Competitive Advantage of Wal Mart Essay Example for Free

Competitive Advantage of Wal Mart Essay Every company is trying to avoiding failure and the goal is to have a sustaining competitive advantage. But when do companies have a sustainable competitive advantage? It depends on three factors: the barriers to imitation, the capability of competitors and the dynamism of the industry development. In the 1970s Wal Mart lost their competitive advantage. Sears had a better positioning like Wal Mart. Therefore Wal Mart distinguished the situation and improved its distribution system. It created new trade channels to save costs and invest in new information technology to improve their situation. Wal Mart found a way to change their strategies and structures to change their competitive conditions. Over time, Wal Mart got strong partnerships with suppliers. This was a key element to improve their performance on the market and it`s not easy to imitate. Those partnerships work now since a long time and other competitors might lack the volume of purchases Wal Mart can offer. With some diversifications like Sam’s Club, a new way of supercenters or their plan for the international expansion Wal Mart was able to confine from their competitors. Wal-Mart was the first low price company and retailer which expanded around the world. The CEO of Wal Mart focused on small-town markets and ignored the national discounters. So, Wal Mart has huge distribution capabilities and this is very difficult to imitate from competitors. The most significant advantage of Wal Mart is their using of the satellite system. They are using this system to compress their costs and get a distinguished communication system with all employees to every time. The overall achieved employee satisfaction has the advantage of highly motivated employees. This is an overall management issue and when the employees are motivated, the customers are feeling good and well served. In future, Wal-Mart was committed to find new ways to have the competitive advantage of the market. They invest in different strategies like trendy fashions, offering organic food and remodeling stores to achieve a high satisfaction during the shopping by customers. So, they were able to use the economic crisis to win new customers. A lot of people search after low price shopping possibilities. So investors cheered at Wal-Mart and the company outperformed both rival target and the SP 500 index. Wal Mart holds its quality due to the constant low priced policy. This EDLP is not easy to replicate unless you can offer consistently low prices. On account of the points Wal Mart is able to secure a sustaining competitive advantage at the moment. They are reacting directly and design their company with the time and respond on their employees and customers. Their competitors are able to imitate their policies but this can`t happen within the next year because Wal Marts` advantages are way to complex. As long as Wal Mart is always developing its competencies and keeping on track with the environmental changes, they do have a sustainable competitive advantage in the US.

The Medias Stereotype Of Women Media Essay

The Medias Stereotype Of Women Media Essay The media is an indispensable part of our lives.  It is not only a form of entertainment, but also a powerhouse which has been granted the authority to influence our environment. And its no wonder, because through television we know, for example, the characteristics of the classic criminal: ugly, dirty, drunken voice and a pistol in hand, or the classic model: fashionable, beautiful, hateful, dull,  and possibly even anorexic. These two representations are examples of what is known as stereotypes the process of applying categorization to groups or individuals. The use of stereotypes is a normal process, seeing as how it reduces the complexity of our environment to a manageable size. It allows us to identify different attributes of people such as happy, sad, well-intentioned, malicious, etc., which in turn reduces the need to look at the particularity of each person. Basically, stereotypes relate one thing with another, and by doing this, they provide a basis by which we interpre t what happens around us. However, not everything is hunky-dory.  Unfortunately, the media has focused on programs and content, which portray a number of stereotypes that only make our society a bit more ignorant. In the course of time, the media has associated the male stereotype with values such as independence, aggressiveness, competitiveness, and strength. All of these concepts are clearly associated with males. Meanwhile, women have been linked to concepts such as affection, dependency, fragility, and concern for others. All of these notions have contributed to the transmission of certain clichà ©s such as those of a wife, lover, or mother.   These stereotypes are almost always associated with qualities like beauty, seduction or attraction. Therefore, the women that are represented in the media, almost always appear as a subordinate of the guys. This sort of patriarchal system persists in many post-industrial countries such as the United States. It was not until recent years that women, somehow, began their integration into society. In todays society, the female role originates and spreads mainly from the media. The media integrates roles, values, norms, and symbols. This process is co nsidered an important instrument in the transmission of values. In some cases, these values become a way to reference certain groups of society. The Medias stereotypes are intended to destroy or direct our desires. We can see examples of these on TV, where the role of men is to be charming, professional, and successful. In the case of soap operas, men are usually shown to be torn between the loves of two women. On the other hand, women are always shown to be more liberal, passive and submissive. People watch programs, series, or movies because they feel the need to identify with something. People with high cultural levels enjoy watching programs that are informative. Women who are housewives like to watch loving family dramas or soap operas while children want to be like superheroes. And so for every person, group, sex, or age the media will always find a stereotype to put them in. In this modern era television plays an important role in the development of stereotypes, including gender stereotypes. Television has the potential to create values and it has the potential to influence people. Among the many stereotypes that it offers is that of the ideal woman. Commercials show happy women who do not contradict what is said. Physically they have perfect features and are slender. Younger women are viewed as sexual objects, while adult women are portrayed in advertisements as housewives, mothers, workers, and patients. These stereotypes about women are transmitted every day on TV and are responsible for several negative traits that do not represent the female gender, except in the minds of men who think of these stereotypes as something natural. Examples of this can be seen in detergent, food, and other household article commercials that feature women as the typical housewife, who is weak, helpless, dependant, delicate and sensitive. Another widely used image of wome n is the vain female consumer, who buys anything just for the satisfaction. This image is widely used by sellers of beauty products and shopping center owners. Consequently, these images have had a huge impact in the way women see themselves and the way they portray their gender. It is important to note that all these stereotypes are false representations of what a woman is, but unfortunately most women accept this image given by the media. Most women believe that these images reflect societys standards about what an ideal woman is. The worst part is that due to the importance that they give to these standards, they comply with them, resulting in low self-esteems. Most women compare themselves with the idealized image projected by the media, which results into a life full of insecurity and discontent. All this dissatisfaction may ultimately lead some women to develop some sort of eating disorder. Fashion, and how its projected in the media, is always changing the attitudes of women, especially young women. That is why it comes as no surprise that the level of anorexia and bulimia have skyrocketed in recent years, especially when girls intend to fit into shirts and pants that are becoming increasingly smaller. Part of this problem is the stereotypes that the media has created. Women will only look good in clothes if they are thin and delicate according to the stereotypes. Consumers of clothes begin to follow the stereotype, and by doing so they gradually devalue their own features, planning to look like that sickly looking model that appears in clothing commercials or runways. The roles played by women in the media are limited to traditional roles like the housewife, the mother, the victim, or the sexual object. The roles of men in the other hand are that of the strongest players in public life. This, however, is not the reality of the situation and it does not help build equa lity in our society. The media has brought into the light the triumph of many female athletes and the stereotypical prejudice that we have against women in sports. Thanks to that, many stereotypes about women who go into sports have been eliminated. For example, the stereotype that all females in sports tend to lose their femininity is no longer seen as true. Or the stereotype that women are not anatomically designed for sports is also considered irrelevant nowadays. All of this was once held appropriate due to the fact that the media focuses more on the physical characteristics of female athletes rather than their level of performance. But now, its not uncommon to see Anna Kurnikova or the Williams sisters in the front pages of sports magazines. Although we live in a culture of gender stereotypes, which apparently puts men over women, the fat is that stereotypes have the potential of affecting society negatively. Some stereotypes can develop patterns which do not allow the development and expression of individual qualities. To avoid setting those kinds of stereotypes, one must analyze the information that the media communicates to us before creating a stereotype. By doing this, people will be able to realize that the ideas that the media feeds are far from reality. The use of stereotypes is convenient to some extent, but it is important to know the boundaries of the line that leads to prejudice and discrimination, a line that is crossed countless times by the media. The process of stereotyping allows people to interact with their environment, to understand it, and to develop their own interpretation of it. But what happens when the amount of information gained is digested without the right amount of evaluation and the stereo types begin to take the place of personal perception? Those stereotypes become our view of the world.

The Benefits and Risks of Breast Augmentation Essay -- Breast Implant

The Benefits and Risks of Breast Augmentation Every day women are bombarded with images of beautiful models with thin figures and huge round breast. In striving to achieve the ?ideal? body type women are altering their bodies; cosmetic surgery has increased enormously in the past few years. Breast augmentation alone has increased 500% since 1992. What are the benefits of having big voluptuous breasts? Do the benefits overweigh the risks? There are two main types of breast implants. One is filled with silicone gel and the other is filled with saline (sterile salt water); both of these implants have an outer silicone shell. Prior to 1991 both types of implants were approved by the FDA, but in April of 1992 silicone filled implants were restricted by the FDA to patients with needs of reconstruction, replacement of deformities, and replacement of ruptured silicone-gel filled implants that were used for augmentation. Saline filled implants are currently approved by the FDA for women 18 years old or older desiring breast augmentation and for reconstruction in women of all ages. The restriction on silicone filled implants was provoked by the concern that the leaking of silicone gel could be detrimental to the body in the case that an implant ruptured. By contrast, a saline filled implant would only release salt water in to the body. However saline filled implants are not completely risk free. An implant is a foreign object in your body thus the body can and typically does form scar tissue around it. This scar tissue can squeeze and harden the implant causing it to rupture. The tightening and squeezing is called capsular contracture and may cause hardening of the breast, rippling of the skin, and changes in breast shape... ...not scientifically proven, many health risks may arise from breast implants. Such risks include rupture of implants, loss of sensation, inability to breast feed, hardening of breast tissue, rippling of the skin, and interference in the detection of breast cancer. There are other ways to enhance a woman?s breast but in the end it is her decision as to what route she wants to take. Bibliography California or Bust. Author: Wallace, Amy. Source: Los Angeles Magazine V. no 1 (Jan 2002) P 40-45 Saline Breast Implants Stay on Market as Experts Warn about Risks. Author: Linda Bren. Source: FDA Consumer 34 no4 Jl/Ag 2000 P 9-11 Implanting Fear. Author: B. D. Daniel & Michael Weiss. Source: National Review v47 P50 O 9 1995 Breast Surgeries Experiencing High Inflation Rates. Author: Judith Messina. Source: Crain?s New York Business v18 no14 P4, 34 Ap 8-14 2002

My love :: essays research papers

She sat across from me in Algebra class. In terms of appearance, I always compared the two of us as complete opposites. There I sat; a dark-haired, tan-skinned, green-eyed, arm-scarred, large, short-haired, tall, rather awake and attentive child whose only noticeable feature was his strong chin. I didn't even mention the bags under my eyes so bad, it looked as if they were packed and ready for vacation. She had a light complexion with freckles just above the bridge of her nose and below her eyes. Her eyes were robin's egg blue and her lips were a beautiful dark crimson red that stood out, but didn't scream for attention. Her lips were thin, like her. The hair that she had was red with dark blond streaks. She didn't have a scar on her. The bags under her eyes were non-existent. However, she liked to sleep in class. This made the beauty of her face covered by her long hair and the wonder that were her eyes covered by her eyelids. I would always look at her eyes. I peered in the hopes that she wouldn't see me each time I looked. Maybe I wanted her to see me. Catch me lost and swimming in her eyes. Although, no matter how much I looked at them, all I ever got back in return was my reflection. Her windows were like those of a limo - she could see out but you could not see in. This taught me the lesson that here eyes were strictly aesthetic. It was too bad that she liked to sleep. It never gave me much time to gaze at her eyes. Of course I saw her in other classes throughout the day, but I never got a view like the one in Algebra 3-4. In fact, Algebra 3-4 became the highlight of the day. There would be so many schooldays where the only thing, the only hope, getting me through the day was the opportunity to just look upon her face. It got me through almost anything at times. I wasn't obsessive, nor in a mentally grotesque state at that time. I knew my fondness for her was high, but it was pure. My thought of this was validated by how I knew what kind of a person she was on the inside. The leaves fell off the trees and turned brown, signaling the arrival of autumn.

Harry Potter Essay -- J.K. Rowling Literature Wizards Papers

Harry Potter A young, scrawny boy who wears horn-rimmed glasses and has a scar on his forehead has catapulted into the hearts of millions of readers, young and old alike. This same boy has generated nationwide controversy over censorship versus freedom of speech. In particular, the community of Zeeland, Michigan has banned reading aloud from Harry Potter and required written parental permission to check the book out from the school library. Although the Zeeland community as well as other segments of the population claim that the Harry Potter books should be censored because they believe wizardry is a dark and malignant reality, Harry Potter should be made available to all children because he reinforces a sense of good and evil, provides a protagonist that embodies Christian values, and nurtures a lifelong love for literature. Millions of children around the world along with a good many adults are now familiar with Harry Potter. Created by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter is an orphan who, for the first eleven years of his life, has lived with and suffered abuse from his relatives, the Dursleys. His life changes dramatically, however, when he turns eleven and finds out that he is in fact a wizard and will be attending Hogwarts, a wizardry school. Adventures abound as Harry begins his new life learning to be a wizard. The Harry Potter books, four of which have been published, with another three planned, are so hugely popular that the New York Times Book Review was forced to revise their best-seller list in order to appease publishers and authors of adult material. Because the first Harry book dominated the best-seller list since its inception in 1998, children's books must now appear only on t... ...Search. Goshen College Good Library. 15 March 2001. "Letters to the Editor." Horn Book Magazine Oct. 2000: 499. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 15 March 2001. Maudlin, Michael G. "Virtue on a Broomstick." Christianity Today 4 Sept. 2000: 117. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 15 March 2001. Samuels, Art. "Pooh-poohing Pottermania." U.S. News & World Report 24 July 2000: 12. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 19 March 2001. Swartz, Elizabeth. "Wild About Harry (Potter)!." Teaching PreK-8 31.1 (2000): 76. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 15 March 2001. "Tale of Two Wizards." Reading Today 18.3 (2001): 15. Academic Search Elite. Palni Site Search. Goshen College Good Library. 19 March 2001. <![endif]>

Original Writing – Cinderella

â€Å"And you can tidy that room before you go out anywhere, young lady!† Great, just what I needed. Another chore, which would take me all night. Well, maybe it's better than going out with them lot anyway. Carly and Michelle had been my best friends for as long as I could remember, but recently the three of us had started hanging around with a girl called Lauren and her friends. To begin with, I wasn't keen on Lauren, but put up with her comments for Carly and Michelle's sake. Then Carly began to change. She was always trying to impress Lauren, and became quite nasty, turning on me. And everyone else seemed to follow Lauren too. I began to feel like none of them liked me, and quite out of place. Just because I didn't worship the ground Lauren walked on. But I was too scared to stand up to her. It would've meant losing all of my â€Å"friends†. I got on with my room feeling down. Later on, we were all down at the youth club. Lauren was telling us all about her latest crush, and as usual, everyone was glued to her story. Well, everyone except from me. I looked around the room and let out a little gasp. Standing in the corner was the nicest guy I had ever seen. He was laughing with his friends, and had a gorgeous smile. He had short, perfect brown hair, and twinkling brown eyes. He looked over and smiled†¦and began walking over. All the girls went quiet, and secretly looked at Lauren. She flicked her hair, and flashed a dazzling smile. His smile moved from me to her. I looked in envy as he walked over to her, and began chatting. â€Å"She knows everyone,† I thought, and turned to them to listen to what he was saying. â€Å"†¦So it will be at my house on Saturday. And I hope to see all of you there.† Was it my imagination or did he look at me while saying that? He walked off, and I was about to ask the girls who he was when Lauren sighed†¦.†oh, he's sooo gorgeous!!† So this is the guy she likes! No wonder, he is really good looking. I can't believe I ever thought I had a chance!! â€Å"Cindy, what have you done to your hair today? It looks awful! And if you come with us to Josh's party, you'll have to make more of an effort with your clothes!!† Lauren's frosty, mocking tone cut right through me, â€Å"And another thing, Josh is mine.† It was Wednesday when I got the phone call. â€Å"Hello? Is that Cindy Lewis?† â€Å"Yeah. Who is this please?† â€Å"It's magic 828. We're ringing to let you know that you've won our ‘guess the year' competition, and have won à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½40 in Topshop vouchers, and a free taxi service for the next time you go out!!† It was great, and it saved me a lot of money for a new outfit for Josh's party. I had spent a long time deciding whether I should actually go or not, after what Lauren had said. But in the end decided to go anyway. I had thought about Josh a lot, and wanted to see him again. My mum, on the other hand, was a different case. â€Å"What do you want to go to a party for when you can stay in and play games with your family?† â€Å"You can't go to someone's party you don't even know!† â€Å"I might have to ring up his parents to check if they're allowing alcohol.† She went on and on like that for ages, until finally, I talked her round. â€Å"Okay, you can go. Under one condition†¦ You get a taxi back and are in this house before 11:30. Otherwise you'll never go out again!† I hadn't been to any proper parties before, Lauren's gang always conveniently ‘forgot to mention it to me' or ‘ thought I already knew about it'. I was nervous, and had no idea what to expect. With my vouchers, I had bought a pair of jeans, which I'd have never been able to afford myself. They were the perfect fit, and sparkled under the light. I also bought a new hair bobble, which had a glittery heart on it. I knew they looked good, but was scared what Lauren would think of them. It was amazing what effect she could have over my life. When the taxi pulled up In front of the address Michelle had given me, a sudden thought that she'd given me the wrong address on purpose nearly made me ask to be taken home. But then I heard the music booming from the house, and saw some people scattered near the doorway. ‘Keep calm,' I told myself. Once I was inside, I saw how packed it was. Someone was trying to open the back door. I saw it was Josh. I began walking over when Lauren appeared in front of me. â€Å"Cindy! Didn't think you would make it. Good party isn't it? We have Josh to thank for that! I came round early to help him get ready. He asked me to, and I just couldn't resist! He's such a sweetie! Oh, have you decorated an old pair of jeans† She reached over and grabbed Josh's hand. She was trying to make me feel small, and it worked. I felt so stupid for thinking that someone might choose me over Lauren. If I had gone over to Josh, what would I have said? Would it looked like I fancied him? I made my way through the moving crowd, and sat outside on the step, alone. â€Å"Hello? How long have you been out here? You must be freezing!† It was him. Why was he talking to me? I looked up at his concerned face. â€Å"I†¦I. Needed some fresh air.† â€Å"What, for over an hour Is it Lauren? Has she upset you?† How did he know I still didn't believe he was actually talking to me. I found myself making up some excuse about something bad happening at home. â€Å"Well I hope it's not bad enough so you can't dance with me,† he smiled shyly. I couldn't believe this was happening. Josh was asking ME to dance! By now people had begun to drift outside, and the music was loud enough out here. Before I gave him an answer, he swept me into his arms, and began to move to the beat. Then a slow song began. â€Å"I hope you don't min†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He began. I rested my arms on his shoulders and he wrapped his around my waist. We swayed to the music together. The song seemed to last for ages, but when it ended, neither of us let go. He moved his face closer to mine†¦ â€Å"Oh no!!† I looked at my watch. It was 11:25. My taxi was supposed to turn up 5 minutes ago, and I was supposed to be home in 5 minutes. I moved away from Josh, and ran towards the front of the house. As I moved, I saw something fall to the floor, and my hair came loose. Great, my new hair bobble. Oh well, I would just have to leave it. I'd rather lose that than be grounded for the rest of my life!! The taxi was still there, so I jumped in without looking back, or saying goodbye to Josh. It was a week after the party, and we were in the youth club. Lauren had seen me with Josh, so was being even more awkward. I didn't dare say anything to her; I was too scared. â€Å"Cindy, get some drinks for all of us please,† She ordered. I went to the vender, thinking about Josh. Why had he danced and tried to kiss me when he could have Lauren? She was far prettier than me, and had a lot more confidence than me. While I was getting the drinks, I heard shouting coming from our table. â€Å"Honestly, it will tie back. I just need to pull it a bit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I turned round, and took in a deep breath. There was Josh, looking as lovely as ever, standing over Lauren. She was trying to tie something in her hair. Something that looked a lot like my bobble. Suddenly, Josh turned around and spotted me. His face lit up with a smile, and he grabbed the bobble off Lauren. â€Å"Cindy! I've been looking for you all over. When you left so suddenly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I know, I'm sorry. But I had to be home by 11:30.† â€Å"I knew there must be a reason. We were getting along so well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he winked. I went red, and looked over at Lauren. She was staring daggers at me. He reached over and brushed my hair back into a pony, and tied it with the bobble. â€Å"And I wanted to ask you something†¦ will you go out with me?† My stomach did a somersault, and I felt like I was floating. I knew how much Lauren liked him, but then I thought of all the awful things she'd said and done to me, and how she'd made my life hell, hoping that everything I did would be all right by her. I thought back to the party, and at the surprise that someone actually found ME attractive. I had managed to have a good time on my own, without being constantly being put down or made fun of. I'd met someone who appreciated me for being myself, not depending on how popular I was. I realised Josh was waiting for my answer. I looked him straight in the eyes and gave him a big smile. â€Å"Yes!† I said.

Sense and Sensuality in Indian Religious Literature

A particular poem, Nurse 1126†³ taken from Sanskrit Poetry From Fiduciary's â€Å"Treasury', emphasizes the lustful emotions and romantic experiences that accompany the south winds as well as the significance of a reticular sense object that holds an extremely valuable place in Indian religious culture – sandalwood. The strange inclusion of the sense of smell and the sense object of sandalwood in this poem, which deals nearly exclusively with the sense of touch, raises a variety of questions pertaining to the significance of this inclusion and the relationship between the senses of touch and smell as well as the senses in general.Meanwhile, upon examination of the Kamala sutra the sense of smell and the scents of objects comes into play in a context of Indian literature associated not with esthetics poetry but with a much more technical and instructive guidebook. In this case, the sense of smell is used to convey not simply emotion but allows the reader to make a wide ra nge of inferences about characters, the text, and the values of the time period.Ultimately, despite stemming from the same sense of smell, the usage of this sense can differ widely between different genres of texts and even within a single genre conveying a multitude of emotions, facts that, though seemingly follow a trend, are in fact unique to the text. The aforementioned poem from Sanskrit Poetry From Fiduciary's â€Å"Treasury' expresses romantic and mysterious undertones through metaphors and the establishment of a particular mood or Rasa. This entire poem uses a complex and extended metaphor that draws upon the movement and qualities of the south winds to represent a seemingly mysterious and well-traveled lover.The winds are personified as having associated with and wooed a variety of women from regions such as Andorra, Tamil, Ceylon, and Kraal. This metaphor capitalizes upon the ethereal, fast-moving, gentle, caressing, and aromatic nature of air and the south breeze and app lies it to the poem's apparent description of a ascribable lover. This poem furthermore utilizes two specific moods or Rasa, which are emotional flavors that one tastes or feels upon experiencing the words of the writer. The two Rasa used in the poem are peacefulness and romance.The poem establishes a peaceful mood both by using a repetitive sentence structure which has a seemingly calming effect on the reader as well as by using light and airy words such as â€Å"tousled†, â€Å"kissed†, and â€Å"perfumed† that give the poem a quaint and dainty feel. The poem also gives of a feeling of erotic excitement by the description of the erotic actions of the breeze and its apparent metaphor for a desired lover. The breeze has apparently touched the breasts, hairnets, mouths, and cheeks of women from a variety of regions in India indicating the attractiveness of this lover and the great deal of experience and ability he has with women.The two Rasa, peacefulness and rom antic excitement, appear to complement each other and bring about a unique experience within the reader. Rather than feeling solely lustfulness that would usually be felt in poems that utilize only erotic excitement, the element of peacefulness evokes feelings of love in contrast with lust. Because of the peaceful Rasa, the reader perceives the well-traveled lover not as a womanlier but as a gentleman who truly loves and brings happiness to the women he meets. Upon reading the poem, one inevitably comes to the question of â€Å"why is that last line included in this poem? At first glance, it certainly appears that the line â€Å"gently the south winds blow, perfumed with sandalwood† does not fit with the rest of the poem that emphasizes the breeze's touch upon the breasts, hair, and bodies of women. Furthermore, what exactly is the importance and significance of the particular sense abject sandalwood that its scent was noted in the poem? Ultimately the inclusion of the sense of smell and the specific sense object, sandalwood, in the poem gives additional depth to the two Rasa expressed within the poem. Smell is often used in Indian literature to express erotic desire and passionate lust.For example, the lingering and distinctive scent of a long-gone lover brings about both lustful and mournful emotion as one realizes that he or she has lost their love. Smelling that scent would undoubtedly bring about happy and painful memories of that lost love. The inclusion of sandalwood then similarly affects the peaceful Rasa evoked by the gentle and repetitive nature of this poem. Sandalwood is conventionally used in Indian literature as a valuable scent known for its cooling, relaxing, and calming properties as well as for its relationship to love.Conventional Sanskrit poetry and literature often indicates that sandalwood grows in Southern India and is carried by south breezes northward, bringing love as it travels toward its northern mistress. Thus the aroma of the south breeze plays a pivotal role in both characterizing the advertorial lost-lover and establishing the two central Rasa used within the poem. Though not the central sense used within the poem, that honor obviously goes to touch, by including the sense of smell in the last line of the poem, the writer adds a great deal of depth in the poem that could not have been created solely through a description of touch.One could not have touched the bodies of the women that the south breeze has touched but one could have smelled the scent of the sandalwood that accompanies the breeze and felt the emotions brought about by it. Ultimately he sense of smell drives the poem drives poem forward by promoting the mysterious, lustful, and peaceful mood of the poem and by applying emotions that are associated with the smell of a lover to the metaphorical lover described within the poem. The Kamala Sutra, however, is a type of text that contrasts starkly with the flowing, soothing aesthetics of I ndian poetry.Gone are the descriptions of soft scented winds slowly caressing the bodies of young, beautiful lovers; in their place are descriptions of scented oils belonging to â€Å"women of the harem†, the scent of lust ND erotic desire and act, the proper scent of desirable men and women, and the scent of man's â€Å"worn-out† clothing. In this text, good or desirable scents and the corresponding sense object may correspond to wealth and power as the harem girls are said to have been given gifts of scented oils from kings and men of wealthy descent in return for bodily pleasures and favors.These gifts are described as â€Å"leftovers of a deity' indicating the importance and value placed upon scents due to the powerful emotional attachment and memory stimulation that can be drawn from this sense. Looking at the nature of the text, one can glean other characteristics of this sense – the Kamala Sutra is a guide-like manual on navigating the world of eroticism , sex, and romance. The sense of smell is present on nearly every page during descriptions of the smell of various objects, sexual and nonsexual. Thus, smell is quite clearly related to erotic sexual desire, even in sacred books of instruction.When reading through the Kamala Sutra it is seemingly impossible to come across an account of a sexual encounter without some description of one's scent or the scent of scarred clothing, sexual tension, and erotic desire, and one's breathing; sex and smell practically go hand in hand in this text. Ultimately this text reflects the Indian culture's view on the sense of smell – it has the gentle caress to stir love and romance, it has the sudden spark to kindle hot, erotic, sexual desire, and it has the power to create perceptions of grandeur, wealth, and power.While the two cited texts, poetry from Sanskrit Poetry From Fiduciary's â€Å"Treasury' and the instructive Kamala Sutra, may seem to use the sense of smell in a very similar mann er, their ascriptions and usage of the sense is in fact quite unique. The referenced Indian poem uses the sweet and desirable scent of sandalwood to convey emotions of romance and desire in order to add depth and aestheticism to the poem.Meanwhile, the Kamala Sutra uses the sense not to draw out emotion in the reader, as the text is more of sacred and instructive manual, but to give the reader the ability to infer characteristics of the their own lives or the lives of others, whether it be romance, erotic desire, or wealth and power. The difference lies in the desired outcome in the deader after using the sense of smell as a tool to convey information or emotion. The ability of this sense to convey a multitude of outcomes in readers represents the multifaceted nature of smell.Unlike other senses which are relatively concrete – the sense of touch is constant based on the object one is touching, the sense of sight is constant based on the object one is viewing – the sens e of smell is much more fluid and up to the interpretation of the subject. Because of this unique characteristic of the sense of smell, it allowed writers of Indian literature the ability to use the sense f smell to relate multiple emotions and inferences to the reader, with each being unique to the reader and unique in and of itself.While in contemporary American culture and literature, the sense of smell takes a back seat to the more concrete and reliable senses such as sight and touch, this is not so in Indian culture. Smell is used in all texts – poetry, instructive manuals, sacred texts – liberally due to its unique ability to convey multiple emotions and facts. Based on the two referenced works, smell occupies a sacred place in Indian literature and could seemingly be considered he foundation of love, sexual desire, and wealth and power as seen in the role it plays in this culture's literature.