hotel. In order for Ritz-Carlton to be a leader in what it is selling, the company has realized the need for continuous improvement of its core competences by placing total quality management (TQM) as a central point in their strategy implementation.It has to concentrate on hiring the right people who enjoy looking after other people, and provide a pleasant environment for them to work in. Moreover, the hotel-chain improves its weak areas based on the feedback it receives from evaluators when applying for awards. Moreover, the ability to satisfy all kind of customer’s claims makes them more loyal. In this situation, the Ritz- Carlton manages to fill the customer gap by providing the customer’s expectations, what he believes should receive, and at the same time his perceptions, what he gets in addition (Wilson, 2012).This rise some challenges for the hotel manager, such as the ability to close the other four gaps called provider gaps. The first one of which is to not knowing what customers expect, which applies the difference between the customers expectations and the company’s understanding of them. In order to overcome this challenge a more direct contact with the guests of the hotel is needed. In particular, establishing strong and long- term relationships with regular customers and satisfying their needs in every moment.To succeed in this, interviews and surveys could be conducted among the customers to establish their requirements and expectations. Afterwards, building a system with all of their responses would contribute to stay closer to them. Therefore, to conduct all the relevant information, the empowered and front line people play an important role. In the hospitality management, the communication between the manager and his employees plays and important role to avoid establishing a gap. As a second provider gap is considered not selecting the right service quality designs and standards.In order to deliver the highest quality service, the service design and the company’s performa nce standards should be developed in a way to reflect the customer expectations and perceptions. The new plan should be focused on customer driven design and together with it meeting the employees needs. The third gap is not delivering service designs and standards. As being developed in the second stage of the customer gap system, now the firm has to succeed in delivering the new way of serving its guests. The employees should be selected effectively to complete their obligations.They should have the right characteristics to complete the job. Conflicts on the workplace should be avoided as well as the inability of team work. Moreover, appropriate systems and facilities should be developed and provided, to follow if all the factors for achieving the high standard level of service are in place. The last but not the least provider gap is not matching performance to promises. The marketing advertisement plays an important role in this stage. By creating an advertisement with promotion of over- promising services, the customer expectations also increase and it is difficult to meet the standards you cannot provide.This interactive marketing strategy might be created together with external companies to communicate effectively with current and potential customers (Wilson, 2012). To create the same policy in every of the Ritz- Carlton hotels, the top manager has to follow the same policy and stick to the same standards in order to create a successful business chain. This will result in customer loyalty concerning every hotel location and will build a better reputation for the company. Therefore, to create a uniquness in its services, the famous luxury hotels are known as the ones who treats its guests as royalties (Michelli, 2008).This something is called â€Å"The Ritz-Carlton Mystique. † Being in any of the seventy worldwide locations gives you the opportunity to see the art of service. By creating a data with all the customers perceptions, Ritz- Carlton wins a high reputation among its competitors. However, in order to collect this data and proceed it in a right way, the company relies on its employees who are the one next to the people and contributing to their memorable experience. The reason for being one of the most successful chains is that Ritz- Carlton look for things that most companies ignore and then uses its findings in a unique way to attract more people.Another characteristic of the company’s policy is the meetings organized to share relevant information for providing better services, this has a positive impact on the whole organizational process as well as the team work within the employees. In the case example of the family in Bali, the impact it has on the work performance is really significant and the easiest way to reach all thousands of employees all around the world. It reinforce the actions in everyone and contributes to the service values.The high quality, standardised service could be considered as an impo rtant factor in the luxurious hotel business. It creates uniquenessness and something that makes people feel valued. That is also the reason why in establishing the company’s key success factors, Ritz- Carlton puts on first place the mystique followed by employee engagement, customer engagement, product service excellence, community involvement, and financial performance. The employeers are playing an important role of the Mystique strategy. The popular chain is really careful in selecting its staff and at the same time training them.Moreover, they expect from them a high engagement with their job because this would result in a lower management turnover, fewer safety incidents, and higher profitability and productivity (Gallup, 2007). As a customer- driven company, the hotel chain builds its success on factors such as service characteristics, where the business meets all customer needs and create a product and competitive advantage. Moreover, it focus on the strategy characte ristics, where the human resource management in the face of the employees take place in the operations.Process and marketplace characteristics are defined as marketing based to establish the best way of presenting the business potential (Wilson, 2012). Therefore, the best hotels in the world started launcing their loyal programmes in order to survive the downturn. Ritz- Carlton aim has always been to build a loyalty in its customers habits. The company is striving for broadening its customer base, increasing the cometitiveness of its service, motivate a profitable behaviour together with increasing its market share . The loyalty program is truly build on the customer feedback in demanding the world- class respect.It provides services from airline tickets to unique traveling experiences and adventures which no other luxury hotel chain would be able to provide. Moreover, the loyal programme is personal for each of Ritz’s clients. It is customised towards his prefernces and expe ctations for experencing a memorable holiday. This is another proof that the company is totally based on the idea of customer- driven policy. The Ritz- Carlton is succeeding in exceeding the guests expectations in every aspect. But the question is how exactly it reaches this success compared to other top brand hotels?It pays attention on its internal resources and by doing that is manages to build a good reputation among the customers and attract new ones. Moreover, by creating programs to train its employees and empower them with the mission to satisfy their guests, contribute to their job satisfaction and the recognition of feeling part of the organization. However, to be known from the people who are potential customers but are not part of the loyal programme, a special marketing communication channel should be created. Nowadays, the marketing communications have become really complex way of reaching customers.The term is part of the whole marketing strategy and could be defined as the promotion aspect of the â€Å"Marketing Mix†. Specifically it applies the practice of advertisement through mass- media, websites, cinemas and etc. Moreover, it is a really important aspect of how the branding image would be build in order to reach the right potential target group. At the moment, Ritz- Carlton is using different, unstandard approach to reach the attention of its future guests. It is going back to old style brochures sent by classic post. It is producing a high quality, perfectly designed cards, honourly signed by the CEO of the company.This is a good way to promote its unique service for luxury chains. However it should straighten its positions according to the services marketing triangle (Wilson, 2012). It applies the theory of the involvement of the employees, customers and the company for the creation of a successful marketing communication. By starting with the external marketing communication, including advertising, corporate websites, sales promo tion and public relations and continuing with interactive ones, for instance, personal selling, customer service interactions or in particular concentrating on the customers habits.In order to avoid miscommunication and successfully create a promotion channel, these two factors should be linked together. The way of doing this is by having a third sector, internal marketing, which assures that the communication line is accurate. The things that are mentioned in the company and explained to the employees should be matching with what are the customer demands. The whole combination is called the services marketing triangle (Wilson, 2012). In order to establish more effective way of promoting its unique services, Ritz- Carlton would meet some challenges in its strategy.Since the service is intangible it is more difficult to reach its consumers and convince them in the uniqueness of what is being offered. The company should assure that they make clear what is differating them from all the competitors and what is the advantage of purchasing their services. Therefore, they should be really accurate in the information which is provided in the promotion material, and assure they would provide the same thing they are claiming in their announcement. Ritz- carlton may use the approach of grabbing the first attention.It could create an advertisement which pop up online and a a link which is going to lead the user to further information. In this way, the company wins an advantage of providing knowledge to the people who are not aware of the luxury services. As a final challenge the marketing communication strategy should be coordinated with the operations of the company to achieve its optimal goal. Employees should be train in a way to meet the company’s requirements. The advantage that Ritz- carlton is providing to its employees is the opportunity of highly educated training program.The program called, The â€Å"Seven Day Countdown† is the training process con ducted by the hotel-chain to familiarize the newly recruited employees with the organizational system and it happens one month after they get hired. The first two days consist of â€Å"orienting employees to the Ritz–Carlton culture and values† as well as having the opportunity to learn more about your department, meet your colleagues and get to know them through various group exercises and activities. Additionally, the importance of self-teaching and guest satisfaction is highlighted and the Gold Standards of the company are presented.The next five days are devoted to the training and development of the specific skills required to perform the job in each division through trial runs or mocking activities which represent a realistic situation an employee might face. Even though this process defines what Ritz-Carlton believes in and has become an integer part of its strategy, Collin expressed his concern that these seven days are too short and suggested to be extended in order for the hotel to open at a higher occupancy rate and â€Å"to reach 80% occupancy in a shorter amount of time†.Four Seasons is a severe competition for Ritz-Carlton and the occupancy rate gap between the two rivals is getting smaller with every year. As is stated in the article even though the company is able to satisfy 92% of its customers, 8% are dissatisfied for certain reasons. Based on customer feedback, the hotel-chain can determine the reasons for this percentage and adjust accordingly. Since both parties’ decisions need to be taken into account I believe that McBride should add one more day to the standard seven day programme.This particular day which can take place before the trial and mocking days, should include a training of new employees on how to deal with people from different cultural backgrounds. This might as well have been one of the reasons why some people were dissatisfied – maybe a person from the stuff acted in a certain way without realizing that he/she offended a guest. Moreover, the employees hired for the job are also from different cultures and have different perceptions of dealing with a problem.These cultural differences could be presented in the form of case studies or group activities. Another thing which should be included in this extra day should be ethics and teaching future staff what is right and wrong as well as what is an acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. The financial implication for Ritz-Carlton of extending the training process would be an increase in the pre-opening budget in the corresponding section. This means more trainers will be required with relevant knowledge on the topics for that extra day or the participating ones will be paid extra.Moreover, by training its employees through its learning programme, Ritz- Carlton wins an advantage in developing new employees’ ideals. However, it causes some internal and external changes in the environment, due to the developing of new culture. The result, however is worth it as trained employees do not require so tight control from a managerial side as they would be aware what is expected from them. Moreover, as feeling part of the team they would optimise their performance and that would result in more benefits for the chain.They are trained in working efficently as well as effectively. The advantages that Ritz- carlton provides to its employees is the opportunity to grow and learn from the best. This contributes to their job performance and commitment. Moreover, this will result in a higher quality service and will create a competitive advantage for the company In conclusion, it could be derived that Ritz- Carlton has to meet some challenges in order to stay on the top of the luxurious hotel chain business. As with its high class service, it manages to satisfy even the most demanding customers.However, in order to keep its positions it has to straighten its marketing communication channels to reach more custom ers. The company could take an action of developing an online marketing campaign to inform about its locations and exclusive offers. It should keep its advantages of providing the Ritz- Carlton Mystique since it creates a uniqueness of being their customer. Moreover, focusing on promoting it as a competitive advantage will higher the company’s turnovers. Overall, the success of the Ritz- Carlton hotel chain will remain the same if it continues its development with the years.

This I believe essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

This I believe - Essay Example Back then, I was really big, not in terms of height but of width. I am really not so sure how I got that way and when people ask me, I just tell them in jest, that some people are born to be â€Å"more spectacular† than others. During that period, all my friends referred to me as â€Å"big†. Sometimes, to avoid hurting me, they will also add the phrase â€Å"laugh and grow fat†. This is the closest I can translate the term from Chinese, which actually means that fat people usually have a beautiful heart deep inside. But seriously, even if they tried to soften the blow, I felt they still poked at my weakest spot. So finally, I decided to do some change. I told myself when I looked into the mirror that I can no longer live like this. So, I secretly began a program for myself to slim down. It was probably the first semester of my junior high school when the semester began, that I launched my personal project. I decided to keep it to myself as I started my plan with the most simple and effective way which was dieting. I don’t know how I made up my mind but I was able to skip my breakfast and lunch everyday in the next year. However, the only thing I regret about skipping meals was disappoi nting my mother who lovingly prepared them for me. Every morning she woke up very early to prepare breakfast for me and my dad and carefully packed them into a meal box for us to take out. But when I opened the box smell the food, I either threw it directly to the trash or give it to my friend to eat. There were actually several times when I felt I wanted to quit, and that I cannot do it anymore. But every day when I looked into the mirror at my reflection and stepped on the weighing scale, I get motivated with the changes I see. This kept me on track. I told myself to keep trying†¦to keep walking while watching. Six months after my plan started, I found my face thinner and my belt looser and of course, the numbers on the scale

National Collegiate Athletic Association Assignment

National Collegiate Athletic Association - Assignment Example This means that every division has its own mode of operation, as shall be seen forthwith. The money that is allocated and used in the three divisions is disbursed or handled under one collective umbrella body, the NCAA. For instance, on August 31st, 2010 and 2011, NCAA received 16,800,000 dollars and 17,900,000 dollars, respectively. The need for this money is underscored by there being 430,000 student-athletes who are participants of NCAA sports. For Division I, prospective student-athletes have to achieve the present minimal initial-eligibility in their test scores. The score should at least have a minimum 2.0 GPA in the core courses. However, for immediate access to competition, the prospective student-athlete must have at least a GPA of 2.3 and an increased sliding scale (NCAA, 2012). To continue being a Division II member, it is important that the individual fulfils a three-year membership system which is again divided into two phases. The first phase is the candidacy period while the second is the provisional period. The member must therefore complete the two years of the candidacy period, and one year for the provisional period. The school has a large sway in determining whether one will be a Division II or not, since it is schools which apply for inclusion into a given division, based on the ascertainment that the school has met the threshold required. The same case applies to Division III membership (NCAA, 2012). Division I offers a given number of financial aids as awards, to student-athletes, without exceeding the maximum amount that is allowed. Division I sports issue grants-in-aid as a grant program to help the students settle their fees, buy academic literature and settle personal needs. As for Division II, there is the disbursement of basketball fund. The issuance of this basketball fund is pegged on an individual’s historical performance in Women’s and Men’s Basketball

Ernesto Che Guevara, Latin America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ernesto Che Guevara, Latin America - Essay Example On the other side, most representatives of the U.S. government overseas have always displayed a powerful ideological commitment, and never more so than during the Cold War years of the 1960s. They are often criticized, in fact, for taking a messianic approach to diplomacy. Their ideology encompasses individualism, personal rights, equal opportunity, popular democracy, and free-enterprise economics, despite whatever gaps may exist at home between ideals and reality (Llosa 45). In Cuba, 'Che' Guevara's legacy is found in spying and high number of suicides among young people, revolutionary ideas of workers and peasants, and their fighting against the government. Today, many young people in Latin America follow his ideas and ideology believing in the guerilla struggle and strike actions. In Cuba, 'Che' Guevara's ideology is still valued and followed by young people who struggle for social transformations and democratic freedoms (Anderson 161). Che' Guevara's ideology determines the social processes by which citizens and elites construct democratic state institutional structures through collective forms of organization (political parties, civic associations, social movements). Given the historical, centralized executive control over elections and the checking of the legitimacy of electoral outcomes in single-party regimes. Following Anderson (1998), the most important was "his literary legacy to Cub and a means to ensure that revolutionary principles he stood for survived on the island" (653). Guevara not only had challenged the orthodox communists' attitude toward revolution for nearly a decade but also in the process had incurred widespread... In Cuba, ‘Che’ Guevara’s ideology is still valued and followed by young people who struggle for social transformations and democratic freedoms. Che’ Guevara’s ideology determines the social processes by which citizens and elites construct democratic state institutional structures through collective forms of organization. Given the historical, centralized executive control over elections and the checking of the legitimacy of electoral outcomes in single-party regimes. Following Anderson, the most important were â€Å"his literary legacy to Cub and a means to ensure that revolutionary principles he stood for survived on the island†.Guevara not only had challenged the orthodox communists' attitude toward revolution for nearly a decade but also in the process had incurred widespread hostility. The Congo expedition might have provided Cuba with the revolutionary success it sought, but it had clearly failed. When it did, Havana returned its focus to its home turf. The Cubans had long made efforts throughout Latin America to create a sustainable revolution, doing so with relatively minor investments of men, training guerrillas from abroad, sending arms overseas, dispatching advisers to nascent rebellions.on 461).

Introduction to mass communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Introduction to mass communication - Essay Example When it comes to newspapers and magazines, there is a dire need to comprehend how these mass communication facets would take care of the society’s portrayal and the people living within it. Their day to day undertakings and tasks would be covered by the mass communication agendas, hence playing a direct role within their life regimes. Mass communication is an important tool within any society as its significance is seen in different contexts time and again. The people who run the different mass communication outlets have a very pertinent responsibility as these look to defy the opposition which is raised in the wake of achieving success. The newspaper and magazine regimes have long realized that mass communication is happening for the benefit of all concerned and that the stakeholders of the newspapers and magazines have to be told nothing but the truth. There is a sense of belonging as far as societal responsibilities are concerned. This is of paramount essence because mass communication does take the major share of the audience’s attention, on most of the occasions. The people’s attitudes, knowledge levels and perception regimes change as and when the newspapers and magazines amend their respective agendas. It goes to show without any doubt that mass communication has a very important effect on th e lives of the people who read newspapers and magazines, and even the ones who are not directly affected by the same (Perry 1996). Anything that is printed within these media vehicles gets noticeable coverage and hence the lives of the people are changed either in a positive or a negative way. The change is indeed imminent as is the case worldwide, with regards to newspapers and magazines. It goes to show without saying that the top heads within these newspapers and magazines have a huge responsibility resting on their shoulders, and hence they must make positive impact on the minds of the readers, and indeed the

Literature Bachelor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Literature Bachelor - Essay Example This mutable reality is also linked to the famous "catch" of the title, which will be discussed later and shows the absurdity of the modern world. In Jazz, the improvisational form of the art is used to suggest how the past is changeable through the perspectives of the couple who are slowly falling out of love with one another. An event in their past, like a theme in jazz music, may be different upon each 'playing' or 'remembering'. In Catch 22 time is represented as a manipulative continuum in which what occurs depends upon the person seeing it. The very structure of the book seems to reflect the paranoid and near-to-insane characters who inhabit it. Thus the novel starts with ten chapters dealing with the present, before flashing back to the past of the events in the Siege of Bologna for a few chapters. The present appears once again before flashing backwards into the past. The final section of the book is set once again in the present, but with a more formal and linear narrative than the fragmentation what characterizes the other parts. Slipping backwards in time, the reader learns how the characters avoid the true horror of what occurred on the undefended Italian mountain village with the rape and murder of a completely innocent girl. The soldiers do not want to admit what has occurred and so they at first deny it or obscure it through the various bureaucratic absurdities of the military situation they face. The insanity within both their present and past world is best described by the various 'catches' that the soldiers must face, the most famous of which is the catch 22 of the title: There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle. (Heller, 1961) This kind of bizarre circular logic, which is obviously absurd and nonsensical, but is impossible to deny due to its own frame of reference. In the same way a person who tries to fully understand the past must be crazy, but if he is crazy he will then not have a genuine grasp of what happens. Again, a circular logic that wraps around itself and forbids any kind of rational in-roads into comprehension. The novel revolves around a kind of complex sense of dj vu that many of the characters express. Thus the chaplain has an "impression of a prior meeting was of some occasion far more momentous and occult that, of a significant encounter with Yossarian in some remote, submerged and perhaps even entirely spiritual epoch in which he had made the identical, foredooming admission that there was nothing, absolutely nothing, he could do to help him" (Heller, 1961). The use of the word "foredooming" is integral to this section. The past cannot be understood, but it is most readily available to the characters through the overwhelming sense of dj vu that many of them feel. The Chaplain is central to this questioning of history, and this is

Aesthetic Education Essay Example for Free

Aesthetic Education Essay Friedrich Schiller wrote Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man in 1793 for his friend the Danish Prince Friedrich Christian who had provided him with a stipend to help him through an illness. In 1795 the letters were published and the provide a worthwhile consideration of the nature of Aesthetics for us still today. The collection of twenty seven letters is not an easy read but it is worth persevereing to gain the insights of this great poet and playwright, friend of Goethe and inspiration for Beethoven and many artists, particularly in the Romantic era. The book touches upon a broad range of topics, some of which you do not normally associate with aesthetics. However the letters do consider the nature of Beauty and its relationship to art and man. For Schiller beauty seems to arise as a synthesis between opposing principles whose highest ideal is to be sought in the most perfect possible union and equilibrium of reality and form(Letter XVI, p 81). Schiller also discusses the nature of the ideal man and how the impulse for play interacts with mans nature, especially his rational and sensuous aspects which form a juxtaposition within him. This juxtaposition is discussed at length with a synthesis described in terms that suggest a transcendance that culminates in our very humanity (Letters 18-20). Man and his nature is important to Schiller as his reason, but The first appearance of reason in Man is not yet the beginning of his humanity. The latter is not decided until he is free, (Letter XXIV, p 115). Through discussion of the work of art and the fine arts Schiller brings us closer to a conception of what art means to man and how important Homo Ludens is as a conception of man. Schiller admired classical Greece and its art and saw the role of history and freedom important in the discussion of the nature of art. Above all both as a poet and a thinker Schiller held the ideal of freedom to be sacrosanct. According to Schiller, freedom is attained when the sensual and rational in man are fully integrated but his aesthetic disposition is seen as coming from Nature. These letters provide a rich vein of ideas from which the thoughtful and attentive reader may find inspiration in consideration of the aesthetics and the nature of the work of art. Friedrich Schiller menulis Surat Pendidikan Estetika Manusia pada tahun 1793 untuk rakan Christian Friedrich Putera Denmark yang telah disediakan dengan wang saku untuk membantu beliau sakit. Pada tahun 1795 surat telah diterbitkan dan memberi pertimbangan berbaloi sifat Estetika untuk kita masih hari ini. Koleksi 27 surat tidak read mudah tetapi ia adalah bernilai persevereing untuk mendapatkan pandangan penyair dan pengarang drama hebat ini, rakan Goethe dan inspirasi untuk Beethoven dan ramai artis, terutamanya di era Romantik. Buku ini menyentuh kepada pelbagai topik, ada yang anda tidak lakukan biasanya bersekutu dengan estetika. Walau bagaimanapun, surat mempertimbangkan sifat Kecantikan dan hubungannya dengan seni dan manusia. Untuk kecantikan Schiller nampaknya timbul sebagai sintesis antara prinsip lawan yang tertinggi sesuai perlu dicari dalam kesatuan mungkin yang paling sempurna dan keseimbangan realiti dan bentuk (Surat XVI, p 81). Schiller juga membincangkan sifat manusia yang ideal dan bagaimana dorongan untuk permainan berinteraksi dengan alam semula jadi, manusia terutamanya aspek rasional dan sensasi yang membentuk saling bertindih dalam dirinya. Saling bertindih ini dibincangkan dengan panjang lebar dengan sintesis diterangkan dari segi yang mencadangkan transcendance yang memuncak dalam kemanusiaan kita (Huruf 18-20). Manusia dan alam adalah penting untuk Schiller sebagai alasan beliau, tetapi Kemunculan pertama sebab dalam Man tidak lagi permulaan kemanusiaan. Terakhir ini tidak memutuskan sehingga dia adalah percuma, (Surat XXIV, ms 115). Melalui perbincangan kerja seni dan seni halus Schiller membawa kita lebih dekat kepada konsep apa yang seni ertinya kepada manusia dan betapa pentingnya Ludens Homo adalah seperti konsep manusia. Schiller dikagumi klasik Greece dan seni dan melihat peranan sejarah dan kebebasan penting dalam perbincangan yang bersifat seni. Atas semua kedua-dua sebagai penyair dan pemikir Schiller diadakan ideal kebebasan untuk menjadi boleh dipertikaikan. Menurut Schiller, kebebasan dicapai apabila sensual dan rasional dalam manusia bersepadu sepenuhnya tetapi pelupusan estetik beliau dilihat sebagai datang dari Alam. Surat ini menyediakan darah yang kaya dengan idea-idea dari mana pembaca yang bernas dan penuh perhatian boleh mencari inspirasi dalam pertimbangan estetik dan sifat kerja seni. PENDAPAT NO 2: Although this type of reading can be challenging for the modern reader, I thoroughly enjoyed this thought-provoking book. If you enjoy philosophy and subscribe to a personal philosophy that an appreciation of beauty and learning through play are valuable, Schiller will appeal to you. Walaupun ini jenis membaca boleh mencabar bagi pembaca moden, saya telitimenikmati buku ini memprovokasi pemikiran. Jika kita menikmati falsafah dan melanggan kepada falsafah peribadi bahawa menghargai kecantikan dan pembelajaranmelalui permainan adalah berharga, Schiller akan merayu kepada kita. PENDAPAT NO 3:SUMMARY A generic summary of the argument in Friedrich Schiller’s Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man would be: in order for a person to become a moral and rational being she must pass through an aesthetic education in which she harmonizes with herself and thus becomes Free to exercise her rational will univocally. The passage often quoted as a summation of Schiller’s major theme in this work is: â€Å"It is through Beauty that we arrive at Freedom. † This passage, since I first encountered it, has been one of the few essential thoughts I carry with me through life. My superficial knowledge of Schiller, through only this famous quote and the above general argument, has had a disproportionate effect on me. When Conor Heaton, a friend from Chicago, recommended Schiller’s Letters to me, I was thrilled for the opportunity to read the entirety of the work and to test my own personalized version of the idea against Schiller’s initial conception. Schiller, a German Romantic dramatist, poet, and essayist, wrote his Letters during the height of France’s Reign of Terror. Like so many other Romantic thinkers across the globe, Schiller cried for joy at the French Revolution’s liberation of the human spirit. But, like artists and thinkers generations before and after him, Schiller suffered great disappointment in the aftermath of the revolution when power and fear destroyed the ideals of Justice and Freedom that had sparked the revolution. In some ways his argument stems from the idea that if the revolutionaries were perfectly educated in the ideas of aesthetics they would have been able to escape their own power struggles and thus have been able to create a Just and Free French State. Instead, the French Revolutionaries, whose only education on and exposure to government came from the monarch they so despised, exponentially replicated the atrocities of the very kind they dethroned. In doing so they turned the country into an irrational, immoral mess. It is a theme not isolated to 1790’s France, and though Schiller was influenced by the events of his time, he is also picking up an ambitious argument first articulated in the Western tradition two thousand years before his time. The idea of an aesthetic education as essential to a moral and rational life was originally Plato’s. In setting out to create the ideal civilization in his Republic, Plato’s characters conclude that banning books and particular artists (including Homer) will be necessary to ensure that young men are properly trained to appreciate Beauty. Plato’s characters felt that scenes from The Iliad about conniving and jealous gods were bad influences on young men, who may look to the gods as examples. And works that espoused ideas or styles that did not create the harmony in the soul essential to becoming a fully realized Moral man were not worthy of being taught. While laying the groundwork for regarding Beauty as essential to the human experience, Plato also put forward the first argument for censorship. (If one finds themselves scoffing at this idea or comparing Plato to Hitler, it may be wise to remember that a major component of America’s current education system assumes that those being educated cannot decipher the language and tone of Huckleberry Finn without intolerable harm, or read of Holden Caulfield’s rampant moral downfall and sexual escapades without falling into decadence, and that 12 year olds cannot be closer than 100 yards from a condom without instigating rampant uncontrolled sexual orgies. Plato’s excuse is that he didn’t have the benefit of thousands of years of education research proving his instincts incorrect.) Schiller never grounds his ideas by discussing or suggesting particular texts that may be suitable for an aesthetic education. His tendency to speak in shifting abstractions has cost him a more prominent position in the greater philosophical tradition. But if The Aesthetic Education of Man is read as it was written – as an artist trying to convince the world that Art and Beauty are essential to a Free and Moral civilization – then it is a wonderful and essential work whose philosophical consistency is far less important than its general spirit. Schiller’s argument itself is also only a small component of why this text is so engaging. He never stops reaching. His every sentence embodies the Romantic belief that truth, pure Truth, is at our fingertips, and with persistence It can be held in our palms. His style fluctuates between art and philosophy. Schiller has no fear of spreading his ideas, and his grandiose style represents perfectly the abundance of thought that was flowing out of Romantic Germany during his lifetime. He makes grand and provocative historical claims: â€Å"The Romans, we know, had first to exhaust their strength in civil wars . . . before we see Greek art triumphing over the rigidity of their character . . . And among the Arabs too the light of culture never dawned until the vigor of their warlike spirit had relaxed (58). † He states complex ideas in beautiful little statements: â€Å"We know that Man is neither exclusively matter nor exclusively spirit. Beauty, therefore, [is:] the consummation of this humanity (77). † And there is much more beyond this in Schiller’s Letters. He propounds a theory of Beauty and just how it can harmonize mankind and allow moral and rational men to flourish, and so on.