After some research on five current trends in the funeral service operations, I decided to choose the following submerging topics: personalization, technology, “green” funerals, women in the industry and pet funerals. In regards to personalization, Shivon loved the idea that more services were becoming specific to a deceased individual’s life. Families are trying to seek ways to make meaningful funeral services, while helping with the grieving process. “The idea of personalization has resulted in an explosion of unique services that reflect the hobbies, passions and interests of someone who has died” (National Funeral Directors Association, 2017). With technology on the rise, it is only appropriate for funeral homes to jump on the …show more content…
As she continued on the topic, she commented that people hear things about the profession and assume that a funeral home cannot provide certain services. Families have the option to be involved for the preparation of their loved one, home funerals can be arranged and “green” products can be supplied to families requesting such items. “Depending on a family’s preferences, a green funeral can include any or all of the following: a small gathering in a natural setting, use of only recycled paper products, locally-grown organic flowers, carpooling, organic food, no embalming, or embalming with formaldehyde-free products, the use of sustainable biodegradable clothing, shroud or casket, and natural or green burial” (National Funeral Directors Association, 2017). “Green” cemeteries tend to be far from an individual’s home, so interring a loved one and not having the option of constantly visiting, is out of the question. Being curious on who Shivon interviewed during her course in the program, I was dumbfounded when she informed me her interviewee discouraged her to continue her path to become an embalmer, due to her gender. After my complete shock wore off, she informed me that I’ve been living in a “bubble” since I work for Forest Lawn and that other mortuaries observed women as inferior. “Fortunately, we do not have to experience women discrimination at Forest Lawn. We work for an organization that
The MacDonald Funeral Home website provides pathos with explaining that the home has been helping families by providing an understanding, meaningful, as well as caring funeral for the past 34 years. This website offers many photos that provide an emotional experience to the reader, such as photos of their family, photos of the recent obituaries, as well as photos explaining that they cremate people's loved ones using care. The website has lots of green, which provides the reader with feelings of growth, balance, harmony, and hope. Oddly curved shapes (natural/organic shapes) tend to comfort and please the
“Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain” is an essay written by Jessica Mitford. She creates a clear replica of the funeral industry in her essay. She explains about how the funeral directors do not consult the kin of the deceased before the process. The goal of Mitford is to share many of the practices of the funeral industry, and show how barbaric they are.The tone of the essay is to inform people about the process, from the deceased first arriving to the morgue until the end of the funeral service. She discussed about the embalming and the industry in her essay.
We, as humans, often get involved only with the issues that affect us or our environment. Furthermore, sometimes we do not see what is happening around us that affects the rest of the society. The article “Drugs are killing so many people in West Virginia that the state can’t keep up with the funerals” by Christopher Ingraham discusses the fact that in West Virginia, the amount of deaths caused (mostly) by overdose has increased so much in recent years that their indigent burial program has ran out of funds to cover funerals for people that do not have the funds to pay for
Literature review was not extensive for the purposes of this project, but future research may shape the results of this study. An important limitation to consider is that the financial aspect was not researched in depth. It was undetermined how much of the funeral cost would be covered by my life insurance policy, and prices I received from the funeral directors and former pastor were only general estimates. Some funeral expenses were likely not accounted for because of the brevity of the interviews. Another factor to consider is that the interview with my family members was conducted in a single group sitting. Individuals may not have felt comfortable expressing their opinions amongst the group, and group think may have played a role in the answers received. Wishes for my funeral services may also change with the course of time, and some aspects of the funeral may have been forgotten in the initial interview process. Private interviews should be conducted in the future, and the dialogue about death should be ongoing to account for these
The living had returned home to their communities and the dead would be buried quickly and efficiently. The windfall of the monetary gain of embalming came to a quick end for the surgeons. It was not until the late 1890’s that embalming returned and this was when the role of an undertaker and embalmer merged into one entity. Companies were beginning to market the embalming fluid used during the procedures and would send their salesmen around the country to demonstrate and train the funeral home undertaker about the
In 1965, Goffman defined stigmas as any attributes that sets people apart and discredits them or disqualifies them from full social acceptance. Funeral directors have so many stigmas put on them. The two stigmas are handling the dead and profiting from death and grief. There are many ways to manage stigmas. The two ways to manage the stigmas are symbolic redefinition and professionalism. In symbolic redefinition language is one of the most important symbols used by all humans. Morticians and funeral directors use this technique to help reduce the sigma’s that are associated with their job. By redefining themselves as a “grief therapists”, or as a “bereavement counselors”. The primary duties are making funeral arrangements, facilitate the services,
I think the American way is the best way to Honor the Dead because the rituals are much more respectful of them. At an American funeral, if the person who has died wrote a will, it will not be neglected. If they want to be buried in a certain place, or have any specific directions, it will be executed, and I think that is very respectful of them. I think this one is significantly better than all other kinds of funerals because it honors them more than any other kind does. Therefore, American funerals are the best way to honor the
A funeral director appears to the relatives of a deceased person as a helping hand, who would look into the matters of preparing the body, embalming, dressing and casketing. He/she would also look into the matters of arranging flowers, transporting body to the funeral site and making arrangements for funeral ceremony. He or she tries to calm down people at grief, while not losing his or her composure.
Death is something that will happen to everyone. It may happen tomorrow or sixty years from now, but eventually, it will happen. Nobody knows if there’s a heaven or hell or if we just become minerals in the ground. We know that death is unavoidable, something that is waiting just around the corner. Everyone tries their hardest to prepare for their death, but most of the time, it’s a devastating surprise even with today’s sciences. However, as common as death may be, the costs are unfairly high, averaging around $10,000just for the funeral if medical bills are included, the price is much higher.
“The Death of the Funeral Business” is an article explaining why the traditions of having a funeral have declined over the past years. According to some of the research that Hingston made, in 1998, only 24 percent of Americans were cremated compared to in 2012, where over 43 percent of Americans were cremated. Throughout the article Hingston explains why technology has been a huge impact on the decline of funeral traditions.
Excellent posting in regards to the funeral industry and one that does not widely get much coverage due to the fact that most try to forget the grim reality. Although I could be wrong in my inclination, the book defines time period adjustment of elasticity as the fact that consumers would have the availability to find substitutes as time progresses for the products that they presently purchase (Thomas & Maurice, 2010). Although you mention the fact that traditional funeral cost is more elastic due to the substitute of cremation, it appears that the funeral industry may be one that the time period adjustment is not as much as a factor. The fact that there are legal laws and regulations around this industry evidences that the products offered
There are websites and hotlines for consumer complaints. People publish their opinions in the media and give low ratings on surveys, but they often fail to admit their part in having a bad experience with a business. The fact is funeral homes are business and those who go to them are consumers. There are both good consumers and bad consumers as much as there are good funeral homes and bad businesses. While it is true that there are some awful funeral parlors that make even the simplest funeral a real nightmare, it is also true that there are some very great funeral homes where customers with bad experiences only have themselves to blame. Greif makes a little drama understandable, but if you want to have a good experience with funeral homes, you must take the right approach. Here are some great tips for you to follow when dealing with funeral homes.
Death is inevitable. Every human being will die eventually. Though burial is a common way to dispose of dead bodies, cremation is the most humane method of disposal. Cremation is environmentally friendly, financially manageable, and creates flexibility for families.
“Death has arrived at the museum,” Reiner Sörries, former director of the Museum of Sepulchral Culture in Kassel, Germany, stated in 2001. Of course, he did not mean this literally. Museums are characterised by their collections of material culture, selections of purportedly ‘lost’ and ‘dead’ objects that have been removed from their social and cultural context. Death has been a part of museums since their beginning. Sometimes it was concealed, sometimes it was obvious. Since the mid-20th century, death has museums of its own. They are called museums of death, of sepulchral culture, of funeral history, and of piety. Their collections encompass all kinds of objects associated with death, such as coffins, urns, hearses, and gravestones. While
However, with all progressions there is an opposition. The aesthetics of many of these process have deterred many from properly investigating the advantages. The opponents of have distain for the processes. They argue the processes are undignified. Funeral director of older generation tend to neglect to see the changing times and frown on people who have these desires. To ask a funeral director