Enlightenment Period and the Scientific Revolution Essay

The relationship between the development of the Enlightenment Period and the Scientific Revolution was that the Scientific Revolution was an aspect of the Enlightenment on a whole. The Scientific Revolution helped in the process of the Enlightenment by bringing new advances in areas such as Nicolas Copernicus and his new theory that would soon discarded the old geocentric theory that placed the Earth at the center of the solar system and replaced it with a heliocentric theory in which the Earth was simply one of a number of planets orbiting the sun. Another great advancement during the Scientific Revolution was in the field of astronomy. Johannes Kepler proved the orbits of the planets were elliptical, but was unable to come up with an effective model of the solar system. That was left to Galileo, who in 1630 published his Dialogue on the Two Chief Systems of the World, in which he supported the Copernican, or heliocentric theory of the universe, and denounced the Aristotelian system , which maintained the geocentric theory. Galileo supported his claims with elaborate evidence derived from the study of physics. Also the achievements made in mathematics and physics were revolutionary. In the form of the development of algebra, trigonometry, the advance of geometry and the linkage of form and motion with quantifiable numeric values undertaken by Rene Descartes. Armed with these tools, the science of physics began to advance rapidly. The primary concepts changing social mores marked the beginning of the Enlightenment, as individualism, which stressed the importance of the individual and his rights as a citizen. Relativism, which was the concept that different ideas, cultures, beliefs, and value systems had equal merit. And rationalism, which was the conviction that using the power of reason, humans could arrive at truth and make progress toward improving human life. These views gained widespread adherence in the wake of the Scientific Revolution, the Age of Exploration, the weakening of traditional religion, and the decline of monarchical rule. All of these trends served to prepare Europe for the Enlightenment period. One key achievement during the Scientific Revolution was John Locke’s writings of the (Second Treatise on Civil Government) Locke’s writing argued that a government run by the people was the beast system for us to live by. Locke’s writings remain as fresh and popular today as when he wrote them in 1688. Another key achievement during the Scientific Revolution was Sir Isaac Newton’s theories on astronomy that went a step further and formulated an  accurate comprehensive model of the workings of the universe based on the law of universal gravitation. Newton explained his theories in the 1687 revolutionary work called simply the Principia. This work also went along way toward developing calculus. The difference in the perspective of Catholics and Protestants during the Enlightenment was very little. Both cults felt that any idea or ideals that might elevate man to a level of self realization or thinking that might deviate from that of the church views was both dangerous and unholy. In response to this, the church ordered genocide and mass torture upon those who it deemed outside of god’s word. Do you think that there are similar cultural or religious barriers against scientific discovery today? All I can say is this. Despite scientific and physical truths of dinosaurs and the Ice Age, masses of people refuse to believe that the earth in older than a few thousand years†¦ But then, they also worship blindly to a silent god. Works cited. (1) Western Humanities Vol. II fifth edition (2) (The Panorama of the Renaissance) Edited by: Margaret Aston, Abradale Press (3) Various internet research sites.

Midwifery Today

Quilty_Lisa_MIDW127Page 1 of 6 Midwifery models of care monitor the physical, psychological and social aspects of women throughout childbearing years. Technological advances reflect differing opinions of physicians where intervening measures take choices out of women’s hands during birth, often neglecting needs turning a natural process into a medical procedure. This essay looks at choices offered to women in westernized countries choosing midwifery models, in stark contrast to an experience within hospital settings.It inspects beneficial impacts midwifery models have on refugee women and the importance of cultural safe midwifery models practiced in midwifery care in Australia. Financial recession threatens to impact on maternity services. This essay discusses this socio-political concern, and birthing women choosing midwifery lead care, its cost effectiveness and needs for change in indemnity insurance arrangements in Australia and abroad. With technological advancements, wom en are offered many choices medically to birth their babies without real reason to opt for such invasive procedures (Block, as cited in Chjnacki, 2010, pp. 3-54). Physician’s philosophy to pregnancy is commonly disease oriented focusing on diagnosis and treatment of problematic pregnancies and birth, managing affecting woman and foetus (Rooks, as cited in Chjnacki, 2010, p. 48). In contrast, midwives have a wellness approach to birth applying holistic care, trusting pregnant women and their ability to safely birth their babies where medical interventions are avoided (Hermer, as cited in Chjnacki, 2010, p. 48).Although midwifery may be recognized as acceptable, focus seems to surround the thought mother and baby won’t have appropriate attention if something went wrong under their care. Lubic (2010) writes, in Washington USA it has been noted that midwife managed birthing centres demonstrated how midwifery models impact lives of Page 2 of 6 women attending for the better . Women report coming out of care feeling respected and able to take charge of their own pregnancies, supported to birth their babies naturally without interventions. Woman centred care established through continuity of care, gains trust and recognises the other’s spiritual connection with her body and mind enhancing her natural birthing experience (Lubic, 2010). In Sweden pregnant women are encouraged to remain home until labour progresses to late stage avoiding unnecessary obstetric interventions. Women report fewer complications than those who are admitted to hospital for this phase (Carlsson, Ziegert, Sahlberg-Blom & Nissen, 2010, p. 86). It is not understood why women go to hospital while in early labour, other than through anxiety and to hand over control (Beebe et al. , as cited in Carlsson, 2010, p. 87).This becomes problematic for women and causes doubts about their body’s ability to progress through labour, if monitoring establishes it is not progressing (Eri , Blystad, Gjengedal & Blaaka, as cited in Carlsson, 2010, p. 87). Although labouring at home women felt they shared their uncertainties with midwives who were able to reassure them when in doubt, enabling them to then progress with their labour at home feeling confident with their own bodies progression (Carlsson, et al. , 2010). Carlsson (2010) states women reported to feel relaxed yet strengthened in their home environments, letting labour progress naturally.Despite health issues prevalent amongst refugee backgrounds, access to the appropriate health care can lead to significant improvements in reproductive health in women (Hymes, Sheik, Wilson & Speigel, as cited in Correa-Velez, 2011, p. 14). Refugee women settling in industrialised English speaking countries benefit significantly from midwifery models of care. It seems differences were evident in obstetric outcomes between these Page 3 of 6 women and women born in these countries (Small et al. , as cited in Correa-Velez, 2011, p. 14).Correa-Velez & Ryan (2011) suggest cultural competency or the degree to which these women are cared for, is of vital importance. Women report hospital stays as having negative impact on their well being and trust levels due to limited communication and cultural needs not being understood or met. The use of technical devices and lack of explanation for their use throughout labour was found to be distressing (Correa-Velez, 2011, p. 19). Trust, confidence and over all satisfaction were identified as important factors to women of refugee background, and thought to establish through continuity of care (Correa-Velez, 2011, p. 18).Women centred care improves communication, enhancing a sense of control enabling informed decision making (Harper et al. , & McCourt et al. , cited in Correa-Velez, 2011, p. 14). Relationships built around these midwifery models develop trust for women of immigrant backgrounds, aiding communication where it can be a barrier and interpreters may be needed. Availability of interpreters through community based practitioners was found to be limited or obtained through clumsy means (Correa-Velez, 2011, p. 16). Maternity services accessed in Australia come from a diverse range of women with specific needs (Phiri, Dietsch & Bonner, 2010, p. 05). The protection of cultural groups depends on cultural safe midwifery practice. Midwifery models identify women of all cultures as the main focus of care (Phiri, et al. , 2010, p. 109). Cultural safety essentially concerns a large understanding of individual respect, support, empowerment and upholding of human rights (Duffy, et al. , as cited in Phiri, et al. , 2010). Open and respectful communication clear and value free is fundamental in recognizing women’s requirements when planning individualized care, this is then incorporated into how cultural safe care is Page 4 of 6 instituted (De, et al. , as cited in Phiri, et al. 2010, p. 109). The uniqueness of midwives and women’s relation ships aids cultural safety, the relationship being enhanced by continuity of care (Eckermann, as cited in Phiri, et al. , 2010, p. 108). Deery & Kirkham (as cited in Phiri, et al. , 2010, p. 108) acknowledge how Australian midwifery models engage women individually, then respond appropriately to each woman’s cultural needs. Evidence shows midwifery driven models of care based on the midwife woman relationship leads to lower use of medical interventions, safer outcomes for mothers and babies and overall satisfaction, all at low maternity costs (Hatem, et al. as cited in Gould, 2011). Yet in the UK, where midwifery based care in maternity services are envied world wide, the financial recession threatens to be the largest risk (Gould, 2011). This highlights the need for midwifery models to be implemented and supported by all medical avenues, otherwise maternity services risk being pushed into large hospitals, where production line maternity care will be prevalent at costly effec ts (Gould, 2011) explains.This change would see an amalgamation of midwifery, medical and management structures, having potential to make long lasting impacts on the future of midwifery lead care where it becomes lost amongst medical models (Gould, 2011). The Australian College of Midwives, (ACM, 2008) outline how pregnant women and midwives suffer through the lack of professional indemnity insurance offered to midwives practicing privately. Sadly registered midwives frustrated at being unable to work to their full scope safely in private practices are choosing to stop practicing.Midwifery lead care is only available to a small number of women, as only few midwives work this way (ACM, 2011, p. 3). Research suggests midwives find there models extremely rewarding and those Page 5 of 6 who have left the midwifery profession would return if they were able to work under such midwifery models safely (Curtis, as cited in ACM, 2011, p. 3). Recent Federal Government recommendations in Austra lia recognise the need for midwives to take on primary care roles, and are considering changes to funding and indemnity insurance arrangements (Sutherland, et al. 2009, p. 637). Significant midwifery shortages particularly in rural areas combined with rising fertility rates could present significant reform challenges keeping maternity services under pressure if it continues unresolved (Australian Health Workforce Advisory Committee, as cited in Sutherland, et al. , 2009, p. 637). With some state based policy initiatives supporting midwifery care in the public sector, it seems women choosing ongoing care offering midwifery models through pregnancy, birth and postnatally still remains in discussion (Sutherland, et al. 2009, p. 638). Governments, health care providers and insurance companies limit maternal choice (Hermer, as cited in Chojnacki, 2010, p. 48). Hermer (as cited in Chojnacki, 2010) suggests as a pregnancy progresses in America, limitations for the women’s birth opti ons increase. A woman’s choice as to where and how she birth’s her baby may greatly be effected by the governing parties of a particular state (Hermer, as cited in Chojnacki, 2010, p. 59). Midwifery models of care offer women greater choice reflecting their own spiritual, religious, and feminist beliefs.It cannot be assumed how highly such values be ranked, and when in care of physicians, as patients it seems there is much misunderstanding (Cohen, as cited in Chjnacki, 2010, p. 51). This essay shows supporting evidence that midwives should be sole care providers for women experiencing normal pregnancies. Health care providers need to move away from such medical models of care relating to pregnant women, understanding that it is in fact normal for women to have babies. Evidence shows that women Page 6 of 6 f refugee history acknowledge midwifery models provide continuity of care that is needed for on going support during pregnancy (Correa-Velez, 2011, p. 13). This also applies to cultural safe models offered by midwives, and the ongoing relevance it has on Australia’s multi cultural nation (Phiri, et al. , 2009, p. 105). It is vital that these midwifery models become supported through governments backing, enabling midwifery care to become a choice all women have the privilege to make through their own individual circumstances.In accordance with my research, harsh reality is lack of insurance coverage may limit women’s options towards such significant happenings as birthing their babies, regardless of what is the best interest for them physically, mentally and spiritually (Law, as cited in Chojnacki, 2010, p. 75). Midwifery models of care will continue to play an important role in childbearing women worldwide, when choosing to remain in control of their own bodies capabilities or to simply have a choice. To what extent these models are advocated will greatly depend on individual governments, their change in policies, and financial sup port.Chojnacki (2010) concludes women choose their birthing options based on their spiritual, religious, political and feminist beliefs. Misunderstandings will remain between lawmakers, physicians and women as the importance of such opinions are trivialized (Cohen, as cited in Chojnacki, 2010, p. 51). Quilty_Lisa_MIDW127 References Australian College of Midwives. (2008). Submission to the Maternity Services Review 2008. Retrieved from http://www. health. gov. au/internet/main/publishing. nsf/Content/maternityservicesreview-470/$FILE/470_Australian%20College%20of%20Midwives%20Student%20Advisory%20Committee. oc. Chojnacki, B. (2010). Pushing Back: Protecting Maternal Autonomy From the Living Room to the Delivery Room, Journal of Law and Health, 23 (45), 46- 78. Retrieved from http://develdrupal. law. csuohio. edu/currentstudents/studentorg/jlh/documents/5gChojnacki. pdf Phiri, J. , Dietsch, E. , & Bonner, A. (2009). Cultural safety and its importance for Australian midwifery practice. Women and Birth, 17 (3), 105-111. doi: 10. 1016/j. colegn. 2009. 11. 001 Correa-Velez, I. , & Ryan, J. (2011).Developing a best practice model of refugee maternity care. Royal College of Nursing, Australia: Elsevier, 25 (1), 13-22. doi: 10. 1016/j. wombi. 2011. 01. 002 Sutherland, G. , Yelland, J. , Wiebe, J. , Kelly, J. , Marlowe, P. , & Brown, S. (2009). Role of general practitioners in primary maternity care in South Australia and Victoria. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 49 (6), 637-641. doi: 10. 1111/j. 1479-828X. 2009. 01078x Carlsson, I. , Ziegert, K. , Sahlberg-Blom, E. , & Nissen, E. (2010).Maintaining power: Women’s experiences from labour onset before admittance to maternity ward. Quilty_Lisa_MIDW127 School of Social and Health Sciences, Halmstad University Sweden. Elsevier. 28 (1), 86-92. doi: 10. 1016/j. midw. 2010. 11. 011 Lubic, R. (2010). The family health and birth centre – a nurse-midwife-managed centre in Washington , DC: Perspectives on Nursing Practice. Alternative Therapies, 16 (5). Retrieved from http://www. scribd. com/InnoVision%20Health%20Media/d/37370523-The-Family- Health-and-Birth-Center%E2%80%94A-Nurse-

Evolution of Games

Evolution of video games Did you know that there are seven generations of video games so far? Video games have evolved for many years. I will be explaining to you all about: The first conception of video games, the mid-development of video games, and the video games of today. Knowing About What Started it All Video games have come a long way in terms of graphics and sound technology. Although video games didn’t exist a hundred years ago, the enhancement in graphics and sound technology revolutionized on what people think of video games today.Unlike what you see in video games today that has amazing 3D and realistic graphics and sounds, it all started out with a video game called the Computer Space. This video game was released by Nutting Associates in 1970 and was the first coin-operated arcade video game. In 1972, the Odyssey 100 video game system was introduced. This particular video game can be attached to a standard television to display the graphics and play the game. In the same year, Atari launched Pong. The real video game revolution began in the late 70s.Atari introduced the Video Computer System or the VCS (renamed Atari 2600 later). This system uses cartridges and delivered colored graphics and sounds through the television. The game was played using a joystick or paddles. The Atari 2600 were the most popular gaming systems ever invented in its time. The system was always in demand that retail stores constantly ran out of stock, especially on the holidays. However, in early 80s, more and more video game manufacturers began coming out. An example would be Nintendo.Nintendo Family Computer was a worldwide success and sold over 500,000 units all over the world for a short period of two months. In 1985, Nintendo released a similar system in the United States called the Nintendo Entertainment System. With the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US, it also released the Super Mario Bros. video game that was a total hit. The Super Mar io Bros. game reportedly had a worldwide sale amounting up to 40. 24 million dollars and was declared as the best-selling game of all time.In the late 80s more and more video game manufacturers began releasing their latest video game systems. Sega Enterprises released the Genesis home video game system in the US and was a total hit. It generated sales amounting up to 14 million dollars. In 1995, Sony Electronics released the 32-bit CD-ROM game system called the PlayStation in the US. It was a phenomenal hit and this was the beginning of the Sony PlayStation legacy. The popularity of Sony PlayStation paved the way to more advanced graphics system and other video gaming systems manufacturers began to follow suit.The CD-ROM technology to be integrated in a video game system is now the most popular way to play a video game. Sega Enterprises and Nintendo followed with a similar concept of using a CD-ROM to play its games instead of using cartridges. Sega released the Dreamcast video game system in Japan in 1998 with features like a 200 MHz processor, 12X speed 1 Gigabyte CD-ROM drive and a 56 kbps modem. However, it arrived too late to threaten the Nintendo 64 and the much anticipated PlayStation 2. In the year 2000, PlayStation released the PlayStation 2 with great success.About 1 million units were shipped from Japan on the first weekend and have been one of the most popular video game systems ever released since Atari. Other companies also followed. Nintendo released the Game Cube videogame system and Microsoft released the Xbox game system in the United States. The Xbox had features that no other gaming system had. It had an 8 Gigabyte hard drive, 733 MHz Pentium III Processor and a 250MHz NVidia graphics coprocessor. Also, it was capable of being connected into a broadband internet connection. In 2005 Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 video game system in the United States.It has a wireless controller, headset and a 20 Gigabyte hard drive. Then PlayStations late st creation called the PlayStation3 which is mainly a family system that has the capability of playing Blu-Ray disks and also feature’s free online play. The PS3 has sold about 47. 3 million copies as of December 31 2010. As you can see, video game systems are rapidly advancing in graphics and sound technology. You can only wait and see what Sony, PlayStation, Nintendo and other video game system manufacturers can think of next in the near future.

Strategic Management in Barclays Bank Case Study

Strategic Management in Barclays Bank - Case Study Example The term future here implies a minimum of 20-years, implying the importance of long term thinking of where the firm wants to be. Mission: Hill (2006) states that a mission statement is rather the short term spot that the firm aims to achieve in the time of few years, generally a 5-year plan. Mission statement is generally derived from the vision, and is also assumed as a subset of the same. Goals & Objectives: Hunger (2006) states that goals and objectives are the further derived version, generally obtained from the mission statement defining the milestones that would ultimately lead to the achievement of mission. Corporate Strategy: Corporate strategy is defined by Lamb (1984) as the overall strategy of a diversified firm that is indulged in various businesses, and aims at creating synergy amongst all, moving ultimately towards the organizational vision. In accordance with Peterson (2006), the relationship between these six elements is fairly simple; Vision is the ultimate aim of the organization, around 20 years down the road, so to speak. Mission is the subset of vision, defining where the firm needs to be 5 years down the road, to achieve the vision in 15 years from then, and the goals and objectives are further short term in nature like annualized aims for a firm. Business strategy, at the same time, is the strategy that a single standalone unit deploys, while functional strategy is the grounds level strategy. This implies a strong relationship present amongst the 6 variables. For example, the vision of my organization is to be the market leader and be the first consumer preferred brand in the respective industry. Their mission is to attain a 20% market share by the end of the year 2012; this mission was established two years back and is expected to be revised. The goals and objectives are mainly to achieve customer satisfaction and provide the best quality of products and services. We only have a single unit operating to the business strategy is the corporate strategy i.e. product differentiation i.e. providing differentiated product for a price elastic consumer market. The functional policy is to retain good and competitive human resource that can lead the way for customer satisfaction. If critically analyzed, the sentences here clearly illustrate their inter connection with each other also showing how well these elements need to be tied up. Another example can be given of Barclays; their vision is to build a world-class organization - highly subjective in approach and very broad statement, capable of churning up any progress that they make towards becoming great. Their mission is to be innovative and customer-centric organization, contributing to people, their careers, and their lives.

Explaining the FITT principle and how it can be applied to a Essay

Explaining the FITT principle and how it can be applied to a progressive workout plan - Essay Example The overall goal is having all students through self - evaluation, create and implement a personal fitness plan to be carried out over ten physical education classes† (Newshour, 2002). Every element is quantifiable, and can have different tools and activities paired to insure an optimal result. FITT is primarily used for students at the pre-college level and is used for people doing low to medium-rate excercising. But FITT can be applied to an individual person to raise their success. Frequency is an attempt to balance cardiorespiratory and strength elements as well as having a comprehensive strength approach by varying activities from day to day. Cardiorespiratory sessions should dominate, from three to six weekly sessions: More is not helpful. For strength, frequency varies on the goal. If the goal is even development of nurses from all sides and approaches, then thre e to four sessions weekly is a good goal. A good pattern for most elementary schools, then, might be three ca rdorespiratory and two strength tests. FITT teaches the individual working out that cardio is far more important than weight, and even if someone wants to boost weight for whatever reason more than cardio, cardiorespiratory skill is essential to consistently lifting weights and building strength techniques. Flexibility and general endurance are key parts of strength training. Strength should fit between sessions. Ideally, for a person working out for their own health, five cardiorespiratory sessions a week and three strength sessions would be a good balance. This means one day, likely on the weekend, will have a cardiorespiratory warmup and lifting after. The person can either take a break between the two or simply move on to both. Intensity is a measure of how much is being achieved and how hard the work is. Heart rate is the primary indicator for Intensity. Beats per minute is measured simply, by a finger on the wrist, arm or neck. Maximum BPS end up being around 220 – age. The target rate rate is 50-70% of that. Ten year olds, for example, may want to see a heart rate of 105 to 147. Advanced PE classes or sports clubs might go for 70-85 percent. Someone starting out this workout should measure their BP every five minutes throughout an activity. If the measurement is too low, they should increase their pace; if it's too high, they can start ramping down. Changes need to be gradual: Nothing causes inconsistent workouts faster than people overexerting themselves then running out of gas. Meanwhile, intensity can only be determined by the person themselves for strength. Bench presses, leg presses, squats, cleans and jerks, curls, calisthenic weights, resistance weight technologies, pull-downs, handlebars... all of them are going to have different performances. The intensity that should be aimed for is a feeling of dull aching in the muscles, a gentle burning. Some pain and soreness is okay, but if it is serious, feels like a pulled muscle or lasts too lon g, it's time to ratchet back for some time. Once someone gets a feel for how they can lift weights and build strength, the hope is to keep the same sensation as the goal and increase the weight so that there is a clear path of higher and higher weight intensity. Time is the next measure. Cardio training should always aim for about 20 to 30 minutes. Strength training is measured by

Cognitive Psychology take-home final exam Essay

Cognitive Psychology take-home final exam - Essay Example Perception not only helps a person in gathering the information regarding the objects, patterns, people and events around him, but also helps in making sense of the gathered information by attaching meaning to it (Galotti, 2008, p.56). In the process of perception, it is mind who gives meaning to sensed objects. Hence, as mind of a human being functions on the basis of past information, there are also chances of occurrence of errors in perception. It is important to note that people are highly influenced by the past learning and experiences they have. The past experiences have a great influence on the interpretation of the information that people gather through sensory stimulus (Galotti, 2008, p.57). Visual and spatial errors take place as people, due to the influence of past experience, sometimes perceive what does not exist in the environment and other times, they are not able to recognize the object which is right in front of them (Sternberg, 2009, p.76). In the process of perception, mind plays an important role as it is the mind that gives the meaning to the spatial and the visual objects that are sensed by human beings. According to Peterson (1999), the perceptual illusions that lead to visual and spatial er rors occur because the mind has a tendency to manipulate the information provided by the sensory objects and provide different meanings to â€Å"objects, properties, and spatial relationships of our environments† (Sternberg, 2009, p.77). According to Tarr and Bulthoff (1998), the viewpoint developed from the previous experiences affect the process of perception of the objects (Sternberg, 2009, p.77). Hence, as the mind has a tendency to manipulate the information provided through sensory objects, human being makes error in visual and spatial perceptions. Answer 2 :The cognitive aspects of language acquisition are â€Å"receptive comprehension and decoding of language input and expressive

Islamic and diversity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Islamic and diversity - Research Paper Example ployed several non-Muslims in functions such as diplomacy and public administration while subsequent dynasties such as Ottoman dynasty of 1281-1923 placed non-Muslims like Yakub Mahallesi as Prime Minister. Islamic history is characterised by numerous queens who ruled Islamic dynasties such as Queen Radhia of Egypt thus confirming that Islam appreciates diversity (Mapel & Nardin, 1999). Although some conservative Muslims may argue that men are the protectors and women should not be leaders as outlined in Quran (4 : 34), contemporary Muslim scholars have challenged this notion since the verse concentrates on Islamic family law and not general political leadership (Manger, 1999). In addition, the conservative Muslims may argue that Islam does not appreciate the leadership of non-Muslims, but Quran (5 : 15 ) makes it clear that Jews and Muslims are protectors and friends of each other and thus Islam requires them to foster relationships with unfriendly people in order to ensure peaceful coexistence (Ali, 2005). Prophet’s tradition and Holy Quran in the Quran 5 evidence Islamic appreciation of diversity: 18 that asserts that ‘if God had so willed, he would have made you a single people, so strive as in a race in all virtues’ (Nagel, 2002). The Quran therefore recognises individual heterogeneity and ‘a race in all virtues’ signifies God’s intention of using diversity to make human beings work better. Prophet’s traditions (Sunnah) such as Medina Charter promotes multiculturalism and diversity as outlined by the ethnic diversity of Medina population of 22 tribes and Jews and the need of equal rights and status in the society. The Quran also supports unity and brotherhood as evidenced by Quran (49: 13) that clearly points out that all human beings descended from same parents. Furthermore, Islamic appreciates the differences of language and race as evidenced in the signs of God as outlined in Quran (30: 22) that points out that God’s signs ar e creation of

Corporate Balanced Scorecard Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Corporate Balanced Scorecard - Research Paper Example The balanced scorecard has long been integrated with management to make sure that the appropriate level of control is taken into consideration while obtaining corporate goals has become a primary factor to engage in maximizing operation. In various departments of an organization, the corporate balanced scorecard is a remarkable tool to help improve or ensure substantial operation that would lead to the company’s competitive advantage. For instance, in marketing department, it is important to make sure that significant information should be obtained from customers to guarantee high level of customer satisfaction and to make sure repeat purchase or positive word of mouth on certain product or service offerings. For this reason, it is important for companies to collect information from the customers in order to identify the level of customer satisfaction. In the balanced scorecard, the actual level of customer satisfaction should be set as the evaluative measure to know if there has been a good effort created that must have contributed to the actual level of performance concerning customer satisfaction. ... vel of satisfaction it serves primarily to the marketing department, because it is appropriate and substantial response with considerable haste could contribute to the actual level of customer satisfaction to be generated by the organization. Balanced scorecard is therefore a very important tool that would help enhance corporate performance. There are many things organizations should learn about it as a primary tool to help them realize adding a higher value for their customers, financial standing, learning and growth and internal business process. The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore the literature concerning corporate balanced scorecard, and the summary of information of organization using it. In finding these, there would be significant basis on certain conclusion why corporate balanced scorecard is used by specific organization. So it is important that the primary information about an organization should be well evaluated in order to find out at which point corporate balanced scorecard has been making sense in its actual purpose and usage. There are many literatures linked with the balanced scorecard and it is the intention of the proponent to integrate them into the actual discussion of this report. Furthermore, the integration of information concerning the organization using the corporate balanced scorecard is also taken into account in understanding possible implications of performance measurement and control. Literature review on corporate balanced scorecard The balanced scorecard was introduced by David Norton and Robert Kaplan in 1992 as they were interested to study performance measurement that would include tangible assets for value creation (Kaplan, 2008). They were primarily inspired to know about measurement for driving performance

Diploma in Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Diploma in Management - Essay Example A control system is necessary in an organisation in which activities of certain departments, divisions and sections needs to be coordinated and controlled. Most control systems are past-action-oriented and consequently are inefficient or fail. For example, there is little an employee can do today to correct the results of actions completed two weeks ago. Steering controls, on the other hand, are future-oriented and allow adjustments to be made to get back on course before the control period ends. They therefore establish a more motivating climate for the employee. Although many standards or controls are simply estimates of what should occur if certain assumptions are correct, they take on a precision in today's control system that leaves little or no margin for error. Managers would be better off establishing a range rather than a precise number and changing standards as time passes and assumptions prove erroneous. This would be fairer and would positively motivate employees. There are three fundamental beliefs underlying most successful control systems. Virtual organisations are small, core organisations that out source major business functions. In structural terms, the virtual organisation is highly centralised with little or no departmentalization. The example of a virtual structure is today's movie making organisations. ... This would be fairer and would positively motivate employees. There are three fundamental beliefs underlying most successful control systems. First, planning and control are the two most closely interrelated management functions. Second, the human side of the control process needs to be stressed as much as, if not more than, the tasks or 'numbers crunching' side. Finally, evaluating, coaching, and rewarding are more effective in the long term than measuring, comparing, and pressuring or penalizing. Management Control in a virtual structured organisation vs. vertical organisation. Virtual Organisation: Virtual organisations are small, core organisations that out source major business functions. In structural terms, the virtual organisation is highly centralised with little or no departmentalization. The example of a virtual structure is today's movie making organisations. In Hollywood's golden era, movies were made by huge vertically structured organisations. Companies such as MGM, Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox owned large movie areas and employed thousands of full time specialists like set designers, camera people, film editors, directors and even actors. Nowadays most movies are made by a collection of individuals and small companies who come together and make films project by project. This structural form allows each project to be staffed with the talent most suited to its demands, rather than having to choose just from those people the studio has employed. It minimizes bureaucratic overhead since there is no lasting organisation to maintain. And it lessens long term risk and their costs because there is no long

Womens Political Participation in Iraq Research Proposal

Womens Political Participation in Iraq - Research Proposal Example In this vein my dissertation explores whether these expectations have been achieved five years down the lane since the Iraq war. My initial research in the field of investigation of 'women and political participation' as I sifted through academic and political commentaries pertaining to the issue of women and empowerment reveals that there is a recurring trend of the problems that women face throughout the globe. It is also possible to see that the women's participation in the democratic process in Iraq can be divided into historical phases. Whereas the decade of the sixties witnessed a growth in the number of more politically aware women in the country's economic, political and civil spheres of the society particularly through the public/government sector. The advent of the Bathist party in the early seventies also saw the "Education for all" initiative which made women's liberation a supreme tenet of its agenda based upon the prevalent socialist ideology .This is did little for the private sphere as the Muslim Shariah laws were discriminatory against women. Things did not look good for the development of the "Women's liberation" in the mid eighties which witnessed an Iraq tumultuously struggling in the Iraq-Iran conflict and the birth of an increasingly secularist state which targeting the clerical fundamentalist minority of the country's political arena. The subsequent suppression of this fundamentalist element caused social conservatism so where as the women were active economically but politically their position weakened and this caused the decade to witness an increased breach of women's rights and liberties. The nineties saw a wave of religious fundamentalism backed by the public sector and there was an increase in Burqa and Hij ab clad women and there were less women in the work force and colleges. The decaying economy and the decreased salaries were equally pivotal in discouraging women's work and education. It is often said that the condition of women's liberation and empowerment was worse under Saddam's regime than compared to Afghan women under the Taliban and it is often argued that the political and economic status of women was greatly brutalized under Saddam.At the end of the war it is estimated that only 25% of Iraqi women are literate and nearly 20% of the women are employed. (UNESCO estimates). Literature Review Proposed Division of Chapters in the literature review It is intended that this literature review will consist of 4 chapters Chapter 1, Women Political Participation Global facts and figures; this will include the number of seats that

Equities and Fixed Income Investments Assignment

Equities and Fixed Income Investments - Assignment Example While the analysis of the free cash flow will indicate if the company enjoys an unobstructed flow of cash. The analysis of the free cash flow to equity will indicate if the company is in a position to service the equity holders after clearing all the expenses, reinvestment and repayment of debt. The analysis of the EBITDA indicates the cash flow from the operations (Hatten and Ruhland, 2005). The cash flow from the operations will indicate if able to optimize its operational performance. With the increase in the efficiency of the operations the cash flow of the firm will increase. Table 1: Tabulation of different ratios    2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 Gearing ratio 0.95 0.91 0.90 0.90 0.90 EBITDA 492.2 469.8 497.7 507.4 451 FCFE N/A -86.8 -89.9 -376.6 -162.1 FCFF N/A 252,286.60 239,185.37 220,906.19 2,284,070.11 Source: (Severn Trent Annual Report, 2013) Fig 1: Gearing ratio Source: (Severn Trent Annual Report, 2013) The gearing ratio increased considerably in the last 5 years. This in dicates that Severn Trent increasingly resorted to debt financing. The increase in the debt financing puts Severn Trent in a risky state, since higher the debt, higher the chance of insolvency, if the company is not able to finance the debt with the revenue (Jang and Namkung, 2009). This also indicates that the company has already resorted to huge amount of debt financing Severn Trent is in a highly leveraged position due to the presence of significant percentage of debt in its capital structure. Being in a highly leveraged position indicates that the company has a strong credit score otherwise the investors would not have taken Severn Trent into confidence (Kutner, Nachtsheim and Neter, 2004.). The highly leveraged position of Severn Trent also puts enormous pressure on the company to finance the debts. Fig 2: EBITDA Source: (Severn Trent Annual Report, 2013) The EBITDA does not indicate a linear increasing trend or decreasing trend. It is a mixed trend of intermittent ups and down s. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization are highest in year 2010, while it is lowest in the year 2009. The increasing trend in the EBITDA is an indication that the company is in a position to finance the interest payments quite efficiently (Miravete, 2003). Although the previous graphs already indicate that the company is already in a highly leveraged state. This means that although the EBITDA shows an increasing trend but the highly leveraged position of the company are putting severe pressure on the EBITDA due to the need to clear the interest payments (Pinhanez, 2001). Fig 3: FCFE Source: (Severn Trent Annual Report, 2013) The free cash flow to equity showing a constant negative trend for the past 4 years, which is a cause of concern. The negative value of the ratio indicates that the company has been suffering cash crunch for the past 4 years. This clearly indicates that the company faced trouble trying to clear the dividend for the equity holders (Stumpf , Dunbar and Mullen, 2001). This is because of the reason that the equity holders are paid only after clearing the expenses for reinvestment and debt repayment. The negative ratio of the free cash flow to the equity shareholders is a clear sign of the fact that the expense due to the reinvestment

Fast Food in HK Essay Example for Free

Fast Food in HK Essay Fast food, as you can understand is the term referring to food that is prepared and can be delivered in a fast time. It is traditionally American style meal that always included French fries, burgers and soft drinks. Restaurants store precooked ingredients, once the customer gives an order, take-away can be ready in a while. To be called as â€Å"Fast food†, these foods must meet a few standards: good time management, quality stability and fixed price. It is a very popular meal style in some well-developed cities, since the people have a totally busy life. The first recorded fast food restaurant AW is founded in 1919 at the United States of America, and the second one is the famous company White Castle in 1921. In this century, fast food restaurants develop and most of them become chains suppliers. US people spent billions on buying fast food every year. The fast food globalization had now become a huge social issue. Nowadays there are over 500,000 fast food restaurants and thousands brands in the whole world. And today we are going to focus on the two head quarters in Hong Kong– McDonald’s and KFC. Introduction of McDonald’s McDonald’s is definitely the biggest fast food chain in the world. It founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Nowadays, over 33,000 McDonald’s restaurants were established in the worldwide. The products of McDonald’s are in various types, mainly hamburgers, French fries, chickens and soft drinks. Sometimes, they will provide seasonal meal to attract customers such as ‘Shake Shake French fries’. Following differences of choices, McDonald’s would also offer vegetarian food too. In order to fit the culture, they may change the meal a little bit for example not providing beef in India. You can always find one on the street, because there are in total 200 stores in Hong Kong. McDonald’s became popular all the time due to busy life schedule of Hong Kong people. Introduction of KFC On the other hand, the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is the largest fried chicken shop in the world, and the second largest fast food chain after the McDonald’s. Harland Sanders founded KFC in 1930 at Kentucky in the United States of America. KFC practically sells fried chicken pieces, coleslaw and drinks. The popularity of KFC’s chicken comes from its original secret recipe which mixed with 11 herbs and spices. Not like the McDonald’s, KFC has a smaller scale with only 63 stores in Hong Kong. However, the numbers didn’t affect the KFC’s second largest place of fast food chain in Hong Kong. Advantages and disadvantages of Fast Food The biggest advantage of fast food is definitely FAST. People in modern societies are always in busy life schedule. Facing the hard workload, they may only have half an hour to have a meal and rush beck to their work. Thus, these quick service restaurants help to solve to lack of time problem. Meals can be prepared within ten minutes. No matter how delicious other food are, Hong Kong people have not enough time to buy ingredients, cook or enjoy. Second is the stability of food within one chain of fast food restaurant. Tastes are mainly the same in any store. You will never taste bad with the same meal. And the prices are predictable and affordable too. One fast food meal is always cheaper than you cook alone at home. However, fast food as called as junk food, affecting people’s health. Restaurant usually uses a lot of additives such as salt, flavorings and preservatives. The large amount of calories and additives are harmful to human body. Since the fast food is all pre-cooked, the nutrients of the ingredients are lost. Therefore, some people may say that fast food is only for surviving. Eating fast food in a long term may cause various diseases such as diabetes and heart attack. Comparison of McDonald’s and KFC In Hong Kong, McDonald’s is obviously in a larger scale than KFC. Except the differences on the food kinds, the way they run the company are a bit different too. Apart from fast food restaurant, McDonald’s have McCafes to provide desserts and coffee like Starbucks. Besides, McDonald’s have works in different area of society such as charity, children health affair. But the KFC is just only a restaurant in Hong Kong. Therefore, people would called McDonald’s as a better company than KFC in Hong Kong.

The Increasingly Competitive Business Environment Marketing Essay

The Increasingly Competitive Business Environment Marketing Essay The increasingly competitive business environment is due to the tremendous increase of organizations is pressing businesses to rethink its marketing philosophy, in order to stand out from the crowded and information overload global environment. Many marketing concepts and philosophies are suggested, by theoreticians, academicians, practitioners and consultants. In this writing, the most basic but practical marketing concepts and ideas will be introduced. These concepts and models are powerful as it is straightforward, rational and have been applied successfully in many business contexts. The effective marketing concepts to be introduced and discussed here is the Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning Value Delivery Process and the 4P Marketing Mix framework. For practicality purposes, a case study on these subjects will also be presented, to understand how these concepts are being applied successfully in the real life. Recommendations on how to further improve marketing activities are al so presented later. The article conclude with acknowledgement that although complicated marketing theories and frameworks are available, successfully executing the fundamentals and marketing principles is already sufficient to ensure a company to achieve competitive advantages in the marketplace. LITERATURE REVIEW The Concepts and Definition of Marketing Theoretically, marketing is a broad term dealing with identifying and delivering value to human and society. Marketing is about meeting human and society needs, and from the business standpoints, to meeting those needs in a profitable manner. There are various definitions concerning the subject of marketing. For example, a widely cited definition of marketing as defined by the American Marketing Association is as follow: marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefits the organization and its stakeholder. Some researchers argue that such a definition is commercial-oriented and have been proposing a marketing definition that is more socially oriented. From the sociology perspective, marketing is the process whereby individuals or a team of individuals attain their needs by creating, promoting and exchanging valuable products and services with one another. Generally, in today business environment, there are three broad categories of marketing concept. All of these concepts are based on a customer-oriented and sense-and-respond selling philosophy. The first type of marketing concept is called the reactive market orientation concept, where a company tries to understand and meet the customers expressed needs. The second type of marketing concept is the proactive marketing orientation concept, where the company takes initiative to understand the hidden needs of customers and find ways to meet those untold needs. Lastly, the third one is the total marketing orientation concept, where the company will practice both the reactive and proactive marketing philosophy in delivering values to the society. Marketing is essentially a process to create, deliver and satisfy consumers or customers needs and wants. The entire marketing process is thus often described as a value delivery process where it is concerning about how an organization create and deliver its value proposition to the society. There are various philosophy and perspectives in defining how an organization should deliver value to the society. Generally speaking, the value creation and delivery process contain three stages. The first stage is to choose the specific value proposition. In this stage, the market must perform comprehensive researches on the marketplace before he can expect to successfully deliver valuable goods and services to the marketplace. The STP formula is a widely known marketing concept in this stage, where STP stands for segmentation, targeting and positioning. Specifically, the marketer must segment the market, select the relevant market target and then to develop the value offerings positioning. In the second stage, marketer provides value to the society. The concepts of marketing mix, namely the 4P or the 7P framework is often applied here. In this stage, marketer decides how he is going to provide the value to society from the products, price, place, and promotion dimensions. In the t hird stage, the market must communicate the value proposition to the society, and this can be done through promotion, advertising, sales force, branding and even by exercising Corporate Social responsibility in the marketplace. The STP Process Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning According to Kotler et. al. (2004), the formula of STP, namely segmentation, targeting and positioning is the essence of strategic marketing. As mentioned before, the three steps are important for a marketer to plan how the value offered is to be delivered to the society. The paragraphs below will discuss these steps in details. Market Segmentation. Market segmentation is an adaptive strategy. It consists of the partition of the market with the purpose of selecting one or more market segments which the organization can target through the development of specific marketing mixes that adapt to particular market needs. But market segmentation need not be a purely adaptive strategy: The process of market segmentation can also consist of the selection of those segments for which a firm might be particularly well suited to serve by having competitive advantages relative to competitors in the segment, reducing the cost of adaptation in order to gain a niche. This application of market segmentation serves the purpose of developing competitive scope, which can have a powerful effect on competitive advantage because it shapes the configuration of the value chain. Through market segmentation the firm can provide higher value to customers by developing a market mix that addresses the specific needs and concerns of the se lected segment. Targeting. Once the firm has chosen a market segment it must choose a generic competitive strategy. At this point it is also necessary to review the selected strategy across segments and explore general strategic approaches. In some cases it might become apparent that a counter-segmentation strategy is applicable. In other cases, the development of distinct mixes for each segment uncovers inconsistencies or lack of resources at the corporate level and so it is necessary to revert to the segment evaluation stage. According to Kotler (2004) the only sustainable generic strategy in a segmented market is differentiation. He explains that the only other generic competitive strategy alternative (low cost) is not sustainable in a segmented market. In addition, a strategy successful at differentiating must generate customer value, provide perceived value, and be difficult to copy. At this point in the process the company selects those ways in which it will distinguish itself from its competi tors. In most cases the differentiation involves multiple elements. One way to differentiate is through brand equity building. A strategy based on brand is likely to be sustainable because it creates competitive barriers. A brand strategy permits the strategist to work with complex concepts and not limit the differentiation strategy to just a few competitive differences. This approach is consistent and reinforces the STP approach. A successful brand strategy builds barriers to protect the selected position by creating associations of the positioning variables with the brand name in the prospects mind. Positioning. According to researchers, the positioning strategy should include three components: customer targets, which are the product of the segmentation study; competitor targets, which are a product of the analysis of external environment; and competitive advantage, which is also a product of the environmental analysis. In developing the positioning objective, researcher is arguing that positioning is not what you do to the product, but what you do to the mind. Understanding how the mind receives, stores or rejects information will improve the chances of making the positioning objective coincide with actual positioning in the target audience. Marketing Mix The 7P marketing Mix Framework is a famous and practical tool widely used by researchers or practitioners. In the following section, all these elements of 7P will be discussed in details. Product. This is about defining the characteristics of your product or service to meet the customers needs. It must provide value to a customer but does not have to be tangible at the same time. Basically, it involves introducing new products or improvising the existing products. Price: This is about deciding on a pricing strategy. Even if you decide not to charge for a service, it is useful to realize that this is still a pricing strategy. Identifying the total cost to the user (which is likely to be higher than the charge you make) is a part of the price element. Pricing must be competitive and must entail profit. The pricing strategy can comprise discounts, offers and the like. Lots of factors affect the end price of a product, for example, the costs of production or the business need to maximize profits or sales. A products price also needs to provide value for money in the market and attract consumers to buy. There are several pricing strategies that a business can use: (a) Cost based pricing this can either simply cover costs or include an element of profit; it focuses on the product and does not take account of consumers, (b) Penetration price an initial low price to ensure that there is a high volume of purchases and market share is quickly won; Thi s strategy encourages consumers to develop a habit of buying, and (c) Price skimming an initial high price for a unique product encouraging those who want to be first to buy to pay a premium price; This strategy helps a business to gain maximum revenue before a competitors product reaches the market. Promotion. Promotion is how the business tells customers that products are available and persuades them to buy. Promotion is either above-the-line or below-the-line. Above-the-line promotion is directly paid for, for example TV or newspaper advertising. Below-the-line is where the business uses other promotional methods to get the product message across: (a) Events or trade fairs help to launch a product to a wide audience. Events may be business to consumer (B2C) whereas trade fairs are business to business (B2B), (b) Direct mail can reach a large number of people but is not easy to target specific consumers cost-effectively, (c) Public relations (PR) includes the different ways a business can communicate with its stakeholders, through, for example, newspaper press releases. Other PR activities include sponsorship of high profile events like Formula 1 or the World Cup, as well as donations to or participation in charity events, (d) Branding a strong and consistent brand identity di fferentiates the product and helps consumers to understand and trust the product. This aims to keep consumers buying the product long-term, and (e) Sales promotions, for example competitions or sampling, encourage consumers to buy products in the short-term. Public Relations are included within Promotion by many marketing people (though PR people tend to see it as a separate discipline). It includes the various ways of communicating to the customers of what the company has to offer. It is about communicating about the benefits of using a particular product or service rather than just talking about its features. Place/ distribution channel. Place refers to: (a) how the product arrives at the point of sale. This means a business must think about what distribution strategies it will use and (b) where a product is sold. This includes retail outlets like supermarkets or high street shops. It also includes other ways in which businesses make products directly available to their target market, for example, through direct mail or the Internet. People. Good information services are not likely to be delivered by people who are unskilled or de-motivated; People refer to the customers, employees, management and everybody else involved in it. It is essential for everyone to realize that the reputation of the brand that you are involved with is in the peoples hands. Process. This is about the way in which the user gets hold of the service (e.g., the way in which a document or a search can be ordered). It refers to the methods and process of providing a service and is hence essential to have a thorough knowledge on whether the services are helpful to the customers, if they are provided in time, if the customers are informed in hand about the services and many such things. Physical evidence. It refers to the experience of using a product or service. When a service goes out to the customer, it is essential that you help him see what he is buying or not. For example- brochures, pamphlets etc serve this purpose. It is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many examples of physical evidence, including some of the following: packaging; internet/web pages; paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes); brochures; furnishings; signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles); uniforms; business cards; the companys building and etc. CASE STUDY: NIVEA Introduction to the Company NIVEAÂ ® is an established name in high quality skin and beauty care products. It is part of a range of brands produced and sold by Beiersdorf. Beiersdorf, founded in 1882, has grown to be a global company specializing in skin and beauty care. In the UK, Beiersdorfs continuing goal is to have its products as close as possible to its consumers, regardless of where they live. Its aims are to understand its consumers in its many different markets and delight them with innovative products for their skin and beauty care needs. This strengthens the trust and appeal of Beiersdorf brands. The business prides itself on being consumer-led and this focus has helped it to grow NIVEA into one of the largest skin care brands in the world. Beiersdorfs continuing programme of market research showed a gap in the market. This led to the launch of NIVEA VISAGEÂ ® Young in 2005 as part of the NIVEA VISAGE range offering a comprehensive selection of products aimed at young women. It carries the strength of the NIVEA brand image to the target market of girls aged 13-19. NIVEA VISAGE Young helps girls to develop a proper skin care routine to help keep their skin looking healthy and beautiful. The market can be developed by creating a good product/range and introducing it to the market (product-orientated approach) or by finding a gap in the market and developing a product to fill it (market-orientated approach). Having identified a gap in the market, Beiersdorf launched NIVEA VISAGE Young using an effective balance of the right product, price, promotion and place. This is known as the marketing mix or four Ps. It is vital that a company gets the balance of these four elements correct so that a product will achieve its critica l success factors. Beiersdorf needed to develop a mix that suited the product and the target market as well as meeting its own business objectives. Analysis on the Marketing Mix of NIVEA Product The first stage in building an effective mix is to understand the market. NIVEA uses market research to target key market segments which identifies groups of people with the same characteristics such as age/gender/attitude/lifestyle. The knowledge and understanding from the research helps in the development of new products. NIVEA carries out its market research with consumers in a number of different ways. These include, (a) using focus groups to listen to consumers directly; (b) gathering data from consumers through a variety of different research techniques; and (c) product testing with consumers in different markets. Beiersdorfs market research identified that younger consumers wanted more specialized face care aimed at their own age group that offered a beautifying benefit, rather than a solution to skin problems. NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skin care range targeted at girls who do not want medicated products but want a regime for their normal skin. Competitor products tend to be problem focused and offer medicated solutions. This gives NIVEA competitive advantage. NIVEA VISAGE Young provides a unique bridge between the teenage market and the adult market. The company improved the product to make it more effective and more consumer-friendly. Beiersdorf tested the improved products on a sample group from its target audience before finalizing the range for re-launch. This testing resulted in a number of changes to existing products. Improvements included: (a) Changing the formula of some products. For example, it removed alcohol from one product and used natural sea salts and minerals in others, (b) I ntroducing two completely new products, (c) a new modern pack design with a flower pattern and softer colors to appeal to younger women, (d) Changing product descriptions and introducing larger pack sizes. Each of these changes helped to strengthen the product range, to better meet the needs of the market. Price As NIVEA VISAGE Young is one of the leading skin care ranges meeting the beautifying needs of this market segment, it is effectively the price leader. This means that it sets the price level that competitors will follow or undercut. NIVEA needs to regularly review prices should a competitor enter the market at the market growth point of the product life cycle to ensure that its pricing remains competitive. The pricing strategy for NIVEA is not the same as that of the retailers. It sells products to retailers at one price. However, retailers have the freedom to use other strategies for sales promotion. These take account of the competitive nature of the high street. They may use: (a) loss leader: the retailer sells for less than it cost to attract large volume of sales, for example by supermarkets, and (b) discounting alongside other special offers, such as Buy one, get one free (BOGOF) or two for one. Place NIVEA VISAGE Young aims to use as many relevant distribution channels as possible to ensure the widest reach of its products to its target market. The main channels for the product are retail outlets where consumers expect to find skin care ranges. Around 65% of NIVEA VISAGE Young sales are through large high street shops such as Boots and Superdrug. Superdrug is particularly important for the young-end market. The other 35% of sales mainly comes from large grocery chains that stock beauty products, such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsburys. Market research shows that around 20% of this younger target market buys products for themselves in the high street stores when shopping with friends. Research also shows that the majority of purchasers are actually made by mums, buying for teenagers. Mums are more likely to buy the product from supermarkets whilst doing their grocery shopping. NIVEA distributes through a range of outlets that are cost effective but that also reach the highest number of consumers. Its distribution strategies also consider the environmental impact of transport. It uses a central distribution point in the UK. Products arrive from European production plants using contract vehicles for efficiency for onward delivery to retail stores. Beiersdorf does not sell direct to smaller retailers as the volume of products sold would not be cost effective to deliver but it uses wholesalers for these smaller accounts. It does not sell directly through its website as the costs of producing small orders would be too high. However, the retailers like Tesco, feature and sell the NIVEA products in their online stores. Promotion NIVEA chooses promotional strategies that reflect the lifestyle of its audience and the range of media available. It realizes that a one way message, using TV or the press, is not as effective as talking directly to its target group of consumers. Therefore NIVEA does not plan to use any above-the-line promotion for NIVEA VISAGE Young. The promotion of NIVEA VISAGE Young is consumer-led. Using various below-the-line routes, NIVEA identifies ways of talking to teenagers (and their mums) directly. A key part of the strategy is the use of product samples. These allow customers to touch, feel, smell and try the products. Over a million samples of NIVEA VISAGE Young products will be given away during 2008. These samples will be available through the website, samples in stores or in goody bags given out at VISAGE roadshows up and down the country. NIVEA VISAGE Young launched an interactive online magazine called FYI (Fun, Young Independent) to raise awareness of the brand. The concept behind the magazine is to give teenage girls the confidence to become young women and to enjoy their new-found independence. Communication channels are original and engaging to enable teenagers to identify with NIVEA VISAGE Young. The magazine focuses on first time experiences relating to NIVEA VISAGE Young being their first skincare routine. It is promoted using the Hit40UK chart show and the TMF digital TV channel. Discussions on NIVEA Marketing Mix NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skincare range in the UK market designed to enhance the skin and beauty of the teenage consumer rather than being medicated to treat skin problems. As such, it has created a clear position in the market. This shows that NIVEA understands its consumers and has produced this differentiated product range in order to meet their needs. To bring the range to market, the business has put together a marketing mix. This mix balances the four elements of product, price, place and promotion. The mix uses traditional methods of place, such as distribution through the high street, alongside more modern methods of promotion, such as through social networking sites. It makes sure that the message of NIVEA VISAGE Young reaches the right people in the right way. RECOMMENDATIONS All aspects of the marketing mix must function together as a whole in order to create a useful marketing campaign and get a product the sales it needs. The marketing mix must suit the company and the products it sells. Luxury items like mp3 players must have a good promotional campaign, be a quality product, be distributed in all the needed places and also have a competitive price that shows its value. This marketing strategy is extremely important to the success of a particular good or service which in turn could determine the success of the organization in the future. When marketing managers attempt to develop and manage their product it is extremely important that they look at various different aspects. Firstly, they must look at those relating to the marketing mix: which the company has control over because they are able to develop their marketing strategies depending on the consumers needs and wants. Then, managers should also investigate those that make up the marketing environ ment: which include elements that the company has little or no control of e. g. certain government rules and regulations. Thirdly, a market opportunity analysis should also be performed: this exists when a company is given the chance to take action towards researching a particular group of customers. Fourthly, it is critical to research on the subject of target market selection: which involves selecting a group of potential customers for whom a firm creates and maintains a marketing mix that specifically fits the needs and wants of that particular group. Last but not least, the process of Marketing Management should be applied: this is the process of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling marketing activities to facilitate changes effectively and efficiently. By using this type of marketing strategy organizations are given the opportunity to market a very successful product, so it would be true to say that the marketing mix and its manipulation are vital for the success of a business. However, their good or service may only be successful if the organization provides products that satisfy consumers needs and wants through a coordinated set of activities that also allow the organization to achieve its goals. Customer satisfaction should be the major aim of the marketing concept. But the process does not end here because the organization should continue to alter, adapt and develop products to keep pace with customers changing desires and preferences. Organizations should be aware of the importance of customers and release that marketing activities begin and end with the customer. In attempting to satisfy customers, businesses must consider not only the short and medium term needs but also the long term desires as it is vital to the long term success of the business and probably the best way to do this would be to link the different departments of the company together i.e. Production, Finance, Accounting, Personnel etc A company adopting this particular marketing strategy must not only satisfy its consumers preferences but it also must achieve the objectives that it hoped to achieve by using this strategy. The best way of achieving your objectives is to satisfy the customer and an adequate marketing mix strategy is an excellent way to satisfy the customer who means that implementing the marketing mix strategy should benefit the organization as well as the consumer. CONCLUSION In short, we have seen how the traditional, simple but highly practical method of 4P framework is used successfully in our case study. The concepts of STP and Marketing Mix is very important in assisting managers to plan for marketing efforts to local and international market, and in fact, such a framework serves as the founding principles for development of more complex and advanced marketing strategies in the modern days. These concepts are not only theorectical popular and widely taught in business schools, but are also useful in practice, in analysis or planning successful marketing campaign or strategies for organizations.

General Electric Growth Strategy: The Imment Initiative

General Electric Growth Strategy: The Imment Initiative General electric a USA based company whose headquarters are located in New York is one of the words most renowned and successful companies in terms of market shares and revenues with the total worth of $150 billion. The companys total revenue in the year 2006 had increased to 17% comparing to the total revenue gained 2005 i.e. 12%. General electric is ranked two by Forbes based on the total profit made by the company, total market shares, and the value of products. General electric is currently employing around 287,000 employees all around the world and its market is expanded throughout countries like the united states of America, European countries and the Asian continent primarily India, china, Japan, and Singapore. But the stock prices of GE seems to be constant at $35 despite of huge market growth, which is one of the most important factors to look for in future for GE, despite constant stock prices GE is doing good in terms of earnings in the market. B. Strategic posture As soon as jeff immelt hold the position as the CEO of GE, he describes certain mission, objectives and strategies that GE has to follow throughout, these are. Mission Mission of the company is to change the previous strategies which proved to be inefficient earlier, and to integrate the company as a conglomerate. One of the major missions of the company is also to satisfy the demand of its customers and to deliver the best to its clients. Objectives To formulate and act on various strategies and to modify it at times and according to the situation that will help the company in the long term gain. To create a media business that is focused on the digital future of the company i.e. the acquisition of various media franchise. To create new techniques and to flourish in the healthcare market, like to combine GEs advanced imaging techniques with traditional healthcare techniques like advanced diagnostics, targeted therapies etc. so as to deliver their customers with new techniques and also to gain new opportunities in the market. Strategies The major strategies of GE are: As an ex-salesman, immelt had always got the tendency to focus on the needs of the customers and to deliver them with the best in quality and technique services. For accomplishing these objectives immelt had developed some major strategies that includes recruiting new chief marketing officer, and to train the business development staff more precisely to marketing roles. In the process they have hired a large number of marketing experts that shows how much GE wants to look for customer satisfaction. The next strategy of immelt is to form a commercial effective counsel in order to bring about together the best sales and marketing leaders together to deliver best practice. The company started using tools such as six sigma and net promoter score (NPS) to track customers attitude and loyalty. The next strategy of immelt focuses on being a service provider in order to strengthen customer relationship. As GE has a massive base of more than 100,000 long lived jet engines, power generators, locomotives and medical devices. Immelt seems them as a very good potential service income stream. Policies GEs policies includes customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction, and these policies are very much connected to each other and to the external and internal environment as the mission of GE is to provide the best services and this can only be done when they have a good customer and employee policies. The current mission, objectives and strategies of GE is very much accurate considering its globalization policies and multi domestic policies. And the main objective of the company reflects the internal operations of GE as immelt had altered many processes and shuffled departments keeping in mind the missions and objectives. 3. External environment: opportunities and threats A. Natural Physical Environment: Sustainability Issues The new growth platform of GE is based on natural and renewable sources of energy that includes wind, solar, biomass, coal gasification etc. GE is trying to increase their scope to these sources in order to sustain in the future. The only threat for GE in dealing with this new growth platform is the carbon emission and the use of non renewable sources. GE must find new ways to tackle these problems. Natural environment counts when it comes to services for example if GE is delivering its services in some area where the environmental conditions are not that good such as extremely hot conditions in the countries of Africa and extremely cold regions of the Siberia and the arctic circle. B. Societal Issues Economic: the company is doing very well in the recent days in terms of sales and new services and as there are many new opportunities for GE flourishing in every field ranging from healthcare to consultancy related services. The only threat for the company is the competition that is growing day by day in the related fields. Technological: GE is equipped with one of the best engineers and R D department of the world therefore it is a very good plus point for GE in order to research new technologies for its services. As GE deals in various services ranging from hardware to providing consultancy to medical services therefore it is a must for GE to use new and modified technologies and a very good base of technical employees. The technology that is used by GE always gives it a forte in the market. Political: the company has to face many political issues especially when it is trading in other countries therefore GE must have a very good law base and an effective Liasoning strategy so as to deal with political problems. Socio-cultural: the employees of GE is experiencing a work culture, this work culture is very important for GE in order to make their employees satisfied and to maintain dignity of work. Moreover GE is very much obsessed about their customers and for that reason they have formulated various effective strategies for their customers. All these forces vary when talking about trading of GE in global market. For ex. the political scenario of the country could be very different, for ex. the globalization policies, the employment policies and the taxation policies could be very different in other countries. Moreover the technological aspects also changes when trading globally for ex. the country where GE is trading may not have a very good technological base. Socio culture also depends and varies country to country depending on the work culture that is defined in that country. C. Task Environment Threat of new entrants: as GE is dealing in many services ranging from consultancy to hardware and other services therefore they are facing immense competition in the sector, also when they deal in global market they face competition from various local companies and firms in the same service, but as the strategies of GE is very well defined therefore they can very well compete and also defeat other players. Bargaining power of buyers: bargaining power of buyers is very high keeping in mind the thing that there are very much competition in the market therefore the bargaining power of buyers is very high and the company would compromise on bargain if required. Threat of substitute products and services: the services provided by the company are unique in nature and is very good in quality therefore the chances are very low that new services and products may replace GEs products, but GE should not take this thing very lightly as the concept of globalization is increasing and companies are keen to develop new strategies and willing to introduce new products. Bargaining power of suppliers: the bargaining power of supplier is not very much in case of deals with GE as the market reputation and position of GE is very good and as GE is a very good company therefore dealing with GE gives a plus point to the suppliers in their portfolio. Rivalry among competitive firms: GE as all knows is a $150 billion company therefore it is obvious that GE holds the key position in the market whether it is related to services based on consultancy or healthcare or any other hardware service, and GE operates and provide services in every filed therefore rivalry between GE and its competitive firms is very much for example companies which are pre-established in the healthcare sector are nowadays getting a tough competition from GE therefore we can say that the rivalry is very high in this case. 4. Internal Environment: Strength and Weakness A. Corporate Structure GE is an American multinational conglomerate company and is a publicly traded company; GE is ranked the number one company by Forbes in terms of employees and employers experience. The corporate structure of GE is divided into four parts GE capital: led by mike neal the vice chairman of the company, this segment deals with all the financial services businesses that include commercial finance, corporate treasury, and GE money. This structure focuses on improving GEs capital opportunities. GE technology infrastructure: is headed by vice chairmen john rice is a segment that focuses primarily on aviation, transportation, and healthcare and enterprise solution. This segment focuses on developing new softwares and leveraging technology. NBC universal: focuses mainly on the globalization and acquisition policies. Energy infrastructure: headed by vice chairman john krenicki is a segment that focuses on energy, water and oil and gas. B. Corporate Culture GE believes that their culture is among their innovations. GEs culture plays very important part in unifying the overall structure and the working of their business units around the world. The main aspects of GE that forms the major culture of GE they are: Their peoples: GE believes that their employees are their base in producing and delivering services therefore GE bring together employees to generate a passion of leadership with a combination of attributes. Working environment: the environment that GE provides is a highly integrated work environment with the best business practices. Leadership and learning: GE believes that learning is the process of development and so they have a very good base to teach their employees at every step of work. The work culture of the company consistent to the companys current objectives, strategies, policies and programs as the company believes in satisfying their customers and their employees therefore their work culture is very well defined in this context. GE believes in a sustainable culture and to utilize the natural resources to the best and this thing is very well confined in the work culture of GE. The corporate culture of GE is designed kept in mind increasing the quality of services, productivity, and globalization strategies so that they can gain more revenues. The company has a very diverse work force therefore they have formed corporate culture that not only help employees irrespective of their background but also encourage them. Whenever GE trades in any other country, they always make sure that the workforce there is satisfied with their corporate culture and also try to formulate strategies based on their culture so that they will have no problem in working with the peoples of that country. C. Corporate Resources The General Electric is highly diverse multinational conglomerate and has a highly expanded market. To make sure continued growth, the company CEO Jeff Immelt has incorporated various marketing and finance strategies over the year for justified use of available corporate resources Marketing General electric is currently working on basic business model based on which it has progressed over the year with slight changes. Its objective is to work as a well integrated and highly diversified company producing with innovations in every area. It is currently operating in 11 major business lines which includes-finance, transportation, NBC and health care. Jeff Immelt took the advantage of General Electric s huge and diverse stature by taking the company into high technology based industries due to lack of competition whose growth strategies were based on Technical leadership, Services acceleration, Commercial excellence, Globalization and Growth platforms. The first and foremost objective of Immelts strategies was increment in organic growth of company from its 5% annual rate during Welchs tenure to 8%. His strategic planning included renewing and rebalancing existing company portfolios and then attempting growth from fresh and sound foundation. One of the significant steps taken were acquisition of various markets and networks in existing business like Hispanic advertisement market etc. which helped in providing scope for future market opportunities and innovations. The main marketing strategies involve employee of company as their consumer on par with other consumer groups, awareness of strategies followed by its competitor, developing relations with its major consumers and over the years environmental safety has become a priority for General Electric. Compared to its competitors the marketing strategies of GE is unique and widely appreciated, the fact that it has not only followed its previous strategies but also taken some bold modifications viewed by others, having potential risk makes it superior to its competitors. The company has extended widely in past years by acquiring new business as well as investing in previous business as well. It has opened its branches in more than 150 countries and RD departments in India and China taking into consideration their cultural traditions since it considers its employees its first consumers. One of the weaknesses of GE has been its poor record with environmental issues. Allegations have immerged of water and air pollutions against the company. The new marketing strategy have taken it a point to make sure no further misuse of natural resources take place. The role of marketing manager is of utmost importance in GE. The strategy should be sought out further new innovative and technically feasible marketing strategies in order to increase its total revenue by 20 to 25%. Advantage for the manager is existing wealth of $150 billion and companies sound market reputation. Finance Jeff Immelt took the job of CEO of General Electrics at the time of great financial difficulties due to 9/11 incident which brought financial turmoil to the whole countrys economy but Immelt had huge belief in companys reputation and showed promising results as time passed. Initially the companys share dropped by 20% due to which he was widely criticized. But with persistent efforts at the end of year 2002, its cash flow increased to 10% compared to previous year and by the end of year 2004, companys revenue increased to 20%.The success achieved by the company is due to its visionary CEO who worked incessantly despite criticism in order to make General Electric one of the most renowned name ever. Currently its sound financial stand in market gives it scope for exploring new business areas and expansion of General Electric. The financial strategy of investing and acquiring new business is consistent with one of the main objectives of GE i.e. expansion of company widely across the globe. Net earnings of General Electric have increased every year considerably during Jeff Immelts tenure as its CEO. By assessing GEs cost price and selling price index it can be determined that initially the company had to suffer few losses with speedy recovery in 2002-2003 while there was a slight dip during 2003-2004, currently GEs business boast of $150 billion business and still expanding. Overall the new financial strategy was based on companys previous successful strategies with further investment in high technologically sound and service satisfactory business with development of high quality products. Finance is the backbone of GE, as with new business investment there is always potential risk, companies accumulated wealth is a plus point for further developments. With its initial criticism of over expected business success GEs CEO Jeff Immelt took revolutionary decision and within two years he took the company to its set objectives with net revenue increasing many folds and financial reputation strengthening. The strategies followed by GE for financial stability are based on its previous successful financial strategies with slight modifications. One of the significant strategies of the company is deliberate synchronization of its product price with that of the countrys market price in order to have complete harmony with its local consumers. In 2001 after 9/11 GEs stakeholders and shares declined significantly and its new appointed CEO Jeff Immelt was criticized widely for his potentially risky decision. But GE managed to fight back to its overwhelming position and as one of the most renowned name in market. The possible financial manager role is to make sure that companys product is satisfactory and in accordance with consumers pocket. The satisfaction of companys stakeholders and shareholders has always been companys first priority. Along with this company should implement those financial strategies which are in accordance to the present market condition and economy. Research and Development Initially Immelt decided on $100 million for General Electrics research and development facility at Nishayuna in New York, investing in building new campus and laboratories. It was developed for discussion between business manager and technologist to optimize its product quality. Although Immelt had plans for investment in long term research product which might not be feasibly commercialy for at least a decade as well. He showed more interest in high technology assisted products. Expansion was also visible in RD department with new installation in India and China along with RD budget being increased to $327 million in 2002 to emphasize more on organic research rather than acquisition. The Research and Development department is one of the most extensive and highly developed of GE with increase in its budget every year being visible promising high quality and innovative as well as inventive product being guaranteed by the company. Operation and Logistics The performance of the company is easily calculated by its sales revenues. In 2004-2005 the sales revenue increased from $ 1, 34,481 Million to $ 1, 49,702 Million. This concludes that the companys sale rapidly increased from 2004-2005. Also earnings from continuing operation increased from $ 16,285 Million to $ 18,275 Million in the same period that means production increased continuously. Sales volume of GE has a huge level of production that provides unique identity among competitors. GE production manager increases the level of production so sales revenues and net profit increases. Human Resource Management GEs Human Resource management includes employment and arbitration in according with the United States laws, and with a companys directives. Main motive of GEs HR professionals is to identify the new competencies that growth managers would need to exhibit. GEs HR researched the managers profiles at large global companies like TOYOTA and DELL. GEs HR responses utilizes 20% of total time with customers time ,30% on people, teaching and 10% with governance, working with the board, and meeting with the investors. The current economic climate is forcing GEs to explore tactics to remain competitive. Business process outsourcing of certain functions is an increasingly popular way to improve basic services. Information Technology GEs had the best product, content and services. A dedication to GEs inspires an entrepreneurial culture to implement ideas into differentiating opportunities for clients, business and most importantly to drive one GE in the market place. Strategic Factors Internal Factors Capability Manufacturing Services acceleration Finance Price Promotion Place Personal External Factors Customer Market place Growth leaders Technical leadership Transportation Competitors Target Globalization Recommended Strategies GE is a global company and it wants to achieve global presence in the whole world. It is recommended here that: GE should invest in high level business surveys in future markets to expand its market value. GE should engage local growth leaders in their targeted areas who would help actualize the real customer needs in such markets. GE should adopt new technology to fast its services and products in the market. Conclusions The strategy of GE to provide services in every sector is proved to be a very good strategy as it has given empowerment to the company to increase its sales and revenues on a very big scale. The company is also opting for the globalization strategy and is trading in many countries across the world making them more and more powerful in terms of services and customer relation. Immelts growth strategy to increase the share prices and to increase the revenue is proved to be very efficient in the context. Immelt is an ex- salesman therefore he knows that the customer is the main person that decides your stock prices and the revenues and the market position most importantly, therefore he had introduced strategies to make the customer happy and the strategies proved to be very good. The key to effective implementation of the strategies is to building on the past while imagining the future, technical leadership, services acceleration, commercial excellence, globalization, growth platform are the major key in the effective implementation of the strategies.

Culture of Ancient Rome :: Ancient World Culture

The art and artifacts from the Karanis excavation provide a useful, summary statement about the culture of ROME, the great imperial city. Rome's greatness grew out of its imperial program of conquering others and establishing colonies. This military expansion at once brought great material benefit to the Roman state and guaranteed a pipeline of wealth for Rome, the imperial city. And Rome becomes a cosmopolitan capital where high-living and material wealth become synonymous with personal importance and success. Note how the Karanis exhibit displays extravagant wall paintings, which did not decorate the walls of churches or temples but rather the homes of wealthy citizens. The exhibit also includes coins, whose minting bespeaks the abiding concern for the tokens of wealth as well. What the Romans also did was learn from other cultures. You might wonder why APHRODITE, a Greek goddess, was memorialized in a fantastic sculpture in Roman times (and in Egypt, no less!). To their credit, the Romans recognized the richness of Greek art and architecture, and they sought to emulate the Greek masters -- and the Greek styles and themes -- in their own art. To a large degree, it was the Romans who brought Greek (and Hellenistic) culture to world attention. Romans patronized Greek artists and artisans in the glorification of a vast world of their own, Roman creation. It is no surprise, then, that the Roman poet VIRGIL (or VERGIL) turns to Greek mythology and to the Greek epics as he fashions his own description of the origins and destiny of the Roman state, The Aeneid. Virgil writes his extended poem, in part, to win the favor of

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The KKK or Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee by former Confederate Soldiers. Some of the founders of this organization consisted of; Captain John Lester, Major James Crowe, and Richard Reed to name a few. Their main target at the time was blacks and any white person that stood with them. The Ku Klux Klan was the head of the racism movement in America. Being a hate group among minorities, they made them live in terror day in and day out. The KKK was the most feared group of people in the 1860’s. The Ku Klux Klan is better known for their bizarre costumes. They wore white robes with tall cone shaped hats that would cover their whole face except for their eyes, which was cut out. Even to this day, they follow the same dress code as they did when the organization was founded in 1866. Around 1920, the Ku Klux Klan started to burn wooden crosses in the yards of black residents in hopes they would instill enough fear that they would leave. The Ku Klux Klan also had billets that each member would hold. In 1866, when the Ku Klux Klan was founded, Nathan Bedford Forrest was the Grand Wizard of the Empire or also known as Imperial Wizard. Other than his military experience, he was not well educated, did not have experience in leading any type of people, and died not to long after the Ku Klux Klan was founded. The Ku Klux Klan Act was passed in 1871, which allowed the congress to arrest or prosecute any acts of violence that were held by the Ku Klux Klan or any form of terrorism against any individual. The Ku Klux Klan was declared unconstitutional in 1882 by the United States Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Ulysses S. Grant did not enforce the law due to many factors such as finances and it being difficult to prosecute a... ...icas’ history. Some see it as racism and hate among the KKK. Others like, the white supremacy groups, other KKK members, Neo-Nazis, and others that support and follow in their footsteps. One can’t help but to think about their ulterior motives. The KKK claims they are not racist but do not want African Americans, Hispanics, and any other race to join their alliance. Some of the KKK groups say they love but do not hate, yet they hate gays, bi-racial relationships, and we will be dammed to hell if we practice in such behaviors. They practice in what they believe in and that is making whites the superior race and although in the eyes of millions of Americans, it is wrong because we are supposed to accept everyone as they are. Regrettably, they believe only whites should exist, which sadly is protected in their constitutional rights of freedom of speech and expression.