As Planes Get Bigger, the Marketplace Gets More Competitive

Q1: Have you, or anyone you know, experienced a situation similar to those described, where the marketing organization exceeded your service expectations? If so, what do you think of the company now? Yes, I have a experienced a situation that a marketing organization exceeded my service expectation. There was a catering firm in my hometown. Both the service and the taste of food were the best because of some good waiters and the top chefs, Whereas the price was relatively lower than other catering firms. As a result, it exceeded my expectation. I think that the catering firm has attracted more new customers because of its opprobrium now. Regular customer can come again because of good service and fine food. Q2. Do you think that any and every employee can be trained to want to give good service? If so, what form might that training take? If not, what should a company do if it encounters major resistance? Not every employee can be trained to want to give good service. To overcome major resistance, the marketing organization may change its strategy to raise the job satisfaction of the employee and increase the productivity. Organization should employ some people who like this job. In addition, employees who are not eligibility should be trained again. Q3. Do you believe that customers are becoming more demanding? If they are too demanding, what might be the outcome for marketing organization? Yes, I believe that customers are become more demanding because some consumers who are high-income earners and better educated are indulged in good service. Marketing organizations need to offer the better service for their consumers Therefore, employees should receive the best training to improve their service quality. Q4. Might marketing organizations be taking risks by raising customer expectations too high? Yes, marketing organizations may take risks when raising customer expectations. High expectations mean that marketing organizations would rise to the challenge to achieve the customer satisfaction. When marketing organizations cannot satisfy customers expect, the relationship between company and customer would break. As a result, marketing organizations may take risks.

Rhetorical Analysis “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr

Ever imagined a world without Google? Have you ever asked yourself how our grandparents managed studies without Google? How did they go about reading the long the long texts letter by letter without the option of skimming through them? Were there other reading techniques that were almost equivalent to Google in efficiency and speed that have since become extinct and that we might run to should we wake up one day and realize that Google was just but a dream in our long sleep that was too good to be true? Will we manage to pin down the two- sentenced killer point in a journal with a thousand pages. How I wish I could shout ‘YES' but am afraid those brains are almost extinct in the world we live in. Nicholas Carr narrates his disappointment in Google in his article,† Is Google Making Us Stupid?† According to him, our minds have evolved to quick and easy skimming in search of information. He talks of how students used to read long texts without skimming. He mentions how one would concentrate and keep focus for long hours with their minds totally lost in the reading, unlike today. Carr recalls how he used to easily immerse himself in books and lengthy articles and would spend hours going through them with his mind caught up in the long prose and would or narratives. He compares this to his current state of mind where his concentration drifts away after just the first few pages of the prose before he starts considering to switch to other duties most of which would come second in his priority list back in the old days.His love for long reading hours has turned into torture to him. He compares the two reading habits and concludes that his way of thinking has changed over the years with reading especially through long stretches of prose moving down his priority list. To show that he is not the only one undergoing the reading evolution, he brings out other writers and bloggers including Scott Karp who share in his ordeal and from all of them its evident that the human mind and the use of the internet are correlated in that the functionality of the human mind can be transformed thus losing some features and gaining new ones when exposed to different environments, e.g. the internet for longer hours. The internet has made them all prefer to go for the easier option of skimming through the reading materials topics and parts of the body instead of trying to focus and concentrate on the whole content to get the information in details as it used to be. Most readers thus end up reading less. Carr explains the findings of research and experiments done on the human brain and the use of the Internet. He describes how the connections in the neurone system of the brain can be manipulated from its initial form to a completely new form. The conclusions are that when an individual uses the Internet for long, his/her neurocircuits can be manipulated and reconnected thus reducing their capacity to read like before, i.e. by contemplating and concentrating for long hours, which practically makes us stupid. In one of the research, the findings by the British Library, a team of UK educational consortium and university college London Scholars, the evidence as experienced by Nicholas Carr, writers and bloggers Scott Karp included, it proven that persons' capacity to read for long hours, contemplating and concentrating has been by far by the use of internet. They opt to skim through texts and headlines, which are unlike their traditional reading style where they would focus, concentrate and read for long hours deeply glued on the long proses going through word after word. In the article, he describes how the brain can switch forms from the old connections to a completely new form that's losing its original form. Nicholas says that he has had a feeling of someone or something reconfiguring his brain and transforming it into something else that he cant literally describe. He feels that due to long exposure to a different environment, his brain has been disconnected from its older connections and that through the Internet his brain is being corrupted in that he is now seeing things very differently. The Internet works in such a manner that it generates more profits form the user. As we surf, we tend to visit different sites that mostly create Internet traffic. In some instances, advertisement links normally pop-up while surfing. These sites are normally intended to market some businesses, and they act as distractors that encourage slow reading. When the mind is programmed to slow destructions, we end up not surfing for the intended issues. For instance, when a person uses the Internet to perform given research, he or she may end up with poor findings due to the distraction of the mind. Therefore, Internet users must learn how to evade the advertisement sites in a bid to maximize on the limited time. Nicholas Carr asserts that a majority of the advertisements have a financial obligation of collecting our data as we visit the business links. In this light, they normally reap heavily the more we click on the unwanted sites. Human beings have become highly dependent on the Internet to the extent that they browse even the obvious things. For instance, a person may even decide to surf for the reasons as to why children must obey their parents. This is a subject that is common to every person and should come naturally instead of browsing to get more information. The Internet indeed makes up stupid since most of the people spend much time thus reducing the concentration of the mind. The mind is then triggered in such a way that it will solely depend on the Intern even when serving for the obvious issues. In summary, I think that people need to use Google when it is only necessary and start doing traditional research. This aspect will indeed result in the development of sharp minds that can also become innovative.

Not sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Not sure - Essay Example Almost all organizations conduct an interview before recruiting employees to determine the candidates who are most competent to fit for the vacant position (Townsend 2007, p. 87). Managers use a first interview (screening), an interview conducted either via the phone call or at the office of the employer (Eung 2011, p. 56). This type of interview is brief and usually lasts for 40-60 minutes. During this interview, the interviewing managers will mainly want to know the candidate’s skills and experiences. Most interviewing managers make use of the screening interviews to describe organizational operations as well as the position (Seidman 2006, p. 34). If the managers are impressed by the candidate’s performance at this first interview, they invite the candidate for a second interview. The second interviews are usually longer compared to the first one and may take three hours or even a whole day. This interview involves a variety of interview questions, which are in form of testing. They also involve lunch or dinner, taking the interviewees out for a tour, as well as conducting a series of interviews to different candidates (Macan 2009, p. 14). The purpose of this interview is to make the interviewees to come out with full understanding of the organizational structure, culture, working environment, responsibilities of the job they are applying for, and gain enough know how to decide whether to take the job. Interviewers should choose the form of interviewing that they feel would be most effective. Behavioral interviewing also known as competence interviewing is the most effective form of interviewing used in most organizations. This type of interview requires the interviewee to draw about their experiences and give specific examples that demonstrates his or her competence in the applied post (Sund, Carin & Carin 2008, p. 33). This type of interviewing is more effective than unstructured interviewing in

The English in My Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The English in My Life - Essay Example In my question to the teacher, I was inquiring on how conjunction should be used in a sentence. When my classmates heard my sentence, they laughed at me and mocked me for my "terrible" English. My teacher as well had a very hard time understanding what I meant. It stressed me so much that everyone in my class laughed at and mocked me for my language. I thereafter had a very hard time communicating with anyone in my class and the entire school. It was one of the worst encounters in my first school in the United States. The mocking by my classmates and schoolmates continued which caused me to hate school. After a semester at this school where I endured ill-treatment by my fellow students, I developed a bad attitude towards English school and almost never wanted to wake up in the morning. My father being a disciplinarian always woke me up with an authoritative voice after my mother could not manage to. In fear of my authoritative father, I would wake up and hastily rush to school. I was afraid to say that I was not happy at the school because I was terrified by my parent’s faces on receipt of such news. At the end of that fateful semester, all my grades dropped drastically. I scored an F in English as well as in Mathematics, which was my best subject. My parent was very disappointed in me that they went to see my class teacher about my dropped grades. With time, they got to understand my problem in school and they transferred me to a different school in the next semester. They also encouraged me and my interest in school grew. I was more determined to improve my spoken English. I developed so much interest in writing, reading and speaking English. At the initial stages, my language was bad, but not as my parent was.  Ã‚  

Professional Development Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Professional Development Analysis - Assignment Example Above all you have to keep in mind the time and effort that you can put in to achieve professional development goals. The complexity of striking a balance in all these variables characteristics is not a simple task and a mere miscalculation can drive you into the chasm of wilderness and despair beside wastage of time and hard earned resources. Often in life, we face crossroads and have to make decision on a diversion to adopt or abandon one of the two favorites and only a correct decision can make things happen for us, the same goes with our professional development. A well thought-out plan can make thing easier and can help you choose the correct option. Specially, in a fast pace professional environment today, decision making has become an art of making right choices at right time. It is important to understand professional development in its correct perspective. Professional development is a long term plan but it yields results only on putting restless daily efforts. Professional development is a light house in your journey towards professional excellence. It is not a destination but defines a path towards the ultimate destination. Like any other long term plan professional development requires careful planning and consideration as Zepeda has pointed out in his book, â€Å"Professional development cannot be left to chance. Professional development must be planned purposefully and deliberately as part of the workday. Professional development is never the end but rather the beginning of the journey toward learning.† (Zepeda, 2008, p.61). This research is aimed at investigations into the available career paths in the field of mechanical engineering and provides a strategic approach towards achieving goals hence set for professional development. The analysis covers next five years action plan headed towards the completion of final year studies followed by master and PhD to finally achieve a career in

Create a research portrait of a well-known artist, explain how his or Essay

Create a research portrait of a well-known artist, explain how his or her work responds to particular social issues - Essay Example ject, requiring the artist to spend years painting in wet plaster rather than working on his sculpture or other projects, some might wonder what prompted Michelangelo to undertake this project rather than allowing some other artist the dubious honor. Just how much freedom Michelangelo had in this decision is an often discussed topic. It might also be wondered whether the subject of the painting was determined by Michelangelo himself or the Pope who commissioned him for the project. To more fully appreciate the process that contributed to the creation of the Sistine Ceiling, it is necessary to understand the details regarding the commission of the project, why it was commissioned, why Michelangelo accepted the commission given the difficulties involved, how he met these challenges given the media and subject involved as well as his final assessment of the results. It is widely accepted that Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling as none other had the power and authority to force the artist back to Rome. Michelangelo had fled the city only two years earlier after the Pope first commissioned him to create approximately 40 sculptures in the most lavish Papal tomb designed to date and then refused to honor his portion of the contract. In addition, the work being requested of Michelangelo was painting rather than sculpture which he preferred. Other accounts indicate the idea of having the ceiling completed by Michelangelo was the idea of Donato Bramante, who intended to discredit Michelangelo’s daunting reputation. â€Å"In Michelangelo’s eyes, Bramante had persuaded the pope to abandon the project [of the tomb] by warning him that it was bad luck to have one’s tomb carved during one’s lifetime, and had then proposed an altogether different commission for the sculptor, a task at wh ich he knew Michelangelo could not possibly succeed† (King, 2003, p. 11). Work commenced on the project in 1536 under Pope Paul III and was

Medicare Reimbursement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Medicare Reimbursement - Essay Example Part A will cover the inpatient expenditures of Mrs. Zwick since she was in SNF a whole of 40 days. Part A covers full expenses for SNF for the first 20 days and after that it requires the policy holder to pay $148/ day up to 100 days. Part B will cover the equipment charges for the patient. Under the DME (Durable Medical Equipment), the walker that has been prescribed for Mrs. Zwick, will be paid for by Medicare. Mrs. Zwick will have to pay 20% of the amount that has been approved by Medicare, whether she chooses to rent it or purchase it. Part D will cover the drugs that have been prescribed by the doctor under the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan (PDPs). Mrs. Zwick has authorization that these drugs are medically necessary for her, but she will need to ascertain the quantity of the drugs. Step therapy will be applied to see if similar low cost drugs will be effective in the treatment, only then will Plan D cover the prescription drugs. The actual cost will depend n the type of drug used. Since Mrs. Zwick developed a Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection which was an HAI (Hospital Acquired Infection), and which could have been avoided by following infection control steps recommended by the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Medicare, 2013), thus the hospital will have to cover all the inpatient and SNF costs that have occurred after the acquired condition. In 2008, Medicare centres started to adopt a â€Å"no pay† policy for infections and complications acquired from the hospitals (O’Rielly, 2012). These hospital acquired conditions can be prevented and should be paid more attention to. CAUTI is one of the 10 conditions that are targeted by the CMS (Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services) policy. CAUTI is the most preventable hospital acquired infection, a research â€Å"Estimating the proportion of healthcare-associated infections that are reasonably preventable and the related mortality and costs†, revealed that 65% - 70% cases of CAUTI are preventable by adopting certain practices (Umscheid, Mitchell, Doshi, Agarwal, Williams & Brennan, 2011). 80% of Infection control professionals are of the opinion that such a policy from CMS has led to a greater focus on healthy practices and prevention of such acquired conditions (O’Rielly, 2012). Under the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), hospitals will have to report secondary diagnosis, which will not be subjected to payment by Medicare unless they were present on admission of the patient (Paddock, 2007). But the medication and walker prescribed by the doctor will be covered by Medicare. After being admitted to the hospital, Mrs. Zwick developed an HAI, which could have been prevented by following control steps by the hospital. Ethical implications of such hospital acquired infections can be great. Mrs. Zwick suffered from pain tremendously due to the infection and had to stay in the SNF for an extra 19 days. Due to the carelessness of the hospital, the infection was caused, which led to taking of HIV antibiotics for Mrs. Zwick. Taking so many high potency medications at the age of 77 can be extremely harmful for the patient, as it can lead to further complications. The new rule may force the hospital or centre to compensate for the financial aspect but by all means the implications of such infection in terms of pain, time and extra high potency medication have to be borne by the patient him/herself. Scenario 2 COBRA (Consolidated

Analysis of Modern US History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of Modern US History - Research Paper Example   During the Depression Collier was given permission to change or modify government policies because of their steadfast faith in him. Collier initiated what is called the â€Å"Indian New Deal’ which was a revolutionary approach to Native American reforms. He was a staunch believer of cultural pluralism and understood the importance of ethnic values and community solidarity and therefore adopted an acculturated approach in order to assimilate the Native Americans into the mainstream society. James Stuart clearly describes how Collier attacked the ‘Indian problem’ and finally succeeded in assimilating the Native Americans into the dominant society. In his enlightening book he tells us how Collier met with a lot of opposition from American critics but he firmly believed in his goals and wanted to fulfill them at any cost. The earlier allotment program had been a major social and economic disaster and so he set out to reconstitute the tribes and enhance their trad itional land base. In bringing about other reforms, Collier went a step further in convincing President Roosevelt to abolish the ‘Board of Indian Commissioners as he felt that it was a huge obstacle in the wake of reform. (Pg. 109) Collier wanted the Native Americans to play a more active role in decision making and sent them for specialized training for the management of their land and natural resources. He also insisted that the Federal Government should not in the name of assimilation suppress the culture and tradition of the Native Americans but on the other hand should help in preserving their nativity. Stuart’s book also states that with the full support of President Roosevelt, Collier was in a position to bring about other reforms involving relief measure to the Native Americans. The Congress passed the Pueblo Relief Act on May, 31st, 1933 granting additional payment to the Native Americans who had been inadequately paid by the Pueblo Lands Board. (Pg. 110) He al so implemented the ‘New Deal’ legislation to give relief to the destitute Native Americans who suffered greatly during the Great Depression. (Pg. 110) Stuart’s book is a real eye-opener as it helps us to understand the political situation post-1933 and the reforms that were brought out during the period after the Great Depression. Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian in their article titled ‘How Government Prolonged the Depression’ shed light on the reforms that were introduced by the Federal government in lieu of putting an end to the crisis of the Great Depression. In addressing the crisis the ‘New Deal’ was introduced and raised hopes that the economic downturn would change its course and work out in their favor. The article tells us that the primary aim of the ‘New Deal’ initiative was to encourage Americans to get back to work. However, According to Harold L. Cole and Lee E Ohanian, this did not happen for the mere fact th at employment was not restored because on an average there was much less work.  Ã‚  

Nature vs. Nurture Essay Example for Free

Nature vs. Nurture Essay A lot of people wonder where they get their freckles from, or their edgy and thrill seeking personality. This type of curiosity about where people get their traits from brings about the worldwide debate on nature vs. nurture. There are scientists who argue that people develop characteristics mainly based on their genetic makeup, and then their are people who say that environment and social interactions has more to do with a person’s traits than do genes. People often question why people are the way they are. Nature and Nurture often have a big impact on a person, and can help in explaining why they are a certain way. The nature vs. nurture debate encompasses a variety of major topics, leading to the idea that both nature and nurture influences people in their behaviors and decisions. Criminals go through different reasoning processes for why they commit a crime. They may have been brought up in a rough environment and are acting out, or because they simply just can not control themselves or their minds. There is evidence which suggests that there could be such a thing as gene mutations that determine our traits. These mutations control how the mind and body react to anger , whether it’s aggressively or controlled. According to Adriel Bettelheim, â€Å"researchers studying a dysfunctional Dutch family announced in 1993 that aggressive behavior may be linked to a single faulty gene that causes a shortage of enzymes needed to break down serotonin molecules that transmit signals in the brain.† This idea that criminal behavior may be associated with genetics, opens the doors to many controversial topics such as the insanity defense or the possibility of gene therapy. â€Å"For many centuries, people have tried to craft legal distinctions for the mentall y ill based on the belief that they should not be held fully responsible for their actions† (). The insanity defense is believed to often be abused and is the easy way out for guilty criminals to be held accountable. There are also people who support the insanity defense and say that the law needs to protect people who are too mentally ill to understand their actions. For some criminals, it’s not just a matter of their genes but more their environment that contributes to why they commit crimes. â€Å"Many social scientists say researchers, in a rush to ‘biologize’ behavior, are ignoring environmental influences, such as poverty, broken families and  racism† (). A lot of times the reason why criminals get in trouble with the law, is because they are acting out. Being aggressive or going against authority is like their coping strategy for dealing with their problems. †The frequency and nature of todays violence can only point toward an inherent anger or frustration† (). Ultimately, both nature and nurture can affect criminals and people ma y never be able to fully understand what exactly leads them to make bad choices. In addition to criminal behavior, there are also many other controversial topics regarding nature vs. nurture, such as intelligence and what contributes to peoples intellectual ability. â€Å"Mental ability seems closely related to the volume of those little gray cells in the brain; and differences in that volume seem to be largely a result of heredity†().Scientists are finding that intelligence goes along with the amount of brain cells (gray cells) towards the front of the brain which can be inherited through the family. There is evidence which suggests that if a person does really well with one mental task, they are more than likely to do really well on other mental tests as well. This concept is considered the general mental ability which is associated with those gray cells. Although intelligence is found as being directly associated with the brain cells, many people believe that intelligence is also based on a person’s environment and how they learn. For a lot of people intellectual ability is not purely genetic. Their intelligence can have a lot to do with how they were brought up or their environment in which they learned. Someone who goes to school regularly will probably have a higher intelligence level, versus someone who doesn’t. How people start off learning is also important because often times, if a child is intellectually stimulated at earlier ages, their brain will mature as the child gets older and that child will have a higher intellectual ability because they started learning sooner. IQ testing is a very controversial topic because many people disagree over whether or not it is a good judge of a persons actual intelligence. â€Å"The rift between psychologists over the value of IQ tests stems from a stark difference in the w ay they define intelligence: One camp sees a central, dominant intelligence, the other envisions multiple types of intelligence† (). Although scientists have not found hard evidence to prove that IQ tests are  not liable, social scientists continue to go against certain theories, such as the idea of general mental ability. They choose to believe and promote that there are different kinds of intelligence and everyone excels in different areas regardless of genetics. While genetics does play a role in intelligence, if a person works hard in achieving their goals they can become just as intelligent through challenging themselves and excelling in certain areas. The worldwide debate on nature vs. nurture also encompasses addiction. In a study about drug addictions researchers found, â€Å"the correlations with psychoactive substance use largely resulted from social environmental factors in adolescence† (). Family environments are important to young children and can have a huge affect on them as they get older. An unstable family life can cause people to resort to drugs or alcohol to help them deal with their emotions. If a child has social issues with their friends when they are young, that can affect them as well and cause them to resort to substance abuse to deal with their problems. â€Å"As people aged, however, more of the correlation in psychoactive substance use resulted from genetic factors†(). As substances such as alcohol are more readily available to adults, genetics can influence them more and also their decisions. If there is a history of substance abuse in the family, that person is more likely to become addicted in their lifetime. In the 1920’s, â€Å"Alcohol prohibition lead to a rise in violent organized crime, a trend critics have compared to the ongoing war on drugs(). Because so many citizens used alcohol and a lot of them apparently became dependent on it, they felt they had rights to it; so they organized a violent crime movement to prove that. People who were involved in this war with drugs were not just the poor or downtrodden, but also the middle class and the wealthy. Addiction has no boundaries, and can affect anyone whether it is through nature or nurture. Nature vs nurture will always be a major dispute over genes and environment, but ultimately they both have an impact on people. The reasoning behind criminal behavior is often questioned. Evidence that suggests there are gene mutations, which contribute to aggressive behavior, argues that nature can have a major role in criminal behavior, just like nature affects criminals  actions. In addition to criminal behavior, another worldwide topic discussed in the nature vs nurture debate is intelligence. Like mentioned earlier, intelligence is thought to be determined by genes and general mental ability; but there are social scientists who believe that there are many different types of intelligence, determined by environment and not just genetic make up. Addiction is another controversial subject because addiction can run in families but it also can happen to someone who had no history of it. Addiction also is very much related to a persons environment and how they deal with their problems. For those who wonder where they get their intelligence and edgy personality, or more seriously why they feel aggressive, or become addicted to drugs, think about nature and nurture , which contribute to peoples personality and traits.

Initial Teaching Assignment Essay Example for Free

Initial Teaching Assignment Essay In my role as a tutor of support teaching and learning in schools my responsibilities include: promoting cognitive elaboration *Cognitive psychology is concerned with the various mental activities which result in the acquisition and processing of information by the learner. It’s theories involve a perception of the learner as a purposive individual in continuous interaction with his social and psychological environment.( l.b.curzon (2003). teaching in further education. 6th ed. london: continuum. 35.) Holding a good knowledge of outside agencies that maybe used when an issue is outside of my knowledge or expertise. These may include N.S.P.C.C, medical teams including GP’s, health visitors ect, councillors, learning support workers, banks, building societies and the student finance England information for funding or loan advice, police, fire services and social services. All of these outside agencies could be used for supporting my learners and for them to use in their role as a teaching assistant as they are working with children and young people. I work towards promoting social and emotional development, encouraging learners and rewarding them during tasks, discussions, production of work whilst developing into a responsible teaching assistants. Being reliable is paramount to learners giving them a sense of belonging and security that I would always be there to discuss any issues or concerns with them, especially if the issue is a delicate one. Showing my learners that I can promote equality by letting them have every opportunity to attend and participate in every aspect of the lesson is also giving them opportunity to express their own ideas and personality. I myself am always looking to learn and gaining skills from learners is another way of learning and promoting diversity. Every learner is different and giving them opportunity to share their ways and knowledge and including these skills to improve their learning and adding to their new career in a positive way encourages diversity. Understand own responsibility for maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment.

Pets Are Family Members Too Sociology Essay

Pets Are Family Members Too Sociology Essay Almost every household lives with pets like dogs, cats and others. These pets are treated in a way like they are family members. Although people living with pets are offering great care to them, they are the same individuals inflicting pain and suffering on other animals. Billions of animals have had to content with unavoidable cruelty from the same persons who are supposed to protect them. Animals are equally treated as friends as well as enemies. They are domesticated as pets, however if the keeper finds it fit, they are slaughtered. Do animals really have rights? If so, are these rights similar to those of human beings? These are kind of questions which continue to puzzle human beings. In their endeavor to improve living standards either health wise or psychologically, man must interact with animals in at least one way. Historical evidence depicts that animals divine living things with equal or even better status morally than human beings. Such traditional beliefs were backed by religious and cultural tenets which regarded animals with some dignity. Despite this old perception of animals human beings have continued to view them as creatures to be overruled, owned and used (Regan, 67). Current controversies about animal rights are solidly based on heartless ways through which men across the world interact with animals. Agricultural practices which put animals in jeopardy, too much consumption of meat products and use of animals in uncertain experiments are perfect examples of human activities which contravene free existence of animals. It is ideally expected that animals should be left to stay in their natural habitats without interference from man. Any form of confinement and abuse of animals through entertainments deprive them of their freedom. Nevertheless, despite such happenings of undesirable interaction of animals with human beings, mitigation measures are continually reviewed to help in reducing adverse effects. Exercising responsible and sustainable practices are acts of stewardship in which human realizes the need of living in balance with fellow creatures. Many abuses are offset by such acts of stewardship and advocacy of protection and respect towards animals. Accepting animals as equal members of moral community is a philosophical stand taken by UNESCO. This accord has been vital in explaining the status of animals as property, their welfare and interests (McMillan 147). In addition, the duty of man towards animals wellness is also stipulated in the declaration. A number of questions have been asked about how ethically justified it is to use animals in experimental research activities which are meant to benefit human beings. Cosmetic industries are common violators of animal rights through this means. Helpless animals are suffering daily because human beings want to become more beautiful. Operations which alter genetic structure of animals seem to violate the rights of animals because they comprise changing of animals for ultimate benefit of man in a way which portray animals as mere human property. This is in contrary the desired treatment of animals as beings with their own value and dignity. Even if the animals are used in research for the sake of improving their lives, it is implicit that the subject animal will suffer some pain or restrain while being used as a sample in laboratories. A number of concerns have been raised over morality and ethicality of cloning technology. Although the technology is still in its formative stages, the society at large as well as animal rights advocates are contemplating acceptability of specific areas like Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. Projections show that this technology may bring tremendous positive changes in ways of life (Silberman, 162). However, activists fear the fact that this technology may be misused in a way that restricts animal rights. As much as it might be argued that Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Technology is only unethical for use in human beings, the same is equally unfit for animal rights. Animal rights activists have a valid school of thought in their vehement argument against cloning. This document attempts to explore underlying research based facts and finding surrounding this sensitive topic of cellular biology. Theoretical framework Scientists have always received fierce criticism from ethics and religious advocates. Animal rights activists in religious perspective are very much concerned with the role of researcher in playing at God. Nevertheless human beings have always transformed the nature to suit their needs. As a matter of fact, interference with animals freedom is an old concept dating up to 5000 years ago. It is evident that improved productivity among animal farms is directly attributed to researches and selective breeding aimed at developing more productive and hardy species. Another optimistic approach towards genetic manipulation technology is the review of mileage attained in medicine. Life expectancy is on the rise in a number of regions in the world due to use on animals as test tools. Therefore, there are no reasons to suddenly stop animals based research suddenly on what is rather progress in improving humanity. Animal rights activists have had notable milestone in the past century with various governments using legislation to suitably formulate and alter laws touching on animals rights. For example, United States federal government has articulate laws governing the use of animals in laboratories. Outstanding provision of this legislation is the rights of animals used in laboratory to be free from suffering and pain. It also stipulates mechanism of alleviating suffering resulting from laboratory operations (Lacroix, 22). To sum it up, animal rights explore ways of introducing moral notion about people to animals welfare. It may not be possible to achieve absolute similarities because there are limiting cases such as impossibility to seek animals consent before treatment procedure is executed. In addition, animal rights involve entrenching basic protection for important features of animals nature into legislation. Cruelty towards animals can be looked at in two distinct perspectives. First is failure to take care of animals within ones custody. By accepting to take custody of any animal either as a pet or other use is taken to mean that the owner is liable for any mistreatment and abuse of animals. Relationship between man and animals has improved over time. Domestication of animals is as old as humanity itself. The nature offers a way of taking care of its in habitats. It is evident in ecological studies that animals can survive comfortably without the influence of man. It can thus be argued that taking animals away from their natural home is only justifiable if the taker is going to offer better services or at least the same as nature. Taking care of animals is a complex issue going beyond food supply and health care (Suen 18). Neglecting them is described by failure to supply correct food, water, housing and veterinary care. Animals who succumb to adverse effects of neglect experience the s ame suffering as those who are harmed by intention. This is so because prolonged suffering is equally bad as purposed harm. Researchers in animals psychology shows that some are emotionally sensitive. Therefore, man activities which affect animals emotionally must be carefully executed to avoid injuring them emotionally (De Haan, 150). Secondly, animals cruelty can as well be viewed as deliberately harming them. Some people who are mentally unstable may decide to relieve their anger in hurting or even killing the animals. Stabbing, shooting or hitting helpless animals because they are seen as unequal is one rude form of inhumane act. Although animals cannot be directly compared to human beings, nor do they enjoy similar privileges, they are entitled to fair treatment. An outstanding example of animals abuse is using them for transport. Donkeys which are normally referred to as beasts of burden suffer greatly in the hands of senseless people across the world. Using them for transport should be carefully monitored so as to avoid over loading them. Keeping animals for the sake of food is a major source of cruelty towards them. Ideally, it is a natural way of balancing ecosystem to slaughter them for food. Overdependence on this source of food contributes immensely to violation of animals rights. The process of slaughtering them has been in application for a long time. Different cultures all over the world have had clearly formulated processes of doing so. It is intended at reducing pain among the animals being killed for food. Killing animals for food should appear as the remaining option having exploited all other sources of food. It is in deed an inevitable procedure calling for humane ways of execution. If there is a way of terminating their lives in the quickest pain-free way possible, it would look better to the animal victims. Conclusion To conclude, maximum animals comfort has not been achieved yet. Efforts should be continually stepped up to not only protect them from mans brutality but also to make them comfortable. Major milestones realized by animal rights activists should be maintained so as to make the realized milestones relevant. On the side of research which is the highest contributor of animal cruelty requires close monitoring and evaluation. Pain inflicted on animals in laboratories must be absolutely necessary, however it should not occur. On the case where laboratory procedures are absolutely necessary, researchers must have in place mitigation measures to curb adverse effects of test drugs among the many disadvantages.

The Individual Versus Society in Kerouac and Ginsberg Essay -- Allen G

The Individual Versus Society in Kerouac and Ginsberg    One theme that is prevalent throughout much of the literature we have covered so far is that it is very critical of the conformist values of late 1950s society. In an era of Levittowns and supermarkets and the omnipresent television, there was a call to leave the conformist suburban culture in search of something higher. Two major proponents of the individual as opposed to society were Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, two of the central figures in the Beat movement. Through their work one can gain a perspective on the anti-conformity spirit that was brewing under the surface in the Beat culture. The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac, tells us through the mouth of Ray Smith about his time with Japhy the Zen Lunatic. His narrative depicts a critique of modern culture, with its demands, expectations, and plastic rewards. Even the title of the book suggests this, as the Buddhist word Dharma means one's niche, or spiritual duty in the universe. Thus a Dharma Bum would be one whose natural place in the world, where he rightly belongs, is living the life of a transient. In other words, Kerouac is saying that there is no shame in a life which is outside of the normal realm of society, if this is where one's life takes them. One central theme of The Dharma Bums is Buddhism. One of the most important things to note about the religion in this book is the two forms it takes, and the significance these forms have on the plot and meaning of the book. Ray Smith is a neophyte in the school of Theraveda Buddhism, which is a school dedicated to movement towards enlightenment. Under the teaching of the Theraveda canon, everything a person does should be done with the end goal of perso... ...the top of the mountain and climbing still higher. However, Ginsberg sees desolation and the decay of our society into a homogenous, conformist slop. The reason for this difference could be attributed to their particular situations; while both were climbing higher and higher both in the Beat circles and in the literary world, Ginsberg was still confronting his own sexuality and past. At any rate, however, it becomes clear through the readings of these poets that both were proponents of the individual, and that both condemned conformity. By the late 1950s, the main question on the minds of these men would be whether we could rise above the "faceless wonderless crapulous civilization." Works Cited Allen, Donald, ed. The New American Poetry 1945-1960. Berkely, CA.: U. of California P., 1999. Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York: The Penguin Group, 1976.

The Problem with Being Gay Essay -- Personal Narratives Homosexuality

The Problem with Being Gay About a year ago one of my best friends and I bought some glow-in-the-dark stars to paste on my ceiling. After about four hours of neck-straining work, we shut off all the lights in my room, closed the door, jumped onto my bed and looked up to admire the green glowing wonders above us. After a few minutes of quiet talking, my friend said something that totally blew me away. It might have been that he was tired from the day's work, or maybe a little light-headed from all the dust and stucco we inhaled while placing those stars on my ceiling. Or maybe it was the darkness that made him feel as if he had some kind of security. But something about the situation made him say one of the most serious things he ever said to me. He turned to me, almost touching my face, and whispered in my ear, "I think I am homosexual." I responded almost immediately "Are you sure?" And we talked and cried that night for three hours, he about how his life would be totally ruined and all his hopes and dreams crushed if he really was gay, and I about how it was probably just a phase he was going through. So I decided to see what happened; to let time run its course and see what results it brought. And although the subject did come up a couple more times throughout our senior year, we never discussed it with as much seriousness as that night. I admit that at that time I was still controlled by the immaturity and superficiality of the high school years and was not as accepting of my friend's revelation as I could have been; as a good friend should have been. Conformity to the adolescent laws of popularity was a must, and it prevented me as well as him from being absolutely clear and aware of our feeling... ...-in-the-dark stars?" I said, "yeah†¦" and he said, "I AM, I'M GAY." As this huge burden was lifted off his shoulders, as his secret became mine, I felt a strange mixture of emotions run through me. I was speechless. I didn't know what to say. So I cried because I was both happy and sad. I know he was smiling when he told me that, but I soon realized that it was my fault that he never told anyone. He had held it in for an entire year because of my initial reaction and firm belief that it was just a phase. I figure that was my way of avoiding the subject at the time, but now I know that I am okay with my friend's sexuality because of my own feelings. And I am happy for him. But I still cry because I know that, in reality, his discovery and its social complications have changed the path of his lifelong hopes and aspirations, and that there is a rough road ahead of him.

Fahrenheit 451 Summary Essay

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Matthew Hart Nov. 12, 12 Fahrenheit 451 doesn’t provide a single, clear explanation of why books are banned in the future. Instead, it suggests that many different factors could combine to create this result. These factors can be broken into two groups: factors that lead to a general lack of interest in reading and factors that make people actively hostile toward books. The novel doesn’t clearly distinguish these two developments. Apparently, they simply support one another.The first group of factors includes the popularity of competing forms of entertainment such as television and radio. More broadly, Bradbury thinks that the presence of fast cars, loud music, and advertisements creates a lifestyle with too much stimulation in which no one has the time to concentrate. Also, the huge mass of published material is too overwhelming to think about, leading to a society that reads condensed books rather than the real thing. Guy Montag is a fir eman in charge of burning books in a grim, futuristic United States.The book opens with a brief description of the pleasure he experiences while on the job one evening. He wears a helmet emblazoned with the numeral 451, the temperature at which paper burn, a black uniform with a salamander on the arm, and a phoenix disc on his chest. On his way home from the fire station, he feels a sense of nervous anticipation. After suspecting a lingering nearby presence, he meets his new neighbor, an inquisitive and unusual seventeen-year-old named Clarisse McClellan. She immediately recognizes him as a fireman and seems fascinated by him and his uniform.She explains that she is crazy and proceeds to suggest that the original duty of firemen was to extinguish fires rather than to light them. She asks him about his job and tells him that she comes from a strange family that does such peculiar things as talk to each other and walk places. Clarisse’s strangeness makes Guy nervous, and he lau ghs repeatedly and involuntarily. She reminds him in different ways of candlelight, a clock, and a mirror. He cannot help feeling somehow attracted to her. She fascinates him with her outrageous questions, unorthodox lifestyle, perceptive observations, and incredible power of identification.She asks him if he is happy and then disappears into her house. Pondering the absurd question, he enters his house and thinks about this stranger and her comprehension of his innermost trembling thought. Montag and Mildred spend the afternoon reading. The Mechanical Hound comes and sniffs at the door. Montag speculates about what it was that made Clarisse so unique. Mildred refuses to talk about someone who is dead and complains that she prefers the people and the pretty colors on her TV walls to books.Montag feels that books must somehow be able to help him out of his ignorance, but he does not understand what he is reading and decides that he must find a teacher. He thinks back to an afternoon a year before when he met an old English professor named Faber in the park. It was apparent that Faber had been reading a book of poetry before Montag arrived. The professor had tried to hide the book and run away, but after Montag reassured him that he was safe, they talked, and Faber gave him his address and phone number. Now Montag calls the professor.He asks him how many copies of the Bible, Shakespeare, or Plato are left in the country. Faber, who thinks Montag is trying to trap him, says none are left and hangs up the phone. Montag goes back to his pile of books and realizes that he took from the old woman what may be the last copy of the Bible in existence. He considers turning in a substitute to Beatty (who knows he has at least one book), but he realizes that if Beatty knows which book he took, the chief will guess that he has a whole library if he gives him a different book. He decides to have a duplicate made before that night.Mildred tells him that some of her friends ar e coming over to watch TV with her. Montag, still trying to connect with her, asks her rhetorically if the â€Å"family† on TV loves her. She dismisses his question. He takes the subway to Faber’s, and on the way tries to memorize verses from the Bible. A jingle for Denham’s Dentifrice toothpaste distracts him, and finally he gets up in front of all the passengers and screams at the radio to shut up, waving his book around. The astonished passengers start to call a guard, but Montag gets off at the next stop.Montag goes to Faber and shows him the book, which alleviates Faber’s fear of him, and he asks the old man to teach him to understand what he reads. Faber says that Montag does not know the real reason for his unhappiness and is only guessing that it has something to do with books, since they are the only things he knows for sure are gone. Faber insists that it’s not the books themselves that Montag is looking for, but the meaning they contain. The same meaning could be included in existing media like television and radio, but people no longer demand it.Faber compares their superficial society to flowers trying to live on flowers instead of on good, substantive dirt; people are unwilling to accept the basic realities and unpleasant aspects of life. Faber says that people need quality information, the leisure to digest it, and the freedom to act on what they learn. He defines quality information as a textured and detailed knowledge of life, knowledge of the â€Å"pores† on the face of humanity. Faber agrees with Mildred that television seems more â€Å"real† than books, but he dislikes it because it is too invasive and controlling.Books at least allow the reader to put them down, giving one time to think and reason about the information they contain. Montag suggests planting books in the homes of firemen to discredit the profession and see the firehouses burn. Faber doesn’t think that this action would get to the heart of the problem, however, lamenting that the firemen aren’t really necessary to suppress books because the public stopped reading them of its own accord even before they were burned. Faber says they just need to be patient, since the coming war will eventually mean the death of the TV families.Montag concludes that they could use that as a chance to bring books back. Montag bullies Faber out of his cowardice by tearing pages out of the precious Bible one by one, and Faber finally agrees to help, revealing that he knows someone with a printing press who used to print his college newspaper. Montag asks for help with Beatty that night, and Faber gives him a two-way radio he has created that will fit in Montag’s ear; that way the professor can hear what Beatty has to say and also prompt Montag. Montag decides to risk giving Beatty a substitute book, and Faber agrees to see his printer friend.Montag gazes at Clarisse’s empty house, and Beatty, guessi ng that he has fallen under her influence, berates him for it. Mildred rushes out of the house with a suitcase and is driven away in a taxi, and Montag realizes she must have called in the alarm. Beatty orders Montag to burn the house by himself with his flamethrower and warns that the Hound is on the watch for him if he tries to escape. Montag burns everything, and when he is finished, Beatty places him under arrest. Beatty sees that Montag is listening to something and strikes him on the head.The radio falls out of Montag’s ear, and Beatty picks it up, saying that he will have it traced to find the person on the other end. After Beatty eggs him on with more literary quotations, his last a quote from Julius Caesar, Montag turns his flamethrower on Beatty and burns him to a crisp. The other firemen do not move, and he knocks them out. The Mechanical Hound appears and injects Montag’s leg with anesthetic before he manages to destroy it with his flamethrower. Montag stum bles away on his numb leg. He goes to where he hid the books in his backyard and finds four that Mildred missed.He hears sirens approaching and tries to continue down the alley, but he falls and begins to sob. He forces himself to rise and runs until the numbness leaves his leg. Montag puts a regular Seashell radio in his ear and hears a police alert warning people to be on the lookout for him, that he is alone and on foot. He finds a gas station and washes the soot off his face so he will look less suspicious. He hears on the radio that war has been declared. He starts to cross a wide street and is nearly hit by a car speeding toward him.At first, Montag thinks it is the police coming to get him, but he later realizes the car’s passengers are children who would have killed him for no reason at all, and he wonders angrily whether they were the motorists who killed Clarisse. He creeps into one of his coworkers’ houses and hides the books, then calls in an alarm from a p hone booth. He goes to Faber’s house, tells him what has happened, and gives the professor some money. Faber instructs him to follow the old railroad tracks out of town to look for camps of homeless intellectuals and tells Montag to meet him in St.Louis sometime in the future, where he is going to meet a retired printer. Faber turns on the TV news, and they hear that a new Mechanical Hound, followed by a helicopter camera crew, has been sent out after Montag. Montag takes a suitcase full of Faber’s old clothes, tells the professor how to purge his house of Montag’s scent so the Hound will not be led there, and runs off into the night. Faber plans to take a bus out of the city to visit his printer friend as soon as possible. Captain Beatty comes by to check on Montag, saying that he guessed Montag would be calling in sick that day.He tells Montag that every fireman runs into the â€Å"problem† he has been experiencing sooner or later, and he relates to him the history of their profession. Beatty’s monologue borders on the hysterical, and his tendency to jump from one thing to another without explaining the connection makes his history very hard to follow. Part of the story is that photography, film, and television made it possible to present information in a quickly digestible, visual form, which made the slower, more reflective practice of reading books less popular.Another strand of his argument is that the spread of literacy, and the gigantic increase in the amount of published materials, created pressure for books to be more like one another and easier to read. Montag withdraws money from his account to give to Faber and listens to reports over the radio that the country is mobilizing for war. Faber reads to him from the Book of Job over the two-way radio in his ear. He goes home, and two of Mildred’s friends, Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles, arrive and promptly disappear into the TV parlor. Montag turns off the TV wall s and tries to engage the three women in conversation.They reluctantly oblige him, but he becomes angry when they describe how they voted in the last presidential election, based solely on the physical appearance and other superficial qualities of the candidates. After witnessing the anonymous scapegoat’s death on the television, Granger turns to Montag and ironically remarks, â€Å"Welcome back to life. † He introduces Montag to the other men, who are all former professors and intellectuals. He tells Montag that they have perfected a method of recalling word-for-word anything that they have read once. Each one of them has a different classic books stored in his memory.

Background Paper of Pirate Steel Company

The Pirate Steel Company is in the steel producing industry that manufactures in the United States. The Pirate Steel Company sells its products in the United States and many other nations abroad. Pirate Steel was considered a leader in its industry and maintained high standards of achievement until foreign competition began to affect their profitability. Though Pirate Steel has never been very cost conscience in production operations, the increases in material, labor, and other inventories has made a deep impact in Pirate Steel†s view on minimizing costs. With an increase in production costs, the selling price of the company†s manufactured goods increased as well. This increase in prices had to be closely monitored due to competition. With new regulations on production expenses, the people in production, like the foreperson and the manager, had the entire burden on them since they had to justify all repair and maintenance expenditures. With new procedures, every work order form had to be exaggerated so that it seemed necessary for repair and maintenance expenditures. Since the work order forms were exaggerated, the accountant found that these requests were filled with misleading information. All expenses were recorded properly, but an external auditor might question the fictionalized reports. The ethical dilemma of Pirate Steel Company is that the foreperson devised a strategy to get maintenance and repair orders approved by providing misleading information about the extent of the reports. The work order forms seemed to imply that new equipment was bought each time a repair was needed. With this type of fictionalized information given, the external auditors may question the accounting methods pertaining to repair and maintenance. The stakeholders in this situation are the foreperson, the accountant, customers, shareholders, management, and the executives. The foreperson was the one who initially created the plan of falsifying information about repair and maintenance needs. He did this because of fear that any job delays, due to failure of machinery, would be blamed on him. The accountant is also responsible because he must decide how he must approach this situation from an ethical standpoint. There are many options for him to choose, but only one is correct. The Utilitarian Theory emphasizes on how the consequences of an action affect the individuals involved. This is a theory of balancing negative social actions and benefits to minimize the negatives and maximize the benefits. The Utilitarian Theory would be applied as Faze approached the chief executive officer of Pirate Steel and requests that he evaluates the new cost control policy and the actions being taken with it. Faze should explain that the descriptions of the work orders should be evaluated for honesty. He should tell the CEO that if these patterns continue, it might have a negative effect on the company†s progress. The CEO should then sit with Faze and devise a more efficient plan. The Theory of Rights states that each person should be treated as fairly as possible and that others have the obligation to treat everyone equally as a sense of moral duty. The Theory of Rights could be applied in this situation allowing the accountant to overlook this minor problem because he feels that this process is the most efficient way for the company to operate. Faze must go to the production manager and let him know that the fictionalized work orders will not affect the company in the short run, but in the long run they might pose a potential loss in income due to excess expenditures in repairs and maintenance. The Theory of Justice involves equity, fairness, and impartiality. These major components are used in the way that individuals are affected by their treatment. The Theory of Justice could be applied to the situation by employees approaching the production management and demanding that the work order forms be much easier to be approved. The employees think that too much effort must be put into filling out request for repairs and maintenance. The employees also know that if their requests are not fictionalized, they will have a hard time receiving the approval for those mandatory repairs. The company should look to implement a program that will allow the employees to be able to develop the skill required to properly complete the work order forms. They should also look to perform their jobs in a way that will follow all of the rules and laws that would be applied to the situation. With these revisions in procedure, the company should be able to prepare reports with accurate information. The company will need to use a system that will allow information to be communicated fairly. The information that is included in these reports should be recorded in a way that is not intended to negatively persuade the user to get the wrong impression of the writing. These changes must be made because the company†s cost control policy is not good from an operational point of view with the requirements needed for a work order form to get approved. Faze will need to schedule a meeting between the CEO, the production manager, the accountant, and himself to be able to clearly ! illustrate the manner in which the work order forms should be completed. He would also use this opportunity to discuss any other improvements to the system that could be implemented. After this meeting, each individual could go to their respective departments and relay the message of how things have been changed. The solution to Pirate Steel†s dilemma is for Faze to maintain competence. He must keep the level of professionalism by performing the activities of the company with respect to the regulations that must be followed. The controller must also inform the production manager that the actions taken can be harmful to the company. He should maintain this level of professionalism and begin to prepare the proper reports after analyzing the information given. Faze should also develop a guide to help employees prepare reports for work orders in a responsible manner. The solution to the Pirate Steel Company†s dilemma is by Faze using objectivity. By using objectivity, Faze will be able to communicate the information fairly and unbiased. Also, the controller must disclose all information that would sway the opinion of an interested user. Disclosing this information will give all the outsiders a better understanding of all paperwork and recommendations that are presented. To show competence in the workplace, the workers must be able to continually develop skills that will improve all aspects of their job. Then they must perform all of their duties and still stay in accordance with the rules and regulations that are involved with their field, and be able to prepare reports that are accurate and honest so that they can be interpreted as they are printed. Everyone must do these things to show their reliability. One example of showing reliability is shown in this quote stated â€Å"To be reliable, information must have representational faithfulness and it must be verifiable and neutral. Accounting information may not represent faithfully what it purports to represents because it has one or both of two kinds of bias (The Accounting Review, 2000, 229).† When a worker is showing objectivity they must prove that they can communicate information in a way that others can understand it and not be persuaded to use misleading information in decision making. This quote shows an example of objectivity: â€Å"To address earnings management concerns, the NYSE, Amex, ASB, and the SEC individually adopted rules and standards focusing on the composition and activities of audit committees. Regulators hope the rules will improve the quality of financial reporting and make it harder for corporations to manipulate the data on which their reported earnings are based (Journal of Accountancy, 2000, 15).†

Effectiveness of Brand Extension in Personal Care Product: A Case Study on Dove of Unilever

Brand is perceived to be in important intangible asset for company which gives company a cutting edge in product market through positioning in consumer mind. To leverage on success of brand, companies go for brand extension which is offering different new product in the same brand name.Such brand strategy is intended to be pursued to save cost of launching new brand, to minimize risk of brand failure and to leverage on success of existing brand. Organization who are in personal care product business often go for such brand extension treating brand as their assists where they try to leverage on their brand equity by launching new products under already established brand names (Vanitha et al, 2001). There are many factors that define the effectiveness and success of brand extension in personal care products.Perceived Quality of Parent Brand, the relative importance of fit of brand with consumer characteristics and mission of brand are important variable which determine brand success (P ark, et al, 1991). Beyond those factors, in case of personal care brand extension, media planning, brand development and brand management and public relation to communicate the brand are considered to be influential in evaluating the success of brand extension.This research work is perused to evaluate the effectiveness of brand extension strategy in personal care products in general and brand extension strategy of Dove brand of Unilever. The report will elaborate whether brand extension strategy of Dove was successful one considering the variable mentioned above.The report is prepared based on customers’ responses collected through survey and observations of branding expert to assess such effectiveness. The turnover from products launched under brand extension strategy will be dependent variable that will be evaluated against Brand Campaign, Media Planning, Brand Development and Brand Management, and Public Relation Strategy of brand. The study will be based on Dove brand of Unilever which will outline how company changes branding strategy with evolution of Dove brand.1.1 Background of the OrganizationUnilever’s journey as business organization started at 1872 as margarine business. In 1890, the company was named as Lever Brothers Limited. In 1930 Margarine Unie (Netherland) and Lever Brothers Limited (UK) merged and renamed as Unilever Limited. Serving 2 billion customers worldwide, the company is achieving annual turnover of â‚ ¬51 billion in 2012 (Unilever, 2013). The company sells its products across 190 countries where emerging market now counts for 55% of the business. The company have portfolio of 14 cash cow brand that are generating â‚ ¬ 1 billion sales worldwide. The company employs around 173,000 people around the globe (Unilever PLC. 2013a).The portfolio of categories shows that around 35% of revenue comes from Suvoury, Dressing and spread, followed by Personal Care which is about 28%, Home Care which is 18% and food and beverag e segment covers 19%. Unilever has a portfolio of 400 brands among which some are world largest in terms of generating ideas. With an asset base of â‚ ¬46.16 billion, the company has operating profit of about â‚ ¬7 billion (Unilever PLC. 2013b).Dove is a billion brand of Unilever which is generating annual revenue of â‚ ¬2.5 billion a year in 80 countries. Dove Brand was launched in 1957 as alternative to soap to care of dry skin. Since 1980 many product is launched under Dove brand ranging from body-wash, deodorants, body lotions, facial cleansers, to shampoos and conditioners through brand extension (Unilever PLC, 2013). Unilever terms Dove as a brand with a purpose.1.2 Rational of the StudyBrand is perceived to be very important factor to position product in consumers’ mind. A brand image has become a salient resource and critical success factors of competition which gives firm competitive advantage in product market. To leverage on such competitive edge firms at times takes strategy of brand extension to leverage the success of existing brand to optimize and rationalized investment in brand. But such brand extension produced mixed result in terms of effectiveness or return on brand extension due to brand fit with product launched, functionality of brand and consumer attitude to accept new product (Kim and Deborah, 2008).To change consumer perception on the ground of functional benefit of brand, organization has to  reshuffle its branding communication to reposition brand in consumer mind which communicate a broader view of brand rather than functional benefits. The effectiveness of such brand extension depends on how firm develop brand, build brand and plan media to communicate the brand and maintain public relation to engage stakeholders (Bottomley and Stephen, 2001). Innovation of Branding campaign is another important parameter in this regard. The study will evaluate the brand extension strategy of Dove through examining through differ ent factors mentioned just above to justify brand extension strategy in Personal care product category.1.3 Business Research QuestionsThe following research question will be designed to conduct the study. what is the brand extension strategy of FMCG company in personal care products What are the factors that affect brand extension strategy of an established brand in case of personal care products How brand campaign, media planning, customer attitude, brand development and management, public relation reshuffle brand extension strategy in case of Dove brand of Unilever What is the statistical observations of effect of components of brand extension in positioning product in consumer brand1.4 Research objectiveEvery research is conducted with fulfillment of some objectives in mind. Those objectives persuade the researcher to pursue research in this field of study to enrich the researcher intellectual observation. The following are the research objective of the study which motivates the researcher to pursue this research. To review brand extension strategy in personal care productTo trace out the reasons that plays key role in developing brand extensions strategy in personal care products To explore the critically success factors that determines the effectiveness of brand extension strategy in personal care products To extract out how brand campaign, media planning, customer attitude, brand development and management, public relation played role in affecting success of brand extension of Dove brand of Unilever To evaluate the outcome of the study through statistical test to validate the findings of the study on rand extension strategy of Dove To suggest appropriate and specific recommendations and to provide conclusion along with mentioning the scope of future scope of study.2.0 Literature ReviewLiterature review is very important part of any credible research and it provides the research an opportunity to review similar and related previous research to take knowle dgeable insight to design his or her study. The second chapter of the research will cover the literature review related to title of the research. The following sections will be covered by this chapter.2.1 BrandBrand can be defined as name, tern, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers (AMA, 2011).2.2 Brand Extension and Types of Brand ExtensionBrand extension is strategy of launching and selling new product under an established brand name of other existing products to persuade customer’s perception with success of existing products (Monga and Deborah, 2007). Extension can be described as strategy to sell new products without establishing a new brand of the company (Chen and Liu, 2004).There are two types of brand extension mostly used in branding strategy. The following graph is elucidating such types of brand extension.2.3 The Reasons o f Brand ExtensionThere are logics why organization goes with brand extension instead of launching new brand for every new product. The most influential arguments are reducing risk and cost of launching new products, increasing sales and profit of the company and being able to ask a premium price (Alokparna and Zeynep, 2012). The other reason includes increase brand awareness and perceived brand value of the company (Smith and Park, 1992).2.4 Brand Extension in Personal Care productsBrand extension in personal care product is more prevalent than other types  of product due to homogeneity in product nature and communication of common perception to the consumers. From Unilever to P&G everyone does follow brand extension strategy more or less in their personal product portfolio (Xie, 2008).2.5 Factors that Determines the success of Brand Extension strategyVarious factors brand extension strategy of personal care products. The given case outlined the following factors that were conside red influential in affecting brand extension strategy to Dove from soap to other personal care products2.5.1 Branding CampaignBranding campaign is very important parameter to change customer perception from a narrower point of view to broader point of view. Earlier Dove is considered a cleansing cream or moisturizing cream (Tom et al, 2012). Whenever Unilever intended to communicate Dove as Masterbrand, it reshuffles its campaigning strategy to communicate Dove brand campaign as â€Å"Campaign for Real Beauty† (Deighton, 2008). The case produced the following discussion.2.5.2 Branding to Change Customer AttitudeSuccessful brand extension strategy change customer attitude to the favor of new product launched under established product category. In Dove case, the branding campaign redefines the notion of beauty to the women of the world by saying that every woman possesses real beauty, which is merely not defined by size, skin or age.The brand defines beauty as function of self- esteem, feeling superiority about oneself. Such bold step to change women attitude toward beauty invites discussion and debate, which ultimately gave the familiarity of new product under Dove brand (Deighton, 2008a). The following comments are from Marketing Director of Dove.2.5.3 Media PlanningMedia planning is very important to communicate brand extension to new launched products. The effectiveness of media planning largely defines how effectively and efficiently message can be communicated to the target customers (Jack and Roger, 2002).Uniqueness and cost consideration are most influential ingredients in media planning where company favors to choose unusual media to attract easily customers’ attention and least cost media to save marketing cost of the organization (Clarke, 1997). Dove posted a filming featuring dove in YouTube for which Unilever did not spend a penny literally.2.5.4 Brand Development and Brand ManagementBrand development is successful predictor of brand fu ture. If an innovative and compelling brand is developed, it is mostly assured that brand will emerge as successful. Whenever a brand is successfully positioned in one product category, it is very easy to extend it to new product (Kumar, 2005). Successful brand development requires innovative brand development team, alignment of branding communication with characteristic of products so that they best fits each other (Monga and Deborah, 2007). In case of Dove Brand, extension brand development was separated from brand management in specific market.2.5.5 Public Relation and Brand ExtensionPublic relation or PR is emerging as very effective tool in communicating messages of new brand or brand extension to customers. The recent observation is that impact of advertisement is falling and that of PR is rising. PR is more effective when it comes to matter of communicating credibility of brand, saving of cost and clutter (Và ¶lckner and Henrik, 2006).Moreover, Brand friendliness with PR can formulate a compelling communication strategy of brand extension with low cost (Tom et al, 2012a). Public relation of Dove was compelling covering both positive and criticism comments from leading press and marketing commentators which gave the firm great publicity (Deighton, 2008). New York Times mentioned about PR success of Dove as below3.0 Research MethodologyResearch methodology will be third chapter of the research, which is mainly a roadmap of the research to the outcome, which will be employed with different type of methodology to extract out the insight from the incumbent research (Hunter and Leahey, 2008). The research methodology section will employ the following techniques.3.1 Design of ResearchThe most important element in research methodology is research design which will be cornerstone for further research steps to extract out relevant information from collected data. The research design consist of planning of  research, dissecting and collecting raw data and obser vations from the key stakeholders to build a harmonious research that will fulfill social objectives (Brymanand and Bell, 2003). The research design is launched with research philosophy.3.2 Philosophy of ResearchThe research philosophy is very important ingredient of research design where philosophy concentrates on reasoning of rationality and scientific approaches, law of generalization to develop and establish knowledge. This research is based on positivism philosophy where transparency of research will be ensured through usage of true sense to make reproduction of information (Hussey and Hussey, 2007).This philosophy of research mainly employs scientific tools and techniques to reason knowledge of imagination extracted from observed behavior (Saunders et al, 2009). The research philosophy that stands against this research philosophy is anti-positivism philosophy which prefers people judgment on research issues. Positivism philosophy uses statistical tools which is not used by ant i-positivism philosophy (Remeniyi et al, 2008).3.2.1 Justification of Positivism PhilosophyThe justification for selecting positivism philosophy is that in this philosophy research is carried out on through objective manner to explore the cause effect relationship between exogenous and indigenous variables (Irving, 2006).3.3 Research ApproachThere are mainly two broad type of research is used by the researcher for conducting research. These approaches are induction and deduction approach. This research will be based on deduction approach, which is a top down research approach concentrating to relate research outcome with reasoning rather than a subjective general statement. This approach is very much relevant to bring a concrete conclusion. Deductive approach depends on earlier conceptual and theoretical structure, which is supported by quantitative data (Steinar, 2007).3.3.1 Justification of Deduction ApproachThe strongest argument of using deduction approach is that this approach is based on scientific principles, which leads to highly structured and organized ground for the development of research hypothesis. This approach is also relevant for collection of research data to elucidate the relation and dependency among the variables to prove the hypothesis (Kumar, 2008).3.4 Methods of ResearchQuantitative and qualitative two research methods will be used in this research through application of different qualitative and quantitative research technique.3.4.1 Quantitative MethodsThis method will be used for collecting primary data collection. Different statistical parameters will be used under this method. The graphical presentation will be employed as instrument of quantitative method along with charts to display information more visibly (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005).3.4.2 Qualitative ResearchIn case of subjective measurement qualitative technique will be employed. Brand extension and product categories have many dimensions that are qualitative in nature whic h need subjective evaluation. This method will be used mostly in case of data which are nonnumeric in nature and more concerned with behavioral aspect of the respondents.This research has applied a mixed approach of research by incorporating qualitative and quantitative variable. Quantitative one has been applied to find the Effectiveness of Brand extension in case of Personal care products. On the other hand, to measure impact of public relation, media planning and brand management qualitative approach will be used.3.5 Data SourcesData will be collected from mainly two types of sources, primary sources and secondary sources. For primary data, population will be female customers of Unilever in London. Beyond customers, brand manager of Dove at Unilever UK will be asked for an interview, which is also another source of primary data. Total 100 customers will be surveyed and three managers will be interviewed.The primary data will be concerned with collection of data through a question naire that will ask about demographic profile of customers and research topic related questions where respondent will be asked on predetermined questions (Agresti and Finlay, 2009). The questionnaire will provide some statements and give respondent to put score based on their  opinion. The secondary source of data will be relevant articles, books, website and annual report of Unilever. Appropriate referencing will be provided to authenticate the sources of secondary data.3.5.1 Sampling, Design and Size3.5.2.1 Target PopulationThe target population of the research is all the potential respondents relevant to research study within some specific parameters (Churchill and Iacobucci, 2005). For the purpose of this study, the population included female users of Dove brand of Unilever UK in London. The demography of the respondent is developed in such a way that customers from different age, ethnicity and income level is selected.3.5.2.2 SamplingSampling is a technique to filter responde nt from population to conduct the study as deal with whole population is literally impossible. the influential sampling method is probability sampling where equal chance of each candidate from population might be selected. There are other sampling technique that could be employed in this research study which are random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified random sampling etc (Foss, 2007). Having considered time and resource constraint, convenience sampling technique is best suited with this study3.5.2.3 Design of SampleDesign of sample refers to the process of selection of sample units. A self-administered survey will be conducted among the targeted sample and the in person with female users of Dove brand in London.3.5.2.4 Sample sizeA sample size of 100 is expected to be collected for this study. Beyond them 3 managers will be asked for interview. Enough time will be given to each participant to reduce the error. The questionnaire is designed in simple English to reduce risk o f ambiguity. RespondentsNumber Female users of Dove brand 100 Executives managing Dove Brand 3 Total 1033.6 Data Analysis Tools and TechniquesGraph, table and different diagram will be used to display data that will be collected through questionnaire. These will be done in primary data analysis. The core part of the questionnaire will be based on 5-point Likeart Scale. The questionnaire provided to female users of Dove will consist of close-ended questions and interview questionnaire provided to the managers of Unilever will be open-ended questions. To assess the responses C-alpha test will be employed. The following techniques will also be used in this study.3.6.1 Usage of Statistical Tools for AnalysisTo examine, filter and transform the collected data with research objective statistical tools will be used for reaching conclusion and approving decision making (Panneerselvam, 2004). Data will be analyzed through application of most up to date statistical tools used in business rese arch.Two distinct questionnaires were used in this research to analyze effectiveness of brand extension strategy of Dove brand. The following statistical tools have been used in this research. Graphical Technique: the graph will be produced in spreadsheet software of Microsoft Office Excel. In addition to generation of graphs, excel will be used in most quantitative analysis of the study.Pearson Correlation Matrix: Correlation matrix is in fact a technique to develop relation between dependent and independent variables. It mainly observed how variables are dependent of each other. Scaling Technique: Scaling technique will be used in this study in case of subjective evaluation of respondents. In this procedure, weight is assigned according to rank (Cooper and Schindler, 2008).Result will be presented as percentage through rank percentage analysis. Regression Analysis: Regression analysis is used in research arena mainly to calculate the dependency of dependent variable with independe nt variables. It incorporates different statistical test such as P value, t-test to assess the influence of the relation in terms of statistical consideration. The regression equation of this study will be as belowWhere, Y= Dependent variable (Dove Brand Turnover) ÃŽ ± = Constant ÃŽ ²1= Coefficients of brand campaign X1= Brand campaign ÃŽ ²2= Coefficients of customer perception toward brand X2= Customer perception toward brand Î’3= Coefficients of Brand Development and Management X3= Brand Development and Management Î’4= Coefficient of Media Planning X4= Media Planning Î’5= Coefficient of Public Relation X5= Public Relation e= Error term3.7 Ethical ConsiderationTo complete research with appropriate research guidelines research ethics is very important. Considering ethical aspect of research enough time is given to the respondent of the study so that they can depict their true view on research questions. Primary and secondary data will be used in this study. Consent from the respondents will be taken and appropriate permission will also be ensured for usage of their given data.Confidentiality of the responses will be maintained strictly to ensure privacy of their data. The disclosure of respondent identity will be based on their permission where if they are not willing to disclose identity, their identity will not be exhibited. Beyond that fact, usage of any secondary data from any source will be acknowledged with appropriate reference. Hence, the ethical aspect of research will be followed very strictly in this research.3.8 Possible Research OutcomeThe research is pursued to find out whether brand extension strategy of personal care product is effective through analyzing the case of Dove brand of Unilever. The incumbent researcher is very must interested to explore the association of brand extension through different factors in making success of newly launched products. The research will produce how brand campaign, customer perception towards brand, b rand development and management, and brand, media planning and public relation associates in making brand extension effective in case of Dove brand of Unilever.3.9 LimitationThe main limitation of the research is the period allocated for conducting the study. Another important limitation is the inability to remove the biasness of the responses due to subjective nature of the data. Another limitation is the dimension factors related in brand extension in addition to mentioned factors, which might produce incomplete conclusion.4.0 Time Scale of ResearchThe dissertation will be produced by maintaining the following time scale Task to be Executed Week 1 Week 2-4 Week 5-8 Week 9-11 Week 12 Questionnaire Development and Outline of the ThesisSurvey ConductData mining and FilteringIntroductionLiterature ReviewResearch MethodologyData AnalysisSubmitting First DraftSubmitting Second DraftProof Reading and Error CheckingFinal Submission5.0 ConclusionIt is observed that brand extension strategy in personal care products is more prevalent and effective than any other products. This research study is intended to explore the effectiveness of brand extension strategy of Dove brand of Unilever. The researcher believes that the study will produce valuable insight in such evaluation that will be useful for both the executives and academicians. It will also create opportunity for further research in this field of the study.

Principles of communication in adult social care Essay

Aiii Identify five different reasons why people communicate. -To share ideas, express feelings, express needs, give and receive information, to share opinions. Aiv Give two reasons why it is important to observe the reactions of an individual using the service when you are communicating with them. -To see if they have understood you correctly, be able to see there reaction to what you said. Av Explain why it is important to find out about an individual’s: a) communication and language –To be able to communicate in an effective way and be understood properly. b) wishes and preferences – To be able to give the best service and assistance possible. Avi Explain how good communication can have a positive effect on the way a social care worker interacts with: a) colleagues –To be able to give our clients the best service possible, understanding the clients day to day and colleagues point of views. b) individuals using the service and carers – To be able to understands there needs, wishes and preferences better and be able to communicate effectively. c) other professionals – To be able to enable a better care services to our clients being able to help other professionals have a bigger paradigm and be able to evaluate and work in the best possible way. Read more:  Different reasons people communicate  essay Avii Identify three examples of barriers to communication, and describe ways each barrier could be reduced. -Distractions, physical barriers, language differences.  Aviii Describe two ways to check that communication has been understood by all involved. -Ask directly if you have been understood or wait to see a  reaction, if not understood calmly repeat it. Aix Identify three services or sources of information and support that enable effective communication in an adult social care setting. -Advocacy services, interpreting services, speech and language services. Task B Poster Create a poster about confidentiality, which can be used in an adult social care setting. The poster must: Bi give a definition of the term ‘confidentiality’ as it applies in adult social care settings Bii describe examples of how to maintain confidentiality in day to day communication Biii describe examples of situations where you might need to share confidential information with other professionals or the carers of individuals receiving the service Biv explain how and when to seek advice about confidentiality and where to go for help. -Confidentiality is a set of rules or a promise that limits access or places restrictions on certain types of information. -When creating a relationship and day to day with clients, they will trust you with some intimate ideas or opinion or even day to day things, all information a client shares with you should be considered confindential, you should never speak to any clients about other clients and when communicating with colleagues, other professional or family involved in the clients best interest, should communicate relevant facts in a private place as could be the care office, the same with any advice needed, should ask any of my colleages, preferably seniors of care.

Breadtalk Research

Talk Local brand; regional success. BreadTalk Group Limited started out in 2000 as a local bakery chain best known for its signature floss buns, before firmly establishing its brand name and evolving into a major food retailer in less than 10 years. It currently operates in three main segments: bakery, food court and restaurants. It entered the restaurant segment in 2003 after acquiring the Singapore franchise rights to the renowned Din Tai Fung restaurant brand. The food court business soon followed in 2005. The group was listed on SGX in 2003. China to spearhead the next growth phase. From Singapore, it moved to the rest of the region and China is currently one of its key markets outside of Singapore. Given the sheer size of the consumer market in China, we believe that it will be the future catalyst for BreadTalks growth. While Singapore currently remains the largest revenue contributor to the Group, BreadTalks diverse brands of various food offerings and established foothold in Beijing and Shanghai should allow it to take advantage of rising disposable incomes as well as react quickly to new consumer trends in China. In terms of number of outlets, China already outnumbers Singapore with 20 food courts, 3 Carls Jr fast food restaurants, 3 RamenPlay restaurants and 184 bakery outlets. Rising costs, an issue, but manageable. We believe that BreadTalk will be able to maintain a gross profit margin of about 55%, which is in line with its margins over the past five years despite potential hike in food costs. Previous fluctuations in raw material prices had not resulted in any significant impact on gross profit margins, and the group also plans to improve its margins by shortening its supply chain and bulk sourcing globally for its supplies. Initiate with BUY and fair value estimate of S$0. 74. We project revenue growth of 26% YoY for FY2011F on the back of outlet expansions and stronger sales from existing stores. Backed by strong sales projections, its growing brand recognition and its continuous commitment to review and enhance its offerings, we are initiating coverage on BreadTalk with a BUY rating and a fair value estimate of S$0. 74 based on a discounted cash flow-to-firm valuation model with a WACC discount rate of 8. 02%. This valuation translates to an upside potential of about 11. 6% based on the last traded price of S$0. 66.

Local Lawsuit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Local Lawsuit - Essay Example Company’s prosperity has significantly been contributed by acquisitions between the company and smaller manufacturing companies in the same field. The company has also embarked on cutting all its operational cost by shifting its production off the United States. For instance, in 2004 the company announced a plan to move 350 jobs from Tennessee to Mexico. In 1998, Black & Decker Corporation was involved in a lawsuit with the Internal Revenue Service regarding allegations by the company to be refunded 57 million dollars from its earlier tax payments. The company had purchased 10,000 shares for 561 million dollars and later sold them at the price of 1 million, making a loss of 560 million dollars. The company therefore wanted a refund equivalent to the loss incurred. In addition, the company argued that the money should be refunded since the tax shelter it had implemented was valid. Tax shelter in this case is lawful technique of minimizing taxable income of a company depending o n local and universal tax laws. On the other hand, the Internal Revenue Service argued that the company strategy of tax shelter was abusive. Black & Decker Corporation had created a Black & Decker Healthcare Management Inc. and then transferred to it 561 million dollars in exchange for stock shares of 10,000. ... Although the company had a contingent liability and tax protection, it was difficult to estimate the exact cost on health insurance. This was because of uncertainty on how many employees would be ill at a go. However, there a number of risk management strategies Black & Decker Corporation management could have implemented to avoid the lawsuit. The first one is that the company can opt to reinsure since by doing so the company would have transferred the risk to other entities. This will enable it to handle risks beyond its capability. The second one is using technological facilities that can work in place of a number of employees. Therefore, the company will not have so many employees to insure as well as reducing its operational cost. Finally, the company should execute a cost reduction program that does not involve tax shelter. This will help the company avoid legal conflicts with the federal taxing body as well as the occurrence of lawsuits. In case a business is involved in transa ctions that has no economical value, but help reduce or avoid tax on returns, such practice is regarded to be unethical. In this case, Black & Decker Corporation main aim is to avoid the risk of paying health claims to its current and retired employees. Instead, the company transferred that risk to Black & Decker Healthcare Management Inc. one of its subsidiaries. Black & Decker Corporation also wanted to evade taxation on 303 million dollars gain it had made by selling some of its businesses by faking a loss (Browning, 2004). This therefore shows that Black & Decker Corporation was motivated by the tax benefits, and the loss was just a strategy to evade taxation. Use of such discriminative strategy where a business puts its