Can and should the arts be used for emancipatory or progressive Essay

Can and should the arts be used for emancipatory or progressive purposes Answer this question drawing on relevant cultural theories on the relationship between the arts and politics - Essay Example In this regard, the arts are usually associated with recreation, distractions and amusements (Wolff & Geahigan, 1997, p. 1). Proponents of the arts argue however that the arts are embodied knowledge and quite often interprets, constructs and criticizes life. In this regard, the arts like the sciences, also transfers knowledge. The arts aids in shaping an â€Å"understanding of the world† as it is or as it should be and as such can and often does, guide progress and emancipation (Metallinos, 2009, p. 146). Therefore, the arts can be powerful communication sources and may transfer knowledge relative to social, political and cultural realities and in doing so can raise consciousness and lead to progress and emancipation. The purpose of this research paper is to explore and analyse the assumption that the arts are powerful social, political and cultural communications and whether or not the arts should be used for progressive and emancipatory purposes. This is a particularly complex issue as arts are not all expressive and some are wholly aimed at creating pleasure and economic investment. Even so, given the communication associated with the arts, this research paper explores whether or not it is fair to impose emancipation and progressive responsibilities on artists. In order to determine whether or not the arts can and should be used for emancipatory and progressive purposes, cultural and political theories of the arts will be analysed. The arts are often defined as representations and expressions of life, nature, objects and human feelings and activities. Art as a representation and/or an expression is immediately defined as a communication between the artists and the audience to which it is directed or exposed. In this regard, art is said to be reflective in that it often invokes human emotions and thoughts. At the same time, some arts such as instrumental classical or any

Postmodern Frame Essay - Text in Art Essay Example for Free

Postmodern Frame Essay Text in Art Essay The use of text within to the visual arts can be traced back as far as the inscribed carvings found on cave walls created by the Indigenous population of Australia approximately 46000 years ago. However, over the past few years, the use of text in art, also known as the art of typography, has become a frequent means of communication for artists in the creation of their works. Text within art can be projected, scrawled, painted, computerised and carved to the point that a work may be created of nothing but language. The art of typography is the technique of arranging type in such a way that makes language visible. It treats fonts as individual entities to be enjoyed by the audience. Some artists deal with language as a character on its own as opposed to a surface to draw upon. These artists place texts in ways that are intended to stimulate the way an audience perceives a work, to evoke emotion or to create a statement. However, others, particularly graphic designers, tend to focus on the decorative powers of text. Regardless of the artist’s intentions, the appearance of text within art can shift our appreciation of their sound and meaning. Artists that explore text in art include: Barbara Kruger, Yukinori Yanagi, Katarzyna Kozyra, Jenny Holzer, Wenda Gu, Shirin Neshat, Miriam Stannage, Colin McCahon and Jenny Watson. Artists such as Jenny Holzer, Wenda Gu and Shirin Neshat explore the cultural implications of language in art and the importance of language to identity through the inclusion of text that reflect a postmodern concern with the way we receive information in our contemporary society. Jenny Holzer is an American conceptual artist who belongs to the feminist branch of artists that emerged during the 1980’s. Originally an abstract painter and printmaker, Holzer became heavily interested in conceptual art and began creating works using text. The introduction of text within Holzer’s work occurred gradually however, over time, they have entirely replaced images. These works are usually displayed in widely viewed, public areas. Holzer’s works typically deal with the idea of communication. She is highly aware of the power of words and the power of the media and therefore has a focus on the ability of language to distort or manipulate truths. â€Å"I was drawn to writing because it was possible to be very explicit about things. If you have crucial issues, burning issues, it’s good to say exactly what’s right and wrong about them, and then perhaps to show a way that things could be helped. So, it seemed to make sense to write because then you could just say it†¦ no painting seemed perfect. In particular, I didn’t want to be a narrative painter, which maybe would have been one solution for someone wanting to be explicit.† – Jenny Holzer. Through the use of text in art, Holzer is able to transmit powerful environmental, social and political messages that reveal beliefs and myths and show biases and inconsistencies that highlight her social and personal concerns of today’s contemporary society. Holzer’s works are confronting and provocative and inspire us to make changes. They make us remember that language is not always a factual statement; it can be true or false depending on the context. Holzer forces us to analyse our own behaviour and consider how we have been influenced and manipulated. Her works are designed to make us stop and think about how we are maturing socially. Holzer’s truisms â€Å"MONEY CREATES TASTE – 1982† and â€Å"PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT 1985† are part of her 1983-85 series – â€Å"Survival†. These are LED installation pieces consisting of large scale text that were projected onto a billboard in Times Square, New York. The inscriptions were bright, clear and menacing and connected themselves to the everyday glow of the city. The phrases were flicked over the busy intersection for two to three seconds creating an element of surprise and capturing the audience’s attention. The main focus of these works was to make a profound statement about the world of advertising and consumer society today. Holzer’s aim was to persuade the audience to pause and reflect on their lives. Her work emphasises the notion that within our society, we are driven by the world of media, thereby producing a mass materialistic, consumerist culture. â€Å"MONEY CREATES TASTE† is almost a plea from Holzer to stand back and assess our needs as a culture rather than what we are fed to believe we want by the media. The use of this concise statement â€Å"PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT† has shown us that we are in the process of losing our identity and sense of culture and can be manipulated by the underlying motives of the media. Shirin Neshat is an Iranian born artist who, upon turning seventeen, moved to California to study art. In 1990 when Neshat flew back to Iran to visit her family, she was confronted by the changes in culture and the narrow restraints of everyday life in the Islamic Republic. She was faced by a very strict, pure form of Islam introduced by the Iranian government in order to erase Persian history. Since having lived in the two cultural contexts of Iraq and the USA, Neshat is able to examine the cultural concerns of individual beings in a metaphorical and poetic way. She attempts to address problems of identity, race and gender in a shocking manner and intends to undermine social stereotypes and assumptions. Her works explore the differences between Islam and the West, males and females, limitations in life and freedom, old and new and the public and the private domains. Neshat aimed to provoke questions amongst her audience as she explored Islam through her art making and comments on issues related to feminism and multiculturalism. However, her works were not only confrontational and symbolic; Neshat also paid particular attention to aesthetics. In her 1994 print and ink, â€Å"Rebellious Silence†, Neshat depicts an Islamic, Muslim woman, covered in a veil holding a gun. Her calm face is divided by the starkness of the cold, steel weapon and is laced with Islamic calligraphy symbolic of the Niqab, a more extreme veil that an Islamic woman must wear as it signifies her obedience to the male supremacy in Islamic culture. Her clothing and weapon make us question whether this woman has rejected her submissive female role to embrace violence. She is looking directly at the camera and looks determined to fight. Questions of motives arise amongst the audience. Neshat’s 1996 work â€Å"Speechless† is a black and white photograph in which Neshat has chosen to make herself the subject. This image is a close up of Neshat’s face. She looks determined and powerful however, like her creation â€Å"Rebellious Silence† – her face is covered with an overlay of Islamic text. The Arabic inscriptions that create the veil act as a barrier. It symbolises the support of the Islamic revolution. The visual struggle between Neshat and the veil is representational of the fight for freedom and the support of religion. By putting the text on her face, the body part where people can identify emotions the most, it serves as a reminder of the power that religion has over women and the oppression it has towards free expression. The gun in the picture is another juxtaposition. The woman seems to be embracing the gun as a part of her, giving off a threatening feeling, but at the same time, it does not feel dangerous because of her conflicted emotions: freedom versus oppression. The inscriptions tell of a man who died in the Iran/Iraq conflict of the 1980’s. This is also insulting to the women who also experienced this conflict. Her art does not disapprove nor approve of Islam, but instead encourages the audience to reflect upon their own ideas, assumptions and expectations. He works carry both personal and emotional connotations. Wenda Gu was born in China and studied traditional, classical landscape painting. He was employed to teach ink painting and although he no longer practices in China, text remains central to his work. This initial technical training has provided the incentive for his most confronting pieces in which the powerful use of language challenges social and political traditions. â€Å"These are questioning and symbolic works that violate the orthodox doctrine of artistic value. They represent a direct threat to authority.† Michael Sullivan. Gu ambitiously attempts to address, in artic terms, the issue of globalism that dominates discussions of contemporary economics, society and culture. He aims to appeal not only to the present population, but also to future generations in his quest to extend the boundaries of human perception, feeling and thought and express humanity’s deepest wishes and powerful dreams. Gu strives to unify mankind and create a utopian feel within his works. Gu worked to simplify the Chinese language and to encourage people to embrace new attitudes towards their old language. He combines a long standing fascination with classical Chinese calligraphy with a contemporary take on universal concerns that cross cultural and ethnic boundaries. Gu’s work today focusses extensively on ideas of culture and his identity and has developed an interest in bodily materials and understanding humanity across ethnic and national boundaries. Gu’s 1994-96 work â€Å"Pseudo Characters Contemplation of the world† is a series of ink paintings in which he uses traditional calligraphic styles and techniques but subverts them with reversed, upside down or incorrect letters. The pseudo character series consists of three ink on paper scrolls in which he has combined calligraphy and landscape, disrupting the conventions of both, powerfully distorting artistic tradition of China. Gu has attacked the written word by glorifying the spirit of the absurd. Gu’s most significant artworks have been a series entitled â€Å"United Nations Project†. This is a series of 15 works that were conceptually planned to relate to the locations social, political, historical and cultural situation. This series confronts two taboos. That of language and the human body. The main material for these installations are human hair collected from hairdressers from all over the world and the hair itself serves as a connection to all people. They typically consisted of screens tied together with twine, forming a canopy of internationally collected hair that was fashioned into nonsensical scripts combining the Chinese alphabet and others. His works are distinguished by the two themes which intersect. The first relates to language and the way in which cultural conventions are signified ad the second, is the use of human hair which is a symbol for significant human endeavours. The human hair is a blueprint containing DNA information, which is common to all humans yet seen fundamentally as individual. Jenny Holzer, Shirin Neshat and Wenda Gu all explore the cultural implications of language within art. They share a prime focus on the links between culture and identity. They have used language and text to convey their powerful messages and have drawn upon their own personal experiences. Concerned with the human condition, both they and their artworks have had a significant impact on society and the way in which we interpret information. Madison ******** Year 12 Visual Arts Art History and Art Criticism. Essay on Text The inclusion of text in artworks reflects a post-modern concern with the way we receive information in our contemporary society and the importance of language to identity. Explore the cultural implications of language in the work of Jenny Holzer, Wenda Gu and one other contemporary artist. Analyse specific artworks to support your argument.

Quality and Systems Management in McDonalds

Quality and Systems Management in McDonalds McDonalds, as we all know is the worlds largest chain of fast food suppliers. The business began in 1940, with a small restaurant Bar B Que run by two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in California. It was a drive way restaurant which served a limited menu of burgers, fries etc. Mr. Ray Kroc, a paper cup and multi-mixer salesman got an order of multi-mixer from the McDonald brothers. He was impressed by the organization of the restaurant and came up with the idea of McDonalds Corporation, which was founded in 1955 by Mr. Ray Kroc. The first McDonalds was opened on April 15, 1955 in Illinois. By 1960, he bought the exclusive rights to the name McDonalds. And by 1965, there were 700 restaurants throughout United States. It was the first time that McDonalds shares went public at $22.50 per share. McDonalds opened the first international restaurant in Canada in 1967. In 1974 McDonalds opened its first restaurant in the UK. Today, it has a chain of restaurants in 118 countries around the world. It celebrated its 50th anniversary on 15th April, 2005. Philosophy Mr. Kroc had the vision of creating a restaurant system, known for its consistency and quality of food. To achieve this, he needed his franchisees and suppliers to work with McDonalds and not for McDonalds. He promoted the slogan, In business for yourself, but not by yourself. He encouraged entrepreneurship as much as the commitment to his visions. This has led to the introduction of many new products into the supply chain, most of which were the contributions of franchisees. If I had a brick for every time Ive repeated the phrase Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value, I think Id probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them. -Ray Kroc. This very well illustrates the significance of these four aspects in the excellent execution of the restaurant services at McDonalds. The quality and cleanliness is unparalleled. But, what is unique in this restaurant chain that has travelled past 50 years and emerged as a market leader and promises to continue the same. Business Model McDonalds business runs on 3 pillars: The suppliers The franchisees The McDonalds corporation itself The business model that the organization follows is Franchisee Model. The company provides training to the prospective franchisees and operators regarding the ways a McDonalds is run. There is a Research and Development Lab that provides facilities for all trainees to experiment in cooking. McDonalds as a company owns only 15% of the restaurants. The remaining 85% are taken care by the franchisees. There are stringent policies of monitoring the franchisees to assure that they are adhering to the McDonalds promises of Quality, Cleanliness, Service and Value offered to its customers. The Product Consistency across all the outlets is guaranteed by a supplier networked operation and distribution system. This has resulted in consistency not only across the restaurants in a region but worldwide. The brand building mechanism of McDonalds is not to cater the needs of the current market demand, but also ensures the brand value in years to come. The organization ensures that the promises to the customers are not compromised which ensures repeat business. Operations Management It is considered to be the management of an organization capable of transforming an input to output. This transformation is performed by following a particular process. The transformation can be applied to different categories based on the nature of the business. The three main categories being materials, customers and information. Most of the organizations rely on a combination of these. However, in this particular example, the input is the raw materials going into the making of any of the eatables in the restaurant. The process is the conversion of these products to deliverables. These processes are repetitive throughout the organization except for the minor changes resulting due to an introduction of a new recipe which, at a later point of time, become repetitive. The output is the finished eatable that is been supplied to an end user, here the customer. Strategies of Operations Management Operations management plays a very significant role in the building up of any organization. The Operations, when put into place, help the organization achieve its basic goals. It is well established by the Potters value chain model. Value is the amount the byers are willing to pay for what an organization provides them . . . creating value for buyers that exceeds the cost of doing so is the goal of any generic strategy. Value, instead of cost, must be used in analyzing the competitive position. . . Potter M. (1985) According to Potters analysis, the value chains consist of basically two activities, viz. primary activities and support activities. The Primary activities are Inbound Logistics Operations Outbound Logistics Marketing and Sales Service The Support activities are Procurement Technology and Development Human Resource Management Organization Infrastructure Further, the operations management is not constrained to value addition task alone. It is a process of Planning, Organizing and Controlling of the operations to ensure that the customer satisfaction is achieved. Planning and Control Planning is the major step in Operations management. Planning helps serve many objectives that can contribute to the profit of an organization. Proper planning helps reduce the cost of the production. This is achieved because proper measures are taken to ensure availability of raw materials at reasonable cost even in bleak periods, hence avoiding a stall in the production scenario. Moreover, proper planning also takes care of measures to avoid excess production. There is a better control of the cash flow, which can be the expenses incurred and future investment of the profit earned. Moreover, the planning strategies will also help make proper use of available resources, raw materials as well as human resources. It also mitigates the causes of dissatisfaction among the employees at times of unexpected workload and among the customers at times of unexpected delay in the services. Any organization would perform to the best of its abilities when the planning is proper and the plans are put into action as well as process control systems are enforced to make sure that the system is running as per the planned schedule. The control can be implemented by system or manually monitored by people. It does not matter as long as the processes are being followed without fail. The process is monitored meticulously and the reports are created for every output produced. In the case of our example, the reports would be the profit and the customer feedbacks obtained. These reports are analyzed to detect the deviation from the expected outcome. If the deviations are trivial, corrective measures are taken at the franchisee level. If the deviations are significant, corrective measures are incorporated at an organizational level. The challenge for fast food joints like McDonalds in structuring their strategies are better ways to provide variety of end products to the consumers in large quantities, at the same time maintaining the quality and value of the product and keeping it cost effective. Performance Measures Since the fast food joint McDonalds has a global presence, the competitive priorities can be analyzed on the following parameters. Cost Quality Delivery Flexibility Service Cost Any customer of a fast food joint has various options to choose from. This leads to tuff competition for an organization. The cost is sometimes the major factor influencing a customer choice. The customer in most cases wont be able to distinguish the difference in the cost of the commodities put together to produce the end product. So, the organization needs to make sure that the cost of the end product is lucrative for any prospective customer. Quality The product quality also plays a significant role in customer satisfaction. Low cost ensures initial customer flow, but low cost put together with superior quality ensures repeat business. The quality of product is an impact of the quality in process. The process quality is significant as it takes care of delivering product to the customers worldwide having a uniform taste and quality. This is very important for fast food joints as their taste is expected by the customers at various geographic locations to be same. Delivery Another major significant priority is the speed of delivery. Most of the customers going to a fast food joint are expected to be short on time. Hence, they would prefer places which have the fastest customer service even at peak load times, like lunch time. But even with the best processes in place, there can be delays due to unanticipated circumstances. McDonalds has schemes in place to avoid customer dissatisfaction on such uncommon situations. They offer the ordered items for free in case of delay beyond a threshold time. Some joints provide additional items free of cost too. Flexibility Flexibility can be the variety of products provided to the customer. Since during a peak time, there would be far too many customers ordering a variety of items, the supply chain is well organized to cater to the requirement of each and every customer in the least time possible. Moreover, it also requires the organization to adapt to the changing demands of the customers, which may vary based on basically the geographical locations. McDonalds is dominantly a fast food joint which specializes in beef and pork varieties, but they have a wide range of menu for the Asian customers, where vegetarian and chicken recipes are more in demand. Service Since fast food joints are a service oriented industry where in business depends not only on the above mentioned factors, but to a large extend on the customer interaction. The customer service employees, who are responsible for interacting with the customers while taking orders and delivering them, undergo a proper training before being assigned the job. This gives an advantage over the competitors as customers tend to prefer joints having better customer services. Along with all of these strategies, the competitive nature of the global fast food market requires the organization to keep on innovating new products to lure various ranges of customers. McDonalds has in place various product packages that cater to the needs of customers of various age groups. The ranges include the inclusion of HappyMeal option for kids which include toys from the latest animation movies along with food for the kids. Quality Customer satisfaction is the key to success for any fast food joint. According to David Garvin of Harvard Business School, quality is defined as transcendent, product based, user based, manufacturing based or value based .Based on these five definitions, Garvin(1984) compiled together eight quality dimensions which are as follows . Performance Features Reliability Conformance Durability Serviceability Aesthetics Perceived Quality With respect to our example of fast food joint McDonalds, only a few of these are significant. They are as follows Conformance This is one of the major concerns of a product developed by any organization that it should conform to some pre defined standards that are expected for that particular range of product. The fast food joints are expected to conform to the food quality norms and nutritious value. Performance Performance is the measure of how efficient a product is to perform its intended purpose. In case of fast food, the objective is to relieve a customer of hunger and provide the necessary nutrition to the body. The better the performance of a food item in this respect, the more is the demand for that particular item. Features These are the additions to the product that can enhance its performance. The addition of accessories in electronic equipment can enhance its performance. Similarly, fast food joints provide a wide range of additional products like soft drinks, sweets, coffee etc. along with the burgers which fetch more revenue as well as result in the increased service quality and performance. Some of the food packages include additional items like toys etc. that further result in rich features. Reliability Reliability is the property of achieving customer trust. A customer should be able to rely on a product for its consistency across various geographic locations. This is crucial for fast food joints as a person travelling to an unknown place around the globe would be more tempted to walk in to a familiar food joint and hence would expect the same taste and quality that he is used to in his own country or region. This leads to an increase in global business by catering to regular customers. Aesthetics It is the biggest concern for any organization dealing with food and drink market. Its the subjective sensory characteristic. There are a lot of competitors in a fast food business. The customers along with the nutrition and value for money also care for the aesthetic value of the delivered products. These may be the taste, look and feel etc. This may also be the ambience in the fast food joint. The customer prefers a place where he finds a good combination of all the above concerns. A very nutritious burger in a shabby wrapping wont be popular among the customers on the contrary vice versa can be a market leader. The Sand Cone Model Cost Efficiency Speed Dependability Quality An Operations Management Competence Model Slack et al (2008) Quality improvement methodologies Improving the product quality is an evolving process in any business organization irrespective of the domain or range of product it deals with. A variety of norms and paradigms are in place to monitor the Quality improvement processes. Total Quality Control (TQC) Total Control Quality is the philosophy of continual improvement in the quality. Its based on the adherence to the 5 Ss that are a sequential process that organizations follow to ensure that result in high quality processes and in turn high quality products. According to Ramasamy(2005) The 5 Ss are Seiri This is the organization by getting rid of unnecessary items. These may include a wide range of objects. The cleaning up of the old files and records in one of them. The old machineries which no longer give optimal results can be discarded or replaced with new one. The machineries may include cutting instruments, baking ovens etc. The constraint for removing the machineries and tools is the once that have been unused for past 2 3 years. However, the organization can override these constraints based on their domain and requirements. Seiton Its the cleanliness as a result of performing a Seiri. In case of a fast food joint, keeping the area neat is extremely important as it concerns not only the aesthetics but also hygienic issues of prospective customers. Food outlets need to be well cleaned and maintained so. Seiso The equipment and plant where the production happens should be clean to avoid dirt and resultant obscure problems. In case of fast food joints, the plants where the raw materials for making the food items, the farms from where the vegetables and poultry are being used etc. must be scrutinized to make sure that there is no compromise on the quality of the products used. Moreover, the kitchen in which the food is made should be cleaned. The food items should not at any point of time be touched by bare hands unless it reaches the customer. All these ensure that the food is safe and free from any germs or disease carriers. Seiketsu Standardizing the locations of all the items is another way of enhancing quality. The places of raw material in the kitchen needs to be standardized in order to facilitate fast assembling of various items and hence reduce the time of delivery. Moreover, the cash counter has a well-organized cash box which facilitates easy and faster transactions as it becomes easier for the employees to return the change to the customers. Shetsuke It is the disciplined way in which the above four Ss are implemented and adhered to in any organizations. This doesnt only include the management to take care of the enforcement of these rules. The responsibility lies with each and every employee be actively involved in ensuring that the quality processes are followed. The three Universal Processes of Managing for Quality THE JURAN TRIOLOGY DIAGRAM Quality Planning Quality Control Quality Improvement Determine who are the customers Evaluate actual product performance Establish the infrastructure Determine the needs of the customer Compare actual performance to product goals Identify the improvement projects Develop product features that respond to customers needs Act on the difference Establish project teams Develop process able to produce the product features Provide the teams with resources, training and motivation to : Diagnose the cause Stimulate Remedies Establish controls to hold the gains Transfer the plans to the Operating force Copyright  © 1989 by Juran Institute Inc There are many standards in place to ensure that Quality norms are followed. But, these policies seem useless unless there is proper and timely audit for the same. The Quality audit processes would require a team of quality experts to evaluate each and every process for its quality. The above table gives an overview of all the quality planning, control and improvement strategies. According to Summers (2009), the various standards and criteria that exist globally to support effective quality management systems are: ISO 9000 International Organization for Standardization has representatives from the national standardization bodies of over 90 countries. The main objective is to satisfy customer by quality assurance and increase the level of confidence of a customer in an organization. A company can audit itself to gain this particular internal certification. The customers can audit an organization against the set of standards for second party certification. ISO 14000 This is an extension of ISO Standards regarding environmental issues. The organizations are evaluated for environment protection and pollution prevention. These are followed by organizations to reduce negative impact on the environment. The organizations can implement various strategies to achieve this. Like, providing bio degradable wrappers and glasses instead of using plastics. SIX SIGMA The goal of this process is to reduce the process variation to the point where there are only 3.4 defects per million opportunities. This is especially significant for industries whose business involves mass production. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBQNA) This is another evaluation process which was designed by consulting lots of experts. The main evaluation dimensions are The soundness of the system. The deployment of the system across the organization. The outcome of the deployment. Organizational Performance If you dont drive your business, you would be driven out of business. B. C. Forbes. This is the basic principle of business in todays world. The business world is very competitive and doesnt leave room for compromise on any of the aspects of business, be it, Quantity, Quality, Operations Management, Process Management etc. The responsibility of a successful business lies with each and every employee, as was the theory of Ray Kroc, which led him to implement the franchisee business model. But, implementing alone would not ensure adherence. Adherence can be assured only when measured. Measures literally mean dimensions or capacity of anything. For an organization, the performance has to be measured as well as recognized and rewarded. The performance can be measured for employees, processes, services, suppliers etc. Any parameter that plays a significant part of the organization needs to be measured against certain standards to ensure quality. Measures of good performance The performance of the processes in place can be measured on the basis of certain parameters like expenses, income, quality, throughput, delivery time, safety, cleanliness etc. In a fast food joint like McDonalds, the service time to the customer is a major concern. This can be ensured only if the production time for the food in the kitchen is well defined. Any delay in the production time would delay delivery to the customer hence violating the standards. So, standard time constraints need to be put in place. Moreover, the cleanliness is important as its a matter of hygiene. The quality of food depends a lot on the incoming raw materials like flour, vegetables, fruits, poultry, oils used etc. All these have to be of superior quality for the proper working of the organization. The organizational results performance measures are focused on the strategic interests of the organization. The results involve both the organization and customers equally. The customer satisfaction is one of the measures, which can be measured by the amount of repeat business and the number of customers per day. All satisfied customers tend to recommend the organization to their friends hence increasing the business. The performance measure with respect to the organization can be based on its annual financial results, quarterly financial results, deviation of these results from the predicted results, the profits etc. The organizational performance can be measured also by the brand value generated by the organization. The measures discussed so far were materialistic, but its the human resources that make a service oriented organization like McDonalds achieve its objectives. There are measures to monitor the efficiency and performance of these human resources. This can be done yearly or half yearly in the form of appraisals. The employees can be rated based on performance. The excellent performers should be rewarded to encourage them to keep up the work and also motivate the rest of the employees to perform better. The extremely poor performers should be given proper mentoring to help them perform better. The internal process measures are meant to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the plans and processes that are incorporated inside the organization. The Learning and Growth measures are focused on the growth and well being of the human resource i.e. the employees. It also encourages innovations, in case of McDonalds, the innovation of new recipes in the RD department by the franchisees. Financial measures are put in place to analyze the business progress of the organization world-wide in the context of the monetary gains or profits. These performance measures are used by the organization leaders to analyze and review the existing strategies, plans and processes, and make changes if necessary to improve the present conditions. The quality management systems and Six Sigma are used by organizations to ensure that the organization is moving towards progress in business by balancing the cost, quality and availability of products to the customer satisfaction. Conclusion For any fast food joint, in this case McDonalds, to be a success, the first principle should be Customer is the King. A service oriented industry can flourish only by providing the best customer service in the least possible time. But, service is not the only factor. The quality of the products delivered must be hygienic and nutritious so as to serve their purposes. The competition is fast food industry is on an all time high, so the cost along with the quality would be a deciding factor for the customer. An organizations success doesnt rest in the managements hands. The responsibility lies with each and every employee and franchisee. The employee has to work for the organization as their own. The process of the organization has to be adhered to. This measure of these adherences and changes in the organizational strategies according to the requirements would lead to better business. The organizational leaders should not only Implement policies but also incorporate performance measure exercises to ensure that the processes are being adhered to.

My Father: No Ordinary Man Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about my

My father was a great fan of Mark Twain. He had a couple of Twain quotes he loved to recite, and one in particular he liked to recite around me: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." I could never really think of dad as ignorant, even when I was fourteen. He was a walking encyclopedia, an encyclopedia I consulted daily. But he was an easy man to underestimate. In part this was because he was a great listener, and like all great listeners would rather hear than be heard. That was another one of his favorite Twain quotes: "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." But he was also easy to underestimate because he tended to underestimate himself. He would have been astonished, genuinely astonished, at the outpouring of love and admiration that has washed over our family in the last week. And there is enough of my father in me that I have been astonished as well. Friends of mine, some of whom I thought barely knew dad, have called or sent word from as far away as Vienna and Taipei to say that my father changed their life for the better. My oldest friend, who is now a mountain climber and a nature photographer, astonished me by saying he might never have becom... ...e Bailey couldn't see in the movie It's A Wonderful Life. George Bailey saw himself as a very ordinary man. And because he was a man of great intellect and potential, he sometimes saw his ordinary life as a kind of failure. It was not until the angel took him out of his own life and showed him the profound connections between his life and every other life in his community, that he was finally able to see himself for the hero that he was. My father was a George Bailey. And just as George's friends came together and emptied their pockets for him when he was in trouble, all of his friends joined together in a celebration of his life. I only wish he could have seen it, because he never would have believed it. My Father: No Ordinary Man Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about my My father was a great fan of Mark Twain. He had a couple of Twain quotes he loved to recite, and one in particular he liked to recite around me: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." I could never really think of dad as ignorant, even when I was fourteen. He was a walking encyclopedia, an encyclopedia I consulted daily. But he was an easy man to underestimate. In part this was because he was a great listener, and like all great listeners would rather hear than be heard. That was another one of his favorite Twain quotes: "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." But he was also easy to underestimate because he tended to underestimate himself. He would have been astonished, genuinely astonished, at the outpouring of love and admiration that has washed over our family in the last week. And there is enough of my father in me that I have been astonished as well. Friends of mine, some of whom I thought barely knew dad, have called or sent word from as far away as Vienna and Taipei to say that my father changed their life for the better. My oldest friend, who is now a mountain climber and a nature photographer, astonished me by saying he might never have becom... ...e Bailey couldn't see in the movie It's A Wonderful Life. George Bailey saw himself as a very ordinary man. And because he was a man of great intellect and potential, he sometimes saw his ordinary life as a kind of failure. It was not until the angel took him out of his own life and showed him the profound connections between his life and every other life in his community, that he was finally able to see himself for the hero that he was. My father was a George Bailey. And just as George's friends came together and emptied their pockets for him when he was in trouble, all of his friends joined together in a celebration of his life. I only wish he could have seen it, because he never would have believed it.

Character Motivations in Antigone Essay

The main characters in Sophocles’ drama, Antigone, are Antigone herself, the play’s tragic heroine and Antigone’s uncle and King of Thebes, Creon. Both characters are ruled by powerful motivations and beliefs; however, they differ from one character to the next. Antigone’s motivation is love for her family- she puts it above all else. In fact, she is willing to sacrifice her life to defend that love. Antigone goes to great lengths to bury her deceased brother, who according to an edict issued by King Creon, died in dishonor, consequently making it illegal for anyone to bury his body. Through her actions to comply with her motivations, it is revealed that Antigone’s actions are also fueled by her strong beliefs that, first, the gods’ laws are more powerful than any law made by man, and second, that it is better to die a heroic death than a cowardly one. Throughout the play, Antigone stands firm on these beliefs by standing up for them even through her death as demonstrated through the following dialogue in which she admits her crime, and voices her beliefs to Creon; â€Å"It was not Zeus who published this decree, nor have the powers who rule among the dead imposed such laws as this upon mankind; nor could I think that a decree of yours- A man- could override the laws of heaven unwritten and unchanging†¦For me to meet this doom (death) is little grief; But when my mother’s son lay dead, had I neglected him and left him there unburied, That would have caused me grief; this causes me none† (437-459). This scene illustrates the essence of Antigone’s character. She’s defending her â€Å"crime† of burying her brother, thus demonstrating that she is motivated by the love that she has for her family. She’s further justifying her act by stating that Creon’s law is not the law that she feels she must adhere to- she follows the gods laws, another one of her guiding beliefs, and finally, she’s not only accepting her impending doom, but actually welcoming it because she’s dying defending her beliefs, therefore dying a heroic death rather than dying in cowardice. On the other hand, Creon is also motivated by love; however, his love is love for his country, rather than his family. He puts country above all else, including his family- he’s willing to do whatever he needs to do to make sure that Thebes remains powerful. In order to achieve this goal he demands loyalty from his subjects, once again, family included; he rules by intimidation, and is very proud. In fact, pride is another one of his major motivations. For these reasons, his character is a feared leader. First of all, the fact that he issues that his nephew cannot be buried shows that- one, he demands loyalty, even over loyalty to the gods, and two, he defends his country over his family. He continues displaying his beliefs when he doesn’t revoke the edict even after his wife, and niece clearly disagree with it. Creon’s pride continues to take precedent when he begins falsely accusing his subjects, and acting rashly with little thought. Creon’s character, while a complex character is strongly represented in much of his dialogue, perhaps this passage of dialogue between Creon and the prophet Teiresias best captures his essence. â€Å"Sir, all of you, like bowmen at a target, let fly your shafts at me. Now they have turned even diviners on me! By that tribe I am bought and sold and stowed away on board. Go, make your profits, drive your trade in Lydian silver or in Indian gold, but him you shall not bury in a tomb, no, not though Zeus’ own eagles eat the corpse and bear the carrion to their master’s throne: Not even so, for fear of that defilement, will I permit his burial-for well I know that mortal man cannot defile the gods† (994-1006). Through this single quote, Creon demonstrates all of his predominate qualities; he’s accusing Teiresias of bribery, therefore, acting before thinking, he won’t repeal his edict even though he admits that the edict does defy Zeus, thus illustrating his pride. He likes being in power of a powerful state, so much so that he is blind to his own pride, and is fine with ruling by intimidation and demanding loyalty from his subjects.

Profile of Rachel Maddow, MSNBC Journalist

Profile of Rachel Maddow, MSNBC Journalist Rachel Maddow is the outspoken, energetic host of MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show, a political news and commentary weeknight program. The show first aired on September 8, 2008, urged by viewers impressed with Maddows frequent guest hosting of MSNBCs The Keith Olbermann Show. Ms. Maddow is an avowed liberal who enjoys the feisty thrust-and-parry of debate. A self-described national security liberal, Rachel Maddow is known for sharp intelligence, wit, work ethic, and reliance on well-researched facts, rather than party-line talking points, to inform her independent viewpoint. Before MSNBC 1999 - Won an open-casting call for a radio co-hosting job on WRNX in Massachusetts. Soon moved to WRSI, where she hosted a program for two years.2004 - Landed a co-hosting gig on new liberal radio network, Air America.2005 - Accepted Air Americas offer to host her own liberal politics radio show, The Rachel Maddow, which continues in late 2009. The program has changed time slots several times, and currently airs each weekday at 5 am EST.2006 - Regular contributor to CNN (Paula Zahn) and MSNBC (Tucker Carlson) programs.January 2008 - Signed exclusive TV contract with MSNBC. Educational Path A 1989 graduate of Castro Valley High School where she was a three-sport athlete, Rachel Maddow earned a B.A. in Public Policy from nearby Stanford University, where she won the John Gardner Fellowship for public service. After a year in San Francisco working for the AIDS Legal Referral Panel and with ACT-UP, an AIDS non-profit, Rachel Maddow was awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study political science at Oxford University. She completed an Oxford doctorate in politics in 2001 after several delays, including a stint at the AIDS Treatment Project in London and a 1999 move to Massachusetts. Personal Data Birth - April 1, 1973 in Castro Valley, California, near San Francisco, to Robert Maddow, an attorney and former Air Force captain, and Elaine Maddow, a school administrator.Family - Linked with partner Susan Mikula, an artist, since 1999. The couple reside quietly with their labrador retriever in a rural Massachusetts home built in 1865. Rachel Maddow came out as gay at age 17 when a Stanford freshman. She was the first openly gay American to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and the first openly gay journalist to anchor a major U.S. news program. Accolades and Honors For her efforts as a political journalist, Rachel Maddow has been awarded: 2010 Walter Cronkite Faith Freedom award. Past recipients include Tom Brokaw, Larry King, and the late Peter Jennings.2009 - Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information by the Television Critics Association, the only cable news program accorded the honor2009 - Gracie Award by the American Women in Radio, TelevisionMarch 28, 2009 - Proclamation of Honor from the California State Senate Maddow has also been lauded for her work by myriad  gay and lesbian organizations, including GLAAD, AfterEllen, and Out magazine. Quotes On Being a Liberal I am a liberal. Im not a partisan, not a Democratic Party hack. Im not trying to advance anybodys agenda. Washington Post, August 27, 2008 On Her Appearance Im not that pretty. Women on television are over-the-top, beauty-pageant gorgeous. Thats not the grounds on which I am competing. Washington Post, August 27, 2008 Im not Anchorbabe, and Im never going to be. My goal is to do the physical appearance stuff in such a way that it is not comment-worthy. The Village Voice, June 23, 2009 On Fox News The one time Fox News ever asked me to be a guest was when Madonna made news by kissing another famous female, Britney Spears. They thought I had expertise, maybe. I said, No, duh. The Guardian UK, September 28, 2008 On Being a Political Commentator I do worry if being a pundit is a worthwhile thing to be. Yeah, I’m the unlikely cable news host. But before that I was the unlikely Rhodes scholar. And before that I was the unlikely kid who got into Stanford. And then I was the unlikely lifeguard. You can always cast yourself as unlikely when you’re fundamentally alienated in your worldview. It’s a healthy approach for a commentator. New York Magazine, November 2, 2008

Civil Rights Movement essayEssay Writing Service

Civil Rights Movement essayEssay Writing Service Civil Rights Movement essay Civil Rights Movement essayThe development of the Civil Rights movement was closely intertwined with the rise of the African American and feminist movement which struggled for rights and liberties of oppressed social groups, including African Americans and women respectively. In this regard, the creation of the NCAAP and the rise of the feminist movement in the first half of the 20th century were the major steps toward the transformation of the Civil Rights movement from localized movement occurring within racial minorities with occasional manifestations of feminism in different parts of the US to the large scale Civil Rights movement as a well-organized struggle of oppressed social groups against discrimination.The creation of the NCAAP was one of the first attempts of African Americans to launch the organized struggle against their oppression by the white majority. The NCAAP has proved that African Americans were capable to self-organization and the development of their community. However, what was even more important the NCAAP became one of the major public organizations that represented interests of racial minorities that contributed to the rise of the public consciousness and awareness of white Americans that a large part of the US population, African Americans, had considerable problems and were discriminated.Similarly, the emergence of feminism contributed to the steady change of the attitude of Americans to the position of women in the society because they held the inferior position compared to men. However, if Americans took such position for granted in the past, the rise of the feminist movement, especially after World War II, had changed the attitude of Americans to women.

How Laughing Gas or Nitrous Oxide Works

How Laughing Gas or Nitrous Oxide Works Laughing gas or nitrous oxide is used in the dentists office to reduce patient anxiety and relieve pain. Its also a common recreational drug. Have you ever wondered how laughing gas works? Heres a look at how laughing gas reacts in the body and whether its safe or not. What Is Laughing Gas? Laughing gas is the common name for nitrous oxide or N2O. It is also known as nitrous, nitro, or NOS. Its a nonflammable, colorless gas that has a slightly sweet flavor and odor. In addition to its use in rockets and to boost engine performance for motor racing, laughing gas has several medical applications. It has been used in dentistry and surgery as an analgesic and anesthetic since 1844 when dentist  Dr. Horace Wells used it on himself during a tooth extraction. Since that time, its use has become commonplace in medicine, plus the euphoric effect of inhaling the gas has led to use as a recreation drug. How Laughing Gas Works Although the gas has been used for a long time, the exact mechanism of its action in the body is incompletely understood, in part because the various effects depend upon different reactions. In general, nitrous oxide moderates several ligand-gated ion channels. Specifically, the mechanisms for the effects are: Anxiolytic or Anti-Anxiety EffectStudies indicate the anti-anxiety effect from inhalation of laughing gas derives from increased  activity of GABAA  receptors.  The GABAA receptor acts as the central nervous systems principal inhibitory neurotransmitter.Painkiller or Analgesic EffectLaughing gas reduces the perception of pain by facilitating an interaction between the descending noradrenergic system and the endogenous opioid system. Nitrous oxide causes the release of  endogenous opioids, but how this happens is unknown.Euphoria EffectNitrous produces euphoria by causing dopamine to be released, which stimulates the mesolimbic reward pathway in the brain. This contributes to the analgesic effect, too. Is Nitrous Oxide Safe? When you get laughing gas at the dentists or doctors office, its very safe. A mask is used to first administer pure oxygen and then a mixture of oxygen and laughing gas. The effects on vision, hearing, manual dexterity and mental performance are temporary. Nitrous oxide has both neurotoxic and neuroprotective effects, but limited exposure to the chemical tends not to cause a permanent effect, one way or the other. The primary risks from laughing gas are from inhaling a compressed gas directly from its canister, which could cause severe lung damage or death. Without supplemental oxygen, inhaling nitrous oxide can cause hypoxia or oxygen deprivation effects, including lightheadedness, fainting, low blood pressure, and potentially a heart attack. These risks are comparable to those of inhaling helium gas. Prolonged or repeated exposure to laughing gas can lead to a vitamin B deficiency, reproductive problems in pregnant women, and numbness. Because very little nitrous oxide is absorbed by the body, a person inhaling laughing gas breathes out most of it. This can lead to risks to medical personnel who routinely use the gas in their practice.

Globalization and the Impact of Supranational Organizations Essay

Globalization and the Impact of Supranational Organizations - Essay Example The formation of the EU brought together countries in Western Europe as well as those in Eastern Europe that had their allegiance to the communist regime in Russia. Therefore, the EU had great promise for it members and have achieved tremendous step in developing trade and commerce among its member states and other geopolitical regions.2 However, though the EU have reshaped the tradition geopolitical that existed during the Great War and World War II it has so many challenges, and it’s in the brink of disintegrating.3 The British for example has contemplated moving it country out of the EU because the institution undermine national interest for the interest of the Union. Moreover, small economies such as Portugal, Greece and Denmark complain of unfairness in trade policies and exploitation of their market by big economies in the EU.4 I agree that the motive of the formation of the EU was to poster peace among the European countries that had spent long period fighting over bother disputes and annexation of new territories by strong nations.5 Therefore, political leaders believed that if country would cooperate to trade with each other there would be minimal aggression among nations and people would gear up to trade for their own benefit and that of their country. I concur that the EU represent a community of nations and states that have varied cultural and national identities. However, the cultural and national differences are united under the umbrella of economic and political union. Therefore, the EU has enhanced integration as people get to know each other better and thus producing a stable social, economic and political Union. However, I agree that there are problem facing the EU from skepticism to suspicion, and this is threatening the future of the world strongest economic integration.6 I agree that the European Union was

Diabetic Ketoacidosis v Hyperglycamic Hyperosmolar State Essay

Diabetic Ketoacidosis v Hyperglycamic Hyperosmolar State - Essay Example There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is formerly known as juvenile diabetes, simply because it is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. Type 2 diabetes, or adult-onset diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes as it can develop at any age. The failure of the muscles and liver to use insulin properly forces the pancreas to produce more insulin until such time that it can no longer cope with the demand and lose its ability to secrete insulin. Gestational diabetes is the kind that is associated with a woman’s pregnancy (â€Å"Diagnosis of Diabetes†). Insulin deficiency may also cause the buildup of an acid known as ketone in the blood. Ketoacidosis, or having high levels of ketone in the blood, can poison the body as it disrupts the chemical balance in the blood and may lead to a diabetic coma or even death. It passes up in the urine and is the warning sign that insulin levels are very low and that ketone levels are high. It is most commonly found in people with type 1 diabetes. Some of the symptoms include: dry mouth, frequent urination, hyperglycemia, constant feeling of tiredness, dry/flushed skin, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, difficulty in breathing, fruity odor on breath and confusion. While the common cold or flu can bring about ketoacidosis, some other causes may be insufficient insulin in the body which would lead to the breaking down of fats for energy, insufficient food intake, and low blood glucose (â€Å"Ketoacidosis†). Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic nonketotic coma (HHNC) is a condition that is more commonly found in Type 2 diabetes patients. It is characterized by decreased consciousness, extreme dehydration, and extremely high blood glucose levels, which is not accompanied by ketoacidosis (â€Å"Diabetic Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar

Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Regular Classes Research Proposal

Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Regular Classes - Research Proposal Example Numerous benefits of the inclusive approach of the government are being advocated that firmly supports the endeavor of government. Correspondingly, it is strongly argued that inclusion approach is closely related to the aspect of social justice and equity. Next, it is also critically argued that with the inclusion approach disable students will be offered with an opportunity to acquire similar attention to that of normal students as well as with the prospect to grow and develop a positive attitude and behavior (ARACY, 2013; Konza, 2008). At the same time, the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular classes is anticipated to ensure that these students are provided with all the basic amenities where they are offered with equal opportunity to enhance their skills and intelligence. Such benefits are argued to change the perception of the people towards the individual with a disability that would ultimately aid in eliminating the social stigma associated with these disabled students. Additionally, it is claimed that the inclusion model will not only provide the students with disability with the opportunity to improve their level of skills and competency but it is also postulated that the model will have profound and positive impact on teachers where they will be able to test their level of skills and ability to provide education to both the normal children as well as the children with disabilities (ARACY, 2013; Konza, 2008). This is indeed argued to serve as an opportunity for professional development for the t eachers in Australia. The report of ARACY (2013) incorporated several existing problems in education for the disabled student in Australia prior to the development of the inclusion model. Notably, each of the territories in Australia has been argued to have different approaches towards educating the students with a disability as well as different methods claimed to use to assess the growth and development of the students with disabilities in school. In addition, the school curriculum for the students with a disability is also contended to differ from region to region.

Conflicts between public interest and personal interest, which created Speech or Presentation

Conflicts between public interest and personal interest, which created by Human Rights Acts 1998 (Can the British Bill of Right handle the problem) - Speech or Presentation Example Article 8 of the conventions provides for respect for one’s private life, home and family life. The Article covers areas concerned with self-determination. The definition of private life is complicated and broad. The privacy entitles people to life without the intrusion as in the case of Terry v Persons Unknown (Rev 1) [2010] EWHC 119 (QB) (29 January 2010) (BAILII 2010). Contrary to Article 8, Article 10 provides for freedom of expression. One of the aspects of expression involves communication. Communication entitles citizens to express their ideas without limitations. However, communication may also be limited depending on the infringement of an individual’s privacy (BAILII, 2012). It, therefore, can be deciphered that the two aspects considered in the two articles breach confidence in their interpretation. Whereas Article 10 advocates democratic expression, Article 8 suppresses such fundamental entitlements. Article 10 demands transparency and openness, contrary to article 8 that advocates privacy. Upholding Article 8 requires prior consultation of individuals while exercising expression. Such incidence occurred between Mr. Max Mosley sought for an injunction to uphold Article 8 (Mosley v The United Kingdom [2011] 53 E.H.R.R 30). An inference of lack of proper ways of upholding Article 8 can be made from the case. Article 9 provides for an individual’s freedom to uphold a wide range of ideas and beliefs, based on religious ideologies. The article empowers citizens with autonomy regarding their actions and lifestyles (Equal Rights Trust 2014, p. 2). The issue of public interest involves anything that may interfere with other standards upheld in the society. The extent of manifestation of beliefs may be limited as in the case Eweida and Others v The United Kingdom; ECHR 15 January 2013 (BAILII, 2013). Usually, one’s autonomy conflicts with that of the mass. Personal interest concerns

Endometrial cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Endometrial cancer - Essay Example The most common type of endometrial cancer is endometrioid adenocarcinoma. It is developed in cells that form glands of the endometrium and shows specific features under the microscope. Endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) is the most common type of endometrial cancer, which compromises about 75% to 80% of endometrial cancer and usually occurs at the time of, or one to two decades after menopause, and shows most common symptoms with vaginal bleeding. Its clinical behaviour and grade depend on the degree of differentiation. High grade of tumour development are associated with more advanced stage of disease. Endometrial subtype of endometrial cancer (EEC) is estrogen related. It is already well defined that high level of estrogen in patients lead to increase the risk of endometrial adenocarcinoma as estrogen hormone sustains to promote the growth of endometrial cancer cells. That is, the risk of tumour development is associated with an increase in uncontrolled estrogen activity. According to the study of classic model regarding endometrial cancer and breast cancer, estrogen modulates the expression of estrogen responsive downstream effectors by binding to estrogen receptor and induces subsequent reactions through the action of estrogen receptor at the transcriptional level. The second most common form is papillary serous adenocarcinoma, which is composed of about 10% of all endometrial cancers and another form is clear cell adenocarcinoma, which compromises about 4-5% of all endometrial carcinomas. Both papillary serous and clear cell adenocarcinomas show more aggressiveness than endo metrioid adenocarcinomas, and can be often detected at advanced stages. Estrogen hormone functions on cell growth and differentiation, mainly in tissues of reproductive system including mammary glands, uterus, vagina and ovaries in female and testis,

Global issues Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Global issues - Assignment Example It is apparent that the city’s culture upholds the challenges faced by the disadvantaged and unfortunate children as necessary to the creation of happiness, a practice despised by the enlightened individuals who resolve to find solace in an unknown destiny. 3. Annie Dillard’s narration of seeing as a factor born to an individual’s verbalization in calling for attention is presumably an ideal illusion (231). Arguably, a person is capable of idealizing the occurrence of an event after realizing the apparent need to pay attention. Therefore, an individual acquires information from seeing and communicating the importance of an event to his brain for the mind to relay additional impulses that will increase the level of attention. 4. Annie Dillard’s narration provokes the perception that the human eye is different from a camera in various aspects. For example, the eye depends on a person’s conscience to conceptualize the events and communicate them to his brain for memorization while a camera depends on the user’s intention to capture and process an occurrence through the device (235). The similarity depicted between a camera and an eye is evident in the visualization and attentiveness provided in capturing a distinct

Conflicts between public interest and personal interest, which created Speech or Presentation

Conflicts between public interest and personal interest, which created by Human Rights Acts 1998 (Can the British Bill of Right handle the problem) - Speech or Presentation Example Article 8 of the conventions provides for respect for one’s private life, home and family life. The Article covers areas concerned with self-determination. The definition of private life is complicated and broad. The privacy entitles people to life without the intrusion as in the case of Terry v Persons Unknown (Rev 1) [2010] EWHC 119 (QB) (29 January 2010) (BAILII 2010). Contrary to Article 8, Article 10 provides for freedom of expression. One of the aspects of expression involves communication. Communication entitles citizens to express their ideas without limitations. However, communication may also be limited depending on the infringement of an individual’s privacy (BAILII, 2012). It, therefore, can be deciphered that the two aspects considered in the two articles breach confidence in their interpretation. Whereas Article 10 advocates democratic expression, Article 8 suppresses such fundamental entitlements. Article 10 demands transparency and openness, contrary to article 8 that advocates privacy. Upholding Article 8 requires prior consultation of individuals while exercising expression. Such incidence occurred between Mr. Max Mosley sought for an injunction to uphold Article 8 (Mosley v The United Kingdom [2011] 53 E.H.R.R 30). An inference of lack of proper ways of upholding Article 8 can be made from the case. Article 9 provides for an individual’s freedom to uphold a wide range of ideas and beliefs, based on religious ideologies. The article empowers citizens with autonomy regarding their actions and lifestyles (Equal Rights Trust 2014, p. 2). The issue of public interest involves anything that may interfere with other standards upheld in the society. The extent of manifestation of beliefs may be limited as in the case Eweida and Others v The United Kingdom; ECHR 15 January 2013 (BAILII, 2013). Usually, one’s autonomy conflicts with that of the mass. Personal interest concerns

Global issues Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Global issues - Assignment Example It is apparent that the city’s culture upholds the challenges faced by the disadvantaged and unfortunate children as necessary to the creation of happiness, a practice despised by the enlightened individuals who resolve to find solace in an unknown destiny. 3. Annie Dillard’s narration of seeing as a factor born to an individual’s verbalization in calling for attention is presumably an ideal illusion (231). Arguably, a person is capable of idealizing the occurrence of an event after realizing the apparent need to pay attention. Therefore, an individual acquires information from seeing and communicating the importance of an event to his brain for the mind to relay additional impulses that will increase the level of attention. 4. Annie Dillard’s narration provokes the perception that the human eye is different from a camera in various aspects. For example, the eye depends on a person’s conscience to conceptualize the events and communicate them to his brain for memorization while a camera depends on the user’s intention to capture and process an occurrence through the device (235). The similarity depicted between a camera and an eye is evident in the visualization and attentiveness provided in capturing a distinct

Learning Theories Based on Behavioral Perspectives Essay Example for Free

Learning Theories Based on Behavioral Perspectives Essay Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment (Cherry,2011). Two other assumptions of this theory are that the environment shapes behaviour and that taking internal mental states into consideration is useless in explaining behaviour. Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist discovered the classical conditioning in the 1920s. Classical conditioning focuses on the learning of involuntary emotional or physiological responses. In his laboratory, Pavlov was in a dead end by his experiments to determine how long it took a dog to secrete digestive juices after it had been fed, but the intervals of time kept changing. At first, the dogs salivated in the expected manner while they were being fed. Then the dogs began to salivate as soon as they saw the food. Finally, they salivated as soon as they saw the scientists enter the room. Pavlov decided to make a detour from his original experiments and examine these unexpected interferences in his work. In one of his experiments, Pavlov began by sounding a tuning fork and recording a dog’s response. There was no salivation. At this point, the sound of the tuning fork was a neutral stimulus because it brought forth no salivation. Then Pavlov fed the dog. The response was salivation. The food was an unconditioned stimulus (US) because no prior training or conditioning was establish the natural connection. The salivation was an unconditioned response (UR) because it occurred automatically-no conditioning required. Using the food, the salivation, a tuning fork, Pavlov demonstrated that a dog could be conditioned to salivate after hearing the tuning fork. At the beginning of the experiment, Pavlov sounded the fork and then quickly fed the dog. After he repeated this several times, the dog began to salivate after hearing the sound but before receiving the food. Now the sound has become a conditioned stimulus (CS) which bring forth salivation by itself. The response of salivating after the tone was now a conditions response (CR). In my opinion, this method can be very useful for people to train their pets. These techniques also useful in the treatment of phobias or anxiety problems. Teachers can apply classical conditioning in the class to familiarize students with new environments and help students overcome their anxiety. John B. Watson further extended Pavlov’s work and applied it to human being. In 1921, Watson started the Little Albert experiment. The goal was to condition Albert to become afraid of a white rat by pairing it with a very loud noise (UCS). At first, Albert showed no sign of fear when he was presented with rats, but once the rat was repeatedly paired with the loud noise (UCS),Albert developed a fear of rats. It could be said that the loud noise (UCS) induced fear (UCR). In my opinion, Watson’s theory of classical conditioning can be use to create a phobia. I think that this method can be applied to trigger feelings of fear toward something harmful or dangerous in order to avoid something bad from happening. It can be used in a classroom to teach students what is bad and cannot do. Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. Operant conditioning was coined by behaviourist B.P.Skinner. He believed that internal thoughts and motivations could not be used to explain behaviour. Instead, he suggested that we should look only at the external, observable causes of human behaviour. Skinner’s system is based on operant conditioning. One of the key concepts in operant conditioning is reinforcement. Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increase the behaviour it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers; positive reinforcers and negative reinforcers. Positive reinforcers are favourable events or outcomes that are presented after the behaviour. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavourable events or outcomes after the display of a behaviour. In both of these cases of reinfo rcement, the behaviour increases. This operant conditioning work all around us in everyday life. Children completing a task to get a reward from parent or teachers or even employees try hard to finish a project are examples of operant condition. In my point of view, these kind of activities are useful for they give pleasant results and make the individuals work hard when completing something. Some ill-behaviour also can be removed if it brings bad effect to the individual. Thus, operant behaviour will be enhanced and unpleasant stimulus will be removed. In a nutshell, I think all of this learning theories inspired by Pavlov, Watson and Skinner are essential in introducing the first learning theories of education. Scientists are able to produce a variety of new learning theories based on their experiments. They are the pioneers in creating the initial theories of education and a source of reference to those involved in education.

Aristotle Quotes

Aristotle Quotes A constitution is the arrangement of magistracies in a state. A friend to all is a friend to none. A great city is not to be confounded with a populous one. A sense is what has the power of receiving into itself the sensible forms of things without the matter, in the way in which a piece of wax takes on the impress of a signet-ring without the iron or gold. A tragedy is a representation of an action that is whole and complete and of a certain magnitude. A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end. A true friend is one soul in two bodies. A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side. All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. All men by nature desire knowledge. All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. All virtue is summed up in dealing justly. Anybody can become angry that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way that is not within everybodys power and is not easy. At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst. Bad men are full of repentance. Bashfulness is an ornament to youth, but a reproach to old age. Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms. Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit. Change in all things is sweet. Character may almost be called the most effective means of persuasion. Courage is a mean with regard to fear and confidence. Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others. Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal. Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers. Different men seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life and forms of government. Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. Education is the best provision for old age. Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered. Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim. Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it. Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil. For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all. For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make a man blessed and happy. For though we love both the truth and our friends, piety requires us to honor the truth first. Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. Friendship is essentially a partnership. Good habits formed at youth make all the difference. Happiness depends upon ourselves. He who can be, and therefore is, anothers, and he who participates in reason enough to apprehend, but not to have, is a slave by nature. He who hath many friends hath none. He who is to be a good ruler must have first been ruled. He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god. Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars. Homer has taught all other poets the art of telling lies skillfully. Hope is a waking dream. Hope is the dream of a waking man. I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self. I have gained this from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the law. If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost. If one way be better than another, that you may be sure is natures way. In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme. In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. In making a speech one must study three points: first, the means of producing persuasion; second, the language; third the proper arrangement of the various parts of the speech. In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels. In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge. The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds. Inferiors revolt in order that they may be equal, and equals that they may be superior. Such is the state of mind which creates revolutions. It is best to rise from life as from a banquet, neither thirsty nor drunken. It is clearly better that property should be private, but the use of it common; and the special business of the legislator is to create in men this benevolent disposition. It is Homer who has chiefly taught other poets the art of telling lies skillfully. It is just that we should be grateful, not only to those with whose views we may agree, but also to those who have expressed more superficial views; for these also contributed something, by developing before us the powers of thought. It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world. It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. It is unbecoming for young men to utter maxims. Jealousy is both reasonable and belongs to reasonable men, while envy is base and belongs to the base, for the one makes himself get good things by jealousy, while the other does not allow his neighbour to have them through envy. Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. Man is by nature a political animal. Man is naturally a political animal. Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way. Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence. Men create gods after their own image, not only with regard to their form but with regard to their mode of life. Misfortune shows those who are not really friends. Moral excellence comes about as a result of habit. We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts. Most people would rather give than get affection. Mothers are fonder than fathers of their children because they are more certain they are their own. My best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake. Nature does nothing in vain. No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness. No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness. No notice is taken of a little evil, but when it increases it strikes the eye. No one loves the man whom he fears. No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world. Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved. Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in excellence; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves. Personal beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of reference. Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends. Plato is dear to me, but dearer still is truth. Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. Poetry is finer and more philosophical than history; for poetry expresses the universal, and history only the particular. Politicians also have no leisure, because they are always aiming at something beyond political life itself, power and glory, or happiness. Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities. Quality is not an act, it is a habit. Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms. Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind. Temperance is a mean with regard to pleasures. The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain. The beginning of reform is not so much to equalize property as to train the noble sort of natures not to desire more, and to prevent the lower from getting more. The best friend is the man who in wishing me well wishes it for my sake. The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead. The end of labor is to gain leisure. The energy of the mind is the essence of life. The generality of men are naturally apt to be swayed by fear rather than reverence, and to refrain from evil rather because of the punishment that it brings than because of its own foulness. The gods too are fond of a joke. The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons. The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. The law is reason, free from passion. The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold. The moral virtues, then, are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit. The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes. The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching. The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. The secret to humor is surprise. The soul never thinks without a picture. The state is a creation of nature and man is by nature a political animal. The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival. The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to live. The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. The young are permanently in a state resembling intoxication. There is no great genius without a mixture of madness. There was never a genius without a tincture of madness. Therefore, the good of man must be the end of the science of politics. This is the reason why mothers are more devoted to their children than fathers: it is that they suffer more in giving them birth and are more certain that they are their own. Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach. Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well. Those who excel in virtue have the best right of all to rebel, but then they are of all men the least inclined to do so. Thou wilt find rest from vain fancies if thou doest every act in life as though it were thy last. To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice and, while it is true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object but to escape some ill. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. We become just by performing just action, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave action. We make war that we may live in peace. We must no more ask whether the soul and body are one than ask whether the wax and the figure impressed on it are one. We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time. Well begun is half done. What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do. What the statesman is most anxious to produce is a certain moral character in his fellow citizens, namely a disposition to virtue and the performance of virtuous actions. Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit. Wit is educated insolence. Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods. You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. Youth is easily deceived because it is quick to hope.

Modernist Poets E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, and T.S. Eliot Change t

Modernist Poets E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, and T.S. Eliot Change the Face of American Poetry Modernist poets such as E.E. Cummings, Wallace Stevens, and T.S. Eliot changed the face of American poetry by destroying the notion that American culture is far inferior to European culture. These and other American poets accomplished the feat of defining an American poetic style in the Modern Era by means of a truly American idea. That idea is the melting pot. Just as American culture exists as a mixture of races, beliefs, and ideas, the new American style of poetry exists as a mixture of old English styles with a new concept of the international style. Modern poets experiment with language, theme, and convention to "cleanse language and culture of old and worn-out meanings, and introduce to poetry what is American in thought, sensibility, perception, observation, and diction [. . .]. [T]hey become exemplary of the modern endeavors of consciousness itself" (McQuade 1241). An important event that caused so many Modernist American poets to invoke the international style was the "expatriate immigration." Many American writers, artists, and musicians left for Europe, looking for new inspiration and fresh starts. Among those emigrating were Eliot, Pound, Hughes, Cummings, and Frost. Once in Europe, there writers were exposed to the new avant-garde art and poetry taking place there. At this time, the writers began to draw inspiration from and to imitate European writers. T. S. Eliot began to imitate the topics and tones of the French poets Charles Bauldelaire and Jules LaForgue, the latter for his bourgeoisie satire. Eliot's poetry written while in Europe displayed a satire that was foreign to American readers. Such is seen in "Th... ...ty at the time-to escape the expectations of a system which no longer works, to break free from the oppression of the social rank-and-file, and to gain true personal freedom. Works Cited Cummings, E.E. "[in Just-]." McQuade, et al. 2: 1419. -. "[she being brand]." McQuade, et al. 2: 1421. -. "[the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls]." McQuade, et al. 2: 1420. McQuade, Donald, et al. Ed. The Harper American Literature. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. -. "The Literature of Modernism: Poetry 1912-1940." McQuade et al. 2: 1233-1242. Stevens, Wallace. " Anecdote of the Jar." McQuade, et al. 2: 1279. -. "The Plain Sense of Things." McQuade, et al. 2: 1286. Williams, William Carlos. "To Elsie." McQuade, et al. 2: 1304.

The Indian Uprising (a Critique) :: essays research papers

Any author's primary goal in story writing is to convey an idea or topic to their reading audience. The conventional wisdom on this thought is that the clearer this is conveyed, the greater the appeal to the reader. However, some authors feel the need to resist this trend and forge new paths that sometime leaves the meanings of their stories obscure and hidden from the average reader. Donald Barthelme has taken this optional approach with his story "The Indian Uprising". There are several reasons that I did not fully enjoy this post-colonial short story. One, its "point" is vague and this is a challenge to my current reading abilities and two, it rambles along its disjointed timeline to the point that I became easily lost. However, there is something that the story brought to light that I am now more fully aware of than before reading this story. That is my own abilities of intellectual analysis. It is these areas that I wish to elaborate upon.Donald Barthelme's deliberate twisting of the subtleties in meaning in his story is intriguing. However, as a recent popular movie so elegantly put it, it left me dazed and confused. I couldn't seem to figure out what the point or moral of the story should be. Was this a story of a battle between cowboys and Indians, as it suggests in its title? The story starts off leading you to take this as a real possibility with lines such as "We defended the city as best we could. The arrows of the Comanches came in clouds."(123). Or was it a story of love set in the time of war? "...we issued entrenching tools to those who seemed trustworthy and turned the heavy-weapons companies so that we could not be surprised from that direction. And I sat there getting drunker and drunker and more in love and more in love." (124). Although the story bounces between these two main "insinuations", it is never clear to me what or who the story is about and I found this to be an unfulfilling reading. In retrospect my previous readings of literature have been more of the atypical writing style. One that leaves you comfortable and secure and without guesswork "The Indian Uprising" avoids this style at all cost. The author's intent on writing in the style of a collage, although fascinating, is very confusing. I will be the first to admit I'm not the most avid of readers, but having to read a story two or even three times and still not fully perceiving its meaning made it an even more arduous read.

Study Guide Marketing Management Mba

Study outline schema question in preparation for final Exam MBA 531 1. What is marketing? Discuss the components of marketing? Marketing is the managerial function responsible for identifying and anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. It is a multi-disciplinary subject. The best way to gauge its scope is to know the components of it. There are four components of Marketing: The offer The market, The system and The forces. The offer: An offer is the outcome of marketing activities of the firm.An offer includes product or service and allied conditions of offer precisely, it includes â€Å"what†, â€Å"who† and â€Å"why† and through â€Å"whom† of the purchase. The Market: Market is the aggregate of forces or conditions within which buyers and sellers make decisions that result in the transfer of goods and services. In other words, it is the aggregate demand of the potential buyers for a commodity or service. The System: Marketing is co ncerned with the flow of goods and services from the points of production to the points of consumption. There is a systematic arrangement of these unctions of marketing to move the goods and services to the needy persons. The forces: The final component of marketing is to do with environment in which marketing takes place. It is taken as the final component because, environmental forces influence the nature and character of the â€Å"offer†, â€Å"market† and the â€Å"system†. Environmental forces contribute to every aspect of change and adjustment in a marketing network. 2. What are the major Functions of Marketing? Explain Marketing functions: Marketing function is an act or operation or service by which original product and the final consumers are linked together.The functions of marketing are â€Å"eyes and ears† of the business. Marketing is responsible for keeping the business in close contact with its environment and informed of events that influe nce its operations. Marketing functions are performed by the manufacturer and all middlemen in the machinery of distribution. 1 Marketing functions have been classified by different marketing experts in different ways. But the most acceptable and meaningful classification is as follows: Functions of Exchange 1. Buying 2. Selling 3. Pricing 4. Advertising 5. Sales PromotionFunctions of physical Supply 1. Transportation 2. Storage Facilitating functions 1. Financing 2. Risk-Taking 3. Marketing information 4. Marketing Research 5. Standardization & grading 6. Packaging 7. Branding 3. Explain the salient features of modern marketing? The following are the major features of Modern Marketing: 1. Modern marketing is consumer-oriented: in Modern Marketing what is offered for sale today is determined not by the seller at all. On the contrary, the seller takes the lead from the buyer what product is to produce to meet the demands of consumers.Therefore, the manufacturer can no longer determin e what the product should be without a close study of the needs and demands of the customer or user. It is more profitable as well as more responsible socially to find out when, where and what the people need and then set out to serve them efficiently. Thus, the modern marketing is not production oriented but customer-oriented. 2. Modern marketing starts and ends with the customer: Marketing starts and ends with the consumer, with information flowing from the consumer to the producer, and goods flowing back to the consumer from the producer.Under consumer oriented marketing, it is highly essential to know that the consumer really wants. This is possible only when proper information is collected 2 from the consumers. Therefore, to say that modern marketing starts and ends with consumer is true in all respects. 3. Modern marketing precedes and succeeds production: All organizations accept that the marketing activities start far ahead of production. It is not enough if the activities a re begun after the product is ready. The firm appreciates and understands the consumer’s strategic osition as a determinant of the firm’s survival and growth. In firms operating under the marketing concept, entire marketing is designed to serve consumer needs. 4. List out the various marketing concepts and suggest the one suitable to Ethiopia? There five types of marketing concept orientations that can be followed by the business firms to market its good or service. These orientations are Production concept: consumers will favor products that are affordable and available. Therefore organizations should increase their production and distribution efficiency.Product concept: consumers favor those products which offer high quality, performance and innovative features. Therefore, marketing strategy should focus on continuous product improvement. Selling concept: consumers will not buy the products unless the firm undertakes large-scale selling and promotion effort. Therefor e, the aim is to sell what the company makes rather than what the market wants. Marketing concept: achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfaction better than the competitors.Under this concept, customer focus and value are the paths to sales and profits. Therefore this is a customer-centered concept. The job is not to find the right customers for your product but to find the right product for your customers. Social marketing concept: the marketing strategy should deliver value to customers in a way that maintains or improves both the customer’s and the society’s well-being. Therefore it’s similar to the Marketing concept but adds the focusing on society’s well-fare. So there are three considerations underlying the social marketing 3 oncept: Consumers Satisfaction, Company’s Profit and Society’s Welfare. Considering the different aspects of these marketing concep ts and the economic structure of Ethiopia, I suggest that the production concept works for countries like Ethiopia who have huge labor force and abundant natural resources. The Managers, under production-concept, focus on achieving high production efficiency, low costs, and mass distribution. Therefore, it makes sense in developing countries like Ethiopia where consumers are more interested in obtaining the product than in its features.Manufacturing firms take advantage of the country's huge inexpensive labor force to achieve market expansion through production efficiency, low cost, and be successful in today’s competitive market. 5. â€Å"Marketing begins with consumers and ends with consumers†. Discuss. Marketing starts and ends with the consumer, with information flowing from the consumer to the producer, and goods flowing back to the consumer from the producer. Under consumer oriented marketing, it is highly essential to know that the consumer really wants. This is possible only when proper information is collected from the consumers.Therefore, to say that modern marketing starts and ends with consumer is true in all respects. 6. What do you mean by â€Å"integrated marketing concept†? What are its outstanding attributes? The management functional areas are interdependent and not independent. The marketing functions influence production, finance, personnel, and in turn is influenced by these functions. The various departments in the company must recognize that the activities they take may have profound effect on the company’s ability to create and retain customers.When all the departments of the firm work together for customer interest, it is integrated marketing. The modern marketing concept or integrated marketing concept is the best concept because it is characterized by the following attributes of integrates: A. consumer orientation, B. consumers Satisfaction, C. integrated Managerial action and D. Realization organizational goals. 7. Distinguish between Marketing and Selling. 4 Marketing is social process by which groups and individuals obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and freely exchanging something of value with others.Whereas selling is the process of exchange of something of value to another which leads increasing the volume of sales of goods and services through different mechanism. In selling, the company make sale what is easily made by the company but not what consumer wants. But in marketing, the company sells what the consumer wants. Therefore, the difference between marketing and selling is the differences exist between in selling and marketing orientation concept. 8. What is â€Å"market† what are the differences between market and Marketing? A market is the set of actual and potential buyers of a product.These buyers share a particular need or want that can be satisfied through exchange. Thus, the size of a market depends on the number of people who exhibit the need, have resources to engage in Exchange, and are willing to offer these resources in exchange for what they want. Whereas; marketing is a set of activities under taken by the company to identify, anticipate and satisfy the consumer’s requirement and meet them profitably. 9. What is a â€Å"marketing-mix†? Discuss its elements or inputs Marketing mix is the set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market.These tools Classified into four broad groups that are usually kwon four Ps of marketing mix: are product, price, place, and promotion. Product is something to be offered to the market with different varieties of forms, quality, and size and so on. Price is the return for the product or service offered to consumer Place is the availability of offers at convenient location for the consumer. Promotion is the process of an attempt to increase the sales by convincing and persuading consumers to buy the product. 10. D efine marketing micro-environment. Discuss the components of marketing micro-environment.Micro environment is the forces which are close to the firm. These factors affect the firm's ability to serve its customers and it surrounds both the firm and the marketing mix. The forces in micro environment directly influence marketing manager's decisions and actions through their influence on consumer's reactions toward the firm's marketing mix and mixes. The 5 company itself (including departments), Suppliers, Marketing channel firms (intermediaries), Customer markets, Competitors and Publics. 11. Explain the impact of the following on the marketing management of a firm: a. demographic environment . economic environment c. Social environment d. Cultural environment Macro environmental forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the company. A. Demographic environment: Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupation, and ot her statistics. It is of major interest to marketers because it involves people and people make up markets. B. Economic Environment: Markets require purchasing power as well as people. The available purchasing power in an economy depends on current income, prices, savings, debt, and credit availability.Marketers must pay careful attention to trends affecting purchasing power because they can have a strong impact on business. Marketers must carefully monitor economic changes so they will be able to prosper with the trend, not suffer from it. C. Socio-Cultural Environment: The cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. Certain cultural characteristics can affect marketing decisionmaking. Some cultural values and beliefs are open to change, therefore, marketers want to spot them and be able to apitalize on the change potential. 12. Comment on the marketing environment in Ethiopia? Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political and legal environment. This environment is composed of laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organizations and individuals. Sometimes these laws also create new opportunities for business. 13. What do you mean by â€Å"environmental scanning†? What are the different stages in environmental scanning? Marketing Environmental scanning refers to possession and tilization of information about occasions, patterns, trends, and 6 relationships within an organization’s internal and external environment. It helps the managers to decide the future path of the organization. Scanning must identify the threats and opportunities existing in the environment and an organization must take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats. 14. Discuss the marketing strategies a. Offensive Marketing strategy Firms engage in offensive marketing strategies to improve th eir own competitive position by taking market share away from ivals. Offensive strategies include direct and indirect attacks or moving into new markets to avoid incumbent competitors. Offensive marketing strategies take many forms from flanking attacks or bypassing the competition to all-out frontal attacks intended to defeat the competition with all available means at the attacker’s disposal Offensive Strategies are Frontal attack, flanking attack, Guerrilla attack, encirclement strategy, predatory strategy, Seek undefended markets, underdog strategy, Judo strategy and pivot and the hammer strategy b. Defensive StrategyBecause of ongoing rivalry, established firms need to engage in defensive strategies to fend off the various challengers. The primary purpose of defensive strategy is to make a possible attack unattractive and discourage potential challengers from attacking another firm. Defensive strategies work better when they take place before the challenger makes an inve stment in the industry, or if they enter the industry before exit barriers are raised, making it difficult for the challenger to leave the industry. There are two types of defensive marketing strategies. Pre-entry strategies are actions taken by incumbents before they are ttacked by challengers. Defensive marketing strategies may also take the form of post-entry actions that are initiated after the challenger has entered the market Defensive Strategies are classified as Pre-entry strategies are Signaling, Fortify and defend, Cover all bases, Continuous improvement and Capacity expansion. Post-entry strategies are Defend position before entrant becomes established; Introduce fighting brands and Engage in cross-parry 7 c. Niche marketing strategy: A niche is a more narrowly defined customer group seeking a distinctive mix of benefits.Marketers usually identify niches by dividing a segment into sub segments. The customers in the niche have a distinct set of needs; they will pay a premi um to the firm that best satisfies their needs; the niche is not likely to attract other competitors; the nicher gains certain economies through specialization; and the niche has size, profit, and growth potential. 15. Evaluate the role, scope and importance of Marketing Information System. In order to produce superior value and satisfaction for customers, companies need information at almost every turn.Good products and marketing programs begin with a thorough understanding of consumer needs and wants. Companies also need abundant information on competitors, resellers, and other factors and forces in the market place. Increasingly marketers are viewing information not just as an input for making better decisions, but also as an important strategic asset and a marketing tool i. e As a competitive advantage Market information includes all facts, estimates, opinions and other information used in marketing decisions, which affects the marketing of products.Therefore, the success of a p roducer or a merchant depends upon the knowledge of the demands of his product or products in the market. 16. What are the various stages through which the marketing research is organized? Briefly describe them. Marketing research is the systematic method of gathering, recording, analyzing and reporting of data and finding a solution relevant to specific marketing situation facing the company. † Marketing research process is a set of six steps which defines the tasks to be accomplished in conducting a marketing research study. : Problem Definition: takes into account the purpose of the study, the relevant background information, what information is needed, and how it will be used in decision making. . 2: Development of an Approach to the Problem: includes formulating an objective or theoretical framework, analytical models, research questions, hypotheses, and identifying characteristics or factors that can influence the research design. . 3: Research Design Formulation is a fr amework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It details the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information. : Field Work or Data Collection involves a field force or staff that operates in the field to collect data. 8 5: Data Preparation and Analysis: This is a process of concerned with the conversion of row data into information. 6: Report Preparation and Presentation: The findings should be presented in a comprehensible format so that they can be readily used in the decision making process. 17. Distinguish clearly between marketing research and Market research? Market research deals specifically with the gathering of information about a market's size and trends.Market research is the research that may be done into a single market, focusing on the size and trends in that market. Marketing research covers a wider range of activities. While it may involve market research, marketing research is a more general systematic process that can be applied t o a variety of marketing problems. 18. What do you mean by â€Å"Market Segmentation†? Explain its objective and importance. Market segmentation is classification of large market in to smaller reachable target markets based on their similar wants, purchasing power, and geographical location, buying attitudes, or buying habits.The main objectives of segmentation of market is to prepare different programs and strategies for all segments so that maximum satisfaction may be provided to all the consumers’ of these segments, and the object of earning maximum profit may be achieved. 19. Clearly distinguish â€Å"Market Segmentation† and â€Å"Product differentiation† Product differentiation A marketing process that looks to make a product more attractive by contrasting its unique qualities with other competing products. Successful product differentiation creates a competitive advantage for the seller.Physical products may vary in their Form, Features, Performanc e, Conformance, Durability, Reliability, Repair ability, Style & Design. Whereas, Market segmentation is classification of large market in to smaller target markets based on their similar wants, purchasing power, and geographical location, buying attitudes, or buying habits. 20. Explain different market coverage strategies which can be adopted by marketers. 9 21. â€Å"There is close relationship between market segmentation and marketing mix† Discuss. 22. Define â€Å"Product† and explain its essential features and importance.Product is something that can be offered to the market to satisfy the customer’s need. A product can be tangible and intangible which would be good, service, an idea, information, experience, place and person that satisfy the needs of the consumer. Physical products may vary in their Form, Features, Performance, Conformance, Durability, Reliability, Repair ability, Style & Design. 23. Briefly discuss the various types of consumer goods and their characteristics. Consumer goods are goods that are bought from retail stores for personal, family, or household use. They are grouped into three subcategories on the basis of consumer buying habits:I. Convenience goods II. Shopping goods and III. Specialty goods. I. Convenience Goods are items that buyers want to buy with the least amount of effort, and most are nondurable goods of low value that are frequently purchased in small quantities. II. Shopping Goods are purchased only after the buyer compares the products of more than one store or looks at more than one assortment of goods before making a deliberate buying decision. These goods are usually of higher value than convenience goods, bought infrequently, and are durable. Price, quality, style, and color are typical factors in the buying decision.III. Specialty Goods are items that are unique or unusual—at least in the mind of the buyer. Buyers know exactly what they want and are willing to exert considerable effor t to obtain it. These goods are usually, but not necessarily, of high value, and they may or may not be durable goods 24. What is â€Å"Product life cycle†? Discuss different stages of the concept with implications. The stages through which individual products develop over time, begins with the introduction of the product, and then it moves on to the growth stage, the maturity stage, and ends with a decline in the product's sales.This process product’s life cycle -period usually consists of five major steps or phases: 1) Product Development begins when the company finds and develops the idea of a new product. In this stage, sales are zero and investments costs are high. 10 2) Introduction is a period of slow sales growth and no profits as the product is introduced in the market. 3) Growth is a period of rapid market acceptance and increasing profits. 4) Maturity is a period of slowdown in sales and profits decline. 5) Decline is a period when sales fall off and profits drop. 25.Explain the marketing strategies which may be adopted during the lifecycle of a product. Marketing strategies during the life-cycle of a product Marketing strategies during product life cycle Introduction stage Rapid Skimming strategy, slow skimming strategy, Rapid penetration strategy and slow penetration strategy, Distribution arrangements are introduced, Aggressive pricing Growth stage Product improvement, new models are developed, Enters new market segment, Enlarges distribution channels etc. , barriers are licenses and copyrights, price discount Maturity stageConvert nonusers, Enter new market segments, Win Competitor’s customers etc, Marketing mix modifications in Prices, Distribution, Advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, service, new brands are introduced, Promotion and advertising relocates from the scope of getting new customers, to the scope of product differentiation in terms of quality and reliability. 26. Explain the factors affecting the lif e-cycle of a product. Marketing and non-marketing factors contribute to new product failures. Researchers through several studies on new product success and failure described seven critical marketing factorswhich sometimes overlap. . Insignificant point of difference A distinctive point of difference is essential for a new product to defeat competitive ones-through having superior characteristics that deliver unique benefits to the user. 2. Incomplete market and product definition before product development starts A new product needs a precise statement before product development begins. Identifies a well-defined target market, specific customer’s needs, wants, and preferences; and what the product will be and do. Without this precision, huge amount money will be lost in research and development. 3. Too little market attractiveness 1 Market attractiveness refers to the ideal situation every new product manager looks for: a large target market with high growth and a real buyer need. 4. Poor execution of marketing mix 5. Poor product quality in critical factors One or two quality factors can kill the product, even though the general quality is high. 6. Bad/poor timing of the product The product is introduced too soon, too late, or at a time when consumer tastes are shifting dramatically. 7. Non economical access to buyers Many small manufacturers simply do not have the money to gain effective exposure for their products. 7. Explain the meaning and benefits of product diversification. What are the advantages and disadvantages of product diversification? Product diversification, Advantage, disadvantage Product diversification is a policy of management philosophy of operating a company so that its business and profits came from a number of sources, usually from diverse products that differ in market or production characteristics. Precisely, when a manufacturer or a distributor manufactures or distributes more than one product, it is known as â€Å"Product d iversification†.Advantages of product diversification Product diversification strategy brings in its wake some distinct advantages. They are: 1. Profit maximization: Product diversification increases the products and product types in the product port-folio of the concern. On account of increases in the number of products, it is possible to reduce the area of fringe market and the zone of indifference in the total market of a company and match larger number of consumer self-images. This product market integration brings in more profit caused by improved situation. 2.Growth with stability: New products in the company’s basket will enable it to exploit new markets and meeting the requirements of established markets in much better way than before. Increased market share is further sustained as the product-line is thoroughly overhauled to meet the changing requirements of the consumers. It 12 guarantees growth with stability because, it estimates seasonal and cyclical fluctu ation in demand and supply. 3. Long-term measure: Product diversification is not a shortterm measure which has far reaching and more durable influence on a company’s future.It requires adequate planning and due care and caution as it is likely to be misused. Disadvantage/ Weaknesses The most serious weaknesses or disadvantages are as follows: 1. Huge Investment: Any proposal for product diversification involves considerable investment of corporate resources in developing the necessary manufacturing and marketing activities. It is not easy to procure finances required for diversification purposes. 2. Risk-ridden: The risks involved in diversification strategy are in no way small.Though the diversification plan is undertaken to move up from the low level profits to high level, the dream remains dream because, consumer preferences change, competitors introduce close substitutes for the diversified products, and the government policies change. All these are sure to mar the profit potentialities of the diversification plan. 3. Trap of full-line competition: The trap of full-line competition is also a major drawback of the policy of diversification. Product diversification program involves addition of new products to the existing line to strengthen the competitive ability of the firm.With this effort to make the product portfolio full and complete, the firm is entering a trap which has no point of comeback. The competitors will not keep quite. They do add, hence, the firm adds again. It becomes a new war which is unmanageable and uneconomical at a point of time. The effect is sure collapse. 28. What is a â€Å"new product†? What are the stages involved in new product development? New Product Development Strategy The development of original products, product improvements, modifications through the firm’s own R efforts. Idea Generation: New product development starts with idea eneration. Idea generation is the systematic search for new 13 product ideas. According to one management consultant, companies â€Å"will run through 3000 ideas before they hit a winner†. Internal Idea Sources: Using internal idea sources, the company can find new ideas through formal research and development by picking the brains of its executives, scientists, engineers, staff and salespeople. External Idea Sources: New product ideas also come from watching and listening to customers. The company can analyze customer questions and complaints to find new products that better solve consumer problems.Idea Screening: Idea generation creates large number of ideas. Idea screening reduces that number – by spotting good ideas and dropping poor ones. Concept Development and Testing: A product idea is an idea for a possible product that the company can offer. A product concept is a detailed version of the idea stated in meaningful consumer terms. A product image is the way consumers perceive a product. Concept Testing: Concept testing calls for t esting new-product concepts with groups of target customers to find out if the concepts have strong consumer appeal. 29.What marketing strategies are employed while introducing a new product into the market? Marketing Strategy Development The next step is marketing strategy development. The marketing strategy statement consists of three parts: 1. The first part describes the target market, product positioning and sales, shares and profits goals. 2. The second part outlines the product’s planned price, distribution and marketing budget for the first year. 3. The third part describes long-run sales, profit goals and marketing mix strategy. 30. What is the â€Å"Consumer adoption process†? Describe the stages in the process of consumer adoption process.Consumer adoption process Deals with the question how do potential consumers learn about new products, try them, adapt to them or reject them? Adoption is an individual’s decision to become a regular user of a produc t. Stages in the consumer adoption process: Adopters of new products have been observed to move through five stages: 1. Awareness stage:-the consumer become aware of the innovation but lacks some information about it 2. Interest stage:-the consumer is stimulated to seek information about the innovation. 14 3. Evaluation stage:-the consumer considers whether to try the innovation. 4.Trial stage:-the consumer tries the innovation to improve his or her estimate of its value. 5. Adoption stage:-the consumer decides to make full and regular use of the innovation. 31. What is â€Å"pricing†? What are the major objectives of pricing? In the narrowest sense, price is the amount of money charged for a product or service. More broadly, price is the sum of all the values qthat customers give up in order to gain the benefit of having or using a product or service. A business firm can pursue any of the following major objectives through pricing: survival, maximum current profit, maximum m arket share or maximum market kimming. 32. Discuss briefly the procedure followed for determining the price of a product. Procedures followed in pricing Price denotes the value of product or service expressed in money. Price is a powerful marketing instrument. Price is one of the marketing-mix variables. Firms should be systematic in setting the prices. Certain logical steps are involved in the appropriate approach to pricing. The ultimate goal of price fixing process is to set a price that is compatible with the rest of the marketing mix. A systematic approach to pricing involves seven steps.These seven logical steps are: 1. Identifying the potential customer 2. Estimating the demand for the product 3. Anticipating competition 4. Determining expected share of market 5. Selecting suitable price strategy 6. Examination of firm’s marketing policies a. Product policy b. Channels of distribution c. Promotional policies 7. Selection of a specific price 33. Distinguish between skim ming price policy and penetration price. Marketing Skimming: Companies unveiling a new technology favour setting high prices to skim market revenue layer by layer.Market skimming makes sense under the following conditions: (1) A sufficient number of buyers have a high current demand; (2) the unit costs of producing a small volume are not so high that they cancel the advantage of charging what the traffic will bear; (3) the high 15 initial price does not attract more competitors to the market; (4) the high price communicates the image of a superior product. Whereas Market-penetration pricing is setting a low initial price in order to penetrate the market quickly and deeply- to attract a large number of buyers and win a large market share.The high sales volume results in falling costs, allowing the company to cut its price further. 34. Describe the chief pricing methods which are usually used to determine the price of a product. Methods of Product Pricing Companies select pricing meth ods that enable to reach a specific price for its product. The company usually considers customers’ demand, cost and the competitors’ cost, price and offer in selecting the pricing methods. The company might use the following pricesetting methods: Mark up Pricing: is setting price by adding a standard mark-up or profit margin to the product's cost.Targeting Pricing; the firm determines the price that would yield its target rate of return on investment (ROI). Perceived Value Pricing: is setting price for their product based on the customer's perceived value, not the seller’s cost as the key to price. They use non pricing variable in the marketing mix to build up perceived value in the buyers’ mind. Value Pricing: the company charges a fairly low price for a high quality offering. Value pricing says that the price should represent a high-value offer to consumers. Going –Rate Pricing: In going-rate pricing, the firm bases its price largely on competit ors' prices.Smaller firms â€Å"follow the leader,† changing their prices when the market leader's prices change rather than when their own demand or costs change. Auction-Type Pricing: Auction-type pricing is growing more popular; one major purpose of auctions is to dispose of excess inventories or used goods. In the auction type of pricing the auctioneer announces either minimum or the maximum price of a product and slowly increases or decreases until the bidder accepts the price. 35. What do you mean by â€Å"price discrimination†? What are its objectives?Price discrimination occurs when a company sells a product or service at two or more prices that do not reflect a proportional difference in costs. The basic objective of price discrimination is that, by setting different prices for the same product in different markets / segments, a business can increase its total sales revenues, increases market shares and use as defending marketing strategy. 16 36. What is break even point pricing? Break-even pricing is a strategy that yields zero profit on a transaction. At break-even pricing the sales revenue equals expenses and is calculated by totaling the fixed and variable costs.Break-even pricing may be used as an aggressive marketing tool for market expansion or penetration. Understanding break-even price points gives management the tools to work toward generating profits or whether or not to even enter a particular market. 37. What do you understand by â€Å"promotion†? Explain the objectives and importance of promotion. Meaning of promotion Promotion is the form of corporate communication that uses various methods to reach a targeted audience with a certain message in order to achieve specific organizational objectives. Objectives of promotion The possible objectives for marketing promotions may include the following.I. Build awareness New products and new companies are often unknown to market, which means initial promotional efforts must f ocus on establishing an identity. In this situation the marketer must focus promotion to: Effectively reach customers and tell the market who are they are and what they have to offer II. Create interest Moving customer from awareness of a product to making a purchase can present a significant challenge. The focus on creating messages that convenience customers that a need exist has been the hall mark of marketing for a long time with promotional appeals argeted at basic human characteristics such as emotion, fear, and humor. III. Provide information Some promotion is designed to assist customers in the search stage of the purchasing process. IV. Stimulate demand The right promotion can drive customers to make a purchase. In the case of products that a customer has not previously purchased or has not purchased in long time, the promotional efforts may be directed at getting customers to try to the product. V. Reinforce the brand Once a purchase is made, the marketer can use promotion to help build a strong relationship that lead to the purchaser becoming loyal customer.For instance many retail stores now ask e-mail address of customers in order to follow up and maintain their relationship. 17 38. Explain the different Kinds of promotion. There are two main types of promotion: I. Informative promotion: attempts to give lots of details about the product. This is often used by the Government, for example to inform people of new laws. Informative advertising enables firms to draw consumers' attention to a brand and educate them about distinctive features and benefits. This is especially important when a product is new or technologically complex.II. Persuasive promotion: attempts to persuade the consumer that he or she needs the product. Its role is to convince consumers that one product is better than another in meeting their needs and delivering specific benefits they seek. It can also be used to motivate a higher-volume or more immediate purchase than a buyer wou ld ordinarily make. 39. What is â€Å"Promotion-mix†? Explain the factors which affect the promotion-mix of a company. Promotional mix elements Promotion mix is a combination of the tools that are used to accomplish an organization communication objective. The romotion mix element include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, publicity, direct marketing and internet marketing. Each promotional tool has its own unique characteristics and costs. a) Advertising: is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or service through an identified sponsor. It also includes any informative or persuasive message carried by a non-personal medium to achieve various marketing objectives. b) Personal selling: – is the form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to assist/persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company product.Here there is a face-to-face communication with one /more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders. c) Sales promotion is consists of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate trial, or quicker or greater purchase, of particular products or services by consumers or the trade. d) Publicity/public relation: – is no-personal communication regarding on organization’s product, service or idea that is not directly for usually comes in the form of news story, editorial and an announcement about an organization and its product.Public relation has broader objective than publicity, as its purpose is to 18 establish and maintain a positive image of the company among its various publics. e) Direct marketing: -is use of mail telephone e-mail and other nonpersonal contact tools to communicate directly with or solicit a direct response from specific customer and prospects. Many forms: Telephone marketing, direct mail, online marketing, etc. ; Four distinctive characteristics: Nonpublic, Immediate, Customized, Interactive; Well-suited to highly-targeted marketing efforts. Factors in Setting the Marketing Communications MixCompanies must consider several factors in developing their promotion mix: Type of product market: Push-versus-pull strategy: A push strategy involves the manufacturer using sales force and trade promotion to induce intermediaries to carry, promote, and sell the product to end users. A pull strategy involves the manufacturer using advertising and consumer promotion to induce consumers to ask intermediaries for the product, thus inducing the intermediaries to order it. This is especially appropriate when there is high brand loyalty and high involvement in the category;Buyer-readiness stage: Promotional tools vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of buyer readiness (awareness, knowledge, liking convincing, preference, and purchase). Product-life cycle stage: Promotional tools also vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of the product life cycle. Company market rank: Market leaders derive more benefit from advertising than from Sales promotion. Conversely, smaller competitors gain more by using sales promotion in their marketing communications mix. 40. Define â€Å"sales promotion†. Describe the various methods of sales romotion. Sales promotion is consists of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate trial, or quicker or greater purchase, of particular products or services by consumers or the trade. Sales promotion includes those promotional activities other than personal selling, advertising and public relations that are intended to induce buyers purchase or to stimulate dealer effectiveness in a time. Tools and Techniques of sales promotion 19 Two categories of sales promotion the trade oriented and consumer oriented sales promotion.Consumer sales promotion techniques are Price deal, Loyal Reward Program, Cents-off deal, Price-pack deal, Coupons, Loss leader, Rebates, Trade sales promotion techniques are Trade allowances, Dealer loader, Trade, Point-of-purchase displays, Training programs and Push money. 41. What is â€Å"personal selling†? Enumerate relative merits and limitations of personal selling. Personal selling: – is the form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to assist/persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company product. Here there is a face-to-face communication with one /more prospective purchasers for the urpose of making presentations, answering questions and procuring orders. Merits and demerits of personal selling Merits of Personal Selling 1. Flexibility and Adaptability: Sales persons should adapt to each selling situation. Salesperson is to be sensitive to what is happening and flexible enough to make those adaptations. 2. Minimum Wastage: The efforts put in buy the salesman are highly focused on a single customer or a small group of customers. As a result of oral , face-toface presentation, the message is likely to reach the customer or customers without distortion and diffusion. 3. It is a Feedback:The salesman is, in effect, a marketing researcher. Being in direct contact with customers, he has the specific advantage of collecting and transmitting the relevant marketing information affecting his company, products and services and himself. 4. It creates impinge and Lasting Impressions: The process of personal selling is so direct and penetrating those long dashing business relations can be developed between the selling house and the class of customers. 5. It generates Gainful Employment Opportunities: Developing countries have the situation where people run after jobs rather than jobs running after people.Hence, there is good scope for self-employment and ready jobs in this line of selling. 6. Salesmanship makes the Economic System more Stable: Demerits of Personal Selling: 1. It is Expensive: 20 Personal selling, as a method of promotion, is quite expensive. Getting the good salesman is one thing and retaining them for longer period is another. 2. Problem of Getting Gifted Salesman: it is really very difficult to get a suitable salesman from the company's point of view. 3. High Stake in Consumer Loyalty: customer loyalty depends on the presence of a successful salesman.That is, firm's fortunes are tied to the loyalty of the customers which, in turn, depends on the very presence of a particular salesman or salesmen. 4. More Administrative Problems: Personal selling involves more administrative problems than impersonal selling. firm has to meet the challenges in the areas of manpower planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, motivating and controlling. 5. It is not an easy Profession: Salesmanship is not an easy job. It is needs long hours of hard work, to be away from family facing all the odds both mental and physical. 6.As a Profession has Little Respect: Salesmanship as a profession commands very little respec t. Many go in for salesmanship as it has easy entry points. 7. Mark of Fraud: In salesmanship, there are good chances of fraud and deception. Malpractices that are followed by salesman not all are sufficient to damage the very image of salesmanship the great art and profession. 42. What are the essentials of effective selling? Essentials of effective selling Personal selling is an art and a profession. It is a creative work. Success in personal selling depends upon the salesman and the framework in which he words.Personal selling demands a command over certain requisitions making selling a thrilling success. There are seven requisites or essentials of effective selling. They are: 1. Knowledge of self 2. Knowledge of product 3. Knowledge of company 4. Knowledge of competition 5. Knowledge of selling process 6. Knowledge of customers 7. Knowledge of advertising Knowledge of self: One should know himself and his own abilities and personality before embarking upon to do a particular job . Knowledge of Product: Product knowledge is almost inevitable, as the very existence of salesman is dependent on the products. So a 21 alesman should know all about his product: Materials from which it is made, how it is used and how it is maintained, Product features, Customer benefits and Selling points of the product in relation to its rivals and son. Knowledge of the company or enterprise: Most products, especially costly and complicated products, are not judged on their own merits. They are judged by the name of the company that manufacturers them. Knowledge of Competition: A salesman should constantly study the products offered by his competitors and determine their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to his own product.Awareness of competition enables a salesman if necessary, to compare his product with that of rivals on those points in which the buyer seems most interested. Knowledge of customers: A salesman must have adequate knowledge about both the customer’s w ants and desires, and the products offered by the company to satisfy customers. Knowledge of selling process: the salesman should have in-depth knowledge of the selling process and each stage of it. Selling process is made up of at least six stages to convert prospect into a customer.The stages are: prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation and demonstration, overcoming objections and closing the deal. A salesman should be well-versed in the principles and techniques of salesmanship. Knowledge of advertising: Publicity work undertaken by the concern is a good source of information and a force that creates a staged for his effective performance. Advertising copies helps him in planning his sales talk. Though advertising is an indirect way of selling, it supports and reinforces the efforts of salesman. Hence, a salesman is to study and analyze the advertisements. 3. Discuss the methods of personal selling? 44. What do you mean by â€Å"Advertising† Discuss its objective s and functions. Advertising: – is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or service through an identified sponsor. It also include any informative or persuasive message carried by a 22 non-personal medium and paid for by a sponsor whose product is in some way identified in the message. Depending upon the marketing situation, companies use advertising to achieve various marketing objectives: 1. To do the entire selling job (as in mail-order marketing) 2.To introduce a new product (by building brand awareness among potential buyers) 3. To force middlemen to handle the product (pull strategy) 4. To build brand preference (by making it more difficult for middlemen to sell substitutes) 5. To remind users to buy the product (retentive strategy) 6. To publicize some change in marketing strategy (e. g. , a price change, a new model, or an improvement in the product) 7. To provide rationalizations for buying (i. e. , â€Å"socially acceptable† excuses) 8. To combat or neutralize competitors advertising efforts. 9. To improve the morale of dealers and/or salesmen. 0. To acquaint buyers and prospective buyers with new uses of the product. 45. â€Å"Selection of advertising media should be preceded by an analysis of all factors involved in the total marketing situation†. What factors should you consider in such an analysis and why? 46. State the differences between advertising and Publicity? 47. What is â€Å"Physical distribution†? Explain its role in modern marketing. 48. What is â€Å"distribution channel†? What factors influence the length as well as width of the channel? 49. â€Å"Middlemen are parasites. They should be eliminated† Do you agree? Explain.Of course, why because in a Marketing chain where distribution comes, if i put it in a rough count, out of the 100% which we pay as MRP , about 40 % is the manufacturing cost and the rest 60 % is going as middlemen expenditure. We, the end cu stomers are paying 60% above the unit cost for a product. There are intellectual Distribution channels which will avoid these middlemen. Good Companies like Amway does that and in this case they can ensure that the original products reach the end customers. 50. What is tele-marketing? Telemarketing is one of the ways of direct marketing which involves the use of the telephone for the marketing purpose.The salesperson involved uses the telephone to directly convince the customer over 23 the buying of some kind of product or service with the complete information and detailing session. The telemarketing is basically categorized into two different types which are the Business-to-consumer telemarketing and the business to-business telemarketing. The most importantly used subcategories of telemarketing today are the Outbound and the inbound telemarketing. Outbound is the proactive marketing in which the customers either who exist lready or the prospective ones are all contacted directly f or the purpose of the marketing The Inbound telemarketing includes the reaction and reception of the orders and also information coming in so as to explain the customer about the product and give detailed information on which they are interested. 51. What is â€Å"international marketing â€Å"? Why firms want to go international or global? International marketing: is the performance of business activities designed to plan, price, promote and direct the flow of a company’s goods and services to consumers or users in more than one nation for a profit.The only difference between the definitions of domestic marketing and international marketing is that in the latter case marketing activities take place in more than one country. The main reason for companies to go to international marketing is to exploit a better business opportunity in terms of increased sales and profits. Foreign markets may offer an opportunity for growth. The major reasons to go to international markets are : Market Saturation: When domestic markets are becoming saturated for faster than new markets are being found.Trade Deficit: To balance the trade deficit i. e. to balance import & export. Foreign Competition: Competition forced some companies to shift their products to foreign markets. Emergence of new Markets: The world is changing fast, resulting in the emergence of new markets. Eg. the growing Asian Markets. The Possibility of achieving economies of scale: In industrialized where economies of scale are feasible, a large market is essential, so it if the home market is not large enough, entering foreign markets may be an attractive alternative.Safety net during business downturns/to extend products life cycle/: Usually a recession starts in one country. Thus, firms that do business internationally can shift to foreign markets during recession. 24 To get cheap Labor costs: Since labor cost in developing countries is much lower than in the developed countries, it is economically att ractive for the companies to expand foreign operations. Tax Incentives: Some nations offer tax incentives to attract foreign business to their countries. To develop and /or test new products outside: This practice avoids exposure to competitors and to some extent, keeps new evelopment information secret until the product is ready for full introduction. E. g. Ford did much of its world car development in Germany. To find less competitive Markets: Some markets are less competitive than the home market of the company. 52. Explain the main tasks involved in international marketing? The International marketing Task is more complicated than that of the domestic marketing because the international marketing must deal with at least two levels of uncontrollable uncertainty instead of one.A foreign country where a company operates adds its own unique set of uncontrollable elements. With the growth of the number of foreign markets a company operates in, the variety of foreign environmental unc ontrollable become greater. A solution to a problem in a country might not be applicable to a problem in other country. To tackle these problems the following tasks should be considered. the market and 1. Distinguish between selling and marketing? Selling is the process of making the company’s sales volume increase 25 2.What is product positioning: Positioning is the act of designing the company's offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market? The goal is to locate the brand in the minds of consumers to maximize the potential benefit to the firm. 3. Direct and indirect channel distribution Direct distribution channel is marketing channel that has no intermediary levels; the company sells its product directly to consumers. Whereas indirect distribution channel is a channel containing one or more intermediary levels is called indirect marketing channel. 26