Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Debate on Allowing Homosexuals to Adopt Children Essay

Debate on Allowing Homosexuals to Adopt Children - Essay Example This essay highlights that  the debate, in the public view, has less gay rights sympathizers with the majority, under churches and other conservative institutions, being against the idea of gays adopting children. The judiciary, however, has, by requirement, seemingly inclining to the side of favoring the push by LGBTQ since it relies on subjectivity. It does not take into account public opinion. Since empirical data does not suggest conclusively that children raised up by gay couples disadvantages them in their development, the judiciary has made the majority of its rulings to the favor of the LGBTQ. In Legislative bodies, the majority oppose the motion. The debate is however still balanced since such matters demand constitutional changes that require big numbers. The debate will in the Parliamentary context require an overwhelming argument to sway total consensus.From this discussion it is clear that there have been judicial and legislative manifestations of the debate as well as media publicity too. Initially, the Catholic Church and the society, in general, reacted murderously to homosexuality. It was illegal under the law, and one would be convicted for merely confessing love to a person of the same sex. The clerk denied the application and the couple sued him. The trial court sided with the clerk and even after appealing, the appellate court did not find the favor of the couple.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Traffic problems in city centres

Traffic problems in city centres Traffic problem has become a major problem in the word,it is obvious from the upsurge of private car use on the roads and the amount of problem they cause.Banning private cars in inner city is a blessing or a curse has sparked spirited debate. Admittedly, one might have benefited a lot from ones improved ability to move rapidly from one place to another space.Compared to other model, cars provide carring captivity and privacy,50% of commuters travel to work by car in London(Newman,1996).According to a survey,97,000 cars enter to central area between 7:30 am and 10:00 am.This may explain based on Figure3.3,it emphasize the fact that people spend money on cars reduced(exclude added costs) when travel the same trip,with 6% decreased from 1997 to 2004.However,the price of bus ticket and rail ticket has increased 10% and 4% respectively during the seven years.This may explain why more and more private cars are used. However, the massive cars enter to inner city cause some serious problems.The most significant problem is traffic congestion and this is evident in every morning and evening in rush hours(Figure3.1).Moving on a congestion road, speeds of traffic reduced to 6-10 km/h(Newman,1996).As figure3.1 indicates,moving on a congestion road,travel time increased more than 4 minute when drivers travel 1 kilometre.Moreover, sluggish traffic flow leads to high fuel and maintenance costs(Schuitema,G 2007).For instance,the cost of congestion in London is at least â‚ ¬3.5 bn per annum(Bailly). In addition,the growth in car use decreases the quality of life in urban areas due to exhaust gas and irritating noise,causing actual harm to people health.The WHO reports that in European more than 30% urban dwellers has been disturbed by irritating noise,and 5-15% of all citizens suffer noise disturbance(Bailly).The massive cars enter to central area takes the menace to the bicycle riders and pedestrians.The total number of deaths in Europe per year due to traffic accidents reached 45,000.Inadequate of parking car is another recognize consequence of the upsurge of private car enter to central area that result in many gardens and grasslands give way to construct traffic facilities like highway,avenues(Bailly). Because of these negative effect some people argued that private car should be banned to enter to inner city.However,if banning car enter to inner city will cause another problems.For instance,in Tokyo,the commute rail system has a over-loaded of 300%of capacity in rush hours so that public transportation fail to cope with the increasing transportation demand(Schuitema,G 2007).So,banning private cars in inner city could reduce the number of transport,it is most unlikely to be an acceptable solution. Statistic from the London Congestion charge Report are illustrated in Figure 3.1 which shows the problem of traffic delays has improved since implement charging during rush hours in the March of 2003. Figure3.1 shows the travel time saved about 1 minute compared with charging before.However, the development of national economy and the improvement of living standard,people afford to extra fee ,the problem picked up again in 2006.From then onward it fluctuated ,and the general trend was upwards.Therefore,an approach to control the number of private car use is focusing on the sales of the private cars(figure 3)and imposing of road tolls during rush hours which, as figure3.2 indicates,has reduced from 2002 to 2006 the number of cars entering to central area fell dramatically,with a 36% reduction,and vans ,lorries and other charging vehicle decreased by 13% respectively.In contract ,for no-charging vehicle rose sharply,such as the number of bus and coaches increased by 25%.Not only avoid common use of private car entering to center area but solve the under-use and serious wastage of the public transport in peak hours. To sum up,private cars indeed bring lots of benefit for urban residents,banning private cars in inner city will cause another problem.So government need make some methods control the number of cars,such as to impose charges,to establish bus lane and to subsidy the public transport fares(Newman,P1996) and people should reduce unnecessary daily commuting by car.

Friday, October 25, 2019

ratio analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Financial Ratios: What They MeanIn assessing the significance of various financial data, managers often engage in ratio analysis, the process of determining and evaluating financial ratios. A financial ratio is a relationship that indicates something about a company's activities, such as the ratio between the company's current assets and current liabilities or between its accounts receivable and its annual sales. The basic source for these ratios is the company's financial statements that contain figures on assets, liabilities, profits, and losses. Ratios are only meaningful when compared with other information. Since they are often compared with industry data, ratios help managers understand their company's performance relative to that of competitors and are often used to trace performance over time.Ratio analysis can reveal much about a company and its operations. However, there are several points to keep in mind about ratios. First, a ratio is just one number divided by another. Financial ratios are only "flags" indicating areas of strength or weakness. One or even several ratios might be misleading, but when combined with other knowledge of a company's management and economic circumstances, ratio analysis can tell much about a corporation. Second, there is no single correct value for a ratio. The observation that the value of a particular ratio is too high, too low, or just right depends on the perspective of the analyst and on the company's competitive strategy. Third, a financial ratio is meaningful only when it is compared with some standard, such as an industry trend, ratio trend, a ratio trend for the specific company being analyzed, or a stated management objective.In trend analysis, ratios are compared over time, typically years. Year-to-year comparisons can highlight trends and point up the need for action. Trend analysis works best with three to five years of ratios.The second type of ratio analysis, cross-sectional analysis, compares the ratios of two or more companies in similar lines of business. One of the most popular forms of cross-sectional analysis compares a company's ratios to industry averages. These averages are developed by statistical services and trade associations and are updated annually. Some of these sources will be covered later in this guide.Financial ratios can also give mixed signals about a company's fina... ...h ratio is also given. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios. Leo Troy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Annual. (REF HF 5681 .R25 T7)The source of all data are tax returns filed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The most recent edition covers approximately 4.7 million active corporate federal income tax returns, including those owned or controlled by foreign persons. The publication profiles corporate performance in two analytical tables for each industry. Table I reports operating and financial information for all corporations, those with and without net income. Table II provides the same information as Table I, but only for corporations with net income. It provides 50 performance indicators for each industry. At the end of each industry section, performance indicators for the last ten years are shown. Data are grouped into 16 categories by size of assets in each industry. About 180 lines of business are covered.Norms in actual dollars for revenue and capital factors such as net receivables, inventories, and total assets are given. It also gives average operating costs in percent of net sales for: cost of operations, pensions and benefits, comp

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Role of The Front Office

A security program is most effective when all employees participate in the hotel s security efforts. Front office staff play a paticularly important role. Front desk agent, door attendants, bellpersons, and parking attendantshave the oppurtunity to observe all persons entering or departing the premises. Suspicious activities or circumstances involving a guest or visitor should be reported to the hotel s security department or a designated staff member. Several procedures front desk agents should use to protect guests and property have already been mentioned. For example, front desk agents should never give keys, room numbers, messages, or mail to anyone requesting them without first requiring appropriate identification. Similiarly, the front desk agent should not announce an arriving guest s room number. Guest s may be further proteceted if the front office prohibits staff members frrom providing guest information to callers or visitors. Generally, front desk agent should not mention guest room numbers. People calling guest s at the hotel should be directly connected to the appropriate guestroom without being informed of the room number. Conversely, someone asking for a specific room number over the telephone should never be connected until the caller identifies whom he or she is calling and the hotel employee verifies the identity of the person in the room requested. A person inquiring at the front desk about a guest may be asked to use the house phones so that they connect only to the hotel operator. The caller can then be properly screened to provideadditional security. Front office staff may also inform guest s of personal precautions they may take. For example, front desk agents may suggest that guests hide and secure any valuables left in their cars. Bellpersons accompanying the guest to a room generally provide instructions on the operation of in-room equipment. The bellpersons may also review any decals or notices in the room relating to guest security. This should always include emergency evacuation paths and procedures. The front office may provide the guests with flyers containing safety tips, such as the example shown in exhibit 6. 5.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Inclusive Learning Essay

We cannot assume that just because a teacher teaches, a learner learns. The process is far more complex than one of received input and intended outcome. This is because teachers, when engaging with learners, are not involved in programming machines; the learning process involves humans who are diverse in their needs, development, attitudes, values and beliefs.  (O’Brien & Guiney, 2001, p. 2) Whilst studying inclusion for this assignment, I have learned much about the ways in which children learn. Yandell (2011) argues a similar point to O’Brien and Guiney (2001), which is that for pupils to learn, the learning needs to be more than a teacher giving mountains of information. Both in researching and in teaching a scheme of inclusive lessons, I have learned that teaching needs to be differentiated for the variety of children in each class. In my own experience, having taught a class consisting of thirty pupils, two of whom are hearing impaired children and seventeen pupils for whom English is an addition language, â€Å"reasonable adjustments† (Rieser, 2002, p. 259) made to make the curriculum accessible for one pupil can be greatly beneficial for others in the class also. Anything the teacher does in the classroom whilst focussing on one group will impact on the others. It is these reasonable adjustments which form the basis of inclusive learning, as the need s of each pupil will vary depending on anything from preferred learning styles to whether the child has a profound barrier to learning. Reddy (2004) writes about the needs of pupils with hearing impairments, and relates these to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. He also provides some teaching strategies to ensure these needs are met in order to allow a hearing impaired pupil to inclusively take part in the lesson. The lowest sections on the hierarchy are the physiological needs and the safety needs (Maslow, 1970, p. 22). In terms of planning inclusively for hearing impaired pupils, the reasonable adjustments should be to ensure the safety and physiological needs of all pupils are met. This influenced the lessons I have taught, as I have been sure to include a variety of visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile learning episodes. When straining hearing and lip reading for a long period of time in discussion, the eyes and ears can become sore and in need  of rest. It is important therefore, that I provide pupils with a list of key objectives and a plan prior to the lesson so that they are able to know exactly whe n it is necessary to listen hard and to ensure they are lip reading. The variety of tasks also allows for rest breaks for the senses which have been used earlier in the lesson, so that pupils do not experience pain and become frustrated and irritable. To help support this physiological need for comfort, I also ensure that background noise is at a minimum during learning segments when concentration is necessary, as without this it can be painful for a student wearing a hearing aid (Reddy, 2004, p. 178). Butt too, agrees that learning is a more social experience than a teacher transmitting knowledge to students. He states that â€Å"simply listening to the teacher will rarely constitute effective learning for most students. The teacher has to plan and prepare for all the students in the class – an act of differentiation† (Butt, 2006, p. 39). He continues, [as a teacher,] â€Å"your aim should be to keep all students engaged and interested in the learning that you are planning† (Butt, p. 40). He also discusses the reasons why this is difficult; there are an infinite amount of learning styles and educational demands in any one group of children. By changing the task and keeping a quick paced classroom for the hearing impaired pupils, each of their classmates are experiencing a variety of learning styles also. This is beneficial for keeping all my pupils engaged and interested in the learning. Likewise, in order for pupils to concentrate, silence can be beneficial more many more pupils than those who are hearing impaired for their physiological needs to be met. Also, providing all pupils with the same plan and key objectives prior to the lesson not only allows for the hearing impaired pupils to feel as though they are being given the same instruction as their classmates, but also provides all pupils with a prior knowledge of what is most important to listen explicitly to and to makes notes on, meaning more effective learning can take place. Therefore, I have come to understand this differentiation strategy as simply being best practice for all learners in an inclusive classroom. A number of researchers have argued that explicitly teaching the big ideas of a discipline is crucial for students with disabilities. Motivation is ensured when we continuously return to a small number of known big ideas (Gore, 2010, 76). If pupils are given a lesson plan and a very short amount of key objectives, they can see that their  learning is contributing practically towards something. â€Å"Motivation is an essential factor for learning to take place; it is considered to be the driving force behind learning† (Reddy, p. 178). Aware of pupils’ history Establish good relationships and trustEstablishing Lessons contain explicit valuemotivation Listen to all pupils patiently Accept all feelings, frustrations and fears (Reddy, p. 178) In terms of Maslow’s hierarchy, in order for pupils to feel comfortable they must feel some element of success in order to be motivated. Often, hearing impaired pupils show signs of difficulties throughout their academic career and this may become a reason for de-motivation. There are a huge number of inclusion strategies which can aid motivation, and thus maintain an inclusive classroom. OFSTED regularly report a lack of differentiation, appropriate challenge, insufficient motivation and poor pacing (Butt, p. 41). In a recent report, OFSTED wrote about motivation being the; â€Å"inspiring of young people, building their self-esteem and helping them to progress† (Ofsted, 7th Nov 2011). Learned helplessness is what Seligman (1975) calls low achievement motivation. In general, adolescents with learning difficulties demonstrate lower achievement motivation towards school work, except for in areas where they experience success. After repeated failures students quickly learn that they cannot succeed in school and become de-motivated and frustrated (Gore, p. 21). Frustration is reduced when students understand what they are supposed to do. Inclusive teachers communicate to pupils exactly what is expected to be learned. By providing both written and oral instruction sequencing is facilitated (Gore, p. 30). As all children have the right to learn, it is inclusive practice to ensure that all pupils know exactly what the instruction is. In my classroom, it is imperative that I repeat instructions as with seventeen students for whom English is an additional language and two hearing impaired pupils, there is a good chance that instruction can be misheard or misunderstood. Paiv io’s dual coding theory (1990) refers to teaching visually and auditory at the same time. It posits that the more neural paths that a memory involves, the  more likely it is to be accessed at a later date (Gore, p. 25). With my class, I have found that providing both oral and written instruction reduces frustration and increases motivation. The instructions given must follow three rules; â€Å"explicitness, structure and repetition† (Gore, p. 23). Even classroom rules can be displayed obviously in the classroom and referred to whenever they are broken by bad behaviour. Research has been done to show that students with learning difficulties are more likely to notice salient information than the critical information that teachers direct them to observe, as they have difficulty discriminating between the critical and the irrelevant (Gore, p 15). By reading and hearing a small number of bullet pointed instructions, confusion is eliminated and attention is captured, ensuring all pupils can understand exactly what is necessary for a task to be undertaken correctly. These instructions are given orally, shown on the interactive whiteboard and a copy given on work sheets to provide ample repetition. This allows for a much bigger chance of success and thus motivation for all pupils. Another way to ensure inclusion is the way in which you use room layout. In the class I picked for this assignment, I have chosen to seat both the hearing impaired students at the front of the class next to each other. This way I can oversee the work they are doing without causing embarrassment, and I can subtly ensure they are completing the correct task. I can also make sure that when I have finished explaining, they are the first pupils I go to when circulating the room. On either side of them I have picked a student from their friendship group who copes well with work. I think this works well, as when working in pairs, the hearing impaired pupils are less uncomfortable when talking either to each other or to their friends than they would be someone who they were nervous or shy about their impairment around. I can then have these pairs of friends be reading partners, whereby fluent readers help the other pupils who are less advanced in their reading skills (Fleming, 2000, p. 59). Pupils with hearing impairment often struggle with grammar and cohesion in writing; they â€Å"exhibit linguistic difficulties† (Reddy, p. 165). In order to combat this, schemes need to be planned with modifications not only to what we teach, but how we teach it in order to make the curriculum accessible for all the pupils in the class, for example as suggested by Purdie (2000), by teaching phonics (Clough, 2002, p. 165). Although planning has to be done primarily  on the class level, consideration of the need for differentiation in the case of particular individuals is suitable. Getting to know your students as individuals is therefore an important first step (Butt, p. 45). As writing can be a very solitary experience, this may not be the preferred learning style of the class. Writing needs to be scaffolded when this is the case, as it is for my class. When writing creatively, for example in the lesson where my students write a diary entry on a gas attack, we first looked at real gas masks, followed by real gas attack posters, and then created sentence starters together on the board. This scaffolded the writing process by providing opportunities for the auditory, kinaesthetic and tactile learners to learn at their fullest potential also. Reading makes up a large part of the national curriculum, and is something which the hearing impaired pupil can be given opportunities to succeed with. â€Å"Modelling and imitation are important learning processes† (Reddy, p. 167) and this is something which I carry out daily in the classroom, particularly when reading a text. I will model the most important sections of each chapter and invite other readers to read aloud other more descriptive sections. Although not always available, I would also aim to use a loop system which would enable pupils to hear the other, perhaps quieter pupils reading, more effectively. This ensures that I am able to assess how pupils can read aloud whilst allowing those who struggle hearing to understand the text thoroughly. However, in my class, for hearing impaired pupils and those for whom English is an additional language, reading aloud can be feared greatly. In order to provide inclusion for these pupils, it is possible for them to have prepared passages beforehand (Fleming, p. 59) by allocating sections to be read aloud the following week or lesson. For one of my hearing impaired pupils and for a couple of EAL pupils I selected, this worked extremely well, as the child was prepared for reading aloud and could practice the section in advance knowing that they would have to read aloud. I chose to not ask the other hearing impaired pupil to read out in front of her classmates, as her impairment is mor e profound and if affects her speech. She is very withdrawn and shy around most people in the class and I thought that it would be unwise to ask her and risk her embarrassment and further de-motivation. Instead, she is seated next to a friend for peer tutoring. This term refers to reciprocal tutoring of students with similar achievement which is  relevant here; the pupil does not struggle with reading alone as shown in comprehension tasks, but with reading aloud. Peer tutoring can increase pupils’ motivation and persistence because of the adolescents’ social drive (Gore, p. 64-65). It is for these reasons that peer tutoring not only benefits the pupil with a barrier to learning, but the ‘tutor’ in the pair also. I have therefore arranged the seating plan for all pupils to be seated next to someone with a similar ability, so that all pupils can benefit from peer tutoring. As learners handle content differently, they should be given opportunities to be more active than passive; understanding, processing, applying, storing and passing on information in peer tutoring is a good way to ensure all pupils have consolidated learning (Butt, p. 39). Becoming an inclusive teacher is particularly difficult when a trainee, as it is imperative that you know your pupils. Inclusion can be as simple as having a pupil’s favourite cartoon character appear on a presentation to increase interest and motivation, or needing to know their exact reading and writing ages or ability, so as not to de-motivate them with work which is impossible for them to complete. A competent and inclusive teacher will say, â€Å"this may be tough† instead of â€Å"this will be easy† to give room for students to feel inflated when they are successful (Reddy, 169). Once the teacher knows their pupils, work can be differentiated so that each and every one of the class has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. This could be in the form of preferred learning style, tailored resources, lots of formative assessment, higher/lower order questions, use of a teaching assistant and various other teaching strategies. It is important to remember when planning a scheme, that pupils may struggle and become de-motivated with one aspect of learning and thrive in another, and so therefore it is necessary that the teacher is a learner also. The most important lesson I have learned during my time with this class, is that successful inclusion strategies are not only for those pupils who you think may need it the most, but are beneficial for all pupils in the classroom. My idea of inclusive learning has altered hugely whilst researching for this assignment, as has my idea of what the role of a teacher is. The teacher’s main role is to ensure that all pupils learn, and that is simply impossible without inclusive teaching strategies being employed.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Entrepreneurial Qualities of Richard Branson and Their Impact to Business in the Virgin Group

The Entrepreneurial Qualities of Richard Branson and Their Impact to Business in the Virgin Group Introduction It is evident that modern business firms operate in an increasingly complex and competitive environment. Many companies are dealing in the production of either similar products or services or close substitutes. Therefore, business leadership has become one of the most admired qualities in doing business.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Entrepreneurial Qualities of Richard Branson and Their Impact to Business in the Virgin Group specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Modern business leaders are called upon to be more proactive and more entrepreneurial so that that they can be able to drive the business companies that they are leading to success. Success here refers to leading the company to make profits and attain a strong competitive edge over other companies. There are many Chief Executive Officers leading several companies in the world today. However, all of these CEOs cannot be termed as having the qual ity of entrepreneurship (Clark, 2009). According to Fletcher, 2002, entrepreneurial Chief Executive officers are those who are able to seek and build opportunities for the company using well informed business strategies. In the context of business leadership and management, an entrepreneur can be defines as a person who is able to lead the business to mold a business from scratch to greater heights. The entrepreneur develops unique qualities that steers the business through different business environment situation and ensures that the business attains success. An entrepreneur is the main defender of the business and the source of all the growth and success of the business. In other words, the success of the company lies on the shoulders of the entrepreneurial chief executive officer (Shaw, n. d).This paper is thus is going to discuss Richard Branson as one of the entrepreneurial chief executive officers in the world. The paper will discuss the personal and business qualities that de fine Branson as an entrepreneurial Chief Executive Officer. These qualities will be contextualized in order to clearly link Branson to the growth and business success of the Virgin Group. It is going to be argued in this essay that as an entrepreneurial CEO, Branson has become a main pillar of the Virgin Group. Therefore, without Branson, the company can hardly maintain the levels of achievement it has attained today. Brief history of Branson and entrepreneurship Grant, 2005 ascertains that Branson began showing his entrepreneurial qualities in the year 1967 when he quitted schools to launch a magazine. By then, he was only 16 years old. He believed in himself and in the idea that his magazine was going to help young activists in raising their voice. As is with many businesses, the magazine business had a lot of challenges. The business was not fetching money as had been expected.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your fir st paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, as a young entrepreneur, Branson did not give up in business. He quickly resorted to the business of selling records via the mail. He sold the records at highly discounted prices. He integrated the magazine business with the record selling business by running advertisements of the mail orders. Therefore, the magazine business was enhanced in that the adverts on the record mails attracted more people into buying the magazines. It is through this that Branson managed to rent a shop above a store that sold shoes where he opened a store that sold discount records. This store was dubbed ‘Virgin’ because it was a unique store in an area where such business has not taken place ever. Also the name ‘Virgin’ resonated from the fact that all the people involved in starting this business were brand new entrepreneurs who had not engaged in business before (Grant, 2005). As the store picked up, Branson faced many more hurdles one of them being an arrest for evading taxes. He was released on condition that he was going to pay taxes. Branson learnt from this experience. He began to formalize his business by introducing accounting and bookkeeping functions to help in monitoring and managing revenues. He continues in sourcing for opportunities and expanding his business. By the year 1983, the virgin business had grown to comprise approximately 50 companies with more prospects of growth. The business had diversified into different ventures. This is what Branson sought to achieve. Branson was also motivated by his spirit of anxiety which propelled him into wanting to do new and challenging things. Branson dared to do many things that seemed challenging and impossible according to his friends. However, his motivation and hardened spirit led him to achieving even in the most daring business activities. One of the most daring activities which Branson engaged in was the idea of launching an airline co mpany. This was also one of his biggest challenges (Grant, 2005). Overview of entrepreneurship qualities of an entrepreneurial chief executive officer It is important to understand the qualities that help CEOs to run firms to success. Chief executive officers are main strategists of companies. This means that they are the major determinants of the success of a business firm that they are leading. Therefore, a great chief executive officer is the one who crafts the vision of the firm and sets effective strategies that will help the organization to realize the vision. The CEO should be able to set a healthy environment which encourages creativity from the top managers of the company. The CEO sets and determines the business direction to be taken by the company. The CEO helps the firm in identifying the best market that the firm can enter and the best business opportunities for the company to venture into. The chief executive officer studies the market and the competitors and identifie s the best line of products that can bets suit in the market and bear profits for the company (Fletcher, 2002).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Entrepreneurial Qualities of Richard Branson and Their Impact to Business in the Virgin Group specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The other important role that has to be played by the CEO is the identification of differentiation and diversification strategies for the company. These are the major competitive strategies that help the company to gain a strong position in the market. All these lead to the establishment of strong brands for the company which results in great business achievements. Entrepreneurs go beyond the expectations as they do not peg on the statistics or common views about business but believe in making attempts in every venture. They do not rely on the interpretation of statistics but believe in risking to invent new ideas and moves in business (Fletcher, 2002). Richard Branson and the Virgin Group of Companies – initiating and controlling business growth Borowiec, 2008, argues that successful business leadership starts with entrepreneurial minds. Talking of entrepreneurial minds, Richard Branson had an elaborate entrepreneurial mind which led him to starting the Virgin Business. Richard Branson is undoubtedly one of the best known entrepreneurs not only in the United Kingdom but also the entire global scene. Branson is the brainchild behind the virgin business. He has propelled the Virgin business to what is today. He is argued to be the man behind all the products and services that bears ‘virgin’ as a brand name. Richard Branson has played a lifelong role in the success of the Virgin business making it tom produce brands that are now recognizable globally like the Virgin Airways. Branson has transformed a single business into a conglomerate of businesses under the Virgin banner. These businesses are now sprout all over the globe and are performing well. This is one of the most competitive brands in the world’s airlines industry which challenges even the oldest airline companies that began their yeas way longer before the commencement of the Virgin business. One of the greatest challenges of a business is to venture and succeed in a business field that is dominated by well-known world-class firms. The Virgin Group has panoply of business which range from wedding gowns to condoms, airlines and even financial services. Both of these businesses offing by the Virgin Company have proved competitive in that they are wrestling a market share from companies that produces similar or complement goods. The giant companies are feeling a pinch from the market competition generated by Virgin Group products. Branson has grown into a flamboyant business leader who commands enormous publicity for the Virgin Group. He is an admired entrepreneur and business leader in the entire world. He has been the base on which the Virgin Group business has expanded its reach and luster in the global business (Borowiec, 2008).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Branson and his tenure of management at the Virgin Group: a combination of entrepreneurial and leadership skills As mentioned earlier, the name Richard Branson cannot be separated from the Virgin Group of companies. Burns, 2008, supports the observation that Branson began this business and has been a major contributor in each and every development that takes place in the company. As it is now, the Virgin group is now comprised of over four hundred firms which have come courtesy of Richard Branson. Branson has ascertained that cultivating entrepreneurial spirit in the company is not a simple exercise. It needs hard work and commitment all of which he has put in the company. To sustain the running of the four hundred companies, Branson came up with a very brilliant strategy which has sustained good running of individual companies making up the Virgin Group (Mills, 2007). As the president and the chief executive officer of the Virgin Group, Branson sought to ensure that all the compani es making up the groups are run well. To achieve this, Branson realized the need to have motivated directors to run these companies. He crafted a strategy which ensured that each of the individual directors has a certain percentage of shares in the company which he or she is managing. This is a motivator of performance in the companies. The directors ruin the companies with passions knowing that the outcomes are beneficial not only to the companies but also themselves. This has really boosted the performance outcomes of the individual firms of the Virgin group. Branson ensures that the directors are well guided on how to drive business in the companies that they are running. Therefore, he does not just expect outcomes but he ensures that he sets necessary business steps to help in getting positive outcomes. Being entrepreneurial means that one is always busy with coming up with thinking and rethinking strategies of improving performance. One must be ready to fully commit him or hers elf to the business as he also embraces the aspect of delegating duties (Burns, 2008). As an entrepreneur, one must ensure that all the staffs of the company get to understand the vision and objectives of the company. It is easy to work on course especially so when all the employees and organizational leaders are aware of the course that they are working for. The chief executive officer in any company is the vision holder of the company. Branson ensures that all the employees of the company are on course by organizing for transformational seminars. In these seminars, they get to discuss the progress of business. They identify the hitches of doing business and the remedies possible to beat the hitches. He uses these meetings to challenge the staffs on how to work towards attaining the goals of the company. Transformational meetings and seminars have proved to be effective for the Virgin Group. They portray the business as it is and lays down the possibilities of changing or adjusting the course of working (Howard, 2010). Brands and branding is an important tenet of business more so in this competitive era. One of the most important roles of an entrepreneur is to brand the company as this is what will position the company in the competitive global market. If there is any are in which Branson has been successful both as a chief executive office and an entrepreneur, then it is his ability to brand the Virgin Group. First of all, Branson has ensured that he is the ‘first’ brand of the company. Branson has patented himself to the company and carries the company on his shoulders. Whenever he appears anymore, he is not just as a CEO or president. He is seen in terms of the company itself. This has helped in easing marketing and the conducting of public relations for the company (Kapferer, 2008). Branson has this character of pulling the media to the company and thus publicizing the company and its products. This resonates from his personal characteristics which he tailor makes to work in favor of the business. While many other companies spend a lot of resources in creating an image for their products and services, Branson only dedicates time to public relation thereby highly saving on business expenses (Borowiec, 2008). Branson is argued to spend a quarter of his time in conducting both direct and indirect public relations. He does this with vigor such that he fully attracts the media thence the public and by effecting attracting free advertisement of the Virgin Group and its products. This is contrary to many other Chief Executive Officers who dedicate huge sums of money for advertising and public relations. Branson is creative and innovative and always devices means of attracting the attention of the public without spending financial resources. The Virgin Groups has found an easy way of marketing and public relations which is its CEO (Dearlove, 2007). Branson has driven the company into fully discharging corporate social activitie s. In the recent years, Branson has been setting aside huge sums of money to help in fighting the effects of climate change and other corporate social activities. Corporate social responsibility has come to be an important parameter on which companies are judged by the public. Full participation and discharge of corporate social duties work to the advantage of the company (Dearlove, 2010). Branson has instilled the principle of time management in the Virgin business. He emphasizes a lot on the skill of good management of time in order to achieve the objectives of the business. Branson spends most of his time; about a third troubleshooting, a third on developing and enforcing charitable work and the remaining third on inventing new business projects for the company. He has fully put the company at the center of his plans with the company taking the highest priority (Brook-Hart, 2008). Rifkin, n. d, observes that Branson loves challenges in business and takes them as opportunities for growth. This is a rare phenomenon as most Chief Executive officers view challenges as obstacles to business which have to be fully fought using organizational resources. He is a daring business leader who approaches and confronts challenges head on. He is courageous and daring. This quality enabled him to initiate the Virgin Airlines which according to many was considered to be an overambitious and unattainable business for the Virgin Company. As of today, the Virgin Airlines is one of the most outstanding Airlines in the world’s aviation industry with big shares in the US, UK and Europe. He is guided by the motto of being the bets in each of the business which the company ventures into. He works on a conclusive assumption that significant profits prevails in even the smallest potions of the expansive business in the market. The success of Branson can also be associated with his ability to attract customers by taking their points of view and personalizing them. This makes it easy for him to introduce and implement these viewpoints (Haig and Haig, 2011). According to Mitchel who wrote in the British management journal, the winning formula used by Branson is found in the clashing business values of the 1960’s. These are money versus morality, company versus consumers, profit versus people, formal versus informal and big business versus the small consumers. Others are conventionality versus novelty, planning versus spontaneity, secrecy versus openness and hierarchy versus egalitarianism. Branson has always chosen the humanistic path and has managed in turning to the Virgin business. These values are synthesized in the five basic criteria of the Virgin products. These include high quality, innovation, good value for money, challenging to the prevailing alternatives and lastly is that the products must have a sense of fun. This has driven the venturing into several businesses with success being attained in every business that is ventured into. Busine ss Implications to the Virgin Group if Branson Leaves the Company Well, there are no prospects of Branson leaving the company. However, many people argue that the Virgin Group can suffer from major business shocks if Richard Branson was to leave the company today. Their argument is that the virgin business has so much been centered on Richard Branson to an extent that no other person is known who can publicize the company in the Absence of Branson. This according to marketing and branding experts was is one of the major shortcomings of Branson. Building the business around his name alone an overshadowing all other people in the company thereby making the now and the future of the company to revolve around him. This has risked the future of the business. There are a number of serious implications is at all Richard Branson was to step down as the CEO of the Virgin Group of Companies (Kapferer, 2008). The first significant effect will be a drop in business due to the shock and the effo rt to choose a person to replace him who may not match even a half of his impact. Therefore, the confidence of customers in the company will significantly drop followed by lapses in the share prices of the company products on stock exchanges. This can be equated to the case of Apple Incorporated and the death of Steve Jobs, its long serving ad most trusted CEO. The company shares dropped significantly as it struggled to cope with the reality of the demise of Jobs (Lynch, 2012). The other serious business implication will be a significant loss of publicity for the Virgin Group business. A lot of public relations duties are accomplished by Branson. Therefore, finding another person to conduct publicity the way Branson did can be quite challenging. Branson is known to be the main representative of the Virgin Business in the public domain. The Virgin Group may also be forced to pump huge sums of money in advertising the brands of the company; an activity that was easily accomplished by Branson at very minimal costs. The cost of running the business will thus shoot up resulting in the reduction of profits that are made by the company. This will also be combines with other disorientations in the company leading to a period of underperformance. The company can take a long time to learn to deal with the situation. However, the major supportive thing for the company to peg on will be the strong brands that have been developed by Branson. This was the case in Apple where the strong brands of products developed under Jobs helped the company to pick upon the demise of Jobs (Lynch, 2012). Conclusion The entrepreneurial qualities of CEOs are essential in business growth of any company. Richard Branson is among the most outstanding entrepreneurial CEOs. Branson started the Virgin business and through a powerful combination of leadership and entrepreneurial qualities has managed to develop ecstatic brands which cut across business borders globally. The Virgin Group can suffer from major business shocks if Branson leaves the company. Reference List Borowiec, A 2008, Facets model based on an entrepreneur Richard Branson. Web. Brook-Hart, G 2008, Business benchmark: Students book, Cambridge Univ. Press. Cambridge [u.a. Burns, P 2008, Corporate entrepreneurship: building the entrepreneurial organization, Palgrave Macmillan, New York. Clark, T 2009, Demystifying Business Celebrity: Leaders and Gurus. New York, Routledge Publishers Dearlove, D., 2007, Business the Richard Branson way: 10 secrets of the worlds greatest brand builder. John Wiley Sons, Hoboken, NJ: Dearlove, D., 2010, The unauthorized guide to doing business the Richard Branson way: 10 secrets of the worlds greatest brand builder, Capstone, Chichester. Fletcher, H 2002, Entrepreneur to CEO: The difficult transition, Harvard Business Review. Grant, R, M., 2005, Richard Branson and the Virgin Group of Companies in 2004, Case Fifteen. Web. Haig, M and Haig, M 2011, Brand success how the worlds top 100 brands thrive and survive, Kogan Page. London. Howard, C., 2010, Instant wealth, wake up rich!: Discover the secret of the new entrepreneurial mind, Wiley, Hoboken, N.J. Kapferer, J N, 2008, The new strategic brand management: Creating and sustaining brand equity long term, Kogan Page, London. Lynch, G 2012, Apple lacking quality control after Steve Jobs death, says ex-employee. Web. Mills, A. J 2007, Organizational behaviour in a global context, Broadview Press, Peterborough. Rifkin, G n. d., How Richard Branson Works Magic. Web. Shaw, B G, 2012, Entrepreneurs and enterprise. Web.

Monday, October 21, 2019

A Liberal essays

A Liberal essays One would think, after the 09/11 attacks against the world trade center and the pentagon, a liberal wouldnt believe in retaliation against Afghanistan because that would constitute perpetrating harmful acts. However the attacks of 09/11 were meant to cause terror, which is also considered a harmful act and god forbid that should ever happen to the United States. The goal of a classical liberal government is to give its people individual freedom, equal opportunity, and individual rights which includes keeping its people safe and preventing them from being harmed. Classical liberalism dates back 400 years ago and is a European rooted system. An example of an ideology of classical liberalism is that based on the premise that humans and chimps are ninety eight percent identical the two percent difference between the two, is that we have the capacity to reason and that we act in self-interest. This self-interest drives us to pursue individual freedom, and happiness. In classical liberalis m the obstacles to individual freedom are: Each other-we have a social contract with each other, Government, Religious conformity-religious beliefs are private, Poverty, Prejudice- not moving on from the past, Ignorance-not knowing. The key to liberalism is that your pursuit of happiness doesnt block anybody elses. The idea is equality of opportunity. In liberalism all men are created equally. A liberal can be whatever he/she wants to be, but also following the guidelines above. Liberalism promotes a level playing field. When the 09/11 attacks occurred the rights and safety of the people of this country were violated and being that the roles of the government as far as the classical liberal ideology is concerned are: Protection - to protect each individual form being harmed or feeling like theyre being harmed, which would block their pursuit of happiness. Also the Justice System which is a role of government is supposed to ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Straight-Tusked Elephant - Facts and Figures

Straight-Tusked Elephant - Facts and Figures Name: Straight-Tusked Elephant; also known as Palaeoloxodon and Elephas antiquus Habitat: Plains of western Europe Historical Epoch: Middle-Late Pleistocene (1 million-50,000 years ago) Size and Weight: About 12 feet tall and 2-3 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; long, slightly curved tusks    About the Straight-Tusked Elephant Understanding the Straight-Tusked Elephant requires a quick primer in modern elephant classification. Living elephants are represented by two genera, Loxodonta and Elephas; the former comprises two species (Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis) of African elephants, while the latter contains but a single species: Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant. Long story short, most paleontologists consider the Straight-Tusked Elephant to be an extinct species of Elephas, Elephas antiquus, though some assign it to its own genus, Palaeoloxodon antiquus. As if thats not confusing enough, this prehistoric relative of the Asian elephant was native to western Europe! Classification issues aside, the Straight-Tusked Elephant was one of the largest pachyderms of the Pleistocene epoch, standing 12 feet tall and weighing in the neighborhood of two to three tons. As you might expect given its name, this elephants most distinctive trait was its exceptionally long, slightly curving tusks, which it used along with its unusually long tongue and trunk to strip the leaves off trees. Judging by fossil remains, the Straight-Tusked Elephant roamed the European plains in smallish herds of a dozen or so individuals, and was eventually out-competed in its increasingly frigid ecosystem by the well-insulated Woolly Mammoth. (By the way, some experts believe it was the Straight-Tusked Elephant that spawned the Dwarf Elephants of the Mediterranean basin.)

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Literature Review of Business Coaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature Review of Business Coaching - Essay Example In order to go through a brief overview, books, published articles, journals, and online sources have been consulted and an attempt has been made to discuss various coaching models to identify the competencies of Human Development Model as best practices for business coaching. 2. Coaching Clutterbuck & Megginson, (2005:7) defines that â€Å"Coaching is an opportunity to call halt to the frenetic pace of doing and to re-focus on being. It enables people to challenge their routines, to take a critical look at what they are doing and why, to identify and commit to new performance goals and to work out how to overcome the barriers that prevent them being more effective in their work roles". Executive coaching is an interim interactive course of action associated with a coach and a manager to enhance the efficient leadership capabilities through the process of self-awareness and execution of new behaviors. This coaching wires the managers to develop their knowledge, skills, tools, and pe rspectives in the course of assistance, encouragement, and response in the organizational perspective. According to Hall, Otazo, & Hollenbeck (1999), clarity, honesty, and innovations play the key role in successful coaching process but Pilette and Wingard (1997) had different assertion. They mentioned that perception styles, behaviors, and insight for change were the main elements of executive coaching. In literature, coaching and mentoring have been used by many writers interchangeably however there are many scholars who have differentiated them with respect to activities (Burdett 1998; Minter and Thomas 2000). King and Eaton (1999) have described the role of coaching as to support the employee in terms of his or her emotional state and remedial of short term personal problems which are hazards to his or her job performance while Burdett (1998) and Hansman (2002) have taken the mentoring as a long process that emphasizes on the career progression and issues related to different as pects of the whole life. Pearson (2001) agreed with King and Eaton (1999) and distinguished the two processes mainly on the basis of time. For him, mentoring has broad perspective and deals with long term arrangements while coaching (may be some external support and not be part of same organization) is a short term discipline with limited role for the instantaneous performance improvement of organization. He deduced that mentors council whereas coaches instruct their recipients. 3. Coaching: A Literature Review 3.1 Coaching Competencies, Skills, and Responsibilities: Competency is basically an ability of managers to do work at workplaces. Meyer (1996:34) defines competency as the â€Å"integration of knowledge, skill and value orientation, demonstrated to a defined standard in a specific context†. Smit and Cronje (2002:18) were agreed with Meyer and referred to a competency as the related skills, knowledge, and value orientation which a manager is supposed to do. For Weiss (2 003:10) a majority of managers who fail to perform well in a particular business environment, struggle not on account of less knowledge or technical expertise somewhat they struggle due to having a low level competencies. He further defines the competency

Friday, October 18, 2019

World Civilizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World Civilizations - Essay Example It was also one of the greatest commercial centers of Europe during the Middle Ages. Byzantium gathered all the classical knowledge from the Roman Empire and tried to maintain and develop them. "Its rich historiographical tradition preserved ancient knowledge upon which splendid art, architecture, literature and technological achievements were built" (Wikipedia, 2005, par.19). It is likely that the Renaissance could not have been so prosperous were it not for the foundation laid in Byzantium, and the group of Greek scholars to the West the Empire had fallen. The power of its theologians was large and it influenced many Western scholars, and their subtraction from the "canon" of Western theology in next centuries has only served to weaken the canon and make it poorer (Cantor, 1963). The Byzantine Empire brought common acceptance of Christianity to Western European countries - possibly one of the main aspects of a contemporary Europe's identity. Under the rule of Emperor Justinian, Byzantium got the body of laws -the Corpus iuris civilis. This was not merely a prominent legal achievement in codifying Roman law, it was also the first organized effort to combine Roman law and jurisprudence with Christianity. Even though Byzantium would finally weaken in power, from the eleventh century, Justinian's Corpus iuris civilis became the basis of all European law and legal practice (except for England). In general, this set of laws prescribed tolerance to foreigners, liberty of thought within the frames of Christian Orthodoxy and general rights of the residents of the Empire. Attitude towards women was tolerant comparing to Islamic tradition. Monogyny was obligatory in Byzantine, while Islamic tradition practiced polygyny. In Byzantine, women were compared to children and seniors: they were the weakest and most vulnerable, so it was necessary to protect them. In Muslim countries, women were nothing but men's property, they were allow ed to wear determined kinds of clothes and had to behave according to the certain rules.Political intolerance predominated in Asian countries: foreigners had restricted rights and were allowed to visit only certain places (except the mosque and so on) and had to be additional taxes, such as jizya poll tax ; they were always treated as strangers and people of 'wrong faith'. Jihad ('holy war') was one of the main aspects of Islamic doctrine, so Muslims were free to deceive, betray (and if necessary kill) people of 'wrong faith' . "Nature guided the Muslims to develop values and ways of behavior such as: repression of the other (since in Asian life, a person either controls or is controlled); constant preparation for war in order to achieve hegemony; living in a patriarchal system; contempt for others and for culture; and an amazing ability to shift loyalties" (Memri, 2005, par.8). On the other hand, Muslims created magnificent culture, developed sciences (algebra, geometry, chemistry) philosophy, architecture and fine arts. Lustered glass was the most obvious Islamic contribution to modern ceramics. Manuscript illumination in Islamic world was famous and greatly respected art, and portrait miniature painting was widespread in Persia. By 364 AD, the Roman Empire had been completely split into two different states: The Eastern Roman Empire, and the Western Roman Empire. The Western Empire soon fell after the invasion of

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Individuals who qualify to be entrepreneurs must be creative with abilities to come up with solutions to curb the emerging challenges in the business atmosphere. As a result of their efforts to utilize the resources available and exploit the opportunities available, entrepreneurs enjoy rewards in the form of increased profits and strong customer loyalty. Leadership and creative characteristics of an entrepreneur One of the major leadership characteristics of an entrepreneur is the ability to form strong teams that are vital in the achievement of their own goals as well as those of the entire business. Additionally, management skills are essential for the success of any entrepreneur. For example, since most of the entrepreneurs are manage and control their employees without being accountable to the directors or other senior people, they should have excellent management skills. In this way, they are able to formulate effective policies that guide other employees in their responsibiliti es. In the same way, entrepreneur must have adequate marketing skills. In this way, they will be able to come up with innovative products that will effectively face off their competitors in the market. Skills in customer care and environment analysis are additional characteristics that assist an entrepreneur in maintaining high level of customer loyalty. Skills in environment analysis are fundamental in the sense that they helps an entrepreneur when undertaking a SWOT analysis especially when expanding his or her venture, while contemplating on going global or when forming merger with related firms. How to become a successful entrepreneur One of the major ways to become a successful entrepreneur is by doing what you enjoy most. By undertaking a business venture in the field that one enjoys, an individual will gain from personal satisfaction and financial gain. To ensure a successful business, an entrepreneur should adopt the culture of planning all his or her undertakings. Business planning is vital on the bases that it helps business owners in analyzing business situation thus making a viable conclusion. Additionally, business planning assists entrepreneurs in developing individual and corporate goals. Being used as a yardstick of raising the business to the next level, business plan is used by successful entrepreneurs, as an avenue of raising extra capital from the investors and financial institutions. Successful companies manage money wisely. In order to ensure that businesses meet the short-term and long-term liabilities it is fundamental to ensure that cash outflow is maintained at the minimum level while the inflows are maximized. A successful entrepreneur must be able to pay for the inventory and services as well as replace tools and equipments that are used in the production facility. One of the major ways of effective money management is to ensure that income generated from the exchange of goods and services is appropriately utilized. In this way, a b usiness is able to meet its goals. Secondly, an entrepreneur must ensure that adequate money is kept to cater for wages, supplies and inventory that are vital for the daily

Report on The Rose Theatre Kingston Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Report on The Rose Theatre Kingston - Essay Example Purposes that qualify a Trust to be a registered charity are â€Å"to promote, maintain, improve and advance education, particularly by the encouragement of the arts including the arts of drama, mime, opera, ballet, music, singing, dance, literature, sculpture and painting† (CC, 2010b and 2010c). To achieve this, The Rose plays an important role, which also justifies entering into funding and working partnerships with the Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames Council and Kingston University. The Rose is the â€Å"research laboratory† for the University, specifically its postgraduate Masters degree course in Classical Acting. The Rose is likewise the source of economic activity and the social and cultural revitalization of the surrounding communities (Rose, 2010a). According to its latest (2009) financial report, the agreements signed in 2008 with these groups guarantee annual funding of  £900,000 towards a yearly budget of  £2.3 million. Some of the Trustees are likewise from the University and the Council, helping the Trust secure funding from the Arts Council (CC, 2010d). The Rose Theatre’s executives are industry veterans Sir Peter Hall (Director Emeritus) and Stephen Unwin as Artistic Director and CEO. David Jacobs, Life President, is a retired broadcas ter. These three report to the 20-member Board of Trustees, whose task is to guarantee the execution of the charity’s strategies and purposes. Given its purposes, The Rose wants to attract people from surrounding communities of Kingston Upon Thames to watch performances. It also wants tourists from outside Kingston to patronize its shows. Among those in the community, The Rose wants a wide range of customers coming from a broad range of economic capabilities, from low-budget students to middle- and upper-class local and neighbouring residents and tourists. This is the primary

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Since ethics and profit are actually not related, what reasons are Essay - 1

Since ethics and profit are actually not related, what reasons are there to apply ethical standards to business at all Is it si - Essay Example For instance, gaining profit out of illicit or prohibited drugs is possible but this does not mean that the entire activity is accepted as a good act within the society. In fact, the term that something is prohibited justifies further that there is no good about it at all. Ethics and profit may not be related because businesses may come up with different strategic moves that at some point may compromise what is considered morally good within the society. Thus, specifically there is a defined concept within the society for the preservation of life and that everyone is expected to do what is good and right. In line with this, there is a need to understand what ethics is all about. What is ethics? Ethics is concerned about the study of what is to be done (Kerridge, Lowe and McPhee 1). In other words it deals with identifying what is right and wrong (Pojman and Fieser 1). The principles or idea of right and wrong are integrated with the world. From the very beginning, humans have already understood what is right for them and everything that will contribute to their survival is good and that what should be done among them. The trial and error process led them to learn and even until today because humans learned a lot from their experiences. Based on these experiences, the idea of what is good and right has remarkably uncovered. ... These rules simply try to protect the lives, rights and privileges of everyone. For example, a government may set a minimum wage program among private organizations or institutions. This is to be applied in order to set equal privileges among business men and their workers. In this way, workers are also ensured to receive what they deserve and exploitation will be out of the line. Some companies may come up with idea to generate more profit and one way of doing so is to cut the budget for those privileges that has been allocated for workers. The main issue in here is the generation of profit of business outside the bound of the social contract. Eventually, under the social contract an employee has the right to receive what is due to him. Thus, ethics may necessary be applicable in this case but there is really a need to apply it in order to emphasize the scope and coverage of the social contract and push every business towards its obligations in its employees and vice versa. . Busine ss is associated with the law Under the social contract, business is associated with the law. There are corresponding laws that business should adhere to. For example, every business should adapt a financial reporting standard. One purpose of it is to declare the right figure a company is making in its business in order to pay the right amount due to the government. It cannot be denied that various companies are trying to come up with different financial reports depending on their usage for the sole purpose of gaining considerable amount of profit, which is actually the bottom line of all. In some other countries, tax avoidance and evasion are prevalent it is because profit maximization has become a must. Tax evasion is a serious offense and it has

U1 Discussion Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

U1 Discussion - Coursework Example The DCHP allows the network administrator to supervise and distribute IP addresses from a central point (Morimoto, Noel, Droubi, Mistry, & Amaris, 2009). The DHCP server manages a pool of IP addresses about client configuration. The server assigned IP addresses that conflicted with other addresses because, first, in a busy network environment, an offline computer might have been brought online with a lease that it believes has not expired. On the other hand, the DHCP server believes the lease has expired. The server only checks the list of current leases to establish if an address is available and does not question the network to determine if an address is being used by default. As cited by Morimoto et al. (2009), the other cause of the IP addresses conflict may be malfunctioning of the internal components of the DCHP server. This causes them to lose track of which systems are utilizing which addresses. Another cause may be a similarly configured DCHP server is handing out overlapping addresses. Lastly, the two systems might have been assigned identical static

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Since ethics and profit are actually not related, what reasons are Essay - 1

Since ethics and profit are actually not related, what reasons are there to apply ethical standards to business at all Is it si - Essay Example For instance, gaining profit out of illicit or prohibited drugs is possible but this does not mean that the entire activity is accepted as a good act within the society. In fact, the term that something is prohibited justifies further that there is no good about it at all. Ethics and profit may not be related because businesses may come up with different strategic moves that at some point may compromise what is considered morally good within the society. Thus, specifically there is a defined concept within the society for the preservation of life and that everyone is expected to do what is good and right. In line with this, there is a need to understand what ethics is all about. What is ethics? Ethics is concerned about the study of what is to be done (Kerridge, Lowe and McPhee 1). In other words it deals with identifying what is right and wrong (Pojman and Fieser 1). The principles or idea of right and wrong are integrated with the world. From the very beginning, humans have already understood what is right for them and everything that will contribute to their survival is good and that what should be done among them. The trial and error process led them to learn and even until today because humans learned a lot from their experiences. Based on these experiences, the idea of what is good and right has remarkably uncovered. ... These rules simply try to protect the lives, rights and privileges of everyone. For example, a government may set a minimum wage program among private organizations or institutions. This is to be applied in order to set equal privileges among business men and their workers. In this way, workers are also ensured to receive what they deserve and exploitation will be out of the line. Some companies may come up with idea to generate more profit and one way of doing so is to cut the budget for those privileges that has been allocated for workers. The main issue in here is the generation of profit of business outside the bound of the social contract. Eventually, under the social contract an employee has the right to receive what is due to him. Thus, ethics may necessary be applicable in this case but there is really a need to apply it in order to emphasize the scope and coverage of the social contract and push every business towards its obligations in its employees and vice versa. . Busine ss is associated with the law Under the social contract, business is associated with the law. There are corresponding laws that business should adhere to. For example, every business should adapt a financial reporting standard. One purpose of it is to declare the right figure a company is making in its business in order to pay the right amount due to the government. It cannot be denied that various companies are trying to come up with different financial reports depending on their usage for the sole purpose of gaining considerable amount of profit, which is actually the bottom line of all. In some other countries, tax avoidance and evasion are prevalent it is because profit maximization has become a must. Tax evasion is a serious offense and it has

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Research Paper On Last 4 Stories In Book L.A. Noir

On Last 4 Stories In Book L.A. Noir - Research Paper Example He presents quality writing than his earlier writings. The book gives different explicit tales of people whose desperate or passion instances lead them to painful or violent ends. Top examples being, â€Å"What You See† and â€Å"The Method,† among others (Denise Hamilton 1) The author is an American; he specializes in crime related novels. He has been involved in editing such novels for years together with journals of the same class. The major themes in the novel are politics, history, culture, violence and diversity. She literally calls Los Angeles her home town as â€Å"The Ultimate Femme Fatale.† The first edition of the records gathered 17 short stories from contemporary authors living around her home city. She has also translated the book into Italian, French, and French. In the recent years, publications have been identified in U.K, Japan, France, and Turkey (Denise Hamilton 1). Proposal This paper examines the last four stories in the L.A Noir. It has an over view of the stories. It examines key characters and describes the themes prevailing in the stories. The paper also examines about the role of femme fatale in this art. Characteristics and origin of noir is also included. Thesis Story by Scott Phillips This is a perfect example of the collection. The story revolves around Tate, the protagonist. She is seduced by femme fatale in the purpose of incorporating him in a murder case. The lady had shot the man, who tempted to rape her, but she wanted to carry the responsibility with another individual; here comes Tate. The lady uses a long route in the aim of locking Tate in the room. She achieves this by offering herself for sex. The author uses this characteristic to make it attractive. The protagonist fights back after he realizes that he has been trapped. He pushes for the ambulance, but the lady is against it. In the long run, they come into a conclusion and gets away with the crime. The story has perfect flow of ideas. It explain s how cultural identity has been lost in the recent generation. Immorality is also a noticeable issue in the novel (Denise Hamilton 321). Story by Brian Ascalon Roley The story is a practical example of school violence. The elder cousin aims at comforting the younger one: veronica. She is stressed that her boy had been attacked by the elder boys in school. He was bullied too, and could not report fearing further consequences. The elder cousin deeply thinks to find a sustainable solution and make his cousin happy. They are tied by kinship tied and thus the courage from the elder cousin. He has the responsibility to ensure that his cousin is safe and has a smooth running, as well. It is evident that the noir revolves around different forms of violence (Denise Hamilton 327). Story by Robert Ferrigno The story is a summary of a violent action. It talks about murder; the main character, Yancy had applied his tactics in killing his colleagues in the name to protect the girl. Moral degrada tion and loss of cultural identity is the foremost subjects. Respect for human life is absent among character. The story fits in this noir because the gatherer of the stories has a passion for violent stories and other literal work (Denise Hamilton 336). Story by Diana Wagman The author gives detailed information about her history. She talks about how she grew up as well as how she lost her only parent. They lived in the city of Orange; this is the city she called home back in 1965. She inherited everything that her mother had, at

Monday, October 14, 2019

different cultural beliefs about death

different cultural beliefs about death Person, Culture and Medicine Alexandra Lamb â€Å"Human Behaviour is essentially the same across groups and populations.† Biological death is inevitable. For all humans, death is the exclamation point marking the end of a life, the end of a journey; however it is approached and for however long. This is the universal biological condition for all humans. According to Benjamin Franklin, â€Å"†¦Everything appears to promise that it will last. But in this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.† (Curran 1975) It is in how we live our lives that we see the breadth of human cultural and psychological variation (Seeman, 2010), leading us to discover a great diversity of meanings regarding death and dying, spanning across all groups and populations (Charmaz, 1997). â€Å"Cross cultural [variation embodies] not just different opinions or beliefs, but different ways of everyday living and different systems.† (Jecker Carrese Pearlman, 1995, p. 6) At the most basic level we are all â€Å"built† the same. Death is a complicated process that is the result of the breakdown of the body’s systems. We all live, until the chaos in our body, caused by either natural causes or a forced external factor, is too much for all the intricate systems to work together as a coherent whole (Badham, 1996). Despite the advancement of technology and medical progress, there is no stopping everyone eventually facing death. Whilst biologically we are all essentially the same, from a cultural and psychological perspective, we all behave very differently. This can be seen by considering the bond between a parent and a child, which is said to be the most significant, powerful and enduring human relationship (Parkes Laungani Young, 2003,). Thus, the death of a child is acknowledged as the worst possible event, one that gives the deepest emotional impact. In this tragic event, we can see marked behavioural differences across and within cultures and so it is a good example to use to examine the differences in human behaviour in the face of death. Nations, as well as individuals, all live with very distinctive ideas and beliefs around how to deal with death (Charmaz, 1997). Most cultures are similar in that they attribute unique significance to a child’s death. Biologically many aspects of a parent-child relationship are pre-programmed from conception however, each of these characteristics are developed within a specific family, social and cultural context (Parkes Laungani Young, 2003,). These wider influences are what greatly shape the meaning and experience of the relationship for both parent and child and thus influence the meaning of death. This makes the emotional impact of parental bereavement unique. For example, in Western Societies, parents are expected to grieve in private and return to normal activities soon after the child’s death, where as in Egypt, a mother may be withdrawn and mute up to seven years after the child’s death and this is considered normal. A Balinese mother would be considere d normal if she remained cheerful and calm after her child’s death, as her culture believes that emotional upset makes one vulnerable to illness (Parkes Laungani Young, 2003,). â€Å"Grieving and death rituals vary across cultures and are often heavily influenced by religion† (Lobar Youngblut Brooten 2006, p. 45). For example whilst the traditional burial is common around the world, the rituals that are associated with it vary. In areas influenced by Islamic and Jewish faiths, the corpse is washed and dressed in a shroud and placed in a simple wooden coffin (in areas where coffins are used). In China, where Confucian beliefs dominate, thick wooden coffins packed with clothing and shrouds are used to delay decay and in Christian-dominated regions, bodies are dressed in normal clothing and placed in a coffin made of either chipboard, wood or metal. (Canning Szmigin 2010) The combination of both structural (cultural) and individual factors that impacts the experience of death is dynamic. (Howarth, 2007) Not every member of a particular ethnic group will share the same beliefs and values and other aspects such as social status, economic position, gender, sexuality, age will also have an impact on experiences and beliefs which when combined give meaning to the experiences of death and dying (Howarth, 2007). For example, the prevalence of child mortality also influences the experience of death. In developed countries, where changes to nutrition and sanitation and the evolution of medicine have made childhood mortality rare, a death of a child is more likely to be perceived as tragic. Whereas in developing countries, where the death of a child occurs much more often and thus is considered inevitable, mourning may only last a few days (Parkes Laungani Young, 2003,). Each person has their own beliefs about death, which are generated through experiences at a social, cultural and individual level. Universally, there is a level of respect shown for the dead and there are different â€Å"accepted† practices depending on the age, gender, social status and cause of death of the individual. (Bradbury, 1999) However, all of the beliefs around death are determined by the way the individual lives, which is why there is such diversity with regards to the biological condition that is an inevitable human fact. Just in this discussion of how different people across different groups and populations approach death and dying, a lack of conformity with the statement â€Å"Human Behaviour is essentially the same across groups and populations,† has been shown. Parallels can be drawn between people, but vast differences can also be highlighted. (Seeman, 2010) We begin and we end in much the same way, but the way we live our lives is remarkably different . Much can be learned about the breadth of human variation by examining the way we approach death and dying: â€Å"Our ways of dying are our ways of living. Or should I say our ways of living are our ways of dying?† -Toloki the Professional Mourner (Seeman, 2010, p. 1) References Badham, P. Ballard, P. (1996) Facing Death- An Interdisciplinary Approach. Cardiff, University of Wales Press. Bradbury, M. (1999) Representations of Death- A Social Psychological Perspective. New York, Routledge. Canning, L. Szmigin, I. 2010, ‘Death and disposal: The universal, environmental dilemma,’ Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 26, viewed 28 August 2014, (electronic Scopus). Charmaz, K. Howarth, G. Kellehear, A. 1997, The Unknown Country: Death in Australia, Britain and the USA. Great Britain, Macmillan Press Ltd. Curran, C. 1975, ‘Death and Dying’, Journal of Religion and Health, vol. 14, viewed 28 August 2014, (electronic Scopus). Howarth, G. 2007, Death and Dying- A Sociological Introduction. Cambridge, Polity Press. Jecker, N. Carrese, J. Pearlman, R. 1995, ‘Caring for Patients in Cross-Cultural Settings’, The Hastings Center Report, vol. 25, p.6, viewed 28 August 2014, (electronic Scopus). Lobar, S. Youngblut, J. Brooten, D. 2006, ‘Cross-cultural beliefs, ceremonies, and rituals surrounding death of a loved one,’ Peadiatric Nursin, vol. 32, p. 44, viewed 28 August 2014, (electronic Scopus). Parkes, C. Laungani, P. Young, W. 2003, Death and Bereavement Across Cultures. Routledge. Seeman, E. (2010) Death in the New World- Cross Cultural Encounters. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Sleeping and Dreaming Essay -- Psychology Sleeping Dreams Essays

Sleeping and Dreaming Despite the large amount of time we spend asleep, surprisingly little is actually known about sleeping and dreaming. Much has been imagined, however. Over history, sleep has been conceived as the space of the soul, as a state of absence akin to death, as a virtual or alternate reality, and more recently, as a form of (sub)consciousness in which memories are built and erased. The significance attributed to dreams has varied widely as well. The Ancient Greeks had surprise dream encounters with their gods. Native Americans turned to their dreams for guidance in life. Shamans dreamed in order to gather information from the spirits. Sleep and dreams have defined eras, cultures, and individuals. Sigmund Freud’s interpretation of dreams revolutionized twentieth-century thought. Historical archives record famous short sleepers and notable insomniacs—some accounts reliable, some not. When Benjamin Franklin counseled, â€Å"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,† he was using sleep habits to symbolize his pragmatism. Important public policy issues have arisen in our modern 24-hour society, where it is crucial to weigh the value of sleep versus wakefulness. Scientific knowledge about sleep is currently insufficient to resolve the political and academic debates raging about how much and when people should sleep. These issues affect almost everybody, from the shift worker to the international traveler, from the physician to the policy maker, from the anthropologist to the student preparing for an exam. In 2004–2005, the Penn Humanities Forum will focus on the topic of â€Å"Sleep and Dreams.† Proposals are invited from researchers in all humanistic fields concerned with representations of sleep, metaphors used to describe sleep, and sleep as a metaphor in itself. In addition, we solicit applications from those who study dreams, visions, and nightmares in art or in life, and the approaches taken to their interpretation. We also welcome proposals about the effects of dreaming on the dreamer, and the resulting emotions, behaviors, and actions taken or foregone in response to dreams. In this Forum on Sleep and Dreams, we will see how the diversity of academic disciplines can help to answer important questions about sleep and dreaming—questions that may touch the basis of human intellect. The Forum is fortunate in... ...stingly, the same type of brain arousal takes place whether people actually do finger tapping or only imagine it. What surprised Sutton most, however, was detection of remarkably similar activity in much larger networks spanning areas of the cortex dealing with both input from the senses and output signals to the muscles. "Patterns of activity in small, more primitive areas of the brain are recapitulated in larger, more advanced parts," Sutton says. "This means that nature did not have to develop new rules of operation for different levels of the brain from small clusters of cells to large systems." In other words, as the brain evolved from a thimbleful of cells in a worm's head to the billions of cells with trillions of connections in humans, many of the same principles of organization were retained. Those similarities make it infinitely easier to make computer models of the brain. "We already have built models which allow us to understand what is going on more quickly," Sutton notes. "Many types of mental illness may result from disorders of this organization. Understanding the details of what is happening will allow us to help real people with real suffering."

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Fear of Polio in the 1950s Essay -- Disease Illness

Fear of Polio in the 1950s Paralytic poliomyelitis, "polio", held a reign of terror over this nation for decades. But unless you were born before 1955, polio may seem to be just another ephemeral disease that has been nonexistent for years. Those born before 1955 remember having a great fear of this horrible disease which crippled thousands of once active, healthy children. This disease had no cure and no identified causes, which made it all the more terrifying. People did everything that they had done in the past to prevent the spread of disease, such as quarantining areas, but these tactics never seemed to work. Polio could not be contained. Many people did not have the money to care for a family member with polio. This was one of the reasons the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was organized. The March of Dimes, the fund raiser headed by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, raised thousands and thousands of dollars to help people care for their polio stricken family members and to aid in the cost of research for a vaccine that would put an end to this misery that affected the lives of so many people. Poliomyelitis was the term used by doctors to describe the condition in which the gray (polios) anterior matter of the spinal chord (myelos) was inflamed (-itis). Until a cure was discovered, no one had the slightest idea where "polio" had come from or why it paralyzed so many children. People learned later that, oddly enough, it was the improved sanitary conditions which caused children to be attacked by the virus. Since people were no longer in contact with open sewers and other unsanitary conditions which had exposed them to small amounts of the polio virus as infants, when paralysis is rare, the dis... ...dy of Poliomyelitis, 1954" Medicine (September 1992): 316-320, at p. 317. 23. Smith, pp. 126-27. 24. Enders, pp. 317-18. 25. Dorothy Horstmann, "Three Landmark Articles about Poliomyelitis," Medicine (September 1992): 320-25, at p. 322. 26. Horstmann, p. 322. Bibliography Atkinson, William. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Washington: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1996. Beneson, Abram. Control of Communicable Diseases in Man. New York: The American Public Health Association, 1970. Enders, John. "Some Recent Advances in the Study of Poliomyelitis, 1954". Medicine. Sept. 1992: 316-20. (reprinted) Horstmann, Dorothy. "Three Landmark Articles about Poliomyelitis". Medicine. Sept. 1992: 320-25. Smith, Jane S. Patenting the Sun: Polio and the Salk Vaccine. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1990.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Poem “Frankie and Johnnie” Essay

The speaker of the poem â€Å"Frankie and Johnnie† is telling the story of two people that were in a relationship, where Johnnie was cheating on Frankie, and then Frankie kills Johnnie. The poem starts out telling the readert he backstory of Frankie and Johnnie. The speaker says that â€Å"Frankie and Johnnie were lovers†¦They swore to be true to each other/ As true as the sky above;† (ll.1,3-4)Then it goes on to say that Frankie bought Johnnie a lot of nice, expensive things and gave him a lot, if not all, of her money for presumably no particular reason. After that, Frankie goes away to Memphis for some reason and when she comes back, she learns that Johnnie has been cheating on her this whole time. â€Å"[Frankie] Gave her money to Johnnie, /he spent it on those parlour whores;† (ll. 23-24). Then Frankie goes down to a bar and asks the bartender if Johnnie had been there. The bartender says he had and he had been with a girl name Nellie Bly. â€Å"She said â€Å"Oh, Mr. Bar-tender, / has my loving Johnnie been here? / He is my man and he’s done me wrong.†/†¦But I saw Johnnie an hour ago/with a girl named Nellie Bly;† (ll.28-30, 33-34). Frankie then goes to the pawn shop and bought a gun. â€Å"Frankie went to the hock-shop, /Bought her a big forty-four† (ll.36-37). She finds Johnnie at a local brothel with Nellie Bly and goes upstairs and shoots him. â€Å"Frankie went down to the hook-shop,/ †¦there she saw her Johnnie / loving up Nellie Bly/†¦Roota-toot-toot, three times she shoot† (ll.41, 43-44, 63) Frankie then goes on to tell everyone to bring a hearse and she would bury Johnnie, and then to call the police and lock her up for murder. â€Å"Bring out your rubber-tyred hack, / I’ll take my man to the graveyard, / but I won’t bring him back; /†¦ Bring round a hundred policemen, / bring ‘em round to-day, / and lock me in that jail-house† (ll.77-79, 86-88). But before the police come she goes and tries to apologize to Mrs. Halcome but she won’t accept it. Then Frankie goes to look at Johnnie in his casket and wishes she could trade places. â€Å"Looked down at his face, / Said, â€Å"Oh, Lord, have mercy on me, /I’d like to take his place;† (ll.107-109). Finally, Frankie goes to jail and then gets hanged for killing Johnnie. â€Å"The Sheriff took Frankie to the gallows, / Hung her until she died, / they hung her for killing Johnnie,† (ll. 121-123) There are a few cases of figurative language in this poem. â€Å"Lovers† (l. 1), â€Å"swore† (l. 2), â€Å"true† (l. 2), â€Å"gave† (l.8) are all positive words that make you believe that they have a good, healthy relationship. But words like â€Å"wrong† (l. 5), â€Å"shot† (l.39), â€Å"hurts† (l. 74), â€Å"hack† (l. 77), â€Å"hearses† (l. 81), â€Å"graveyard† (l.83), and â€Å"coffin† (l. 106) are all negative words that lead you to the conclusion of Johnnie’s death. The theme of the poem is that there are always consequences for mistakes that you make. Both Johnnie’s and Frankie’s punishment was death for what they had done. Even though most consequences aren’t this harsh, the author exaggerates this so he could prove his point. This poem is tied to the real world because this poem is based on a true story of a woman named Frankie Baker, who was a prostitute, and how she killed Allen Britt, who was her pimp. Over the years, the story has had its discrepancies and a lot of the facts have changed, but the overall message is the same.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth Analysis

Wilfred Owen's Anthem for a Doomed Youth is exactly that, an anthem ( a solemn song) to commemorate the innocent youth, whose lives were taken to soon by war. By using the word anthem, he calls to mind the glory and honor of a national anthem, however; he goes on to explain that there is no honor or glory in death, pairing the words doomed and youth together creates so much sorrow as well, it provides a woeful impression as it foretells of young people having no hope. Written in sonnet form, it is an elegy for the dead.The octave deals with auditory images of war and death and the sestet deals with more visual images. Wilfred Owen masterfully uses both imagery and figurative language to convey his lament for these young people who died. In the octet of this poem (the first eight lines), Owen catalogues all the images of death, such as â€Å"passing bells†, â€Å"anger of the guns†, rattle of guns, funeral prayers, â€Å"wailing shells†, â€Å"bugles and sad shir es†. Many of these images are personified as well, such as the rattling guns and wailing shells.These images will be the funeral that the boys get, not the real one that they deserve. This personification contributes to the harshness of the images and creates auditory images for the reader. The reader can hear the sensory images. However, these images are also set directly against religious imagery, to further emphasize the destructiveness of war. The passing bells, prayers, choirs, and candles emphasize the preciousness of human life. Owen may go so far as to suggest that even religion is helpless against such a powerful destructive force as war.This tone is suggested by the fact that prayers and bells are set against a word like â€Å"mockery†. Just the term â€Å"hasty orisons† has a somewhat disrespectful tone. Owen's use of both similes and metaphors further emphasize the meaning of the poem. The first line jolts the reader with the simile that these young p eople â€Å"die as cattle†. The description depicts multitudes of people being slaughtered and the nature of war to be full of mass deaths. The similes showing how the soldiers are no more important than cattle which are lead to the slaughter without feeling.Owen gives the sonnet a powerful, negative connotation from the very beginning. He implies with this phrase a dehumanization of the soldiers as well as the fact that war causes human beings to treat each other as less than human. In line three, the reader can hear the sound imagery of the â€Å"stuttering rifles' rapid rattle†. The word â€Å"anger† in line 2 also emphasizes the destructive hatred of war. â€Å"Choirs of wailing shells† is a powerful metaphor in line 7 contrasting the world of war and the world of God. For the rest of the poem various religious images abound.For example, the word candles would call to mind the church candles, but they also mean the candles lit in rooms where coffins l ie. â€Å"Holy glimmers of goodbyes† (line 9) combines religious imagery with the idea of death. In the pallor half rhyme of line 11, these two words combine in one line to show the seriousness of the situation. Young people are dying in war, and it is tragic. The â€Å"flowers† of line 11 are also a double-edged sword. Flowers are given on very happy, momentous occasions, but they are also in abundance at solemn occasions like funerals.Furthermore, Owen compares the events of war to traditional burial rituals and describes how those who die in war do not receive proper funerals. In the first stanza, Owen references the â€Å"monstrous anger of guns† to â€Å"passing-bells† and â€Å"rifles’ rapid rattle† to â€Å"hasty orisons†. Usually at funerals or ceremonies for the dead there are bells ringing and prayers being said, but Owen shows that in war there are only the sounds of guns being fired. In war, instead of honoring those who h ave fallen, more are being killed by the same weapons.The last line in the sonnet remains the most powerful in re-affirming the themes and images of death in this poem. The â€Å"dusk is slow† and the â€Å"drawing-down of the blinds† signifies the ultimate death. The use of a traditional form like a sonnet only serves to emphasize the seriousness of the subject. Wilfred Owen masterfully juxtaposes images of war and church in order to emphasize the solemnity of the death these boys had faced. He uses metaphor and simile as well as auditory and visual images in order to allow the reader to truly experience what these boys faced in death. Maddi Cameron-Clarke

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Cialis Case

Cialis I. Problem: In this case, the main issue at hand is to decide an effective marketing strategy for the introduction of new product, Cialis by the joint venture Eli Lilly and ICOS. This strategy will help to recognize a target market and also the future marketing endeavors necessary to have competitive positioning in the market amongst Cialis’s main competitors, Pfizer and Bayer. Cialis has to choose among the alternatives: beat, niche and compete. II. Alternatives: 1) Follow Beat Strategy by differentiating its product from competitors by emphasizing on its duration i. . 36 hours, targeting men suffering from Erectile Dysfunction (ED) + Existing customer base + Can convince existing, new users and dropouts that it is a superior product + Customers can wait for right moment + Better onset time and duration + Doesn’t have blue vision side effect that happens in case of Viagra + Can convince Primary Care Physicians (PCP) and urologists of its benefits – Higher sales force needed to compete with Viagra’s effective sales force team of 30000 – Not safe with nitrates Time on Market is 0 compared to Viagra’s 5 years so Viagra has better brand reputation 2) Follow Niche Strategy by targeting Viagra dropouts estimated to be around 6-7 million as compared to Viagra’s current users i. e. 3 million + Can demand high price + The number of Viagra dropouts can grow with the launch and success of Cialis + Easy to focus target market – Low market share in total Erectile Dysfunction (ED) market – Difficult to convince users who have lost faith in similar product i. e.Viagra – Not safe with nitrates 3) Follow Compete Strategy and go head-to-head with Viagra’s positioning + Existing customer base + Alternative means to attract customers such as by convincing partners and people who think it will go away + Better onset time and duration – Not safe with nitrates – Difficult to convince ex isting users of Viagra – Difficult to convince physicians to prescribe Cialis – Higher sales force needed to compete with Pfizer’s effective sales force team of 30000 III. Recommendation:I suggest that Cialis should adopt the â€Å"beat† marketing strategy focusing on its high duration i. e. 36 hours to make it a differentiated product in the market. On conducting the need and performance analysis of key buying factors, the aforementioned strategy best suits for the product introduction. While there are drawbacks to this decision such as Viagra’s already developed brand reputation and fact that Cialis is not safe with nitrates, I believe that Cialis can successfully overcome these issues through its competitive pricing which can be similar to that of Viagra’s i. . $10 so that target customers can get more benefits (such as choosing the right moment for sexual intercourse) at the same price. Cialis should spend significant amount on initial p romotion of its new product through TV advertisement featuring famous personality (actor, politician, sportsmen), radio, social media and word of mouth. It also needs a high sales force (to compete with Pfizer’s effective sales force team of 30000) who can pitch the product initially in US and Europe where there is strong target market base and later on extend its focus on other countries.