Environmental analysis is a systematic procedure that starts from designation of environmental factors, measuring their nature and impact, scrutinizing them to happen their impact to the concern, and doing assorted profiles for positioning. The concern environment can be categorized into General Environment and Task Environment and Internal Environment. In General Environment, the elements included are Technological, Natural, International, Legal-Political, Economics and Social cultural. On the other manus, the Task Environment included Customer, Competitors, Suppliers and Labour Market.
In General Environment, Legal-Politic component includes the legal and governmental systems within an organisation must work. Such as, tendencies in statute law, political relations and facets of the Legal-Political component. In this instance, the ski-shop legal-politic component environment is associated to the difference over the size and prominence of an outside mark exposing the store ‘s name with the authorization. Besides, the proprietor has a hapless relationship with the local authorities due to miss of cognition in diplomatic negotiations. Apart from that, they besides failed to obtain permission to spread out the parking batch and do the authorization to inspect on the concern from clip to clip.
As for Economic component, it encompasses the general economic wellness of the part in which the organisation operates. Such as, unemployment rate, consumer buying power and involvement rates. The ski-shop experiences deficits of ware during the peak seasons because the consumer ‘s willingness to purchase is high during the clip. In add-on, it does really small gross revenues from October to April as the season is non applicable for skiing. There will be no snow during the season and the will be ski-shop underutilized.
The Technological component reflects the current province of cognition sing the production of merchandises and services. The ski-shop does non supply quality services as the Lodges did. For illustrations, an organized agreement of ware, fixs and care for ski equipment. Besides that, the ski-shop besides faces trouble in having goods on clip during the extremum season that might due to logistic factor.
As for Social cultural component, it represents the general environment of the demographic features. The concern is set up in a society that likes to ski. On top of that, a good skiing topographic point is merely approximately half an hr thrust off from the store. Furthermore, the pupils at the nearby campus consist of many enthusiastic skiers besides. This promises a basic client base to the concern.
In Task Environment, the Customer component is an organisation ‘s clients and clients who purchase the concern merchandises or services. It is illustrated in the monolithic pupil population of passionate skiers. These are the group of people that purchases ski equipment from the concern. Without them, the concern may neglect as the store ‘s gross revenues merely rely on selling ski equipment.
The Competitors component are other concerns that either offering rival merchandises or services. There are rumors that another new ski-shop may be runing nearby following twelvemonth, this might present a menace to the concern. Besides this new unfastened ski-shop, the Lodges at the skiing topographic point that able to supply better and quality service besides grab clients off from the concern.
In the Suppliers component, which is other organisation that supplies resources the concern needs to carry on its operations. The ski-shop purchases goods from a provider that is incapable to present goods on clip, particularly during the extremum season where ski equipment and vesture frequently runs out fleetly. When the goods arrive it is already so late and can non be sold until the following season.
The above summarize the concern environment of the ski-shop. Through analysing the environments and invent a suited solution will certainly better the concern public presentation and gross revenues. Apart from that, the concern will able to expect alterations and respond sooner to avoid unneeded losingss.
Explain clearly how the elements identified in ( a ) above are impacting or could perchance impact the house ‘s public presentation ( either positively or negatively ) .
The class of get downing up and developing a concern is non merely a ocean trip, but besides a tough challenge. A failure might do a individual to lose all his assets. In order to win, it is important to make a constructive concern environment and continue it. Guaranting easier entree to support, doing statute law clearer, understanding the societal civilization, concept client trueness, analyze on rivals scheme, keeping good relationship with providers, invariably updated technological support system, and support webs for concerns are all really influential every bit far as the puting up and growing of concerns are concerned.
First of wholly, the Legal-Politic component that troubles the ski-shop. If a concern could non acquire support from the local authorization, it is likely difficult to hold a positive relationship with the local client excessively. In add-on, it may happen it difficult to last without the recognition from the local authorities. From the context it is stated the concern is holding a difference with the authorization due to the big signboard that may do driver distraction on the route. Such status will do expostulation from the authorization and renege of licenses may happen if the ski-shop is fail to follow with the ordinances or jurisprudence. Besides that, the concern likely will confront many troubles when covering with legal affairs such as using for redevelopments or spread outing a parking batch as mentioned in the context.
Following, is the Economics component. During the extremum season, the willingness of buying ski equipment is high and is doing the ski-shop supplies to run out rapidly. If there are no stocks available, client may turn to other alternate to seek for satisfactions. In effect, the concern may losingss loyal client and new client as good. In the same clip the sale will drop. The concern must to the full use this chance to derive maximal net incomes as when season pass the gross revenues will be at deep underside. During the October to April, the concern does really small concern and causes low income. These conditions further affect the concern opportunity to be financially solid. The concern must be able to last the low gross revenues for 8 months which is really unsafe if there is a cash-flow crisis.
Furthermore, is the Technological component. The ski-shop is lack of technological investing. Even though the concern carries ski equipment and vesture, the supply is non sufficient for gross revenues during the peak seasons. Furthermore, the ordered stocks arrived so late and can non be sold until the following season. This shows a hapless logistic of goods and reduces the net incomes. In add-on, the dresss ‘ design might be outdated after its production season. This furthermore causes unneeded reserve. In the terminal, the concern may necessitate to hold immense price reductions in order to retain cost monetary value and avoid farther losingss. Apart from that, the Lodges at the ski site possess better engineering in ski equipments and services. For illustrations, an orderly agreement of points, effectual fixs and good care. This will pull more client from the ski-shop to the Lodges and causes concern loss.
How would the societal cultural benefit the concern? The concern is located at strategic location ( near to a good skiing ) and demographic feature that favours a ski-shop endurance. Furthermore, the nearby college ‘s pupils include many devouring skiers. Besides that, the skiing topographic point can be farther develop into a tourer topographic point by the local authorities, this would farther pull more possible client into the concern.
In the Task Environment, the first component to be identified to impacting the concern is the Customer component. The client base of the concern is instead little as the concern chiefly depends on the nearby college pupil. Although the pupil population includes many devouring skiers, their ingestion may non be every bit high as a working grownup. Besides that, many pupils might merely take a amble or chill out in the ski-shop and disturb others clients.
In the Competitors component, the concern seems to hold a new rival emerging following twelvemonth. In the positive manner, the rival could function as a motive to the concern as it would endeavor to be better than the rival. This will besides coerce the concern to supply a better client satisfaction, seeking in efficient production to cut down cost, present more merchandise fluctuations to increase the client ‘s options and be typical in the concern. In the negative consequence point of position, if the ski-shop unable to remain on par with the rival, it will loss client and net incomes finally. Furthermore, near down of concern might be at hand to avoid farther losingss.
As for the Suppliers component, the concern fails to keep a good relationship with the provider. In the context, it is reference that the ski equipments and vesture tallies out during the extremum season. Although the goods are ordered to run into the demand but it frequently arrives so late. This is a critical mistake that could project a arrest on the production or gross revenues of concern. On top of that, a hold in the stock will do client dissatisfaction and spoilt concern image. The trade name trueness would besides deteriorate every bit good.
In decision, the elements identified above will impact the ski-shop public presentation in either positively or negatively. Hence, instant steps must be taken to turn to the jobs to avoid concern losingss and favorable environment must be kept preserved to obtain sustainable net incomes.
Suggest in really specific footings how you intend to cover with the challenges/problems posed by the environmental elements.
There are 3 major options to cover with jobs or challenges posed by the environmental elements. First, adapt to the bing environmental elements. This refers the concern to accommodate assorted policies or altering internal operations to accommodate the environment, such as buffering, smoothing, prediction, and rationing. Second, effort to act upon environmental favourability. This option requires the concern to publicize, prosecuting in public dealingss, and set uping joint ventures. Last, is switching the sphere of the operation off from a baleful environmental component towards a good 1.
The first version attack is to buffer. In order to work out the deficit of stock, the concern should carry some ski equipment and vesture to get by with the increasing demand during the extremum season. Through buffering, the concern will keep the stock lists at an acceptable degree. However, buffering is non ever executable because of high disbursal. Furthermore, the stock lists might take to obsolescence before the point ca n’t be sold. It is important that the concern able to calculate the market conditions with a sensible degree of truth, so it can fix in progress to run into the alterations, particularly during peak gross revenues season. For illustration, the ski-shop should order a suited sum of ski equipment, non excessively much or excessively less. Or even engage more employees to function the client during the extremum. The late reaching of stock is a large reverse to the concern. Furthermore, it will make a bad image to the clients and amendss the concern reputes. The ski-shop should hold sought alternative provider in ready to get by with the demand. Apart from that, the concern should maintain a positive relationship with all the providers to guarantee quality and on clip bringing of goods. Furthermore, with good relationship, providers will be given to give their aid during difficult times of the concern, such as giving longer recognition term to ease the concern hard currency flow crisis.
While buffering serves to suit the deficit in stocks during the extremum season, smoothing involves taking action to cut down the impact of market fluctuations and cut down the inefficiencies. October to April is the period where the ski-shop ‘s concern does really small gross revenues. In order to better the gross revenues, the concern can present price reductions or give away purchase vouchers to pull clients. This attack is really utile during the low demand period to prolong equal net incomes. Giving publicities or price reductions on goods, avoiding the concern from being underutilized and unneeded stockpiling during nonpeak times.
On the contrary, the favourability attack involves schemes to change environmental component so it would be more compatible or advantageous to the concern. In order to pull more clients, the ski-shop can establish an advertisement run to advance its trade name consciousness and services. In add-on, carry oning public relation is the usage of communications media and activities will make a favorable overall feeling of the concern among the populace. The public dealingss involve measuring public attitudes, and keeping common dealingss between an organisation and its public. This ensures a bipartisan flow of information and apprehension. In the same clip, these attempts will help the concern to keep a positive relationship with the local authorities. The ski-shop can besides patronize neighbour ticker programme to contend offense and collaborate with the authorities.
Suppliers are really important factor to a concern operation. The ski-shop should negociate contracts with its providers to seek favorable understandings. A specific understanding will make an environmental favourability that will help the concern operation. For illustration, the ski-shop should non detain the payment of goods to the provider. Furthermore, the ski-shop may seek advice or assistance from trade associations. This organisation composed of single or house with common concern concern. There are assortments of member including makers, distributers, importers, retail merchants and providers. Through the trade associations, the ski-shop will able to larn from others or even seeking for a joint ventures spouse.
An increasing tendency, a joint venture is an understanding affecting two or more organisations that arrange to bring forth a merchandise or service jointly. In this understanding, all the parties would hold common advantages. By fall ining forces, the concern is able to portion market and pooling of resources for better effectivity. For illustration, the Lodges concern would besides be affected by the new rival, so the ski-shop can collaborate with the Lodges to counter the influence. Furthermore, the connection of forces will pave a better hereafter for the concern in enlargement facet as good. The Lodges have technological promotion that the ski-shop should accommodate in the concern besides.
The concluding attack to pull off environmental elements is to do sphere displacements. This refers to the alterations in the mix of merchandises and services offered so that organisation is able to interface with more favorable environmental elements. In specific, during the low extremum season, the concern will non bring forth much income. For this ground, the concern can offer different merchandise or service or in other word variegation to avoid underutilize. For illustration, the concern may present a new line of voguish manner or vesture accoutrements.
In a nutshell, a concern must alarm to the environmental elements that would impact the concern either positively or negatively because by acknowledging all the elements, the concern could move earlier and predict alterations. In add-on, a accurate prediction saves the concern from loss or impel it towards success and all these is done via pull offing the environmental elements with efficient method as reference above.
The Purchasing Function Business
The buying map is described by Lysons and Gillingham ( 2003 ) as a map with resource to secure supplies. It is normally argued that the buying map is non strategically of import to enable administrations to derive competitory advantage. Carr and Pearson ( 2002 ) described nonstrategic buying as a map that is clerical in nature, reactive to other maps and concentrating on short-run issues. Ramsay and Croom ( 2008 ) on the other manus saw buying as a strategic map that contributes to the overall organizational competitory advantage. But Reck and Long in Carr and Pearson ( 2002 ) argues that buying map of a house can run between strategic and nonstrategic degrees within an administration. There is now a inquiry as to whether buying should still be sing the nonstrategic function of the buying map. This paper will be looking the function of buying that brand makes it strategic and how purchasing map is strategically of import in deriving competitory advantage for the administration with the assistance of theoretical account and tools/techniques for buying.
Buying is normally defined as obtaining the right quality stuff, at the right clip, in the right measure, from the right beginning, at the right topographic point ( Lysons and Gillingham 2003 ; Baily et al. 1998 ) . Van Weele ( 2005 ) besides defined buying as the direction of the company ‘s external supply of goods, services, capablenesss necessary for running, keeping and pull offing the company ‘s primary and support activities is secured at the most favorable conditions. Although, there is no in agreement definition of buying from literature, these definitions indicate that there is demand for supply necessitating to finding of specifications, supply continuity by taking a suited provider, efficient purchasing ( worth the value ) , and relationship to guarantee supply at the right clip to pull off stock list and proctor efficiency of providers thereby specifying the buying map.
Many writers in the literature have identified the developments in buying. Reck and Long in Lysons and Gillingham 2003 identified that buying base on ballss through phases from passive ( no strategic way and supplier choice based on monetary value and handiness ) , independent ( buying holding functional efficiency with no respects to tauten ‘s competitory scheme ) , supportive ( supports the corporate scheme with respects to the competitory aim ) to integrative ( full integrating of buying scheme into the house ‘s corporate scheme ) stages to go a competitory arm for an administration. Van Weele ( 2005 ) besides identified that demand for decreased costs, merchandise standardization, invention, stock decrease, addition flexibleness, and buying synergisms can better an administration ‘s competitory place. In add-on, alterations in trade form, client demands, engineering, rival activity in the have wider concern context has affected the development of buying. An indicant of this is that an addition the importance of buying gives the administration the capableness to fulfill its clients ‘ demands by concentrating on activities that ensures quality merchandises of good values are produced in line with the administration ‘s competitory scheme.
Carr and Smeltzer ( 1997 ) were able to do a differentiation between buying scheme and strategic buying. Specifying buying scheme as the specific actions the buying map may take to accomplish its aims. While strategic buying was defined as the procedure of planning, measuring, implementing, and commanding schemes the buying follows. It is gathered from these definitions that the actions of the scheme of the buying map must be in line with the overall corporate scheme of the administration be it cost or distinction as identified by Porter ( 1985 ) and that the strategic buying must be able to direct the buying maps to guarantee that the long-run ends are achieved and the administration remains competitory. Although, there may be nonstrategic buying maps due to the low position and spend of the administration ( Carr and Pearson 2002 ) , strategic buying maps must be given top direction consideration as it is proactively involved accomplishing the house ‘s ends and adding value to the administration. However, this may merely go on when the buying map is integrated into the house ‘s strategic planning procedure and is thought of every bit of import to accomplish and keep a sustainable competitory advantage as concluded by Goh, Lau and Neo ( 1999 ) .
Strategic buying has been seen by many writers as impacting house public presentation, particularly in relation to supplier engagement. It was argued by Chen, Paulraj and Lado ( 2004 ) that strategic buying gives a competitory advantage by furthering closer working relationships with a limited figure of providers ; advance unfastened communicating among supply-chain spouses ; develop long-run strategic relationship orientation to accomplish common additions. Carr and Pearson ( 2002 ) besides argued importance of buying to new merchandise development as respects to choosing qualified providers every bit good as the engagement for merchandise development while McGinnis and Vallopra ( 1999 ) argued that buying and provider engagement contributes to higher merchandise quality, accomplishment of cost aims, and cut down new merchandise time-to-market. Besides Brookshaw and Terziovski ( 1997 ) ; Krause, Pagell and Curkovic ( 2001 ) were able to reason that strategic buying is capable of retaining a steadfast competitory precedences of quality, cost, bringing, dependability through the relationship with providers In other words, strategic buying with respects providers engagement can better an administration ‘s public presentation and client reactivity if involved in the planning procedure thereby increasing the house ‘s net incomes while deriving competitory advantage.
Addition in administration ‘s costs spent on buying activities from external beginnings as identified by Ramsay and Croom ( 2008 ) ; Baily et Al. ( 1998 ) indicates the demand for decrease in direct stuffs cost and net capital employed by administrations. Purchasing is able to accomplish these decreases with the usage of buying policies like competitory command and coaction with providers to do determinations that guarantee quality and logistics arrangement thereby salvaging cost and adding to the administration ‘s bottom line. Strategically puting buying in administrations ‘ determination devising procedure gives it command on buying costs and ability to take a provider base that is competitory and better than competition.
The demand for strategic cost direction and collaborative invention and designs, which may necessitate working with external provider has made administrations rethink their place in the value system and has resulted in the concern determination of automatizing or outsourcing non-critical maps go forthing more strategic buying undertakings. Outsourcing comes from a determination of an administration to concentrate on its nucleus activities ( Van Weele 2005 ) . This determination is reached when the administration discovered that executing a map in-house can no longer be carried out competitively, so outsourcing the map to a more proactive administration allows the advantage to be gained ( Baily et al. 1998 ) .
In add-on, it is non merely plenty to do outsourcing determinations, the choice of providers that will lend to the organizational ends is critical. Before choosing providers, Gadde and H & A ; aring ; kansson ( 1994 ) argued that the buying scheme must be decided, be it individual, parallel, multiple sourcing. But Svahn and Westerlund ( 2009 ) emphasised that the features of the buying scheme, efficiency ( cost-driven ) or effectivity ( invention and value-adding ) , affects supplier choice and manner buying manages the relationship with providers in line with the administrations competitory scheme. Buying must be able to measure the capablenesss of the providers through a series tools like e-procurement, buying portfolio direction, collaborative tools to place providers that can enable the house addition competitory advantage.
Drake and Lee ( 2008 ) , through the usage of Analytic Hierarchy Process ( AHP ) were able to underscore the importance of alining buying scheme with concern scheme. They argued that buying through AHP is able to prioritize the importance of constituents for fabrication or impact on the strategic precedences and that buying is able to guarantee the uninterrupted flow of stuffs through choice of providers in such a manner to run into the corporate scheme and competitory precedences ( quality, cost, velocity, flexibleness ) of the house.
Buying portfolio analysis suggested by Kraljic ( 1983 ) is an of import theoretical account for strategic buying. Kraljic was able to reason that a house ‘s supply scheme depends on two factors: net income impact and supply hazard and with that identified 4 portfolio quarter-circles: strategic, purchase, constriction and modus operandi. This theoretical account proposes that buying schemes must be chosen for each provider. Van Weele ( 2005 ) besides emphasised that a company ‘s spend can be categorised utilizing the 20:80 regulation ; which says 20 per centum of providers provide 80 per centum of supplies and evaluate providers harmonizing to precedence. From these two positions, buying must be able to place the providers of critical to non-critical merchandises and develop schemes that guarantee minimum supply hazard and increase purchasing power. Besides, Baily et. Al ( 2005 ) suggested that tiering of providers can assist place of import providers and better partnership with them. Wagner and Johnson ( 2004 ) argued that carefully configured, developed, and managed supplier portfolio can lend to the house ‘s value creative activity and competitory advantage. At this point, buying must hold a proactive attack to doing certain that it identifies supplier that contributes to the administration the competitory advantage needed.
Another importance of buying particularly when purchasing capital goods is that it focuses on entire cost direction. Most purchasing procedures are normally based on the monetary value as indicated by Baily et at. ( 1998 ) ; Van Weele ( 2005 ) . Baily et at. ( 1998 ) sees buying as of strategic importance as it able to concentrate on the entire acquisition cost than monetary value and bears in head the entire cost of ownership of capital goods like cost of care, trim parts in the long term. Purchasing is able to lend to the specifications by informing to other maps of bringing dependability, guaranting timely supply of necessary inputs to guarantee that the initial purchase monetary value entirely is considered but instead the entire life-time cost of equipments are considered to do certain buying is adding value to the administration by cut downing cost over clip. Again common relationship with providers can convey approximately cost, monetary value decrease and finally cost transparence as supported by Scating ( 1993 ) .
E-procurement is another strategic tool for buying that can lend to competitory advantage due to its immense cost nest eggs. William ( 2003 ) argued that E-procurement cuts across the whole buying procedure and helps ease early provider engagement every bit good as minimise complexnesss and unneeded costs as real-time information is shared between purchaser and marketer, it besides gives top direction visibleness as they are concerned with the increased operational spend. E-procurement has contributed to the success of many administrations, for case, Volvo ‘s provider choice ( Van Weele 2010 ) and Gap Inc. to cut down lead-time and overall operations of its retail channels ( Demery 2006 ) . Despite the benefits of e-procurement, if top direction do non strategically originate the demand for e-procurement, the benefits of it giving an administration competitory advantage are lost.
Conversely, after much consideration of the importance of strategic buying to derive competitory advantage, it is necessary to concentrate on non-strategic buying and why it is seen as non of import to derive competitory advantage. A nonstrategic buying map is task-oriented, while a strategic map makes concern determinations as argued by Carr and Smeltzer ( 2000 ) . Carr and Pearson ( 2002 ) besides argue that non-strategic buying has no part to the long-run ends of the house, are undistinguished and of low position. Indeed, if top direction of an administration does non see the importance in the buying function in lending to competitory advantage, it will go on to be seen as non-value adding and merely focussing of activities that are non-critical to the successful operation of the administration.
Wholly, the development in buying over clip has shown that there is a demand by administrations to integrate into their corporate policies buying scheme. Strategic engagement of buying for the overall purpose of commanding monetary values, cut downing costs, pull offing supply proactively, and bettering quality to successfully present goods and services that will fulfill the end-customers and enable the administration addition sustainable competitory advantage is indispensable.
Decision
At the bosom of conventional wisdom lies the statement that buying is non strategically of import for the administration to derive competitory advantage. This statement is seen as ungrounded due to the fact that buying is deriving importance within the academe and the concern environment. The demand for decrease of costs, betterment of value-added into the concern, better underside line has led to the improved relevancy of buying to the public presentation of an administration. Buying has over the old ages developed from non-strategic, transactional phase of securing supplies to a strategic, incorporate phase that focuses proactively on the entire satisfaction of both internal and external clients of an administration. Again, the alteration of buying to strategic buying, integrating buying scheme into the corporate scheme, for accomplishing competitory advantage has changed the position of administrations and has led to a reconsideration of the administration ‘s operation to make up one’s mind the nucleus competencies and non-core competencies and instead concentrate on the nucleus 1s and beginnings others from external beginnings. However, sourcing externally requires effectual provider relationship direction. Buying in this facet is able to choose providers that with collaborate in run intoing the administration ‘s competitory scheme. Buying is besides able to utilize tools and techniques like e-procurement and entire cost of ownership attack along with their accomplishments to pull off buying costs and balance power and dependance between the company and provider every bit good as work out schemes to utilize with different providers. Without giving a strategic importance of buying, an administration ‘s chances of addition competitory advantage may be missed.
Feminism And The Women In Robert E. Howard’s Fiction
Many Howard fans consider his heroines such as Dark Agnes, Belit, Valeria and Red Sonya, with their swords and pistols, to be the only strong women in his fiction. But skill with weapons is not the only way for women to control the decisions and issues that shape their lives. Howard also created women with great inner strength and resolve. When these women were not able to right a wrong personally, they enlisted the strength of others.
Among those who showed this inner strength was the Devi Yasmina. In “The People of the Black Circle,” she seeks to coerce Conan to do her bidding when the death of her brother, the ruler of Vendhya, is brought about by the Black Seers of Mount Yimsha. The Devi is not strong enough to avenge her brother’s death by herself and devises a plan to get Conan’s help. She imprisons seven of his men intending to bargain their lives and freedom for the death of the sorcerers. Her plan backfires when Conan abducts her.
As she and Conan flee from her soldiers, her life as the Devi of Vendhya is left behind. Yasmina is carried “on the saddle-bow” of a man she considers to be a hill chief, “like a common wench.” Although shamed and humiliated by this rough treatment, she remains adaptable. When she changes her tattered silk skirt for the garb of the hill people, Yasmina undergoes a further transformation: It was indeed as if the changing of her garments had wrought a change in her personality. The feelings and sensations she had suppressed rose to domination in her now, as if the queenly robes she had cast off had been material shackles and inhibitions.
Now all the accoutrements of her royal and almost divine status as the Devi are gone. Conan comments when he sees her: “You were a goddess–now you are real.” Ultimately Yasmina is captured by the Master of Yimsha, a sorcerer who decides to keep her for his own slave. Outraged, Yasmina says she will never yield, but the Master tells her that she will: “Fear and pain shall teach you. I will lash you with horror and agony to the last quivering ounce of your endurance, until you become as melted wax to be bent and molded in my hands as I desire. You shall know such discipline as no mortal woman ever knew until my slightest command is to you as unalterable as the will of the gods. And first, to humble your pride, you shall travel back through the lost ages and view all the shapes that have been you.”
In one of the most unique forms of torture in Howard’s stories, Yasmina is transported back through time to her own beginning: There was a sensation of all sanity and stability crumbling and vanishing. She was a quivering atom of sentiency driven through a black, roaring, icy void by a thundering wind that threatened to extinguish her feeble flicker of animate life like a candle blown out in a storm. Back beyond the dimmest dawns of Time she crouched shuddering in primordial jungles, hunted by slavering beasts of prey…She saw walled cities burst into flame, and fled screaming before the slayers. She reeled naked and bleeding over burning sands, dragged at the slaver’s stirrup, and she knew the grip of hot, fierce hands on her writhing flesh, the shame and agony of brutal lust. She screamed under the bite of the lash and moaned on the rack, mad with terror she fought against the hands that forced her head inexorably down on the bloody block. Her own consciousness was not lost in the throes of reincarnation…Life merged into life in flying chaos, each with its burden of woe and shame and agony, until she dimly heard her own voice screaming unbearably, like one long-drawn cry of suffering echoing down the ages.
Later, Yasmina tells Conan of her experience: “I met the Master,” she whispered, clinging to him and shuddering. “He worked his spells on me to break my will. The most awful was a moldering corpse which seized me in his arms – I fainted then and lay as one dead.”
Although she fainted, Yasmina’s will was not broken. After the destruction of the Master, Conan leaves Mount Yimsha with Yasmina and her inner strength is tested once again when Conan declares he will keep her for himself. The Devi protests, saying that she cannot stay with him. When Conan finds his men are trapped and Yasmina’s army is approaching, he has to choose between keeping her or saving his men. The Devi points out he can save his men by letting her go. When he agrees, she and Conan go toward their own men and their combined armies overcome their mutual enemy. After the battle they meet as equals. When she laughs and gathers her reins, “Conan’s eyes shine with fierce appreciation and admiration and he steps back to allow her to pass, indicating that her road was clear before her.”
For modern feminists, empowerment means taking control over the decisions and issues that shape their lives. However, in most worlds, whether fictional or real, slaves have little control over anything. Howard’s fiction is an exception. In his stories, slavery is not always equated with weakness or helplessness. Nor does it mean once a slave, always a slave. In The Hour of the Dragon, Conan is rendered helpless by a three-thousand year old magician who has been reanimated. Zenobia, who is the slave of Tarascus, Conan’s enemy, rescues Conan from his underground dungeon. Drugging the bodyguards, Zenobia hands Conan the keys to his manacles: “I am only a girl of the king’s seraglio,” she said, with a certain proud humility. “He has never glanced at me, and probably never will. I am less than one of the dogs that gnaw the bones in his banquet hall. But I am no painted toy, I am of flesh and blood. I breathe, hate, fear, rejoice and love. And I have loved you, King Conan, ever since I saw you riding at the head of your knights…My heart tugged at its strings to leap from my bosom and fall in the dust of the street under your horse’s hoofs.”
Zenobia’s inner strength contrasts sharply with her slave status in society. She was not a weak or helpless person. At great peril to her own life, she leads Conan out of the castle and provides him with a formidable knife as well as a fast, strong horse for his escape. As he promised her, Conan returns to defeat the eons-old magician and the armies of his foes. He also captures Tarascus. When Tarascus asks what ransom he must pay for his person, Conan responds, “There is a girl in your seraglio named Zenobia…She shall be your ransom and naught else…She was a slave in Nemedia, but I will make her queen of Aquilonia!” As a result, Zenobia, whose heart “tugged at its strings” at the sight of King Conan, becomes his queen.
Also strong in Howard’s fiction were evil women like Salome in “A Witch Shall Be Born.” Salome bears the witch mark of the red half-moon between her breasts. Left to die in the desert as a child because of this mark, she becomes a vicious, sadistic witch. In revenge, Salome imprisons, cruelly tortures, and usurps the throne her twin sister.
In a reign of debauchery and terror, Salome almost destroys her sister’s kingdom. While she has the inner resolve to seize the throne of her twin, she cannot hold it. Once the impersonation is discovered, not even her witch’s wiles that can summon forth monsters, can save her: Valerius whirled on his toes, quick and fierce as a jungle-cat, glaring about for Salome. She must have exhausted her fire-dust in the prison. She was bending over Taramis, grasping her sister’s black locks in one hand, in the other lifting a dagger. Then with a fierce cry Valerius’s sword was sheathed in her breast with such fury that the point sprang out between her shoulders. With an awful shriek the witch sank down, writhing in convulsions, grasping at the naked blade as it was withdrawn, smoking and dripping. Her eyes were inhuman; with a more than human vitality she clung to the life that ebbed through the wound that split the crimson crescent on her ivory bosom. She groveled on the floor, clawing and biting at the naked stones in her agony.
While none of these women had the personal skill to put sword or pistol to effective use, each of them, through their strength and resolve, used whatever means available to achieve her purpose. For Yasmina, this purpose meant enlisting Conan’s help in the destruction and death of the sorcerers who brought about her brother’s death; Zenobia planned and bravely rescued Conan and subsequently became Queen of Aquilonia; and Salome’s dark inner strength allowed her to use her witch’s wiles to sit briefly on her sister’s throne.