Economy or goberment related Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economy or goberment related - Personal Statement Example One can clearly see how Economics has overtaken all other fields. Wolfers (2015) gives an explanation of the development in question by arguing that the Great Depression was the major reason why Economics took over. The government needed to devise a way that would relieve the country from the economic strains that it had gone through. The economist came in handy. Major focus and importance was given to Economics as it gave answers to the existing problems as opposed to Psychology or even Anthropology (Wolfers, 2015). In the work, the author also explains that Economists are also consulted in numerous fields today, including fields that touch on social issues (Wolfers, 2015). This explains why Economics has become a major for many students, as the field is extremely marketable in the job market. The popularity of the field is also expected to increase with the years. From Wolfers’ (2015) work, I agree that the field of economics has taken over the field of Social Sciences. In the present society, it is evident that a huge percentage of articles, even in the archives, mention concepts related to economists. The number of articles on Psychology, Sociology and other arts are reducing by the day. This explains the extent in which the world is shifting towards an economic turn. Wolfers (2015) also explains that the rise of economy began in the 1980s to date. This can be linked to the Great Depression that caused massive impacts on the economy of the country. After the catastrophe, the government opted to come up with stringent measures that would prevent such an occurrence (Wolfers, 2015). This explains the great interest in economics. I agree with the author’s sentiments as the government was obligated to come up with measures that would see to a stable economy. The historians that had taken up a huge share of the market had no place, and were slowly overtaken (Wolfers, 2015). I believe the economists were justified. No government

Rethinking Video Game Violence Essay Example for Free

Rethinking Video Game Violence Essay Technological advancements made in the twenty first century have continuously altered the lives of every individual in this planet. Digital technologies have made communication among individuals very easy with the click of a button. In addition to this, technological advancements have also affected how people entertain themselves. Children all over the world are already abandoning their traditional toys. Action figures, matchboxes, building sets and puzzles are now losing its popularity because of the invasion of video games. The technological advancements have introduced the Play Station, Xbox, Game Cube, etc. to millions and millions of children all over the world (Mayor, 2005). True enough; the development of video and online games has continuously invaded the households of citizens all over the world, targeting their most important clients, the children. For some reason, video games only cater to the young adolescents and children; only in rare cases do they tend to be successful in influencing the adults. This is due to the fact that these games were designed using the role-playing method, which only entice the younger population as they are the ones who could not distinguish which is real and which remains to be in the fantasy realm of their minds. When adults observe children playing video games, the former fails to see what the latter sees (Mackey, n. d. ). In one way or another, these video games contribute to the construction of the children’s identity and culture, thus greatly affecting the lives of the children. With the popularity of video games increasing, the traditional ways by which childhood is characterized have continuously eroded and undermined. Somehow, no one knows where and what childhood really is about (In Search of the Child, 1969). Together with these advancements in technology come social problems associated with children and the youth such as drug-trafficking, teenage crime and the involvement of children in crime. The development of these video games has continuously instilled fear upon educators and parents as they continuously affect the children’s lives. Critics of video games fear transmission of violent messages to the children as they engage in playing with these video games (Squire, 2002). It was in 1980 when these video games were developed when President Reagan called for the creation of cold war warriors, knowing that these games would instill skills and attitudes to the warriors. However, more critics become more and more afraid of the effects of these games to cultural activities. They would often think that these would become influence children negatively as these would cause the young children addiction in technological developments (Squire, 2002). In April of 2002, a U. S. District Judge named Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. made a claim which somehow contrasted this particular fact. According to this very famous personality, video games are not capable in conveying ideas or expressing anything else that could possibly amount to speech (Jenkins, n. d. ). Because of this, video games did not enjoy constitutional protection since then. Limbaugh also said that for as long as games do not express ideas, no game shall be protected even if laws clearly state that children and the youth should not have access to any form of media that is said to explicitly contain violence and sexual messages (Jenkins, n. d. ). According to different research and studies made regarding this topic, the kids who have are now part of the videogame generation does not respond to traditional instructions. Because of this, researchers and educators worry that video games transmit hyper competitive and distorted sexual values to the children. Government policies have been constructed in such away that violent messages could not reach the children. Government policies introduced censorship practices which aim to keep the different homes safe from violence and distorted sexual messages. There had been several devices developed that could help in filtering out violent messages from reaching the homes of the children (In Search of the Child, 1969). In addition, video games are said to turn the children’s attention away from their academics (Squire, 2002). This particular ruling met a lot of criticisms, arguing that video games do express ideas that could definitely influence the minds of the youth negatively. Video games are seen to have psychological and social effects (Jenkins, n. d. ). According to some critics, gamers produce meanings through game play and other related activities. Effects are often seen as they emerge in the game itself. Thus, meanings become visible through interpretations as it continuously reflect our conscious engagement. Through this, they would be put into words and finally, examined. New meanings would often arise from what we already know and think. Because of this, each and every player would interpret a game according to his or her own experience and knowledge (Jenkins, n. d. ). In the same manner, it is often argued that children could not distinguish fantasy from reality. Due to this, focusing on meaning would increase the knowledge and competence each player has, that would often start with the mastery of particular concepts that differentiate the fantasy from the real world (Jenkins, n. d. ). This paper would look into the effects of video games on the children and the role they play in the lives of the children. In the same manner, it would look into how violence is instilled in the minds of these children through these video games. In addition to this, this paper shall look into how these games construct meanings and identities for the young children. For this paper to accomplish these tasks, it shall be using the game RuneScape, developed by Jagex Ltd. , one of the most popular online games in the whole world. RuneScape Released and Operated by Jagex Ltd. in 2001, RuneScape, once again is one of the most popular games in the world. It is said to take place in the fantasy world of Gielinor which is divided into different kingdoms, regions and areas. Players travel throughout the world by foot, often using spells and devices and other means of transportation. As they travel to each region, players face different monsters and quests. In the same way, more and more materials are being made available to them (RuneScape, 2007). Players are portrayed in the screen as avatars that could easily be customized. The players of this game could set their own goals and objectives together with the activities they would want to pursue in order to reach their goal. Competitors engaged in the game are not encouraged to pursue a linear path. They fight with other players, monsters, complete quests and increase their experience in all the skills available. Interaction between players is also encouraged through chatting, trading, etc (RuneScape, 2007). Video Games and their Impact to Children’s Lives A very famous retired military psychologist, Grossman said that video games teach kids to kill in the same way the military trains their soldiers. This very famous retired military man turned psychologist identified the following military concepts included in video games. The following are: brutalization, classical conditioning, operant conditioning and role modeling. These concepts are said to be adopted by the training camps as they prepare their soldiers for the battlefield (Jenkins, n. d. ). These methods have similarities in the way players interact with the computer games and other players. Because of this, the over exposure of children to these kinds of violence at the age when they are still having a hard time in distinguishing fantasy from reality brutalize them. Because of the rewards associated with the different video games, the children are trained to kill in exchange for these prizes. In addition to this, Grossman claims that a child acquires the same conditioned reflex and motor skills the soldiers have every time he plays an interactive point-and-shoot video game (Jenkins, n. d. ). Lastly, soldiers tend to imitate the role models being made visible in the games. Thus, the possibility of acquiring the same skills in real life is high. For humanist researchers on the other hand, these games are very powerful tools for teaching. It could help players in problem solving as they can see their mistakes as opportunities for learning and reflection (Jenkins, n. d. ). Thus, they would be finding better solutions to their problems. The different video games encourage the players to form their own hypotheses, and in the same manner, test them. In the obstacles that they face in the game world, their abilities are pushed to the highest level, since these games are designed in such a way that players would be encouraged to meet their goals (Jenkins, n. d. ). Thus, video games increase aggression among its players which then affects crime rates all over the world. Because of this, even unrealistic video games could be dangerous for the children and young adolescents. According to an experimental study that dealt with college students that engage in video games, these students have increased aggression after exposure to fantasy violent video games. This then proves the alarming situation at hand, that young adults are even affected by the violent messages transmitted by video games even when they are already supposed to know how to differentiate between fantasy and reality (Anderson, 2003). Because of this, these video games are said to be more dangerous than violent television shows and cinemas. In the same way, newly developed video games are now designed to reward the players for killing innocent bystanders, police, prostitutes, etc. using different means and weapons (Anderson, 2003). Hence, the plots of video games are now worse than ever, becoming more and more violent. In addition to this, there are even games that make some criminals as the heroes of the particular video game. For the author of the book What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy, the most powerful dimension of these games is the projective identity. Projective identity is the way role-playing allows us to experience the world from different perspectives. Identity then is chosen, accepted or constructed rather than imposed through the games that they engage in. How Video Games Define What it means to be A Child Young children, as mentioned often find it hard to distinguish fantasy from reality. Thus, most children are engaged in games that often involve role-playing. As defined, role-playing games are composed of sessions where group of gamers meet to play. Make believe rules are often formulated which may be simple or sophisticated. As adults already know the difference between reality and fantasy, they find it hard to grasp the concept associated with role playing games (Fei, n. d. ). These role-playing games have said to continuously influence the personality of the children and other young adults. These particular influences, in turn help in shaping the identities of these teens, especially those that are still in the so-called development phase (Fei, n. d. ). How Children Use Video Games to Construct their Realities and Identities As mentioned in the previous parts of this paper, children engage in role playing activities when they play with video games. Thus, this somehow helps them in constructing their realities and identities, how they perceive themselves. This perhaps is the reason why research published in 2000 supports the fact that playing violent video games increases one’s aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior. Apparently, without the children’s proper discernment of what is right and wrong would lead them to the adoption of these concepts that are supposed to exist only in the fantasy world in real life. In the study conducted by Craig Anderson and Karen Dill, it showed that their college student respondents have been influenced by the violent games they have played or are currently playing. It is quite obvious that the aggressiveness they have acquired through playing these violent video games caused their delinquent behaviors in the past (Anderson, 2003). In the same manner, video games have been a very popular avenue in which certain children construct their gender realities. In one way or another, video games have played a very important role in enhancing the gender differences between the girls and the boys. Based on observation and research, the characters, stories and worlds created by girls are truly different from that of the boys. Obviously, boys are more violent than the girls, making violence the most popular feature of the video games for boys. On the other hand, the girls just do not find the themes of these video games appealing – hunting, battling with monsters, etc. Because of this, video games tend to be more popular among the male kids than the female ones. In addition, this then leads to the social construct embedded upon the young minds of these children. At a very young age, the differences between the roles of the males and the females are quite clear to them (Kafai, 2001).

American Marketing Association

American Marketing Association Task one Compare the definitions of Marketing given by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the American Marketing Association and one other definition of your choice. American Marketing Association (AMA) define marketing as â€Å"the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. According to American marketing Association (AMA) marketing is a key factor of a business. AMA raise standard in marketing as, they want well to hire the right talent in this field of business. Hire people who knows or kin to learn marketing industry trends. AMA wants to put togather a top notch marketing team. So, they can get business and fulfill customers needs effectivly. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) define marketing as The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. CIM shows that marketing is a managerial process it is a key fact to bring profit to the business. Identify the customer correctly, encourage them and satisfy coustomer, as a result profit will follow automatically. According to Marks Spencer (MS) Marketing is â€Å"understanding the competitive marketplace we operate in, as well as working closely with suppliers and product teams. All with the aim of providing customers with fantastic choices and great value.† To introduce the MS brand and communicate with the customer and to understand the demands marketing plays an important role in the business. Task two Using Primark as an example, describe how market-oriented they are in terms of their Mission Statement/Main Objectives, Customer Communications and other relevant characteristics. A market economy is an economy based on labour in which the prices of products and services are determined in a free price system and set by supply and demand. June 1969, the first Penneys store opened in Mary Street, Dublin. Within a year, four more stores opened in the Greater Dublin area. In 1971, the first large store opened outside the Dublin in Cork and by the end of that year 11 more stores were opened in Ireland and one in Northern Ireland. By 1973, the number of stores reached 18 in Ireland and Primark began trading in Great Britain with four out-of-town stores. In the next year Primark opened the first UK High Street stores in Derby and Bristol. In the next ten years, 18 stores were added in the UK and nine in Ireland, which bring the number of stores in the UK and Ireland to 22 each. The mission statement of Primark is: â€Å"We aim to make our employees, suppliers and local and wider communities part of our success by working with them in every way we can.† According to Primark this means that: employees have equal opportunities based on merit suppliers are treated fairly local communities are respected and supported by Primark the company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously As Primark is an international business with a global supply chain Primark accept that they have a responsibility to trade ethically. This includes that Primark suppliers live up to their values and behave as well towards the employees. Primark have more than 400 suppliers in over 16 countries. They buy in very large volumes and aim to build long-term relationships with suppliers and gain trust. Primark directly contributes to the employment of more than 700,000 workers across the continents. According to Primark: â€Å"Primark is committed to providing the best possible value for our customers, but not at the expense of the people who make our products.† In Primark employment, there is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour. Employers are not required to lodge deposits or their identity papers and can leave any time their employment after reasonable notice. Primark provide an open attitude towards the activities of trade unions and their organisational activities. Employers receive regular and recorded health and safety training, and training repeat for new or rejoined workers. As come to environment there is no child labour in Primark. Primark is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), an alliance of companies, trade unions and voluntary organisations working on partnership to improve the lives of people working in global supply chains. In India Primark works with an NGO called SAVE which help to understand and address the challenges faced by workers in the communities where Primark products are made. In China we are working with ICO, a non-profit organisation, and are extending our work with other stakeholders. To, make the environment healthy and happy Primark progressively replacing plastic carrier bags with the paper bags. Paper bags are fashionable and reusable. Primark gave plenty of about the business and how they work on there website, which is easily assessable by any user. Products different sizes guide is available on the website including different brands availabilities. Users can easily search the store near their place by the help of store locator available on the website. These all availabilities can make user or customer to assess Primark more easily and safely. Task three Explain the various elements of the marketing concept and how they apply to Primark. The marketing concept is the philosophy that businesses/organisation use to analyse the needs of their customers and make decisions to satisfy those needs, rather than the competition. Today most firms use the marketing concept. Elements of Marketing Concepts: The Production Concept: The production concept is an idea that a firm should focus on those products that it could produce most efficiently and that the creation of a supply of low-cost products would in and of itself create the demand for the products. At the time, the production concept worked fairly well because the goods that were produced were largely those of basic necessity and there was a relatively high level of unfulfilled demand. What ever company produce in low cost and in large quantity was sold out profitably. There weren’t enough competitors in the market. Primark offer good quality fashion at low prices. Success of Primark is based on big volumes, low mark-ups, and minimal advertising. They are the lean business which responds quickly in the marketplace, good buying and excellent distribution. The Sales Concept: As, mass production become commonplace, competition increased, and there is little unfulfilled demand. Firms/businesses practice the sales concept (or selling concept), under which companies not only produce the products, but also try to convince customers to buy their products through advertising and personal selling. The sales concept pays little attention to the product actually as if needed; the goal simply is to beat the competition to the sale with little regard to customer satisfaction. The sales concept is more likely depend on the feedback from customer the sale of the product is fall in the promotions. Primark use this strategy as, they produce wide range of in market fashion clothing. The quality of product as compare to price is very less. Primark do every sort of clothing which is in demand and in fashion. To compete the competitors Primark introduce new and fresh design in the market at the low price. The products and fashion they produce can be worn as causal and as on occasions. The Marketing Concept: Marketing concept involves focusing on customer needs before developing the product. Realising profit by successfully satisfying customer needs over the long-term. Firms typically set up separate marketing departments whose objective it to satisfy customer needs. Primark is always kept eye on the customer satisfaction. Their products are good in quality and more demanding because of the low price. The business of Primark always put customer’s needs before producing their products. Primark produce according to the customer’s demands and needs. What people want to wear in daily routine and on occasions, Primark make sure that those needs provide to their customers at low price. Task four Identify and assess the benefits and costs of a Marketing Approach and how you perceive Primark to have addressed this. Relationship marketing is a process of creating, maintaining and enhancing strong relationship with customers and other stakeholders. Relationship marketing is more focused on to building strong long term relationship with customers. Relationship marketing is important to satisfy and establish relationships with customers and other parties so that objectives of both parties can be met. It is more focused on customer retention with highly customer service and commitment. Primark take good care of suppliers in the first place and then aim to develop long-term relationships. Primark have more than 400 first tier suppliers from where they buy directly less than 2% in the UK or Ireland, while remainder of production takes place overseas. Six out of 10 suppliers have been with Primark for a decade or more. The mutual understanding that results from relationships is essential to being able to offer value in the market. Suppliers know what business want in terms of quality, product specification and lead times; and in return they get stability, large volume orders and payment within 30 days. Task five Identify and explain macro and micro environmental factors which have influenced Primark’s marketing strategy. S.W.O.T stands for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats. SWOT is the only analysis which deals with both internal and external factors which may influence on business. SWOT analysis will explain the macro and micro environmental factors which have influenced Primark. Strengths: Primark has over 161 stores located. Out of 161 stores 125 are located in the UK. This gives them good business and well recognised in the market. It has an organised business structure according to customers need. Primark offers job opportunities and employs over 27,000 people and offers high street quality clothes for cheap prices and quality services to attract its customers. It provides clothing for all ages and sexes. The company is part of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) which focuses on worker’s rights, their production of goods and bringing businesses together to work on labour rights issues. Weaknesses: Although Primark is a member of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative), but there are numerous negative reports concerning its business operations in the way they produce their goods. A study was shown that Primark used child labour to produce their goods. Other issues are with poor working conditions and disvaluing workers rights. The company have problems concerning advertising. Primark does not advertise and this gives competitors the advantage over them. Opportunities: With its already expanding ventures such as opening 47 new stores in the UK, Primark has now opened 7 new stores in Spain to battle along its competition like Zara. Expanding business widely now they have an opportunity to share their high quality products and services overseas and provide high quality clothes to fashion in the market. Threats: Primark’s threats are the competition with other companies such as Zara, HM and other local high street retail businesses. Primark is still working to match the needs of the customer in terms of fashion and uniqueness. Company is still struggling in advertising area whilst their competitors do. That is the biggest threat to the business because Marketing is the key factor to establish the business. Task 6 Take two of the Primark’s products (e.g. baby cloths, Ladies ware etc) and suggest segmentation criteria that could be applied in different markets. Marketing segmentation is the subdividing of a market into distinct subsets of customers, where any subset may be selected as a target market to be reached with a distinct marketing mix. Market segmentation is a design to subdivide target market into a manageable form. Segmenting the market help business make better plan of project. Help to identify profitable market. It is important for business to segment the market to make right decision and identify the market needs. Positioning is, â€Å"The act of designing the companys offering and image so that they occupy a meaningful and distinct competitive position in the target customers minds† (Kotler 1997). Positioning is all about what the customer thinks about the product or organisation. Therefore it is about visibility and recognition of what a product represents for a buyer. Primark targets males, females and children within the mass market. Age of company target customers are from early teens to the middle aged (mostly women buying for the family). It has good positions itself in customer’s minds as the cheapest fashion clothing brand in the UK and does not partake in advertising strategies to emphasise this. However, the positioning strategy only works on differentiating Primark as the cheapest clothing retailer, and does not gain a meaningful position in customers minds as being fashion forward. I would suggest that Primark adopts a positioning concept that emphasises how quickly it responds to new fashions and creates imitations off the catwalk (i.e. product features). Instead of positioning Primark primarily as cheap it would serve them better to create an illusion of youth culture and being fresh and foremost with the newest fashions in a bid to remove associations with mass production and mass culture. One way to overcome on it is, if they would establish an online store, giving Primark an online physical presence also. The teenage / young adult generation of today are highly influenced and dependent on the internet for research, what people want to see, what is in the fashion world, social networking and downloading music. However, many of the online clothing stores target women aged 25-45 who may see ordering online as more convenient (i.e. Next, Debenhams, Little woods, Dorothy Perkins). If Primark open an online store it could position itself as a dominant in the minds of teenagers as the most accessible online store, with the freshest fashions. The only competition currently is New Look which is still more expensive about 50% in the case of jeans, accessories and shoes. Task 7 Outline the factors you believe influence the Primark’s choice of targeting strategy. Primarks products include lingerie, nightwear, footwear, clothing, accessories and even home ware. All the products business provides in the market is very essential. So, it is very easy to approach the target market. Stores are large consists of 2-3 floors and split into two categories such as women wear accessories, menswear underwear, footwear children’s wear. I would suggest that Primark use better visual displays in store by having mannequins with outfit ideas on with the clothing hanging beside. Window displays at Primark look fantastic, but go into the store and it is virtually impossible to find the items. If Primark could put together inspirational displays it would suggest customer that Primark believes in its own clothing, and demonstrates how it can be put together to look fashionable. Moreover, Primark has little in terms of expression and communication as it does not advertise. The only place we can see logo is on shopping bags and on the store logo, suggesting it does not show the reputation of a company and shows the ‘cheap place. To express the brand as being fresh and foremost with the newest fashions they could print coming soon images of new items on their shopping bags for the view of high street shoppers. Also, in keeping with the online store idea, Primark could send weekly emails to customers showing the latest looks, catwalk trends or celebrity outfits. They need to put new policies and rule in the business for advertisements. No doubt they are approaching their target market but business is approaching with ‘cheap shop’ reputation. Company need to work on the marketing process it will change the customers thinking. Instead, of cheap shop it will change into good quality of products. Task 8 Explain how buyer behaviour affects the marketing activities of the Primark using two of its products as example. The Market research report shows the performance of the UK children’s wear market, which comprises clothing designed for under-14 year-olds. Market was valued at  £5.29bn in 2008, following a mixed growth performance. The main sectors of the children’s wear market are: girls’ clothing (ages 2 to 14); boys’ clothing (ages 2 to 14); and infants’ clothing (for under-2 year-olds). The positive influences of the children’s wear market have been countered by changes in UK clothing retailing as a whole since the end of the 1990s. Rise of discount retailers such as Primark, with the growing market show their competitors such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, has exerted a downward pressure on prices, particularly for children’s clothing. In 2008 there was a great deal of price competition on school uniform in 2008, and ASDA eventually offering the cheapest school wear, at just  £4. The UK children’s wear market is very retail-driven, with retailer brands accounting for the greatest share of sales. Major businesses include Adams Kids, Mother care, Marks Spencer, Debenhams, ASDA, Tesco and Primark. The economic downturn, and the recession that began in the UK in 2008, make the retailers to focus on prices, however, despite the difficult economic climate, retailers continued to invest in their brands across all price points. As the child population continuing to rise, the outlook for the children’s clothing market is getting more positive. Expectations are that price influences will dampen growth in 2009 and 2010, before the market begins to show better growth between 2011 and 2013. Design elements, ethical developments and brand investment will drive future growth in the industry. Task 9 Describe how Primark develops its products to sustain competitive advantage. The success story of Primark with regards to international business has been one of the more looked upon cases. Business of Primark shows that it is not enough that the products they are selling to the customers are top of the line. They have to make sure that the products they are producing and selling does have demand from the customers. Primark have to guarantee that the products that they are offering will ensure sale. This could only be done by understanding the market and by establishing great relations with their customers through customer relationship management. Hence, the success of Primark is manifested in the ability of the company to balance both the external and the internal operations of the firm. The demands of the people and the stability of the company to provide those demands are the key ingredients to the overall success of Primark. Task 10 Explain how Primark’s distribution is arranged to provide customer convenience. All suppliers and their factories manufacturer for Primark are covered by Code of Conduct. Primark have an increasingly comprehensive programme of auditing to ensure that suppliers act according to the Code. Audits are carried out by Primark regionally based ethical trade managers. Almost two-thirds of their purchasing spend is with top 100 suppliers. Primark audited 162 suppliers and 340 production sites during the year. 70% of these audits were carried out by specialist external auditors and the remaining 30% by local ethical trade team. Primark targets for 2009 are even more ambitious. They are planning to audit and engage in follow up with factories working for the top 250 suppliers. This will cover 87% of our suppliers by expenditure, and involve over 1,000 audits. All audits and commitment of suppliers with Code of Conduct shows that how important customer’s satisfaction is for Primark. Audits are necessary in the business so that the staff get well qualified and have personal skills for the business and market in which they are working to satisfied and convenience the customer. The quality and price is the main two things that make people to shop from Primark. The stores are all over the country that makes people approach them easily. To be friendly and helpful towards customers and staff, the public need to think that we are a friendly company; this will make them want to come to store. Business treat everybody the same. The people with less money will be treated the same as people that have lots of money. Primark make everyone in the store feel individual, and make everyone feel like they are ‘special’. Task 11 How are Primark’s prices set to reflect their objectives and market conditions? Studies had shown that low-cost retailer such as Primark is the store what people wanted. If we compare other retail companies in the UK, the only thing it does not have is probably the budget chain like Primark clothing. Primark is in the Tertiary Sector; the store buys raw materials from a Secondary Business and sells the products, such as clothing and shoes. It is a large, multinational business. It is quite a well-known business and there are several stores throughout the United Kingdom. Most of people have heard of this store, so it is a strong, well-run organisation. Primark earn plenty of profits, so they are able to provide more products for the public. The businesses objectives are to provide good quality products for the public. Business wants the public to realise that they are a good company and just because products are cheap, it doesn’t mean that they are rubbish. This will achieve by having their products made by people that know what they are doing and test them to check that they are good in quality. To sell goods at reasonable prices; business provide wide range of options to customers, in good quality at reasonable prices. As compare at other stores, selling similar products, and making Primark is low in price. Task 12 Illustrate how Primark integrates their promotional activity to achieve their marketing objectives. In the UK, the retail value-clothing market is growing. At the expense of retailers with more established, quality reputable clothing lines, several companies such as Matalan, Tesco, and Asda are pushing their self to offering consumers low-cost, high-fashion. Primark, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods plc, is arguably the fastest grower with 162 stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, and a small presence in Spain. Our low prices are the result of technology, efficient distribution and supply, bulk-buying and the fact that we spend almost nothing on advertising. The company is able to negotiate cheap prices from manufacturers in Asia and Eastern Europe because of the high volume of turnover that it focuses on achieving in its stores. It accepts lower profit margins on its products, all in all ensuring price points that are well below anything that the majority of retailers can offer. Primark stores are often heaving with people, messy, and plagued by long queues, but customers know to expect this. Primark, with the slogan looks good, pay less, targets primarily the fashion conscious, price conscious under-35s segment, both males and females. The success of Primark products assortment strategy lies in the ability to find out what is fashionable, design a budget version, and bring it quickly to stores. It takes approximately just 6 weeks from the initial concept stage for Primark to start selling a specific item in stores. However the Primark is not without its problems. It is currently involved in several issues over accusations that it has copied the designs of rival retailers. A more critical current controversy is a report which accuses Primark of serious human rights abuses and sweatshop labour in its Asian factories. Personally I don’t think that their market position will be much affected. Many of their main rivals have undergone similar scrutiny, and the Primark is strong in their approaching marketing strategy that it is quite capable of resisting the charges of the rumour mill. I think that the majority of consumers can expect and will expect to look good and pay less for a long time yet to come. Task 13 Look at the extended marketing mix (7 ’p’ s) and analyse how Primark uses these or otherwise. Marketing professionals use many tactics to attract their customers. These activities comprise of different concepts, the most important one being the marketing mix. The 7Ps of the marketing mix can be discussed as: Product: Basically, it involves introducing new products or improvising the existing products. It must provide value or set price of a product to a customer. Price: Price must be competitive and must be profitable. The pricing strategy can comprise discounts and offers. Place: It refers to the place where the customers can buy the product and how the product reaches out to that place. This is done through different channels, like Internet, wholesalers and retailers. Promotion: It includes the various ways of communicating to the customers of what the company is offering. It is about communicating about the benefits of using a particular product. People: People means the customers, employees, management and everybody else involved in it. It is essential for everyone to realise that the brand reputation that they are involved with is in the people’s hands. Process: It refers to the methods and process of providing a service and is essential to have knowledge on whether the services are helpful to the customers, if they are provided in time, if the customers are informed in hand about the services and many such things. Physical (evidence): It refers that the product physically has to be present in the market. A service has to be goes out to the customer, it is essential that you help them see what they are buying. According to marketing mix 7Ps, Primark use right tactics to attract the customers and run profit business. Primark always introduce the products that attract the people and what people want to see or want to buy. It always brings the product which is according to fashion and always provide with the low price. There are 162 stores all over the country and the product is available in all the stores. Prices remain same of the product in every store. Primark promotes their product quite often because there products are so cheap and everyone can afford it. But, in busy time business put promotions on plenty of their products. Primark is one of the leading companies in the retail market. They are running profitable business and well known in reputation of their prices. The people working in the company are well professional who bring profit for the business. The services provided by the Primark staff are acceptable as they deal with customer about their products and satisfied them. The physical presences of their entire product are according to the people need. Last but not least, the business concentrates on their products and make sure that it is available in the stores. Task 14 Describe how Primark develops its products to sustain competitive advantage. Explain how Primark’s distribution is arranged to provide customer convenience. How are Primark’s prices set to reflect their objectives and market conditions? As we discuss and describe earlier in Tasks 9, 10 and 11 about the Primark development, distribution and prices to approach the customer and satisfied their need. Answer will be the same.

How to Solve the Foreclosure Crisis Essay -- Economics

There should be a bifurcated targeting of the housing market. The first and main target of the housing recovery needs to be the cautious restructuring of the government sponsored entities—GSE’s—Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and to a lesser extent FHA. Recent news headlines put the combined total mortgage market share for the FNM, FRE and FHA at seventy-two percent (72%) [i] of the entire industry. The restructuring of those three entities will be a process of dividing their combined debt into at least ten smaller portfolios which individual investors can either incorporate into the existing businesses or form entirely new businesses made up of all or any part of the portfolio(s) they purchase. Each portfolio ideally will represent no more than a 5% to 7% share of the mortgage market so that we no longer have behemoths that are â€Å"too large to fail†. Further, the government will in all likelihood have to guarantee—for a limited period of time and with expectations of profit sharing similar to that of the banking bailouts and in fact the funds the banks are now paying back could be used for the purpose of guaranteeing so as not to offend the public—part of the initial funding that the private enterprises will need and want in order to get their respective pieces of the mortgage market launched. The breakup of these three GSE’s into numerous pieces will help manage the ability of success as it is not likely that all ten pieces will fail and as smaller players are easier to manage this will help increase the likelihood for success. In order for the government to get both the best price/value for each portfolio created from the breakup each of these portfolios should have different levels of mortgage debt risk. This will incr... ...o handle or avert another crisis should one come our way in the future and to return to the tax payer the monies it has already paid to bailing out these institutions. Works Cited [i] A combined market share of 72% for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA as indicated by Mortgage Market Note—CIRE Magazine: http://www.ciremagazine.com/article.php?article_id=307 (04/01/2009; 09/14/2009) also see the NPR report at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98285028 (12/17/2008; 09/14/2009) [ii] BretWhissel Mortgage Calculator http://www.bretwhissel.net/cgi-bin/amortize (09/14/2009) [iii] American Institute for Economic Research report http://www.aier.org/research/commentaries/583-update-on-the-house-price-trends (10/16/2008; 09/14/2009) also see the iTulip report http://www.itulip.com/housingbubblecorrection.htm (01/20/2005; 09/14/2009)

Complex play Essay

The title of the play, ‘The Crucible’ is significant as a crucible is a pot in which metals are melted down in order to purify them. Miller is suggesting that the play is concerned by a purging by fire, a form of ‘cleansing’. This is a metaphor for spiritual improvements as the result of exposure to great strain. One of the central themes of the play is the spiritual development of John Proctor. It is a powerful and complex play. All of the action takes place indoors and it is very sombre, simplistic and it emphasises the lifestyle of the puritans and it echoes the chlaustrophobic atmosphere of the play. The play focuses on ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. In the play Miller is discussing the forces of evil. In the attempt to stamp out evil there is certainly a degree of irony. The irony in this play is that evil and tragedy actually arises from the actions of the misguided and over zealous characters such as Danforth and Parris and to a certain extent Hale, who became responsible for deaths, misery and cruelty. Miller is suggesting that humans are vulnerable to evil and he aims to show that the evil generated in Salem was through a combination of circumstances for which no one person could be held wholly responsible but yet none were guilt free. Miller has said that it was Abigail’s role in the events of the play that awakened his interest in the whole story, however, his treatment of her is controlled although is not dispassionate in any way. She is a sensual adolescent and she is very flattered by Proctors attention to her while at the same time tries to disguise it. Abigail has many motives for causing the trouble that she does, one of which is her hostility towards Elizabeth, John Proctors wife, but this is by no means her only motive. A high spirited sense of mischief and the way which she controls her friends gives her enjoyment and is influential and although the point is not stressed, the violent nature of her parents deaths have unsettled her. Abigail’s actions are also intriguing, right from act 1 she is causing a stir in Salem, when Betty awakens and cries out, Abigail tries to bully and threaten them into keeping quiet, later in this act, when Tituba and Abigail are being interrogated, she starts calling out names of devil worshippers. In act 2 we find out more about Abigail’s relationship with the Proctors, they discuss revealing that Abigail is a fraud and reveal how she was thrown out when Elizabeth found out about her affair with John. The rag doll was also another plot by Abigail to cause more trouble, she uses it to show that Elizabeth practices witchcraft. So when the rag doll is discovered with a needle in it after Abigail stabs herself, it is a bad sign. The taking away of Elizabeth and the anger of John Proctor are all adverse affects of Abigail’s troublesome actions and Proctor decides to declare his adultery in court and to denounce Abigail’s lies, the consequences of this may be hard for him. Abigail also leads the accusations of witchcraft and by this point Elizabeth knows that Abigail probably name her in revenge for being dismissed and also to get John Proctor for herself. Cheever later arrives to clarify the fact that Elizabeth has been named, by Abigail. Francis Nurse tries to explain to the court that it is being deceived by Abigail and the other girls. In act 3 as Abigail acts entering a trance and the pitch of hysteria rises, Proctor has had enough and denounces Abigail as a whore, revealing his adultery and therefore jeopardising his integrity and honour. In act 4, Abigail and Mary Warren steal i 30, a very large amount at the time and run away, in order to avoid the revealing of them being frauds. Tituba is an interesting device used by Miller, she is mysterious, perhaps theatrical, and our lack of knowledge of her creates more mystery and intrigue, we know that she is a Barbadan slave for Reverend Parris who was taken from Barbados to come with them the Parris’s. This is useful to Miller, because Tituba does not need to have an identity, she is just used for a few themes, one is the dancing that occurs in the woods, instigated by Tituba, and later her confessions to dealings with the Devil.

unit 4 IP Essay

unit 4 IP Essay unit 4 IP Essay You graduated from AIU only five years ago and you have accomplished a lot professionally, in just five years. You are now the Chief Investigator for the Public Defender’s Service (PDS) office for your county in which you live. You had originally thought that you would be required to have been a police officer prior to being eligible for the investigator’s position with the county public defender’s office.You learned that you were not required to have any law enforcement experience to be an investigator for the PDS from conducting research into the position.So here you are now, the Chief Investigator for the PDS office, and you are also a well-respected expert within the PDS office on police procedures from a defense investigator’s perspective.The County Public Defender respects your expertise on this topic so much that he wants you to write a 2-4 page paper on the following topics: SUGGESTION: One of the ways of making sure you address each part of a multiple topic question is to make each topic area a header for one of your paragraphs.An example of this process is:â€Å"1.Due Process: †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Write everything about due process here), then for the next paragraph â€Å"2. 5th Amendment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ then the next paragraph â€Å"3.6th Amendment:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ and then the next paragraph â€Å"4.14th Amendment:†¦)and then the next paragraph â€Å"Pretrial Process:†¦ â€Å"and so forth and so forth.But if you will put these headings in your paper before you start writing then you should cover each topic area of the question. Complete the following for this assignment: Discuss due process

Heart Location What Side of Your Body Is Your Heart On

Heart Location What Side of Your Body Is Your Heart On SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What side is your heart on? It may not be the answer you’re expecting! Chest pain is an issue that understandably makes many people nervous, but knowing some basic facts about your heart and the rest of your body can help you feel more at ease and informed. Read this guide to learn your heart location, where the heart is located in relation to other organs, what kind of chest pain may indicate a heart issue, and other potential causes of chest pain. What Side Is Your Heart On? Where is the heart located? While most people think their heart is located on the left side of their chest, (after all, isn’t that where you place your hand when you say the Pledge of Allegiance?) your heart location is actually close to the center of your chest, just slightly shifted to the left side. About two-thirds of your heart is on the left side of your chest, and one-third is on the right side, so it’s pretty nearly centered. To get technical about it, your heart is located in your mediastinum (a membranous space located between the lungs), which itself is in the center of your thorax (the part of the body between your neck and abdomen). The heart is commonly thought to be on the left side of your body since it’s this side of the heart that does most of the work. The left side is stronger and is the part of the heart that pumps oxygen-rich blood to other parts of the body, so it’s primarily this side of the heart (located slightly on the left side of your chest) that you feel beating when you put your hand on your chest, leading people to think that the entire heart is on the left side of the chest. Your heart is about the size of your fist, so if you make a fist and put it over the center of your chest, you’ll get a good idea of where your heart is located. Where Is the Heart Located in Relation to Other Organs? Because of its central location in your chest, your heart is close to a lot of other vital organs. Your heart is located behind your sternum and between your two lungs. The heart is located closer to the front of your chest, in front of your esophagus and spine. Below your heart is your diaphragm, stomach, and liver. The diagram below shows where the heart location in respect to other organs. What Kinds of Chest Pain Indicate a Heart Issue? Often when people feel chest pain, they worry they are experiencing a heart attack or other serious heart issue. While many times the chest pain is caused by something other than your heart (see the next section), you should always call your doctor, call 9, or go to the hospital if you’re concerned that you’re having a heart issue. The classic symptom of a heart attack is pain on the left side of your chest. This pain can range from mild to severe, and many people report feeling pressure or a squeezing sensation in their chest. The pain may be steady or come and go. Common symptoms of chest pain that is caused by heart issues include: Pain that is usually worse in the morning Pain that feels deep or heavy as opposed to sharp and stabbing Pain that feels worse when you exert yourself However, chest pain due to a heart issue is not only limited to pain on the left side of the chest. Pain may also occur in other areas such as on either side of the upper chest, radiating down one or both arms, and behind your ribs. The pain can also spread to your back, upper part of the stomach, shoulders, neck, and jaw. Other common symptoms of a heart attack include: Shortness of breath Nausea and/or vomiting Dizziness Breaking out in a sweat If you experience these symptoms, call 9 immediately, even if you're not sure you're having a heart attack. What Are Other Causes of Chest Pain? Chest pain isn’t something you should brush off, but fortunately there are many causes of chest pain besides a heart attack. In fact, the pain may not even be related to your heart at all. Below are some non-cardiac causes of chest pain. Pain on the Left or Right Side of Your Chest Tear or strain in your chest wall: Pulls, strains, or tears to the Pectoralis Major or Pectoralis Minor can also cause chest pain. The pain often increases when you touch the area or move in certain ways. Pneumonia: Pneumonia is a lung infection that inflames the air sacs of one or both lungs. If you only have pneumonia in one lung, that may be the only side of the chest where you feel pain. Pneumonia is often accompanied by a fever, cough, and a general feeling of malaise. Pulmonary embolism: A pulmonary embolism is when a blood clot lodges in an artery of the lung. If a PE occurs, you’ll often feel a sharp, stabbing pain on the side of your chest where that lung is located that feels worse when you take deep breaths. Inflamed pancreas: If your pancreas is inflamed, you’ll often have intense pain that begins behind your rib cage and spreads to the right side of your chest. The pain is often worse when you lie down. Pain in Your Upper Abdomen Appendicitis: Appendicitis occurs when your appendix becomes inflamed. Your appendix is located in the lower right side of your abdomen, but the pain can spread to your middle and upper abdomen, especially if the infection becomes severe. Gallbladder infection: If you have a gallbladder infection or gallstones, you may feel sharp, stabbing pains in your upper abdomen. Liver infection: When the liver is inflamed or infected with hepatitis, it can cause pain in your upper abdomen which also spread to the right side of your chest. Digestion issue: Indigestion, heartburn, or other digestive issue can cause discomfort and pain that spreads to the upper abdomen and sometimes the chest and esophagus. Recap: What Side Is Your Heart On? What side of the body is the heart on? The heart’s location is erroneously thought to be the left side of the chest, but your heart is actually located nearly in the center of your chest, behind your sternum and between your two lungs. Pain on the left side of the chest is often connected with heart problems because it usually the left side of the heart that causes pain when there is a health issue. Heart problems are a serious, and sometimes fatal, health issue, and if you’re ever concerned about chest pain you’re experiencing, contact your doctor or go to the hospital immediately. However, chest pain can be caused by many issues not related to the heart, such as an issue with your lungs, liver, or digestion. Don’t spend too much time trying to self-diagnose though. Whenever you have a health issue that worries you, make an appointment with your doctor so you can get an accurate diagnosis.

How to Grow a Cup of Quick Crystal Needles

How to Grow a Cup of Quick Crystal Needles Grow a cupful of Epsom salt crystal needles in your refrigerator. Its quick, easy, and safe. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: 3 hours Ingredients cup or small bowlepsom salthot tap water What You Do In a cup or small, deep bowl, mix 1/2 cup of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) with 1/2 cup of hot tap water (hot as it will get from the faucet).Stir about a minute to dissolve the Epsom salts. There will still be some undissolved crystals at the bottom.Place the cup in the refrigerator. The bowl will fill with needle-like crystals within three hours. Magnesium sulfate crystals readily take up dye, such as food coloring. Copyright (c) by Dai Haruki. All Rights Reserved. / Getty Images Tips for Success Dont use boiling water to prepare your solution. You will still get crystals, but they will be more threadlike and less interesting. The temperature of the water helps control the concentration of the solution.If you like, you can place a small object at the bottom of the cup to make it easier to remove your crystals, such as a quarter or plastic bottle cap. Otherwise, carefully scoop the crystal needles from the solution if you wish to examine them or save them.Dont drink the crystal liquid. Its not toxic, but its not good for you either. Learn About Epsomite The name of the crystal grown in this project is epsomite. It consists of hydrated magnesium sulfate with the formula  MgSO4 ·7H2O. The needle-like crystals of this sulfate mineral are orthorhombic as Epsom salt, but the mineral readily absorbs and loses water, so it may spontaneously switch to the monoclinic structure as a hexahydrate. Epsomite is found on the walls of limestone caverns. The crystals also grow on mine walls and timbers, around volcanic fumaroles, and rarely as sheets or beds from evaporation. While the crystals grown in this project are needles or spikes, the crystals also form fibrous sheets in nature. The pure mineral is colorless or white, but impurities may give it a gray, pink, or green color. It gets its name for Epsom in Surrey, England, which is where it was first described in 1806. Epsom salt crystals are very soft, with a Moh scale hardness around 2.0 to 2.5. Because it is so soft and because it hydrates and rehydrates in the air, this is not an ideal crystal for preservation. If you want to keep Epsom salt crystals, the best choice is to leave it in a liquid solution. Once the crystals have grown, seal the container so no more water can evaporate. You can observe the crystals over time and watch them dissolve and reform. Magnesium sulfate is used in agriculture and pharmaceuticals. The crystals may be added to water as bath salts or as a soak to relieve sore muscles. Crystals may also be mixed in with soil to help improve its quality. The salt corrects magnesium or sulfur deficiency and is most often applied to roses, citrus trees, and potted plants.

EXAM QUESTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

EXAM QUESTION - Essay Example The Hagia Sofia construction dates to the Byzantine period while the empire was under Justinian’s rule. Historically, the Hagia Sofia’s construction was targeted to honor the Byzantine art practitioners (Saoud, 2003). The building betroths the Byzantine artistic practices during the civilization period as the aspects present that period were incorporated in the construction of the ruins. The building’s height was unchallenged by many of the period’s architectural designs with many other artistic revelations from the Byzantine and Roman empires of the period including the use of circular domes on square buildings. Historically, the findings denote that the infamous empires embraced monumental artistic buildings through the established researches (Ashkan & Ahmad, 2012). The intensified research about the Hagia Sofia and the Pantheon indicate that the two buildings shared similar architectural designs, and the meanings. Therefore, the use of circular domes was a sign of power in the buildings’ constituent empires. The study’s findings imply that the use of unreinforced domes in the Pantheon building make it the tallest ancient structure at over 2,000 years (Ashkan & Ahmad, 2010). The opening of the Pantheon dome named â€Å"Oculus† appears at the height of 143ft above the square building (Ashkan & Ahmad, 2012). The several imperial palaces in the Roman and Byzantine empires and commemorative Roman columns along the ancient buildings are a significance of the artistic correlation between the Pantheon and Hagia Sofia architectures (Saoud, 2003). The evidence of water reservoirs and cisterns built in the two buildings comprise of expensive red and rare square tiles. The reportedly exotic materials depict the devotion that the two different empires adapted in order to construct the two monumental structures. Therefore, the two buildings’ architectures concentrated on the

Data collection methods in conducting research of 'Implementation of Essay

Data collection methods in conducting research of 'Implementation of ERP in public sector in Oman - Essay Example A survey in the contemporary environment in which technology identifies modernism therefore identifies suitability of the data collection approach for the proposed study. In addition, management of public sector is centralized with regional headquarters in areas that are considered urban centers. This therefore means that reasonable sample size can be recruited from Oman’s urban centers for implementing the study on the public sector’s application of enterprise resource planning. Implementing the data collection method will involve allocation of research assistants to districts, each research assistant per district. The research assistant will then conduct interview with regional administrators, at their respective districts. The interviews will further target each office in the public sector, such as educational office, health office, agricultural office, among other administrative offices that exist in the assistants’ respective districts. One of the reasons for selection of telephone interviews for data collection is its suitability for the scope of the study that target offices at districts’ major centers in Oman. Consequently, the method will be feasible because of availability of necessary communication facilities. Advantages that the data collection instrument has also support its choice for application in the study. A telephone interview is more flexible that other data collection methods such as mailed questionnaires that may be restricted by schedules and reliability levels of mailing agencies. The flexibility also ensures a mutual time that conveniences both the researcher and the research participants. This further has the advantages of a facilitated response rate and quality of responses because research participants will be more ready and willing to participate in a study that does not inconvenience them. Telephone interview is also

China and minimum wage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

China and minimum wage - Research Paper Example The 1994 labor act specifies that work done after the normal standard working time shall be paid as overtime. The overtime, however, should not exceed three hours in a single day (Chiewping, 2009). Wages should be paid to workers on a monthly basis and in a legal tender. Wage deduction and late payment of workers is firmly prohibited. The labor law on article 48 specifies that the statutory minimum wage should be sufficient enough to sustain the needs of the employee. In March 2004, the ministry of social security and labor in China executed the minimum wage doctrine. The regulations were developed to establish a framework for adjusting and calculating the minimum wage (Zhao, 2010). The guidelines stated that the government should adjust and determine the cyclic minimum wage for full time employees by considering the following factors: An extensive collection of minimum wage levels exists across the whole country since local conditions determine the calculations. Coastal regions are characterized by high minimum wages due to their economic strength. The western provinces together with the central regions on the other hand are characterized by low minimum wages. In an attempt to attract migrant labor force, governments in remote regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet have established high minimum wages levels. On May 2013, Shanghai recorded the highest monthly wage level with Shenzhen closely following behind. Anhui region located in the central province recorded the least minimum wage (Chiewping, 2009). Regulations endorse that 40 to 60% of the regular monthly wage should be set as the minimum wage. Local governments should also embark on the task of carrying out an adjustment review regularly. In the middle of the international economic crisis in 2008, however, the government froze all the increases made on minimum wages (Yongnian, 2013). In

The UK and European Package Holiday Markets Essay

The UK and European Package Holiday Markets - Essay Example The UK and European Package Holiday Markets According to a 2004 Survey conducted by MORI, although the Internet’s search Engines was used for gathering data about Travels and holidays, comparatively fewer people actually used Internet facilities for booking their holiday trips online. what needs to be emphasized is that e-commerce serves only to offer connectivity between the service-provider and the customer. The use of the Internet, by itself, does not guarantee package holiday bookings or ticket sales. Only by creating and sustaining a strong online branding can the travel agencies hope to compete sauccessfully in this market Effective marketing strategies along with knowledge base ,combined with the use of effective use of technology would be a winning cocktail.for success. Personalized websites hoisted by the various travel agents and tour operators would ensure steady business prospects and future growth of this industry. As a result of the fact that the travel and tourism industry has been the single largest beneficiary of products and services sold over the Internet, more and more companies plan to expand their Internet sales strategic goals and objectives by harnessing the use of internet for online booking of Hotel reservations, Conducted tours, Visa formalities and other matters connected with international tourism to cater to the online travel market and reap the advantages of online connectivity.† The Percentage of Travel Research done online before a purchase is now over 74%†.

What are the patterns of business failure in the UK What are the main Essay

What are the patterns of business failure in the UK What are the main explanations for why businesses do not survive Which explanations are the most and least convincing - Essay Example Failure usually follows a similar pattern in both small and large enterprises when faced with financial crisis in the wider economy. With the economic downturn of 2008, the business climate has become much tougher in the UK for new, upcoming firms. Importantly, in addition to the failure of business due to economic factors, there are many other reasons that contribute to this eventuality (Bartelsman, Scarpetta, & Schivardi, 2003). Hence, taking this into account, this paper aims to analyse the trends related to business failure in the UK. A critical assessment of the related factors is only possible with a deeper understanding of the theoretical framework. Furthermore, the paper also seeks to extract deeper insight into the causes that result in the failure of business. The assessment will bring in to the limelight the factors that play a dominant role in leading entrepreneurs towards business closure. Upon assessment of the reasons it identifies, this paper will also discuss the factors that appear to be least convincing for justifying failure. The global landscape for doing business is increasing dual perspectives for the business. The dual impact can be regarded as the direct impact of globalisation. On one hand, the globalisation has increased the opportunities for business to explore different countries and new markets with limited resources required. Also, globalisation has offered new ways to introduce innovative ideas. Yet with this opportunity, global business simultaneously faces increasing challenges as globalisation has increased competition not only from local competitors but from international rivals as well (Arbaugh and Camp, 2000). The number of business failures gives the clear signal of the downfall of the emerging market. According to one report, the business index goes down from 93.5 to 90.2 in the year 2014. According to D&B (2012), the decline in the index was from 5.8% to as low as 3.5 % in the same

The benefits of legal human cloning research outweigh the opponents Paper

The benefits of legal human cloning outweigh the opponents negitives - Research Paper Example This process eliminates the emotional pain and expense that accompanies the condition. Moreover, it even puts more couples in a position to have their own children (â€Å"The Advantages of Cloning† par. 6) Rejuvenation, also called therapeutic cloning, can only be advanced through the use of human cloning technology. In this process embryonic stem cells are vital as they are used to produce new tissues and organs, which are used to replace faulty ones such as hearts, spinal cord cells for paraplegics’ tissues. Thus, in this case, cloning plays a key role in preventing and alleviating human suffering for humans who have ailments like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. At the same time, if well advanced, even the aging process could be reversed (â€Å"Benefits of Cloning: Benefits of Human Cloning† par. 2). Despite cloning being controversial, it may be a viable solution to many people considering genetic engineering may offer parents a choice of determining what features they would like their children to have. This is concerning their cognitive abilities and physical abilities (â€Å"The Advantages of Cloning† par .14). In addition, parents could have the chance to be better at raising their children, as genetically modified children would have their needs and abilities known to their parent’s beforehand (Smith par. 10). Apart from this, children would be less susceptible to illnesses since all defective genes would be corrected, and immunity boosted at the time of cloning. Moreover, through cloning organs used for transplants would be made readily available through human cloning. For example, currently there are no human livers to make transplant to those patients in need them, instead, pig livers are used to work as a provisional solution until a donor is found. Consequently, human cloning readily avails the required organs without having another person’s

The UK and European Package Holiday Markets Essay

The UK and European Package Holiday Markets - Essay Example The UK and European Package Holiday Markets According to a 2004 Survey conducted by MORI, although the Internet’s search Engines was used for gathering data about Travels and holidays, comparatively fewer people actually used Internet facilities for booking their holiday trips online. what needs to be emphasized is that e-commerce serves only to offer connectivity between the service-provider and the customer. The use of the Internet, by itself, does not guarantee package holiday bookings or ticket sales. Only by creating and sustaining a strong online branding can the travel agencies hope to compete sauccessfully in this market Effective marketing strategies along with knowledge base ,combined with the use of effective use of technology would be a winning cocktail.for success. Personalized websites hoisted by the various travel agents and tour operators would ensure steady business prospects and future growth of this industry. As a result of the fact that the travel and tourism industry has been the single largest beneficiary of products and services sold over the Internet, more and more companies plan to expand their Internet sales strategic goals and objectives by harnessing the use of internet for online booking of Hotel reservations, Conducted tours, Visa formalities and other matters connected with international tourism to cater to the online travel market and reap the advantages of online connectivity.† The Percentage of Travel Research done online before a purchase is now over 74%†.

The benefits of legal human cloning research outweigh the opponents Paper

The benefits of legal human cloning outweigh the opponents negitives - Research Paper Example This process eliminates the emotional pain and expense that accompanies the condition. Moreover, it even puts more couples in a position to have their own children (â€Å"The Advantages of Cloning† par. 6) Rejuvenation, also called therapeutic cloning, can only be advanced through the use of human cloning technology. In this process embryonic stem cells are vital as they are used to produce new tissues and organs, which are used to replace faulty ones such as hearts, spinal cord cells for paraplegics’ tissues. Thus, in this case, cloning plays a key role in preventing and alleviating human suffering for humans who have ailments like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. At the same time, if well advanced, even the aging process could be reversed (â€Å"Benefits of Cloning: Benefits of Human Cloning† par. 2). Despite cloning being controversial, it may be a viable solution to many people considering genetic engineering may offer parents a choice of determining what features they would like their children to have. This is concerning their cognitive abilities and physical abilities (â€Å"The Advantages of Cloning† par .14). In addition, parents could have the chance to be better at raising their children, as genetically modified children would have their needs and abilities known to their parent’s beforehand (Smith par. 10). Apart from this, children would be less susceptible to illnesses since all defective genes would be corrected, and immunity boosted at the time of cloning. Moreover, through cloning organs used for transplants would be made readily available through human cloning. For example, currently there are no human livers to make transplant to those patients in need them, instead, pig livers are used to work as a provisional solution until a donor is found. Consequently, human cloning readily avails the required organs without having another person’s

Stress Essay Example for Free

Stress Essay 1.0Introduction We generally use the word stress when we feel that everything seems to have become too much, we are overloaded and wonder whether we really can cope with the pressures placed upon us. Anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress. Some stresses get you going and they are good for you, without any stress at all many say our lives would be boring and would probably feel pointless. However, when the stresses undermine both our mental and physical health they are bad. In this text we shall be focusing on stress that is bad for you. Stress is your body’s response to change. It’s a very individual thing. A situation’s that one person finds stressful may not bother someone else. For example, one person may become tense when driving; another person may find driving a source of relaxation and joy. Something that causes fear in some people, such as rock climbing, may be fun for others. There’s no way to say that one thing is bad or stressful because everyone’s different. Not all stress is bad, either. Speaking to a group or watching a close football game can be stressful, but they can be fun, too. Life would be dull without some stress. The key is to manage stress properly, because unhealthy responses to it may lead to health problems in some people. Many people experience stress as they combine busy lives and the demands of study while trying to also save time for friends and family. For some people, stress becomes almost a way of life. We all experience episodic stress, getting ready for a major exam, completing and important paper, perhaps getting ready for an important a way of life. We know that stress prolonged period of time, can have increase certain health risks, to say nothing of the way and tear that happens to relationships and general wellbeing. The simple guide use materials adapted from several college campuses with active stress reduction programs. It explores the origin of stress and provides some basic ways to assess the level of stress you may be feeling and than suggest some easy to incorporate ways to decrease the level of stress. Although we all talk about stress, it often isn’t clear what stress is really about. Many people consider stress to be something that happens to them, an event such as an injury or a job loss. Others think that stress is what happens to our body, mind, and behavior in response to an event (E.g. heart pounding, anxiety, or nail biting). While stress does involve events and our response to then, these are not the most important factors. Our thoughts about the situations in which we find ourselves are the critical factor. When something happens to us, we automatically evaluate the situation mentally. We decide if it is threatening to us, how we need to deal with the situation, and what skills we can use. If we decide that the demands of the situation outweigh the skills we have, then we label the situation as stressful and react with the classic stress response. If we decide that our coping skills outweigh the demands of the situation, then we don’t see it as stressful. Stress is not something strange to our daily life nowadays. Everybody may feel stress when they are facing bad situation. Generally, word of stress has been used in social science research since a well known medical expert; Selye pioneered the research for psychological stress in 1950’s. Cox Brockley (1984) stated that stress is a perception phenomenon which exists from a comparison between the command given and ability of a person to execute he task successfully. Unbalanced situation in this mechanism will lead into stress experience and ultimately into stress reaction. Beside that, stress is a pattern of negative (physiological, psychological) responses occurring in situations where people perceive threats to their well being which they may be unable to meet (Lazarus Folkman, 1984). Selye (1978) define individual stress as the stated of pressure or tension when the individual reacts to a stressor. 1. Background of the study 1.1.1Reading (types) Basically, stress is a state of individual in a response to the stimulus of a stressor (anything that potentially leads to change because changes are stressful for an organism) and resulting hardship (Boss, 1987). Stress is normal and neutral (neither positive nor negative) (Boss, 1988; Selye, 1956). It is a continuous outcome variable in that there are degrees of stress (Boss, 1988) as well as a categorical variable. Types of individual stress based on degrees of stress included deprived, optimal and excessive (Selye, 1956). A derived degree of stress may result in a lake of motivation while optimal stress tends to lead to motivation. Excessive stress may lead to crisis. Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. Everyone sees situations differently and has different coping skills. For this reason, no two people will respond exactly the same way to a given situation. Additionally, not all situations that are labeled stressful are negative. Facing the mid-term test, completing the thesis and doing the assessments work for each subject may not be perceived as threatening. However, we may feel that situations are stressful because we don’t feel fully prepared to deal with them. Stress is a normal part of life. In small quantities, stress is good; it can motivate you and help you become more productive. However, too much stress, or a strong response to stress can be harmful. How we perceive a stress provoking event and how we react to it determines its impact on our health. We may be motivated and invigorated by the events in our lives, or we may see some as stressful and respond in a manner that may have a negative effect on our physical, mental, and social well-being. If we always respond in a negative way, our health and happiness may suffer. By understanding ourselves and our reaction to stress-provoking situations, we can learn to handle stress more effectively. In the most accurate meaning, stress management is not about learning how to avoid or escape the pressures and turbulence of modern living; it is about learning to appreciate how the body reacts to these pressures, and about learning how to develop skills which enhance the body’s adjustment. To learn stress management is to learn about the mind-body connection and to the degree to which we can control our health in a positive sense. Stress is believed to be caused by the various problems that exist such as problems at school, financial problems, family problems and problems in their surroundings. Teenagers also experience stress because they are sometimes trapped between making decisions which is to follow rules and orders or to be free and discover the world like they should. Teenagers in the previous days were trained for things that were suitable with their age so that they can use it to manage their lives. According to Zulkifli (1988), teenagers always face problems in adjusting. Teenagers especially those who are students always face learning problems, career management and also problems in solving personal and social matters. These are the factors that contribute to stress in life. Students are starting to shift from a life that is dependent on others to a life that needs them to release the dependency and start carrying their own responsibilities. Morris (1990) stated that teenagers always face stress in school and they compete with each other to get better grades. Levine, 1970 (in Dobson, 1980), explained that stress have a relationship with a specific situation like a learning environment in school and the inability to do work perfectly and the failure to achieve anything that is desired. The issues of students doing things like punching teachers, cursing, slandering and hurting teachers, prostitution and others calls for researchers to see the mentioned phenomena is connected to the stress situation among teenagers. Adams (1983, in Kamaruddin, 1997) stated that the biggest problem among schooling teenagers is the matters associated with their schooling. Other than that, problems that female students have to deal with are communication and family problems. For the male students, their side problems are problems with getting involved in sports, recreation and also financial problems. The many responsibilities and pressure cause stress to the teenagers like the need to achieve good academic grades, character building and also good attitude besides trying to comprehend with their personal needs. For many young adults, college is the best time of life. These critical years of adjustment can also be under minded by depression, anxiety, substance, abuse and eating disorder. Stress exists from the change in an individual’s thinking and their lifestyle nowadays. Now, individuals have changed in their perceptions and the way they interpret this life. Students in their teens are the ones who are going through the transitional phase, which is an intermediate of childhood and adulthood. During the teen years, a lot of biological, physical, mental and emotional changes are happening, as well as the changes in responsibility and role. In order to stabilize these changes, the students are always confronted with problems and conflicts (Asri, 2002). For some students who are not capable of dealing with it, the changes will create stress and tension to them. If it is not dealt with in the early stages, the student may experience mental problems (Newman, 2005). As a UiTM KBM students, study itself is potentially very stressful with many different and sometimes conflicting pressures (reading complex technical or theoretical material, writing assignments for deadlines, working part time, having a ‘successful’ social life, family demand) perhaps peaking near the exams, which themselves explicitly test your performance under pressure by setting strict time conditions and removing potential resources such as books, colleagues, notes and etc. Study can also challenge your ideas of who you are, who you think you are or who you want to be, lead you to compare yourself with others, who maybe look like they have everything under control. Any change or transition, even a welcome one is stressful and study involves lots of transitions in addition to other life events for example, moving to another country, or another part of the country, meeting new people, different expectations from lecturers, and each academic year brings changes depend s on different topics, lecturers, perhaps new housemates, which should not be underestimated.

Happy Worker Is A Productive Worker Management Essay

Happy Worker Is A Productive Worker Management Essay The axiom of a happy worker is a productive worker has been traditionally accepted by organizations for many years. The globalization trend, technology changes and development as well as the new business practices continuously influence the importance of motivation and job satisfaction in Malaysian organizations. Nowadays many companies are facing intensive challenge in improving employees job satisfaction and their organizational commitment to gain competitive advantage and at the same time retention of their key employees. Successful organizations realize that employee retention is important to sustain their leadership and growth in the market place. In any meeting and conferences, The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) usually reflects the most challenging issues that face the oil and gas industry. Shortage of labor skills was not even an issue to be discussed in the SPE meetings and conferences for couple of years back. However this issue has emerged in the oil and gas industry and retaining top performance employees is becoming a major concern for many oil and gas companies. Recently most of SPE conferences have in their agenda discussions on the shortage of labor skills which really reflect the magnitude and the size of this issue. Obviously, every manager tries to achieve their organization objectives. In this connection they must concentrate in many aspects to fulfill the organizations wish to keep well trained and effective workforce. Employees with higher job satisfaction are important since they believe that the organization would have tremendous future in the long run and the employer gives credit to the quality of their work, hence those employees are more committed to the organization, have higher retention rates, and tend to have higher productivity. In order to make the best use of people as a valuable resource of the organization, attention must be given to the relationship between staff and the nature and content of their jobs. The organization and the design of jobs can have a significant effect on staff where attention needs to be given to the quality of working life. Many managers in the oil and gas companies when asked what motivates their employees and how to retain them always answer with confidence money, money and money as the only retention factor. It is because of this limited view that many companies are having high turnover rates. Money is necessary but it is not sufficient to retain an employee. An oil company needs to do more than increasing salary, in addition it has more options that are non-monetary and are very effective in order to retain and motivate employees. Motivation is an inner driver that drive individuals to act or perform. Specific theories may propose varying set of factors influencing motivation (Harder, 2008). But many scholars agree that motivation is psychological process that causes the arousel, direction, intensity and persistence of behaviour (Locke and letham, 2004; Pinder, 1998). There are numerous motivation theories that have influenced the way organisations manage employees to achieve a motivated work force. These theories attempt to explain why people behave the way they do and advice on factors and strategies which when employed can get the best out of employees in terms of their commitment to work. Notwithstanding, because of the complex nature of the issues worth considering when motivating people, it is always not an easy task when it comes to organisations motivating workers for effective performance. Job satisfaction is important to an organizations success. Much research has been conducted into ways of improving job satisfaction of workers in various sectors of the Malaysian economy, including the academic sector (Wong Teoh, 2009; Noordin Jusoff, 2009), the hotel sector (Abd. Patah, Radzi, Abdullah, Adzmy, Adli Zain, Derani, 2009), the government sector (Yahaya, A., Yahaya, N., Arshad, Ismail, 2009), the non-profit sector (Ismail Zakaria, 2009), the naval sector (Mohd. Bokti Abu Talib, 2009), and the automobile manufacturing sector (Santhapparaj, Srinivasan, Koh, 2005). There has been relatively little research into the determinants of job satisfaction in the oil and gas in Malaysia. Therefore, this paper endeavours to address this literature gap. PROBLEM STATEMENT One of the leading challenges facing by Managers nowadays is execution of effective human capital strategies to augment firms performance. As a result of pressure to perform, the worth of satisfied employees becomes more indispensable. Job satisfaction describes that how much happy an individual is with his/her job. According to Locke (1976) job satisfaction is a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job and job experiences. The happier the individual, the higher is level of job satisfaction. It is assumed that positive attitude towards work and greater organizational commitment increases job satisfaction which in return enhances performance of the individual (Linz, 2002). However, the relationship between motivation and job satisfaction appears to be a very complex one. The fact that employees are satisfied does not necessarily mean that they will perform well and motivated. They may be satisfied because they may not have to work hard, conversely, employees who work hard may not be satisfied. They may be working hard in order to avoid some form of disciplinary action against them (Bhagat, 1982). From findings, the issue of job satisfaction amongst employees also has escalated into other human resource issues such as high turnover. In this era of war for talent, organization realized the high costs associated with turnover and the time spent in replacing the resigned staff. This problem is happening in almost every industry in Malaysia with turnover rate on the rise. Based on the data collected in Hewitts 2007 Total Compensation Management survey, the average employee turnover rate is 18% (Hewitt, 2008). Another report by Hewitt in The Edge Malaysia in 2009, retaining staff would increasingly prove challenging as the turnover rate in Malaysia increased to 10.1% in 2009 compared to 9.3% in 2008. As reported by Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) in their recent Salary Survey for Executives/Non Executives 2010: Average Monthly Turnover Rate (July 2009-June 2010) Non Executive Executive Oil Gas/Petroleum/Chemical Industry 1.56% 0.87% Overall 1.97% 1.35% Source : Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) The report showed that the turnover rate for non executives is much higher than executives and this is linked to low employee satisfaction. The employees desire to hop from one job to another seem to be the trend of today. In three recent surveys conducted in the United States, Canada and Malaysia, it was reported that more than half would abandon their employers if offered comparable jobs elsewhere (McShane, 2009). Despite monetary rewards, commitment amongst employees is still low. Therefore, the researcher is hoping that this study will be able to provide answers to the following statement: Does achievement increase employee satisfaction? Does advancement increase employee satisfaction? Does work itself increase employee satisfaction? Do recognition increase employee satisfaction? Do growth increase employee satisfaction? The manager needs to understand how best to make work more satisfying for employee and to overcome obstacles to effective performance. As mentioned earlier, because of a high competition, therefore every organization has to compete with other organization. In this connection in order to achieve competitive advantage the organization has to retain work for, organization expects that satisfying employees are more performing. Therefore, there is a need for the organization to satisfy their employees to achieve their objectives. For the employees point of view, job satisfaction leads to several benefits such as, reducing moral stress, create new thinking and innovation which lead them to high level, fresh mind, good relationship with co-workers, supervisor and employees etc. Competition as a result of globalisation, information technology and industrialisation has compelled managers all over the world to seek to motivate their employees in order to get the best out of them and to stay co mpetitive. This has led managers to employ all sorts of techniques to motivate and satisfy their employees. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The main objectives of the study is to examine the impact of motivational factors on employee job satisfaction. Therefore, the objectives of this research are as follows: To identify the employee perception in regards to achievement, advancement, work itself, recognition, growth and job satisfaction. To examine the relationship between achievement and employee job satisfaction. To examine the relationship between advancement and employee job satisfaction. To examine the relationship between work itself and employee job satisfaction. To examine the relationship between recognition and employee job satisfaction. To examine the relationship between growth and employee job satisfaction. To examine the impact of motivational factors on employee job satisfaction. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The researcher would like to investigate the impact of motivational factors on employee job satisfaction. Therefore, the research questions that will hold relevance to the study are: What is the employee perception with regards to achievement, advancement, work itself, recognition and growth? Is there a relationship between achievement and employee job satisfaction? Is there a relationship between advancement and employee job satisfaction? Is there a relationship between work itself and employee job satisfaction? Is there a relationship between recognition and employee job satisfaction? Is there a relationship between growth and employee job satisfaction? Do motivational factors have an impact on employee job satisfaction? RESEARCH FRAMEWORK The investigation of this study is to analyze the motivational factors that cause job satisfaction in the workplace of employees employed by oil and gas company headquarted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In essence, the research will focus on the factors that contribute to job satisfaction and high motivation amongst employees. The motivational factors that will be used in this research only focus on achievement, advancement, recognition, work itself and growth. Achievement Specific successes, such as the successful completion of a job, solutions to problems, vindication, and seeing the results of your work. Advancement Actual changes which enhance position or status at work. Recognition Any act of recognition, be it notice or praise. A distinction can be made between situations where concrete rewards are given along with acts of recognition and those in which they are not. Work itself The actual or nature of the job or phases of it. Growth Changes in job situation where the possibilities for professional growth increase. Besides new vistas opened up by promotion, they include increased opportunities in the existing situation for learning and practicing new skills. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The researcher hopes that this study will contribute to numerous benefits in terms of theoretical, management as well as academic perspectives. Theoretical perspective: The study would help to shed new light of the usefulness of the Herzberg Two-Factor Theory in explaining the importance of employee motivational factors on employee job satisfaction. Management perspective: The management can use the findings from this study to assist them to gain competitive advantage over their competitors in employee commitment from the same industry. This study is also aimed at helping employees to identify the motivational factors that will drive them towards being more committed and loyal to the organization. The employees will feel contented which is the factor that will make them stay longer in the organization. The longer employee stays with an organization, the more valuable they will be in terms of seniority, skill and knowledge. Academic perspective: This research will benefit other student to understand the impact of motivational factor on job satisfaction better and could be a reference or guideline for other researcher who is interested to study this three relationship dimension in other industry. SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of this study only covers employees from oil and gas industry who are based at the headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. For the purpose of this study, the motivational factors only include achievement, advancement, recognition, work itself and growth. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY Sample select a sample population that may not reflect the overall population. Respondents too dependent on the self-reported responses. Time limited time to collect back the questionnaires as some of the respondents may be working outstation or on a short foreign assignment. These abovementioned factors may affect the accuracy of the data and steps have been undertaken to reduce this problem by assuring the respondents that this study is confidential. Employees can then be rest assured as to provide true and fair opinion as they need not furnish their names in the questionnaire.