Laughter the best medicine Essay

A good sense of humour is one of the most important tools in your self-care kit. In fact, studies show that laughter affects both your body and your mind. Laughter is also readily available, free, has no side effects, and you don’t have to worry about overdosing. Moreover, it’s good for everyone around you too. And laughter can relieve stress, boost your immune system and even change your perspective on things. Stress relief. Laughter lowers your blood pressure and pulse rate and helps your muscles to relax. It counteracts your body’s stress response by lowering the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, adrenaline and dopamine. In addition, it releases â€Å"happy chemicals† in your brain, leaving you with a sense of well-being or even euphoria. Increased immunity. Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of killer T-cells. This means a stronger immune system, as well as fewer physical effects and immune sup pression caused by stress. Pain relief. Laughter increases the production of natural painkillers, thereby improving our tolerance to pain. Muscle relaxation. Laughter exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterwards. It even provides a good workout for the heart. According to the late Dr Laurence Peter, author of The Peter Principle, the bigger the laugh, the lower the tension and the more long-lasting the relief. Perspective. Humour gives us an entirely different perspective on our problems. By viewing a problem a little more light-heartedly, it becomes a challenge instead of a threat, and your body won’t react with a stress response. This gives us a sense of mastery and control over our environment, which helps us cope with adversity. Distraction. Laughter diverts our attention away from our negative feelings like guilt, anger, and stress. Improved social interaction. Laughter is contagious. If you laugh, people laugh with you, even if they donâ⠂¬â„¢t always know what you’re laughing about. It connects us to those around us, and can even be used to ease interpersonal tension – crack a joke during your next heated argument and see the tension melt away. back to top How to lighten up Raise your laughter level with the following strategies: Surround yourself with humour. Watch a funny movie, read a humorous book or a comic, or listen to your favourite stand-up comedian. When you’re stressed at work, take ten minutes to read jokes on the Internet or listen to something silly on your iPod. Laugh with a friend or colleague. People tend to laugh more in social situations, so share the funnies with a friend. It will strengthen your relationship and the contagious effects of laughter may mean you’ll laugh more than you otherwise would have. Look for humour in everyday life. Why wait to â€Å"look back on it and laugh†? Find the humour in every situation, even the stressful and unpleasant ones, and enjoy a good giggle now. Laugh at yourself. Poke fun at your own behaviour and idiosyncrasies. As the saying goes, â€Å"Laugh at yourself and the world laughs with you.† Comedian Bill Cosby once said, â€Å"If you can laugh at it, you can survive it†. With the improved immune system, reduce stress ed, better coping ability and positive attitude that comes with laughter, you can survive almost anything too.

Introduction to Unilever Essay

Unilever is a British–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. It is the world’s third-largest consumer goods company measured by 2011 revenues (after Procter & Gamble and Nestle) and the world’s largest maker of ice cream. Unilever is a dual-listed company consisting of Unilever N. V. in Rotterdam, Netherlands and Unilever PLC in London, United Kingdom. Both Unilever companies have the same directors and they operate as a single business. The current non-executive Chairman of Unilever N. V. and PLC is Michael Treschow while Paul Polman is Group Chief Executive. Unilever owns over 400 brands, amongst the largest selling of which are Aviance, Axe/Lynx, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Flora/Becel, Heartbrand, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Lipton, Lux/Radox, Omo/Surf, Rexona/Sure, Sunsilk, Toni & Guy, TRESemme, VO5 and Wish-Bone. Unilever PLC had a market capitalisation of ? 27. 3 billion as of 23 December 2011, the 18th-largest of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange. 1930 to 2001 See more: how to start a paragraph Lever House in New York City, which was the United States headquarters of Unilever from 1952 to 1997 Unilever was founded on 1 January 1930 by Antonius Johannes Jurgens, Samuel van den Bergh and William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme. The amalgamation of the operations of British soapmaker Lever Brothers and Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie (a 1927 amalgamation of Anton Jurgens Margarinefabrieken N. V. and Samuel van den Bergh) made sound commercial sense, as palm oil was a major raw material for both margarines, and soaps, and could be imported more efficiently in larger quantities. The initial harvesting of palm oil was from British West Africa, from where news reports seen back in England showed the workers abroad in favourable conditions. In 1911 the company received a concession for 750,000 hectares of forest in Belgian Congo, mostly south of Bandundu, where a system of forced labour operated. The subsidiary of Lever Brothers was named â€Å"Huileries du Congo Belge†. During the great depression in the thirties, the Huileries sharply decreased the fee for gathered oil nuts, while the government of Belgian Congo strongly increased taxation. This resulted in social unrest in 1931, which is known as the Revolution of the Pende, in which eventually more than 400 members of the Pende tribe were killed. In the 1930s the Unilever business grew and new ventures were launched in Africa and Latin America. In 1972 Unilever purchased A&W Restaurants’ Canadian division but sold its shares through a management buyout to former A&W Food Services of Canada CEO Jefferson J. Mooney in July 1996. By 1980 soap and edible fats contributed just 40% of profits, compared with an original 90%. In 1984 the company bought the brand Brooke Bond (maker of PG Tips tea). In 1987 Unilever strengthened its position in the world skin care market by acquiring Chesebrough-Ponds (merged from Chesebrough Manufacturing and Pond’s Creams), the maker of Ragu, Pond’s, Aqua-Net, Cutex Nail Polish, and Vaseline. In 1989 Unilever bought Calvin Klein Cosmetics, Faberge, and Elizabeth Arden, but the latter was later sold (in 2000) to FFI Fragrances. In 1996 Unilever purchased Helene Curtis Industries, giving the company â€Å"a powerful new presence in the United States shampoo and deodorant market†. The purchase brought Unilever the Suave and Finesse hair-care product brands and Degree deodorant brand. In 1997 Unilever sold the speciality chemicals businesses National Starch & Chemical, Quest, Unichema and Crosfield to ICI for US$8 billion.. The US division carried the Lever Brothers name until the 1990s, when it adopted that of the parent company. The American unit has headquarters in New Jersey, and no longer maintains a presence at Lever House, the iconic skyscraper on Park Avenue in New York City. Unilever established a sustainable agriculture programme in 1998. 2001 to 2011 Global employment at Unilever 2000–2008 Black represents employment numbers in Europe, light grey represents the Americas and dark grey represents Asia, Africa, and Middle East. Between 2000 and 2008 Unilever reduced global workforce numbers by 41%, from 295,000 to 174,000. Notes: Europe figures for 2000–2003 are all Europe; from 2004 figures in black are Western Europe. For 2004–2008 figures for Asia, Africa and Middle East include Eastern and Central Europe. Source: Unilever Annual Reports 2004, 2008 In 2000 the company absorbed the American business Best Foods, strengthening its presence in North America and extending its portfolio of foods brands. In April 2000 it bought both Ben & Jerry’s and Slim Fast. In May 2007 Unilever became the first large-scale company to commit to sourcing all its tea in a sustainable manner, employing the Rainforest Alliance, an international environmental NGO, to certify its tea estates in East Africa, as well as third-party suppliers in Africa and other parts of the world. It declared its aim to have all Lipton Yellow Label and PG Tips tea bags sold in Western Europe certified by 2010, followed by all Lipton tea bags globally by 2015. Covalence, an ethical reputation ranking agency, placed Unilever at the top of its ranking based on positive versus negative news coverage for 2007. In 2007, Unilever’s Dove â€Å"Evolution† video that ran only online, was named the first ever non-TV spot to win the Grand Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival. And in March, 2008, Unilever was named â€Å"Digital Marketer of the Year† by Advertising Age. In 2008 Unilever was honoured at the 59th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for â€Å"Outstanding Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for Creation and Distribution of Interactive Commercial Advertising Delivered Through Digital Set Top Boxes† for its program Axe: Boost Your ESP. On 25 September 2009, Unilever agreed to acquire the personal care business of Sara Lee Corporation, including brands such as Radox, Badedas and Duschdas, strengthening its category leadership in skin cleansing and deodorants. On 9 August 2010, Unilever signed an asset purchase agreement with the Norwegian dairy group TINE, to acquire the activities of Diplom-Is in Denmark. On 24 September 2010, Unilever announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its consumer tomato products business in Brazil to Cargill. On 27 September 2010, Unilever purchased Alberto-Culver, a maker of personal care and household products including Simple[disambiguation needed], VO5, Nexxus, TRESemme, and Mrs. Dash, for $US3. 7 billion. On 28 September 2010, Unilever and EVGA announced that they had signed an agreement under which Unilever would acquire EVGA’s ice cream brands (amongst others, Scandal, Variete and Karabola) and distribution network in Greece, for an undisclosed amount. 2011 to present On 23 March 2011 it was announced that Unilever had entered into a binding agreement to sell the Sanex brand to Colgate-Palmolive for â‚ ¬672 million, and that Unilever would acquire Colgate-Palmolive’s laundry detergent brands in Colombia (Fab, Lavomatic and Vel) for US$215 million. On 24 August 2011, it was announced that Unilever had agreed to sell the Alberto VO5 brand in the United States and Puerto Rico, and the Rave brand globally, to Brynwood Partners VI L. P. On 14 October 2011, it was announced that Unilever had agreed to acquire 82% of the Russia-based beauty company Kalina. On 22 May 2012, it was announced that Unilever achieved top-ten status in the 2012 Gartner Supply Chain Top 25, resulting in the company’s best-ever performance in the index and establishing Unilever as one of the world’s top supply chains. Operations The Unilever R&D Centre in Bangalore, India Unilever is multinational with operating companies and factories on every continent (except Antarctica) and research laboratories at: Colworth and Port Sunlight in England; Vlaardingen in the Netherlands; Trumbull, Connecticut and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey in the United States; Bangalore in India (see also Hindustan Unilever Limited); and Shanghai in China. [edit] Products For a full list of Unilever brands, see List of Unilever brands. Unilever’s products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. The company owns more than 400 brands, although its 25 largest brands account for over 70% of total sales. [29] Unilever focuses resources on 13 â€Å"billion-Euro brands†, each of which has annual sales in excess of â‚ ¬1 billion. Unilever organises its brands into four categories: Homecare, Personal Care, Foods and Refreshment (which includes tea, ice-cream and beverages).

The-Impact-of-Mergers-&-Acquisitions-on-It-Governance-Structures

958 The Impact of Mergers & Acquisitions on IT Governance Structures: A Case Study Pauline O. Chin Florida Atlantic University, USA George A. Brown Technologies Consultant, Jamaica Qing Hu Florida Atlantic University, USA Chapter 2. 32 ABSTRACT Developing information technology (IT) governance structures within an organization has always been challenging. This is particularly the case in organizations that have achieved growth through mergers and acquisitions.When the acquired organizations are geographically located in different regions than the host enterprise, the factors affecting this integration and the choice of IT governance structures are quite different than when this situation does not exist. This study performs an exploratory examination of the factors that affect the choice of IT governance structures in organizations that grow through mergers and acquisitions in developing countries using the results of a case study of an international telecommunications company.We find that in addition to the commonly recognized factors such as government regulation, competition and market stability, organizational culture, and IT competence, top management’s predisposition toward a specific business strategy and governance structure can profoundly influence the choice of IT governance in organizations. Managerial implications are discussed. Copyright  © 2008, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. The Impact of Mergers & Acquisitions on IT Governance StructuresInTRoduCTIon The business environment has become increasingly complex and competitive due to the rapid advances in technology and globalization of the world economy over the last two decades. In order to survive and to compete on a global scale, organizations have sought to increase their market share through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) both locally and internationally. In a publication by the Bureau of Census (2002) on merg ers and acquisitions in over 41 industries for the year 1998, it was reported that there were 3,882 cases of U.S. companies acquiring other U. S. companies. These data also indicated that there were 483 cases of foreign companies’ acquisitions of U. S. companies at an estimated value of US $233 billion, and 746 cases of U. S. companies acquiring foreign companies at an estimated value of US $128 billion. The trend toward mergers and acquisitions has been clearly demonstrated within the telecommunications industry worldwide (Oh, 1996; Ramamurti, 2000; Trillas, 2002; Wilcox et al. , 2001).Over the last several years, telecommunications companies in North America, Europe, and Asia have looked toward acquisitions and mergers for their survival and growth. During the last decade there has been an increasing number of local and foreign investments in the industry (Oh, 1996; Ramamurti, 2000), due primarily to the deregulation of the telecommunications markets as well as the move tow ard total or partial privatization of telecommunications companies within developing regions (Gutierrez & Berg, 2000; Melody, 1999).Foreign investments in developing countries within Latin America and the Caribbean have increased tremendously over the last 20 years due largely to changes in the regulatory policies within these regions. Historically, companies in Latin America and the Caribbean were owned primarily by the local states. This changed dramatically in the mid-1980s to 1990s as the increasing economic and financial demands on the industry forced companies in the region to look toward foreign investments in order to stay competitive.Gutierrez and Berg (2000) reported that between the mid-1980s to mid-1990s, 14 out of the 24 telecommunications firms in the region privatized their companies. This strategy is also credited with setting into motion the current trend in a majority of the region’s telecommunications companies toward increased partial or total privatizatio n (Gutierrez & Berg, 2000; Ramamurti, 2000). As a consequence of this massive privatization and merger-and-acquisition movement in the telecommunications industry, the role f IT in these organizations has changed significantly over the last decade. The traditional relationship of IT providing support services to individual departments within an organization has evolved into one where IT now plays a broader role in achieving the overall strategic goals of the organization via a focus on global enterprise-wide support that encompasses not only multiple departments, but often different countries and cultures as well.As a result, IT governance in the dynamic and complex business environment has been pushed to the forefront of critical issues facing the management of these organizations, in spite of the fact that little research exists on IT governance that attempts to identify and explain the multiple factors that may affect the choice of IT governance structures in the context of merge rs and acquisitions in developing regions.In order to address these issues, this article examines the evolution of a governance structure within a global telecommunications network organization, based on a framework developed from the extant literature on corporate and IT governance theories and practices. The article addresses the general research question: In the process of integrating foreign subsidiaries into the host company, what are the factors that influence the choice of IT governance structure? The primary purpose of the article is to contribute to a broader understanding 959 2 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may be purchased using the â€Å"Add to Cart† button on the publisher's webpage: www. igi-global. com/chapter/impact-mergers-acquisitions-governancestructures/9761 Related Content Information and Communication Technology and Good Governance in Africa G. Onu (2007). Encyclopedia of Digital Government (pp. 1026-1034). www. irm a-international. org/chapter/information-communication-technology-goodgovernance/11628/ Internet Voting: Embracing Technology in Electoral Processes Andru Riera, Jordi Sanchez and Laia Torras (2002).Electronic Government: Design, Applications and Management (pp. 78-98). www. irma-international. org/chapter/internet-voting-embracing-technology-electoral/9997/ Identifying Barriers to e-Government Services for Citizens in Developing Countries: An Exploratory Study Subhajyoti Ray (2011). International Journal of Electronic Government Research (pp. 79-91). www. irma-international. org/article/identifying-barriers-government-services-citizens/56100/ The State of Mobile Government in Turkey: Overview, Policy Issues, and Future Prospects Mete Yildiz (2008).Electronic Government: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 236-248). www. irma-international. org/chapter/state-mobile-government-turkey/9708/ The â€Å"Quicksilver Initiatives† as a Framework for e-Government Str ategy Design in Developing Economies Kelvin Joseph Bwalya, Tanya Du Plessis and Chris Rensleigh (2012). Handbook of Research on EGovernment in Emerging Economies: Adoption, E-Participation, and Legal Frameworks (pp. 605-623). www. irma-international. org/chapter/quicksilver-initiatives-framework-government-strategy/64874/

Fundmntls of Intrntionl Businss Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fundmntls of Intrntionl Businss - Essay Example ctul tchnologicl dvlopmnts hv strong implictions for world trd nd output growth. Tchnologicl dvncs drsticlly rducd th trnsporttion nd tlcommuniction costs nd drmticlly chngd th structur of intrntionl trd in th sm tim. In fct, nw tchnologicl chngs lowr th nturl brrirs of spc nd tim tht sprt ntionl mrkts whil librliztion policis th rtificil brrirs to th intrntionl movmnts of goods, srvics nd cpitl. Tchnologicl dvlopmnt my b ccptd s th ngin of th conomic globliztion in th world. Th lvl of tchnology, brodly spking, cn b dfind s stock or combintion of our knowldg nd xprincs on production procss, product qulity, orgniztion of production nd mngmnt, mrkting nd srvics (Kibritcioglu, 1997). In ll countris, th primry xport sctor is mnufcturing industry, xcpt th Middl strn nd fricn countris which r rltivly rsourc bundnt nd hnc, xport minly mining sctor products or oil. Tchnologicl dvncs is th ky fctor in th growing volum of intrntionl trd of goods nd srvics. Tchnologicl gp btwn industrilizd nd dvloping countris s sourc of forign trd, on th othr hnd, my b closd ithr du to th continul dissmintion of informtion from th dvncd ons or both. Thr r mny intrntionl orgniztions tht fcilitt forign trd. mong thm th most importnt nd ctiv is World Trd Orgniztion.

The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations Case Study

The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations - Case Study Example Whether or not the courts will find so in this instance is open to debate. As it is a presumption it is rebuttable by the donees showing that it was a gift, but the onus is on Wendy and Karen to show that it is a gift. (i)(a). Wendy will have to establish either that Martin intended to make a gift or that the presumption of advancement takes precedence over the presumption of a resulting trust. In order to establish that a gift was made the onus of proof is on Wendy. The court must go into the facts in order to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption. Whilst Wendy is not married to Martin they do have a relationship which might indicate a moral obligation on Martin's part to provide for Wendy. This could give rise to the presumption of advancement, in which the assumption is that Martin intended Wendy to take both the legal and the beneficial interest of the shares. However in a series of cases quoted in Pearce and Stevens1 it is clear that there is no presumption of advancement between cohabiting couples. However in Pettitt v Pettitt [1970] AC 777 at paragraph 823 Lord Diplock reminds us that the presumption of resulting trust and advancement are: On the facts before us there is no reason to believe that Martin did not intend Wendy to own the shares outright. We are reminded that they shared a full life together and that Martin purchased shares for both Wendy and Karen at the same time. There is no indication that he did this for any other reason than for them to accrue benefits from the company - in the form of dividends - as the shares increased in value. It could be argued that based on conduct and the circumstances that Martin intended the shares as a gift. For example, Wendy may be able to show that Martin gave her the share certificates and that she was able to keep the dividends. However, based on the evidence before us the point is moot, and could go either way. (i)(b) There is a presumption of advancement between a father and his child, that is that a father would wish to provide financially for his child: Murless v Franklin [1818] 1 Swans 13. In such a case the child takes the property beneficially. Whilst Karen is not Martin's child they do have a relationship which might indicate a moral obligation on Martin's part to provide for Karen. In Bennet v Bennet [1879] 10 Ch D 474 Jessel MR said: as regards a child, a person not the father of the child may put himself in the position of an in loco parentis to the child, and so incur the obligation to make provision for the child The burden of proof will be on Martin to show that no gift was intended. For example if Martin could show that he retained the share certificates and/or that Karen paid the dividends to him (see Re Gooch [1890] 62 LT 384) this might be sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption, particularly if at the same time Martin had clearly stated that a gift was not intended. (ii) Martin's rights - if any - will be determined under a resulting or common intention constructive trust, or else proprietary estoppel - which does not require proof of common intention. Since Martin has made a direct contribution to the purchase price out of the profits of the business and by paying the mortgage this raises a

Were West Memphis Three Innocent Research Paper

Were West Memphis Three Innocent - Research Paper Example The initial attempts to find the boys were halfhearted and hasty at best and nothing was located on the first day. The search was continued in the morning the next day and the bodies of the three young boys were found around midday on May 6, 1993 naked, hogtied and dumped in a ditch. One of them had had his genital mutilated; all three had been victims to knife wounds and other lacerations. Further examination of the bodies showed that the boys had been subjected to mutilation before they were killed. Cause of death was determined to be mutilation and drowning. The prosecuting party said that the murders had been committed for a satanic ritual and that Echols was the ring leader. The satanic spin given to the case by the prosecution served to really sensationalize the case in public forums and among the people in general. Echols was subsequently sentenced to the death penalty and Misskelley and Baldwin were given life sentences. The ‘West Memphis Three’ spent close to tw o decades in jail before a judge finally accepted their Alford plea and set them free by which time they had spent most of their youth serving behind bars for a crime they did not commit (Sharon 2012; BBC News 2011). When presented with the raw facts, how, one may ask, were three people convicted for such a heinous crime set free just like that almost two decades later? There are actually many possible concrete reasons which emerged in these 20 years and enabled Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin to walk out of the courtroom as free men in 2011. And these are precisely the reasons that I think these men were innocent. And for this reason I will further elaborate upon them in the paper below (BBC News 2011). If the evidence against the ‘West Memphis Three’ is looked at thoroughly and from all the different angles and perspectives, it can be seen that there was a severe lack of concrete physical evidence linking the three men with the three gruesome murders. DNA testing wasnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t an option back then so the police couldn’t possibly have any solid connection between the victims and the men convicted for the murders. It is also to be noted that no personal belongings, blood, skin or hair specimens from the convicted men were found on the victims and furthermore there were no eye witnesses to the crime itself. These three kids were at best fairly inexperienced rookies and would have left behind clues linking them to the murder without a doubt had they committed this crime. This level of scrupulousness in the crime where no clue was left behind indicated the work of an expert criminal, one who knew what they were doing and how to go about doing it. Somebody like that would have left no clues behind, but somebody like that did not fit the description or demographical criteria of these young men (CNN Blog 2011; Elizebath 2011). A defense attorney for the three men said that another reason the blame was pinned on Echols, Misskelley and Baldwin could have been because they were considerably effortless targets. Another reason that is very closely linked with the first one is that during the initial investigations in 1993 these three young men were the best suspects, and for the police to be able to convict them would make a neat little ending to a horrific murder case. Moreover these men were by far the police’s best suspects to pin this crime on. Also, during initial investigations the case was handled in a hasty and disinterested manner where a lot of details were overlooked in the smoked fuelled by the fire of

Media, Identity and the Popular Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Media, Identity and the Popular - Essay Example Given the power, extent, and outreach of popular media – including films and television, the social construction of characters belonging to racial and ethnic minorities are bound to have a significant impact on the wider audience (Downing & Husband, 2005). Signorielli (2001) described television as "the nation’s primary story-teller" (p. 36) engaged in the role of continuously 'feeding' its audience with healthy doses of what can be construed as 'mainstream' views (Gerbner et al., 2002). The representation of racial and ethnic minorities in films and television, hence, is a critical subject of analysis and needs to be explored because the sheer extent of media outreach and the number of ardent viewers these forms of popular media attract almost ensure a greater social impact over a period of time (Mastro & Greenberg, 2000). This essay aims to highlight, explore, and analyse the manner in which these popular mediums of communication particularly films and television port ray racially and ethnically diverse characters; the gradual shift in such portrayals over time; followed by the influence and impact of the same supported by theoretical implications of such representation. The examples discussed as a part of the study include popular films and television shows from the UK, U.S., and Canada. Media representation of racial / ethnic minorities: An Overview Hall (1981) stated that media as a key tool of propagating ideologies often uses the platform to generate representations of the socio-cultural environment around us by way of images and characters. These characters in turn accentuate the understanding of its audience with regard to the manner in which the world around is and influence them to interpret the messages coded therein with regard to the members of the racial and ethnic minorities. The persistent portrayal of such images leads such characters and / or images to become naturalized enabling the viewers to understand these images and charact ers in the way they are portrayed (p. 11). Cultural theorists focused on investigating cultural and racial representations in popular media have identified the portrayal of 'whiteness' as the dominant theme and as a strategic rhetoric. The images and characters associated with the dominant white population are often indicative of their privileged status in both films as well as on prime time television shows and /or soap operas. It is also often argued that 'whiteness' is often the most dominant and overarching norm against which all other races are measured and compared (Ott, 2010: p. 139). African-Americans have consistently been under-represented as compared to their white counterparts in films and television programs in the United States (Wilson, 1996; Dixon & Rosenbaum, 2004). Although there has been a commendable and dramatic change in trend with regard to portrayal of racial and ethnic minorities on television shows and films over the years, the blacks continue to be either u nder-represented or portrayed in characters / roles that tend to perpetuate and even increase stereotyping (Dill, 2013: p. 253). Most of the popular television shows aired during the previous decade often included Caucasians as key protagonists with supporting

Reporting Panics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Reporting Panics - Essay Example One of such factors that readily come to mind is the issue of technology, which has come to enhance both the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of journalists (Winslow, 2011). One important thing about journalism is that it is not all journalists who do the same kind of work. This is perhaps the world is highly diverse and so news that must be picked from different sectors of it must be diverse. As much as the work of every other type of journalist is very important and respectable, it may be valid to argue that science journalism or science reporting in general is particularly important. This could be because of the importance that science as a concept in today’s world carries (Slosson, 2010). Regardless of the importance of their work and the factors that have been said to make journalism, and for that matter science journalism more advanced, there continues to be some criticisms against journalists for distorting science news. In this paper, it will be argued and agreed with that this claim that journalists distort science news simply overlook the various factors that shape the reporting of science. By this, reference is being made to the fact that the writer will argue that there are several factors that hinder accurate science journalism that critiques of science reporting have not critically considered. Should some of these factors be given serious consideration, the best that can be done would be to resolve those factors so that the way will be paved for science journalists to be more accurate with their work rather than distorting science news. This is because there is sufficient evidence to the effect that journalists have gone every breadth to ensure that their w ork is highly esteemed and comes with the reputation it deserves (Slosson, 2014). Whiles the paper discusses the various factors that shape the reporting of science, the role that journalists themselves can play, as well as scientists can play in making science reporting

Security on the Web Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Security on the Web - Essay Example Considering all these cons, one must ensure that a good firewall is in place to keep the hackers at an arm’s length, keeping them at bay is an arduous task. This paper will shed light upon internet firewall security and how a good firewall can protect a person from malware, Trojan horses and other undesirable viruses. â€Å"The term "fire wall" originally meant, and still means, a fireproof wall intended to prevent the spread of fire from one room or area of a building to another. The Internet is a volatile and unsafe environment when viewed from a computer-security perspective, therefore "firewall" is an excellent metaphor for network security.† (What is a firewall?) Firewall is not something general, it means several specific things and it is supposed to do several important things to ensure that a user is safeguarded against attacks. Packet filtering is perhaps the most important job of a regular firewall. All the internet activities like downloads, chats and so on a re done in packets, and these packets contain information. Firewall must ensure that these packets are either allowed or disallowed based on the source of the internet protocol address known as the IP address. The destination port of these packets is also very important, the firewall is supposed to allow or disallow these packets purely on the basis of their destination port. Firewall must follow a protocol and allow or disallow packets or information based on the set protocol. This method of packet filtering is highly effective against malware and other dangerous attacks but this is not a foolproof plan. All traffic can be blocked by a firewall which does not make much sense; it should allow certain packets which are safe for the user to receive. It has its weaknesses like it becomes very difficult for a basic firewall to detect spoofing which means the information contained in the packets is falsified. Allowed packets may contain a bug which can retrieve a password and cause unwan ted actions, a basic firewall is vulnerable to these dangers. Circuit relay is another type of firewall which provides enhanced security, application level gateway is perhaps the most advanced of all and provides even better security. Static Packet Filtering: â€Å"Static packet filtering is a firewall and routing capability that provides network packet filtering based only on packet information in the current packet and administrator rules.† (Statistic Packet Filtering) Static packet filtering is based on the following important things: The administrator defines rules. The allowed ports and IP addresses are set by the administrator and only the allowed ports are allowed to send and receive packets. The transport layer contents, the network and the packet contents are all determined by the administrator. Better level of security is provided by the dynamic packet filtering. Static packet filtering does not look at the contents closely, on the contrary dynamic packet filtering screens contents very closely, previous connection states are also considered by dynamic packet filtering which static packet filtering fails to do. The packet headers are very important under static packet filtering, the information stored in the headers determines whether packets should be allowed or dropped. These headers are compared against the control policy which is set by the administrator. Below is an illustration which presents the same concept very comprehensively. (Static Packet Filt

The Country Wife- Contextual Section Essay Example for Free

The Country Wife- Contextual Section Essay William Wycherley wrote The Country Wife in 1675 during the Restoration Period in England. He was born in 1641 at Clive Hall near Shrewsbury to a wealthy family, and he was educated in France where he spent most of his youth. Once Charles II was restored, he returned to England to study at Oxford, and then became a fine, fashionable gentleman in London, of strong intellectual power. There he was able to observe the attitudes and actions of similarly constituted social groups, whom would later be the basis of his plays. The Country Wife is a Restoration Comedy as it was written during the forty years after the restoration of King Charles II to the English throne. He had a particular passion for the theatre, and its development during this period was largely down to him. The civil war in 1642- the Puritan Revolution- had seen his father Charles I beheaded and Oliver Cromwell become the leader of England. This eighteen-year period- the interregnum- saw the puritans discourage and eventually completely ban drama, due to its connections with the monarchy and its immoral non-puritan values. After King Charles II was restored and therefore theatre, there was a general feeling of happiness and freedom in the country. People were interested in enjoying themselves after the long period of drudgery, thus increasing the popularity of theatre. The plays themselves were much more cheerful compared to the Elizabethan and Jacobean plays that they had proceeded, prompting the introduction of the Comedy of Manners. People wanted to laugh. There were other huge differences to how English Theatre was pre 1642. There were machinery allowing objects to fly and move, and there was moveable scenery permitting plays to be divided into scenes. This aided comedy of manners productions like The Country Wife to create a sense of deceit by allowing characters to hide and make numerous entrances and exits for example. However, the greatest change was that women were allowed on the stage. This was a novelty and plays were then able to use their sex appeal and flirtatiousness to include raunchier storylines, such as Horner and his many conquests in The Country Wife. Actresses spoke the prologue and epilogue, to charm the audience into applause and they established a sexual commerce with them. Many of the actresses entered the profession as orange sellers, and their talent as actresses was questioned due to their frequent liaisons with the aristocracy, including the King and Samuel Pepys. This is where the sexual connotations of oranges in The Country Wife originate.

A Personal Reflection On The ITM Information Technology Essay

A Personal Reflection On The ITM Information Technology Essay I have been in information technology industry for quite some time. I have first-hand information technology experience especially in government, utility, consulting, software and manufacturing industries. I wanted to contribute with my industry experience during ITM 700 and ITM 800 courses. Other team members did not have a similar background or experience thus had different points of view most of the time. I particularly had experience with Ministry of Environment, Government of Ontario, particularly with their RFS and RFP processes. I wanted to utilize my past experience with Ontario government in making a better RFI. I knew our professor had also Ontario government experience. I proposed what needs to be done to make our projects more successful based on my practical industry experience, in consideration of professors past experience with the industry, especially her experience with the government, what she would be looking for in a RFI. Other team members responded positively at times, mostly did not agree with what I proposed. But regardless of differences of opinions, I complied with the majority and delivered reports. Most of the time, feedbacks from professor were in favour of what I proposed earlier. In most cases I received little or no feedback on my parts of the deliverables. They understood what I had as industry experience was genuine and was really in line with what these courses are trying to achieve. I felt that my past experience in the industry contributed to my learning, and my education here at Ryerson was in line with what I learned in the industry, giving me confidence that I was receiving an education that would actually be put to good use and would at the end help achieve my future career goals. It was not only theoretical but also applicable to todays and future business environments. Other team members also realized that these courses were not far from real business life realities. Good thing about this experience was that it was not always what we felt like was true; it was what client wanted and what profitability and sustainable competitive advantage principles dictated. Bad thing was we realized we had a lot more to learn and gain much more experience, we were just at the beginning of a long journey and the road ahead was full of challenges, was long and needed a constant concentration and energy to keep up with the pace and to keep at it. I learned that technology, tools, their fit for purpose and their alignment with corporate strategy were very important for survivability of a company. This made it clear to me that we need to educate ourselves constantly about technology trends. We need to know how emerging new technologies can change how we do business. We need to be in a position to identify if they can be acquired by competitors. If they were acquired by competitors, what could this mean? What would be the future threat if competitors were to adapt these technologies much earlier? We also need to be able to understand if these new technologies are just a fashion statement and will disappear like never happened or existed, or will they form an important part of how we do business. When we look back, will we say I cant imagine how we made business without these technologies. Take, for example, 20 years ago, how did companies communicate with their customers without internet, how did multinational and geographically dispersed corporations communicated internally, what was the speed at which they could arrive to a decision about a particular subject with collaboration of geographically dispersed team members? How did they reach to international costumers? What was the means of delivery of information regarding their products and services before internet did not exist? Impact of technology on many different areas of businesses is becoming more evident with each day. How would companies have shortened design to market cycles without use of information technology as they do today? What could we have achieved with a certain amount of budget 20 years ago in comparison with what we can now with the same budget? Would the business benefit the same? Considering how far the computing capacity increased in the last 20 years, it is a challenge to imagine what future business environment and culture will look like. We need to be prepared and ready for such changes in the near future which most likely will happen in a not too long of a time span. I learned how to approach a team environment that has many leaders, with difference of opinions. I gained experience in how to handle conflicts of priorities. It was a remarkable opportunity for me to increase my experience on how to tackle tight schedule timelines. I learned how to juggle what we need for our project versus what the client wants from the same project. It was a unique opportunity for all of us to learn how to handle challenges due to lack of interest on the clients part in providing important financial information for our deliverables. My strategy with our client was to extract reasonable amount of information, if at all possible, for our deliverables while keeping clients interest in the project intact. I based my actions on satisfying clients needs as well as providing enough information for our deliverables for our course. Striking a balance between what client wants and what we need for a successful report for our course was the key. Experience that I had with well known consulting companies such as Deloitte Touche, Cap Gemini and IBM helped me a lot in gathering requirements and preparing reports. My knowledge and experience regarding technology, enterprise resource planning systems, business application development and maintenance helped a lot during the course of both ITM 700 and ITM 800. It is important to understand the needs of the client and articulating them. Keeping dependable records of communications with the client, getting clarity on the requirements, good understanding of their near and future business growth are important elements in a successful project. I understood that to better manage and deliver projects in the future, it is important to understand clients business, what is important for them, what the critical elements are in sustaining their competitive advantage and thus how our project can help improve them. It is also important to have a better understanding of technology trends that are applicable to clients business. Better articulation of tasks, deliverables, timelines, lead times and resources needed are also important. Demonstrated and continued executive leadership is an important aspect in a similar project. This allows reasonably fast decision-making during the project, reducing risk of delays in delivery of the project. It makes it clear to the team members and other stakeholders that the organization is supporting the project and that they will receive the project deliverables and results they are expecting. Adequate funding and resources dedicated to the project is also important. Without this, quality of the deliverables may suffer, project may be delayed, team may be more likely to cut corners on the project, or take more risks and thus jeopardize the quality of outcomes of the project. Clear governance, roles and responsibilities is another important aspect of a successful project delivery. Without clear governance, roles and responsibilities, key milestones and delivery dates can be missed. Due to the project not being given the importance warranted by senior executives, resources may be moved from the project, critical decisions may be deferred or removed from agendas and the project may lose credibility as a result. Another important success factor for a project is complete and clear requirements. This eliminates significant changes in scope throughout projects lifecycle, likely resulting in the project being on-budget, and being on time. A comprehensive, well-thought out plan helps to have a clear picture of what is going to be delivered and when. This will allow enough lead time to obtain vital resources needed towards the latter parts the project, for example testers, technical writers, trainers, and business users to validate and accept the deliverables. Greater consideration for people and organizational change management increases chances of acceptance of the project deliverables by the client by making its business environment ready to accommodate and support these deliverables. It is important that the deliverables are embraced by business users otherwise the project may not be seen as a success even if everything is delivered as agreed. Multi-stakeholder communications is also important on a project because without regular communications client may lose confidence in our ability to manage the project, may not have a clear picture of what is going to be delivered, and when, may not be aware of issues occurring on the project, whereas issues may have occurred with an impact on delivery dates, quality and scope of deliverables or may believe there are significant issues occurring on the project when there are none. It is also important to have a better understanding of economy in Ontario and Canada as it relates to industry that our client is operating in. We need to better understanding legal implications and law in Ontario and Canada that affects business of our client. With the help of all these critical success factors, we can end up with a better managed project, better client satisfaction, and bigger benefits realized. We also can decrease amount of time to gain back the investment made on the project. Better alignment of technology with company strategies that feeds and sustains competitive advantage of the client will also be an important outcome. We can get more training to improve ourselves. We should increase amount of interaction with team environments and get more opportunities to practice good communication skills such as presentations, public talking and other means of improving verbal communication. This can also further be nurtured by performing more client facing tasks as much as possible. Overall I was very pleased and satisfied with my experience with ITM 700 and ITM 800 at Ryerson. There was never a dull moment during the course of study in the last eight months. Ryerson provides its students unparalleled opportunities to equip themselves with relevant, current and industry aligned skills and experience in a changing and highly competitive global economy. As a Ryerson graduate I will feel much more confident and ready for challenges that future business life will bring.

Coaching And Mentoring Has Been In Society Management Essay

Coaching And Mentoring Has Been In Society Management Essay Coaching and mentoring has been in society for thousands of years in some form or another. Coaching has been likened with counselling and therapy as a large number of therapists have retrained to become coaches. In the last century it became ever more popular with an emphasis on life coaching, academic coaching, managerial coaching and sports coaching. Anybody can call themselves a coach or mentor and because there is a lack of regulation and accreditation the consequence is problems with adherence and accountability and no way of actually measuring its effectiveness. In the last 20 years industry and business have bought into the coaching and mentoring framework. A survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2011) shows coaching and mentoring to be an increasing activity to improving performance and employee engagement. Because of this the coach has a responsibility for imparting knowledge, through technical ability and skill altogether ensuring the protà ©gà ©s personal and professional development. There are subtle differences between coaching and mentoring, but academics would argue coaching is an element of mentoring (Clutterbuck and Lane 2004). However there is still much confusion and Ives (2010) argued that the reason for confusion is the lack of formal definition. Another way of viewing this is with Hawkins and Smith (2007, p39) who in comparison argue that multiple definitions can delineate the territory mentoring might cover. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development survey goes on to state that it is also confusing because of reluctance by industry to conduct formal evaluation on their programmes and what will its value be within businesses. There are numerous definitions for coaching and mentoring. Bax, Negrutiu, and Calota (2011 p323) stipulates the role of a coach as helping, showing, giving feedback, explaining and encouraging. Along with Linder-Pelz and Hall (2008, p43) who state coaching is about, facilitating a clients performance, experience, learning and growth. The International Coaching Federation (2011, p1) describes a coach as, providing objective assessment and observations that foster the individuals enhanced self-awareness. Mentoring has been defined as a relationship between two people with learning and development as its purpose, (Megginson and Garvey 2004, p2) (cited in Brockbank and McGill 2006). The most striking correlation between the definitions is the phrase learning, which best describes an essential part to the relationship that makes coaching and mentoring distinctive. As opposed to Wallace and Gravells (2009 p10) who offer another alternative for mentoring as a long term commitment and a more gradual process than coaching. It is therefore acknowledged that during coaching or mentoring some form of learning will occur. Hence this would indicate the coach or mentor need to have a level of competence, experience and training technique. The European Mentoring and Coaching Council have identified their core competences within their code of ethics and Clutterbuck and Lane (2004) attempted to identify common attributes. Subsequently other governing bodies such as the association of coaching, the association of professional executive coaching the international coach federation have defined their own versions further adding to the confusion. At the same time the research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development survey (2011), and The Institute of Leadership and Management Creating a coaching culture Report. (2011) emphasise coaching enablers within business need to be mindful of all the schemes and styles in order to finding the best strategic model. For this reason as with most interventions there needs to be a guide to aiding behavioural modification, these are the building blocks of the various concepts and models. The GROW Model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will) is the best known model for coaching. This model is a goal orientated model which is simplistic, easy to understand and use. It has been extensively described by many authors including Whitmore (1992, 2003, 2009), Downey (2003), Clutterbuck, and Megginson (2005). They imply the model can be utilised by anyone without specialist training, but is lacking a self-reflection process. The Chiumento research report: Coaching Counts (2007) highlights the trend of organisations using coaching models. The GROW model being the preferred choice. According to the literature the model allows for the coach and coachee relationship to be developed and the individual to develop and manage their goals. However it is used predominantly for a short term and to correct a business issue, improve individual performance, facilitate the learning of new skills, to prepare an individual for promotion or change. Mostly case studies give examples of how the model is applied. Therefore analysis is difficult. Further coaching models are the framework to facilitate this change within an individual. The coach by definition is the architect of the process and not just an instructor. Coaching models are the tool kit for a coach to develop the coaching relationship with a coachee. However, as with all tool kits a coach can collect a vast array of tools, but never develop the competence to use them. Connor, M. Pokora, J. (2007 p12) states when a model is used it, provides a map for the journey, for both client and coach. That journey is never linear and it is easy to get lost along the way so there must be a process to change direction. To better define best practice the European Mentoring and Coaching Council produced a code of ethics (2008). This was an attempt to standardise the terminology, competence, integrity, professionalism and structure. Unfortunately this is only one governing bodys package. Hawkins and Smith (2007) first presented their model of coaching in the early 80s. They later developed the model which focused on the coach and coachee relationship from the outset. In particular, enabling the setting of clear ground rules when negotiating the contract. The CLEAR Model (Contracting, Listening, Exploring, Action, Review) was very similar to the GROW model although not as restricted and does allow a level of flexibility. There is greater emphasis on the feedback loop for the coach and coachee. Because of the exclusiveness of literature, only slight reference is made to similar areas of study. It is evident that this model has had an influence on further coaching models. Spece and Oades (2011 p38) note that many of the coaching surveys and reviews, impacts an array of psychological characteristics and processes. They also observe that much of the literature, when speaking of coaching, raise the concern to using cognitive behavioural coaching, motivational interviewing and emotional intelligence. McMahon (2007) was a co-founder of the cognitive behavioural coaching model. Her model focussed on a non-directive form of questioning which enabled an individual to become self-aware of their emotions. This model has been extensively theorised and researched with the vast majority being empirical. Unfortunately, it is only designed to be used over a short period of time, but enabled only a competent practitioner to develop an individual into identifying problem solving goals. Nonetheless this did address personal issues but it did not take into account the requirements of the establishments objectives. There is additionally widespread consensus of opinion and ideas as to what coaching and mentoring is or what makes a good coach. The Institute of Leadership and Management Creating a coaching culture Report (2011) examined the link between who conducts the coaching and what is coaching best practice. See figure 1 below. They found that although line managers are the preferred choice, they do not necessarily make the best coaches as this will prevent the success of the intervention provided. Unfortunately the majority of their research to date uses only a small numbers of participants and makes analysis challenging. Figure 1 Who undertakes coaching? Figure taken from the Institute of Leadership Management Creating a coaching culture Report May 2011 The average manager/coach, in order to be successful, requires some form of intelligence, knowledge that they must communicate well, understand their subordinates or peers and conduct themselves appropriately. These skills are not just inherited but must be nurtured over time. Emotional intelligence, as it is referred to, requires the manager to have empathy, commitment, initiative and self-awareness. To know yourself emotionally enables an individual to adjust their behaviour towards others. Sterrett (2006) attempts to introduce this concept to those who are engaged in coaching and mentoring. Wall (2006, p68) refers to a key aspects of a coach or mentor as being emotional Intelligent which, refers to a variety of personal and interpersonal competencies that have huge impact on a persons success. Indeed coaching must now include this element as it can allow the coach to engage at a personal level and guide the coachee to set their goals linked to their own personal values. As a resul t the coachee is more likely to buy in and pursue this relationship if the change matters to them. With all positives there can be a negative as Alexander (2011) alternatively offers another aspect to the use of emotional intelligence. She argues when emotional intelligence is used it can also give an individual the intellectual advantage and can be used to control, manipulate and intimidate. However the article uses emotive language. It is lacking in impartiality and does not produce any credible evidence. The consequence is she has a tendency to over emphasise the negative part. The McLeod and Thomas (2010) model of coaching, the STEPPA Model (Subject, Target objective, Emotion, Perception, Plan, Pace, Act/Amend), is relatively new and offers a more finite element than other models. The basis of the model is to concentrate on the individuals emotions and actions are elicited through them. These are more elaborate in details and interpretation. However it is lacking the flexibility a novice coach needs. The literature leans towards the opinions and assumptions of the creators and is not based on any data taken from independent research. There is also a lack of empirical evidence to indicate the value of its use. In fact the literature showed there was a variation of important aspects to coaching and mentoring. First, the type of coaching conversation, which begins with establishing the relationship between coach and coachee. This was fabricated using the code of ethics. Secondly setting the contract which must contain all the agreed parameters. Thirdly the formulation and setting of goals and obtaining a by in from the coachee and lastly using feedback to make adjustments. Unfortunately the models are limited by their creators and because of this a level of flexibility is removed. It is impossible to suggest that there is a perfect model to use as it would be easier to fit a model in a specific circumstance. All models emphasised the fact that individuals must recognise their own potential, take ownership of their individual goals and aims and review them periodically. The importance of questioning and self-reflection is paramount. The models do however, provide a basic structure for the coach to work with. All have a level of simplicity and some allow a level of flexibility and are all intended to make the coachee take action. There are limitations, and if the coach does not take care, can overlook the basic principles required in coaching interventions. Egan 2002 (cited in Connor and Pakora 2007) states, the model is for the client, in short the coach should not get hooked into constantly checking where they are in the process rather than moving in the direction the coachee wants. Coaching is rapidly expanding into multiple disciplines and applications but despite abundant rigid literature, research into coaching and mentoring is still very limited. If coaching can be claimed as an asset within industry and business alike, studies should contain a varied population with an interchangeable set of objectives. It has been shown that coaching may not have the desired effect for certain environments and that an alternate option would be a more suitable choice.

My Antonia Essay: Importance of Setting -- My Antonia Essays

The Importance of Setting in My Antonia The setting of the story has tremendous impact on the characters and themes in the novel "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. Cather's delicately crafted naturalistic style is evident not only in her colorfully detailed depictions of the Nebraska frontier, but also in her characters’ relationship with the land on which they live. The common naturalist theme of man being controlled by nature appears many times throughout the novel, particularly in the chapters containing the first winter. The Burden's and the Shimerda's, try as they might, cannot fight the harsh climate of the Nebraska prairie. Rather than attempt to control the environment around them, they must learn to work with it and adjust to make do with what they have. Jim learns this his first winter, as well as the Shimerda's, for they are both newcomers to a strange place. They realize that trying to fight the wind and snow will do more harm than good, and adapt themselves to work when weather permits and hope nature... My Antonia Essay: Importance of Setting -- My Antonia Essays The Importance of Setting in My Antonia The setting of the story has tremendous impact on the characters and themes in the novel "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. Cather's delicately crafted naturalistic style is evident not only in her colorfully detailed depictions of the Nebraska frontier, but also in her characters’ relationship with the land on which they live. The common naturalist theme of man being controlled by nature appears many times throughout the novel, particularly in the chapters containing the first winter. The Burden's and the Shimerda's, try as they might, cannot fight the harsh climate of the Nebraska prairie. Rather than attempt to control the environment around them, they must learn to work with it and adjust to make do with what they have. Jim learns this his first winter, as well as the Shimerda's, for they are both newcomers to a strange place. They realize that trying to fight the wind and snow will do more harm than good, and adapt themselves to work when weather permits and hope nature...

My Philosophy of Education :: Essays Papers Teacher Teaching

My Philosophy of Education I believe that education is a tool used to shape the generations of tomorrow. I wanted to have a positive influence on the future, so I decided to become a teacher. Teaching is one of the most worthwhile and influential professions because teachers come in contact with a vast number of young people and have the ability to light their lives. These young people are the future. As a teacher, I believe that a large portion of the responsibility for a student's education rests on my shoulders. I take this responsibility very seriously and I believe all teachers should. Teachers have a duty to provide knowledge-whether it is academic, social, or ethical in nature-that will help students as they embark on the journey of adulthood. Therefore, I think teachers should strive to put forth a good example of intellect, ethics, and personality. My personal goal as a teacher is to challenge my students so that they find learning interesting and stimulating. I believe that technology is a very useful tool to capture students? interest. Video games, computers, and television consume the world that in which my students live. Corporations use this fact to market their products to young people. So, I plan to use the same fact to ?market? education. There are many valuable, interactive-learning activities available for use in the classroom. I think the use of them can greatly enhance the learning process. I want to make learning meaningful and worthwhile to all of my students. One responsibility that I keep at the top of my list is to form personal, yet professional, relationships with all of my students. I want to know about their everyday lives?their jobs, activities, friends, and families. Knowing students will help me as I plan for instruction. Also, by getting to know my students, I can provide encouragement and support in the extracurricular realm, as well as in the academic realm. I want students to feel free to come to me for help.

Construction Management Essay

a. (1) Stanley’s focus is on maximizing profits. This is the correct goal because the goal of anyfirm, and therefore its financial manager, should be to maximize its value and by extensionthe wealth of the shareholders. (2) There is potential for an agency problem if Stanley decides to go ahead and invest in thesoftware developer. This investment will cause a temporary decrease in the earnings per share (EPS) of the firm which will mean fewer earnings at the present time for thestakeholders. This may be a problem if the goal of the shareholders is to gain moneysooner than later. However, it the goal of the shareholders is simply to maximize wealth,there may not be an agency problem since the goal of the financial manager, Stanley, is the same as the shareholders’. b. Since there is no preferred stock; Earnings available for common stockholders= Net Profit After Taxes No of shares of common stock outstanding = 50 000 EPS = NPAT/ no. of shares of common stock outstanding EPS show a steady increase over the past five years indicating that Stanley is achieving hisgoal of maximizing profits. c. Operating Cash Flow (OCF) for 2012OCF = {Earnings Before Interest and TaxesÃâ€"(1– Tax rate)} + Depreciation OCF = {EBIT Ãâ€" (1– T)} + Depreciation = {$89 000 Ãâ€" (1 – 0.20)} + $11 000 = $82 200 Free Cash Flow (FCF) for 2012 FCF = OCF1– Net Fixed Assets Investments – Net Current Assets Investment FCF = OCF – NFAI – NCAI NFAI = Change in net fixed assets + Depreciation= ($132 000– $128 000) + $11000 = $15 000 NCAI = Chance in current assets – Change in (Accounts Payable + Accruals) = ($421 000 – $62 000) – {($136 000 + $27 000) – ($126 000 + $25 000)}=$47 000 FCF = $82 200 – $15 000 – $47 000 = $20 200 Both the operating cash flow and the free cash flow are positive indicating that Stanley wasable to generate adequate cash flow to cover both operating expenses and investments inassets. There was also $20 200 left over to pay to investors. a. (1) Upon what financial goal does Stanley seem to be focusing? Is it the correct goal? Why or why not? Stanley seems to be focusing on profit maximization, in another word the EPS performance. It is not the correct goal, as profits do not necessarily result in cash flows available to the stockholders, only when earnings increases are accompanied by increased future cash flows would a higher stock price be expected, therefore the stockholders’ wealth would be maximized. (2) Could a potential agency problem exist in this firm? Explain. There is a potential agency problem exist in this firm. First of all, he owns only 40% of the firm, but he manages actively all aspects of its activities and the other stockholders are not active in management of the firm, so he is an agent of the other owners. Secondly he is reluctant to take more than moderate risk, which might jeopardize his goal of profit maximization and reduce his personal wealth, so there is a conflict between owner wealth maximization and his personal goals. Scri Bd: (a) Upon what financial goal does Stanley seem to be focusing? Is it the correct goal? Why or Why not? The financial goal that Stanley seems to be focusing on is maximizing the profitability of Track Software Inc. which is apparent in years 1997 to 2003 increases in net profit from ($50,000) to $48,000 respectively. His financial goal of profit maximization was also evident in his hesitance to hire a software developer because this would result in a salary cash outflow of $80,000 per year and lower the Earnings Per Share(EPS) in years to come. Par:(1)Stanley is focusing on maximizing profit, as shown by the increase in net profits over theperiod1997 to 2003. His dilemma about adding the software designer, which would depress earnings for the near term, also demonstrates his emphasis on this goal .Maximizing wealth should be the correct goal for a financial manager. Wealth maximization takes a long-term perspective and also considers risk and cash flows .Profits maximization does not integrate these three factors (cash flow, timing, risk) in the decision process (2) An agency problem exists when managers place personal goals ahead of corporate goals. Since Stanley owns 40% of the outstanding equity, it is unlikely that an agency problem would arise at Track Software A. Maximization of shareholder wealth, which means maximization of share price,should be theprimary goal of the firm. Unlike profit maximization, this goalconsiders timing, cash flows, andrisk. It also reflects the worth of the owners’investment in the firm at any time. It is the value theycan realize should theydecide to sell their shares. B. Yes, there appears to be an agency problem. Although compensation for management is tied toprofits, it is not directly linked to share price. In addition,management’s actions with regard topollution controls suggest a  profitmaximization focus, which would maximize their earnings,rather than an attemptto maximize share price Eco Plastics Company ECO Plastics Established in 2000, ECO Plastics Ltd is the UK’s leading and highest quality plastic bottle recycler producing plastics for soft drinks and milk bottles. Challenge In March 2011, the company signed a ten-year joint venture deal, a first in the UK drinks manufacturing industry, to supply the global enterprise with high quality food-grade recycled material (rPET). In order to achieve Coca-Cola’s target of including 25% rPET in all plastic packaging within Great Britain by 2012, ECO Plastics needed to expand their premises. Jonathan Short, Managing Director of ECO Plastics Ltd said, â€Å"We were thrilled to sign the joint venture deal with a company of the calibre of Coca-Cola and begin the next important step for our business. All we needed to do was secure the additional capital required to expand our premises and fund our operations.† Solution ECO Plastics approached a number of finance providers but found that due to the economic climate, lending was restricted. â€Å"It was difficult at first to find the financial backing we needed to expand our business and meet the needs of our exciting venture with Coca-Cola,† said Mr. Short. â€Å"We approached Close Brothers and discussed a structured finance solution, tailored to meet our specific business requirements. The deal was primarily a leasing contract, secured against our existing assets which incorporated invoice finance to fund our operations during the expansion.† Result The combined asset-based financial platform of  £18million provided by Close Brothers Invoice Finance and Close Brothers Leasing supported the construction and operation of the expansion to ECO Plastics’ processing plant, which completed in 2012. â€Å"Without Close Brothers, we would have been unable to fulfil our agreement with Coca-Cola which would have not only been devastating to our business, but to the industry as a whole,† said Mr. Short. â€Å"Working with Close Brothers has afforded us with the opportunity to expand our business and realise our true growth potential as we continue to  work toward becoming the world-leader in sustainable packaging.†

Manchester Product

Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge Recommendation: Here are two companies namely Manchester Products and Paul Logan Furniture Division, both offer furniture in different sectors. Indeed, Manchester Products has been known for office furniture while Paul Logan Furniture Division is selling high-Â ­? end fashionable home furniture. Manchester should co-Â ­? brand the Paul Logan Furniture Division line by using a strategy that makes Manchester an endorser brand (Aaker D. , 2004). In this way the existing product line could now be called Manchester Paul Logan Furniture Division and after two years, Manchester should introduce a new household furniture brand. Problem statement: The problem that Manchester faces is that of transitioning from one customer segment, which is the office furniture segment to another segment which is the segment of household customers. If we have a look at the exhibit 4, the table highlights clearly the strengths of Paul Logan Furniture Division which are different than the Manchester Products. While the core product is the same, the marketing, branding and distribution techniques will differ. The choice of these strategies and the alternates present problems to the company. As ar as the next issues regarding the different distribution strategies of both the brands are concerned, Manchester follows a push strategy where it manufactures the furniture and sells it online, through retailers, specialty stores as well as through the direct sales force. As far as Paul Logan Furniture Division is concerned, it too follows a push strategy as it designs its pro ducts and manufactures them, without addressing specific consumer requirements. Assumptions: The future for Manchester, as a household and an office retailer brand will need to keep in mind that the Paul Logan Furniture Division name annot be used after three years. Another assumption is that furniture chain stores concerns will be satisfied, as Manchester will be able to provide them with products with the endorsed Paul Logan Furniture Division name. This will enable them to have a comfort level developed with Manchester so that once two years have lapsed and the new Manchester brand is introduced, these stores will be willing to carry them, based on a good relationship (Aaker D. A. , 2004). Discussion and analysis: The solution that needs to be undertaken in order to resolve the challenge of brand transition, considering that the company an only use the brand name for three years and the fact that it cannot use it to brand new products indicates that adoption of the Paul Logan Fur niture Division brand name is not a sustainable strategy. Therefore, the suggestion given by Lisa regarding delaying the name change is not feasible and would only serve to confuse consumers (Davis, 2000). The suggestion where Gary recommends that all products should be rebranded to Manchester immediately ignores the core reason for the acquisition of Paul Logan Furniture Division. The acquisition was carried out to help Manchester enter the household furniture market nd if the name is not used then the acquisition would, in essence, waste the power of the Paul Logan Furniture Division brand in the consumer market. In so far as the last recommendation is concerned, the gradual change in one or two categories will help in registering the fact that Manchester has the same quality products as Paul Logan Furniture Division, and will help to leverage the acquired brand name better. However, this will be against the core principles as stated by Al and Laura Ries as an immutable law of bra nding (Ries & Ries, 1998). The law of singularity states that the brand should stand for ne particular image in the mind of the consumer. In as far as the case goes, it has been stated that Manchester has an image of a conservative furniture brand that is mainly ‘corporate’ in its approach, using conservative and elegant designs. Paul Logan Furniture Division has a completely different positioning, and is meant to be a contemporary outstanding furniture brand that is preferred by consumers who are trend setters in way. This target market serves to be a completely different brand persona which is bold and trendy as compared to Manchester’s persona which is serious and elegant. Therefore, none of hese strategies would have worked in the market place, and there was a need for a more comprehensive, and focused strategy that could harness the positive goodwill generated by Paul Logan Furniture Division so that Manchester cold sustain the advantage in the longer run, e ven after the three years had passed. That is the reason why the fourth strategy of endorsing the Paul Logan Furniture Division brand had to be considered. The marketing communications campaign that is used will need to focus on this endorsement, so that the brand name becomes so entrenched in the consumer’s mind, that even when three years nd and Manchester is relived of the right to use the Paul Logan Furniture Division name, Paul Logan Furniture Division is subconsciously perceived as a Manchester brand (Davis, 2000). As far as pull and push strategies are concerned, the company in case of the Paul Logan Furniture Division brand line should continue to follow a push strategy, with promotional offers and designs that can enhance sales as well as market recognition. However as far as the office furniture division is concerned, the company should also introduce a pull strategy whereby orders are taken from corporate buyers and are customized ccordingly. Implementation: The pr oposed recommendations have two phases. The first is endorsed product lines while the second is a new product line at the end of two years. In the first scenario the action plan would entail as an immediate step, a board and then a company-Â ­? wide meeting where all employees are brought onto the same page with reference to the strategy proposed of endorsing the brand. The employees need to be reminded that they are brand ambassadors. As far as the sales force is concerned, Paul Logan Furniture Division sales team will have to be instructed to consciously endeavour and call Paul Logan Furniture Division as Manchester Paul Logan Furniture Division in all verbal, written and online communications. The sales force will have to be briefed and trained in following the company policy. Moreover, some sales people will be permanently placed at larger retail stores to help answer and queries regarding the corporate endorsed brand. Secondly, retailers and distributors will be brought on board, and all their concerns and issues should be answered proactively. Ad and communications campaigns also need to be worked on focusing on Manchester Paul Logan Furniture Division. Once the endorsement trategy ceases to exist, the company will have to have a contingency plan in catering to the situation Moreover as new products cannot bear the Paul Logan Furniture Division name, the company will have to come up with a new brand of household furniture, after two years of using the Paul Logan Furniture Division name. The implementation procedures in this case will include promot ional strategies for retailers and wholesalers who will be encouraged to push the product more than the competitor’s products. Implementation is the key to executing a successful brand strategy and these measures will aid in just that.

India’s Caste System

The caste system is a system of division of labour and power in human society. It is a system of social stratification, and a basis foraffirmative action. Historically, it defined communities into thousands of endogamous hereditary groups called Jatis. The Jatis were grouped by the Brahminical texts under the four well-known caste categories (the varnas): viz Brahmins, Kshatriyas,Vaishyas, and Shudras. Certain people were excluded altogether, ostracized by all other castes and treated as untouchables.Although identified with Hinduism, caste systems have also been observed among other religions on the Indian subcontinent, including some groups of Muslims, Buddha. Caste is commonly thought of as an ancient fact of Hindu life, but various contemporary scholars have argued that the caste system was constructed by the British colonial regime. Caste is neither unique to Hindu religion nor to India; caste systems have been observed in other parts of the world, for example, in the Muslim com munity of Yemen, Christian colonies of Spain, and Japan.The Indian government officially recognizes historically discriminated lowest castes of India such as Untouchables and Shudras underScheduled Castes, and certain economically backward castes as Other Backward Castes. The Scheduled Castes are sometimes referred to as Dalit in contemporary literature. In 2001, the proportion of Dalit population was 16. 2 percent of India's total population. Since 1950, India has enacted and implemented many laws and social initiatives to protect and improve the socio-economic conditions of its Dalit population.By 1995, of all jobs in the Central Government service, 17. 2 percent of the jobs were held by Dalits. Of the highest paying, senior most jobs in government agencies and government controlled enterprises, over 10 percent were held by members of the Dalit community, a tenfold increase in 40 years but yet to fill up the 15 percent reserved quota for them. In 1997, India democratically elected K. R. Narayanan, a Dalit, as the nation's President. In the last 15 years, Indians born in historically discriminated minority castes have been elected to its highest judicial and political offices.While the quality of life of Dalit population in India, in terms of metrics such as poverty, literacy rate, access to health care, life expectancy, education attainability, access to drinking water, housing, etc. have seen faster growth amongst the Dalit population between 1986 and 2006, for some metrics, it remains lower than overall non-Dalit population, and for some it is better than poor non-Dalit population. A 2003 report claims inter-caste marriage is on the rise in urban India.Indian societal relationships are changing because of female literacy and education, women at work, urbanization, need for two-income families, and influences from the media. India's overall economic growth has produced the fastest and most significant socio-economic changes to the historical injustice to it s minorities. Legal and social program initiatives are no longer India's primary constraint in further advancement of India's historically discriminated sections of society and the poor. Further advancements are likely to come from improvements in the supply of quality schools in rural and urban India, along with India's economic growth.

My Childhood Memory: An Accident That I Can Never Forget Essay

When I was aged 3 in 2002 I had an accident at home that I would never forgot. I use to live in Helmsley, North Yorkshire and attended a nursery school called Montessori Nursery in a town/village called Wombleton. It was a Thursday I had been at nursery, I was very hyper and pumped up bristling with energy, my mum had come to collect me to take me home which I didn’t want to do although I had no choice, while my mum was making lunch I was watching my favourite programme on the TV which at the time was â€Å"Thomas the Tank Engine†. Once I had lunch mum started to clear up and afterwards started to disassemble me and Neil’s (my brother) bunk beds, I decided to be a bit more adventurous, I had seen a small old wooden step ladder (It was designed for the bunk beds), I decided to use it, I took the ladder down the stairs without my mum knowing, took it into the front room and proceeded to rest it against the TV unit and climb up it. I thought that this would be fun and exciting at the time, I climbed the ladder holding onto to the top of the television as I got to the top where I grabbed hold of the handles at the back, I lost my balance and I kind of knew what would happen but I didn’t have enough time to react as I was very small back then, I fell backwards still holding onto the television, I landed on the floor with a thud and a cracking noise came from the tv , the television landed on my right leg and the screen was smashed to pieces, I felt a throbbing pain in it. I screamed in pain and the whole neighbourhood could hear it, tears rushed down my face while I could hear my mum come rushing down the stairs, my mum came running into the room and was shaken to the core to find me on the floor crying with a tv on my leg, I was in agonising pain, she lifted the TV off me and then comforted me until I let her see my leg, I could not walk without being in a whole load of pain and falling over, so my mum had to carry me to the setae where should could examine my leg further before making a decision. Mum contacted the local doctor to make an emergency appointment as the hospital was over 30 miles away in Northallerton, the place that I was born in, same hospital, the doctor said they could not x-ray because they didn’t have the right equipment for the job at hand and therefore he suggested that mum take me to the hospital. My mum looks a little bit cross when the doctor said that as she didn’t want to drive that far, but she did anyway. We had to collect my brother from school as my Dad was away on business, (which was unfortunate at the time), and then drove to the hospital, we arrived at accident and emergency and were the only people there but had to wait for nearly two hours to be seen which is really stupid now that I think about it, there was no one there but we had to wait 2 hours, during those hours I fell asleep and that kind of helped ease the pain cause it made me forget about the fact a tv landed on my foot, I couldn’t walk on the leg as it would probably have made it worse and also because it would mean I would be in excruciating pain. Eventually I was taken to have an x-ray(at long last) and had to wait for the results, when they came back my mum was told that it was not broken but badly bruised my mum was relieved to hear it , they tried to put an elastic sock on my leg but I would not wear it. I didn’t feel comfortable with one being put me. It just wouldn’t feel right because I was very stubborn at the time and I had never worn one so I didn’t want to wear one, I would now if the same thing happened again to me but that’s not that likely. My poor mum had to carry me about for about a week or so until my leg recovered from the accident, the only down side of this was that the TV screen was smashed when it fell on my leg and had to be repaired so me and my brother Neil couldn’t watch our favourite shows for a few weeks which was a huge pain. No â€Å"Thomas the Tank Engine† for me.

Impressionism and The Famous Cafes of Paris Essay

Impressionism and The Famous Cafes of Paris - Essay Example The essay "Impressionism and The Famous Cafes of Paris" provide a detailed information about impressionism movement and gives a review on famous cafes of Paris in the 19th century. Impressionists painted day-to-day events instead of extraordinary occurrences. All this had to take place in a very unconventional setting. What better setting could they find than the famous cafes of Paris? How did the cafes relate with the impressionists and the post-impressionists? How much did the cafes influence the artists' work? How different they are now from what they were in the 19th century? These are some of the questions this paper tries to explore. Impressionism was an important movement in painting which began in the late 19th Century and developed through the early 20th century in France. It began when a few of the French artists became disillusioned with the way painting was taught in those days -- the mythological or historical subject matter. â€Å"They also rejected the conventional, i maginative or idealizing treatments of academic paintings.† Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renior, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Armand Guillaumin and Frà ©dà ©ric Bazille comprised the initial artists of the movement. Among those who adopted the impressionist style of painting for some time were Edgar Degas and Paul Cà ©zanne. Édouard Manet was the painter who had inspired the impressionists to adopt the style in which they painted. Later, he also joined the movement and adopted its style. The impressionists were not hitherto known by this name. In 1874, when the group organized its own exhibition, an art critic, Louis Leroy, wrote a scathing criticism of the painting Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), by the then unknown artist Claude Monet. Louis titled his review, The Exhibition of the Impressionists, and had this to say in his article: Impression - I was certain of it. I was just telling myself that, since I was impressed, there had to be some impression in it and what freedom, what ease of workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape.2 It was from here on, that the group came to be known as the Impressionists and hence, the movement came to be known as Impressionism. This was the identity, which while the world derided, the artists of the group were proud of it. Neo-Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Impressionism, as a technique is still being practiced among the contemporary artists. However, the movement began to wane very shortly. The greatness of the movement does not lie in its longevity, its greatness lies in influence and productivity. As a reaction to Impressionism, two new movements came into being. Artists reacted against the empirical realism3 of the impressionists and devised a new technique based on scientific application of the optical principles of light and color to render the transient nature of time. This technique came to be known as Neo-Impressionism. Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Henri-Edmond Cross, Albert Dubois-Pillet, Maximilien Luce, Tho Van Rysselberghe and the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, formed the first Neo-Impressionist group. Together, in 1881, they formed Socit des Artistes Indpendants (Society of Independent Artists). Like its predecessor, this movement also waned quickly, but not without having a lasting influence on the works of such great artists as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Henri Matisse. An English art-critic, Roger Fry, gave the name Post-Impressionism to the works of artists like Paul Czanne, Georges Seurat, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulous

Encompass Technologies Inc International Venture Research Paper

Encompass Technologies Inc International Venture - Research Paper Example Market research and analysis shows that in order to increase profits in general, Encompasses Technologies Inc needs to venture into international markets. Focused groups have found that we need to go global in order to expand our target audience and broaden our market share. Going beyond Mexico will allow Encompass Technologies Inc to expand its expertise in its technological area. A global venture will keep us from losing our customers who are looking online for computer services. The venture is meant to offset domestic markets reliance that sometimes limits the company’s profit margin due to an increase in target consumers willing to purchase the products. A venture like this will lead to greater prospects for absence of seasonal fluctuation. The decision to venture into new markets must be taken with caution considering the many hurdles of setting up in a new environment. But because Encompass has reached a phase of growth it can start the development of international business. Good communication will help us plan and come up with ideal strategies on how to enter new markets. Market globalization is to our advantage because more and more people internationally are demanding for computer products and services. The environmental analysis will assist us identify the opportunities our organization has and we can use our main strength product quality and fair pricing to acquire a broad market share. While our competitors may be ahead of us in penetrating the market out selection criteria chosen will assist us identify the gap-an untapped market niche -whatever the country. Thanks to our R&D team and technology we have adequate information on our target market and we can start planning our marketing strategy. The marketing mix will rely heavily on how much we are ready to put in foreign markets. The monitoring team that will follow performance tests before actually venturing into the markets can cover uncertainties. If Encompass focuses its energy now in venturing into international markets it will acquire rapid response because there is ready market in the developing countries. These countries are embracing technology at a high rate creating high demand for computer services. The creativity of this company has placed it to the top and by venturing into international markets Encompass will increase its profit margin as it broadens its market share.

Reflections on reading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflections on reading - Essay Example Main hero, Zach is a complicated, not an ordinary person, who is put by author in not a casual kind of circumstances. Maybe this novel is even metaphorical: for example, Zach’s roommate in rehab has a name Raphael, what calls up a parallel with name Raphael like the angel’s name. (Koenig, L.) â€Å"Hairstyles of the Damned† by Joe Meno I loved most. It’s entertaining and helpful for young people, and a little bit philosophical – all at ones. This novel gives reader an opportunity to feel like you are (or were) not alone with your teenage problems, and believe, that if everyone is going through it, you also will. First love and sex, complexes about the way you are and way you look, problems with friends, parents and at school – it’s all common teenage problems. To my mind, such books should be written for a different ages, because in every age there are specifical problems and fears, and in every age it’s important to feel you’re not alone. I also loved the main hero for his mistakes and his honesty to himself. It’s often we can not explain all our emotions to other people, even to family and friends, but it’s important to confess your feelings to yourself and be not ashamed of what you desire. So after the end of my literature class, that force me to read, I think I still be reading sometimes for all three reasons: to know briefly something new, to think about high important things together with the intellectual author and to feel I’m not alone with something that bothers me right

Publishing with contnet management systems Essay

Publishing with contnet management systems - Essay Example PowerPoint is a content management system and is employed for many tasks. It facilitates the users with publishing features. There are also rhetorical challenges that it offers to writers. Publishing with PowerPoint as a content management system facilitate the user with alterations in production and use of a document. The content management tasks performed by PowerPoint are content cutting, strong boundary-slides cutting, logical flow and many others related to STOP (Sequential Thematic Organization of Publications) document, Quick Scan, and Hypertext. The writers employ the technique of content cutting when they require fitting their text in a slide of PowerPoint. Content cutting can be seen as a rhetorical challenge to writers because they have to make sure that the content that is published is the most appropriate. Development of slides restricts the writers to use a minimized space for the display of their information. Writers and users of PowerPoint are also accommodated with strong boundary-slides cutting, which means that they are allowed to develop the slides according to their needs and requirements but they must display the information in an understandable manner that is easy for the readers to go through. Through logical flow, the writers are required to develop and publish slides in a manner that is logical. One idea or set of information displayed on one slide should have relevancy and flow with the next slides. The writers of slides face a challenge to manage the data and information in a logical flow. With STOP method of documentation of slides, the writers writing slides on PowerPoint can display more information in a single preview as two pages are attached and separated by means of a line. Nearly 350 to 1000 words can be displayed by means of STOP. The writers are challenged as to what kind of information and to which extent can they publish by means of STOP. Hypertext is a medium that allows the users and writers to publish their

Developing Marketing Communication Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Developing Marketing Communication - Coursework Example The flagship concept of marketing involves the communication and product promotion for products considered top of the art used to drive sales in international markets (Samsung Mobile, 2014). Using marketing concepts and theories such as the theory of the firm, marketing mix, and retention marketing mix, this paper seeks to analyze SE’s use of GUC as a product promotion campaign. In addition, the applicability of the media and promotion tools is assessed and compared with theoretical best practice. For instance, using the theory of the firm, it is considered best practice for companies to mitigate their spending and increase returns such that product promotion is both beneficial to the company and directly influencing sales positively (Luo, & Donthu, 2006). The paper concludes with recommendations regarding areas in product promotion where Samsung should adapt different or improve on the current approach. For instance, international campaigns featuring products that do not make it to the international market burden promotional campaigns with extra costs. Samsung Electronics (SE), is a technology company that competes in the mainstream international smartphone industry. To address the threat of surging sales following the entry of alternative cheaper phones such as Xiaomi Note targeting the Chinese market, Samsung developed the GUC to familiarize customers with the ‘Next Big Thing’ (Extreme Tech, 2014). Samsung trades all its flagship smartphones with the tagline, ‘The Next Big Thing’ which serves the purpose of communicating to customers about the currently released premium products (Samsung Mobile, 2014). SE’s 2014-GUC makes use the DRIP (Different, Reinforce, Inform, and Persuade) Model aiming at: In SE, GUC targets the international middle-to-upper class customers (Extreme Tech, 2014). Although Samsung products are sizably cheaper than those of competitors such as Apple, the company’s