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Management: Workplace Feelings and Their Effects Research Paper college essay help near me

Introduction It is normal for human beings to have emotional or moral sensitivity, especially about personal principles. According to experts, feelings have numerous effects on an individual in terms of one’s perception of things, people, places, and ideas (Kreamer, 2011).

Behavior and attitude are some of the main indicators of the way emotions affect an individual. Studies have established that emotions can either affect someone in a positive or negative way.

This depends on factors such as their immediate environment and maturity levels. The workplace is one such environment where people develop feelings, which affect them in different ways. According to experts, feelings in the workplace influence a lot on the success of an organization in terms of employee experiences and the ability to build good relations with their clients (Drexler, 2013).

A positive work environment helps the employees to relate well with each other, while negative feelings dampen everyone’s moods that lead to unfulfilling emotional states.

Experts argue that positive emotional states by employees help to boost productivity because everyone has enough motivation to give their best output in their respective duties (Kreamer, 2011). Most organizations in the contemporary world tend to hire individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence.

This plays a crucial role in building the right workplace environment for good productivity. Organizations also incorporate emotional management strategies in their employee training and development programs. Such training help employees to understand the negative effects that feelings in the workplace have on important elements such as productivity (Drexler, 2013).

Discussion One of the main reasons for the increased interests in the concept of feelings in the workplace is the need to improve employee welfare. This means that organizations should design their workplace environment and structure in a manner that allows employees to express themselves appropriately (Wartzman, 2013).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Experts argue that feelings are an integral part of every human being’s life and cannot be taken for granted. People often express their feelings through speech, behavior, and attitude. For example, it is easy to tell when someone is in pain because they will say it, show it through their body language, or act in a certain way (Kreamer, 2011). Organizational leaders have a huge responsibility of ensuring that they understand the emotional state of their employees.

The most important thing is to ensure that employees learn to develop positive feelings as a way of preventing negative emotions from developing (Wartzman, 2013). Studies have established that emotional intelligence is one of the most desirable qualities in the contemporary workplace environment. It is defined as the ability of an individual to identify his or her emotions, analyze them, and understand the way they can affect others (Kreamer, 2011).

For example, if someone knows the way he or she feels when they are under pressure, they normally avoid making appointments at such a time (Goudreau, 2013). The reason for this is that they can be late or fail to deliver because of overwhelming work. Therefore, it is important for all employees to be emotionally intelligent because it influences on the level of organizational success in a positive manner.

The emotional state of employees can either motivate them to give their best output in their duties or dampen their spirit. In addition, the nature of employee relations in the workplace depends on their feelings and the way they respond to them (Wartzman, 2013).

According to experts, employees in the workplace respond to feelings in a passive and aggressive manner, mostly denoted by non-verbal cues. These responses entail a situation where someone has anger towards his or her colleague but chooses to communicate silently instead of voicing out their feelings.

In most cases, employees develop negative feelings due to reasons such as lack of promotions, poor remuneration, lack of rewards, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and too much work among others (Wartzman, 2013). Such feelings are hard to express, thus most people tend to change their attitude towards work, colleagues, organizational goals, and desire for professional development. However, experts argue that some employees can fail to show their feelings by choosing to keep quiet (Goudreau, 2013).

Negative effects of feelings in the workplace on the behavior of employees Studies have established that most feelings in the workplace have negative impacts on the behavior of employees. According to experts, feelings in the workplace tend to have numerous effects on the behavior of employees. The first effect is the lack of motivation to work (Drexler, 2013).

We will write a custom Research Paper on Management: Workplace Feelings and Their Effects specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The way people choose to deal with their feelings can lead to the development of a highly destructive pattern, which results in conditions such as depression. A build-up of negative feelings often leads to someone developing a state of self-denial and hatred. When this kind of energy is moved to the workplace, most of the people working with such an individual often start mirroring their attitude and behaviors (Kreamer, 2011).

A negative state of mind kills the motivation of employees to work, especially when they cannot express themselves in their desired manner. Experts argue that an employee needs to feel appreciated and wanted in their place of work as a way of motivating them to give their best output (Wartzman, 2013).

Experts argue that the behavior of employees in the workplace is highly dependent on the way some crucial aspects of the workplace are addressed. These aspects include conflict management, job description, and information management. Studies have established that these three elements influence the way employees relate to each other and their level of motivation to achieve organizational goals (Kreamer, 2011).

The second effect is low confidence levels among employees. Studies have established that most employees tend to develop negative feelings in the workplace due to the lack of strong, effective, and visionary leadership (Goudreau, 2013). Apart from meeting organizational goals, employees have their own career goals that they hope to achieve in their places of work. However, poor leadership can cause many employees to lose their belief in their abilities to deliver on their work demands.

Such negative thoughts compel employees to lose confidence in their colleagues as well (Goudreau, 2013). Studies have established that a clear job description that defines the duties and responsibilities of every employee play a crucial role in building confidence among employees.

It is often the responsibility of organizational leaders to ensure that all employees understand their duties and responsibilities. However, if the leaders fail to do their work effectively, employees will start developing a negative attitude towards their jobs. This results in employees lacking the necessary confidence due to issues such as conflicting interests (Drexler, 2013).

Another negative effect of feelings in the workplace is the loss of passion for professional development. Studies have established that negative energy in the workplace affects the attitude of employees towards their work. This often kills their passion to advance in their careers (Goudreau, 2013).

Job satisfaction plays a crucial role in motivating individuals in the workplace to improve their educational qualifications and acquire new skills. Experts argue that the problem can become deeply rooted in an organization if organizational leaders and the management team suffer the same problem (Drexler, 2013). Employees depend a lot on their leaders for motivation and guidance in terms of career development and fulfilling their duties.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Management: Workplace Feelings and Their Effects by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Numerous studies conducted to establish the effects of negative feelings in the workplace established that the behavior and attitude of employees change the most when feelings develop. This eventually affects organizational success due to factors such as high employee turnover rate, low morale to work, and lack of commitment to organizational goals. Organizations experience extremely low employee retention rates due to lack of motivation to work (Goudreau, 2013).

Conclusion Emotional intelligence is one of the essential qualities that employees in the contemporary workplace environment ought to have. It is important for employees and organizational leaders to identify, analyze, as well as understand their feelings and the way they can affect other people.

Organizational leaders have a responsibility to ensure that they create a workplace environment that creates positive energy. The emotional state of employees in the workplace depends a lot on their immediate environment. A positive work environment helps the employees to relate well with each other, while negative feelings dampen everyone’s moods.

References Drexler, P. (2013). Emotions and Work. Web.

Goudreau, J. (2013). From Crying to Temper Tantrums: How To Manage Emotions at Work. Web.

Kreamer, A. (2011). Taking Your Feelings to Work. Web.

Wartzman, R. (2013). When You Wear Your Emotions at Work. Web.

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Macdonald Restaurant’s Moral Problems Report (Assessment) scholarship essay help: scholarship essay help

Introduction This study has embarked on identifying one of the major companies in the globe with the main objective of investigating some of the moral problems that are facing it. In this light, the writer identified MacDonald restaurant and has discussed the ethical problems that are facing this multinational company.

The criticism that has been raised about MacDonald’s operation in the globe is discussed below. The study will evaluate the ethical issues identified with a close reference to the ethical theories of utilitarianism and ontology.

Ethical issues that are facing MacDonald restaurants Macdonald restaurant is a leading food serving the industry with millions and millions of customers eating food from this restaurant. Over the years several issues have been asked about food health. This issue of food health has put MacDonald in the line of fire with many people in the society stating that the brand is catalyzing the rate of obesity and unhealthy eating in the world.

The company has been offering unbalanced food in its menu, and the information on the essential nutrients in food is insufficient. This has resulted in a public outcry in which it has vehemently criticized the company for encouraging young people to make unhealthy decisions on the type of food that they eat through its appealing advertisements which target this section of the population.

It is evident that the burgers and fries that are served at the company outlets have high calories in them and this has made the rate of obesity to skyrocket in the United States.

Analysis of the ethical issues that are facing MacDonald restaurant based on utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is one of the many theories that have been formulated in ethics in an attempt to dissect the issue of ethics in society. Utilitarianism is a theory of ethics that lies out that the motivating factor in the course of action that is embarked on by any individual should always be to maximize the benefits that are reaped from the action by a majority of people in the society.

A close analysis of the theory depicts that; all actions should be guided by the outcome of their happening in which everyone is expected to do what constitutes the greatest benefit (Little, 2009). From this analysis of utilitarianism, it is evident that MacDonald restaurants are to blame for the spiral rates of obesity that are being experienced in the country.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More It is the duty of MacDonald to ensure that it carries out adequate and conclusive research on the nutritional levels of its products to mitigate the high levels of calories that are included in their food packages. This will reduce the levels of criticism the company is facing.

Analysis of the ethical issues that are facing MacDonald restaurant based on Deontology

Deontology is the approach of ethics which advocates adherence to rules and obligations. This theory negates the utilitarianism approach to morality in which actions are judged based on the consequences they have on society. Deontologists are moral absolutists and therefore, any action that does not follow the set moral rules no matter the goodness that could be reaped from it, is not right.

Based on this theory, MacDonald restaurants are morally responsible for the problems that have been discussed above. The health sector in the country has stipulated the levels of calories that should be served in fast food restaurants, and therefore, they should adhere to these stipulations.

Conclusion From the information that has been written about MacDonald restaurant, it is evident that the fast food giant is facing several moral problems about its products. The company should come up with measures that will eradicate these problems. The company is legally and morally obliged to ensure that it safeguards the health of society by serving healthy food at all times.

Reference Little, T. (2009). How to Develop a Positive Mindset and Succeed in Business and Life. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

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Friends’ and Big Bang Theory’s Interior Design Research Paper college admission essay help

Monica’s apartment is used as the setting for many of the scenes depicted in Friends. There are several aspects of the interior design that make viewers feel comfortable when they watch this movie. For example, the living room is adorned with upholstered furniture, and it looks rather cozy. The walls are painted in purple, and this color produces a very soothing impression on the audience.

There is another detail which also attracts attention. In particular, various objects are scattered in a haphazard way, and the room looks rather disorderly. Nevertheless, this apartment does not seem untidy. This is one of the main features that should not be overlooked. On the whole, this interior design reflects the character of people depicted in this television series.

For instance, one can say that these people can be absent-minded, awkward, eccentric, illogical, and even childlike. Yet, these are the qualities that make these characters very engaging and unpredictable.

Furthermore, these interior design indicates that this apartment will be a gathering place for place for the main characters. Moreover, their day-to-day conversations will be the basis for the plot of this television series. So, the audience may expect the actors to talk about such issues as their personal relations, employment, family, and so forth. These are some of the details that should be considered.

It is possible to say that the design of setting often depends on the genre of a movie or a television series. Such differences can be illustrated if one looks at a comedy series and a dramatic series. For example, in comedies, many living rooms are portrayed as extremely disorganized places. Moreover, the viewers can say that such living rooms are not supposed to impress possible guests with the wealth of an owner (Bonner, 2003).

Such movies as Friends and Big Bang Theory are the most eloquent examples of this approach to design. In contrast, dramatic television series may present images. For example, one can refer to the television series called House of Cards. The apartment in which the main character lives differs significantly from settings featured in sitcoms. At first glance, the living room looks very austere and minimalistic.

Nevertheless, the design is supposed to highlight the high social status of a person. For example, the articles of furniture suggest that the main character is a very affluent person and he can afford the most expensive products. So, one can argue that this interior design reflects the values of an individual. This is one of the arguments that can be put forward.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Very often, film-makers rely on interior design in order to give viewers some clues about the socio-economic status of the main characters. For example, if it is necessary to describe a well-to-do person, they decide to include expensive articles of furniture. It should be mentioned that the furniture does not necessarily look extremely luxurious and expensive. In many cases, the interior design is rather minimalistic.

Nevertheless, there are some details to which the film-makers attract attention of audience, for example, the furniture can be made of very expensive materials such as mahogany. So, one can argue that a certain character is rather wealthy. To understand this trend, one can look at the television series named Suits which depicts the everyday life of lawyers.

In contrast, the film-makers can also show that a certain character is much less affluent. For example, the viewers can see that interior décor of a room looks shabby. Apart from that, the film-makers can show that furniture is made of inexpensive materials. Such details are very informative, and they are useful for identifying the social and economic status of a person. These are some of the details that can be distinguished.

Overall, characters in different programs can use language in distinct ways. Much attention should be paid to the genre of a particular program or a show. Moreover, it is important to consider the effect that the authors try to produce. If their goal is to make the audience laugh, the characters can discuss interpersonal relations in a casual and comic way. Friends can be viewed as a good illustration of this approach.

There are many situations when the actors discuss such issues as marriage or divorce as though such events are commonplace. They can rely on wordplay, intonation and body language in order to demonstrate their attitudes (Richardson

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Leadership Style: Ellen Kullman Report essay help free: essay help free

A Brief Background Ellen Kullman is one of the most remarkable women. She is regarded as one of the most influential women in the world by many financial magazines (e.g., Forbes, Fortune, etc.). She was born in 1956 in Wilmington, Del. She got a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Tufts University (“Ellen Kullman,” 2013).

She also got a master’s degree in management at Northwestern University. She is married and has three children. She joined DuPont in 1998 (“Ellen Kullman,” 2013). Ellen Kullman served as a marketing manager. She became CEO and chair of the board of DuPont in 2009. Her exceptional leadership skills and her vision have contributed greatly to the development of the company, which had rather difficult times in the 2008 financial crisis.

CEO’s Leadership Style and Philosophy As has been mentioned above, Ellen Kullman has contributed considerably to the development of the company. Her leadership was the necessary push that let the company overcome the difficulties it faced. Ellen Kullman is a democratic leader who tends to guide people, not control them.

She claims that she is an enabler who understands the importance of empowering people (“The innovation engine,” 2012). She stresses that she cannot make all the decision as it is ineffective and unproductive. She sets goals and makes sure people understand the core values and strategy of the company.

Kullman never intrudes in the process unless she sees that an employee is moving in the wrong direction (“The innovation engine,” 2012). Furthermore, she also notes that even if an employee is moving the wrong direction, she does not simply tell how to do. She makes the employee share the company’s philosophy and core values. After this, the employee comes up with his/her ideas to solve an existing issue.

Ellen Kullman’s philosophy is based on her strive for innovation and development. She stresses the importance of development and innovation for the company. She believes it is crucial to invest in the development of innovative strategies in such fields as science, technology, education (Hymowitz, 2012). She believes that DuPont is the company where her philosophy fits. Admittedly, DuPont shares the same vision. The company’s philosophy is innovation and development. The company invests into the development of its employees.

CEO’s Personal and Organisational Values Ellen Kullman is an organized woman who manages her time perfectly well. In the first place, it is necessary to stress that she has been able to succeed in her private life as well as in her career. She has three children, which can be regarded as one of the signs of her effective self-organization.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More It is suggestive that when she became CEO, her first step was to “understanding the dynamic relationship between what should not change… and what has to change” (as cited in “DuPont CEO,” 2009, n.p.). Ellen Kullman knows that to get the things right, it is crucial to get all the necessary information and analyze it. Proper planning is one of the core values of Ellen Kullman.

She also understands that control should not be overwhelming. Ellen Kullman is always open to new strategies and incentives. She is ready to listen to the employees. She also provides her feedback and makes her employees (and especially managers) understand the importance of responding to other employees’ questions or providing the necessary coaching.

Ellen Kullman has a favorable attitude towards diversity in the workplace. Whittle (2013) notes that Kullman believes diversity is one of the keys to success as diversity is associated with various ideas which can be brought to life. More so, since the company is multinational and operates in many countries, it is but natural that people coming from different cultural backgrounds work together. They share experiences and ideas, which transform into successful strategies.

Kullman’s Values Influence Ethical Behaviour within the Organisation It is necessary to note that Kullman’s leadership style has had a significant impact on the company and ethical behavior within it. She believes responsibility is one of the most important things for the organization to be successful. More so, she considers the responsibility and ethical behavior of each employee to be an advantage in the contemporary competitive world.

Remarkably, the employees of the company share the same values and pay a lot of attention to ethical behavior. The recent success of the company proves that this way is the most effective. The company is also developing an image of the organization which is responsible in all respects.

Three Greatest Strengths and Three Greatest Weaknesses As has been mentioned above, Ellen Kullman is an exceptional woman and an effective leader. One of her greatest strength is her ability to focus on important things. First, she is capable of managing her time effectively. She is also able to feel the most important trends which exist in society. She does not be in charge of various things; she remains focused on strategy and planning. This is vital for such a big company like DuPont.

The second strength of Kullman is her readiness to change. She understands that organizations, as well as people, should change constantly. Kullman also manages to make people share her standpoint. Notably, she encourages diversity in the workplace (Whittle, 2013). She sees it as one of the ways to change and renovate. Sharing new ideas and approaches based on different experiences and cultural backgrounds is effective.

We will write a custom Report on Leadership Style: Ellen Kullman specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Finally, Kullman is an inspiring leader. As has been mentioned above, Ellen Kullman is a democratic leader. She does not control, but coaches. She empowers employees to make their own decisions. At that, she is always guiding them and watching whether they are on the right path (“The innovation engine,” 2012).

As far as Ellen Kullman’s weaknesses are concerned, it is difficult to identify any. Kullman’s focus on innovation can be regarded as her weakness if she continues concentrating on it. Of course, it is important to change and innovate, but it is also crucial to sustain what has been gained. At present, Kullman pays just enough attention to innovation. Nonetheless, if she invests more time into this area, this can be harmful to the company.

Another weakness may be her attitude towards control. It is necessary to remember that all people need different types of supervision and support. Sometimes it is not enough to make sure all employees share the core values of the company. Some employees need more precise instructions. Ellen Kullman needs to develop a different approach towards some employees. The third weakness is concerned with Kullman’s vision of growth.

The CEO claims that the company expands geographically (“The innovation engine,” 2012). However, she does not concentrate on the development of the facilities within the US borders. The focus on other countries can negatively affect the development of facilities in the USA and Western Europe. Though, it is necessary to stress that these weaknesses are almost implicit and can become a problem under certain circumstances.

Quality That Contributes Most to Kullman’s Success Kullman is an open-minded person. This is one of the qualities that let her become successful. Kullman is open to change. She is not afraid of exploring new ways.

She is also open to discussion. She hears her employees who have numerous ideas which are often effective. She is ready to adopt new strategies which prove to be successful. She has made a variety of decisions which have led her company to the recent success.

Communication and Collaboration, and Power and Politics It is important to note that Ellen Kullman pays specific attention to communication within the company. The company’s branches, as well as departments, have effective communication channels. Kullman stresses that this is one of the vital issues as communication and sharing ideas contributes to the development of the organization (“The innovation engine,” 2012).

However, apart from internal factors, there are external factors that affect the development of the organization. Thus, various governmental incentives aimed at encouraging industrial companies to be more environmentally responsible shape the company’s strategy.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Leadership Style: Ellen Kullman by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Kullman notes that they are committed to making the world a safer place (Whittle, 2013). Admittedly, the company adheres to the incentives the US government (as well as governments of the countries where the company operates) implements. Of course, as any other company, DuPont has to adhere to governmental incentives, laws.

The company’s decisions are also shaped by public opinion and trends existing in society. However, it is also important to add that the company remains responsible and it keeps developing due to the contribution of such exceptional leaders as Ellen Kullman.

Reference List DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman’s four principles for moving ahead during turbulent times. 2009. Knowledge Wharton. Web.

Ellen Kullman. 2013. DuPont. Web.

Hymowitz, C. 2012. Ellen Kullman on her grand scheme for DuPont. Bloomberg Businessweek. Web.

The innovation engine. 2012. Leaders, 35(2), 19-20. Web.

Whittle, M. S. 2013. DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman discusses market-driven science, finding sustainable solutions to global challenges. UVA Today. Web.

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Genetically Modified Foods: Should They Be Consumed? Research Paper essay help free: essay help free

The consumption of genetically modified foods has been a subject of heated debate among scientists, policy-makers, journalists, and consumers. At present, many people express concerns about the safety of these products, especially long-term effects on human health. In particular, one can mention such possible threats as horizontal gene transfer and allergenicity.

Apart from that, it is often said that the risks of using genetically modified organisms for the production of food have not been fully examined because existing research methods are very limited. This is one of the reasons why this issue attracts the close attention of the public, especially medical workers. Overall, it is possible to argue that people can consume genetically modified foods because there is practically no scientific evidence which can confirm the claims about the dangers of these products.

Moreover, the goods are usually less expensive, and they can be of great use to people with low-income level. This is the main thesis that should be elaborated in more detail. However, producers must inform buyers whether they are using genetic engineering methods because consumers have a right to make an informed decision while choosing among different products. These are the main questions that should be discussed.

First of all, it is important to examine the claims about the health risks of genetically modified foods because in many cases, these claims are not supported. In particular, many journalists and consumers often speak about the possibility of horizontal gene transfer. In other words, they suppose that the genes of organisms or plants can be passed to a human or even his/her descendants. This is why this issue has often been discussed in mass media.

However, such cases have never been registered in the course of scientific studies (Shaw 271). Admittedly, researchers managed to conduct experiments on horizontal gene transfer; yet, this transfer is the result of numerous artificial manipulations that have not been observed in a natural environment (Shaw 271).

Moreover, there is no theoretical framework which can explain or substantiate the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer from a plant to a human being. As it has been said before, such events do not take place in natural conditions. This is one of the first issues that can be identified. To a great, the allegations about the dangers of genetically modified foods are not supported by specific evidence. This is one of the main points that can be made.

Additionally, concerns have been raised about possible allergic reactions to genetically modified foods. This issue is also of great concern to medical workers and scientists because allergenicity can indeed imperil the life of a person. Nevertheless, one should mention that the consumption of many food products can entail the risk of acute allergic response (Jumba 26).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More For instance, one can mention fish, wheat, eggs, soybean, or milk, and they are in no way related to genetic engineering (Jumba 26). Nevertheless, journalists do not speak about these problems. Apart from that, the producers of genetically modified foods conduct various tests which can determine whether a specific biological element can cause an allergic response (Jumba 26).

Moreover, they have developed techniques which can eliminate allergens (Jumba 26). Admittedly, scientists should conduct further studies that can examine the effects of these products. They need to take every precaution to safeguard the health of consumers. Genetically modified foods are not more dangerous than conventional foods. Therefore, there is no reason why people should refrain from buying these products. This is one of the main arguments that were put forward.

Certainly, one can object by arguing that the harmful effects of consuming genetically modified foods can manifest themselves only in the future. Similarly, it is possible to note that at present scientists may lack the technologies that can identify the side-effects of these products. Therefore, the potential dangers of genetically modified foods cannot be easily dismissed.

This is one of the issues that should not be disregarded because researchers have to recognize the limitations of their knowledge. However, this argument can be applied to different innovations that are widely used today. For example, one can mention new drugs that can benefit a great number of patients. The scientists, who conduct clinical studies, can only prove that there are no overt side-effects which can imperil the health of a person.

Nevertheless, they cannot say that a certain medication will never lead to any complications. This claim cannot be fully substantiated. However, journalists and policy-makers accept these risks. Moreover, the activities of pharmaceutical companies are considered to be quite ethical.

This problem is not widely discussed in the press. In turn, genetically modified foods are also subjected to the scrutiny that is aimed at identifying various side-effects. This is why people can consume such foods. Overall, the production of genetically modified foods conforms to the ethical standards, established in the community because researchers take sufficient care to safeguard consumers against possible risks such as allergenicity. This is one of the aspects that should be taken into account.

Moreover, it is important to mention that the use of genetic engineering enables agricultural companies to save their costs because they use plants that are more resistant to different weather conditions (Freedman 43). Apart from that, the use of these techniques can yield larger crops (Freedman 43). Therefore, the foods produced in such a way can be less expensive. This is one of their main advantages. In turn, many people with low-income level can benefit from this opportunity.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Genetically Modified Foods: Should They Be Consumed? specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Moreover, these products can be of great value to those countries in which people suffer from starvation. So, one should not overlook the economic benefits that are brought by these technologies. Thus, the consumption of these foods can be justified. However, one should take into account that such products should be clearly labeled.

In other words, buyers should know whether they are purchasing genetically modified foods. This issue is important because a person should be able to make an informed decision while selecting among various products. This is a requirement that sellers should meet. To a great extent, this is one of the ethical obligations that they should fulfill.

This discussion illustrates that genetically modified foods can be a valid alternative to many consumers. At present, researchers often speak about the risks associated with such products. The main issue is that these concerns have not been backed up by evidence. Moreover, existing theoretical frameworks do not support the allegations regarding the risks of genetically modified goods.

Furthermore, these products can greatly benefit people when their purchasing power declines. This is why genetically modified foods can be used by modern consumers. These are the main aspects that can be identified.

Works Cited Freedman, Jeri. Genetically Modified Food: How Biotechnology Is Changing What We Eat, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2009. Print.

Jumba, Miriam. Genetically Modified Organisms The Mystery Unraveled, Boston: Strategic Book Publishing, 2010. Print.

Shaw, Ian. Food Safety: The Science of Keeping Food Safe, New York: John Wiley

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Financial Issues: Bank of America Research Paper scholarship essay help

Company Overview Bank of America serves individual customers, small and medium enterprises, companies and governments by offering products that include banking services, investment consultancy, asset management as well as risk management of properties and services (Reuters, 2013).

Incorporated in 1998, Bank of America has five corporate sections: client and corporate banking, client real estate services, International banking, international market, and international wealth management and an overall section known as other (Reuters, 2013).

Client and corporate banking involve deposits, card business, and corporate banking. This section offers a variety of credit, banking, and asset products to individuals and corporations. Bank of America has a presence in thirty-two states in America as well as the District of Columbia (Reuters, 2013). Its network involves over five thousand banking points, over sixteen thousand automated teller machines, call centers, and mobile access (Reuters, 2013).

International banking section contains several credit-based products and services, working finance management and treasury solutions to customers, underwriting and consultancy. Some products in this section include business loans, charters, commitment products, trade finance, real estate credit, asset-based financing, and direct client credit (Reuters, 2013).

Bank of America offers sales and marketing services, research for clients involved in fixed finance, credit, and equity products, among other areas (Reuters, 2013). International wealth and asset management offer in-depth asset management solutions to a wide range of ultra-wealthy customers. Services in this section include capital and brokerage services, retirement benefit plans, charity management, and asset administration for individual and corporate clients (Reuters, 2013).

Bank of America’s “mission is to offer lending and investment products that serve low and moderate income individuals and families, improve underserved low and moderate-income communities and ultimately create sustainable practices (Farfan, 2013).” Concerning ethics, the bank “is committed to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct (Bank of America, 2013).”

SWOT Analysis for Bank of America Strengths

Bank of America has a wide reach in the whole world. The bank has branches in all fifty states of America and the District of Columbia and more than forty countries outside America (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Bank of America has over fifty-seven million individual and corporate clients, close to 6,000 banking centers, approximately 18,000 automated teller machines, call centers in almost every state, and mobile banking access. Also, the bank offers business support to four million small business holders besides being a base retailer in close to twenty countries in the world (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Bank of America offers various products and services, resulting in a favorable business mix. This leads to increased revenues from various business lines. In 2011, bank of America got 25 percent of its profits from international banking and markets services, 19.2 % from card services, 18.4 % from international wealth management, 16.1 % from all other section and 13.4 %from international business banking. Such a business mix leads to a wide client base and enables the bank to maintain its revenue liquidity (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Bank of America has a strong capital base that guards against insolvency risks. Its balance sheet reveals a favorable mix of assets and liabilities (Marketing Mix, 2013). The company enhanced its capital base to a record high of 1.6 billion US dollars in 2011 as the capital ratio increased steadily through the first quarter of 2013. Bank of America had endeavored to reduce outstanding debts as evidenced in 2011 when the company paid off 76 billion US dollars. (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Weaknesses

The company registered some decline in revenues, and this can hurt its prospects of growth (Marketing Mix, 2013). The decline in revenues started in 2009 and has steadily increased. For instance, Bank of America’s profits declined at a 12 % rate in 2011 to settle at around 94 million US dollars (Marketing Mix, 2013).

The company suffered two consecutive losses in 2008 and 2009 before recording a positive gain in 2011. Such declines in profit decrease investor confidence and lead to decreased corporate value in the stock exchange market. Ultimately, growth remains stunted and results in massive layoffs and negative corporate image (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Bank of America failure to control operating expenses is one of its major weaknesses. The bank has a high-efficiency ratio resulting from increased remunerations, staff benefits, net occupancy, assets expenses, and expensive professional fees. As such, it becomes hard for the company to expand marginally (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Opportunities

There is steady growth in the banking industry in the United States of America. An 11.3 percent growth margin in 2010 and a forecast 33.3 increase by 2015 is a good indicator in the banking sector. With its wide presence and wide client base in America, the bank can harness such an opportunity to grow its books too (Marketing Mix, 2013).

We will write a custom Research Paper on Financial Issues: Bank of America specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Growth in mobile banking platform is another opportunity for Bank of America. The number of mobile banking clients may go up to 530 million in 2013 up from 300 million users in 2011 (Marketing Mix, 2013). Bank of America has several mobile-based products and applications that can lead to more customers due to the convenience afforded by mobile banking platform (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Bank of America has several innovative products and services such as Trade Pro, which enhances commerce for major corporate customers. Also, the company has a large network of deposit-taking automated teller machines that allow the customer to deposit huge deposits even outside banking hours (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Threats

Regulatory alterations mean more expenses for the company. Also, weak global financial growth and huge systematic risk in the US banking industry spell doom for prospects in Bank of America (Marketing Mix, 2013).

Company’s Strategic Objectives Bank of America targets three major segments. The bank aims to be a service provider of choice, employer of choice, and an investment of choice (Farfan, 2013). In other words, the bank aims at netting a wide client base, qualified employees, and stable investors. To achieve this, the bank adopted kanri. Kanri is a Japanese management procedure and involves the use of scorecards in a definite period (Bank of America, 2013).

Also, the company uses a six-sigma method to identify prerequisites for achieving objectives (Farfan, 2013). Concerning risk management, Bank of America utilizes a combined business planning procedure to manage risk. This involves setting the direction of the company by designing a plan for the company, which cascades to the smallest unit in the company (Bank of America, 2013). The company further performs self-assessment on a periodical basis.

The company has viable corporate objective strategies, which are simple and easy to achieve. With its reach and financial base, the company can easily achieve its objectives (Bank of America, 2013).

References Bank of America. (2013). 2013 Code of Ethics Disclosure. Web.

Bank of America. (2013). Strategic Risk Management. Web.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Financial Issues: Bank of America by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Farfan, B. (2013). Bank of America Mission Statement – Banking Services for Specific Niche Markets. Web.

Marketing Mix. (2013). SWOT analysis of Bank of America Corporation. Web.

Reuters. (2013). Bank of America Corp (BAC.N). Web.

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Multinational Corporations, Globalization and State Sovereignty Report essay help: essay help

Today, more than ever before, scholars and mainstream commentators are in agreement that a substantial component of the globalization effect is the erosion of the power of the nation state, as international actors such as multinational corporations continue to weaken and incapacitate the state from fulfilling its traditional mandate for the common good of its citizenry (Okogbule, 2008).

This short paper aims to illuminate the negative effects of big corporations and globalization on a country’s political and economic sovereignty.

It is common knowledge that countries in developed and emerging economies are increasingly becoming dependent on multinational corporations to integrate their economies in a globalized world (Kapfer, 2006). In many instances, the bait for establishing the dependency relationship comes in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI) and its capacity to stimulate and sustain economic development of these countries.

By abdicating their roles in the international arena to non-state actors such as multinational corporations, countries soon realize that they are no longer the central actors in international relations, resulting in substantial erosion of political and economic sovereignty.

The multinational corporation Coca Cola, for instance, often uses its international relations shrewdness and globalized networks to dictate to developing countries how to implement tax regimes or whom to elect into a political office.

Multinational corporations are often used by the home government to interfere in the affairs of the host government for political or economic gains (Smith, 2004). Many host governments in Africa, for instance, receive focused challenges to their sovereignty from Western Countries that use multinational enterprises to press for regime changes or accommodation of more ‘democratic space.’

International newspapers have reported how multinationals such as British American Tobacco (BAT) and Barclays Plc were forced by their respective home governments to close business in Zimbabwe in a focused attempt to force the perceived ‘dictatorial’ regime of President Robert Mugabe to embrace ‘democratic’ principles.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More To date, economic globalization still remains the major bottleneck to the sovereignty and power of states owing to the fact that many multinational corporations have succeeded in moving both capital and means of production further away from state control into private ownership (Lowi, 2011).

As a matter of fact, many governments in Africa and other underdeveloped countries around the world are no longer capable of controlling the economic situation within their own borders due to the effects of economic globalization. In essence, countries are being driven by market trends governed by multinational corporations without due regard to political or economic sovereignty of these countries.

The 2008 financial crisis, which had its epicenter in the United States, demonstrated how economic globalization can affect state sovereignty in countries thousands of miles away from America.

Nations lose their sovereignty when their cultures are infiltrated by foreign ideologies, beliefs and value systems (Kapfer, 2006). Multinational corporations, with the assistance of globalization forces, have been able to infiltrate cultures, values and belief systems of many third world countries, resulting in far-reaching negative ramifications for people as well as national institutions.

The multinational corporation McDonalds has hit news headlines on numerous occasions for spreading American culture, economic imperialism and hegemony around the world (Smith, 2004). Today, many children in Africa and Asia are living with lifestyle diseases courtesy of the economic and cultural imperialism fronted by a concept labeled as “McDonaldisation.”

It is unsettling to note that multinational pharmaceutical corporations such as Roche and Boots are then charged with the responsibility of supplying drugs to cure the lifestyle diseases, resulting in near total erosion of state sovereignty.

There are many other instances that could be used to demonstrate the negative effects of multinational corporations and globalization on the sovereign will of a nation. However, within the context of a nation’s political and economic sovereignty, it can be safely concluded that multinational corporations and globalization effects have done more harm than good, especially in developing countries.

We will write a custom Report on Multinational Corporations, Globalization and State Sovereignty specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More References Kapfer, S. (2006). Multinational corporations and the erosion of state sovereignty. Web.

Lowi, T. J. (2011). Globalization, war and withering away of the state. Brown Journal of World Affairs, 17(2), 243-256.

Okogbule, N. S. (2008). Globalization, economic sovereignty and African Development: From Principles to Realities. Journal of Third World Studies, 25(1), 213-231.

Smith, R. E. (2004). Private power and national sovereignty: Some comments on Multinational Corporation. Journal of Economic Issues, 58(2), 417-447.

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Social Psychology Concepts Research Paper college essay help online

Table of Contents Social Psychology

How Social Psychology Differs from Other Disciplines

The role of Research in social psychology

Reference List

Social Psychology Social psychology is one of the primary subdivisions of psychology that tries to understand human behavior, through uncovering the effect of the social and cognitive process on human actions.

That is, through the application of scientific research insights, it tries to understand how different individuals think, perceive their immediate environments, and react to varying occurrences in their lives.

Unlike other branches of psychology that use global theories, for example, the personality theory to understand human behavior, social psychology uses a wide range of social and cognitive methods to comprehend human actions.

The most common theories that social psychologists use include the attribution theory, cognitive dissonance, elaboration likelihood model, observational learning, and self-perception (Pinkney, 2010, p.1).

Therefore, the primary goal of social psychologists is to analyze people’s thoughts, beliefs, and actions, by analyzing interpersonal relationships and interactions between individuals and effects of cultural factors, for example, the media, on people’s behaviors.

How Social Psychology Differs from Other Disciplines Although there are numerous similarities between social psychology and other branches of psychology, one primary concept that makes social psychology a distinct discipline is its focus on understanding the main “social” elements, which shape human behavior.

One feature that makes social psychology a unique subject is its principle of correlating different concepts from different disciplines, done through research and analysis, in an endeavor to understand human behavior.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Human beings have a tendency to learning from each other; whereby, depending on the level of reinforcement or punishment, individuals can either copy or avoid certain behaviors.

Therefore, to understand such ideas, it is the function of social psychologists to conduct empirical studies on effects of the different social and cognitive process on human actions; hence making social psychology a unique discipline, because of its distinctive methodical approach.

For example, unlike folk wisdom whose primary sources of facts are anecdotal observations and prejudiced interpretations, social psychology is an empirical-based discipline, whose main source of insights are scientific researches.

There is also a difference between social psychology and personality psychology, in that, unlike personality psychology that centers on single traits, characteristics, and views, social psychology focuses on the effects of occurrences in people’s immediate environments on their behaviors (Istudi, 2010, pp. 1-3).

Another discipline that most individuals confuse with social psychology is sociology. Although these two disciplines share some common concepts, as far as the understanding of human behavior is concerned, the degree of inquiry varies.

Sociology approaches the idea of human behavior from a broad perspective, because of the tendency of sociologists to focus on social institutions and different cultural practices that shape social psychology.

Contrary to this, social psychologists tend to focus their inquiry on situational variables, which shape social behavior; hence, the difference in approach of this two disciplines to the concept of human behavior (Thoits, 1995, pp. 1232-1240).

We will write a custom Research Paper on Social Psychology Concepts specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, there is also a difference between social psychology and organizational psychology, whose primary concern is to understand human behavior within an in the certain working environment, social psychology focuses on non-specific situations.

The role of Research in social psychology Due to the diverse nature of human actions, for social psychologists to understand human behavior fully, they must combine knowledge from different studies, fields, and disciplines.

Also, because of the varying nature of people’s behavior in different environments, it is a necessity for social psychologists to apply the numerous principles of social psychology, as it is the only way of uncovering fully human behavior.

This makes social psychology a research-based discipline, whose main objective is to understand the effects of social and cognitive processes on human behavior.

Research is very important in social psychology because it offers social psychologists a chance of understanding fully both individual and group behaviors (Allport, 1985, pp. 9-18).

Also, because social factors are primary causes of most deviant behaviors, research offers social psychologists a chance of using concepts from other disciplines, for example, theology, economics, literature, and economics to uncover the realities behind human behavior.

Through research and analysis, social psychologists can discover appropriate ways of shaping behavior, by altering certain social factors.

Such is the case primarily because; research involves the designing of different studies, finding correlations between different influences of social factors on human behavior, and formulation of viable solutions to any related social problem.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Social Psychology Concepts by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Primary areas of research in social psychology include social cognition (primarily on how the brain process, apply, and store information) discrimination, violence, Pro-social behavior, and interpersonal relationships.

Also, to understand how different factors influence human behavior, one must conduct empirical studies to understand the degree of influence of various factors on human behavior, because of the tendency of most elements to share environmental impacts.

Social psychologists cannot achieve this without research studies. Therefore, research is of considerable significance in this discipline, because of the diverse nature of social influences on human behavior (Allport, 1985, pp. 3-25).

In conclusion, social psychology is a unique subdivision of psychology, because of its tendency to analyze different sociological factors, in an endeavor to understand human actions.

Unlike most disciplines that study human behavior, which focus on single causes and effects of specific factors that influence human behavior, social psychology combines knowledge from different areas of knowledge, which are related to human behavior.

To achieve this, social psychologists must use empirical studies on various factors that cause human behavior; hence, the significance of research in social psychology.

Reference List Allport, G. W. (1985). The historical background of social psychology. Handbook of Social Psychology, 1, (3), 1-29.

IStudi. Social psychology. Web.

Pinkney, W. Theories and methods for analyzing the interactions between selves and societies. Web.

Thoits, P. A. (1995). Social psychology; the interplay between sociology and Psychology. Social Forces, 73, 1231-1243.

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The Great Lakes Company Report college admission essay help

Perform an analysis of the social/Demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental/Geographic, and Political/Legal/Governmental segments to understand the general environment facing Great Lakes.

Describe how Great Lakes will be affected by each of these external factors

There were alarming statistics about leaded gasoline. It was said to have a lot of effects on people and society as a whole. This is as far as their health is concerned. For instance, it caused blood pressure and other health risks to adults and on the other hand, affected their body systems.

Children were also greatly affected. This can be explained from the fact that they absorb large amounts of ingested lead in their bodies. Also, children in developing countries ended up having low intelligence.

In other countries like Egypt, it caused a lot of heart attacks and in extreme cases premature deaths. As a result of this, there was a lot of international attention and pressure. Many experts started advocating for lead to be phased and in the process reduce lead poisoning.

On the other hand, it was also meant to reduce human exposure to lead. This will force the company to devise better ways of involving all stakeholders to come up with a long term solution. On the other hand, the company will continually be blamed for any health complications.

Technologically, many cars in developing countries are still using leaded gasoline. This means that they have not embraced technology well to come up with better ways of eliminating lead as an additive. As much as this is being advocated for, the demand for leaded gasoline is still high.

Also, Great Lakes did not anticipate that it will have to deal with this issue in any way because of such complexities. This can be explained from the fact that other developing countries don’t have refineries to produce unleaded gas. On the other hand, most cars don’t have catalytic converters.

Leaded gasoline has been said to have a lot of environmental effects. For instance, it has adverse effects on the quality of air. It is extremely harmful. Lead particles are inhaled in air and absorbed by the soil. As a result, environmental groups have been putting pressure on the company to stop selling leaded gasoline.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Most of these environmentalists have been arguing that the company should ban TEL by 2010. This seems to be unrealistic because developing countries can’t refine unleaded gas.

On the other hand, it has forced the company to commit itself to a lot of environmental responsibilities. There is a suggestion that the company should use profits from Octel to transit away from TEL.

The company admits that although lead additive is its greatest money maker, it is still harmful to the environment. This has forced Great Lakes to agree that the eventual elimination of leaded gas line is necessary.

Should the company stop the production of leaded gasoline, many countries will be affected. This is because most of them have not made a transition from the use of leaded gasoline to unleaded gasoline. Most governments lack regulation on the way forward as far as leaded gasoline is concerned.

This can be explained from the fact that many developing nations have not been able to eliminate lead as an additive. Any positive developments in the elimination of lead as an additive have been overshadowed by lead problems in most developing nations.

This has put the company in a tricky position as they are not certain on the way forward. Demand for leaded gasoline is still high, and the company can not just discontinue production without a clear path to follow.

Analyze the lead additives industry in the US using the five forces of competition model.

Describe the impact of each of the five forces on the industry and based on this analysis, determine if the industry is attractive or unattractive

The external environment is very tricky and unpredictable in that case. This is because the lead additives industry is being blamed for many environmental problems. Environmentalists want it banned by 2010.

We will write a custom Report on The Great Lakes Company specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The industry environment, on the other hand, is very flexible as many companies are reinventing themselves to produce less harmful products.

There is no competition in the industry as most of them have switched to other products. This industry is attractive because there is a lot of demand from developing countries (Hitt et al., 2010, 8).

This industry is attractive based on good returns that Great Lakes’ has continued to get. It will continue being attractive because of the high demand for lead additives from developing countries.

These nations don’t have the necessary refineries to refine leaded gasoline. This is a very lucrative industry in the short run as later on people will move to unleaded gasoline.

For a company to survive in this industry, it needs a good strategy. This means that more attention should be paid on environmental issues and in the long run transit to unleaded gasoline as technology is moving in that direction.

The lead additives industry has the necessary assets and skills to transit and engages in more environmentally conscious activities. For instance, it is argued that it will be less costly for Great Lakes to transit from producing leaded additives.

The industry has the necessary resources to attract the best skills that will help it to come up with the best way forward.

Strategy implementation will not be a problem because there is a general good will to help the industry move forward (Hitt et al., 2010, 13). This means that all stakeholders will have to be involved in proper strategy implementation.

Not sure if you can write a paper on The Great Lakes Company by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On the other hand, governments are committed to ensuring that they enhance the use of unleaded gasoline.

As long as developing countries don’t find a better solution to enhance their refineries, the lead additives industry will still register high returns. This is because most vehicles in those countries are still using leaded gasoline.

Describe who Great Lakes’ immediate, impeding and invisible competitors are and how Great Lakes measures up against these competitors

Ethyl Corporation (which bought Dow chemical) is Great Lakes immediate competitor. In the early stages, the company was able to maintain its top presence in the business.

Great Lakes’ has continued to develop and produce a variety of specialty products for the market. The National lead company is also another competitor.

Although there is a lot of demand for leaded gasoline in developing countries, the company does not have any impending and invisible competitors. This is because its major competitors are no longer involved in the production of tetraethyl lead (TEL).

Tetraethyl lead is the additive for gasoline. The company has continued to flourish in all scenarios thereby controlling 90% of the market. This market has not attracted a lot of competitors because of numerous environmental issues.

Such trends are expected to continue because of large capital costs. This is in terms of building new plants and a lot of unsavory publicity.

The company faces competition from other chemical producers. To remain more competitive, it has continued to develop and produce a variety of chemicals for sustainability.

Describe the main capabilities of Great Lakes

The company can continue supplying lead additives to other developing countries. This is for the foreseeable future as demand is expected to remain high.

Also, competition is expected to be minimal. On the other hand, the company has the capabilities to increase its profits in the long run. This is because developing countries will only switch to unleaded gasoline when it’s economically feasible for them to do so.

Great Lakes’ is still in a better position to ensure that it adheres to good environmental practices. This is because environmental concerns have continued to be raised against the company thereby affecting its operations in a broad way.

A lot of responsibilities have been put on the company to bring about these environmental changes.

The company can still get out of lead additives production and rescue its reputation. In this case, it will be able to take a big financial hit.

On the other hand, the company can phase out its participation in the market place. This can be done with a five-year deadline. Also, it is also in a good position to push developing countries to switch to unleaded gasoline.

Reference List Hitt, M., Ireland, D.,

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President Clinton’s Impeachment Research Paper college admissions essay help: college admissions essay help

Introduction Andrew Johnson enjoyed a dubious honor as the first sitting President of the United States to face an impeachment trial at the hands of his government in 1868. Over a hundred and thirty years later William Jefferson Clinton, better known as Bill Clinton, became the second.

Sexual morality or lack thereof, underpinned the allegations levied against the President according to his accusers (Miller 226). However, considerable speculation in 1998 suggested that Clinton’s impeachment represented a “partisan witch hunt” in much the same way as Johnson’s (Miller 226).

A feeling lingered amongst observers at the time that Clinton’s political rivals inflated proof of Clinton’s “immorality” and applied incendiary terms to his behavior such as “deceit,” “sexual scandal,” and “obstruction of justice” in an attempt to characterize the events as flagrant presidential depravity, sufficient enough to warrant his removal from office.

Members of the Clinton camp classified the event simply and tersely as a conscious and determined political action, an endeavor to remove Clinton from the presidency with the help of scandal since they could not defeat him politically.

This essay analyzes the impeachment of President Bill Clinton from its inception to its conclusion, with emphasis on the political machinations that surrounded the trial and its outcome.

The focus will be on how and why the “Teflon President” not only survived the impeachment but how the trial buoyed his political rating once it concluded (Miller 226).

This paper asserts that Clinton’s impeachment trial relates to a much deeper schism in the collective American psyche: the partisan view of sexuality and monogamy. The Republicans at the time banked on acquiring enough public moral indignation to eject Clinton from office.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More However, the fact that the majority of Americans believed that the behavior of the president was, by all means, bad, but it was rather private and did not influence his political competence, so it could not be enough for impeachment thwarted their efforts (Pinkele 422).

The impeachment engendered the surprising revelation that approval ratings, in this case, linked less to moral and ethical considerations and more to job performance, a hale economy and the general affability, popularity and magnetism of Clinton himself, popularity that effectively undermined the evidence, and which remains to this day (Silva et al. 468).

This paper also speculates upon the impact on American history of the impeachment trial that resulted in Clinton’s removal from office as opposed to his acquittal.

The trial over the president Investigation and charges

The events that led to the investigation of Clinton began when Clinton was still the governor of Arkansas. On January 21, 1998, Kenneth Starr officially launched an investigation of President Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice (Moran 1).

Starr and the Counsel’s decision to investigate originated in the legal case of Paula Jones, who once worked for Clinton, and who had accused him of harassing her sexually while he was still the Governor of Arkansas (Moran 1).

In late 1997 Paula Jones’s lawyers subpoenaed former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, on the basis of information garnered from government employee Linda Tripp, alleging that Lewinsky and Clinton were engaged in an extramarital affair during his tenure at the White House, and that Lewinsky had asked Tripp to deny that fact under oath (Moran 1).

President Clinton refuted the allegations that he and Lewinsky had been intimate in a deposition. However, President Clinton’s behavior did not support this denial.

We will write a custom Research Paper on President Clinton’s Impeachment specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Even though Lewinsky also denied both the affair and the obstruction of justice charge in an affidavit, Clinton’s efforts to secure Lewinsky a job and her confiding in Linda Tripp legitimated an investigation by Starr and the independent counsel (Moran 1).

The reaction of supporters and opponents

Clinton, for the most part, took issue with the fact that his private life had generated a “partisan-impregnated impeachment episode,” and refuted the allegations for some time (Pinkele 422). On principle, Clinton argued, what he did with his own time was his own business.

The reactions from Democratic senators at the time varied; many agreed with Clinton, in theory. However, in practice Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat characterized Clinton’s behavior as a “graver sense of loss for our country and its moral foundations” (Baker 60).

Clinton drew fire from some of his closest Senators at the time, the understanding being that Clinton’s Achilles heel – women – had given his opponents the weapon they sought to finally oust him. Clinton’s poor political judgment would cost them the next election.

Though Bill Clinton certainly did not represent the first philandering man in public office, he did possess the mantel of President, and this made his personal life public.

Admittedly, at the end of the twentieth century, the president could not have his private life since his life automatically became public when he embraced the high post (Baker 60).

Clinton’s indiscretions offended a paternal understanding of the presidency; in fact, many observers of the office characterize the President as “national role model” who exemplifies the country’s people (Stuckey and Wabshall 518).

The senators who supported Clinton argued that his sex life did not warrant reflection or investigation since it was not related to his job.

Not sure if you can write a paper on President Clinton’s Impeachment by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The President’s followers contended that this element of the presidential character did not represent an opposite or relevant measure of presidential operation (Stuckey and Wabshall 519).

Senators and the voters that they represented didn’t pay attention to President Clinton’s sex life, but they did care about the well-being of the entire country and every American (Stuckey and Wabshall 519).

For these elected officials, who spoke for the majority of the public at the time, Clinton extramarital relationships did not affect his professionalism and they also claimed that the president did his job and tried to make his country flourish.

Senators who personally may have objected to Clinton’s reckless personal risks, politically speaking, did not regard it as “impeachable” (Stuckey and Wabshall 519).

The outcome of the trial

When President Clinton stood trial in the Senate under impeachment, the historical weight of this moment was not lost on its participants.

Clinton’s impeachment trial represented only the second occurrence in U.S. history that a sitting president faced impeachment under the House of Representatives and brooked a trial under the scrutiny of the Senate, accused of perjury and obstruction of justice (Miller 226).

The impeachment trial lasted for 37 days and ended with a 55 to 45 votes rejecting the perjury charges, and a 50 to 50 rejection in the matter of obstruction of justice (Miller 226).

To be removed from office, Clinton would have had to receive a two-thirds majority vote against him, or 67 votes (Miller 226).

Once the vote was cast and Clinton had been acquitted, he not only survived such a serious scandal but defeated his opponents. During the aftermath of the impeachment trial, Clinton’s approval ratings jumped to “an amazing” 73% (Miller 226).

The American people essentially decided this case, and this fact bears scrutiny. How did Clinton survive the impeachment? What were the key factors that allowed him to dodge a potential political decapitation?

Silva et al. point to one potential reason for Clinton’s buoyancy during the impeachment debacle: lack of public support for Starr (474). Americans, on the whole, approved Bill Clinton’s work in an office, and opponents did not have the opportunity to remove him from the presidency.

Clinton’s work was not that perfect, but it was very good, and the nation was satisfied with the president’s ability to conduct his duties. Thus, the opponents had to seek for some other way to remove Clinton.

For instance, Clinton’s primary investigator, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, tried to create a negative image of the president “taking his garbage to the curb outside his house” (Silva et al. 474).

Of course, the image was unpleasant, and many people got disappointed with the morality of their president. However, Clinton’s image of a talented politician and very good president was not obscured by the dirt of sexual scandal.

Moreover, the White House happily manipulated this fortuitous turn of events since it permitted them to extrapolate the impression of Bill Clinton as suitably presidential, and Starr was depicted as “politically motivated” person who was able to do everything to get promotion, namely an appointment to the Supreme Court appointment (Silva et al. 474).

Starr’s bungling of his media image, and subsequent low public opinion, opened the doors for the superior Clinton “image machine” which portrayed Starr as biased investigator who created a network of “partisans” who tried to dig out something which could be used against the president in any way (Silva et al. 474).

This image painted Starr negatively and added fodder to Hilary Clinton’s assertion that he was the lynchpin in a “vast right-wing conspiracy” (Silva et al. 474).

A possible outcome of Clinton’s removal from office What would have happened if this moment had turned out differently? What would have been the result had Clinton been removed from office and not acquitted? The Republicans would have tasted victory.

However, the impeachment process itself would have created a different environment in public office, specifically in regards to the office of the presidency, and given that office new responsibilities – as the purveyor of moral fortitude.

Had Clinton been impeached, a clear message would have been sent: the President’s role is simply not to govern but to stand for the moral character of the nation he governs, and as such, he or she is subjected to constant unmitigated scrutiny and interpretation of moral behavior for the political ends or his or her opponents.

However, had Clinton been impeached, that would have indicated a deeper more disturbing revelation: namely, that sexual morality and monogamy define the moral character of a president.

The other important result of the impeachment trial, had it been successful, would have been to declare open season on partisan politics.

Had Clinton been impeached for receiving fellatio from a woman that he was not married to, it would have indicated that any partisan attempt to overthrow the opposition could use any means at their disposal and that the private behavior of presidents was fair game in the war to acquire political power in the United States.

This would have opened the door for Democrats and Republicans alike to attack each other’s private lives, and depending on the perception of moral, successfully achieve power through salacious means.

Should a President prove to be a closeted homosexual, or enjoy bondage, or dress up in women’s underwear, or collect pornography, or any of the other myriad expressions of sexuality that humans indulge in, he or she was politically cooked.

Reputedly, the president is a kind of personification of the entire nation and, thus, presidents’ action is often taken symbolically (Stuckey and Wabshall 517). Likewise, the presidents’ actions can become an instrument of political struggle.

Conclusion In conclusion, the impeachment trial of President Clinton in 1998 speaks to the riven collective American psyche in the arena of sexuality and monogamy. The partisan view at the time trusted public moral indignation to eject Clinton from office.

The Republican faction gambled that Clinton’s private indiscretions would become his downfall, without taking into account the impact of Clinton’s approval ratings, not to mention a healthy economy, coupled with the popularity and charisma of Clinton himself.

Apart from this, the opponents of the president chose the wrong way to remove him from office since the scandal is very peculiar. If Clinton were removed from office because of his private life, it would lead to partisan war in the political arena of the United States.

Thus, the impeachment process was simply a poor attempt to remove Clinton from the office which was to fail due to many reasons.

Works Cited Baker, Peter. The Breach: Inside the Impeachment and Trial of William Jefferson Clinton. New York: Scribner, 2000.

Miller, John J. “Argument Efficacy: Evaluating the public Argument of President Bill Clinton’s Impeachment Crisis.” Argumentation and Advocacy 40.4 (2004): 226-247.

Moran, Beverly I. Aftermath: The Clinton Impeachment and the Presidency in the Age of Political Spectacle. New York: New York University Press, 2001. Print.

Pinkele, Carl F. “An Affair of State: The Investigation, Impeachment, and Trial of President Clinton.” The Historian 63.2 (2001): 422-424.

Silva, Carol L., Hank C. Jenkins-Smith, and Richard Waterman. “Why Did Clinton Survive the Impeachment Crisis? A Test of Three Explanations.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 37.3 (2007): 468-486.

Stuckey, Mary E., and Shannon Wabshall. “Sex, Lies, and Presidential Leadership: Interpretations of the Office.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 30.3 (2000): 514-534.

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Risk Assessment and Safety Planning Research Paper college essay help near me

Introduction Risk refers to the probability of harm befalling on an individual. Risk assessment refers to the identification of things or situations that can cause harm to individuals or structures to employ suitable preventive measures and precautions (Health and Safety Executive).

This is because everyone has a right to protection from all possible dangers. Incidences at workplace or home can lead to loss of lives, destruction of tangible assets, increase insurance expenses, and in the end, lead to a financial loss where businesses are concerned. Risk assessment consists of five steps (Health and Safety Executive).

The first step involves identifying hazards. A hazard refers to anything that can cause injury and includes such things as chemicals, cabinets, electricity, and so on. Identifying hazards involves walking around a workstation to see what can cause harm, inquiring from staff members, contacting trade organizations, and checking instructions from manufacturers.

The second step involves coming up with a list of those people who are at risk of hazards identified in step one. Such a list would consist of staff members, members of public as well as suppliers (Health and Safety Executive).

The thirds step, evaluation of risks, involves looking at the origin and nature of risks and how to eliminate or control such risks. The fourth step involves documenting and executing findings from previous steps as well as sharing with all stakeholders (Health and Safety Executive).

Execution involves such things like labeling, erecting warning signs, and carrying out emergency drills. The last step involves a constant review of the whole process to assess progress or lack of progress to take necessary steps. Safety planning involves coming up with a method of avoiding risky situations or things (Health and Safety Executive).

Generally, there are various areas considered risky both at home, school, and in workstations. These places include entrances and exits, windows, floors, walls, ceilings, furniture, cribs, storage units, bathrooms, and toys. Rungs and entrance slopes should have strong handrails with proper levels for all people to use. Doors should be unlocked to ease access to and from the building. Also, hallways should be lit properly and be clear of any obstacles to make it easy to get to an exit door in case of emergency (Hendricks).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More It is tempting to look outside through the windows, especially in floors beyond the ground. Several cases of people falling several floors down are common, and the causes range from accident to premeditated occurrences like suicide. As such, it is advisable to design barriers on windows to prevent such incidences. Grills are quite suitable as barriers through the use of limited window opening also assists in preventing people from falling through windows. Also, it is advisable to clear any cords that may cause strangulation (Hendricks).

Depending on the type and texture of a floor, it is important to ensure that floors are free from any objects that may lead to incidences like tripping over. Where floors are slippery, those in charge should erect visible warning signs so that users apply necessary precautions (Hendricks).

In case carpets are in use on some floors, those concerned should ensure that all edges are flat to avoid obstructions. Those responsible should maintain tiled floors to make sure that replacement or fixing of tiles takes place promptly. Lastly, floors should be free of any protruding objects like nails (Hendricks).

Constant maintenance of walls is inevitable. Such items like electrical exits, wall coverings, notice boards, and any wall hanging need be inspected. Those in charge should cover every electrical exit and especially that which is not in use to avoid incidences of electrical shock. Wall hangings should be light in weight while notice boards should be firmly fastened to walls. Those charged with operating notice boards should ensure that materials used for sticking notices are harmless (Hendricks).

Ceilings with removable tiles need constant checking to ensure that all tiles are safely in place. Also, it is important to check for leaks from the roofs because such leaks cause damage to ceilings and with time, tiles that make up a ceiling may fall on people using a particular house.

It is advisable to place smoke gadgets in the ceiling, and this calls for regular testing of such devices to ensure that they assist those in the house in case of urgency. Any item hanging from the ceiling should be quite light to avoid surging the ceiling board or loosening of tiles making up the ceiling (Hendricks).

Furniture with projecting screws is a health hazard, and caretakers should ensure that such projecting nails or screws are cleared. Also, it is advisable to have rounded furniture instead of sharp-edged furniture. It is important to secure shelves, chests, and drawers on the walls to prevent them from falling and causing harm to people around or in the house or workstation (Hendricks).

We will write a custom Research Paper on Risk Assessment and Safety Planning specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Works Cited Health and Safety Executive. Risk Assessment. Web.

Hendricks, Charllote. How Safe Is Your Classroom? Identifying Hazards Before Accidents Happen. Web.

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Data Collection of Major League Baseball Research Paper scholarship essay help: scholarship essay help

Data collection is a critical and sensitive aspect that requires some technical skills to allow for success in the process. It entails the practice of preparing and collecting information related to a certain point for different purposes, for instance, to carry out a specific project or to improve an already ongoing process.

Data collection is intended to get relevant information that is used in making decisions and conclusions regarding a specific topic of study (Sekaran, 2003). This piece of work looks at the aspect of data collection with much emphasis being given to the possible issues and biases from the sampling data provided in the Major League Baseball Data Set assignment.

From the Major League Baseball Data Set assignment, I will look at some data collection elements, for instance, the population from which the sample was obtained, the appropriateness of the sample size as well as the possible bias or error that could occur when sampling in terms of validity and reliability.

Data collection ought to be very objective for there to be informative and relevant data. Objectivity is however undermined by the human nature of biases. Sampling is usually a good data collection method but only when used effectively. To achieve a high degree of objectiveness, the sample should be as representative of the total population as possible.

Regarding this particular assignment, it is evident that the researcher followed an appropriate method that is systematic and hence has a high probability of yielding relevant data that could help in the determination of the salary that should be earned by players in the Major League Baseball team (Burns, 2000).

The fact that the total population of the players in the Major League Baseball is relatively large made the researcher choose the sampling method to determine the salary that a player should earn. The population is appropriate because in getting what the players in Major League Baseball should earn as salary, it will help in the determination of an estimate of what a player in any team ought to make and the factors that determine the pay, for instance, the state’s involvement in the sport and the fans involved.

Regarding the sample size, it is evident that it is fully representative. According to current statistics, the Major League Baseball has a total of about 30 teams each with an approximate figure of 25 players. The total players, therefore, add up to 750 players. Taking a sample of 380 players is therefore representative enough since it approximately 50.7% of the total population (Rader, 2008).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More In as much as objectivity would be aimed at in the research, there still could be possible chances of biases or error in the event of sampling and analyzing the collected data to come up with a conclusion. For instance, in the process of result examination, there could be some personal biases in the determination of the data that should be considered to be irrelevant and trimmed, and that to be retained.

Some error could also occur in the comparison of information obtained from the different research variables. It is evident that the process of data collection should be handled with a lot of care since it determines the results or conclusion made regarding a certain issue.

Reference List Burns, R. B. (2000). Introduction to Research Methods. London: Sage.

Rader, G. B. (2008). Baseball: A History of America’s Game. 3rd ed. USA: University of Illinois Press.

Sekaran, U. (2003). Research Methods for Business: A Skill-Building Approach (4th ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley

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Power Plants Role in Escalating Global Warming Report college essay help online: college essay help online

Introduction The world has evolved unprecedentedly with each successive decade witnessing massive transformations including rapid industrial growth. Agricultural activities during the Agrarian Revolution had little impact on the climate as compares to the innovations of the modern world. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, human beings and their activities have resulted in massive gas emissions, including poisonous emissions.

Environmental reports and scientific studies on atmospheric gases have increasingly indicated that the levels of the harmful gas emissions are on a constant rise. The European Fourth Assessment Report concluded by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) extrapolates a 70% rise in global greenhouse and power plant emissions due to human activities from 1970 to 2004 (Pachauri,

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Melissa Virus and Its Effects on Computers Report college application essay help

Melissa virus affects Microsoft word and spreads as an attachment. If an unsuspecting recipient opens it the virus affects the computer storage. The virus disables the mail servers of a corporate. For example, Microsoft Corporation shut down all its incoming emails because of the Melissa virus. The virus also affected other companies for example Intel.

The virus spread through email around the US and caused the closure of email servers in government agencies (Mills, 2009). David L Smith, the man behind the virus was arrested. The computer programmer was found guilty of creating and distributing the virus to many computers in the world in 1999. He was detected by the IP address that was proven to be originating from New Jersey.

He was given a twenty-month jail sentence and a fine of $5000. The virus posed a security threat to government agencies because it interfered with the normal working through forced closure of email servers. The shutting down of the servers compromises the effectiveness of the agencies, and criminals could use such lapses to carry out acts that endanger the lives of the people.

In conclusion, cybercrime affects security, and governments must put concerted efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure citizens of security in the cyberspace. Moreover, people need to be educated on cyber attacks and how to avoid falling prey to cyber criminals and stay safe online. The capture of David is a good sign that the US government is serious about tackling cybercrime.

The war against cybercrime is a difficult one to win because new viruses keep coming up, but if the government and other stakeholders work together, they will not be caught off guard by new viruses. The government should devote its resources into the study and investigation of how criminals use the click fraud system because genuine advertisers lose their money by making them pay for automated advertisement clicks.

Such advertisers do not get human traffic to their sites hence cannot make sales. The attack of personal computers without the knowledge of the users is very dangerous because the virus steals personal information. The theft of identity can pose very serious risks to innocent people. Working hand in hand with other stakeholders in the cyberspace will help to apprehend criminals that pose security threats.

Moreover, the government will help to cushion genuine advertisers and online users from financial frauds. More importantly, through vigorous and constant checks on cyber crimes, the government will be able to stop any threats at the early stages and mitigate large damages before they occur.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The kinds of cyber attacks run by Chinese hackers organizations Unit 61398 are dangerous as they breach the privacy of the US government and corporations. The hackers can steal confidential information that they can use against corporations or governments. The hackers compromised the state security with the confidential information they lay their hands on making it a very worrying trend.

Stakeholders ought to work together to curb cyber attacks. However, the Chinese government denies any cyber attacks originating from its country. Hence, it is difficult to win the war over cybercrime because of the mistrust between nations; thus hackers will continue to have a field day hacking systems.

Different countries must put away their differences and fight the common enemy of cybercriminals because they make the world a dangerous place for all. The fight against cyber attacks must continue.

Reference List Mills, E. (2009). Melissa virus turns 10. Web.

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Wind Power Harnessing Research Paper cheap essay help: cheap essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

Impact of wind power on the environment

Importance of less usage of fossil fuel

Conclusion

Works Cited

Introduction Harnessing wind power is one of the sources of alternative energy that can reduce overreliance on fossil fuels. Since olden days, people have utilized wind energy as a source of power. The first documented machine that used wind energy was a sailboat (Brooks 34). Ships and sailboats offered humans an opportunity to explore new regions in search of new opportunities.

In addition, sailboats and ships were used for transport. They led to the construction of more harbors thus kick-starting development and civilization. Today, wind energy is used to power sailing dinghies, yachts, sailboats, and sailboards (Brooks 36). Wind energy is a renewable source of energy that is an alternative to fossil fuel use, which is necessary for the conservation of the environment.

Impact of wind power on the environment Wind power is a renewable source of energy that cannot be exhausted. As long as the sun shines, wind to produce power will always be available. Unlike fossil fuels that are projected to be exhausted soon, wind energy can never be exhausted. The main source of wind energy is wind, a natural resource that cannot be exhausted. Wind power does not have adverse effects on the environment because it does not cause pollution (Dennis 44).

On the other hand, the generation of wind power is cost-effective because the utilization of wind is free to anyone who wishes to utilize it. The wind is a natural resource that is open to utilization by anyone.

The wind is a good source of energy because no one can claim ownership, thus making wind power cheap and readily available. People should increase the generation of wind energy because, in today’s world, alternative energy sources are needed to reduce pollution and global warming (Dennis 46).

Generation of wind power uses wind turbines to produce power. Wind energy has two main benefits compared to fossil fuels. First, it provides energy that can be used to power engines and other equipment that need the power to run (Dennis 49). For example, wind power is used to power yachts, sailing boats, and sailing dinghies.

However, more research needs to be done to determine how wind power can be used to power big machines and transport vessels such as vehicles. Second, wind power creates energy for domestic consumption as well as industrial consumption (Brooks 41). Electricity derived from fossil fuels is both expensive and a source of pollution.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More One of the major causes of environmental pollution is emissions from manufacturing industries. Also, machines and equipment that consume fuel release gases that pollute the environment. Therefore, wind power should be encouraged and used as an alternative to fossil fuel as a source of power.

Importance of less usage of fossil fuel One benefit of using wind power is its positive impact on the environment. Clean renewable energy source helps control global warming and climate change. Wind power can help control global warming and climate change in two ways. First, wind energy does not produce emissions that pollute the environment (Natural Resources Defense Council par4). Therefore, it does not contribute to global warming or climate change.

Its negative effect on the environment is negligible. Second, wind power contributes towards expanding renewable energy, improving air quality by creating safer air, and providing affordable energy for the future (Natural Resources Defense Council par6). Gaseous emissions are one of the causes of air pollution that expose humans to risks of developing respiratory diseases.

Encouraging use of wind power helps create safer air thus reducing risks of exposing people to respiratory diseases (Brooks 47). Quantities of fossil fuels are projected to decline if the current consumption of fuel is not reduced. The current rate of fuel consumption is very high and contributing to speedy depletion of fossil fuels. Researchers estimate that in years to come, sources of fossil fuel will be depleted because of high consumption (Brooks 61).

Depletion of fossil fuels has necessitated exploration of alternative sources of energy to guarantee a sustainable future. As such, wind power is a viable alternative energy source. Therefore, wind power provides an opportunity for the world to develop wind energy as an alternative to fossil fuel energy in order to secure the future. It is imperative for nations to develop strategies and policies that support the utilization of wind power.

Conclusion Rising consumption of fossil fuels has necessitated the development of alternative sources of energy such as wind power and solar energy. Wind power is an alternative energy source that has several benefits. First, it does not emit gases that pollute the environment. One of the causes of global warming and climate change is gaseous emissions from industries and transport vessels.

Use of wind energy eradicates pollution of the environment, which consequently reduces global warming. Second, wind power provides energy used to power machines and electricity for domestic and industrial use.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Wind Power Harnessing specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Use of wind power should be encouraged because it reduces global warming and environmental pollution. Wind power is an alternative to fossil fuel use, which is necessary for the conservation of the environment through maintaining cleaner air.

Works Cited Brooks, Laura. Windmills. New York: Good Book, 2003. Print.

Dennis, Landt. Catch the Wind: A Book of Windmills and Windpower. New York: Four Winds Press, 1976. Print.

Natural Resources Defense Council: Wind energy, 2013. Web.

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The Fight Against Human Trafficking Research Paper college admission essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

Why the US should Provide Additional Funding

Objections and Refutations

Conclusion

Works Cited

Introduction Human trafficking has emerged to be one of the direst problems facing the global community today. The international community denounces this practice as “modern-day slavery and a crime against humanity.” The USAID organization warns that human trafficking victimizes millions of poor who are exploited for profit (par. 1).

Human trafficking constitutes a gross violation of the human rights of the individual as he/she is reduced to the status of a commodity to be used in any manner by the person who buys it. While there is no debate on the need to end trafficking in persons, there is a consensus on who should provide the major funding for anti-trafficking efforts. Over the last decade, the US has taken the lead in activity aimed at ending international human trafficking. These efforts have resulted in a reduction of human trafficking cases to some extent.

For this reason, activists of human trafficking causes are calling for additional funding. These calls have been met with opposition by some critics who argue that the US is already doing more than its fair share in the fight against global human trafficking. This paper will argue that the US should provide additional funding for human trafficking cause to increase the probability of these efforts succeeding.

The paper will demonstrate that while the current US contribution to the efforts is commendable, it is still below what is required to make a significant impact in the human trafficking scene.

Why the US should Provide Additional Funding Tackling the human trafficking issue will assist the US in its quest to deal with some of the crimes perpetrated by international organized crime syndicates in America. Siskin and Wyler reveal that many organized criminal groups take part in the lucrative business of human trafficking (6). Most of the organized crime groups that engage in human trafficking employ sophisticated means and have members from various countries.

These organizations use the illicit income obtained from human trafficking to engage in other crimes. Siskin and Wyler explain that other crimes associated with human trafficking operations include “fraud, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, bribery, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and migrant smuggling” (6). The US has been adversely affected by the activities of money laundering and drug trafficking by organized criminals.

These criminals have been able to accomplish their crimes due to the huge financial resources they have. Some of this money is obtained from human trafficking activities. A report by the FBI in 2006 estimated that organized crime generates $9.5 billion annually from human trafficking.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More If the US provides additional funding for anti-human trafficking programs, it will greatly impede on the profits obtained from this crime by cartels. Dealing with the multi-billion dollar human trafficking industry will be beneficial to the US since it will deny organized criminals off a major source of income.

Additional US funding if required to make a bigger impact on human trafficking. Human trafficking occurs at a very large scale, and a report by the US reveals, “roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year” (Siskin and Wyler 7). The criminal syndicates that engage in human trafficking are often sophisticated and well funded. Siskin and Wyler observe that human trafficking operations often involve the help of corrupt immigration and consular officials (6).

Fighting such a well-established network will require major financing. Many developing nations lack the finances and political will necessary to deal with this problem. The US will, therefore, have to increase its funding to counter the influence that the powerful human trafficking networks currently enjoy in most nations.

US leadership in tackling the human trafficking problem is integral to the success of such efforts. The US has established itself as the global leader in the political, economic, and military arena. US policies often have huge ramifications for the rest of the world. On the human tracking issue, the US has taken the lead in implementing anti-trafficking policies. In recognition of the exploitative nature of human trafficking, the US has developed some policies and laws to deal with the problem (USAID par.2).

The government has come up with mechanisms aimed at enhancing interagency coordination and international cooperation in the fight against human trafficking. Hepburn and Simon reveal that the efforts of the US government have helped reduce human trafficking, especially in the East Coast (17).

However, human trafficking is yet to be mitigated substantially. The greater success of the US-led efforts against human trafficking can only be assured if additional funding is provided to this task. Once positive results are attained, it can be expected that other nations will be willing to commit increased financing to their anti-human trafficking efforts.

Objections and Refutations Arguments have been made that the US is already doing more than all the other countries to tackle human trafficking. The financial contribution made by the US to address the issue has been substantial compared to the contribution made by other nations. This is in spite of the fact that human trafficking is not a uniquely US problem but rather a global problem. This argument is supported by the fact that human trafficking is a global problem that affects 161 nations around the world (Kaneti, 345).

We will write a custom Research Paper on The Fight Against Human Trafficking specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Other nations, therefore, need to make a more solid contribution to anti-trafficking efforts instead of expecting the US to increase its already substantial contribution. While it is true that the US makes a major financial contribution to anti-trafficking programs, the fact is that most of the other countries lack the financial resources that the US has. Human trafficking is most rampant in developing countries that do not have adequate finances to deal with basic concerns such as healthcare and education, let alone fighting human trafficking.

Opponents of increased US funding suggest that the US should not be obliged to use its resources to solve the problems of other nations. Such critics argue that the international community should be grateful for the effort that the US makes to solve problems that mostly affect third world countries. The reality is that human trafficking mostly takes place in developing countries where people have limited economic opportunities.

However, this activity causes problems to a developed nation such as the US. It is true that the US is the biggest single contributor to anti-human trafficking efforts in the world. However, it should be remembered that the US is also the choice destination for many of the trafficked individuals. Kaneti asserts that the US and parts of Western Europe are the choice destination countries for many human traffickers (352).

This fact is corroborated by Hepburn and Simon, who state that the US is one of the top 10 destinations for human trafficking with tens of thousands of people trafficked into the county each year. As such, human trafficking contributes to the problem of illegal immigrants that the US currently faces.

The preference of these destinations is that they provide socio-economic opportunities that the trafficked persons lack in their home country. It is therefore evident that while human trafficking is prevalent in developing nations, the US is directly affected by this activity. Additional funding will help mitigate this practice and therefore, reduce the problems that human trafficking causes to the US.

Conclusion Currently, the US has the most elaborate program and acts as the major financier of anti-trafficking efforts. This paper has argued that the US should increase its funding to anti-human trafficking efforts. It began by highlighting how rampant the problem of human trafficking has become in modern society. It then discussed how the US had taken a leadership role in combating this global problem. It noted that by increasing funding, the US would reduce the power of organized crime and mitigate human trafficking.

The paper has noted that the US will benefit from a successful anti-trafficking program since the country is a choice destination for many of the trafficked individuals. The paper has acknowledged that human trafficking is a global problem that requires the input of all the nations of the world.

However, the US will have to play a leadership role and set the standard for the other nations. By doing this, the degrading practice of human trafficking will be stopped, and people will be able to live a fulfilling life without having their human rights violated for profit.

Not sure if you can write a paper on The Fight Against Human Trafficking by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Works Cited Hepburn, Stephanie

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Major League Baseball’s Data Set Research Paper scholarship essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

Research goal and objective

Data collection

The statistics that were collected/considered

Method and research

References

Appendix

Introduction The main aim of the research project was to establish what sports statistics that best predict player’s salaries; to get the measurable parameters for the research, Major League Baseball was chosen as the sampling sport. However, the number of players involved could not allow data to be collected from each one of them; thus a sample population was chosen. This paper describes the research process undertaken to collect, analyze, interpolate and generalize the data.

Research goal and objective The research aimed at creating a model that can assist in predicting players in major basketball leagues salaries; with the model, policymakers, players, teams, and other stakeholders can easily predict how much a player is likely to earn from an engagement.

Data collection Data were collected from a total of 380 players in the income and parameters that were used to settle their dues in 2008; the information was gotten through official basketball website and questionnaires of coaches, players, and club chairmen.

The statistics that were collected/considered There were several variables that the research had; they are:

Batters Faced (BFP) Shut Outs (SHO)

Saves (SV) IPouts

League Intentional Walks (IBB)

Wild Pitches (WP) Hit By Pitched (HBP)

Balks (BK) Games Finished (GF)

Runs (R) Hits (H)

Earned Runs (ER) Homeruns (HR)

Complete Games (CG) Walks (BB)

Strikeouts (SO) ERA

Salary Throws

Wins (W) Losses (L)

Games (G) Team

The above variables were used to collect relevant data for the research and had different weights according to the role they played in determination of a player’s salary.

Method and research To complete the research, there were seven main steps that were undertaken; they are:

Choosing the research topic: out of the given number of issues, problems, or queries, the researchers settled on a single item that aimed at determining the main parameters that determine players’ salaries.

General overview: after choosing the topic, the research team decided to review the available information to ensure that the base of the problem was wide and comprehensive; at this stage, the researchers were concerned with known parameters that determine players’ salaries like the club a player is playing for.

Narrowing down: with the general information collected, the researchers had to come with specific topics and questions that should be answered by the research; although individual variable was addressing something different, in total they were to offer a concrete answer to the research question.

Determination of type and amount of information: with the specific research questions at hand, the next step was to choose the kind of information to collect as well as the source of the information.

Choosing the access tools: there are different methods of accessing data; the methods that were used for this research are library catalogs (for general information on the field), periodicals, internet, and questionnaires.

Result examination: with the data having been collected, it had to be sort and trimmed, this assisted in separating irrelevant data and retaining credible information. The step was a strong step in preparing for data analysis, interpolation, and the making of inferences.

Repeating and generalization: research process is a cycle (see the appendix). Thus there was a need to repeat the process once again to correct any mistake, make adjustments, and polish issues that might have been encountered (Burns, 2000).

References Burns, R. B. (2000). Introduction to Research Methods. London: Sage.

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Cuba’s Economy Report essay help: essay help

Development Levels of Cuba Despite having a strong health and education systems, Cuba is ranked among developing countries because Cuba has low purchasing power parity per capita. Although recently Cuba has diversified into other sectors like tourism, the country still depends on exporting primary products. The minimum human development index for a developing is 9.0 while that of Cuba is 8.7. Moreover, the country imports three-quarters of its food substances (Sullivan 74).

Contribution of Natural Factors and Human Capital in Cuba’s Development Cuba has high literacy levels; thus the country can get skilled labor force whenever required. However, this has not had much impact on the development of the country due to inefficiencies in the government.

It is important to note that the private sector is restricted in Cuba and the government plays a vital role in employment. Cuba has deposits of oil and other natural resources like nickel (Ulrich 80). However, it has not made good use of them, and only nickel is effectively exploited.

Effects of Environmental Externalities and Income Inequality Cuba depended on the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) for trade and subsidies. As a result, it was hit hard by the fall of the USSR. On the same note, Cuba’s sugar industry which was once the largest export of the country has declined because of various factors, including global price decline and natural disasters.

The disparity in income distribution is roughly low which has led to increased human development index (Solares 293). However, this is bound to change shortly due to the legalization of private sector investors who already pay more than the state.

Development Barriers A higher percentage of taxes to the government of Cuba comes from indirect and sales taxes. This is due to the shift from direct taxes to indirect taxes for political benefits by the government. This tax system places a heavier burden on low-income earners and the private sector.

This has highly discouraged private investments thus reducing the rate of economic development in the country. On the same note, this has made many people operate without being registered thus reducing the revenue of the government.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Technological advancements are very crucial for the development of any nation. Unfortunately, technological penetration has been low in Cuba. Access to the Internet is limited and monitored, therefore, limiting the number of people who can access information technology.

Transport and telecommunication sectors are also poor developed (Abrahams and Arturo 69). It is also important to note that access to electricity is also limited especially in rural areas. All these factors highly hinder development in the country.

The main exports of Cuba are agricultural products and nickel, which are exported as raw materials. Manufacturing and value addition have not been given priority. Primary products require a lot of input in terms of the number of hours to produce. Unfortunately, they have very low prices internationally.

This has made the country’s export earnings far much lower compared to imports. Consequently, the government has to fund its imports with resources from other sectors, thus reducing savings and investments.

Cuba has not been able to trade with the United States for a long time due to restrictions from the US. On the same note, Cuba exports raw products which are constantly ranked low, and receive low prices compared to industrial products from developed countries.

The inability to bargain for good sugar prices and other products has made the value of exports drop significantly (Abrahams and Arturo 84). This has negative impacts on the saving rates of the country.

Cuba is majorly a communist country where the government controls almost every means of production. Up to quite recently, no private investors were allowed in Cuba. This made the economy highly dependent on the public sector which is largely inefficient.

We will write a custom Report on Cuba’s Economy specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The laws against some western technology have highly hindered the development in various sectors. On the same note, the protectionist laws have discouraged foreign direct investment as well as private investors.

Development Assistance Received The government of Cuba receives aid from foreign countries to assist in development. In the year 2010, the foreign assistance amounted to $129 million about 0.23% of the gross domestic product (Sullivan 67).

This figure increases each year. Though Cuba had not been allowing enhancement of the credit sector, reforms were implemented in 2011 which sought to provide credit to enhance production. This has led to the development of micro-credit organizations especially to support farmers and private entrepreneurs.

Government Policy The government aims at reducing its dependency on imports and has thus initiated policies to expand its production sector. The government has partially allowed private as well as foreign direct investment. Moreover, the government provides credit to individuals to boost the ability of the country’s production. The US government has imposed sanctions on Cuba which inhibits foreign investment.

However, some countries still invest in Cuba, and the figure of foreign direct investment as of 2010 was $85.54 million (Abrahams and Arturo 147). Arguably, the mining industry especially nickel is among the major beneficiaries of foreign direct investment.

Possible Solution to Achieve High Development Protectionist laws have proved harmful. Government control is inefficient and just serves to distort the market. Consequently, Cuba needs to open up its economy to increase the role of the private sector. This will increase competition which leads to efficiency in production. On the same note, this will increase the average levels of income.

Works Cited Abrahams, Harlan, and Arturo Lopez-Levy. Raul Castro and the New Cuba: A Close-up View of Change. Jefferson: McFarland, 2011. Print.

Solares, Andres J. Cuba: The Disaster of Castro’s Revolution. Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation, 2010. Print.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Cuba’s Economy by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sullivan, Mark P. Cuba: U. S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances. Darby: DIANE Publishing, 2011. Print.

Urlich, Aron T. Focus on Cuba: Current Issues and Developments. New York: Nova Publishers, 2008. Print.

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Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong Report (Assessment) college admission essay help

Jade Snow Wong is an American writer and ceramic artist of Chinese origin. She was born in Chinatown of San Francisco, California. Jade Snow Wong’s family included seven members, five children, and two parents. Being a daughter of the Chinese immigrants that grew up in China, Jade Snow Wong got to experience the traditional style of up-bringing practiced by her father.

Even though Wong’s family lived in the United States, her parents did not adopt any western behaviors or beliefs. Instead they preferred to stick to the old traditions of their original society and culture that is known as one based on patriarchal relationships. Jade Snow Wong’s novel called “Fifth Chinese Daughter” was first published in 1945 and is an autobiographic work introducing the author’s life and obstacles she had to face on her way of becoming a renowned and recognized author.

The novel is written from a narrator; this way, Jade Snow Wong refers to herself in the third person. This could be the result of the difficulties the author experienced writing about her own life experiences and intimate details and expressing her deep feelings.

The novel follows the complicated relationships within Jade’s family where she, as the youngest child had to obey everyone else, besides, as a female she was to blindly respect the authorities of the male members of the family – her father and her older brother. This brings the reader to a multi-dimensional theme of the social and gender role of females and the Chinese culture and society and the ways they are viewed and treated by males.

In a traditionally patriarchal society, men are always in charge of all decisions, while women are put into a submissive and weak position and disciplined strictly. Jade Snow Wong’s family was not an exception. Jade grew up having a very strong father figure in her life. Her father’s authority was out of the question in every single matter; this way, the strength of his influences and his unlimited control over different aspects of Jade’s life overpowered all other impacts.

As a result, through the course of her life, Jade Snow Wong was under the constant pressure to please her father and gain his recognition for everything she did. This mission was complicated by the fact that her parent was traditionally demanding and hard to impress; he was also convinced that giving praise to Jade for her achievements was needless. At the same time, he willingly took credit for all the success his youngest daughter gained over time.

The strict and demanding attitude of her father made Jade constantly seek for his approval. The novel shows how in her very young age, the girl respected the authority of her father referring to him as “the great Father.” In the perspective of the modern views on the relationships between men and women Jade’s father’s attitude towards his daughter and the other women of his family could be called highly sexist.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Such an attitude was culturally based on the belief that women cannot continue the family name, but only bury it within some other family’s name. As a result, females could not be considered as worthy members of the family, and they were treated respectfully, as the disposable workers and useless consumers of resources.

Being a young and inexperienced child, Jade truly believed that her father was a fair man; for years she was under the impression that this state of things and attitude is the only right one. Growing up in the Chinese family, she believed that being oppressed by her father and all the time focusing all of her efforts to impress “the great Father” was a norm for all families. After attending school and witnessing cultural diversity in the United States with all its multiple features and habits, Jade was surprised.

The behaviors of her classmates did not seem common to her. This revelation became one of Jade’s first encounters with the cultures of the West. Spending more time at school than at her surrounded by her family members, Jade started to adopt some of the behaviors and points of view not typical for the patriarchal culture of her upbringing enforced by her father. This leads to the first disappointments. Jade’s perspective on her father’s judgment shifts radically under the Western influences of her peers at school.

She stops seeing her father as a fair and reasonable man; instead, she finally realizes that she is being oppressed. This changes her relationship with her father drastically, as the girl starts to rebel against her parent’s orders and views. Even though she is a very good student, she gets no approval, all of her achievements are belittled or taken for granted. Eventually, Jade becomes tired of her father’s constant criticism and decides to leave home.

Jade’s disappointment in her father’s methods and personality make her re-evaluate the relationships towards women in society. Besides, Jade becomes intolerant to all forms of restriction and oppression; this is why she starts writing. Jade’s longtime oppression makes her starved for self-expression, and this makes her a wonderful artist and a writer.

This new occupation empowers Jade and eventually leads her to social appreciation and approval. Of course, after gaining everyone’s respect, she finally becomes a valuable person for her father, as earning honor for her family is the only thing that makes him start to appreciate his youngest daughter.

The male-female relationships in “Fifth Chinese Daughter” revolve along the lines of Jade’s relationship with her father. Her gradual realization of her self-worth and her father’s lack of appreciation towards all of her achievements and efforts reflects the young girl’s path towards social maturity and understanding of the values and roles she prefers to stick to. The main character of “Fifth Chinese Daughter” makes an important decision rebelling against her father and the sexist beliefs forced on her through childhood.

We will write a custom Assessment on Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In my opinion, such a drastic decision would take a lot of courage, as one’s family is the first society they encounter in their life, which shapes people making them who they are. Unfortunately, in Jade’s situation, her family was not her source of strength and confidence; on the opposite, they believed that humbling down all of the girl’s achievements was the right way to behave. I believe that Jade was lucky to find another source of support and express herself as an artist.

I overall disapprove of sexist beliefs and relationships, but about Jade’s experience, these negative practices turned her into a resilient fighter and an independent woman. It is ironic because the role of sexism was initially to oppress and victimize females, but in this case, the opposite effect was achieved.

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Issue in Media Law Report a level english language essay help: a level english language essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

About Snapchat

Is Snapchat Safe?

Legal Issues

How Can Snapchat be regulated?

Conclusion

References

Introduction The media was traditionally associated with print and broadcast, but the birth of internet media is slowly transforming communication. With the introduction of several online forums, people now have a variety of communication channels to use when either sending or looking for information.

Besides, the traditional text messaging has been transformed into more interesting and engaging forums, all thanks to the development of applications such as Snapchat, Viber and WhatsApp. This report presents important insights into Snapchat. The paper provides an overview of the application including the inherent legal issues.

About Snapchat Developed by two Stanford college students in 2011, Snapchat is a mobile phone application that allows users to send and receive picture messages from their Android or Apple phones (Urban Dictionary, 2013). The founders were interested in developing an application that is engaging to users, but in which information circulated cannot be re-used in the future. With this in mind, Snapchat was designed to auto-delete pictures and videos sent within ten seconds of opening.

This was meant to be a good security measure to guard users against the risk of other people downloading their images and inappropriately using them. However, this security check has been misused since users are aware that it is impossible to obtain the information circulated later on. For this reason, Snapchat has become a platform for bullying and sexting (Urban Dictionary, 2013).

Just like any other application, Snapchat has both pros and cons. The application provides a free new way of communication, which allows users to be goofy without fearing repercussions. However, it is not possible to record long videos using Snapchat. Besides, the application does not provide any self-privacy as it claims since users have found means of saving and misusing photos. This, therefore, leads me to the question; just how safe is Snapchat?

Is Snapchat Safe? Every user of an online forum is usually concerned about his/her privacy. While Snapchat promised its users of their privacy, the users felt deceived when news broke out in 2013 that the company has been handing unopened photos to the American law enforcement agency and now the recent hacking.

Besides, Snapcha does not store all the information in its sandbox to ensure that all the information is auto-deleted. There has been proof that Snapchat stores some information outside the sandbox hence not everything is usually deleted. The hackers would not have obtained the photos if everything is usually deleted. This is a clear breach of users’ privacy rights.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Further, the Snapchat’s find friends feature is not protected making it easy for hackers to retrieve information about users and their friends. In simple, Snapchat is not safe and users should be wary of their privacy when sending their photos through the application. Nevertheless, it is a great application that is easy to use and a faster way of communicating. You will always find it intriguing so long as you use the application for the right purpose.

Legal Issues There were claims sometime in October 2014 that Snapchat had been hacked and user photos where being circulated in 4chan.org (Isaac, 2014). The company admitted that the application had been hacked by another application, Snapsaved, which has the ability to save Snapchat images.

While many other online service providers can get hacked, many users are left wondering whether it is true that the images actually get deleted or they are stored somewhere within the application server. Even Snapchat managers admitted that they are not able to prevent the recipients from capturing and saving images using other devices. Hence, the privacy of Snapchat users is at risk.

However, Snapchat managers are doing their best to regulate the usage of the application. For instance, the company admitted handing unopened photos of its users to American law enforcement agency as a way of taking precautions to ensure that information being circulated using the application is safe (Holpuch, 2013).

While this caused an uproar among users, with many questioning whether images get completely deleted from the server, the company defended itself and stated that it was not possible to provide images already opened since the application deletes images a few seconds after opening. The company is also considering adjusting the application so that it is possible to view images repeatedly for 24 hours before they are deleted. This will give law enforcers a chance to investigate and track down misusers of Snapchat.

But are governments doing enough to regulate internet messaging services such as Snapchat? Regulating social media forums has been a challenge mainly because of the large number of users involved and the worldwide scope of their usage (Holpuch, 2013). Nevertheless, governments are to blame for not being able to develop robust laws to regulate the usage of applications like Snapchat.

In Australia, for example, Snapchat is considered a small media platform, which does not fall under the legal scope of the federal government’s crackdown hence crimes committed often go unpunished (Johnson, 2014).

We will write a custom Report on Issue in Media Law specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While some governments like the United States have set up bodies to deal with crimes emanating from social media forums, such bodies often have no legal mandate to deal with the offenders directly, but can only ask managers of the forums to remove information considered inappropriate. There is a need for mechanisms that focus on punishing individual offenders to deter misuse of applications like Snapchat.

How Can Snapchat be regulated? Despite the challenges, there are ways that can assist in regulating information being circulated in Snapchat. First, law enforcers should make it a policy for companies to take responsibility for allowing illegal material to be circulated through their forums. Companies that are reluctant to remove illegal material once asked to do so should be charged under civil law for not discharging their responsibility accordingly.

Second, social media services tolerating the circulating of inappropriate material should be named and shamed. However, this might not be effective as the culprits will be left untouched. Besides, embarrassing the companies is not a guarantee that its users will stop circulating inappropriate information. Third, given that the majority of social media users are underage, laws governing cyberbullying will be appropriate.

Such laws should cover both big and small companies. In Australia, for instance, the government enacted a law to curb cyberbullying against children, but this law does not apply to small companies such as Snapchat since the government does not consider their usage significant enough to warrant regulation (Bilbao, 2014). Last, users of Snapchat should be human and stop misusing this application.

They should stop for a moment and imagine that they might need the person they are currently bullying in the future. Even without laws, users need to act responsibly and self-regulate their actions (Jefferson, 2014). Users have a moral obligation to use the application for its intended purpose, which is connecting with friends and not bullying and sexting.

Conclusion From the discussion, it is clear that Snapchat has privacy issues. But which application does not have flaws? Even Facebook has flaws. It is up to the government to up its game and regulates the usage of social media. Snapchat is fast and has transformed text messaging all over the world. It is an application I would recommend to anyone who loves sending pictures and videos.

References Bilbao, B. (2014). Cyberbullying laws in Australia don’t cover Snapchat. Web.

Holpuch, A. (2013). Snapchat admits to handing unopened ‘snaps’ to US law enforcement. The Guardian Magazine. Web.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Issue in Media Law by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Isaac, M. (2014). Links to photos said to be stolen from Snapchat users flood message boards. The New York Times. Web.

Jefferson, R. (2014). The deal with Snapchat safety. Web.

Johnson, B. (2014). Snapchat not covered by cyberbullying laws. The Sydney Morning Gerald. Web.

Urban Dictionary. (2013). Snapchat. Web.

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W. Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and Its Main Characters Report writing essay help: writing essay help

According to the reference made to the play, ’’The Tempest’’ by Shakespeare, David Bevington is justified to claim that Prospero uses the knowledge he acquires from magical books to subdue his enemies by renewing their faith in goodness. He wittily uses Ariel to carry out divine tasks that could put him at par with a god.

For instance, he instructs Aerial to fly around the boat in which Antonio, Alonso and their acquaintances are, to cause a storm and consequent shipwreck, but finally manages to save all the occupants of the ship.

The latest revelation that he was responsible for all this is to make Antonio and Alonso perceive him as a good man. Prospero says to Miranda “I have with such provision in mine art.So safely ordered that there is no soul– No, not so much perdition as a hair.B etid to any creature in the vessel.W hich thou heard’st cry, which thou saw’ st sink” (Shakespeare 4).

Prospero’s magic is intended to create an impression that he is more powerful than both Antonio and Alonso. Ariel tells him when he inquires about the ship’s occupants,” Just as you left them: all prisoners, sir. In the line-grove which weather-fends your cell; they cannot budge till your release” (Shakespeare 7).

After the shipwreck, Antonio, Alonso and their subjects are desperate, have lost hope and prepared to sink to a watery grave. Antonio says “Let’s all sink wi’ the King”. But Prospero uses his magic and they do not sink (Shakespeare 9).

He saves Aerial from the tree, although he later exploits him. He saves Gonzalo and Alonso from a plot to kill them by Caliban, Stephano, and Trinculo. He even forgives Alonso, Antonio, and Sebastian and promises to free Aerial upon preparing proper sailing weather to guide them back to Royal fleet and finally to Naples. “And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales, And sail so expeditious that shall catch.Y our royal fleet far off” (Shakespeare 10).

The major beneficiaries of Prospero’s magic are himself and his daughter, Miranda. It is quite evident that his magic is intended to help him, and Miranda finds their way out of exile, he tells Miranda “I have done nothing but in care of thee,” (Shakespeare 11).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More He employs his magic to execute his plan of returning to the royal land. Although Alonso and Antonio together with the other occupants are saved from the wreck, two things are quite evident; the whole storm was as a result of Prospero’s magic, and it was meant to make Alonso and Antonio guilty of plotting to move him out of the land as he later forgives them. Since he is the most powerful, he sends Aerial to prepare sailing weather.

Several characters have been developed through Prospero’s magic. Ariel is loyal and obedient as he obeys Prospero and exorcizes his magic as per instructions. He says “Remember I have done thee worthy service, Remember I have done thee worthy service”.

Caliban is brought out as rebellious since, after being compelled to servitude for attempting to rape Miranda, he perceives his master resentfully and usurper. He wishes “A south-west blow on ye, And blister you all o’er!” (Shakespeare 15).

Finally, Prospero’s magic helps bring out the cordial relationship between him and Ariel through how they cohesively co-operate to execute Prospero’s magic. Ariel says” I will be correspondent to command, and do my sprinting gently.”

Prospero is depicted as a loving and caring father who does all he can, including magic to secure his daughter. He says “I have done nothing but in care of thee, of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter” (Shakespeare 14). The friendly coexistence between Alonso and Antonio is also brought out in the as they used to spend most of their time together.

Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. New York: Pocke. 2004. Web.

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“Trilogy” Organization’s Problems Case Study best essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

Discussion

Nature of Organizational Learning

Importance of organizational learning

How to create and sustain a Learning Culture in Organizations

Trilogy University

Changes which need to be affected

Introduction This paper is a case study on an organization called Trilogy. The paper aims at discussing ways in which new employees need to change for them to be productive in their new organizations.

Some of the issues which are discussed include how Trilogy University (T.U) prepares employees to join Trilogy, whether T.U has been effective in its role of preparing recruits to join Trilogy in the first five years and the current status of T.U as well as the changes which need to be effected for it to fit in the new organizational structure of Trilogy.

The discussion of the above issues is preceded by a discussion of key concepts in organizational development, such as organizational learning, the benefits of organizational learning, and how to create and sustain a learning organizational culture.

Discussion An organization is a group of people who work together with coordinated efforts to achieve certain objectives or goals. Organizational goals and objectives are of various categories, and it is this variation of the goals and objectives which classify organizations into three main categories, namely profit making; service based and social responsibility based organizations.

New employees often need to change in important ways to become productive members of their organizations. One way in which new employees need to change is by learning the skills and techniques which they can use in their work. They can learn either through training before they start the jobs (orientation) or learn while on the job.

Nature of Organizational Learning Learning is the process of acquiring new knowledge and understanding regarding a particular subject. It can take various forms and may be acquired from various sources which may include imitation, observation, listening, brainstorming, learning through mistakes, training, seminars, and learning from cultural practices.

Organizational learning is one of the strategies in organizational development, which focuses on enabling organizations to place themselves in strategic positions to remain competitive and meet their objectives in a decisive manner. Globalization is one major reason for organizations to keep on learning.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Globalization has transformed the world into a global village where everything is changing, and the world is becoming smaller in terms of how individuals and organizations interact and communicate.

The concept of organizational learning has its origin from the works of Argyris and Schön, who in 1978 came out to express their view on the concept. Their view has been referred to as the technical classical approach to organizational learning. Their model of organizational learning comprises the single and double loop learning.

Single loop learning entails the detection and correction of mistakes or errors which make organizations not to embrace change. Double loop learning entails changing of strategies by organizations due to internal or external forces. Argyris and Schön’s model of change can be viewed as a technical approach to organizational learning because it involves the use of individuals and systems or strategies by the organization to meet their objectives.

Donald was another scholar who viewed organizational learning from a technical perspective where he argued that organizational learning is a product of tacit resources, meaning that it originates from individual employees who have the knowledge or seek and attain particular knowledge and expertise, then share it with the other employees.

The knowledge is then documented to form a database for organizations which may be used to inform organizational policies.

The other school of thought to organizational learning is known as the social perspective. This perspective views organizational learning as a cultural and political process and as a product of social construction. This perspective does not put more emphasis on tacit resources as a source of organizational learning like the technical perspective.

Instead, it views organizational learning as an on-going process which is characterized by the interaction between employees, mainly in group contexts. These interactions enable employees to share their stories, experiences, and knowledge which enable them to acquire new skills, techniques, and competencies to discharge their duties effectively.

We will write a custom Case Study on “Trilogy” Organization’s Problems specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Lave and Wenger, organizations learn through communities of practice which involve people who are contextually and informally bound together by a common interest of learning and using a common practice when performing their duties.

These two perspectives to organizational learning have for long been characterized by the debate of whether organizations do learn or it is individual employees who learn. However, the dilemma can be solved through the use of a pragmatic approach to organizational learning.

This pragmatic approach reconciles the two perspectives and comes up with a single approach to organizational learning, which takes into account the views of the two perspectives.

The pragmatic approach is based on the argument that organizations do learn. But the learning by organizations is seen as an on-going process which is necessitated by the forces of change, which are either internal or external to the organizations.

Managers, therefore, come up with best practices to ensure that their organizations utilize their human resources effectively to generate knowledge, understanding, and expertise in various fields by various employees, which is documented and rewarded. The knowledge and expertise generated are, therefore, harmonized with the external environment or with the organizational goals and objectives.

The pragmatic approach also takes into consideration the importance of on-going training of employees both on the job and off the job so that the employees may be updated with the latest information or knowledge which is relevant to their areas of operation.

Technological advancement also necessitates the training of employees on the latest technology in their areas of operation. For example, a company which deals with public transport may adopt online booking of bus tickets instead of receipts. Such an organization would need to train the employees on that kind of technology to increase their effectiveness and reduce their workload. This, in turn, motivates the employees.

Importance of organizational learning Before an organization can embark on organizational learning, it needs to identify the training needs. The training needs include the learning of skills to perform tasks, re-learning of skills as a result of changing jobs, enhancement of the performance at the current job, or as a result of organizational policy.

Not sure if you can write a paper on “Trilogy” Organization’s Problems by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Training entails learning, which involves acquiring new patterns of behavior and incorporates four basic processes. These include the drive by the learners to learn, acquisition of responsible behavior as a result of learning, reinforcement of the learned behavior, and the application of the learned behavior in the work context.

Organizational learning enables organizations to prepare employees for any change, which may come as a result of organizational restructuring or mergers or due to the adoption of a certain technology. It also enables organizations to have in place very competent and reliable employees who are flexible and open-minded handling any assignment which may come along their way in their lines of duty.

Organizational learning keeps organizations in a strategic position for increasing their competitiveness as well as coming up with best practices which not only improve organizations’ productivity but also the popularity of organizations.

For example, an organization which deals with the provision of electricity may engage itself in what is referred to as corporate social responsibility by undertaking activities like conservation of the environment, fighting poverty through the provision of scholarships to needy students or training communities on entrepreneurship.

This may increase the competitiveness of the organization, among other electricity providing organizations, thereby increasing and maintaining its customers. In this organization, the employees need to learn skills for dealing with communities so that apart from providing electricity to them, they may also train the people on how to do business or sensitize them on behavior change.

In this sense, the organization would be engaging itself in a win-win situation in that it would be empowering its employees with new skills which would be a motivation for them while at the same time providing social services to the community using the same employees who perform the core business of the organization.

How to create and sustain a Learning Culture in Organizations For an organization to create and sustain a learning culture, there is a need for it to, first of all, do an environmental analysis.

The environmental analysis should focus on where the organization is, where it wants to be in the future, what it has already done in an effort to reach there, what resources are available, what needs to be done to make the organization reach its destination, who are its customers or clients, what are its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as well as its history.

After the environmental analysis, the organization should embark on a fact-finding mission, focusing on how to utilize its human resources effectively as a means of realizing its objectives.

This can be done through the formulation of a strategic plan with two main pillars namely the financial and the social pillars; with the financial pillar comprising the financial resources available for the organization and the social pillar comprising the creation of a good organizational culture which would make the employees motivated.

Trilogy University This university was started by the founder of Trilogy as a corporate training department. The aim of the university was to prepare recruits before they joined the organization.

It was also supposed to play a leading role in the invention of new ideas on computer software, incubation of the ideas and development of new products for the organization. It also played the role of indoctrinating the new employees with Trilogy culture so that once they joined the organization, they were able to take it to the next level of development and make it a company of choice for many customers.

The university was therefore very successful in the first five years in that it managed to increase the revenue of the organization, increase the number of products and also the number of employees. The other success was that it managed to make the organization very competitive, especially due to the brilliant ideas initiated and developed from the university.

Due to the excellent results of the university, Trilogy was at some point competing with other giants in the computer industry such as Microsoft. The university also made Trilogy the organization of choice for many young graduates; the key reason being that it offered a conducive environment for career growth and development.

As one of the recruits put it, “The culture of the company was fascinating. It’s a young upstart. It combines 100% work, 100% fun, and 100% play all at the same time”.

At the wake of the millennium, Trilogy was faced with stiff competition with competitors like SAP threatening to dislodge it from the industry. These new developments made the founder and the board of directors to change their strategy and shift from the production of a wide array of computer software to making industry-specific products to remain competitive in the industry.

These new developments also necessitated an internal restructuring of the organization, which saw the introduction of general managers, who were to be in charge of various business units.

In the new structure, each general manager for each business unit was to be in charge of the costs of recruiting and training new employees joining their respective business units. This was believed to enhance the effectiveness of the training and also make it customized to specific business units.

The new strategy was also believed to cut on the costs of running the university and therefore, the role played by the university was technically adopted by the business units thus rendering the university an idle corporate department, which according to senior managers was supposed to be disbanded since it was not featuring anywhere in the new organizational structure.

However, the founder of the organization was of the view that an agreement to disband the university was synonymous to killing the organization because all the developments witnessed in the organization were attributed to the university and therefore, he believed that they should find a way of aligning the university with the new structure of the organization.

Changes which need to be affected Since it is not possible to disband the university, it just needs to be realigned so that it fits in the new structure of the organization. The best approach to this issue is for the organization to detach the university from itself and make it a university for computer software.

Instead of looking at the university as a luxurious project, the management should look at it as a way of generating extra income for the organization.

This is because for organizations to become competitive, they must diversify their investments such that if one industry becomes more competitive or generates low profits, the organizations can use the income from other investments and by so doing; they can survive economic challenges such as competition or recession.

The organization, therefore, needs to set aside or source for funds for revamping the university. Such funds should be used for the development of curriculum, employment of lecturers, and construction of hostels for the students.

Through this, the organization will be able to generate extra revenue for its expansion. It will also be able to increase their popularity since many of the students may become future customers or bring new customers to the organization.

This idea is possible and practicable considering the passion and confidence the founder of the organization had in the university. He only needs to convince the senior managers about it, and when everything is put in place, then the future of the university will be brighter than it is at present.

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Painting Art: Pablo Picasso – the 20th Century Genius Research Paper college essay help near me: college essay help near me

The life and times of Pablo Picasso Born Pablo Ruiz in Malaga in 1881, Picasso received early training in arts from his father Don Jose Ruiz Blasco, an art teacher in a local school of fine arts and crafts (Cirlot, 2009). The mother, Maria Picasso Lopez, also played an important role in modeling Pablo Picasso’s career. In Malaga, Picasso spent only the first ten years of his life, but he produced his first work in the city (Cirlot, 2009).

The Blasco family was not financially stable at the time, especially because Don Blasco’s salary was not enough to cater for the family. Therefore, when he was offered a better job in La Coruna, he moved with his family. Apart from Pablo, the family included two other children- Dolores (born in 1884) and Conchita (born in 1887). Here, the family lived for four years (Cirlot, 2009).

By 1894, Blasco had been convinced that his son was a genius in arts after realizing the talent in him. Despite his age, Pablo was producing amazing paintings. History states that Blasco handed over his brush and palette to the young boy in 1895 and declared never to paint again. In the same year, Don Blasco became a professor of arts in the Barcelona School of Fine Arts, where he settled with his family (Cirlot, 2009).

Here, Pablo Picasso enrolled as an art student and excelled in painting, which marked the long career of a 20th-century arts genius. For instance, his two famous works “The First Communion” and the “Science, and Charity” became popular in the institute as “academic oil paintings” (Cirlot, 2009).

Pablo’s uncle also sponsored him to study at the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Barcelona, but Picasso decided to drop from the institute within a few months of enrollment.

Pablo Picasso’s work: Examining the Genius in Picasso’s Modernism and influence on Pluralism Noteworthy, Pablo Picasso was interested in themes that reflect modern life in Barcelona and the world in general. In this way, he promoted the idea of modernism in painting. For instance, his 1901 painting “Death of Casagemas” reflects the death of Case games, his friend who committed suicide after a girl he loved denied him the love expected (Cirlot, 2009).

The tragedy shocked Picasso such that he depicted the death in his painting that used blue color. In addition, he produced another painting “Evocation- the burial of Case games”. The two paintings are important in the evolution of modernism in European arts (Cirlot, 2009).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More They were made on canvas and reflected the stylistic influence on the paintings of the time. For instance, they were made in blue color with only a few other colors like black. In addition, the paintings reflected the sad mood of the events, especially because Case games was a minor (FitzGerald, 2006).

During the Blue era, Picasso moved between Paris and Barcelona and made various paintings in blue color, attempting to show the “sad mood” of the population. He selected such themes as despair, isolation, unhappiness, old age, and poverty (FitzGerald, 2006). These themes reflected the true nature of the society at the time, especially because Europe was transforming economically, socially and politically.

Most families experienced isolation because male parents were required to work for many hours in industries and other areas in order to provide for their families (Berger, 2011). The blue paintings of the era depicted gaunt mothers and children in the city.

For example, Picasso’s painting “The frugal repast” of 1904 depicts an emaciated woman and a gaunt blind man seated at a bare table, probably hoping to get food (Cirlot, 2009).

In addition, the blue paintings represent the evils caused by a number of socioeconomic factors. For instance, the subject of beggars and prostitutes is represented in some of Picasso’s paintings because they were some of the most common aspects of the transforming society (FitzGerald, 2006).

Picasso’s Rose period lasted between 1904 and 1906. The paintings in this era had a cheery style and often depicted French acrobats. In addition, they depicted harlequins, a common feature in Paris. These represent modern life in European cities, especially Paris, where acrobatics and other comic arts were popular.

Cubism is perhaps one of the most important artistic movements that define Pablo Picasso’s contribution to the modernism in arts. Picasso and his friend Georges Braque developed analytic cubism, which lasted between 1909 and 1912. They used monochrome brownish as well as neutral colors in most of the paintings (Berger, 2011). The analytical nature of cubism is characterized by the analysis of parts of objects in terms of their shapes.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Painting Art: Pablo Picasso – the 20th Century Genius specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, Picasso’s 1909 painting “Femme assize”, made of oil and canvas, provides a good example of the works in this era. It depicts a woman sitting on a comfortable chair placed in a small room (Cirlot, 2009). She is looking at something or someone in front of her. It is likely that she was Marie-Therese Walter, Picasso’s mistress who played a significant role in promoting his career (Berger, 2011).

The brightness of the green-yellow sunlight is an indication of the freedom of color use, a major characteristic of cubism style. In addition, each of the elements of the figure, including the garments the woman is wearing, the exposed parts of the chair and the background have different colors and shapes, which is an example of the style of cubism that involved analyzing each element of an object according to its shape.

Lines and color are used to show different shapes of different objects. These aspects are also evident in several other works by Picasso in the cubism era such as “Figure dans un fauteuil,” “La Femme au pot de moutarde” and “Fanny Tellier”, which were made on oil on canvas (Berger, 2011).

Also, surrealism attempts to resolve the previously ignored contradictory conditions of reality as well as dreams. Picasso included aspects of cubism in surrealism, which increased the ability of artists to express themselves emotionally. Picasso’s work “Guernica” (1937) is a good example of his ability to apply cubism in surrealism.

These evidence prove that Picasso’s work influenced the existence of more than one social and arts culture in the 20th century. For instance, while it is agreed that he was aligned to cubism and surrealism, it is evident that Picasso never practiced his painting exclusively based on the two styles.

For example, his painting “Harlequin” was in synthetic cubism, whereas “the drawing of Vollard” was executed in the Ingresque style, which emulated the works of Jean August Dominique, a 19th-century neoclassical artist (Berger, 2011).

Picasso’s impact on modern arts and culture Pablo Picasso’s role in promoting the 20th-century artistic movements is the work of a genius in the profession (Berger, 2011). Unlike other artists, Picasso’s first work was produced when he was a child. In fact, he created two important movements- the blue and rose movements- when he was still a young person.

In addition, Picasso never aligned himself to a single style- he founded and promoted analytical and synthetic cubism, supported realism and heavily influenced pluralism. In fact, he believed in injecting ideas and philosophies of one style into another to improve the outcomes.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Painting Art: Pablo Picasso – the 20th Century Genius by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, he believed in reflecting the prevailing social, cultural and political issues affecting his society (Berger, 2011). These aspects explain why Pablo Picasso should be considered “the genius of the 20th-century arts”.

References Berger, J. (2011). The success and failure of Picasso. London: Pantheon Books

Cirlot, J. E. (2009). Picasso, birth of a genius. New York and Washington: Praeger.

FitzGerald, M. C. (2006). Making modernism: Picasso and the creation of the market for twentieth-century art. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press

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Business Law: U.S. Magnesium Seeks Protection Report (Assessment) argumentative essay help

Introduction The US magnesium company has exclusive rights to producing magnesium in America. The firm in the year two thousand and four alleged that the Chinese and Russian firms sold magnesium in the US market at significantly low prices than the market value. Further, the company claimed that the dumping of magnesium in the American market caused an escalation of magnesium imports and a diminishing trend in the prices between the years two thousand and two and two thousand and three.

According to the US magnesium company, the Chinese and Russian producers of magnesium traded the product below fair market value in order to drive the corporation out the business. As such, the firm brought a complaint dossier before the International Trade Commission (ITC) to rule on the matter.

The ruling by the ITC had far-reaching implications on the US magnesium, the Russian and Chinese producers as well as the consumers of magnesium in the United States of America. In the determination of the petition, the commission considered the volumes of imported magnesium, their effect on the prices and producers of magnesium in the United States and came up with their judgment.

The commission found China and Russia guilty of dumping and thus imposed levies of between 50 to150 percent on imports from Chinese firms. On the same note, Russian companies were imposed with a levy of between 20 to 25percent on their magnesium exports to the US market.

The gainers from the anti-dumping duties levied on magnesium imports The US magnesium corporation was the major gainers in the petition since they were provided with the prospect of amassing a large number of customers consuming its product. In other words, the anti-dumping rule through the codification of the Russian and Chinese magnesium imports enabled the US producers to disconnect a number of its customers from accessing optional magnesium products from foreign firms.

The losers in the petition The losers in the complaint were the Russian and Chinese companies since the anti dumping law discouraged the magnesium imports through the increased import tariffs thereby increasing the price of magnesium in the market. In principle, the anti dumping law led to the economic decline of the Chinese and Russian firms dealing in magnesium import in the US because they were unable to secure magnesium at the competitive prices.

Impact of levies on national interests of the United States The commission examined the impact of the magnesium imports on the American market and made the ruling. In fact, the commission considered the economic factors that have demeanor on the magnesium industry’s state of affairs. Output, sales, market share, capacity utilization, and return on investment were considered.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The commission found out that the Chinese and Russian companies posed threats to the domestic industry in terms of fair trade and competition. However, the ruling made the consumers of the magnesium worse off since the price of the product was higher in the American market compared to the world markets.

Actually, the determination of the petition by the ITC in 2004 led to the rise in prices of magnesium in the US market to over $1.40 per pound. Magnesium prices continued to show an increasing trend until 2010 when the US prices reached an optimum $2.15 per pound.

On the contrary, global prices hovered at $1.35 per pound. Generally, the levies imposed by the ITC ensured fair-trade as well as a level playing ground for the domestic producers of magnesium in the industry.

The ruling by the ITC was not made in the best national interest of the US since there have been increased costs of magnesium alloys used in the mainstream industries. In addition, the domestic industries are unable to get alternatives for magnesium thereby making them uncompetitive in the world markets. Generally, the ruling by the ITC reflects desolate unpredictability of the US national trade policy.

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Forensic Accounting Research Paper a level english language essay help

Introduction A Forensic accountant assists an organization in unraveling issues surrounding financial problems. Mostly, his/her role involves analyzing financial information with the aim of unearthing fraud.

After analyzing financial information, a forensic accountant is required to summarise and give a detailed report of his/her findings to the responsible party for implementation.

Moreover, a forensic accountant keeps records of all the evidence gathered during his/her forensic investigation. This enables a party in a dispute to review and make decisions.

Furthermore, the report lays the ground for in-court settlement if the parties fail to arbitrate among them. Thus, a forensic accountant helps organizations to avert fraudulent financial activities and institute appropriate controls aimed at preventing future frauds.

Important skills for a Forensic Accountant A person seeking to be a forensic accountant should possess some essential skills to enable him/her to carry the job more efficiently. Analytical skills are one of the key skills demanded in this job.

Carlino (2010) points out that analytical skills involve having the capacity to tie data and knowledge gathered from different areas together to come up with a clear interpretation.

This plays a key role in enhancing the accuracy of financial information gathered and simplifies decision making during the judgment process.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Moreover, Carlino (2010) cites that analytical skills help an individual to identify strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and articulate principles strategically as they relate to financial matters.

Also, a forensic accountant should be a person possessing persistence skills. Investigations involving financial statements take many hours or days to study and analyze to detect if the questionable adjustment has been made. Having persistence skills helps an individual to spot other details which might have been skipped during the investigation.

Davis et al. (2010) explain that a forensic accountant, after carrying out investigations, he/she writes reports and acts as a witness in the court. Thus, he/she has to possess effective communication skills to articulate what is contained in the report.

Furthermore, accounting involves analyzing complex financial transactions, statements, and account details; after analyzing, an individual has to submit the findings either orally or in a written report.

Thus, effective communication skills are important in presenting a clear report to enable people with no or limited accounting knowledge to understand.

A forensic accountant should be a conscious stickler to detail. This skill is important when the accountant is sifting through massive financial information (Kay and Gierlasinski, 2001).

Being conscious of details provides an individual with new insight and can lead to uncovering new evidence that might lead to a sustained prosecution in the court.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Forensic Accounting specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Davis et al. (2010) point out that a strong background in accounting is important in pursuing a career in forensic accounting. A bachelor’s degree in accounting or related discipline is a requisite.

Also, membership to a certified professional body and experience are mandatory. However, individuals may gain forensic accounting skills on the job.

Forensic Accountant and the Courtroom Environment When an organization suspects financial misappropriation in the organization, it deploys forensic investigators to begin determining the magnitude, and the nature of the fraud. The forensic role, in this case, is to come up with findings to enable the court to take further actions against the culprits.

In the courts, a forensic accountant unravels the evidence linked to financial fraud by testifying. Thus, as mentioned earlier, testifying needs efficient skills in communication because the forensic accountant has to cross-examine the parties involved in the fraud.

A forensic accountant acts as a detective in the court environment. For instance, he/she has to interview the people involved in the fraud and extract more information necessary to sustain a case.

Legal Responsibility of a Forensic accountant in the Business In most cases, a forensic accountant is hired by organizations and law professionals among others to help unravel financial crimes and offer litigation support services.

According to Kay and Gierlasinski (2001), the society bestows a big responsibility to a forensic accountant; he/she has to detect, prevent, investigate high profiled white collar frauds; computer scams, terrorist funding and, among others, forms of financial crimes.

In his/her line of duty, a forensic accountant helps to protect the economic security of the business by working hand in hand with the law enforcers.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Forensic Accounting by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More How does a forensic accountant achieve this in practice? Dark and Leauanae (2004) explain that a forensic accountant detects the organization financial losses in advance; this practice has made many organizations save money which would have been otherwise embezzled.

The timely prevention of fraud has built the trust of investors as it motivates them to continue investing their funds in the business.

Also, Kay and Gierlasinski (2001) show that the field of forensic accounting provides job security for many forensic accountants. Many organizations are springing up and coupled with rising financial frauds; the need for financial accountants is increasing.

Dark and Leauanae (2004) indicate that in the U.S., the field of forensic accounting has fixed thousands of jobs that were not feasible before. This has secured the economy because more people can earn a living by being forensic accountants.

A forensic accountant analyses financial statements and evidence used in legal matters. Thus, the evidence uncovered is used to identify fraudulent activities such as insurance fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and other embezzlements in organizations.

Besides, the forensic services are significant in uncovering the activities of drug trafficking and hidden assets of couples entangled in divorce matters.

A forensic accountant gathers and analyses financial data using mathematical and investigative skills. The findings arrived are used as evidence in a court of law to apprehend the culprits.

Moreover, a forensic accountant has to support the evidence produced in the court. This is to enable the court to make a concise legal decision against a financial criminal.

Cases of Forensic Accounting Case 1: A shareholder’s dilemma

A 73-year-old father had just made a comeback to his construction company after the board handed him the presidency (Barrett, 2013). Barely two years in the office, he realized that the former president, his 42-year-old son, had devised various schemes to defraud the company.

Nevertheless, to say, the son had already misappropriated a sum of $11 million of his father’s 55% shares of the company while he was in the office.

Moreover, he had allocated about $6 million a year (for his father’s retirement) and a further $6,500 monthly stipend to the ex-wife of the father (Barrett, 2013).

Role of Forensic Accountant

The forensic investigators were invited to carry out a thorough forensic audit on the deposed son.

The forensic audit was divided into two parts: to validate the assertions of misfeasance by the father, prior and after his return, and to demonstrate that during the son’s tenure, there was no misappropriation of funds the father had purported in the lawsuit.

Besides, the forensic accountants were also mandated to carry out the valuation of the business to certify the son had not run the company into bankruptcy.

Results

The evidence gathered by the forensic accountants was presented to the legal consultants of the father and was admitted without argument. The evidence laid a basis for the legal proceedings and as a review for tightening the internal controls of the company.

Case 2: The Smoking Gun (Internal Coup)

A medical company was preparing to make an initial public offer (IPO), and the prerequisites such as the patient appointments had gone well with doctors in several Southeastern states in the U.S. Besides, the products on offer had been tasted and ascertained to be of high quality and ready for the IPO unveiling (Barrett, 2013).

However, to sabotage the process, two corporate officers and deep-pocket investors had devised a strategy to remove the financial and operating staff and replace them with others who could easily be compromised.

Moreover, to complicate the process, the deep-pocket investors suppressed the release of funds unless the officers were sacked or replaced (Barrett, 2013). The attorney of the Chief Executive Officer had no substantial evidence on the conspiracy among the three; hence, a forensic audit was needed.

Role of Financial Accountant

The financial accountants were invited to ascertain whether there was a conspiracy between the three groups mentioned. They were tasked with analyzing the company’s hard drive and the laptops used by the two doctors under investigation.

Results

After conducting a thorough forensic examination in the victims’ offices and the company’s server, there was no evidence linking the three to conspiracy.

However, further investigation revealed that the three indeed communicated through personal emails hosted by Hotmail and Yahoo, but not the company’s official emails, running through the company’s server.

Reference List Barrett, W. C. (2013). My Life in Crime: Chronicles of a Forensic Accountant. Web.

Carlino, B. (2010). Forensic Skills in High Demand. Web.

Davis, C., Ogilby, S.,

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The History of Thanksgiving in the United States Report (Assessment) essay help online: essay help online

The author evaluates the evolution of Thanksgiving in the US. The focus was on the adoption of Thanksgiving among the middle-class and poor families during the 19th century. The author also researches on the additional elements about Thanksgiving that were introduced in the 1930s. In the 19th century, communal celebrations were done when the poor families demanded to be treated respectably by the wealthiest people.

This scenario led to the rise of domestic celebrations. The domestic celebrations were regarded as a sign of family unity. The main focus of domestic celebrations was to enable women to show how much they love their children. Mothers guided their children during the celebrations.

The domestic celebrations were divided into two: private and public celebrations. The private celebrations involved the women who were perceived to be homemakers. The public celebrations involved the middle-class people who organized celebrations with the help of servants.

Domestic celebrations were perceived to be special occasions that brought all family members together. During the industrial revolution, the idea of clock time evolved. People who had gone to work away from home dedicated a few hours to celebrate with other family members.

The introduction of luxury gifts caused the emergence of domestic Christmas. The chaos experienced during the Christmas seasons led to the introduction of security forces during the celebrations.

The history of Thanksgiving indicates that it started as early as 1621. This is the time when pilgrims held feasts. The government leaders supported the events of Thanksgiving, and a special day was proclaimed for national Thanksgiving.

England was not the only country that practiced Thanksgiving in the 19th century. In this case, the Mid-Atlantic states practiced Thanksgiving during this period, but to a limited extent as compared to England. Texas and the Mid-Atlantic states adopted Thanksgiving in the 1850s. Religious and secular social systems accepted Thanksgiving.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Thanksgiving events united people. In this regard, people working in the industries joined their families for this event. Abraham Lincoln encouraged people to practice nationhood during the Thanksgiving events. According to Lincoln, Thanksgiving was an event to thank God for blessing the country.

During the Thanksgiving ceremonies, youths disrupted the occasions and caused chaos. The Fantastic were unruly and were considered a nuisance. With time, Thanksgiving Day was accompanied by sports and games. Christians thanked God for the blessings of a Christian home, as well as citizenship.

However, in the 1910s, the Fantastic disappeared. The male homosexuals took over from the Fantastic. The gays wore different dresses during the events. Children begged and wore rags during Halloween. This culture died in the 1940s.

The Thanksgiving events were commercialized in 1924 with the introduction of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. People sold gifts for the event. The school teachers opined that the immigrants should also participate during the Thanksgiving events.

Thanksgiving has undergone various changes, and all economic classes have accepted the event. Also, regions and homemakers have also accepted the celebrations. Entertainment during the feasts improved the celebration.

Although the Thanksgiving events were perceived to be feminine, the broadcast of the football games encouraged the participation of men. Thanksgiving has been reinvented to show the American nationalism. It has also encouraged many immigrants to accept American culture. Children have also been used as agents of change during the reinvention of Thanksgiving.

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Television’s Evolution Research Paper scholarship essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

Evolution from Black and White Times

The Essential Ingredient

The Advanced Television

Conclusion

Works Cited

Introduction Television or TV was privately demonstrated, in a rudimentary way, on 26th January 1926, by John Logie Baird, a Scottish electrical engineer. On that day, he showed his crude, flickering, half tone televised images to a group of approximately 40 scientists from the Royal Institution in London.

Baird was one of a small number of lone investors who, during the first half of the 1920-30 decade, worked determinedly to devise a system of seeing by electricity. Other experiments included those of Jenkins of the United States, Belin of France, and Mihaly, a Hungarian working in Germany.

By any criterion, Baird’s achievement was an outstanding one. For nearly 50 years from 1878, scientists, engineers and investors in the UK, the US, France, Germany, Russia, and elsewhere had sought to find a solution to the problem of transmitting, electronically, moving images from place to another.

Their objective had been to implement a method which would enable vision signals to be sent to a distant observer in a way similar to that which had permitted sound signals to be transmitted. In 1877, Alexander Graham Bell had invented the telephone which allowed hearing by electricity or telephony, to be readily introduced.

Soon afterwards, proposals were advanced for systems that would enable seeing by electricity or television, to be realized. However, the problem of distant vision was an altogether different order of complexity compared with that of telephony. Success eluded many people including laymen and university professors who engaged in advancing ideas in order to provide solutions needed at the time.

Evolution from Black and White Times According to Gerbarg, television has been evolving since the first black and white television transmissions were witnessed. Over the years, however, persistent technological developments and desire for high quality viewing led to improved television standards. The first public demonstration, on a black and white television, was conducted in 1927 while that on color television was demonstrated in June 1929.

During the early days of commercial broadcasting, many countries across the world gave serious attention to the advancement of the black and white technology. In the United States, the first all industry standards were recommended by the National Television Committee in the early 1940s.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Coaxial cable entered the world of television in 1936, when the first experimental transmission took place between New York and Philadelphia. This experiment proved to be highly successful in terms of transmission performance as multiple frequencies could be transmitted over the same shielded medium.

After invention, black and white TV technology quickly spread throughout the world. At the same time, scientists and engineers continued efforts to invent color television, a daunting task back then. During the early days, this was a very big challenge considering that. Eventually, engineers were able to make color televisions compatible with the existing monochrome technology, ushering the era of color television.

The Essential Ingredient The discovery of the photoconductive properties of selenium by Willoughby Smith and his assistant in 1873 completely changed the things in the history of television. Prior to 1873, no usable effect had been demonstrated which related changes of light flux to changes of electrical quantities, a necessary requirement in any television system.

From this fact, the history of television dates from Willoughby Smith’s letter to the editor of the Journal of the Society of Telegraph Engineers. However, such a view would ignore all the work undertaken from 1843 on picture telegraphy, the process by which images of documents can be sent electrically from one place to another, and which had an influence on early distant vision schemes.

In picture telegraphy and television, scanning and synchronizing are fundamental operations. Whether the object, whose image is to be transmitted, is one of a two dimensional form as in picture telegraphy, or of a three dimensional nature as in television, it is crucial in practice for it to be analyzed, point by point using a scanning beam, and for the received image to be synthesized by another scanning beam synchronized to that at the transmitter.

An important difference between picture telegraphy and television is the speed of scanning. In television engineering, an image must be scanned in a fraction of a second whereas in picture telegraphy practice, the duration of a scan can be several minutes.

The principles of picture telegraphy and television, although not commercially adopted until the 20th century, were slowly evolved during the 19th century, a century in which the display of images, by various means, fascinated all who saw them. Photography, cinematography, seeing by electricity, and picture telegraphy all had their beginnings during this time.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Television’s Evolution specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The first three of these are concerned with the capture of an image of a static or moving scene or object and, with picture telegraphy, the subsequent display of that image to one or more persons. There is a symbiotic relationship between the mediums of picture telegraphy and television as well as still and cine photography.

According to Abramson, the knowledge and experience gained from experiments on picture telegraphy during the early formative stage of television was quite beneficial to the advancement of television technology.

The Advanced Television In the early days, television used to be a simple affair. It was a technically highly standardized medium, with fairly similar organizational structures, content types, and business models. It provided a nationwide content delivered by national networks, distributed regionally by television stations with some local programming thrown in, and with either advertising or governmental funding as its economic model.

Today, however, television is getting quite complicated and varied. According to Gerbarg, four generations of picture quality can be distinguished. The Pre-TV, which was the first generation, was the exploratory stage of television experiments of the 1920s and 1930s by Baird, Zworykin, and Fansworth. Baird’s 1926 video image had 30 lines of picture resolution and projected a crude picture.

The second generation was associated with the analog TV which had 525 lines. In the United States, an average of seven broadcast channels could be operated. The flow of information was synchronous and was sent through a shared medium.

The third generation was characterized by digital TV. After the 1970s, analog TV broadcast branched out and was distributed over cable and satellites. In time, they became digitalized. Similarly, broadcast TV became digital in the late 1990s with standard and high definition TV emerging and entirely replacing analog transmission by 2009. Cable TV and satellite created alternative TV transmission infrastructures around the same period.

Today, cable TV uses pipes of approximately 3 Gbps, about 75 times more than the actual physical terrestrial broadcast spectrum used in any locality.

This extra transmission capacity was used first in a horizontal fashion of widening traditional quality channels and led to a narrow casting in terms of content and audiences. After a while digital technology was extended to include a vertical deepening of the channel. HDTV is one example that displays twice the number of horizontal lines, as well as a wider line and more bits per pixel.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Television’s Evolution by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Individualized TV, which is the fourth generation of television, is presently emerging with Internet TV and mobile TV as its main manifestations. They are dependent on fiber, coax, or wireless. Together, they increase enormously the individual transmission capacity in both upstream and downstream directions. This raises the number of channels horizontally, but also enables individualized, asynchronous and interactive TV.

Mobile TV also creates a ubiquitous availability of such individualized content. Internet TV on the other hand permits user generated content which leads to greater networking possibilities among users.

This has led to a two way transmission, moving from narrow casting to individual casting, and to user generated content sites such as YouTube. In bit terms, such low resolution content translates to about 300 Kbps, giving a very low quality.

Conclusion Certainly, television is becoming too big, too advanced, and too important for one-size-fits all medium. As time goes by, television diversification will continue both horizontally and vertically.

Horizontal diversification includes more standard quality programs and channels and more specialized content in standard quality. Vertical diversification implies a variety of quality levels, from cheap low resolution to highly enriched, immersive, and participatory TV. For commercial content, despite the lowering of cost for a given technology, competition and user expectations will still drive the production cost to even higher levels.

Works Cited Abramson, Albert. The History of Television, 1942 to 2000, North Carolina: McFarland

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Iran and Its Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons: Is War Imminent? Research Paper essay help online free: essay help online free

Table of Contents Introduction

Reason behind Iran’s Domestic Policy Agenda

Iran’s Foreign Policy Agenda

Conclusion

Works Cited

Introduction Within the past few years Iran has pursued a distinctly anti-U.S. stance and has reportedly developed a weapons program that is meant to discourage any attacks on its soil creating a situation where war is a distinct possibility within the Middle East.

This paper assumes that war is not imminent given that Iran’s actions are meant not to attack any foreign entity but to ensure the continued survival of the state in the form of the authoritarian regime that is currently in power.

Reason behind Iran’s Domestic Policy Agenda From a trade and international relations perspective, it is at times assumed that Iran’s apparent pursuit of nuclear weapons and its bellicose rhetoric aimed at the U.S. seemingly reflects a regime that does not abide by logic and rationality as the cornerstones of its foreign relations policy. However, it should be noted that under the theory of realism one of the primary concerns of the state is survival.

While it may seem that Iran’s actions are apparently detrimental towards the state’s continued survival, this is actually far from the truth. What this section will show is how Iran’s bellicose rhetoric, combined with its pursuit for nuclear weapons, is in fact a method that has been intentionally implemented to control its population rather than as an actual means of aggression against other states.

In his analysis of Iran, Al-Tamimi (2013) explains that its political structure, governing bodies and various councils are heavily steeped in Islamic traditions and law. Many of those in power are conservative traditionalists who view the concept of “liberal change” as detrimental towards the continued survival of a state that utilizes Islam as the cornerstone of its governance Al-Tamimi, 49 -57.

Al-Tamimi (2013) even goes so far to say that the Iran’s political government espouses a form of “ultra conservatism” wherein the concept of change that is not conducive towards the promotion of Islamic values and principles is viewed as detrimental towards the continued survival of the state.

As a result, this has given rise to preventive measures within the country in the form of considerable control on internet traffic, merchandise that enters into the country as well as they types of activities that local citizens are allowed to participate in.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More In fact, such a level of control has impacted the news media within Iran, which is heavily censored by the government, to the point that only pro-government news stories are allowed to be televised.

Jervis (2013) explains this by stating that survival for Iran’s government is not perceived primarily as the state continuing to prosper economically or that its people are not placed in danger, rather, survival is viewed as preserving the current status quo within the country.

The government actively attempts to prevent ‘liberal ideas” from western methods of governance and society from seeping into the country so as to prevent the local population from being “corrupted”. This is to ensure that Islamic principles and the leaders that espouse them continue to remain at the forefront of Iran’s existence (Jervis, 105).

Studies such as those by Leverett and Leverett (2013) correlate Iran’s current behavior as a classic example of an authoritarian state whose government is attempting to remain in power no matter what (Leverett and Leverett, 22).

What must be understood is that this predilection to remain in power through whatever means possible is explained by Leverett and Leverett (2013) as being due to historical evidence showing how government officials from authoritarian regimes were often convicted and sentenced to jail once democratic systems of governance were put in place resulting in them being held accountable for the various restrictions on freedoms and atrocities that they had committed while in power.

Kaplan (2010) explains that it is the concept of accountability that encourages these regimes to continue along a path of governance that attempts to curb “dangerous changes” since this endangers those who are in power.

This has given rise to a foreign policy agenda which focuses on preventing “liberalist notions” from arising within the local population to the extent that the Iran and its leaders have been accused numerous times by the United Nations and several other states of human rights abuses (Kaplan, 70-73).

We will write a custom Research Paper on Iran and Its Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons: Is War Imminent? specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Such accusations further discourages the country from allowing foreign influences from affecting its local population since the leaders of the country know that once they let a democratic foothold establish itself within the country their positions and very lives would be in danger.

Iran’s Foreign Policy Agenda The work of Ben-Meir (2009) explains that despite what amounts to erratic action and decisions, states are actually rational decision makers and pursue a policy that they believe would result in a better and more advantageous position for the state (Ben-Meir, 74-89).

However, the study of Calabresi, Crowley and Newton-Small (2013) shows that sometimes this pursuit of a more advantageous position is in part influenced by those in power who pursue what they believe is the most advantageous position yet such an orientation may not be the best path for the general citizenry (Calabresi, Crowley,and Newton-Small, 20).

What this means in the case of Iran, when taking the section on domestic policy into consideration, is that its leadership is pursuing a path that focuses on what they believe would be best in their eyes and not necessarily what would be best for the people.

For Calabresi, Crowley,and Newton-Small (2013), Iran’s foreign policy agenda of developing nuclear arms is meant as a deterrent towards undue or even forceful interference from outside parties in Iran’s domestic affairs. Goldberg (2010) states that developing nuclear arms is a way in which Iran’s leaders ensure that its authoritarian government continues to remain in power through the suppression of rights and liberties within the country (Goldberg, 56-69).

In fact, studies such as those by Goldberg (2010) point to the fact that since states are rational actors Iran would know that any nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies would result in the country being turned into a nuclear wasteland as a direct result of retaliatory strike from the U.S. Its rhetoric and various claims are meant to discourage direct interference in its domestic affairs and nothing more.

Conclusion When taking into consideration the various studies on Iran’s domestic agenda with the studies on its foreign policy objectives, it thus becomes clear that in the case of Iran, war is not imminent given that its actions are meant not to attack any foreign entity but to ensure the continued survival of the state in the form of the authoritarian regime that is currently in power.

This study has shown that Iran, a rational actor in international relations, knows full well that it cannot match the military might of the U.S. and it had no plans to do so from the very beginning.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Iran and Its Pursuit of Nuclear Weapons: Is War Imminent? by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The country is merely trying to deter other countries from implementing any form of “aggressive democratization” that would endanger the current authoritarian regime. Thus, despite the continued aggressive rhetoric against the U.S. and its focus on developing a nuclear program, such actions are merely there as a “hands off sign” for other countries such as the U.S. that would attempt to democratize Iranian society.

Works Cited Al-Tamimi, Naser. “Will Riyadh Get The Bomb?.” Middle East Quarterly 20.2 (2013): 49- 57. International Security

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The Incarceration of Mothers and Its Impact On Children Proposal college admission essay help: college admission essay help

The work of Smith (2012) attempts to correlate the incarceration of mothers with the concept of structural inequality in present day society in order to show how society itself is to blame for the problems that come about when a mother is incarcerated, released and put back in charge of taking care of her child (Smith, 2012).

Structural inequality in essence is an inherent bias within social structures which can provide some advantages to a select group of people within society while at the same time marginalizing others (Smith, 2012). This can be seen in instances related to racism, education and discrimination wherein certain segments of the population are categorized and marginalized depending on the color of their skin and their particular race.

For example the recent law involving illegal immigration passed by Arizona has in effect created a form of discrimination against many Mexicans living within the country who are in fact here legally (Smith, 2012).

The fact is structural inequality is one of the main reasons behind the continued limitation behind the school system and various careers wherein minorities are in fact being discriminated against due to connotations involving their propensity towards illegal or criminal behavior (Smith, 2012).

While it may be true that some minorities do have difficulties in learning due to their origins the fact remains that such a system actually perpetuates the concept of societal inequality where it has come to be believed that white Americans are more predilected towards success while minorities are leaning towards marginal careers at best.

In fact, Smith (2012) shows that the incarceration of mothers was more prevalent in the case of minorities (60 to 70 percent depending on certain states) to that of the white majority within the country (30 to 40 percent depending on the state).

Smith (2012) attempts to explain such a situation by showing that it is due to the societal predilection to offer different levels of opportunity to different races and classes of people that people tend to turn to crime since all other options are out of reach for them (Smith, 2012). In some cases this impacts mothers which often results in their incarceration in instances where they are caught performing some form of illegal action.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More However, Massoglia, Firebaugh

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Writing: the Ideal City Report best essay help

Table of Contents Location of the City and Aesthetics of the City

Business to support the city

Living space for the inhabitants and the landscape

Infrastructure and security issues in the city

Environmental issues

Allowances and Expansion

References

Location of the City and Aesthetics of the City My ideal city is based on both an imaginary and a real city, especially the City of Dubai that has been upgraded to international standards. My ideal city should be located along the coastal beach where a cool breeze from the sea will be hitting the city when the temperatures are high. The look of the city should show a clear blend of both traditional and contemporary architectural designs.

According to Townsend (2013), the beauty of the city should not be rigidly defined by the use of modern architectural styles. The modern architecture is good because it offers more durability and enhanced beauty.

However, my ideal city should use modern architecture to reflect on our traditional styles of construction. It would be necessary to have a national park within the city, a beautiful beach, five-star hotels conveniently located near the beaches, a national park, and modern the means of transport to other parts of the world.

The aesthetics of the city would majorly define its appearance and the ability to appeal to the eye. The visual elements of the city should remain spectacular at night, just as it is during the day.

This means that the lighting systems used in the city should be able to give a true reflection of the city at night, from the tall buildings to the uniquely built stadiums, to the beautiful highways. The figure below shows a perfect example of an image of the ideal city.

As shown in the above diagram, the beauty of the city lies in many elements based on architectural design and aesthetics. The visual elements give a perfect impression of the city that was constructed with a very clear plan. The proportions of the buildings show that the planners were sensitive to the Golden Ration System, where proportionality of structures is given priority. The color of every structure is of utmost importance.

Some structures will need bright colors while others will need mild colors in a systematic manner that would result in a perfect match when viewed from a distance.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Although the vertical space should be embraced, it is necessary to ensure that the buildings are of different heights in some definite pattern to eliminate any boredom of the city when viewed from an aerial angle. The above diagram shows the desired pattern when designing the heights of different buildings that are closely related to one another.

Business to support the city The beauty of the city can only be realistic if it can support various business operations. The main business operation that this city will support is tourism. Tourists will be coming from all over the world to see animals in the national park. After spending some time in the national park, the tourists can sunbathe on the beach, just a few miles away from their residential hotels.

Another business would be wholesaling and retailing businesses. Goods from the United States and China should be passing through the country to various destinations across the world. This means that the city will also be a perfect location for the logistics companies (Goodchild 2008).

The city should also be a hub for the entertainment industry. Although I would have preferred a city that is free from heavy industries that pollute the environment, the truth is that a realistic city must always support such industries. For this reason, this city will have to support large industrial companies.

When distributing the companies, one of the main criteria that should be used is the space needed for an individual company and the level of pollution. Tourism, the retail industry, financial sector, entertainment, and other related companies will be operated from the city center. The national park will be located a few miles from the central business district. The industrial sector will be located in the furthest city suburbs.

Living space for the inhabitants and the landscape In this ideal city, there will be no slums. The inhabitants are expected to live in the city suburbs, in forested areas. When developing a residential area around the city for the inhabitants, the planners should ensure that nature is protected as much as possible.

It would be necessary to have the houses evenly scattered in a moderately forested area, but away from the protected national parks. In the residents, only trees and artificial gardens will be expected, as opposed to the national park that will have thick bushes for the wild animals.

We will write a custom Report on Writing: the Ideal City specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The landscape should be appealing to the eye by bringing nature in its truest form. The landscape will be very important in attracting tourists. It may be necessary to use modern architecture to create a landscape in a way that would make it appear natural. The figure below shows this.

The Landscape

Having such a landscape within the residential areas would make the city have a magnificent look.

Infrastructure and security issues in the city The residential area should have proper infrastructure that will ensure that movement, entertainment, shopping, banking, communication, and such other services are easily accessible to the inhabitants. As mentioned above, the community space should be a few miles away from the busy central business district.

Clean water and power supply in the residential areas and business premises should be regular in the entire city. Within the city, the main mode of transport should be through the use of roads and water vessels. Public transport should mainly involve uses of buses, taxis, electric train, and engine boats.

The government should ensure that all, if not most of the residents have stable employment. This is one of the ways of combating crime. There should be adequate security personnel in the central business district and the city suburbs. The residential areas, the national park, and other tourist locations should also be adequately guarded.

Environmental issues It is necessary to ensure that the city management authority has proper structures that would protect the environment. Activities within the city should not have adverse effects on the natural landscape of the city. Waste management should involve effective sewer lines and a regular garbage collection (Campbell 2012).

The collected garbage should be responsibly disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. Legal structures may be necessary to help protect the natural environment from any irresponsible behavior.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Writing: the Ideal City by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Allowances and Expansion It is a fact that this city will be expected to sustain future generations. For this to be possible, it would be necessary to have an allowance for expansion. In all the city segments discussed above, there should be some space that may sustain future developmental needs.

References Campbell, T. (2012). Beyond smart cities: How cities network, learn and innovate. Abingdon: Earthscan.

Goodchild, B. (2008). Homes, cities and neighbourhoods: Planning and the residential landscapes of modern Britain. London: Ashgate.

Townsend, A. M. (2013). Smart cities: Big data, civic hackers, and the quest for a new utopia. New York: Cengage.

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Apple Corporation Social and Ethical Responsibility Research Paper college application essay help: college application essay help

Introduction The Apple Corporation is a multinational company that specializes in different types of electronics, among them computer software, commercial servers, phones, and also personal computers. In 2006, Foxconn, one of Apple’s final assembly supplier in China, faced press allegations of poor working and living conditions. As a result, Apple had inspections conducted at 11 factories. Since then, Apple has conducted supplier audits of all its suppliers.

This paper examines Apple’s ethical and social responsibilities and their impacts on its reputation. The paper will further discuss the methods Apple can utilize to make sure its standards on wage and benefits are adhered to, determine the impacts of increased prices of goods on customer purchasing behavior, and provide an analysis of Apple’s current marketing strategy.

Apple’s Current Position on Ethical and Social Responsibilities In all its annual Supplier Code of Conduct reports, Apple states its ethical and social responsibilities. The latest report elaborated the company’s commitment to openness and transparency, accountability, labor, and human rights, worker empowerment, environment, health, and safety.

Ethical Responsibilities

Apple has a set of standards that govern its suppliers’ ethical conduct. The company has set standards to safeguard its workers’ health and well being by establishing safety standards to improve workplace conditions. The company also empowers its workers technically and professionally.

In its responsibilities to protect its workers’ human rights, Apple has put measures to protect labor and human rights. In conformity to international standards on labor, the report limits a week’s work to 60 hours and voluntary overtime (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2013).

Further, the company empowers its workers by providing free educational opportunities and training. As pertains the workplace environment, Apple strives to ensure workplace safety by improving working conditions, offering training on hazards, and working with the academic community (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2013).

Social Responsibilities

The company commits itself to the protection and conservation of the environment. The report states that ‘we take great care to design environmentally sound products’ (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2013, p. 25). Apple commits itself to ensure that all suppliers conserve the environment: ‘we work with suppliers to make sure they are using environmentally responsible manufacturing processes wherever those products are made’ (26).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Apple has continuously been fulfilling its ethical and social responsibilities. To maintain its progress, the company conducts audits of all its suppliers. Audit results, published in the 2013 Supplier Code of Conduct reports, indicate that the company has observed its ethics and responsibilities.

Audit results conducted on all its facilities indicate that 77% of its suppliers complied with labor and human rights. In instances that suppliers did not comply with the set standards, the company safeguarded the right of the employees and demanded compensation and other necessary actions (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2013).

The company has so far continued to observe its ethical and social responsibilities. This can be measured by the following examples of actions taken on suppliers who did not adhere to set standards.

The elimination of child labor by Foxconn supplier. The Apple Supplier Code of Conduct (2011) recorded a decrease in child labor cases in its Foxconn supplier.

The termination of its business with a facility that presented falsified payroll records and provided misleading interview answers during an auditing (Apple Supplier Code of Conduct, 2011).

Impact of the Publication on Ethics and Social Responsibility on Apple’s Reputation Although Apple has suffered press allegations and NGO criticism on its practices, it is highly ranked by its customers. The fact that, in a survey on Corporate Reputation and Social Responsibility Rankings (2010) in U.S Apple was rated six by consumers, pertains its social responsibility.

Its diversity of products also made it difficult for its consumers to adapt their consumption. This character was outstanding and acted as strength to winning consumer loyalty (Yoffie

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Why do you think it is important to study these concepts and theories in substance abuse prevention? Why are they useful and how can they be applied to prevention programs? best college essay help

In Chapter 6 we looked at four theories (Maslow’s hierarchy of need, Erikson’s psychosocial developmental stages, Piaget’s cognitive developmental stages, and the Medicine Wheel view of human development) that addressed physical, emotional, mental and spiritual development among individuals.

Write at least an two page essay, doubled spaced, 12 pt. font in a word file format answering the following questions:

Why do you think it is important to study these concepts and theories in substance abuse prevention? Why are they useful and how can they be applied to prevention programs?

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Assignment: Legislation Grid and Testimony/Advocacy Statement best essay help

As a nurse, how often have you thought to yourself, If I had anything to do about it, things would work a little differently? Increasingly, nurses are beginning to realize that they do, in fact, have a role and a voice.

Many nurses encounter daily experiences that motivate them to take on an advocacy role in hopes of impacting policies, laws, or regulations that impact healthcare issues of interest. Of course, doing so means entering the less familiar world of policy and politics. While many nurses do not initially feel prepared to operate in this space effectively, the reward is the opportunity to shape and influence future health policy.

To Prepare:

Select a bill that has been proposed (not one that has been enacted) using the congressional websites provided in the Learning Resources.
The Assignment: (1- to 2-page Legislation Grid; 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement)

Be sure to add a title page, an introduction, purpose statement, and a conclusion. This is an APA paper.

Part 1: Legislation Grid

Based on the health-related bill (proposed, not enacted) you selected, complete the Legislation Grid Template. Be sure to address the following:

Determine the legislative intent of the bill you have reviewed.
Identify the proponents/opponents of the bill.
Identify the target populations addressed by the bill.
Where in the process is the bill currently? Is it in hearings or committees?
Part 2: Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement

Based on the health-related bill you selected, develop a 1-page Legislation Testimony/Advocacy Statement that addresses the following:

Advocate a position for the bill you selected and write testimony in support of your position.
Describe how you would address the opponent to your position. Be specific and provide examples.
At least 2 outside resources and 2-3 course specific resources are used.
https://www.congress.gov/
https://www.senate.gov/

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Drug Usage by Students Research Paper scholarship essay help: scholarship essay help

I chose this topic because it highlights the issue of drug culture in higher learning institutions. Numerous studies have shown that negative effects of drug use lead to behavioral and emotional instability, disturbing cognitive functions.

Substance abuse on college and university campuses has proven to have detrimental results, so steps must be taken in controlling and preventing the use of illegal drugs by students.

Research has shown that drugs are used most commonly, in social settings and so, become very accessible. College and university students often get drugs from their peers, fellow students and share their own drugs with others (Rozenbroek and Rothstein 358).

This makes illegal substances extremely accessible and allows for further spreading among student. Also, this sort of behavior leads to an intake of several different substances, which creates a mix of drugs and this is even more dangerous.

Marijuana is the most accessible and often used drug among college students. The effects that it produces are immediate and are relatively long lasting.

The damage that is done to health and mental capacities of a person are not directly observed or noticed by the users and this makes the drug even more popular.

The opportunity to be used almost at any location and a chance to control the effects, make it possible to use in many social settings and with different people.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More It has been shown that cannabis and other drugs lead to an increase in social behavior, students being less motivated and experiencing memory and concentration loss.

In some cases, it has alienated people who developed anti-social tendencies where people become isolated and engage in drug use. This majorly impacts the work and studies at educational institutions, as students get low grades on tests and cannot retain the information.

Use of drugs is mostly caused by social cues, easy access and peer influence. Students have been shown to crave and use marijuana and other illicit drugs in groups and settings where their friends are already involved in the usage.

As marijuana is the most commonly used drug in colleges or universities, the effects have been illustrated to fall within a great range. Those who use marijuana socially, exhibit tendencies to get involved in more risk taking behavior and relations with people who are not well known.

It has also led to promiscuity and irresponsible behavior among groups of marijuana users. Social use has a direct linkage to mental instability that the drug produces. People have experienced irritative behavior, emotional lack of control and mental instability.

Some studies have displayed that while using marijuana, the brain develops in a different way and thus, leads to diversion from norms in the uptake and comprehension of information. There is also a higher chance of developing mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

In turn, this can cause alcohol abuse and students are more susceptible to develop a higher dependency level (Buckner and Ecker 827). In relation to education and drug effects, students have been shown to be significantly impaired by substance abuse.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Drug Usage by Students specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As motivation lowers, students are late to class, oversleep and their academic performance suffers considerably. Use of marijuana in particular, decreases energy levels and so, students tend to spend time sitting around with friends without getting any homework done.

The usage becomes a cycle where each aspect of social, personal and emotional instability causes and affects another. A person starts losing self-esteem, might develop paranoia and social exclusion.

Unfortunately, there is very little data that can justifiably state which mental disorders are specifically linked with marijuana use and so, further research is required.

The reasons and causes as to why students use marijuana and other illicit drugs are numerous. Some are dependant mentally and physically and so, continue the use.

Another reasons suggest that people want to avoid the negative symptoms of withdrawal and thus, are somewhat forced to engage in drug use (Shrier and Blood 822).

The stress and pressure that come from a new setting of an educational institution or inability to control the circumstances make people more inclined to use drugs. Also, self control theories have been proposed to explain the usage.

Students lack the ability to force themselves to refuse the drugs and because of this, engage in substance abuse. This might be caused by problems in the family, developmental problems or social settings (Ford and Blumstein 6).

Another theory is that the increase in the drug use comes merely from the increase in people’s awareness and the number of people enrolled in educational institutions. The amounts are much greater than before and people’s views are becoming more liberal.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Drug Usage by Students by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a greater population of students is involved in substance abuse, peer pressure has increased. The influence of friends and fellow students does not have to be forceful or physical, it happens on a subconscious level when a person believes that they must engage in similar behavior to be accepted.

Often, this is not the case but the message is clear that the more people use drugs, the more influence there is on those who are in close proximity to people and drugs themselves. In contrast, it has been shown the developmental and psychological disorders lead to higher drug abuse.

People with high anxiety and depression were more likely to use marijuana and abuse prescription medication (Schmidt and Buckner 1482).

There is still much research that must be produced in order to have conclusive results, proving the connections between personal mental states and drug abuse.

Before, it was mentioned, a lower self control and proximity to a large amount of drugs or people with an already developed dependence increases the chances of use and distribution. An alarming fact is that prescription medication is greatly used in the illicit ways.

People, who have a prescription, will sometimes share or sell their drugs to their friends and peers. This leads to a dangerous mix of several drugs that have proven to be extremely harmful for the person.

An addition of alcohol is another factor that increases the health risks of a person who has a drug abuse problem (Rozenbroek and Rothstein 359). The easy access and the absence of the need to produce the drugs, makes it efficient to distribute among students.

Many young adults get involved in the dealing of drugs, as it is a relatively safe and fast way to make money. Because of a high percentage of people using marijuana or other illicit drugs, especially on campus, a person can very effectively stay in one place and the demand will be rather high.

Social media and culture itself are part of the inclination to become involved in the sharing and usage of drugs. It is evident that drug use and the spread over the population is a growing problem and must be addressed with special attention.

As has been shown, people resort to drugs for many reasons but the absence of significant immediate effects and the large number of people involved in the usage are some of the major determinants.

As not a lot of studies have produced reliable results, people tend to think that the effects are not significant, as already a vast amount of individuals is using drugs. In reality, marijuana and other drug usage can be seen on a very personal basis.

For some people, it helps to concentrate and achieve better results, as has been seen with prescription drugs (Rozenbroek and Rothstein 361).

For those with various psychological and cognitive, as well as physical disorders, marijuana has been shown to have positive effects, by calming the person down and allowing for higher levels of concentration.

Even though cannabis and other drugs are illegal in the United States, a great portion of the population is involved in the use and thus, it is a growing problem.

Generally, recreational drug use, as well as prescription medication and marijuana have been around for a long time. The modern times have seen an increase in the usage by the student population.

This leads to believe that people are more acclimated with the drugs and there has been an increase in the access to the said substances. Sharing prescription drugs occurs frequently among friends and this creates even more issues.

College students, who consume illegal substances, have poor academic records, health illness and mental problems which in turn worsen the behavioral and mental conditions of a person.

Drug use and distribution must be strictly regulated and controlled by law in order to prevent any harmful consequences.

Works Cited Buckner, Julia and Anthony Ecker. “Mental health problems and interest in marijuana treatment among marijuana-using college students”. Addictive Behaviors 35 (2010): 826-833. Print.

Ford, Jason and Lindsey Blumstein. “Self-Control and Substance Use Among College Students”. Journal of Drug Issues 43.1 (2013): 56-68. Print.

Rozenbroek, Katelyn and William Rothstein. “Medical and Nonmedical Users of Prescription Drugs Among College Students”. Journal Of American College Health 59.5 (2011): 358-364. Print.

Schmidt, Norman and Julia Buckner. “Marijuana effect expectancies: Relations to social anxiety and marijuana use problems”. Addictive Behaviors 33 (2008): 1477–1483. Print.

Shrier, Lydia and Emily Blood. “The Context of Desire to Use Marijuana: Momentary Assessment of Young People Who Frequently Use Marijuana”. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 26.4 (2012): 821-829. Print.

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Culture of an Individual from Kenya Term Paper college essay help near me

Overview, Inhabited Localities, and Topography Culture or simply a set of values observed by people seems dominant in each society differing from tribe to tribe. As a result, it sounds rather interesting to engage an individual in an interview where you expect him/her to give you at least a hint of his/her culture based on the various parameters that the paper tables from the perspective of the Luo community of Kenya.

I interviewed a 74-year-old woman namely Maria Atieno from Kenya, an East African country. She is temporarily living in the U.S on a six-month visit with her grandchildren, who are the US Citizens by birth. Her daughter migrated into the US over four decades ago in pursuit of higher learning and better economic opportunities.

Local rumors (back in Kenya) had it that she could work while studying and land a luxurious job soon after her graduation. However, another major reason for her migration was to escape the political instability in her native country as there was a lot of civil strife between her community and their neighbors over land, demarcation and cattle raiding which took many lives, including that of her elder brother.

She studied her undergraduate course at the University of Oregon, got a Business degree, and then attended the University of Cincinnati for masters in Finance. She is currently pursuing her doctorate at Leeds. Maria says that education back home is very tough for both students and parents. There are many economic hardships in terms of affording fees and other basic amenities while supporting a large family.

As for her occupation, Maria is a substantial farmer. She says she was lucky to have married a very wealthy railway worker who possessed a lot of land and livestock. However, he passed away almost 30 years ago, and these resources are what she used to educate her eight children. She engages in farming every year selling the produce to make ends meet.

Communication Maria speaks fluent Luo and some Swahili (Kenya’s national language). Consequently, I had to get a translator to communicate with her and her eldest son, Thomas proved resourceful at this. Her voice is pleasant, and she was very open and willing to share with me. She maintained eye contact throughout the interview, and she said that in her culture, it is important to do this so as not to appear timid or weak.

However, she also said that other cultures in Kenya find maintaining eye contact to be disrespectful. She had no qualms about her personal space, which was the average one foot around her. However, she was very opposed to any adult or child jumping over her great grandchildren’s feet or heads as she said that in her culture, such an action would inhibit the growth or prosperity of those children.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More While transferring whatever opportunities they might have had to the person who jumps over them (Owuor, Oketch-Rabah,

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Advertising for Consuming Kids Term Paper college essay help near me: college essay help near me

Table of Contents Introduction

What Do We Know?

The Social Issues around Child-targeted Advertising

Discussion and Conclusion

References

Introduction The number of children aged below twelve years in Canada is high and keeps on rising. Over the past few years, child-targeted advertising has become a lucrative industry that is estimated to generate 250 billion dollars annually (Desmond, 2007). It is estimated that young children spend 700 million dollars each year on items such as clothes, electronics, and snack foods (Desmond, 2007).

The narrator in the film, Consuming Kids, argues that the fact that children spend an “equivalent of the combined economies of the world’s 115 poorest countries” has attracted many marketers to this market (Barbaro

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Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment Coursework essay help: essay help

Introduction Understanding the dynamic nature of human personality has become a complex issue in the contemporary society owing to numerous factors such as nature, genetic makeup, and the social environment that control and influence individual’s behavior. Sociologists argue that human behavior, besides being influenced by the environment, is also controlled by certain aspects such as culture and common life events.

In agreement, Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2010) point out that understanding the complex nature of human behavior requires appreciating certain concepts such as human development, cultural competency, and human diversity.

The analysis in this paper explores human behavior in terms of both ecosystem and systems theories, and it denotes that gaining knowledge on human development and their experiences throughout their life period is important towards understanding their behavior. The paper also examines the behavior of the young adulthood population and how it relates to the social environment.

Young adulthood population The young adulthood stage in development is one of the most challenging periods in life since individuals in this stage undergo myriad of both psychological and physical changes. Choi and Hey (2011) point out that in this stage, both growth and decline takes place.

As such, this population is offered with an opportunity to typically move from their parents’ homes and either begin a career, get employed, marry and raise a family or contribute to the development of society.

Besides, the young adulthood period as Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2010) describe it is a time when an individual is at his or her prime of life. A person at this age is both psychologically and physically in good health, has vast experience and wisdom in variety of areas in life, and may have a stable career in place.

Scholars argue that pinpointing the age and exact time that defines young or middle adulthood is a difficult task posed by determining the transition period into adulthood.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Gore et al. (2011) posit that different societies have diverse ways of determining adulthood that include the ability to vote which is allowed at some specified age or to drink alcoholic beverages which is a prerequisite only for adults who are from the age of 21 (Zastrow

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Lab Reports – Gene Technology Report cheap essay help

Report one Introduction

The Green Fluorescent Protein Gene that was noted in one of the species of jelly fish known as Aequoreavictori has been known for several decades. The jelly fish obtained from the Northwest of Pacific was used to clone the gene component. Green light is emitted when this gene species is exposed to Ultra Violet (UV) rays.

Tsien (1998) observes that it is not necessary to spoil the cells before the process of observation and especially when carrying out gene encoding using the GFP gene. This is mainly attributed to the fact that an outstanding green light can be readily emitted in the presence of UV rays.

Background

The vector components were part and parcel of the bacterial colonies that were used in this experimental procedure. These are the same components that are supposed to emit green pigment even though they are anticipated to remain chloramphenicol resistant. The PCR was then used to amplify the GFP gene used in the experiment. In order to achieve the desired results, oligonucleotide primers were equally used.

Moreover, efficiency of the process was gauged using the two applied methods. In other words, it was possible to determine the efficiency of the cloning methods used by comparing the oligonucleotide primers.

GFP clones are amplified when PCR are used in the experiment. The pBCKS are then formed as a result of litigation that takes place in the latter procedure. Thereafter, the electroporation process is used to transform the gene components into the E. coli forms.

Discussion

The morphological distinction of the GFP gene is possible due to its unique features. Moreover, gene spicing enables the process of GFP production bearing in mind that there are different DNA codes for the organism’s genome that usually targets the proteinsin. Hence, the process of producing GFP genes is controlled by both the regulatory sequence and the gene structure. Past studies have revealed that the cells which take part in the experiment usually emit fluorescent pigment when viewed using fluorescence microscopy.

The acceptance of resistance towards germs-killing components is demonstrated using the pBCKs and pGFP cells. The growth levels of the antibiotics can be clearly observed through the plates used in the experiment. The observation can be made clearly especially at the end of the incubation period.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Hence, the experiment used and represented the GFP gene as plasmid. It was then placed together with a component derived from DNA. This explains why green colour was emitted when the GFP cells were exposed to UV light. Nonetheless, there were quite a number of regions that failed to emit the green colour.

Tsien (1998) also observed the same experience in one of his similar experiments. The regions that do not fluoresce may be composed of the GFP genes. Nevertheless, the transcription, translational, and replication process can be experienced by the cells taking part in the experiment.

In contrast, there is evident resistance towards Chloramphenacol among the grown pBCK cells. As a result, the GFP gene expression cannot be observed. This explains why some regions could not fluoresce (emit green light) even when exposed to Ultra Violet rays. The gene expression is imitated and also the present fluorescent protein is utilized by E. coli that has been activated biologically. However, when blue light is passed over the gene component, the green colour is emitted.

Wang, et al. (1994) also gave the same conclusions in one of their experiments. Hence, it can then be clearly indicated that the inserted lac promoter component and the GFP gene were part and parcel of the downstream cloning process. The inserted component was also found to be relatively active in the presence of Escherichia coli.

When pBCKS and pGFPgene plasmids were subjected to the restriction, linear vectors were formed. Sticky ends are also produced. These ends are laced with both the TTAA and AATT on the plasmids. The chloramphenicol plates also demonstrated growth of some colonies. Moreover, the antibiotics used received a lot of resistance from the cells used in the experiment. Fluorescent was not produced even after exposure to UV rays.

Hence, it indicated that the litigation reaction had failed or become impaired. From the experimental results, it was evident that when the pGFP plasmid was used in the sub cloning process, the process did not succeed. This was mainly occasioned by the fact that there was partial digestion process or the system was inactive.

Report two Introduction

The field of medicine has immensely benefited from the process of protein localization in E. coli using Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). One of the areas of concerns has been the development of gene fusions. Two main components used in this process have been the variant of gfp and malE [MBP]. The GFPuv has also been optimized using the latter components. The hybrid proteins used to be encoded using GFP combined with carboxy-terminal end.

We will write a custom Report on Lab Reports – Gene Technology specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Background

The -galactosidase expression is induced using IPTG in the lac promoter region. When this component is used, the involved gene sequence and the performance of the transcription are significantly improved. The BioRad dye binding assay is also used to estimate various quantities of protein components used in the experiment.

The process is carried out using specific time intervals. According to this experiment, both the GFP protein and the protein components that were used work in a similar manner. The reagents are then applied with the Gel electrophoresis in order to identify the proteins taking part in the experiment. Hence, its main role is to monitor the levels at which protein quantities are increasing. It is also instrumental in determining the concentration levels of GFP proteins that are present in the induced cultures.

Discussion

In order to express GFP, the recombinant E. coli can be used in a unique manner. In this case, it is applied as a gene product model component for investigating various conditions in organisms. Cha et al. (2000) is quite categorical that when making use of GFP, a gene in a specific organism can be easily expressed.

Moreover, it is possible for the system of an organism to be introduced with the component. It can equally be integrated in the genome system especially through viral vector injection, cell transformation and also when carrying out breeding process.

In this experiment, colour change was the main guiding factor for correlating concentration and the level of protein assayed component. The color changes were compared with 595 nm. When proteins are absent, the results are blank and the indicator shows a zero mark. When a linear equation y = 0.16x 0.36 is used, it is possible to obtain the level of concentration of the unknown protein samples. From the results, a standard curve was drawn to indicate the various levels of protein concentration.

The results indicated that the GFP concentration was high at 0.5ug/ul. Moreover, there was a remarkable content expression when the protein sample was induced at 0 hours. This was mainly attributed by the either the background expression or basal expression. This finding is also supported by research studies conducted by Tsien (1998).

According to this experimental result, the GFP components that are identical to the protein expressions have been facilitated by the E coli component. When optimal expression is analyzed, the best operating conditions were not considered as the 3 hours that were taken and the lac promoter used. In fact, the contents of the lac promoter affected the final results.

The E coli activities also affected the components of the GFP gene during the process of downstream cloning. Kosinski, Rinas and Bailey (1992) reiterate that when E coli strain is combined with IPTG, it agitates the rate of growth of any given protein. However, the procedure ought to be carried out when lac promoter is present.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Lab Reports – Gene Technology by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The electrophoresis processes with the assistance of SDS gel were used to demonstrate the expressed protein purity. Protein bands that were almost same in size were also visualized. The GFP protein size was also demonstrated by the fact that the sizes ranged between 27 and 30 KDa. However, Burnette (1981) notes that the migration rates affect these sizes. Besides, the binding dye effects affected the clarity of the final outcomes.

According to Burnette (1981), the generation of coloured precipitates is affected by the primary antibodies. The precipitation levels are also affected when the subsrate are added. Clear bands were seen at 30KDa since the dye bound well with the GFP protein components

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Web-Based Technology Report Report college essay help online: college essay help online

Introduction Facebook, widely regarded as the most popular social networking sites among students, is created to connect users. It allows people to customize their profiles with personal information such as pictures, relationships and personal interests. What’s more, all Facebook users from a common region or users who list a certain movie or music as a favourite form a group.

Under user profiles, each of these portions of information constitutes a link. When a user clicks on one of these links, it shows information of other users in the network that incorporated that aspect in their profiles. Other links are further structured around user-created clusters that usually depict expressive labels such as name of a fraternity or feminism is fun (Educause Learning Initiative 2006, p. 1).

Concerns have emerged regarding the risks posed by Facebook. In some cases, the profiles posted in Facebook do not represent the people behind them. For instance, the urge to gain online popularity may entice some Facebook users to post awkward pictures or data that would otherwise be kept confidential in a different context.

Although many students know how to conceal private information from the public sphere, some lack the prudence to depict themselves properly online. In some cases, students may get in trouble regarding photos and comments they post about themselves. In addition, libel and copyright issues may surface when students make inappropriate comments about others or infringe on intellectual property rights of other people.

This problem is aggravated by internet caching whereby web content may be accessible even after it has been altered or eradicated from a web site. Addiction is also common among some users who spent many hours daily searching for friends or updating their profiles.

An apparently infinite web of links, nevertheless, creates a risk for endless roving, seeing who likes what, who knows who, and how it all integrate, without any precise objective in mind (Educause Learning Initiative 2006, p. 2).

Case Study Analysis During the next semester, Angela plans to visit Hungary and study at a university in Budapest. She aspires to gain more information about Hungary before departing. Angela has a Facebook account but she has not updated her profile because she does not use Facebook regularly.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Since Angela attends a somewhat small college with limited resources for students who aspire to study overseas, she resolves to learn more about Hungary from other Facebook users. Angela begins by updating her Facebook profile with information about her major and the impending semester in Budapest. She links up with some Facebook groups related to international student exchange programs.

Angela uses these groups to locate students at her own college who have previously studied overseas. By communicating with members of these communities, Angela is able to gain immense information about various aspects of overseas studies that she would otherwise find hard to acquire using conventional means. Angela looks for Facebook users with Budapest in their profiles and discovers several students from that region.

From their viewpoints, she learns a lot about the past and present political climate of Hungary. Angela then uses this information to carry out Facebook searches focussing on European culture and politics in general (Educause Learning Initiative 2006, p. 1).

The Facebook profile of Angela becomes more and more detailed as the weeks progress. Angela then creates new online groups, one of which grows rapidly with over 200 members. Several frequent Facebook users communicate with Angela on a regular basis to update her with new information about Budapest.

By the time Angela travels to Hungary, she has a wealth of knowledge about the local weather, culture, restaurants as well as her expectation with respect to the study-abroad program.

What’s more, Angela has made online friendships with some students from other universities who will spend their next semester in Hungary. Angela makes plan to meet them for lunch in Budapest during the first week of her arrival (Educause Learning Initiative 2006, p. 1).

Several deductions can be made with respect to the scenario presented above. Facebook offers a refined profiling system that enables users to generate detailed data regarding themselves. Profiles usually entail sharing data such as personal interest, location, age, pictures and extra details under the ‘About me’ section.

We will write a custom Report on Web-Based Technology Report specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The moment a profile is generated, a user can then be considered as a member of the online community and has access to information shared within the group (Harrison

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Digital TV and Its Consequences: A Changing Media Industry Report college essay help near me

Literature review The main idea that is being promoted throughout the article by Gripsrud is that the very paradigm of TV-broadcasting, in the traditional sense of this word, is somewhat inconsistent with the discursive implications of the process of digital television replacing the analog one.

As the author noted, “The present technological shift from analog to digital forms of production, storage, and distribution of signals raises important questions concerning the very fundamentals of broadcasting as a social institution” (2004, p. 210).

According to Gripsrud, this is because, whereas, the concept of an analog broadcasting presupposes the centralized essence of the informational content, distributed among viewers, the rise of digital TV cannot be discussed outside of how it enables people to ‘decentralize’ information, to which they are being exposed, while watching a particular TV channel.

In its turn, this presupposes the government’s undermined capacity to exercise control over the society’s functioning and creates objective preconditions for the process of citizens growing increasingly ‘atomized’ (in the perceptional and cognitive senses of this word), to attain an additional momentum.

The author considers the earlier mentioned phenomena socially counterproductive because it is being capable of undermining the integrity of the informational links that bond the society’s members together – hence, resulting in lessening the extent of the society’s overall stability.

In his article, Gripsrud also points out to the fact that it is utterly inappropriate to assume that the newly emerged conveniences to TV audiences, brought about by the introduction of the digital TV standard, will necessarily prove beneficial for viewers. As the author noted, “Digital TV may offer greater possibilities… but it is not at all certain that these will be particularly successful” (2004, p. 217).

This is because the physiologically predetermined specifics of how people perceive the surrounding reality and their place in it effectively prevent them from being able to take full advantage of new viewing-opportunities, made possible by the introduction of the digital TV standard.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More For example, the author mentions the fact that the convenience of being able to watch TV programs on-demand, offered by digital television, continues to be regarded by many viewers as something that they can well live without.

This is because, it is precisely the fact that, while remaining affiliated with a particular TV channel (which offers programs on a time-fixed basis) that the significant share of viewers is able to plan their daily schedules.

Gripsrud concludes his article by suggesting that, even though the medium of digital television does render several television-related conventions outdated, it is much too early to expect that the very concept of analog broadcasting will cease to remain discursively validated in the future.

Many ideas that are being reflected upon in Bosland’s article do resonate with how the earlier mentioned author went about tackling the concerned subject matter.

For example, according to Bosland, the ongoing technological progress in the related domains of Australian television naturally causes the informational medium in question to undergo a complete transformation, to preserve the integrity of its ‘structural factors’ – technology, ideology, economics, and politics.

This is because it is only the structurally sustainable television networks that, according to the author, may function in such a manner so that the relations between the government, on the one hand, and TV broadcasting companies, on the other, continue to be observant of the quid pro quo principle.

After all, namely the implementation of this specific principle, within the context of designing media-policies in Australia and in other Western countries, which makes possible the functioning of the discussed informational medium, as we know it, “Under this principle, broadcasters are protected against new market entry (and hence competition) in exchange for meeting certain public interest obligations” (2007, p. 321).

We will write a custom Report on Digital TV and Its Consequences: A Changing Media Industry specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The line of argumentation, deployed by Bosland in his article, has led him to assume that the reason why recently passed media-related legislation in Australia (such as the Broadcasting Services Act) appears to fall behind the pace of progress in the domain of digital TV, is that they meant to correlate with the interests of all the involved stakeholders.

In other words, Bosland promotes the idea that it is slightly inappropriate to think of the recent technological breakthroughs in the field, as such that alone define the subtleties of the concerned socio-cultural discourse. The author concludes his article by pointing out to the fact that, being the subject of the dialectical laws of history; digital television will be affecting the surrounding social reality to an ever-increased extent.

Critical reflection One of the main argumentative implications, which derive out of the earlier reviewed articles, is that the rise of digital television will inevitably result in people growing increasingly disfranchised from the actual televised content that they consume.

This could not be otherwise, because the qualitatively new paradigm of distributing information among people, brought about by the rise of digital television, provides them with the liberty to lead socially withdrawn lifestyles.

After all, the technical particulars of how digital TV-content in being delivered imply that the governmental policy-makers can no longer rely on television, as one of the first instruments of endowing citizens with the sense of a social/cultural solidarity.

In other words, there is indeed an excellent rationale to expect the rise of digital television to result in weakening the government’s control over people’s lives. Even though that such an eventual development is going to be welcomed by many freedom-loving individuals, there are certain doubts about whether the process of citizens becoming cognitively and perceptional ‘atomized’ will prove beneficial, in the end.

This is because human societies are in essence thermodynamic systems, the sustainability of which may not only be measured in regards to the concerned components’ actual quality, but also in regards to the qualitative characteristics of how systemic components interrelate with each other.

However, as we are well aware of, the integrity of the links that bound the system’s integral elements together negatively relates to the extent of these elements’ functional autonomy. In plain words – the lesser is the government’s influence on citizens’ lives. The higher are the chances for the society to collapse, due to the internal forces of entropy (Wicken1986).

Not sure if you can write a paper on Digital TV and Its Consequences: A Changing Media Industry by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Because the geographical expansion of digital television presupposes the government’s reduced ability to ‘guide’ people, within the context of how they address life-challenges, it will only be logical to expect that, as time goes on, people’s continual exposure to the digitized TV content will cause them to grow increasingly alienated, in the social sense of this word.

Another concern, related to the rise of digital television, has to do with the fact that the newly emerged digital TV-viewing opportunities are inconsistent with purely physiological aspects of how people ‘digest’ information in their minds. After all, as psychologists know, one can focus its metal attention on only one perceptually experienced object or phenomena at the time.

This is precisely the reason why people cannot be simultaneously addressing more than one mentally exhausting task. Moreover, for an individual to be able to ‘tune’ into solving a particular mental task, he or she will need to spend some time familiarizing itself with the task’s possible implications.

Because the activity of watching TV can be well defined in terms of a mental task that presupposes the concerned individual’s ability to ‘digest’ informational inputs, the paradigm of ‘digital watching’ appears to be synonymous to the notion of a pointless idling.

This because, while enjoying the liberty to choose from often as many as five hundred digital channels, people are being denied the opportunity to make an actual choice – whatever ironic it may sound (Belk 2013).

The very multitude of the available digitized channels effectively prevents viewers from being able to focus their mental attention on either of them for long enough, so that the process of ‘informational digestion’ could initiate.

In its turn, this explains the phenomena of people ‘surfing’ TV channels for seemingly no apparent purpose, whatsoever. It appears that the very fact that there are hundreds and hundreds of digitally delivered channels, available for subscription at affordable prices, establishes specific prerequisites for individuals in Western countries (where digital TV proliferates) to become intellectually marginalized.

The validity of this suggestion can be illustrated in regards to another phenomenon, brought about by the television’s continual digitalization – the fact that there is a widening gap between two distinctive groups of viewers, which can be generalized as ‘analytics’, on the one hand, and ‘thrill-seekers’, on the other.

As the relevant statistical studies indicate, viewers that belong to the first of these groups spend a right half of their time in front of the TV, while watching educational programs on ‘History’ and ‘Discovery’ channels.

The representatives of the second group tend to think of the activity of watching TV in terms of entertainment alone – hence, their longing to be exposed to the emotionally charged but intellectually shallow TV programs, such as ‘ET’ or ‘Cops’, for example (Robinson

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Denial in “Everyday Use” and “Jilting of Granny Weatherall” Essay scholarship essay help

Denial is an aspect of not complying with or failure to satisfy a request, which is portrayed well by the characters of Everyday Use and Jilting of Granny Weatherall. The former is about heritage where a black family fails to accept their twin state as African-Americans and end up choosing either African or American heritage. Jilting of Granny Weatherall on the other hand portrays denial but in this case is of self.

The old woman fails to accept her jilting by her lover to her death even though she prides in having been married and fend for her family all alone after facing the death of her husband at a tender age.

She happens not to be afraid of anything and she is determined to take down anything that comes her way to threaten her existence. Her dressing which according to Hoel “is of West African origin” (4) and speech betrayed her American heritage hence showing her superficial nature.

For Dee quilts, which were a symbol of her family heritage, were for class and admiration. She pegged no ancestral existence to them. She denounced her American name to Wangero Leewanika Kamenjo though she still held her American consumer culture dear to her.

Walker argues that she wants to do all that the whites did with the cunning equipment of the past (175). This is to maintain that heritage as an unenthusiastic manifestation to her classiness. Dee’s boyfriend on the other hand, has a Black Muslim background by his language. Therefore, “He is not interested in farming and ranching” (Walker 411).

Dee defies both the American and African heritage. She has no clue of how far her name that was her aunt’s goes down in the family. She too fails to understand the meaning of the churns as far as history is concerned. She goes further to not interacting with her blood kid sister because she is more American in speech and depicting denial of her American heritage.

On the same note, Maggie feels neglected and she is ashamed of her nature. Her mother describes her as a maimed and useless animal perhaps a dog ran over by a car. She always lives and stays in the corners not to be seen and even her speaking is faint.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More She does not feel like she can be like her sister, accept her state and move on. Later on when Mama sees the scars in the hand s of Maggie, she realizes that she should be proud of her heritage meaning she had denied the same all her years. She understands that there is no need to sacrifice either of her heritages for that was who she was together with her daughters.

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall as the name suggests contains a granny weathers all that life ever presented. Her boyfriend/husband jilted her. Granny has had pneumonia for many years and this made her have no faith in doctors. She asks Doctor Harry where he was when she pulled through milk-leg and pneumonia many years ago (WriteWork contributors), meaning that she was accustomed to life never meaning the best for her.

She actually feels neglected and seems not to agree that she was actually dying, she refuses to talk to the priest too. She seems to have bitterness with what happened during her wedding and she is careful not to go through the same again. She represses the jilting of George instead of facing life head on.

Granny too happens to be a staunch catholic who contrary to her actions, faith fails her. She felt that even God had jilted her and deceived her when she was left at the altar by her love. She literary becomes immortal in her mind after failing to pass on at her sixties and she does not accept that time was almost up for her as she repeatedly claims that she had a lot to do come the following day.

During her youthful age, she managed to sew clothes, do fences and much more and she thinks that the same would be the case at her age. At some point, she lost the most important thing in her life a child that she always wanted to have. Her obsession in her dreams signifies her failure to accept her death and move on with life. Sometimes she thought of her dead husband John too.

She wanted to see him again and tell her how she fared in some stuff. She lived in a wounded vanity. Additionally, God seems to jilt her making it worse for being in heaven was the only worthwhile thing that kept going. According to Porter, there is nothing crueler than this (588).

Denial is a role played tactfully and skillfully in the two essays. The denial in Alice Walker’s essay is about heritage where the actors have two heritages that they need to hold dear but they end up embracing one depending with their preferences.

We will write a custom Essay on Denial in “Everyday Use” and “Jilting of Granny Weatherall” specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, Jilting of Granny Weatherall is about denial of self and life experiences as a whole portrayed by Granny. She is in denial yet she is determined by even denying the comfort from Cornelius and the doctor.

Works Cited Hoel, Helga. Personal Names and Heritage: Alice Walker’s ‘Everyday Use’. Norway: Trondheim Cathedral School, 2000. Print.

Porter, Katherine. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 2000. Print.

Walker, Alice. Everyday Use. Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 1998. Print.

WriteWork Contributors. “The Stages of Death: 5 stages of death”. The jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Porter. 27 April, 2004. Web.

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Globalization of Australia Report (Assessment) college admission essay help: college admission essay help

Introduction Liquid Animation This is an entertainment company that is located in the Brisbane. It is known to produce educative, informational, and enlightening and entertainment materials that adapts to the most modern technology. It is known to produce high classic series of animation and general media resources in all the aspects and forms such as through the internet, video and film (Dholakia 2002).

The company was established in the year 1999 and its management is under four able brothers, their ability to manage has been witnessed through the tremendous growth that has been recorded by the business in the near past. The company has also received several awards including the “Golden Pixie” that was presented by the US Animation magazine for being the best in service provision in their industry of operation.

This signifies how competitive liquid animation is, the facets of its competitive advantage is the type of leadership that is steering the organization. Huge of the companies revenues come from its exportation abroad largely in the United States, the company is currently spreading its wings to the UK and Asia.

The management is also busy on research with the verge to expand on the variety of the products they deal in such as the 3D series and 2D television series. The driving force towards such operations is the needs of the customers, the company highly values their customers and they constantly conduct research to satisfy the consumers (Dholakia 2002).

Long Tall Clothing Company This is a form of a sole proprietorship formed by an individual by the names Sue in the year 1995. The company has specialty in constant production and continued development of the women clothing. Sue determination to see her company grow propelled her to do the work alone before a company approached them that could now ensure their adequate supply and production.

The increased production, intensive marketing and advent of technology which facilitates internet marketing and mail order systems. This enables customers in the foreign market to embrace the purchase of the clothing online. Television and lifestyle magazine advertisements, the consumer market is in the position of accessing the variety of products on offer (Dholakia 2002).

Through internet marketing and online sales, Long Tall Clothing Company has vastly reached a variety of markets both locally in Australia and overseas markets. The company is also able to extend its sales in the foreign market from Europe to the East smoothing the operations in the fashion industry.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The company through its management was so systematic in their operations; they in the first place set a website in 1997, then they established their first showroom where customers could visit frequently to witness the new arrivals and the current hits in the fashion.

Though the showroom went down, internet marketing has shoot due to consistency in technological growth and the bulk of their customers being those from overseas (Baldauf

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Sustainable Development: Progress or Illusion? Research Paper essay help free

Introduction As most people would agree, the term development is associated with positive well-being of the people and a brighter future. Nevertheless, any form of change in the society requires informed judgment regardless of whether it is positive or negative. This is because, what the world may consider being good today, is likely to be disregarded in the future (Pearce, Barbier

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Prosocial Media Evaluation Essay college essay help online: college essay help online

The general purpose of the study and research questions This current study adopted the General Learning Model (GLM) to test whether prosocial lyrics educe prosocial thoughts, feelings, and its role in participant’s behavior. Greitemeyer (2009) established that previous studies had overlooked the prosocial media effects on the internal state of prosocial lyrics listeners’. Consequently, this current study sought to address this significant research question.

Significance of the research question

The researcher sought to fill the identified research gap, which was overlooked by previous researchers. Thus, by answering the research question identified above, Greitemeyer (2009) study would not only reinforce the findings of previous studies but supply new information for this subject matter.

Who, How or what was studied

Consequently, to address the formulated research questions, the researcher conducted three independent experiments. The first experiment was carried out among 34 students from a German university. This research sample, which consisted of more women than men, was tested to determine whether listening to prosocial lyrics escalated prosocial thoughts.

The experiment group was told to listen to prosocial songs, while the control group listened to neutral songs. The second experiment, which was conducted among 38 students from the same university sought to establish whether prosocial music elicited empathetic emotions among participants.

The third experiment, which was administered among 90 university students selected randomly across various German universities, sought to measure whether prosocial songs had any significant effects on prosocial behavior.

Major steps in performing the study

In experiment one, control group participants were requested to listen to neural songs, while the experimental group was provided with prosocial songs. After listening to those songs, the two groups were required to compile a list of fragmented words, and to answer two questions therein.

Similarly, a similar process was repeated in experiment two, except that the participants were required to read two essays after listening to either prosocial or neural songs. The participants were then asked to explain whether these essays made them to sympathize with the author. Conversely, participants were interviewed on whether prosocial songs influenced their perception towards giving donations to non-profit organizations.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Data were recording and analysis

The researcher recorded word fragments in experiment one that was later analyzed to affirm or refute the formulated hypothesis. Similarly, the researcher interviewed and recorded participant feelings and behavior changes in experiment two and three, respectively.

Type of data analysis

The researcher used ANOVA to analyze the recorded data whereby the variables were compared based on the calculated mean and standard deviation measures.

The results

After controlling the possible confounding variables, the results indicated that word fragments from experimental group contained more prosocial words (M = 0.21, SD = 0.11) that the control group (M = 0.14, SD = 0.08), t(32) = 2.05, p <.05.)

Grietemeyer (2009) interpreted these results to suggest that there was no significant effect of prosocial songs on prosocial thoughts. Results in experiment two indicated that prosocial lyrics elicited empathetic feelings among experimental group participants (F (1, 36) = 6.51, p <.05, n2 =.15).

These results reinforce the research question that prosocial effects of the media affect the internal state of consumers. Correspondingly, results in experiment three also supported the research question whereby the possibility of donating was higher among the experimental group (53%) participants (x2(1, N = 90) = 4.56, p <.05), than those within the control group (31%).

Research conclusions

Successful interpretation and discussion of results led to the conclusion that prosocial media affects not only affected the internal state of the participants but has the ability to elicit prosocial behavior. In addition, this research study concluded that the GLM model was effective in measuring the media violence effects on the recipients.

Cautions about interpreting the study or generalizing the findings

Although the research hypothesis was supported based on the fact that there were noticeable differences in prosocial feelings, behaviors and thoughts between the two groups (experimental and control), the researcher caution that these changes could not be explained. This implies that the results should not be generalized until these changes are explicitly investigated.

We will write a custom Article on Prosocial Media specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Study flaws and experimental design improvement

The most significant flaw identified in this study was based on sample size restriction. Assuming the results are credible, it would be difficult to generalize these findings across the population because it is not clear whether similar results would be observed if the demographic characteristics were to be altered (e.g. high school students, young children).

Lessons learned

This study is extremely insightful, mainly because media effect is a topic that still requires extensive research, owing to the many controversial findings. Moreover, Grietemeyer (2009) research experimental method that combines both control and experimental studies is profoundly insightful because I learned how to deal with confounding variables.

References Greitemeyer, T. (2009). Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial thoughts, affect, and behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(1), 186-190. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2008.08.003

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Conflicts in the South China Sea Research Paper argumentative essay help: argumentative essay help

Introduction Conflicts are inevitable in our day to day lives. A conflict can be defined as a disagreement between or among parties. The parties perceive the conflict to be a threat to their interests, needs and concerns. Conflicts can occur in different contexts for instance at home, in an organization, within a country or across borders.

It is, therefore, important for all the parties involved to take necessary measures aimed at dealing with the conflict. The South China Sea conflict is an issue that has drawn a lot of concern and debate among different parties. The issue is believed to be a probable hot-spot of conflict in South East Asia in the near future due to lack of ways of finding a solution to the situation soon.1

This piece of work gives a critical analysis of the situation in South China Sea. Much emphasis will be given to aspects such as the history of tensions in South China Sea, the territorial authority in the area, the desire of surrounding countries, the relation changes between those countries over the years, the source of this conflict, and the reaction from each nations/UN/third parties.

The possibility of war occurring in South China Sea will also be analyzed as well as military conditions of the involved nations and their diplomatic strategies and how this would influence war.

History of tensions in South China Sea and the source of this conflict South China Sea is an area that has been faced with conflict over a relatively long period of time. Geographically, the sea is bordered by a number of countries including the People’s Republic of China (Hong Kong and Macau), the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Vietnam and Indonesia.2

The South China Sea is a region that is well known for the conflict that has surrounded it for quite some time. It is ranked as one of the world’s busiest waterways and one of the most disputed.3

The South China Sea is well equipped with reefs, islets and a considerable number of islands (more than 200). All these are claimed by a majority of countries that surround it. The countries include Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and China.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The conflicts in the South China Sea can be traced back in the 1970s. There is much that has been written in regard to the disputes surrounding the South China Sea which involves both the waters as well as the islands. Right from the time when UNCLOS III was still questionable, in the 1970s, the South China Sea region had already been deemed to be a potential spot associated with trouble.4

Among the disputes that are linked with the South China Sea, those between Vietnam and China with respect to the islands has been considered to be most serious, without any possibilities of having adequate solutions. In January of 1974, there was a significant occurrence with respect to the conflicts in the South China Sea. The then South Vietnamese government and China had a clash over the Paracels.

This move led to solitary Chinese control over the entire Paracels, a condition that has remained up to today. Although the disputes and conflicts in the South China Sea have involved a number of countries, it is evident that China has had the greatest influence in all the undertakings.

China has crossed with almost every nation that is involved, with the main aim being to get the highest possible powers and control over the South China Sea and thus enjoy all the benefits.5

Despite being considered as a potential trouble region, the South China Sea, initially, between the 1970s and 1980s, was not a security issue even though it was clear that some negative relations and developments were being experienced in the South China Sea.6

In 1997, Vietnam raised issues in regard to possessions of what it claimed to rightfully own. Some of the claims involved; 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 12 nautical miles of territorial waters and 12 nautical miles of contiguous zone. Other claims were also made by countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines.

Another notable dispute is that which occurred in 1988 when China and Vietnam had another clash over the islands. This time, the result was that China took control of six islands all located in the Spratlys. This struggle went on for some time with durations of peace and others of disagreements that raised security concerns.7

We will write a custom Research Paper on Conflicts in the South China Sea specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Today, China seems to be the threat to the condition in the South China Sea especially in regard to restoration of peace and stability. China uses any means to have control of the region, even force. Other major disputes took place in 1995 and 1999. It is clear that China is opportunistic8.

The sea and its islands has been a source of conflict as many countries claim its sovereignty. The South China Sea is deemed to be an incredibly important asset. This is more especially because of the resources contained therein for instance marine biodiversity such as fish resources, oil reserves and natural gas reserves.

Most of the islands are deemed to be very rich in hydrocarbon resources, an aspect that makes them admirable due to their value. The fact that most Asian countries concentrate on importation of oil related products from the Middle East makes the South China Sea a hot spot especially due to proximity.

The fact that the sea also offers a means of transport for different products emanating from different parts of the world also makes it resourceful. It is a critical trade route. This statement could be justified by the fact that it supports trade from different countries for instance Europe, East Asia and the Middle East.

Goods from these countries are usually transported through the Indian Ocean to the Malacca Strait and then to China, Japan as well as South Korea through the South China Sea. This shows how significant the South China Sea is and hence no party wants the other to dominate it. China is, however, the number one threat.

Global naval strategy is also another aspect that heightens the conflict among the Southeast Asian nations and China. Currently, China is very vigilant in seeking naval predominance in the South China Sea in an attempt to be a global naval power. This effort ought to include some projection into the Indian Ocean, an area that is deemed to be extremely essential in regard to power and competition.

Other Asian countries are also in a move to seek reinforcement of their naval competence for instance South Korea and Japan. The fact that the South China Sea is a resource is the main source of conflict as all the countries want to gain the sovereignty of the area to enjoy the benefits.9

The territorial authority in the areas There have been many territorial claims, made by many countries, over the South China Sea. This is the major source of disputes leading to the conflict issue. The leading countries in claiming of the territorial authority are the Republic of China (ROC) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). These two claim that almost the entire sea is theirs. This is so serious to an extent of demarking their claims within nine-dotted line.10

Not sure if you can write a paper on Conflicts in the South China Sea by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other notable claims include the claims; over Scarborough Shoal by China, Taiwan and Philippines, over the waters of the Natuna Islands by the Taiwan, Indonesia and China, over waters located west of Spratly Islands by Vietnam, Taiwan and China, over the Camago and Malampaya gas fields by the Philippines, Taiwan and China.

There have also been claims over the Strait of Johore and the Strait of Singapore by Malaysia and Singapore and over the areas in Gulf Thailand by Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia.

The Paracel Islands are also disputed between Vietnam and People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China. In addition to this, most of the islands around the South China Sea are also disputed between countries such as Vietnam, Brunei, Philippines, Taiwan, China and Malaysia11.

Territorial authority regarding the South China Sea can clearly be understood when looked at from the perspective of the islands. The islands disputes are different in context and coverage. Some of them are bilateral, involving two countries, others trilateral, involving three countries while others are multilateral involving more than three parties.

There have been many disputes regarding islands in the South China Sea.12 Most of the islands are associated with no indigenous people since a great percentage of them are usually naturally under water. There are those which are even permanently submerged in water. Some of the islands include; the Spratlys islands, the Prates islands, and island located on the Paracels.13

The major disputes are, however, those regarding the Spratlys and the islands located on the Paracels. This is mainly because these involve not only the Southeast Asians but also those from other parts.14 There also many parties involved when it comes to the Spratlys.

This brings about complexity in the disputes since a lot of efforts are required to resolve them taking into account interests and concerns of all the parties involved, a task that is not easy. In the early 20th century, the Republic of China claimed about 132 islands in the South China Sea.

This, therefore, followed that whenever any other country would claim ownership of any of the islands, China would protest. This can be seen when it protested over the French government occupied the Taiping Island in 1933.15

China and Vietnam have been on persisting conflicts. They both claim territorial sovereignty over the Paracel group of islands. The region was initially occupied by the earlier regime of South Vietnam until the year 1976 when the People’s Republic of China assumed its control through use of force.

Up to date, Vietnam still claims territorial sovereignty over the islands despite the fact that it was taken away by China. There is, therefore, a continuous struggle over the islands by these two countries. For this reason, the Paracel concept has been identified as a bilateral issue that actively involves Vietnam and China. 16

Vietnam also has claims over the Spratlys islands. At present moment, the People’s Republic of China occupies about nine islands while Vietnam occupies 29 of them. Other countries that occupy some islands include Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Although Taiwan claims all the Spratly Islands, it occupies a very small percentage, just one island. The Philippines also claims most of the Spratly islands but in the real sense, it occupies eight islands. On the other hand, Malaysia occupies three islands which are located on its continental shelf. 17

All the above named claims is enough justification that the South China Sea is associated with considerable number of disputes which make the conflict condition severe and difficult to solve. A lot of efforts are required in order to solve the disputes among the above named countries.

The fact that a single country is involved in more than one dispute is also a problem, meaning that it requires a lot time and effective strategic measures to settle the disputes. There is a problem presented by lack of facts to support the different claims since most of them rely on vague historical records or thinking. Proper strategies should be applied to solve these situations.18

The desire of surrounding countries Various countries express different desires in their fight for the South China Sea, with some seeming genuine while others are questionable. The main protagonists are however the Philippines, China and Vietnam. China has had the most significant control or influence in the whole issue of the South China Sea conflicts. It has all along shown some interest in obtaining total control and ownership over the South China Sea.19

This is mainly for personal and selfish gains where it does not want the other parties to also benefit. China has been extremely aggressive in all the activities involved, always trying to predominate over the other countries. In some instances, China has resulted in the use of force rather than negotiations.

This has mainly been fueled by the fact that compared to other surrounding countries; China has got a lot of powers. The country that has tried hard to keep at par with China is Vietnam.20

The other Southeast Asian countries have also not been without some desires. Most of them have claimed territorial sovereignty. This has been in an attempt to have a considerable amount of the benefits that go hand in hand with the resources and competitive advantages associated with the different attributes of the South China Sea.21

Due to the ever increasing conflicts, most of the surrounding countries are ready to do whatever it takes to resolve the disputes so that there may exist some peace and good relations among them. It is through the understanding and coming together of the various countries that an effective and long lasting solution could be achieved.22

The relation changes between those countries over the years There are a number of countries which are involved in the South China Sea conflict. Over the years, relationships among the countries have significantly changed.

The territorial disputes in the South China Sea have been a source of serious tension among some of the members of the ASEAN- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China for a considerable period of time especially in the 20th century.

However, with the passage of time, the territorial disputes have become less contentious. This can be attributed to a number of factors, for instance, the step that China has assumed; taking an active position in the Beijing’s Southeast Asian ‘smile diplomacy’.

This is considered to be an extremely crucial aspect since the diplomatic offensive is aimed at dealing with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations concerns that are related to security especially with regard to the rising China. This has greatly influenced China’s relations with other countries that are involved in the South China Sea Conflict particularly the Philippines and Vietnam.

However, despite the smile diplomacy, there are still some controversies in regard to the issue of territorial sovereignty. This can clearly be seen in the current relationships that exist between China and other countries especially the Philippines and Vietnam.23

The relationship between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Vietnam is considered to be the most complicated and conflict-prone when compared to relationships between the People’s Republic of China and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. When the situation is looked at from Vietnam’s point of view, it is the most weighed down by historical issues.

This can be seen through the 2000 years of Chinese rule, initially as a formal part of the Chinese empire as for the period between the first century BC and 938 AD and later as a tributary state up to the year 1885.24

During this time, there was a lot of tension between these two nations, characterized by a high level of extreme attributes of enmity and amity. China is a country that has been very much involved with the South China Sea conflicts having disputes with almost all the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 25

All in all, the Chinese culture, economic reform and system of governance calls for some respect and admiration despite the fact that it has it has attracted some feelings of hatred, bullying and resentment among other nations as it tries to control its political destiny. 26

There is also a conflicting perception of China in regard to Vietnam, on one hand it is a persistent fighter of colonialism that demanded for Chinese support between 1949 and 1970s and on the other hand, a deceitful unit of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the 1980s.27

It is, however, worth noting that in the year 1991, the relationship between China and Vietnam greatly improved following the normalization of their relations. This step is associated with a significant economic development, that of bilateral relations.

Since then, the relations have significantly improved and deepened to a level that many parties did not expect. “Today, bilateral relations are guided by the official mantra of “long-term stability, orientation toward the future, good neighborliness and friendship, and all round cooperation” in the spirit of “good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, and good partners.”28. China and Vietnam are great trade partners.

Another relation that is worth discussing is that between China and the Philippines. There have been considerable disputes between these two countries. China has for example showed a lot of interest in investing in the Philippines’ collapsing infrastructure and the booming Philippine exports to the People’s Republic of China.29

The national oil companies based in China, the Philippines and Vietnam entered an agreement and advocated the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) to conduct appropriate research on the disputed waters of the South China Sea and this meant that China and the Philippines relations had entered the so called golden age.30

However, this did not last for a long time and after three years of establishment; the face of golden age was completely damaged following a succession of negative scandals and controversies.

“Allegations concerning corrupt practices associated with the provision of Chinese overseas development aid (ODA) have prompted Congressional investigations, resulting in the cancellation of several major Chinese-backed initiatives, while Arroyo’s opponents have called into question the constitutionality of the JMSU”31. This shows the seriousness of the disputes between these two countries.

In 2001, when President Arroyo gained power in the Philippines, the relations between China and the Philippines went through a great change. The president was prepared to rejuvenate the Philippine economy which had undergone a stagnant session.

The President wished to achieve this through taking in some aspects of the China’s economy which is more dynamic. This step necessitated that the bilateral relations that existed between these countries to be enhanced.32

One way through which this could be achieved was to make sure that the overlying sovereignty allegations in the South China Sea do not in any way hinder the growth and development of the bilateral bonds.

There were tense diplomatic and physical confrontations between China and Philippines in the 1990s as a result of the controversial issue concerning possession of the Spratly Islands. This, therefore, necessitated that strategic measures be taken to handle the situation for example through comprehensive engagement33.

The Philippines’ President was ready to do anything for prosperity of her nation which she believed that it would only be made possible through the reinforcement of the bilateral relations. The efforts by President Arroyo were not without some positive results. Trade between the two nations nourished greatly.

The International Monetary Fund asserted that the value of the bilateral trade rose significantly from $1.77 billion in 2001 to $5.3 billion in 2003. In 2006, the rise was also high reaching $8.29 billion.34

This is enough justification that the relations between China and Philippines improved as both countries had a symbiotic relationship with mutual benefits. Since the year 2002, the Philippines was able to enjoy a healthy trade surplus with China unlike other Association of Southeast Asian Nations partners that considered their relationships with China to bear no positive fruits. 35

Following the successful results of the implemented policy regarding enhancement of the bilateral results, the president of the Philippines, Arroyo, was pleased to proclaim that China was a good partner (a very good big brother) in 2007. Since then, these two countries have tried to solve their differences particularly in regard to territorial sovereignty in an effort to have relations that have long term mutual benefits.36

From the above discussion, it is clear that there have been a lot of disputes among ASEAN and China. China seems to have taken a major role in the South China Sea conflicts.

Some countries have been able to achieve beneficial relationships with China up to date while others ties never bore positive fruits. Vietnam and the Philippines are some of the countries, although after undergoing a lot, have gained worthy understanding and built beneficial ties especially with respect to trade. 37

Reaction from each nations/UN/third parties The concept of South China Sea conflicts has attracted a lot of debate and concerns from different parties all in an aim to resolve the conflict that is associated with a lot of negative effects including deaths of individuals. The different parties have reacted in different ways resulting in different effects in regard to the situation.38

The United States of America is one of the parties that are involved in the South China Sea and the conflicts contained therein. The United States comes in as a party that is meant at resolving the disputes among the Southeast Asian nations and China. 39

However, when it is looked at critically, the United States has got other hidden agenda, to also benefit from the resource, the South China Sea.

Research shows that the United States has always been interested in the South China Sea region mainly because it offers the shortest and most convenient route from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. The area is also deemed to be significant for the movement of its fleets for various purposes, for instance, defending its allies in the area or even for global strategy.40

The United States position with respect to the South China Sea conflicts has proved to be consistent all through from the start.41 In the Paracel Clash of 1974, the United States Department asserted that the South China Sea disputes ought to be resolved by the claimants themselves.

This clearly showed that the United States was not ready to participate in solving the disputes but rather it believed that those parties that were involved had the power to come up with a solution.42 This can be clearly seen in the points that were given by Admiral Charles Larson, the then Commander-in-Chief, US Pacific Command, in an interview held in Malaysia in October 1991. Some of the points include:

“The US maintained a non-committal stand as there was no interest for the US to intervene;

It was a regional issue and the US had no contingency plan to go to the Spratlys in the event of a conflict;

It would be up to the countries concerned to work together and regional groupings (such as ASEAN) to find a solution;

The US preferred that the claimants resolve the issue through political channels rather than by military means;

If China and Vietnam became hostile in asserting their claims, the US might work with ASEAN, the Soviet Union and other nations under the auspices of the United Nations to ensure that the aggressor followed accepted international behavior”43

Russia is also of concern when it comes to the South China Sea. There has been a rising trend between the countries of Southeast Asia and Russia.

For instance, Russia and Vietnam have been involved in developing oil reserves in the South China Sea. Russia is interested in the South China Sea and it identifies a need to enhance its international profile. In the event of some confrontations, Russia could face a lot of instability. All in all, Russia’s potential contribution in dealing with tension over the South China Sea is high.44

The possibility of war occurring in South China Sea There is a controversy on the concept of there being a possibility of war in the South China Sea region as a result of the ever heightening conflicts. Research shows that there could either be two possibilities; in the event that the conflicts are not solved soon and in the right manner, there are higher chances of war in the region. In case the conflicts are dealt with in an appropriate manner, then there would be no chances of war.45

China and Vietnam have been involved in more serious conflicts, as compared to disputes between other nations. In an attempt to secure the South China Sea, there could be a war outbreak especially due to the fact that China is determined to do anything including the use of force so long as it gains control over the area.46

This could necessitate some interventions for example from the United States which could in turn heighten the chances of occurrence of nuclear war particularly if Beijing and Washington are to be involved. In simple terms, we cannot rule out the possibility of future war between China and the Southeast Asian nations. It could even involve the US navy inn case the tensions continue to rise47.

Some traces of war could be seen when China forced down a US Spy Plane and captured it in 2001 detaining the crew. Even in the event that the skirmishes are prevented, there are still some possibility of war breakout as the conflict has now involved third parties.

To limit the chances of war, all the parties involved should ensure that the geopolitical tensions that exist among them are completely separated from the economic issues. This is, however, not an easy thing and it requires a high degree of cooperation from all the parties.48

Military conditions of the involved nations and their diplomatic strategies and how this would influence war is another critical aspect that would help us in the understanding and analysis of the possibility of war occurring in the South China Sea. As noted earlier, there are various nations that are involved in the South China Sea conflicts. 49

All of the nations involved in the South China Sea conflicts have got varying capabilities especially when looked at in terms of their military conditions. This in turn determines their diplomatic strategies and the part they would play in the event of war. The military conditions could be looked at in terms of the bases, the navy and weapons.50

The South China Sea is associated with considerable military confrontations among the nations that lay different claims. This is evident right from the time China invaded the Paracel islands in the year 1974 all through to the detainment of the Chinese fishermen by Vietnam in September 2002.

The 1974 and 1988 confrontations were the major ones between 1974 and 1992. 51From 1992, however, there have been not less than ten significant confrontations exclusive of the non-military disputes that involved some form of exploration and drilling.52

In the recent past, there has been an increasing rate of confrontation which is an effect of military expansionism by different parties. This is an indication of increased risk of open conflict that is present in the South China Sea. 53

The risk is heighted by the fact that Vietnam and China have the military capacity of blocking any adverse resolution to the disputes. As long as the US maintains local military forces through bonds with the Philippines, the risk is checked. This means that there is little likelihood of either party to try a military takeover as the result of great risk of retaliatory US intervention.54

Conclusion and Recommendations From the above discussion, it is evident that the conflict concerning the South China Sea is a serious issue. This is more so because it involves many countries making it difficult to resolve the disputes. A lot of efforts and considerable amount of time is required to make the countries come into agreement with each other in regard to the territories more especially on the resources contained therein.

Various countries express different desires in their fight for the South China Sea, with some seeming genuine while others are questionable. Although the problem ought to be regional and concerning just few countries, the problem has developed to a global conflict that is affecting almost every nation.55

The concept has attracted a lot of debate and concerns from different parties all in an aim to resolve the conflict that is associated with a lot of negative effects including deaths of individuals. The different parties have reacted in different ways resulting in different effects in regard to the situation as discussed earlier.

There is a controversy on the concept of there being a possibility of war in the South China Sea region as a result of the ever heightening conflicts.56 Research shows both sides, in the event that the conflicts are not solved soon and in the right manner, there are higher chances of war in the region. In case the conflicts are dealt with in an appropriate manner, then there would be no chances of war.57

It is clear that China has been opportunistic right from the year 1974 to present times. Another notable aspect is that the United States of America has maintained its position all along from the 1970s. To avert the eventual control of the South China Sea by China, a lot of effort is required.

First and foremost, the ASEAN should unite effectively and carry out strategic measures aimed at obtaining some control of the South China Sea.58 Some of the measures include; refraining from further consolidation of Vietnam’s position on the disputed islands to protect islands and reefs that are under its control and a quick completion of the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea by the ASEAN59.

Another recommendable action is the working out of a concrete proposal that touches on the joint-development of the South China Sea by the parties involved particularly the four main ones namely the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam and Malaysia as opposed to engaging in quarrels all along. This proposal would help greatly as it would serve as a negotiation basis between the ASEAN parties and China.

There should also be effective discussions, particularly multilateral ones. This is because most of the disputes associated with the South China Sea involve more than two parties and thus, having bilateral discussions may not have positive impacts. ASEAN should also work in a united manner having the understanding that it is only through the combined efforts that China could be moved or influenced60.

Bibliography Acharya, Amitav. Collective Identity and Conflict Management in Southeast Asia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

ASEAN. “The ASEAN Regional Forum: A Concept Paper.” Asean sec, 1995. Web.

ASEAN. “ASEAN-China Dialogue.” Asean sec, 2003a. Web.

ASEAN. “Overview.” Asean sec, 2003b. Web.

ASEAN and the People’s Republic of China. “Joint Press Statement: The First ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Meeting.” Asean sec, February 28, 1997. Web.

ASEAN-China Expert Group on Economic Cooperation. “Forging Closer ASEAN-China Economic Relations in the Twenty-First Century.” Asean sec, 2001. Web.

ASEAN Regional Forum. “Annual Security Outlook 2001” Asean sec, 2001. Web.

Barry, Buzan. A Sea of Troubles? Sources of Dispute in the New Ocean Regime. London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1978.

Bateman, Walter Samuel Grono and Bateman, Sam. 2009. Security and international politics in the South China Sea: towards a cooperative management regime. New York: Taylor

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Trends in Supply Chain Management Essay college essay help

Discussion Lean manufacturing has become one of the biggest trends in the development of supply chain management. Traditionally, organizations faced challenges of increasing wasteful production throughout their operations (Brian, 110).

Following this need, stakeholders across industries have focused on development of production approaches that would enable firms to minimize on the costs resulting from wasteful production. This method provides firms with a mechanism of leveraging costs while promoting the creation of savings in the end (Brian, 110).

Besides formulating approaches aimed at reducing the costs of operations, efforts have been scaled up in a bid to embrace environmental sustainability through efficient processes and production practices.

The introduction of lean manufacturing practices has proven successful in yielding numerous environmental benefits such as reduced pollution and waste reduction through reuse practices (Brian, 110). Therefore, the application of lean practices in manufacturing has greatly contributed toward leveraging compliance demands.

The lean philosophy in production has brought about possible and constant improvements in mass production because of Just in time (JIT). This aspect of lean manufacturing ensures customization o products while maintaining affordable and cost-effective prices for the customers.

Through lean production, employees remain the most valuable asset to the organization since the implementation of the philosophy requires their active participation (Clegg, 188).

Toyota remains one of the companies that have successfully implemented the philosophy and practices of lean production in which employee learning is assessed in the production assembly lines. Mutual respect for employees has had potential in establishing Toyota as one of the leading distributers of cars recording over 9 million sales per annum.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The other trend that preoccupies the supply chain management and operations involves the emerging need for sustainability standards (Rosemary

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Opportunity Development Through Corporate Venturing Problem Solution Essay best essay help: best essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

External analysis of the firm

Internal analysis

Resource base

New business venture proposal

Recommendation of a suitable implementation mechanism

Conclusion

References

Introduction Firms engage in new ventures to remain competitive. New ventures are endeavors in pursuit of new revenue streams. The firm has to consider internal and external factors that are likely to affect the revenue in the process of identifying new ventures (Armstrong et al. 2004).

This paper discusses the introduction of a new mobile money transfer service as a business venture. A firm could engage in internal or external corporate venturing. The business venture is born because of a gap identified in the market.

Again Boston Consulting Group (2005) suggests that this calls for the need for customers to transfer money at minimal charges and with relative ease. The venture requires a large capital outlay. Implementation and commercialization of the service is expected to follow the business life cycle.

Success in marketing of the new corporate venture will rely heavily on how well the marketing appeals to the customers’ adoption process. The organization selected is a mobile telephony company. The business opportunity is provision of money transfer services through the phone.

External analysis of the firm This involves analyzing the opportunities and threats the environment holds for the business. For the purpose of this analysis, the environment can be grouped in macro and task environment. The macro will involve an analysis of the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal framework.

An evaluation of the task environment will involve an analysis of the customers, suppliers, labour and competitors (Chen Chang

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Measuring the Impact of Social Media: Challenges, Practices and Methods Coursework online essay help

Table of Contents Abstract

Introduction

Social media challenges

Social media practices and methods

Conclusion and recommendations

Reference List

Abstract As a consequence of social media coupled with the direct and indirect persuade of social media promoters, in the present day clients are expected to make purchases on what they read and see in forums referred to as ‘social’. However, this can only happen if the information is brought forth by an individual or entity they have built trust in.

In addition research has shown that firms have been able to bring back dejected clients and shareholders by way of social media. This is the reason why a focused and strategically set line of attack has become a vital portion of any whole and directed marketing scheme which must as well be crafted by employing fresh and upcoming techniques. The way in which to go about this successfully has been discussed here in detail.

Introduction The reference social media is used to describe the use of World Wide Web based and cell phone technologies to make the exchange of information an interactional chat. The use of social media does not just stop at socialization or interaction; it is being utilized to a very large extent in business.

Its use is expected to hit even higher levels as technology advances and the ways of conducting business scale onto new heights (Scoble

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Organizational Diagnosis: Business Self-Assessment Model Expository Essay college admission essay help

Long-term business performance is significant for business survival as well as sustainability. Organizations always strive to adopt the best strategies to improve their management standards to enable them to achieve their core objectives better. Best practices and organizational diagnosis have often been used to maintain quality in organizations, and as an alternative to rigid legislated standards.

Bogan and English (1994) describe the best practice as an approach which has consistently shown better results as compared to other means and is therefore used to perform self-assessment or as a benchmark. Organizational diagnosis is used for documenting and charting practices and procedures for organizations.

Bogan and English (1994) state that a key strategic talent needed for adopting best practice/organizational diagnosis is the ability to balance the organization’s unique practices which it shares with others.

There are numerous organizational diagnosis models as well as best practices such as United Way Management Indicators List, Drucker Five-Question Self-Assessment Tool, and Fieldstone’s Nonprofit Life-Stage Assessment, among others. However, Business-Self-Assessment (BSA) would be the most appropriate for companies operating in the financial services industry.

BSA was developed to help businesses, including global businesses to determine what they need so as to advance their management systems. Thus, its main aim is to help organization leaders achieve the capability to perform Business Self-Assessments, which would enable them to improve their long-term business performance.

Companies operating in the financial sector have numerous common qualities which are unique to the industry and shared standard practices which make BSA the most suitable organizational diagnosis for the industry.

Ichikawa (2003) of Dow Chemical Company says that BSA processes can always be examined against business excellence criteria such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) and the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More BSA can be applied in both domestic and international companies, which means that it would be suitable for regional financial service companies such as Umpqua Bank and international financial companies like Barclays Bank.

Ichikawa (2003) states that consistent use of BSA could enable a global business on a downward trend to become vibrant. Adoption of BSA has several benefits.

BSA provides a clear diagnosis of financial organizations’ numerous business activities and is valuable for planning as it allows financial companies to connect their practices to the results of their practices, thus, highlighting areas which need to be improved.

It can help guide organizational change by enabling a deeper understanding of all aspects of an organization’s performance, motivation level, capability, as well as the environment (Cawsey

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Online Education Descriptive Essay argumentative essay help: argumentative essay help

Trends in Online Education Online education is defined as globalization of human ideas and acts through technology (Tompkins, 2011). It involves the use of personal computers and the internet to connect the world in matters of education.

Distance learning is propagated through a wide range of technologies that aim at reaching out to many students at a distance. The main distinction of this type of learning from the traditional and normal class attendance by a student and a teacher is the separation in space between them. Neither of them is forced to travel to a fixed place for the purpose of learning.

Advantages of Online and Distance Learning Both the learner and the teacher are spared from the cost of having to travel to a fixed place for educational interaction. This convenience affords participants in online education an opportunity to juggle education with other matters of life, both personal and professional.

Armed with a computer and internet, one can take studies from any part of the world. This gives a student unlimited choice of courses from the various colleges offering online education. In the ordinary scenario, one could be forced to forego a dream career because a relevant course is not offered in the college of choice.

Online education exposes one to the use of internet and computers and as a result leads to a gain in skills and knowledge in technology. The process also allows students to learn at their own pace depending on their learning ability.

Disadvantages of Online Education There is an accompanying cost that a student bears in terms of technology gadgets required in online education (Tompkins, 2011). Technology gadgets such as computers, internet and live communication may not be always available or fully reliable when they are accessible.

There is also lack of direct feedback as could be received in a traditional classroom setting where a teacher and a student interact face-to-face. Face-to-face interaction provides a teacher an opportunity of direct assessment through questioning and testing to gauge the level of understanding (Tompkins, 2011).

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More As a personal take, online education is more convenient in terms of course choice, institution of study and time. It is more flexible and allows students to learn in accordance with their learning ability.

Assessment Goals for sixth Grade Communication Arts Students These assessment goals target students in sixth grade; the first goal is to raise the score of proficiency in comprehension reading from 65% to 75% in the first five weeks of learning. This goal will be measured by a common decisive assessment comprising of a ten question test to that will be administered on February 20, 2012.

The student will obtain coherent writing skills relevant for professional and personal expression in written form; this goal will be assessed through a formative test. The test will be based on two essays that will test both professional and personal expression.

The student will demonstrate ability to make public presentations in both formal and informal settings. This will be assessed through personal presentations of students to the class based on assigned topics.

This unit will also aim at equipping students with good listening skills. Listening is an active process of paying attention to a speaker in order to follow and understand their message. Listening skills acquired by students will be assessed in a session that will involve listening to a pre-taped speech and there after making notes on the speech.

Formal Assessment of the Unit The formal assessment based on the goals described in this unit will include; oral presentations based on assigned topics, essay writing, reading and listening. Tests set out for the purpose of this assessment will be marked and results used to grade the students ability in performing the test tasks.

Informal Assessment Informal assessment instrument to be used in this unit will be based more on the teacher’s observation of the student’s behavior change as a result of learning, followed with a one-on-one discussion on how to improve.

We will write a custom Essay on Online Education specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Assessment Feedback The feedback elicited by the student will be used to gauge their understanding particular learning concepts. In essay writing, the student will be expected to write well flowing essays free of grammatical and spelling errors.

The student should be able to read with average speed and pronounce words correctly. For listening skills, the student should be able to listen to a pre-taped speech and thereafter describe the story setting and make notes from the speech.

The Curriculum Unit of Choice A curriculum unit describes learning activities and lessons planned on a particular theme. This is usually planned over a long period of time and is desired to develop specific skills and in the learner. The curriculum unit specifies the effective instructional and assessment approaches that should be used guide a learner through the unit. This project will be based on the curriculum unit of communication arts for the sixth grade.

The unit outlines various activities and lessons for a sixth grade student aimed at creating awareness and developing analytical skills in poetry. Fiction and non-fiction stories will be used as teaching and learning resources while exploring the theme.

The theme will be studied through examination of relevant stories and articles, in which the learner identifies vocabulary that relates to the theme. The study procedure will involve reading, taking notes, writing summaries, identification of figurative language used. Other resources such as magazines, videos, photos, plays and websites will also be used for further investigation of the unit.

Activities outlined in this unit will present the learners an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in multiple fields such as; art, communication skills, reading skills, computer skills and story analysis.

Learner Analysis Template When designing a curriculum unit, it is important to assess the learning needs of the student to determine the content suitability. Analysis of the students learning needs should be based on a template so as to exhaust each learning need captured on the template. The template below shows the steps I will follow to carry out the analysis.

A Learner Analysis template for Communication Art in Sixth Grade

Not sure if you can write a paper on Online Education by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Learner Role Learner’s job Prior knowledge Familiarity Learning conditions Level of skills Active participant reading note taking identify figurative language basic literacy knowledge of common natural disasters

natural disasters figurative language 2 hours class lessons Group discussions and individual reflection Average cognitive skills Active participants watching videos, photos note making basic literacy text analysis Watch videos and photos on natural disasters Average cognitive skills The template outlines basic characteristics that are assessed prior to filling the template and actual formulation of the curriculum unit. This ensures that the template created is tailored to the actual characteristics of the learner rather than basing it on expected learner characteristics. This template helps identify gaps in the learner’s skills, with this knowledge, a teacher can device suitable strategies to address the learning needs.

Data collection methods such as questionnaires, interviews and focused group discussions will be used get the correct information about the learners regarding familiarity and prior knowledge. This will ensure that the curriculum unit so formulated addresses the measurable learning needs of the targeted learners.

Educational Goals and Instructional Objectives The notion of educational goals was copied from the military training during the World War II by educational psychologists. Psychologists Benjamin Bloom and his group outlined the “taxonomy of the learner behavior” (Al Hurwitz, 2011). The taxonomy of the learner behavior was later adopted in development of educational curriculum for public schools.

List of Educational Goals and Instructional Objectives The learner should be able to apply reading skills. The instructional objectives for this goal will include

Student will use decoding skills to get the meaning of unknown words in the process of reading

The student will demonstrate fluency, accuracy of word pronunciation, fast rate of reading and expression.

The learner will identify vocabulary used in terms of synonyms, homophones and words with multiple meanings.

Teach skills of comprehension, analysis and evaluation of fiction, poetry and drama. The instructional objective, for this goal will include

Identification of text features; the student will be able to use tables of content or glossary to locate particular content in the book.

Use the content to classify different literary works in appropriate genre

Identification of literary devices and explaining their meaning and purpose in the work.

Apply writing skills to compose a story. Instructional goals for this goal will include

Apply writing skills to develop a draft of a story

The learner should demonstrate the ability to proofread the draft and built a flowing text free of grammatical mistakes.

The learning Activities The learning activities set out for this study unit include; reading, writing, watching movies, group discussions, internet research and note taking. Reading as a learning activity will be conducted by allowing the learner to read in prose from particular sections of the story loudly before the other students. The teacher will listen to the reading and make recommendations on reading speed, pronunciation and fluency.

The teacher will evaluate the student’s writing skills by assessing their written assignments on various topics. Evaluation of writing skills, will based on the ability to write flowing text without grammatical mistakes, students’ handwriting, use of figurative language and aligning ideas to the given topic.

Watching movies related to the theme of the study unit will enable the learner gain insight in the topics contained in the study unit. It is believed that the movies will provide clear information on the topic. The learner will gain skills of analyzing the script for the desired information.

Group discussions give the different learners an opportunity to share information on what they understand about the topic. It provides the learners an opportunity to challenge one another in seeking more information about the topic.

How the Learning Activities Maps to the Set Objectives One of the instructional objectives in this study unit is to use decoding skills to find the meaning of difficult words. Through text reading of fiction and non- fiction the learner will be exposed to a wide range of vocabulary comprising of both simple and complex words. This will give a learner an opportunity to investigate and find out the meaning of difficult words encountered in the process of reading.

Through group discussions, the learners are able to share ideas with fellow students under the guidance of the teacher that relate to the set objectives (McArdle, 2010). The discussion will centre on identification of text features, and how to locate particular content in a book.

The writing exercises organized for this unit in terms of assignments will expose the learner to different writing styles. It will also give the teacher an opportunity to evaluate the students’ handwriting and give appropriate recommendations.

The learning Theory The study unit is based on the learning theory that recognizes differences in learning abilities among students. The theory recognizes that we all have different rates of cognition, that even two identical twins cannot have same learning abilities. As a result, each individual should be given chance to learn at his or her own pace (Al Hurwitz, 2011). Fast learners to be allowed to learn fast as slow learners are given more time.

Discussion groups will be created in a way that allows mixing of learning abilities. This will give the learners an opportunity to learn from each other’s experience. Writing individual assignments will be used as an evaluation tool for the teacher to find out how each student is fairing on.

The learning Resources for each Activity Selection of learning resources should be based on the learner’s level of comprehension (McArdle, 2010). For the purpose of teaching of this unit, the teacher proposed the following general resources; work books, fiction and non-fiction story books, unit study guide, computers, DVDs, charts and picture.

Reading as an instructional activity will make use of books on poetry, drama and plays. The goal of learning this unit will be to investigate literary elements such as; character traits, figurative language and the setting.

The learning resources will comprise of work books and chalkboard. Workbooks will be selected carefully basing on the level of cognition, relevance of content to the set objectives. The chalk board will also provide an invaluable form of visual resource for writing.

Overhead projectors and transparencies will be used in group discussions. In each group, members will work together and investigate a selected literary works to identify aspects of figurative speech, character traits, setting, and other literary styles. After all is identified, the learners will again in a group prepare slides and make presentations in class for discussion purposes with other groups.

Computers, internet, televisions and DVDs will be used for watching videos and internet research. The content of the DVDs will be for e-books that are relevant to theme of the study unit. The students will watch the e-books and identify various characters, their character traits and aspects of figurative speech.

Televised books of plays and drama will expose learners to more comprehensive content and help them comprehend more easily the parts they could not understand through reading. Listening to the DVDs will also help in developing correct pronunciation; use of internet for research purposes develops the students’ research skills using the computer.

Preferred Instructional Methodologies Instructional methods refer to ways in which the learning content is presented to the students. In general terms, these are classified as either teacher-centered or student centered. Teacher centered instructional methods are often criticized as treating a student as a passive participant in the learning process (Al Hurwitz, 2011).

This study unit will be delivered through student centered learning methods in which the learner takes a center stage in the learning process as the teacher plays the role of a facilitator. Case studies will be used as a major study method in this unit. Case studies will be discussed in groups. It is expected that the students will be presented an opportunity to apply new sets of knowledge and skills to solve case issues.

Cooperative learning; this instruction method involves students of mixed learning abilities grouped together to work on particular tasks. It is expected that every student in the group takes an active role but at the same time tries to work independently.

The active participation of each student causes the group to achieve its objectives. The method ensures that every member in the group is accountable in terms of his or her efforts towards the success of the group and promotes team spirit among the student

Discussion and discussion boards; this method of instruction develops students thinking and interpersonal skills (Tompkins, 2011). In the modern era, apart from the normal class discussions, students can also host an online discussion through the various online discussion forums.

In the ordinary scenario, teachers utilize discussion boards to post questions and students encouraged to post comments to the question at different times. The teacher plays the role of a facilitator and is tasked with guiding the students in the discussion and awarding the students with bonus points as a way of motivating them to participate in the discussion.

Assessment Goals Curriculum assessment needs to be continuous, inclusive and genuine, assessment types can be classified into two categories; formal and informal (Ivers and Pierson, 2003). Whether formal or informal, any assessment should be goal based. For this unit, the following will be the assessment goals to aim at; develop learning with particular emphasis on communication competence.

The learner should be able to appreciate literature, the dynamism of technology and develop a personal habit for reading. Assessment for this goal will be through assigning students to an advisor to assist in completion of class projects. Students will also be assessed in oral presentation of their research work.

The oral presentation will be subject to cross-examination and criticism by fellow student and teachers. The student will be rated based on presentation and response to questions during cross-examination

The second assessment goal emphasizes observed learning that prepares students for the next study unit. Students will be asked to complete a survey to determine their feelings about the unit, the mode of learning and their recommendations.

They will be provided a questionnaire that aims at investigating the value of the study unit to the learners in terms of their communication skills, computer skills and interpersonal skills. Positive comments and ability to apply skills in communication, interpersonal relations and use of computer will be used to rate the student in this case.

The third assessment goal will aim at investigating how students evaluate information and learning resource. The students will be required to write a text based on some scholarly resources for evaluation. The students will be deemed to have acquired skills in reading, writing and listening. Communication skills are life-long and are important for the student in pursuing the goals of life.

Formal assessments provide a logical way of evaluating students’ progress in a curriculum unit (Ivers and Pierson, 2003). At the end of the study unit, the students will be given a test based on the theme of the unit. Students will be expected to attempt the questions in the test and hand in their answers for evaluation. The teacher will them evaluate the students basing on their reading and writing skills.

Students will also be tested at the end of the term on the theme unit to evaluate their skills retention on the topic. This type of testing will also aim at comparing a students’ performance as compared to others in the same grade (Tompkins, 2011). The formal test administered will help the teacher in classifying the students based on learning abilities so as to be able to develop strategies to address each individual’s learning needs.

Informal assessments make use of informal class activities that aim at measuring the students’ change in behavior as a result of learning (Ivers and Pierson, 2003). For this unit, students will be assessed in oral presentations and group work as part of informal testing. Activities for informal testing will be based on classroom assignments and reading logs.

Assessment of learners can be administered using a variety of testing tools; a combination of different testing tools provides effective and reliable results. The aim of carrying out assessment is to determine if the instructional objectives are being attained.

For this course unit, both pretest and posttest assessments will be used, pretest assessment will be administered at the beginning of the study unit while posttest assessment will be at the end of the study unit. Pretest assessment will be administered to determine the readiness of the learners for the content in the study unit.

Both posttest and pretest assessment in this study unit will be in form of written tests, oral presentations and group assignments. Information gathered from the student’s performance either in group or as an individual will be used to rate the student. The information will also be vital determine the level of attainment of the unit objective and how prepared the learners are for the new content.

For pretest assessment, students will be required to attempt a short quiz aimed at providing them a clear picture on the content to be covered. The test will also evaluate their ability to apply the skills to be learnt.

Post tests will be in form of tutorials which will refresh their memories about what has been covered. Students will also be required to attempt a graded test that apart from testing behavioral change as a result of the learning process will test their speed.

References Al Hurwitz, D., M. (2011). Children and Their Art: Art Education for Elementary and Middle Schools. New York: Cengage Learning.

Ivers, S., K. and Pierson, M. (2003). A teacher’s guide to using technology in the classroom. New York: Greenwood Publishing.

McArdle, E., H. (2010). Instructional Design for Action Learning. New York: AMACOM.

Tompkins, T., P. (2011). An exploratory study of assessment philosophies and practices of visual art. New York: ProQuest Information and Learning Company.

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Important Role of Leadership Research Paper college application essay help

Table of Contents Introduction

Thought leadership

Thought leadership in crises times

Essentials of a thought leader

Importance of thought leadership

Findings

Conclusion

Reference List

Introduction Leadership plays an important role within any organization. This perhaps helps explain why several approaches to leadership have been developed.

Although there are different advantages and disadvantages associated with the leadership approaches, it is worth noting that several factors influence the success achieved within organization. Based on this, thought leadership is put into perspective to determine how useful the approach is in leadership of organizations.

Thought leadership Thought leadership is useful as ideas are important in transforming the way people think (Ryde, 2007). In the same line of thinking, thought leadership is crucial in the development of new products and services (Krishnan, 2005).

The bottom-line in achieving this lies in convincing the led that it is possible to attain success through the production of such goods and services. The key towards success is demonstrable in the manner in which the leaders are able to convince the followers effortlessly.

The most important attribute of thought leadership revolves around the idea that it is not an inherent attribute. Instead, it is cultivated through developing interpersonal skills and use of authority (Ryde, 2007). As an illustration, once a business runs into debt, it is not necessary to adopt an approach that does not support repayment and exploration of new approaches necessary to raise funds.

Using logical arguments, factual ideas or emotional appeal, thought leadership is seen to be at play (Ryde, 2007). Concisely, thought leadership entails the championing of novel ideas to both peers and leaders. As a thought leader, one understands that the people who are led are valuable to an organization.

Based on this, the leader offers an opportunity to the followers to make meaningful contributions towards the organization. In precise terms, the leader acts as a mentor in a bid to increase an organization’s capacity.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More In embracing thought leadership, a leader has the opportunity to learn from both senior and junior colleagues (Ryde, 2007). This allows the leader to obtain new ideas that are useful in leading an organization.

Such also contributes towards the growth and development of the leader, as elements of humility and acknowledgment are required in the learning exercise. In addition, the thought leader is presented an opportunity to mentor the led through sharing vital knowledge gained through the leading career.

Thought leadership in crises times In times of crises, leadership is put to test. Crises emerge in different forms. As an illustration, when organizations face uncertainty, it is arguable that an organization is in a crisis. Uncertainty may be reflected both in the internal and in the external environment of an organization (Karp and Helgø, 2008). In such an environment, the leadership is called to task.

In addressing such issues, an organization may respond by seeking to alter human interaction patterns. In crisis times, leaders should avoid falling into the temptation of focusing on the strategy, the tools and the structures. Instead, the leaders need to lay emphasis on human beings. Changing people is more valuable than altering the other work elements.

Based on the motivation theory developed by Herzberg, motivation is of critical value in organizational leadership. The motivators push employees towards pursuing organizational goals while de-motivators push workers in the opposite direction. In this regard, motivating employees is valuable in an organization. During crisis times, organizations are in need of a motivated work force.

This is premised on the notion that at such times the organization is seeking ways to navigate the difficult times. As such, leaders in crisis times should understand the concept of motivation and implement it in order to attain the expected results. The leaders should primarily aim at creating a conducive environment for the workers.

The ability to relate organizational goals to personal goals is important in leadership (Waldman et al, 2001). This view holds more value during crisis times. At these times, the goals of an organization are at stake. In addition, the goals of workers who pursue career growth would equally be in jeopardy. By way of illustration, during the financial meltdown, several companies were facing a bleak future.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Important Role of Leadership specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A number of organizations such as the Lehmann Brothers collapsed. As such, organizations found out that they were in danger of collapsing. In an event of an organization sinking, its employees would suffer a loss in terms of employment.

Based on this, organizational leaders during this time would find reasons to align organizational goals to those of individual workers. Such would spur workers since in pursuing their personal goals they would end up satisfying those of the organization also.

As pointed earlier crises come in different forms. It is thus noticeable that at times workers may face problems at the workplace leading to a crisis. In this case, a leader needs to show up and help an organization move forward. As the transactional theory of leadership establishes, leaders should respond to the desires and needs of the employees (Dulewicz and Higgs, 2005).

In this case, workers seeking better working conditions using various approaches may illustrate the point. Apart from helping workers facing problems, leaders need to extend rewards to workers who show exemplary performance. This idea is especially important when an organization is in a crisis and it needs to improve the performance.

Although thought leadership is perceived as being ideal, in times of crises, the leadership could be put to task (Hill, 2008). In times of crises, certain elements are necessary. Such include communication, visibility, control and perspective. Visibility hinges on the pace at which a leader becomes available to respond to the emerging issues during times of crises.

As such, a leader needs to be available during crisis times in order to avert a scenario where individual workers resort to relying on rumours. It is also noticeable that being available at the workplace offers workers an opportunity to clarify issues regarding the work to be done. Although using written reports is feasible in times of crises, it is critical that the leader appears in person to cool anxieties.

The importance of communication is indisputable in any scenario (Hill, 2008). In common practice, people seek to develop theories to explain why undesirable things happen. As a leader, one cannot afford to fall into such traps. Consequently, leaders should investigate and get to the root cause of a crisis.

This empowers the leader to respond appropriately. In providing information, leaders should take caution in order to avoid creating more unrest within an organization.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Important Role of Leadership by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, the leader should consider the necessary steps an organization intends to pursue in addressing the emerging issues. As an illustration, when companies are implementing decisions to lay off workers, the workplace is likely to turn out to be an uncomfortable place for several workers.

As such, the leader should devise strategies aimed at correcting the adverse effects. Giving out information is critical in times of crises. Hence, leaders should embrace the idea of sharing information with those affected.

Additionally, the leadership should consider holding open forums where the workers and all the affected parties are accorded the opportunity to raise their views freely. Such a move is an important step that would help defuse tensions a great deal. This comes against the idea that leaders are not expected to have all the answers to emerging problems.

Equally important is the role of self-control (Hill, 2008). In times of unexpected crises, leaders are likely to react in different ways. It should be understood that leaders are also human and as a result are prone to making mistakes. However, leaders have a small margin for error. Consequently, they need to gather all necessary information and exercise restraint from making premature decisions.

Although, it is recommended that leaders remain calm, it is difficult to do so especially when leaders are themselves part of the problem. However, irrespective of the nature of the crisis, leaders must observe calmness and take the right measures to address the concerns facing an organization. It is clear that creating a wrong impression is costly since erasing such issues is not easily achievable even after the crisis.

Hill, (2008) alludes to the idea that perspective may not be real. However, it is a critical component in handling a crisis. Perspective entails creating the big picture. More precisely, perspective involves taking information and locating it into the context.

Using a pedestrian’s language, it is putting into perspective the unfolding of a crisis. In this regard, the leader looks for past events that are related to the current one and attempts to draw similarities or differences. The whole idea behind this is to form an opinion about future events. It should be noted that perspectives are built based on facts and experience.

Another important guideline regarding leadership lies on being proactive (Foster, 2004). It is important to note that crises strike during the least expected times. As such, leaders should be prepared for anything while going about their day-to-day activities.

A proactive approach shows the level of preparedness within an organization. It is remarkable that the more prepared an organization is, the more it succeeds in handling the crises when they emerge. As such, a leader during crisis times needs to be well prepared.

Ethics surfaces as an important consideration regarding leadership during times of crisis (Foster, 2004). Ethics are a set of principles workers, leaders and all stakeholders of organizations need to observe. In business organizations, it is necessary to post financial assessments to guide investors in decision-making.

It should be noted that business entities do not want to present poor financial statements since such would harm their success chances. As such, the businesses may be tempted to present misleading information. Such behaviour is unethical.

However, during crisis times such as the recent financial meltdown, firms could engage in the vice. As a leader, it is important to observe the working principles and avoid being swayed by events taking place. Working by set principles does not only present the leaders as ethical people but it also presents them as mentors.

Essentials of a thought leader Taking a stand is essential in thought leadership (Ryde, 2007). Some aspects are generally controversial. As an illustration, when a new technology emerges, people may be cautious about adopting it. However, a thought leader takes a stand. It does not matter whether it is to support or decline the adoption of a new technology. This calls for insightful predictions.

For one to be in a position to make well informed predictions, it is important to research and establish the trends before taking a decision. Another essential for thought leaders is the ability to pursue new ideas. This places huge demands on leaders.

As a leader, one may be tempted to replicate the approaches that are already working in other business organizations. Although it is commendable to adopt already tested approaches, a thought leader needs to be innovative. In this regard, the leader should aim at developing and implementing new ideas in every business undertaking.

Thought leaders also need to be vertically rich (Ryde, 2007). In this regard, a thought leader seeks to attain fame among his/her target audience. This implies that as a leader, the primary aim should remain making the business famous.

This lies on the idea that consumers like to be identified with leading entities. As such, a thought leader endeavours to catapult his organization into the limelight. To achieve this goal, the leader may build alliances with leading market players or employ the services of global ambassadors.

A thought leader also studies the market and understands the nature of competition (Ryde, 2007). This view comes up in reference to the idea that business entities should target and position themselves in an industry. As such, information is of great value to a thought leader. Such information enables the leader to understand the market dynamics. Through such an understanding, the leader is able to develop a niche.

On developing a niche, a thought leader needs to develop a voice (Ryde, 2007). While leadership qualities on the aspect of voice vary, it is discernable that a successful leader needs to develop a certain voice. Voices range from a no-nonsense approach to outrageous or professional approaches.

Irrespective of the approach a leader uses, it is valuable that a conscious decision is made to develop and employ one voice. Public speaking is also another attribute that ranks highly in the science of leadership. While addressing the led, it is sound to use an authoritative approach. This is important as it sends an assuring message to the concerned parties.

Importance of thought leadership The benefits of thought leadership are wide-ranging. For commercial entities, brand affinity emerges as the first benefit. Using products to communicate helps consumers become part of a deal. Products that are well packaged definitely send a strong message to the buyers. As a result, the audience gets an opportunity to know the business more. Knowing a business more has various advantages in as far the pursuit of profit is concerned.

Thought leadership allows all stakeholders to offer their opinions regarding the products being offered. It is also true that thought leadership accords employees of an organization the opportunity to raise opinions regarding various aspects of business hence paving way for a facilitative an inclusive approach to decision-making.

As a result, all stakeholders feel part of the decision-making body and they willingly cherish the final decisions made regarding issues facing an entity.

Thought leadership hinges on creativity. Emphasis is laid on the need to move beyond what is currently on offer or being done in regards to certain aspects within an organization. This implies that in environments where thought leadership is promoted, employees of an organization get the opportunity to be creative. Creativity underlies innovation.

As such, organizations that practice thought leadership presents a good opportunity for employees to develop. In the process, an organization benefits from creative workers. As a result, an organization and its employees are able to attain their goals concurrently.

Findings Thought leadership allows a participatory approach to management. In this regard, the approach presents an opportunity to challenge the old ways of doing things in reference to authority. This is however important as it allows an entity to benefit from creativity and innovation. This view is supported by the notion that allowing employees and consumers a chance to take part in the making of decisions is important in business.

From the above realization, it is clear that this type of leadership does not rely on formal authority. Instead, thought leadership is based on the power of ideas. As such, emphasis is not on the structure of an organization. This typifies decentralization of power as any stakeholder holds the potential of influencing decisions of an organization.

Since thought leadership is largely participatory, the personality of the leader is important. As a rule, those persons appointed to lead have something special. The special attribute maybe based on education or intelligence insights. Consequently, it is expected that the leader should offer direction in every aspect. However, this may require allowing the led to give their views.

As such, the extent to which the leader facilitates the participation of the led and incorporates their views may contribute largely towards the success of the leadership style. In times of crises, the thought leader is likely to face a number of challenges as established in the paper.

A thought leader needs to exhibit optimism, humour, resilience, emotional intelligence and self-confidence in order to lead an organization towards the right direction. All these attributes play an important role in the success or failure of a leader within an organization. It is noticeable however that the ability to embrace all the attributes is a difficult task given the various pressure leaders face at the workplace.

Conclusion Thought leadership has gained prominence in the recent times. This case holds true especially in the business circles. It should be noted that in business, power has literary shifted to the consumers. Additionally, the competition has gone up to scales hitherto un-witnessed. As a result, business entities need to adopt new strategies to remain relevant in business.

Based on this realization, it is not coincidental that thought leadership is gaining dominance. A versatile individual capable of handling a variety of tasks efficiently is the ideal candidate to employ a participatory leadership approach, thought leadership.

This paper presents a picture that thought leadership is ideal in management of business organizations. One needs to exercise caution because sound leadership is a function of several factors.

Such factors as the circumstances, the personality of a leader, policy aspects etc influence the success or failure of the approach. However, it is concluded that the leadership style is a valuable addition to the art or science of leadership. If well employed, organizations stand to reap the benefits attributable to the leadership style.

Reference List Dulewicz, V.

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Evolution of Amazon Business Model Qualitative Research Essay college essay help: college essay help

Introduction Important questions when looking at the Amazon business model are: What defines core business? Is it the product, intellectual property, process, business design, or the clientele? Many companies today cannot be said to be in a certain business because they have diversified both in product and every other aspect of business. The traditional view of core business is both changing in terms of meaning and significance.

There is freedom to choose and capital is abundant for some companies while many other companies are up for sale. There are, therefore, many acquisitions that are of businesses not related to the original line of the mother company. In this write up, we shall look at the case study of Amazon and how it is redefining core business in its business model amid the pressure from Wall Street to mind the store.

Literature review Core business

Core business is the essential, main or the primary business in which an organization is in. For a long time, it has been emphasized that organizations venture in one main business and run by managers who understand the core business (Bruhn 2004). The departments therefore had to not only work well but also coordinate with other departments to facilitate success of the core business.

The activities of the department that have to be coordinated include the market sensing process, the new offering realization process which involves research and development, customer acquisition process, customer relationship management process, and also the fulfillment management process.

Business model

A business model is the rationale behind an organization’s choice of value creation and how it captures and delivers it. Business model creation is part of business strategy. Theoretically, it refers to several aspects of the business including its purpose, offerings, strategies, structure, operational processes, infrastructure, strategies themselves and also the policies.

The organization may explicitly or implicitly employ its business model since it will have to create value. In this whole process, it will have to entice the customers to pay for the value and so it is a proposition of what the customer expects in terms of product, how they want it and how the organization is aligning itself to meet those needs of the customer (Lieberman

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Euthanasia, “Physician-assisted Death” Essay essay help: essay help

Can you shoot a bullet at one of your family member because she/he is suffering from a pain? Have you ever seen one of your beloved dying?

And thought that it would be easier to him/her to die instead of suffering from the pain but you do not have the strength to do it or even say it? This paper seeks to show that although a lot of people might prefer dying than suffering from sickness, some stories and facts show that euthanasia is not the best solution.

According to The American Heritage Medical Dictionary, “Euthanasia is the act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, by lethal injection or by suspension of extraordinary medical treatment”. Euthanasia or what they call “Physician-assisted death” has had a huge controversy in the social sector.

People’s opinion has been divided between supporters and opponents, some of opponents have totally rejected it even if the patient is suffering and dying. On the other hand, others support such a decision because they think it is the best solution to stop the patient from suffering.

Historically, euthanasia was a common practice in ancient Greece and Rome. These civilizations believed that it was not necessary to safeguard someone’s life if death was imminent. The Hippocrates once opposed the practice according to the Hippocratic Oath dating approximately 400 BC that stated “I will not administer poison to anyone when asked to do so, nor suggest such a course” (Erdemir and Elcioglu 4).

With reference to 1300s, the English jurisdiction deemed assisted suicide as a crime. Mercy killing was also opposed by the twelfth and fifth century Christians (Erdemir and Elcioglu 5).

In 1828, the initial anti-euthanasia law was approved in New York where a heated debate regarding euthanasia and related issues like abortions had been conducted. By this time, euthanasia was either voluntary or involuntary and was being criticized by several medics and religious leaders.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More In 1870, the American Medical Association prohibited the administration of analgesic in euthanasia. In the beginning of twentieth century, mercy killing and assisted suicide had raised the public’s eyebrows. Therefore, in 1905, a bill that aimed to legalize euthanasia was opposed in Ohio (Emanuel1).

In 1940s, German physicians applied non-voluntary euthanasia to get rid of the ill and handicapped Germans in bunged gas chambers with the aim of minimizing the psychiatrically ill and handicapped individuals.

This was prohibited in 1945 following the killing of close to three hundred thousand Germans. The gas chambers were also utilized by the NAZIs to exterminate their enemies, which constituted a form of criminal euthanasia (Emanuel10).

In twentieth century, various agencies erupted to address the practice of euthanasia such as Voluntary Euthanasia Legislation Society (VELS) in 1935, which was advocating for its legalization in London and the National Society for the Legalization of Euthanasia (NSLE) in 1938.

The World Federation of Right to Die Societies, to advocate for voluntary mercy killing together with the U.S, Hemlock Society were established in 1980. Currently, various court cases have erupted as a result of euthanasia particularly the physician-assisted suicide but the debate still stands.

Although a lot of people might prefer dying than suffering from sickness, some stories and facts show that euthanasia is not the best solution to these people.

The decision to terminate one’s life should be left entirely on the patient. Patients suffering from terminal illness should be able to prepare their will for or against euthanasia when they are still energetic. In cases where there are no such documents and the patients cannot respond, they should be left to die naturally.

We will write a custom Essay on Euthanasia, “Physician-assisted Death” specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most critics of euthanasia in the field of medicine have noted that the justification for euthanasia is empirically false. According to experts, advocates for euthanasia have exaggerated death and the intensity of its approach. Experts argue that death in most mortal illness is not usually painful (Emanuel 6).

In the past, arguments against mercy killing concluded five harmful consequences that would come as a result of legalizing euthanasia. The same consequences have been documented by many studies including the present research. The first consequence has been identified as abuse by health practitioners.

Euthanasia will be employed by unscrupulous people to get rid of their “unwanted relatives.” This will also bring a lot of corruption in the health sector and unethical running of public institutions (Emanuel 7).

The second consequence that has been identified is the death of patients who would have survived. This is based on the fact that “medicine is not an exact science”. Some cases of terminal illness have gone against the predictions of qualified physicians to result in unexpected results.

Euthanasia will put an end to lives of people who would otherwise continue to live. The third consequence of legalizing euthanasia will be mental torture to the patients. Some patients will be under undue pressure to request euthanasia in order to relieve the burdens from their relatives (Emanuel 8).

Legalizing euthanasia is likely to cripple the medical profession. This is because it will destroy the trust of the patient and the entire community will lose their confidence in the medical profession. The fifth and the final consequence is that legalizing euthanasia will be the beginning of more problems in medicine.

If at the beginning only the terminally ill patients are entitled to euthanasia, then the aged will follow. The result will be a disaster because involuntary euthanasia for mentally disabled, incurable demented people and convicted murderers will be tolerated and probably justified (Emanuel 8).

In an article in American Spectator, Allott (1) gives an account of a sixty four year old woman who is very devastated by the Oregon Health Plan. The woman was informed that the plan would not take care of her lung cancer treatment but was willing to pay fifty dollars for her euthanasia. The woman described this plan as cruel and messed up for advocating for death instead of life.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Euthanasia, “Physician-assisted Death” by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Ten years ago, a man was jailed on a second-degree murder after assisting a patient to commit suicide. In US, euthanasia remains a second-tier political subject but this has started to change. In Washington, Montana and Oregon, physician assisted suicides have been legalized, and legalization bills have been introduced in New Hampshire and Hawaii (Allott 1).

In July this year, Wilkes (1) presented the unknown fate of a desperately sick woman whose family had applied for withdraw of her life support in a Landmark court. The fifty three year old had a brain-stem wasting illness and was still fighting but her relatives argued that she was better off dead to stop the pain.

This case elicited a lot of controversy because it involved physician assisted death to a patient who was not in a “persistent vegetative state”. At an introduction hearing the presiding judge described the case as “a unique case that raised very significant issues of principle”.

Jews regard preservation of human life as one of their highest moral values. The Jewish tradition forbids euthanasia or anything that could shorten human life. However, Jewish tradition does not require the physician to prolong life more than necessary.

For Jews, life is sacred and relieve from pain is not a reason enough for taking a life. In matters of passive euthanasia, Jewish law allows a doctor to remove anything that is stopping an occurrence of natural death (Faye Girsh 1).

Christianity is against euthanasia since life is given by God and only God can take it. Life and death are natural and should be respected and therefore Christianity forbids taking the life of innocent people even if they ask for it. Euthanasia regards life as worthless and therefore killing a person for quality of life is irrelevant.

Death is a spiritual process and nobody should interfere with it. Some omissions have been made regarding respecting the final wishes of a dying person if they ask for euthanasia (Bishops 1).

Christians believe that death is an important passage of moving from one life to another. The worth of all human life is the same and cannot be measured or be compared with anything. It is therefore wrong to take human life regardless of any reason that might arise.

Even for very sick, old, or disabled people, it is wrong to use any method to terminate their lives because they remain worth just like the lives of any other living people (Bishops 1).

In Islamic culture, euthanasia is prohibited under all circumstances Muslims believe that life is given by Allah and he decides when to terminate a human life. Muslims are against euthanasia because it brings to an end what Allah had intended when He created mankind.

Allah is the bringer of life and should therefore be the one to take it. Mercy killing involves passing judgment to other people a task that Muslims believes is for Allah only. Even an individual is not allowed to pass judgment over his/her life because life was giving to him/her. Everyone is worth before Allah and should respect the life that Allah provided.

Synthesizing the three views, it is clear that Judaism, Christianity and Muslim are all against euthanasia. However, Jews allow a doctor to remove anything, natural or artificial that stops the occurrence of natural death.

In some teachings of Christianity, patients should be taken care, relieved from pain, and prepared for death. Muslims allow death only in matters of justice but do not support any kind of mercy killing. The family and the entire community should give hope and support to the patient to raise their optimism.

In conclusion, although a lot of people might prefer dying than suffering from sickness, some stories and facts show that euthanasia is not the best solution. All religions are against euthanasia or any form of mercy killing, whether the patient is willing or not. Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in the Supreme Being that created man and gave him life.

In addition, humans have been given the power and capability to differentiate between good and bad; the issue of euthanasia is not an exception.

Although some laws have been passed in some countries in support of euthanasia, it still remains illegal in many cultures. These laws might be misused maliciously by some physicians to commit murder in future (ACLU 1). The issue of euthanasia will continue to remain controversial all over the world.

Works Cited ACLU. The American Civil Liberties Union(ACLU), ACLU Amicus Brief in Vacco v. Quill. 10 December 1996. Web.

Allott, Daniel. “The Doctor Will Kill You Know.” The American Spectator 1 April 2009: 1-2.

Bishops, National Conference of Catholic. Euthanasia and Assisted Dying. 3 August 2009. Web.

Emanuel, Ezekiel. “History of Medicine: The History of Euthanasia Debates in the United States and Britain.” American College of Physicians, Annals of Internal Medicine (2011). 793-802.

Erdemir, Aysegil and Omur Elcioglu. “A short history of Euthanasia Laws, and their Place in Turkish Law.” Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics (2001): 47-49.

Faye Girsh, EdD. How Shall We Die?” Free Inquiry. 23 April 2002. Web.

Wilkes, David. Family fight to end life of brain desease patient: Landmark case affecting thousands with locked-in syndrome, Mail Online. 18 July 2011. Web.

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Maladaptive Kinds of Behaviours – Psychology Essay essay help

A normal person exhibits the constituents of a normal personality. Anyone with an appropriate perception of reality, self-esteem and acceptance, the ability to exercise voluntary control over their own behaviour, productive and ability to form affectionate relationship is considered normal. On the other hand, a person is termed abnormal when he or she exhibits aspects of abnormal personality.

Some of the factors that may lead to an individual being pronounced abnormal include deviation from statistical and cultural norms, personal distress and maladaptive behaviour.

Some people may be, however, considered abnormal in relation to their cultural behaviour compared to that of the others. Differences in individuals’ culture and situations form significant factors in the classification of abnormal behaviours (Kring

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Background Mckenzie River Tourism Term Paper essay help free: essay help free

The McKenzie River is a Willamette River tributary which runs 90 miles and is approximately 145 km. The McKenzie River was named after a Scottish Canadian, Donald McKenzie who was a fur trader. It is situated in the western part of the Oregon, United States. McKenzie River flows to the south most end of Willamette Valley and drains some part of the Cascade Range which is in the east of Eugene.

The river has six large dams in this river and its tributaries. The Valley of McKenzie forms one of the most popular destinations for recreation in Lane County and Oregon. The valley is internationally recognized for the superb tout fishing that it provides.

It offers a variety of recreational activities ranging from shopping from distinctive gift shops and art galleries, by the river relaxing, golfing at the beautiful courses, running in a drift boat, raft or kayak and hiking in the wilderness among other recreational activities (Solomon, 2010).

The McKenzie River has a wide range of attraction besides the recreational activities mentioned in the above paragraph.

Some of these attractions include; the McKenzie River Trail and hiking; floating in the McKenzie River, flying fish in the McKenzie River, the hot springs, driving the scenic Hwys, riding the horse through the forests, playing golf at the Tokatee, taking a Row Boat out on the clear lake, biking and riding at the road, visiting waterfalls and snow bikes at the HooDoo.

The McKenzie River is generally a scenic site that has many attractions to its tourists and satisfies them with the wide range of recreational activities that it has in its vicinity (Nancy, 2004).

Target Market for McKenzie River The current target of the McKenzie River is basically tourists and people who are out to look for vocational areas and destinations. Those tourists and people who earn a lot of money may access several recreational activities and therefore they form part of the current target market for The McKenzie River.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The target market of the McKenzie River may be described as those who are old or aged in need of vocational places which offer everything they need. The new target market of the McKenzie River include those with small families, the elderly, newly weds and those with huge salaries.

The consumer perception on the McKenzie River Tourism include things like the environment full of fun, convenient services, and heavy marketing to get many users (Nancy, 2004).

The four P’s of McKenzie River The Products that are offered here include hiking, rafting, biking, sightseeing, fishing and camping among others. The old services should however be improved and new ones developed. The promotion of the mentioned services creates awareness of the recreational activities available.

The McKenzie River does this through its online website, brochures focusing on people between 30 to 50 years old and the local enlightenment of the people around about their offerings. The price of the activities offered here are affordable to those people who are looking for vocational area and those with huge salaries to spend.

They may not be favorable to people who are sensitive about the price. That is why the target market is the old people who can afford and spend on the services.

The place and distribution of the McKenzie River services is done through the fishing stores where people shop their fishing supplies. The online website and store are their major distribution areas. This is also done by publishing brochures about the place and the services they provide (Solomon, 2010).

References Nancy, J. (2004). Consumer behavior. London: Prentice Hall

We will write a custom Term Paper on Background Mckenzie River Tourism specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Solomon, R. (2010). Consumer behavior. London: Prentice Hall

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How Do Brand Names Affect Customer Decision Making Process in Selecting Fast Food Restaurants in London? Dissertation essay help online free

Introduction In highly competitive industries such as the fast food or quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, a strong brand name typically marks the difference between success and failure.

A strong, recognizable brand allows a QSR firm to best its competitors simply because customers have an expectation of the brand that translates into a form of emotional attachment or security, the so-called brand loyalty concept wherein consumers return to the QSR of their choice again and again to repeat a known emotional experience.

As long as the brand understands the consumer’s expectation and does not deviate from it, this relationship can continue over decades or even over a lifetime. Particularly in the QSR industry, wherein very little variety exists between the products that the top QSR chains serve, brand strength typically separates the wheat from the chaff.

As a result of this marketing reality, a great deal of scholarly and commercial interest in brand equity, brand awareness, brand personality, brand loyalty and the impact of these on the consumer purchasing decision process has surfaced in recent years.

Statement of the Problem

Effective QSR brand management depends on positive brand equity (Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004). Keller (1993) characterized customer based brand equity as the proportional impact of brand knowledge on a customer’s response to the brand’s advertising or marketing efforts, compared to his or her response to the same product – in this case, fast food – from an unnamed or unknown producer.

The successful marketing of a QSR brand must go beyond generic consumer responses to price; rather, it must condition the consumer response emotionally and psychologically, to the end that the consumer chooses the QSR brand based on an experience that he or she wants to repeat.

To achieve this end, the brand management team must understand the complex interplay that occurs between brand awareness, brand association and consumer choice.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More As Keller (1993) explains, “brand knowledge…involves both brand awareness…recall and recognition…and brand image or associations. Based on these definitions, a brand has positive…customer-based brand equity if the consumer has a favourable…reaction to the product, price, promotion or distribution of a brand, relative to the same marketing mix element of the generic product or service” (Keller, 1993, p. 5).

Conversely, a brand will encounter negative customer based brand equity if the consumer’s reaction to the brand’s marketing is unfavourable, or if the consumer has a negative reaction to the brand category – in this case, fast food.

However, as evidenced by the global success of the Subway chain, consumers can still have an unfavourable reaction to a brand that represents the product category without condemning the product category as a whole (Reynolds, 2011). Consumers that choose Subway over McDonald’s, for example, have not rejected the entire QSR product category; they have simply found a QSR product offering that serves their needs.

The researcher’s aim for the study was to observe this complex interplay between brand equity, brand awareness, product category and consumer choice using QSR customers in London as the research subjects.

The study sought to understand the factors that affect customer decision making process in London, specifically in regards to the top six QSR firms in London: McDonald’s, Subway, Yum! Brands, Domino’s Pizza, Eat Ltd., and Prêt a Manger.

The research problem was to understand the extent to which London consumers care about the brand name of fast food firms, and understand the extent to which brand names have an effect on buyer behaviour.

In addition, the researcher set out to learn if the top six fast food firms attract more customers around London compared to lesser known brands or local merchants that provide the same products. The study endeavoured to determine to what extent the brand name gives QSR fast food firms a competitive advantage.

We will write a custom Dissertation on How Do Brand Names Affect Customer Decision Making Process in Selecting Fast Food Restaurants in London? specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study was to determine the relationships between the brand names of top fast-food restaurants in London and consumer decision-making. The researcher set out to understand the relationship between brand and buyer behaviour in the London QSR market.

The qualitative research method of document analysis used in this study allowed the researcher to study a wide range of primary and secondary research in order to cement a theory around brand recognition, brand awareness, brand strategy, consumer spending, consumer decision-making, and the influence of the economic climate between 2009 and 2011 on all of these factors.

Objectives

What do the fast food customers in London think of fast food restaurants, and how important is the brand name of a fast food restaurant to them?

Do customers really care about brand name, or do they simply select it due to the low price?

How do customers compare their regular fast food restaurant with its competitive firms?

Do fast food firms gain any competitive advantage due to their brand name?

Do marketing/promotion campaigns attract people from competitive brands?

Hypotheses/Research Questions

What do the fast food customers in London think of fast food restaurants, and how important is a brand name to them when making food choices?

Do fast food customers in London really care about the brand name of a fast food restaurant, or do they select it due to the low price?

How do the fast food customers in London compare their regular restaurant with its competitive firms?

Do fast food firms acquire any form of a competitive advantage due to their brand name?

To what extent do marketing and promotion campaigns attract people from competitive brands?

Background of the Study

In this study, the researcher endeavoured to determine the extent to which brand strength affected buyer behaviour amongst London QSR consumers. The overall goal of the study was to discover what attitudes London QSR consumers hold in regards to the top fast food chain restaurants that they frequent. The researcher also set out to understand the role that QSR brand name plays in London consumers’ food choices.

The researcher sought to understand if QSR consumers in London genuinely care about the fast food brand names, or if they simply select a certain brand’s offering based on how little it costs when compared to its QSR competitors that offer the same type of food.

The researcher also endeavoured to determine how London QSR consumers view their regular restaurant compared with its competitive firms; again, if such a comparison does indeed take place, the researcher sought to find out if the comparison is based solely on cost, or some other emotional or psychological factor.

Finally, the researcher set out to determine if QSR firms gain any competitive edge based on the power of their brand name and associated brand loyalty, and to gauge the success or failure of marketing and promotional strategies and campaigns designed to attract brand loyal consumers to competitor QSR brands.

For the purpose of the study, the researcher chose to focus on the top six fast food restaurant chains currently operating in London: these include Subway, McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Yum! Brands – which include KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut – Eat Ltd., and Prêt a Manger (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010; Euromonitor International, 2010; IBIS World, 2011).

Definition of Terms

Quick service restaurant (QSR)

QSRs or quick service restaurants refer to fast food restaurants or chains that serve food typically in 10 minutes or under. Quick service restaurants do not offer table service and typically do not serve alcoholic beverages.

Not sure if you can write a paper on How Do Brand Names Affect Customer Decision Making Process in Selecting Fast Food Restaurants in London? by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Brand

The term brand refers to a product that differentiates itself from its competitors in the same product category through the use of a distinctive visual symbol, logo, sign, name or design that consumers associate with the company that produces the product (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

Brand management

Brand management refers to the strategic marketing and advertising efforts made by the company to increase market share via the success of the brand.

Brand managers employ various marketing and advertising strategies such as celebrity endorsement or product placement to advance their brands ahead of its closest competitors (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

Brand equity

Brand equity encompasses both a financial definition and a consumer perception definition (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

The financial understanding of brand equity refers to the actual value of the brand in tangible, demonstrable financial terms such as sales figures and earnings portfolio boosts (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

The consumer definition of brand refers to the relationship that develops between the consumer and the brand (Kapferer, 1997). The most obvious means to demonstrate brand equity occurs in the consumer’s perception that the brand functions more successfully than its competitors (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002)

Brand loyalty

Brand loyalty refers to the behaviour of a brand’s core consumers who will champion the brand above all others. These consumers often function as free marketing tools for the company (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

Tremendous brand loyalty gains have been made across all markets through digital marketing brand loyalty programs and social networking relationships that companies develop with their core customer base via “viral branding” (Holt, 2004, p. 28).

Brand awareness

Brand awareness refers to the consumer’s basic knowledge and memory of a particular brand in a particular product category (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

An example in the QSR category would be consumer awareness of burger chains in the product category of burger producers, such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s.

Brand personality

Consumers often imbue certain human qualities to the most successful and pervasive brands such as edginess or innovation (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

An example of brand personality in the QSR category would be Jared Fogle of Subway, an individual that personifies Subway’s goals of attracting health-conscious consumers.

Brand engagement

Brand engagement refers to the relationship that develops between a brand and its core consumers, to the extent that the consumers consistently choose the brand over its competitors and do not accept substitutes (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Heding et al., 2009; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

An example of brand engagement in the QSR sector would be a consumer who will not accept a Whopper in lieu of a Big Mac.

Customer value proposition

A customer value proposition refers to a particular strategy that a company employs in order to provide a complete customer experience to its consumers.

The customer value proposition essentially forms the bedrock of brand management, as the customer value proposition is a company’s declaration that explains why a consumer should buy one product or choose one service over those offered by competitors in the same product or service category.

As Kaplan and Norton (2004) note, the strategy deployed in the customer value proposition “is based on a differentiated customer value proposition. Satisfying customers is the source of sustainable value creation” (p. 203).

The customer value proposition ultimately describes the worth of the experience that a company offers its customers through the products and services that it provides (Lee, 2011). This value creation offering underpins many elements of brand management, particularly brand engagement and brand loyalty (Kaplan and Norton, 2004; Lee 2011).

Customer behaviour

Customer behaviour is best described by the concept of benefit segmentation, which explains why people buy products according to the apparent or stated relationship between a product and the fulfilment of the customer’s needs (McDonald and Dunbar, 2004).

Customers may choose products according to a variety of different features, including price, availability, or for the fulfilment of emotional needs such as status and self image (McDonald and Dunbar, 2004).

Customer decision making process

The customer decision making process functions as an adjunct to customer behaviour. The decision making process begins with the recognition of a need, be it functional, psychological or emotional (Pradhan, 2009; Tybout and Calkins, 2005).

The customer then progresses to the information stage, wherein the customer informs herself about the product and its availability (Pradhan, 2009; Tybout and Calkins, 2005).

The next stage entails evaluation, wherein the customer assesses the options available to him, based on his research. The final stage is the purchase decision stage, which can be influenced by multiple factors including the customer service experience (Pradhan, 2009; Tybout and Calkins, 2005).

Customer perception

Customer perception is best understood as an adjunct to customer satisfaction, and it is intimately tied to the customer decision making process (Tybout and Calkins, 2005).

Customer perception is commonly understood as the interplay between both the customer’s perception of a product’s performance and the extent to which the product meets the emotional and psychological expectations that the customer accrued prior to the acquisition of the product (Tybout and Calkins, 2005).

Summary

Chapter I introduces the research study and provides some introduction into the study of brands and brand management. Chapter I also includes a description of the statement of the problem for the research, the research questions, the purpose of the study, and a listing of the terms used in the study and their corresponding definitions. This chapter also contains a description of the background of the study.

Literature Review The value of brand equity as an influencing factor in customer purchase decision making cannot be overstated.

In the fast food industry, a number of global fast food brands that are headquartered in the Western democracies build an integrated marketing strategy with a global focus; these powerhouse brands leverage the strength of their brand name around the world to benefit from large groups of consumers that they do not have to spend additional marketing dollars to win over.

The significant cost savings that strong brand equity creates, in addition to the free advertising and marketing activities that global brands receive from their brand ambassadors all over the world, make brand loyalty a viable tool for fast food firms that seek to gain a competitive advantage in the fast food product category.

In order to produce a loyal global following of brand engaged consumers, fast food firms need to glean insight into the complex emotional and psychological relationships that exist between consumers and brands.

Market researchers need to understand fundamentally the inner working of global consumer behaviour; it is necessary for fast food firms to investigate and appreciate the buying behaviour and purchase decision process of consumers as a function of brand equity.

A clear understanding of consumer attitudes toward global fast food brands and consumer perception of global fast food brands becomes paramount as a means to translate brand equity into cost savings and increases in revenue.

The researcher anticipates that the results of this research will add insight to the current body of literature in the areas of brand awareness, brand equity, brand engagement, brand attachment, and the impact of these factors on the fast food consumer’s purchasing decision process.

The following study set out to determine the extent to which brand strength affected buyer behaviour amongst London QSR consumers. The researcher’s goal was to discover what London QSR consumers truly think about fast food restaurants, and to learn how important the fast food brand name is to them when they make their food choices.

The researcher sought to understand if QSR consumers in London genuinely care about the fast food brand names, or if they simply select a certain brand’s offering on the basis of its low cost compared to its QSR competitors.

The researcher also undertook to determine the nature of the comparison that occurs between a London QSR consumer’s restaurant of choice with its competitive firms, if such a comparison does indeed take place.

The researcher looked for information to indicate whether or not the comparison is again based solely on cost, or if there something deeper, an emotional commitment that a consumer makes to a certain brand over another. For example, does a QSR consumer only defect to a competitor QSR brand when his or her brand of choice fails his or her expectations somehow?

Finally, the researcher set out to understand if QSR firms gain competitive advantage on account of the power of their brand name and associated brand loyalty, and to gauge the success of marketing and promotional strategies and campaigns designed to draw brand loyal consumers to their brand’s main competitors.

For the purpose of the study, the researcher chose to focus on the top six fast food restaurant chains currently operating in London: these include Subway, McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Yum! Brands, Eat Ltd., and Prêt a Manger.

Yum! Brands operates a number of individual QSR brands including Pizza Hut, KFC, and Taco Bell. Subway, McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza and Yum! Brands are all American companies. Eat Ltd. and Prêt a Manger are both companies founded by U.K. citizens: Eat Ltd. remains privately owned, while Prêt a Manger was recently sold to a U.K. private equity firm in partnership with Goldman Sachs (The Telegraph, 2008).

Keller (1993) defined customer based brand equity as the “differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand” (p. 2).

In Keller’s (1993) model, “customer based brand equity involves consumers’ reactions to an element of the marketing mix for the brand in comparison with their reactions to the same marketing mix element attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product or service.

Customer based brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable, strong, and unique brand associations in memory” (p. 2).

In his seminal work Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer Based Brand Equity, Keller (1993) examined the idea of customer-based brand equity from the perspective of the individual consumer, and outlined several ways in which the creation and maintenance of brand equity could be administered, measured, and strategically applied to marketing campaigns and advertising materials.

The existence of powerful positive emotional associations that remain exclusive to the brand and denote authority over all other brands who produce and sell the same product or service remains crucial to the success of a brand in the extremely crowded QSR industry.

An example is the individual consumer’s favouring of the Big Mac over the Whopper; both are burgers, yet the McDonald’s consumer will choose the Big Mac due to the positive associations he or she has built up over time with the McDonald’s brand in his or her memory, while the Burger King consumer while choose the Whopper for the same reasons (Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002; Simovic, 2010).

Brand personality remains an extremely important leveraging strategy for the brand management of fast food chains in the tight QSR market (Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

Brands must create a psychological distance in the minds of consumers to distinguish themselves from their competitors. As Parsa and Kwansa (2002) explain, QSR brands must “develop a brand personality to successfully differentiate their restaurants from their competitors and to maintain the trust and loyalty of their patrons” (p. 212).

Brand personality is the “set of human traits that consumers attribute to a brand” (Parsa and Kwansa, 2002, p. 212). Dominant QSR brands share the common characteristic of a recognizable brand personality. They successfully distinguish themselves from their competitors through their “robustness, desirability, distinctiveness, and consistency” (Parsa and Kwansa, 2002, p. 212).

Brand personality refers to the consistency of the brand across cultures and across time zones; the most successful QSR brands featured in this study are multinational brands that operate in many different countries yet maintain consistency of employee uniform, store décor, and product offerings in all of their stores.

In earlier times when the market was less crowded, the strategies that restaurant brand managers developed in order to build their brand’s personality focused on differentiation between various newly created products and services (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

Brand management focused on convincing consumers of the “corresponding functional or utilitarian benefits those products or services” offered (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999, p. 48).

Within the last two decades however, as competition raged and the number of competing firms continued to multiply, the ability of brand managers to “differentiate brands on the basis of functional attributes alone” has ultimately proved ineffective against the constant and unmitigated competition in the QSR industry.

Therefore, as competition intensified, brand managers have changed their tactics to employ “symbolic meanings increasingly [to] form a basis for [the] brand’s positioning and differentiation” (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999, p. 48).

Increasingly, the brand managers and marketing professionals behind the major QSR brands invest their energy and budgets into the creation and development of “meaningful and distinctive brand personalities in the minds of consumers” (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999, p. 48; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

In order to distinguish a brand from its competitors effectively, the brand must develop a personality that is “distinctive, robust, desirable, and constant” (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999, p. 49).

For many years, QSR industry players grappled with “inconsistent, meaningless, or undesirable brand perceptions” (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999, p. 49). An example is the QSR industry’s struggle with price wars (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

When the QSR industry expected consumers to pay attention exclusively to the cost of the fast food products, the result was a heated and interminable price war between the major brands that “sapped customer loyalty and diminished revenues” (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999, p. 49).

The solution to the ineffectiveness of price wars for the main QSR chains such as McDonalds was to focus instead on the development of a solid and appealing brand personality that sticks in the minds of consumers, and builds and maintains brand loyalty over time (Austin, Mattila and Siguaw, 1999; Keller, 1993; Kim and Kim, 2004; Parsa and Kwansa, 2002).

Brand personality can sometimes take the form of a particular spokesperson such as Subway’s Jared Fogle, or even a particular image, such as the McDonalds golden arches. In essence, the brand personality provides a comforting sameness of product offering to consumers that distinguish it from its competitors. This offering for the most part remains emotional and has little or nothing to do with cost.

More recently, Kapferer (2008) wrote of the critical rift that has developed between marketing scholars as to a unified definition of a brand, and the most effective means of measuring the brand’s strength. Kapferer (2008) explains that in regards to brand equity, “there is a major schism between two paradigms.

One is customer based and focuses exclusively on the relationship customers have with the brand…from total indifference to attachment, loyalty, and willingness to buy and rebuy based on beliefs of superiority and evoked emotions. The other aims at producing measures in dollars, euros, or yen” (p. 9).

As the consumer’s attention span continues to fragment, Kapferer (2008) asserts, the most successful brands are those that “convey certitude [and] trust” (p. 11).

The economy, in Kapferer’s (2008) words, has become “an attention economy. [There] is so much choice and opacity that consumers cannot spend their time comparing before they make a choice.

They have no time and even if they did, they cannot be certain of being able to determine the right product or service for them” (p. 11). In this economy where consumer attention becomes premium, successful brands provide a service for the time-starved consumer (Kapferer, 2008).

Successful brands function as a “time and risk reducer” (Kapferer, 2008, p. 11). In the QSR industry, the brands that encourage consumers to buy over and over again are those that save time and remove all chance and risk from the food purchasing activity.

In essence, QSR brands that provide the service of reassuring the consumer that they will receive exactly what they expect to receive appear to be those that sustain the highest yield of repeat buyers and fully engaged loyal brand champions.

Brand engagement or brand attachment refers to a phenomenon that some of the older, more well established fast food brands such as McDonalds’s enjoy with their core customer base (Holt, 2004; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993). Brand engagement is a process that begins with brand awareness and depends wholly upon the consumer’s “proximity to the brand” (Kapferer, 2008, p. 72).

Essentially, as Kapferer (2008) notes, the QSR consumer will develop a relationship with the brand of his or her choice based on proximity, which then “moves from a feeling of presence…awareness, recognition…to a feeling of relevance [or] it’s for me, to the perception of performance and a clear advantage, and ultimately to a genuine affective attachment” (p. 72).

This relationship is emotional and long term and again, often has little to do with price, although low price in some cases may serve as the entry point for brand awareness.

As Kapferer (2008) notes, brand engagement refers to a phenomenon far more complex and penetrating than simply a “repeat purchase” (p. 72). Rather, brand engagement speaks to the consumer’s long term, “personal involvement with the brand” (Kapferer, 2008, p. 73).

A brand that has succeeded in achieving engagement with its customers affects their buying behaviour in the product category (Holt, 2004; Kapferer, 2008; Keller, 1993). As Kapferer (2008) explains, in full brand engagement, “if the brand were not there, the client would prefer to wait than buy an alternative. For the consumer, there is no substitutability” (p. 73).

In the QSR landscape, an example of full brand engagement might be if a McDonald’s customer seeking a burger encounters a Burger King, he or she will not purchase a burger there, regardless of hunger level or time constraints, but will keep walking until a McDonald’s appears.

Two elements must exist in order to sustain this type of brand engagement with the consumer: the first element is attachment, quantified by a powerful awareness of the brand, wherein the customer feels “closeness with the brand” (Kapferer, 2008, p. 73).

The second element refers to customer satisfaction, namely, a firmly held belief on the part of the customer that the brand consistently performs better than its competitors (Keller, 1993; Kapferer, 2008; Kim and Kim, 2004)

QSR firms belong to the particular product category of fast foods, and in some cases, the product category has become negatively linked to the brand, and vice versa.

This study revealed two areas in which the brand and product category had merged negatively in the minds of consumers: the area of rising obesity rates, especially amongst children and young adults, and in the area of cultural aversion, since four of the six top QSR chains in London are owned by Americans.

Keller (1993) outlined that in the cases of very strong or very old brands such as McDonald’s, “some product category associations may become linked to the brand, either in terms of specific beliefs or overall attitudes” (p. 6). Consumer attitudes in regards to a particular product category typically function as a vital indicator of customer response and consumer reaction (Keller, 1993).

In the QSR category, most fast food chains share the negative product category association in the area of child obesity rates. The exception would be Subway, which has successfully branded itself as a healthful alternative to fast food, while still preserving its quick service restaurant categorization.

The current research study reviewed the work of a number of researchers who have studied brand awareness, brand equity, brand engagement and consumer behaviour and the consumer purchasing decision process as it applies in the QSR industry.

Kim and Kim (2004) conducted a study that revealed the essential dimensions that underpin brand equity and investigated the impact they had on the performance of several chain outfits in the QSR category.

Kim and Kim (2004) analyzed the data gathered from a survey of 394 shoppers in Korea; the researchers asked the shoppers to complete a questionnaire that gauged the consumers’ brand equity. Kim and Kim (2004) discovered in this study that “brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand image are important dimensions of customer-based brand equity.

Brand awareness appeared to be the dimension that gave the greatest boost to QSR firms’ performance, even though brand awareness had relatively less importance in the brand-equity construct itself” (p. 116). Kim and Kim (2004) found that brand loyalty, which represented a substantial aspect of the “construct of brand equity in QSR chains, did not exhibit a significant relationship with firms’ performance” (p. 116).

Kim and Kim (2004) discovered that brand equity has a constructive impact on a firm’s performance; according to their research, more than half of the variations in performance can be accredited to brand equity for QSR chain restaurants.

To determine the connection between brand equity and consumers sales in QSR chains, Kim and Kim (2004) used a simple bivariate regression model and regressed brand equity on sales; these figures showed that brand equity accounts for over half of the sales variation.

“When brand equity components such as brand loyalty, brand awareness, perceived quality and brand image were regressed on sales in a multiple regression, these components explained over 70 percent of the variations in sales” (Kim and Kim, 2004, p. 117). According to this study therefore, “strong brand equity is significantly correlated with revenues for quick-service restaurants” (Kim and Kim, 2004, p. 116).

Ramasamy and Yeung (2008) utilized a panel data structure for their study that examined the top 50 firms in the United States between 2000 and 2005 to determine the “nexus between brand value and various measures of firm performance” (p. 322). The researchers were successful in validating a connection between the measure of brand equity or brand value and “multiple profitability ratios and stock market performance measures.

The contemporaneous relationships between brand values and profitability are significant even after controlling for unobserved effects through panel data estimation techniques” (Ramasamy and Yeung, 2008, p. 322).

The study results indicated that firms with entrenched, robust brands remain “more profitable, and the significance of brands’ effects on internal profitability is very consistent regardless of the selection of measures and thus could not have occurred by chance” (Ramasamy and Yeung, 2008, p. 322).

This study also indicated that brands with strong brand equity tend to enjoy consistently higher performance in the stock market (Ramasamy and Yeung, 2008).

Schmitt and Zarantonello (2010) demonstrated that brand experience varies amongst different groups of consumers.

The researchers surveyed 1134 respondents in 10 Italian cities between October of 2007 and 2008 using a questionnaire that highlighted a particular brand and asked the consumers surveyed to rate that brand according to their experience of it. The researchers then used cluster and regression analysis to investigate the relationships between brand experience and purchase intention among the respondents.

The researchers discovered that among consumers, different “experiential appeals” exist, depending on the consumer’s brand preference and level of brand engagement. As Schmitt and Zarantonello, (2010) explain, “on one extreme, there are holistic consumers, who seem to be interested in all aspects of experience; on the other extreme, there are utilitarian consumers, who do not attach much importance to brand experience” (p. 532).

In the middle, there exist what the researchers call “hybrid consumers” (Schmitt and Zarantonello, 2010, p. 532). As Schmitt and Zarantonello, (2010) note, these consumers remain engaged with specific brands in specific ways, namely, “hedonistic consumers…attach importance to sensorial gratification and emotions, [while] action-oriented consumers…focus on actions and behaviours” (p. 532).

Also, customers whom the researchers label as “inner-directed consumers” are more interested in creating an internal experience of the brand such as “sensations, emotions, and thoughts” (Schmitt and Zarantonello, 2010, p. 532). Brand equity and brand engagement, according to Schmitt and Zarantonello (2010), will occur in varying degrees according to the orientation of the consumer.

De Pelsmacker and Dens (2010) conducted a study to investigate the relationship between branding strategies for the launch of a new brand and the launch of a “line extension” of products from a well-established brand (p. 50).

The researchers studied “advertising execution strategies…informational, positive emotional and negative emotional…and product category involvement…low and high…on consumers’ attitudes towards the product, purchase intention and the parent brand” (De Pelsmacker and Dens, 2010, p. 58).

Results indicated that the extension of a new product from an existing brand fares much better than a new brand in terms of purchase intention and positive brand attitudes.

De Pelsmacker and Dens (2010) also found that “advertising strategy has little impact on consumer responses to line extensions of familiar brands …For well-known, high-quality brands, the negative evaluations of negative emotional appeals are not reflected in product and brand evaluations.

[Thus], it is apparent that brand extensions are more positively evaluated than new brands. As such, launching new products as extensions of established brands seems a viable strategy over new brands” (De Pelsmacker and Dens, 2010, p. 59).

Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton (2009) conducted research into the customer purchasing decision process as it pertains to the fast food product category. In this study, the researchers set out to determine the relationship between the availability of fast food and the consumption of fast food in key market areas (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009).

The principal goal of this study was to demonstrate a causal link between the increased consumer purchasing of fast food and the proliferation of fast food chains and restaurants in target market areas (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009).

The study took place in Melbourne, Australia and included a sample of 2564 households; the research reflected a 64 percent response rate to a food purchasing survey that the researchers mailed to a random sample (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009).

The study focused exclusively on lower income households in Melbourne and its surrounding suburbs, specifically those with an income of 400 dollars or less per week before taxes (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009).

The fast food chains featured in this study include McDonald’s, Red Rooster, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hungry Jacks, and Pizza Hut; Red Rooster and Hungry Jacks are Australian fast food restaurant chains.

The researchers further parsed the sample into a number of categories based on age, education, country of origin, profession, gender, and the composition of the households represented in the study, including “single male adult without children, single female adult without children, a single adult with a child or children, two or more adults without children, or two or more adults with a child or children” (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009, p. 31).

The results of this research uncovered “an independent association between the variety of fast food restaurants and fast food purchasing; an increase of one different fast food chain within the 3 kilometre network areas increased the odds of monthly fast food purchasing by 13 percent” (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009, p. 34).

However, the researchers cautioned that this remained the sole statistically significant finding of the study in models that has been adjusted (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009). As Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton (2009) explain:

No significant relationships were found between density and proximity after the inclusion of individual socio-economic predictors suggesting these were important confounders.

[However] it is important to note that although we only had one significant finding in models adjusted for all confounders the relationships were all in the same direction; they were all suggestive of a possible relationship between greater access and increased purchasing (p. 34).

While this study demonstrated a link between availability of fast food and increased customer purchasing of fast food, the study largely sought to discover the relationship between socio-economic factors and fast food consumption (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009).

As such, the study authors caution that “a potential for bias…potentially exists within research related to dietary behaviours and neighbourhood health effects” (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009, p. 35).

Therefore, the study authors “recommend that future research carefully disentangle the relationships using DAGs, particularly in relation to assessing the potential mediating role of fast food store access for socio-economic associations and intake” (Bentley, Kavanagh and Thornton, 2009, p. 35).

New Products and Product Innovation

Gammoh, Skiver and Voss (2011) conducted a study to investigate the impact of brand equity on consumer choices, specifically in the area of new products. The research sought to understand how brand equity affects a customer’s evaluation of “continuous [versus] discontinuous innovation of new products” (p. 65).

The researchers also endeavoured to understand and the regulating impact of brand equity on a consumer’s knowledge of a particular product category.

In the QSR industry, product innovation remains tends not to represent as much of a driver for revenue and sustained business compared to industries such as the technology industry; however, as the researchers note, product innovation is “critical to companies’ success,” particularly in the area of product originality and perceived consumer value (Gammoh, Skiver and Voss, 2011, p. 65).

This study found that previous research had ostensibly overlooked the vital role that brand equity plays in both the consumer response to a new product as well as consumer evaluation of a new product or innovation (Gammoh, Skiver and Voss, 2011).

As Gammoh, Skiver and Voss (2011) explain, “an implicit assumption in previous research is that the brand itself does not affect on the consumer’s response to the innovation type of the new product introduction.

However…comparisons between continuous and discontinuous innovation fail to account for specific effects due to different levels of brand equity of the new product.

Brands vary in their levels of brand equity, and thus may realize differential responses to continuous or discontinuous new products” (p. 65). In other words, a powerful brand may be assured of a more favourable consumer response to whatever new products it creates and markets simply by virtue of its robust brand equity.

In this study, the researchers sought to demonstrate that the fundamental value of the brand in brand equity terms will have a direct impact on a consumer’s assessment of a given product innovation when it is introduced to the market. Using a 2×2 between-subjects research design, the researchers employed a consumer scenario as the stimulus for the study using a sample of 29 participants (Gammoh, Skiver and Voss, 2011).

The researchers included a product description which established the name of the firm and the brand name, as well as a brief overview of the level of innovation that the new product reflected.

The researchers found a direct correlation between brand recognition and the sample’s response to the product innovations; the most well known brand consistently received the highest ratings in brand recall, brand familiarity and consumer attitudes (Gammoh, Skiver and Voss, 2011).

The results of this study underscored the “positive influence of well-known and high-equity brands on consumer evaluations of new product introductions, regardless of the innovation type” (Gammoh, Skiver and Voss, 2011, p. 75).

Gammoh, Skiver and Voss (2011) concluded that “high brand equity provides consumers with more information about the broad array of the benefits of the brand and thus reduces their perceived uncertainty about the potential benefits and risks associated” with a new product or innovation (Gammoh, Skiver and Voss, 2011, p. 76).

The strength of the brand itself and the equity that it has developed with consumers provides the warm introduction for whatever new products or innovations the company produces.

This study provides key insight into brand management in the realm of product innovation, as high-equity brands enjoy less risk, “since consumers are just as likely to positively evaluate those products,” based on their pre-existing positive engagement with the brand (Gammoh, Skiver and Voss, 2011, p. 76).

Customer Value Proposition

Lee (2011) conducted a study of Chick-fil-A, a QSR located in the United States, in order to determine the principal factors involved in QSR operational superiority from a brand standpoint. This study focused exclusively on the customer value proposition as a means to understand the relationship between consumers and a fast food particular brand to which they provide consistent loyalty.

Lee’s (2011) hypothesis for the study involved the service profit chain model, and the researcher set out to investigate the customer value proposition with the following assumptions in place: “customer loyalty drives profitability and growth, customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty, service value drives customer satisfaction, employee retention and productivity drives service value, employee satisfaction drives retention and productivity, and internal quality drives employee satisfaction” (Lee, 2011, p. 118).

According to Lee (2011), the “service-profit chain model, a firm’s operating strategy, and [a firm’s] service delivery system could offer better service value to customers and service value drives better customer loyalty and…financial performance” (p. 117).

In this study Lee (2011) identified several of the principal elements necessary for success in the QSR industry, specifically in regards to building and maintaining brand equity through customer loyalty. The profitability of a QSR firm and the continuous growth of its income returns are motivated predominantly by customer loyalty; customer loyalty, in turn, remain a direct consequence of consumer satisfaction (Lee, 2011).

The satisfaction of the QSR consumer is primarily influenced by the value of the product or service according to the consumer’s perception (Lee, 2011). In the QSR industry, Lee (2011) notes, customer satisfaction remains crucial as a means to drive revenue and maintain market share.

The main drivers of success in customer satisfaction oriented industries such as the QSR industry include quality, speed and customer service (Lee, 2011).

Lee (2011) further delineates herein: “quality refers to the overall quality of the food at your chain, the quality at a particular restaurant, the overall quality of the brand, and the quality of the brand at a particular restaurant” (p. 117).

Of these three factors, Lee (2011) argues that speed is the most relevant in terms of building and maintaining brand equity and driving sales. “In the Quick-Service Industry, speed is imperative; for the average Quick-Service Restaurant, nearly 55%-75% of their sales are accounted for through drive-thru” (Lee, 2011, p. 118).

This study concluded that in the quick service restaurant industry, a QSR builds its customer satisfaction – and in turn its brand equity – largely via the experience that the firm’s employees have with the company.

Lee (2011) argued that a high quality of employee experience correlates directly with the consumer’s experience of the brand; in essence, the employee becomes engaged with the brand and functions as its most reliable and effective ambassador.

A successful relationship between the employee and the brand has translated into significant success for such brands as Starbucks (Lee, 2011). Similar research has shown the same results with non-fast food companies such as Southwest Airlines, Harley-Davidson, and Enterprise Rent-a-Car (Lee, 2011).

As Lee (2011), the customer value proposition and the employee value proposition are essentially mutually enhancing, as the “customer value proposition is to deliver an excellent experience to customers in quality, speed, and customer/employee service… high quality, fast delivery, healthy food, and excellent customer service help to sustain a high level of customer satisfaction” (p. 119).

Promotions and Strategies

Researchers Leone and Raggio (2009) and Seddon et al. (2010) presented studies to indicate that the QSR category benefitted slightly from the recession.

Consumer traffic increased slightly at some QSR chains, and “steady traffic at fast food outlets came at the expense of full-service, mid-tier casual dining establishments. Consumers were attracted to the fast food restaurants because of their lower prices. Brand value for the category grew by just 1 percent” (Seddon et al., 2010, p. 74).

As Leone and Raggio (2009) explain, “it is important to highlight how short-term actions can impact long-term brand value.

If we consider a brand to represent a promise of benefits and brand equity to be the perception that a brand meets an important promise of benefits, then it is clear that what is happening during recessionary times is that consumers are more likely to consider whether or not value is part of the brand’s promise” (Leone and Raggio, 2009, p. 86).

The migration from casual dining establishments to QSR chains reflected consumer response to reduced discretionary income, which will change now that the recession is subsiding, thus these new customers may only be temporary.

Subway’s $5 Footlong

Subway’s $5 Footlong product proved to be a huge hit in 2010. Seddon et al., (2008) found that during the lean times of the recession, the $5 Footlong represented a “compelling value proposition [that] boosted Subway’s sales” (p. 74).

The successful $5 Footlong promotion, “along with the brand’s commitment to freshness, enabled Subway to surpass Wendy’s and Burger King in market share last year” (Seddon et al., 2009; Seddon et al., 2010).

Subway’s success during the recession positioned it to compete with McDonald’s. As Seddon et al., (2010) explain, “with 32,000 restaurants in 92 countries, Subway is about to overtake McDonald’s in number of locations” (p. 74). Subway’s brand value increased 9 percent since 2008. (O’Leary, 2010; Seddon et al., 2008; Seddon et al., 2009; Seddon et al., 2010)

McDonald’s McCafe

Multibranding offers firms the opportunity to leverage existing sales units that tend to produce lower sales volumes than the core brand (Enz, 2005; Oches, 2011). Researchers Frazer et al. (2007) studied the McCafe co-branding strategy that McDonald employed in Australia to determine the success of this tactic “in franchising as a strategy to stimulate and rejuvenate growth in a mature franchising sector” (p. 442).

The researchers posited that development movements such as “multiple unit franchising mobile franchising and co-branding occur because of the sector’s need to find new means of expansion beyond the standard model of franchising” (Frazer et al., 2007, p. 442).

McDonald’s in Australia had experienced decreasing market share in its Australian operations in the early part of the 21st century due to consumer concerns with health, obesity, and the impact of the fat and salt content of the standard McDonald’s menu on heart disease.

The researchers examined the McDonald’s and McCafe co-branding strategy that the company undertook at that time to invigorate its brand in Australia and attract a new target market of consumers.

The McCafe co-brand strategy which evolved in Australia, was investigated in order to find out what “incentives and inhibitions associated with this successful co-branding initiative” existed (Frazer et al., 2007, p. 442).

McDonald’s Australia introduced the McCafe co-branding strategy in 1999; the company adopted the sub-brand as a mainstream program for the McDonald’s brand in 2001, when the “New Tastes Menu was introduced throughout Australia” (Frazer et al., 2007, p. 442).

The original purpose of the McCafe co-brand initiative was to infuse life into the flagging the McDonald’s brand equity at that time. The researchers found that the co-branding strategy worked in the case of McDonald’s because the brand was mature and robust enough to sustain and grow a sub-brand.

In the case of Australia, target audiences began to revisit McDonald’s on account of the McCafe strategy; effectively rejuvenating the brand in a market where it has fatigued slightly due to concerns over obesity and heart disease (Frazer, L. et al., 2007).

The study demonstrated that McDonald’s was able to move from a stand-alone brand to the position of “master brand, [effectively] parenting its own brand equity and that of McCafe” (p. 443).

DiPietro (2005) conducted a study of Yum! Brands’ campaign to increase sales through multibranding. The company placed two or more of its brands KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut in the same commercial building in a co-branding strategy to boost sales.

DiPietro (2005) pointed to “same-unit sales for 2003 have not grown over 2002, showing that cobranding may be holding sales steady during fluctuating times for quick-service restaurants, but it is not growing the sales of the restaurant units over time” (p. 96).

Cobranding and multibranding often appear as a feasible sales strategy for firms with multiple QSR assets; however, DiPietro (2005) found that the research “indicates that restaurant cobranding raises potential problems in three areas. First, cobranding may cannibalize both sales and image of one brand with the addition of another brand in the same restaurant space.

Second, cobranding may cause operational confusion, because managers and employees will have to learn two different operating systems. Third, cobranding may increase costs because of the need to train employees in two systems. As an additional point, cobranding may also confuse consumers with regard to what a restaurant is offering” (p. 96).

Product positioning in the QSR industry represents an additional competitive strategy that many of the top fast food chains in London, and in most urban areas for that matter, tend to uniformly employ.

Location remains a key element of branding strategies of the main QSR firms surveyed in this paper, particularly the powerhouse burger brands McDonald’s and Burger King, which tend to compete directly in close proximity with each other for QSR customers.

In major urban areas such as London for example, McDonald’s and Burger King will typically be found on the same strip or block; the same is true of food courts in malls and other many other major QSR locations such as bus terminals, airports and train stations.

Thomadsen (2007) conducted a study in order to examine the phenomenon of consumer choice and product positioning and location between competitors in the fast food industry.

For the purposes of this study, Thomadsen (2007) deemed the competition to be asymmetric given that McDonald’s holds a much higher market share than Burger King. The study focused on the two burger giants McDonald’s and Burger King and investigated “optimal product positioning strategies…in the context of retail outlet locations in the fast food industry” (p. 792).

Thomadsen’s (2007) study examined the relationship between the two firms’ revenues and product differentiation, within the context of the product homogeneity prevalent in the QSR industry. As Thomadsen’s (2007) notes, both McDonald’s and Burger King provide “products that are very homogeneous within each chain.

This product homogeneity – which is observed not just in the food, but also in the menu boards, uniforms, and architectural style – is a large component of the value that comes from being a member of a chain, and both McDonald’s and Burger King’s success can be largely attributed to the vigilance with which their founders enforced this homogeneity” (p. 793).

This statement also explains the strength of both firm’s brand equity, namely, the lack of deviation from the core consumer experience that each firm offers.

The study showed that both McDonald’s and Burger King were more successful when they avoided direct competition in close physical proximity, provided that the firms operated in a large urban market such as London.

The prices for the products offered by both McDonald’s and Burger King were the lowest when the two chains operated within close proximity, and increased as the distance between the stores increased, “approximately leveling off once the outlets are about 2-2.5 miles apart” (Thomadsen, 2007, p. 797).

However, as Thomadsen (2007) notes, “in small market areas, McDonald’s would prefer to be located together with Burger King rather than have the two outlets be only a slight distance apart. In contrast, Burger King’s profits always increase with greater differentiation” (Thomadson, 2007, p. 792).

Thomadsen’s (2007) study also discovered that proximity tended to hurt the smaller QSR firm. As Thomadsen (2007) explains, “when Burger King and McDonald’s are located together, Burger King, as the weaker firm, is unable to attract many consumers from McDonald’s by lowering its prices” (p. 798).

Despite this, nine times out of ten, Burger King and McDonald’s stores will be found close together in most large urban centres. Thomadsen (2007) hypothesizes that “offsetting these incentives is the desirability of locating centrally to appeal to the most customers” (p. 792).

The study also revealed that when a Burger King store is “positioned differently enough, it finds that it is attractive to enough consumers that it begins to find that it can use prices to attract customers” (Thomadsen, 2007, p. 798). Thomadsen (2007) posits that the McDonald’s corporation remains more aggressive in its quest to locate optimal locations compared to its competitor Burger King.

On the other hand, as Thomadsen (2007) notes, “Burger King…always works to avoid direct competition with McDonald’s unless there is a large demand source, such as a mall, which would provide Burger King with enough customers to overcome its inability to be a strong competitor against McDonald’s” (p. 803).

From a revenue standpoint, Thomadsen’s (2007) study revealed that the variable profits that the McDonald’s corporation earns tend to decrease when the nearest Burger King competitor is located in a separate yet proximal location of half a mile or more (Thomadsen, 2007).

As Thomadsen (2007) explains, this price drop occurs “because most consumers would patronize a McDonald’s outlet over a Burger King outlet if the outlets were located in the same place.

However, when the outlets are located apart, some consumers who prefer McDonald’s will instead eat at a Burger King because they are geographically located closer to the Burger King outlet” (p. 798). Similarly, Thomadsen’s (2007) study showed that physical location affects consumer decision making.

As Thomadsen (2007) explains, “some consumers who prefer Burger King’s food will be closer to McDonald’s and eat there instead, but because more consumers prefer McDonald’s food, the net flow of customers is from McDonald’s to Burger King” (p. 798).

Both firms will generally gather around a “large, concentrated source of demand in the market” (Thomadsen, 2007, p. 801). This phenomenon can be observed in many other QSR firms also.

Thomadsen (2007) hypothesizes in this study that all QSR firms, in this case McDonald’s and Burger King, will concentrate in the area of highest demand such as mall food courts. As Thomadsen (2007) explains, “if there were a large mall located in the center of the market, then each firm would choose to locate at the mall even though the other firm would locate there, too.

Similarly, if the center of the market were a “downtown” area with a greater concentration of demand, both firms would choose to locate in the downtown area…This can explain why McDonald’s and Burger King outlets are often located together in high-demand areas” (p. 801).

The same is also true of many other QSR competitors such as YUM! Brands and Subway. As a rule, these QSR firms knowingly face stiff competition – and as this study demonstrates, lose revenue as a result – in order to exist in the locations with the highest fast food consumer traffic (Thomadsen, 2007).

Apaydin (2011) conducted research into the consumer purchasing behaviour across multiple product categories, including the fast food product category, in relation to brand loyalty, brand awareness and brand image.

Apaydin (2011) sought to understand the relationship between consumer perceptions of global brands in a number of different categories and their decision making and buying choices using a sample of 182 Turkish college students.

The purpose of the research was to ascertain if these global brands possessed some supplementary emotional associations with the consumer sample that the same product offerings from local brands did not have.

As Apaydin (2011) notes, if global brands do have additional associations in the minds of consumers, “this has significant contributions to brand image and knowledge, and it enhances brand value which is likely to affect consumers’ brand selection and loyalty behavior” (p. 26).

The researcher’s aim in this research was to determine the emotional relationship between global brand choice and brand loyalty as a function of the consumer’s self image.

Apaydin (2011) posited that if a global brand were associated with self concept or self worth, then it would be chosen above cheaper local brands in the same product category. As Apaydin (2011) explains, “brand loyalty was measured with the statement…I make my purchase according to my favorite global brand, regardless of price” (p. 28).

The results of this study were surprising and differed greatly previous studies. As Apaydin (2011) notes, the research demonstrated the global economic recession exacted a significant influence on consumer purchasing decisions in the fast food product category.

The consumers sampled in this study did not adhere to brand loyalty to the same extent that they have in previous studies. Apaydin (2011) “observed that global brand loyalty is far less than expected, which is not in line with the literature.

The possible reason might be related with global economic recession, which had a big impact on buying behaviors of consumers and strategies of companies. The period of the survey coincided with the economic recession which almost all countries have been experiencing for the last two years.

As this research was carried out in these years, the results are likely to be affected from it” (p. 32). The price sensitivity demonstrated by consumers during uncertain economic times became the most significant determinant of consumer purchasing behaviour in the fast food product category.

Apaydin (2011) presented an additional limiting factor of the study as the “lack of importance of these criteria as a basis for hamburger brand selection” (p. 32). The results suggest that fast food consumers do not necessarily equate the selection of fast food brands with self image.

As Apaydin (2011) explains, “respondents most strongly disagreed with parents and friends being influences on brand purchase, being loyal to brands, [brand] reputation…and brand choice being a reflection of self image” (p. 32).

Rather, the results indicated the consumers sampled chose a particular fast food brand based on the criteria of “value and variety seeking and convenience, which are explained by multi-brand, quality, novelty, price, time, and promotion. Different from the others, time is an important variable for the selection of this product type, which supports the reason why people prefer fast food” (Apaydin, 2011, p. 32).

Contrary to the results of previous studies in a similar vein, as Apaydin (2011) explains, “close environment is not effective for this group in the selection of the global brand” of fast food.

The main factors effecting consumer choice remained speed and cost, and the researcher concluded that the recession had a much stronger impact on consumer purchasing choices, one that superseded brand loyalty in the fast food product category (Apaydin, 2011).

Healthy Eating Lobby

In the U.K., concern over the ingredients – particularly fat and salt content – and the high caloric load of many QSR chains’ offerings continues to increase as the obesity rates in the U.K. begin to mirror those of the United States (Bassett et al., 2007; Gereffi, Lee and Christian, 2009; Glayzer and Mitchell, 2008).

Obesity rates for British males have doubled since 1993, according to Glayzer and Mitchell (2008), and the researchers predict that based on current rates, “by 2050, 60% of men and 50% of women, and 25% of children will be obese” (p. 4).

Especially among children and teenagers, the U.K. population experienced a ballooning of waistlines in recent years and as a result, many healthy eating lobbyists have targeted the fast food industry (Consumers International, 2009; Keynote, 2010).

The issue for the healthy eating lobbyists remains convincing fast food restaurant chains to post caloric information at the point of purchase as a means of influencing the fast food consumer’s purchasing decision. As Glayzer and Mitchell (2008) note:

Restaurants, fast food outlets and other takeaway establishments are currently excluded from any requirement to provide nutrition information at the point of sale. Voluntary schemes are in place in some areas, but formats vary, as do levels and type of outside assessment.

The Food Commission met with the Food Standards Agency in July 2008. The agency is currently conducting consumer research to determine what type of information would be most helpful, and is in discussion with fast food companies.

This has led to chain restaurants, including Burger King, McDonalds, KFC and Subway, committing to taking steps to offer more healthy options and to provide nutritional information to consumers, however none of these chains will offer prominent information on menu boards (p. 13).

The current public health lobby of the United Kingdom therefore does not intervene in the fast food industry to the same extent as its counterpart in the United States. However, as obesity rates continue to rise in the United Kingdom, the healthy eating lobby will likely exert more pressure on the fast food industry, and this pressure may have an impact on consumer purchasing decisions and ultimately on brand loyalty and brand equity.

In recent years, many studies have been conducted in order to investigate the impact of the healthy eating lobby on brand equity, brand loyalty and consumer purchasing decisions in the QSR industry. A number of studies have attempted to identify a causal link between consumer awareness of healthy eating habits and how this awareness may or may not affect their purchasing decisions when it comes to fast food.

These studies are of particular importance to the study at hand, given that this researcher seeks to ascertain the relationship between brand name fast food restaurants and consumer purchasing decisions.

Several studies suggest that the consumer purchasing decision has been affected by the healthy eating lobby, both in the United Kingdom and in the United States, while others suggest that the healthy eating lobby has effectively vilified certain fast food brands, namely McDonald’s.

Whether or not the healthy eating lobby succeeded in minimizing or tarnishing the brand equity of QSR chains such as McDonald’s and reducing the brand loyalty of fast food consumers remains a focus of this research, as does the impact of the healthy eating lobby on fast food restaurant chains’ revenue.

In addition, this study seeks to determine if consumer purchasing decisions change when consumers are made aware of the caloric load of the fast food products they consume.

Several studies suggest that when fast food restaurants inform their consumers about the caloric content of the meals they order, consumers may change the order to a smaller meal or a meal that contains less calories, but the consumers remain with their fast food brand of choice rather than purchase lower calorie fast food from a competitor.

Glayzer and Mitchell (2008) assert that the trend of eating outside the home – more often than not at fast food chains – has contributed to the higher rates of obesity and heart disease. As Glazer and Mitchell (2008) assert, “eating out has become a major part of everyday life in the UK. Almost 30 percent of household expenditure on food is now allocated to eating outside the home [and] 30 percent of people surveyed eat out at least once a week.

This figure has doubled since 2003, when the average was 13 percent. Within the 18-24 age group the average number of people who eat out at least once a week is even higher, at 61 percent (p. 8).

Fast food firms such as McDonald’s tend to take the brunt of the healthy food lobby’s criticism, a fact that may contribute to the increased share of such QSR competitors of Subway, Eat Ltd., and Prêt a Manger in London. Glayzer and Mitchell (2008) posit that most QSR firms serve fare that is “high in calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt, served in large portions, and priced in a way that makes large serving sizes more appealing” (p. 8).

Bassett et al. (2007) conducted research into the impact of posted caloric information on the purchasing behaviour of fast food consumers at the point of purchase using a comprehensive cross sectional survey.

The researchers endeavoured to distinguish the nature of the fast food consumers’ food purchases, the nature of their observation and evaluation of the posted caloric information, as well as how the fast food patrons used the caloric information (Bassett et al., 2007).

The researchers compiled a random sample of 7318 respondents (Bassett et al., 2007). The study participants were gleaned from 300 fast food restaurant chains from roughly 1625 locations throughout the five boroughs of the city of New York that the researchers deemed eligible (Bassett et al., 2007).

The sample included 11 fast food restaurants: Wendy’s, Au Bon Pain, Subway, Burger King, Domino’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and Popeye’s (Bassett et al., 2007).

The stated goal of this study was to determine if fast food consumers altered their food choices or their fast food brand choices or both once they learned the caloric value of the meal that they had chosen (Bassett et al., 2007).

As Bassett et al. (2007) explain, the results of the survey demonstrated a slight reduction in caloric intake in response to the posted information; however, those surveyed did not take their business to a fast food competitor that offered a less calorically rich meal:

Those who reported seeing and using calorie information purchased 99 fewer calories than those who reported seeing the information and that it had no effect…

There was no significant difference in mean calories purchased by patrons reporting seeing but not using calorie information and patrons who reported not seeing calorie information…

[However], objective measurement of calorie content through examination of receipts confirmed that patrons who reported seeing and using calorie information purchased fewer calories than did those reporting that they did not see or use calorie information (p. 1458).

Thus, this study determined that point of purchase displaying of the caloric load of fast food meals prompts the consumer to purchase a lower calorie meal; however, the respondents sampled in this study did not deviate from their fast food brand of choice.

Rather, they chose a lower calorie alternative from the menu. The results of this study therefore support the idea that the brand equity fast food firms build with their customer sustains itself despite concerns for health and obesity.

Dixon, Elbel and Vadiveloo (2011) conducted similar research into the efficacy of product labelling in the fast food industry. The backdrop for this study was similar to that of the United Kingdom.

Concern in the United States with rising obesity rates prompted public health legislators in the states of New York and New Jersey to mandate the labelling of caloric intake of fast food meals in the same major QSR chains featured in this study, including McDonald’s, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Using a sample of 1,170 adults aged 18 years or older, Dixon, Elbel and Vadiveloo (2011) surveyed consumer purchasing behaviour in the fast food chains which had adopted the legislation. The researchers aimed to determine if the product labelling effectively reduced overall caloric intake in the sample group.

The researchers examined the sample “to determine whether the degree to which patrons noticed and reported using the calorie information was related to food purchasing patterns,” namely, healthier food choices or reduced caloric intake (p. 52).

The results of this study supported the researchers’ hypothesis that calorie labelling in major fast food chains would have an impact on purchasing decisions; however, the results did not support the idea that fast food consumer would choose a competitor of their fast food brand of choice such as Subway, regardless of the caloric reduction this chain offers compared to McDonald’s, Burger King, or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Rather, the results indicated that the adults sampled would choose food items of lesser caloric value at their fast food brand of choice. As Dixon, Elbel and Vadiveloo (2011) note:

[the respondents] who reported noticing and using calorie labels to inform their food choices consumed more salads and ate out at fast food restaurants less often than adults who did not notice the labels.

Adults who noticed calorie labels but reported not using the information also ate at fast food restaurants less often and were less likely to order caloric beverages than adults who did not see the labels. This suggests that calorie labels may provide some benefit to all consumers who observe them, regardless of whether they report using them (p. 32).

The researchers caution that although the results of this study offer hope for public health legislators in the area of obesity and its concomitant health problems such as diabetes and coronary heart disease, “it is not possible to definitively attribute these favourable differences to calorie labels, because adults who notice labels may differ from adults who do not notice labels.

Adults who notice labels, for example, may have a stronger interest in health, which influences their food purchasing decisions” (p. 32). While the decision to choose healthier options in the fast food product category, according to the results of this study, may rest with the individual fast food consumer, brand loyalty appears to prevail in the face of higher calories.

Carbohydrates not Fast Food

Several studies have come to light that counter the theory that fast food is the main culprit behind the expanding girth of adults and children in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

Rather, a number of researchers from several different disciplines offer the explanation that consumer purchasing decisions in the area of carbohydrate intake represent the main driver in the obesity epidemic, specifically, the prevalence of high carbohydrate snack foods.

Patterson, Richards and Tegene (2007) conducted research into the hypothesis that obesity stems from a rational addiction to carbohydrate rich snack foods rather than fast foods per se.

The main research question that guided this study asked that if fast food “consumers are rational, utility-maximizing agents as economists assume, how can their demand for food be so clearly suboptimal from a health perspective?

This study…tests whether consumers’ rational addiction to specific macronutrients constitutes a viable explanation for the rising incidence of obesity” (Patterson, Richards and Tegene, 2007, p. 309).

Rather than blame the fast food industry for the skyrocketing obesity rates, this study points to the role of carbohydrates and between meal snacking as the main driver in weight gain. As Patterson, Richards and Tegene (2007) note:

Despite the fact that much media attention and public debate has centred on “high-fat” fast food as a likely culprit in the obesity epidemic, our finding suggests a focus rather on increased consumption of high-carbohydrate foods.

Drawing such a conclusion would be questionable if there were only marginal differences in the nutrient content of the foods included in the model. However, our analysis considers snack foods, a category that includes intensive sources of dietary fat… [such as] potato chips… as well as others that are very high in carbohydrate…[such as] pretzels [and] cookies (p. 317).

The results of this study provided a potential alternative explanation for the obesity epidemic, one that does not directly implicate the fast food industry.

This study suggests that the consumer purchasing decision process in the area of snack foods is unduly and negatively influenced by an addition to the micronutrients in carbohydrates, and that snack foods require legislation and regulation rather than fast foods. Whether or not this and other studies will convince the healthy eating lobby remains to be seen.

Legal scholar Todd G. Buchholz (2003) conducted a study to examine the obesity epidemic from a legal perspective. This study remains of particular interest to the healthy eating lobby, as several lawsuits have been filed against large fast food brands such as McDonald’s in an attempt to seek compensation for obesity health complications (Buchholz, 2003).

This study revealed some interesting facts in regards to the actual caloric load of the average fast food meal. As Buchholz (2003) notes, “fast food has expanded menus for changes in taste and health concerns. Fast food meals today derive fewer calories from fat than they did in the 1970s. Fast food [also] has a smaller percentage of calories from fat than a typical home cooked meal in 1977” (p. 1).

Fast food menus typically contain a high amount of protein; for low income individuals especially, Buchholz (2003), fast food restaurants offer an economically viable means to get protein into their diets.

In addition, Buchholz (2003) notes, should the impact of the healthy eating lobby lead to an increase in obesity lawsuits against fast food chains, several negative effects may results, including “lower wages for [fast food] employees, lower stock prices for [fast food] shareholders, [and] higher prices for [fast food] consumers” (p. 2).

Several fast food chains that have come under fire from the healthy eating lobby have taken steps to offer healthier fare at their restaurants through strategic alliances with purveyors of healthy foods and beverages.

An example is the co-branding strategy that occurred in 2007 in the United Kingdom, when McDonald’s U.K. began selling children’s smoothies manufactured by a U.K. company named Innocent in its Happy Meals (Ritson, 2007).

Innocent built its reputation as an eco-friendly, anti-corporate entity devoted to selling healthy drinks; thus, critics of the co-branding initiative argued that Innocent would lose business as a result of the affiliation with McDonald’s, which many U.K. consumers deemed damaging to their children’s health.

McDonald’s, on the other hand, viewed the co-branding strategy as a means to actively promote healthier choices as part of its standard menu.

Ritson (2007) observed that while both brands had built solid equity in the United Kingdom, consumer purchasing decisions might be affected, since a significant disparity existed between the McDonald’s fast food consumer and the Innocent smoothie consumer.

However, the co-branding strategy in this case worked, Ritson (2007) argued, because both brands were established. As Ritson (2007) explains, “brand theory has…become more nuanced.

Many strong brands are able to build brand equity even if they retail in some incongruous locations” (p. 19). Furthermore, Ritson (2007) notes, co-branding theory supports the idea that when too robust brand enter into partnership, both brands ultimately benefit from a co-branding strategy. This benefit will be felt regardless of the pre-existing characteristics of the brand’s core consumer base (Ritson, 2007). As Ritson (2007) explains:

When two brands’ products are associated, both brands win. The positive associations and loyal consumers from each brand are transferred to the other. Innocent will become more mainstream and engage with another 5 million potential consumers. McDonald’s will become fresher, healthier and trustworthier.

Better still, none of the negative associations from either brand are likely to cross over, as co-brand research suggests only positive associations are exchanged. So Innocent won’t become tarnished with ecological unsoundness or junk-food associations (p. 19).

In the fast food industry besieged by the healthy eating lobby, McDonald’s U.K. has definitely become the target of choice, therefore any affiliation with a healthier alternative will likely bolster its sales.

London Based Fast Food Consumer Outlook on American Brands

Fullerton et al. (2010) conducted a study examining the relationship between brand attitudes and consumers in countries outside of the United States and discovered an unexpected outcome of the ongoing health eating lobby which has targeted many fast food firms, including McDonald’s, in recent years.

Fullerton et al. (2010) reported that when the respondents in their study were “describing Americans, the keyword fat was invoked by almost one-fifth of respondents, while fast-food brand McDonald’s emerged as the most disliked brand.

Perhaps, in the minds of international young adults, McDonald’s is linked with a constellation of negative attributes, including cultural imperialism, business globalization and American obesity” (p. 249).

The study surveyed the attitudes of 67 international students attending college in London toward some of the most powerful American brands, including the fast food giant McDonald’s (Fullerton, Kendrick and Randolph, 2010).

The study revealed that the relationship between international consumers and American brands remains complex and relatively individual; in many cases, the effect of American values and way of life is rejected while products and brand that originate in the United States remain widely sought after and welcomed.

“Numerous polls and studies reveal that while international audiences grew to think worse of American foreign policy, they still liked American people and businesses and they kept up their purchase patterns of American brands” (Fullerton, Kendrick and Randolph, 2010, p. 246).

Thus the impact of cultural attitudes, favourable or unfavourable, toward top fast food brands from the United States appears to exact an influence on customer’s purchasing decisions, particularly in the case of global, high equity brands such as McDonald’s.

Chan et al. (2007) conducted a study that examined the relationship between brand attitudes towards products engineered in the United States and preferences for brands that originate in the United States among university students from Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The researchers used a sample of 556 students attending higher education institutions in those three countries.

Of the sample surveyed, the QSR giant McDonald’s was consistently named as a favourite brands by students from two of the countries: in Australia, 9.9 per cent of the students named McDonald’s as a favourite brand, and 11.5 per cent of the students from Hong Kong also named McDonald’s.

Interestingly, this study also demonstrated that McDonald’s was one of the “most frequently mentioned US brand that the students in Australia said they disliked… [and] another 7.5 per cent [of the students from Hong Kong] included it on their least-liked brand list” (Chan et al., 2007, p. 10).

Roberts (2004) has coined the trademark qualities of what he calls a “lovemark brand [as] emotional attachment and intense loyalty” (p. 12). For the QSR brand, this study suggests that consumers within the same demographic may view McDonald’s as a lovemark brand while simultaneously viewing it as a loathemark brand (Chan et al., 2007; Roberts, 2004).

The pervasiveness of the McDonald’s brand indicates that brand awareness and brand equity is so high that consumers may harbour polarizing brand attitudes within the same demographic.

In a study gauging attitudes toward American brands in three Pacific Rim countries, Fullerton et al. (2007) applied the term loathemark to a brand or a concept that evoked hatred and rejection to both itself and the country it represents. The researchers noted that the same brands, such as Coca Cola, McDonald’s and Nike, could achieve both lovemark and loathemark status among international consumers (Fullerton et al., 2007).

This study provides further support for the complex relationship between fast food consumers in the United Kingdom and fast food brands that originate in the United States, and how this relationship affects the consumer purchasing process in the fast food product category.

De Bres (2005) conducted research into the impact of the penultimate American fast food brand, McDonald’s, on the culture of the United Kingdom. De Bres (2005) argues that the McDonald’s corporation has become more than a mere vendor of fast food; rather, the restaurant chain “does not modify its way of doing business to adapt to foreign cultures, but changes local cultures to meet its own needs” (p. 115).

As a result of this attitude, De Bres (2005) posits, the brand has earned the ire of many a cultural critic, including the vilifying comment by Watson (2002) that the McDonald’s brand represents a “saturated symbol for everything that environmentalists, protectionists, and anti-capitalist activists find objectionable about American culture” (p. 352).

However, the impact of cultural distaste for American values amongst London QSR consumers does not appear to definitively affect their purchasing decisions. As Fullerton (2005) notes, “the death of Brand America is greatly exaggerated…For example, the French do not hold especially favourable attitudes towards George W. Bush, but they have no problem eating at McDonald’s on the Champs-Elysees” (p. 132).

The main criticism of McDonald’s from a cultural perspective is its status as “an icon of global homogenization of both landscapes and culinary tastes that are identified with” implicit American values and lifestyles (De Bres, 2005, p. 124). In addition, the McDonald’s brand maintains a “cultural hegemony which disregards local popular culture and conventions” (De Bres, 2005, p. 124).

In the United Kingdom, De Bres (2005) argues, the McDonald’s brand “has established a sense of place that is recognized worldwide, [and] in doing so other, older notions of identity and belonging may be challenged” (p. 124).

From the perspective of culture, the global fast food brands such as McDonald’s have successfully infiltrated foreign cultures and as such stand as purveyors of the cultural ethos that describes their country of origin.

While De Bres (2005) notes a McDonald’s consumer survey in 1994 lambasted the brand as “loud, brash, complacent, uncaring, insensitive, insincere, suspicious, disciplinarian, and arrogant,” the success of the fast food chain in the United Kingdom cannot be denied (p. 125).

Demand for McDonald’s products remains high. This reality, as well as the finding of the other studies reviewed in this chapter, appears to support the researcher’s position that brand equity and brand loyalty toward fast food chains, even those that originate in foreign countries such as the United States, will supersede cultural opposition in the London fast food consumer purchasing decision process.

Summary

Chapter II contains the literature review. The literature review has been divided into several subsections that discuss various elements of the topic; these subsections are designed to support and expand upon the research questions that guide the study as a whole.

These subsections include new products and product innovations, the customer value proposition offered, discussions about promotions and strategies, and the impact of the obesity epidemic and corresponding healthy eating lobby on QSR firms’ brand equity, brand loyalty, and sales. Chapter II also contains an overview of some studies that investigate the London consumer outlook on American brands.

Methodology The following chapter outlines the methods used to investigate the central research question: does brand name have an impact on the customer decision-making process in the top five London fast-food restaurant chains? The study utilizes both primary and secondary research in an effort to determine the answers to the guiding research questions.

The primary research method consists of a random survey that the researcher conducted in London using a random sample of London fast food consumers as participants. The secondary research method utilizes the qualitative research technique of document analysis to develop the thesis that cost rather than brand name exacts the largest influence on customer decision-making processes in London fast-food establishments.

The sample of participants that the researcher used for the fast food consumer survey was selected randomly from consumers based in and around the greater London metropolitan area.

A large segment of the consumer population in London city proper has been identified as regular patrons of fast food establishments such as Subway, KFC, Domino’s Pizza, and McDonald’s; therefore, exploring the buying behavior and purchasing decision processes demonstrated by this group may offer some new insights for both fast food firms and marketing researchers.

The size of the primary research sample was 120. Of this sample, three sub groups were delineated into smaller groups of 30 participants, according to the age of the respondent: respondents aged 18 to 30; respondents aged 30 to 45, and respondents aged 45 to 60. A total of 120 adults completed the survey, which was then evaluated using statistical analyses.

The researcher endeavoured to determine a measure of brand loyalty among the respondents for the fast food firms featured in this study: Subway, YUM! Brands, which includes KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, McDonald’s, Eat Ltd., and Prêt a Manger.

Within the product category of fast food, the goal of the survey was to measure brand loyalty and its impact on the London fast food consumer’s purchasing decision process.

The researcher anticipated that varying degrees of attachment and loyalty to global fast food brand names would become apparent vis à vis the survey; therefore nine individual survey questions were developed and used in the survey to measure different instances of the London fast food customer’s purchasing decision process and buying behavior in the fast food product category.

While the sample size remains on the small side, the researcher expects that the respondents’ answers will nonetheless offer some key insights into the complex relationship between fast food consumers, global fast food brands, and consumer purchasing decision processes and buying behaviour.

The information gleaned from these responses will be of value to both fast food firms seeking brand equity measurement and demonstrated instances of brand loyalty in action.

The researcher also anticipates that the results of the survey will be of value in an academic capacity for market researchers, and will contribute to the existing body of knowledge circulating in regards to brand equity, brand awareness, brand loyalty, consumer behaviour, and the consumer purchasing decision process in the fast food product category.

Survey Questions

The researcher crafted the survey questions in a manner designed to reveal brand engagement in the London fast food consumer and ascertain the extent to which brand engagement, brand attachment and brand loyalty affected the consumer’s purchase decision process. The researcher posed the following questions to each of the respondents, according to his or her corresponding age group:

Do you care about the brand name when you are selecting a fast food restaurant?

If the answer to the first question is yes, does the fast food restaurant need to be a globally recognised brand?

In your opinion, why do you believe that globally recognised fast food brand names are better than local or unrecognised fast food brands?

Do you believe there is a significant difference in product quality between globally recognised fast food brand names and local or unrecognised fast food brands?

Would you be willing to spend more money for a branded fast food product?

What is the maximum amount you would be willing to spend on a branded fast food product per person in the current economic environment?

Would you be willing to change your regular fast food branded restaurant in case of a price increase?

Would you be willing to switch from your regular fast food branded restaurant to a normal restaurant if it offered higher quality food?

Do marketing and promotion campaigns from competitor fast food branded restaurant change your image about other brands?

Survey Format

The survey was designed to attract responses pertaining to brand awareness, brand equity, brand loyalty, brand engagement and brand attachment among London fast food consumers.

The researcher posed questions in a manner which would demonstrate the impact of brand equity on the consumer’s purchasing decision process. The survey questions were sufficiently open ended to facilitate unbiased responses from the participants, while maintaining enough specificity to be useful markers of brand engagement and brand attachment.

Study Design

The research design of a study refers to the methods that the researcher employs to obtain the information for use within the study (De Vaus, 2001; Denzin, 1970; Schumacher and McMillan, 1993).

The design of the research must facilitate objectivity to the best of the researcher’s ability (De Vaus, 2001; Denzin, 1970; Schumacher and McMillan, 1993). The research design also needs to permit the researcher to respond to each of the research questions in the most unequivocal manner possible (De Vaus, 2001; Denzin, 1970; Schumacher and McMillan, 1993).

The goal of this study was to determine the impact of fast-food brand names on buyer behaviour in London. The purpose of the research was to ascertain the extent to which London-based quick-service restaurant consumers factor brand recognition or brand awareness when presented with choice between the top five competing fast food firms in the city.

The researcher intended to glean whether or not the brand name has an effect on customer decision-making processes in London, to what extent the brand name helps fast food firms to attract more customers around London, and to what extent cost factors in to decision-making process, independent of brand awareness.

The researcher also sought to understand how the strength of a brand name may or may not give fast food firms a competitive advantage over one another.

Document analysis refers to an orderly method of examining and appraising various forms of documents as a means to acquire meaning and relevance for a research study.

In the same manner as several other analytical procedures and techniques found in qualitative research, document analysis entails that the collected data be investigated and decoded to discover relevance, acquire understanding, and build upon the existing base of observed knowledge in relation to the phenomenon or phenomena under investigation (Bowen, 2009; Corbin and Strauss, 2008; Patton, 1990; Rapley, 2007).

The principal research caveat that the researcher encountered – which will be discussed under study limitations – is that in document analysis, the documents under investigation “contain text…, words…and images that have been recorded without a researcher’s intervention” (Bowen, 2009, p. 28).

The documents that a researcher might use for a study based in the document analysis method of qualitative research vary widely. The researcher may choose to employ a number of items for “systematic evaluation” once he or she has deemed them relevant to the research questions (Bowen, 2009, p. 28).

These items include “advertisements, agendas, attendance registers, and minutes of meetings, manuals, background papers, books and brochures, diaries and journals, event programs [and] printed outlines, letters and memoranda, maps and charts, newspaper clippings and articles, press releases, program proposals, application forms, and summaries, radio and television program scripts, organisational or institutional reports, survey data, and various public records.

Scrapbooks and photo albums can also furnish documentary material for research purposes” (Bowen, 2009, p. 28).

This study utilizes a range of print sources, consumer surveys, academic journals, official government statistics, economic reports, and business backgrounders, as well as electronically based sources such as computer generated material and material created and disseminated for and by the Internet to meet the research goals and purposes hitherto discussed, and expound upon existing knowledge in the field of brand management (Bowen, 2009; Corbin and Strauss, 2008; Labuschagne, 2003).

The critical method employed in document analysis procedures requires the acquisition, distillation, and critical evaluation of the data gleaned from within the documents that the researchers assembles; decoding occurs at the same time that the researcher synthesizes the information obtained from the documents (Bowen, 2009; Corbin and Strauss, 2008; Denzin and Lincoln, 2011; Labuschagne, 2003).

Thus, the researcher determines the relevance of the documents to the research questions as he or she encounters them. The document analysis research method generates data such as extracts, quotes, or full cited passages that the researcher then classifies according to any significant themes that develop (Bowen, 2009; Corbin and Strauss, 2008; Labuschagne, 2003).

Key themes, groupings, and patterns emerge specifically via the close analytical relationship that develops between the researcher and the content (Bowen, 2009; Labuschagne, 2003).

As a research technique, document analysis remains perfectly suitable for qualitative case studies or “intensive studies producing rich descriptions of a single phenomenon, event, organisation, or program” (Bowen, 2009, p. 29; Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994). The documents collected using the document analysis research method provides several different purposes of use to the qualitative researcher embarking upon a study.

The material collected as part of document analysis research method gives the researcher access to areas of research that would remain unavailable in other qualitative research practices and methods such as surveys and interviews. As Bowen (2009) explains, “documents can provide data on the context within which research participants operate.

The information contained in documents can suggest some questions that need to be asked and situations that need to be observed as part of the research documents provide supplementary research data.

Information and insights derived from documents can be valuable additions to a knowledge base documents provide a means of tracking change and development documents can be analysed as a way to verify findings or corroborate evidence from other sources” (p. 29).

For the purposes of this study, the researcher chose the document analysis research method for the following reasons:

Economical Technique

Compared to other forms of qualitative research, the document analysis research method occupies less time for the researcher, as it “requires data selection, instead of data collection” (Bowen, 2009, p. 29). Efficiency-wise, the document analysis research method surpasses other research methods.

Ease of Use

Compared to other forms of qualitative research, many of the documents used in this study were available via online sources. As Bowen (2009) explains, “many documents are in the public domain, especially since the advent of the Internet, and are obtainable without the authors’ permission” (p. 29).

Low Cost Alternative

Compared to other forms of qualitative research, the document analysis research method of data collection remains more cost effective. Similarly, researchers often employ the document analysis research method when the acquisition of new data cannot be made economically viable.

As Bowen (2009) explains, “the data …contained in documents…have already been gathered; what remains is for the content and quality of the documents to be evaluated” (p. 29).

Less Intrusion and Built-In Guards against Reactivity and Reflexivity

Reactivity in psychology and sociology refers to the phenomenon that occurs when research subjects internalize the understanding that they are being observed and alter their behaviour as a result (Heppner et al., 2008).

In research design, “the dependent variable should be sensitive to some characteristic of the participant, but the assessment process itself should not affect the characteristic directly; that is, the dependent measure should indicate how the participant functions normally.

Sometimes, something about obtaining scores on dependent measure alters the situation so that false readings are obtained…For example, a person may smoke less when asked to record the number of cigarettes smoked” (Heppner et al., 2008, p. 331).

The documents obtained via the document analysis research method remain inconspicuous and lacking in reactivity because they are “unaffected by the research process” (Bowen, 2009, p. 29).

The document analysis research method of data collection safeguards against the “the concerns related to reflexivity…or the lack of it…inherent in other qualitative research methods” (Bowen, 2009, p. 29). Similarly, reflexivity in qualitative research refers to the impact that the researcher will have upon the research (Bowen, 2009; Finlay and Gough, 2003).

Reflexivity is the ongoing “project of examining how the researcher and intersubjective elements impact upon and transform research” (Finlay and Gough, 2003, p. 4).

Reflexivity necessitates an ongoing attentiveness to the researcher’s role in the creation of meanings that stem from interpersonal communications, and requires the recognition that the researcher can and often does influence the findings of his or her research, consciously or unconsciously (Bowen, 2009; Finlay and Gough, 2003).

In the document analysis research method, observation does not affect the documents themselves, because they are static, non-human subjects (Bowen, 2009).

Constancy

In the document analysis research method, the gathered documents remain fixed, stable objects appropriate for several re-examinations and reassessments as the research project progresses (Bowen, 2009). The constancy of the documents also means that the presence of the researcher does not transform their content (Bowen, 2009; Merriam, 1988).

Accuracy

For researchers, the presence of precise names, dates, occurrences, facts, and information found in the document gathered during the document analysis research method makes these documents particularly beneficial during the study phase (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994).

Treatment

The documents collected as part of the during the document analysis research method typically cover a wide range of historical periods, proceedings, and facts (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994).

These documents also record numerous settings, contexts, and points of view; therefore, the documents treat a far more broad range of perspectives, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds than a single researcher could gain access to in a single survey or interview setting (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994)

Throughout the study, the researcher intended to demonstrate the ability to recognize relevant data from the document sources collected and to detach it from the data that the researcher deemed irrelevant or secondary (Bowen, 2009; Corbin and Strauss, 2008).

The researcher also relied significantly on thematic analysis to conduct this study. Thematic analysis refers to a type of pattern identification that emerges from within the data sources, as they are being studied, that proves relevant to the research questions (Bowen, 2009; Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006).

The method of thematic analysis follows a thorough, close reading of the documents under investigation; the data under review is closely analyzed to discover inherent patterns (Bowen, 2009; Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006).

The researcher performs a thorough evaluation of the chosen data and determines specific “coding and category construction, based on the data’s characteristics, to uncover themes pertinent to a phenomenon” (Bowen, 2009, p. 33).

These rising themes eventually derive the categories that organize the overall structure of the study and the phenomenon under analysis, in this case buyer behaviour and brand recognition (Bowen, 2009; Fereday and Muir-Cochrane, 2006).

The secondary research method of analysis utilizes the qualitative research technique of document analysis to develop the thesis that cost rather than brand name exacts the largest influence on customer decision-making processes in London fast-food establishments.

The researcher posits that brand recognition plays a significant role in the decision-making process of the London fast food consumer. The study also analyzes other consumer surveys conducted in London between the years 2009 and 2011 to determine the impact of the global recession on London-based consumers’ fast-food restaurant preferences.

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study was to determine the relationships between the brand names of top fast-food restaurants in London and the consumer decision making process.

The ultimate goal of the research was to demonstrate a causal link between brand engagement, brand loyalty, and brand attachment and the consumer decision making process when choosing fast food restaurants in London. The guiding research question that informed the study sought to answer the question do London fast food consumers care about brand names when choosing fast food restaurants?

The consumer survey facilitated the creation of useful primary research and a sample of respondents indicative of a larger group of consumers.

The researcher conducted the consumer survey in an effort to access the target market most likely to provide useful and timely information for the purposes of the study, as well as those most likely to offer pertinent responses to the research questions based on their own real time experiences with the brand.

The qualitative research method of document analysis used to analyse the secondary research in this study allowed the researcher to study a wide range of primary and secondary documents in order to cement a theory around brand recognition, brand awareness, brand strategy, consumer spending, consumer decision-making, and the influence of the economic climate between 2009 and 2011 on all of these factors.

Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

What do the fast food customers in London think of fast food restaurants, and how important is a brand name to them when making food choices?

Do fast food customers in London really care about brand name, or do they select it due to the low price?

How do the fast food customers in London compare their regular restaurant with its competitive firms?

Do fast food firms acquire any form of a competitive advantage due to their brand name?

To what extent do marketing and promotion campaigns attract people from competitive brands?

The researcher made every attempt to interpret both the primary and the secondary sources of research collected using these five questions as guides.

Data Collection

Data collection is a vital element of a research study that helps to legitimize the research findings; it also affords the study with credibility and maintains the integrity of the study and the researcher’s purpose.

The results of the consumer survey were collected using the surveys distributed to a random sample of fast food patrons among the top six fast food firms in London: Subway, McDonald’s, YUM! Brands, including Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, Domino’s Pizza, Eat Ltd., and Prêt a Manger.

For the purposes of this study, the grounded theory developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) directed the collection of documents used to create the body of secondary research. Grounded theory refers to the uncovering of a viable theoretical direction for research gleaned from the data itself (Glaser and Strauss, 1967).

As Bowen (2009) explains, “in grounded theory research, as in other forms of qualitative inquiry, the investigator is the primary instrument of data collection and analysis” (p. 29). In this dual role of investigator and analyst, the researcher “relies on skills as well as intuition and filters data through an interpretive lens” (Bowen, 2009, p. 29).

As both investigator and analyst, the researcher concurrently mines and examines the data that has been extracted from the selected documents in a form of hypothetical sampling, or as Strauss and Corbin (1990) explain, “sampling on the basis of concepts that have proven theoretical relevance to the evolving theory” (p. 176).

In data collection based on grounded theory, the theory that guides the study evolves via the concomitant collection of data, and the researcher serves the simultaneous functions of theory designer, theory builder, and data filtration unit (Bowen, 2009; Charmaz, 2011; Glaser and Strauss, 1967).

Data Analysis

The results of the consumer survey were examined using analyses of variance. The analyses were conducted to determine whether or not the survey results demonstrated a significant statistical difference between the responses across the three different age groups represented by the survey.

The researcher endeavoured to measure brand loyalty as indicated by score – high scores were interpreted to indicate a particular loyalty with a corresponding global fast food brand.

In addition, the attitudes and beliefs that determine the consumer purchasing decision process and buying behaviour in regards to the brand were examined. The researcher interpreted the results according to the age group reflected by the responses.

For the purposes of this study, the constant comparative method developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) directed the data analysis. The data analysis was established upon an inductive methodology. The constant comparative method “does not supplant the skills and sensitivities required in generating theory.

Rather, the constant comparative method is designed to aid the analyst who possesses these abilities in generating a theory that is integrated, consistent, plausible [and] close to the data….

Still dependent on the skills and sensitivities of the analyst, the constant comparative method is not designed…as methods of quantitative analysis are…to guarantee that two analysts working independently with the same data will achieve the same results.

It is designed to allow, with discipline, for some of the vagueness and flexibility that aid the creative generation of theory” (p. 103).

As such, the researcher aimed to make out patterns and models within the data collected that supported the theoretical goals of the project, while simultaneously recognizing and cataloguing relevant theoretical elements located in the data that could lead to further insights (Bowen, 2009; Glaser and Strauss, 1967)

Study Limitations

In regards to the primary research, the main limitation of the consumer survey remains the small size of the sample. At 120 respondents, the sample may be too small to reflect the buying behaviour and the consumer purchasing decision process undertaken by the London fast food consumer when choosing a fast food restaurant.

Also, the sample itself did not take into consideration any other factors besides age which might influence brand loyalty and the consumer purchasing decision process such as gender, socio-economic status, religion, race, or country of origin.

Aside from the basic limitations of reactivity and lack of reflexivity inherent in all forms of qualitative research previously discussed, the document analysis research method utilized for the secondary research component contains several limitations that may affect the outcome of the study.

The most significant limitation of the document analysis research method is that the documents themselves may lack crucial details (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994). Documents created outside of the research paradigm are by nature created for another purpose besides research; their original purpose affects the quality and quantity of valid research that they contain.

The documents might have been intended to sell, persuade, dissuade, or assert a particular agenda. As such, they may or may not contain the detail sufficient to answer the research questions (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994). In addition, the details that the documents do contain may be cursory or irrelevant.

Secondly, in the case of documents produced for purpose besides research, the researcher may encounter issues related to lack of retrievability (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994).

As Bowen (2009) explains, “document created independent of a research agenda…are sometimes not retrievable, or retrievability is difficult” (p. 33). In addition, in some cases the researcher will encounter intentional obstacles to the retrieval of the information contained in the documents (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994).

Thirdly, documents created for purposes other than research may contain an inherent bias associated with their original purpose (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994). This phenomenon, known as “biased selectivity” occurs when a document or collection of documents deliberately omits a key event or piece of information (Bowen, 2009; Yin, 1994, p. 80).

This inherent selection bias on the part of the document’s originators affects the objectivity of the whole document and must be taken into account by the researcher. As Bowen (2009) explains, “in an organisational context, the available…selected…documents are likely to be aligned with corporate policies and procedures and with the agenda of the organisation’s principals” (p. 33).

Summary

Chapter III describes the methodology of the research and outlines the design of the study. This chapter contains an overview of the data collection and data analysis methods used to interpret the findings from the consumer survey that served as the primary research component of the study.

Chapter III also includes a detailed description and explanation of the document analysis research method used by the researcher to conduct the secondary research component of the study.

This chapter contains a description of the grounded theory approach used by the researcher in the collection of the research data, and also describes the constant comparative method the researcher employed to analyze the data collected (Bowen, 2009; Glaser and Strauss, 1967).

In addition, this chapter contains the research questions that guided the study and the consumer survey questions, and describes the limitations of the chosen research designs and methods that may affect the outcome of the study findings.

Findings Robust brand equity remains significantly associated with increased revenues for fast food restaurants (Kim and Kim, 2004; Lee, 2011). Several previous studies featured in this literature review have demonstrated the direct correlation between brand recognition, brand equity, brand awareness, brand image, brand loyalty, and the consumer purchasing decision process.

Studies also support the theory that fast food brands with strong brand equity enjoy a higher degree of perceived quality among the consumers that have become attached to that brand. Fast food consumers that display brand loyalty will actively choose their fast food brand over competitors, often despite marketing and promotional tactics such as lower prices (Kim and Kim, 2004; Lee, 2011)

The following study endeavoured to test the power of brand names as a means of influencing the buying behaviour and the consumer purchasing decision process of fast food consumers in the city of London. The goal of the survey was to determine the extent to which brand equity and brand loyalty factors in to the consumer’s purchase decision.

The researcher’s hypothesis for the study is that brand equity affects consumer choices and consumer buying behaviour. Brand awareness, brand equity and brand loyalty demonstrated significant effect on the purchasing decisions of the consumers surveyed.

The results also demonstrate that brand loyalty affects the choice of restaurant to the exclusion of other factors such as availability and cost. The results also indicate that the quality of the food purchased remains of paramount importance to the London fast food consumers that the researcher surveyed.

The researcher separated the primary data into nine different tables that corresponded with each of the survey questions. For the primary data, the researcher utilized a total sample size of 120 adult respondents.

This sample was then further delineated into a sample size that corresponded with each group: 30 participants in the age group represented by 18 through 30 year olds; the age group represented by 31 through 45 year olds, and the age group represented by 46 through 60 year old.

These samples included fast food adult consumers located in the city of London. These respondents were chosen at random. The participants received survey questionnaires in regards to their purchasing behaviour for the brand name fast food retailers in London. The results of each question are listed below:

Sample Size for Each Age Group: 30 (30×3 =120)

Table 1. Survey Question: Do you care about the brand name of the restaurant when you are selecting a fast food restaurant?

Table 1 indicates the responses to the question do you care about the brand name if you are selecting fast food restaurant? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes I do, Not at all, Maybe, and Other. In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, the vast majority of the respondents – 21 out of 30 – responded Yes I do.

16 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 31 to 45 year olds answered Yes I do, while 11 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds answered yes I do. The results of the survey responses to this question indicate that younger fast food consumers in London are more brand loyal and are more influenced by the brand name of a fast food purveyor when they make their purchasing decisions.

Table 2. Survey Question: If the response to the first question was yes I do, does the fast food restaurant need to be a globally recognised brand in order for you to choose it?

Table 2 indicates the responses to the question if the response to the first question was yes I do, does the fast food restaurant need to be a globally recognised brand in order for you to choose it? T

he respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes, No, Depends on the food that I’m looking for, and Other. In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, the vast majority of the respondents – 23 out of 30 – responded Yes.

18 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds answered Yes, while 18 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes.

The results of the survey responses to this question indicate that while younger fast food consumers in London are more likely to choose a brand name fast food restaurant and are more influenced by the brand name of a fast food purveyor when they make their purchasing decisions, the same is also true of older clientele.

Table 3. Survey Question: According to you, do you think that globally recognised brand name fast food restaurants are better than unrecognised fast food restaurants?

Table 3 indicates the responses to the question according to you, do you think that globally recognised brand name fast food restaurants are better than unrecognised fast food restaurants? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes, because that means the food is better, Yes, because that means the service is better, Both one and two are correct, and Other.

In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, nearly 50 percent of the respondents – 11 out of 30 – responded Yes, because that means the food is better. 6 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds answered Yes, because that means the food is better, while 8 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes, because that means the food is better.

6 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered Yes, because that means the service is better. 3 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds answered Yes, because that means the service is better, while 5 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes, because that means the service is better.

Overwhelmingly, the respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds and 46 to 60 year olds chose both answers.

The results of the survey responses to this question indicate that while the fast food consumers in London reflected in this survey are far more likely to hold a higher perception of the quality of the food produced by a fast food brand name when they make their purchasing decisions. Consumer perception of the quality and superiority of the brand over its competitors therefore remains consistent across all three age groups.

Table 4. Survey Question: Do think there’s a significant different in products between globally recognise brand names and others?

Table 4 indicates the responses to the question do think there’s a significant different in products between globally recognised brand names and others? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes, No, Sometimes, and Other.

In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, the overwhelming majority of the respondents – 22 out of 30 – responded Yes. 23 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Yes, while 21 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes.

Only 4 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered No. 5 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds answered No, while 4 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered No.

Overwhelmingly, the respondents in the age categories represented by 18 to 30 year olds, 31 to 45 year olds and 46 to 60 year olds chose Yes as a response.

The results of the survey responses to this question indicate that the fast food consumers in London reflected in this survey are far more likely to believe that the quality of the food products offered by a fast food brand name is superior to its competitors as well as to unrecognised brands in the same product category.

Therefore, the responses to this question indicate that fast food consumers are predisposed to choose global brand names based on an assumption of superiority, which in turn affects their buying behaviour and their purchasing decisions. Consumer perception of the quality and superiority of the brand over its competitors again remains consistent across all three age groups.

Table 5. Survey Question: Are you willing to spend more if it’s a branded product?

Table 5 indicates the responses to the question are you willing to spend more if it’s a branded product? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes I will, No, Maybe, and Other.

In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, nearly half of the respondents – 14 out of 30 – responded Yes I will. 13 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Yes I will, while 13 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes I will.

12 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered No. 6 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds answered No, while 4 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered No.

3 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered Maybe. 10 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Maybe, while 9 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Maybe.

Overwhelmingly, the respondents in the age categories represented by 18 to 30 year olds, 31 to 45 year olds and 46 to 60 year olds asserted that they would be willing to spend more money for a brand name fast food product.

The results of the survey responses to this question indicate that the fast food consumers in London reflected in this survey are far more likely to forgo cost savings in order to choose a global fast food brand name product. These results further indicate the consumer perception of the quality and superiority of the global fast food brand name over its competitors. Again, these results were consistent across all three age groups.

Table 6. Survey Question: What is the maximum amount you are willing to spend on branded fast food restaurant (Per Person) in current economic environment?

Table 6 indicates the responses to the question what is the maximum amount you are willing to spend on branded fast food restaurant (Per Person) in current economic environment? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: 0 to 5 pounds, 5 to 10 pounds, 10 to 15 pounds, and 15 to 20 pounds.

In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, nearly half of the respondents – 12 out of 30 – responded 0 to 5 pounds. 18 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered 0 to 5 pounds, while 16 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered 0 to 5 pounds. 10 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered 5 to 10 pounds.

7 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered 5 to 10 pounds, while 7 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered 5 to 10 pounds.

7 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered 10 to 15 pounds. 4 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered 10 to 15 pounds, while 6 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered 10 to 15 pounds.

Finally, 1 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered 15 to 20 pounds. 1 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered 15 to 20 pounds, while 1 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered 15 to 20 pounds.

These results indicate that the fast food consumers reflected in this survey are willing to spend upwards of 10 pounds on a fast food meal from a global brand name in the recovering economic environment.

Table 7. Survey Question: Will you be willing to change your regular restaurant in case of a price increase?

Table 7 indicates the responses to the question will you be willing to change your regular restaurant in case of a price increase? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes I will, No, Not sure, and other.

In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, a small number – 8 out of 30 – responded Yes I will. 9 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Yes I will, while 13 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes I will.

17 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered No. 16 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered No, while 11 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered No. 2 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered Not sure.

3 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Not sure, while 3 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Not sure. Finally, 3 of the 30 respondents in each age category answered Other.

These results overwhelmingly indicate that the fast food consumers reflected in this survey are brand loyal; they are not willing to change the brand of restaurant that they have become attached to, and they are willing to spend more money to stay with the brand of restaurant that they have become attached to, even in the recovering economic environment.

Table 8. Survey Question: Will you be willing to switch from your branded restaurant to a normal restaurant if they offer higher quality food?

Table 8 indicates the responses to the question will you be willing to switch from your branded restaurant to a normal restaurant if they offer higher quality food? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes I will, No, Maybe, and Other.

In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, a small number – 9 out of 30 – responded Yes I will. 16 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Yes I will, while 15 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes I will.

14 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered No. 6 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered No, while 4 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered No.

5 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered Maybe. 7 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Maybe, while 8 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Maybe.

Finally, 4 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered Other. 1 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Other, while 3 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Other.

These results indicate that the quality of the fast food that the consumers reflected in this survey eat remains more important among the older age groups, which may indicate an increased concern with health based on age.

Table 9. Survey Question: Do marketing and promotion campaigns change your image about other brands?

Table 9 indicates the responses to the question do marketing and promotion campaigns change your image about other brands? The respondents were asked the question and then given the following choices of response: Yes, No, Sometimes, and other. In the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds, nearly 50 percent of the respondents – 12 out of 30 – responded Yes.

9 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Yes, while 11 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Yes.

14 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered No. 12 of the 30 respondents in the age category represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered No, while 12 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered No.

3 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered Sometimes. 7 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Sometimes, while 6 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Sometimes.

Finally, 1 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 18 to 30 year olds answered Other. 3 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 31 to 45 year olds also answered Other, while 5 of the 30 respondents in the age group represented by 46 to 60 year olds also answered Other. These results overwhelmingly indicate that the fast food consumers reflected in this survey are brand loyal.

Nearly 50 percent of the respondents surveyed remain unaffected by the marketing and promotional efforts of the competitors of their brand of choice.

They are not willing to change the brand of restaurant that they have become attached to, regardless of the promotion, and they actively seek to remain loyal to the global fast food restaurant brand of restaurant that they have become attached to, even in the recovering economic environment.

Secondary Data

The researcher compiled information from the Greater London Authority’s report Spending Time: London’s Leisure Economy, an overview of the various players located in the city of London in the product category of eating out, take out foods, and fast foods. The documents collected from the Greater London Authority provide valuable insight into the dining out market of the city of London in the 21st century.

London represents one of Britain’s largest dining out markets. According to the Greater London Authority (2005), the city of London houses 6,128 licensed restaurants; this figure represents an astonishing 22 per cent of all of the restaurants located in the United Kingdom.

The Greater London Authority (2005) estimates that in 2002, the total amount of revenue generated by dining out and take out or eat-in fast food restaurants in Britain was approximately £15.5 billion.

Market calculations compiled by the Greater London Authority Economics demonstrate that the demand for traditional restaurants generates £5 billion, while fast food restaurants earn £3 billion annually (Greater London Authority, 2005). An additional £1.75 billion in revenue is generated by fast food take out service and drive thrus (Greater London Authority, 2005).

Overall, the fast food industry represents a total value to the London economy of £1.43 billion. Over £0.9 billion is from eat-in restaurants and over £0.5 billion is fast food takeaway. (Greater London Authority, 2005).

The main competitors of the fast food industry, other than fast food brands that occupy the same product category, include ethnic restaurants, casual dining establishments, coffee shops, cafés, and pubs (Greater London Authority, 2005).

The ethnic restaurants in the greater London area have been appraised at a value of £3 billion (Greater London Authority, 2005). Coffee shops and cafés located in the city have also been assessed at a value of nearly £2.7 billion (Greater London Authority, 2005).

According to the Greater London Authority (2005), these figures conceal certain transformations in dining out market, particularly in relation to fast food. Burger chains and global fast food brands burgers represent 11 per cent of the total eating out market; however, growth is deemed sluggish (Greater London Authority, 2005).

In contrast, the areas of growth in the dining out market include “restaurant pubs and gastro pubs with 9 per cent of the market, and pizza and pasta restaurants with 5 per cent” (Greater London Authority, 2005, p. 31).

Within the eating out market in the city of London, many different players compete for market share. As the Greater London Authority (2005) explains, “while small, privately run enterprises make up the majority of the market, large multiple operators are shaping the dining culture of Britain.

Sixty-eight per cent of the dining market consists of independent operators. Restaurants and cafés are a market that independent entrepreneurs can readily enter” (p. 31).

However, independent operators that lack the brand equity of global fast food firms often struggle to compete effectively and generate consistent clientele (Greater London Authority, 2005). This phenomenon has been witnessed extensively since the beginning of the recession, although independent operators still produce market gains in lunch traffic and takeout food services. As the Greater London Authority (2005) notes:

Independents are strong at the low end of the market in sandwich bars and takeaways, and the mid-market of white tablecloth’ restaurants. Ethnic restaurants are characterised by independents and family businesses, although a few multi-outlet chains have emerged in London. Independent operators are being squeezed by the growth of chains, especially in the mid market and the coffee shop and café market (p. 31).

According to the Greater London Authority (2005), many of the global fast food brands featured in this study are “growing through ownership and franchise” (p. 31). This is especially true of fast food firms that have built much of their brand equity on the strength of their franchises such as Subway and Domino’s Pizza.

The fast food market in the city of London is dominated by “large companies and their familiar brands” (Greater London Authority, 2005, p. 31). The landscape of fast food in London remains largely the province of the global fast food brands that originate in the United States. As the Greater London Authority (2005) explains:

The burger market is led by McDonalds which has around 1,200 outlets in Britain and over 200 in London. Burger King has 700 outlets nationwide and almost 100 in London.

Other recognisable fast food brands have a large presence in London, such as KFC and Pizza Hut which each have over 80 outlets in London. Chains are shaping the mid-market for restaurants, illustrated by Italian-style outlets such as Ask and Pizza Express” (p. 31).

In the dining out market in London, the area of greatest recognisable growth occurs in the coffee market, particularly in the proliferation of coffee shop chains such as Starbucks. “There is intense competition between hundreds of coffee shops on the high streets of central London.

Starbucks is the leading chain with over 100 outlets in London. Costa Coffee and Prêt a Manger have up to 90 outlets” (Greater London Authority, 2005, p. 31). Coffee chains at the present time do not compete directly with fast food establishments.

Top Six Fast Food Brands in the U.K.

In 2011, the annual revenue of the QSR industry in the U.K. amounted to over 5 billion pounds (IBIS World, 2011). The quick service restaurant sector in the U.K. houses over 27,000 competitors and employs over 166,000 people (IBIS World, 2011).

Subway

Fred De Luca and Peter Buck founded the privately held Subway, also known as Doctor’s Associates, in 1966 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA (Doctor’s Associates Inc., 2010; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010; Haymarket Business Publications, 2009).

At that time, the chain was called Pete’s Super Submarines; De Luca and Buck changed the name to Doctor’s Associates, Inc. (DAI) when the second Subway store opened (Doctor’s Associates Inc., 2005; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

From then on, Subway has grown to become one of the largest franchise outfits in the world; as of March, 2011, the company operates 34,187 stores in 95 countries and territories worldwide (Doctor’s Associates Inc., 2005; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

Subway’s franchise model underpins much of the company’s success. As Simms (2011) notes, Subway’s “franchise model allows rapid expansion with low risk to the parent company. If the franchisee succeeds, so does the parent company.

If they fail, the company just moves on” (n. pag.). Subway is now recognized as the top single brand global QSR chain; after Yum! Brands, the Subway restaurant chain is the largest global restaurant outfit (Charles, 2008; Doctor’s Associates Inc., 2005; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

The company’s headquarters are located in Milford, Connecticut; five international centres oversee its global operations (Doctor’s Associates Inc., 2005; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

The London Subway franchises are supported by the regional office located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which also looks after all of the European franchises (Doctor’s Associates Inc., 2005; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

Subway boasts an aggressive and rapid expansion mandate. According to Simms (2011), “in 2002, Subway announced plans to open 2,000 outlets in the UK and Ireland by 2010. So far it has made it to 1,507, but claims to be opening new outlets at the rate of five every week” (n. pag.).

The Subway restaurant chain earns $15.2 billion in revenue every year (Doctor’s Associates Inc., 2005; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010; Haymarket Business Publications, 2010). In 2011, Subway was named to the top 10 of Entrepreneur Magazine’s top 10 in Franchise 500 list and boasts an innovative celebrity endorsement marketing platform (Close Up Media, 2011; Daley, 2011).

McDonald’s

McDonald’s represents one of the world’s first “borderless” QSR multinational corporations (Technology Strategies, 1996, p. 19). In the QSR industry, McDonald’s is the global stalwart. The first McDonald’s appeared in London in 1974 (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

In terms of global business operations, including assorted franchisees as well as McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd., the McDonald’s Corporation takes the top spot in international QSR profits (Euromonitor International, 2010; Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010). According to Euromonitor International (2010), the McDonald’s Corporation continues to be the “number one player within fast food” (n.pag.)

The company accounted for a 16 percent share of fast food sales in 2010, although compared to 2009 the share increase was minimal (Euromonitor International, 2010). According to Euromonitor International (2010), “after rationalising its outlet portfolio in 2009, the company opened only one new unit in 2010.

McDonald’s appeared more focused on establishing its credentials as a socially responsible company and improving its menu offerings in 2010. The company has a long list of breakfast offers, including pancakes and syrup, bagels, bacon, sausage and Oatso Simple porridge. Its latest menu offering includes wraps” (n. pag.).

McDonald’s long history of operations begins in 1948 in San Bernadino, California, USA (Walkup, 2007).

McDonald’s has been credited with the creation of the fast food industry as we now know it; the company “created its own supply chain, especially for its major ingredients, because of its enormous needs,” and has trail blazed a number of areas which QSR industries continue to thrive in today (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010; Walkup, 2007).

The company spearheaded much of the growth experienced in the QSR sector, and the company “gradually made changes that were innovations in the industry.

For instance, it made its first public stock offering in 1965, developed the Big Mac in 1967, opened its first McDonald’s Playland in 1971, debuted in Hong Kong in 1975, added breakfast in 1977, launched its first national Happy Meal promotion in 1979 and added Chicken McNuggets in 1983” (Walkup, 2007, p. 27)

From a brand perspective, McDonald’s is one of the oldest and also the most robust brands on the planet, one that seems impervious to controversy and criticism. “For many people, McDonald’s represents the epitome of corporate globalization. Yet McDonald’s did not invent globalization. Where McDonald’s has been successful has been in making an already strong brand even stronger through the globalization process.

There are many businesses which would describe themselves as global or multinational. But truly global consumer brands are few and far between…

Truly borderless companies combine transferable management practices and culture with a set of brand attributes which are recognized by customers wherever the company does business” (Technology Strategies, 1996, p. 19). In 2010, the McDonald’s corporation earned $1,908.90 million in sales and employed 37,644 people in the U.K. (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

Domino’s Pizza

Domino’s Pizza UK and IRL PLC (DOM) operates the Domino’s Pizza franchise in the U.K. as well as the Republic of Ireland (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010). The first Domino’s Pizza opened in London in 1999, and the company earns $306.40 million in sales annually (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

Similar to the success of Subway, the Domino’s Pizza franchise model remains a sound growth engine for the brand. As Kühn (2009) notes, “the Domino’s and Subway franchise model has allowed them to be pretty recession proof, and many individual businessmen have found them to be sturdy investments” (n. pag.).

Thomas and James Monaghan created the Domino’s Pizza Inc. company in 1960; the company went public in 2004, and has been traded on the NYSE ever since (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010). According to the Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles (2010), “Domino’s Pizza has been one of the top pizza delivery companies in the United States, selling over 1 million pizzas a day.

In addition to its pizza delivery business, Domino’s Pizza maintains and operates a network of company-owned and franchise-owned stores. The company operates within three business segments: domestic stores, domestic supply chain and international” (n. pag.).

The company’s international division oversees the 3,726 franchise stores that operate outside of the U.S., including the London stores (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, the Domino’s Pizza menu contains standard Italian American fare such as pizza, and pasta; specialty entrees and sides include “pasta bread bowls…oven-baked sandwiches…chicken side dishes, breadsticks and salads, as well as beverages and desserts” (Gale Cengage Learning Company Profiles, 2010).

According to IBIS World (2011), the “average revenue per each Domino’s store was…about £670,000 in 2009, although 68 stores achieved annual revenue in excess of £1.0 million” (n. pag.) According to Kühn (2009), Domino’s Pizza increased its earnings portfolio “by a whopping 50 percent” in 2009 in the U.K. (n. pag.).

YUM! Brands

YUM! Brands Inc. earns $11,343.00 million in sales annually and employs 378, 000 people in the U.K. The YUM! Brands moniker represents the umbrella term for a group of quick service restaurants that the company operates worldwide, including the “KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, and A

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Industry Report: Professional Hair Care Report a level english language essay help

Project Background A major dream in every business venture is to expand its jurisdiction and customer base. This is no exception for Professional Hair Care (PHC), a leading business enterprise in Victoria, which markets and sells various hair care products. For a long time, the company has operated without a website, which is essentially a critical aspect of expansion of business.

In order to expand the business and realize a superior competitive advantage, the business had to come up with a means of establishing a company’s website. The main idea behind this project was to establish a marketing research analysis for clients to help the company build a website.

The creation of this website is very essential to the company since it would help to transform the marketing approach. With the website, the company can go global and operate beyond Victoria, consequently generating a wider customer base.

The project was also client-based, where the project team carried out various surveys to get valuable information from customers. This project would create a lasting visible change in the business, thereby transforming the entire marketing strategy of the company.

Goals and Objectives Goals and objectives are declarations that depict what the project will achieve, or the organizational value the project will attain (1). Goals offer the overall purpose of the project while the objectives offer specific activities or outcomes that helps in attaining the overall purpose or goals of the project (Mochal, Para 3, 2011).

This implies that the realization of the main goals of a project highly depends on successful accomplishment of the set objectives. The objectives of a project therefore aim at accomplishing the goals.

In this project, the set goals and objectives entailed the specific endeavors of the project team. This means that the project team concentrated on achieving the goals and objectives of the project.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The team directed all its efforts in ensuring that the objectives and the overall goal of the project are attainable for the success of the project. In addition, the team ensured that the set goals and objectives were measurable, attainable and realistic.

Cross (Para 2, 2011) agrees that the project’s goals and objectives determine and define all the efforts concerted by the project team members. In addition, a successful project team is one that defines the goals and objectives of the project in a clear manner, which leads to positive outcomes.

If a project team embarks on implementing a project without clearly defining the goals and objectives of the project, their efforts might be unsuccessful or produce inappropriate results. The project team in this project clearly understood the required specifications of undertaking the project and therefore did not carry out a bogus exercise.

Page (Para 1, 2011) indicates that goals and objectives of a project determine the success or failure of the project. They help the team members to understand specifically what they should do to obtain the results the project is aiming to accomplish.

In many cases, there is often one major goal of a project and several objectives to realize this goal. For this project, the project team clearly defined the main goal of the project as expanding the business beyond Victoria to reach as many clients as possible.

This major goal however required various specific objectives, which would help in its realization. The project team members worked towards this ultimate bearing in mind that the success of the project depends highly on its accomplishment.

In project management, objectives have to be precise and specific for them attain their purpose. When objectives are precise and specific, there are increased possibilities of such objectives yielding specific and precise results. This means that project objectives should not be unclear, but should reveal the success of a project. (Miller, Para 1, 2011).

We will write a custom Report on Industry Report: Professional Hair Care specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For objectives to be specific the project team defined them in terms of the actual outcomes that the project entails to fulfill. Originally, the objectives included maximization of sales, extending business beyond Victoria as well as reaching as many customers as possible.

In addition, another major objective of the project was to offer a platform through which the management can understand the needs of the clients. Understanding the specific needs of the customers and prospective customers is very essential since it helps the company to plan for the future.

The realization of these objectives depended highly on the collaboration of the team and the definition of the main goal of the project. The measurement of the overall success of the project highly depended on the successful accomplishment and realization of the set goals and objectives.

Project Problems and Risks The successful completion of any project will have to incur some risks and problems. These problems and risks offer a challenge to the project team to realize effective mitigation strategies of handling such risks.

A project team that often ignores the possibilities of problems and risks will not offer a concise outcome of the project. Particularly, the project team should be in a position to determine the major and minor risks that the project will have to accrue. This determination is helpful for timely planning and decision making.

Realizing the weight and importance of determining the potential project risks, the project team developed a schedule indicating the potential risks of the project and their solutions.

The project team indicated that the main risks would be change of objectives from clients, project size and complexity, slow customer review and feedback as well as unclear roles and responsibilities. The team also drafted possible solutions to these risks including preparing contingency plans, effective communication with stakeholders, setting clear goals and having a back-up plan for solving any new issues.

This kind of a detailed plan of potential risks and their mitigation strategies was very helpful to the project team. This is because every project must have a clear approach of dealing with risks since they are inevitable. Without a clear risk management and reduction strategy, the project team might incur overwhelming set-backs at various stages of the project.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Industry Report: Professional Hair Care by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Miller (Para 1, 2010) states that project teams and stakeholders should subject project decisions to a certain form of risk analysis and evaluation. He adds that such an analysis should not occur at every stage of the project cycle. There should be a planned strategy and an informal awareness concerning the potential risks surrounding the project

One of the main risks that the project incurred was the possibility of reduced work input from the project team. The project incurred this risk due to the departure of one of the members from the project team. I this case, the departure this team member caused laxity in the project completion.

This is because the remaining team had to re-design the already structured work plan to fill this vacuum. However, this vacuum left by the member was difficult to fill without a secondary strategy. Consequently, this forced the team members to construct a contingency plan.

Contingency Plan Contingency planning is developing a back-up plan in case a risk occurs and undoes a presumption that founded the original plan. A good example is for a company which might prepare a contingency plan to avert unanticipated competition for its new product. This would occur is such a company anticipated that its new product will not face stiff competition in the near future (Richards, 3, 2011).

In most cases, a contingency plan offers new strategies to deal with an already occurred risk. For this departure by a team member, the contingency plan developed a new strategy of working with the remaining two team members.

The developed contingency plan mainly focused on the project schedule and the responsibility matrix. Since one of the team members had departed from the team, the responsibilities accorded to the member, fell on the other two team members.

Often, it is not possible to introduce a new team member in to the project team once the project has started. This is because a project needs commitment and collaboration as well as a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of the project.

Although there are various means of risk management and reduction, contingency planning was best suited for this kind of risk. This is because the risk had already occurred the project team did not anticipate the likelihood of such a risk.

The construction of a contingency plan occurs only in the event that a risk has already occurred and the project has to continue. Other means of reducing and managing risks include reduction and prevention of the risk from occurring.

Project Scope For successful implementation of a project, the project team should adequately establish the scope and extent of the project. This will help I proper implementation as well as completion of the project. In addition, project scope helps the team members to successfully complete the project satisfactorily in every step (Shumba, p. 2, 2010).

Project scope determines the extent of output that the project will achieve. In addition the project scope specifies the exclusions from the project, responsibility matrix as well as the main project deliverables and project milestones. All these determine the final outcome of the project.

The project team clearly determined the scope and extent of the project for successful implementation. Originally, the scope of the project was very wide and comprehensive, covering two major project goals and several deliverables. The original scope covered extensive research in information technology and marketing plan. The deliverables were also very extensive and ranged from documentation to sales increase.

Deliverables are measurable goods or services that the project team aims to complete and deliver after the completion of the project. Before a deliverable reaches the client, it must meet certain specific conditions once completed. In addition, deliverables are the end-results of the successful implementation of a project (Manda, Para 1, 2011).

Some of the deliverables of the project included a clearly written report that could be used as a reference in future for instance in case of recommendations given. Another deliverable included establishing a rapport with clients to realize and understand their specific needs. Moreover, the project was able to generate a classic website, which customers will interact with the company on a daily basis regardless of their location.

These deliverables developed by the project team and in consultation with the stakeholders, were very specific than the original objectives. These project results clearly resembled their specifications and served to achieve the set objectives.

The results of the project represented the successful completion and implementation of the project. In addition, these deliverables were able to perform extraordinarily and in accordance to their specification in the scope.

As Redman (Para 3, 2011) indicates, “Project deliverables are more specific than project goals or objectives.” The deliverable section of a project outline comprises the precise specifications for a final good or a service. The deliverable explains the appearance and performance of the actual and exact final product.

Clearly outlining the various deliverables of a project is a vital aspect of the planning process in project management. Since the project plan is viable to various changes at different levels, it is vital for the project team to maintain a clear documentation of updated list of deliverables. (Burian, Para 2, 2011).

This documentation is very essential in keeping the affected groups informed of the changes. The project was able to maintain a record of the deliverables and their milestones. Documentation of the milestones helped the project team to evaluate the success of the project in terms of period and time of completion of the project.

After completion of the project, it was clear that the project team adhered to the project milestones and achieving of the deliverables.

Variation from the Scope The project had to incur a variation from the original project scope that the team developed. First, the project scope was very wide making it somehow unrealistic and not clearly defined.

A well defined scope helps in attaining levels of Excellency in project development. After reviewing the scope, the project team re-defined it from marketing plan and website creation to a marketing research analysis for the clients to develop a website. This definition of the scope became much easier for the project team to work with and realize the project deliverables.

It is therefore evident that in most cases, variation of the project scope would occur. In case of any variation from the project scope, the project team should redefine the deliverables and manage the change in a way that the variation will produce positive rather than negative results.

Manello (Para 1, 2011) affirms that most project managers and project team members’ endeavor to reduce the extent and number of alterations to the project scope. However, project managers and project team members should realize that changes to the scope have to occur.

Variations of the project scope may occur due to various reasons. For instance, the scope might be very large such that the team members available cannot adequately implement it. In addition, changes might occur due to departure of one or more project team members.

Such a case, the defined scope might alter due to the responsibilities of such departed members. The variation of scope in this project occurred due to the complexity of the project as the team members deemed it was very large for implementation and development.

Appropriate management of scope variation entails proper verification of the project scope. The main aspect of verification of the project scope entails analyzing the set deliverables to ensure their successful completion. In the case of early termination of the project, the project team should clearly establish and document the level and extent of completion (Ritter, Para 2, 2009).

In the case of this project, the project team re-defined the deliverables and generated more defined and attainable deliverables. After re-defining them, the main deliverables included generation of a well written report of the surveys and customers’ response and the designing of a website as per the customers’ response.

Even though the project team re-defined the deliverables as well as the project scope, there was no much variation of the project milestones. This was because altering the project milestones could have altered the entire project plan.

As Symonds (Para 6, 2011) affirms, the project team should set the milestones at strategic points within the project. In case of variation of project scope, it is evident that many task estimates will also change. However, the project team should endeavor to maintain the milestones to prevent the original composition of the project plan from changing too frequently.

Stakeholders’ interaction The major project stakeholders included the organization owner, Lutfi El-Hila, the operations manager Zahra El-Hila and the project supervisor Leon. There are various levels of relationships in a project. There are interactions that occur between the project manager of supervisor and the stakeholders.

Other interactions occur among the stakeholders themselves and between the project team and the stakeholders (Bourne, p. 3, 2006). In most cases, the stakeholders interaction is the most valuable and decisive form of interaction in project management. This is because stakeholders are the main movers of the project towards its implementation.

In this project, the main stakeholders interacted and cooperated in a sustainable manner, which led to the successful completion of the project.

The owner of the organization was very keen to follow the advice provided by the project supervisor since he had the expertise. In addition, the project stakeholders clearly agreed on the quality of the deliverables. Manda (Para 6, 2011) asserts that stakeholders must agree on the grade and quality to finalize a deliverable that meets its objectives.

To realize the objectives of the project, which was essential in attaining the overall goals, the project stakeholders agreed on the specifications of the required variations.

In addition, upon considerable considerations, the project supervisor consulted with the operations manager and the owner of the organization in relation to the milestones of the project. Together, the stakeholders agreed on the specific periods for the completion and attainment of various deliverables of the project.

Good stakeholders’ interaction is essential in establishing and ensuring the success of the project. These interactions make the stakeholders to trust each other, which helps in achieving the set goals and objectives (Young, Para 1, 2009).

In the case of this project, the owner of the organization trusted the project supervisor and the operations manager fully. Due to this, the project supervisor was able to deliver good results according to the needs of the owner. This means that good interaction is essential for the building of trust among various stakeholders of a project.

Another significant aspect of stakeholders’ interactions was effective communication. There was good interpersonal communication among all the stakeholders, which further accelerated good interaction. All the stakeholders were very open to each other and this helped to strengthen their relationship.

This also ensured that there are no conflicting opinions and interests, which ensured a high level of commitment among all the stakeholders. Bourne (p. 3, 2006) agrees that efficient communication is an important component in the process of establishing and maintaining stakeholder interactions. In addition, such effective communication is vital in maintaining the support and commitment of all stakeholders.

Evaluating the Success of the Project The wish of every project manager and project teams is for the project to be successful. The main indicators of the success of a project include the realization of deliverables, realization of measurable organizational value of the project, proper management and leadership of the project manager or supervisor and team ethics.

For this project, these indicators revealed that the project as a success and that it met the required objectives thereby realizing the main goals of the project.

Measurable Organizational value The main goal of the project management should be to create customer value hence helping the company obtain, sustain and grow, long term, profitable relationships with its intended customers. Consequently, the company will gain by getting increased asset utilization, improved cost structure, expanded revenue opportunities and ultimately long-term shareholder value (Ainsworth, p. 3, 2009).

The project was able to add measurable value to the organization. In this case, the successful completion of the project ensured the generation more clients and maintenance of the existing customers. This is because the project made the clients trust the organization thereby adding value to the business.

Effective Project Management The management of the project offered good leadership in managing the project from its inception to its completion. The project manager ensured adequate and timely planning, which helped in the overall success of the project. As Mehta (p. 3, 2005) asserts, it is true that not all managers are good planners.

In addition, there is a difference between planning and executing. It is important to involve the project’s executers during planning in addition to crosschecking of facts and calculation using a spice of practicality. It is necessary to consider availability of good resources during planning.

A project cannot run effectively without the right team not only in experience but also in personality and attitude. This is necessary because the team will work like a team but not as individuals leading to competition within an organization. (Symonds, Para 5, 2011).

The project team offered showed much concerted efforts towards the management of the project. In this case, every team member involved in the completion of the project worked hard for the success of the project.

It is always a challenge for a project manager to communicate honestly with the stakeholders about risks, costs and status. However, the ethical principles require the project manager to be truthful but also use a comprehensive language by all stakeholders groups (Brown, Para 5, 2011).

The interaction between the project management and the stakeholders ensured that there are no loopholes in the project. The management of the project used effective communication strategies when reaching the project stakeholders for any information.

Team Dynamic and ethics The relationship and interaction of the project team is another essential way of measuring the success of a project. Members of the team agreed on the means of evaluating the success of the final product. In this way, there were no conflicts of interests when the project finally came to completion.

This shows that the project was very successful. Anderson (Para 7, 2011) argues that before onset of any task, the team should agree on the way of judging the final product. Since there will be unison agreement about the standards, the standards will help encourage the group to carry out their duties at its highest level.

In ethical relationships, there should be absolute respect for individual abilities and cultural differences (Brown, Para 4, 2011). In this regard, the individual project team members conducted themselves in ethical and professional manner. The team members brought in different expertise to the management of the project, and each member respected the opinions, beliefs and perspective of the other members.

Litsikakis (Para 11, 2006) adds that during project execution, it is necessary to have in place a good project team. The core skills of the team should easily transform to core competences and capabilities for the whole organization. In addition, the team members should concert their efforts to the success of the project and the general mission of the company.

Conclusion and recommendations The project was actually a success and it delivered the intended goals and objectives. The management of the project was very effective, which ensured the completion of every task within the set time. In addition, the stakeholders’ interactions helped to propel the project forward.

There was also effective cooperation in the project team but the only set back was the departure of one of the team members. In the end, the project was able to successfully achieve the set objectives and deliverables, which ensured the attainment of the overall goal of the project.

Due to the vast variation in the project scope, future project team members should clearly define the project scope and avoid a very wide and unachievable scope.

References Ainsworth, H., 2009, Can project management create organization value? Web.

Anderson, A., 2011, Principles of Effective Teamwork. Web.

Bourne, L., 2006, Project relationships and the Stakeholders Circle. Web.

Brown, B., 2011, Ethical Issues in Project Management. Web.

Burian, A., 2011, Avoid Surprises in Documentation Deliverables. Web.

Cross, V., 2011, How to Achieve Your Project Management Goals. Web.

Litsikakis, D., 2006, Analysis of Project Success Criteria and Success Factors. Web.

Manda, G., 2011, Project Deliverables Checklist. Web.

Manello, C. M., 2011, Scope Changes are not unthinkable. Web.

Mehta, S., 2005, Effective Project Management. Web.

Miller, B., 2011, The Purpose of Project Management and Setting Objectives. Web.

Miller, S., 2010, How to Employ Risk Indicators in Project Management. Web.

Mochal, T., 2011, Defining Project Goals and Objectives. Web.

Page, K., 2011, Project Goal

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Impacts of Culture on Formulation of International Marketing Strategies Expository Essay online essay help: online essay help

Culture affects businesses and human behavior. Most problems between nations come up from deep misunderstandings between the people of these nations, and most of these misunderstandings are rooted in cultural differences. When we understand the behaviors of people from different nations and the reasons why they behave in a certain way, we are less likely to take offense.

Getting to understand different cultures also enhances performance, more so in the business world which is expanding to a global market. This study shall focus at an international food company known as Arla Foods and its operations in Sweden, a country that has a unique business culture (Dunning, 1992).

The company supplies customers with natural milk products, which create inspiration and confidence among users (Omore and Khanna, 2001). The company has been operating for a number of years now.

It serves people from different parts of the world that have different cultures with different norms and beliefs with the entertainment. Learning about cultural difference is critically necessary for this corporation, since when people understand each other there will be more productivity and benefits.

International Business and Culture The world has been affected by a growing number of global companies. When we discuss the global marketing strategy, it involves both equivalence and variation.

Culture is the total learned values, beliefs, and traditions which serve to express consumer behavior in a market. As a marketer, or a manager of a business, one should consider fundamental issues such as the cultural differences. These values are often embedded in a culture and have differences among different countries.

Culture puts the principles split by significant sections of the society, which sets the policy for working in that market. The diversity of culture plays a pivotal role at Arla Foods. Cultural values influence the marketing approach of at Arla Foods in different ways. The language, value and customers’ conduct are the key factors that affect the performance of marketing strategy at Arla Foods.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Concepts of culture that Affect International Business Language

Language is extremely valuable since it provides information or details about the cultural values of a society. The level of politeness in someone is known through the use of certain words and the tones, which provide a strong suggestion that it is extremely valuable to maintain levels of respect when talking to business people (Arnold and Quelch, 1998; Temu, 2005).

One of the demonstrations of culture is language the diversity. Language is the foundation of culture, and without having a language, one has no culture. Languages are most significant elements of culture since one culture will be different from another if conversed in a diverse way.

Language is used in communications, which is extremely crucial in business transactions. It is the main component of culture. Arla Foods in Sweden recognizes that a customer’s decision to buy something will be bound by their culture as one of the many factors.

It is for this reason that the company employs workers who are conversant with the local languages of Saami, Finnish and Romani, in addition to the national language, of Sweden. In this way, the company ensures that there is proper communication among the staff and customers. This approach also enables the Swedish customers to associate with the company.

Values

Values play a crucial role mostly when the marketers are trying to make decisions that might help to enter a new market. Values that direct a society cannot be observed directly, but can be unstated from different cultural products through asking members of that society to win personal values and their favorites among alternatives. In marketing, the value perception is usually used in an ethnocentric manner.

Values are learned unknowingly when people are less aware of them, and determining values is not an easy task. They face some problems as a result of their misguided imaginations that the new markets will be the same as the home market. Hence, they can carry out their businesses in a similar way.

The values of any culture satisfy a need inside that social order for regulation, course and assistance. Culture lays down the principles shared by influential sections of the society which set the regulations for working in that market. Values vary between nations. If one wants to take a product to a different nation, he/she should have a firm grasp of that society before they enter that market.

We will write a custom Essay on Impacts of Culture on Formulation of International Marketing Strategies specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Arla foods recognize the values of the Swedish people. It is in this view that the company practices kindness and hospitality, especially when dealing with customers. The management at Arla foods emphasizes the need of greetings exchange, since Swedish people value greetings (Tallman, 2006).

Consumer’s Behavior and Beliefs

This is culture bound since the consumers behavior is influenced by their culture and background. For example, at Arla Foods, they offer all kinds of foods. Some cultures do not feed in certain foods like the Hindu who do not feed on beef.

This determines the consumer’s choice of what to buy and what not to buy. It also helps the marketer understand what business they can carry out in a certain place through learning the culture and values of that society.

A butcher cannot start a pork business in a Hindu land (Johnson and Scholes, 2002). This is because their beliefs do not allow feeding on pork. This is a strong influence to the international market which should be considered by business managers and those who run these businesses. Also, since the Swedes believe in doing things in moderation, the company always subsidizes its costs on food products.

Religion

The character and convolution of many religions an international marketer could come across is a lot. Common religious beliefs can develop trust and this can minimize business costs between the trading partners. Organizations should ensure that their products and the services they offer are neither offensive nor illegal to the society or the local nation. Numerous religious beliefs include set of laws for every part of daily life.

Different religions have different believes and values, and the way they view their religion is always different from the way a different group views their religion too. Religion may be influential to the way people behave. Arla Foods in Sweden only operates for six days, from Monday to Saturday, since most people in Sweden are Christians making a Sunday a holy day (Peng, 2002; Publications, 2007).

Hence, religion affects the business days of this company. Religious beliefs, also, have an influence to institution building. Therefore, religious beliefs contribute to the economic change between and within religions.

New Markets

When a firm comes into a new market, the marketing managers should be cautious when coming up with their business strategies since these strategies are extremely valuable (Johanson and Valhne, 1977).

Not sure if you can write a paper on Impacts of Culture on Formulation of International Marketing Strategies by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A firm assumes a combination of standardization and adaptation of a variety of fundamentals of the marketing management agendas and processes by globalizing some fundamentals and localizing others (Lasserre, 2003). Cultural aspects are the stability linking standardization and adaptations.

This means that when a firm set off into a new market with a dissimilar cultural structure, the managers should look for substitute strategies such as the multi-domestic strategy.

Culture stories enable us to understand various components of social and culture in a better way. They offer a clear understanding of how culture variations came up and how the environments affect people’s lives in different places. The 4p marketing strategy that is product, price, place, and promotion give an insight of how culture impacts the customers buying behavior and how it affects the companies (Tarun and Krishna, 2006).

Culture differences have significant allegations for how Africans and Americans view the world. People from Africa view them as intertwined with the environment and depend on others (Idowu and Filho, 2008. Americans tend to view themselves as a unique people who are independent of others.

The international managers should pay attention to the cultural aspects and should and cautious about understanding cultural difference. Arla Foods has been endeavoring to penetrate Africa and other developing nations. The company always presents desired products in accordance to the local consumer values and behaviors of that market.

Also, the company ensures that it does not establish enterprises in areas that it is likely to offer competition to other similar enterprises. This is because the Swedes culture disregards competition (DeWitt, 2009). Some markets have high context culture.

This means that, in such countries, most information is shared by the members of that community (Rahman, 2003). People in that country do similar things as others did more so those who surround them.

Culture is extremely crucial since it can influence the choice of a business strategy when an international corporation decides to enter into a new foreign market.

This pays more attention to how Arla Food hotel implements their international marketing strategies in their place of business, and their purpose of exposition is to find out how the definite national cultures influence these strategies which have been put into practice by worldwide companies.

Managers need appropriate frameworks, which enable comparisons to be made as well as contracts and similarities to be drawn. In the European countries, it is ordinary for children to take wine at a family meal, but in Korea while one is supposed to serve others and wait for them to reciprocate (Ghemawat, 2007; Guillen, 2000).

In US, those under 21 yrs are not allowed to take beer. Also, another example is Turkey where coffee is an exceptional drink served to guests while in Italy coffee is served after a family meal. In China tea is preferred drink and in the US, the adults take it in the morning. Presenting coffee to a kid is an offence in the US. Arla Foods has to consider all these diversities while entering new markets.

Law and Politics

With various features of cultural structure, the reinforcement of common culture will strengthen the political and legal setting (Buckley and Pervez, 2004). For example, the United Kingdom has a substantial market, self-governing society with laws set upon precedent and legislation while Iran has a political and legal system set upon the teachings and morality of the Islam (Campbell, 2005).

Conversely, the supremacy of the King in Sweden is ceremonial and emblematic. Also, Sweden has various business laws that Arla Foods Company conforms to in its maneuvers. For instance, the company adheres to the laws on taxation and business registration.

Process of Cultural Changes Cultures affect each other and change too. Culture transforms gradually, and it has been indulged as a fairly firm characteristic. Its permanence helps to lessen uncertainty and directs to more control over the supposed performance outcomes. Most subsisting forms of culture and work activities believe cultural steadiness and put emphasis on the wall between culture and definite managerial and inspirational practices (Teece, 2004).

The statement of cultural permanence is acceptable as long as there are no societal transforms that add to the implementation and cultural revolutionize.

There are some few theories about a culture that pertain the aspect of culture. Culture is composed awareness, confidence, skill, rule, principles, ethnicity, and all other aptitudes and practices attained by humans as members of society. Arla Foods regularly conducts trainings to its staff, so as to equip them on how to deal with cultural changes.

In Conclusion, members of all societies should hold on to their culture since it impacts all essential aspects in life as well as determines the lifestyles of different communities all over the world. In business, culture has an impact since it determines what business to be carried out at a place and one should ensure that it is in accordance to the culture of those in the society as respect to their culture.

Ignoring culture in business leads to failure. A company that sells beef hamburgers cannot be based in India. This is because the Hindu does not feed on cow meat. This company will defiantly fail because they will have no customers and their sells will be low.

Cultural values influence the marketing approach of at Arla Foods in different ways. The language, value and customers’ conduct are the key factors that affect the performance of marketing strategy at Arla Foods. Arla Foods in Sweden recognizes that a customer’s decision to buy something will be bound by their culture as one of the many factors.

It is for this reason that the company employs workers who are conversant with the local languages of Saami, Finnish and Romani, in addition to the national language, of Sweden (Nordstrom, 2010). Also, Arla foods recognize the values of the Swedish people. It is in this view that the company practices kindness and hospitality, especially when dealing with customers.

The management at Arla foods emphasizes the need of greetings exchange, since Swedish people value greetings. Since the Swedes believe in doing things in moderation, Arla Foods always subsidizes its costs on food products.

Religion also influences the activities of the company in Sweden, since most people in Sweden are Christians making a Sunday a holy day. Arla Foods has been endeavoring to penetrate Africa and other developing nations.

The company always presents desired products in accordance to the local consumer values and behaviors of that market. Also, the company ensures that it does not establish enterprises in areas that it is likely to offer competition to other similar enterprises. This is because the Swedes culture disregards competition. Finally, Arla Foods regularly conducts trainings to its staff, so as to train them on how to deal with cultural changes.

References Arnold, D. and Quelch, J. (1998) New strategies in emerging markets. Sloan management review, 40 (1), 7-20.

Buckley, P, and Pervez, N. (2004) Globalization, economic geography and the strategy of multinational enterprises. Journal of International Business Studies, 35 (2), 81-98.

Campbell, C. (2005) Legal aspects of doing business in Europe – volume III. New York, Lulu.com.

DeWitt, C. (2009) Sweden. New York, Kuperard Printers

Dunning, J. (1992) The motives for foreign production, in Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy. Essex: Addison-Wesley.

Ghemawat, P. (2007) Redefining global strategy – crossing borders in a world where differences still matter. Harvard, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Guillen, M. (2000) Business groups in emerging economies: a resource-based view. Academy of Management Journal, 43 (3), 362-380.

Idowu, S. and Filho, W. (2008) Global practices of corporate social responsibility. Berlin, Springer.

Johanson, J. and Valhne, J. (1977) The internationalization process of the firm – a model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market. London, Sage

Johnson, G. and Scholes, K. (2002). Exploring corporate strategy. London, Prentice Hall.

Lasserre, P. (2003) Global strategic management. New York, Palgrave Macmillan.

Nordstrom, B. (2010) Culture and customs of Sweden. Westport, Greenwood.

Omore, F. and Khanna, J. (2001) Indigenous markets for dairy products: food safety and economics. Netherlands: Utrecht University.

Peng, M. (2002) Towards an institution-based view of business strategy. London, Sage

Publications (2007) Sweden Investment and Business Guide. City: Intl Business Pubns USA.

Rahman, Z. (2003) First mover advantages in emerging economies: a discussion. Management Decision, 41(2), 141.

Tallman, S. (2006) The handbook of strategic management. New York, Blackwell

Tarun, K. and Krishna, G. (2006) Emerging giants. Harvard business review, 84 (10), 60-69.

Teece, D. (2004) Handbook on knowledge management: knowledge and competences as strategic assets. London, Springer

Temu, A. (2005) High value agricultural products for smallholder markets: trends, opportunities and research priorities. Columbia, International Center for Tropical Agriculture

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The Value of Your Education Research Paper college essay help online

Table of Contents Overview

The value of education

Conclusion

Works Cited

Overview Education is of great significance in human life. As a matter of fact, the present state of the world can only be explained using the appropriate knowledge acquired through education. As evident from its demand in all sectors of life including humanity and economy, one can judge that the value of education is absolutely incomparable to anything else within the surrounding environment (Ehrenreich 35).

In everyday life of man, education plays a major role, especially in various processes that demand decision making and which may have limited available options. A typical example is when companies recruit human resource. Usually, education levels of those being hired are quite often the top consideration made.

Even though past experience of the applicants is integral and equally important during such exercises, it is worth to note that experience may not be acquired in any given profession if education background does not meet the needed threshold.

Needless to say, the education levels of individuals quite often correlated with their success. Additionally, there have been recent extensions of this necessity to social circles whereby education has become a prerequisite in socialization (Ehrenreich 48).

This may happen either directly or indirectly. With this kind of demand, the importance of education continues to skyrocket as its value becomes enormously indispensable.

Due to these and many other implications attached to the acquisition and application of education, it is without doubt that education a great necessity in life. The latter is a factor that can only be ascertained after an in-depth examination of the benefits of education and some of the demerits associated with lack of education either to an individual’s life or society in general (Kriengsak 63).

The value of education To begin with, it is vital to emphasize that education is of great value largely due to the fact that it makes it possible for an individual to acquire requisite knowledge, skills and competences needed in tackling daily challenges in life. Companies emphasize the importance of relevant education in running their daily activities.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More According to Morris and Emanuel (16), a good educational background ensures that one can secure employment in a reputable company within the job market. Owing to continual pursuit of education to higher levels, one is bound to perfect in his or her career and thus acquire job security.

Once this step has been achieved, stable income is guaranteed and thus there is creation of financial security. On the other hand, limited educational qualifications may grossly lead to difficulty in any attempt to secure employment in organizations.

It is not definite that limited educational background is a real setback not only in economic development of an individual. The community where such individuals dwell is also equally affected in a negative way. In addition, lack of proper education diminishes the rate at which employment opportunities could be created.

Secondly, education processes thoroughly prepare an individual towards developing critical thinking skills, which are usually required for decision-making and consequently acquiring the right sense of judgment.

Education provides mental liberation from personal biases arising from serious logical errors and societal influences in conception of reality. When one goes through a right and demanding education system, there is a general tendency of developing a sense of perception that it is critical.

As a result, there is general improvement in the nature of final decisions made. With these skills, socialization becomes easier and observation of facts becomes crucial, making it possible for an individual to fit in any society in the world. Poor education or lack of it is characterized by reduced reasoning abilities and meager judgment skills. These in turn, lead to poor social skills and hence communal isolations creating barriers in different communities across the world.

One of the reasons why the latter may be a serious problem can be explained by the fact that emotional intelligence and acquisition of formal education is highly likely to improve emotional intelligence of an individual.

We will write a custom Research Paper on The Value of Your Education specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Without education, an individual becomes less intelligent and often makes wrong decisions. With social misunderstandings arising from misjudgments, one ends up becoming a burden to it and either become isolated or incarcerated (Scott 56).

Through an education system, one is able to explain nature using factual information. Before civilization of man, nature was considered as a dogmatic concept with no attempts made towards understanding it. Since its introduction, science has explored it and made individuals able to explain nature according to discovered facts.

With these, people have continued to make great discoveries and innovations that have dramatically changed infrastructures such as roads, railway lines, airlines and houses, making the world a comfortable place to live.

This is a great importance of education in the life of an individual today when he gets one. In its absence, an individual would still explain the world but from distorted and misplaced perception. Without education, one becomes unable to explain nature even in small correct detail and would thus live in beliefs and great environmental ignorance.

Also in its devoid, the world would be natural meaning that only basic housing and transport would be available and thus the world would not be developing as it is now. Discoveries of these great architectural designs would be inexistent, implying that the world would have remained conservative as regards architecture.

Another importance of education is discovered when handling our natural environment. Human beings live in a complex environment that demands special attention. Through an education system, one can correctly handle the environment in a non-destructive manner (Peterson

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Global Trends in Economics Research Paper college admissions essay help: college admissions essay help

Students joining the 21st Century workforce face an occupational world literally unrecognizable to their parents’ generation. Industries, organizations, management and employees around the world are now interconnected in a truly Global Economy; a network that seems to ignore or subordinate geographic, political and even cultural differences for better or worse.

Globalization has flattened the world (as author Thomas Friedman said) by enabling quicker and less-restricted flow of products, services, labor, capital and ideas across now-invisible borders (Sigala

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Silver Jet and Transatlantic Airline Market Case Study custom essay help: custom essay help

Introduction The Transatlantic airline market is one of the very competitive airline industries. Among the dominant airline companies in this industry are Delta, which dominates 12% of the market share. British Airways follows with a market share of 11%. In the third position we have two airlines that is, Continental and Lufthansa, which share equally 18% of the market share.

American, Air France, United Northwest and US Airways own 7%, 6%, 6%, 5%, 5% and 4% respectively. Other airline companies share the remaining 26%. Silver jet dominates about 2% of the market share. These airline companies operate in the US, Europe, India, Africa, and the Middle East. The table below attempts to determine similarities and differences that exist among airline companies in transatlantic market.

Company(market share) strategy price Quality Number of destinations profit Founded on Delta 12% Broad differentiation Above average Superior/good British Airways 11% Focused Differentiation Premium Superior/good – -513 million 1974 Continental 9% Low cost strategy Average Good 402 -282 million 1934 Lufthansa 9% Broad differentiation Above average Good 221 1.1 billion 1954 American Airline 7% Low cost strategy Average Superior/good 260 -471 1934 Air France 6% Broad differentiation Premium good 254 – 1933. United 5% Low cost strategy Average Good 216 651 m 1926 United Northwest 5% Low cost strategy Below average Good United Airways4% Broad differentiation Average Good 141 1979 Silverjet 2% Broad differentiation Above average Superior/good 3 – 2004 Analysis of Silver Jet market position in the transatlantic airline market using Porter’s five forces model

Industry rivalry: high

The industry is very competitive considering that giants like Delta and British Airways dominate the market. It is also true that these companies have been in operation for quite some time hence earning a strong loyalty from customers. The high price charged does not affect their position in the market.

Threats of substitute: strong

The market witnessed stiff competition from other means of transport such as road and advanced electric train. This has consequently forced many airline companies to lower their fare prices. Silver jet faced difficulties in the industry due to availability of other means of transport in the transportation industry (Porter 1990, p. 90).

Suppliers bargaining power: strong

It has occurred that other airline companies have been building strong relationships with manufacturers such as Boeing. This has been a threat to other airlines that do not have ties with manufactures.

Threats of entrants: low

The chances of entering this industry is quite complex, as it requires heavy capital base. This means that only few companies and individuals can afford. It is as well difficult to enter this market considering the fact that building loyalty perhaps takes quite a long time.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Buyer bargaining power: strong

Buyers can decide to leave one airline company if its charges are perceived to be reasonably high. This has frequently happened in this industry where many firms have lost customers on grounds that they charge high prices.

Attractiveness of investing in transatlantic industry

The transatlantic airline industry is attractive during economic recovery as well as at the boom. This is the time when several tourists tend to tour diverse countries. In addition, businesspersons as well as diplomats travel a lot during such periods (Ghemawat 1999, p. 31). This ensures that many aircrafts avoid flying with empty seats thus maximizing profits. The market for airlines is also attractive since it is very difficult for new competitors to enter the market.

Relationship between transatlantic industry strategic group and its organizational focus

The strategy of Sliver Jet was to broaden differentiation strategy which focused on providing quality services as well as offering diverse services, such as drinks, food, checks for security purposes among others. However, the company found itself in problems after its operations shut down in June 2008. The fall can be attributed to stiff competition.

List of References Ghemawat, P 1999, Games Businesses Play: Cases and Models, MIT Press, Cambridge.

Porter, ME 1990, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, London, MacMillan Press.

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All Diplomacy is a Continuation of War by Other Means Essay writing essay help

Diplomacy can be a continuation of war by other means when looked at from different perspectives. This paper will therefore evaluate why diplomacy can be a continuation or discontinuation of war by all means. In this case, it means that the paper will argue for and against this statement based on existing facts. Diplomacy can be a continuation of war because it revolves around one party having his way over the other.

This implies that as much as two parties might be engaged in negotiations to find out the best alternative or option (that will work in their favor); the success of such an initiative will depend on their ability to compromise.

In cases where two parties are not ready to compromise, there is an expectation that people will continue with war. It should also be known that diplomacy is a continuation of war based on the fact that one party might be involved in diplomacy to get enough support in defense of war.

There are cases where people might engage in diplomacy to find out the true position of the other party about an issue (that is always the borne of contention).

In fact, there are cases where we see hard-line positions from different individuals after an all round approach to diplomacy. In such cases, we should expect war to continue because the other party will always want its cause to be heard and given attention over the other which seems to reinforce the need for war as time goes by.

There are cases where diplomacy can provide information about an opponent thereby leading to continuation of war because different parties will be better prepared. Information is generally availed when one party makes contact with the other.

On the other hand, it should be known that all diplomacy is not always a continuation of war which is a fact. Based on fact that diplomacy revolves around letting somebody else have his way through mutual consent; it can prevent or end war if both parties are ready and willing. This is mostly possible if parties that are involved are ready to compromise on what they might be holding or augmenting for.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Through creative diplomacy, parties can be able to drop their hard-line positions and thereby halt the continuation of war. This means that everything will be geared towards an agreeable solution and position. Diplomacy can also serve the interests of the war thereby bringing about good outcomes that will definitely end war as time goes by.

Diplomatic channels can be used to bring about proper peace negotiations that will enhance long term sustainability as far as the dispute is concerned. As far as war is concerned, diplomacy needs some military backup for trust and confidence. On the other hand, the military needs diplomatic guidance and that is why diplomacy can be able to discontinue war as time goes by.

When looked at from the discontinuation of war point of view, both parties should meet for long term sustainability in relation to the solution that will be arrived at. This will be able to prevent an unprovoked attempt to declare war. Efforts to try and persuade an opponent cannot succeed with military action or total war which emphasizes the need for all round diplomacy.

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Unit 3 DB: Does viewing violence lead to violent behavior? Unit 3 DB: Does viewing violence lead to violent behavior? After viewing Bandura’s original video from his 1961 study above, complete the fo argumentative essay help: argumentative essay help

Based on the video and your reading, do you believe that violence in television, media, or video games likely promote violent behaviors according to the principles of observational learning?  Please share your thoughts and examples.
Additionally, discuss your own real-life example of the concept of observational learning by sharing an incident either witnessed personally or through the media.
Discuss how observational learning differs from theories of learning that emphasize “conditioning” (classical conditioning and operant conditioning).  Use the example of how aggressive behavior may result from conditioning.
Be sure to provide the URL link(s) and/or title(s) to any resource used as reference in your post.

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Motivating Employee During the Crisis: Challenges and Directions Case Study custom essay help

Company of Case Study: Dubai Real Estate Corporation, Wasl Properties Using the DREC and Wasl properties case, the company must resolve problems arising from noncompliance with all company policies being implemented (Robbins and Judge, 2007). The research of WASL and DREC is grounded on identifying possible internal conflicts and instituting policies to prevent escalation of misunderstanding and conflicts between employees and between departments of the organization.

Specifically, the research focuses on the organizational structure of the company called DREC. The research focuses on the functions and responsibilities of the company’s officers and employee. The officers must motivate its employees by directing them to the best solution to all challenges. Organization basic structure and functions.

The officers and employees must comply with their reporting duties and responsibilities using the organizational chart. The organizational chart shows that WASL Organization is monitored by the board of directors. The chief executive officer, Mr. Hesham Al Qassim, reports directly to the board of directors.

The chief operating officer, Mr. Adbulla Obaidalla, reports to the chief executive officer. Dubai Golf’s Christopher May reports to the Chief Executive Officer. The general manager for land assets management, Mr. Omer Al Maydoor, reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

The general manager for facilities management, Mr. Mohammed Khoory, reports to the Chief Executive Officer. The general manager for property management, Mr. Zainab Mohammed, reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

The general manager for projects management, Mr. Nabil Al Khaja, reports to the Chief Executive Officer. The general manager for business development, Mr. Adjitya Srivastava, reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

The general manager for hospitality, Mr. Abdulbasit Al Hai, reports to the Chief Executive Officer. The chief financial officer, Mr. Abdulkhaliq Ahmed, reports to the Chief Executive Officer. Further, there are employees reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Abdulla Obaidalla.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The general manager of procurement and administration, Mr. Ahmed Al Sheryani, reports to the Chief Operating Officer. The Interim general manager for Marcom, Mr. Ahmed Al Sheryani, reports to the Chief Operating Officer. The general manager for human resources, Mr. Jassem Al Jasmi, reports to the Chief Operating Officer. The head of legal and board affairs, Mr. Roula Zahar, reports to the Chief Operating Officer.

The head of business excellence, Mr. Satish Paryarath, reports to the Chief Operating Officer. Culture. Derek Torrington (2008) reiterated the two companies’ culture are grounded on the complying with all relevant company policies. Failure to comply with the company’s policy may result to termination or suspension. In terms of applying for a job, the job applicants are required to have good behavior or conduct.

The job applicant must be at least 18 years old. The job applicant must posses the minimum requirements stated for a vacant job position. The requirements include the applicant’s educational requirements. The applicant must also have the minimum amount of experience for each job applied for.

The applicant should have the competencies need for a job. For example, the accounting staff applicant should have a minimum amount of accounting work experience or the corresponding academic units in accounting. In addition, the applicant should have the necessary skills to perform one’s job responsibilities. For example, a welder must have education or practical welding experience gained from prior jobs.

The applicant should pass all assessment requirements to be admitted to the company. In addition, the applicant must be mentally fit for the vacant position. The company prioritizes the hiring of local United Arab Emirates applicants over the foreign job applicants. The company also hires local residents with special needs with a few job responsibilities.

Further, John Ivancevich (2006) theorized the two companies interview applicants in order to determine the applicant’s capacity to implement job responsibilities on time and with quality.

The interviews will determine if the job applicant can easily achieve sales performance targets as well as monthly production and sales benchmarks. The company will send thank you letter to applicants who did not pass the application process. The selected applicant will be given an employment contract.

We will write a custom Case Study on Motivating Employee During the Crisis: Challenges and Directions specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, Robert Mathis (2010) emphasized the general manager of each department recommends the increase of each subordinate’s salaries or wages. The general managers can recommend the promotion of one or more subordinates under the general manager’s department or section. The general manager can report to the human resource department its human resources needs. The general manager has a hand in the scrutinizing if the subordinate has to be retrenched.

The general manager has the authority to reprimand or suspend subordinates found violating the departments’ policies, procedures, and other internal rules. The manager has the authority to send the greenhorn employees and other subordinates for further job training.

The Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer can focus on compensation decisions. Both the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer can approve spot awards for deserving employees.

The same Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer can approve awards and rewards to employees who excel in their job responsibilities. Similarly, both officers can waive payments.

However, the waiver must be based on the recommendations of the department managers and other superiors of the employees. The human resource officers can recommend to both Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer the waiving of the employees’ salaries, increase, and promotions.

The department heads can request for the reprimand, suspensions, or termination of erring subordinates. The same department heads can recommend the retraining of subordinates to improve their current production performance. The officers of the company may request for the retrenchment of employees who refuse to accept a change in work assignments.

The officers can request for the salary increase, promotion, or rewards for subordinates surpassing production and sales benchmarks.

In addition, Ronald Sims (2007) stated the company officers and employees should adhere to the company’s policy of conducting themselves and the business with the highest standards of legal, moral integrity, and ethical standards. Discrimination should be avoided. The officers and employees should endeavor to comply with the company’s vision and mission.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Motivating Employee During the Crisis: Challenges and Directions by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company officers must ensure that all new employees are briefed with the latest company policies. The employees are trained before they are assigned to each company equipment or job function to reduce damage. Damage usually occurs when the newly hired employed is at a lost when performing one’s job function.

The supervisor or head must monitor and guide the new employee to ensure faster learning of the proper job performance. Environment. Jon Werner (2008) theorized the employees must work the safe and comfortable environment. Further, the employees’ work condition should be conducive to inspiring the employees to excel in their job responsibilities.

The workplace must be well-ventilated. There is enough space for the worker to perform one’s function in a very comfortable manner. The company can also hire applicants by asking fellow workers to refer a friend or relative for the jobs vacancy. The hiring of relatives is discouraged, except when the chief executive officer allows such practices. The employees should be given the best opportunity to grow with the company.

Seminars and additional trainings will help the employees enhance the quality of the production outputs. Work flow processes. The work process must comply with the line and staff organizational chart.

The subordinate of the facilities management department should not perform the job of a subordinate of the lands asset department. The subordinate of the hospitality department should not perform the job of a subordinate of the property management department.

The subordinate of the projects management department should not perform the job of a subordinate of the business development department. Further, the general manager of the property management department should not report to the chief operating officer. The general manager of the property management department should not report to the chief operating officer.

The general manager of the lands asset management department should not report to the chief operating officer. Similarly, the general manager of the facilities department should not report to the chief operating officer. OB link to the processes. The OB link to the processes should be implemented. Elwood Holton (2003) proposed the manager cannot hire a new employee without the approval of the human resource officer.

The human resource manager should not increase the salary of an employee without the recommendation of the employee’s manager.

The manager of the property management department cannot force an employee of the land assets department to perform the job of the property management department’s absent subordinate. Based on the above discussion, the two companies, WASL and DRECT, must resolve problems arising from noncompliance with all company policies being implemented.

The research of WASL and DREC is grounded on identifying possible internal conflicts and instituting policies to prevent escalation of misunderstanding and conflicts between employees and between departments of the organization. Specifically, the research focuses on the organizational structure of the company called DREC.

The research focuses on the functions and responsibilities of the company’s officers and employee. All employees and officers must comply with company policies in order to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Indeed, the officers must motivate its employees by directing them to the best solution to all challenges.

References Holton, E. (2003) Approaches to Training and Development. New York, Basic Press.

Ivancevich, J. (2006) Human Resource Management. New York, McGraw Hill Press.

Mathis, Robert. (2010) Human Resource Management. New York, Cengage Press.

Robbins, S

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“Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation” by Arthur Ferill Critical Essay writing essay help

Table of Contents Brief Summary of the Book

Information on Arthur Ferill

Abstract of the Book’s Content

Book’s Thesis/ Argument

Conclusion and Recommendations

Brief Summary of the Book This is a book that was written by Arthur Ferill with regards to the fall of the western empire. The author states that the barbarians were allowed to settle in Rome’s buffer zones. This was a strategy that was used to delude attacks from other barbarians in their struggle.

The military organizations were staged by Vegetius who was a major reactor to the wars that were happening in the region. In his explanations, he stated the procedures of how people should indulge in winning a battle. For instance, he cited how to train troops, the art of handling troops and how to handle battle engagement.

Apparently, the wide spread of the German culture, language and popularity increased the fall of the western empire. The people were united and increased their solidarity with barbarians in making sure the western empire deteriorated in its performance. In the end, the unification of the barbarians and Germans abundantly decreased the size of the Roman Empire.

In essence, the Germans used the barbarians to upsurge a friction between them. This affected the Roman Empire by dividing them thus decreasing their number. The small number could not sustain a battle with the Germans thereby leading to their downfall.

Information on Arthur Ferill Arthur Ferill is a respected author in the United States and resides in Seattle. He is a practicing professor in the University of Washington majoring in history. He has written a number of works of arts related to history of the ancient times. Reportedly, he is a bold contributor who has gone to greater height in explaining the fall of the Roman Empire.

He retorts of information that the empires should have done in his work of arts. This is due to his involvement in the military and army processions that have given him the experience to tackle such instances. Ferill asserts that the Roman Empire dealt with simple tactics that led to their failure.

Ferill is the only person known to be a critique on the attacks that were used by the Roman Empire in securing their territory. He remarks that they were unsuccessful yet they had enough resources.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More He is disgusted by the fact that the roman army was strong with over half a million army men but still failed to concur the Germans. He further states that the Roman Empire army was weakened by an upcoming army that did not have much experience.

The Roman Empire was destabilized by their fighting tactics which had been existent for a long time. On the contrary, the German army was still growing in their experience but was able to control the Roman Empire.

In this regard, Ferill explains that it does not matter how long an army has been in practice but the tactics it uses determines the outcome. This means that the war was determined by superior infants that used highly graded operations.

Abstract of the Book’s Content The book “fall of the roman empire” encompasses a number of processions that took place during the overruling of the Roman Empire. The book explains the major events in the collapse of the western empire including the tactics and army. For instance, he explains the military history that was used by both sides in coming out successful.

Though the author does not state the causes of war, social and cultural considerations; he tries to explain the doctrines, logistics and technology that were used by the clashing sides. For instance, the major setback to the Roman Empire was the division of the barbarian people who split.

The barbarians acted as a buffer zone to the Roman Empire which was an advantage to the Germans. This was a military strategy incepted by the Germans to ensure their enemies were indeed divided in their fight for the Roman Empire.

Book’s Thesis/ Argument The book “fall of the roman empire” states that the fall of the Roman Empire was a due to a collapse in the military and army. The book is provocative to the decisions that were made in coming up with the strategies that were used. In essence, the book strategizes on the failures that led to collapse of the Roman Empire. To begin with, the Roman Empire was over five centuries old and was developing during the entire time.

We will write a custom Book Review on “Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation” by Arthur Ferill specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Roman Empire had all the equipment and army gear that could be used to secure its territory. Additionally, the leaders in the Roman Empire had all the resources in coming up with a better protective army in the region to help in establishing its own territory.

However, the army was defeated in maintaining the roman territory hence the fall. Had the Roman Empire established a better army through its existing period, it could have successfully repelled the German invasions.

This means that the army was less focused on its organization with the feeling that it had better experience over the other armies in the region. If the Roman Empire focused on organizing its military army in the best way possible, they could not be overpowered by the emerging army composed by the Germans.

There are many critiques that have cited that the Roman Empire collapsed due to a failure in the primary military phenomenon.

On the other hand, the German army was less than three centuries old in the developing world. They did not have all the possible equipment in the army but had to develop in making sure they were prepared in protecting their territory. Since they were focused, they had more time in coming up with better strategies that were successful.

The army concentrated on making sure they had everything in order by exploring better tactics. Apparently, the Roman Empire was regarded to have the best army in the region. It was almost impossible for the Germans to embark in a battle with the Roman Empire since it was well constructed. On the contrary, the strongest army in the battle was overtaken by an up surging army.

This is a major place of concern since a weak, fragmented and economically unstable empire confronted a strong roman empire and emerged victorious. This shows that as long as an army is organized in the best way possible, a failing economy and collapsing administrative power will not affect the outcome of the results. Therefore, organized arm resistance is a vital factor that should be considered before starting a battle.

The Roman Empire was deeply affected by the inclusion of the barbarians in the German empire. The German empire incepted the barbarians into their territory to assist in fighting against the Roman Empire. The barbarians were used to fight with the army in the Roman Empire.

Not sure if you can write a paper on “Fall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation” by Arthur Ferill by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This was an invasion that was successful in that the Roman Empire did not have clear facts on the barbarians. The Roman Empire was not clear if the barbarians were on their side or on their support during the invasion. This was another major drawback to the Roman Empire as it did not succeed in fighting the Germans.

Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion, the argument forwarded by Ferill seems to have a base argument that explains the events and why they had to happen in the stated procession. It is true that the weaker army won in the battle against the roman empire which was at a better placement in terms of the economy, development and most important, the army.

Secondly, the Roman Empire did not concentrate on strategizing the military activities that would help them in fighting against their enemies. Instead, they concentrated on having a good economic development in the country. Similarly, the empire focused on organizational needs that could improve the performance of the country and neglected invasions by the Germans.

Thirdly, the Roman Empire had poor organizational structure in their army. The Roman Empire hard invested in a large army in the entire region, that it had developed due respect, including the neighboring empires. The respect was accorded due to the economic muscle and experience that the empire had developed. However, they did not increase the efficiency in the army making it fail in securing the territory.

Germans, on the other hand had a young army that they used in fighting the Roman Empire. Using strategic attacks, they succeeded in conquering the Roman Empire, including inclusion of barbarians. To crown it all, the Roman Empire was at the verge of winning any battle that would occur at that time, but due to disorganized army, they failed to protect their territory.

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The Federal Government in the United States Research Paper writing essay help: writing essay help

Federalism and policy development The federal government has some powers over the States in the United States (Dye, 2010). In this regard, it makes choices on a range of aspects.

The idea that the federal government has far-reaching powers over a number of issues raises questions regarding the extent to which the government should interfere with some aspects. Once the federal government decides on issues, in a way, it influences the behavior or the rights of individual citizens.

Based on this, it is noticeable that federalism heavily influences policy making in the United States. Using the same line of thinking, the federal government sets the underlying regulations regarding public policy making. It is evident that the federal government decides the procedures or the rules that State governments have to observe regarding some activities.

As an illustration, the federal government sets the percentage of revenue that the State governments retain as well as that that they remit. It is clear that the amount of revenue that States collect influence the level of development that States are able to carry out. As such, when the federal government policy puts demands that certain percentages be remitted to the national budget, it influences the developmental agenda of the States.

If this holds, then it should also be noted that the State governments are in charge of certain functions at State level. These developmental activities affect the lives of the citizens at the State level. Since the federal government influences the activities, the States engage in, it also affects the lives of citizens. It is thus reasonable to conclude that federal policy activities affect the rights of citizens.

Public Policy and Opinion Polls Political processes influence public policy in different ways (Dye, 2010). Political processes may include elections, campaigns for elections, opinion polls, constitution making, etc.

These political processes have varied effects on the policy making process although in unexpected ways (Gray, 2004). Regarding elections, it is noticeable that political parties give clearance to individuals who seek political office (Brown, 2009). As a rule, each political party has its policy agenda.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More By way of illustration, the conservative party leans towards American conservatism as reflected by its pragmatic approach to several issues. Concisely, each party has a policy line it seeks to implement upon assuming office. Additionally, upon winning elections, political parties appoint senior office holders in the country.

Although, the leaders or office bearers run offices using set procedures, political affiliation may influence the decisions they make. Based on this illustration, it is discernable that the election process may influence policymaking.

As presented in the case regarding political processes, public opinion is unstable. Public opinion changes within short spells and may have various degrees of influence on policymaking. As an illustration, it is established from the above point that public policy is a function of elections and the election process.

It is noticeable that public opinion heavily influences elections. As an example, when the United States is at war, the public may hold a certain perception regarding the government. Such wars as the one against Vietnam led the public into holding divided views on the role of the government.

If the public holds the view that the government is unjustified in engaging in a war, it is likely that the government would be voted out in the subsequent elections. Concisely, it is noticeable that public opinion affects the election process. In turn, election outcomes influence policy making as illustrated above.

Reference List Brown, E. (2009). Public opinion and penal policymaking: An examination of constructions, assessments, and uses of public opinion by political actors in New York State. State University of New York at Albany: ProQuest.

Dye, T.R. (2010). Understanding public policy (13th ed.). Longman: Pearson Prentice Hall.

We will write a custom Research Paper on The Federal Government in the United States specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Gray, J. (2004). Public Opinion and Polling Around the World: A Historical Encyclopedia. New York: ABC-CLIO.

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Globalization’s and Business Relationships and Responsibilities Opinion Essay essay help online free

The world is fast changing into one big village. Cultural diversity, religion, race, and differences in ideology, which have created barriers among nations, are fast fading as people learn to accept and tolerate each other. The free flow of capital and labor among nations give evidence of this change.

The political, economic, and socio-cultural turbulence in one country that ripples across the world, further assert this existence. For example, the current economic crisis in the world is a result of increase in the cost of living caused by increase in fuel prices.

What actually caused the increase in fuel prices? It was the attack of Iraq by the United States and its allies, which lowered the production of oil against the ever-increasing demand. The whole world has thus felt the effects of oil shortage. The gradual change that has seen the world become this one big village is globalization. Many factors have contributed to globalization.

However, “business and revolution of communication technology” remain the main motivators (Parker 2005). Technological inventions in communication like the internet and mobile phones have stimulated globalization by easing communication. On the other hand, the desire to maximize profits by businesses drives globalization in many ways.

To maximize profits, businesses must make more sales and incur small expenses. This has led to cost reduction strategies such as, moving operations to countries with few trade restrictions, taxes, and logistics. To maximize sales, these businesses move to regions with high populations and little competition. The rise of big companies with excess capital to invest has led to globalization too as these companies search for regions to invest.

The approaches Trans-National Companies may take to tap into the global market vary. First, the companies may invest directly into the foreign markets thereby establishing production units in those regions. However, this decision has challenges ranging from unfair treatment in foreign markets, inability to predict changes in policies that may affect business, and lack of understanding of cultural beliefs, which might prove costly.

Secondly, a Trans-National Company may use strategic alliance, which enables it to pool resources and command considerable finances and knowledge. Franchising, management of contracts and joint ventures are other possible approaches. There are many challenges to globalization. The choice of management structure is one of such challenges.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More As businesses expand their operations, they venture into unique markets that one manager cannot fully understand. This leads to the need for regional managers with autonomous control. However, this is challenging as people have different personalities and cannot lead the same way.

Another challenge is the choice of products. Having standardized products for all markets may make the products expensive for some markets, while being of low quality for others. If the business chooses localized products, it may not benefit from economies of scale.

This is because every region will need to market and package its own products. Tomlinson cites cultural diversity in the world as another challenge to globalization (1999). It is impossible to make one product that satisfies every one’s cultural beliefs yet ignoring such beliefs may throw a firm completely out of business.

As the multinational companies expand their operations in the least developed countries, they kill small businesses, which would have otherwise grown to great heights. Globalization has led to the decline of job opportunities in Least Developed Nations since many firms import labor from countries of origin.

Globalization is also responsible for the erosion of indigenous culture and beliefs in Least Developed Nations. There are many benefits of globalization. Globalization helps in improving the economic growth of developing nations. It also enhances the spread of technology, and is a possible tool for controlling inflation.

References Parker, B 2005, Introduction to globalization and business: relationships and responsibilities, SAGE, London.

Tomlinson, J 1999, Globalization and culture, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

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Knowledge Management Perspectives and Issues Report (Assessment) college application essay help: college application essay help

Introduction This essay shall assess knowledge management (KM) in relation to the formation and development of ‘communities of practice’. In this context, KM strives to include any deliberate and systematic process or practice of gaining, capturing, sharing and using valuable knowledge to improve learning and output in organisations.

KM aims at developing capabilities in an organisation through the use of varied tools and ways. These methods include identification, recording, memorization and sharing the knowledge resources, learning capacities and competencies people develop, and applying them in their professional work environment.

KM practices entail formal mentoring, monetary and non monetary rewards, rewards for sharing knowledge, resources allocation in order to detect and capture external knowledge for company’s long term benefits (Brelade and Harman 5).

Knowledge management involves using category of practices which are difficult to observe and operate, and occasionally unknown even to those who have them. This is a crucial challenge for organisations willing to manage their knowledge resources.

Studies show that organisations are frequently using these practices, and their effects on innovation and other aspects of the firm performances are noticeable. KM adoption is driving firms to crucial stage that the industry analysts refer to as the knowledge-based economy.

This is necessary because firms are in need of comprehending and measuring the activity of KM so that organisation and its systems can perform what they do better, and other stakeholders can develop policies to support these benefits of KM. Knowledge-related investments for an organisation may include training, education, research and development (R

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Evaluating the Advantages essay help online: essay help online

The convergence of technology witnessed in the last two decades has enabled organizations to adopt systems, programs and processes that not only serve to leverage competitiveness, but also improve organizational efficiencies and add value to business partners, supply chains, and customers (Kunsoo et al. 115).

The vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) is one such program which have been made possible due to rapid innovations in technology, but which has continued to receive increasing attention as a means of supply chain collaboration, particularly between the retailers and the suppliers or manufacturers (Farhoomand 5).

This section deals specifically with evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of investing in a unique VMI from the retailers’ perspective.

From the critiqued article, VMI can be described as a continuous replenishment program, whereby the vendor has the capacity to create or generate the purchase orders based on the real-time demand at the store or the warehouse level (Farhoomand 5).

Consequently, this program can be perceived as a backward replenishment tool that facilitates the vendor to create and fulfill demand for products based on real-time front-line sales data. It is imperative to note that this program evolved into the limelight in the 1980’s, but it has particularly found wide usage in recent years (Pasandideh et al. 329).

VMI offers multifold advantages for both suppliers and retailers, but this section will focus attention to the advantages and disadvantages accruing to the retailers. From the critiqued reading, it is evidently clear that a retailer using the VMI platform accrues two major benefits, namely cost savings and efficiency gains (Farhoomand 5).

In cost savings, the retailer is able to reduce inventory level and minimize stock on-hand by virtue of the facts that the VMI platform turns the responsibility of replenishing stock to the vendor (either a supplier or manufacturer), who will monitor real-time sales for the retailer and replenish products, thus ensuring continuous flow.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More A flood of critical literature demonstrates that the coordinated decision-making made possible via the VMI platform generates potential benefits for retailers in reducing the need for inventories (Bookbinder et al. 5549).

Additionally, coordinated decision-making under virtual integration as made possible by the VMI platform will inarguably enhance the harmonization of the supply chain, allowing competitive leverage not only for the retailer, but also for the supplier or the manufacturer.

Under virtual integration, the independence of the organizations involved in the supply chain is maintained and respected, but the organizations harmonize their decisions by means of a business arrangement which can be facilitated via VMI (Bookbinder et al. 5550)

The continuity of products serves as another advantage for the retailer as it increases customer satisfaction and level of trust by virtue of the fact that there will be no time that customers will be turned away for lack of commodities at the store due to VMI’s real-time replenishing capacity (Pasandideh et al. 330).

The underlying advantage in all these is the fact that VMI enhances value creation in the supply chain as it not only reinforces the vendor-retailer relationship, but ensures cost savings for the retailers and facilitates satisfaction and trust for the customers (Bookbinder et al. 5553).

Moving on, it is indeed true that a retailer gains, at least in productiveness, profitability, and competitiveness, through the efficiency gains made possible by the VMI platform. Under this platform, not only is the retailer served by a sole supplier, hence ensuring cost reductions and harmonization of service in the supply chain (Bookbinder et al 5549), but the system is capable of realizing that the retailer has run out of stock of a particular product and immediately send an order for replenishment (Farhoomand 6).

Efficiency gains are further reinforced by this program as it facilitates coordinated decision-making, which then translates into lower shipping costs and enables improved utilization of resources (Bookbinder et al. 5549).

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Benefits and Pitfalls of Investing in a Unique Supplier of Vendor-Managed Inventory Case Study college essay help

Contemporary information and communication technologies (ICTs) are today, more than ever before, connecting organizations in new and novel ways and, as a direct consequence, allowing them to develop new and time-tested competencies for competing successfully in the ever turbulent business environment.

ICTs make it possible for organizations to corroborate not only on designing and improving products and services, but also on configuring new sales and distribution conduits, and on effectively and efficiently replenishing those conduits to minimize costs and maintain high standards of customer service (Duchessi

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Project Team Involvement in a Merger Research Paper online essay help: online essay help

Executive Summary This report discusses the use of project teams in achieving objectives of a given project in an organization. In this case, the report discusses the use of project team in a merger between Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Compaq companies in the computer industry.

The merger was important in trying to solve the crisis facing both companies. Although the management of these two companies enabled the companies to grow significantly, they failed in achieving set targets of their respective companies. These crises with both companies were accelerated by high competition in the computer industry. This led to an agreement between the CEOs of both companies to merger them.

The process of a merger between these two companies meant changes in human resource, communication and management. The report thus discusses how teams are used in the merger project to ensure its success. The merger starts with approval by stakeholders of both companies after a hard convincing by management.

The teams called clean teams are formed from employees of both companies. The clean teams adopted different strategies to create a unified culture out of the different cultures of the two companies. The team members carry out different responsibilities but reporting to two team leaders selected from both companies.

These clean teams are faced with conflicts regarding which aspects to adopt and which to drop from both companies. The aspects and products which are more advantageous are chosen while others are dropped. Those employees whose products are dropped lose their jobs but are compensated or taken in other jobs.

The management communicates either good or bad news to employees to gain their trust and reduce their resistance. The merger thus succeeds through use of clean teams to implement the project.

Introduction Organizations in the same industry normally compete against each other in the same market as they sell the same products. When the individual organization’s internal strategies fail to enable them meet targets, they face a great risk of failure. In the many options of trying to avoid failure organization in the same industry can merger to form one company which will succeed and comp­­­ete efficiently in that industry.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More This report discusses the merger between Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Compaq companies in the computer industry. This report analyses different aspects of the merger with emphasis on human resource, communication and integration of management (Piven 2001).

Merger Background In 1999, HP chose Fiorina as its CEO, who worked hard to transform the company old culture and structure as a way of improving it. Her work of pushing for more focus in services led to an increase of the company’s stock from $54.43 to $74.48 (Carleton, and Lineberry, 2004).

Though this was a great success to her, the company failed to meet its targets. The company started to cut down on jobs but with no success with its stock value declining significantly. The company’s internal strategies were not working anymore. Fiorina came up with the idea of merger between HP and Compaq through buying of stock (Williams 2001, 3).

Merger context The merger was to happen in 2001 with Carly Fiorina planning to acquire Compaq through buying of its stock. Fiorina wanted to acquire stock worth $25 billion from Compaq (Clegg et.al. 2009). Through this stock HP was to own 64 percent while Compaq would be left with a share of 36 percent.

This merger was expected to be completed by the first half of 2002 with the two companies becoming one. The merger was faced with opposition not only from investors but also the workers of both companies (Clegg, Kornberger and Pitsis 2009, 51). They criticized that the merger would not solve the individual company’s problems but would create a bigger unified problem for both.

Exhibit 1: Merger Summary

Structure: Stock-for-stock merger Exchange Ratio: 0.6325 of an HP share per Compaq share Current Value: Approximately $25 billion Ownership: HP shareholders 64%; Compaq shareholders 36% Accounting: Purchase Expected Closing: First half of 2002 Source: Press Release issued on September 3, 2001.

We will write a custom Research Paper on Project Team Involvement in a Merger specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Stakeholders The merger stakeholders were HP and Compaq with the management representing them in the process. The shareholders of HP were represented by their CEO Fiorina who initiated the idea of a merger between the two companies. On the other hand the Compaq company shareholders were represented by their chairman and CEO, Capellas.

Hp Company was begun in 1938 by two electrical engineering graduates named William Hewlett and David Packard (Hoopes, 2001).

The company was named after their names gaining the short form of HP. HP shareholding is thus centered on the family of these two founders as even Fiorina was the first CEO outside the family ties. On the other hand Compaq started by two senior mangers as a computer company in 1982 (Levine, 2005).

The two CEO from both companies started the idea to merge the two companies with a phone call conversation. During this time both companies were suffering from competitive prices in the industry.

These two managers eventually meet but first with the idea of coming up with competitive strategies which would enable both companies to meet their targets. Fiorina during this meeting came up with the idea to merger both companies through buying of stock. The two CEO came into an agreement of merger as it would prevent the two companies from failure.

The two parties having come into an agreement went to represent the idea to their board of directors respectively. Fiorina was faced with opposition from the stakeholders who saw the idea as a creation of a bigger problem (Williams, 2001). The stakeholders believed the merger would lead to loss of consumer loyalty with the new formed company.

But on the other had the CEOs of both companies saw it as the only way to cut the rivalry in conditions of expenses. Fiorina though faced with this opposition from stakeholders managed to convince them on how the merger would not only reduce competition but also cut down on production expenses.

Fiorina been a CEO was thus able to influence the stakeholders to accept the idea of a merger even though it was thought to create a big problem. She argued on the basis of reasons for merger stating that the merger was meant for consolidation and not diversification.

Not sure if you can write a paper on Project Team Involvement in a Merger by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Both the CEOs confirmed to the stakeholders the advantages they were to derive from the merger. The merger would create a stronger company which would mean increase in profitability through development. The merger would also enhance the ability to execute with integration of both management and strengths of both companies.

The stakeholders having agreed to the idea left their representation to carry out the management of the merger process. The integration of both management and cultures was used as the strategy to enhance the merger.

Organizational structure The organizational structure of both companies was to change to pave way for the merger and formation of an entirely new company. The roles of the managers and supervisors were to change in many ways with more and complex responsibilities emerging. The new structure was based on the four major operating groups to be formed.

Exhibit 2: Organizational structure

Adapted from 425 filed by Compaq with the SEC.

The four major operating groups included; services, imaging and printing, access devices, and information technology infrastructure (LaPlante, 2007). This new integration meant a reduction in the workforce which meant retrenchment of employees. Fiorina was elected as the chairman and CEO and with her experience in restructuring, she advocated for discipline and inspection in the integration process.

The organizational structure formed had included the integration office which was occupied by two integration managers selected from each company (Resnick, 2010). These managers created teams from other managers and employees from both companies known as clean teams.

These teams were to research on the culture and management styles of both companies and come up with ideas on her to merge them as one. The first thing carried out by these teams was assessing the cultural differences between the two companies.

HP culture was viewed as a culture where consideration, thoughtfulness and planning were applied (Fiorina, 2002). On the other hand Compaq culture was viewed to be ready to act. The employees of Compaq were seen to act fast after little debate and consideration.

Those employees which were experts in different departments of both companies were selected to form the integration team (Koontz, and Weihrich, 2006). Fiorina selected McKinney, who had served for long in HP in running worldwide sales and marketing, to be an integration manager.

His experience would were be applied in managing the integration process. On the other side of Compaq, Capellas selected Clarke who was the chief financial officer during this time, as Compaq’s integration manager. These two integration mangers came up with different ideas from their application of experiences with their companies.

These managers contributed greatly to the integration process by been part of the integration teams. McKinney identified that the companies’ strategies were similar and thus required no significant changes. Both companies applied same strategy from product point of view and to move to industry standards.

Through these similar strategies the team advocated for the need of one CEO and one country manager (Lee, 2004). On the other hand Clarke also made significant contribution through the clean team. Clarke advocated for the “adoption” strategy among senior managers which applied a buddy systems staffing plan.

Team responsibilities and roles in integration management This clean team applied the many strategies in the process of integrating both companies. The teams were referred to as the clean teams as members could meet in clean rooms away from their workmates they were used to. The teams could adopt different strategies in their responsibility of integrating both teams.

The strategy which was highly applied by the clean team was the adopt-and-go method (DePamphilis, 2009). The clean team could go into the field and carry out necessary research to make recommendations. These recommendations were based on a two way decagons, that is, the clean team could decide on which products to keep and which to eliminate.

The recommendations were made after the clean team evaluates the product, asset or internal system. The evaluation was meant to show which of company used a better version than the other. The better product, asset or internal system was kept while the other was done away with. This strategy allowed for faster integration process as it was faced with no resistance.

The employees whose product line was eliminated lost their jobs but were given chance for other jobs within the new company (Piven, 2001). The decisions made in the clean rooms by integration team were final and did not allow for further discussion.

In the integration role of the team members, adoption of the launch-and-learn strategy was adopted. With the clean teams having less time to carry out the integration process, the launch and learn approach saved time to wait and see the outcomes of decisions made.

The clean team also applied the use of launch-and-moose strategy in their responsibility to merger HP and Compaq (Gaughan, 2010). This approach was initiated to prevent as well as help solve the conflicts that emerged among the clean team.

Conflicts and differences were common in the clean team as it was formed by employees from different companies with different cultures. This approach enabled the tabling of differences and then the team could decide how to deal with them. This helped the clean team to reduce and avoid conflicts.

The clean team also applied the approach of watch-out-for-icebergs. Icebergs though seen above the surface of water, their bigger part is hidden underwater and not easily seen. This was the case for the integration process with many problems hidden from the visibility of the clean team.

Some issues in the merger were not well visible and could lead to its failure if not attended to like; leadership, governance, retention, and communications. With these invisible problems posing threat to the integration process, a Cultural Integration Team (CIT) was formed. This team was formed within the clean team itself (Federico, 2003).

The CIT introduced the “Fast Start” program which was to enable workshops for individual employee teams. These workshops were meant to help employees known each other, familiarize themselves with both companies and solve conflicts among themselves. This use of the CIT enabled employees from both HP and Compaq to adapt with working horizontally across the post-merger HP (Hill, and Jones, 2009).

The clean team selected from both companies used the horizontal reporting relationship among members. This was because the clean team did not consider nor apply the former roles and position of the team members.

The team members though having authority and responsibility differences before merger, were now equal and at same level. The leadership of the clean team was only exercised by the two integration managers selected by both CEOs from the two companies.

Merger development and conflict The clean team by now had developed and included many members from both companies. The integration process had now advanced that it was time to name the team which would form the new company’s leadership. This was a difficult task for the clean team to select which executives from HP or Compaq would occupy the top management.

In a four business group, HP now the new company announced the names of 150 senior managers to lead the organization across the world. This meant the company had done away with some managers and employees. To this effect the company human resource management offered retention bonuses to these managers and employees although most of them preferred to stay (Cumming, and Worley, 2009).

The clean team had to consider many aspects in selecting the merger team members and establishing their roles. First the clean team used the strategy of adopt-and-go approach to eliminate some managers and employees.

Those managers and employees whose product line or internal systems were eliminated were less considered than those whose were chosen. This was on the basis of who?, among both companies’ managers and employees were better experienced and qualified to run different aspects of the new HP.

The developed team to manage the new HP Company was likely to encounter conflicts due to culture differences of the employees from HP and Compaq. Thus their main challenge was to develop a human resource strategy that would maintain the standards both companies had before while allowing for cultural change.

The new HP had to create new unified culture among the employees to avoid conflict issue. The HP’s human resource manager saw the need to use good communication as a way to incorporate both companies’ cultures among employees. In the issue of eliminating about 10 percent of the combined workforce, this HR manager saw it essential to communicate these to the team members (Baque, 2003).

On the other hand the Compaq HR manager saw it inappropriate to communicate to the employees about the expected retrenchment due to restructuring of both companies. This conflicting issue made it hard to integrate both cultures in the shortest time.

The use of good communication was adopted after discussion by the clean team as the best strategy to avoid cultural differences. The employees of the new HP were thus given all the information regarding expected changes whether good or bad. This aided the employees to gain trust of the newly formed HP.

Conclusion The merger between HP and Compaq was a big challenge for both companies. Though a difficult strategy to adopt, the merger would enable both companies to solve the problem of not meeting their internal targets. The merger would also enable the companies to compete effective in the industry irrespective of the price challenges experienced at the time.

Though the merger had these advantages, it was faced with great opposition from both stakeholders and traders of both companies (Aqrawal, 2010).

The merge to them was expected to create bigger problems for both companies rather than solving current problems. This was a challenge for the management of both companies who saw the merger as the only way to solve their problems. The management argued the benefits of the merger and convinced stakeholders to allow it.

The merger was a big step for both companies and required discipline and massive inspection to integrate both companies. The use of a team combining employees from both companies allowed for a faster integration. The merger was faced with the threat of integrating both cultures of both companies into one.

In the integration process, culture differences led to conflicts between team members regarding different decisions to be made. Though the existence of conflicts the integration became a success.

Recommendations In a merger between two companies, the advantages and disadvantages of the merger should be clearly known by both companies. The effects of the merger to the two companies should be well explained to their respective shareholders to avoid their resistance and gain their support. The two companies should create a team from employees of each to carry out the process of integration.

The team members selected to drop their authority and responsibility from their respective companies to allow for a horizontal relationship between the team. The team should apply the approach of adopt-and-go in the integration process to make it quick and without conflicts.

Companies undergoing a merger face the great challenge of incorporating their respective cultures to one. These companies should use good communication among employees as the best tool to integrate both their cultures into one. The companies’ integration team should inform employees of both companies regarding expected changes whether bad and good.

References Aqrawal, R., 2010. Mergers and Acquisition – A Case Study and Analysis of HP-Compaq Merger. Ezine articles. Web.

Baque, H., 2003. Managing a successful integration, lessons learned from the HP/Compaq merger. Scribd. Web.

Carleton, J. R. and Lineberry, C. S., 2004. Achieving Post-Merger Success. A Stakeholder’s Guide to Culture Due Diligence, Assessment, and Integration. New York: Pfeiffer.

Clegg, S., Kornberger, M. and Pitsis, T., 2009. Managing

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Introduction Onboarding is the process of integrating and acculturating new employees into an organization by providing them with the tools, re­sources, and knowledge needed to become successful and productive. It refers to the mechanism adopted by organizations and companies to help new employees acquire the needed knowledge, skill, and behavior to become effective members of an organization (Bauer,

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Enhancing Pronunciation for ELL Students Research Paper best essay help

Conceptual Framework All the things that I do and all the choices that I have made in life have entirely depended on the background and the experiences that I had while growing up.

My conceptual framework is, thus, brought into being by the academic experiences I had in Harvard University while undertaking an undergraduate degree in linguistic languages and also by the technical experiences I had as a tutor for English at a local school in my community. I have a well-built conviction that the experience I had as a tutor has put me in a good position to handle this research and answer the questions that might arise.

Getting a job as a tutor at my local school made me realize the academic perspective of coaching languages. My teaching talent was as a result of the training I underwent during my undergraduate schooling. It is important to note that when teaching, the teacher has to confirm that all the students conform to the basic requirements of the education standards.

Through teaching I was in a position to gauge the students’ capabilities. I knew when a student needed help or when the student was satisfied. It is in line with this background that I developed the interest to help the students with their pronunciation in order to enhance the maturity of languages and also the individual development of each student.

Due to the fact that many students do not receive a thorough training on language pronunciation at an early stage, they lack proper communication skills. As a teacher, I am more enthusiastic about making out how I handle this task of enhancing pronunciation among the students.

One of the things I have learned as teacher is to put the interests of the students before my personal interests. A teacher is there to serve the students but not to be served.

Teaching is like creating something out of nothing; hence, it is not an easy task to teach somebody a new thing at an advanced age. When teaching, the teacher relies a lot on the assistance he gets from the parents of the students. It is therefore imperative for the parents to work hand in hand with the teacher for the well being of the students.

The motive of my Master’s Project has been backed by my undying love for established languages. I intend to reach out to students who are widely influenced by their mother-tongue in pronouncing the established languages. Through this, my research is viewed to contribute much to the society.

I will resort to offering advice with regard to enhancing the pronunciations because it is exactly what the community needs. Actually, this research topic is expected to attract other scholars to conduct a similar research with regard to the topic. The topic on enhancing pronunciation for ELL students need to be taught widely and evaluate d.

Epistemology The epistemology of my study is based on the cognitionist suggestions. This suggestion elaborates that the desire and enthusiasm to obtain knowledge varies from one person to another.

The process of knowledge development is evident to all students and it entirely depends on cultural norms and social norms. Even though the students have varied swiftness in terms of the yearning to access knowledge, it is worthy to note that the phases through which they make that progress remain the same.

It is required that the parents and the teachers of the students should resort to other better ways of passing out knowledge to the students. This notion came to me due to my encounters as a tutor. I met students who had varied ages and came from varied backgrounds and traditions.

Both the parents and the teachers have a big role to play toward creating a good atmosphere that enables the students to realize their true potentials and their significance to the society. Spelling and pronunciation are known to be going together; thus, it is upon the teacher to find out the best way to let the students realize by themselves the harmony that exists between spelling and pronunciation by availing to them relevant materials.

Under the cognitionist notion, both the teachers and the parents should let the students to make out inaccuracies and mistakes by themselves in order to raise the speed at which the children get to know new ideas. The students undergo through a lot of experiences during the learning process.

The cognitionist idea holds that the students can find a possible way to transform these personal experiences into practical ideas in real life. These experiences have a lot of relevance in terms of creating awareness to the children.

This argument can also be based on the enhancement of pronunciations in that the students can be able to relate their personal experiences to the real world and figure out a good way to enhance their pronunciations rather than relying on the different teaching techniques that are used by their teacher.

I have a strong feeling that when the students are given the time and the opportunity to learn on their own, their pronunciations can change in many different aspects.

In line with my area of specialization, that is, applying ELL in a two-language set up with the aim of enhancing pronunciation and evaluation in the society, the main suggestions under the cognitionist framework are revealed.

My research purposes not to seek for a single response, but rather equips me with a wide range of awareness with regard to the effectiveness of a bilingual set up on enhancing pronunciation to the students especially when they are still at a tender age. My research will also seek to find out the relevant books and evaluation methods that are beneficial in terms of teaching subjects that are in line with enhancement of pronunciation.

Paradigm My research will entirely rely on the interpretivist paradigm. In line with this paradigm, the transfer of knowledge to students will vary according to the backgrounds of the students and the level of experience that they have had on the course of their learning process.

When the students are exposed to varied bilingual environments, their enthusiasm and ability to enhance their pronunciations will rely entirely with the kind of interactions that they have had.

This is due to the fact that each different environment offers a different experience to the students, hence, changing them in a relevant manner. Pronunciation plays a greater role toward enhancing the writing skills of the students. Thus students with poor or improper pronunciation skills are always lagging behind in terms of their written communication.

When the students are exposed to the same bilingual environment, it’s not guaranteed that they will all have the same knowledge of pronunciation. However, it is my strong conviction that the teacher really plays a huge role toward enhancing the pronunciation skills of the students.

When the pronunciation skills are enhanced the students will be in a better position to interact freely and easily with their counterparts who come from a totally different environment. When this happens, the ELL bilingual environment will totally be changed. It is my belief that the students will change their attitude so as to welcome the pronunciation subject and have an increased desire to learn the English language regularly.

The ELL pronunciation techniques should be inculcated into the curriculum in schools so that the learning capabilities of the students are boosted in that, it will be so much easy for the students to capture pronunciation techniques and the meanings of the new words that they encounter in the learning process.

In addition, the inclusion of pronunciation into the curriculum enables the students to improve their reading skills, communication skills and writing skills. In general, the student’s grammar will be highly boosted and their speed of acquiring knowledge will be highly promoted.

When a student’s pronunciation is improved, his/her individual self-esteem will rise, thus, he/she will not feel inferior among the other students. In my teaching practice, I will subject the students to quizzes involving spelling and pronunciation skills.

The quizzes will be conducted in the classroom during the normal lesson time. Each student will work individually and each will be given a different set of quiz that aims at testing the spelling or pronunciation skills.

My research will be so supportive to me as it will enable me to learn and observe and assess on how each student interacts with somebody from a different bilingual environment. Actually, my research will be so much interactive as the students will largely participate by providing relevant explanations to me.

The kind of atmosphere that I will create in the classroom will enable the students to interact freely and have the feeling that they are part of one large family. This will motivate them to work as a team and give their views without any reservations. Therefore, it is true to say that each student has a different perception with regard to change as they encounter change at different times of their lives.

Theoretical Framework My theoretical framework is based upon the structural-functionalist and the behaviorism assumptions of educating, studying and interpreting. Apart from the structural-functionalist theory, the theoretical framework of this study is also based on the teacher development theory, cognitive theory and second language theory.

Teaching as an activity has several aspects. These aspects include social aspects, cognitive aspects, educational aspects and pedagogical aspects. Various studies have linked the experience and capabilities of the teacher to the success of the students in acquiring the second language (Lin, 2010).

Learning institutions need to be highly developed so as to positively contribute toward enhancing pronunciation skills within a given bilingual set up. In the recent years, several learning institutions have incorporated lessons that aim at improving spelling and pronunciation skills in their syllabuses.

Even though this move is considered to consume a lot of time and difficult to put into practice, many tutors have still widely endorsed the move. This has created the need for the school managers and other educators to come up with alternative methods of incorporating spelling and pronunciation techniques in the syllabus.

When the English language listeners enhance their pronunciation skills, it will put the students in a stable position to quickly capture what they are taught by the teachers. In addition, it will be so much beneficial to their interactive environment where they meet several people from different bilingual environments.

It is imperative for the students to improve their listening and grammar skills as this will provide them with an added enthusiasm to seek for more knowledge. English language is widely used in motivation of the students and also in teaching new ideas to the students.

The ability and strive of each and every student to develop the English language will determine the level at which the teacher puts additional efforts toward training them. The teacher, therefore, has to be able to evaluate whether the students have the ability to perfect the language further once they get the required knowledge.

It is, therefore, incumbent upon the teacher to wisely select the best teaching techniques and methods to use in passing out knowledge to the students. This will improve the level of student-teacher interaction and further create a suitable atmosphere for the students to advance in the learning process. Students normally require a more interactive teaching approach that promotes individual’s participation during the teaching time.

After having a well-built knowledge with regard to the relevance of enhancing pronunciation by the English language listeners, it is required that these skills be taught to the students in the class. The teacher will find it very easy when teaching students with varied ages, capabilities or from different ethnic backgrounds when their pronunciation is enhanced.

Through the teaching of reading skills to the students, the teacher always motivates them to practice reading continuously. Continuous reading enables the students to be much familiar with the English language and in the process, enhances their pronunciation skills.

It is also the duty of the teacher to avail to the students books that are full of language lessons. These language lessons play a very important role toward the lingual development of the student. This development is really necessary, especially when the student wants to enhance his/her pronunciation skills.

Literature Review Lin (2010) looked at the wide variety of factors that influenced efficient pronunciation skills and also factors that contributed toward the enhancement of efficient pronunciation skills.

It is a common notion that the age of an individual will affect the learning and pronouncing of new languages or foreign languages due to the fact that the individual comes from a certain bilingual environment and this bilingual set up can affect his/her pronunciation ability in one way or the other.

Different studies have postulated that the ability to enhance pronunciations can be improved through relevant training methods (Yamashita, 2011). In another study, an experimental group of people was given an opportunity to listen to native speakers.

After that, their pronunciations were compared to those of the native speakers and it was duly noted that there was a small difference in their pronunciation dialects (Howard and Millar, 2009).

There were great similarities in terms of their patterns of stressing words and the change in their tone when explaining various words. The ability of a person to enhance his/her pronunciation, therefore, depends on the prosody training. Prosody is taken to mean the patterns that exist in words of different stresses and pitches and also include the intonational patterns of speech (Lin, 2010).

In many instances, technology has been used in order to assist the students with the pronunciation of the second language (Lin, 2010). This technology has been widely used in various forms with regard to the requirements of the students.

According to Howard and Millar (2009), efficient training for the English language listeners should be undertaken so as to help them remove the mother-tongue influence in their pronunciations. The mother-tongue influence is very common especially if a person is learning the second language when he/she is at an older age.

Various techniques have been employed to enhance prosody and one of the ways is through visual displays. The use of visual displays is very instrumental due to the fact that exact sounds and outlines of prosody are captured, thus the students have an added advantage in terms of getting the correct pronunciation patterns.

The students will be in a position to know when they make pronunciation mistakes because through visual displays, they will be in a good position to see and hear the correct grammatical pronunciations. In addition, the students will be able to evaluate themselves through checking the accuracies and precision of their pronunciations (Yamashita, 2011).

According to Yamashita (2011), the use of podcasts, television channels and internet are the various forms of technologies that are used to enhance pronunciations. He further states that the use of internet has been so much on the rise of late. Teachers have found a way to use internet in the classrooms with the aim of helping the students to enhance their English pronunciation.

Howard and Millar (2009) also recommend the use of podcast (downloadable internet audio files) in the learning process. Podcasts help the teachers to put the linguistic pronunciations into contexts and plan for relevant initiatives that aim at enhancing English pronunciations.

In addition, podcasts help the students to avoid the hassle of taking much time to listen and to repeat the words and sounds due to the fact that the teacher has the ability to download the audio files and distributing to each student (Yamashita, 2011). Some experiments have been carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of podcasts toward enhancing pronunciations.

Some students were subjected to learning without using podcasts, while others were availed with podcasts. At the end of the experiment, the students who were subjected to learning without podcasts did not have an enhanced pronunciation as compared to their counterparts who had podcasts (Lin 2010).

Podcasts play a very important role toward the development of pronunciation skills of the students. Through listening, the students are able to improve on their communication skills and writing skills. The effect of mother-tongue dialect on the speech of the students will be highly minimized.

In addition, the students will be in a good position to interact with all kinds of people from diverse bilingual environments (Yamashita, 2011). Howard and Millar (2009) also attribute the development of pronunciation skills to the use of podcasts.

Incorporating spelling into enhancement of pronunciation Various studies have shown that both spelling and pronunciation go hand in hand (Sert, 2010). During the spelling of words, the students will entirely rely on the pronunciations of the words so as to figure out the correct spellings. As long as the pronunciations are encrypted in the students’ memories, the spelling becomes an easy task to fulfill.

The studies found out that the speed of spelling depends on familiarity with the pronunciations of the words to be spelled out. As long as the students are familiar with many English words, their abilities to learn more are boosted and enhance.

Sert (2010) explains that a group of students was given a task to work on individually, and they were given an explicit learning task that involved teaching sets of words on flashcards. The words selected were low-frequency nouns that students were expected to master, as declared by their teachers.

At the onset of the first trial, each student was given an opportunity to practice pronouncing the words. Sato and Suzuki (2010) emphasized that all successive trials tested their recall of the words and after the recall attempt, correct responses were provided to teach the significance of the words.

The practice went on until the students reached a criterion or a maximum number of tests whereby each student learned various sets of vocabulary words.

In the control experiment, the students learned spoken words without spelling that measured how quickly students learned the words as the learning trials developed, and how efficient they committed them to their memories them after a delay of 1 day. It is significant to note that when the recall of pronunciation of the words was tested, spellings were not introduced, so any benefit had to come from memory for the spellings.

According to Sato and Suzuki (2010), it is important to note that when spelling of the words were shown, no attention was drawn to their presence, and students had no need to decode them because as soon as the words were shown, the experimenter pronounced them (Hang, 2009). Thus, retention of spellings in memory happened incidentally.

The hypothesis tested indicated that students will learn the pronunciations and meaning of new words better when they see spellings of the words during study periods than when they do not learn (Hang, 2009). The explanation was that grapheme-phoneme connections would be activated by spellings and as a result would secure the pronunciations and meanings of words in memory earlier during learning (Sert, 2010).

Meanwhile, the students learn the pronunciation and the meanings of the vocabulary words better when they are exposed to spellings of the words than when they only practice speaking the words.

According to Gupta and Seyoum ( 2011), another reason is that spellings themselves become bonded to pronunciations in the memory and secure pronunciations earlier during the course of learning; thus, better pronunciations provide a stronger base for learning meanings (Hang, 2009).

Therefore, the cognitionist idea is applied here in that the teachers are required to become aware of the importance of spellings for vocabulary learning so they do not slight then in their teaching.

According to Grace (2010), when the teachers come across, speak, and put in plain words new vocabulary words to their students, they should take time to display the spellings of the words, for example when they are reading a story aloud to the entire class.

Chiang and Lin(2010) indicate that spelling of words are especially valuable for students who are learning a second language, and they help to clarify phonemes in pronunciations when students listen to spoken words while inspecting their spelling, thereby securing enhancement in pronunciation by ELL in the society.

The way to maximize chances that students will acquire full knowledge in pronunciation is to provide systematic phonics, word analysis, and spelling instruction during elementary grades (Gupta and Seyoum, 2011).

Testing ELL skills Chiang and Lin (2010) suggest that personal differences in ELL performance and acquisition ability are typically recognized and examined with respect to proficiency in a non-native language.

Although, general rhetorical abilities, involving such factors as choice of words, syntactic constructions, and appropriateness in the pragmatic context can also be seen as expressions of proficiency and enhancement of the pronunciation (Hang, 2009).

However, general abilities in speech production and perception as needed in normal communicative situations are by definition considered equal in native speakers not suffering from language of cognitive disorders. Meanwhile, all ELL should exhibit equal levels of pronunciation skills within their native language with an exception of those with speech impairments (Yamashita, 2011).

Therefore, Hang (2009) believe that teachers must know the effective use of Instructional Conversations to teach pronunciation development. To understand the nature of second language conflict from a developmental perspective, understand the elements that promote pronunciation skills.

Develop the awareness of languages issues, questioning strategies for promoting open-ended discussions and facilitating pronunciation skills, create a facilitative classroom atmosphere. This will anticipate difficulties of practice, and experience personal cognitive conflicts as the teacher tries to introduce the problem.

Howard and Millar, 2009 showed that when teachers have knowledge on ELL education and facilitate Instructional Conversations students is more likely to discuss the pronunciation skills found within the bilingual environment.

Specifically, Yamashita (2011) found that students were four times as likely to mention more subtle or problematic aspects of friendship in their written essays after the lesson than were those students who did not use Instructional Conversations.

In the process of enhancing pronunciation the change that occurs can be well figured out by bearing in mind aspects of the connection between internal, emotional or affective states and pronunciation (Grace, 2010).

The effect culture on ELL Social and cultural development comes with the ability to understand the cultural differences. It is considered to be a key element for maturity and can be used to enhance pronunciation to ELL. Souto (2009) found out that students had a nice ability to understand different cultures by reading multicultural novels.

Using cultural interaction and the idea of behaviorism we are able to conclude that the students were familiar with the fact that characters from non-dominant cultures functioned with a unique worldview that influenced their decisions, actions, and reactions (Grace, 2010).

The study shows that two-thirds of the students were able to relate to non-dominant groups when they were asked to assume the identity of a multicultural character found in one of the novels, which shows again that acceptance and understanding is taught and learned when practicing pronunciation.

Howard and Millar (2009) study show pronunciation a lesson that contains the multicultural theme helps students to better understand how people from backgrounds other than their own view the world.

In the research of the effect of behavior change on the pronunciation, indicated that pronunciation authenticity improved when subjects were administered by use of alcohol (Grace, 2010). It is believed to induce the optimal mental set with significant degree of muscle relaxation.

Gupta and Seyoum (2011) indicate that this mental set entails an enhancement of certain dimensions of the learner’s personality structure that was viewed as ego permeability that allow the learner to improve the pronunciation.

The significant key to initiate the change is to induce ego permeability that helps the ELL to overcome rigidity related to fears of appearing foolish. It also helps the ELL to deal with various kinds of stress that affect perceptible changes that are interpreted by others as change in personality (Souto, 2009).

Effect of pronunciation The act of coaching English pronunciation has been neglected by various educationists. In very many countries all over the world, much effort has been invested toward training students on effective pronunciation skills. This is due to the fact that the mother-tongue has a strong influence on pronunciation of the English words.

Listening and speaking skills are now incorporated in the school curriculum and are taught to equip the learner with adequate communicative competence. At the primary, secondary and tertiary level in many countries, an English pronunciation course or English pronunciation as a component in the languages course is totally ignored.

Various teachers suggest that language pronunciation is not essential. It is then evident that teaching ELL pronunciations has been granted minor privileges in the school curriculum, thus, the teachers should strive at improving the language pronunciation in schools.

Yamashita (2011) asserts that an absence of the pronunciation from the school’s curriculum is a good indicator of the fact that the syllabus has ignored integration of pronunciation, and materials used to teach ELL do not usually be embodied into pronunciation components and lessons.

Howard and Millar (2009) indicates that the local materials developers are either unaware of the importance of pronunciation or not capable of designing pronunciation materials or follow the wrong syllabus to teach the pronunciations.

Specifically, Hang (2009) found that syllabus material with the theme of pronunciation enhancement helps ELL with special needs gain insight on how to join groups. Whereas these types of materials helped students without special needs become more aware of their problems, and learn about their classmates’ struggles to enhance pronunciation.

Conclusion The enhancement of pronunciation is a very vital element of student learning and training skills. Pronunciation and spelling are complimentary, and thus in order to effectively spell words correctly, the students should have the ability to memorize the words. Pronunciation also varies from one bilingual environment to another and a student’s pronunciation is largely dependent on the ethnicity.

The students will have the ability to learn the pronunciations and meaning of new words effectively when they see spellings of the words during study periods than when they do not practice them.

The integration of pronunciation into the school syllabus will help to teach ELL pronunciation has shown to aid in students’ reading comprehension, aid in acceptance amongst students, provide therapy for students who are bullied, and teach students how to regulate their pronunciation.

The ELL must see how pronunciation intelligibility can be enhanced by techniques discussed under the literature review aimed at changing the pronunciation of ELL with different behaviorism traits. During the enhancement of pronunciation the change that occurs can be best understood by considering aspects of the relationship between internal, emotional or affective states of pronunciation.

In conclusion, the research assisted in finding out the reason why some teachers think that incorporating the pronunciation into the school curriculum is essential and will assist in the enhancement of pronunciation skills.

References Chiang, Y., Lin, L. (2010). Morphological and Syntactic Abilities in Taiwanese EFL Preschoolers’ Oral Narratives: The linguistic journal, Vol. 12, No.2, Pp1 – Pp21

Grace, Y., (2010). English Teacher Professionalism and Professional Development: Some Common Issues in Indonesia, Vol. 12, No.3, pp1 – Pp41

Gupta, D., Seyoum, G. W. (2011). The Influence of Motivation and Attitude on Writing Strategy Use of Undergraduate EFL Students: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives, Vol. 12, No.2, pp2-6.

Hang, P. (2009). An Analysis of a Hypothesized Model of EFL Students: Motivation Based on Self Determination Theory, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp1-pp51.

Howard, J. and Millar, S. (2009). Impacts of Vietnam’s Social Context on Learners’ Attitudes towards Foreign Languages and English Language Learning: Implications for Teaching and Learning, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp1-pp151.

Lin, L. (2010). English Learners’ Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in the Video-based CALL Program: The linguistic journal, Vol. 12, No.2, Pp1 – Pp213.

Sato, T. and Suzuki, A. (2010). Literary Texts in the Language Classroom: a Study of Teachers’ and Students’ views at International schools, Vo12, No.2, Pp1 – Pp21

Sert, O. (2010). A Proposal for a CA-Integrated English Language Teacher Education: Program in Turkey, Vol. 12, No.3, Pp1 – Pp31.

Souto, M. (2009). Negotiating culturally responsive pedagogy through multicultural children’s literature: Towards critical democratic literacy practices in a first grade classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9(1), 50-74.

Yamashita, Y. (2011). Second Language and Cognition: Conceptual Categorization of Count/Mass Nouns in English with Japanese University Students, Vol. 12, No.2, pp12- 20.

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Creativities and Boys Involvement Reflective Essay a level english language essay help: a level english language essay help

Introduction The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) noted that the creativity among children has to be enhanced by supporting their curiosity, exploration and play. It is also important to provide them with opportunities for exploring and sharing their thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

This can be achieved through art, music, movement and dance activities among others. Various ways can be used in achieving this through what the children see, hear, smell, touch and feel.

Also, this can be achieved through their expansion and communication of their ideas, thoughts and feelings by using various materials, suitable tools, imaginative and role-play, movement, designing and making, and in using a variety of songs and musical instruments (Department for Education and Skills (DfES), p 9; Allen and Whalley, p, 14).

Learning for young children is a rewarding and enjoyable experience in which they explore, investigate, discover and practice among others like developing their knowledge and skills and understanding their attitudes (Brunner, p 16). During the foundation stage, many of these aspects of learning are brought together effectively through play and learning.

To me, a well-planned play, both indoors and outdoors, is a crucial way in which young children learn with enjoyment and challenge. In playing, they behave in different ways: sometimes their play can be boisterous; sometimes they describe and discuss what they are doing; and sometimes are quiet and reflective (Bilton, p 41).

Under the Personal, Social and Emotional Development, children must be provided with experience and support to help them develop positive sense of themselves and others. They need this support in order to develop their emotional well-being by knowing themselves better and to understand what they can do.

Children should be kept interested and motivated to learn. They should be encouraged to try new activities, initiatives, and be able to speak in a familiar group. The purpose of this action research is to evaluate the effectiveness of an adult –initiated play in a pre-school nursery.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More I came up with the idea after my attention was drawn to a group of five boys who spent most part of their days playing games on the computer. Even though a sand timer was provided in the IT corner to encourage sharing; on several occasions, I had to intervene before other children could be given a chance (Allen and Whalley, p, 26).

After reflecting on this these observations alongside discussions that I had with the room leader, it became apparent that these boys needed extra support to become engaged in more creative activities. The main emphasis in the nursery was on free play; therefore, children were in total control of the activities in which they took part.

The boys preferred using computers compared to other activity, and they did not at any time engage in creative activities. They needed to be encouraged to take advantage of the benefits gained from creative activities, and if nothing was done to build their interest at that early age, it could hinder their learning and development.

A bit of structure was needed as theorist like Vygotsky believe in which will be revealed in my literature review (Vygotsky, p, 19).

That formed the basis of my action research which was “the importance of finding the balance between child-initiated and adult-led activities.” My research was on promoting creative activities under an adult leadership in the pre-school room.

In order to discuss this, I will be looking at adult-initiated and child-initiated activities, and the balance that needs to exist between them.

The importance of learning through play will also be discussed, as well as the importance of engaging children in creative activities. I will explore how my observation was done; how I planned my action of change; how it was delivered; what the final results were; the discussions on them and the next line of action.

We will write a custom Essay on Creativities and Boys Involvement specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Terminologies Action Research

Action Research is a practical approach to professional inquiry in any situation. It is a reflective process that allows for inquiry and discussion as components of research. It is often a collaborative activity among colleagues searching for solutions to everyday and real problems experienced in a setting or school. It could also be looking for ways to improve instruction and increase student or pupil achievement (Riel, p, 14).

Action research is a research needed to change practice when you realize that things are not going as planned or you need to implement a new initiative but you are unsure on how to do it effectively. It allows practitioners to address those concerns that are close to them; one in which they can exhibit some influence and make changes.

It is a way of learning from one’s practice by working through a series of reflective stages that facilitate the development of a better way of doing things. With time, action research will help unveil a deep understanding the way in which a variety of social and environmental forces interact to create complex patterns. Since these forces are dynamic, action research is a process of putting one’s theory into practice.

It runs in cycles; that is, one reflects on a practice; take action; reflect again on the result; and further action taken. The subject of an action research is the action done while the design may come from an individual. As it goes through cycles, it widens the number of stakeholders since it makes it more effective this way.

Change cannot be effective without the participation of an entire team, and is usually important to involve as much team members as possible or better still, involve everyone if possible.

Process of Action Research

The process of action research is a spiral form of research which involves different cycles. Therefore, the process goes like this: Study and Plan, Take action, Collect and Analyze evidence, Reflect on results and Study and Plan again and go through the whole process again. This is illustrated in the diagram below, and this cycle is what I will be using for my research:

(Riel, p 33)

For others, it is observe, reflect, plan and act, and observe and reflect on the results again and go through the whole cycle again. An example of this shown using the diagram below:

Not sure if you can write a paper on Creativities and Boys Involvement by yourself? We can help you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More McNiff (p 50)

Creativity

This is another terminology that will be used in this essay, and is fundamental to successful learning. Being creative enables children to make best connections between various areas of learning and thus enhance their understanding. This area of learning includes art, music, dance, role play and imaginative play. Creativity is viewed as “the minds best work” (Boden, p, 20).

Creative development is a key area within the EYFS: Children’s creativity must be extended by the provision to support for their curiosity, exploration and play. They must be provided with opportunities to explore and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings through art, music, movement, dance, imaginative and role play activities, mathematics and design and technology (DfES, p 11).

Through creative processes, children can develop concentration, problem solving, planning and persistence. Working together encourages a sense of self-respect and valuing others. Communication and language and literacy are also encouraged through speaking and listening, and creative activities like sharing resources.

Knowledge and understanding of the world is developed through investigations that occur when children are presented with unfamiliar materials.

Physical development is enhanced through creative lessons like when sculpting where fine motor skill happens, whereas gross motor skills can be enhanced through dance, poise and developing body control. In fact, all the six areas of learning can be affected by creativity. That is why creativity is critical, and every child must be encouraged to participate (Duffy, p 27).

For this to be successful, practitioners should create a stimulating environment in which creativity, originality and expressiveness are valued. There should be a wide range of activities that children can respond to so as to utilize their many senses and opportunities.

There should also be time for children to express their ideas through a wide range of representations. This would help if children work alongside other creative adults as they will help maximize results.

Play

Play is defined as behavior that is freely chosen; personally directed; and intrinsically motivated, and not performed for an external goal or reward. Play includes a range of self-chosen activities undertaken for their own interest, enjoyment and satisfaction that results for children.

It does not meet basic physical survival needs, but it does seem to support children’s emotional well-being, as well as a wide range of learning within their whole development. It has been asserted that play reinforces development and learning among children. Children spontaneously engage in play, although some may require adult assistance (Department for Education and Skills (DfES), p 9).

Literature Review Adult-led and Child-initiated Learning

Play is a vital aspect in a child’s development both physically and emotionally. However, my opinion is that it is not in the best interest of the child to be left alone to play all time, or left to choose what they want to do and when they want to do it most of the time.

This view is supported by Vygotsky (p 31) who stresses the importance of a supportive active role of an adult in maximizing children’s intellectual development. He also contends that children succeed in performing tasks and solving problems when helped by an adult.

Brunner (p 17) believes that an adult’s presence increases the richness and length of play. To him, the adults’ role is that of “scaffolding” the child’s learning. These arguments confirm that appropriate intervention and a structured approach to teaching are components of effective pre-school practices (Brunner, p 18).

Philosophers such as Piaget, an advocate of child initiated play, made a statement which implies to me that not everything is learned through play. In this case, other factors should come into force to enhance the other areas of child development.

According to Piaget, as much as play is important, it is not through play that children learn to wash and sleep. This means everything cannot be learnt through play. I believe that as much as children are allowed to play, some structures should be put in place as well.

According to Piaget, children act out their already established behaviors or schemata in play and adapt reality to fit these (Piaget, p 52). On using his daughter Jacqueline’s pretending to sleep as an example, Piaget wrote:

It is clearly impossible to explain this symbolic practice as being pre-exercise; the child certainly does not play like this to learn to wash and sleep. All that he is trying to do is to use freely his individual powers, to reproduce his own actions for the pleasure of seeing himself do them and showing them off to others, in a word to express himself, to assimilate without being hampered by the need to accommodate at the same time (Piaget, p, 53).

For Tina Bruce, she believed in the free flow of play and draws on the chaos theory as a model for play. She asserted that play is at its peak of fruitfulness when it is flowing freely. This meant that it is at this stage that problem-solving takes place and a symbolic representation of their experience occurs in a very creative, spontaneous and intellectual order.

Children need space and provision for this opportunity for this to happen in a very safe environment. In line with Bruce’s argument, children’s should not only be engaged in child-initiated activities all the time. There should be a good balance between child-initiated and adult-led activities.

There is need for free-flow and structured learning initiated by the adult, or in this instance, the early year’s practitioner. This will avail them of the opportunity to access other activities that they otherwise would not have been engaged in, especially, creative activities which will enhance their development (Bruce, p 56).

According to EYFS, in the delineation of creativity as stated above, there are various activities which children need to indulge in to help improve their creative thinking and build upon them. Scaffolding learning can provide a valuable tool for enabling children to develop creative thinking (Brooker, p 4).

In this way, the educator supports the learner to help build on his or her previous knowledge and learn new information in order to achieve the intended outcome of the activity based on the Vygotskian concept of zone of proximal development. This refers to the gap between what the child can achieve without help, and what the child can achieve with appropriate support (Vygotsky, p 19).

It is suggested that when children are supported this way, it help them explore the potential of ideas which in turn helps develop their confidence in their own abilities, and further refine and share their ideas with children and adults as well (Blandford and Knowles, p 27).

My primary concern in this research was a group of boys in the Pre-School. There is a presupposition in the common generalizations that boys are out-performed by girls which implies that boys are not as academically inclined as girls. There was the need to verify this claim scientifically (Connolly, p 46). Smith (p, 35) on conducting some baseline testing came up with findings like:

Twice as many boys as girls fell into the bottom attainment category as failing to reach accepted standards.

That girls outnumbered boys by about 30 percent in top group.

The explanation from scientist according to Smith also came up with the findings that there is a less brain activity in boys because of their testosterone production which starts at six weeks of a male embryo. This causes the corpus callous between the brains not to interact properly compared with that of females, which co-operate efficiently with each other (Smith, p. 37).

An example given was that in language development, girls use the whole brain whilst boys use only their left brain. Bearing this scientific fact in mind, I decided to always engage boys in the pre-school room. I based my decision to carry out this research after observing a group of about five boys were always on the computer playing games in the pre-school, or were out in the garden playing.

During the early days of my placement, I had to use a sand timer to encourage sharing the use of the computer. They resisted the idea of using the timer and did not want to give up on the time they had on the computer. After much persuasion, they would reluctantly allow other children access, and then they would run out to the garden to play for a while before coming back to the computer once it was free.

Planning

The purpose of my research was to see if I could engage those boys in other creative activities like painting, music and dance and role play instead of being on the computer most of the time. Even though some creativity could be achieved through ICT, engaging in other creative activities will be more enriching and shall broaden their knowledge and experience.

A variety of experience is what is recommended under the EYFS. This was to help them acquire huge benefits that comes with creativity and to give other children the chance to share the use of the computer as well. Engaging those boys in creative activities so as not to miss out on activities that were good for their social, emotional and physical development was vital to me.

I had to plan how much time the research would take since I was only there for a short time. I chose to run the action for over a week and decided to involve the whole team of adults in the room from room leader to agency staff.

The practitioners had to explain to the children about the activities for the day, explaining that every child would have a turn. The children would choose which nursery nurse they wanted, and what time they wanted to have their activity done.

By so doing, it gave the children an opportunity to have a say in what was going to happen. I then planned with my team of four adults who were to run the first session, the second, third and fourth. Two sessions were to be done before lunch, and the other two immediately after the group readings which usually took place after lunch.

The plan was that by tea time, all children would have a go and no one would have been left out. Once a group was going through with their activity, the plan was that I will be observing the children, and the room leader or any adult who was free will then observe whilst I take my group through the activity.

Actions

This prompted me to have a few discussions with the room leader and other adults in the room about this practice. Also, I enquired about what other activities these children could undertake in building their interest and awareness in the class room like art and craft area where a lot of creative activities were going on.

Occasionally, the boys would access the role play area or the construction area, but would never get involved in painting or any form of creative activity during the period of my observation. The room leader confirmed this, but she was of the opinion that there was no point in getting the children to be involved in activities they were not interested. She believed in child-initiated and led way of learning.

This resistance made it difficult for me to get my subject of action research across initially; however, I had to explain to her that giving all the children an opportunity of experiencing, enjoying, and above all learning from all the activities that were set up in their room was vital to their development.

I advocated for the importance of adult-led way of learning even though I believed in children being given the chance to have a voice in the choice of activities. They needed to be engaged and directed, and if nothing was put in place to support these children, they could be missing out on very important aspects of their early experience such as benefits derived from creative activity.

Having reflected on my observations and the discussions with the other staff, I decided to do this action research for the reason that as a good Early Years Professional, I should have high expectations of myself and others including the children and staff in my setting.

One of the key characteristics of the social pedagogue is the ability to reflect critically on one’s own practice and on the practices within setting, with strong self-awareness (Whalley, p, 52).

Skilled reflection was an integral part of decision-making, and if based on sound judgment, it offers a crucial aspect in the preparation to meeting the Early Years Professional standards, 38 and 39 which focus on leading practice.

The way to see oneself as a reflective practitioner and how to enable others become more reflective, and in particular, and how to analyze both strengths can lead to actions of change to develop areas in the setting (Whalley, p, 54).

This is exactly what I did in coming up with this action research. Therefore, I followed one of the key characteristics of a social pedagogue, which is teaching of younger children. The action ran for a week, and before the start of each day, the creative action that was supposed to take place was explained to them.

A small discussion then took place so that adults could explain further what needed to be done and how. This was also an opportunity for children to ask question that may be on their minds.

I divided the children into four groups with a nursery nurse of their choice, and the time slot they were supposed to participate in their activity. The adults were involved in an activity as much as the children during their turn. By the end of the day, everyone was supposed to come out with a painting of their favorite pet in the first day.

For the next four days, the activities were role play (doctors and nurses and mums and babies); card making; and clay modeling. On the fifth day, focus was on music and movements; we sang songs and danced to the favorite music. An opportunity was given to children to sing any song that they had made about their favorite pets. This made children to be interested and we all knew who had what animal as a favorite pet.

Children were encouraged to share and interact nicely with each other. While these activities were being carried on, two adults were observing what was going on. The observation was on checking to see how involved the children are; their interaction with adults as well as their peers; how they are sharing resource; and above all, how engaged with each other.

Results: evidence collected and analysed

The result was significant; the children were really engaged in the activities. In fact, as the days passed, some of them would come to school in the morning asking about what the day’s activity was going to be. The interaction between the children and adults was also improved. It felt as if the whole class had become lively.

The five boys did spent less time on the computer, and got involved in other activities apart from the days’ main programme. I was pleasantly surprised at the results the other practitioners came up with, and all their report and my own observations goes to confirm Vygotsky’s theory that an adult support leads to maximization of a child intellectual development.

Reflection and conclusion

Jones and Pound (p 23) states that leaders can encourage staff to develop action research. This research has enabled me to lead, practice and develop a learning community. By the end of my research, the children were actively accessing other areas in the setting instead of just using the computer. Further research needs to be done in this area because this is the practice in other recognized settings of high quality.

It is important for practitioners to share knowledge with other high achieving settings. Due to the brevity of my stay, I was unable to further develop this action. However, I have made an action plan to discuss with the manager on how best to proceed with this. I am of the conviction that children can learn more with the help of a supportive adult.

Works Cited Allen, Shirley and Mary E. Whalley. Supporting Pedagogy and Practice in Early Years Settings. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd, 2010, print.

Bilton, Helen. Outdoor Play in Early Years. 2nd Ed. London: David Fulton, 2003, print.

Blandford, Sonia and Catherine Knowles. Developing Professional Practice 0-7, England, Pearson Education Limited, 2009, print.

Brooker, Liz. Supporting Transition in the Early Years. Berkshire Open University Press, 2008, print.

Bruce, Tina. Early Childhood Education. Hodder Arnold Education,1997, print.

Brunner, Jerome. Child’s Talk: Learning to Use Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983, print.

Boden, A. Margaret. The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanism. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1990, print.

Connolly, Paul. Boys and Schooling in the Early Years. London: Routlegde, 2004, print.

Department for Education and Skills (DfES). Statutory Framework for the Foundation Stage: Setting the Standards for Learning Development and Care for children from birth to five (EYFS). Nottingham: DfES Publications, 2007, print

Duffy, Bernadette. Creativity and Imagination on the Early Years, Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2006, print.

Jones, Caroline and Linda Pound. Leadership and Management in the Early Years. Berkshire: Open University Press, 2008, print.

McNiff, Jean. Action Research, Principles and Practice. London: Routledge, 1988, print.

Piaget, Jean. Play, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood. London: Heinemann, 1951, print.

Riel, Margaret. Understanding Action Research, Centre for Collaborative Action Research. Pepperdine University, 2010, print.

Smith, Alistair. Accelerated Learning in the Classroom. Stafford: Network Educational Press Ltd, 1996, print.

Vygotsky, S. Lev. Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1962, print.

Whalley, E. Mary. Leading Practice in the Early Years. Exeter: Learning Matters, 2008, print.

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How Does Internal Public Relations Impact the Employee Productivity and Loyalty in Saudi Arabia? Proposal essay help site:edu

Table of Contents Contribution of the Study

Research questions

Research Objectives

Literature Review

Research Methodology

References

Contribution of the Study The success of any business organization depends on various fundamental issues, which have to be put into consideration by the management and other stakeholders. These factors have significant impact in determining and setting performance pace for the organization.

They create an environment that allows high productivity among employees. One of these factors which impacts employee productivity and loyalty is the internal public relations. In understanding the performance of any business organization, it is imperative to focus on the business environment which usually encompasses a wide range of elements that allow the achievement of business goals and objectives (Perner, 2008).

This study therefore intends to synthesize the issue of internal public relations and how it impacts the productivity and loyalty of employees in Saudi Arabia. In other words, this is a significant research that aims at unraveling fascinating information and facts, which have always been ignored by a number of managers and business owners in Saudi Arabia.

As mentioned above, internal public relations affect almost every business organization, not only in Saudi Arabia but also in other parts of the world (Keeney, 2011). How these factors are handled significantly influences the productivity of employees and their loyalty.

It therefore follows that the findings from this study will provide insights on how to promote good internal public relations in Saudi Arabia organizations with special emphasis on the Mobile Telecom Company.

Furthermore, this study will help managers to make adjustments to operate within an environment which promotes effective internal public relations. This could be achieved through training of managers and other stakeholders to impart them with skills and knowledge that would be helpful in appreciating the role of sound internal public relations (Holzer

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Supply Chain Game Report college application essay help: college application essay help

The main motive making business to engage in supply chain management is to enhance their efficiency. In this case, the need to reduce costs and increase efficiency is the core factor driving a group to enter into the supply chain game.

Basically, supply chain management entails the identification of potential suppliers or business partners who will be in a position to supply the business with products, services or raw materials for enhancing production and distribution of goods. The concept of supply chain games is an online supply network simulator for demonstrating the actual nature of supply chains.

The whole issue consists of the setting of production and inventory control parameters, warehouses, factories and transportation choices. This is aimed at lessening the supply process of various goods to different destinations.

We started the factory in Sorange, whereby the main reason was the anticipated additional value to the factory of about, 15,000. The processes of shipping, supplies and satisfying demand were undertaken so as to grantee quality and efficiency.

The acquisition of new supplies forms other factories like Calopeia and Entworpe was based on the need to boost efficiency and add value. Satisfying of quality was a key requirement for the company thus helping in realization of its objectives.

The main process by the team was to identify its needs in terms of products and raw materials. This is a vital and basic process in entering the supply chain games. This is followed by identification and contacting of potential suppliers. The evaluation of prices and other logistical issues of the suppliers are also put into consideration so as to enhance efficiency.

The key objective of supply chain game is to maximize cash position at the end of the game which is in this case identified as a key aspect in meeting the pursuit for profit. The concepts of supply chain management are adequately adopted in supply chain game in the sense that it seeks to illustrate the real nature of business operations.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More Some of the key aspects fostered in supply chain management include, logistics, forecasting, supply network design, inventory and production control. By adhering to these phenomena, business entities entailed in the practice of supply chain management are able to streamline its operations.

This enhances in the enhancement of efficiency in timely delivery as well as provision of quality services. This is so because the parties involved in the processes are put under strict supervision and evaluation to ensure high quality standards.

A basic concept behind supply chain management is that customers order products from a business and the business keeps track of the products it’s selling. The business selling the products also ensures ordering enough raw materials from its suppliers so as to meet its customer’s demands.

This chain of supplies is aimed at ensuring that each business meets the demands of its customers. It is the obligation of a business to put its supplier accountable for the quality and timely delivery of its supplies. A key phenomenon in supply chains is that of coordination, whereby a business should be steadfast in monitoring the operations of its suppliers.

It should be noted that each group has control over a certain group of supply chain. Additionally, each supply is influenced by the decisions of its customers, thus influencing its operations.

The supply chain game is guided by common principles and fundamentals. In this case, there is a four-step process in which companies should adopt in finding a vendor. Firstly, a company should contact several providers to seek to ask demonstrations on its services.

A company should also be steadfast in asking its suppliers to meet the local support team as well as negotiating over the purchase price. From another perspective, a company should select a partner and solution to its needs.

We will write a custom Report on Supply Chain Game specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More By adhering to these steps, the issue of supply chain management will be perfected thus enhancing success of the company. Other key aspects to consider in supply chain management are the aspects of platform, suites and assemblies. This will help in boosting efficiency in the issues of supply chains.

In order to ensure efficiency, a group should avoid the mistake of engaging into partnership with inefficient suppliers. This may be in terms of high pricing, delays in delivery and low quality. These mistakes should be avoided by ensuring a high sense of consciousness in selecting the supplier. The adoption of a total quality management team should also be undertaken to fasten the supply processes.

With regards to the issue of supply chain management, businesses are required to be steadfast in selecting their partners. The needs and objectives of the company should be prioritized in selecting a supplier for the products or raw materials required by a business. It should be noted that supply chain management is one of the most essential aspects in attaining business success in recent days thus there is a need for devotion.

Transaction History

Day Parameter New Value 730 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 15,000 730 Shipping from Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. truck 730 Satisfy demand in Sorange from Calopeia warehouse. allow 730 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Calopeia warehouse. allow 730 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Calopeia warehouse. allow 730 Schedule factory capacity change in Sorange 55 730 Shipping from Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. truck 730 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 200 730 Order point: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 15,000 730 Schedule warehouse in Sorange . 730 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 200 730 Order point: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 15,000 730 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Sorange warehouse. block 730 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. block 730 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Sorange warehouse. block 730 Satisfy demand in Fardo from Sorange warehouse. block 730 Shipping from Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. truck 730 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 730 Order point: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 730 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 200 730 Order point: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 1,000 730 Schedule warehouse in Entworpe . 730 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 1,000 730 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 500 730 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Entworpe warehouse. block 730 Satisfy demand in Sorange from Entworpe warehouse. block 730 Satisfy demand in Fardo from Entworpe warehouse. block 730 Shipping from Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. truck 730 Shipping from Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. truck 730 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 200 730 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 1,000 730 Order point: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 730 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 730 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 730 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 730 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 200 730 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 5,000 779 Schedule factory capacity change in Sorange 65.01 782 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 1,400 782 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 1,200 787 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 1,000 791 Schedule factory capacity change in Sorange 97.96 792 Order priority: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 4 792 Shipping from Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. truck 792 Order priority: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 793 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 1,100 793 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 300 826 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Calopeia warehouse. block 826 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Calopeia warehouse. block 827 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 400 827 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 600 830 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 15,000 830 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 1,000 830 Satisfy demand in Sorange from Calopeia warehouse. block 842 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 842 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 842 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 400 843 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Sorange warehouse. allow 858 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 400 859 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 859 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 859 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 200 860 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Sorange warehouse. block 863 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Sorange warehouse. allow 866 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Sorange warehouse. block 870 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Entworpe warehouse. block 870 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. allow 873 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 800 882 Change fullfilment policy. nearest 890 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 1,000 890 Order point: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 500 918 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 400 922 Order point: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 2,500 926 Order point: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 15,000 933 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. block 938 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. allow 944 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 1,600 949 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 949 Order point: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 967 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 400 971 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. block 971 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Entworpe warehouse. allow 976 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 976 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 984 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 400 984 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 500 1,008 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 5,000 1,008 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 500 1,035 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 1,000 1,035 Order point: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 500 1,035 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,035 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,037 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. block 1,042 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2,000 1,054 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Sorange warehouse. block 1,085 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 500 1,085 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 800 1,131 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2,000 1,131 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 1,000 1,132 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 500 1,133 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2,000 1,134 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 5,000 1,139 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 500 1,139 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 500 1,139 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,139 Order point: Sorange factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,139 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 400 1,146 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 100 1,146 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 200 1,146 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 75 1,155 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2,000 1,194 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 500 1,194 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2,500 1,236 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,236 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 5,000 1,242 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,242 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,260 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Calopeia warehouse. allow 1,260 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Sorange warehouse. block 1,265 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 4 1,265 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 400 1,265 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 75 1,266 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Entworpe warehouse. block 1,266 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,267 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,267 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 200 1,267 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 5 1,300 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,300 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 400 1,300 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 200 1,344 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Entworpe warehouse. allow 1,344 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. block 1,350 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2 1,382 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,382 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,382 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,382 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 400 1,382 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 2,000 1,382 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 2 1,382 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,386 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,386 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 4 1,390 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 1 1,390 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,391 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,391 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,391 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,391 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 2 1,392 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. block 1,393 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 200 1,393 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 1,600 1,393 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 4 1,393 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,393 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,393 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,400 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,400 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,400 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,400 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 400 1,400 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 2,000 1,400 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 4 1,401 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Entworpe warehouse. allow 1,402 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 200 1,402 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2,000 1,402 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 5 1,402 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,402 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,402 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,406 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,406 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,406 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,406 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 400 1,406 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 2,000 1,406 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 5 1,406 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Entworpe warehouse. block 1,406 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Entworpe warehouse. block 1,407 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,407 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,407 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Calopeia warehouse. block 1,408 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 600 1,409 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,409 Order point: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,409 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,409 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 400 1,409 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 1,600 1,409 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 5 1,410 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,410 Order point: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,410 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Entworpe warehouse. 0 1,410 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 200 1,410 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 2,000 1,410 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 5 1,419 Order quantity: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,419 Order point: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,419 Order priority: Calopeia factory to Calopeia warehouse. 0 1,419 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Calopeia warehouse. allow 1,433 Order quantity: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,433 Order point: Sorange factory to Sorange warehouse. 0 1,435 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Entworpe warehouse. allow 1,439 Satisfy demand in Entworpe from Sorange warehouse. allow 1,449 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Sorange warehouse. block 1,452 Satisfy demand in Calopeia from Entworpe warehouse. allow 1,452 Satisfy demand in Sorange from Entworpe warehouse. allow 1,452 Satisfy demand in Tyran from Entworpe warehouse. block

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Corn is Our Every Day Food Essay essay help online free: essay help online free

King Corn is a 2007 documentary film release directed by Aaron Woolf. The film follows two college friends Curtis Ellis and Ian Cheney (co-producers of the film) as they journey from Boston to Green Iowa in their mission to grow an acre of corn. The film explores health woes in America through the multifarious lens of corn, one of America’s humble grains, and how it affects the American society.

In the film, Woolf and his co-producers, Ellis and Cheney provide irrefutable proof that America is virtually drowning in corn. Corn starch, corn meal, hydrologized corn protein as well as high fructose corn syrup are ingredients used to fuel many cheap food products especially fast foods.

The film demonstrates that decision on what types of crops should be grown and how they should be grown in America are made on the basis of economic consideration disregarding social and environmental consequences.

After shockingly discovering (through a lab hair analysis) that corn forms the major part of their bodily composition, Chaney and Ellis decide to trace how their bodies ended up being made of corn. Woolf captures the 11- moth efforts of Ellis and Cheney, who trace their ancestry to the small town of Iowa to grow corn.

After meeting Chuck Pyatt, a farmer who willingly lends them an acre of land, the two meet historians, agronomists as well other experts for advice before the planting season (King Corn). With the help of other real farmers, government aid, and loadsof fertilizers, the two plant a whole acre of genetically modified corn seeds.

Prior to the harvesting season, Ellis and Cheney make a journey to trace where their corn goes to after leaving the grain elevator. To their amazement, they discover that their corn is destined for one of the two major American Industries.

That is corn syrup or animal feed. They travel to Colorado and compare the grass fed cattle to con-fed counterparts. They also travel to New York and explore the links that exist between corn syrup, diabetes and obesity.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More In response to the insights presented above it is clear that corn is a major contributor to obesity which is one of America’s major pandemic. As the demonstrated in the film documentary, corn is a key ingredient that quietly fuels almost every food product in the American society especially fast foods.

Almost all of these fast foods are rich in high fructose corn syrup that accounts for approximately 40% of caloric sweeteners used by industries in the United States (Liu p.1). According to a research by the Princeton University research team high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is highly responsible for the increase in the rate of obesity-especially child obesity.

Kids in America are growing in an environment full of products made of HFCS. This increases the chance of having obese children who will also drag this obesity to their adult hood. According to this release, Americans utilize 60 pounds of sweeteners annually which puts many people at the risk of obesity.

The study indicated that high and long-term consumption of HFCS leads to abnormally increased adipose body fat especially in the abdomen as well as increase in triglycerides (circulating blood fats) which are a sign of metabolic syndrome (Center for Consumer Freedom 106).

In conclusion, the film presents a behind-the-scenes picture of how Americans ignorantly put their health and lives at risk every day. The documentary prompts the audience to pay closer attention to the danger that lies in their everyday meals which are rich in corn syrup, a major contributor to obesity in America.

King Corn is a creative and effective way of driving the health awareness message home. The producers have been able to express scientific facts and studies that would otherwise be boring to viewers in a way that is both informative and entertaining. The importance of corn, which forms part of every American’s meal, is clearly and effectively highlighted.

The health implications of obesity have also been expressed clearly and the call to action is clear. The film urges Americans to consider what they eat. It also encourages them to read the fine print of food labels, insisting that the lives of their own families may be at stake. The film drives home the point that, one of America’s greatest dangers, may just lie in your next bite.

We will write a custom Essay on Corn is Our Every Day Food specifically for you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Works Cited Centre for Consumer Freedom. An epidemic of obesity myths. Washington D. C: Center for Consumer Freedom, 2005.

Liu, David. High fructose corn syrup the cause of obesity epidemic, new study suggests. Web.

Woolf, Aaron (Dir). King Corn. Amherst : Balcony Releasing, October 12, 2007.

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Week 6 Assignment: You Decide Census Paper scholarship essay help

Length: Fill out all cells of the Pre-Writing Map worksheet
References, with full reference entries in APA Style (minimum of 4 outside scholarly sources in addition to the textbook/lesson) for the paper

Instructions
In this week’s lesson, you learned about the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent racial and ethnic categories. For this assignment, consider the racial and ethnic categories used in the 2020 Census with the four racial, ethnic, and gender categories used in the 1790 Census: Free white males, free white females, all other free persons, slaves (Pew Research Center, 2015). Analyze the concepts of race, ethnicity, and gender as social constructs, just as sociologists do, by addressing the following:

Explain how you might have been categorized by the 1790 Census and how you would have been categorized by the 2020 Census.
Compare and contrast the two potential categorizations and explain how this exercise shows that the concepts of race, ethnicity, and even gender change over time. Most importantly, explain how this exercise shows that the concepts of race, ethnicity, and gender are social constructs.
Determine and describe what ethnic, racial, and/or gender categories, if any, would be best, in your view, for the 2030 Census, to most accurately show the diversity of the U.S. population and to promote social justice. What categories would be best to reveal the segments of the U. S. population most vulnerable to racial, ethnic, and/or gender inequalities or discrimination? What categories could be listed in the 2030 Census that might best educate the U. S. population on differences between race and ethnicity, and promote social justice? Explain your decisions
Include headings for each of the three main sections of the paper:

What the Census Might Have Called Me
Social Constructs
Better Future Census Categories
Each of the three main sections of your paper must contain scholarly support in the form of quotes or paraphrases with respective citations from assigned reading (the textbook/lesson) and the outside scholarly source that you identify on your own.

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Culture and International Business Research Paper cheap essay help: cheap essay help

Introduction Various scholars have defined culture differently. Recent researchers define it as the pattern of learned behaviors and outcomes of behavior whose constituent rudiments are collective and spread by members of certain society.

Culture entails shared principles, ideologies, value assumptions and beliefs of particular people. Geert Hofstede observes that culture is the combined indoctrination of the mind, which differentiates members of one group or class of people from another.

Culture affects many things in an individual’s life including social, political and economic (Guille´n 2001, p. 236). The most important is economic because people consume goods that their culture permits. It is not surprising that Europeans would have different tastes as those of Africans and Arabs. Several theorists have explained how culture affects consumer behavior.

Through analysis, it is established that one’s culture is superior to all others meaning that an individual tends to ignore the ways of living of other people. People rarely appreciate the culture of others. Any firm has a challenge of dealing with the influence of culture. Goods are produced and consumed globally implying that the firm should understand the nature of customers both locally and globally (Chatman

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Regional Trade Agreement Analytical Essay college essay help

Table of Contents Concept of Regional Integration

Regional Trade Agreement

How the EU works

NAFTA verses the EU

References

Concept of Regional Integration The term “regional integration” is not easy to define, but attempts to understand it have been made for years. In general terms, regional integration refers to the ‘unification of nation states into a larger whole’ (Viner 1). It has been commonly described as a process that entails a country’s will to share or unite into a whole with other states.

What determines the level of integration is what that country intends to share and the extent to which it is willing to share. Regional integration sometimes entails compromise on the nation states, but this should not be the case. It should actually enhance general eminence of existence for the citizens of the member states.

Regional integration can be also defined along the lines of geographic scope, the substantive coverage and the depth of integration. Geographic scope comprises the number of countries that are involved in the agreement. Substantive coverage means the activity that the integration entails or is involved in, for instance, trade.

Finally, the depth of integration is the extent to which a country is ready to give away its sovereignty. This means that a country can either be shallowly or deeply rooted into the integration.

Then, the question about the reasons for regional integration arises. Regional integration acts as a unity, especially in fragmented economies, like in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Integration creates larger markets to permit economies of scale wider competition and foreign investment.

It also accelerates the opening of enclosed economies to the rest of the world. Integration enhances credibility of national reform through lock-in policy mechanism. It goes ahead to strengthen unity for international negotiations. Finally and most importantly, integration helps avert inter-state conflicts (Viner 2010, p. 2).

There are other reasons for integration, especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa that brought about the integration. They are both traditional and non-traditional benefits.

Get your 100% original paper on any topic done in as little as 3 hours Learn More The traditional benefits include trade gains, increased returns and favorable competition, and finally, there was increased investment all over the continent. The non-traditional gains associated with the integration include among others mentioned earlier on, insurance and security.

Regional Trade Agreement Regional Trade Agreements have taken different forms since the 50s. It was in 1958 that the first form was established under the Rome treaty and known as the European Economic Community. It was a custom union according to GATT because it was mainly involved in the establishment of a common external tariff defined in the treaty as a common market.

The reason for this definition was because it provided for free trade in capital and labor coupled with goods and services (Lloyd 1). This had set a precedent that was followed by the others. In 1960, the EFTA was formed followed by the Latin America Free Trade Area in the same year.

Central American Common Market was founded the same year while in 1965, the Canada-US Automotive Agreement was created. The others were New Zealand – Australia Free Trade Area formed in 1965 and U.K.- Ireland Free Trade Agreement which appeared in 1965. In the 80s, other agreements came up, so their roots can be easily traced though the list is endless.

Trying to explain the differences in the RTAs in our quest, we can group them into different levels because by understanding these levels, we become aware of their functionalities (Mirus

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