Strategic Marketing Emirates Taking the IMC Route

Strategic Marketing Emirates Taking the IMC Route STRATEGIC MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS EMIRATES: TAKING THE IMC ROUTE INTRODUCTION Emirates Airlines established in 1985, is a subsidiary of the Emirates Group, a public international travel conglomerate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. An Emirate is the largest airline in the Middle East operating its flights hub at Dubai International Airport to various countries all over the world. Emirates initiated flying internationally with two aircraft – a leased Boeing 737 an Airbus 300 B4. Its main focus on providing quality services to customers instead of focusing on quantity of customers. Due to its despite efforts supportive attitude towards customers, Emirates became a market leader in the global airline industry within a short span of time. The overall profit of Emirates grew at a faster rate with a minimum 20 per cent hike every year hence became the fastest-growing youngest fleets in the aviation industry. Because of their excellence in providing satisfactory quality services to the customers, Emirates earned majority of awards globally. It also deals in cargo activities, which is taken by Emirates Group’s Emirates Sky Cargo division. OVERVIEW OF THE CASE STUDY This case study discusses on the overall effort made by the Emirates to ensure the consistency the effectiveness of messages targeted to various audiences. The Emirates has used Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) approach for marketing their services in front of customers. Majority of the companies have paid close attention to the IMC approach. Various IMC tools such as television commercials, print advertisements, internet marketing, charitable foundations, in-plane advertisements, sponsorships trade promotions have been utilized by the Emirates in order to achieve an excellent market position a positive brand image in the minds of its current potential customers. Emirates could easily reach their target audience via these mentioned modes of marketing promotions. Due to its continuous effort towards marketing the brand services, Emirates maximized exposure rate. Several Challenges Encountered By the Emirates to distribute an individual message about the high class facilities for its customers to create a brand name in front of its customers Explain how Emirates’ promoting approach has been effective in constructing an optimistic trademark appearance with current potential customers? Classify the IMC tools used by Emirates? Emirates flies all over the world. Should Emirates modify its messages channels according to where it advertises? Explain. DISCUSSION OF THE TASKS CONFRONTED BY THE EMIRATES A1. The marketing strategy of Emirates includes – Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Approach – Emirates’ advertising policy has been efficacious in generating a progressive brand image in the minds of its current potential customers by embracing the IMC approach for marketing its brand. An IMC concept is an approach of achieving the objectives of a marketing campaign, via proper efficient use of promotional tools methods that are intended to reinforce each other. It enables that all forms of communications messages are linked together hence work simultaneously in harmony rather than in isolation. This approach is used by the organisation to create a unified brand experience for consumers across several communication channels. As marketing efforts have been moved from mass marketing to slot promoting, companies have growing use IMC to cultivate more economical promotions that still distribute value to the customers. Emirates think global – Emirates have set out to be an innovative, modern customer-oriented provider of high quality air travel services. Its brand positioning is that of a leading, international quality airline serving the global community. Living the brand – Emirates deliver on their brand promise of innovation quality. Emirates end line â€Å"keep discovering† sums up its philosophy on travel: Only Emirates lets you discover a more authentic fulfilling life. Do remarkable things – Emirates do remarkable things for integrated marketing communications activities such as advertising, sponsorship, e-commerce, public relations supportive communications. Engaging customers – Emirates have effectively used www.emirates.com to drive the brand experience, maintain cordial relation with the customers by launching frequent flyer program skywards. Through such an effort, Emirates has easily reaches their target audience hence successfully developed a strong relation with their customers. Open up – Emirates mobilising customers to actively participate in the experience other promotional events activities in order to market their service in front of the customers Hence, by using the above mentioned message strategies, Emirates has successfully developed a positive brand image into the market in front of their customers. A2.Emirates use a variety of marketing communication tools in an integrated way to deliver one message about the high quality of its services along with maximising its message exposure rate. Various IMC tools used by Emirates are- Advertisements – An advertisement is a way of publicity or promoting a product, service or any event. There are several modes of advertisements such as online advertising, newspaper ads, radio advertising, television advertising, public speaking, door hangers, flyers word-of-mouth advertising. Emirates utilize the commercials print advertisements for highlighting the airline’s new products, routes, services aircraft. It helps in fostering its services. Sponsorship – Sponsorship is another form of promotional activity. Emirates have undergone partnership with several events both regional international like FIFA. Moreover, Emirates is dedicated to the growth of global arts culture through a number of sponsorships around the world. In fact, Emirates believe that sponsorship is the best way to develop a cordial relation with customers. E-commerce – E-commerce is referred to as purchasing or selling goods or services, or the conducting of assets or data, over an electronic system, mainly an internet. It is also referred to as an electronic commerce. Emirates enable customers to perform online shopping of Emirates related merchandise via its official retail website (emiratesofficialstore.com). Public Relation – Emirates publish three in-flight magazines in order to reach readers passengers during their journey. Through such magazines, passengers are usually encouraged to donate to the Emirates Airline Foundation, which seeks to improve the quality of children. Magazines are the best source of marketing the products or services, as it contains articles illustrations, which attracts customer attention towards it. So, by means of magazines, Emirates has gained majority of market shares along with the competitive advantage in the airline industry. Supportive Communication – Supportive communications is referred to as a style of communicating with customers that has a particular set of aims techniques. The principal objective is to resolve conflict or attain variation in a situation, while protective, even strengthening, the relationship between the communicating individuals. Emirates’ on-board entertainment system has been highly recognized as a market leader, winning awards for its quality enabling the airline to show passengers commercials about it latest offers, partners services. A3.Tagline is a short prominent or memorable phrase used in advertising. It identifies the uniqueness of a brand or conveys some type of special meaning. The taglines which are used in the past by the Emirates airline in order to gain market value customer preference in aviation industry are – Emirates – The finest in the sky Fly Emirates Be good to yourself. When was the last time you did something for the first time? Keep Discovering. Hello Tomorrow. No doubt Emirates has already gained an excellent market position a positive brand image in the minds of its customers via IMC approach its tools but still I believe that Emirates should modify its messages channels by embracing new ideas, new technology good quality services to the customers in order to maintain their position in the market as well as to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. REFERENCES http://prezi.com/hpx2kqzh_0ck/copy-of-emirates/ en.wikipedia.org CASE 2 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN FOOD MARKETING INTRODUCTION The South Australian government established South Australia (SA) Food Centre in 2008 in order to provide practical advice to food businesses in Australia. Due to the agency its expertise, many other businesses have taken advantages. Countries such as Japan, the United States Hong Kong are the major exporter of the South Australian Food market. Some products like meat, seafood, fruit cheese are the main export food of the South Australian Food market. The main aim of the South Australian (SA) Food Centre is to promote South Australian food businesses through various modes such as Food Talk (an online magazine), Food-e-News (e-mail news updates) the Premier’s Food Awards (awards for South Australian food producers). The key purpose of the South Australian (SA) Food Centre is to create a collaborative partnership with industry government, in order to ensure a thriving South Australian food industry. OVERVIEW OF THE CASE STUDY This case study discusses on the overall effort made by the South Australian (SA) Food Centre in order to make sure that their brand is exciting to consumers, by focusing on factors such as packaging labelling. It also encourages food producers to promote their products brands by not only informing consumers about their availability, but to highlight what is special about a particular product. After performing continuous efforts of establishing collaboration with industry government, one such result came in front from the well-known Charlie’s Group Limited. The Charlie’s group limited is known for selling fruits sports water flavoured with fruit juices. So, due to collaboration with Charlie’s group limited, SA fruit growers received a considerable boost from Charlie’s Group Limited. In-fact SA Food Centre promotes various events, including annual food festivals shopping appearances alongside celebrity chefs media personalities. Due to their despite e fforts towards food industry, the South Australian (SA) mushroom industry gained three main campaigns. So, this well supported program is indicative of the activities of the SA Food Centre. Several Challenges Encountered By the South Australian (SA) Food Centre What type of message strategy should SA Food Centre utilize? Should it be the same for all of the brands in all of the markets? What leverage point makes the most sense for South Australian food producers’ advertising? What type of executional framework should be used in traditional advertisements aimed at consumers? DISCUSSION OF THE TASKS CONFRONTED BY THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN (SA) FOOD CENTRE A1. Message strategy – Message strategy is a basic step in generating an effective promoting message. It provides the groundwork for rest of the marketing operation. There are three types of message strategy which should be used by SA Food Centre utilize such as: Cognitive message strategy – A cognitive message strategy offerings coherent opinions or fragments of evidence to customers. Among all five types of cognitive message strategies, they should make use of pre-emptive message strategy in order to advertise their products. The idea requires cognitive processing. It makes a claim of superiority based on products specific attributes or assistance with the intent of averting the rivalries from making the same claims. Customers can obtain benefits by purchasing the product. The South Australian (SA) Food Centre could utilize a cognitive message strategy for motivating the food producers to promote their brands by highlighting about what is special in their products for the consumers. By this strategy, food producers can describe attributes like healthiness, pleasant tasting or low calorie many more. So, the marketing promotion of the food products can be increased via cognitive message strategy. Affective message strategy – In affective message strategy, the South Australian (SA) Food Centre could use an emotional advertising method to promote their products in the market. Advertisements that invoke feelings or emotions match those feelings with the good, service, or company use affective message strategies. These messages try to heighten the amiability of the product, recall of the appeal, or comprehension of the advertisement. Affective strategies elicit emotions that, in turn, lead the consumers to act, preferably by buying the product, subsequently affecting the consumer’s reasoning process. Many emotions can be connected to products, including trust, reliability, friendship, happiness, security, glamour, luxury, serenity, pleasure, romance passion. Affective strategy may help in developing a stronger brand name. It helps in creating a positive feeling of the customers towards product. Conative message strategy – A conative message strategy is aimed to lead openly to specific category of consumer response. It supports the promotional efforts, such as coupon redemption programs, internet hits orders, in-store offers like buy-one-get-one-free. In conative message strategy, they depend on action-including conative advertisements, where, situations are created in which cognitive knowledge of the product or affective liking of the product may come later or during product usage. There will be no strength in the unity of a South Australian brand because if it happens, then it will lead to the brand parity so they need to differential the product that lead to equity customer loyalty. So, it is quite essential to utilize a unique message strategy for all of the brands in all of the markets. A2.Leverage point – Leverage pointsare those interpretations, if any, made at extreme or remote standards of theindependent variablessuch that the lack of adjacent explanations means that the tailored regression model will pass close to that particular observation. A leverage point interchanges the customer from accepting a product’s benefits to linking those benefits with personal values. In order to construct a quality leverage point, the creative builds the pathway that connects a product benefit with the potential buyer’s value system. The two leverage points which makes the most sense for South Australian food producers’ advertising are – Government Industry The reason behind that they get a feedback that leads to service credibility to South Australian Food Centres. The leverage points here link product attributes so that it will focus on factors such as packaging labelling – consumers benefits that it will be make sure that their brand is exciting to consumers’ value that it’s related to industry value. The fundamental purpose of the South Australian (SA) Food Centre is to construct a co-operative conglomerate with both industry government. Through this, they could build up strong cordial relations with several agencies corporations, which further enable the South Australian (SA) food producers to market promote their food products into the market with an optimum level of efforts. The leverage point message links these attributes benefits to consumer values. An effective leverage point can be associated with an attitudinal change, especially when the cognitive à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   affective à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  conative seq uence exists. As a result of collaboration of the South Australian food producers with an industry government, South Australian fruit growers received a considerable boost from Charlie’s Group Limited, the manufactures of Charlie’s Phoenix Organics. It was great news for South Australia’s fruit growers as Charlie’s propelled a new promoting campaign in order to support or promote their products or services. Due to such efforts made by both South Australian Food Centre as well as Charlie’s Group, the South Australian food producers have benefited a lot in attaining market value along with customer’s preference towards their product line. A3.For traditional advertisements aimed at consumers, the South Australian (SA) Food Centre should use emotional framework to connect with consumers get them engage by providing them the value that fulfil their requirements expectations in the product. An executional framework displays the method in which an advertisement plea will be offered. It would be selected in conjunction with an advertising appeal message strategy. The common types of appeal include fear, humour, sex, music, rationality, emotions, scarcity. It is essential that each can be matched with the appropriate executional framework. Several frameworks which could be used by South Australian Food Marketing are: Animation – Animation has become a progressively prevalent executional framework, its usage has escalated intensely. Animation can be presented in both televisions as well as in internet advertising. One sensational animation method is roto-scoping. Roto-scoping is the process of numerically painting or outlining statistics into live arrangements, which makes it possible to present both live actors animated characters in the same structure. Animation helps in creating traditional advertisements funny, interesting attractive for behalf of customers. Dramatization – Dramatization is the best way of learning as it makes a situation more imperative or serious than it really is. It helps consumers to understand traditional advertisements easily frequently. An effective dramatic advertisement can be hard to create, but once it is shaped, it puts a strong positive impact into the minds of customers. Testimonials – Testimonials are also an effective mode of promoting services. It is referred to as a prescribed declaration testifying to someone’s character experiences. It is like an individual recommendation. It is a declaration in provision of a specific reality, fact or claim. It can also be used by South Australian Food Marketing for impacting a strong impression of technical advertisements in front of customers. Demonstration – A demonstration, in short demo, displays how a product works. It provides an effective way to converse the benefits of a product to audiences. It highlighted the product’s numerous usages. Demonstrated ads are well-matched to television the internet. It attracts customers’ attention hence makes them more fascinating towards product line. Fantasy – Fantasy refers to as an imagination. Fantasy execution encourages the audience beyond the actual world to a make-believe experience. The most common fantasy themes involve sex, love romance. So, fantasy fits pleasantly with target viewers that have a preference for a tamer demonstration of sexuality. So, these executional frameworks could be utilised by South Australian Food Marketing for technical advertisements while aiming at consumers in order to attain competitive advantage over the rivals. REFERENCES http://prezi.com/mc-trx1gbx6m/untitled-prezi/# en.wikipedia.org NEW ZEALAND COLLEGE OF BUSINESS (NZCB)Page 1

Organized Crime Wthin The Unit Essay -- essays research papers fc

Organized Crime Within the United States Organized crime is a widespread topic of concern among many Americans due to its popularity in the media and entertainment industry. The public is aware of its existence, yet is not fully aware of why and how this complex â€Å"underworld† exists. In order to fully understand this area of criminology, one must take into account the characteristics of organized crime, the variables that allow organized crime to thrive, its large-scale effects on society, and the measures that have been taken to extinguish organized crime. The roots of organized crime can be traced back to periods of vast amounts of immigration within the United States. Many of the immigrants sought wealth and prosperity upon their arrivals but inevitably found themselves to be members of the lower class. While some groups, such as the Jews, were able to climb the social ladder, other groups faced hostility and racism, hindering their acquisition of wealth. Their movement toward crime can be explained by Cloward and Ohlin’s Differential Opportunities Theory. This states that there are both legitimate and illegitimate means to achieve desired goals. In the immigrants’ case, they â€Å"want what American society offers and expects of all – success – yet they are prevented from legitimately achieving this goal because of opportunity blockage, that is poverty and discrimination† (O’Kane 27). In turn, the immigrants turned to a criminal subculture as means to attain their goals. They began violating an extreme amount of criminal statutes such as extortion, murder, bribery, fraud, narcotics, and labor racketeering. Thus far, the focus of this topic has been on early groups of organized criminals within the United States. The face of organized crime has changed within the past few decades, however, and is currently in a period of transition. Whereas the Italian-Americans were once the rulers of the underworld, African-American and Hispanic involvement has been on the increase. This cultural shift is significant because it alters the infrastructure of organized crime within the United States. Criminal groups form in different manners than in previous years. Within Italian-American organized crime, kinship is the primary segue into organized crime. Among African-Americans and Hispanics, however, there are two distinct types of linkages among criminals. First are causal... ...uently used by wealthy and large corporations, in order to monopolize† (Miller 1999). Although it appears as though many actions are being taken in an effort to extinguish organized crime, RICO illustrates that the government may have ulterior motives behind their efforts. If this is the case, the government must expect organized crime to increase according to the Differential Opportunities Theory. According to this theory, organized crime occurs when minority groups are unable to achieve the ‘American dream’ through legitimate means. By further oppressing these groups, the government places them back at square one where they will most likely continue to lead criminal lives. Thus the most effective manner to alleviate organized crime is to ensure that the aforementioned groups have access to legitimate means in achieving their goals. By making this effort, the government would have a greater chance of preventing the underclass’s development into the underworld. Works Cited Anechiarico, Frank. â€Å"Administrative Culture and Civil Society.† Administration & Society. 30.1 (1998): 13-22. Criminal Division. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2 March 2000.

Evaluate The Circumstances In Which Pluralism Will Develop Essay

Pluralism is a system of government that allows and encourages public participation so the state can satisfy the needs of the people. This is achieved through a multitude of organisations, such as pressure groups, trade unions, environmentalists and civil rights activists, seeking to influence the making of laws and policies. It ensures that power is dispersed rather than concentrated within a select few and enables minority groups to voice their opinion. If Pluralism is to develop, it can’t be possible for a single group to dominate. Political force exerted by one group will be counteracted by equal and opposite political force exerted by other groups. For that reason, there are multiple centres of power and authority, as opposed to one where the state controls people’s actions. This encourages political participation as everyone can exercise influence over decision makers. An example of this would be Medieval Europe where the Monarchy and Church were co-equal rulers in their different spheres. In democracies, people vote for representatives and in the UK, MPs have this role. If the majority don’t like what their representatives are doing, they can vote them out of office at elections. This means representatives have to act in a way which satisfies the majority. But our electoral system often produces representatives who are unrepresentative because only those voters who voted for the winner are represented by their member of parliament. Another problem is that this system doesn’t allow voters to influence specific issues. Therefore people then join interest groups such as pressure groups. These are a vital for the growth of a pluralist political system. Robert Dahl saw that pluralism responded to a high degree of industrialization. Therefore it’s highly unlikely that a pluralistic democracy would be seen in developing nations, where people are undernourished, uneducated and illiterate and as a result unable to participate. The aim of pluralism is to set limits on the power of the rulers over the community. This is achieved by agreeing certain rights and liberties which the rulers can’t infringe. Therefore there is a requirement for checks and balances to occur on the relationship between the state and the individual to allow pluralism to develop. Freedom of association is a necessary condition of political pluralism so that opposition is able to occur within the public domain of the media. This is usually prohibited in totalitarian states, as seen under Hitler’s regime when he banned trade unions and suspended the right to assemble. When individuals are given that freedom though, they tend to form into groups. These are needed to assert individual interests and in turn acquire political power. This could be used to change a governmental policy in a way that advances the interests of the group’s members. Therefore, while a single individual is basically powerless when it comes to changing state policy, the coming together of several individuals presents a more challenging contender. The pluralistic political model is one in which groups are used as a means to vindicate the interests of its members rather than dominate other groups as the latter encourages tyranny. Citizens are therefore organised into a variety of interest groups that must bargain with each other for the influence over government. This competition between groups is precisely what ensures that the key characteristic is maintained – no group dominates as power is openly competed for. In order for Pluralism to grow, the state must act as a mediator in the political process when responding to the demands of all segments of society and distributing policies in such a way that all of the groups have some influence on government strategy. Ideally the government should intervene to help the weaker groups and that they consider alternatives in order to meet national interests. This means that the people within society need to be open-minded and show tolerance towards the ideas of others. In conclusion, there are many basic conditions necessary for pluralism to develop, including fundamental freedoms such as free speech, a free media and fair elections. Yet the key requirements appear to be a genuine toleration of other people’s beliefs and interests, as well as the ability to form into groups such as trade unions and pressure groups which stand for all the different interests of the population. The collective power of these associations representing different interests provides a counter to the tyranny of the state and that of the majority.

Women in World War I Societal Impacts

World War Is impact on womens roles in society was immense. Women were conscripted to fill empty jobs left behind by the male servicemen, and as such, they were both idealized as symbols of the home front under attack and viewed with suspicion as their temporary freedom made them open to moral decay. Even if the jobs they held during the war were taken away from the women after demobilization, during the years between 1914 and 1918, women learned skills and independence, and, in most Allied countries, gained the vote within a few years of the wars end. The role of women in the First World War has become the focus of many devoted historians in the past few decades, especially as it relates to their social progress in the years that followed. Women’s Reactions to World War I Women, like men, were divided in their reactions to war, with some championing the cause and others worried by it. Some, like the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU), simply put political activity largely on hold for the duration of the war. In 1915, the WSPU held its only demonstration, demanding that women be given a right to serve. Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel  eventually turned to recruiting soldiers for the war effort, and their actions echoed across Europe. Many women and suffragette groups who spoke out against the war faced suspicion and imprisonment, even in countries supposedly guaranteeing free speech, but Christabels sister Sylvia Pankhurst, who had been arrested for suffrage protests, remained opposed to the war and refused to help, as did other suffrage groups. In Germany, socialist thinker and later revolutionary Rosa Luxembourg was imprisoned for much of the war because of her opposition to it, and In 1915, an international meeting of antiwar women met in Holland, campaigning for a negotiated peace; the European press reacted with scorn. The U.S. women, too, took part in the Holland meeting, and by the time the United States entered the War in 1917, they had already begun organizing into clubs like the  General Federation of Womens Clubs (GFWC) and the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), hoping to give themselves stronger voices in the politics of the day. American women already had the right to vote in several states by 1917, but the federal suffrage movement continued throughout the war, and just a few years later in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote across America. Women and Employment The execution of â€Å"total war† across Europe demanded the mobilization of entire nations. When millions of men were sent into the military, the drain on the labor pool created a need for new workers, a need that only women could fill. Suddenly, women were able to break into jobs in truly significant numbers, some of which were ones they had previously been frozen out of, like heavy industry, munitions, and police work. This opportunity was recognized as temporary during the war and not sustained when the war came to a close. Women were frequently forced out of jobs that were given to returning soldiers, and the wages women had been paid were always lower than those of men. Even before the War, women in the United States were becoming more vocal about their right to be an equal part of the workforce, and in 1903, the National Womens Trade Union League was founded to help protect women workers. During the War, though, women in the States were given positions generally reserved for men and entered into clerical positions, sales, and garment and textile factories for the first time. Women and Propaganda Images of women were used in propaganda beginning early in the war. Posters (and later cinema) were vital tools for the state to promote a vision of the war as one in which soldiers were shown defending women, children, and their homeland. British and French reports of the German â€Å"Rape of Belgium† included descriptions of mass executions and burning of cities, casting Belgian women in the role of defenseless victims, needing to be saved and avenged. One poster used in Ireland featured a woman standing with a rifle in front of a burning Belgium with the heading â€Å"Will you go or must I?† Women were often presented on recruiting posters applying moral and sexual pressure on men to join up or else be diminished. Britain’s white feather campaigns encouraged women to give feathers as symbols of cowardice to nonuniformed men. These actions and women’s involvement as recruiters for the armed forces were tools designed to â€Å"persuade† men into the armed forces. Furthermore, some posters presented young and sexually attractive women as rewards for soldiers doing their patriotic duty. For instance, the U.S. Navys I Want You poster by Howard Chandler Christy, which implies that the girl in the image wants the soldier for herself (even though the poster says ...for the Navy. Women were also the targets of propaganda. At the start of the war, posters encouraged them to remain calm, content, and proud while their menfolk went off to fight; later the posters demanded the same obedience that was expected of men to do what was necessary to support the nation. Women also became a representation of the nation: Britain and France had characters known as Britannia and Marianne, respectively, tall, beautiful, and strong goddesses as political shorthand for the countries now at war. Women in the Armed Forces and the Front Line Few women served on the front lines fighting, but there were exceptions. Flora Sandes was a British woman who fought with Serbian forces, attaining the rank of captain by the war’s end, and Ecaterina Teodoroiu fought in the Romanian army. There are stories of women fighting in the Russian army throughout the war, and after the February Revolution of 1917, an all-female unit was formed with government support: the Russian Women’s Battalion of Death. While there were several battalions, only one actively fought in the war and captured enemy soldiers. Armed combat was typically restricted to men, but women were near and sometimes on the front lines, acting as nurses caring for the considerable number of wounded, or as drivers, particularly of ambulances. While Russian nurses were supposed to have been kept away from the battlefront, a significant number died from enemy fire, as did nurses of all nationalities. In the United States, women were allowed to serve in military hospitals domestically and abroad and were even able to enlist to work in clerical positions in the United States to free up men to go to the front. Over 21,000 female Army nurses and 1,400 Navy nurses served during World War I for the United States, and over 13,000 were enlisted to work on active duty with the same rank, responsibility, and pay as men who were sent off to war. Noncombatant Military Roles The role of women in nursing didn’t break as many boundaries as in other professions. There was still a general feeling that nurses were subservient to doctors, playing out the era’s perceived gender roles. But nursing did see major growth in numbers, and many women from lower classes were able to receive a medical education, albeit a quick one, and contribute to the war effort. These nurses saw the horrors of war firsthand  and were able to return to their normal lives with that information and skill set. Women also worked in noncombatant roles in several militaries, filling administrative positions and allowing more men to go to the front lines. In Britain, where women were largely refused training with weapons, 80,000 of them served in the three armed forces (Army, Navy, Air) in forms such as the Women’s Royal Air Force Service. In the U.S., over 30,000 women worked in the military, mostly in nursing corps, U.S. Army Signal Corps, and as naval and marine yeomen. Women also held a vast variety of positions supporting the French military, but the government refused to recognize their contribution as military service. Women also played leading roles in many volunteer groups. The Tensions of War One impact of war not typically discussed is the emotional cost of loss and worry felt by the tens of millions of women who saw family members, men and women both, travel abroad to fight and get close to the combat. By the war’s close in 1918, France had 600,000 war widows, Germany half a million. During the war, women also came under suspicion from more conservative elements of society and government. Women who took new jobs also had more freedom and were thought to be prey to moral decay since they lacked a male presence to sustain them. Women were accused of drinking and smoking more and in public, premarital or adulterous sex, and the use of â€Å"male† language and more provocative dress. Governments were paranoid about the spread of venereal disease, which they feared would undermine the troops. Targeted media campaigns accused women of being the cause of such spreads in blunt terms. While men were only subjected to media campaigns about avoiding â€Å"immorality,† in Britain, Regulation 40D of the Defence of the Realm Act made it illegal for a woman with a venereal disease to have, or try to have, sex with a soldier; a small number of women were actually imprisoned as a result. Many women were refugees who fled ahead of invading armies, or who remained in their homes and found themselves in occupied territories, where they almost always suffered reduced living conditions. Germany may not have used much formalized female labor, but they did force occupied men and women into laboring jobs as the war progressed. In France the fear of German soldiers raping French women—and rapes did occur—stimulated an argument over loosening abortion laws to deal with any resultant offspring; in the end, no action was taken. Postwar Effects and the Vote As a result of the war, in general, and depending on class, nation, color, and age, European women gained new social and economic options, and stronger political voices, even if they were still viewed by most governments as mothers first. Perhaps the most famous consequence of wider women’s employment and involvement in World War I in the popular imagination as well as in history books is the widening enfranchisement of women as a direct result of recognizing their wartime contribution. This is most apparent in Britain, where, in 1918 the vote was given to property-owning women over the age of 30, the year the war ended, and Women in Germany got the vote shortly after the war. All the newly created central and eastern European nations gave women the vote except Yugoslavia, and of the major Allied nations only France did not extend the right to vote to women before World War II. Clearly, the wartime role of women advanced their cause to a great extent. That and the pressure exerted by suffrage groups had a major effect on politicians, as did a fear that millions of empowered women would all subscribe to the more militant branch of women’s rights if ignored. As  Millicent Fawcett, leader of the National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies, said of World War I and women, It found them serfs and left them free. The Larger Picture In her 1999 book An Intimate History of Killing, historian Joanna Bourke has a more jaded view of British societal changes. In 1917 it became apparent to the British government that a change in the laws governing elections was needed: the law, as it stood, only allowed men who had been resident in England for the previous 12 months to vote, ruling out a large group of soldiers. This wasn’t acceptable, so the law had to be changed; in this atmosphere of rewriting, Millicent Fawcett and other suffrage leaders were able to apply their pressure and have some women brought into the system. Women under 30, whom Bourke identifies as having taken much of the wartime employment, still had to wait longer for the vote. By contrast, in Germany wartime conditions are often described as having helped radicalize women, as they took roles in food riots which turned into broader demonstrations, contributing to the  political upheavals  that occurred at the end and after the war, leading to a German republic. Sources: Bourke, J. 1996. Dismembering the Male: Mens Bodies, Britain and the Great War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Grayzel, SR. 1999. Womens Identities at War. Gender, Motherhood, and Politics in Britain and France during the First World War. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.Thom, D. 1998. Nice Girls and Rude Girls. Women Workers in World War I. London: I.B. Tauris.