Palm Inc – from handhelds to smart phones

From Handheld to smart phones. The pioneers of Palm Inc. Palm had been the leader in the market of hand-held computers with high market share and profitability as well as a brand name recognition level to which many other firms could only dream. Palm's brand has faded substantially and as of April 2010, the company was acquired by HP for $ 1 -B. Below , I have listed Palm Inch's list of errors that the organization made over Its life cycle and necessary recommendations. Error 1 . Palm Inc. Did not establish a great enough sense of urgency. Since Palm Inc. ‘s inception, no formal business strategy was designed and implemented.Based on the â€Å"Ecology Theory† Palm Inc. Entered the market as a r-Specialist and eventually transited as a K-generalist, by approaching different product markets. However, Palm Inc. Failed to be successful as a k-generalist due to operating with outdated skills and competencies. The company has failed to examine the market and competitive realit ies for potential crises and untapped opportunities. Palm's efforts stopped at the PDA product, while the competition has managed to find ways of implementing he Pad's features Into cell phones market. Error 2. Palm did not create a powerful enough gulden coalition.Based upon the â€Å"Institutional Theory† firms that do survive – they become legitimate In the eyes of the shareholders. Chances of survival increase by adopting the rules and codes of conduct found In the Institutional environment. Despite having started as the industry leader, Palm's development over the years did not look as rosy. Palm failed to get the shareholders, board of directors, senior management and even a customer representatives together to help them evolve a shared assessment of their company problems and opportunities, and create a minimum level of trust and communication.Error 3. Lack of vision. Palm had no clear vision – of what was the picture of the future that the company wanted to achieve ( product , customer target,etc). The company changed its name several times , and also changed its vision and strategy. From the case, we know there was no new product offerings during 2001 thru 2008. At the same time, other competitors Injected the marketplace with new Innovations, Palm gradually became a small and marginalia player In the Industry. The Innovation Is the basic power of the company,but Palm doesn't have the strong impetus. Demographic change.Customers and clients that are being targeted are ever changing. In earlier times, smart phones were necessary for business members who would need to keep up with e-mail. However, these days there is the prevalence of a much younger generation using smart phones for a variety of reasons (social networking, picture taking, communication etc. ). Palm Inc. Must adapt with these changes and keep up with the demographic changes of its relevant customers. Palm Inc. Needs to create a Sino to direct the change and effort bu t also to develop strategies for realizing that vision.It Is essential that the organization communicate the vision both inside the company as well as with their partners. Error 4. Under communicating the vision help If they believe that useful change Is possible. Without credible communication the hearts and minds are never captured. It is imperative that Palm Inc. Established Also ,employees and managers from all levels of the organization adopt the change. In 2001 Palm Inc. Initiated a radical internal restructuring and decided to reduce the cost base making the first-ever layoffs.Microsoft had reduced staff during the technology recession too , but they made more research money available for developing mobile software – But Palm Inc. Failed this aspect. Error 5. Not removing obstacles to the new vision. Palm Inc needed to empower other to act on the vision by creating a value proposition for employees. In 2001 Palm Inc. Initiated an internal restructuring by separating th e hardware and software divisions into two distinct units. The split resolved the inherent conflict of interest by licensing software or its win competitors in the hardware market.The hardware innovations were features that could be added to the phones and music players. Palm spent too much cash to develop the new SO and new smart phone. And the marketing capitalization is much shorter than the competitor. This situation causes Palm to not balance the money within each department. So the whole company can't run efficiently. For example, Palm can't self-finance marketing campaigns and in-store training of sale staff. In 2003 Pal Inc. Decided to spin off the software business and to use the raised cash to rather invest into the development of new smoothness.Palm Inc. Could have saved time and money by completely focusing on smart phones. Palm can't bring up the effective marketing strategy. The price of a new phone is more expensive than the ‘phone. The competitiveness is tiny t han other brands. After failing to seizing the market with new phone, Palm made an â€Å"attractive† product bundle on its phone. That turns out to be stressful to Palm. Failure of negotiation ability. Nevertheless Palm's new product was delayed because of certification issues with the carrier. At the same mime, Palm has a conflict with the dealer. Error 6.Plan for and create short term goals. In 2001 Palm Inc. Initiated an internal restructuring by separating the hardware and software divisions into two distinct units. The spiff produced good short-term results and due to high quality the software was used in phones for some time. In 2004 Palmate devoted more resources to smoothness and expanded Tree Family . The new Tree series was relatively successful with good margins. Error 7. Declaring victory too soon. After a few years of hard work, managers got tempted to Clare victory with the first clear performance improvement.Palm had a huge success in 2006, with the Tree series . Tree smart phones let Palm earned 30 percent of market share in the United States and brought Palm back to life. Having this success experience, Palm could have used this experience to bring out more great ideas and make them come true. However, between 2007 and 2009 new Palm product launches were rare, while the demand for the Tree and Centre fell quickly or never took off as expected. Error 8. Not anchoring changes in the corporation's culture.Until new behaviors are rooted in social norms and shared values, they are subject to degradation as soon as the pressure for change is removed. In order to overcome this issue many organizations need to invest in leadership development and succession plans consistent with the new approach. Recommendations : 1 . Apply R skills in new areas and diversify Palm's business : operating system know how could have been ported to other applications and platforms. E. G. : Possibility to enter new related businesses with high market growth rates: Ta blets, Notebooks. 2.Overcome entry barriers in the smartened market: increase the negotiation power by teaming up with major players like Samsung. 3. Limiting their development and costs by encouraging the open source development community to develop applications. 4. Entering other market segments by making use of Palm's â€Å"know how' by starting to develop commercial applications for other smartened operating systems. Fill smaller niches in the smartened market with respect to general environment forces: Coloratura and Political and Legal Forces: Smartened operating systems with high data regulations for users with sensitive data.As the fear of theft of personal information's or sensitive data is rising in certain groups of society (e. G. Decision makers like politicians and managers). Demographic Forces: Senior Friendly Smoothness for aging societies with health or special care features. Remote GAPS tracking, monitoring and streaming of health parameters to doctors and relative s. Global Forces: Provide a low-cost operating system which runs on cost effective hardware for the growing low income population of the world (Reverse Innovation). 5. Invest in leadership development and succession plans consistent with the new strategy.

Racism and imperialism Essay

Our new global â€Å"frontiers† or â€Å"contact zones† come into view more noticeably in the Black Atlantic that links African Americans with West Africans in W. E. B. Du Bois’s and Zora Neale Hurston’s twentieth-century narratives and thus far still proposes the boundaries separating Euro-American from African-American cultural traditions in the United States. W. E. B. DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk All through his long career and its many different phases, W. E. B. Du Bois continually criticized the United States for following imperialist aims both at home and abroad. He as well is one of the few modern American thinkers to recognize U. S. imperialism to be different from earlier forms of Eurocolonialism and to antedate significantly the Spanish-American War. For Du Bois, U. S. imperialism initiates in slavery and depends on racism to legitimate colonial practices of territorial conquest, economic power, and psychological defeat. Du Bois understands U. S. slavery to be particularly modern, to the extent that it is footed on particular racial distinctions he argues were unknown in earlier forms of serfdom and enslavement. He may well agree regarding the persistence of human unkindness throughout history, however he sees it deployed in a different way in the modern period. In the modern work of colonial domination and its methodical, therefore imperial, application to peoples defined thereby as â€Å"other,† Du Bois judges the United States to have taken the lead. Du Bois’s theory of racial imperialism is intensely contemporary on the economic roots of all imperialisms. However Du Bois comes the closest of the American intellectuals critical of U. S. imperialism before World War II to understanding U. S. imperialism as a neoimperialism of the postmodern sort we at present relate with the political control of spheres of influence, the corporate manipulation of foreign cultures to create new markets, as well as the exportation of American lifestyles by way of such cultural products as literature and film. For the reason that Du Bois understood race and class to be the critically related fictions by which modern nations justified the unfair distribution of wealth and consequently power, he viewed with special lucidity the extent to which cultural work was indispensable to colonial hierarchies both at home and abroad. For this very reason, Du Bois as well understood the power of culture to combat imperialism by challenging such hierarchies and building influential coalitions of the oppressed to resist domination. As Du Bois grew older and angrier regarding the unrecognized involvement of the United States in colonial ventures around the world, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and at home, he authorized an increasingly rigid economic thesis that is both rudely Marxist and inquisitively blind to the enthusiastic imperialism of the Stalinism he espoused. This turn in Du Bois’s career has often distracted scholars from the delicacy of his earlier discussions of the United States as an imperial power and its novel use of culture to disguise and naturalize its practices of domination. Given the propensity of even America’s most energetic modern critics to localize its imperialism in such specific foreign ventures as the Spanish-American War and the general myopia of Americans until quite lately in regard to the imbrication of U. S. racism and imperialism, Du Bois is a precursor of contemporary cultural and postcolonial criticisms of the role culture has played in disguising the imperialist practices of the United States. Wrong as Du Bois was about Stalinism and in his predictions of the predictable victory of socialism in the twentieth century, his persistence on connecting cultural analyses to their economic consequences as well ought to be heard by contemporary cultural critics. Particularly in his writings before the mid-1930s, Du Bois as well experimented with a combination of literary, historical, sociological, and political discourses that might work together as a â€Å"counter-discourse† to the fantastic narrative of U. S. ideology. The multigeneric qualities of The Souls of Black Folk is methodically modern in its respective challenges to conventional modes of representation, this works as well involve an implicit critique of the privileged and intentionally inaccessible oratory. Determined to challenge hierarchies of race, class, and gender, Du Bois understood how powerfully social authority depended on forms of cultural capital traditionally unavailable to African Americans. Du Bois understood from his earliest works that African-American intellectuals and artists would have to offer alternative cultural resources to challenge such subjective however entrenched powers Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston’s criticism of racial and gender hierarchies in the United States and in our foreign policies toward other nations, particularly in the Caribbean, presents another variation on the cultural response to U. S. imperialism. Unlike W. E. B. Du Bois, Hurston does not constantly and rigidly condemn U. S. intervention in the economic, political, and social spheres of other nations, although she obviously connects domestic racism and sexism with neoimperialist foreign policies, particularly those directed at Third World countries. As well Hurston does not romanticize modern or historical Africa, although she argues constantly for the recognition of how African cultural influences have contributed considerably to the artistic, intellectual, as well as social achievements of African-Americans. In a similar manner, Hurston refuses to romanticize colonized peoples as solely victimized by their conquerors; she goes to substantial lengths to illustrate how the process of decolonization, in Haiti, for instance, has too often brought tyrants to power who have rationalized their injustices on grounds of national sovereignty plus strident anti-colonialism. Hurston condemns all the tyrannies she witnesses, and she therefore estranges herself from U. S. nationalists of various sorts, African nationalists, and Communist critics of U. S. imperialism. At the same time, Hurston often appears to universalize the thesis that â€Å"power corrupts. † in a way that trivializes concrete solutions to the problems she identifies in the United States and the Caribbean. Thus far behind Hurston’s contempt for arbitrary power, whether wielded by white or black tyrants, and her disrespect for those who render righteous their own victimization, there is Hurston’s strong commitment to democratic rule and her conviction that solidarity among different victimized peoples will both authorize them and effect appropriate social reforms. These reforms include for Hurston an end to racial and gender hierarchies and the extension of economic opportunities to underprivileged groups, both within the United States and internationally. The utopian model for such social reforms is a truly democratic society in the United States, in spite of Hurston’s consistent criticism of social inequalities in the United States footed on race and gender. On the one hand, Hurston alleged that Euro-American culture, society, and psychology had much to learn from African-American forms of knowledge and experience; in her utopian moments, she imagines white America transformed and redeemed by such knowledge. On the other hand, she implicit the prevalence of a white ideology that treated much of African-American knowledge as â€Å"backward,† â€Å"superstitious,† and â€Å"primitive,† while whites turned these very characteristics into aspects of an exoticized and fashionable â€Å"negritude. † What some critics have referred to as Hurston’s â€Å"coding† of her narratives must be understood as her primary mode of narration, whose intention is to transform attitudes and feelings, together with preconceived ideas, rather than only â€Å"hiding† her intentions to protect her benefaction. Learning to read the â€Å"double consciousness† of Hurston’s coded narratives is itself a way of transgressing the boundary separating African American from white American, even as it respects the social and historical differences of the racism that has yet to be overcome. â€Å"Mules and Men† is frequently treated together for generic reasons, for the reason that it is major instance of Hurston’s work as folklorist and anthropologist. This book is as well interpreted by some critics as using literary techniques that foresee Hurston’s major fiction. It is the premeditated forgetting of this history of tangled fates and therefore of cultural realities that Hurston condemns in the official histories of the United States and that we ought to class as an imperative aspect of U. S. cultural imperialism. Hurston did not reject firmly the idea of the United States as â€Å"global policeman† or the prospect of U. S. foreign policies, particularly in the Caribbean, contributing to democratic ends. In this regard, she was by no means unusual among majority and minority U. S. intellectuals in the 1930s and 1940s. Hurston understood the ongoing racism and sexism in the United States as forms of colonial domination, which needed strategies of resistance that at times, complement more open anti-colonial and post-colonial struggles around the world. Never did she puzzle the realism of social stratifications by race, class, and gender with her ideals for democratic social, legal, as well as human practices. Furthermore it is the conflict between Hurston’s strategies for enlightening and resisting such oppression at home and abroad and her ideals for the spread of democratic institutions, particularly as they are represented by the promise of U. S. democracy that often contributes to the opposing quality of her political judgments or the impression of her apolitical stance. Hurston’s politics are frequently bound up with her own personality as a progressive, â€Å"new Negro,† exemplifying urban sophistication and specialized education, who sought to connect the rural and Afro-Caribbean heritage of African Americans with their modern future. References: W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (Greenwich, Conn. , 1961), 42-43. Zora Neale Hurston, Mules and Men (NewYork: Harper-Collins, 1990), p. 294

Recruiting and Selection Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Recruiting and Selection - Research Paper Example The diversity and global nature of Best Buy business has created huge opportunities of careers in their Retail, Corporate, Best Buy Mobile, Geek Squad Services, Distribution/Logistics and Brands & Global businesses. As an example, Figure 1 lists the career opportunities available in the Retail sector: - (Best Buy, 2011) In the corporate sector as well, the opportunities are quite huge because of the dynamic policies and multi-dimensional growth in which large number of businesses are carried out by the company. This is evident from the leading brands of Best Buy as shown in Figure 2 which includes Audio Visions, The Car Phone Warehouse, Five Star Appliance, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Magnolia Home Theatre, Pacific Sales, Best Buy Mobile and Best Buy for Business. Best Buy is an advanced information technology company in which the entire process of recruitment is computerized. The job opportunities in different careers are posted on their website http://www.bestbuy-jobs.com where all the positions for which opportunities exist are listed with a powerful search option. This is also evident from Figure 1 and Figure 2 above which tells the types of designations for which positions are currently available. An intended candidate is offered a complete list of job description and on selection of the desired position and option for submission of bio-data and job application is offered. The process of selection is based on recruitment policies which are discussed in section III. (Best Buy, 2011) Another important method of recruitment is Third Party Labor. In this method, through a web portal, there is a list of Third Party Preferred Labor Providers who have approval for providing labor in the Best Buy stores. (Best Buy, 2011) The other methods that are offered include opportunities for students and entry level positions, hourly workers specially for working mothers, jobs by location and job by their

Apple's SWOT Analysis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Apple's SWOT Analysis - Term Paper Example It is one of the largest technology companies in the world (David B. Yoffie, Renee Kim, 2010). A strength, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of the company reveals a lot of issues surrounding the business operations, its resources and its environment. It is worth to investigate all these issues if a person wants to invest in any company. This is because the tool provides information that can be used by investors to predict the company’s operational trends, its financial viability and its markets before investing in it (USDA, 2008). Apple Company has so many strengths that put it ahead of its competitors. The first strength is its brand such that it was rated the best global brand in 2010 by Millward brown Optimor. It increased in value by 84% to $153.3 billion. Its customers are also loyal to apple such that they tend to forgive the company’s product problems. This is a huge strength that most companies strive to get and fail (Millward brown Optimor, 2 011). A second strength is demand; apple’s products are of high demand especially the iTunes that has given the company a huge number of registered users already secured by credit cards. The popularity of its products that have become common street names has increased the demand for its products too (David B. Yoffie, Renee Kim, 2010). A third strength is the design and innovativeness in the products they produce. Apples products aesthetic values keeps their customers glued to the company despite the fact that the products are of premium pricing. On the other hand apple’s products have a unique design that allows consumers to be up and running even without reading product manuals, due to this aspect they have set the standards for design which other companies must follow to outwit them (Stefan Thomke, 2009). The fourth strength is its marketing approach; apple was awarded the title of Marketer of the decade by Advertising Age. It was the first firm to ever receive this title. The company has been able to influence the media, the advertising industry and popular culture through its innovative techniques and marketing approaches that puts it on the fore front as a marketing powerhouse (Appleinsider , 2010). The last strength that can be identified is Apple’s retail stores that are located in many countries. These retail stores ensure that the come continues to receive revenue without having to rely on new product developments. Apple has a few weaknesses that affect the company in its day to day operations though the strengths identified above seem to outweigh the weaknesses. The first weakness is the delay that was especially experienced on iPads. There were shipping problems with the products and also the companies are always put on waiting lists in order to receive products which delay and come with numerous other problems. The second weakness has to do with the way the company reacts to complaints from customers. Most of the time it, will deny the existence of a problem on their products and later come to correct. This was experienced especially with the iPhone 4G that had a problem with its antennae. The problem was corrected later after a long period of accusing customers of mishandling the phones (D.Burton, 2010 ). The third weakness has to do with compatibility issues. Apple has been very protective of the kind of applications to be developed

Biocapital by Kaushik Rajan and the Network culture of Terranova Essay

Biocapital by Kaushik Rajan and the Network culture of Terranova - Essay Example Deciding that he did not want to pursue a career in laboratory-based experimental research, he shifted into the humanities and social sciences and obtained his Ph.D. in the History and Social Studies of Science and Technology from the STS Department at MIT in 2002. His background in biology deeply informed his choice of dissertation research topic. He claimed to have initially started following the Human Genome Project in mid-199 and that this was a particularly interesting time to be following the project, which had a year previously resolved into a race to sequence the human genome between the public-funded five-nation Human Genome Consortium and the private sector genome company, Celera Genomics (Rajan, 2005) (Paraphrasing made). He appeared to have found the taking out patents on gene sequences, where he said that the genome sequencing race was not just a race for credit, but was a race for ownership as well, and the legal, institutional and market contexts within which this rese arch was being performed was evidently crucial to understanding the larger technoscientific event that was unfolding (Rajan, 2005) (Paraphrasing made). Q1. What does Rajan learn in his investigations in Hyderabad and Bombay, in Silicon Valley, and in the company GenEd about the relationship between science and capitalism, and between nationalism and globalization? Briefly, describe his investigations in each of these locations and summarize what he learns about these relationships in each instance. Rajan (2005) claimed that his interest in sequence the human genome and the subsequent events in 1999 led his interest in corporate genomics, and he started especially following the business practices and strategies of genome companies in the United States. He claimed that it became clear to him very quickly that these practices and strategies could not themselves be adequately conceptualized without situating them in the larger context of the drug development marketplaces.

Miracles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Miracles - Essay Example is not irrational to accept the testimony of witnesses who had nothing to gain from their testimony, of the occurrence of Christs resurrection" Scalia told the audience. "What is irrational is to reject ... without any investigation of the possibility of miracles†¦ ("Belief in Miracles Should," 2001) It is interesting to note the legal perspective that Justice Scalia engages and to wonder what the writer’s of the New Testament, especially in the area of the many miracles preformed, had intended further audiences to glean from such things. Is it a sense of absolute fact, a sense of complete incredulity, or is it a sense of hope? Take the example of Lazarus (John 11:38-44), perhaps the most famous miracle next to Christ’s own Transfiguration, Resurrection and Ascension. In a way Lazarus foreshadowed these events and even Christ’s remarks afterward bring some light for the reason behind any miracle. Before raising Lazarus from the dead, Christ speaks the following words to Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters: (25) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? After Christ speaks the words, â€Å"Lazarus, Come Forth† and Lazarus rises many that were there were converted by the sight and became believers in Christ. Others, went to the Pharisees and told them who replied with a sense of jealous competition that they needed to stop him. â€Å"(48) If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him.† They did not, however, say they did not believe in his miracles. (33) And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; (34) And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. (35) And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. (36) And he charged

Environmental Trends in Supermarket Sector Assignment

Environmental Trends in Supermarket Sector - Assignment Example There are costs associated for the supermarket sector with the environmental trends. For the right way of producing food in a sustainable manner and to consume the food as well in sustainable ways, environmental impacts should be factored into the cost of products on supermarket shelves (Russell 2007) because the supermarket sector has to incur high costs as compared to any other sector when it comes to environmental trends. This is because it is one of the largest sectors in UK. This paper will firstly discuss the environmental trends and how important they are to the businesses and then move on to their impact on the supermarket sector. The positive and negative impacts are considered and finally a conclusion is presented. The environmental trends are becoming an integral part of the economy and are thus affecting almost all the businesses. The environmental issues have now become a part of the business decision making due to their significant impact on the businesses. The importance of the environmental trends is so immense that it has been said by the former South African minister that (Black 2008) the "companies should have directors with environmental experience". Valli Moosa, the president of International Union for the Conservation of Nature says that like in all the other businesses we have marketing executives, accountancy executives and accountancy executives, there should also be environmental executives as well (Black 2008) who have a working knowledge of the environmental issues and can link the business and the environmental trends and can capitalize on their resources through mitigating the negative impacts from the business and in turn contributing to the environment as well. Environmental issues are basically defined as those problems which are created by environment. There are different environmental issues which are affecting the supermarket sector as a whole (Ellen, 2008). The environmental trends include a host of issues from reducing waste, recycling, reducing flood risk to efficiently utilizing energy sources, reducing carbon footprint and global warming. The climatic changes have impacted the biodiversity to a great extent, global warming is a huge issue due to the climatic changes and also as a result the depletion of ozone layer. The solutions to these as predicted so far include reforestation i.e. planting more trees and to use carbon sinks to absorb carbon dioxide. These all environmental trends have been impacting the businesses to a great extent as the businesses have to take into effect the negative impacts associated with these environmental trends. The business sector which is the most impacted by the environmental trends is the supermarket sector. The environmental trends specific to the supermarket sector are the carbon dioxide emissions, genetically modified (G.M.) food and the impact of climatic changes which has lead the supermarket sector to go greener and take measures which assist in mitigating the negative impact these environmental changes have been causing. The next section discusses the impact of the environmental trends on the supermarket sector in detail. Effects of the Environmental Trends on the Supermarket Sector The supermarket sec

The Spread of Buddhism and The Spread of Islam Essay

The Spread of Buddhism and The Spread of Islam - Essay Example One of the key elements that was prevalent in both Islam and Buddhism is the fact that both possessed a charismatic leader that propagated for their religions. George Bernard Shaw once said about Muhammad:  "He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness".   Muhammad  was the most reviled figure in the history of the West from the 7th century until quite recent times. Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was confident, poise, compassionate and had an amazing personality. One of the reasons why Muhammad is truly an influential figure ever witnessed by the mankind was due to the fact that he was a key prophet. In Islam, the tradition of prophethood is extremely vital (Staples 63). Yet, Muhammad was an astonishing leader in his community morally and intellectually. This is essential because he becomes a mo del for his followers. Muhammad was extremely kind-hearted, and had amazing character (Staples 65). Before Mohammad even achieved his prophethood, he was some illogical traditions that were barbaric. For example, Arab and Persian tribes had a tradition of burying their young daughters alive (Varisco 139). The reason was due to the mentality that girls were considered a burden in the family, while the young son can facilitate his dad in earning the daily bread. When Muhammad saw these cruel acts, he immediately put an end to it. Similarly, Buddha possessed similar capabilities that allow both individuals to propagate their message to a mass populous which needed a savior during their times. Buddha was an amazing character because he has struggled to achieve his salvation and adapted a lifestyle that few could tolerate. Both Buddhism and Islam ousted these illogical traditions and solidified a root foundation of justice that was so critical in those eras. For instance, when Muhammad w as born, the Arabian Peninsula was in chaos (Hart, 9). However, traditions such as burying young born girls alive, oppression and cruelty was prominent. Similarly, Buddha was born in a wealthy family but continues to severe signs of poverty that plagued society. Both Islam and Buddhism implemented reform in a manner that no other religions had the ability to do so. It was inevitable that Muhammad and Buddha both changed the political, economical, and social spheres in their respective societies. Without a doubt, Islam was reached due to theological factors for many reasons. First and foremost is the fact that Islam banished interest and alcohol. Alcohol was the main cash crop of Arab back in that era and was the root foundation for trade (Hart, 22). Moreover, merchants were not able to charge interest unjustifiable, which was detrimental to their business. The social movement of reform that Islam implemented was clearly a brilliant indication of an unforeseen change that would dynam ically modify the globe. Buddhism is a religion that teaches peace and is regarded to be one of the most common meeting grounds for all the Asian cultures. Unlike Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, Buddhism does not embrace the idea of divine holiness. The components that create Buddhism are critical as they embrace peace and allow individuals to reflect from within. Hence Buddhism is embraced my Asian cultures because it rejects diety, promotes

Requests strategies encountered by Iraqi students in Australian Dissertation

Requests strategies encountered by Iraqi students in Australian Universities - Dissertation Example Request strategies basically helps the students to clear their idea and concept regarding any reading they are doing of the text and then ask questions to the instructors in order to understand the key concepts of it and to clear all the queries. Sometimes requesters may hesitate to make any requests because it creates nuisance for the requester and for the recipient to answer it. Iraqi culture which is suppose to be the most influential culture in terms of protecting their values, beliefs and cultural positions follow their own language in order to communicate. Language is the first medium to communicate with the intercultural and the cross cultural variations and it is seems to be the barrier if the proper communication is not performed. For Iraqi’s, English is suppose to be the second language because they give priority to their own language first, whereas pragmatic competence is the ability beyond the understanding of the grammar and to understand the clear levels of any l anguage. This short research thesis basically discusses few issues and tribulations that are faced in the studies of pragmatic in order to create the idea of clear understanding of the communication and the politeness factor into it (Cook, & Liddicoat, 2002, Introduction, Para. 1). It also discuses the inter language issues that are faced by all of those for whom English is not their first language and due to this they do face threatening acts and unable to use appropriate strategies and politeness into their speech (Chen, 2006, Brown and Levinson’s Concept of Face and Politeness Theory, Para. 3). As for Iraqi students, English is the second language and for them it creates difficulty in communicating and following requests strategies with the teachers and the instructors there in Australia. The use of pragmatic inter language is used for all those who want to learn and to use L2 pragmatic knowledge (Kasper, 1996, Introduction, p. 147). The speaker should create the politenes s factor in order to build strong perception of the listener for understanding the context. To overcome various gaps between the communication and general pragmatics knowledge in order to understand English as second language the process of acculturation facilitates because bilingualism always helps students to understand the environment and helps in learning when such students like Iraqi’s go to some other place to acquire education. Now the pragmatic competence and knowledge of the learner is obligatory then the grammatical competence of any student. Pragmatics involve all the important factors including the style, conversational structure and various aspects that helps in building communication effectively (Quraishi, 1994, Personal Experience with L2 Politeness, p. 1). The importance of using and learning request strategies is that it helps the bilingual and monolingual learners to bring politeness into inter cultural communications so that it gets easier for others to fee l comfortable while dealing with them (Quraishi, 1994, The importance of Politeness Strategies in Effective Communication, p. 2). For those who are monolinguals it gets difficult for them to communicate if they are not polite or rude, therefore there are certain techniques and strategies that are important for them to learn which includes the politeness and request strategies and the certain pragmatics also help them in understanding the intercultural communication(Chen, 2006, Sociolinguistic Competence & Transfer, Para. 1). Rationale of the study The purpose of the study is to identify two things: How Iraqi learners of English realize their request strategies in relation to the social dimensions of power (P) and distance (D)?   How Australian native speakers and Vietnamese learners of Engli

Earth's Lithosphere Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Earth's Lithosphere - Essay Example All these calamities are associated with changes in climatic conditions across the world. Scientists have not rested in imploring the cause and the solutions of these tragedies. For that case, this paper will discuss the concepts of greenhouse effect and global warming and their collective effects on the climate of the world. The paper will also pay specific focus to Wabash watershed and longitudinal effects of greenhouse and global warming on this surrounding. Introduction Greenhouse effect refers to a situation whereby temperatures of the earth increases due to reflection of terrestrial radiation by green gases found in the atmosphere. Global warming refers to the increase in earth’s temperature occasioned by the accumulated heat on the atmosphere of the earth. Greenhouse effect and global warning are interdependent considering that global warming occurs as a result of greenhouse effect. When the greenhouse gases reflect back terrestrial radiation on the atmosphere of the ea rth, the surface of the earth gets warmed more rapidly there increasing environmental temperature. Greenhouse effect in line with global warming has caused unrest among the scientists to the potential threats that are related tom the two environmental principles. Scientists have since discovered those long-term greenhouse effects will insurrect the temperatures of the earth thereby resulting to unfavorable climatic changes. In the views of Oxlade (2006), greenhouse effect is caused by the presence of particular natural green gases in the atmosphere of the earth. Scientists discoveries unveils that the presence of the natural green gases (carbon dioxide and water vapor) in the atmosphere is significant to the relative temperatures of the earth. The natural green gases are the ones that trap terrestrial radiation in mild form, which in turn maintains the temperatures of the earth. Absence of such gases in the atmosphere would result to low temperatures that would be insignificant to l ife of human beings and other organisms (Oxlade, 2006). However, the main bone of contention and center of controversies arises from the increase in volume of these gases in the atmosphere and the associated risks. Maslin (2007) ascertains that human activities since the beginning of industrial revolution have escalated the volume of the gases in the atmosphere, which in turn has resulted into global warming. According to Maslin (2007), human activities that involve burning of carbon fuels have tragically increased the concentration of carbon dioxide and other gases like nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. Maslin (2007) elucidates that accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere and their merger with atmospheric moisture has resulted into the formation of perceived partial blanket that reflects back long wave radiation from the surface of the earth. Excess accumulation of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has also contributed into depletion of the ozone layer that made of thr ee elements of oxygen gas responsible for the absorption of toxic solar radiation. Oxlade (2006) demonstrates that increased rate of deforestation has is one of the uncontrolled human activities that have led to increased levels of chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. It is scientifically approved that trees and green vegetations found on the surface of earth play a critical in the absorption of carbon dioxide gases. Depletion of trees and natural vegetations will therefore lead to

Social Science Essay Example for Free

Social Science Essay I must admit that before my trip to the California African American Museum I was skeptical that I would learn anything of value to myself from that experience. Being of foreign descent, American History is a bit alien to me and even more so for African American history. Yet as the day went on, I found myself staring in awe at the displays and gaining a profound respect for the African American culture. The first thing which caught my attention was that the California African American Museum was adorned all over by Afrocentric artwork. It was strange the way the paintings attracted by attention. Normally I don’t pay attention to paintings but there was something about these paintings that struck me. The history and beauty of the African American culture was unlike any I had ever seen or experienced previously. On a personal level, the relevance of this to me is that I too am of a different race. I have my own unique culture and I deeply cherish this. Seeing this display made me realize the beauty of my own culture. I began to understand how strong a people can be as long as they appreciate and cherish their own culture. I am not ashamed to admit my roots and my culture. In fact, I can proudly say that because of my experience at this museum I have come to accept more my culture and come to a better understanding of who I am in this world. Another profound feeling I got from my visit was the manner by which this place was designed. The California African American Museum is a fairly large space and has plenty to offer its visitors from painting to sculpture to multimedia installations by African-American artists. Perhaps the most amazing of all the displays is the rotating exhibits of the Rhythms of the Soul, a showcase of the instruments of Africa (Kennedy 2007). One can clearly see how rich the cultural heritage of the African American culture is. In the same line of thinking, one can imagine how cultures and races have evolved from their primitive origins into what they are today. These items are some of the many wonderful pieces that I saw at the California African American Museum. The piece on the left most portion is a head-dress from Nigeria while the one on the right most portion is a face-mask from the Republic of Congo. Being of foreign descent, I had never previously encountered such strange things and so when I first saw these things I had to admit that I was a bit dumbfounded by it and could make neither heads nor tails of them. Along with these ceremonial masks were decorative household implements from across Sub-Saharan Africa. These works show the type of art historical context that African Americans participated in prior to coming to the United States (Kennedy 2007). It was a context that was based on communal well being that encompassed ritual, mythology and cosmology that connected the people with their environment (Gerstle 2002). I dare say that my appreciation for this place has a lot to do with the many races and cultures in the area. The United States is a melting pot of many different cultures. There are so many diverse people in a single location and they all bring their heritage with them. The result is a rich tapestry of culture that is unlike any that can be found in the world (Gerstle 2002). The thing that makes this even more special is the acceptance of the people for the uniqueness of others. This is why I feel that this museum is one of my favorite locations because it is a testament to that spirit of acceptance and mutual respect. As I continue through my favorite place, I see that there are more surprises in store for me as inside the galleries of the California African-American Museum are treasures of African-American art, history and culture. A kaleidoscope of art and history exhibitions is designed to enhance the publics knowledge of the African-Americans contributions, both past and present. Quite a number of these exhibitions also explore little-known African-American contributions to the fields of science, sports, medicine, and technological invention. Upcoming exhibits feature Blacks in golf, science, technology and the California gold rush. As a whole, I think that the California African American Museum is my favorite place because it is very enlightening. While not totally ignorant of the plight of the early African Americans in the United States, I saw another side of this culture. One that is very diverse and full of mysticism and full of talent. The African Americans are a proud people and the California African American Museum has shown that they indeed have every right to be proud. With a background as colorful and magical as theirs, the African Americans and perhaps the rest of the world should all join in to preserve and to develop whatever remains of that proud and beautiful heritage of theirs. Works Cited: Minchin, Timothy. Hiring Black Worker: The Racial Integration of the Southern Textile Industry. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999. Roth, Byron. Prescription for Failure: Race Relations in the Age of Social Science. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1994. Swain, Carol. The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Kennedy, David, Cohen, Lizabeth, and Piehl, Mel (2007) The Brief American Pageant: A History of the Republic Wadsworth Publishing Company 7th Edition ISBN: 0618776125 Hollitz, John (2006) Contending Voices: Biographical Explorations of the American Past, Volume II: Since 1865 (Second Edition) (Paperback) Wadsworth Publishing; 2 edition (June 22, 2006) ISBN-10: 0618660887 Gerstle, Gary (2002) American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century (Paperback) Princeton University Press (August 5, 2002) ISBN-10: 0691102775

Majestic Wine Plc Uk Marketing Essay

Majestic Wine Plc Uk Marketing Essay Majestic Wine Plc. opened its original wine warehouse in 1980. This Wood Green, North London warehouse merged in 1991 with Wizard Wine, which, at that time belonged to Iceland, the frozen food group, (Sunday Times, 2010, p1). Majestic Wine was listed on the Alternative Investment Market in 1996. In 2009, it acquired Lay Wheeler, a Burgundy and Bordeaux wine specialist (Sunday Times, 2010, p1). The retailing of wines, beers and spirits is its principal business activity (Majestic Group, 2009, p1). This business report analyses the group performance for two financial years, to 29th. March, 2010. It recommend, on basis of appropriate performance ratios, (detailed in Appendices 1 4), that shareholders should buy more shares and augment their investment significantly if the group management shows a more aggressive and focused plan of expansion, accompanied by expansion of stores, the deployment of a more aggressive capital gearing ratio, and sharper operations management. Majestic has grown more than 12 fold from 1985, when it had only 12 shops, to 152 shops n 2010. It aims to expand its shop strength to 250 during the coming decade (Sunday Times, 2010, p1). Its sales are at a 10 year high, post the discarding of its policy of retailing only 12-bottle cases. Off-licences, (establishments selling alcohol for consumption off the premises), could in the 1980s operate only for a few hours every day, and even fewer over weekends. Warehouses circumvented this rule by posturing as wholesalers, thus compelling their customers to buy bulk 12-bottle cases (Goodway, 2010, p1). Steven Lewis, the feisty CEO of the company, tested and subsequently rolled out, from November 2009, a model allowing customers to buy a minimum of six bottles at a time (Goodway, 2010, p1). The policy was instrumental in increasing the number of customers by 54000 to 472000 in the course of a year (LSE, 2010, p1). The objective of this Business Report is to recommend to the shareholders of Majestic Wine PLC on augmentation or reduction of their investment in the company. The profitability ratios of the company reflect a marked improvement in terms of revenues, cost of sales and ROI. Most organisations opt to keep their debt low and cut their debt at the earliest (Jablonsky Barsky, 2001). Whilst such inclinations arise from the need to be conventional and secure in business, excessive eagerness to diminish debt frequently leads to poor utilisation of obtainable debt, higher costs and uneconomical capital gearing (Jablonsky Barsky, 2001, p 7-15). The practically unchanged working capital ratios reflect the maintenance of sub-optimal liquidity levels. The weak acid-test ratio can lead to a difficult situation if the need for liquidity arises on account of contingencies that need to be swiftly addressed. The long-term debts ratios reflect under capitalisation. The low gearing ratio reflects risk adverse tendencies, which can lead to slow growth in future. 2.2. Group Performance The group turnover for the 52 week period ending 29th March, 2010 at  £33.2m was up 15.6 percent, with the profit before tax at  £16.0m rocketing by an incredible 117 percent (LSE, 2010, p1). Appendix 4 summarises the group performance, as reported in the Preliminary Results for 2010. The Group has experienced strong cash generation during 2010, with operational cash-flows of  £21.2m during the year.  This figure is  £5.7m more than the  £15.5m generated during the previous year, and has essentially come about from the improvement in the underlying profit before tax during 2010. The Distribution and Administrative Costs have increased by 15.6 percent during 2009-10 as compared to the previous year. The EBIT (Earnings before finance costs and taxation) rose by 118.3 percent during the same period. The Profit before Taxation (PBT) grew sharply from  £7.4m to  £16.0m during 2009-10 year, registering an increase of 117 percent. The sales to private customers, which make up the mainstay of the business, have shored up well, even though sales to corporate customers has been unsatisfactory. The companys French operations have been hurt by a stronger Euro (Majestic Group, 2009, p1). This contributed to an exceptional non-cash charge of  £5.33m in 2009, which arose from the writing-down of the carrying value of the companys French retailing operations, Wine and Beer World (Majestic Group, 2009, p1). The companys purchase policy of reducing the minimum purchase of 12 bottles to 6 has led to excellent results, even as it needs to be recognised that it may be difficult to replicate this years soaring profits next year, because of challenges in manoeuvring even more supermarket customers through its shop entrances (ODoherty Kuchler, 2010, p1). Majestic is nevertheless working towards seizing mid-market space with a number of value-adding schemes like developing sales to gastropubs, increasing its wine-tasting programmes, and growing its fine wines business (ODoherty Kuchler, 2010, p1). Majestics market share at 3.4% leaves abundant room for growth (ODoherty Kuchler, 2010, p1). With its share trading at 20.3p per share at approximately 14 times its forecast earnings for 2011, higher than the average trading of its peer retailers at an average of 12 to 13p, Majestic, ODoherty Kuchler, (2010, p1) feel merits the premium and some more. The companys results are remarkable, considering that the underlying profit growth of 26 percent in 2010 has been achieved after accounting for the reduction of  £5.3m in the carrying value of the French operations (Hemming, 2010, p1). The business is well positioned to capitalise on its core strengths as the economic environment starts improving (Majestic Group, 2009, p1). The companys acquisition of Lay and Wheelers fine wine business in 2009 has contributed  £12.4m to 2010 sales (LSE, 2010, p1). It is to the credit of the group that the total dividend for the year has been raised by 5.1 percent, to 10.3p per share, against last years 9.8p, despite continuing market pressures (LSE, 2010, p1). The Underlying basic earnings per share (EPS) for 2010 at 18.4p were 31.4% higher than the 2009s 14.0p. The underlying diluted EPS for the same period at 18.3p rose 30.7% against the previous years figure of 14.0p. The basic EPS for 2010 at 18.4p was 247.2% more than the 2009s 5.3p. The diluted EPS for 2010 at 18.3p was 245.3% more than the 5.3p achieved in 2009 (LSE, 2010, p1). The average transaction expenditure at  £129 for 2010 is 4 percent lower than 2009, despite a growth of 14.6 percent to 1.7m in transaction numbers (LSE, 2010, p1). The UK like-for-like sales for the 10 week period from 30th.March, 2010 to 7th.June, 2010 rose 7.3 percent (LSE, 2010, p1). The company is expected to improve its sales in future. The retailers professional credentials and good service levels have produced considerable loyalty amongst its patrons, which will be of assistance in the present economic climate. Majestic will also probably not be impacted by the recommended changes to alcohol pricing as its focus is more on the superiority of its offering than on its price (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1). It is recommended that shareholders should steadily increase their investments. Larger positions should be taken if the group management shows persistent and aggressive efforts to achieve its growth target of 250 sites within a decade and change its conservative capital gearing. The company however needs to address its short term liquidity in order to be ready for short-term contingencies. 2.3. Mission Statement Majestic Wines progresses its mission of providing wine of high quality backed up with superior customer service through its clearly differentiated retailing model, with its core excellent value straddling the price range, its captivating product offering, and most of all, its compelling and distinguishing customer service proposition (Majestic Group, 2009, p1). The companys commitment to its mission is exemplified by the recognition accorded to it as the High Street Chain of the Year, in 2008, by the International Wine Challenge Awards. The Group was also awarded The Specialist Wine Chain of the Year by Decanter magazine in 2008 (Majestic Group, 2010, p1). The companys strength in customer services emanates from its ability in recruiting and retaining high quality graduate level staff, its continual investment in comprehensive training programmes, (widely accredited as best in the wine industry), and its focus on customer service, product knowledge and management (Majestic Group, 2010, p1). Majestic augments its specialist credentials by focusing on its staff training. New staff members tend to take the course qualifying for the Wine and Spirits Education Trusts (WSET) Advanced Certificate in six months. In fact, several employees train further: 149 staff members presently have, or are qualifying for the WSET Diploma, even as 7 of Majestics personnel received Excellence Awards from WSET in January 2010 (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1). Majestic distinguishes itself from its competitors is by cultivating strong customer relationships (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1). The company hosts numerous events, like wine tastings, and courses to enhance customer knowledge of wine (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1). Such approaches, combined with high service levels, have facilitated the retailer in trading its clientele up the value chain (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1). The latest annual results disclose that the average value for a bottle of still wine increased by  £0.21 and sales of bottles more than GBP20 grew by 22.7% in relation to the previous year (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1). Majestic aims to enhance its fine wine credentials by putting up fine wine display sections in all its stores in the next two years. Approximately around 50 percent of its present stores have such sections (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1). 2.4. Environmental Policies Many companies tend to confuse green concerns relating to their own businesses with elementary cost savings measures. This adversely affects the larger green issues that are related to implementation of green processes, products and technologies across such organisations. Environmental issues the company including the collections, reprocessing and disposal of the recyclable waste material. A pioneering lightweight British-designed bottle has facilitated the UK wine industry in meeting aggressive targets on reduction of its carbon emissions and glass waste (Greenwise, 2010, p1). The 300 grams (g) screw-cap bottle, the first worldwide, weighs 188g less than the average wine bottle and 40g less than the earlier lightest bottle produced in Britain (Greenwise, 2010, p1). It has been designed and developed, through the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP), by Quinn Glass and is currently being deployed by key supermarkets like Tesco (Greenwise, 2010, p1). The ground-breaking design is the outcome of a 4 year program known as GlassRite Wine launched by WRAP in 2006 to spot prospects within the wine sector to generate environmental- cum-commercial savings (Greenwise, 2010, p1). WRAP avers that the project currently has accomplished the targets, with which it was launched, of decreasing glass bottle weight by approximately 27,000 tonnes with using lighter weight bottles and increasing recycled glass usage in UK wine-bottle production by 44,295 tonnes per year (Greenwise, 2010, p1). In terms of CO2 savings, the project has further contributed almost 35,000 tonnes per annum (Greenwise, 2010, p1). Nicola Jenkin, in charge of WRAPs drinks category business, stated that huge opportunities are still present in using lighter-weight bottles in the global wine supply chain (Greenwise, 2010). She elaborated that the pioneering 300g wine bottle was presenting considerable potential in UK alone for reducing glass and carbon wastes (Greenwise, 2010, p1). Further, she clarified that use of these bottles for all wine sales within UK itself would produce glass saving of 153,000 tonnes per annum, equivalent to the weight of over 460 jumbo jets resulting in axing CO2 discharges by 119,000 tonnes (Greenwise, 2010, p1). Another major success of the GlassRite project has been in promoting bulk importation wherein the wine is transported in vats instead of being bottled at source (Greenwise, 2010, p1). Consequently, WRAP has confirmed that emissions have been cut by 40 per cent (Greenwise, 2010, p1). Majestic Wine would do well to adopt environmental friendly policies in view of the enormous potential for savings possible in adopting green processes and practices along its entire supply chain. 2.5. Majestic and Major Competitors strengths and weaknesses The retail wine industry is intensely competitive. The Group competes with numerous retailers of varying size in terms of criteria like quality, range, price and service. Failure to compete successfully could adversely impact the financial results. Apart from monitoring performance repeatedly against competitors in these spheres, the Group lessens its exposure by guaranteeing that the trade is differentiated from the competition by the quality, quantity and diversity of merchandise at every location, provision of wine expertise as well as dedicated car parking (Majestic Group, 2009, p1). We differentiate ourselves by the high quality of our customer service and advice, the diversity and quantity of stock available to purchase at each store, our dedicated on-site customer parking, wines to taste every day, the ability to order in-store or via our website and the availability of free delivery throughout mainland UK (Majestic Group, 2009, p2). Constellation Brands along with Fosters Group, owning brands including Lindemans, Hardys and Penfolds and employing thousands of personnel in UK, have charged the Government of demolishing the UK wine business with constant tax rises (Hall, 2010, p1). Both organisations have axed UK jobs and are already shifting investments to other European nations. Last year Fosters cut 10 percent of its UK labour force (Hall, 2010, p1). Peter Jackson, Fosters MD for Europe, Middle-East Africa division, stated that 55 percent of a  £4.32 priced wine bottle, an average UK price-tag, is spent on taxes; approximately  £1.60 is excise duty, 65p is VAT and 11p is the Common Customs Tariff (Hall, 2010, p1). Research conducted for The Sunday Telegraph reveals that, whilst the price of a wine bottle has risen by 25pc since Labour Government ascended to power in 1997, its duty has increased by 53.3 percent (Hall, 2010, p1). Earlier in the month EJ Gallo Winery, makers of wines including Turning Leaf and Carlo Rossi, stated that it will continue curtailing its UK range in 2010, because high levels of promotions and the brutal tax regime make it tough to do business (Hall, 2010, p1). Cheap alcohol traded by supermarkets has struck off-licence chains very hard. Wine Rack and First Quench owned Threshers collapsed last year benefiting Majestic (Sunday Times, 2010, p1). Majestic steer clear of challenging supermarkets on price but instead claims to provide more products and better service. Majestics share price has risen 38% in the past year to 272.5p, valuing it at  £167m (Sunday Times, 2010, p1). The UK is recognized worldwide as a sophisticated wine market and it is surprising that it short-changes sophisticated wine consumers the aspect of procuring fine wine by the single bottle (Sunday Times, 2010, p1). The number of high-quality wine shops has dropped sharply due to competition from supermarkets, which sell over 70% of wine in Britain, and high rents as well as the current growth in online wine sales (Sunday Times, 2010, p1). However, the finest places in UK to procure expensive wine are within London, where departmental stores like Harrods, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Fortnum Mason proffer fancy bottles at a price (Robinson, 2010, p1). The 2009-20 financial year results further highlight that specialists can be successful when faced with severe competition from supermarkets if they can offer outstanding levels of quality, service and range (TradingMarkets.com, 2010, p1).

The Ethics Of Sex Appeal In Advertising Media Essay

The Ethics Of Sex Appeal In Advertising Media Essay Every media consumer is alert to sex in advertising. Its pervasive use and misuse are constantly before us, and typically elicit strong criticism (Richmond and Hartland, 1982, p.53). As anyone can see, the employment of sex in advertising has been in our midst for several decades and the reason for it? It works. Advertisements with sexual undertones are remembered over and over again than advertisements that are not. The question to ask though is, how ethical is it to make use of sexual appeals in advertisements? Does sex sell? Actually, sex does not sell, but sexiness does (Cebrzynski, 2000, p. 14). By means of sex appeals in advertising is a good way to aim at specific market segments but not all. Questions like what is identified as sexual appeals in advertising? Where and when should sex be used? Does the use of sexual appeals lead to an advantage for brand remembrance? must be addressed exhaustively. Sex and the Media Today, sex permeates advertising in the United States and in many countries all over the world as contemporary society is extremely fixated with the demonstration of sex in the media as never before. The issue of whether sex sells could be countered by screening the massive quantities of billboards and classified ads which integrate some form of sex appeal or nudity (Pynor, 2004, p. 42). Several reasons have been provided with the use of sexually oriented themes, among them are to achieve product and brand attention, recognition, recall, and sales (Alexander and Judd, 1978, p. 47). Observably, sex is utilized to sell a wide array of products from cars to fashion products, and is meant to attract not only the male customers, but female, consumers as well. The employment of sex as an instrument in advertising can be traced back to the 1800s when the advertising industry noticed the beneficial effect of using degrees of sexuality in their advertising drives. These economic gains include above all else an increase in revenue due to the point of difference that sexual schemes provide for the product. Sometimes, the use of sex also affords shock-value that frequently triggers social debate and helps in the product promotions continuing recall. Author of The Erotic History of Advertising Tom Reichert has this to say Many real-life examples from the 1800s to the present exist to suggest that it has worked, and does work, to inflame not only consumers libidos but their motivations and desires to make purchases. In some cases, sex in advertising contributes to the building of strong, vibrant and long-lasting brands (Reichert, 2003, p. 9). As it is, the incessant use of sex in advertising from the 1800s until these days is a demonstration of the fact that it is an effective tool that works for advertisers. Literature Review Sex Appeal in Advertising Advertising is one of the most prolific and all-encompassing forms of communication in the world (Reichert, 2003, p.20). This type of company to customer communication lifts several concerns about the ethics of advertising because its practice is very convincing and powerful (Treise and Weigold, 1994). Advertising has turned to become an excellent way for business firms to create a positive image for them and for the public to easily adapt to such image. Image creation is a public relations approach that has increasingly aimed young adults and teens because they are not interested on conventional direct advertising (Goodman and Dretzin, 1999), obviously, advertisers target the demographic group of young adults and teens because they account for a huge amount of American consumer spending. The practice of utilizing sex appeal in advertising is nothing new. Sexual images (nudity) can be found in advertisements as far back as the late 1800s and in the early 1900s, it was used to sell soaps, perfumes and creams. These advertisements claimed to transform any woman to become sexier for a mans pleasure and as sex advertising boomed in the 40s and 50s, controversy abound. Until today, a lot of business enterprises find sex appeal as an effective tactic in advertising. When Maidenform bras began to use models with their shirts off, it became the number one bra company and when Jovan fragrance used sexuality to sell its product, company revenues soared from $1.5 million to $77 million in just seven years (Reichert, 2003). In a 1981 study conducted by Reid and Soley, advertisements were more likely to be appealing and immediately recognized if an attractive endorse is used (Severn and Belch, 1990). In another survey, 32% of consumers confessed that there is strong likelihood of them buying a product if it uses an advertisement with strong sexual undertones (Fetto, 2001). Capitalizing on the idea of sex appeal, people sell their products with the notion that such product is for sexy people and to own that specific product can make any person sexy. Such sexiness can be depicted through the clothes being worn, the models poses, the lighting being used in the advertisement, positioning of the models or in their facial expressions, location used, and interaction. Likewise, companies employ this idea to connect the company image with allure and prestige. As it is, sexuality associates brands with sexual activities and increased attractiveness, something desired by consumers (Reichert, 2001/2003). Although the argument that wanton sexual appeals generate off-putting results because of perceptions of disreputable and scheming practices is basic and extremely valid, it also assumes a deliberative, cognitive mechanism. Past research investigations have found that the process of judging whether a persuasive message infringes ethical standards or not demands cognitive effort (Campbell and Kirmani, 2000). Yet end users characteristically spend little time and effort when viewing an ad (Sengupta and Gorn, 2002; Burnett and Moriarty 1998; Kassarjian, 1977). Hence, it is imperative to understand reactions to improper sex appeals under thin slice processing (Ambady, Bernieri, and Richeson, 2000), such as when consumers view ads under constricted cognitive capacity. Without a doubt, unstructured, spur-of-the-moment, uncontrolled responses may be quite different from more cautiously considered responses in the sphere of sex-based advertising. Recent research by Sengupta and Dahl (2008) examined non-deliberative reactions to the gratuitous use of sex in advertising. Men and women in these experiments were placed under high cognitive load while viewing an ad that showed an unequivocal sexual image and a nonsexual image. Unlike previous research that has found that both men and women abhor the gratuitous use of sex in advertising, a gender difference surfaced under constrained conditions, that is, men preferred more the advertisement containing a sexual image (compared to the nonsexual image) whereas women reported considerably adverse mind-sets toward the overtly sexual ad compared to the nonsexual advertisement. Basically, sexual imagery sets off an emotional response or reaction. In other words, viewers are, all things being equal, favorably energized by sexual information (Reichert, 2007, p. 6). With this in mind, advertising organizations employ sex in several different ways to try and convince and influence end users to purchase a product. Individuals seek out and are willing to pay for sexual content in mainstream media (Reichert, 2007, p. 7), an example of this reality is the sale in millions of copies of Cosmopolitan and Maxim each month. These magazines ads have become more competitive and risquà © due to the idea that an ad needs to be noticeable and must draw attention. Some advertisers may push the boundaries of acceptable sexual content because of direct competitive pressure. Certain product marketers utilize a higher proportion of sexual appeals than other marketers because of the nature of the product and the relevance of sex to product benefits (Reichert and Carpenter, 2004). Another approach being used to draw customer attention is the idea that upon purchasing a product, such will make the buyer more sexually attractive, or can have more sex or can have a better sex life (Reichert, 2007), thus, people who are seeking for such qualities are more likely to pay for a product if the ads are sexually evocative. Gender Expression, Sexuality and Advertising This rather outmoded depiction of gender and expression of sexuality continues to be exploited in modern-day advertisements principally because it is an unbeaten prescription that brings in financial incentive and this will continue as long as women believe even if only for a brief moment that acquiring the advertised product will bring them one step closer to attaining the unattainable. As what was pointed out: those who are dissatisfied with their looks, their bodies, their status, make great consumers (Lee, 2003, p. 134). Furthermore, Nancy Etcoff (2000) sums it up well: to tell people not to take pleasure in beauty is like telling them to stop enjoying food or sex or novelty or love. This is an impracticable likelihood because to like and to want is instinctive in human character. Advertisers are intensely conscious of this as they create advertisements filled with representations of dazzling, extremely sensuous women. Women as Primary Focus? For many decades, numerous people believed that women are the major focus of sex appeals employed in advertising, however, this is not necessarily correct. It is true that women look as if they are the target most recognized in sexual appeals, but men have been targeted more recently. If women have often been the targets of sexual advertising, it is because it appears to work in many cases. As it is, sex is a potent and a convenient method of obtaining male attention and making a product desirable and in advertising, it is easy to get a mans attention by using womens bodies and associate it to the idea of getting the women as well if he buys the product (Taflinger, 1996, p.8). The most well known target of women as sexual appeals has been in beer commercials. Usually the ads go something like this a beautiful woman is sitting at a bar and a man comes up and she does not notice him at all. Then he orders a certain kind of beer and all of the sudden, he is desirable to this woman. They then get caught up in the moment and ultimately the man gets this woman (because of the beer). Another example of the man getting the hot woman because of a particular product that supposedly makes the man more desirable to the women is the AXE advertisement. AXE is a body spray for men. In the commercial, the men who use AXE get beautiful women. In fact, AXE is so effective that if in any way you come in contact with this body spray, you will be instantly wanted. There is also a commercial which features an old man getting a young, hot woman because of the AXE effect. Women are exploited repeatedly in advertising as sex appeals. But, some do not become conscious that these advertisements are often aimed at women as well. Victorias Secret is a classic example of this. Advertisers obviously want women to think that if they purchase Victorias Secret products, they could look like those stunning, sexy endorsers on the commercials seen on television or in the print ads. Obviously, these bra and panties are not going to look very good on just anyone, however, at first glance, a woman could think, wow, she looks splendid; I should get that outfit so I can look that good too. In truth, women are not the only focus in sexual appeal advertising. Men play a huge part as well. According to Taflinger (1996), It is rare for advertising to use sex as an appeal for women. Women are often less interested in the sex act itself for its own sake. They are interested in sex for what it can mean in the future. They may enjoy it as much as men, but for them it has far greater significance. Advertising cannot take advantage of a womans instinctive sexual desire because advertisings job is not to build for the future-it is to sell a product now (p. 6). Here, Taflinger attempts to elucidate the fact that women are not interested in sexual appeals on television, rather, they are interested in sex for their future. Although this seems to be correct in some instances, it is questionable when thinking about all of the ads that target men as the sex selling object. Sex Appeal and Product Branding Sex in advertising can also produce positive mind-sets and sentiments about the ad or product brand. Using catchphrases are huge in the industry along with sexual overtones. A popular example is Las Vegass tagline what happens here, stays here (Reichert, 2007). This is very indicative and interesting; people want to go to Vegas so they can find out for themselves what its all about. Sex in advertising is controversial and it is vital to reflect on consumers outlooks and points of view. While many feel there is too much sex in advertising (Treise and Weigold, 1994), most people feel that if sexual commercials are crafted with relevance and aptness, these are more likely to be accepted (Gould, 1994; Treise and Weigold, 1994). Innately, concerns and apprehensions crop up when sex appeal usage are viewed by unintended (Gould, 1994). Similar disquiet appears when advertisers target teens and young adults with these advertisements. There are concerns that these advertisements are venerated by young people and teach these young adults improper conduct (Reichert, 2001). Negative facets of this target audience advertising consist of women idolizing the sexual models being used to endorse a product and compare themselves to the advertisements (Gould, 1994). In a survey, 55.2% of respondents agreed sexual advertisements influence a teens decision to be sexually active (Tre ise and Weigold, 1994). However, the idea in advertising is give and take; the media learns from teens and teens learn from the media (Goodman and Dretzin, 1999). One cannot exclusively say who manipulates whom, so much so that even though end users anxieties arise, sex continues to be used as an powerful advertising approach. Reichert and Carpenter found that the level of sexual advertisements has remained constant from 1993 and 2003; the only thing that had increased was the females level of dressing as it has become more provocative and sometimes offensive (2004, p. 828). It is fascinating to note that some research investigations found the degree of sexuality actually increased over time. Reichert and Carpenter (2004) conducted an extension of a study that evaluated the degree of sex in 1983 and 1993. Magazine advertisements particularly were content analyzed from 2003 and compared with the issues of the previous years. The general outcomes signified that women not only persisted to be represented in a sexual manner, but that the degree of sexuality increased over time. For instance, advertising became extensively more overt from 1983 to 2003 and clothing (or lack of it as the case may be) largely contributed to this. Results revealed that in 1983 only 28% of female models wore sexually explicit clothes. This rose by 75% in 2003 when 49% of models were dressed in sexual attire. Thus, in 2003 virtually half of the models featured were shown with less rather than more clothing to be exact, in 2003 almost 4 out of 5 women who appeared in ads were sugge stively dressed, partially clad, or nude (Reichert and Carpenter, 2004)). Moreover, the images of women that were most sexually explicit were featured in mens magazines. As Linder (2004) found, general interest magazines, such as Time contained the least degree of sexualized images, when compared with magazines aimed predominantly at men and women. The increase of sexuality over time could be associated with the likeness of products that are available today. It is presumed that in 1983 there was not such an immense collection of products available on the market, and therefore did not need to be distinguished from each other to such a great degree. Furthermore, in those years, advertisers were rendered inadequate by the capability of computer graphic technologies. This is definitely not the case today and advertisers frequently resort to stimulating images to make a distinction between similar products. Particularly, according to Reichert and Carpenter, specific merchandise are promoted in a more sexual manner due to the character of the product, such as fragrance and clothing (although clothing is also often used as a means to sexualize other products). Theoretical Framework People are continuously evaluating themselves with others and this is certainly no exception when addressing advertising, particularly among women. According to Stapel and Blanton (2004), an important source of self-knowledge comes from other people. Human beings maintain a sense of who they are by contrasting their own capabilities and characteristics to other people. This so-called social comparison theory was instigated in 1954 by Festinger, who hypothesized that individuals have a longing to appraise their views, judgments and abilities that can be satisfied by social comparisons with other people. Using this premise as a scaffold, many studies have been carried out, predominantly in reference to females which raise the question does advertising take advantage of consumer tendencies to alter their body or image of themselves by creating anxieties and discontent with the self? Relative to its effect on adolescent girls which Martin and Gentry (1997) studied, the answer is yes, advertisers especially of young fashion magazines do exploit this mindset among adolescent girls, who evaluate their physical beauty with that of models in the advertisements. Martin and Gentrys study has proven that, consistent with the social comparison theory, female pre-adolescents and adolescents self-perceptions and self-esteem can be destructively impinged on when self-evaluation takes place. Other studies have suggested that advertising can have a vital role in creating and highlighting a fixation with physical charm (Downs and Harrison, 1985), and may manipulate consumers awareness of what is an adequate level of physical attractiveness (Martin and Kennedy, 1993). This conception of advertisers taking advantage of consumers perception of themselves is unswervingly associated with sex appeal in advertising. Recently, advertisers have endeavored into a contentious area with their use of female sexual images and a focus on distinct body parts, language and sex-role portrayals. These advertisers are profoundly conscious that sex appeal in an advertisement has the capacity to exert a pull on women on the premise of social comparison. In a study conducted by Craik, Clarke, and Kirkup (1998), women who were sensitive of stereotypes and were even aware of the spuriousness of the industry still desperately want to imitate these images. Such is the explanation why advertisers reportedly pay huge amounts of money every year to have their products endorsed by alluring and well-admired women, since their beauty or personality is assumed to add dazzle to the products they promote (Langmeyer and Shank, 1994). Recommendations For media and advertising practitioners, it is important to apprise the audience who will be viewing the ads before putting sexual innuendos into the advertisement piece. Advertisers need to recognize the moral intricacy of sexual appeal in advertising and integrate that understanding in their strategic thought and when designing their commercial pieces. As what Henthorne and LaTour, (1994) stated, as the ethical considerations of society change over time, what is considered appropriate and acceptable in advertising must also change (p.88). Hence, it is imperative to incessantly reassess what society would consider suitable and consider the full level of consequences of their actions before considering for what they make out as ethically acceptable.

Madness and Insanity in Shakespeares Hamlet - Is Hamlet Mad? :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Is Hamlet Mad? Perhaps the world's most famous mental patient, Hamlet's sanity has been argued over by countless learned scholars for hundreds of years. As a mere student of advanced-level English Literature, I doubt I can add anything new to the debate in 2000 words, but I can look at the evidence supporting or dispelling each argument and come to my own conclusion. Hamlet is obviously experiencing grief and despair right from the beginning of the novel, with the death of his father and his uncle's seizure of the throne and rapid weddign of Hamlet's mother, and we can observe his great grief bordering on irrational suicidal tendencies as early as Act II Sc I, where he gives his first soliloquy. He cries: "O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter!" Macbeth wants his flesh to dissolve into a dew ("solid" contrasting with "melt" in the first line), and wishes that God had not forbade suicides from going to heaven. This is also the first glimpse of another recurring theme in the play, that of Hamlet's unhealthy obsession with the afterlife. This is one of the reasons that the ghost of his father has such an effect on him, which is a trigger for all the subsequent events in the play. Moving on to the fourth scene, the next interesting speech is on l. 23. It is a long and complicated speech, but its general gist is that if a person has one fault, no matter how virtuous they may be in other ways, they are soiled by "the stamp of one defect". This speech is quite ironic, because it is Hamlet's "one defect" (his hesitancy and inability to take action), regardless of his other qualities (such as honour and integrity), will be the main reason why the play ends so tragically. Although we are supposed to suspect that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark", as Horatio puts it, from the start of the play, it is only when Hamlet talks with the ghost of his father in Act I Sc V that we realise the full extent of his uncle's treachery. When he first sees the ghost, Horatio and Marcellus try to restrain him, Horatio saying: "What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o'er his base into the sea, And there assume some other horrible form, Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason,

Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi Essay -- Books Lite

Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi For my final paper, I read a book titled 'Stolen Lives' by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi. This is the true story of Malika's life. This book is divided into two parts; the first part is a description of Malika's fairy-tale life. She lived alongside a princess, in a palace, and was wanting for nothing. The second part of the book tells the story of Malika and her family's time spent in prison and the suffering they went through. Malika Oufkir was born in 1953 in Morocco to a loving mother and father. Her family was very close to King Muhammad V and the royal family of Morocco. Her father was appointed the chief aide to the king after playing an active role in bringing the king back from exile. The king had a young daughter, Lalla Mina, the same age as Malika and wanted them to grow up together so he asked that Malika come and live with him. This was not a request her parents could say no to. She was basically taken from her parents without much explanation to her and brought to live with the royal family. Her mother was allowed to visit her but the visits became less and less frequent. Malika lived inside of the palace where she attended school. She lived a luxurious life, and was treated like a princess herself, but felt like she was a prisoner. The palace was surrounded by walls and her every move was watched so she could not go outside of these walls. The only time she could leave was when the royal family left to vacation at another palace. The king treated Malika very well, as if she were his own daughter. After routine surgery, King Muhammad V died when Malika was seven. King Hassan II, the son of King Muhammad, took over the throne. Malika?s mother thoug... ...e survived all this time in the conditions they had to endure. But I don?t think they could have survived if it weren?t for the support they showed for one another. This is an amazing story of the human spirit and of a bond that held this family together. I would recommend this book to any person that likes human-interest stories. I think we need to be aware that this still does go on in some parts of the world. I enjoy learning about history and this story provided some historical information. I realize how far we have come in this country with women?s rights and how primitive some societies still treat women. Also, it served as a reminder to me that different parts of the world have very diverse beliefs and how lucky we are to live in this country. Works Cited Oufkir, Malika, and Michele Fitoussi. Stolen Lives. New York:Editions Grasset & Fasquelle. 1999

MARKET ANALYSIS :: essays research papers

MARKET ANALYSIS Excalibur is faced with the exciting opportunity of being the first-mover in the restaurant sport bar market. The consistent popularity of female achievements, combined with the growing interest in female sports, has been proven to be a winning concept in other markets and will produce the same results in Atlanta. Market Segmentation We see Excalibur as appealing to three major market segments. Fortunately, the long, late night hours of operation will help Excalibur lend itself to multiple segment appeal. Our market segmentation scheme allows some room for estimates and nonspecific definitions. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  College Students--By creating an environment that is appealing to college students, we secure a natural progression between the student and the young professional. Through word of mouth, Excalibur expects an increase of five percent annually from this segment. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tourists and Business Travelers--More and more business and travelers and tourists are finding themselves in Atlanta every year as is made evident by the increased demand and subsequent expansion of the local airport. We plan to reach these people through direct marketing to local hotel patrons. We anticipate a 20% annual growth rate in this segment. As our relationships grow with the local hotels, so too will the word of mouth recommendations from the hotel staff as well as the patronizing of our sports bar by their families and friends. Our future plan is to publish a simple website in order to create awareness to any traveler who wants to take an advanced look at the club before their visit. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Young Professionals--Due to our proximity to the downtown and midtown area, we must appeal to female adults. Whether it is a group of friends out to see a movie together or a woman who want to just go out and relax, these people need a place to eat/drink either before and/or after their movie. These customers will range in age from 27 to 40. Excalibur will appeal to this category by switching the tempo and entertainment to be more appealing to adults as it gets later into the evening. We also anticipate a 15% annual growth rate in tandem with the growth rate of Atlanta and through increased popularity. The following chart and table outline the target market segments for Excalibur, and include annual growth projections. Potential Customers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2005   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CAGR   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Young Professionals   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  151,800   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  174,570   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  200,756   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  230,869   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  15.00%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   College Students   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  105,000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  110,250   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  115,763   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  121,551   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5.00%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tourists/Business Travelers   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  20%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  120,000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  144,000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  172,800   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  207,360   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  20.

Writing and Bio-organic Chemistry Review

HAD cholesterol (good) Bio-organic Chemistry Review Sheet Ill What is an alkaline? What is an alkaline? Ill. What are some common alikeness? IV. How to you make an alkaline? V. What is the mechanism of the addition of HEX across a double bond? Bio-organic Chemistry Review Sheet 3 (continued) VI. What is the mechanism of the addition offs across a double bond? The reactions of alikeness: (attach index cards here) This tip for improving your SAT score was provided by David Greensward at Verities Prep.For many college applicants, the essay is the most dreaded portion of the SAT. Many students believe that a good essay requires time to develop into something that envoys nuanced understanding of the material. Although time and skill are useful in writing a dissertation, the SAT essay is much more formulaic and simply requires an understanding of how to produce a passable piece of persuasive writing that can function with nearly every prompt. Here are three keys to creating a consistently excellent essay on the SAT: 1 . Create a template before you write an essay.BLOB: How to Improve Your SAT Essay Writing Essentially all persuasive writing has the same characteristics. The goal is to take a position on some question and support that position with evidence, which can efficiently be accomplished in a five paragraph essay (an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion). For this reason, one can essentially write the bones of the essay before one knows what the topic of the essay is. The easiest way to accomplish this is to write a bona-fide practice essay that you feel is strong and then remove all the specific references to the topic.For example, say you were writing a thesis statement on the topic of whether or not it is better for a leader to be feared or loved. (Much great writing already exists on this expansive topic, but we don't have to be Plato here. A thesis might say: â€Å"Therefore the assertion that being loved is a more powerful motivator for achieving a leader's desired goals than being feared is demonstrably true. † This is a strong thesis and could essentially be boiled down to â€Å"therefore the assertion that [position on topic] is demonstrably true. Voila! This is a thesis that can essentially work for any specific topic. From here on, all that needs to be done is to create a prototypical essay and remove all the specifics. This essay template works especially well for the introduction and conclusion, but the next tip is very helpful for the body paragraphs. . Relate topic sentences and non-personal examples back to the thesis. It is a little harder to completely script the body paragraphs, as these will be related to whatever examples you choose to include.The magic ticket in the body paragraphs, however, is to relate what you are writing back to your thesis. For instance, if one of your examples for the above topic of whether a leader should be feared or loved is Animal Farm, it is not strong to simply s ummarize the book. For example â€Å"Animal Farm is the story of how animals rise up against an unjust system, only to emulate the system they so despise. Not a bad summary of Animal Farm, but if graders want to know what happens in that book, they Just read it. Graders want to know how the example will be related back to the thesis.A better take is â€Å"The eventual societal decay and uprising of the subjugated animals in George Rowel's Animal Farm demonstrates the danger of a leader being feared, as opposed to being loved. † This is much more related to the main thesis of the essay. Also, make sure your examples are from something outside personal experience; it is far stronger to apply learning than to apply anecdotes on the SAT. BLOB: Make Your Practice Count 3. Write as if you were creating sentences for the multiple choice questions.This is a surprisingly effective tool in ensuring stylistic and grammatical clarity on the SAT. Students devote quite a bit of time to le arning potential errors on the multiple choice writing questions, but it does not always occur to them to put their own writing under the same scrutiny. All the guidelines for correct sentences can be applied to personal writing: Use active voice, check for subject verb agreement, be clear, and the list goes on and on. If the same precision applied to the writing ultimate choice questions is applied to this essay, grammar and clarity will not be issues.

Hrm Overnight Tour 2011

PROJECT PROPOSAL I. PROJECT TITLE:â€Å"HRM Overnight Tour 2011† II. PROJECT PROPONENT:BSHRM 4-1 III. PROJECT RATIONALE: The HRM Educational Tour 2011 is open to all HRM and non-HRM students of Sumulong College of Arts and Sciences. It is an experience which will afford students the opportunity to be familiarized with hotel operations, attend seminars, appreciate nature’s beauty and build friendship amongst each other. By attending this tour, student will be able to better understand what’s behind their chosen career/course and experience learning outside the four corners of the room. IV. PROJECT OBJECTIVES: Short-Term Objectives . To introduce the HRM students in learning outside the four corners of the room. 2. To introduce students to the different divisions of the hotel involving administrative and operation functions. 3. To assist students in determining their areas of interest with the wide array of career choices when working for the hotel or the hospitali ty industry in general. 4. To give the students the opportunity to attend seminars and experience hands-on activity. 5. To give the students a chance to appreciate nature’s beauty. 6. To let the students have fun, bond and at the same time build friendship among each other. Long-Term Objectives 1. To help market the school internally and externally. a) Internally – the said educational tour can help market the school, especially to HRM student, because it will leave a lasting impression into the students mind. It will definitely leave an impression that our school doesn’t only offer quality education but also give the students the opportunity to experience learning outside the four corners of the room. b) Externally – because of the lasting impression left into the existing students’ minds, by words of mouth, the students themselves will serve as effective marketing tool. . To contribute to the school’s vision of producing graduates who can compete in industrial and technological skills. V. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The HRM Educational Tour 2011 is a two-day experience that provides a program consisting of hotel familiarization tour, introduction of the divisions of a hotel, seminar facilitated by departmental trainers of t he hotel, trainings, actual demos, student participation, overnight accommodation at a hotel, environmental appreciation and lastly, recreation. The first stop of the tour is Subic International Hotel where the students will be familiarized with the hotel and trained in the administrative and operational function of the hotel. The training will be facilitated by Departmental Trainers of the hotel who are certified by the Subic International Hotel’s Human Resources Department ensuring that quality training is delivered. The training will include powerpoint presentations, actual demos and student participation. At the end of the training, students will be toured at the back and front areas of the hotel. All the participants will also experience having all their meal, from breakfast to dinner, at the hotel and are free to use the hotel’s swimming pool, mini gym and sauna. The next day, second stop will be at the Subic Ocean Adventure where participant are entitled to a â€Å"Mariners’ Package† where they could enjoy a guided park tour, watch the Dolphin and Sea Lion’s show, visit the Ocean Discovery Aquarium, photo opportunity with the SBMA mascot and lastly, entrance to the Adventure Beach for lunch and a refreshing afternoon swim. After the two days of skill and knowledge enhancing programs, warm accommodating, good food, nature appreciation and recreation at its best, students will definitely say that studying at Sumulong College of Arts and Sciences is the best. VI. PROJECT DURATION: October 1 to October 2, 2011 HRM Overnight Tour 2011 General Schedule of Activities: October 1, 2011 DAY 1 TimeActivity 5:00 – 6:00AM:Registration and Boarding 6:00 – 10:00AM:Trip to Subic International Hotel 10:00 – 10:00 PM:Hotel Tour Training/ Seminar Lunch Accommodation Swimming/Gym/Sauna Dinner 10:00 PM OnwardsSleeping time October 2, 2011 DAY 2 TimeActivity 6:00 – 7:00 AM:Breakfast at Subic International Hotel 7:00 – 8:00 AM:Hotel Check-out 8:00 – 8:30 AM:Trip to Subic Ocean Adventure Theme Park 8:30 – 12:00 NN:Guided park tour and D&SL Show 12:00 – 1:30 PM:Lunch at Adventure Beach 1:30 – 4:30 PM:Enjoyment of the Beach 4:30 – 7:30 PM:Trip back to Antipolo (SCAS) (end of tour) VII. TARGET BENEFICIARIES Target beneficiaries of HRM Educational Tour 2011 includes: HRM students, interested students from other programs and HRM faculty members. We are also inviting old HRM students and even SCAS graduates to join the said tour. We are expecting, at least, fifty (50) participants excluding the *faculty members and non-HRM students/ **outsider/ graduates. *HRM faculty members’ are subject to a twenty percent (20%) discount if the expected numbers of participants are not met. *HRM faculty members’ are free of all charges if the expected numbers of participants are met. **Companion or invited company by students are considered outsider. VIII. PROPOSED BUDGET (for 50 participants) Expenses BudgetPer person charge Transportation P 25,000. 00P 500. 00 / pax Insurance Toll and Parking Subic International Hotel P 127,000. 00P 2,540. 00 / pax Hotel tour Seminars/Training Accommodation Meals (4) -Lunch -Dinner -Breakfast -Lunch Ocean Adventure *Other expenses P 5,000. 00P 100. 00 / pax Tarpaulins Waiver forms Contract signing Paperwork SCAS Certificate *Contingency Fund P 23,000. 00P 460. 00 / pax TOTAL = **P 180,000. 00 **P 3,600. 00 / pax **all income and expenses are subject for auditing. all the excess of the fund will be divided into two (2), half will go to the HRM Society fund while the other half will proceed to the treasury of SCAS or as instructed by the SCAS Accounting Department. IX. MONITORING AND EVALUATION The HRM Educational Tour 2011 will be supervised by the officers of the BSHRM 4-1 Events Committee especially the HRM Department Head, HRM Faculty Members, Event Chairman, Events Finance Officer, Events Marketing Officer and Events Program & Logisti cs Officer. They will make sure that the flow of the activity/program will be safe and properly executed. They will also observe the participation of all the participants in the said tour/event. Also, all the participants and their parent/guardian are required to sign a waiver form declaring that the academe and its management will not be held liable for any untoward incident while the participant is engaged in the said tour. Nonikko Dizon Mendoza President, SCAS HRM Society Chairman, Events Committee CC: President Executive Vice President Dean for Academic Affairs Office of Student Affairs Department Head, HRM Accounting Department