FIAT's public relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

FIAT's public relations - Essay Example This essay examines Fiat’s public relations strategy and effectiveness. This investigation includes analysis from television and print media, the company website, reflective investigations on the organization’s sales and public relations measures, as well as customer and employee perspectives. The overarching understanding is that Fiat has worked to present an image of European sophistication and newfound reliability. It’s revealed that a great amount of cynicism and resistance have emerged in response to these measures. Ultimately, one considers that perhaps a general sociological shift of perspective has emerged in conjunction with the European Sovereign Debt Crisis and Italy’s economic collapse, wherein European sophistication as increasingly come to be viewed as unsustainable decadence. Some of the most interesting considerations within perceptions of FIAT’s public relations outreach are media sources that consider such presentations from a self -reflexive perspective. In these regards, a number of news stories have directly considered FIAT’s public relations strategy for 2011. One notable element in this context of understanding is considerations related to FIAT’s reentrance into the American market. FIAT’s car commercials add great insight into the organization’s goals in terms of market positioning. A general perusal of recent FIAT commercials reveals a number of notable elements. One of the most pervasive is the latent connection between the FIAT care and femininity.

Jack Shepherd Essay Example for Free

Jack Shepherd Essay ABC’s hit television series, Lost, portrays interesting characters. From all walks of life, the characters have one thing in common. They are all stranded on a deserted island somewhere off of the airline’s charted flight course. Forty- eight remaining passengers are thrown together as a result of this terrible plane crash, the literary complication. As the plot continues, they must all try to survive. A few of the survivors are badly injured, a few are hysterical, some are angry, and some are scared. No one appears to know what to do. Jack Shepherd is the protagonist who represents the hero of the pilot episode. Through indirect characterization, the writer presents Jack as a dynamic, round, and fully developed character. Jack Shepherd, as the protagonist, is a take-charge sort of guy who is the natural leader on the island, as illustrated by his actions early on in the episode. He calms a pregnant girl who is traumatized and having contractions, gives mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to an African American woman who has quit breathing, and he rescues, at the very last possible minute, a heavy-set guy and the expectant mother from disaster when he sees the plane collapsing. They are both unaware of the impending danger, and almost in superhero fashion, Jack runs down the beach and rescues them as the plane’s broken wing almost falls on the pair. The author presents him as an unselfish character who takes care of the needs of others first before seeking help for his own wounds. The Jones 02 author gives the viewers a glimpse into Jack’s background through his conversations with Kate, an attractive passenger, who sews up Jack’s wounds with a travel sewing kit. He tells Kate that he is a doctor, which explains his helping of the injured people on the island. Through this conversation, we learn that Jack, almost a superhero is a normal human being. He shows fear and vulnerability by telling Kate the story about the horrible experience that he had with the surgery of the 16-year-old girl. He shows strength by telling Kate his method for dealing with fear. The author is using indirect methods of characterization in presenting Jack’s personality, and doesn’t just tell the viewer about Jack. Through showing the viewer Jacks full range of emotions, the author presents Jack as a round character who is able to push fear aside. This character is the most developed character in the pilot episode. As a fully developed character, we know more (through his conversations and actions in trying to save the injured people), about Jack than we do any other character. His main traits are stability, leadership, and emotional stability in a time of crisis. Jack is a dynamic character who changes based on his experiences. He talks about how he never lets fear take hold of him anymore as he relates the story of the surgery mistake to Kate. He shares his method of dealing with fear, and she later uses that method for herself later in the episode. â€Å"I decided to give into the fear for 5 seconds and I counted 1,2,3,4,5,† (Lost) Because of this experience in the past, he changed. Therefore we can assume that he is a real character with real emotions who is affected by what happens around him. The author never becomes the simple narrator who tells the viewers about Jack. It is left up to the viewer to decide what kind of character he is based on Jack’s actions. This is indirect characterization. The main character traits of this character are caring, control and sense of duty to help others. His emotions are in control. The author or screenwriter reveals this when Jack goes off to himself to examine the situation. The camera pans to a shot where Jack is surveying the situation and catching his breath from all that has just happened. His facial expression reveals that he knows that the group is in serious trouble, but he knows he must remain in control. Jack is a â€Å"thinking† character who actively begins searching for answers. Through a flashback scene, the writer reveals to the audience through Jack’s eyes, the moments before the crash. The epiphany occurs when he realizes that something much more serious may be happening on the island, and they are all stranded in a very dangerous place. Jack Shepherd is the hero of the pilot episode. He confronts danger, takes charge, and begins to make decisions for the group. He does not let destiny control him. He seeks a solution to the problem, becoming a proactive leader. The author uses his presentation of Jack to show that he is a dynamic and round character who has caught the viewers’ attention, enticing them to tune in next week. Works Cited â€Å"Pilot Episode. † Lost. Abrams, Lieber, Lindelof. ABC. New York. 22 September 2004. Television.

The Governments’ Responsibility Essay Example for Free

The Governments’ Responsibility Essay Whether or not rich countries should help poor nations by providing food and education has long been an issue. Others go against such act of charity arguing that it is the poor countries’ governments’ full responsibility. I say, charity is good, but governments should not rely on it. Rich countries like Japan, Australia and the United States (to name a few) have been sending volunteers to aid poor and developing countries like the Philippines. Indeed, they have done much to improve the lives of the people in these countries. However, eventually, the governments of these countries tend to pass on the responsibility of taking their citizens’ welfare into the hands of the wealthy. Somehow, they forget that it is their task to uplift the lives of their people. And, rich countries are not required, whatsoever, to lend assistance. However true this may be, human nature still rules. Because we are not made to live by ourselves, we reach out to our less fortunate brothers and sisters. This is made even more possible through the United Nations Organization which brings every nation, rich or poor, closer. Through the UNO, rich countries send assistance to poor and developing countries by sending basic needs such as food, clothing and education. True enough, economic conditions of benefiting countries have alleviated. Nevertheless, the effort should not be one-sided. National governments should always see first-hand the welfare of their people. Seeking for aide should not always be the option. For the betterment of the nation, governments should inspire the people to help themselves by providing employment opportunities for basic needs to be met. The government should come up with programs to provide free education, so that their sense of pride would boost up, thus, motivating them to improve their lives with the government’s assistance. To sum it up, it is basically the governments’ responsibility to bring about progress in their nation through their citizens. Wealthy nations are not and should not be required to share their wealth. Charity is an act of love, not an obligation. We can’t just rely on aides for the rest of our lives, can we?

Evaluating Change Management and System Implementation

Evaluating Change Management and System Implementation Introduction Rapid growth in the alignment of IT into business process to remain competitive in an unhealthy global market has intrinsic change involved in every aspect of business. To handle these changes the change management is required. In my views change management cannot be defined in a single definition because strategy and acts vary differently based on the project needs. Change management is the integral part of project management. Change management draws expertise decision from the both internal and external factors of an organisation. These plans are fabricated within the project plan and reviewed from time to time. According to Dunleavy et al (1993), it is inevitable for an organisation to manage the emotional up and downs of the people, if there is a massive change under taken by an organisation. According to the recent survey conducted in 2005 by the McKinsey company relieved that only 30% of the change management projects are successful. Dunn CIO of nestle company said (Worthen, B. 2002); Moving to SAP brings the change in peoples working style. It acts like challenging their main beliefs, philosophy, and things which they had perused in the past. And he also says that Change management is the influencing factor of all major IT implementation independent of the software. My views abstracted from my past experience in SAP implementation (two complete life cycles and two support projects) and resume attached in my first blog. System Implementations Huge investments are made system implementation in the industry and it is said to delivery business efficiency as a result. To produce these improvised results there need to be change process involved. Lets consider the example of SAP implementation, these implementations requires the business process reengineering in order to adopt the business to SAP systems. Business process reengineering (BPR) triggers change within the organisation. Implementation methods There are four different implementation methods that are commonly used. They are Big bang all at once Pilot Phased Parallel process Best practice (SAP) In my experience SAP implementation has the first three methods in complete life cycle process. When the company shows the interest towards the SAP then the provider provides the IDES version software to check and make them comfortable with SAP business process. (Pilot method at initial stage after PID). In all the case of my experience ERP implementation happens in a big bang phase but there was one different proposal to go with parallel process and it was dropped because more number of data operators where required to feed both the systems(i/o). When the project moves towards the support phase of the life cycle then the project follows the phased implementation methods. In ECCI the top management decided to Implement ERP to setup a control over the different value chains this triggered the change. ERP implementation in this organisation had a major impact of the work force, so the ITIL framework was followed to handle those change. Request for Change RFC Analysis Change Prioritization Categorize Change Advisory Board Change Schedule Build Test Change Implementation Top management prioritised ITIL framework the most when the BPR was processed. The ERP team analysed the critical factors and consequences towards ERP implementations by carrying out a force field analysis. The driving forces and restrain forces where identified in force field analysis. At the initial stage of the project, there was more number of restraining forces rather than the driving forces. We used a little strategy to trim down the strong points of the restraining forces. E.g. coordination between departments increased by explaining the benefits for each department and how it benefits its process. Other example culture of organisation where managed with the involvement of top management. Force field analysis was a continual process until the equilibrium reached the desired state. During my work I didnt realise it was a Lewins Model of Change, in reality process which we where following was Lewins Model of Change. (Unfreezing, change process and refreezing). In an unfreezing state we found out the elements that can reduce the strength of each restraining forces. Change process, those indentified elements where changed using ITIL framework process. Refreezing state was maintained by a continuous monitoring process. The management in Priya Creations was not flat structure which followed the old classical approach. I was designated a business analyst in this organisation and found various issues relating to organisation structure that affects the performance of the organisation. Top management decided to change structure to flat and a modern structure. It aimed at empowering of employees and fast learning organisation to compete among the competitors. According to Burnes, (2009:100-154), the organisation that follows the Culture-Excellence and becoming a learning organisation will benefit there operational value chain and their strategy. According to Mintzberg et al, (2009), 10 school of strategy define the 10 different values for a modern organisation and how they behave to the success of the organisation. These ten different schools where consider while restructuring the organisation. According to Nicolai,(1997), strategy is the pattern of decisions in a company that determines and reveals its objectives, purpose or goals, produces the principal policies and plans for achieving those goals and defines the range of business the company to pursue, the kind and nature of economy contribution to its customers, employees, shareholders and communities. According to Burnes, (2004), Emergent and planned approach are the two dominant category of organisational change that are generally agreed. He uses the 5 Ps to differentiate planned and emergent approach. In planned approach he describes Strategy as a plan, position and ploy. Strategy as Perspective and Strategy as pattern is described as emergent approach. In my view the emergent change arise spontaneously by a certain task which are not intended or anticipated for developing this change. Planned approach Planned approaches are task that are carried with the intention to trigger the change and planned well ahead. Lewin saw that planned change is principally targeted at operational excellence and human interaction through group outings and social programmes. (Burnes, 2004). Planned change can be easily handled by analysing the internal and external factors. The project team in ECCI has set up a team for the strategic planning process. Objective of that team was to make the project smother in the post go live stage. Team has to analyse various internal and external factors that could affect the process in the post go live. Internal factors were identified using SWOT analysis within the organisation. It determined the strength, weakness, opportunities and threat. The strengths that are identified where TOP Management commitments. High calibre project team. Good technical resources The opportunities that are identified where High competitive advantage with better reports Increase in operational efficiency The weakness that are identified where Skill level of employees Inadequate training The Threats that are identified where Employees reluctant towards change Technology at site Implementation cost External factors were identified using PESTEL analysis within the organisation. It determined the political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal. There were some factors like political, economical and environmental didnt have much negative influences towards the post implementation side. Social ECCI is a construction company in which most of people in the site where semi skilled workers. They looked at the software as giant and there data was most crucial inputs for report analysis. Technology The internet connectivity in some of remote site where bad and most systems in site need to be upgraded. Legal SAP charges every company based on the number of user, So the limitation to number of user considered to be a problem. Assigning the authentication access to users was also questionable. Strategy as an evolution and selection of right technique was assigned the corresponding department heads. The operation of these techniques where monitored by the project team. Emergent change According to Carnall (2003), there is common thing that exist among the practitioner and theorists, the magnitude and greater frequency of change has made it less predictable in the recent past. In the present business environment change cannot occur from solitary even environment. (Garvin 1994). Emergent impacts can occur from a change program that is even planned and executed most carefully. Kotters (1996) framework for analysis of change eight steps used for the emergent change in the organisation. He empathised on the stand of staged and sequential approach. His framework looks carefully at all stage of change to avoid the pitfalls and it also go in hand with ITIL framework. (1) Establish a sense of urgency highlighted the needs of the change. (2) Form a powerful high level coalition to guide and lead the changes formed a team who can take a high level decision and act independently. (3) Created a organisational vision for the future. (4) Strategy that Communicate repeatedly and consistently vision to entire organisational structure. (5) Empower people in the organisation to act on the vision Doing the needful to achieve the vision. (6) Planed a visible performance improvement for a short-term. (7) Consolidate improvements and produce more change (8) Institutionalise new approaches Brief the new working process and encouraging the work force adopts the change. According to Burnes (2009:11), Cultural and political process derives the emergent change. The resources and capabilities of the organisation are matched with the opportunities and constraints posed by the business environment. Organisation culture was analysed through cultural web to avoid imbalance in the organisation. According to my experience the culture of the organisation determines the success of the project. It can either be positive or negative effects. If we take any example of ERP implementations, the people attitude towards the Project may vary based on their own benefits. The conflicts can arise based on the personal or cultural value of an organisation. From my experience, (Natarajan, November 27, 2010) the culture in the organisation can be easily managed in a proactive manner. The most of ERP implementation carry out the analysis of the organisational culture before start of the project internally. Johnson Scholes (2008), cultural web model has us to analysis the various aspect of the organisation. This analysis will have great contribution towards the change. From my experience a learning organisation can improvise the work culture within the organisation. An organisation is said to be learning if it convert the tacit knowledge to the explicit knowledge. In ECCI we set up issue log common in a common directory, it helps us in logging all issues thats been generated during implementation and this become a documentation for the further referencing. According to Mintzberg,(1989), Number of change that emerges unrelated to the decisions made by the managers. Therefore the change is not planned. These decisions were made on the basic of organisation behaviour and its environment assumptions. Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there. (John Kotter, 1996) According to Mohrman et al,(1995), The style of traditional leadership in the is questioned in the rise of organisational flattening structure and empowerment teams. Self management and self leadership followers emphasizes the development of empowering leadership and suitable for empower leadership. They influence the team by encouraging the creativity, independent actions, team working, self-rewards. (Manz Sims, 2001). In my personal view rational are those who suit into the empowerment leadership. In my view the impact on change management based on The Temperament Matrix (Keirsey, 1987) and representing in terms of percentage. What is Whats possible? What Works Artisans (20%) Rational (40%) Artisans could be a problematic in the initial stage. Once the new process starts they will more productive because they believe on hands on experience. Troubleshooting attitude will encourage them towards the new process as complicity arises. Rationalist could have both extreme impacts (positive and negative) depending on the change impact towards their personal role because they strongly believe in supremacy. Whats Right Guardians (10%) Idealists (30%) Guardians are the derive agents of change. They take the ownership for the process to support the organisation for the change. Idealists acceptance to the change based on stages. They compare the real world entity with the theoretical study. Temperament Matrix In my view the persons who suits into change management based on The Temperament Matrix. What is Whats possible? What Works Artisans Rational Developers/ Executives Functional Heads Whats Right Guardians Idealists Project Manages / support executives Users Temperament Matrix Source: (Natarajan, November 10, 2010) Consultants In my view consultants (Natarajan, November 19, 2010) are the expertises who are brought in to do a specific task for a certain period of time in which the organisation has few or no experts. Consultants have wide knowledge about the specific field and give advice on that subject matter. Consultants can be recruited within the organisation or tie-up with a consultancy company which has a pool of consultants (eg IBM) and decision is left to the top management to decide whether to have internal or external consultants. Psychological thought makes us believe that the consultants are always right and organisation views report more seriously when compared to the internal reports. This is because they are independent variables, so is there is no control of superiors over them because suggest things not implement them and they look things differently. The CONSULT Model CONSULT models reminds me of the life cycle of the consultancy project which is unique for all consultancy projects. The problem with this model is identifying the issues, no of resource and the time line for the project. In my experience consultants life span is where short over a particular project, in which he need to get adjusted to the organisation standards, culture and nature of a job over a short period of time. Understanding the problem depends on the business analyst who does the knowledge transfer and the consultant has to map the business in the IT world. Relationship between clients and consultants Purchase of expertise The task is given by the client and consultant executes the task. Doctor/patient model The task is not given by the client but some information is given in the form of data where the solution should be given by the consultant. Process Consultation Here the problems and the task where indentified together. My experience at ford as a part time consultant. This was high prioritised task, when Process Integration system ford failed to react to one third party applications. The sense of urgency was maintained to handle that task. The ford top management had a serious concern over task as one important application failed. There was short time strategy to resolve within a short period of time. The group of PI consultant from different firms worked under a single team to handle this issue. There was a difference in the opinions, they where shorted out by project manager and the delivery manager. Return on investment (ROI) In my view budget for the IT projects very high, the investors needs to look into the cost which can be incurred certain duration of time. ROI is analysed before start of the project to decide whether every penny spent is worthwhile. (Natarajan, November 10, 2010) Benefits The objectives contribute towards the benefits of the project. Analysing the key benefits will help project team to encourage other members of the organisation towards the success of the project. Benefit realisation will encourage the investors or board of directors and their contribution. Risk The risk can be handled but predicting risk in early stages can prevent damages. Risk analysis relives the dead spots in the project and these should take into consideration while implementing the project. Conclusion Change can be managed if the change process is controlled. The top management strategy and vision towards change should be empowered. References Burnes, B. (2009) Managing Change, (5th Ed), Harlow: FT Prentice Hall Burnes, B. (2004), Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: a reappraisal, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 41 No. 6. Burnes, B. (2004), Managing Change, 4th ed., FT Prentice-Hall, London. Carnall, C.A. (2003), Managing Change in Organizations, 4th ed., FT/Prentice-Hall, Harlow. Dunvely, Patrick and Christopher hood 1993. From old public administration to new public management.  Public Money and Management  14  (3):  9-16. Garvin, D.A. (1994), Building a learning organisation, Harvard Business Review July/August, pp. 78-91. Johnson, Gerry and Scholes, Kevan. (2008).  Exploring corporate strategy. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. 1. Keirsey, D. (1987) Portraits of Temperament (2nd Ed) Del Mar CA: Prometheus Nemesis Kotter, J.P. (1996), Leading Change, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Manz, C. C., Sims, H. P., Jr. (2001). The new SuperLeadership: Leading others to lead themselves. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Mckinsey Company Organisation Practice, Building Exceptional Leadership Strength, 2005. Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (2009) Strategy Safari : Your complete guide through the wilds of strategic management, (2nd Ed) Harlow: FT Prentice Hall Mintzberg, H (1989) Mintzberg on Management: inside our strange world of organisations, Chicago, Free Press. Mohrman, S. A., Cohen, S. G., Morhman, A. M., Jr. (1995). Designing team-based organizations:New forms for knowledge work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Natarajan, S. (2010-11) CMSI Personal Blog, hosted on Sheffield Hallam University Student Portal. Nicolai J. Foss.. (1997). The concept of corporate startegy.. In: 1Resources, firms and strategies : a reader in the resource-based perspective .. Oxford : Oxford University Press. 52. Breese, R. (2010). Change Management and System Implementation>Learning material > Week 8 > lecture slides > change processes. Retrieved 1 7, 11, from http://shuspace.shu.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=nullurl=/webapps/blackboard/execute/courseMain?course_id=_218582_1 Worthen, B. 2002. Nestles ERP odyssey. CIO Magazine, May 15.

Use of Excessive Force by Police :: Police Law Legal Force Essays

Use of Excessive Force by Police Introduction: Police officers are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the job. Officers are faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly yet appropriately. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen's rights to freedom and therefore they must use this power effectively. One major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is their power to decide when to use force or when to use lethal force. Manning (1997:295) argues that it is generally accepted that police should be allowed to use force. He also explains that there is an uncertainty among people as to what constitutes excessive force. The line between what is necessary and what is extreme is very thin. Use of force is no doubt one important aspect in policing; however, force should also be used with great discretion. If officers do not use force on every suspect they encounter they may be creating a negative environment for the community. The community policing style is defined by David M. Allender as (2004:18-19), ?Community policing is a philosophy of full-service, personalized policing where the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems.? The most important factors to community policing include personalization, partnership and problem-solving (Allender, 2004:19). The idea is to create a relationship with citizens that is trustworthy and honest. When officers begin to use force to control the community, citizens began to view officers as authority figures instead of service officers that are there to protect and serve. This results in a break down of the relationship between officers and the community. In community policing force should only be used if other efforts are deemed ineffective. The use of force can pertain many different actions a police officer participates in. Force can range from simply verbal commands to the dangerous use of lethal force. Police no doubt need to have discretion to use force to protect themselves as well as community. Guidelines need to be set so that officers continue to incorporate and maintain the concept of community policing. The purpose of this article is to inform readers that police discretion not only encompasses use of police profiling, responses to domestic violence, or choices in acceptance of gratuities but discretionary decision to use force.

Did Sparta Achieve Her Goal :: essays research papers

Did Sparta Achieve Her Goal? Sparta is the most formidable city known in history. Famous for her impressive military power, she proved that strength didn’t lie in numbers, it lay in Spartan discipline. Sparta started out as a small city fighting only to survive against enemy invaders. Her goal was to avoid defeat from other city-states and she very nearly succeeded in achieving it. Using self-denial, strong discipline and harsh training, Sparta focused almost all her attention on achieving her goal. Known as the ‘tamer of men’, her strength made all but Spartan men shrink in fear. However, Sparta did not wage war any more lightly then any other army, she simply waged it better. Despite the cold, military driven surface, Sparta often engaged in merriment. Festivals were celebrated with vigor, men were good to their families and their women were renowned for their beauty. Nevertheless, they always refused to become distracted from their purpose. Civil wars and ancient rivalries made it painfull y clear that Sparta had no intention of allowing Athens or any other rival take over. However, she was still quite willing to join arms with the same rivals to fight off foreign invaders. When Greece was threatened by Persia, Sparta halted her competition with Athens and relentlessly fought back the enemy forces. After her triumph over the Persians, Sparta’s temporary peace with Athens was short-lived. The Greeks soon returned to their petty affairs. For 75 years Sparta and Athens fought for supremacy. Eventually, Sparta won, but in doing so she finally allowed all of Greece to witness her tragic flaw. Militarily, Sparta was more than impressive. However, in many of the city-states she now had in her power, she set up harsh discipline and dictatorships. This proved that Sparta’s weakness lay in organizing peace among her new found successes. When the disaster of Sparta’s catastrophic defeat from little Thebes reached her people, they continued to celebrate their Youth Festival refusing to show any emotion-this was still Sparta. It would be long before Sparta would fade away, but nevertheless she quietly withered away; ironically still displaying the quiet, stubborn Spartan discipline. Her goal of surviving against all other forces was so close to being attained but she made a small but dire mistake. Foolishly underestimating the power of Thebes, Sparta failed to see that Thebes was incredibly similar to her younger self. Sparta began as a small city merely waging war in order to survive; Thebes had the same motivation for war, except that their key to survival was to knock out Sparta.

Mexican Folk Music: El Corrido Essay -- Music, Oral Folk History

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, a form of Mexican folk music called the corrido gained popularity along the Mexico-Texan border (Saldà ­var). Growing from the Spanish romance tradition, the corrido is a border ballad â€Å"that arose chronicling the history of border conflicts and its effects on Mexican-Mexican culture† (Saldà ­var). A sort of â€Å"oral folk history,† the corrido was studied intensely by Amà ©rico Paredes, who then constructed his masterpiece, George Washington Gomez, around the â€Å"context and theme† of the corrido (Mendoza 146). But the novel is not a traditional corrido, in which the legendary hero defends his people and dies for his honor. Instead, through its plot, characterization, and rhetorical devices, George Washington Gomez is an anti-corrido. The corrido has been identified as having distinctive characteristics that make up its theme and plot. First, the corrido has a â€Å"context of hostile relations between Anglos and Mexicans along the border and the establishment of a scenic structure, geographical locale, and opposing social forces† (Mendoza 146). The corrido’s hero â€Å"is a hard-working, peace-loving Mexican, who, when goaded by Anglos, outrages into violence, causing him to defend his rights and those of others of his community against the rinches, the Rangers† (Saldà ­var). This hero â€Å"is quickly introduced in legendary proportions and defiant stature† and many people must die before the hero reaches his triumphant, but tragic, demise (Mendoza 146). The Anglos in the corrido, meanwhile, are not one-dimensional villains but â€Å"complex figures who contain positive as well as negative qualities† (Mendoza 146). These distinctive traits of a corrido – setting, confli ct, and characterization, among others – ... ...l. â€Å"Ge-or-ge,’ she called in an exaggerated Gringo accent. He looked back. Tears were running down her rigid, expressionless face. ‘Cabron!’ she said. ‘Vendido sanavabiche!’† (Paredes 294) In this way, George – no longer Guà ¡nlito – has politically and culturally betrayed his people, and â€Å"is not is not the tragic hero who has died in defense of his people† (Mendoza 148). In conclusion, through its plot, characterization, and rhetorical devices such as tone, George Washington Gomez is an anti-corrido. However, it must be said that perhaps in its purpose as an anti-corrido, the novel is a corrido. In telling the story of Guà ¡nlito, the anti-hero of the Mexicotexans, perhaps Paredes is singing the readers his own border ballad, an ironic, cautionary tale to the Chicanos to remember who they are and where they came from and to resist, always, as a corrido hero would.