Marketing Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing Report - Research Paper Example If the products are not presented accordingly to their needs there might be a shift towards other brands and products. Another important issue concerning the cosmetic industry is of misleading advertisements, L’Oreal two of its advertisement were banned as they were against the code of conduct and leads to purchase decision criteria of consumers. The solutions to these issues were through identifying the needs of the consumers and producing products, generating awareness through promotional tools and alternatively changing the marketing mix according to the needs and wants of the consumers. By conducting a research the consumer’s behaviour could be monitored their liking towards a brand, the reason for their preference and what different features they want in their brand. This would help the marketer to know about the taste and preference of the consumers and can work accordingly. One of the drawbacks that lead L’Oreal lose its market share was the misleading adv ertisement, thus to avoid such loses L’Oreal could endorse someone who actually is blessed with good skin and hair. Thus there would not raise a need to use artificial extensions and lastly in order to stay ahead the company needs to keep on innovating new products. Henceforth, L’Oreal can launch new product that would take care of the hands and feet of the consumer. Contents Contents 3 Introduction 4 Issue and problem 4 Analysis and Application 8 Psychological factors 8 Consumer Decision Making 10 Marketing mix 12 Recommendation 13 Reference 15 Introduction For more than centuries, L’Oreal has invented beauty and has met with the aspirations of millions of women and men. L’Oreal aims in offering the best quality of cosmetic along with safety and efficacy to everyone who wants to access to beauty (L’Oreal, 2011). L’Oreal is the largest cosmetic company, it had transformed from being a French company into a global renowned business in sectors like skin, cosmetics and hair care. The company was founded in the year 1953 as Cosmair, Inc. In spite of its origin from France, the company is French only when the need arises else it’s satisfied being Asian, African or anything that accounts to sales (Noel, 2008, p.48). The company is committed in carrying out the mission who is to make beauty universal in a way that would be sustainable and responsible. It is ranked among the top 100 ethical and sustainable companies globally (L’Oreal, 2011). The company has about 23 global brands in around 130 companies with 66, 600 employees. The brands annual sales turn up to be more than 50 million Euros. Some of the consumer products of L’Oreal are L’Oreal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline New York, soft sheen Carson to name a few. The brand has its presence felt globally and has been well accepted by the people. Issue and problem Consumer behaviour reflects the decision made by the consumer with the consumption, dispo sition and acquisition of goods, services and ideas (Hoyer, Macinnis & Dasgupta, 2008, p.4). In today’s context consumer behaviour has become extremely important for marketing decisions in deciding upon the marketing mix elements, segmentation or in exploring new ideas with the change in the environment. The luxury and leisure market such as for shampoos and creams have boomed in recent times. With a change in psychographic and lifestyle of the people, there has been a shift in the habits of the consumers.

Imagine that you are living in colonial America. Write a LETTER either Essay

Imagine that you are living in colonial America. Write a LETTER either supporting or condemning the activities - Essay Example The price of tobacco has declined due to constant wars and we are facing cutthroat commercial competition from Maryland and the Carolinas. Moreover the English manufactured products are high priced and so we can’t afford to buy them. All these cause serious problems that our very basic existence will be difficult if the situation continues. Mr. Bacon’s hostile attitude has taken the lives of our so many of our colleagues. In his expedition to our villages he ruthlessly plunders our homes and destroys our cultivated lands. Mr. Bacon knows that it is not we who are behind the slashing of the prices of tobacco products. We too do suffer terribly from this and still made scapegoats of this ill-fated incident. Our only request to the Queen is to call back Mr. Bacon and provide us the opportunity to live peacefully in our own

21st Century Situational Ethics

21st Century Situational Ethics Although the term Situational Ethics only seems to appear in Joseph Fletchers book named Situation Ethics: The New Morality in 1966, partial and similar ideas of situational ethics have been in the mind of others earlier before. Such as will be Durant Drake that published The New Morality, Emil Brunner with his published work Divine Imperative as well as Reinhold Niebuhr with his Moral Man and Immoral Society. During the same year where Fletcher published his book, John Robinson published his book named Honest to God. Although as equally popular as Fletchers book, it was Fletchers book that seemed simpler and less systematic. In 1952, The Roman Catholic Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office labeled this new principle as the new morality. Pros and cons of situational ethics Similar to other ethical principles, Situational Ethics has its pros and cons as well. To make things simple, following are the pros and cons of the Fletchers Model of Situation Ethics that is based upon Christian Love:- Advantages:- Situational Ethics is personal. Since Situational Ethics is based on the teachings that ethical decisions should be made based on flexible guidelines it demonstrates sensitivity towards circumstances, context, particularity and cultural traditions; besides, it has only a single basic principle to adhere to, love, so people can freely, easily, and creatively make their decisions in the various situations among the numerous alternatives available. Thus, this ethical theory may seem attractive to the many individualistic human beings exist in this modern era. Situational Ethics is specific. In Situational Ethics moral decisions are made on a case-by-case basis as in there is no fixed solution to various cases. Therefore, decisions made depend on the situation one is in and the solution to each situation is unique. (why is this good? Justify more) Situational Ethics about goodness. Love is supposed to be a good element and Situational Ethics teaches that right acts are those which are targeted to promote the well being of people (love). According to Situational Ethics, the well being of people can be promoted by maximizing human welfare and happiness that would be beneficial to individuals or a society. Disadvantages:- Love is vague and abstract. Although theoretically Situational Ethics is based on Christian love, but the term love in this principle does not have any definite meaning; every individual is unique by him or herself and every of them feels and interpret love in very different ways which may be due to different living environments, upbringing methods, genetics, and cultures. If everyone was to practice Situational Ethics, it might lead to confusion and therefore very inconsistent outcomes. For example, two very dissimilar decisions might be made in two very similar situations by two different people because their loves are not the same. Situational Ethics is very subjective and emotional-based. Love is a type of emotion and not some kind of reasoning element; because emotions are very individual-based, it is impossible for two persons to feel and express love in exactly the same way. It is generally agreed by ethicists that any ethical theory should be based mainly on reasons. So how can such a subjective-based Situational Ethics be tenable then in 21st century? Definitely people will involve some kind of biasness due to personal feelings when making decisions under such ethical principle; thus, fairness or justice cannot be upheld in Situational Ethics. Love by Fletcher was Self-Contradicting. According to Fletcher, he based his model upon the basic principle, love as interpreted in the new Testament of Bible, God is Love. This statement makes Situational Ethics reasonable at first glance, but actually in the very next chapter of the same Bible, there is another statement says so, This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. This latter statement is encouraging its believers to follow Divine Command Laws, is it not? Due to this, it makes Fletcher together with its Situational Ethics to be less convincing. Situational Ethics is difficult to implement. Like Act Consequentialism, Situation Ethics is not a practical ethical theory in a society as each situation is so different from another that if this system was to be implemented, then when a person faced a moral dilemma, he or she would need a considerable amount of time to consider what was the best action that could bring out the most love. Besides, it is often very difficult to determine what are the boundaries of every situation as well (like when did the situation begin and end). Furthermore, such ethical system that is so relativistic and has only one basic principle often produces very inconsistent results and thus is very challenging to be taught to the younger generations too. Situational Ethics may be misused by some in names of love. Based on Situation Ethics, any particular action does not have an inherent moral value as its good or bad depends on the results or the consequences of the action. Therefore, it seems that situation ethics allows a person to carry out acts that are normally classified as bad, such as killing and robbing, if those acts could be justified to be the expression of love by the committer. To summarize up, Situational Ethics is far too impractical in its own sense and possesses too many obvious flaws. In this 21st century where moral dilemmas simply become more and more complex, this ethical theory, if applied universally, will only produce more instability and disorder in this world. In short, it will definitely not be the best ethical principle to follow. To further advocate our standing, we have continued to do research and found out some problems and issues regarding Situational Ethics. Q: What are some of the issues or problems with Situational Ethics? Issues and Problems of Situational Ethics Is there a proper standard of value in determining the good? In the Fletcher model, moral agents are asked to calculate which action in a particular situation will produce the greatest amount of goods (love) for the greatest number of people. However, this method cannot be applied without some standards of value to aid figuring out the good and bad effects and then in balancing them; without clarifying the proper standards, what good deeds ought to be done in the situation cannot be determined. Besides, Fletcher came to say that he has said enough when he identified human welfare as the standard of value. As an example, he has substituted human welfare for pleasure as the standard of evaluation of both ends and effects, impliedly stating that human welfare is the ultimate love that can be given to other people in any situation. However, it is not clear that Fletchers appeal to human welfare will suffice. Will other religious people and atheists be convinced to follow Situational Ethics? As has been mentioned before, the main source of the theory of Situational Ethics is the Christians holy bible. Its original basic principle, love which has been interpreted by Fletcher was largely influenced by its own faith in Christianity. For example, Fletcher saw love as the Holy Spirit for himself. But what does Holy Spirit mean for other religious people? Do atheists even recognize the existence of Holy Spirit? Indeed, it is true that love exists in any society and culture and so non-Christian people can actually apply this ethical theory in their life as well; however, its Christianity origin may deter part if not all of these people from trusting in this ethical theory because it does seem to have some biasness in its interpretation of love. 3. Can people always act out of love and suppress their self-interests? This is one of the main problems that relates to the practicality of Situational Love Ethics. According to Fletcher, the love he suggested should mean the largest possible care of the well being of others; however, is it really possible for all human beings to set their self-interests aside and be as objective as possible when analyzing each situation? As mentioned, love is a kind of emotion and everyone feels and expresses it distinctively from another. The usual loves people give out are for families and friends. So what if in the specific moral dilemma context, someone a person loves a lot is involved? Can he or she really willing to sacrifice that important person for the sake of the majority and act in the most loving way? 4. Do ends always justify the means? Situational Ethics is very similar to Consequentialism in the way that both emphasize the prediction of the future and the end consequences that could happen, and then only decide on the action that could bring out the most desired outcome. As such, Situational Ethics shares the very same problem with Consequentialism as well: will any mean used to achieve the end be justifiable? In many circumstances, some living beings might need to be sacrificed for the sake of the majority. For example, in order to find out the most effective medicine to cure AIDS which affects millions of people, can scientists be allowed to use the fastest way (use selected human beings to conduct experiments) to achieve that goal? These scientists might consider that as the most loving way to act because they are trying to save millions of people in the end by merely risking a few human lives. But can this really be justifiable? 5. People prefer to have a more Secure Environment Situational Ethics consists of only one and only absolute basic principle to guide the general population; thus, it seems to abolish all the existing rules and laws that exist in every culture. If people were allowed to break the rigid rules and laws when they found that their actions could be justified in names of love (or some other absolute norms), werent those laws and rules be unenforceable anymore? This is definitely going to be a very risky ethical theory to apply because in this 21st century, where the societies and human populations are so complex, without definite laws and rules, people will only feel confused and chaos will happen everywhere. Thus, such a relativistic moral system seems not to be a better choice if compared to some other more absolutistic ethical systems. Best Ethical Principle/ System Q: What do you think would be the best ethical principle for your group to follow? A: After discussion, our group comes to agree that an ethical theory that combines the Confucius Virtue Ethics with the authors (Thiroux and Krasemann) Humanitarian Ethics will be the best for us to follow. After discussion, our group members have reached the agreement that Confucius Virtue Ethics combined with the Ethics textbooks authors Humanitarian Ethics will be the best moral system for our group to believe in and practice, mainly because of the fact that its main purpose is to create humans that implant good moral characters in themselves, or in short is to create virtuous human beings. In this 21st century, many ethicists have come to believe that humans have become more morally corrupted and morality is dying or even dead. In our modern world, people have tried to build up a moral society mainly through the act of establishing various rules and laws, but sadly that has been proven to be pretty ineffective; thus, both rule consequentialism and non-consequentialism principles will not be the best ethical principle to follow. In order to resolve this problem, Virtue Ethics is suggested to be applied universally because its main aim is to construct human beings that are truly ethical and excellent from within, not relying on outside forces such as rigid rules and laws. Virtue Ethics requires its believers to act virtuously and make it a habit; they practice what they do because they realize those acts are morally right and not because they are forced to. If everyone was to follow Virtue Ethics, then the dream of creating a moral society will be more likely to be reali zed. Humans are social beings who do not live in isolation; generally, they are dependent among each other. Thus, Virtue Ethics is advantageous as well in this case. Confucius Virtue Ethics has 4 main elements in total: De, Shu, Li and Ren, all of which are crucial to achieving social harmony. De means the virtue acts to be practiced by individuals so as to bring the great goodness to the people surrounding. Shu teaches people to reciprocate among each other, suggesting that distribution of justice is to be practiced. Li provides guidance to act appropriately in different contexts and to respect others, especially the higher authorities and therefore contributes to social stability. Lastly, Ren tries to compromise individuals interests with that of societys, in which enhances human interrelationships and promotes humane behavior; for example, it includes the Silver Rule (not to do to others what you do not wish to be done upon yourself), which can be used to test whether an action should be taken or not in any particular situation. In overall, as you can see, Confucius Virtue Ethics is very humanistic and social-based, which makes it seems very ideal in our current diversified and complex societal world. For example, if leaders in this 21st century were to follow Confucius Virtue Ethics, then their followers will be more likely to show loyalty to them because the leaders are doing right and are concerned about their respective followers instead of merely using coercive or tyranny methods. One of the basic assumptions made by Thiroux and Krasemann, the authors of our Ethics textbook that any workable ethical principle should have is to be rationally based and yet does not eliminate emotion; indeed, Confucius Virtue Ethics is one that has this characteristic. It is an undeniable fact that many moral decisions involve emotional elements, and this ethical principle tries to achieve a balance in between reason and emotion; not only that it urges people to act virtuously, but it also wants its followers to feel good about their deeds. Besides, that, Confucius Virtue Ethics also fulfills other basic assumptions made and thus really seems to be a very practical ethical principle: logically consistent, has universality, and can be taught to the younger generations. Of course, Confucius Virtue Ethics is not flawless. One of its main problems is how to define what virtue means and what does it constitute? Many people will have very different opinions about which acts can be considered as virtuous. To solve or lessen this problem, perhaps a group of experts can sit together and discuss about what should comprise virtuous acts and then make out a list of virtues (and vices) to guide the general population what they should (and should not) do. Another main problem about Confucius Virtue Ethics is that it does not really fulfill the fifth basic assumption mentioned by textbooks authors in which a workable moral system should have: ability to solve conflicts. Although Virtue Ethics can serve as a good guideline about what goodness comprises of, it does not provide instructions for us about how to set priorities when two goodness conflict and how to solve moral dilemmas properly. This is when our group members all think the authors Humanitarian Ethics with its 5 basic principles come to be useful (source: Ethics textbook by Thiroux and Krasemann):- 1. The Principle of Appreciating Human Life (primary) 2. The Principle of Doing Good and Avoid/Deter Doing Bad (primary) 3. The Principle of Fairness in Distribution (secondary) 4. The Principle of Honesty (secondary) 5. The Principle of Individual Freedom (secondary) While critically analyzing and reasoning a conflicting or complicating moral situation, it is said that the first two primary principles should be given the priority first, then only consider those in the secondary category; if the conflicting principles are in the same category (for instance in the case of mercy killing), then the individuals freedom of choice will come into play. This reasoning method is very compatible with Confucius Virtue Ethics because as can be noted, virtues can all actually be the goodness that are required in the second principle. Thus, in short, all the virtues taught in Confucius Virtue Ethics can be used by the general population as their daily-routine guidelines and when exceptional situations happen, people can use these 5 basic principles to make justifiable moral decision judgment. Hence in conclusion, our group believes that the combination of both Confucius Virtue Ethics and the authors Humanitarian Ethics is perfect because this combined version of moral system can not only fulfill all the basic assumptions for an ethical theory to be practical, but if it is implemented well, it can also create many ethical and excellent human beings that can live harmoniously with each other.

Data Interpretation :: Papers

Data Interpretation Male- 42% Female-58% In Fig it illustrates that 58% of the people interviewed were female, this suggests that the tourist attraction sin Cheddar appeal more the females Fig backs up this theory that the majority were either retired or young mothers, which suggest that there was more females interviewed, or that all of the men were out working. The fact that each interviewee was interviewed at a different place suggests the results collected were of an even spread. In fig the main spread of where people came from is around the Cheddar area, for example Somerset, from this I then created a sphere of influence, the sphere of influence by Cheddar is shown to be global. In fig it shows how often people visited Cheddar, this can be linked to where they live or come from because someone who lives in Weston-Super-Mare has more chance or easier access to visiting Cheddar. In Fig 98% of the people visiting Cheddar were on a day trip, the other 2% were not on a day trip, this again links back to where people live or come from, because someone who lives in Finland or Cape Town in Africa aren't going to fly out to England just to visit Cheddar but then people who live in Bath have the time to visit Cheddar for more than just a day trip they could stay for a few days. In Fig it shows how they members of the public travelled to Cheddar on that particular, from the pie chart you can clearly see that the most common use of transport was by Car. You can also see that the public buses were not used at all to travel to Cheddar. In Fig it shows the tourist attractions visited by the members of the public, you can see that the main attractions were the Caves and the Jacob's ladder, the attraction visited by the members of the public could have been affected by the length of stay each person has, for instance someone who is on a day trip may want to visit them all in

Black & Decker †Eastern Hemisphere and the ADP Initiative (A) Essay

1. What are Lancaster’s concerns for the future of the Eastern Hemisphere Organization? What problems does he hope to address with ADP? In 1995 when Bill Lancaster was appointed the President of Black and Decker Eastern Hemisphere his initial impression about the organization was depressing. There were some major concerns one of them is the management style that was followed. The current managers were using the Management by Objective (MBO) type plan which is believed to be outdated system that had been replaced in the US some time ago. There were some bad managers and some bad management styles. It was obvious to have lack of growth and development. These concerns led him to see a dark future. These problems require immediate attention and correction to save the organization from its negative impact. ADP means Appraisal Development Plan. Lancaster wants to use ADP to overcome above stated problems and move to the path of development. The expectations of Lancaster from ADP are that it would be able to address the problem of getting the ill informed MBO reviews, as in MBO the managers only see very few aspects of their employee’s job performance. In MBO managers meet with employees on an individual basis but it was not fruitful as managers would be ill informed and just make up a list of suggestions. It is expected that new ADP system would solve some if not all the management problems. 2. What concerns do Asian managers have about ADP? Asian managers such as Anita Lim who had been with Black & Decker for six years were opposed to the introduction of the U.S version of ADP in the Eastern Hemisphere. Her first concern was that Asians might not willingly open up the way Americans do. They might not give critical feedback about their bosses. She also challenges the confidentiality of the ADP system – No matter what a boss says about the feedback being anonymous an Asian might not believe it. Lastly she thinks that a change from MBO to ADP is quite radical and Asians would not support radical changes of this nature. There were some more concerns that came up such as linguistic barrier concerns and cultural barriers in relation to how Asians compete with each other and the relationship they had with their seniors. 3. What action should Lancaster take concerning the ADP initiative in the Eastern Hemisphere Organization? Lancaster has some challenging options in front of him on how to progress further. One is to wait, the other is to implement ADP fully and last is to go with Lim’s recommendation to apply partial ADP model. If he waits to implement ADP he is allowing the Eastern Hemisphere sink further into low productivity and hence low profitability. On the other hand, if Lancaster goes with the new ADP process he faces some cultural and other above mentioned challenges. So it is advised to go with the hybrid model of ADP which was advised by Lim. By following this path Lancaster will be taking a calculated risk. On one hand he is slowing the recovery process of Eastern Hemisphere but on the other hand he is taking initiative for the much needed recovery. By following Lim’s recommendation, Lancaster would be more culturally sensitive at the same time kick start the Eastern Hemisphere towards the path of recovery. Appendix 1) Appraisal and Development Plan Process. Retrieved from â€Å"http://www.missouristate.edu/human/training/ADPTraining.htm† 2) Management by Objectives. Retrieved from â€Å"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_by_objectives†

Final Reflection on Community Service Learning Essay

A) The name of the agency was Thomas House Temporary Shelter and its mission is to provide a safe, supportive environment and resources necessary for homeless families with children to remain together while empowering them to become independent and self-sufficient. Their program also includes transitional shelter, case management, counseling, life skills development, employment assistance, resource assistance, children’s program, graduate extension program. At this agency, my role was to help young residents or children to succeed in school. I was to provide tutoring for homework help and any other academic work given by the agency. B) At this agency, it gave me a chance to develop educational relationship with children and to cooperate with other volunteers to successfully aid children with their studying. I never had a chance to teach a child before this community service but after teaching them, I was surprised how much I enjoyed working with them. This volunteering experience definitely improved how I will work with children in the future. C) In terms of putting myself to this community placement, it gave me a perspective on my own life to appreciate what I have and the family support that I received. Lots of children residing at the shelter experience abusive family relationship and poverty, which has a negative affect on their mental health. Just knowing what these children had to go through made me realize that I had it a lot better than they did and it taught me to be more thankful for what I have. Socially, by being part of this Thomas House Shelter agency, I was able to learn to be more approachable and out reaching to people. Emotionally, I was content that I can help out these children to better them. Intellectually, I felt smarter to be able to teach children when I have never taught children before. Lastly, professionally, I was able to remain professional relationship with the coordinator that was in charge of the shelter. D) Honestly, in the beginning of service learning, I had doubts about service learning and was expecting not much from it. However, by volunteering at the Thomas House Shelter agency, I was able to meet my service learning goals. I was able to enhance children’s self-esteem and confidence by complementing on their accomplishments. I was also able provide needed assistance to the children while complying with coordinator’s directions. I also learned about what single parent/mothers go through and what we can do to help them to establish a better family. Overall, the whole experience was meaningful and helpful to meet my service learning plan goals. E) As a result of my placement, I was able to positively influence children on education that it can be challenging. For example, one child that I was teaching was really smart but did not like to show that he was capable of doing hard problems. It seemed like he gets easily distracted and was not interested in showing his abilities to do problems. In order to get him involved with work, I had to encourage him and compliment how good he was at math. Then, he got more involved and he was finally able to tackle some problems that he was not interested before. In my opinion, I was able to encourage children in this community that were not encouraged before. F) In terms of CSL enhancing the understanding of the course material and making abstract concepts real, I really learned a lot about single mother parenting and poverty issues. The majority of the single parents at the shelter were mothers that were taking care of the children. From the text book, it stated that majority of single parent mothers are from minorities and at the Thomas house shelter, it certainly supported the statement. There were mostly African American single parents and Hispanic or Latino single parents residing at the shelter. There was only one White single parent residing at the shelter out of 15 or more families. It is a sad fact but minority women are the ones suffering the most from single parenting issues. G) The most difficult part about volunteering at the shelter is the working hours and number of volunteers working at the shelter. The volunteer starts at 5:00 PM and it would take me around 40 minutes to get to the shelter from school. Distance wise is no t that far but traffic is the cause for a long commute. Another difficulty that I faced is that there are too many volunteers so that I had to compete with the volunteers in order to make connections with the children. If I had a chance to have one on one relationship with a child, I would be able to make better connection in terms of child and a teacher relationship. The most satisfying aspects of my community work are that working with children and seeing them improve their grades in school. Even though these children are going through poverty and hard time, in the end they are the same children as any other children. They love to have fun and goof around and experiencing these children just made me a better person and content about myself. H) For the future CSL students, I high recommend volunteering for children if you never have. This was my first time working with children and it taught me the importance of teaching and family aspect of life. These kids are bright and fun, so if you learn to work with these kids to positively influence their life in a right path, it will give you a surreal feeling of accomplishment by working with them.

Why All White Gold Is Plated

Why All White Gold Is Plated Did you know nearly all white gold is plated with another metal to make it the shiny white color that it is? Heres a look at what white gold is plated with and why it is plated in the first place. Rhodium Plates All White Gold Its an industry standard that all white gold used for jewelry is plated with rhodium. Why rhodium? It is a white metal that somewhat resembles platinum, forms a strong bond over the gold alloy, takes a high shine, resists corrosion and oxidation, and is well-tolerated by most people. Why Plate White Gold White gold usually is not white. The gold alloy normally is a dull yellowish or gray color. White gold consists of gold, which is yellow, plus silver (white) metals, such as nickel, manganese, or palladium. The higher the percentage of gold, the higher its karat value, but the more yellow its appearance. High karat white gold, such as 18k white gold, is soft and could be easily damaged in jewelry. The rhodium adds hardness and durability, makes all white gold a uniform color and protects the wearer from potentially problematic metals found in some white gold, such as nickel. The downside to white gold is that the rhodium coating, while durable, eventually wears down. While the gold underneath isnt harmed, its usually unattractive, so most people get their jewelry re-plated. Because rings are exposed to more wear and tear than other types of jewelry, they may require re-plating in as little as 6 months. Why Not Use Platinum In some cases, platinum is used to plate gold and silver jewelry. Both platinum and rhodium are noble metals that resist corrosion. In fact, rhodium is even more expensive than platinum. Rhodium is a bright silver color, while platinum is darker or more gray.

About and For with Adjectives

About and For with Adjectives About and For with Adjectives About and For with Adjectives By Maeve Maddox The recent post on excited for got me thinking that a list of adjectives that take about and for might be useful. for eager for happy for (as in Im happy for you because you have succeeded.) therapeutic for unsuitable for about adamant about enthusiastic about exuberant about exultant about excited about elated about flippant about guarded about gullible about happy about (as in Im happy about my promotion.) irate about knowledgeable about nosy about overjoyed about phobic about relieved about snobbish about vague about Here are some quotations from newspapers: Sharks Evander Kane eager for 1st playoffs in 9th season Jaguars coach Doug Marrone happy for Bills, but wont delve into his odd exit from Buffalo. Such an announcement is inappropriate. If the Captain determined the airplane was unsuitable for the flight, it is his or her responsibility and Quarry neighbors irate about dumping, water quality. Benton Township residents near the Rocky Ridge Development quarry are upset about Detroit Lions veteran players are excited about first-round draft pick Frank Ragnow. He took snaps at both center and left guard at rookie Kristin Higgins was adamant about not pushing girly stereotypes on her daughter, and painted her room in shades of green. Higgins later Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 101One Fell SwoopHow Long Should a Synopsis Be?

Definition and Examples of Hypercorrection in English

Definition and Examples of Hypercorrection in English Hypercorrection (pronounced HI-per-ke-REK-shun) is a  pronunciation, word form, or grammatical construction produced by mistaken analogy with standard usage out of a desire to be correct. In some cases, hypercorrection may be a sign of language change. For example, in Understanding Language Use in the Classroom (2014), Susan Behrens points out that a hypercorrection such as Whom is it? would be rejected by everyone. However, Who did you see? would be rated by many as acceptable, even correct. Examples and Observations [H]ypercorrection crucially is motivated by the relationship between different dialects or languagesor rather by the relationship between these as perceived by their speakers.In many case, speakers focus on differences in prestige. Speakers of less prestigious dialects try to imitate a more prestigious one by adaptations in their pronunciation. . . .As the result of a variety of sound changes and analogical developments, English at a certain stage had two competing forms of the so-called gerund, a form in -ing (as in going) and a form in -en (as in goen). At a later stage, Standard English leveled out the form in -ing at the expense of -en. Many nonstandard dialects generalized -en, instead. This difference has since become one of the major features distinguishing standard from nonstandard English, and the use of the form in -en is often referred to as dropping ones gs. As speakers who drop their gs try to speak the prestige dialect, they replace their -en by -ing. And again, in many cases they go too far and extend their substitution to words like taken (as in I have taking it). (Hans Henrich Hock and Brian D. Joseph, Language History, Language Change, and Language Relationship. Walter de Gruyter, 1996) I heard a good one on the preacher last week. You know somebody got into his barn a while ago, and stole every blessed chicking he had to his name. (Fred Lewis Pattee, The House of the Black Ring: A Romance of the Seven Mountains, 1905) Whomever [W]e saw a t-shirt proclaiming I am for whomever beats Harvard. The whomever usage is nonstandard in this sentence since the pronoun is the subject of the predicate beats Harvard. Such overuse of supposedly correct words, pronunciation, or structure is called hypercorrection. If you dont quite know the way whom should be used, but believe that it is more prestigious than who, you might indeed overuse it. (Susan J. Behrens and Rebecca L. Sperling, Language Variation: Students and Teachers Reflect on Accents and Dialects. Language in the Real World: An Introduction to Linguistics, ed. by Susan J. Behrens and Judith A. Parker. Routledge, 2010)My friend, you are yesterday. Whomever pulled off this caper is tomorrow. (Robert Vaughn as Ross Webster in Superman III, 1983) The Use of I for Me and Whom for Who Perhaps the most common example of hypercorrectness is the use of I for me in a compound subject: between you and I. Other common hypercorrect forms include whom for who, as for like (She, as any other normal person, wanted to be well thought of), the ending -ly where it doesnt belong (Slice thinly), some verb forms (lie for lay, shall for will), and many pronunciations. (W. R. Ebbit and D. R. Ebbitt, Writers Guide. Scott, 1978)She had very little to say to Cathy and I.Whom are we inviting to the party?The phrase between you and I looks like a hypercorrection (and is confidently described as such by some) starting with latter-day harping by school teachers on such supposed errors as It is me. But between you and I is far too ancient and persistent to be any such thing. (A. Sihler, Language History: An Introduction. John Benjamins, 2000) False Plurals [T]he attempt to foist proper Greek and Latin plurals has bred pseudo-erudite horrors such as axia (more than one axiom), peni, rhinoceri, and [octopi]. It should be . . . octopuses. The -us in octopus is not the Latin noun ending that switches to -i in the plural, but the Greek pous (foot). (Steven Pinker, Words and Rules. Basic, 1999) The Grammar of Anxiety Who is to give [schoolchildren] warning signals about the whole Grammar of Anxiety, which springs from the chronic fear of being thought uneducated or banal and coins such things as more importantly, he invited Mary and I, when I was first introduced, and the end result? (Alistair Cooke, The Patient Has the Floor. Alfred A. Knopf, 1986) Virus Theory The key construct of Virus Theory [a term coined by linguist Nicolas Sobin, 1997] is the grammatical virus, which is envisaged as a surface rule that is acquired relatively late (for example during schooling). The effect of a virus is to trigger (or license) a prestige usage that core grammar would not normally be expected to produce. . . .Unlike normal grammatical rules, viruses typically make reference to specific lexical items. Consider, for example, the It was/is I construction that is sometimes found in prestige English usage. The nominative case form of the post-copular pronoun in this construction clearly diverges from the unmarked pattern, according to which post-copular position correlates with accusative case. . . . We can thus infer that the rule that allows It was/is I in prestige varieties is an addition to the basic usage. (Nigel Armstrong and Ian E. Mackenzie, Standardization, Ideology and Linguistics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) Labov-Hypercorrection Labov-hypercorrection [is a] secular linguistic term associated with the embedding problem in which style stratification of marker is such that (usually) the second highest status group in a speech community uses higher status variants in formal styles more frequently than the highest status group. This linguistic behaviour can be interpreted as being the result of linguistic insecurity. Labov-hypercorrection should be distinguished from hypercorrection, whch is a feature of the speech of individuals. Labov-hypercorrection is term which is due to the British linguist J.C. Wells, who suggested that it was necessary to distinguish terminologically between individual hypercorrection and group hypercorrection of the type first described by William Labov in his research in New York City. (Peter Trudgill, A Glossary of Sociolinguistics. Oxford University Press, 2003)

Daoism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Daoism - Essay Example For instance, Du Guangtung created his account using the west queen mother by selecting, re-writing, and combining various texts from the old literature. Some of the sources used by Du Guangtung to record the assembled transcendent of the fortified wall city include; Taoist, Buddhism, historical, classical and other popular sources; which retained his personal tradition of precedence work (Cahill 107). Du’s work is considered allusive and condensed. For instance, his first records are about a queen mother’s biography. The writings express the queen’s primacy in lineage and power. This account is one of the beneficial sources of Du Guangtung, which gives a complete account of the perceptions Taoists have about goddesses (Cahill 146). Du Guangtung gave the Records of the Assembled Transcendent of the Fortified City to the ruling emperor because he was attempting to associate the imperial government with Daoism. The Tang emperor was finally influenced by Daoism (Cahill 144). For instance, Bian’s story is publicized to honor the agreement by recording his transcendence. The book reveals that the founders of Tang Dynasty were sisters who were mothers of Emperor Yang of Sui. These sisters ruled two emperors of different dynasties. From the beginning, Daoism played a major role in the politics of Tang. Li Yuan bid for power by attracting followers through the claim for Daoist and Laozi descents (Bokenkamp 204). Individuals who were bidding for office had to involve monks from Buddhist temples to pray for them openly and they were paid cash donations in return. Buddhism and Daoism were accepted in the Tang Dynasty before Buddhists faced persecution in the 9th Century. Daoism’s spectacular success brought about the reunification of Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan, the founder of the kingdom, became more influential and successful after he was deferred of

Significance of the Ecosystem Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Significance of the Ecosystem Services - Essay Example These are economic decisions and depend on both the implicit and explicit societal values. In this article, I will give examples of ecosystem services, biodiversity concepts and how the ecosystem is considered from economics, ethics and science points of view. Examples of ecosystem services include regulation of climate. This is one of the most significant services of the ecosystem on a worldwide and European scale. European ecosystem functions as a significant role in the regulation of climate because the terrestrial ecosystem in Europe resembles a carbon sink in approximately 12 percent of the carbon emissions that humans emit to the atmosphere. Another example of ecosystem service is the purification of water. Both the soil organisms and vegetation have profound effects on improvements of water. Vegetation is a critical factor that helps in control of floods. Wetlands and forests often offer water at a lower cost compared to manmade facilities such as water treatment plants. Anoth er example of ecosystem services is the regulation of pests and diseases (Wilson 17). This occurs because of the actions of parasites and predators and also defense mechanisms of their prey. One example of this control of pests and diseases is the offered by insectivorous birds that are available in the farmlands. Biodiversity concepts refer to variability and variety of living organisms. Biodiversity is significant in the functioning of the ecological systems. Ecosystem services represent the ecological process that humans may benefit. These processes function on an infinite number of scales. A number of ecosystem services ensure that their productivity in agriculture, including pollination, soil formation and pest control (Wilson 34). Biodiversity concepts may include diseases and pests control. Predators that prey on the parasites and insects control plant diseases.

Christian Louboutin (shoe designer) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Christian Louboutin (shoe designer) - Essay Example Christian Louboutin is a prominent French designer whose footwear has entailed shiny, red-lacquered soles, which have grown to become his signature. Christian Louboutin can be regarded as one of the most creative and prominent designers working today. Initially, his unique red-soled shoes were seen as a top secret treasure of an elite circle of Louboutin enthusiasts; nevertheless, sustained media attention has introduced Louboutin to the world and heralded unparalleled levels of popularity. As a result, Louboutin is worn by both fashion insiders and fashion-mindful celebrities and stylish women. The research of Christian Louboutin (shoe designer) is critical and should be understood by designer practitioners who strive to create unbeatable, unique brands. The essay seeks to engage students within a search for and analysis of contemporary design research. Background Louboutin started sketching shoes in his early teen years at the detriment of his academic endeavours. Louboutin had minimal formal training comprising of drawing and decorative arts at the Academie d’Art Roederer. For more than two decades, Louboutin’s designs including boot made from various animal hairs and a towering ten-inch slipper has been a market leader of luxury shoe design. The multiplicity of detail, form, and style are embodied in Louboutin’s shoes and designs can be regarded as reinforcing the allure of his one-of-a-kind creations (Welters and Lillethun 2011, p.511). Louboutin’s success can be partly linked to his love of travel, entertainment, and architecture, which guarantees that no two pairs of shoes are analogous (Craik 2009, p.29). Louboutin entered into the fashion industry in 1982 when he started as an intern at Charles Jourdan. For the subsequent decade, Louboutin learned his craft as he freelanced for high-profile fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel. It was in 1992 that he launched his first shoe boutique in Paris, a number that has risen to over twenty five boutiques across the globe. Louboutin’s sought to avail his clients with an unbeatable experience, given that for each collection that he produced he would select artisans with certain skills, maintaining that it was essential to have his shoes crafted by skilled craftspeople rather than modern, mass-production machines (Welters and Lillethun 2011, p.512). Louboutin’s unique designs can be regarded as mainly influenced by fantasy, sex, and playfulness (Vartanian 2012, p.8). Discussion Louboutin’s distinct designs and signature features red-sole, high-heeled shoes are highly popular, especially among celebrities. Lo uboutin applies individualized approach when designing his collections to guarantee that he generates consistently innovative and desirable collections. His designs can be regarded to be in different, but highly appropriate design. This reinforces the notion that Louboutin’s shoes are not simple pieces of clothing, but also pieces of art (Renfrew and Renfrew 2009, p.117). Louboutin managed to develop an unmistakable signature by ensuring that all of his shoes featured bright red soles. A characteristic pair of his luxury shoes might also feature a stiletto heel and upper parts of coloured leather or exotic reptile skins. The price of the shoes normally ranges around $800 a pair. Louboutin’s shoes are renowned globally for their remarkably innovative design and distinctive glossy red sole. Louboutin’s lacquered red sole trademark is perceived as a â€Å"subtle status symbol† and can be regarded as highly alluring relative to the overt branding of the big-n ame luxury brands (Rauf and Vescia 2007, p.16). Louboutin contended that his utilization of the red colour mirror his conviction that red colour is a symbol of passion, blood,

Hawaii Environmental Policay and Act (HEPA) Essay

Hawaii Environmental Policay and Act (HEPA) - Essay Example Those who would want to make this type of developmental change must get the governments permission. Even proposed buildings or expansion projects of existing structures owned or controlled by the agencies of the government on public land is not exempt from getting the governments permission. You can get said permission from the Environment Department. The Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC) is directly charged with issuing the permission. The OEQC's primary task is to stimulate, expand and coordinate efforts to maintain the optimum quality of the States environment. All private as well as public entities and agencies must secure the aforementioned permission. This is how strict the government is that it requires itself, the Laie Elementary School is a government controlled and operated school, to obtain permission to build from itself, the OEQC another agency of the government. This safeguard is to make sure that there will be no destruction of the environment in any way. The Laie Elementary school wants to expand its cafeteria, and so must obtain the needed permission. They understand that they have to carefully study and know the rules of the OEQC. The school is prepared to do everything that the OEQC requires. I will discuss the issues that may affect the environment upon the implementation of the schools plan for developmental change. I will also explain the rules that must be followed before any expansion of the school may be allowed in Hawaii. I- Factual Background The project is located in the central area of Laie town in Oahu Island, more specifically in the campus of the Laie Elementary School. The place is owned by the State of Hawaii and the City and the County of Honolulu. The Campus is about 7.61 acres. Its land use classification is urban and is an R-5 residential under the zoning of the land use ordinance. R-5 zoning means that only single family residential units is occupying the neighboring lands. The proposed project consists of the expansion of the existing Laie Elementary school cafeteria. It will add an approximate of 3,600 SF or over 50% to the existing cafeteria. The cafeteria is approximately 30 years old and can fit only 250 occupants. At the present time the enrollment capacity of the school is at 900 students. To accommodate all students, the cafeteria's meal services have been made to provide meals in three shifts or batches. Presently Lunch is served in three seating shifts, from 10:45 AM to 11:15 AM. With the proposed expansion, lunches will still be served in shifts but it will be decreased to two seating shifts. The proposed expansion includes a dining area; new heater and electrical room; new tray return and wash area; locker room; toilet and an office space. The existing kitchen will be made bigger to accommodate the needs of cooking for the ever increasing school population. This will also ensure that meals are kept hot, preventing any bacterial growth and health issues that may arise from such growth. This developmental change will also include a much needed wastewater facility for the cafeteria. The facility will be connected to a local sewer system. At present, the cafeteria is not connected to a local sewer system. It uses a cesspool system. That pit poses environmental, health as well as safety

Course Paper Assignment. You are required to write a 5-7 page paper on Term

Course Assignment. You are required to write a 5-7 page on a concept investigating the social effects of aviation an - Term Paper Example In fact, global tonne-kilometers (total weight of freight carried multiplied by the distance flown) increased by a factor of 23 as against the global domestic gross domestic product, which increase by a factor of 3.8 (Whitelegg, 2000). It is also forecast with unconstrained growth in the aviation industry, that air travel will double between 2000 and 2020 and triple in 2030 (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Postnote, 2003). Concurrently, there has been increase threat especially from the world of terrorist on the aviation industry. This threat has led to the implementation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger screening to ensure that certain items and persons prohibited from flying do not board commercial airliners (Elias, 2011). This spectacular growth in the aviation industry is associated with some social effects which have either beneficial or adverse effects in the society. This growth in the aviation industry is mainly concentrated in cert ain societies in the world, for instance, North America, Europe, some parts of Asia and South America (Zinnov LLC, 2007) thereby suggesting a cultural influence on the growth of the aviation industry. This article seeks to answer some questions associated with the growth of the aviation over the decades. ... Discussion Social Effects of Air Travel Indeed, air travel has impacted socially on humanity, changing not only the human relationship but also human culture. Like the interstate highways that reduce continents to global cities, air travel has likewise shrunk the world to a global city. For instance, with the advent of air travel, the connectedness between people increases considerably. Air travel makes it possible for people to connect easily with far away family members and friends. The business arena was also affected positively as business partners across continents can meet face-to-face to carry out business deals within days. Related to this connectedness between people is the improvement in communication. By the late 1930s, the airlines carried mail from coast to coast thereby improving the speed of communication and the connectedness between friends, family members and business partners (Hudson, 1972). Indeed, with the advent of the air travel, people became global citizens a nd can enjoy the excitements and cultures of societies other than theirs. Indeed, people can travel to far away resort centers for holidays. Air travel led to the growth of the tourist industry. Also affected is entertainment industry and arts. The enthrallment and allurement of air travel has been reflected in the literature. Many pilots have written about their careers. For instance, War World 1 hero, Eddie Rickenbacker wrote about their exploit during the World War 1 (Rickenbacker, 2001). Many children books feature famous military pilots as well as civilian pilots, and later astronauts. Related to literature are arts dealing with aviation. For instance, the Renaissance humanist, Leonardo da Vinci illustrated his notebooks with sketches of

British Colonialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

British Colonialism - Essay Example When a territory builds and maintains colonies in other territories, this is known as colonialism (Kohn, 2006). When the West or Europe pictured the Arabic and Asian states, they showed people living darkness and void (Kumar, 2007). They showed they did not want to grow and get updated. They showed that the people were simple and could be made to do anything. This is what was thought about South America and Africa when it was colonized (Kumar, 2007). This also brought these governments the support of their citizens (Kumar, 2007). When Europe wanted to conquer these "Oriental" countries, they passed a message to the people that they wanted to develop the territory to be colonized. They planned to strip the territory of its history and cultures and create a new one as they seem to be fit (Kumar, 2007). Orientalism was so depicted and explained as if it was a curse or a bad thing going on in the world. The true meaning of orient was hidden and in the shade of Orientalism, the West exploited and colonized the Asian and the Arabic countries (Kohn, 2006). Thus, Orientalism was one of the tools used by Europe to colonize the Arabic and Asian Countries (Kohn, 2006). ... Vathek (Salah, 2007) One of the examples of orientalism among the British colonial writers was Vathek (1782) by William Thomas Beckford. Beckford (1760-1844) was and English novelist (introduction to Beckfordiana). He was also a member of the parliament from 1784 to 1790. Vathek was originally written in French at a time when orientalism was entranced in the European population. The plot tells the story of the fictional ruler Vathek who falls from power and then engages himself in deplorable activities with his mother to gain supernatural powers. The setting of the tale is oriental, i.e., in the Arabic countries. The novel clearly shows how backward and downgraded the people of the East were considered. The story clearly shows the supernatural and superstitious beliefs and casts the image of the Eastern countries as those who live in the early ages when everything was considered to be supernatural and science and technology played no role. Kubla Khan (Library, 1999) Another example of orientalism among the British colonial writers is the poem Kubla Khan written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet and a romantic (Poetry Foundation). Kubla Khan is a poem describing about a king who claims to be Son of God and thus ascends to the throne on the grounds that God wants him to rule. He makes his subjects build him a house that is suitable for residence for the Son of God. This poem though short shows how the countries in the East are ruled through superstitions and that the British need to go and save the people from such superstitious beliefs of the people there. Thus they could potrait the image among their people that they are colonizing the territory to revive but instead destroy the culture and history of the

Course Paper Assignment. You are required to write a 5-7 page paper on Term

Course Assignment. You are required to write a 5-7 page on a concept investigating the social effects of aviation an - Term Paper Example In fact, global tonne-kilometers (total weight of freight carried multiplied by the distance flown) increased by a factor of 23 as against the global domestic gross domestic product, which increase by a factor of 3.8 (Whitelegg, 2000). It is also forecast with unconstrained growth in the aviation industry, that air travel will double between 2000 and 2020 and triple in 2030 (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Postnote, 2003). Concurrently, there has been increase threat especially from the world of terrorist on the aviation industry. This threat has led to the implementation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) passenger screening to ensure that certain items and persons prohibited from flying do not board commercial airliners (Elias, 2011). This spectacular growth in the aviation industry is associated with some social effects which have either beneficial or adverse effects in the society. This growth in the aviation industry is mainly concentrated in cert ain societies in the world, for instance, North America, Europe, some parts of Asia and South America (Zinnov LLC, 2007) thereby suggesting a cultural influence on the growth of the aviation industry. This article seeks to answer some questions associated with the growth of the aviation over the decades. ... Discussion Social Effects of Air Travel Indeed, air travel has impacted socially on humanity, changing not only the human relationship but also human culture. Like the interstate highways that reduce continents to global cities, air travel has likewise shrunk the world to a global city. For instance, with the advent of air travel, the connectedness between people increases considerably. Air travel makes it possible for people to connect easily with far away family members and friends. The business arena was also affected positively as business partners across continents can meet face-to-face to carry out business deals within days. Related to this connectedness between people is the improvement in communication. By the late 1930s, the airlines carried mail from coast to coast thereby improving the speed of communication and the connectedness between friends, family members and business partners (Hudson, 1972). Indeed, with the advent of the air travel, people became global citizens a nd can enjoy the excitements and cultures of societies other than theirs. Indeed, people can travel to far away resort centers for holidays. Air travel led to the growth of the tourist industry. Also affected is entertainment industry and arts. The enthrallment and allurement of air travel has been reflected in the literature. Many pilots have written about their careers. For instance, War World 1 hero, Eddie Rickenbacker wrote about their exploit during the World War 1 (Rickenbacker, 2001). Many children books feature famous military pilots as well as civilian pilots, and later astronauts. Related to literature are arts dealing with aviation. For instance, the Renaissance humanist, Leonardo da Vinci illustrated his notebooks with sketches of

Your Job And Your Happiness Essay Example for Free

Your Job And Your Happiness Essay Happiness is commonly associated with pleasure and contentment. These are fairly subjective states of being, and their causes are equally subjective. However, when it comes to work or social life, employment clearly has the greater effect on happiness. Whether a job provides a social life, supports it, or interferes with it, it is tightly bound to happiness. For many people, work is their source of happiness in life. They follow their passions and don’t regard what they do as work. Their co-workers become their friend group, merging social life and work life into one. They often have jobs that make an impact on the world, and offer them contentment and self-fulfillment. These impassioned people see an outside social life as inconsequential, and they willingly and consciously give it up in favor of work they love. A job that regularly interferes with a normal social life creates an unbalanced life and lessens happiness. Hourly workers must often work overtime or on holidays, interfering with planned activities. Salaried workers frequently bring their work home with them, or they worry about their work responsibilities while at home. Others have to report to work at a moment’s notice any time of day or night. Some jobs require employees to work away from home for months or even years at a time. Conversely, an active social life rarely imposes on happiness gained from work. Positively or negatively, work has the greater influence on happiness. Passion-filled people draw happiness from their work. People whose jobs fund diverse life experiences receive happiness indirectly from their work. Those whose work encroaches on their personal lives also have their happiness impacted, albeit negatively. Work clearly has a more powerful connection to personal happiness than a social life does.

Definition Of Industry And Porter Economics Essay

Definition Of Industry And Porter Economics Essay This chapter presents a basic explanation of how the pharmaceutical industry will be defined and which models will be used to analyse it. 2.1 Definition of Industry The most important definition of industry was given by Michael Porter in 1979: a group of competitors producing substitutes that are close enough that the behavior of any firm affects each of the others either directly or indirectly.  [1]  Later, Porter defined the term more precisely as a group of companies offering products or services that are close substitutes for each other, that is, products or services that satisfy the same basic customers needs.  [2]  This new definition emphasizes the importance of industry borders and industrys role as a market supplier or producer of goods and services, as distinguished from a market, defined as a consumer of goods and services. Furthermore, inside every industry there are groups of companies that follow similar strategies, defined by Michael S. Hunt in his unpublished 1972 Ph.D. dissertation as strategic groups.  [3]  Between these groups there are differences in entry barriers, bargaining power with buyers and suppliers and skills and resources  [4]  . Strategic groups compete against each other within the industry as a result of these differences. 2.2 Models to Analyze the Industry and Its Environment The literature agrees that comprehension of the industry structure is essential to developing a firms strategy and has a greater effect on the firms performance than whether it is business-specific or corporate-parent.  [5]  The comprehension of the structure requires analyses of the industrys life cycle. It also requires step-by-step political, legal, technological, social and economic analyses as well as the five driving forces of business, provided by Michael Porter. By utilizing these analysis techniques, it is also possible to anticipate changes in industry competition and profitability over time. 2.2.1 Industry Life Cycle Analysis During its development an industry passes through different phases, each characterized by a different environment that obliges competition to assume different forms. Through studying the life cycle, the industry realizes its stake in the market and its influence on consumers. The industry life cycle model includes four different phases: introduction, growth, maturity and decline.  [6]   The introductory phase is characterized by low demand, resulting in higher prices as a consequence of the firms inability to realize economies of scale. This situation gives rise to low profit margins and losses are expected due to substantial investments in new categories. Market penetration may be obstructed by a lack of technologies and competencies. Strategy is focused mainly on RD and production, with the goal of enhancing novelty and quality. Competitors, attracted by the rising demand, attempt to replicate the new product.  [7]   In the second phase, growth, the use of the product is extended, demand grows, prices decline due to economies of scale, barriers to entry are lower and the threat of new entry is high. At this phase the technology is usually not exclusive property of one or more firms, and the primary reaction to competition is marketing expenditure and initiatives; profits are not very high because prices decline as competitors enter the market. There is a transition period, or shakeout, between the second and the third phases. The shakeout involves finding and using all investment opportunities, because the market is near saturation and demand grows more slowly.  [8]   In the third phase, maturity, market growth is low or nonexistent, and the focus shifts to gaining market share; demand is represented only by the substitution of products, investment in RD decreases and there is little innovation. In this phase firms seek cost reductions, and competition is based primarily on advertising and quality because of the low differentiation between products. Big firms acquire smaller players, while others are forced to exit. As a conseguence of high barrier to entry, the threat of new entrants are low.  [9]   The last phase is decline, so called because of the continued decline in demand. Industries arrive at this stage for a variety of reasons. These include a change in social behaviors, demographic changes, international competition, technological innovations and increased customer knowledge. The buying process is based primarily on price rather than innovation. As a result, profit and revenues decline, and the industry as a whole may be supplanted.  [10]   2.2.2 PEST Analysis The term PEST is an acronym of several factors Political, Economic, Social and Technological that influence business activities at any given moment. Due to the fact that each aspect may have an independent impact on the industry, it is essential that each be individually identified and analyzed through the PEST Analysis.  [11]   The political aspect of analysis encompasses various factors that influence business activities in a given country at several levels: national, subnational and supranational levels.  [12]  These include trade policies control imports, exports and international business partners, government ownership of industry, attitude toward monopolies and competition and trade policies. Hence, failure to consider these policies may result in loss of revenue due to taxes or penalty fees. Government stability is also very important, because it eradicates the risks associated with wars and conflicts. For an industry to thrive, political stability must be uncompromised; otherwise, sales and business activities will be uncertain, and investors will lose interest. The internal political issues in any country influence the running of industries. Politics based on race or religion may define the course for certain industries, especially if an industry falls short of political expectations. Elections and changes in leadership also influence an industrys strengths and opportunities and thus should be considered during the analysis. In addition to internal issues, international pressures and influences may affect some industries, such as environmental degradation or product safety. Another factor is terrorism. Though uncommon in many countries, poor or unstable governance may attract terrorist activities, vengeful or otherwise, which can have adverse effects on the industries operating in that country. All these issues may stunt industrial growth and discourage stakeholders from making significant investments.  [13]   The economic aspect of analysis includes many factors. The first factor to consider is the current economic situation and trends in the country in which the industry is based. Companies should note inflation and economic decline so that when it comes to investing, they can avoid being financially affected. Failure to do this results in an economically blind platform that may cause the industrys sudden collapse. Another factor to consider in analysis is taxation rates. When there are high taxation rates in a given country, price-based competition may affect a given industry in the international market. International economic trends are also very important, because they define currency exchange rates, imports and exports. Other factors to consider are consumer expenditure and disposable income and, finally, legal issues, including all trade legislation in a given country and other legal regulations that inhibit or encourage expansion of business activities. Also to be considered are co nsumer protection laws, employment laws, environmental protection laws and quality standardization regulations. Law regulating industrial competition, market policies and guidelines also have a significant impact on the stability of industry and future expansion opportunity.  [14]   When considering the social aspect, factors including demographic changes, shifts in values and culture and changes in lifestyle are important to note so as to strategize on expansion and growth  [15]  . Certain factors, such as media and communities, influence an industrys growth and returns. Brand name and corporate image are also very important in influencing growth and returns since they shape customer loyalty and shareholder investment. The medias views on certain industrial products should be incorporated into the analysis, as should consumer attitudes and sensibility to green issues, that is, issues that affect the environment, energy consumption and waste and its disposal. A companys information systems and internal and external communications should also be analyzed to ensure that it keeps pace with its competitors. Other factors are the policies regulating education, health and distribution of income, all of which, in the long run, influence consumer use of products   [16]  . The technological aspect of analysis encompasses a variety of factors. In addition to developing technologies, all associated technologies, along with their innovation potentials, speed of change and adoption of new technology, should be analyzed for a proper evaluation of the industry. Other technological factors are transportation, waste management and online business. The level of expenditure on RD should also be considered in order to secure the industrys competitive position to prevent losses and collapse  [17]  . 2.2.3 Porters Five Competitive Forces Analysis Porters model, as described by Kay, is an evolution of the Structure-Conduct-Performance paradigm conceived by Edward Mason at Harvard University in the 1930s and detailed by Scherer in the 1980s.  [18]  ,  [19]  The model aims to determine the intensity of industry competition, major issues in determining strategy and whether an industry is attractive or not.  [20]  Porter identified five competitive forces that act on an industry and its environment: threat of entry, intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers and bargaining power of suppliers.  [21]   The first competitive force, threat of entry, refers to the threat of new entrants in an established industry or acquisition to gain market share. Reactions of participants and barriers to entry are the main factors used to establish whether the threat is high or low. Six major entry barriers have been identified: capital required to compete in the industry (especially in risky industry, such as advertising or RD) switching costs access to distribution channels economies of scale cost disadvantages independent of scale, such as patents, access to know-how, access to limited resources, favorable locations, government subsidies or policies and learning or experience curves product differentiation expected retaliation from existing firms against the new entrants Strong barriers to the entry of new firms enable a few firms to dominate the market and thereby influence prices. The second force is intensity of rivalry among existing competitors. Rivalry takes place when one or more firms inside an industry try to improve their position using tactics such as price competition, new product introduction or new services. Rivalry depends on several factors: number and size of competitors, industry growth, product characteristics (which determine whether the rivalry is based on price or differentiation), cost structure, exit barriers, diverse competitors, operative capacity and high strategic stakes. If an industry is inhibited, then firms will experience difficulties when trying to expand. The growth of foreign competition and the corporate stakes should also be included in the analysis. Threat of substitutes is the third forces. Substitutes are those products manufactured by other industries but serving the same purposes as the initial product. These substitute products cause the demand to decline. The implications are reduced profits and reduced market command by the original capital investor. This is of particular importance when the buyer has no switching costs and can easily compare products in terms of price and efficiency. Bargaining power of buyers is the fourth force. High bargaining power positions weak firms inside the industry, forcing price down, enhancing competition between industry players and resulting in bargaining for higher quality or services. This power is particularly high under certain conditions, such as few and specific buyers, undifferentiated products, low switching costs, the possibility of backward integration and information about demand and the availability of market price to the buyers. Furthermore, bargaining power is high if product quality is not a crucial factor of decision-making and if what the buyer is acquiring is a modest fraction of his total costs. Bargaining power is even higher when the buyer is a retailer or a wholesaler able to influence the consumers purchasing decision. The fifth and last force is the bargaining power of suppliers. This can act on the industry in several ways: raising prices, lowering quality or privileging some buyers. Supplier power can be divided into several elements. One of these elements is supplier concentration. Suppliers are in a stronger position when there are few suppliers, switching costs are high, the industry they are serving account for a small fraction of their business or their products are an important part of the buyers business. The bargaining power of suppliers is low or nonexistent when there are substitute products. Lastly, purchase volume and the suppliers influence on cost are very important.

Essays --

Inequality can be traced as far back as possible. It can also be described as disparity. This disparity can be in terms of income, wealth, class etc. Economic inequality can be described as the disparity between income of individuals or household within and outside a country. When â€Å"income inequality† is mentioned, most people think about it in a within the country context, but in a world that is becoming more integrated, economic inequality between countries is becoming more relevant. In a world where other people’s income and wealth affect our perception of life, one might ask the question, â€Å"is economic inequality the biggest issue of our time†. The history of economic inequalities between countries can be traced back to the 18th century and has taken different forms since then, especially, in the 19th century till date. Firstly, the Lorenzo curve. This is a model use for measuring inequality. It was developed by Max Lorenz in 1905. The Lorenz curve is usually in a form of graph on which the cumulative proportion of income is plotted against the cumulative proportion of population on the in which their axes ranges from [zero (0) to one (1)] or [0% to 100%]. The Gini index, another method of measuring inequality is derived from the Lorenz curve. The Lorenz curve is shown in the graphical illustration (figure 1) below. The first calculation of inequality across world citizens were done in the early 1980s (Berry, Bourguignon and Morrisson, 1983; Grosh and Nafziger, 1986). This is because in order to calculate global inequality, one needs to have data on (within country) national income distributions for most of the countries i n the world, or at least for most of the populous and rich countries. But it is only from the early to mid-... ...5) is shown below. Above are the steps (faster growth of smaller countries, global redistribution and 21st century trilema) that makes up part of future possibilities of global economic inequality. If A and B, then no C. Migration is the outcome of current unequal globalization. If B and C, then no A. Unequal globe can exist if people do not know much about each other’s living conditions or costs of transport are too high. (Milanovic, 2011, p. 56) If A and C, then no B. Under globalization, people will not move if income differentials are small Described above, is the economic inequality between countries. Points explained under this topic include the history, current information, trends and its future directions and with these points explained above, one might still ask, â€Å"is economic inequality the biggest issue of our time?† and if so, how can we solved this?. â€Æ'

Essay --

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer was born in the midst of New York City to a wealthy family in 1904. He had German decent on his mother's side whose family had lived in the United States for a few generations, while his father, Julius Oppenheimer, had only recently come from Germany. His father was a farmer and a grain merchant in Germany. When he arrived at New York, He started working at Rothfeldt-Stern Company,a textile import business that was run by two of his uncles. The company changed their business to tailored suits, Julius quickly worked his way up the ranks. When Julius and Ella, Robert's mother, got married in 1903, they lived in an elegant apartment in the Upper West Side of New York City. Julius Oppenheimer was a man of art. He met Ella at a New York Exhibition for European artists. The works of famous artists livened their apartment. Oppenheimer showed signs of brilliance very early on in his life. His interests as a child were minerals, reading, writing poetry, and building with blocks. His interest in minerals was sparked when his grandfather gave him a pack of labeled rocks on the family's trips to Germany. When he became eleven he wrote a paper to the New York Mineralogy Society. When he showed for the lecture, the other members were surprised to find a boy of eleven while the next youngest member was in his seventies. While his parents were delighted by his brilliance, his mother found his antisocial traits to be worrisome and encouraged him to interact with other boys his age but his personality did not allow him to be a social person throughout his early years. In 1912, Oppenheimer gained a brother by the name of Frank. His brother being eight years younger than Oppenheimer, he was not as gifted as his brot... ...oard and after a long trial had his Security Clearance revoked. Despite the public out roar, he moved on to Princeton, and took over as the Director of Advanced Study from Albert Einstein. After he resigned he went on to live a quiet life on Long Island spending time sailing and horseback riding with his wife and children. He was awarded an Enrico Fermi award in 1963. He died in 1967, of throat cancer, leaving a great impact of the world. Overall, Oppenheimer was one of the world greatest influences and scientists in the world. His studies and research into nuclear science helped develop modern power usage of radioactive elements and he also helped end the Second World War. While many scientists expressed their regret in participation in the Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer did not regret his participation because he saw the good and bad in both sides.

Apollo 13 Essay

For those not old enough to have lived through it, a story of shooting for a landing on the moon, suffering an explosion on the spacecraft on the way to the moon, not landing on the moon, and then narrowly making it home to Earth is the story of Apollo 13. When facing issues, conflicts, and the attainment of goals, having the resources of a fully functional manager and team are irreplaceable. A manager that has clear goals and strategies in place is more likely to succeed even when faced with the greatest types of adversity. Every employee of NASA should know about the tragic event of Apollo 13. The background of the team began with the completion between the U. S. and Russia and their space exploration programs. What started out as a routine trip to the moon and back soon became one of the biggest crises NASA had ever experienced. From understanding the plight of the spacecraft, to knowing what needed to be done, to creating a CO2 converter out of materials only available on the spacecraft, the flight is a clear lesson on how to manage a team in a crisis. In many projects, it always comes back to a stressful situation, where quick decisions must be made which have a major impact on the achievement of the task at hand. Many managers often ask for advice on how to handle such situations in order to be a good leader and achieve maximum results. In order to be an effective manager and to be able to influence other and exercise high degrees of control, some rules should be followed. I will give a few examples of how Gene Kranz managed to promote teamwork and to achieve the best possible solutions despite unprecedented problems, lack or resources and time pressure. One must remain optimistic and believe in themselves and the team to achieve a set goal. Without personal convictions managers will not be able to motivate the team to developed new solutions, continue to working and foster collaboration. Gene demonstrated principled management and a leadership in demanding the best from his team while respecting their efforts no matter the outcome. One great thing about Gene’s management was that is set a standard of excellence. With statements like â€Å"I don’t care about what anything was meant to do, I care about what it can do. This set in motion self-management by various supporting teams. This shows us important lessons that we can apply to other environments. Make sure to clearly identify roles and responsibilities of each and every team member. Communication is also a key in managing a team effectively. In the movie one of the team members unplugs his TV and takes his phone off the hook which cost everyone value time and inpu t in solving this crisis. Managers should make sure they can get in touch with employees. Create a policy if you must. An over authoritarian style of management with a top down principal is sometimes inappropriate. Managers often give instructions, tasks and fiat without asking the employee for their opinion. In contrast managers with a cooperative democratic style of management involve employees in decision making. Decisions are taken after detailed discussion in working groups. Information should be forwarded to a great extent through all communication channels. Gene Kranz was drawing at the board and listened to his team and their suggestions. And they all discussed the suggestions together. Without this democratic management style of Gene Kranz, the team would not have been as successful. Another issue is to work the problem correctly. Defining the problem is the hardest part of problem solving. As a manager it is important to define and communicate the problems which must be solved. Otherwise, no team will be able to find suitable solutions. Gene Kranz identified all the problems and formed special teams to address them. He made it clear to the teams which objects could be used. Only the objects that were available to the astronauts could be used. He wasted no time in complaining about what objects were not available or missing to solve the problem. He was action oriented and emphasized problem solving. It is also important to be a visible manager or leader. A good manager shoulders responsibility and conveys to all team members that they will work through the problem. Another trait of an effective manager is respect for others. Too often in today’s corporate environment, we don’t respect the judgment of those actually doing the work. Moreover, a crisis is not a time for accusations. The primary objective should be to handle the situation together and make the best of it. Gene Kranz did not ask at any time after the explosion, how such an explosion could have happened. Neither the astronauts nor Mission Control would have benefitted from the discussion of guilt, creative problem solving was much more important. In spite of all the negative talk, Gene told them failure was not an option, and they did not fail. Building trust must be combined with effective communication. Its benefit was evident in the film through the obstacles the team overcame. As a team grows together through strong management, their level of trust to achieve a collective goal, individuality becomes less important and the team’s objective is placed in the forefront. Action orientation becomes second nature, and feedback is open and honest. Combined, these improve the overall success and functionality of the manager, employee relationship. Finally, nobody wants to experience crisis such as the one in Apollo 13, however there will always be unpredictable problems and managers will have to challenge the situations. An effective manager should place themselves in Gene Kranz’s place for internalizing his way of leading a team. In addition, difficult situations that happen in the past should be analyzed for developing suggestions for managers to learn how to act in prospective situations. Every crisis is unique and demands an individual solution but for learning how to find the best solution, act right as a manager and motivate your team. Being successful and solving problems in a creative way is just but one aspect of being an effective manager and leader for your team.

Stance Essay

This sponsorship can advantage a huge number of student TTS, many argue that corporate influences are not vital in the school environment. The potent al increment in the achievement rate of students because of corporate sponsorship exceeds t he conceivable negative parts of the sponsorship. Corporate sponsorships are beneficial to schools who are financially struggling g. Students that are not given these opportunities are less inclined to perform w ell in school because of the aptitudes they may need in.Notwithstanding that, students the at have a significant appreciation for particular sports would feel less inspired by going to class in light of the school's powerlessness to have sports. On the off chance that a partner ship is sufficiently liberal to give a lot of cash to a school to start up any sort of sports teams, they would profit extraordinarily. Not just in light of the fact that they would be sat Yin active, but because colleges will see that they did extracurricular acti vities during their SC hollow career and it will look like the student is taking initiative and showing commitment.More over, a constrained measure of sports or academic clubs can keep a student from EAI rang a scholarship, in this way, also keeping them from going to school. Case in point , Target had donated over 50,000 dollars to grants for children to go to Camp Cayman. C amp Cayman is an open air school that spotlights on sports. The grants honored to these students provided for them the chance to take part in the programs given at t he school that they overall couldn't afford. One protest to corporate sponsorships in schools relates to the likelihood of active impacts on the students by the companies.Such a contention is imperative w hen managing Bourne 2 naive high scholars. Obviously, it is vital that the partnerships be picked built not just with respect to the measure of cash they can offer, yet the message they are sends Eng to students. Case in point, if a student is giv en the choice to have a Macomb contrasted WI the a Dell machine, they would pick the one more suited to their needs. Simply on the g rounds that their school hit an arrangement with Apple, does not so much mean they will pick t e Macomb on the grounds that it was made by Apple.Truth be told, it can open up the stud net's eyes to little partnerships that bailed them out in their school and it brings issues to light f or them. This mindfulness won't guarantee that students will exclusively depend on one org animation, yet grow their viewpoints and discover different organizations. Corporate sponsorships have the capacity to help schools who can't bear to gig eve their students the best that they deserve. Both sponsor and the supported profit FRR mom corporate phonographs.

Replacement of kiln shell

Everything must be properly placed so that the next step, shell removal, goes aimlessly. Once the kiln shells lengths, weights, cribbing and crane requirements are determined, the shell layout can begin. The ultimate goal is to cut the shell, at the proper location, perpendicular to the centerline of the kiln. Ã'Å¡ Best ways to do this is to 1) Perform a series of stop cuts in the kiln as it is rotating, 2) Paying special attention to keep the thrust tree against the thrust roller and also against the same set of tree retainers.Once the cuts determining the overall length are complete, 3) A relief cut must be laid out. This is usually 10-inn wide section on one end ND, once removed, will provide some extra room for removing the shell. Finally, the kiln must be parked and the drive locked out, the support cribbing raised into position, the relief section cut out by hand and the kiln pushed apart by 1-1. In to allow extra room to get the new shell back in. Harmon Shah 2) Shell removal With stop cuts in, the cribbing up and the relief section removed, it is time to rig the shell pieces for removal.Typically, a spreader beam is used to provide more leeway and control while removing a section. Under the spreader beam, braided cables can be shackled together through the clearance holes that eve been cut in the kiln and reinforced. It is critical that the shell thickness is analyzed to make sure that the cables and reinforcing will not tear the shell. The shell is then cut free Of the rest Of the kiln with the use Of torches. This process will be repeated until all of the shell sections have been removed. The final step is to grind the exposed ends of the shell.Since the new joints were cut with a torch, the cutting slay and imperfections need to be ground smooth to provide a good surface to weld to. 3) Installation and alignment The installation of the new kiln shell typically occurs in the opposite order of he removal. The shell sections are hoisted ensuring that th ey are hanging perfectly on the kiln slope -? once in location this will provide an even joint to fit. Consideration should also be given to installing the longitudinal seams in adjacent shell sections opposite each other.The kiln shell is held in place by temporary joint hardware and cribbing as required. The joint hardware typically consists of angles and radial adjustment blocks, welded to the shell and threaded through rods and nuts that fit through the angles to adjust and support the shell. Radial shell mismatch is extremely important when fitting he shell using the radial adjustment blocks that were installed in the shell. When new shell fits to new shell, the inside diameter is typically the same, thus there should be less than a 1/inn mismatch. However, it is not uncommon that the inside of the old shell is corroded.When this is the case, it is important to ensure the mismatch is very even around the joint and does not vary by more than 1/inn, even if the total mismatch is 1/in. With the joints aligned, the through rods are used to pull the shell sections together. Tie bars should be installed to lock in the joint alignment attained with the mint hardware and to take up the torsion's forces exerted on the joint during rotation. At this point all equipment and material is removed from the inside of the kiln. Run-out stands, fixed location roughly inn uphill and downhill of each joint are set up.The kiln is rotated and a set of stations, 1-12, laid out on the shell. At each of these stations two readings are taken, one at the uphill run-out stand and one at the downhill. The resulting numbers are then taken and laid out on a polar graph. When looking at the magnitude of the run-out on a polar graph, opposite readings will show any corresponding moves. Several of these indications in the same quadrant will warrant a corrective adjustment of the joint. With run-out readings showing no corrective adjustment, the shell and joints are ready for the next step , welding. ) Weld Eng The shell is typically welded on the outside first. The shell joints are ground so that the mill scale is removed several inches uphill and downhill of the actual joints bevel. A root pass in the base of the bevels is welded in by hand with the welder taking care to properly preheat the shell. The remaining outside bevel is welded using the submerged arc welding (SAW) process. SAW is the preferred welding method for the majority of the bevel because of its consistent, superior quality of weld and its very high deposition rate.

The role of technology in global crime Research Proposal

The role of technology in global crime - Research Proposal Example Just like when youve bought the latest model of cell phone, before you know it, its obsolete. Okay, that was quite an exaggeration, but you get the point. Alongside its being fast-paced is price cutting, which is probably the reason why technology became so conventional, of course next to its main purpose—that is, to make mans life easier. However, though men are said to be good in nature, we always had the weakness for wealth, luxury, power, etc. Also, another sad fact that we have to put up with is that, technology cant choose its user, good or bad; it would facilitate his or her life all the same. Looking on both edges of the sword, "in the right hands, technology has the power to transform our lives in ways that only a generation ago we could never have imagined, but, in the wrong hands, technology can lead to identity theft, online auction fraud, child abduction, and many other crimes" (NCPC 2008). Yes, in a worse case scenario, technology could bring about such felony. The question is whats the role of technology in global crime? Does it resolve crime or only make it worse? Well, according to the Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), technology played an increasing role in the serious crimes they handled, that groups of criminals worldwide are collaborating over the web (Heath 2008). In line with SOCAs view, last August 11, 2008, Brad Stone of The New York Times reported on "Global Trail of an Online Crime Ring" that Albert Gonzalez, 27, and his two Miami-based accomplices, Christopher Scott, 25, and Damon Patrick Toey, 23, were storing millions of stolen credit and debit card numbers on servers in Latvia and Ukraine, which they got from a server-breach of a Dallas-based restaurant chain together with other members of a ring that extended from Ukraine to Estonia, and imprinting some of those numbers on blank A.T.M. cards supplied by collaborators in China for use in cash machines. Furthermore, this