Thursday, October 31, 2019
Payroll Tax Software Evaluation-Intuit Quickbooks & Kronos Workforce Assignment
Payroll Tax Software Evaluation-Intuit Quickbooks & Kronos Workforce Central - Assignment Example The features of QuickBooks Payroll program include basic reports, data import/export and online customer services. Correspondingly, some of the characteristics of Kronos Workforce Central comprise of payroll, appraisal performance, timesheet, HR management and multiple pay rates to name a few (IT Media Ltd, 2015). Both the products are downloadable online and are available in the market. QuickBooks Payroll is available in two versions that include Basic Payroll and Enhanced Payroll. The latest version of Kronos Workforce Central is the Workforce Central 7. In QuickBooks Payroll, the price of the Basic version is $20 while the enhanced version priced at $28 for each employee on a monthly basis. The function of the software is to provide businesses with accounting management solutions that include accounting, employee management, taxation and payroll management (ITQlick, 2015). The price of Kronos Workforce Central is identified to be based on the deployment option. The function of the software is to manage payroll, absence and time as well as attendance of the employees at workplace (ITQlick, 2015). Cloud computing is identified as a mechanism through which computing resources are stored with the use of internet (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, 2010). In QuickBooks Payroll, the employers and the IT experts have access to store and retrieve data on the internet while for Kronos Workforce Central both employers and employees can store and retrieve data over the internet through computers and mobile devices (IT Media Ltd, 2015). It can be concluded that with the use of QuickBooks Payroll and Kronos Workforce Central, organizations are able to manage data and calculate payroll taxes effectively. Both the products are identified to be similar or different in certain features as well as
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Tribal Warfare Essay Example for Free
Tribal Warfare Essay Addressing the threats of tribal warfare and proposing alternatives for resolving such issue were given by Neuhauser in his article. In the summary, Neuhauser elaborated on the issue and definition of tribal warfare. Moreover, he pointed out the positive and negative effects of having tribes in the work environment. The author exposed the issue of tribal warfare with regard to its origin and linked it to how it generates conflict among members of the workforce. With that argument in place, Neuhauser pointed out on the different points in determining the presence of tribal warfare in a workforce.  After giving out possible scenarios for the occurrence of conflict between co-workers, Neuhauser indicated the need for addressing tribal warfare by explaining possible alternatives and solutions in resolving the issue among co-workers and groups. Furthermore, Neuhauser pointed out the important traits and strategies needed by a manager to overcome and bridge the gap caused by tribal warfare; migrating and tribal management skills.            In reaction to the article made by Neuhauser, the paper sees that the author made a good summary of the issue of tribal warfare. The issues were clearly pointed out and elaborated for the readers to have a clear idea of the whole picture. Another thing that was good about the summary is Neuhauser gave certain examples by showing a diagram of how tribal warfare can be existent in certain work industries. In this light, I will have to agree to what the author says that managers should address this issue primarily because if unattended, it will be the company who would suffer losses. Moreover, in response to the points given to address the problem of tribal warfare, the paper sees that Neuhauser limited his scope on the ways managers can effectively solve the issue. The author just pointed out certain distinct traits that a manager should posses to resolve such issue. It would have been better if the author elaborated on these concepts a little bit more so that readers might get important points regarding the issue. On a high note, the methods and skills given by the author was sufficient enough for readers to comprehend and understand the ways of tackling tribal warfare.            After giving a brief summary and personal response to the article, the paper will now elaborate on the ways of tackling the issue of tribal warfare. This next section seeks to explain further a concept that the paper sees is vital for a positive interaction between tribes and prevent the escalation of conflict between these groups. The concept that the paper will choose and elaborate is the creation of a team-based organization.             The activity of a group of people working cooperatively to achieve shared goals via differentiation of roles and using elaborate systems of communication is basic to our species. (Blackwell Publishing, p.1) With this thing in mind, the idea of creating an organization based on teams is important in a workforce. Firstly, the paper will justify why such concept is important. This form of collaboration is vital to solving complex problems fast, gaining commitment to change, and tapping the full reservoir of latent energy and ideas possessed by most organizations. (Hastings, p.1) Moreover, â€Å"Organizations worldwide are using teams as a business strategy to increase quality and customer service, improve productivity, and decrease costs.†(Kricher, p.1) Thus, the overall objective of this concept is to promote teamwork among the workforce and groups to facilitate a better outcome for companies. Also, in addressing the issues of tribal warfare, applying this concept means that the manager must be able to link each team/tribes that work independently on specific tasks to harmoniously coexist together to achieve the goals set by the company.            With the justification of the use of a team-based organization, the issue now at hand is how must the leader act in accordance to this concept and what particular methods must he/she establish to attain such endeavors. â€Å"The leader of the change process will have to manage and tolerate the conflict, resistance and pain associated with the introduction of such a major change within the organization.†(Blackwell Publishing, p.6) In terms of addressing tribal warfare, the managers must use their necessary skills to influence groups to collaborate. â€Å"As a manager, your job is to reduce your organization’s tribal warfare primarily by building communication bridges between the tribes.†(Neuhauser, 1988, p.5) The next section elaborates on these methods and techniques that a manager can use to promoting a team-based organization.            An initiative that can be made on the part of the manager is setting an organizational support for teams. â€Å"One important factor in building high-performance teams is the level of support for a team-based approach that exists throughout the organizationâ€â€starting with senior managers.†(Kricher, p.1) In this process, proper and constant communication is vital among workers and managers to facilitate a more progressive work. Thus, teamwork is vital in this process as each members of the group must interact to know what processes need to be done and accomplished.  Furthermore, a manager must be efficient enough to create methods for employees to understand and be incorporated to the actual working process. â€Å"In addition, senior managers need to model the values of teamwork and empowerment, because others in the organization will be looking to see if they â€Å"walk the talk.††(Kricher, p.1) This method prevents the concept of tribal warfare because it prevents the catalyst of the escalation of this conflict; lack of communication. With managers currently updated to the current events surrounding the team, issues that may cause tribal warfare with other teams can be prevented or negotiated.            The next method that can be implemented is narrowing or focusing the processes that each team should do. â€Å"In order for teams to succeed, the organization’s structure and people must be oriented to support core business processes.†(Kricher, p.2) This means that manager must be capable enough to create teams that cater to the process that defines what the company stands for.  â€Å"Success is more likely when teams include people with multiple skills who share responsibility for all or at least a significant portion of the overall business process.†(Kricher p.2) Moreover, the manager must be able to address the idea on keeping the business process as each ones focus rather than prioritizing on the interests of the group. Having this in mindset, tribal warfare can be prevented among groups. Mainly because each one will be focused on the business process rather than their each individual’s group process which may lead to conflict.            Another important method to look into is the clarification of roles by each group. â€Å"Clarity begins with making sure that every team member understands the purpose of the team and how that purpose fits in with the overall organizational vision and objectives.†(Kricher, p.2) The failure of a manager to clarify each team’s roles may lead to problematic consequences. â€Å"When roles and responsibilities of team members and managers are unclear, confusion and discouragement often follow.†(Kricher p.2) Thus, it is very important for a manager to inform their team what roles and objectives one plays in the overall business process.  â€Å"The best team-based organizations determine a â€Å"how far/how fast†plan that specifies which responsibilities will be assumed by teams and at what pace.†(Kricher, p.2) Tribal warfare can also be prevented by applying effectively this method. When managers get the roles of groups straight, there will be no pin-pointing of failure to get the job completed because each groups are given the roles and objectives to fulfill and prevent conflict. Moreover, since roles are clear for each group, passing around jobs to other groups which impede efficiency and effectiveness at work will be prevented.            Next thing that the manager should do is enforce innovations among members of the group to promote continuous learning. A commitment to being a â€Å"learning organization† where continuous learning and skill development are expected and encouragedâ€â€is critical.†(Kricher, p.3) Managers should be aware that skills need to be improved so that the group will grow and progress to address the current demands in the company. With regards to the issue of tribal warfare â€Å"if several members’ tribes migrate and works together to figure out how to implement a new idea, the possible advantages of a tribal system are often accomplished.†(Neuhauser, 1988 p.7)            Having elaborated on the four methods, the next section of the paper seeks to address certain strategies that can make a manager’s team successful. Moreover, the paper will also link these strategies on how it can prevent the existence of tribal warfare.            The first strategy is having an efficient communication to achieve business objectives. â€Å"By effectively communicating a clear and compelling business case for teams, organizations mobilize support for teams from every level in the organization.†(Kricher, p.4) Lastly is creating quick and effective solutions for the team if ever they encounter conflict. â€Å"When teams have already been implemented and an intervention is announced to increase their effectiveness, that intervention should also be implemented as quickly as possible.†(Kricher, p.4) In terms of tribal warfare, these strategies can also help prevent and at the same time solve the issue. Having an efficient communication among each members of the group is vital in preventing tribal warfare. This strategy can help each members of the group to harmoniously work together to achieve the business objectives set by the company. Furthermore, coexistence among groups striving to achieve goals will create an environment suitable for every party with one aim in mind. On the other hand, the latter mentioned strategy is also an important element in addressing tribal warfare. Imposing immediate and effective solutions to the problem can help prevent the workforce from losing its focus on objectives that need to be accomplished.            To conclude, the paper showcased the ways of addressing the negative implications of tribal warfare with the concept of creating team-based organizations. The paper elaborated on the different methods and strategies a manager can implement to further improve the members of the workforce. As a manager, tribal warfare must never be taken for granted since it creates a barrier among the groups who should work harmoniously and collaboratively to address the needs of the company; growth and devekopment References Blackwell Publishing. Introduction to team-based organizations. Retrieved September 22, 2007 from http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/9781405106115/001.pdf Hastings, C. Creating a team-based organization. Retrieved September 22, 2007 from http://www.gowertraining.co.uk/docs/teambased.pdf Kricher, L.D. Best Practices of Term-Based Organizations in Development Dimensions International. Retrieved September 22, 2007 from http://www.ddiworld.com/pdf/ddi_bestpracticesteambasedorganizations_wp.pdf Neuhauser, P. (1988). Tribes Still Flourish: Tribal Warfare in Organizations (USA:            Soundview Executive Book Summaries)
Saturday, October 26, 2019
A Research Brief And Research Proposal Marketing Essay
A Research Brief And Research Proposal Marketing Essay The Long Mynd Tea Company TLMTC is a leading player in the specialty and green tea market in United Kingdom. UK, with a market share of 63%, is the largest tea consuming market in Western Europe (Tropical Commodity Coalition). Tea consumption in UK was pegged at 31,000 tonnes in the year 2008. Our internal Long Mynd Business Intelligence Unit LMBIU has indicated that global supply deficits in 2010 mostly attributed to severe droughts in Kenya and India in 2009 resulted in global tea prices hitting a historical high in 2009. This resulted in Unilevers PG Tips being priced 28% higher than a year ago, while Tetley was pegged at 7% more expensive (Euromonitor). Business Issues The demand for tea in UK has been healthy but rising prices in the market can lead to fall in demand especially for specialty tea which is priced slightly higher than regular tea. TLMTC recognizes the issue and to counter and differentiate its offering we plan to introduce a unique range of product, herbal and fruit tea-bags under the brand name Revive. Revive offers a unique feature to consumers in the new range of teabags which is the shape of the bags. The company is planning to use an innovative manufacturing process to craft the tea-bags in irregular shapes which involves only minimum wastage. The new bag is designed in a unique flower shape. The product will be distributed through the existing delivery channels of hypermarkets and supermarkets. We will also tie-up with large cafà © chains to distribute the product. We plan to promote the launch by an aggressive campaign involving magazine and posters in the Autumn of 2011. The key message in the ads will be around the unique shape and attempt to tie it to herbal and health connotations. The ads will also carry the message of good taste of the tea. Research Objectives TLMTC wants to know whether the unique shape of the tea-bag and the taste of the tea are appealing to consumers. We want to test the hypothesis that the consumers perceive the package as a differentiating factor. We are also interested in validating the hypothesis that the taste of the new product will be accepted by consumers. The exploration of these aspects will help us make any possible changes to the product and communication. We also assume that consumers will associate the floral shape to herbs and healthiness. The study should provide us with a clear understanding of how the consumers perceive the packaging as a differentiator. It should also give us clear guidelines on what are the positive and negative perceptions about the new pack. We expect to get recommendations in form of a programme of research to guide us through the launch of Revive. Deliverables We expect to receive a complete report of the research in 4 hard copies and an electronic version of the report to be submitted at the LMBIU office at our corporate headquarters. We also require the research agency to submit a PowerPoint presentation and present it to the marketing team at our offices 1 week after the final report is submitted. Limitations Timing: TLMTC wants to have the final report ready by no later than 3rd week of July 2011. The marketing team would first review and approve the report. Thereafter, the agency would need to present the key research findings to the marketing team latest by the last week of July2011. Budget: The budget that we are willing to allocate to the project is no more than  £60,000. This includes any sum spent on travel and other activities to finish the project. Location: Revive will be launched nationally in UK and hence we want the research to be carried throughout the country in all major cities. Proposal Submission Information TLMTC expects a research proposal from the research agency in 2 weeks from the date of receiving research brief. The proposal should be submitted electronically to us, in attention to our marketing manager. Research Proposal for Revive By Insights Consulting Limited Background Long Mynd Tea Company TLMTC, a leading specialty tea company in United Kingdom, is looking to innovate and introduce a unique range of herbal and fruit tea bags under the brand name Revive. To help them with the exercise, TLMTC has approached the Insights Consulting team to submit a Research Proposal for the study. We understand that you want to primarily assess consumer perception of the flower shaped tea bags, which is essentially the prime differentiating factor of the new range, as well as evaluate whether the taste of the new range appeal to consumers. Tea is a very versatile and competitive category in United Kingdom and hence a deep understanding of the category in general and consumer attitude towards the product in particular needs to be presented in the study (Wilson, 2008). The following outlines our approach to the study in terms of research objectives, scope of the analysis, timelines and budget for the same. Objectives To understand the consumer preference and attitude towards the new brand of tea-bags being launched by TLMTC on two parameters namely; consumer appeal for the innovative shape of bags and taste of the product. By means of the study we will provide you with a complete programme of research (data acquisition and analytics) to guide them through the launch of the product. The report will also provide guidelines on any changes that we deem necessary to make the product more appealing to the target consumer group. The report will also provide leads on consumer perception that will help your marketing team to develop the correct strategy/message to be communicated to consumers though advertisement campaigns. Methodology Research Design Insights Consulting proposes to conduct the study to gauge the appeal for the taste and packaging among the target consumers. As the product is meant for the health conscious group, research would be carried out among those aged between 18-55 years representing Young adults (18-29 years), Older adults (30-40 years) and Middle-aged (41-55 years) consumers. We understand from secondary sources that for the TLMTCs product segment, which is herbal teas, to become main segment there is a need for continued innovation around flavour in order to improve the taste of the product. As of now, regular tea is consumed by around 22 million of the UK population and more than half (56%) have experimented with herbal tea but its taste did not appeal to them (Mintel, 2011). To have a better understanding of the complex consumer preferences, we suggest an optimum combination of both qualitative and quantitative tests to meet the objectives of the study. Following are the recommended methods: Focus Group Discussions We propose to conduct in total 9 Focus group discussions in the 3 major cities of United Kingdom which will provide us with a good representation of the target market London, Manchester and Glasgow, 3 in each city such that it covers all age bands. The Focus group discussion would be led by a moderator while a panel of experts would be present to measure the emotional/ subconscious reactions of the participants. The participants would be first shown the new tea bags and the moderator would direct questions around the first reaction of the participants, would they like to buy and use it, do they perceive the product to be healthy to understand if the health platform will work for the product, would they be ready to pay a premium for the unique offering, would they include the offering in their daily diet, what would be the likelihood of repeat purchase and most important of all; their suggestions on the product and its unique packaging. Tea is seen as a healthy drink with high antioxidant content which claims to have slimming effects (University of Maryland, 2010). We understand from other studies that women prefer herbal tea as compared to their male counterparts (DailyMail, 2011). The FGDs will try to understand this angle as well and try to find if there is a special need of this consumer segment which can be addressed by the product in its current form or with any variants. Taste Test The participants would then be requested to taste the product and the next round of discussions would be directed to that aspect. It would again assess the first reaction, how they would like to consume it, would they be ready to pay a premium for this experience, etc. It is also very important to assess that the health connotation does not intervene with the taste experience of consumers. The taste test will also provide us insights into how different consumers perceive Revive as compared to the other brands available in the market. The moderator can also test the possibility of certain flavours and variety (Hot/ Iced) which the participants might seek. Projective Techniques We also propose to use Projective Techniques in the focus groups. We will introduce photos and use techniques such as word association and third person technique. Participants will be asked to look at photos and associate different types of people with the new concept/packaging and taste. This technique would be especially useful since it is a premium product and hence would help in measuring whether it succeeds in appealing to the higher sensibilities of the consumers. This will help us understand the motivations of consumers in consuming the category. It may also help in forming a platform for promotion message building directed at the target market. We appreciate the general feeling that Projective techniques in themselves may not provide any robust insights and are not considered as method of choice to study consumer motivation, nor do these techniques provide all the tools for such studies. Though they do help a researcher uncover feelings, beliefs, attitudes and motivation which many consumers find difficult to articulate and explain (Donoghue, 2000). In an experience based category like herbal tea, these techniques will be worthwhile to use. Questionnaire Based Survey Administered surveys are important to cover a larger sample base and also gain information on aspects which cannot be covered through qualitative measures. It would aim at profiling tea drinkers and non drinkers demographically (Revive being a health based premium offering income, age and gender profiling gains major importance), assess their eating habits (and mainly tea drinking habits in case of tea drinkers and probability of drinking tea in case of non drinkers) and shopping habits, price they would be willing to pay for the product and the optimum pack size for first trials (which would help you in the launch promotions). It would be also important to analyze whether consumers shift from other beverages to herbal tea given its benefits and increasing health consciousness (The Observer). The survey questionnaire would be designed based on the above aspects and the inputs we receive in the FGDs. It would include a screener to ensure data collection from a representative sample. Alternate Techniques An alternative to Focus Group discussions is Online Focus Group discussion. We can also replace the normal taste test with blind taste test. We can also take help of depth interviews to get in-depth understanding of consumers on a one-to-one basis. Online focus Group discussions are hard to monitor and they are quite impersonal to gauge customer reaction, which in a way hinders the qualitative assessment associated with focus group discussions. They are also not a good way to reach non-computer literate consumer base and need additional infrastructure (Wright, 2005). We will also miss out on experiential elements which are essential to a product category like tea. Blind taste tests can be a good medium but here we want to establish the taste perceptions of just our brand and get qualitative feedback on taste comparison. Blind taste test also requires additional product samples to be used which will have additional time and cost implications. Hence we recommend doing normal taste test. Depth interviews are a good option but are costly and time consuming exercise. Given the budget constraint and quick turnaround time of the project we recommend conducting focus group discussion which will allow us to combine the discussion with taste test and use our projective techniques as well. Internet and in-venue surveys would help in accumulating additional information through a larger sample thus optimizing results and providing an all round analysis. This combination will provide us with a robust solution on the research front and also help us overcome the various limitations like time and budget restrictions. Sampling: Focus Group Discussions Target population: Health conscious people (18-55 years) and tea drinkers Sampling frame: Our database for each city Sampling method: The sampling would be a combination of Stratified sampling: since the respondents of Focus Group have to meet the criteria of being tea drinkers Quota sampling: to cover the entire target age group and both the genders Sample size: 90 Quotas: Since females are the primary shoppers in UK (Lake) as well as prominent consumers of herbal tea, their quota is kept higher than males. The quotas would be as follows: Gender Age Group Quota Female Young Adults, 12-29 years 24% Older Adults, 30- 40 years 20% Middle Aged, 41- 55 years 23% Male Young Adults, 12-29 years 10% Older Adults, 30- 40 years 13% Middle Aged, 41- 55 years 10% The sample will be sourced equally from North, South and Midlands (33% each) to ensure uniformity and non-biased result due to skewed sample. The group discussions will be carried out in the following scheme- Group 1: South young adults 18 29, (3 males, 7 females) Group 2: South older adults 30 40, (4 males, 6 females) Group 3: South middle aged 41 55, (3 males, 7 females) Group 4: North young adults 18 29, (3 males, 7 females) Group 5: North older adults 30 40, (4 males, 6 females) Group 6: North middle-aged 41 55, (3 males, 7 females) Group 7: Midlands young adults 18 29, (3 males, 7 females) Group 8: Midlands older adults 30 40, (4 males, 6 females) Group 9: Midlands middle aged 41 55, (3 males, 7 females) Survey Target population: Health conscious people (18-55 years) Sampling frame: Our database for each city (for in-venue surveys) and Internet Panel for Online surveys. Sampling method: Quota sampling, to cover the entire target age group and both the genders Sample size: A sample of 1200 would be distributed equally between In-venue Surveys (600) and Online surveys (600) Quotas: The survey questionnaire would be administered among both tea drinkers (75%) and non drinkers (25%). It would span 1200 respondents (400 from each city 100 males, 300 females). This will ensure a proper coverage of the target consumer groups and thus provide us with robust results. Data Collection and Analysis: Our team will record, transcribe and analyze each of the group discussions and use their results for the final recommendations. The results will be categorized and presented to reflect the views of each demographic group separately and on a combined level to give a holistic view of consumer perception and preference. The taste tests and projective techniques will also be analyzed and combined with the results of the overall FGDs to come up with a complete solution as required by you. Imbibing the learning from the opinions and ideas that come out in the study, the final report will be a complete guide that will help TLMTC launch Revive successfully in the market. It will provide adequate consumer insights and marketing cues to help your team in strategizing a successful launch. The questionnaires would be administered both in person and through internet (50% 50%).Personal interviews would be conducted at strategic venues; essentially data would be collected from outside retail outlets (hypermarkets/ supermarkets distributions channels for Revive) and cafà ©s as they would help in reaching out to our main target market, i.e. shoppers and tea/brewed beverage consumers respectively. Internet interviews would save time and cost, at the same time in-venue surveys would optimize sample representation. Deliverables: We will submit 4 (four) hard copies and an electronic copy of the report as requested by TLMTC at end of the study. The report will provide in-depth analysis and report the facts and insights that we gather from the exercise. It will also discuss the recommendations we will make and explain the rationale of the same. We will also clearly spell out the limitations (if any) of the study. As requested we will also do a PowerPoint presentation of the key results at your head offices one week after the final report is approved. We understand that the audience at the presentation will be members from the marketing team who would be more interested in the key takeaways and action points. As such, we will only present the top-line findings and recommendations at the presentation. Timing: We assume that the proposal will be accepted by second week of May 2011 and we will be able to start work from third week of May around 16 May, 2011. The project will take approximately 8 weeks to finish after the proposal is accepted. We plan to finish-off the final presentation by 11 July, 2011 so that your marketing team gets ample time to execute the recommendations for an Autumn launch. Tasks Start date Duration (in number of working days) End date Set up focus groups 16.05.2011 5 20.05.2011 Focus Group Discussions 23.05.2011 5 27.06.2011 FGD Data Analysis 30.05.2011 7 07.06.2011 Compiling Report 08.06.2011 5 14.06.2011 Set up Questionnaire 15.06.2011 3 17.06.2011 Field work 20.06.2011 5 24.06.2011 Survey data Analysis and Report 27.06.2011 7 05.07.2011 Submission of Final Report 06.07.2011 1 06.07.2011 Review of the report and feedback 07.07.2011 2 08.07.2011 PowerPoint Presentation 11.07.2011 1 11.07.2011 Budget The total cost of the project is estimated at  £58,500 as follows: Task Cost/unit No.s Total Cost Focus Group Discussions ( 2 hours each)  £3,000 9  £27,000 In-venue Interviews  £24 600  £14,400 Internet Interviews  £13.5 600  £8,100 Project management/ Data processing  £9,000 Total  £58,500 We have tried to adjust the cost of the project under the budget limit indicated by TLMTC in the research brief.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Age of Enlightenment Essay -- World History, 18th century
The 18th century is referred to as the ‘Age of Enlightenment’. The trends in thought and letters from Europe to the American colonies brought a new light and attention upon mankind. This new movement described a time in Western philosophy and cultural life in which reason was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority. ‘To understand the natural world and humankinds place in it solely on the basis of reason and without turning to religious belief was the goal of the wide-ranging intellectual movement’ (Hackett). At the heart o this age, a conflict began between religion and the inquiring mind that wanted to know and understand through reason based on evidence and proof rather than belief on faith alone. Many scholars believed that this was primarily a French movement because the French culture dominated Europe and their ideas were expressed in the environment of the Parisian salon. IN my opinion, this movement was even more influential on the world because it was primarily a middle-class movement.. These pioneers labored for man in general and for humanity. This was also an era that public readings by scholars and philosophers came into existence because of increased literacy. These philosophers however, lived a very precarious life due to the fact that they did not know if they would be imprisoned or courted for their public performances. The analytical methods of Newtonian physics placed its stamp on the Enlightenment Era. Order and regularity came from the analysis of observed facts. The new ideal of knowledge was simply a further development of the 17th century logic and science with a new emphasis on; 1. The particular rather than the general. 2. Observable facts rather than principles. 3. Experience ra... ... because human beings are more willing to question their belief systems now and that is thanks to the Age of Enlightenment. I believe the most important issues involving the Enlightenment period was the recognition of the middle class. Most of the influential people of the period were from the working class. The rise in literacy gave the middle class more opportunities to spread their wings and become an influential voice in society. References Copestone, Frederick., A History of Philosophy. London. Search, 1946.Print. Roman, Chris. A World of Ideas. New York. Palatine. 1999.Print Thackeray, Frank. Events that Changed the World in the Eighteenth Century. Westport. Greenwood Press.1998. Print. World History Project. World History International. 1995-2006. Web. 19 Dec. 2010 Rempel, Gerhard, Western New England College. 2007.Web. 19 Dec 2010
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Pollutant Hazards
Such pollutants that are released are as follows; ; Zinc, which comes from the weathering or age of pipes; ; Copper, which can come from brake linings, worn pipes and fittings; Pollutant Hazards ; Used Motor Oil; ; Organic Waster such as garbage, animals droppings, leaves and grass clippings; ; Nitrogen and Phosphorus from lawn and garden fertilizers All of the above pollutants are distributed through the storm drains and into the fresh water streams and rivers, causing our fresh water supply to be significantly polluted. (Kennedy, Robert F. ,Jar. â€Å"Who speaks for the environment? There are also polluted runoffs which go into fresh water and occurs when precipitation over and through the soil. This causes the pollutants to be picked up and carried away being delivered into our lakes, rivers, oceans and other wetlands, sun pollutants are as Tools; ; Fertilizer ; Pesticides ; Live stock ; Mining waste ; Construction sediments ; Soil erosion and etc. With our Fresh Water supply fac ing the many factors than continue to cause our water supply to constantly be polluted, also causing a depletion in our fresh water supply.For a human to consume water that is contaminated on a regular daily basis an create enormous health hazards to both human and animals. (Kennedy, Robert F. , Jar. â€Å"Who speaks for the environment? ) Ocean water pollutants are contributed by land, river's emptying in the ocean, oil spills, gas spills, marines, fisherman and many others. Ocean waters may suffer from â€Å"beach†, which is when dolphins, turtles, and other sea or ocean creatures are unintentionally killed by fisherman.Then there is what they call â€Å"habitat destruction†, which occurs when trawl catching nets that are dragged along the Ocean floor to catch fish destroy the habitats taking everything with it or pulling it room the Ocean floor and to drop it in another location when it is released from the net. The pollutants that are released into the ocean water ultimately effects our fish and the quality of our produce that we feed off of as well as slowing the rate in which sea and/or ocean animals may populate.Ground Pollutants Ground pollutants are contributed by both air and water pollution, which is hazardous for all growing plants including but not limited to crops as well as humans and Pollutant Hazards animals that feed from those plants and crops. Ground pollution is also caused by he everyday garbage found on the streets within your community, along with terrestrial land which is being used as a land fill for everyone's garbage including recyclable, because it is commonly overlooked.When it comes to our environment suffering and the individuals that live within our environment that suffering from the hazards of pollutions, it is time to make changes. There is no good impact when discussing the issues of pollution. Reaching Sustainability One way to lesson the air pollutants released each day would be to reduce the amount AT roll ing Ana transporting jean person does everyday commuting Deck Ana Roth from place to place.I think that it would help if factories and other corporations found other means of energy versus releasing large amount of air pollutants into the environment each day. There needs to be more individuals that take an interest in not only helping their environment but as well as their health. It is time fore every individual to become aware of the health risks that air pollutants cause to them, their children and unborn children due to the mother inhaling the pollutants, it also affects animals and plants that required air to breathe to continue their existence.Due to the health risks that air pollutions can also cause, it is suggested that during the time we are trying to undergo Pollutant Hazards control of the air pollution that all individuals cut down on and all physical activity during high-pollution days. (In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) â€Å"The Environmen tal Protection Agency has a Web site, dubbed Air Now (wean. Gob/rainbow), that lists particulate and ozone levels throughout the country. (In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) â€Å"High temperatures in the days ahead increase ground-level ozone, but the seasonality of articulate pollution depends on where you live. †(In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) â€Å"East of the Mississippi, levels are highest starting about now through September because sulfates are more readily formed from sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants in warm temperatures. †(In brief; Heart aches for clean air.Harvard Health Letter) â€Å"In the western half of the country, levels are higher from October to December because much of the particulate pollution there is in the form of nitrates, which form as temperatures cool off. †(In brief; Heart aches for clean air. Harvard Health Letter) Water pollution seems like a harder pollution to tr y to sustain; or we could make it a little simple and take out of the contributing factors that lead to water pollution and not use them.It is a fact that water pollution can never be 100% cured but we can make the effort to better it, such as taking away the pesticides and using natural resources that have been proven to work for the same purpose that the pesticide is being used. Then there are the garbage droppings, fertilizer and oils from vehicles that run into the water, â€Å"Clean up after yourself and your animals people†, all it takes is a moments. There are a lot of factors that contribute to water pollution that can be eliminated. Ground pollutants would be manageable and contained by the time that the air pollution and water pollution were under control.However, I would make it mandatory for every residence or business to recycle. I would mandate certain times wherein community service would be exercised to clean up our streets and remove any garbage that and enfo rce a large fine upon those that continue to freely pollute Dye Legendary garbage Ana toner materials Trebly upon Lana Ana not disposing of them properly. Within this plan come exceptional benefits such as healthier individuals, cleaner air, water, and surroundings, and the conservation of our environment.Within this land lie many challenges and the first one being that of the individuals taking responsibility for their own actions and changing a routine that most people have become all too comfortable with. Conserving our environment is not a one person job nor can 50% of our world's population complete this task on its own, this takes the effort of everybody and the support and funds from the government. I do not for see seeking global support being a complication considering a significant amount of people are working to gain control and reduce the amount of pollution we are subjected to each day.However, changes that need to be made and enforced will require funds Pollutant Hazar ds from the government to help assist such as financing solar panels, providing each place of residence or business a recycle bin and possible taking a few of the abandoned building that have been forgotten about because of new terrestrial land being destroyed and making recycling factories that run off of natural energy that are placed in more local and convenient areas. Our world is a place that requires care and compassion and the time and patients to conserve our land while we as individuals that enjoy our health.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Eating Disorders1 essays
Eating Disorders1 essays In recent history, the idea of feminine beauty has been shifting toward a less healthy, overly thin model. More than 25,000 years ago when humans first evolved, women exaggerated their reproductive organs, like breasts and hips, using fertility symbols. Slim women were not considered beautiful because they did not seem healthy enough to nourish and raise a family, or make it through the winter. Slim women were also considered to be poor, because they could not afford enough food to keep their body full and healthy. During the Renaissance era, beautiful paintings from world famous artists, including Michelangelo, featured full-figured women. Full figures continued to be popular throughout the Mannerism and Baroque periods, which continued up through the 1730's. In the mid-1700's, women's figures started to change. The women began to wear girdles, cinching up their waist to exaggerate their "curves". The girdles were painful but women wanted to get their waist as small as they could. In the 1900's, waists became even smaller. The Roaring 20's brought radical changes to women and their bodies. Young girls called "flappers" became popular. They wore their hair short and boyish, wore rolled down stockings and short, baggy dresses exposing their arms and legs. They were defined as "rebels", and embarrassed the older generation by the way they dressed and acted. They refused to be "lady-like", and they were wild. "Twiggy" was the most popular fashion model in the 1960's, named for her ultra-thin body. She exposed more and more of her stick-like body to the camera, and inspired other girls to become like her, because she was popular, different, and wild. The super-skinny image is still portrayed today, even though it is not healthy. In the early 1990's a magazine headline read, "You Can Never Be Too Thin". Some women literally believed this, and died of starvation and suffered from anorexia nervosa. Teenagers are directly targeted becau...
Monday, October 21, 2019
Essay on Georgraphy Practise
Essay on Georgraphy Practise Essay on Georgraphy Practise There are many sources of clean energy that are renewable and considered to be sustainable to reduce CO2 emission. The future of power lies with alternative power sources that are harness natural processes without harming the environment or depleting environmental resources to create energy. The three main strategies are the following wind power, biomass energy and photovoltaic (PV) solar power will help decide what will help reduce CO2 the emission and the average surface temperature in the future. (These new resources of energy provide an alternate ‘cleaner’ source of power, helping to negate the effects of certain forms of pollution.) One of the primary pathways for carbon dioxide takes place between the atmosphere and the oceans. Carbon dioxide also exchanges through photosynthesis in plants and through respiration I n animals. Which is linked to the three strategies. Photovoltaic (PV) solar power: is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. This power source is a great help to reduce CO2 emission as it enhance sustainability, reduces pollution, lower the costs of mitigating climate change. Wind energy: Wind power is the harnessing of wind through turbines to create electricity. Wind power is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation and uses little land use. The overall cost per unit of energy produced is similar to the cost for new coal and natural gases installations. One main problem with this type of power is that turbines destroy natural
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Free Essays on Knowledge In The 21st Century
What exactly does it mean to be an educated person? The definition of an educated person has changed dramatically over the period of the last century, and this is what Peter Drucker, author of, â€Å"The Age of Social Transformation†discusses in his essay. He believes that an educated person is one â€Å"who has learned how to learn, and who continues learning, especially by formal education, throughout his or her lifetime (Drucker 233).†People without this type of education are seen as failures in today’s society. A person with an abundance of knowledge through formal education is usually placed upon a pedestal. This pedestal is signified through occupation (professionals) and status (standards of living). This standard is a set rule each person in society is expected to live up to. Without schooling, an individual is looked down upon and does not receive opportunities to attain that higher position in his/her society. This is a society in which the â €Å"common good†of the society is not taken into consideration. Society has become ignorant to the fact that there are individuals in this society that do not have the opportunity to receive a formal education, but does that mean that they cannot acquire knowledge in other ways? Is a formal education really needed to acquire knowledge? Who set these rules? In my opinion, a true knowledge society would be one that reaped for the â€Å"common good.†I am in favor of an education that is well rounded; one that teaches not one, but many things. If one is specialized in only one field, how is that person expected to move along in a fast-paced world full of diversity? A true knowledgeable person is one who is balanced. Also, teaching individuals how to apply that knowledge to the real world is extremely important. Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer, authors of the â€Å"Introduction†to the New Humanities book would agree with my definition of what it mean s to be an educated ... Free Essays on Knowledge In The 21st Century Free Essays on Knowledge In The 21st Century What exactly does it mean to be an educated person? The definition of an educated person has changed dramatically over the period of the last century, and this is what Peter Drucker, author of, â€Å"The Age of Social Transformation†discusses in his essay. He believes that an educated person is one â€Å"who has learned how to learn, and who continues learning, especially by formal education, throughout his or her lifetime (Drucker 233).†People without this type of education are seen as failures in today’s society. A person with an abundance of knowledge through formal education is usually placed upon a pedestal. This pedestal is signified through occupation (professionals) and status (standards of living). This standard is a set rule each person in society is expected to live up to. Without schooling, an individual is looked down upon and does not receive opportunities to attain that higher position in his/her society. This is a society in which the â €Å"common good†of the society is not taken into consideration. Society has become ignorant to the fact that there are individuals in this society that do not have the opportunity to receive a formal education, but does that mean that they cannot acquire knowledge in other ways? Is a formal education really needed to acquire knowledge? Who set these rules? In my opinion, a true knowledge society would be one that reaped for the â€Å"common good.†I am in favor of an education that is well rounded; one that teaches not one, but many things. If one is specialized in only one field, how is that person expected to move along in a fast-paced world full of diversity? A true knowledgeable person is one who is balanced. Also, teaching individuals how to apply that knowledge to the real world is extremely important. Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer, authors of the â€Å"Introduction†to the New Humanities book would agree with my definition of what it mean s to be an educated ...
Saturday, October 19, 2019
The Balance of Power during the Cold War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words
The Balance of Power during the Cold War - Essay Example Some nations have more power than others do, and this has resulted in armed conflicts throughout history including ones that have involved a large number of states such as World War I and World War II. In itself, the balance of power theory suggests that any rapid change in the international status or power of an independent state or collection of states will result in counterbalancing actions by other states. This occurs most readily when the alliances between different states are easily broken and formed based on what is beneficial to the particular state at the time. The Balance of Power The theory of the balance of power differs substantially between authors and publications and this section will attempt to determine some of the overall themes. Some authors consider that the model is a description of the international systems that are in place currently, others consider that it is a theory of coalitions, while still others consider it a guideline to peace2. In one sense, any inte rnational system is a balance of power relationship at some level. ... Â y aim to maintain, as well as their position on the international stage, their relationship to other international powers and international trading relationships. States must balance their internal needs with needs of the international environment. Regardless of exact definition, the balance of power remains one of the most central theories of international systems and relations4. One broad definition that can be used for the balance of power is that as the power, or perceived power of one state increases, balancing behavior by other states works to ensure that no state becomes entirely dominant5. One of the first principles of almost any theory on the balance of power is that leaders preferentially increase the resources of their own states, as long as this does not put the survival of their country at risk. Likewise, it is assumed that leaders of states weigh up the immediate and future costs and potential costs of any action before deciding to take it6.Two important notions in the balance of power are resource and system stability. A state needs access to resources in order to function, and the more resources that it has access to the more successful it will be. However, a state must balance its need for resources against the international environment, and as a consequence must sometimes compromise its resources in order to obtain peace internationally.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Supply chain management - Essay Example Transformation. Another key strategy is that Zara keeps tight control and flexibility over every link in its supply chain, keeping the bulk of manufacturing in-house rather than outsourcing them. While other companies begin with the designers who plan a year in advance, Zara store managers monitor what is selling daily and track current sales trends. They feed information on what customers need but can’t find to designers who create the designs and have them manufactured instantly. Throughout its process, the ‘fast fashion’ concept enables designs to reach production in two weeks, and has been imitated by Forever 21, Mango, and Topshop (Hansen, 2012). Output. As for distribution, Zara does this exclusively through their own stores because they desire to control the customer’s entire experience. Its Just-in-time system was developed in collaboration with Toyota Motor thus enhancing its control. Smaller batches of clothing are delivered to stores, to project an image of exclusivity to attract customers, and precluding the need to conduct bargain sales to move mass quantities of out-of-season merchandise (Capell, 2008). Part B: Analyse the competitive priorities of the three apparel operations and the approaches taken to managing their supply chain Design Zara’s design phase ‘breaks all the rules’ in retail fashion by drawing ideas from the market and passing these on to its designers to create. Unlike conventional garment retailers, ideas for designs do not originate from the designers in Zara, but from the customers. Customers come into the Zara store, and if they could not find the design they wanted the store management feeds this back to headquarters for designers to work on. This system is what enables the company to realize its competitive advantages, that is, its fast development lead time to market of only two weeks, compared to six months for other companies. While the method assures Zara of a ready market f or its designs, the designers however, could only experiment within a strict and narrow margin. Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) plans and designs centrally in Sweden, based on customer demands while achieving a balance among fashion, quality and price. The designers came up with their ideas by observing fashion trends, getting inputs from employees and feedback from customers; in this last aspect, they are similar to Zara. Unlike Zara which releases its designs within two weeks after order, H&M released its designs by seasons, in two main collections and several subcollections. Designing begins by brainstorming which involves all designers, buyers and pattern designers, a process not undertaken in Zara. Styles and designs previously successful and unsuccessful are deliberated on and a look of the year is decided upon. The result is that many designs brainstormed do not reach production. The design method of H&M is organized and shows planning, deliberation, and joint collaboration between bu yers and designers, but it is time consuming and inefficient compared to Zara’s two week development to market system. Benetton’s designs depend to a large degree on their designers’ diverse backgrounds and cultures. Designing is organized
Outline for renewable energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Outline for renewable energy - Essay Example This also ensures energy security. Renewable energy is, therefore, sustainable. Renewable energy also creates employment opportunities due to the fact that the labor and materials needed to establish and sustain renewable energy facilities need workmanship. This also boosts the economies of regions making use of renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is also considered safer, compared to the safety concerns and risks such as explosions associated with fossil fuels and collapsing of coal mines. Before the development and extensive use of coal as a source of energy in the 19th century, almost all the sources of energy that were used were renewable. Wind and solar energy were among some of the oldest sources of renewable energy in history, apart from biomass. European Union countries are considered number two in the world when it comes to developing and applying renewable energy (Bradford 3). These countries include Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Lithuania. 20% of Germany’s energy needs, by the end of 2012, were provided by renewable energy. The largest contribution of this was from wind energy. Portugal also heavily relies on renewable sources. In 2010, more than 50% of the electricity generated in the country came from renewable source, with wind energy taking a significant portion. The same could be observed in Spain, with more that 15% of the energy produced in 2010 coming from wind energy. The entire EU hopes to acquire more than 20% of its energy from renewable sources, at least by 2020. This will enable the region to reduce greenhouse emission and lessen its dependence on imported energy. It will also create more employment opportunities, as well as foster technological creativity and
Throughput Accounting and Optimization Part II Assignment
Throughput Accounting and Optimization Part II - Assignment Example One of the ways to do this is to focus on motivation and training. Once these are in place, employees will be better positioned to be productive. As noted by Corbett (2006), strategic financing must always look into inputs as much as it looks at output. Motivation and training will therefore become ways of investing in the employees to be productive. I appreciate the concern you have raised on reasons you believe your company made the right decision by not making the purchase. In fact, your entire post is very insightful and thought provoking. I must state however that in the analysis, you put so much emphasis on what was going outside the company, as compared to what would come in if you made the purchase. Even though it is admitted that your company is a not for profit company, it is still important to know the value that such acquisition could make in the public domain. For example, it would have reinforced the commitment of the company among stakeholders and donors on the need for the company to support even more people. This would have increased chances of getting more donations and support. As suggested by Corbett (2006), it is always to look at investment as a means to an end. This is one thing that I think you failed to
Thursday, October 17, 2019
The Massive Government Cover-Up of the Attack on the USS Liberty Essay
The Massive Government Cover-Up of the Attack on the USS Liberty - Essay Example There were many questions that remained unanswered during the last 40 years, but recently declassified documents and newly uncovered testimony has shed new light on the events surrounding this tragic event. Examining what we know about the reports from the time, and the information that has been made public since, makes a convincing case that the attack was a deliberate action by the Israeli government and resulted in a massive cover-up by the Navy inquiry. The official explanation at the time was that in the heat of battle the Israeli Air Force had misidentified the USS Liberty as an Egyptian vessel. Yet, according to a CIA memo of June 13, 1967, 5 days after the attack, the agency reported that two Israeli Mirage fighters had orbited the Liberty on a reconnaissance flight just six hours before the attack (Central Intelligence Agency, 469). The CIA further reported that the weather was clear, the ship was plainly marked, and had a US flag flying. (Central Intelligence Agency, 470). In addition the Liberty was 200 feet longer than the Egyptian ship and had an Ensign that was clearly visible and appropriately marked. To examine the case of mistaken identity requires that we evaluate what the Israelis knew and when they knew it. The initial air assault took place at 13:58 hours and a second wave occurred at 14:04 (Bregman, 89). These flights consisted of machine gun strafing and napalm, which damaged the deck, antennas, and some communications capability. Israeli tape recordings from that day verify that Colonel Shmuel Kislev, the Commander of Israeli Air Control, knew that it was an American ship by 14:14 hours (Bregman, 89). At 14:26, 12 minutes after they had confirmed it was a US ship, Israeli torpedo boats arrived at the scene. By 14:31, 17 minutes after verifying identification, the Israeli boats had fired 5 torpedoes (Bregman, 89). One of the torpedoes hit the Liberty, killed 25 crewmen, and put the USS Liberty out of commission. Motives for the attack are difficult to ascertain in the aftermath of war. Military and governments sometimes act as organisms with no clearly definable goal. A plausible explanation has been offered that contends Israel feared that the Liberty would intercept sensitive communications regarding their plans to attack Syria's Golan Heights. If the US were alerted to the plan, they might have tried to prevent what Israel perceived as a vital operation. A CIA report identified Defense Minister Moshe Dyan as the Israeli leader that ordered the attack (Brands, 211). Dyan had gambled that Johnson would not fully investigate the incident. According to Brands, Johnson made a minimal effort to investigate the area, but was concerned about alarming the Egyptians or the Russians (212). After Johnson was unable to gather any information from the scene, the Israelis apologized. Not wanting to destroy the fragile alliance with Israel, Johnson accepted the apology and ordered the incident to be kept quiet (Brands, 212). The following day, Israel launched an attack against Syria, which wrapped up the final phase of the Six Day War. There could be little believability that the Israelis were unaware of a major US intelligence ship just off their coast in international waters. It had been in the Mediterranean since June 5 (Joint Chiefs of Staff). The cover story of mistaken identity was so weak, that according
Primitivism in Modern Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words
Primitivism in Modern Art - Essay Example The essay "Primitivism in Modern Art" concerns the modern art and primitivism. â€Å"Expressionists†differentiate themselves from other art movements by defining themselves as artists who are â€Å"expressing†themselves because their painting and production of artworks involves their own perceptions, personalities and interests. Foremost of the â€Å"Expressionist†artists were the group called Brà ¼cke which was founded in 1905 by architecture students Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Beyl, Karl Schmidt-Rotluff and Erich Heckel and later joined by remarkable artists such as Emil Nolde, Cuno Amiet, Max Pechstein and Otto Mueller. Thru the efforts of the group in its first eight years, the world was able to witness the greatest development of the first period of German expressionism which went through various stylistic phases inspired by the stylistic objectives shared by its members. The movement had one very important tendency and that is propensity to look into ‘primitive’ culture for inspiration on the form of their artwork. While they were belonging to the modern era, German expressionists Brà ¼cke explored into non-European, tribal cultures to try to distinguish their works of arts with others and gave rise to the term ‘Primitivism’. ‘Primitive’ art was considered to be closer to unmediated expression and more ‘authentic’ than the civilized. The idea of ‘nature/culture’ was most appealing to German expressionists because ‘nature’ was considered as being direct, unfettered, non-intellectual etc. ... The 'woman' was also considered to be belonging to the primitive group. In this paper, I will be looking into how primitive art inspired modern artists by exploring the concept of primitive art and how it influenced modern artists such as the Brucke in their artworks. A case study involving the analysis of how African sculptures inspired Erich Heckel is provided for a more specific and clear discussion of how primitive art influenced modern artists. 2.0 Exploring the Primitivism Concept 2.1 What is 'Primitive' Whenever one hears of the word 'primitive', there is a tendency to associate it with the word 'barbarian' or 'uncivilized' which connotes untamed and direct expression. While the definition of the term is a major issue in art historical writing, central to the term is the concept of the 'other'. The concept is derived from postmodern theory that describes a tendency to misrepresent another culture, society, social group or object as different, even alien and speak of it as 'other' to the artist's own culture and experiences. The primitive is often associated with tribal and Oriental (those from the East) people but Expressionists also associates it with the nude particularly the nude female. The woman is considered to be a creature of 'primitive' textile prone to 'natural' impulses as opposed to the notion male rationality. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, the Brucke's leader, is particularly fond of nude women and his works is said to display the affinity between culture/male rationality and nature/female impulses (Lloyd, 1991). This is shown in his work displayed in Figure 1: Figure 1. Nude. Kirschner (1910). The sight of Nude
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Throughput Accounting and Optimization Part II Assignment
Throughput Accounting and Optimization Part II - Assignment Example One of the ways to do this is to focus on motivation and training. Once these are in place, employees will be better positioned to be productive. As noted by Corbett (2006), strategic financing must always look into inputs as much as it looks at output. Motivation and training will therefore become ways of investing in the employees to be productive. I appreciate the concern you have raised on reasons you believe your company made the right decision by not making the purchase. In fact, your entire post is very insightful and thought provoking. I must state however that in the analysis, you put so much emphasis on what was going outside the company, as compared to what would come in if you made the purchase. Even though it is admitted that your company is a not for profit company, it is still important to know the value that such acquisition could make in the public domain. For example, it would have reinforced the commitment of the company among stakeholders and donors on the need for the company to support even more people. This would have increased chances of getting more donations and support. As suggested by Corbett (2006), it is always to look at investment as a means to an end. This is one thing that I think you failed to
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Primitivism in Modern Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words
Primitivism in Modern Art - Essay Example The essay "Primitivism in Modern Art" concerns the modern art and primitivism. â€Å"Expressionists†differentiate themselves from other art movements by defining themselves as artists who are â€Å"expressing†themselves because their painting and production of artworks involves their own perceptions, personalities and interests. Foremost of the â€Å"Expressionist†artists were the group called Brà ¼cke which was founded in 1905 by architecture students Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Fritz Beyl, Karl Schmidt-Rotluff and Erich Heckel and later joined by remarkable artists such as Emil Nolde, Cuno Amiet, Max Pechstein and Otto Mueller. Thru the efforts of the group in its first eight years, the world was able to witness the greatest development of the first period of German expressionism which went through various stylistic phases inspired by the stylistic objectives shared by its members. The movement had one very important tendency and that is propensity to look into ‘primitive’ culture for inspiration on the form of their artwork. While they were belonging to the modern era, German expressionists Brà ¼cke explored into non-European, tribal cultures to try to distinguish their works of arts with others and gave rise to the term ‘Primitivism’. ‘Primitive’ art was considered to be closer to unmediated expression and more ‘authentic’ than the civilized. The idea of ‘nature/culture’ was most appealing to German expressionists because ‘nature’ was considered as being direct, unfettered, non-intellectual etc. ... The 'woman' was also considered to be belonging to the primitive group. In this paper, I will be looking into how primitive art inspired modern artists by exploring the concept of primitive art and how it influenced modern artists such as the Brucke in their artworks. A case study involving the analysis of how African sculptures inspired Erich Heckel is provided for a more specific and clear discussion of how primitive art influenced modern artists. 2.0 Exploring the Primitivism Concept 2.1 What is 'Primitive' Whenever one hears of the word 'primitive', there is a tendency to associate it with the word 'barbarian' or 'uncivilized' which connotes untamed and direct expression. While the definition of the term is a major issue in art historical writing, central to the term is the concept of the 'other'. The concept is derived from postmodern theory that describes a tendency to misrepresent another culture, society, social group or object as different, even alien and speak of it as 'other' to the artist's own culture and experiences. The primitive is often associated with tribal and Oriental (those from the East) people but Expressionists also associates it with the nude particularly the nude female. The woman is considered to be a creature of 'primitive' textile prone to 'natural' impulses as opposed to the notion male rationality. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, the Brucke's leader, is particularly fond of nude women and his works is said to display the affinity between culture/male rationality and nature/female impulses (Lloyd, 1991). This is shown in his work displayed in Figure 1: Figure 1. Nude. Kirschner (1910). The sight of Nude
Personal Statements Essay Example for Free
Personal Statements Essay Thinking about humanity nowadays and peoples preoccupations made me realize the huge impact that crimes and criminal justice have on their decisions and the way they receive and react at the details and information about a crime. Television news, newspapers and magazines, they all speak about crimes, unsolved criminal problems or strange disappearances. The worlds evolution, its issues have pushed societies nowadays to extreme gestures to escape from poverty problems. Why do people commit crimes? How much crime is there committed around us? Which would be the profile of a criminal and which would be his or her characteristics? Moreover, how could these crimes is stopped? I have been attracted to criminology since the early age of just 12. I was watching Discovery channel series like Deadly women†, â€Å"Life of a crime, Most evil and I was fascinated by the way those people were investigating and solving those crimes helped by only some fragile and minor details. As time passed by, I realized that this was my hobby and so I started thinking how I could develop my skills for a career in criminology. I thought that if I entered an exact sciences high school profile, I would constantly keep my mind focused, as subjects like mathematics or informatics enlarge your vision. As criminology implies psychology, I was and I am still interested in this fascinating subject. I will always be interested in discovering the characteristics of human nature. I had contact for the first time with Psychology in the second year of high school. I also read very interesting books about psychology and criminology such as Psychology and Crime Myths and reality, by Peter Ainsworth, Criminology, by John Conklin, etc, describing its characteristics and feeding my curiosity. I have discovered myself a lot of skills after reading those books and this was an extra reason for me to attend to a Criminology course. Besides criminology, I also like IT (information technology). As technology occupies a significant part of our lives, I thought it would be helpful to certificate my skills: I obtained my OCP certificate for ORACLE sql database course; I attended the ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) courses from where I got a diploma as a complete operator of the Microsoft Office package. At present, I am attending the ORACLE pl_sql programming course which I am going to finalise in May 2009 and obtain my certificate. Even though I have been focusing on my ambitious plans and my future, I havent forgotten the ones that werent so lucky when speaking about familys kindness and warmth. So, I was involved myself in volunteer projects every Christmas and Easter. The volunteer action is called National Strategy The Community Action. In present, I intended a new strategy to help the mentally or physically affected children at the Orizont Center in my town, Constanta. In my opinion, abandoning you own child is a crime and if he or she has a handicap it is ten times worse. As I am a very active person, I also took part to a lot of extracurricular activities, like: general-knowledge quizzes, chemistry contests where I have participated with the project Water crystals. Crystal therapy and gained two prizes, I am part of the high school volleyball team with which I won a lot of regional and national competitions, I had a job as an IT operator for introducing and validating dates within the POL-RENAV company, etc. Considering the fact that criminology is my hobby (terrorism, youth crimes, homicide, violence in crimes), it would be the perfect course for me to study and improve at university. Studying the behavior of criminals or investigating their crimes will always create a challenging future and an interesting one, having always something new to learn. As a personal conviction, criminology is maybe the most complex job that one could want: it involves mental strength, devotion and 100% interest for this field. 2. For a number of years I have had more than a passing interest in Criminology, Psychology and Sociology; in particular Criminal Psychology, Neuropsychology, the nature versus nurture debate and the Criminal Justice System. Additionally, I hold equal interest in the research, both past and present, undertaken to develop theories and concepts in the Social Science fields. I would now like to pursue these interests at a higher academic level with the hope, upon completion of my study, to gain employment whereby I could effectively utilise the skills and knowledge I had obtained, possibly in the research field. The reasons behind my late entry into higher education are primarily due to immaturity and lack of direction. Throughout my teens and early twenties my life was unconventional; this is where I believe my interest in the working of the human mind and sociological influences stem from. I have reflected on the contributing factors that led me to make the choices I made during my adole scent years. For me this raises the question of whether the underlying causes were biological or socially influenced or even a mixture of the two. Over the years I have matured and gained a sense of direction regarding what I would like to do. In 1999, I decided I wanted to contribute to my local community by doing some form of voluntary work, in particular with those who suffer from mental health problems. I became a befriended through Hilling don Mind. A befrienderÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s role is to support a person who is feeling isolated from the community. Every week I would visit my friend and sit and chat and lend an ear, we would also enjoy trips out into the community. I enjoyed my 12 months working as a befriended; I found it a humbling, fulfilling and rewarding experience. Sadly I had to make the difficult decision to leave the Hilling don Mind Befriending Scheme in the later part of 2000 due to unforeseen increased family and work commitments. In early 2006, I made the decision to return to education. As I had not been in full time education for 21 years, I chose to ease myself back into the system by studying a Horticulture course part time over a period of 2 years. I completed this course in July 2008 passing with 6 straight Distinctions at level 2; completing this course was the catalyst to further my education it gave me the confidence required to progress further. In September 2008, I enrolled on an Access to Psychology and Social Studies course and an additional GCSE Moths course at level 2. I am finding my current course both exciting and thought provoking and am enjoying life as a student immensely. My hopes are that on completion of both these courses I will have acquired a solid foundation of Social Sciences and the skills required to study at University. Throughout my life I have experienced a variety of roles within the work force including care work, administrative roles, production line work and voluntary research work for several websites. I have raised my two daughters, 5 17, almost single handed for the last 8 years; the eldest of which is in her final year of a levels and is currently in the process of applying to universities. For a number of years I have successfully maintained 2 Allotments, although they require a great deal of physical work I find growing my own produce extremely satisfying. Additionally, I enjoy listening to a variety of music and reading, in particular non-fictional crime. I manage my ongoing commitments to my children, education and allotments extremely well, indicative of conviction, dedication and good time management skills. Law with Criminology Personal Statement Social development within the country is based around the well-structured judicial system; however, this fundamental principle is not true for all countries and therefore permits shocking injustices to be carried out on the most vulnerable members of a society. It is from this that I believe my interest in Law stems. I am a keen, ambitious, diligent student and always strive to reach the best I can in whatever I do. Studying A levels in Business Studies, English Language and Biology gives me broad knowledge of different topics from which I have acquired many valuable skills that I believe can assist my studies in Law. Business Studies has been particularly useful when developing my understanding of the financial world and ever-changing business laws. Applying and examining bureaucracy and red tape to set case studies, has encouraged me to research further into the world of consumer rights and explore what is acceptable and not. I have enjoyed studying Biology and having to work close ly as a team when completing practical experiments with precision. English Language has given me the opportunity to analyse written texts which will be an advantage when studying cases and having to pick out key information. Studying AS Psychology has encouraged me to examine how criminal minds work and whether particular events from earlier years of life can have an effect. Recently, I attended a Foundation Degree Law Course where the idea was to become a Lawyer for the week and develop the learning skills required for University. During the week I had hands on experience and undertook many legal practices such as taking witness statements and drafting statements of case. I found the course thoroughly enjoyable, particularly offering legal advice, and it helped me to realise how Law influences everyday decisions and activities. I have contributed too many different aspects of school life ranging from playing in successful musical concerts to becoming a senior student as a Year 8 mentor for which I had to attend two peer mediation courses. From this I learnt how to enhance my listening skills and empathise with those around me, offering reliable advice at the same time. I believe this would assist me when recommending legal advice to clientele. Along with a small group of other students, I am currently helping to set up a Committee to improve Sixth Form Life. Although this is to be carried out alongside my lessons, it helps me to plan my time well who benefits my studies when completing coursework and other various set tasks. The Young Enterprise Scheme, where it was our job to set up a company and assign ourselves roles within it, was a good insight into having to work as a team and understand business laws. I was chosen as the company secretary as I had the organizational skills which were necessary, this meant I had to work closely with the Managing Director to discuss issues and then make sure that every employee understood the tasks set. This developed my interpersonal skills as I had to liaise between staff, students and visitors from external companies. Personal well being is something I value and so participate regularly in exercise, giving me a sense of achievement when I overcome a certain obstacle or beat a personnel target. At school, this reflects my self discipline approach to studying. I have had to institute a system of time management alongside my education as I work part-time twice a week at South Deep Cafe. Working there for three years has, primarily, made me particularly approachable, as I have learnt many valuable customer relation skills, but has also reflected my trustworthiness and commitment especially when training other employees. As an enthusiastic, well-rounded, dedicated student, I feel I have the attributes and genuine passion needed to succeed on a Law Course, and look forward to the many challenges and aspects of life at University. Law and Criminology/Sociology Personal Statement From a young age, I have been fascinated by law and was thrilled at the possibility of studying it at A-Level. In August 2007, I was able to spend two weeks working at Naves Solicitors in Lupton. Most of my time was spent in the Conveyancing department, where Andrew Orriss, a partner in the firm, taught me how to draw up commercial leases and business contracts, and about buying, selling and renting residential properties. I most enjoyed meeting clients and discussing their cases. I found that moving house many times as a child enabled me to be sympathetic and relate to the clients. My time at Neves has made me more intent on pursuing a career in the law, as I liked the work and fitted in well with the staff. I believe my current studies of Law, English Language and History complement each other well and would give me an advantage at university, as they have furthered my strong reading and writing abilities, and taught me to be more logical and investigative. I also took Religious Studies at AS-level as I like learning about other peoples beliefs, and it helped me to become more open-minded. I enjoy getting involved with activities in my Sixth Form, such as planning the Summer Ball in Year 12. I was chosen by our Deputy Head Girl to take the minutes for the meetings and email them to the other committee members, and my minutes were commended by my Head of Year. I was also asked to assist with the Sixth Form Induction Evening. My duties involved welcoming prospective students and their parents, handing out prospectuses, and talking to them about my own experiences of Sixth Form. In Year 13, I was chosen as a History subject mentor to help struggling Year 12 students, and I also helped out on a trip to Germany with students in years 7 to 9. Outside of school, my hobbies include photography, bass guitar, and writing. In 2006, I came second in a BBC writing competition for young people in Northamptonshire. Having grown up in France, I am bilingual, and my next challenge is to write a short story in French. I also have a part-time job at McDonalds, which has taught me about working with others, as well as coping with pressure. One of the crucial parts of my job is ensuring that customers are satisfied, and occasionally dealing with complaints. I believe the people skills I have gained from McDonalds will help me in other aspects of my life. I regularly attend my local church and Christian youth group. In July 2007, I had the opportunity to go to Kosovo for a fortnight with other members of the youth group. Our aim was to help widows and orphans affected by the Yugoslav Civil War and the ethnic cleansing of Kosovans in 1999. We redecorated homes and schools, ran childrens clubs, distributed aid, and visited a Roma gypsy camp. It was a very profound and moving experience, and one I hope to repeat at some point in the future. This is the reason for my deferred entry to university. I plan to spend a few months fundraising, and then return to Kosovo for the remainder of the year to continue the work we started there. I believe that I am a confident and enthusiastic person who would benefit greatly from studying at university. I am passionate about the law and would like to have a career as a lawyer. I also have a keen sense of justice and an interest in Sociology and Criminology and would consider working with the Prison Service or the CPS. I think that studying Law at university would help me make the best possible use of my analytical and writing skills, and that a career in Law would satisfy my need to help.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Why Have Strategic Alliances Grown in Popularity?
Why Have Strategic Alliances Grown in Popularity? Who gains from strategic alliances? â€Å"Google and Lycos Europe Announce Strategic Alliance†(Google press center, 2003), â€Å"Bayer Healthcare and Intendis announce strategic alliance†(Wayne and Montville, 2007), â€Å"Fiat and Chrysler Announce Strategic Alliance†(Car News Gluckman and Kurcezski, 2009), â€Å"City Bank and American Express announce strategic alliance†(Dhaka, 2009). Alliances have become increasingly popular. Over the past years the number of firms forming strategic alliances has risen constantly. â€Å"According to Securities Data Corporation, the number of alliances has increased about 25% per year for the last decade.†In fact some eight out of ten electronics companies now have alliances or are negotiating new ones (Kolasky 1997). The above listed examples show that the trend of forming alliances not only concerns the electronics companies but all business sectors. This essay will critically evaluate on the basis of various examples why strategic alliances have grown in popularity and who gains. Therefore, it is necessary to understand what strategic alliances are and in which types they can appear. A uniform definition of strategic alliances does not exist. Porter (1990, p. ) defines strategic alliances as â€Å"long-term agreements between firms that go beyond normal market transactions but fall short of merger.†According to Dussauge and Garrette (1999, p. ) alliances can be defined as â€Å"a cooperative agreement or association between two or more independent enterprises, which will manage one specific project, with a determined duration †¦ in order to improve their competences. It is constituted to allow its partners to pool resources and coordinate efforts †¦ to achieve results that neither could obtain by acting alone. The key parameters surrounding alliances are opportunism, necessity and speed.†All in all alliances are partnerships, in which merit is combined in order to achieve a mutual goal and to increase sales volume without bearing all the risks. As there are many ways to define strategic alliances there are also many ways of classifying them. To tie in with Dussauge and Garrette (1999) strategic alliances can be divided into partnerships between non-competing firms and alliances between competitors, which are specified in the following. Partnerships between non-competing firms are relationships between companies from different industries, which therefore are not in direct competition with each other. They implicate international expansion joint venture, vertical partnerships and cross-industry agreements. International expansion joint venture opens a new market to the foreign partner and offers the local partner a product to distribute, e.g. Renault and Diesel Naciona, SA (DINA). Vertical partnership is collaboration at two successive working stages within the same production process, e.g. McDonalds and Coca Cola. Cooperations between completely different industries (cross-industry agreements) aspire the diversification of t he activities of companies through a leverage of their abilities, e.g. Philips and DuPont de Nemours produced surface coatings for data storage. Alliances between competitors are divided into three categories, which are shared-supply alliances, quasi-concentration alliances and complementary alliances. Within shared-supply alliances rivals come together to share elements when the display for a particular production process is much greater than for the whole product. The products remain within each company, e.g. Volkswagen and Renault produced jointly automatic gear boxes. In a quasi-concentration alliance just one common product is developed, produced and marketed by all allies, e.g. the collaboration of British Aerospace, DASA and Alenia in the case of the Tornado fighter plane. In the event of complementary alliances a product produced by one company is marketed with the help of the distribution network of another company, e.g. the distribution of Mitsubishi cars by Chrysler. Strategic alliances have gained popularity across many industries. The typification of alliances mentioned above show that alliances are not industry specific, but mostly cross-sectoral. They include amongst others automobile, pharmaceutical and aerospace industries. The reasons for the growing popularity of strategic alliances are quite evident. According to Segal-Horn and Faulkner (1999) one of the primary drivers of strategic alliances is the growing globalisation and regionalisation of markets. Several forces that resulted from the globalisation make the strategy of alliances very important. â€Å"The steady reduction of trade barriers has led to the dramatic growth of cross-border cooperation between companies†(Segal-Horn and Faulkner, 1999, p. 205). The blurring of industry boundaries forces companies to face new rivals. Alliances can provide the companies with capabilities that they need to front global competitors. â€Å"Alliances can provide firms with many benefits such as access to new knowledge, complementary resources, new markets and new technologiesto learn, exploit economies of scale and scope, share risks and outsource various activities along the value chain.†(Gulati et al. 2000 cited in Segal-Horn 2004, p. ) Gulati ´s statement shows that strategic alliances can offer many opportunities and advantages. In respect to technology development the companies can learn from each other as there is an exchange and sharing of technologies, know-how and expertise. This expertise and technology sharing allows the companies to achieve faster the joint aims. To cite Wagonor (2001) manager of GM, â€Å"leveraging on someone who does it better allows you to get there faster.†Canon and HP shared their technologies in copier business. Canon developed the technology for toner and toner cartridges and HP developed the software and computer chips to operate the cartridges (Acredula, 2001). Concerning the market development collaboration can facilitate international expansion and the companies can benefit from a faster entry to new markets. In the case of the alliance between Coca-Cola and Proctor and Gamble (PG), Coca-Cola benefited from a faster entry into the snack and non-carbonated beverage market (Acredula 2001). An alliance partner can also help a company that enters a foreign market with local knowledge, logistics and domestic behaviour as well as with the governmental requirements. Another advantage that an alliance offers the companies is maintenance of the market position and production at lowest cost locations which leads to a very important advantage, cost reduction. Allies in cooperation can for example share costs for advertising and marketing as well as the costs for research and development (RD). In the case of failure the partners of an alliance share the risk as it is spread between all allies and can therefore minimize their damage and losses. This makes the companies more willing to take a risk as they would be alone. Finally, the shrinking product life cycle which cause growing pressure for innovation and growth has forced companies to look outside their own borders for new ideas (Bannerman, 2005). To sum up, strategic alliances allow firms to share risks and resources, gain knowledge and technology, expand the existing product base, and obtain access to new markets. The named advantages of strategic alliances can help companies to keep pace with increasingly complex technologies and constantly changing global markets (Kolasky, 1997). Forming alliances seems to be a useful tool to adopt to the changing market conditions and to stay competitive in a global business world. According to Johnson and Scholes (2008) enterprises sometimes cannot cope with increasingly complex environments only with interior resources and competences. They may see the need to obtain materials, skills, innovation, finance or access to markets through other cooperation s. A single firm is unlikely to possess all the resources and capabilities to achieve global competitiveness†(Dussauge and Garrette 1999, p.). Collaboration is often necessary for the survival and growth of a company. Alliances are a useful strategy to pool competences, technology know-how, skills and resources together to create a new unit (De Wit and Meyer, 1998). Toshiba believes that â€Å"a sing le company cannot dominate any technology or business by itself†. That is why Toshiba chose the strategy of developing relationships with different partners (e.g. IBM, Siemens, GE, Ericsson, Microsoft, Samsung) for different technologies which helped the company to become one of the leading players in the global electronics industry. Toshiba is successful with that strategy because of a thorough alliance partner selection. Toshiba has chosen Apple Computers as a partner to develop multimedia computer. Toshibas manufacturing expertise combined with Apples software technology was an achievement because the alliance allowed both companies to gain from each others competences (Kotelnikov, 2001). However, not only companies come off as winners from strategic alliances but also suppliers, employees, consumers, the government as well as shareholders of the allied companies. It is obvious that companies gain higher sales and therefore higher profits, e.g. the collective revenue for the partnership of the Star Alliance is at more than $63 billion. Furthermore, suppliers gain new clients. The increasing number of clients leads to more orders that in turn lead to more turnovers and more profit. The exchange of know-how and expertise mentioned before benefit the employees. The special knowledge makes them more employable and can assure a safer workplace. As companies are able to produce their products at lowest cost locations, reduce costs and diversify their product range consumers can profit from a wider range of products to more favourable prices. The increasing consumptions and more exports than imports lead to a higher Gross National Product (GNP) in the country of the producin g company. As a positive side-effect the shareholders benefit from higher dividends because increased sales force leads to higher turnover and higher share prices (Acredula, 2001). The last two paragraphs show that strategic alliances present several potentially beneficial advantages. However, alliances also have been criticised. Their high failure rates – half of the alliances fail show the other side of the coin (Acredula, 2001 b). Some organisations may only have one option – namely going it alone. This can be in the case of â€Å"working in a field which is breaking new ground or where there are no other suitable partners available†(Johnson and Scholes, 1999, p. ). The risk of exposing competences and technical know-how to partners who can become future competitors and disputes as well as issues that result from working with other partners, sharing of profits and advantages, less autonomy and control are also significant points that have to be considered. For example, one partner may go into an alliance for short term learning gain, whereas the other partner may see the alliance as more strategic, long term and replacing one area of i ts value chain. Dutch KLM and Alitalia could not avoid the failure of their full merger as partners compatibility did not exist and Alitalia did not come up with arranged expectations. Like most alliances they have failed due to differing objectives or motives of the partners (Witt and Mayer 1998). The companies have to be aware that alliances require a clear strategy and hard work. Careful planning like a clear definition of core competencies, goals and objectives as well as a limitation of the partners role and relationship and a timeline – a deal structure with an exit plan are essential to eliminate or rather to avoid disadvantages as well as to succeed. â€Å"According to a survey of 455 CEOs, the most important factor in designing a strategic alliance is the selection of the right partner (chosen by 75% of the CEOs)†(Holohan, 1998). But one has also have to go beyond the visible peak of the iceberg and consider the main fundamentals of a successful alliance including communication, transparency and trust (Johnson, 2005). Although, alliances are often criticised for being a slower form of development and despite the high failure rate the constant growth of alliances will definitely continue in the future (Johnson and Scholes, 1999). References De Wit, B. and Meyer R.J.H. (1998), Strategy – Process, Content, Context: An International Perspective (2nd edn), London: International Thomson Publishing Dussauge, P. and Garrette, B. (1999), Cooperative Strategy: Competing successfully through strategic alliances, Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R. (2008), Exploring Corporate Strategy, Text and Cases (8th edn), London: FT Prentice Hall Porter, M. E. (1998), The competitive advantage of nations: with a new introduction by the author, London: Macmillan Press LTD Segal-Horn, S. (2004), The Strategy Reader (2nd edn)., London: Blackwell Publishing, , p 355-366. Segal-Horn, S. and Faulkner, D. (1999), The Dynamics of International Strategy, London: Thomson Business Press, , p 205-236. Aarons, R. (no date) ‘Ten Reasons to Create a Strategic Alliance, [online] Available from URL: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/strategic_alliances_main.html (accessed 10 November 2009). Acredula Newsletter (2001) `Strategic Alliances Gain Popularity Over Mergers and Acquisitions`, August 2001, Vol. II No.9, [online] Available from URL: http://www.bricker.com/Publications/articles/523.pdf (accessed 14 November 2009) Bannerman, P. (2005), `Strategic Alliances in Education and Training Services ,A Literature Review`, Joan Spiller CORDS Pty Ltd., Australian Graduate School of Management, The University of NSW and the University of Sydney , May 2005, [online] Available from URL: http://www.aei.gov.au/AEI/MIP/ItemsOfInterest/05Interest26b_pdf.pdf Car news Gluckman, D. and Kurczewski, N. (2009), `Fiat and chrysler announce strategic alliance`, January 2009, [online] Available from URL: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/09q1/fiat_and_chrysler_announce_strategic_alliance-car_news, accessed on 12 November 2009. Dhaka (2009), `City Bank and American Express announce strategic alliance`, 7 November 2009, [online] Available from URL: http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2009/citybank.asp, accessed on 15 November 2009. Google press center (2003), `Google and Lycos Europe Announce Strategic Alliance`, 5 June 2003, Mountain view, California/Gà ¼tersloh, Germany, [online] Available from URL: http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/lycos_de.html, accessed on 12 November 2009. Holohan, M. Paul (1998), `Business alliances: how to find a good partner`,International Journal of Business Performance Management 1998, Vol. 1, No.1, pp.79 – 89, [online] Available from URL: http://www.inderscience.com/search/index.php?action=recordrec_id=4546prevQuery=ps=10m=or Johnson, L. C. (2005) ‘Understanding the Role of Cross-Sector Strategic Alliances in The Age of corporate social responsibility, 12 April 2005, p47-55, [online] Available from URL: http://fletcher.tufts.edu/research/2005/Johnson.pdf, accessed on 10 November 2009 Kolasky, J., William Jr. (1997), `Antitrust enforcement guidelines for strategic alliances`, presented at the Federal Trade Commissions, Hearings on Joint Ventures, Washington, D.C. Kotelnikov, V. (2001) ‘Strategic Alliances: Why and how to build them, [online] Available from URL: http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/strategic_alliances_main.html accessed on 10 November 2009 Wayne and Montville (2007), `Bayer healthcare and intendis announce strategic alliance to co promote yaz drospirenoneethinyl estradiol for treatment of moderate acne`, 7 May 2007, [online] Available from URL: http://www.intendis.com/scripts/pages/en/press_amp_media/news/bayer_healthcare_and_intendis_announce_strategic_alliance_to_copromote_yaz_drospirenoneethinyl_estradiol_for_treatment_of_moderate_acne.php, accessed on 12 November 2009. Acredula (2001), Newsletter,  ´Not All Strategic Alliances Are Successful ´, September 2001, Vol. II No. 10, [online] Available from URL: http://www.bricker.com/publications/articles/528.pdf accessed on 14 November 2009 Cartwright, S., Cooper, C. L. (1996) Managing mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances: integrating people, 2nd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Jarillo, J. C. (1995), Strategic networks: creating the borderless organization, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Velasquez, M. G. (2002) Business Ethics – Concepts and Cases, 5th edn, Prentice Hall, London. [emailprotected], University of Pennsylvania (2008) `Thought Leaders II: Collaborating To Compete: The Rise of Coopetition and Strategic Alliances, March 2008, http://executiveeducation.wharton.upenn.edu/ebuzz/0803/thoughtleaders2.cfm, accessed on 10 November 2009. Segmentation: E-business market Segmentation: E-business market 1.0 Introduction This report will cover some outlines of segmentation and how to target the potential market for our new E-business in the market it is important that we understand what kind of requirements there are for effective segmentation. I would try to compare and contrast some of the important points give some examples. Also to keep our position safe in market and to keep running a successful business first we need to consider different segmentation processes and then I would define the business model according to our E-Business. 1.2 Identify the target markets for Complete Training Solutions intended expansion. The school will need to consider the demographic, geographical, psychographic, and consumer characteristics of there identified markets. For that school need to understand the market segments which are as follows. 2.0 What are the market segments are? Market segmentation may be defined as Jobber says that â€Å"the identification of individuals or organistaions with similar characteristics that have significant implications for the determination of marketing strategy†. â€Å"Where segmentation is the first and one of the most important steps†(Yan, 2008). Where as according to Lancaster Reynolds market segmentation is defined as â€Å"the process of breaking down the total market for a product or service into distinct sub-groups or segments where each segment may conceivably represent a separate target market to be reached with a distinctive marketing mix. 2.1 Market segmentation A segment is a unique group of customers or potential customer who share some kind of common characteristic that make them different from other groups. Proctor thinks that different segments may have different needs, they may ask for different versions of the same product, pay different prices, buy in different places and they may be reached by different media. Every one has the own opinion and own choices. It is very important for us to keep a healthy relationship with the customers and to do this they need to understand their customers demand. According to Proctor in consumer markets customers and prospective customers can be grouped together or segmented by attitude, lifestyle, age, gender, stage in the family, lifecycle, job types, level of earnings and many others relevant variables. These things should be kept in mind whenever introducing any new brand because if we want to maintain our image in the market then we need to fully understands the logic of customers and their purchasing behaviours. It is very important for us to identify what each segment wants, what it can afford, whether it is loyal to a particular competitor and how it might respond to an offer is vital information. As mentioned by Proctor that market segmentation and accurate targeting keeps a firm close to the market. It reduces waste, finds the best customers and helps to keep them satisfied. Segmentation is very useful tool. But it is necessary for us to understand each and every sub-group in order to get the positive result from customers and to compete with competitors in the market. As mentioned by Croft the methods of separating the market according to similarities that exist among the various subgroups within the market. Characteristics, needs and desires may be the common similarities. Market segmentation comes about as a result of the observation that all potential users of a product are not alike, and that the same general appeal will not interest all prospects. Therefore, it is essential to develop different marketing tactics to effectively cover the entire market for a particular product. There are four basic market segmentation strategies: behaviour segmentation, demographic, geographic, and physiographic segmentation. 2.2 Demographic segmentation Involves dividing the market on the basis of statistical differences in personal characteristics, such as age, gender, race, income, life stage, occupation, and education level (Anon 2002) We could focus on customers age because user needs and wants change with their age although they still want to learn the same types of courses. In order to introduce the new ideas in market and we should look at the design of the courses and what will be the learning outcomes we could meet the user demands of different age group. Income is another popular basis of segmentation. Customers will be more attractive towards the less income. We need to understand this point that in marketing the courses that appeal directly to the customer is relatively low prices. So therefore other variables of demographic are as important as mentioned above and they should not be neglected. 2.3 Psychographic segmentation It is based on the assumption that the types of products and brands an individual purchases will reflect that person personality and patterns of living. Generally to promote the product marketers are using celebrities, such as football team. If we use this technique for her new courses then we could create a big image in front of users. As it mentioned in the definition that every one has different life style, they have there own opinions but it could be influenced by other people personalities. This is benefit for us because for example if David Becham is learning the team building strategies from our institute then the user influencing his fans to join in the same course. 2.4 Geographic segmentation Lancaster Reynolds said that geographic is consists of dividing a country into regions that normally represent an individual sales persons territory. This is mostly suitable for broad companies and these massive regions are then broken down into areas with separate regional manager controlling salespeople in distinct area. This will help only if we expand our company our institute international, so far there is need of geographic segmentation. The geographic segmentation method is useful where there are geographic locations differences in consumption patterns and preferences but in our case we need to think about that because our institute is more about online courses so we have to consider about that. 2.5 Behavioural segmentation As stated by Lancaster and Reynolds behavioural segmentation is based on actual customers behaviour towards products. It has the advantages of using variables that are closely related to the product itself. Such as: brand loyalty, benefits sought, occasions (holidays, events which stimulate point for marketing) etc. As Lancaster Reynolds stated that the customers that can be divided into number of groups according to their loyalty, or their propensity to repurchase brand again is called brand loyality. Actually we have to think about if we will provide the those learning facilities are those are enough for the learner requirement with that they can bring some more students for the reappearing in the same courses or tell others to participate in those courses those are good and according to the your standards this is some sort of the advertisement when any costumer tell other customer for the same product just we need to think about if, if the user doesnt like our learning style then what will be our next plan to satisfied the learner. 3.0 Effective segmentation The needs of customers should be central to all business decision making so therefore Effective segmentation can be achieved by solving the problems of users. The major dimensions are price, service, product and quality for example an image of institute. Therefore it is necessary to identify all the requirements of user so realistic segments could be targeted. Kotler said that, â€Å"A customer orientation toward marketing holds that success will come to organizations that best determine the perceptions, needs, and wants of target markets and satisfy them through the design, communication, pricing, and delivery of appropriate and competitive viable offerings†. According to Xu, Jianfeng â€Å"An accurate and effective segmentation technique is the basis of the ideal dynamic heart modeling†. One author state that effective segmentation is about customer needs, demands and other is telling the importance of effective segmentation. Each segment should be evaluated in terms of its overall size, projected rate of growth, actual and potential competition and customer needs. According to the targets we need to decide which criteria is appropriate for assessing different bases. 3.1 Measurable According to Recklies it has to be possible to determine the values of the variables used for segmentation with justifiable efforts. This is important especially for demographic and geographic variables. For an organisation with direct sales the own customer database could deliver valuable information on buying behaviour (frequency, volume, product groups, mode of payment etc. 3.2 Accessibility Lancaster Reynolds researched that accessibility base used should ideally lead to the company being able to reach selected market targets with their individual marketing efforts. 3.3 Validity Reynolds and Lancaster mentioned the extent to which the base is directly associated with the differences in needs and wants between the different segments. Given that segmentation is essentially concerned with identifying groups with different needs and wants, it is vital that the segmentation base is meaningful and that different preferences or needs show clear variations in market behaviour and response to individually designed marketing mixes. 3.4 Substantial According to Lancaster Reynolds substantial is the base used which lead to segments which are sufficiently enormous to economically and practically worthwhile serving as discrete market targets with a distinctive marketing mix. If we need to make segmentation effective it is important that we know that where and who we targeting. Segmentation is the basis for developing targeted and effective marketing plans. 4.0 Targeting Lancaster Reynolds mentioned that after market has been separated into its segments, the marketer will select a segment or series of segments and target them. Each segment has different tastes and demands unique marketing mix in order to make the product or service more attractive to those customers who occupy that market segment. The process of manipulating the marketing mix in terms of differentiating products, methods of communication and other marketing variables is known as ‘target marketing. After the process of segmentation the next step is for us to decide how it is going to target these particular group(s). There are three options Undifferentiated marketing Differentiated marketing strategy Concentrated Marketing We should use differentiated marketing because we can use several segments and develop distinct courses with separate mix strategies at the varying groups. Mr Jobber stated that â€Å"When market segmentation reveals several potential targets, specific marketing mixes can be developed o appeal to all or some of the segments†. As Siklos and Abel says that â€Å"Thegiving inflation targeting an additional credibilityboost many emerging markets†. Comparing these two definitions of different authors its becoming noticeable that targets play an important roll to achieve goals. It would allow us to identify specific customers groups with different needs and wants and also the unfilled gaps in a market can be apprised and then satisfied through unique product or promotional offering (Lancaster Reynolds 1999). Target marketing can thus be said to be the process of identifying market segments that will be the most likely purchasers of a companys products, and devising inventive marketing approaches to suit these specifically distinguished needs (Lancaster Reynolds 1999). After segmentation process has taken place as Lancaster and Reynolds mentioned that each segment should be identified and must be assessed in order to decide whether or not it is worthwhile serving as a potentially profitable target market with its own distinctive marketing mix. Where there is good sales and profit potential the favourable attributes of a target will include segments. If competition is not too intense and where the segment might have some previously identified requirements we should able to serve them. 5.0 Mix marketing As mentioned by Lancaster and Reynolds that the marketing mix describe the functional aspects of marketing over which the company has control. This includes what E Jerome McCarthy dubbed the ‘four Ps in 1960, namely, Product, Price, Promotion and Place. In addition to these four Ps, is sometimes added a fifth P People, which includes the people who mainly carry out the function of marketing and who interface with customers. These have been described as the key elements of the marketing function. There are two further Ps that specially relate to the service industry because of its tangible nature. These are Process and Physical evidence. These are called the seven Ps of service marketing. However we should understand the notions of four Ps which are still prevails in marketing litre. The elements of marketing mix are all related in terms of how they combine in the marketing planning process. Lancaster Reynolds pointed out that it is the skill of marketing management to ensure that the combination chosen is a successful one. â€Å"Marketing is seen as a strategic management activity aimed at developing customer relationships. Concepts such as the four Ps (product, price, place and promotion), marketing plans, the marketing mix, segmentation, promotion and evaluation are identified and discussed in relation†(Wakeham, Maurice 2004). According to these authors we can see that with marketing mix we could raise the strong relationship with users and with the concept of 4 Ps we can identified and evaluate the segmentation. Lets expand on these 4 Ps and see how we can link them with our new online learning facilities of Team Building, Assertiveness, Coaching Skills and Delegation Skills for the Busy Professional. Mission statement draft: A learning experience that prepare students to contribute in a dynamic, global, and diverse business environment. Our mission is to provide training to all level of the users who ever is connected with their business, Including team building, assertiveness, coaching skill and delegation skill for the busy professionals. Objectives Aim Our school of intelligent learners is for the users who wants to build up there extra qualities for to compete the new era requirements. And our aim is to provide them up to date training which is purely concerned for the business levels. Our school is one of the best schools in Bradford. Currently we are struggling for more students that is why we are moving online and we will provide online courses for the relevant business. That was the our main reason to be online but there is one more reason to be online is that before we were enable to mark the global market now we can mark the global market by choosing online learning facilities now we can provide our service across the glob where ever any one and any type of user can access us and learn what ever they want from our main courses. We will provide online video and audio conferencing which is the solution to save the cost of the booking hotels and halls. Our main concern is to think about the user from different back ground from any part of the world we can arrange there course in any language. Our basic and main aim is to provide them solution for their problems. Value proposition: For the learners satisfaction school has to think about the language, course compatibility, learning facilities for the disable people which we dont have at the moment so we have to concerned about those problems and we have to satisfy the learner needs by that as a distance training provider we will have to save their time and they can chose there own learning style and they can manage their staff as possible as they want they can call more people if they want they can organize big halls for more people and they can provide the requirements for the disable peoples as well by using the our video and audio libraries. Product and services: The school will provide Team Building, Assertiveness, Coaching Skills and Delegation Skills for the Busy Professional. That will be a complete training for the bingers as well as for the expert. Expert can learn new techniques and binger can develop some skill too for the requirements of the new era. School will also provide some extra courses as well whoever will join the school for instance, web development in visual basic oracle it is good for the companies for there advertisement and for account as well. Learning on internet is the best learning style then old time styles you can learn while sitting at home at your own pace. The school will provide you the services of all the documentation and applications with which the students and companies can enable to access the schools resources. Business models: There could have been taken several attempts to categorize all the business models emerging with the coming new economy in order to understand how e-companies are making money or not making money. Some of are the company see there business model highly exposed such as the reverse action model of Priceline or online grocery model of shield. But still, is at all so clear so far? For instance, ebay.com might be typical of an Agora B-web like in Chicago but all the same as ebay.com and the main function is to be a online merchandiser. All of them have the same object but the different perspectives. Is there any better or could be worse way to explain or justify the business models? Are those comparing with each other or allowing comparisons? Do they help customer to categories the different actors in the same category, for instance online grocery shop? Do they explain why some of them benefits from the financial figures? Nowadays new business models do not finish emerging in electronic c ommerce and can become a major stake in the e-business game ((Maitre and Aladjidi (1999), Kalakota (1999)). It is even possible to patent them in some countries (Pavento (1999)! Research issue is important to understand the new business for to helping to design but not covered so well until now. E-business modelling has similar as to enterprise modelling in general. Modelling helps the companies to develop their business visions and strategies, redesign and align business to operations, share knowledge about the business and its vision and ensure the acceptance of business decisions through committing stakeholders to the decisions made (Persson, Stirna , 2001). A business model is nothing else than the architecture of a firm and its network of partners for creating, marketing and delivering value and relationship capital to one or several segments of customers in order to generate profitable and sustainable revenue streams. The E-Business Model framework is therefore divided into four principal components. The products and services a company offers, representing an ample value to a target customer (value proposition), and for which he is eager to pay. The relationship assets the firm creates and maintains with the customer, in order to suit him and to generate sustainable revenues. The communications and the network of partners that is necessary in order to create a good customer relationship. And last, but not least, The financial aspects that can be found throughout the three previous components, such as cost and revenue structures. If we think in depth how the school is related to the business models and how it will work to generate the more revenue. Basically the intelligent learners is associated with several business models. The main models include business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C). B2B consists of companies and school doing a business with each other, whereas B2C involves selling directly to the end consumer (students). When intelligent learners first began, the B2C model was first to emerge. B2B transactions were more complex and came now. Conclusion: some of the benefits associated with online intelligent learners are include the availability of information 24/7. Students and companies can log onto the Internet and learn about products, as well as purchase them, at any hour. Intelligent learners can also save money because of a reduced need for a sales force. Overall, intelligent learners can help you to expand from a local market to both national and international marketplaces. And, in a way, it levels the playing field for big and small players. Unlike traditional marketing media (like print, radio and TV), entry into the realm of Internet marketing can be a lot less expensive and offers a greater sense of accountability for advertisers.
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