Differences among nations affect international business Essay

This paper describes some of the ways in which social, cultural, economic, legal and political differences among nations affect international business. Specific real world examples of the described differences are also provided. Doing business in the international marketplace mandates taking into account some very hard to overlook social differences between countries. For instance, if trying to market and sell a product in a country other than where the company is based, the company must take into account the language differences for such things as packaging (Ebert, R. J., 2003), use instructions, marketing materials, web site presence, and customer care and support. A marvelous real world example of overcoming social differences in order to do business in the international marketplace is provided by the company Ikea (Ikea, 2003). Ikea does business in over thirty-four countries. Much of Ikea’s furniture requires the purchaser to assemble them. This means that all the instructions that are included with the same merchandise must be written for each of the countries that it does business in. Another example of Ikea’s adeptness at handling social differences is their website (www.ikea.com). The company has links from their global website to translated websites for each company they do business in. There are some other, not so obvious, cultural differences as well. Such things as general consumer preferences may be very different in the target country. An example of these consumer preferences would be what is considered standard staples in the country. Another example would be shopping habits, such as time, frequency and consumer outlet type that is generally preferred (Ebert, R. J., 2003). Yet another example would be if the standard work day isn’t the same as a standard workday in the country where the company is based, this could affect such things as the hours of operation of a store-front or office. A terrific example of general consumer preferences is brought to light by McDonald’s (McDonald’s Inc, 2003). McDonald’s does business in over fifty-eight countries. In order to gain consumer credibility they generally provide to a charity in the countries they do business in. In the United States the charity that they prefer is the Ronald McDonald House, which concentrates on providing for the needs of children. In Europe the charity of choice for McDonald’s is a community  football (United States soccer) due to the heavy influence that the sport has in the European countries it does business in. There are also some other cultural differences in European McDonald’s, such as the menu: beer is served as a beverage. Economic differences are probably the first hurdles that a company will recognize while planning to support their trade in a foreign country. These differences will be extremely obvious if, for instance, the company of interest is based in a country with a Market or Mixed Economy and wishes to do business in a country with a Planned Economy. Economic differences can include things such as monetary trade rates, the country’s banking policies and government involvement in an industry (Ebert, R. J., 2003). China is a great example of doing business with a Planned Economy country (Premier Star Company, 2003). In China foreign companies can not own land, rather it must be leased or rented from People’s Republic of China. Legal and Political differences are the biggest players in doing business internationally. A government in a foreign country can determine how an outside country’s business is run in their country by controlling such things as the cost of the outside country’s company’s goods in their country by using quotas, tariffs and subsidies (Ebert, R. J., 2003). The government can also control the payroll and employee education costs as well as initial capital expenditures of an outside country’s company, by requiring that a portion of what the company sells in their country must also be produced there. This may require employing local people and possibly educating them, as well as setting up a presence, whether it is a manufacturing plant or another type of facility that is required for the company to produce it’s goods. There is also the matter of complying with the target country’s business laws and regulations. This requires that the company expand it’s legal team to include knowledge of the remote government in order to protect itself. Many things that may be legal in one country, may be illegal in another. Cuba and the United States is a good example of legal and political differences (Haar, J., 2002). A United States company can not do business with Cuba, as it is illegal in the United States to do so. References Ebert, R. J. (2003). Business Essentials. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Ikea (2003). http://www.ikea.com. Sweden: Inter IKEA Systems B.V. McDonald’s Inc. (2003). http://www.mcdonalds.com/corporate/social. United States: McDonald’s Inc. Premier Star Company (2003). http://chinaunique.com/business/law_main.html#land. Rochester, NY: Premier Star Company Haar, J. (2002). http://www.miami.edu/nsc/pages/newsupdates/Update53.html. Miami, FL: University of Miami

Live until you die discussion

â€Å"Live until you die† is a broad phrase that can be interpreted differently depending on the individual who ponders upon on it. To me, living until one dies is simply having a quality of life, congruent to the individual's terms and definition of it. Many people are trapped living in the past, or even in the future, instead of relishing on the present of today, and the now. In our society, a person who prepares for the future usually grows to be successful, but some of us get caught up within that mentality, and forget to enjoy the moment.No one has time bought, and no one usually knows when one is going to die. Unfortunately, some people start â€Å"Living† once they know they have got their days on a countdown, but don't we all? Believe one starts dying the very moment one is born. We are all aware that we are eventually going to die, but reality doesn't usually settle in until one is living with a terminal illness.Living until one dies is enjoying every second Of our lives in the most idealistic possible way, and this should not only relate to terminally al patients, but to anybody who is alive. Everybody should live as though they are dying, and as palliative care nurses, we can advocate for our patient and help them live until they die. Matzo, M. & Sherman, D. W. (2015) Palliative Care Nursing: Quality Care to the End of Life. (4th deed. ) New York, NY:Springer.Response: Non-pharmacology interventions such as guided imagery or relaxation exercises have various benefits such as â€Å"Increasing the individuals sense of intro, decreasing the feeling of weakness, improving the activity level and functional capacity, reducing stress and anxiety, reducing pain behavior and pain focus, reducing analgesic dosage without escalation of pain and thus reducing side effects of the treatment† (Matzo,. 475). I agree, before we as nurses conclude or do anything we must first assess the patient. What does this patient know about these alternative procedures?

RFID Technology Deployment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7000 words

RFID Technology Deployment - Essay Example Nevertheless, most suppliers were ready to beat the January 1 2005 deadline while others were in the pilot study stages (RFID). For Wal-Mart however, deployment was slow due to the overwhelming data available for the firm. This overwhelming data was a result of failure to adopt an incremental approach in the deployment of RFID. In comparison, METRO Group, Nestle, and Albertsons each used an incremental approach and effectively succeeded in deploying the technology (RFID). RFID deployment ensures a higher profit margin for a business. However, firms should use three critical areas to gauge the effectiveness of the technology. The first area is the maturity of the organization using the Capability Maturity Model. Secondly, organizations should gauge the effectiveness of investing in RFID by a better inventory management and control. Finally, another area to gauge the investment is by gauging the effectiveness of the automated method in manufacture of the passive tags (RFID). The U.S. D oD implemented the RFID technology in 2003. Importantly, DoD’s suppliers use either the passive program or the active RFID program. In this regard, this technology helps the DoD monitor the flow of supply along the frontlines. In addition, the technology is crucial to reduce losses and misplacement of its supplies. Finally, the technology is crucial in enabling a constantly moving force replenish its stocks through a better system of inventory (RFID). 2.1.2 RFID Technology: Basics, Advantages, and Disadvantages The passive RFID market is growing at a faster rate in comparison to the active RFID markets since the products are smaller and easier to use. In effect, their small size ensures small data storage capacity in comparison to the active RFID products that allows multiple files stored in the database. Consequently, active RFID products have a quick transfer rate of data in comparison to passive RFID products. However, both products are easily mounted on a plane surface an d are flexible enough (RFID). Programming RFID tags enhances security levels on who can read what part of the data. On the other hand, the level of programming is useful to allow only a few people gain the access to the operation and handle the RFID tags since the power to the chip has to meet a certain threshold for operation to take place. However, there is a limitation in the level of programming. In this regard, effective programming requires connection to a network (RFID). In addition, some tags have security features that act as anti-theft deterrents. The battery power capabilities vary in different RFID tags. On one hand, active tags draw their power from readers with a ten-year limit of battery life while passive tags have no battery power. On the other hand, semi-active tags, also known as semi-passive tags, have flexible and low-cost battery used to run the chip’s circuitry. However, unlike the active tags, they do not boost the radio frequency range though they off er a better range in comparison to the passive tags. The failures in battery have been crucial in slowing the growth of active RFID tags.

WORLDVIEW ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WORLDVIEW - Assignment Example (Clooney, 2010). It is highly associated with the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus and those who believe and follow his teachings. Christians are the followers Christ and Christianity is the religion. According to St. Paul, Christianity has a foundation in the body and the soul of Christ Jesus, believed to be the son of God. According St. John, Jesus is the Lamb of God who came down to salvage man from his sin. They also believe that, it is only through Christ that mankind will receive salvation and that Jesus has sat on the right of God. Christianity was mainly a religion of the West but has spread to the rest of the continent and become the main largest religion all over the world. In the New Testament, Christians identify themselves with Jesus Christ as their true savior and the only son of God. According to St. Matthew, Jesus is the lamb of light and He links human beings with God. They believe that, through Christ, man will able to see God. St Peter in his teachings encourages the gentiles to accept and identify themselves Christ Jesus the savior. They believe in forgiveness of sins through Christ. Modern Christians identify themselves with British Israelis, descendants of Israelites who taken to captivity by the army of Assyria. They believe that White Christians are still the God’s chosen race and that Christ is an Israelite from Judah. The meaning of Christianity derived from Christ and his followers the Christians, hence the name Christianity as a religion. The major purpose of the believers is to spread the Gospel to rest the world. They believe in a sacred book called the Bible as a true word of God. The Bible manifests the will and teaching of God to those ordained filled with the Holy Spirit. According to St. Paul, Jesus ordains his followers and gives authority to spread salvation to all. They had total faith in

Why artist exaggerate certain body parts and ignore others Essay

Why artist exaggerate certain body parts and ignore others - Essay Example The artists therefore study and understand the expectations of the audience and present themselves accordingly (Peirce, & Adrienne, 2005). Body parts that appeal to the audience are exaggerated to create an impression that the artist is the best fit for the particular context (Allan & Pease, 2006). For instance, female music artists exaggerate their hips and breasts and reduce their waist since the resultant image is perceived as sexy and appealing. On the other hand, male artists exaggerate their biceps and chests to depict strength and power. More notably, artists may exaggerate certain body parts in order to mimic previous renowned artists who were famous and favorite to the target audience. This way, they are able to create an impression that they are equally appealing and successful. However, artists may also exaggerate certain parts of their bodies in order to camouflage their weaknesses to avoid negative public perception. Whatever the reason for articulating body image, the ultimate result is to create a positive impression on the target

Henri Matisse's The Dessert Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Henri Matisse's The Dessert - Essay Example The essay "Henri Matisse's The Dessert" discovers the artwork of Henri Matisse. His style also called for the use of flatter shapes to emphasize the use of the canvas, rather than creating three dimensions and offering a window into the scene. To further develop this flat and expressionist theme, he used organic and floral symbols, such as those seen on the table cloth. The chair, at bottom left, has a flatness to it as well—all of this showing that Matisse hoped to achieve independence from realism and his own expression in this painting. Matisse also had some indecision about the color—the painting was first green, then later he changed it and repainted things blue. Finally, before the piece was sent off to a Russian art collector, Matisse painted over the blue to make the painting red. Thus, it is apparent that colors were very important to the artist, and the emotions that colors inspired influenced him in deciding which color was appropriate. Overall, Matisse's ins piration for the painting was a desire to show what was within his own head, rather than to depict reality—he therefore used his own preference in color, light, and shape, and also avoided creating a focal point in the painting. Instead, he made a sort of scene with multiple subjects in it, and left nowhere for the eye to be drawn to as a center—a sort of protest against older styles that tried to be as precise in color, detail, shape, and scale as photographs may be while trying to draw the eye to a center point using proportions. and invisible lines. What I like most about this piece is that it makes a point of using non-traditional methods of expression and illustration. The Impressionist approach to painting creates a painting that offers a look into the artist's mind, and hence we see a far more unique scene or subject than would be possible if the artist was trying to depict the scene realistically. I also like how the scene uses a dominant color. The use of red as a sort of template color allows the addition of other colors to be more magnified, and thus the contrast against red becomes sharper and more impressive. The way the paint is mixed, the colors also appear very soft and simple, without any sort of gradient or overwhelming vividness. The painting also uses shape in a way that pleases my eye. The organic shapes on the table cloth are the obvious ones. If red is the defining color in the painting, then the curves of the vegetation are the defining shape. I also like how the patterns in blue are echoed in the shapes of the fruit, flowers, and also in the plants on the painting on the wall—the shapes all seem to be juxtaposed with little forcing, yet fit together harmoniously. This makes the painting very easy to look at, rather than a harsh clashing of hard, competing lines. The painting on the wall is another element that I like, as it creates a sort of surreal feeling in the paint—the irony of a painting within a paint ing. The painting is enclosed within a gold frame, and it thus has an obvious separation from the main scene, yet it still relates to the main scene both directly and indirectly. The indirect relation to the main scene is that the painting on the wall offers a pleasing contrast in color, in a way that really complements the entire color scheme. On the other hand, it also seems to be part of a larger set of colors across the whole painting that includes some of the fruits as a residual part of the concentration of green in the wall painting, while the red house and blue sky in the wall painting have the same relation to the larger scene. The final part about the painting that I

The Things They Carried Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Things They Carried - Essay Example The main thing that we learn about Jimmy Cross at the beginning of the story is that he is a romantic, and that there is one specific girl that Jimmy finds himself infatuated with. Unfortunately, a person in the position that Jimmy was in cannot afford to be a romantic who daydreams constantly about a girl back home. The extent to which he values these letters, which aren‘t really even love letters, can be shown in the care he takes of them: â€Å"he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of light pretending† (O’Brien, 2). From the extreme care that he takes of the letters, we can see that they are highly prized possessions. He is obviously infatuated with the girl as he wonders if â€Å"Martha was a virgin† (2). Despite the contents of the letter obviously lacking in any sort of romantic intent from Martha, Jimmy Cross is obviously thinking about a future wi th this girl once he gets back from Vietnam. It is this distraction that leads Cross to making the mistakes that he does in the story. Because of his distraction, the soldier, Ted Lavender, is shot. The author describes Jimmy’s distraction by stating â€Å"Lieutenant Cross gazed at the tunnel. But he was not there. He was buried with Martha under the white sand at the Jersey shore† (12). Cross was supposed to be in charge of the platoon, and he was supposed to keep his men safe. He could hardly pay attention to the extent that he needed to and think about Martha to the extent that he did. He realizes that he is to blame for Lavender’s death: â€Å"He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead† (16). If nothing had happened, then the argument could be made that his daydreaming was harmless, though this is obviously not the case. While this particular death would have been

Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Professional Development - Essay Example On the other hand, knowing my weaknesses would push me to work hard to turn them into strengths. Being able to communicate well with others in both verbal and written forms will help me establish a network of people who can support me and help me towards achieving my goals. Good communication is key to harmonious and fulfilling relationships. Creativity is one skill which will make me stand out from the rest because I will be able to come up with fresh ideas and strategies that would work out for my future clients. Being creative is one quality that is becoming increasingly in demand these days. 1. Self-Awareness Knowing oneself – one’s own personality, traits, attitudes, views, strengths and weaknesses based on one’s family and cultural background and previous life experiences is a very important skill to master in business. In order for me to get a good self-analysis, I turned to self-assessment tests so I can see myself from an objective point of view. Self-As sessments Self-assessments are effective ways for individuals to evaluate themselves to see how far they have come in terms of progress in one area or another and to know their strengths and weaknesses. Self-assessments can come in various forms. Some are simple reflective practices while others entail taking some tests. For this Professional Development Plan (PDP), I took 3 self-assessment tests namely the Myer-Briggs (MBTI), the DISC and the Learning Styles Inventory (see appendix for results). From the test results of my self-assessments, there were a lot of surprising revelations, agreements and disagreements as well in relation to how I know my self. The following are the interpretations of the results of the tests. MBTI (Myers-Briggs test) This theory measures psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. The preferences indicate the differences in people based on the following: How they focus their attention or get their energy (Extraversion o r Introversion) How they perceive or take in information (Sensing or Intuition) How they prefer to make decisions (Thinking or Feeling) How they orient themselves to the external world (Judgment or Perception) The Myer-Briggs Test Results say I have strong tendencies toward the ESFJ and ENFJ personality types. Both types share the dominant functions of the letters E and F or Extraverted Feeling. This means my dominant function is feeling oriented towards the outer world. I focus on building harmony in the world around me, creating positive atmosphere and good rapport with people. I look after their welfare and go out of my way in overcoming differences of opinion and finding ways for people to agree. I invest much on building positive relationships, motivating others to be happy in each situation. . The ESFJ and ENFJ differ in Sensing/ Intuition. This means I can respond differently to information I receive depending on my preference. If it is clear facts I want to know or accuracy in description of details, then my preference is for Sensing. However, if I prefer to deal with ideas, and venture into unknown territories so I can generate new possibilities, then my preference is for Intuition. My profile also prefers dealing equally with ideas/information and people/things. I prefer dealing equally with facts/tangible things and possibilities/intuitions. I prefer to base my decisions on values rather than logic. My

Workplace Simulation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Workplace Simulation - Assignment Example This assessment focusses on providing comprehensive advice in a financial planning context. It requires the construction of a Statement of Advice, in a scaled context, with a focus on a transition-to-retirement strategy for a fictitious couple. Precise modelling is required including ensuring, among other things, that superannuation contributions caps are not exceeded. Appropriate warnings of the risks of scaled advice are addressed. Documentary procedures such as file note requirements are assessed. Advice areas including debt recycling strategies are explored. Comparing margin lending to home equity loans are also covered. Investment platform solutions are canvassed, as are investment strategies that focus on blending fund managers with a focus on core-satellite investment approaches. Insurance strategies including managing possible exclusions in the underwriting process are canvassed as are non-insurance premium related factors.

Unit 5 discussion board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 5 discussion board - Essay Example In 2002, 70% of the notebook PCs sold were offered with a rebate and the concept seems simple enough (McGinn, 2003). Buy a $1000 notebook and save $200 after filling in the required paperwork, sending it into a third party processing center, and waiting the required number of weeks for your check to arrive. This is a great deal for the manufacturer as they have sold you a PC that was on sale for $800 and then asked you to loan them $200 for a couple of months. No interest is offered, and there is a risk that you may never see your money. Manufacturers rely on human nature to misplace the paperwork, send it in incomplete, or forget it ever existed. For the people that do get the rebate, they merely break even. The sellers have increased cash flow and sold a number of their products at $200 above market value. These practices are as deceptive as a carnival shell game and could have a negative effect on a companys reputation Whether a consumer will even apply for the rebate is largely determined by the amount being offered. While cosmetics that offer $1 back may go discarded, more expensive items will naturally get a better response. However, even on high-dollar electronics the rates can be surprisingly low. Timothy Silk, a University of Florida researcher, found, "...redemption rates, even on larger-ticket purchases such as computers and televisions, are well below 50 percent" (Keen, 2004). Networking accessories manufacturer Asante Technologies sees an even lower response rate. Jim Hsia, vice president of marketing says, "the typical redemption rate for his companys products hovers between 2 and 15 percent" (Millard, 2003). Most people will never see a rebate. In new car sales, rebates can work against the automakers intentions. A consumer electronics rebate can be used to attract attention to an item and create store traffic. However, on an expensive purchase such as a new car, the customer sees the rebate as part

Applying Ethical Practice Essay Example for Free

Applying Ethical Practice Essay Ethical Implications The ethical principles involved in the article reviewed are beneficence (bring about positive good) fidelity (trustworthy), and veracity (honesty) The nurse involved is caught between the core principles of nursing, by following the patients wish of not informing her parents by the diagnoses of a sexually transmitted disease. The implications of betraying the core principles of nursing could cause internal conflict with her value principles, and not to mention the trust of the patient. Other implications could be how the parents view the patient. Strict religious convictions of the parents could cause more harm to the young teen by shunning the child, and not letting the child return home would keep the child from receiving the treatment needed, and possibly create a homeless situation for the teen. Making the school aware of the girls’ situation would also be breach of confidentially, and may even cause legal complications for the health care facility. The situation with the sex parties is not related to school activities, unless sex parties were occurring on campus. Due to the fact that the nurse informed the school the young teen attempts suicide, and again may have legal complications for the nurse and the health care facility. All of these implications can be seen in the article reviewed. Ethical Theories and Ethical Principals When it comes to veracity and fidelity the profession of nursing is considered to be at the top of the list. (Honesty/Ethics in Professions, 2013) The Nightingale Pledge calls nurses to have and use these value principles on a daily basis in nursing and also in every day life. According to the Code of Ethics for Nurses provision 3 3.2†¦ the nurse has the duty to maintain confidentiality of all information. Maintaining these principles also promotes Nonmaleficence (do no harm). According Jean Watson’s carative factors (Lachman, 2012) â€Å"developing and sustaining a helping-trusting, authentic caring relationship† is at the very core of nursing. Building this relationship with the patient the nurse must be self aware of any  judgmental feelings he/she may have regarding the patient situation.(Lachman, 2012) The nurse needs to decide what is the best way to care for the young teen. If confidentially is broken further treatment by the patient may not be sought afte r. Respecting the patient also means respecting confidentially. We must gain the patients fidelity and maintain the trust for continuing communication to occur. However in the article reviewed after the nurse discovers the young teens diagnoses she is torn between the trusting relationship she has been developing and the principle of beneficence by informing her parents of the diagnoses of cervical cancer. She also has the information regarding her sexual activates. Again this violates the confidentially needed to maintain the trusting relationship or beneficence. If the trust is not broken the young teen will not seek treatment and further harm will be done. Alternatives Alternatives to this situation would lead to probable breach of several core nursing values, fidelity and veracity. It would also breach Nonmaleficence. However the young teen is a minor and the diagnoses of cervical cancer is a diagnosis that needs treatment requiring parent’s consent. The alternative of keeping the young teens confidence, would result in the patient not receiving the care she needs. Which would be a breach of Nonmaleficence. It would also be a breach fidelity and veracity between the physician and the nurse. The alternative to not informing the school of the sex parties would have a much better outcome, the suicide attempt most likely would not have occurred, and the health care facility would not be looking at probable legal proceedings. Maybe changing the language and leaving out the young teens name would have been a much better alternative. Ethics Committee Approaches A breach of confidentially should never be taken lightly. The disclosure of he information to the school and the resulting attempted suicide may be of bigger concern to the health care facility, rather than the breach of confidentially between the nurse and the young teen since she is a minor, and the breach of confidentially will bring about the care the young teen needs. The committee could raise the question about the physicians’ judgment  and his decision to notify the school. References Honesty/Ethics in Professions. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/1654/honesty-ethics-professions.aspx Lachman, V. D. (2012). Applying the Ethics of Nursing to Your Nursing Practice. MEDSURG NURSING, 21(2), 112-117. Retrieved from www.ana.org Nathanson, P. G. (2011, July, 6). Betraying Trust or Providing Good Care? When is it okay to break confidentially? American Journal of Bioethics. Purtilo, R. B., Doherty, R. F. (2011). Ethical Dimensions in the Health Professions (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders. American Nurses Association (ANA). (2001). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Silver Spring, MD: Author.

Amul Chocolates | Marketing Plan

Amul Chocolates | Marketing Plan Amul has been a market leader in dairy products for decades however Amul Chocolate is the only product which is not doing so well. Amul Chocolates was the market leader in 1970s but lost its place to Cadbury in the last 10 to 20 years. Amul has successfully extended its milkman image to ice cream, butter, cheese and other dairy products, but has made no headway in chocolate. The main reason behind the decline of the product is lack of promotion and concentration on other dairy products. Marketing Plan to increase the Sales of Amul Chocolates. Since Amul Chocolate as a product is declining incurring losses to Amul we now make a marketing plan to improve the performance of the product. We will concentrate on the domestic performance of Amul Chocolate which means we will make a plan to increase the sales of Amul chocolates in India. We would be using the SOSTAC model to describe the market plan for Amul to improve the sales of Amul Chocolates. SOSTAC is the abbreviation for Situation Analysis, Objective setting, Strategy Development, Tactics, and Action Control. Situation Analysis Situation Analysis is the study of trends within the economy and a comprehensive analysis of market, competitors and the company itself. Now, we will analyze the situation of Amul chocolates using Porters five forces framework which was developed by Mr Michael Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979. This framework helps us to identify forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of a market. Porters Five forces framework for Amul Chocolates 1. Bargaining power of the suppliers: In order to produce chocolates the materials required are cocoa, milk, sugar, butter, milk powder, fruits etc. Amul is a market leader in India in products like milk, milk powder and butter so it does not require any other supplier. Other materials like cocoa , fruits and sugar can also be bought easily as there are many suppliers considering that India is a land of farmers where Agriculture is the backbone of the economy. Also there are millions of farmers who supply fruits and sugar so the bargaining power of the supplier is very less. 2. Bargaining power of the buyers: India is a fast growing nation and buyers have a lot of options when it comes to deciding which chocolate they want to buy. Hence the bargaining power of the buyers is high. 3. Threat of substitute products: In the last few years, Indian sweets have been substituted by chocolates. So there is possibility that people can go back to sweets because nowadays sweets manufacturers have introduced different varieties of sweets like fat free sweets, sugar free sweets etc. Also lot of people these days prefers power bars and protein bars which are also delicious like chocolate but healthier as well compared to chocolates. Also there can be other substitutes like waffers, cakes etc. India is well know for making duplicate products of big brands like Daily Milk for Dairy Milk(Cadburys ace product) Kir Kat for Kit Kat(Nestlà ©s ace product).Chocolate manufacturers need to make sure they differentiate their products well make consumers aware of the difference because a large number of people in India are illiterate. 4. Threat of potential entrants: In the Indian chocolate market there are 3 major players namely Cadbury who is the market leader, Nestle Amul. These 3 companies have been sharing 99% of the chocolate market in India for many years which clearly explains that there is no real threat of new entrants. However, in the last 5 years, foreign brands like Mars have entered the market with products like Mars bar, Bounty Snickers which have become quite popular in major cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi. 5. Competitive Rivalry: The biggest factor that is affecting Amuls market share in India from last 10 to 20 years is the growth of its competitors like Cadbury Nestle. Now, with the entry of foreign players like Mars its getting tougher for them to increase the sales. Objective Setting Objectives are the motive of the companys operational activities. It is basically what the company wants to achieve. Nothing happens until we plan and good plans have goals and objectives. Setting objectives lays the foundation for the companys operations. It shows us the path to follow. Objectives can also be called as battle plans, the stepping stones on the path towards achieving our goals. Objective of Amul Chocolates The objective of Amul as a company is to give Value for money to its customers. Amul has a range of superior products, consumed by every age group. Since Amul chocolates is not doing well like Amuls other products like milk, yoghurt and cheese the objective of Amul Chocolates as a Business Unit would be to increase its market share in India from a 5% in 2010 to 15% in the next 5 years by carrying out proper promotion activities and to produce variety of chocolates to give consumer more options. Strategy development Now that we have set our objectives we need to make a strategy to attain the objective of increasing the market share by 10% in 5 years which is difficult because of the declining trend and competition however possible because of the Brand strength. We would be using the Ansoff Matrix, Market segmentation to describe the strategy of Amul Chocolates to increase its market share in India. Ansoff Matrix Market penetration: Market Penetration means when a company sells its existing products to the existing market. Amul can use this technique to increase sales in India. They also need to advertise and carry out lot of promotional activities to inform the consumers that they still exist and can provide them with what they want. Its been years that Amuls chocolate advertisement has been telecasted on Indias major television channesl like Start Zee. Sales promotions like discounts and free samples can help them to increase the Brand awareness and attract customers to switch brand from competitors. This is the Celebrity age and every big company uses a celebrity as a Brand Ambassador for its product. For example Amitabh Bachchan (Greatest Indian Actor) for Cadbury Rani Mukherjee (Indian Actress) for Nestle, Amul also use a brand ambassador for the promotion of its chocolate. Market Development: Market development is a situation where a company is involved in expanding into new markets with existing products. Amul as a company needs to target rural areas of Northern India like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal because most of the people in these states are farmers who have many children. Also one more benefit of supplying chocolates in these places is that its competitors like Nestle and Cadbury do not have a big market in these places. Amul has a strong brand name in rural areas because of its other dairy products and also has a strong supply chain and logistics to reach these places. The Indian Government will also provide them subsidy or lower taxes because they would be contributing socially by entering into rural markets. Product Development: Product development means a company modifies its product i.e. improves it to appeal to the existing market. Amul needs to make changes to its product (chocolates) like introduction of more flavours and attractive packaging because the wrappers Amul uses is not at all attractive compared to those used by Cadbury and Nestle. Packaging is very important because of majority of the consumers are kids and youngsters who like attractive packages. Many kids buy chocolates not because they like it but because of attractive wrappers. This would keep them in competition with competitors like Cadbury and Nestle. Currently there is a trend for low calorie and fat free food because people want to be fit; introducing low calorie and less fat chocolates would be a strong recommendation. Amul must into market alliances with various portals to offer products (on those portals that were developed for festive occasions such as Valentines Day and Friendship Da0y. Market Segmentation Market Segmentation is a process of dividing a large market into identifiable segments having similar wants, needs or demands. The objective of market segmentation is to design a marketing mix that matches the expectations of customers in the targeted segment. Every product is produced with a target in mind. Amul must divide its market using 2 bases of segmentation. 1. Demographic Segmentation 2. Geographic Segmentation Demographic Segmentation: Demographic segmentation is segmentation of market on the bases of factors such as age, gender, income, occupation etc Amul must divide its target market on age factor. Age 2 to 15 Age 16 to 35 Age 35 above For children up to 15 years old, Amul should produce chocolates like plain bars filled with chocolate in other words high on energy and sweet. The product should be rich in chocolate, nuts and milk. For children they must have a lot of variety because children have the tendency to try different chocolates. This is the most important target group for Amul considering the product. Hence, major focus should be on the products targeted to this market. For the market in the age group of 16 to 35, Amul should produce chocolates which are low on calories and less fattening as this market segment is diet conscious. Before taste they think about calories and putting on weight. For this segment Amul should also introduce protein bars which have become a trend these days. Youngsters who work out and are fitness conscious consume lot of such items to keep them full and away from high calorie food products. For the market in the age group of above 35 years, Amul should produce sugar free chocolates because at this age many people in India are diabetic or have been asked to consume less sugar. Geo-demographic Segmentation: Geo-demographic segmentation is a segmentation technique that classifies people according to where they live. The concept is based on the presumptions that people who live within a particular area exhibit common purchasing behaviour. Amul should divide its market in to 2 segments Developed cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Kolkata and Delhi Under Developed states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand etc. People in developed cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi have a high purchasing power compared to other places in India. The literacy rate is high in these cities, people have access to different mediums of advertising and infrastructure is developed. Amul should produce and supply high quality products in these cities with no compromise on price. However, they must keep in mind that their competitors are already enjoying a great amount of market share in such places. Cadbury to some extent enjoys a monopoly in such cities because of its quality of products, availability and immensely strong brand name. Amul must match Cadburys quality to excel in the market. States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are not developed like Mumbai and Bangalore. The literacy rate is less than 50% with poor infrastructure. Many people dont even have access to electricity. Majority of them are poor farmers. Amul has an advantage here because their competitors like Nestle dont have easier access to such places. Amul has a strong network because of its ace products like Butter, Cheese and Milk which are available all over the country. Amul should introduce chocolates which are cheaper but high on energy in these places. Tactics Tactics are the measures that help in achieving strategies. Tactics generally include the use and manipulation of the 7 Ps of marketing. In this case we would be using four Ps. Product: The major reason why Amul chocolate as a product is declining from the last 10 years is because of not meeting the demands of the consumers. Cadbury Nestle who are doing well in the chocolate market have continuously launches new products and have been successful. Every product has a life and it gets over one day. No product can live forever. Innovation is the key to survive in modern day. Companies need to modify and improve their product time to time. Innovation also led consumers to think that the company cares about their needs and changes time to time to meet their demands. For example, When Nestle launched Kit Kat in India it was a big hit. People just loved the taste of the chocolate its packaging. However after a few years it started losing its share then Nestle introduced couple of flavours Orange and Mint which increased the market share. Amul also needs to introduce new varieties of chocolates and improve its existing ones. They should introduce milk chocolates like Nestlà ©s Milky Bar, Chocolates with fruits and nuts like Cadbury has its Fruit and Nuts, Mint chocolates like Nestlà ©s After Eight etc. Introduction of power bars low calorie chocolates will also be a decent step to increase the variety of products. Also the packaging is a crucial factor because majority of the consumers are kids who are easily attracted by attractive and colourful packages. Amul has the history of unattractive packaging. If we compare the wrappers and boxes of Amul chocolates to Cadbury Nestle, the packaging of the competitors is far superior. Amul has to stop their ancient method of packaging and adopt modern methods. Amul must also spend a good amount of money on reaserch and development to identify the demands of the consumers and strategy of their competitors. 2. Price: Pricing is an important strategic issue because it is related to product positioning. Furthermore, pricing affects other marketing mix elements such as product features, channel decisions, and promotion. The objectives of pricing are to maximize profits, to signal high quality and also to survive in many cases. Pricing must take into account the competitive and legal environment in which the company operates. From a competitive standpoint, the firm must consider the implications of its pricing on the pricing decisions of competitors. For example, setting the price too low may risk a price war that may not be in the best interest of either side. Setting the price too high may attract a large number of competitors who want to share in the profits. Factors like cost of production, demand, competition, availability of substitutes and inflation should be considered while setting prices. Majority of people in India live in villages and have low disposable income. With such a heav y competition in the chocolate market, Price plays a very important role. In India, Brand loyalty is very rare. People will change their loyalty if they can spend less. Amul must produce high quality goods and sell it at a competitive price. Amul will have to follow competition based pricing technique which implies that they would need to set prices on the basis of what its competitors do in order to compete with them. Its said that India is a rich country of poor people. Since the sales are going down, in order to lift them they can sell at a comparatively lower price to boost their sales. For example, If Cadbury sells its Fruit and Nut for Rs 20 Amul can sell it for Rs 18. Place: Place in marketing is referred to the channels of distribution through which products flow from the manufacturer to the consumers. The channels of distribution mean intermediaries or middlemen who act as a link between the manufacturer and the consumers. Factors that need to be considered when choosing the place are the characteristics of the product, characteristics of the buyers, control and competitors channels. Since chocolate is an edible product, Amul should adopt an intensive distribution strategy where in they will manufacture products and make it available at various shopping malls, food joints, local stores, Chocolate parlours etc. Amul has a big brand name because of its dairy products. They can easily use it to increase the awareness of its chocolates using various distribution channels. Amul Chocolate Parlour Promotion: Promotion refers to exchange of information between an organisation and the consumer of its products. Consumers here include Customers, shareholders, employees, government and other parties related to the products like trade union and media. The aim of promotion is to inform the consumers, differentiate from other products and to persuade them to buy. There are many techniques of promotion like Advertising, Sales promotions, Direct Marketing Personal selling. Amul has been criticised for lack of promotion. Amul has a strong brand name because of its dairy product leadership. Amul must advertise its chocolates using media like newspaper, television and internet to inform the public about the quality the price of its product. Consumers have a short memory and its important for companies to remind them about the products. Amul has totally shifted its focus from chocolates towards milk and other milk products and have totally ignored chocolates. Using the mediums like Television and newspaper the company needs to remind the public that they are back with improved products at an affordable price. In order to survive in the competitive market where players like Cadbury Nestle enjoy the market share Amul has to be different. They need to give the customers a reason why they should buy their products. Amul has to use Sales Promotion effectively to announce their comeback. They can give price discounts, more for less offer free samples to increase their sales. Amul must also provide free chocolates to municipal schools where majority of children come from a low income family. Free gifts like pencils or Books can also attract their target market i.e. kids. Amul also has to focus on Business to Business customers. They can give special discounts or free samples to major retailers like Big Bazaar D-Mart to sell their products. Action Now that we have set the objectives marketing strategies, it becomes necessary to turn them in to action plans. Action includes 3 activities. Allocating tasks and responsibilities: Since our strategy is simple i.e. to innovate our product and promote heavily, we would allocate the task of product development to the manufacturing sector where they will check the products of successful competitors and manufacture chocolates in line with them. The manufacturing sector will be responsible for the quality of the product. The promotion of the product would be the responsibility of the marketing sector where they will advertise and provide special offers. The above Gantt chart shows the scheduling of activities of Amul Chocolates. $50 million would be the budget for product development and research related to production the activity will be carried from September 2010 to December 2010. The budget for Promotion would be $50 million (including Advertising Sales promotions). Here we have used the Objective and Task method technique of budgeting by estimating the cost of the production and sales activities. Control Control means taking corrective measures when anything doesnt go according to the plan. Amul must use the Sales Control method. They would be monitoring their sales every 3 months to check if they are meeting the set target. If anything goes wrong then they can take corrective measures. Advertising Sample as per the Marketing plan Value offered by Amul 1. Value for money: Amuls believes in giving value for money to its customers and it has always followed that principle. Its products are of high quality and available at affordable prices. Customer Driven: Amul as a dairy product manufacturer has always focused on customer satisfaction. Amul has consistently produced and supplied quality dairy products like milk, butter and cheese in India and other countries. Adapt quickly to the changing environment: Amul has always met the ever changing customer needs by being innovative in its dairy products. This is a major factor why they have been a market leader in dairy products for many years. Customer feedback: Amul has taken regular feedback from the customers worked upon the negative aspects to improve the quality and increase customer satisfaction.

Coal Fired Power Plants Engineering Essay

Coal Fired Power Plants Engineering Essay In this chapter is going to be presented the function and some other aspects of a coal-fired power plant. First of all as coal-fired power plant it can be defined that plant which uses coal as fuel so as to produce electricity. Coal is a fossil fuel which is created through the compression of peat as it is buried under the earth. There are two general types of coal, the black coal and the brown coal. The typical mass of a black coal consists of [1]: 88% carbon 5% hydrogen 5% oxygen 1% nitrogen 1% sulphur In this chapter it will be analyzed the thermodynamic principle on which the operation of a power plant is based and some other auxiliary functions which are significant for the proper operation. Furthermore it is presented the emissions of a coal-fired power plant and some efficient ways so as to be constraint. 3.1 Historical evolution of coal-fired power plants The ever increasing demand for energy made it compelling the deployment of a technology which would have the ability to generate electricity in an effective and affordable way. On that basis the development of coal-fired power plants blocks started during 1950s when the first plants had a capacity of 60 MW and nowadays the capacity has raised up to 1010 MW in Europe and 1300 MW in the USA [2]. According to IEA [3] in year 2010 the total installed capacity of coal-fired power plants was more than 1600 GW and it is expected to be installed more 1000 GW until 2035. In Fig.1 it is presented the total capacity of coal-fired power plants installed through the years from 1920 up to 2004 worldwide an more specifically in countries such as the USA, China, Germany etc. where power demand is in very high levels. From the graph in Fig.1 it is obvious that the total capacity of the coal-fired power stations follows an upward trend. This enormous growth in coal-fired power plants can be explained on the grounds that coal is a very cheap fuel and in abundance in many places around the world as many studies have shown [4-7]. Fig. 1: Cumulative pulverized-coal plant installation between 1920 and 2004. Source: [8] 3.2 Clausius-Rankine Cycle In this section it is presented the basic principle on which it is based the operation of a coal fired power plant. This principle is known from thermodynamics as the Clausius-Rankine cycle or steam cycle. In Fig.2 it is shown the four steps that conclude the steam cycle and the basic devices which are necessary so as to be implemented. More specific the working media is water and steam and in the first step (1-2) the pump increases waters pressure and therefore it is consumed work by the pump. Afterwards in the next step (2-3) input heat Qin from the combustion of pulverised coal is transferred to water which is evaporated and converted into steam, and steam is heated further. In the step (3-4) the steam is expanded from a high pressure turbine to a low pressure one and in this way mechanical work is generated in the shaft of turbines. Ultimately in the final step (4-1) the output heat is released and the steam is condensed into water again. Thus the work of the turbine gained is gi ven by (1). WT = Qin Qout WP (1) Fig.2: Steam cycle. Source: [2]. 3.3 Operation of coal-fired power plants In Section 3.2 it was presented the theory which applies in the function of a coal-fired power station. In this section it is described in more detail all stages of a coal-fired power plant and the way in which the basic principle is implemented in practice. In Fig.3 it is shown a schematic of a typical coal fired power plant and all devices that make it up. The first step of the function of a coal-fired power plant is the supply of coal. This procedure is made through a conveyor belt which transfers coal to the coal hopper. After that coal is pulverized so as to become fine powder. In pulverized fuel boilers coal is pulverized into very small particles about 100 microns and this type of boilers is the most common [1]. The next step is coal to be burnt. Thus a preheated air stream drive the pulverized coal to the burners of the boiler, where fuel is burnt in short time and in this way it is produced a flue gas. This flue gas contains the chemical energy of the fuel (i.e. the coal) which has been converted into thermal energy. A portion of this thermal energy is transferred through radiation and convection into the water which circulates in a network of pipes inside the boiler and therefore the water is evaporated and converted into steam. This steam has very high temperature and pressure at this stage of the procedure (about 25 MPa and 5 00-600 oC [1]) and it is expanded from the high pressure turbine to the low pressure one. More specifically first the high pressure steam drives the high pressure turbine and the exhaust steam returns back to the furnace where it is reheated and drives the intermediate and low pressure turbines. This set of turbines rotates a shaft which is connected with a generator and in this way it is produced electricity. The exhaust steam which released by the low pressure turbine is cooled in the condenser and becomes water again. This water is pumped back to the network of pipes insight the boiler and thus the same procedure is iterated. In the condenser cold water is circulated into tubes, which usually comes from a river or sea. Thus the heat of the exhaust steam is exchanged with this cooling water, which temperature is raised after that and respectively the steam is liquefied and becomes water again. If the plant is near the sea or river, then the cooling water flows back in the sea or river with a higher temperature which usually is 10-20 oC up [1]. Otherwise the warm cooling water should be processed through a cooling tower in order to be cooled. The cooling tower is a system, where the warm cooling water is driven in a higher altitude in the top of the tower and then it flows down, being exposed to an upward stream of air and in this way it is cooled. As far as the flue gases are concerned, they are passed through different cleaning stages before discharged into the atmosphere through the stack. In more specific, the first step is to pass them through a device where the biggest amount of the dust particles is collected. This device is called precipitator. There are three kinds of precipitators which are bag filters, cyclone filters and electrostatic filters [1]. Next they pass into the desulphurisation unit so as the sulphur dioxide (SO2) to be removed. C:UsersGeorgeDesktopMSc SESCarbon capture transportAssignment 1ststeam-power-plant.png Fig.3: Schematic of a coal-fired power plant. Source: [9]. 3.4 Efficiency of coal-fired power plants The efficiency of power plant is a very significant factor, on the grounds that by improving it is needed less fuel to be consumed and CO2 emissions can be constrained. Of course it is not possible for every plant to have the same efficiency and there are many factors which can influence it [10]. In Fig.4 is presented in a flow chart which indicates the transformation of energy in one form to another, the losses in each stage and the total efficiency of a typical coal-fired power station. It can be inferred that the majority of losses occur during the conversion of thermal energy into mechanical in the turbines, where a big amount of thermal energy, i.e. heat is rejected through the condenser into the atmosphere. These losses are approximately 45% of the input energy and this fact is reasonable enough as it is explained by the second law of thermodynamics, which says that all heat engines have to reject some heat. Other significant losses occur in the boiler where about 6% of the inp ut energy is lost in flue gas and in auxiliary procedures, such as the pumps where the losses are roughly 9%. Therefore a typical coal-fired power plant has about 30% to 40% percentage of efficiency [1, 2]. Fig.4: Conversion energy stages, losses and total efficiency of coal-fired power plants. Source: [2] 3.5 Emissions of coal-fired power plants The typical emissions of plant which does not have any cleaning stages are [1]: Carbon Dioxide (CO2): 700 tonnes/hour Oxides of Nitrogen (NOX): 1t tonne/hour Sulphur Dioxide (SO2): 1-20 tonnes/hour Nitrogen (N): 2500 tonnes/hour Steam: 150 tonnes/hour Fly ash: 10-20 tonnes/hour It is noticeable that about 2500 tonnes/hour of Nitrogen are released, nevertheless nitrogen is the major component of the air we breathe and therefore it is deemed harmless. Moreover about 700 tonnes/hour of Carbon dioxide are discharged during the combustion process and on world bases whole coal-fired power plants are responsible for 21% of global carbon dioxide emissions [10]. Despite the fact that CO2 might be harmless in small concentrations as it is a component of air mix, in bigger amounts it poses serious threats for the environment and contributes to the climate change as several studies have shown [11, 12]. Therefore it is compelling to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and for this reason it has been developed several techniques of capturing and storage carbon [2, 13]. Nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain and harm peoples health. They are discharged in bigger amount when the temperature of the boiler is higher [1]. Sulphur dioxide contributes also to the acid rain and therefore flue gases pass through the desulphurisation unit so as SO2 to be removed. Another very harmful emission of coal-fired power plants is the fly ash, which are known as particulates pollutes the environment in great extent and can also be responsible for respiratory problems in terms of peoples health. However most plants are equipped with precipitators so as to remove this dangerous fly ash as it is referred in Section 3.3. 3.6 Advantages-disadvantages of coal-fired power plants One major advantage of using coal for generating electricity is the reliability that offers. The coal-fired power plants can supply power to the grid with great reliability so as blackouts to be avoided during peak electrical loads. Except for that coal is very cheap fuel compared with other fuels and that fact makes this technology affordable enough and there is in abundance. On the other hand the disadvantages of coal-fired power plants are that they release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere X. References [1] BOYLE, G., EVERETT, B. and RAMAGE, J.: Energy systems and sustainability,(Oxford university press 2003). [2] SPLIETHOFF, H.: Power generation from solid fuels, (Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010). [3] FINKENRATH, M.,SMITH J. and VOLK D.: CCS retrofit. Analysis of the globally installed coal fired power plant fleet, (International Energy Agency 2012), p 17. [4] ANDRULEIT, H., BABIES H.G., MEBNER, J., REHDER, S., SCHAUER, M. and SCHMIDT, S.: Reserves, resources and availability of energy resources 2011, (German Mineral Resources Agency, Hannover 2011). [5] WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL: 2010 Survey of energy resources. Available on: http://www.worldenergy.org/documents/ser_2010_report_1.pdf. Accessed in October 2012. [6] BP: Statistical review of world energy June 2012. Available on: http://www.bp.com. Accessed in October 2012. [7] THIELEMANN, T., SCHMIDT, S. and GERLING J.P.: Lignite and hard coal: Energy suppliers for world need until the year 2100 An outlook, International journal of coal geology, 2007, 72, pp. 1-14. [8] YEH, S. and EDWARD, S.R.: A centurial history of technological change and learning curves for pulverized coal-fired utility boilers, Energy, 2007, 32, pp. 1996-2005. [9] Image. Available on: http://electricalandelectronics.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/steam-power-plant.png. [10] IEA: Power generation from coal: Measuring and reporting efficiency performance and CO2 emissions. Available on: http://www.iea.org/ciab/papers/power_generation_from_coal.pdf. Accessed in October 2012. [11] NORBY, R.J. and LUO, Y.: Evaluating ecosystem responses to rising atmospheric CO2 and global warming in a multi-factor world, New phytologist, 2004, 162, pp. 281-293. [12] DELWORTH, T.L., MAHLMAN, J.D. and KNUTSON, T.R.: Changes in heat index associated with CO2-induced global warming, Climatic change, 1999, 43, pp. 369-386. [13] GIBBINS, J. and CHALMERS, H.: Carbon capture and storage, Energy policy, 2008, 36, pp. 4317-4322.

Reverend Dimmesdales Guilt in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter

The Guilt of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter God does not like the sin of adultery. He does not like lying. He does not like hypocrisy. There are two roads that one can choose. In the end, what may seem like the easy way may have far greater consequences than the hard way. Arthur Dimmesdale chose the easy path and learned that the pain of guilt is far greater than the pain of shame. From the start, Dimmesdale did not want to live with the consequence of his sin. To begin with, he must of told Hester not to tell anyone about his sin, because on the scaffold, she will not tell anyone (pg. 64). Clearly, Dimmesdale was afraid of the justice and the shame that would follow. He thought that if no one knew, he could continue with his life normally. Yet, he began punishing himself secretly (pg. 133). Slowly though, the sin began to nag at him, and he had to beat himself to sooth his conscience. This shows that he has a conscience and that he is beginning to feel convicted. Late in the book, he finally confesses before the town, but then dies (pg. 231-233). As can be seen by his confession, he had the heart to change, but only then he realized that it was too late. His death marked the effect of the poisonous sin that had accumulated in him. The Bible says the wages of sin is death, just as repentance leads to salvation, a lesson Dimmesdale did not learn until it was too late. Dimmesdale is very hypocritical in how he handles the subject of his sin. For example, he says "Be not silent from any mistaken pity or tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty he... ...glimpse of human affection and sympathy, a new life, and a true one, in exchange for the heavy doom which he was now expiating." (pg. 184). Hester's offer to him for a new shot at life could not lift the guilt. He had sinned against the townspeople, and he needed to confess to them. When Dimmesdale is dying at the end, he asks Pearl to kiss him (pg. 233). This kiss signifies the breaking of the hold that sin had on his life. Sadly, it was too late-the sin had already consumed the last bits of life that he had left. Even though he died shortly after he confessed, he still repented, and that was his goal. Once he confessed his sin to the community, his guilt was gone too. Even after Dimmesdale repented, God still did not like the sin. But, once he repented, he was separated from that sin. God shows mercy on those who repent, and He showed mercy on Dimmesdale.

Creating Other Worlds in Fly Away Peter Essay -- Peter

Creating Other Worlds in Fly Away Peter  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the novel Fly Away Peter, David Malouf explores the individual’s ability to transcend the immediate, and create ‘other worlds’ of his or her own: "Meanwhile the Mind, from pleasure less, Withdraws into happiness: ...it creates,... Far other worlds..." Malouf uses the continuity of life to highlight the importance of the individual’s mind set against the meaning of human existence. Malouf’s three main characters, Jim Saddler, Ashley Crowther and Imogen Harcourt, are used to present Malouf’s themes in a unique and sensitive manner. Malouf also implies that fate is predetermined and beyond the control of the individual. The only escape route offered is through man’s imagination. "It is the human mind, the imagination which makes us special..." Malouf suggests life has a continuity, that there is a ceaselessness surrounding time and as a result, individual life is to be savoured. Malouf uses symbolism to represent life’s perpetuity. A prominent example of this is the migrational patterns of the birds in the novel. Birds continue regardless of time: "The timespan for them was more or less infinite.". When Jim marvels at the sandpiper’s ability to find its way across the world and back: "...because the [memory] was ... there... in the long memory of its kind." The constant reference to bird migration becomes a clear symbol of the idea of continuity. The concept of the continuity of life is also expressed by the association of humans and earth. The notion "...that the earth was man’s sphere...", occurs throughout the novel and represents re-growth and the idea that life goes on regardless of circumstance. Jim felt himself ‘dissolving’ into the earth when he ... ...he suggestion that fate is predetermined. Another example of this is the young officer who was hit leading his men onto the battle ground. He died with the look, "I wasn’t ready. Unfair!" Malouf shows that fate is predetermined. The only way the individual can escape it is by creating his own ‘imagined’ world. Fly Away Peter is unique in its presentation of universal and prominent themes. The significance of the individual, as opposed to the meaning of life, man’s ability to transcend the immediate, the continuity of life and predetermined fate are all examined in a sensitive and perceptive manner. Malouf crafts his three main characters to portray and develop the essence of his main themes. The most prominent of these themes is summarised by Malouf when he said: "We can and must transcend the conditions we find ourselves in, however terrible they may be."   

The Art of Speaking and the Science of Imitation :: Language Expressions Papers

The Art of Speaking and the Science of Imitation The underlying thesis examined here maintains that meaning is simply subjective value which has been presented (i.e., enlarged or made explicit) in words or in some other plastic or static medium. This presentation of meaning consists in the extending of what is felt by the creator-subject to the other subjects. Although this extension of the primary agent may be the very thing which ultimately creates the space from where reflection might occur, the act of expression itself is not explicitly reflective. In other words, one might say that integral meaning is not reflective but rather is purely informing, while reflective meaning has to some degree lost its integrity. Working from these basic claims, I will examine how quality (or qualification) and quantity (or quantification) are related as functions of the languages of art and of science. PART ONE: The Distinction The use of language both as an art and also as a science, i.e., physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, geometry, etc., is the explicit formulation of knowledge (as information), but can we make some clear distinction between these two ways of using language? Is it possible to separate those values as presented through natural language in dialogue from those values as represented by scientific discourse? One way to make such a distinction explicit is to divide the domain of formulation into 'presentation' and 'representation.' Dialogic language use at its most effective appears to express itself in our spontaneous conversation without the "reflecting will" of a knowing subject.(1) Such is not the same sort of language use involved in a scientific articulation. While the aim of science is to accurately represent its area of study through descriptive measurements and mathematical formulae, a true conversation is the creative attempt to present values which are felt by the speakers.(2) In such everyday discourse, the values of the conversants are not per se re-presented, but rather, it is through articulation in language that these meaningful affects can originally be 'broadcast' beyond the aesthetic, emotional, or perceptive life of the speaker.(3) Language becomes the 'living palette' which in fact helps to create the "ideas" (and in further consequence to produce a reflective "subjec t") in direct response to certain felt values. Without the language, there would be no way to express these integral values apart from the specific physical acts of the individual or reflectively in the chaos of dream experiences.

Asian Social Science

It has been noted that many drug addicts relapse to drug use after discharged from successful treatment and rehabilitation programs. Thus it is imperative and timely to address the issues that prompt relapsed addiction. 400 drug addicts on relapse cases were selected from eight drug rehabilitation centres throughout Peninsular Malaysia to examine factors influences the relapsed addiction to drug use. Consistent with previous research, self-efficacy, family support, community support and employers support were identified as main factors that influenced the relapsed addictions tendency amongst addicts.Suggestions to curb relapsed addiction to drugs were discussed in relation to the findings. Keywords: Relapse, Addiction, Drug, Malaysia 1. Introduction The close geographical propinquity to Myanmar, Laos and Thailand (Golden Triangle) and other Southeast Asian countries that produces illicit drugs has intensify drug use in Malaysia. The illicit drug use been well thought-out as major soc ial intimidation in Malaysia.The government, on February 19, 1983, declared drug as national disaster and endeavor with stringent law enforcement together with rehabilitation programs for addicts. Indeed the government through various agencies has put in action strategies to impede drug use, parallel to the mission of attaining a drug-free society by 2015. Nevertheless, even with the country’s stringent enforcement policy, there has been a sizeable ascends in the number of fresh and relapsed drug users (National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA), 2009).NADA entrusted by the Malaysian government to sculpt mechanisms to handle the drug crisis and in particular to trim down relapsed addiction rate. Based on the statistics by NADA (2009), the number of detained drug addicts from January to December 2007 and 2008 were 14,489 and 12,352 respectively. Perhaps, the addiction trend that was recorded by NADA is some sort of a relief to all concern. In 2007, the detained fresh and relapsed addict s were 6,679 and 7,810 respectively.Among the detained drug addicts in 2008, 5,939 (48%) were fresh addicts while 6,413 (52%) were relapsed addicts. Interestingly, in 2008 the statistics revealed a decline of percentages in total number of detained addicts (15%), new addicts (11%) and relapsed addicts (18%) compared to the reported statistics in 2007. Nevertheless, careful observation on the statistics revealed an increase in the number of detained relapsed addicts compared to new drug addicts between 2008 and 2007.Generally, it is well understood that the number of drug addicts should reduce dramatically upon successful completion of treatments or rehabilitation program. However, the reported data explicates that most of the drug addicts failed to sustain the free of drug lifestyle after they have been discharged from rehabilitation treatment program. Mohamad Hussain and Mustafa (2001) reported that there are evidence of 90% relapsed cases among heroin addicts within six months aft er been discharged from the Serenti rehabilitation centres.It also had been found that 40% of the addicts pine for heroin after a month of abstinence. Surprisingly, Serenti rehabilitation centers have relapsed inmates who have followed the rehabilitation sessions for more than five times. Moreover, Habil, (2001) contended that more than 70 percent of those attending drug rehabilitation centres would probably relapse. Reid, Kamarulzaman, and Sran (2007) alleged that though some of the programs had been successful, about 70 to 90 per cent of addicts who underwent rehabilitation probably 37 Vol. 5, No. 12Asian Social Science return to the habit within first year after been discharged if they are compelled and detained at the rehabilitation centres. In any event, the rate of relapse among addicts is of great concern to both governmental and non-governmental bodies. Thus, this research was initiated to examine the factors contributing to relapsed addiction tendency amongst drug addicts i n Malaysia. Indeed this study is significant and timely to fight against drug addictions to the root while achieving the nation’s ambition to reach the zero drugs by 2015. . Factors Contributing to Relapse among Drug Addicts Relapse is a formidable challenge in the treatment of all behavior disorders (Witkiewitz & Marlatt, 2004). Several authors have described relapse as complex, dynamic and unpredictable (Buhringer, 2000; Donovan, 1996; Marlatt, 1996). Whereas according to Mahmood (1996), relapsed addiction means, usage, intake or misuse of psychoactive substances after one had received drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation, physically and psychologically.To Rasmussen (2000), relapse occurred because of the building up of additional crisis such as to look trivially on certain problem, stress, weak or failed forecast, the pessimistic thinking that all issue cannot be resolved and immature actions. Relapsed addicts also confused and overreact due to the inability to thin k clearly, unable to manage feelings and emotions, the difficulty to remember things, unable to control their feelings and easily angered. Various studies have examined the effects of psychosocial factors towards relapse among drug and alcohol dependence.Moos (2007) contended that psychological factors are supposition to contribute to relapse among drug addicts after abstinence. Consistently, anxiety has been linked to increased relapse risk among marijuana addicts (Arendt et al. , 2007; White et al. , 2004). Other relapse promoting factor is self-efficacy, defined as a degree to which an individual feels confident and capable performing a certain behavior in a specific situational context (Bandura, 1977).As described in the cognitive-behavioral model of relapse (Marlatt, Bear & Quigley, 1995), high levels of self-efficacy are predictive of improved alcoholism treatment outcomes (Brown et al. , 1995; Greenfield et. al. , 2000; Rychtarik, Prue, Rapp & King, 1992). The situation is di fferent from the results of research done on 60 alcoholics, which found that individuals who have high self-efficacy after going through rehabilitation treatment, are most unlikely to be addicted again (Allsop, Saunders & Phillips, 2000).Chuah (1990), in his research found that drug addicts who have low self-efficacy would be back to addiction after their release from getting treatment and rehabilitation. Other previous studies have also point out that improvement in self-esteem positively lead to success in rehabilitation programs and it assist in curbing drug addictions (Graham et al. , 1997; Mahmood, 1995; Mahmood et al. ,1998; Mahmood et al. , 1999). Attitude and poor knowledge on drug abuse been reported to be contributing factor of relapsed addictions among drug addicts (Abdullah & Iran, 1997).Besides, less support from family members and the community by large towards former addicts highly promote the relapsed addiction tendency after treatment (Brown et al. , 1995; Miller et al. ,1999; Miller, 1992; Moos & King, 1997). Research by Mohd Taib, Rusli and Mohd Khairi (2000) on family communication patterns amongst addicts’ family and non addicts’ family, showed weak communication patterns and less effective interactions amongst former addicts’ family is one of the high probable factors toward drug addiction.Indeed, family support is much needed to ensure the rehabilitation process success and issues like â€Å"don’t care attitude† and ostracizing former addicts would only failed the rehabilitation process and in the long run caused the former addicts to relapse (Daley & Marlatt, 1992). Amongst other factors that have been associated with relapsed addiction are peer pressures especially from the old friends who still use drugs. Mahmood, et al. (1999) found 50% of old friends influenced former addicts to pick up the drug taking habit after they were discharged from rehabilitation centres.The research also showed that 76% of the old friends assist rehabilitated individuals to get the needed supply of drugs. These situations further induced the relapsed addiction amongst former addicts who has been getting rehabilitation treatments. However, the above research is different from findings by Chuah (1990). He found peers support could help former addicts from not getting back to the old habit. He concluded that high emotional and spiritual support will indirectly increase the addicts’ self confidence and decrease the risk towards relapsed addiction.Gregoire and Snively (2001) reported that addicts who have discharged from rehabilitation centres and living in drug-free social environments could be linked with higher abstinence rates and low in relapse of drug use. Mc Coy and Lai (1997), on the other hand, associates inability to get jobs amongst former addicts who were discharged from rehabilitation centres coupled with lack of financial supports, caused the addicts to go back to addictions. Yunos (1 995) asserted that employers always took advantage on the former addicts by paying low salaries without aking into consideration their qualifications and experience, causing dissatisfactions amongst the former addicts that eventually caused them to quit their jobs. Yahya & Mahmood, (2002), found that the treatment and rehabilitation programs being conducted in any country would faced various challenges. The effectiveness of drug rehabilitation programs also one of the factors, associated with relapsed addictions amongst addicts. This is because some researchers found drug rehabilitation programs conducted on addicts are less effective to jolt them to awake (Mokhtar, 1997, Wellish & Prondergast, 1995).Many research found that the traditional treatment and rehabilitation models failed to help in reducing relapse addiction to drug use (Habil, 2001; 38 Asian Social Science December, 2009 Mahmud Mazlan, Schottenfeld & Chawarski, 2006; Mohamad & Mustafa, 2001; Mahmood, Md Shuaib Che Din a nd Ismail Ishak, 1998; McLellan, 2002; Nestler, 2002; O'Brien, 2006 ; Reid, 2007). Though, sufficient rehabilitation programs are in place, prevention of relapse to drug will pass its best if physiology and psychology strength of addicts faint in due time.In addition, lack of multiple long term treatment modalities, social intervention and additional pharmacological treatment could abet relapse. Hence, relapse to drug use after extended periods of abstinence remains as most intricate clinical problem and research issue in the treatment of drug addiction (Miller et al. , 1999; O'Brien, 2006; Sinha & Li, 2007). Individuals involved in recovery and the treatment of recovering individuals recognize that sustaining a clean and sober life is perhaps significantly more difficult than eliminating the use of the drug.There is a high degree of consensus in the field that relapse is a common element in the recovery process. Nevertheless, examination of factors which contributes to relapse is i ndispensable to develop successful interventions in curbing future relapse to drug-taking behavior (Donovan, 1996; O'Brien, 2006, Sinha & Li, 2007). The present study intended to identify the extent that self-efficacy; support from peers, family, employers, community; and programme effectiveness at drug rehabilitation centres influences the relapsed addiction amongst drug addicts.The findings of this research is advantageous to the government, namely the Home Ministry, NADA, social workers, drug counselors, psychologist and other human services in particular, Malaysia and other regions in general. 3. Method The primary data was obtained through a survey using self-administered questionnaire. Items from established instruments were adopted and modified appropriately to suit the objectives of the study. The instrument consists of five parts. The first part of the questionnaire collected the demographic information of the respondents.Second part consist 42 items developed by Marlatt an d Gordon, (1985) to measure the tendencies of relapsed addiction among the addicts. The items specifically measures three dimensions; negative emotion, interpersonal conflict and social pressure. Part 3, 4 and 5 obtained information pertaining to self-efficacy, sosial-environment factors (support form peer, family, employer, and community) and rehabilitation programme effectiveness respectively. Self-efficacy was measured using 15 items developed by Sherer and Maddux (1982) while 5 items from Abdullah and Iran (1991) was employed to measure attitude towards drug abuse. 0 items developed by Procidano and Heller (1983) used to measure peer and family support.12 items created by the researchers to measure employer and community support. The program effectiveness at drug rehabilitation centres was measured using 26 items developed by Bahaman, et al. (2003). The respondents were asked to respond on a scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4). From the analysis, it wa s identified that the Cronbach alpha of all constructs exceeds Nunnally’s (1978) recommended threshold value of 0. 7. Thus, the instrument used in this study showed a good level in terms of reliability.The respondents were chosen by systematic sampling procedure. 400 questionnaires were personally distributed to the relapsed addicts who are undergoing treatments and rehabilitations in eight Narcotics Rehabilitation Centres in Peninsular Malaysia. Counselors from the respective centres help to disseminate and collect the survey. High response rate (100%) for this study is due to high degree of cooperation by the respondents and the centres’ counselors. In addition, the drop and pick method utilized in this survey was very effective.The data were analyzed using SPSS Version 15. 4. Findings and Discussion 4. Respondents’ background Majority of the respondents (86%) involved in this research were aged 30 years and above. 80% of them were Malays and Muslims and in te rms of marital status, 65% were single. From the data on educational level, 91% of the respondents were holding Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education, equivalent to O’levels). About 47% of them used to work as temporary workers. 4. 2 Factors promoted relapsed addiction amongst drug addicts in Malaysia. Respondents perceptions on all factors contributing to relapsed addiction were categorized as low, moderate and high based on the possible score range.Table 1 shows the summary of the findings. About 97 percent of the respondents indicated moderate to high level of agreement on attitude towards drug abuse. 68 percent of the respondents agreed to moderate level of self-efficacy. In short, the findings showed that respondents received moderate to high level of support from peers (99 percent) and family (96 percent) in their endeavor towards free from drug use. On the other hand respondents reported that they received low to moderate level of support from em ployers (98 percent) and community (94 percent) on the whole.About 99 percent of the respondents indicated moderate to high level of satisfactory with the rehabilitation programme at the respective centres. Table 2 displays the Pearson’s correlation coefficients between the research variables which indicate the strength of relationship between the seven factors with respect to perceived tendency of relapsed addiction to drug use. Out of seven factors identified to promoting relapsed addiction, only four factors showed significant correlation at the 0. 05 level. The factor with the highest correlation to tendency of relapsed addiction to drug use is self-efficacy (r= . 790, p

Iroquis Theater

Theatre Fire changed the way we now regulate codes for many buildings. Some codes that were done due to the fire are explained thoroughly in this paper. Two online articles were used to write the paper. Iroquois Theatre Fire could have been prevented, but due to what happened at the theatre we now have mandatory codes every public building must follow before opening, making patrons safe. Rushing the construction was a bad decision; filling the theatre above Its capacity as an even worse mistake.Government officials made sure all these new regulations were followed through after the fire. On a Wednesday afternoon a fire that would change the codes for many public buildings happened at Iroquois Theatre. Many people called the theatre â€Å"fireproof†, but that wasn't the case that Monday afternoon. While many people watched the second act of a play, the fire started. A spark from a malfunctioning light ignited a drop curtain and it spread quickly catching thousands of square fee t on fire.Due to ruddier construction to open the theatre right away, roof vents had been sealed off, preventing the heat, smoke and gases from escaping the fire causing many people to die. A fire curtain was supposed to be lowered in case of fire, but the stagehand trained to do so was out sick. These made many government officials think of how codes are important to prevent many deaths, or a fire. Reasons why we have exit signs on top of exits were because of the Iroquois Theatre Fire.Iroquois Theatre Fire caused 602 lives to leave to heaven when a fire like that could have been prevented y many ways. Many law, regulations, and codes were made due to this fire, which changed our lives. Due to these regulations a fire can be handled the right way and people can get out of buildings faster. A regulation that is mandatory for buildings to have now is an exit sign on top of doors and clearly marked, and operable easily. In the theatre fire there was fire exits, but were either blocked or not marked to keep out unpaid patron out.Now fire exits are mandatory to be in a building and clearly marked. At the time fire sprinklers were a new thing, due to the rushed construction the theatre didn't have them, fire sprinklers are now a mandatory for theatre stages. It Is said the sprinklers could have raised the chances of this fire spreading as fast as It did, now buildings aren't allow to open If fire sprinklers aren't In the ceiling. The City of Chicago also rewrote its fire code to mandate outward-swinging doors In theaters, which now makes it safe for people to walk out of places In case of a fire happening.A crash bar was made for all public building's doors making It easy to run out of a building. On that night after workers couldn't extinguish the fire people started to go crazy and couldn't get out. All doors were blocked as people were trying to get out, due to having more people than the occupancy allowed. Since doors were blocked people stomped on each other t o force their way out. The fire wasn't the reason why many deaths happened, people stomping on each other killed many to the people.

Thoughts/Interpretations/Impressions about Marriage, Family in relation to culture

There can be thousands of interpretations, thoughts and impressions about family, marriage, kinship and marital residence depending on who is doing it and the background from which one has been brought up. But all the views are very interesting and sometimes debatable. In my interpretation, marriage, kinship and family have altered trends of life in many cultures, especially where there have been intercultural or intertribal marriages. These forms of marriage have enlightened many societies about changing roles of men and women.It is a good trial that has passed the test when women from other cultures do duties that have been associated with men and surprisingly the cultural beliefs that have prohibited women from these duties have been abandoned. Women around the world are great and respected leaders, for instant many African cultures are too tough but imagine for the first time in the continent (in Liberia) a woman has been elected president. This is a very positive sign about rigi d cultures that are changing. In some nations racial segregation is rampant.This phenomenon is in existence because of diverse practices or cultures and the languages which play vital roles in many cultures. This denotes the danger of extremism or total observance of culture. This is when people feel outsiders have invaded their culture and it will be a threat to their identity as s group. Strong adherence to culture may divide a society or has already divided many a societies. Indeed many nations in the world have been divided along tribal, racial lines because of extreme adherence of culture and the associated identity. Not only divided communities or societies but armed conflicts and turmoil as well.Many wars and other armed or unarmed conflicts have been fueled by people’s culture and identity versus culture of identity. Part Two Anthropological glasses on the local community Everywhere there are classes but the way they form somehow doesn't follow any blueprint. For inst ance in campus, students have identified themselves into various groups but some factors favor this kind of groupings. For example, smokers identify themselves as soon as they join campus. But it is healthy that identification through color is no longer in existence but a meager percentage of students use it to identify themselves into groups or classes.Nonetheless, there are two or three groups of students that are clearly identified. Class or stratification factor has played part in their formations. These groups include the rich and the poor, those serious in class with their studies and those who are not serious then a few in class of white and black albeit very few identify to these grouping. But the most encouraging trend is that these groupings are not extreme, they are very neutral and they have been neutralized for the reason that there is a lot of sharing right from the library to hostels and from class to the cafeteria.These make a very wide difference when comparing them with the groups which are discussed in the text, the text groupings tend to take an extremism dimension in their cultural setting which when compared to the local community or university are flexible and there is no remarkable degree of separation between the groups. In my observation this form of culture is very different because even ladies intermingle with gentlemen freely and there exists an aura of freedom for all and sundry.Finally institutions like universities and colleges have played an important role in connection to various cultures by bringing these diversities to one main culture without force. For instance color segregation has been dealt with intellectually because there is a lot of sharing within and without class. Part Three Vital lessons in this course There are many lessons that I have learned throughout this cause. Some of these lessons include the factors that have contributed to inequality and segregation and what has been done to counter this phenomenon.How s tratification or class was born and how soon or later it will disappear from society. Any form of identification may severely damage the conscious of some people regarding other cultures. Education can change one’s culture for the better and for the worse if not both. The interest of learning a new culture also encourages the other people of different cultures to have the urge of learning something new but may depend on the expression of one party to the other. Another lesson is how family, kinship and marriage are closely knit in society.As people are crossing borders and oceans for new adventures they are getting absorbed to other cultures and languages and their identity is no longer the same. Language has not been given the intensity it deserves in matters of any culture anywhere. Some people may not totally forget their culture and language but they do not practice, and gradually it disappears. Of course my argument must be clear that this tribal, clan and racial interma rriages are very positive towards promoting harmony anywhere in the world but the factor itself is harmful to the survival of some cultures and languages.And by assurance, this is causing a very hot debate as already many cultures, languages, groups of people and tribes are disappearing or they are totally extinct. One other important lesson is the relationship between environment and man. Environment shapes culture and change in the environment alters the behavior and the living patterns of people thus culture in general. Environment is part in shaping man’s culture and man’s activities have been detrimental to the environment hence cultural change. (Embers 2007)

Special Occasion Speech

Before beginning, I'd like to offer my sincerest gratitude to ChMlotte and Justin for allowing me 10 be pan oflhls special occasion. Aho, I wouJd like to say thank you 10 Charlotte' 1 parenU for . 11 that you've done to make this ! he special day tha! il is. And, of course. my gntefuln~ to Justin' s parentS for all oryour suppon and all that you've done to make this, by all accounts, the perfect day. I love 1 wedding – especially when it happens to such great people. From the moment [ saw you two together, Charlotte, I knew this would happen. Charlotte has been. great rriend in. w many ways. We've come to know one another so wen, that we have an undemanding that goes beyond wOf'ds. We don't judge. and we don't have 10 explain. So. when Clwiotte found her soul-mate, she didn't really have 10 say much to make it clear to me that Justin was the one and only for her. The love in her beart and the joy in ber spirit were obvious from the beginning. I've seen that same Jove and happiness in JUSlin. Charlotte and Justin, I am elCtremely happy for both of you. You truly complement one another. You rod u friends and it evolved into a love that so many people r1U'eIy find today. Love after a1~ doesn't make the world go around †¦ Love is what makes the ride wonhwhile. And it's a wonderful thing when two people who were made for each othefmanage to frnd each other and ! all io love. So, I'd like to make a toast. And I'd like to make it with this thought in mind: If there is such a thing as a good marriage, then it cqmes from unconditional and enduring love that grows from commitment and friendship. So this is to you, Justin and Charlotte, your love Bnd friendship have always been special and your future as busband and wife promises to be bright. Here's to a wonderful, enchanted life together rich with love and happiness . Special Occasion Speech Before beginning, I'd like to offer my sincerest gratitude to ChMlotte and Justin for allowing me 10 be pan oflhls special occasion. Aho, I wouJd like to say thank you 10 Charlotte' 1 parenU for . 11 that you've done to make this ! he special day tha! il is. And, of course. my gntefuln~ to Justin' s parentS for all oryour suppon and all that you've done to make this, by all accounts, the perfect day. I love 1 wedding – especially when it happens to such great people. From the moment [ saw you two together, Charlotte, I knew this would happen. Charlotte has been. great rriend in. w many ways. We've come to know one another so wen, that we have an undemanding that goes beyond wOf'ds. We don't judge. and we don't have 10 explain. So. when Clwiotte found her soul-mate, she didn't really have 10 say much to make it clear to me that Justin was the one and only for her. The love in her beart and the joy in ber spirit were obvious from the beginning. I've seen that same Jove and happiness in JUSlin. Charlotte and Justin, I am elCtremely happy for both of you. You truly complement one another. You rod u friends and it evolved into a love that so many people r1U'eIy find today. Love after a1~ doesn't make the world go around †¦ Love is what makes the ride wonhwhile. And it's a wonderful thing when two people who were made for each othefmanage to frnd each other and ! all io love. So, I'd like to make a toast. And I'd like to make it with this thought in mind: If there is such a thing as a good marriage, then it cqmes from unconditional and enduring love that grows from commitment and friendship. So this is to you, Justin and Charlotte, your love Bnd friendship have always been special and your future as busband and wife promises to be bright. Here's to a wonderful, enchanted life together rich with love and happiness .

Marketing tools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Marketing tools - Essay Example In this regard, the analysis focuses on a wireless mini Hair dryer market, competitive environment and the costs involved. This can only be achieved by continuous surveys of the product competitors’ actions in this market. Under an inventor’s strategic marketing plan/approach, it will continuously monitor potential benefits/opportunities offered by the new line of products/a wireless mini Hair dryer to ascertain its financial viability ((Errigo & Zempol 2011, p. 64). Ansoff’s Model In order to meet the above objectives, Knowledge Store can use the Ansoff’s matrix / model to make decisions regarding a wireless mini hair dryer marketing growth strategy. It will used to ascertain strategic priorities regarding the launch of this new product line to attract more customers, expand the existing market share and to increase sales revenue earnings (Errigo & Zempol 2011, p. 72). It helps in creating a logical platform on which the above objectives are developed, fo llowing different mix categories shown in the diagram below. Fig. 1.0: Ansoff’s Model Moreover, Ansoff’s matrix is employed to determine a wireless mini hair dryer marketing strategies that will help in meeting the objectives of increasing the customer base and market share. This will be facilitated by the use of internet services, which reach more customers segments in different geographic markets across the globe. SWOT Analysis of an inventor’s company An inventor SWOT can be analyzed in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as outlined in the following table. STRENGTHS 1. A company operates many stores across the globe, thus present in the global market. 2. Strong control over its distribution channels. 3. An inventor’s product has a strong brand identity/name. 4. Its diversification strategy has larger brands portfolio. 5. Expansive market product line. WEAKNESSES 1. Weak financial health caused by higher debts and decline in pro fitability margin. 2. Unstable management caused by family conflicts of interest. 3. Weaker brands portfolio from some items sold by an inventor. 4. Limited target customers, especially the professionals. 5. The prices of an inventor product are relatively higher. OPPORTUNITIES 1. An inventor has a higher market growth potential in other areas, especially in the UK and USA. 2. A company is capable of consolidating other brands for the establishment of a stronger competitive advantage in various segments. 3. Presence of e-marketing/e-commerce makes it possible for an inventor to carry out online transactions. 4. Presence of multi-media technology developments for marketing/advertising. THREATS 1. A company currently faces stiffer competition from other market players in a company, which are companies that offer medium brands that are capable of advancing towards the premium brands such. 2. An inventor is facing the threat of takeover that is likely to affect its capital ownership in a company. 3. Presence of both local political shakeups and economic slowdown. 4. Fake company’s products. PESTEL Analysis of an inventor’s company/business There are various factors that would affect the decision making processes. The PESTEL analysis technique has been used in an effort to analyze some of these factors. The PESTEL model usually covers the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that are likely to influence the decision maki