Questions on Strategic Management - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 13 Words: 3859 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? How can issues facing Yahoo! Be described as strategic? To understand and do differentiate strategy from other issues facing Yahoo! We need to look at what Strategy is? What defines as strategy? Strategy is set of actions that managers take to increase their companys performance relative to rivals. However in the view to access Yahoo! a fuller definition would be helpful. Strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. We have to identify if issues facing Yahoo! Is Yahoo! Concerned with the long-term direction of the company. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Questions on Strategic Management" essay for you Create order What we clearly see is that Yahoo! Is lacking in a clear vision for the future, unfocused they have drifted way form what they are, no clear ownership and lack of accountability is eminent in the organization. Yahoos chief executive Terry Semel has said, Yahoo needs to refocus in order to maintain a leadership position in the face of strong challenges. Brad Garlinghouse mentions radical restructuring, which cannot be implemented over night it would take a considerable period of time, they need to achieve this in baby steps indicate that Yahoo is looking at long term, long term direction. Is Yahoo! Concerned with the scope of its operations. The issue of scope of activity is fundamental to strategy. This is about is Yahoo! Concentrate on one area of business activity, or they want to be in many. Currently its doing everything and be everything to everyone Brad Garlinghouse plans suggest to exit non-core business and eliminate duplicative projects and business, which is to con centrate on Yahoos strategic decision to few core activities. Compressing of the scope of activity is clearly a fundamental aspect of Yahoos plan. Is Yahoo! Trying to achieve some competitive advantage. Its about finding the competitive edge. Yahoo! Has a large audience, the company has a great customer loyalty. Brand has created instant attraction in the click market. But overlapping responsibilities coupled with trying to do too many things have increased Yahoos operating and maintaining cost is disadvantages for competitive advantage. Yahoo! Was forced to delay the introduction of a key upgrade to the technology in turn forcing it to lower revenue forecast. Is resource allocation one of the issues facing Yahoo! Spreading peanut butter across myriad opportunity a clear strategic decision facing Yahoo! Its about company is not utilizing its massive resources financial, human and other assets. Careening into wide variety of new business ventures have left Yahoo! Unable t o, compete effectively. Duplicating activities and giving different silo like Flicker and Yahoo Photos, 360 group and social group have being costly duplicating initiatives created unexpected cannibalization (eating its own market share). Are they trying to find a strategic fit with the environment? Strategy can be seen as the search for strategic fit with the business environment. Yahoo! Is looking for a stronger faster company, which means that the current over bureaucratic structure doesnt fit/match the quick changing highly competitive web market environment. Are they building on resources and competences? Its about exploiting the strategic capabilities, in terms of unique resources and core competences, to provide competitive advantage or to gain new opportunities. Yahoo! Is in the view to turn smoothly spread butter into a deliberately sculpted strategy, which indicated they want to take all the resources and competencies and concentrate and focus on few key busine ss units. Is Yahoo! Concerned about stakeholder values and expectations. Strategy of an organization is affected by those who have the power in and around the organization, there values and attitudes influences strategy. Unclear ownership, argue and fight over ownership will have a negative impact on Yahoo! Intern will result in investors and employees values and expectations. Massive redundancies will alter employee expectations. Is there a transformational change? Delayer of Yahoo! To be efficient with, fewer people. Radical reductions in the head count by 15%-20% show that Yahoo! Is in for a transformational change. Therefore, as I have outlined above under each of the characteristics of a strategy and applied to Yahoo! Its clear that what Yahoo! Is facing is a strategic decision. A corporate strategic decision, which is concerned with the overall purpose of Yahoo and adding value to different part of the business. Which will impact Yahoos success or failure unlike with operational and tactical decisions the effects of which sometimes provide immediate feedback, likely results of corporate strategic decisions may not be evident for many years but, when felt could result in the failure of the entire business. The strategic decision to shift from advertisement income to charging users directly for personalized services like audio subscription and web page by Yahoo! Resulted in loss of revenue and plummeting of the share price. Strategy is a game about the future in which the whole company is at stake and which the possibilities for regretting a move or getting back are often not realistic or very costly. Therefore, strategy and strategy planning is the perhaps the most difficult but perhaps also the most important management tasks Yahoo is facing. (Exploring Corporate Strategy seventh edition page 7-9, by Jonson, Scholes and Whittington) To what extent do they differ from strategic issues facing your own organization? Strategic issues encountered by Yahoo more or less relevant to most organizations. However, it is likely that different strategic decision characteristic will be more important in some contexts and in some organizations than the other. Yahoo! Needs to be a stronger and faster company a company with clearer vision and clearer ownership and clearer accountability, it will need to understand the rapid development of technology, needs to continuously update and improve its search engine features and exploit new market opportunities. It gives a different emphasis for my company that of full service Hair salon providing haircuts, facial treatments and nail services to the needs of a local community. Hair Salon is operating in a single market, a small local community with a single or very limited product and services. Where as Yahoo! A global diverse company has its presence in all over the world. Its diverse not only with product and services but also with the geographical market. Therefore, the scope of the operation in my hair salon likely to be less of a strategic issue than of what Yahoo has to content with. The local community that I operate knows how I am and my service. I have created a great customer loyalty through experienced staff that I have carefully hired and try to expand my market share through word of mouth. A part from that I am the only salon in the 25-mile radius, which has given a great competitive advantage. Even though Yahoo! Has created a brand loyalty sustaining the competitive advantage and the market share would be very challenging with massive competitive nature of the market it operates in. Therefore, the ways in which the salon and Yahoo! Handle competitive advantage will differ in making a strategic decision. I started my business with the capital that I gained for sale of my property and bank debt that I still pay. I have utilized the capital and my exceptional talent in haircutting fully. I want to expand my business to include a tanning spa but my ability to raise capital has stopped me. Whereas if Yahoo! Is in hold of massive assets in terms of financial and human but the unfocused nature and lack of a cohesive vision have created problems to Yahoo! Therefore, the ability and allocation of resources are issues facing both companies but to what extent and access to capital will differ in terms of strategic decision. Yahoo! Is facing issues with values and expectations of the stakeholders due to unclear ownership. For a private enterprise like Yahoo the ultimate success criteria is value of the company to the owners: the stakeholder value. Therefore, in Yahoo stakeholder value is mother of strategic goals. I have to deal only to my customers and my self. As you can see even though values and expectations exist in both organizations to what extent it affects my salon and Yahoo! Makes a difference in the strategic context. Therefore, strategic issues facing Yahoo! Compared to my hair salon tend to be complex due to wide geographical scope and the wide range of products and services it has to offer to the differentiated market. The pace of change in the environment as well as competition yahoo is facing needs it to be fast, adaptive and customer responsive to the uncertainty. Strategic issues need to be integrated through out the value chain, a decision to decentralized managers have to cross functional and operational boundaries to deal with all over Yahoo! Critically examine how strategic issues differ between profit making and a non-profit oriented organization? There are similarities between for-profit and non-profit organizations. First and foremost, both types of organizations begin with a solid mission statement and a vision statement that drive the strategic planning process and remind all the members of the organization of their foundation. Both are organizations where assets are held and business transacted in the name of the corporation rather than the individuals occupied. To survive and grow, both need to create or bring in more revenue than they consume on operations. Both are involved in producing a good or service for customers. And, of course, both are managed and run by the people who are employed by the organization. We always hear about for profit companies, such as Yahoo! And the strategies they have developed. Even though, non-for profit organizations are not concerned with profit maximization they act to uplift the culture quality of life of the region they operate in, they too benefit from following good strategies sin ce they need generate profits to survive and grow. However, it is the distribution of the remainder of the profits that is one of the differentiating characteristics between for profit and non-profit organizations. Therefore, the key strategic issues facing a, for profit company and non-for profit will differ. In a for profit organization the profits that are not re-invested in the organization are distributed to the owners of the company as cash. (If they do its to gain more return for the investment). The point is that the profits of a non-profit organization constantly go toward sustaining some cause that society deems as good and helpful and not into the pockets of the investors. We have to look at the values and expectations; values will be of central strategic significance and plays an important part in the development of strategy. Non-profit organizations charities, churches etc. the sources of funds will be linked to different objectives and expectations of the funder. The mere existence of the non-for profit lies in the hands of the funder or the funding body hence the long-term direction is depended. Therefore, funders are likely to have a stronger influence on the decision making process. These are mission-driven organizations working to increase the quality of life for a specific community or society Where, as a private company are looking at profit maximization working to the best interest of their stakeholders ROCI. There is no real measure of efficiency other than to carry out its mission and achieve its set out objectives within the money contribution it has raised or received. In contract profit organization are in inconstant need of achieving high efficiency and productivity to deal the customer expectations as well as maximizing in return on capital invested. A profit company is created when investors collectively transfer assets and talent to start the company. The company, which is in fact a fictitious individual in the eyes of the law, takes title and ownership of the assets, etc. and gives, in exchange for the assets, ownership shares in the company to those who contributed the assets. However, with a non-profit, individuals come together and provide assets and talent to start the corporation. But, these people who create the corporation do not receive any legal ownership in the corporation and, further, have no guarantee that they will be able to retain control of the corporation once formed. All of the assets are now to be used to advance that cause or provide the service for which the non-profit business was created Some characteristics are found in profit and no profit organizations but the frequency of strong impact is much higher on a no profit organization. Hence, the strategic decision that profit and no profit company makes will differ. We are reactive instead of charting an unwavering course à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ tactics Critically analyze the accuracy of the statement that formal planning systems are irrelevant for firms. This is about strategy development process. Through which strategies actually develop in an organization. This process can be grouped into two main types. First is the notion of strategy development as deliberate management intent, which has been planned, that is formally created ahead of events. This is the concept of intended strategy. It is literally strategy as design. Second is emphasized on the emergence of strategy from internal and external factors existing in and around the organization. Where strategy emerge from day to day decisions and activities. This is the concept of emergent strategy. Quinn has termed it as logical incremental. Both approaches must be examined within the context of an increasingly dynamic, highly competitive and global business environment. The statement We are reactive suggest that Yahoo! Is following a planned or intended strategy. Being reactive is a characteristic of planned strategy. Which follows systematic process where analysis of organiz ations internal performance and external environment will result in long term plan. Senior management is in charge of defining the final objectives and the plan is then put into action. With logical and analytical analysis will allow organizations to formulate strategies to meet new opportunities and barriers. This approach will enable organizations to manage and organize complex activities on different business units quite effectively and efficiently. Intended strategic formulation is based on existing strengths and capabilities of an organization to optimize its growth. On the contrary, in times of rapid change and turbulence it fails to find alternatives and adapt that Yahoo! Is facing. Unplanned changers are a shock, so the strategy doesnt have a logical answer it tends to be reactive to change and the reaction this might not be timely as in the case of Yahoo! Or the result might be no action at all. The fact that logical approach implies that strategy development is always d eliberate and everything strategy will be realized according to plan. Besides, perspective indented strategy formulations consist assumptions that are unsustainable to todays changing business world. Unpredictable acts of events will regularly force originally strategy of its course. Additionally, this method doesnt allow organizations to absorb any learned element to strategy so can limit organizations ability to response flexibly in todays changing environment. Further, this model fails to complement the modern team culture where everybody is part of a team and everyone can participate in the strategy building decisions that might result in dissatisfaction and low motivation. Charting an unwavering course implies that Yahoo! Need to follow a more emergent approach to strategy. Instead of meeting a premeditated plan; strategy evolves through a process of learning, adjustment and experimentation. An emergent approach leads to more creative and responsive strategy making which is well suited to the hyper-competitive and unpredictable environments of today this is what Brad Garlinghouse mentions in charting an unwavering course thats dealing with constantly changing market. In contrast with the prescriptive approach which focuses on creating a fit between established strengths and new opportunities, the emergent approach intentionally creating a misfit between these factors. Hence, its more suited to transformational change in organizations as well as managing helping to reduce resistance to change among employees. On the other side of the coin, when planning and implementation two simultaneous strategic process are taking place it runs the risk of confusion and being too slow. These mean valuable opportunities might be lost. Additionally, without analytical analysis objectives lack clarity and a basis of evaluating performance. Also conflicting strategic choices by different groups might hinder strategic development. Emergent strategies do not mean tha t management is out of control it is just more open, flexible, responsive and willing to learn. This is an important strategy in a complex, uncertain and changing environment. It best case scenario, it enables management to act before everything is fully understood. Nonetheless, such a strategy has the risk of lack of direction. A greater use of strategic planning tools for internal and external analysis would certainly facilitate improved organizational learning and enhance strategic thinking even while following an emergent approach. Deliberate strategies help to manage, to impose intentions on the organization and to provide a sense of direction. The prescriptive and emergent processes, rather than being mutually exclusive, can be complementary to each other. All in all, most viable strategies in todays business world should have customized elements of prescriptive and emergent characteristics in order to manage the complexities of their business. Analyze your own organizations approach to its strategic planning process. There are many different ways in which strategy could be understood, developed and implemented. All of these views have there own merit. Using analytical tools such an internal and external environment, research data like competitor analysis and planning systems like cash flow and budgeting will be useful to create design strategies. Which Yahoo! No doubt have used when developing its strategy. However, its critical to understand how experience and culture influences an organization. Like for my salon founder a naturally talented and creative individual is still a dominant influence on strategy. Strategy by idea is another concept, where a new idea might emerge through the organization from the variety of experience and behaviors that are found across the organization. Our salon, strategies are based on following of past strategies which has being influenced by the founder through his experience and the vast expertise, more of the same, we are in the view why fix when it isnt br oken. We are driven by taken for granted assumption and the ways of doing things embedded in the culture of our salon. The best that can be expected is what Herbert Simon termed bounded rationality which results in managers satisficing rather than optimizing; they do the best they can within the limits of their circumstances, knowledge and experience. (Exploring corporate strategy seventh edition page 45) the strategies are developed as the outcome of the founder and his experience, which influence strategic decision. In order to grow and thrive in the future there has to be strategic planning with all aspects of people and salon management. Salons can often survive; certainly do well for periods of time in conditions of relative stability, low environmental turbulence and little competition. However, virtually none of these conditions prevail in the current world for great lengths of time. Investment in a process that leads to a well developed strategic plan will mean the differ ence between retaining your best clients and your best stylists and will mean the difference between successful profitable growth and steady decline. Therefore, we need to reassess our strategic thinking; we address our problems in much the same way as we dealt with a previous issue seen as similar. For example the recent profit downturn was interpreted, as decline in overall market condition where as the true fact being no new trend setting by our stylist. We lack hair-cutting techniques that are required by the Young Urban Professionals. It is therefore helps to understand of where innovative strategies come from and how organizations cope with dynamic environments. It also poses question about whether the top management really have control over strategic direction. Discuss ways in which the planning process could be improved? Whether you are a fan of Porters five forces or the concept of Blue oceans strategy or other relevant tools of analysis, a strategy process has simple logical sequence, like A comes before B, B before C. before you look for the blue ocean and sail out on it, its wise to know your limitations of your boat, and also practical to be able to navigate and know about the water you are about to experience. (Something about strategic panning by Bjarn Nielsen 2006) Systematic strategic assessment helps to find, and decide, the handful of really big issues facing the salon. It is the size and impact of these strategic issues that gives rise to the importance of the strategic plan and to improve their performance. Performance is about creating value for the main beneficiaries of the company. Strategic thinking and planning can help to keep the focus on value creation, and not on management tools or practices for their own sake. For example, a SWOT Analysis is a useful tool in one of the es sential improving the salons planning processes. Our planning process has to follow, formal, well documented, clearly communicated, and simple procedures. 1. Commitment from people who will be affected by the plan This is the start and to ensure support for planning, and the implementation of the plan. Example stylist, the purchasing manger. 2. Long term strategic objectives to improve service of the salon These objectives should clearly promote the enduring purpose of the company. This means knowing and identifying for whom the salon exists, (the target market) and what services we seeks to provide. The intended clients must be defined in segments group. The services offered must also be client oriented. By creating a mission, vision statement to the salon. 3. Creating strategic options Analysis of key strategic issues and short-listing, according to worth and creating of alternative strategies. By examining alternatives, it is likely that the salon will find alternatives that are superior to the current approach. Our expert stylist spend to much time on washing client hair, we can analysis few alternative approaches to dealing either tell your clients to wash there hair and come, hire a new hair stylist, hire a trainee or cut the price and offer haircuts without wash. The business will encounter environmental changes; if Alternative, contingency, plans have been considered for these changes, the organization can respond more effectively. 4. Evaluate and Decide on strategies Effective formal planning uses systematic methods for evaluating the various alternatives. Evaluate to ensure that they do not go against any objectives. Ensure that all major strategic issues are addressed. 5. Monitoring of the strategies against the long-term objectives. Need a method of running the plans as it gets executed. The plan should provide for customer feedback. To allow for corrective action, the monitoring system should address the same obje ctives and factors determined as significant through the planning process. Too often there is a disconnection between the plan and its reality. Put simply find and decide what to do about the handful of really big issues facing the business. The strategic planning process and tools, such as SWOT analysis, will find the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, threats. These approaches, with their value-based management focus, will ensure that our business will have long run superior performance, and we will also be at less risk of failure.

Article Review I H8 Txt Msgs How Texting Is Wrecking...

I will analysing two articles one of them being John Humphry’s article â€Å"I h8 txt msgs: how texting is wrecking our language† and David Crystal â€Å"2b or not 2b† analysis of text messages looking at what kind of language do they use and other kind of language devices. The John Humphry article was written in 2007 and published online by the Daily Mail. The article is a critical opinion piece written to aggravate and prove more than inform the reader. The very attention seeking headline shows a very common journalist technique to grab the reader’s attention as well as publishing in the Daily Mail where most readers are middle aged. Whereas David Crystal, (Linguistics Professor) published his article the BBC website in 2008. John Humphrys is portrayed as a well-spoken, educated, individual (Radio, Television Presenter and an Author) who is very worried about the English language. â€Å"Life the love affair with OED† he uses this to express how infatuated by dictionaries he is and how this article shows how hurt he is. The new edition of Oxford English dictionary came out; Humphrys uses humour to describe how the dictionary ‘has fallen victim to fashion’ because of the removal of the â€Å"hyphen† of no fewer than 16,000 words that has â€Å"betrayed† his â€Å"precious† OED. He continues ‘it has happened because we are changing the way we communicate with each other, which means†¦. We no longer have time to reach the hyphen key’ meaning we are becoming very lazy with the new generation of technology.Show MoreRelatedThe Effects of Texting on Literacy: Is It Corrupting Language?3736 Words   |  15 PagesTHE EFFECTS OF TEXTING ON LITERACY: Is it corrupting language? 1.0 INTRODUCTION What’s SMS? SMS first appeared in GSM in about 1991. SMS later appeared in CDMA and TDMA networks. Mobile Origination (MO) - a key feature of SMS, allowing the user to originate SMS messages from the handset - has only became available to non-GSM users in 2000. Ask a kid anywhere in the world, he or she would tell it is form of talking to another person(s), with a cell phone using letters and not words. SMS means

How to Critically Analyse your Essay Free Essays

This guide will look at ways to improve the critical analysis in your essay. As explained in another of our guides, there are important differences between descriptive and critical / analytical essays. As critical analytical work attracts higher marks, it’s important to understand what makes a critical analytical essay and how best to write one. We will write a custom essay sample on How to Critically Analyse your Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now A critical analysis essay develops an argument, putting forward a particular point of view and dealing with objections. It uses descriptive material to gather evidence for the point of view it puts forward. It should be well structured and logical, clear and easy to understand Types of Question to Ask in your Critical Analysis Essay Writing a critical and analytic essay means asking the right sort of questions. Questions about theory. You need to discuss existing theoretical perspectives critically. How does the writer understand what she / he is trying to explainWhat is the theoretical background against which they writeHow does the theoretical background influence what they say Questions of definitions. Very often, definitions of seemingly unambiguous terms are confusing, and different authors use the term in different ways. It is often useful to unpick key terms. Are the concepts used clear, or are they vaguely defined and ambiguous Questions of evidence. Consider the evidence that exists to support an author’s point of view. Is there enough evidence, and can the point the author is making be supported by the evidenceConsider individual research studies. Is the methodology flawed or soundHow was the population included in the research selected, for example. Were the conclusions drawn warranted by the actual data collectedHow was the data analysed Questions of implication. Look at the implications of an author’s argument. Are they positive or negativeAre there any absurd conclusions which can be drawn from their premises Do the author’s conclusions really follow from their premises Structuring a Critical Analysis Essay To a large extent, critical analysis essays share structure with other types of essay. For example, they will include an introduction, main body and conclusion. However, there are some features which you should note: The introduction should identify the main thesis under discussion, preview the argument you will use, and explain the context The main body should include a summary of current understanding of the field, before moving on to your argument. You might consider using a structure whereby each section of the main body considers a different point of your argument, first setting out the argument point before considering objections. Your conclusion should summarise the main points, and explain how you have demonstrated your thesis. Tips for Improving Critical Analytic Essays To summarise, there are several ways in which you can improve the critical and analytic qualities of your essay: Make sure you understand what you have been asked to write about, and have identified the focus of the task. As well as understanding what question you’ve been asked, you need to analyse the language the question was framed in, read through any associated course material, and try and uncover the expectations your tutor has of your essay. Identify your personal point of view. What is your own perspectiveThat is, what is your position on the issueIt’s fine for your position to change, but you have to be clear at all times what it is. And your position should be supported by the evidence you present. Understand how to persuade others that your point of view is right. That is, you need to know how to present an argument in a logical and well reasoned way. You not only have to be able to argue for your point of view, you also need to show how your arguments are rooted in evidence. That is, you need to know how to first identify and then evaluate the evidence that’s available. This means the ability to do research effectively, quickly and appropriately. You also need to be willing to engage in debate, that is, acknowledge points of view other than your own and show why (in your opinion, and backed up with argument and evidence) they are wrong. Your essay should be well structured. You might have good arguments and plenty of evidence, but unless these are presented in a clear and cohesive way, you risk your essay sounding muddled and confusing, and convincing no-one. Bibliography Palgrave MacMillan (2013) ‘Critical Analysis’ [online] (cited 13th February 2013) available from http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/pdfs/critical%20analysis%20.pdf London School of Journalism ‘Writing Critical Analysis Papers’, [online] (cited 13th February 2013) available from http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/Handouts/CriticalAnalysisPapers.pdf How to cite How to Critically Analyse your Essay, Essay examples

Marketing Strategy of Portland Drake Beverages-Free-Samples

Question: Evaluate the marketing research conducted by Portland Drake Beverages in this case. Using your knowledge of the research process, discuss the research approach(es) undertaken, how they contributed to addressing the marketing research problem, and if the research would be enough to finalise the positioning strategy for Crescent Pure. Answer: Market research is defined as the activity of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information regarding a specific market regarding a product or service which is going to be introduced in the market (Babin and Zikmund, 2015). The research also collects and analyze information about the past, current and potential future customers of the product. The information set of the customers include data regarding the characteristics, ability to spend and preferences of the customers. This in turn helps the organizations to determine the target market where it will introduce the product and determine the target audience for the product in an effective manner (Xie et al., 2017). Presently market research is considered to be the backbone of all new successful business ventures. In the context of the given case study the key problem of PDB was regarding the positioning of its newly acquired product Crescent Pure. Some people of the management team suggested that as Crescent contains some energizing ingredients it should position its products in the energy drinks segment. On the other hand, some of the other people suggested that Crescent should be introduced in the sports drinks segment as it contains hydrating elements. Now the vice president of Portland Drake beverages (BDB) is credited with the responsibility of determining the benefits and drawbacks of the available positioning strategies and determining which will be the appropriate segment where launching Crescent would be beneficial for PDB. The data obtained by conducting a market research on the energy drinks market suggest that, the market was expanding and since 2010 to 2012 the market has expanded by more than 40%. It was projected that the market for energy drinks will reach $8.5 billion in 2031 in the United States and it will be worth of $13.5 billion by 2018. In relation to the consumer data it has been observed that most of the consumers are aged between 18 to 35. While analyzing the responses obtained it was observed that most of the energy drinks were consumed by the individuals who had a monthly income less than $25,000. In the context of competitors also in has been observed that Crescent will face significant competition in the energy drinks segment. As most of the renowned organizations like Together, Razor, Torque and Stellar comprise 85% of the market share while the rest 15% of the market are shared between other nearly thirty different regional drink manufacturers. As the consumers are becoming concerned about their health promoting an energy drink with lower level of caffeine and with more pure ingredients would attract the attention of the customers (Rothschild, 2014). This can be considered as an opportunity to the company. In the context of threats it can be stated that news stories are highlighting several facts about the energy drinks. Due to this 32% of the consumers aged over 18 stated that in the last six month they had consumed energy drink while 11% stated that they have consumed less than they used to a year ago. In relation to the sports drink market the collected consumer responses suggested that nearly half of the men population consume sports drinks while only one third of women consume sports drinks. Nearly 40% of the male and 27% of the female found sports drinks to be refreshing. Sports drinks are more appealing to the younger customers. There are two major competitors in the market Gleam and Drip who possess 73% and 21% of the total market share respectively while the rest of the 6% market share is fairly shared by almost 20 producers. As people are becoming more concerned about the childhood obesity which resulted in government-mandated rule of removing high calorie sugary foods (Munsell et al., 2016). Developing a new drink with low sugar and diet components may be an area of growth for the organization. From 2012 to 2017 the market for diet and low sugar sports drinks were expected to increase from $1.4 billion to $2.97 billion. As per the customer analysis it can be observed that taste of the drink appeals to most of the customers and after knowing the amount of caffeine contents only 25% of them remained concerned about the energy component. There were some customers who stated that Crescent is just a drink they wanted as a beverage for long, its healthy ingredients, better taste and energy contents made it stand out from the crowd. This specific criteria thrown a focus on health and wellness which attracted a specific demographic segment. On the basis of the market research analysis Ryan came to the decision that younger population who are health conscious would be the prospective customers for Crescent. Hence a third broad appeal segment has been considered which is the organic refreshment drink which takes the advantage of the growth of organic food and beverage industry. Reference List Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015.Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning. Munsell, C.R., Harris, J.L., Sarda, V. and Schwartz, M.B., 2016. Parents beliefs about the healthfulness of sugary drink options: opportunities to address misperceptions.Public health nutrition,19(1), pp.46-54. Rothschild, A.R., 2014.System and method for adding an advertisement to a personal communication. U.S. Patent 8,645,211. Xie, W., Bivins, M.A., Jones, S., Deng, K.K., Schiller, B., Sullivan, J., Terrazas, A. and Sheppard, M., Nielsen Co (US) LLC, 2017.Context-based image recognition for consumer market research. U.S. Patent 9,569,692.

Evidence of Confucianism in the traditional funeral and post

Introduction Culture refers to the manifestation of human intellectual achievement. It is usually collective and can take various forms such as music, art and the way of life of a group of people. Researchers have noted that culture is a very powerful tool for human survival and is in many cases determined by factors such as geographical location and a common historical origin.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Evidence of Confucianism in the traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People with a common culture share common ideas, attitudes towards various issues, and indicate a common pattern of behavior. For instance, many inhabitants of Asian countries have a culture that features different kinds of cultural heritage that are divided into distinct geographical regions namely central, east, west, south and northern Asia. The aim of this paper is to propose a researc h project that will explore a religious aspect of people of East Asia. The research project will explore how Confucianism influences the lives of people of South Korea. The initial assumption is that Confucianism is evident in traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea. Problem Statement Confucianism refers to a system of thought based on the teachings of a Chinese man named Kung Fuzi who lived from 551 to 479 BCE. The name was first Latinized and then translated to English to sound â€Å"Confucius†. It was claimed by Confucius proponents that his teachings were not original. However, the same proponents of Confucianism believed that he was a creative wisdom transmitter from the past. A moral code that was based on humanity, ethics and love was created by him. Ideas that are emphasized by this system include the need to live in harmony and order both with other human beings and nature. This project will qualitatively explore evidence of Confucianism in the traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea. Objective statement The main objective of the research project proposed in this proposal will be exploring evidence of Confucianism in the traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea. Justification Understanding the way of life of people is critical when it comes to interacting with them. This is because of the cultural diversity that exists across all the nations of the world. South Korea forms a larger part of the East Asian that has people with a different way of life from the rest of the world. Research on evidence of Confucianism in traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea will go a greater step in helping to understand them thus creating a harmonized understanding between them and people of different cultural values.Advertising Looking for term paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Methodology This is a qualitative research that seeks to explore how idea s of the Confucianism system impact on the general lifestyle of people of the republic of South Korea. Participants: Participants in this research project will be selected citizens of South Korea who have a strong believe in the system of Confucianism. This will be used as a representative sample of people in the whole country who follow ideologies of Confucianism. Research tools: In this study, structured interviews, participant observation and review of secondary sources of information will be utilized as primary research tools. Data collection: Data in this project will be collected by use of tape recorders, video recorders and note taking. Data analysis: Data collected from this research project will be deeply analyzed through analytic induction, domain analysis, and logical analysis/matrix to establish specific points on how ideas of Confucianism impact on the lifestyles of people of South Korea. Data presentation: Data in this research project will be presented in form of tabl es, graphs and percentages that will be accompanied by a detailed discussion. This term paper on Evidence of Confucianism in the traditional funeral and post-burial rites of Korea was written and submitted by user Jensen U. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

farmer and his wife essays

farmer and his wife essays A farmer and his wife The work that families are involved in, their economic circumstances and their personal relationships are central to both stories, no matter what culture those people belong to. Money sometimes can be a seed of evil, bring only injustice, conflict or dissatisfaction for someone; however, sometimes money dose mean everything for someone. In this two stories, some people reflect on a lifetime of work and the changes in their lives, others have to face unemployment and ethical decision that they have done. Furthermore, after reading two stories, I can appreciate common things about money, work and land in both stories. A farmer and his wife is one of the best stories I have ever read before. It is quite interesting when I first read through the whole story. The husband and his wife, 2 main characters, with the totally different personalities, but lived together since they were around 18 of their age. Everything has been significantly changed in the last several decades of their life, except their personalities, they still keep their characters, even they try to change it, but it seems impossible. For the wife, who is the only daughter in her family, inherited her parents gifts, a large fields with more than three centuries history. To her, money and work have the special meaning. In order to find a good job, her children leave her alone, and go to somewhere to earn their lives. She can understand that, because she wants her children having a good life. However, She is also concerned that her children would never come back, and she is really upset when she heard that one of her daughter became a prostitute. But she just pretend she did not know that, cause she knew that her daughter need that job to survive, even it was a shame to her. However, what was the key thing she was concerned was that all of her children despite their long absence and shortcoming, even they post ...

THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION - Research Paper Example Even after 182 years of its survival, the French Foreign Legion remains a much misunderstood unit in the global military scenario. Huge non-supportive behavior of French people against the United States led alliance for war against terrorism in Iraq and also their rejection to even recognize it as a global war provides only to increase the Legion’s contemporary insignificance. Legion has mainly engaged itself in very rare attempts in the domain of peacekeeping and expansion of larger national military forces since 1962, they have established and preserved a level of preparation and capability that is more than that of other specialized military establishments. Foreign French Legion remains a vital component of nation’s military infrastructure, especially after recent reorganization. King Louis Philippe came into power after King Charles X was overthrown in the result of a rebellion. King Louis Philippe was struggling with the problem soon after climbing the throne of France. That was how to address the huge number of refugees, revolutionaries and exiles coming from the bordering countries mixed up in internal uprisings. He knew the risk these foreigners can pose to his kingdom. A solution was proposed to King Louis Philippe by a self-proclaimed lieutenant general of French Army, Jean Lacroix. Lacroix had already formed a structure of foreign volunteers with designs on utilizing them in newly conquered territory of Algeria by the French army. He suggested that his force be expanded by positive recruiting all over the country side of France with pledges of handsome salary and legal status in the country. These suggestions of Jean Lacroix were approved by the King Louis Philippe as an excellent solution that was not only addressing his refugees’ problem, bu t it would also help in reducing the strive on the regular French military combating

Parents Attitudes Toward Learning Through Play in The Foundation Stage Essay

Parents Attitudes Toward Learning Through Play in The Foundation Stage - Essay Example This study aims to investigate parents’ attitudes toward learning through play in the foundation stage. 1.3 Objectives Specific objectives of this research are as follows: 1. To research related literature in order to define play and the types of play used in the foundation stage 2. To establish why play is important for children’s development. 3. To explore parents’ beliefs and attitudes regarding play as a way of learning in the foundation stage using primary research. 4. To identify whether parents provide any play activities at home to support children’s development at the foundation stage 1.4 Rationale of the Study This research aims to explore how parents truly regard play and if they do believe in its benefit to support children’s development especially in the foundation stage. This information would be very helpful for practitioners so that they know how to engage parents’ cooperation and support in schools. It is believed that parent s are important collaborators in their children’s learning since they can provide the resources and experiences to help them learn both at home and in school. In partnership with teachers, parents can help enhance the curriculum in ways that engage children’s interest, so it becomes meaningful and fun for them. Play is one way that makes this possible. Parents are seen as partners in their children’s education, so it is worthwhile to study how they view their role as parents of very young children who constantly engage in play as a form of enjoyment. Becoming aware that play may be used in the educational setting for learning as well as enjoyment may confuse parents as to the role play is given in the foundation...From the research, it can be comprehended that play comes naturally to children. From the time they are infants, the play is an activity that they engage in to learn about their world. As they grow older, they discover more about the world around them through play. They use their senses to explore objects and learn about concepts such as of cause and effects when they manipulate objects. Macintyre asserts that young children learn better in play-like settings. Concepts are retained better when learned in an easy, relaxed and fun atmosphere that does not pressure children to perform in ways that stress them to achieve. Macintyre continues to endorse the value of play in all the developmental areas of children. Play’s rich and varied meanings have resulted in theorists being unable to come up with a single standard definition. Isaacs was one of the first known theorists to define play as the work of the child whereas more recently Bruce regards play as â€Å"the highest form of learning in early childhood†. Moyles comments on how the play is valuable as an excellent learning medium and educators who attempt to define play describe similar features such as enjoyment, spontaneity and active engagement. Still, the diffic ulty of finding a precise and conclusive definition of play persists. Greig contends that this may be due to its ambiguity and variety, as play serves various roles and functions. Another reason for the difficulty in finding one standard definition is that â€Å"the boundaries of play are fluid† and so may cover different activities.

Feminine Beauty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Feminine Beauty - Essay Example It has also been argued that beautification, for the women, is a form of disguise (Ware 178-179). This implies that, through beautification, women attempt to hide their true self and show what they want the society to see. This may mean that women struggle to hide some defects in their bodies. This would be used to show the difference between the process of beautification and the product of the overall process. The process leads to a product, which is just an extension of the woman but not the real self. Specifically, this is termed as a process of creating an alternative ideal of the physical self and eliminating the flaws in the body. To further support this claim, the main reason as to why most women undertake plastic surgery is so that they can align their inner self with their appearance. Some women may claim that their bodies fail to represent them as they should or as they really are (Cahill 41-43). This implies that the women have identified some flaws in their bodies and are constantly attempting to eliminate them through beautification practices. Therefore, through various beautification processes, the true existence of the women is realized. This implies that there is a form of subjectivity that the society has placed on women that requires them to spend longer periods of time while attempting to ‘fit’ in the society. This is the beautification portrayed in the artwork that could as well indicate that the woman spend a significant amount of time performing some beautification procedures to make her look as she ‘really is’.  Such beauty has also been argued to be projected for the male population; for the males’ approval. However, the males are also not keen since they approve it simply by looking at the anesthetic instead of the female being as a full human being. Since the men view the feminine beauty as specifically done for them, the discourse for beautification is contrary to political, social and economic equal ity. Simply, the idea of beautification is against the quest for equality in the society. When men view the beautified woman as the aesthetic, the whole material of work that constitute the woman’s body is perceived as used up in that she fails to reveal her being. In place of that, men see equipment made for their own satisfaction.  

Personnel Management And Human Resource Management Commerce Essay

Personnel Management And Human Resource Management Commerce Essay As per the senior managements comment in the meeting: Our Company is suffering in the marketplace, as we take a personal management approach rather than a HRM approach. Report to answer Managers query: This report has been designed in order to enable the line manager to address the issue raised in the management meeting. What we understand from the managements comments is that our new store of TESCO Company is facing lot of issues and competition at the new market place. Similarities and differences between HRM and personal management? Why senior management of TESCO feels that our new store should take a HRM approach instead of a personal management approach? Personnel management expands into human resource management. In general terms, Personnel management is considered to be an administrative function of an organization. Personnel management is supposed to be organized in such a way that any changes in the organisation stimulate response from personnel management. In an organisation, a person or a team of individuals are believed to be engaged in the process of Personnel management, when they become in charge of considering programs and making sure setting policies are appropriately set so that it can have an impact on every individual associated with the company and its performance. Objective of personnel Management: By this we mean that the focus point through which personnel management is helping in development of the people in the organisation. These objectives can be divided in 4 types: community Personnel Project Amalgamation What is an excellent personnel management: Characteristics of personnel management when it is considered to be excellent has been listed below: Personnel management is expected to bring stability Personnel management should be adaptable and capable to encounter any issue Employee relation management Should have a set objective for the department or the organization Functions of Personnel Management: Following are some of the functions of Personnel Management: Assessing employees requirement Hiring employees Screening of the applicants Selecting the applicants Orientation of the new hired employees towards business 1. 1 Definition of Human Resource Management (HRM)? As per Human resource management, employees are considered the most valuable assets of an organisation. HRM is considered as a development function of an organization. Objectives of Human resource management: Management of the manpower in any company or organisation is human resource management. The main objective of HRM is to increase the efficiency and performance of the employees, staff and other department by identifying the job requirements and hiring the appropriate candidate for that post. This has both development and implementation of strategy. What is good human resource management: HRM is considered to be resource centered. The main functions of HRM are listed below, Recruiting employees Development of training programs Implementation of trusted appraisal system Provide growth opportunity in organisation Performance management HR planning Employee retention Implementation of new resources to increase efficiency of employee etc 1.3 Similarities and differences between HRM and personnel management In this part we will cover some of the similarities and differences between Personnel management and Human resource management. Similarity between HRM and Personnel Management: Even though most of the people try to evaluate the difference between HRM and Personnel management, there are lots of the similarities between these two management systems: Both work on business based strategies Both HRM and Personnel management understands the responsibility of a manager Both believe is getting right candidate for right job Both understand that interaction with employees is the key for the success of management Differences between HRM and personnel management: Stephen and Keith in their works mention Storey Js (1992 twenty seven points of difference between Personnel management and HRM, of which some key differences are: 27 points of difference Dimension Personnel Strategic aspects Key relations Labor management Initiatives Piecemeal Speed of excision Slow Line Management Management Transactional Key managers Personnel/ IR specialists Communication Indirect Key levers Selection Separate, marginal task Pay Job evaluation Communication Restricted flow Conflict handling Reach temporary truces HRM is more proactive when compared to personnel management Personnel management is in general operational whereas HRM is strategy based Personnel management focuses in workforce whereas Human resource on resource. As per personnel management employee is supposed to be utilized for companys benefits but in human resource management, not only the company but also the employee, their family should be given the benefits. In personnel management, employee is considered to be the cost center, whereas in human resource management, they are considered as profit centers Function Personnel Management HRM Approach Administrative Development Selection Targets the current needs Targets the trainability and retention Deployment Need based Skill based Performance Review Supervisor oriented Pre defined targets and goals. Aims for transparency Promotions Based on performance and need Pre developed career path 1.4 Why Senior management TESCO feels that our new store should take a HRM approach instead of a personal management approach? Comments say: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦that our company is suffering in the marketplace, as we take a personal management approach rather than a HRM approach. At first when we go through the senior managements comments, we dont see any details regarding the reason which has provoked the management to pass this comment. Even though we can clear understand that there is a serious issue that our new store or company is facing in the marketplace. As mentioned earlier reason for the poor performance has not been highlighted in the comment. Based on our assumption we can consider the problems related to staff turnover, customer handling, job satisfaction, etc. The other reason can be that the customers coming to the store are getting poor service and minimal attention to their needs. So based on this we can consider the issue to be the employee management. We know that if the staff performance is not up to the mark, it has a direct impact on the status of the TESCO Company and their other stores as well. The senior management might having the opinion that since this a new store with lots of challenging situation, it required development work. As per the managements comment, we can understand that if we want our store to be successful in the marketplace, we need to start working based on Human resource management. Task 2. Recruitment, selection and retention (L01) We all know that TESCO has both food and non-food store across United Kingdom, and they keep on recruiting staff members on regular basis for these stores as per the requirement. Use of appropriate hiring and selection process not only saves valuable amount of time as well as cash of the company. Any job position becomes available in a company: Opening of new stores Vacancies Sudden requirement at some store 2.1.1 Recruitment and Selection Procedures Usually we will see people getting confused with the terms recruitment and selection. In this section we will clearly explain the difference between Recruitment and Selection process. The HR process has two stages: Recruitment: The process of finding the correct candidates and encouraging them to apply for jobs vacancies in the company is called Recruitment process. Recruitment process involves seven steps: Job vacancies identification Preparing and consolidating specific job requirement Job advertisement Managing the responses received through the advertisement Short-listing the candidates Arranging interviews for the short-listed candidates Conducting interview and deciding on the right applicant There are two methods through which recruitment of an employee can be done: Internal recruitment: Internal recruitment is nothing but Transfers, promotions and Re-employment of ex-employee. This is performed internally in a company External recruitment: In this people are invited to fill in the job application and attend interview. This is outside the company means all the appropriate candidates can apply for the job posting. Recruitment mainly helps company in 4 different ways: Opting for highly qualified people for the job Making sure candidate stick for long time with the company Creating cultural mixture Expense and profit equalizing Selection: Selection is the process of selecting the right candidate out of all the picked candidates. This process involves lot of phases through which an applicant goes through before selection. This is a critical step as in this process the right applicants is selected as per the job opening available in the company. There are four likely out comes of Selection process: Selection of the right applicant (positive for company) Rejection of unsuitable applicant (positive for company) Selection of reject-able applicant (negative for company) Rejection of appropriate candidate (negative for company) Selection process takes place in the following order: Initial interview Application filling Verbal and written test Interview with HR manager Handover of Appointment letter 2.1.2 Tescos Recruitment and selection process TESCO- The biggest private sector employer in United Kingdom There are lot of people who are part of these stores and they are Checkout staffs, Stock handlers, Supervisors and specialist like bakers, pharmacist etc. The Recruitment process in TESCO can be summarized as follows: As Tesco recruitment is mainly done through there website or through job advertisement regarding the vacancies available at the store. This site contains all the information about the company and the requirements for the particular job vacancy. Usually TESCO site is uploaded with all the job vacancies and the candidates just need to search the appropriate job by using search option. One the application is filled, the candidate is called for interview based on screening. Any company first checks on the list of the current employees at different stores and there past work experience at store. As per qualification, education and previous job experiences, initially the candidates will be filtered. Line manager will make sure suitable candidate is selected for our new store. 2.2.3 Sample interview questionnaire: Below are some of the questions asked in interviews; Why do you want to join TESCO? What are reasons for you to leave your previous job? Tell us something about your strengths? What do you consider as your weakness? Are you good at handling work related pressure and stress? What salary expectation you have? Tell us something about yourself? What is your qualification? Tell us something about your previous experiences? What are your expectations from Managers and Team leaders? 2.2 Retention Employees or the staff members are like the back bone for company. No company can work without staff skillful staff members. Commonly employee dissatisfaction leads to resignation, hence as far as employee satisfaction is concerned; being manager of a new store, the responsibility is to achieve not only customer satisfaction but also as employees satisfaction. Employee Retention is created by Effective Managers. As recruiting a skillful staff member is difficult same way retaining them is lot more challenging. Employesses in any company expect compensation, good working environment, career growth and good working relationship. Employees tend to leave managers who cant: Clarify issues Assist in career growth Give regular performance based feedback One way of keeping your cost down will be to make sure that staff turnover is low. 2.2.1 Why Staff leaves the job? In this section we will take a look at some of the reasons that provoke an employee to leave their current job: New job: Every person looks out for better opportunity if they are not finding one their current job. Higher Salaries: This is most common reason for any staff member to leave the job Poor management Human Resources department response to employees Communication Work environment Job satisfaction No growth Biased 2.2.2 Method to retain the Staff members Following are some of the suggestion to increase Staff retention: Recruit people who have talent, ability and ready to work in any position Provide benefits like life insurance, permanent or temporary disability insurance and flexible hours. Regular feedback session based on performance Growth opportunity Celebration at workplace Proper appraisal system Regular appreciation Good work environment Should provide work and life balance opportunity Regularly address is staff issues 2.3 Legal and Ethical Issues in Recruitment Recruitment process is not simple as it sounds. Lot of legal and ethical issues needs to be kept in mind during this process. To meet legal requirement company needs to make sure that Job postings, inspecting references, interview questionnaire, and job offers all need to be done in appropriate way. As per BC Human Rights Code (Discrimination in employment advertisements), a job should not be published if it gives preference to the following: Race/Cast Color Heritage Place of origin Religious conviction Marital category Belief involving politics Family status Age Psychological disability Physical Religious conviction Any applicant can take legal action against the company if the question is in appropriate. In order to keep the staff members aware of the legal and ethical issue pertaining to company, the store manager can provide a handbook once the candidate is selected. An employer should always be ready with the appropriate documents supporting that the job requirements are legal and not against the ethics of the company. 3. Disciplinary Procedures 3.1 Introduction The main focus of implementation of disciplinary process is to bring out improvement in an employee or staff member. Implementation of Disciplinary procedure is very important in any work place. A staff member needs to be aware that when ever there is something going wrong, it was an end result. Whenever any employee breaks policies of the company or doesnt work to their expectation, disciplinary procedures is administered. Usually disciplinary procedure is applied when a staff members performance is below expectation or not up to the mark. Before an appropriate action can be taken disciplinary procedure demands an explanation of the issue from both the sides. There are two ways of handling these situations Informal and formal. An informal step involves talking to the staff personally and internally but a formal step involves other departments like HRM. There are different methods in application of discipline like Warning (verbal or written), Probation, Suspension/ transfer, Demotion, Discharge Below mentioned the issues that have been observed recently in the Store will give a clear understanding about disciplinary procedure: 3.2 Paul Wilkinson Coming late and leaving early Issue: Paul Wilkinson a 44 year old supervisor has recently been coming to work late and leaving early. You have already spoken to him about this, but unfortunately the situation hasnt improved. In this case, Supervisor is expected to be extremely punctual as they act as role models for the new staff. As this is a repeated offence from Pauls side, initially he was given verbal warning but as the situation has not improved, he will be given a written warning. Try to speak to him and offer him some other shift in which he can work with commitment without compromising on the time. Putting him on probation can also a an option. Transferring him another store is just waste of time and cash. It will only hamper other stores performance and reputation as well. Depending on seriousness of the offense, next time can lead in his demotion or removal from the job. To better understand Pauls recent activity, we need to know if He is facing any family or personal issue pertaining to time of work. Is he no longer happy working at the store Reason for his dissatisfaction if any 3.3 Sheena Johnson Stealing in the Store Issue: Sheena Johnson is 28 and a machine operator in the department. You have been informed that security found her stealing some finished and part-finished items from the department. She has been told to report to you at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. In this case; In Sheenas case, legal action is necessary to be taken to handle this issue. In any industry or organization stealing is against the ethics of the store and legal action can be taken depending on the seriousness of the offence. Being a manager, I need to make sure that this offence is not repeated either by Sheena or anyone else. If this information becomes public, customer will not come into the store as they wont find their articles safe. Before taking legal actions, immediate terminate Sheena from her post and clear the accounts. Order her to return back all the articles stolen from the shop or pay compensation. Other information needed to understand Sheenas activity is From when she has started stealing Possible reason behind this act 4. Summary Management is getting all different kinds of people together and work as a team. We know that the management of personnel and human resource has been changing periodically. Stability in business is important and human resource management and personnel management has an important role to play. Through the above task we have got a clear understanding of how personnel management differs from human resource management as well as similar to each other. Through the report development, we will help the line manager to address the issue pertaining to the new store at the market place. We have discussed how Tesco has been of selecting right candidate through appropriate recruitment and selection process. We discussed about the reasons for the staff members to leave the job and the retention methods that are implemented to retain the skillful employees.

Faulkners Light in August - Themes :: Light August Essays

Light in August - Themes    1. RACISM    The Southern concern with racial identity is one of Light in August's central themes. When people think that Joe Christmas has even a trace of black ancestry, they treat him completely differently from the way they treat white people. Many of the characters in Light in August seem twisted by their preoccupation with race. Joe Christmas, Joanna Burden, Nathaniel Burden, Doc Hines, and, ultimately, Percy Grimm are among these. But even many of the characters who don't share this mania assume that treating blacks inhumanly is acceptable. The Jefferson sheriff, Watt Kennedy, seems a decent man, yet he whips a randomly chosen black in an interrogation that was unnecessary in the first place.    2. THE SOUTHERN PAST       Two of Light in August's five major characters live in the shadow of their dead ancestors. But you could interpret their relation to these forebears in different ways. On the one hand, you could point to a pattern of decline and say that the present doesn't live up to the heroic days of yesteryear. On the other hand, you could say that the problems of the present come from a failure to shake off the burdensome grip of the past. Here is how you could argue each point of view.    a. The Heroic Past    Gail Hightower's grandfather was a robust lover of life, and his father was a helper of his fellow human beings. But Hightower fails both his wife and his congregation and spends the rest of his life cut off from other people.    Though Joanna Burden's forefathers were not originally from the South, their emigration to Jefferson makes them part of the Souths history too. And like Gail Hightower, Joanna compares badly to both her father and grandfather. They were rebellious wanderers and vigorous family men. She spends most of her time in her house, feels homesick whenever she leaves Jefferson, and never marries or has children.    b. The Burdensome Past    Gail Hightower's problems stem from his obsession with his grandfather, who was not even worth this worship. After all, he died stealing chickens. Likewise, Joanna Burden is the victim of the stern religion and patronizing racism that her father taught her and that he learned from his father before him.

Music Therapy

Professor Yankee 11/19/12 Music Therapy Why do people use this type of therapy exactly? Well music has been used as medicine for thousands of years and there's a growing field of health care known as music therapy, which uses music to heal. Those who practice music therapy find benefits in using it to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others, and even hospitals are beginning to use music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward off depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to improve communication, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring.A lot of people don't understand what kind of therapy this is, people have different assumptions about it but it is a real profession that takes a bachelor music degree. Music therapists work with a variety of physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms. It is often used in cancer treatment to help reduce pain, anxiety, and nausea caused by chemotherapy. Some people believe music therapy may be beneficial to the health care of children with cancer by promoting social interaction and cooperation.There is evidence that music therapy can reduce high blood pressure, rapid heart beat, depression, and sleeplessness. There are no claims music therapy can cure cancer or other diseases, but medical experts do believe it can reduce some symptoms, aid healing, improve physical movement, and enrich a patient’s quality of life. Ancient Greek philosophers believed music could heal both body and mind, Native Americans used singing and chants to heal millennia. More formal approaches begin in World War two when hospitals started using music to help soldiers with shell shock.In 1944, Michigan State University established the first music therapy degree program in the world. Music therapists design music sessions for individuals and groups based on their needs and tastes. Some aspects of music therapy include making music, listening to music, writing songs , and talking about lyrics. Music therapy may also involve imagery and learning through music. It can be done in different places such as hospitals, cancer centers, at home, or anywhere people can benefit from its calming or stimulating effects. The patient does ot need to have any musical ability to benefit from music therapy. Most peoples reaction to music is a burst of energy upon hearing an upbeat song or a sense of calm during a soothing classical piece. Music therapy uses this connection between music and mood. It has also been shown to lower amounts of the hormone cortisol, which becomes elevated under stress, and to increase the release of endorphins, the body’s natural â€Å"feel-good† hormones. Researchers have found that music therapy, when used with anti-nausea drugs for patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy, can help ease nausea and vomiting.A number of clinical trials have shown the benefit of music therapy for short-term pain, including pain from can cer. Music therapy works by stimulating parts of the brain that are associated with music in a person with Alzheimer’s disease, the section of the brain that allows direct recall of memories is damaged. Musical memories, however, are associated not only with the music itself but also with the circumstances surrounding the musical experience. Listening to music can indirectly stimulate the recall of memory fragments that otherwise could not be retrieved.The ability to retrieve some memories can be comforting to people with dementia. In a different manner, music therapy can assist those with Parkinson’s disease. In a person with Parkinson’s, the part of the brain that organizes thoughts and movements into action is damaged. Music with a strong, rhythmic beat can stimulate motor control, movement and coordination. Studies show that gait training that uses music improves walking speed and coordination for people with Parkinson’s.In general, music therapy done under the care of a professionally trained therapist has a helpful effect and is considered safe when used with standard treatment. Musical intervention by untrained people can be ineffective or can even cause increased stress and discomfort. Relying on this type of treatment alone and avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health consequences. Besides that there are no real risks or dangers to using music to heal. But how far can music heal you?There was a study that examined 200-300 patients with diabetes participants in a three year study starting this April. Although we do know that music can help vasculature, mental states and mood, there is little to no evidence to suggest that music therapy will help the outcome of diabetes. Perhaps there will be some miraculous benefit for patients suffering from diabetes to engage in extreme music therapy, however previous research indicates that it is not the music itself that determines the benefits, b ut the emotional responses to the music that is the key.Even though there is little evidence to support that music will help diabetes. Scientific studies have shown the value of music therapy on the body, mind, and spirit of children and adults. Researchers have found that music therapy, when used with anti-nausea drugs for patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy, can help ease nausea and vomiting. A number of clinical trials have shown the benefit of music therapy for short-term pain, including pain from cancer.Some studies have suggested that music may help decrease the overall intensity of the patient’s experience of pain when used with pain-relieving drugs. Music therapy can also result in a decreased need for pain medicine in some patients, although studies on this topic have shown mixed results. Studies have shown that students who take music lessons have improved IQ levels, and show improvement in nonmusical abilities as well. Other studies have shown that listening to music composed by Mozart produces a short-term improvement in tasks that use spatial abilities.Studies of brain circulation have shown that people listening to Mozart have more activity in certain areas of the brain. This has been called the â€Å"Mozart effect. † Although the reasons for this effect are not completely clear, this kind of information supports the idea that music can be used in many helpful ways. What can be improved ? Verbal & nonverbal communication, Gross and fine motor movement,Range of motion, Relaxation techniques, Anger management skills, Expression of emotion, Sensory integration, Academic skills, and Leisure skills. We use music to make your life better.Whether you need help socially, cognitively, physically, emotionally, or developmentally, music can help you get better and music therapists trained on how to do that. What’s more interesting, though, is why it works. When used properly, music can be an incredibly powerful treatment tool. And not just because it’s fun, relaxing, and motivating, but because music has a profound impact on our brains and our bodies. First off music is the core function of our brains, we have physiologic responses to music,Our brain is primed early on to respond to and process music.Every time your breathing quickens, your heart-rate increases, or you feel a shiver down your spine, that’s your body responding physiologically to music. Qualified music therapists can use this to help stimulate a person in a coma or use music to effectively help someone relax. Music often has a predictable steady beat, organized phrases, and a structured form. Most country/folk/pop/rock songs, they’re often organized with a verse-chorus structure. They’re organized in a way that we like and enjoy listening to over and over again.Even sound waves that make up a single tone or an entire chord are organized in mathematical ratios–and our brains really like this predictability an d structure. Music is in our everyday lives, we hear it in the store, at school, church, music is part of our thoughts, how we speak, even when there's none around we can still it in our heads. With all these benefits that music can carry, it's no surprise that music therapy is growing in popularity. Many hospitals are using music therapists for pain management and other uses. Music therapists help with several other issues as well, including stress.While music therapy is an important discipline, you can also achieve many benefits from music on your own. Music can be used in daily life for relaxation, to gain energy when feeling drained, for catharsis when dealing with emotional stress, and in other ways as well. Music therapy has been proven to be an effective form of therapy in a variety of areas for a multitude of ailments. However, there is still much more theorizing, discussion, and research that needs to be done in this area, and that fact makes it all the more interesting.Thr ough technological advances and constantly evolving musical styles as well as cross-cultural influences, this is one form of therapy that will never cease to be innovative and topical. Hopefully, researchers will continue to treat this topic as a serious area of psychology and one that deserves to be molded into a more scientific pedagogy through advancement and refinement of research and therapeutic techniques. I believe there is much more to be discovered about music and its effect on humanity.

The Efficacy of Spirituality Group

The Efficacy of Spirituality Group The research is focused on the efficacy of the spirituality group in chemical dependency treatment program. It has already been proven that religion and spirituality have positive impact on human mental health (Moritz et al, 2006).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Efficacy of Spirituality Group specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Being more powerful tool in the relation to motivating people to give up chemical substances consumption, spirituality is considered to be more effective as in this case personal convictions are taken into account, not those one which are established by the society. Individualized treatment has always been considered as the most effective one (Walker, Cole Logan, 2008). The research shows that personal motivation is an effective tool to prevent people from relapses in the future (Simpson Joe, 1993). Moreover, the spirituality is going to reduce the length of treatment (Knight et a l. 2000) and cognitive engagement (Broome, Simpson, Joe 1999) in comparison with other methods used for treating chemically abused patients. We also expect that the difference between those who are treated by means of spirituality and by means of traditional methods is going to be significant. The main value of the research is that the hypotheses have been supported. It shows that chemical dependency treatment program has an opportunity to use the spirituality method for treatment. The better results are going to be considered as well as help 60% of Americans who consume illicit drugs (Doweiko, 2009). It is crucial to consider the consequences if the hypotheses had not been supported. If the hypotheses we offer were not supported, so another research should be conducted in the sphere of chemical dependency treatment programs. This would mean that we had managed to do much and had eliminated one possibility from the list. The effectiveness of those will be raised. Moreover, the prac tical use of this method will lead to creation of many different methods which may be used for treating chemically addicted people. The evaluation of each of those would help us create a perfect methodology for using in practice.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The findings of our research support the results obtained from the research conducted by such scientists as Broome, Simpson Joe (1999), Knight et al. (2000), and Simpson Joe (1993). Moreover, our findings can be used for further research in the sphere of treating chemically addicted people. In conclusion, spirituality method for treating chemically addicted people is considered to be the most effective in a number of reasons. First, spirituality motivates people to cure for chemical addiction. Second, spirituality is a powerful motivation and as a result more effective as people are motivated not by the st andards created in the society but by means of the personal considerations which affect people in high strength. The results obtained while the research may be used for creating a chemical dependency treatment program. There may be created a lot of methodologies on the basis of the fact that spirituality is considered to be the most effective method for treating chemically addicted people. Moreover, a research may be conducted devoted to the power of influence of spirituality and motivation on people in different age. This may help identify the age when treatment is the most effective. Reference List Broome, K. M., Simpson, D. D., Joe, G. W. (1999). Patient and program attributes related to treatment process indicators in DATOS. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 57 (2), 127-135. Doweiko, H. E. (2009). Concepts of chemical dependency. Belmont, CA: Brookes/Cole Cengage Learning. Knight, C. H., Fitzpatrick, J. L., Logue, D. N., Platt, D. J. (2000). Efficacy of two non-antibiotic therapies and topical liniment, against bovine staphylococcal mastitis. Vet Rec, 146 (11), 311-316.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Efficacy of Spirituality Group specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moritz, S., Quan, H., Rickhi, B., Liu, M., Angen, M., Vintila, R., Sawa, R., Soriana, J., Toews, J. (2006). A home-study based spirituality education program decreases emotional distress and increases quality of life – a randomized, controlled study. Alternative Therapies, 12 (6), 26-35. Simpson, D. D., Joe, G. W. (1993). Motivation as a predictor of early dropout from drug abuse treatment. Psychotherapy, 30 (2), 357-368. Walker, R., Cole, J., Logan, T. K. (2008). Identifying client-level indicators of recovery among dui, criminal justice, and non-criminal justice referral. Substance Use Misuse, 43, 1785-1801.

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buy custom Business and Management Final Assessment essay Netflix is a major company in the popular Silicon Valley. Netflix offers its subscribers with the internet movie streaming and the traditional DVDs by the mail services. It is evident that the company is very popular. This is because by April, 2011 it had more than 23 million subscribers. This growth by Netflix has been witnessed, despite the magnitude of criticism that the company has endured over the years. It was initiated in the market in 1997, and gained its market share because of its superior movie services it offered to its customers. The incorporation of new technology was fundamental to this revolution in the market, but the management knew that after its videos streaming service had gained the required market share and all the technicalities had been fixed, it would shrink. Therefore, the company had a long run plan that would cushion it against this vagary. That is, the company would split its movie services into internet streaming videos and DVD rental services via email . This study, therefore, aims at evaluating the effects of Netflixs corporate decision on its profit margins, market share, SWOT analysis and BCG analysis to determine its performance in terms of growth and market share retention. Immediate Effect of the Decision to Split the Movie Services In 2011, the company founder and chief executive officer Mr. Hasting announced this split. However, this decision, despite warning from a few of his corporate managers, resulted in the companys subscribers revolting against it, and they closed their accounts. It is evident that the company lost more than 800,000 subscribers in the third quarter of the companys fiscal year (Wingfield Stelter, 1). This decision turned out to be disastrous for the company. The announcement by the management on the fall in the number of subscribers made the companys stock to plummet resulting in more than 25% downturn in companys stock trading on the regular basis at the New York stock exchange. This demanded that something should be done. Netflix chief executive officer had to apologize to the public three weeks after the decision to split its services had been made, and he decided to reverse it (Wingfield Stelter 1). The company had also decided to increase its prices from $10 a month subscription fee for the combination of the video stream and the DVDs to $16 a month for the same. This increase was necessitated by the need to caution itself against the increase in the amount of money that was being spent on licensing for more materials for its video streaming service. Mr. Hasting had defended this decision by citing that the companys customers were fast moving into the future, in which the internet would serve as the media that people would watch their favorite TV shows nd new movies (OBrien, Jeffery 1). This new medium was more advantageous, as it would offer them instant viewing. This new trend in the market was the driving force for the companys decision to split its services as the mailed DVD service had already peaked. The company had recorded in the first quarter of its 2011 fiscal year that there was a decline in the DVD shipment, and this trend has been increasing year after year. Therefore, Netflix had to change and incorporate the internet movie streaming as its major service in the market (Ho and Ramamurthi 1). However, it is evident that its initial decision to split its services was hasty, and it had irked its customers. It is evident that the companys chief executive officer was not fully aware as to whether the company had carried out an effective customer focus study that was expected to evaluate, how the public would have received the radical changes that the company was implementing (Wingfield Stelter, 2). In a nutshell, Netflix had not taken in to consideration the emotions people attached to the periodic DVD delivery packages they received, despite the fact that they at times did not watch those movies. They had not consulted with the customers, like many companies based in the Silicon Valley. Netflix had over relied on its analytical data-driven decision-making process that evidently cannot quantify emotions of the customers. Therefore, there was a need for the company to slow its decision-making process, so that it would give room for all relevant stakeholders to express their o pinion on the rooming changes at the company. This approach will ensure that the decisions made were holistic, and they took into consideration all the premiums proposed (Wingfield Stelter 1). However, it should be noted that Netflix future depended on this split, and implementation of this strategy was crucial. This is because the subset of the DVD rental services of the company products would shrink, as technology would continue playing the more pivotal role of re-insurrecting the market. Downloading and streaming would dominate the market, but Netflixs drastic decision to incorporate it would not aid well its evolution to be the greatest company in the digital entertainment. This decision required correct and cautious implementation (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 58). Netflixs SWOT Analysis Strengths Netflix market entry timing was superb. This is because there were fewer competitors. This enabled it to establish its brand name as a unique service provider. This well-timed entry in the market has allowed it to maintain a high market share. Leading online market share for the movie reentals Its services have a low fixed cost It provides its customers with free rented DVD shipping and postage services It has the largest DVD selection catalogue in the world Netflix boasts of an award winning website Weaknesses Netflixs primary disability to fully satisfy the rush customer demand for a movie after its release Netflixs rent by email service has some delays and it may take days for a movie to get to a particular customer. This creates room for customers dissatisfaction, as their mood to watch that particular movie could change before it gets to him or her. Netflix faces strong suppliers Netflix faces volatile performance from particular movies The studios that produce those movies are the only ones who can determine the release date of a movie, even when it is most anticipated in the market Opportunities Netflix has the potential to expand its services to the global market Threats Studios can form an alliance against it It can easily lose its goodwill It faces the risk of malware It has the potential of being obsolete within a limited time, due to the rapid growth in technology Netflixs Growth Market Share The above diagram shows that Netflix has maintained a high market share, and its growth has continued tremendously. This high performance in both facets of the market can be articulated to its aggressive marketing strategy and networking campaign. This is eminent for the companys strategic policies of splitting its services into two. This is because the management was able to forecast the demand patterns of its customers, despite the initial pitfall of its announcement on implementing these changes in its service delivery (Boone and Kurtz 22). It is evident that the reception of the changes that Netflix had implemented had negative impacts on its customers, and consequently, the market forces. This is the reason why its shares plummeted. However, it is evident that the companys business model had been drafted to enable it thrive in the movie service industry. This is because the development of new technology that complemented video services was necessitating the acquisition of the video streaming formats that would become popular with its customers. Therefore, Netflix had to incorporate these transitions to ultimately be in the position of being the ideal digital entertainment company in the globe. This splitting was fundamental in attaining this ideal. Buy custom Business and Management Final Assessment essay

The introduction of an ultrasonic dish washer Essay

The introduction of an ultrasonic dish washer - Essay Example In relation to the study, the company which has been selected is Ultrasonic Solution providers and one of the main products that will be introduced by the company would be the Ultrasonic dish washer. The product will be offering a cost-effective solution to people in the washing of dishes and another crockery. In addition to this, the product will be offering them comfort as many people do not like to wash dishes and crockery but with ultrasonic dish washer, the problem of washing and cleaning crockery would be solved. The product would be first introduced in the United Kingdom and then with the passage of time, the company would expand its offerings in other countries of Europe and then in other parts of the world. In addition to this geographic location, Ultrasonic Solutions aims to expand its product range as well and in future, it will be coming up with more products that could solve their problems related to home activities. Dish washers require a large amount of water to be use d and this is one of the major environmental concerns of this product. However Ultrasonic dish washer would require 30 liters of water. However one of the important features of Ultrasonic dish washer is that it would recycle 20 liters of water and therefore only 10 liters of water would be required. Although there are some products that help people in a cleaning of dishes and crockery, however ultrasonic dish washer has several functions that would help in solving this problem. With the passage of time, the demand of such products has been increasing not only in private homes but in different restaurants and hotels as well. dish washers have been very helpful and a very good solution for people and restaurant owners in washing of dishes as this not only reduces the time that is involved in washing of dishes but it also reduces the cost. There has been an increasing usage of products like dish washers as this has provided people the convenience and cost-effective solution as before the introduction of dish

Conclusion for my project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Conclusion for my project - Essay Example Dark tourism therefore has a history which attracts both history makers and curious people to these sites of history. Looking at Prague, The Church of SS Cyril and Methodius are good historical sites and these two have been voted as the best tourist destinations in the Czech Republic leave alone the aspect of being in Prague (Hannam & Knox, 2010, p. 28). This is because they acted as a refuge centre for assassins of ReichsprotektorHeydrich. In these places, the Germans outnumbered their enemies forcing them (enemies) to take their own lives by shooting themselves. That was in 1942 during the Second World War (Martina, 2011, p. 79). The two names centres are not the only ones in Prague that contribute to its tourism. Apparently the increased demand dark tourism has been boosted by the number of dark tourism centres in Prague. This is because the more the number of dark tourist centres, the richer the history of the town. Some other centres in the town that must have an applied history that is need knowledge for so many people are: Due to this, the statement of the research question would be that; the many dark tourism centres in Prague contain a rich history of past happenings and therefore have increased the demand for dark tourism in the town. The aim of this research is to relate the history contained in each of the dark tourism centres to the increased demand in dark tourism in Prague. This is because each centre has got its own history and there are also different types of tourists that visit the place for their knowledge. It is therefore important that the ability of the sites to attract tourists must be indicated as a cause for the increased demand of the tourists in Prague. The reason for choosing this research topic is that dark tourism is a fast-growing niche of the global tourism market. There is a lot of potential in this niche market because people will be always fascinated and