Fate vs. Free Will: Re-examining the Belief through Sophocles’ Oedipus the King Essay

Fate has always been the central argument in almost every Greek drama known to human civilization. Mankind has always been convinced that we cannot go against the tide, as all things are bound to happen, waiting to happen, and will happen. We have always been a believer of oracles, the fanfare of fortune-tellers, we hold our breaths to what the cards will tell of our fortune and our future. But if this is to be believed, then we are unwittingly giving up our free will, our right and capability to make decisions, we are giving away our logic and our right to draw our own lives, but rather, giving it all up to a greater force, an invisible hand that commands us to do what we ought to do. In the interest of discussion and deep philosophical reckoning, may I ask, is life, as unpredictable as it is, drawn by fate or by free will? Oedipus the King, one of the three Theban plays written by Sophocles, has been the center of many discussions on this topic. The question of whether fate or free will contributed to the downfall of Oedipus poses a great many questions to scholars and common folks alike. The question is an unwitting examination of our own lives, are we the products of the choices we take, or victims and collateral damages to a greater, unfolding plan. Fate, has been defined as the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do (Webster 128). By essence, we as common folks cannot choose our own undertaking but rather, just follow whatever it is that is bound to happen. Oedipus life has been marred by the predictions and indications of the Delphian Oracle. He, together with Laius and Jocasta, gave tremendous weight to what fate has instructed them to portray. And in their efforts to change what has been written, they have fallen victims to their own destiny, entangled with the cobwebs of lies and deceit that they made to cover up what their own personal flaws and fears. It is interesting to know and to reckon, however, that the oracle says the son will kill his father and mate with his mother, what if the child that was delivered was a daughter and not a son? Or it would have been a quick and quiet solution if Jocasta or Laius himself killed the baby and not just delegate it to a servant, thus avoiding the case of insubordination, which proved deadly for all the characters involved. Or, they could have just raised Oedipus by themselves, in their own guidance, within their very reach, for no moral man shall kill his own father and have a relationship with his own mother. In shorter terms, there could have been many alternatives, many ways, many options, which could have been effective and could have prevented the tragedy that has befallen the House of Laius. Free will could have worked things out in this tangled story of murder and incest. Logic could have outwitted the fates that are conveniently believed to direct our destinies. But then, some may think, this is still a gamble on the things to come. Again, let me cite another story, this time in the form of a short story by Mark Twain, aptly entitled Luck. It has clearly illustrated how a man who lacks luster in any field, became an illustrious and decorated military officer. He has been pursued, day by day and year by year, by a most phenomenal and astonishing luckiness (Twain 64). This fictional character, Lieutenant General Lord Arthur Scoresby, seems to have all the luck in the world, transforming the worst of blunders into the most brilliant and astonishing of all the military tactics. To romantics, it seems that the universe has conspired to give him the best of fortunes and enjoy the best of life. But again, let me ask, for purposes of reckoning and discussion, what if poor Scoresby â€Å"choose† other field and not enter the world of military, where outwitting and counter outwitting the enemy is a practice? Or, what if the reverend, instead of helping him, just let him fail his subjects I the military school? A choice has been given to the reverend, but alas, he choose to undertake the road that led to the unthinkable and unlikely success of the stupid man. His own choice, then, it is safe to say, has catapulted the General to his place in history. Force, or the lack of it, is an underlying factor in this topic. Oedipus has always known he will one day kill a man that is father, therefore, he should have prevented himself to kill any man, be it a stranger or the man he has believed all along to be his father, King Polybus. Nobody forced him to kill anyone, or at least, no other hand guided the sword that killed Laius but his own. He has been warned that he will one day commit and incestuous relationship with his own mother, then, he should have prevented himself from marrying any woman, be it any woman or the woman he has believed all along to be his mother, Merope. He, therefore, has guided his own undoing. Oedipus, therefore, is the only one responsible for fulfilling the prophecy, for in no page of the play did I find that any other hand or force guided him to do as he did, but his own choice, his own free will. The knowledge of the murder and the incest should have warned him and equipped him with a list of what not to do in his life, but instead, he let his own flaws draw his destiny. The question of fate and free will is an age old problem, and the solution will not be found in the endless debates, lustrous academic and para-academic discussions, or literary discourses. Our lives, whether we believe it or not, are products of our choices, we are of our own doing, or undoing. If we allow ourselves to believe that, like the planets in the universe, lifeless and dull, we are drawn to follow a certain order, then, we practically give up our right to life, our freedom, our individuality, but instead, we accept that we are common, unspecial, and nothing more than a dry leaf mercilessly thrown around by the wind, we are nothing but a stone that will forever remain at the bottom of the sea, or up in the mountains, that we are at the mercy of someone we don’t see. Lastly, let me just share, not a quote or a passage, but a law that has been proven time and time again, authored by the great Sir Isaac Newton. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. I believe, no other external force is at play, but that, which we call â€Å"ourselves†. Works Cited Cohen, I. Bernard and George E. Smith. The Cambridge Companion to Newton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Dodds, E. R. â€Å"On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex. † Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. New York: Chelsea House, 1988: 35-47. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. New York: Dover Thrift Editions, 1991. Twain, Mark and Justine Kaplan. The Signet Classic Book of Mark Twain’s Short Stories. New York: Signet Classics, 1985.

Artificial Posterior Teeth Denture Prosthodontics Health And Social Care Essay

Natural dentitions contribute to a figure of unwritten maps, therefore to keep these maps natural dentitions have to be restored once they are lost. A.C Elias et Al. ( 1 ) reveal that as a consequence of tooth loss maps as address, chew and visual aspect are harmed. Further John Joy Manappallil ( 2 ) explains that with the loss of teeth the psychological province of the patient may be harmed due to the bad visual aspect. The physical province of the patient may besides be affected due to the inability to masticate nutrient and hence weight loss may happen. One of the options available to reconstruct the maps lost subsequent to teeth loss is by the usage of a complete dental plate. Manappallil ( 2 ) provinces that patients expect dental plates to be recollective, supply esthetics, map and comfort. This paper will discourse the standards used to choose posterior unreal dental plate dentitions in order to accomplish a successful complete dental plate intervention. Jason F. McCord et Al. ( 3 ) reveal that the choice of posterior dentitions is a important portion of the line of intervention that nevertheless may non be considered by many tooth doctors and that this determination is chiefly left to the technicians. Aaron H. Fenton ( 4 ) provinces that it is unadvisable to non affect the patient during the procedure of choice of dentition. The choice of posterior dentitions is a complex procedure and in which a figure of factors must be considered. McCord et Al. ( 3 ) province that posterior dentitions should be selected depending on the patient ‘s demands. Hence, the clinician should see occlusal, stableness, and aesthetic factors during the procedure of choice. This means that a dental plate is considered successful when the patient feels comfy utilizing it. Elias et Al. ( 1 ) province in their reappraisal that unwritten comfort comprises deficiency of annoyance, aesthetics and masticatory efficiency. Deepak Nallaswamy Veeraiyan et Al. ( 5 ) point out that fro m the patient ‘s position the unreal dental plate dentitions are the most of import constituent of the dental plate as their map is to supply aesthetics, chew and address. As already mentioned above by Manappallil ( 2 ) the psychological and physiologic province is affected by the loss of dentitions. Psychological and physiologic province of the patient can be improved through complete dental plate intervention due to maps of unreal dentitions. Manappallil ( 2 ) explains that following a successful removable complete dental plate intervention the patient should be able to return to her/his normal activities, should be able to socialise confidently and should be able to masticate nutrients usually so that the sum of nutrient consumption is non comprised. Furthermore, Manappallil ( 2 ) besides reports that a complete dental plate must be well-retained, supported and stable so that it functions expeditiously. Posterior dental plate dentitions can lend to keeping and support. Mana ppallil ( 2 ) provinces that certain occlusal strategies can be utile in diminishing sidelong forces, therefore bettering keeping. He proceeds by explicating that dental plate stableness is affected by occlusal factors ; a decrease in sidelong forces and proper occlusion can help in bettering dental plate stableness. R. Mericske-Stern et Al. ( 6 ) suggests that the chief ground for a complete dental plate being described as unsatisfactory is denture instability and hurting during biting. In order for posterior unreal dentitions to execute their map and supply comfort, masticatory efficiency, aesthetics, dental plate stableness, keeping and cause no bone reabsorption they are selected depending on certain standards which are cuspal disposition, size, shadiness and stuff. Artificial posterior dental plate dentitions are available with different cuspal dispositions. Manappallil ( 2 ) provinces that the angle between the horizontal plane and cusp slope is termed cuspal disposition. Veeraiyan et Al. ( 5 ) grouped posterior dentitions harmonizing to their cuspal disposition or occlusal morphology into three groups. The first group comprises the cusp dentition that are subdivided into anatomic and semi-anatomic. The other two groups are the cuspless dentition and the particular tooth signifiers. Veeraiyan et Al. ( 5 ) province that anatomic dentitions are the most normally used and supply superior aesthetics. Their cusps may organize and angle of 33A ° or 30A ° . Their high quality to other types is chiefly a consequence of their resemblance to natural dentitions, their good masticatory map and their ability to diminish rotary motion of a dental plate. Nevertheless, drawbacks include that they are hard to put into balanced occlusion and the fact that s idelong forces displace the dental plate easy when these dentitions are used. Veeraiyan et Al. ( 5 ) reveal that semi- anatomic dentitions are besides termed modified-cusp or low-cusp dentitions. They make clear that cusps of semi-anatomic dentitions make an angle of 20A ° or 10A ° . Semi-anatomic dentitions are preferred in instances of unnatural jaw dealingss. They pose less trouble during puting into balanced occlusion, let for dental plate stableness during masticating as they cut down the consequence of sidelong emphasiss on the dental plate. However they show a lessening in masticatory efficiency and aesthetics. Manappallil ( 2 ) provinces that cuspless dentitions are besides referred to as level or monoplane or zero-degree dentitions, and that they were produced with the purpose of cut downing sidelong forces on the dental plate to better stableness. Veeraiyan et Al. ( 5 ) explain that teeth with a 0A ° cusp angle are indicated with neuromuscular upsets and hapless ridg e relationships. The benefits of cuspless dentitions are flexibleness during puting, decrease of the consequence of sidelong forces on dental plates, and proviso of more lingua room. However, they show a lessening in masticatory efficiency and supply least aesthetics. The last tooth signifier would be the particular tooth signifier. Veeraiyan et Al. ( 5 ) mentioned particular tooth signifiers which included French ‘s buttockss, VO buttockss and Sosin- bladed dentitions. In general, these can supply chair to excellent cutting efficiency but show hapless aesthetics and are more expensive. Bernard Levin ( 7 ) studies that F.A French designed non-anatomic dentition in the early twentieth century called French ‘s buttockss. Gallic wanted to take advantage of the cuspless dentition construct but besides increase masticatory and dental plate stableness. He attempted this by extinguishing the inframaxillary buccal cusps and puting a ridge of porcelain in the centre of the tooth mesiodistally. However, his effort was non successful due to the brickle nature of porcelain when exposed to masticatory forces. Levin ( 7 ) besides mentions that in 1946 Hardy introduced dentitions with a curved blade traversing the occlusal surfaces of dentitions. Vee raiyan et Al. ( 5 ) reveal that Hardy was the first to plan a tooth with a metal insert and called it the â€Å" Vitallium Occlusal † ( VO buttockss ) . The tooth has the visual aspect of the merger on one grinder and two bicuspids with a Vitallium metal insert that somewhat protrudes occlusally from the tooth ( Fig 1 ) . Due to the metal- to- metal contact a better masticatory efficiency is achieved. Levin ( 7 ) reveals that utilizing these dentitions it might be hard to accomplish balanced occlusion in add-on to being inaesthetic. The concluding particular tooth signifier is the Sosin bladed tooth. Levin ( 7 ) studies that it was introduced by M.B Sosin and that he designed them by puting a blade on the whole occlusal surface of grinders and bicuspids of maxillary dentitions. He placed metal tabular arraies on the inframaxillary dental plate dentitions to oppose these blades. The dentitions were extremely efficient but were inaesthetic and required a tooth doctor with adept accomplishments to put them up. Veeraiyan et Al. ( 5 ) that nowadays the best masticatory efficiency is exhibited by Sosin bladed dentitions. Fig. 1

History Research Paper (1861-1992) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History (1861-1992) - Research Paper Example The movie is not simply just a tug-of-war of power and control, it imitates and recreates the idea of the men-versus-women situation within the society. It is also captures one of the most controversial traits, the passion to become free from control and authority. The movie clearly shows the different types of people within the society and it is strange to think that a mental institution can be likened to what is happening within the society. Mental institutions are full of insane people, does this mean that society may be full of insane people trying to fight the authority of those who rule and to create a sense of freedom within the bounds of the laws set by the people in power? Birds represent freedom, and looking at the title alone, we believe that’s what it implies, that it is a movie about freedom. Looking at the nature of the main characters of the nurses and the patients, we see that it may be a glimpse of the society at work not a depiction of the mental ward. The mo vie, released in the sixties, at the height of an anti-authoritarian counterculture spirit gave the society an insight of who we were at the time. Or better yet, it gave an insight of how the society moved towards to when it comes to facing authority, control and power. Not a soul wants to be tied down, or bound against his freedom. This is the movie’s focal point. The plot of the movie does not focus on one character rather it focuses on the situation within the mental institution. Jack Nicholson, who is rather an unconventional type of patient, represented the changing force within the mental institution. He was the force that created a stir within the institution, primarily because of the fact that he was not clinically insane as the other characters. He does exhibit a certain madness but he is not one of the psychologically imbalanced patients typical within a mental institution. His only madness was his desire to be out of the prison, that he chose another type of prison , the mental institution, which he believed was better than a criminal prison. This indicates a stereotype of mental institutions, where patients are treated well to become better or to come out of their madness. It is an interesting perspective that people outside of the mental institution believe that it is a hospital where there is comfort, when clearly the patients are not in comfort of what they are experiencing either because of their insanity or the pressure to become sane. It shows then that it is an interesting comparison to view a mental institution as a social institution, which may inhibit the freedom of a person. The mental institution in the movie is similar to the society. There are the nurses and doctors, who have the authority and power similar to the ruling class or the government officials, to declare the laws within the institution. How can they be similar? The movie shows, in the representation of Nurse Ratched, that there is supposed to be someone looking over and looking out for the people within the institution. She determines whether the patient is behaving incorrectly or not. This is similar to how the society is run by the government. If an individual breaks a law, he is fined or sent to prison, very similar to a patient being sent for a shock treatment to

Quality Improvement Program of Naval Hospital Essay

Quality Improvement Program of Naval Hospital - Essay Example The command's Risk Management Plan is in accordance with Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) guidelines. Risk Management means loss prevention, preventing harm, and decreasing the risk of liability to staff and facility. Improving quality of care, improving patient satisfaction and patient outcomes have a direct effect on reducing risks and, conversely, reducing risk has a direct effect on patient outcomes. A proactive, systematic, command-wide approach to identify, analyze, report and correct adverse, or potentially adverse events is followed. The credentials division analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of the program in meeting established goals and objectives. It is the primary interface between directors, department heads, professional staff, and Professional Affairs Coordinators at other commands, higher echelons, and professionals at civilian, state, and federal agencies. It prepares and prese nts comprehensive orientation training to support staff and health care providers. Finally, the Infection Control Division is responsible for the surveillance, prevention, and control of infection function by identifying and reducing the risks of acquiring and transmitting infections among patients, employees, physicians and other licensed independent practitioners, contract service workers, volunteers, students, and visitors. COMPARISON WITH A MODEL FACILITY An ideal healthcare facility with continuous quality improvement program follows the principles of CQI. It meets the needs of those being served, the patients in this case. The risk management division of the naval healthcare facility focuses on "risk reduction by improving patient satisfaction and patient outcomes". Thus, the satisfaction of the patient needs and expectations implies a well directed effort to CQI. Another aspect of an ideal healthcare facility will be working as a team. Here again, the naval hospital is seen to have a well organized team for quality management with sub-divisions to carry out different functions of quality improvement, like, performance improvement, risk management etc. Also, the provision of a credentials division allows for "use of data and measurement tools is key to improving processes and outcomes". Above all, the commitment to quality principles and practices by the management can be understood from the fact that the naval healthcare facility h as a separate department devoted to quality improvement. All the aforementioned points authenticate the fact that the healthcare facility meets the recognized standard for CQI. RECOMMENDATIONS Achieving total quality and having continuous quality improvement in the healthcare facility only result in the improvement in patient care. In order to improve patient care, the facility must not stop with reaching a particular target in quality but there must be a continuous adherence to the TQM principles. The plan-do-study-act cycle of CQI must continue with revised plans after every action is taken. ADHERENCE TO TQM PRINCIPLES It

REFLECTION 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

REFLECTION 5 - Essay Example Teachers serve as alternate parents in the school setting and in the absence of his mother, who is assumed to provide the comfort and nurturance he needs when he is hurt, upset, hungry, etc., he turned his need for comfort at that particular time to me. When he was assured that he was safe in the company of a trusted adult, he was able to go back to his normal routine. The new box of puzzle worked in taking away his attention to the recent accident he just had. Theorize: This episode reflects Te Whaariki’s all three goals of the first strand of well-being. For the first goal of promotion of health, the staff followed all the rules when cleaning up the room, but accidents are inevitable. It is a good thing the centre is equipped with all the necessary materials to alleviate and cure injuries such as ice and skin cream. The emotional well-being of the hurt boy was addressed as I cuddled him and whispered words of comfort until he regained his composure after the shock of the acc ident. In doing so, I nurtured his self-esteem and gave him assurance that his embarrassment of slipping was not a big deal. Gonzalez-Mena (2009) contends that â€Å"self-esteem is made up of self-image – the pictures we carry of ourselves and self-concept- the ideas we have about ourselves† (p. 205). Assuring him that the image I held of him was not affected by the accident ensured his emotional well-being. Finally, the goal of keeping children safe from harm was evident in the episode even if there was an accident. Lesson learned here is to still be vigilant for the children’s safety at all times. The classroom environment should reflect the goals and expectations of the teacher. It will also dictate somehow to the children how they will behave (Brewer, 2001). In the case of clean-up time, if children will not be safe inside the classroom, the environment should speak to them that they should stay out. Act: I shall be vigilant in preventing accidents and ensur ing the health and safety of children by being alert to danger signs. I shall further study how to promote the emotional well-being of children so when my help is needed, I will be able to provide them with what they need to be emotionally healthy children. I shall learn first-aid procedures to apply in case of accidents. Brewer, J. (2001) Introduction to Early Childhood Education. Allyn and Bacon. Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2009). Child, family, and community, family-centered early care and education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. REFLECTION 6 Analyse: The children enjoyed the story because it was a familiar bond that they recognized and they felt a sense of belonging in the activity. This activity specifically reflects how the Te Whaariki curriculum is implemented in class – how the children’s culture is given recognition and importance. I felt proud of myself while reading a story that reflected our culture. Theorize: Multicultural education using literature from various cultures engages such children in reading and writing and makes them eager to learn the social or cultural contributions made by various groups of people. In this case, it is the children’s own home culture, the Maori culture. The children recognized their own cultural background from the story read and appreciated it enough to ask me to read it again. Culturally-relevant teaching must be learned by teachers. Such teaching takes into consideration the cultural background of the students at all times. It also keeps in mind cultural aspects in all interactions with students on both personal and educational levels. (Edwards & Kuhlman, 2007). This activity totally reflects the Te Whaariki curriculum which is "the sum total of the experiences, activities, and events, whether direct or

Reading reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Reading reflection - Essay Example Barr’s approach is clear and considerate in relation to the vital requirements of an actor. Chapter 14 of his book, Acting for the Camera, talks about how a person can successfully remember his/her lines in acting by thinking about both their roles and their partners’. It is much easier to think about the scene than remember the lines. Also, when a person considers the roles played by their partners, as well as their partners lines, it will be easier for the individual to remember his/her part in the actor than trying to memorize his/her lines. This might lead to confusion as it has been noted in the past where actors portray lack of full awareness of their roles in acting. According to Barr (83), learning the lines of a scene is a simple process. The author advises actors that they should not, in reality, try to learn the lines since they are not imperative, but they should try and learn the significance of the scenes taking place. According to Barr (84), if an actor only memorizes his/her lines, then they will just be responsive to a cue rather than a stimulus. The harsh truth is that, if the actor only endeavors to learn his lines, then he/she will speak when they appropriate cue words are thrown at him/her, and; hence, lack connection, as well as depth. Connection and depth are the main factors, which draw viewers to a scene. They are able to relate to the scene if the actors show a connection and understanding to the scene (Barr 85). It is extremely a poor for an actor to appear as if they are being forced to act. Lack of understanding of the scenes, as well as the lines, will also portray lack of interest in the entire act. Therefore, when the actors are not connected to the scenes, the audience also will not relate to the acting. Barr stresses on this matter in the entire chapter 14 of his book whereby understanding the scene would lead to understanding the lines. If, hence, the actor relates properly to the stimulus, which causes a verbal

Rhetoric-in-Practice (RIP) Assignment (Movie review of The Hunger Essay

Rhetoric-in-Practice (RIP) Assignment (Movie review of The Hunger Games) - Essay Example Within District 12, the heroine in the film Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to take part in the Games in place of her younger sister. Katniss’ special way of changing the world may appear small scale and accidental; however, towards the end Katniss appears to have changed her own world. In the event that Katniss is to return home to District 12, she confronts impossible choices (Egan 2). She should weigh her survival against the wellbeing of humanity and her life against love. PHOTO VIA HUNGERGAMES.COM The Hunger Games is a satirical sci-fi film that manages to confront and rail against the pitfalls of materialism, greed, and economic inequality via its world building and costuming. The narrative intentionally rejects to employ a subtle approach to political criticism, as it utilizes traditional satirical techniques such as visual exaggeration, hyperbole, and contrast to deliver its message. The world of Panem, representing a futuristic America, is introduced p leasingly in about 90 seconds. First, the film introduces two men in discussion about an event called â€Å"The Hunger Games† in front of an audience; the region of Panem is categorized into haves and have-nots, where the haves live within the Capitol (categorized by wealth and power) while the poor reside in a collection of impoverished districts suffering under the oppressive rule after an unsuccessful uprising (Seife 5). Possibly, the biggest achievement of The Hunger Games is the fact that it succeeds in adapting a successful teen novel to a film. This is done spectacularly to the extent that one does not need to read the novel prior to entering the cinema so as to â€Å"get it.† When a serious novel has sold millions of copies as is the case of Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, the default position would be producing something that will resemble what the readers imagined; however, The Hunger Games has been dissected, enlarged, and retooled into a piece that is inte lligent, powerful, and immersive. This world is filled with cruelty and the film director does not shy away from confronting it. The violence and cruelty are most apparent within the Hunger Games arena, an extensive synthetic forest where 24 children hunt one another, and the degree of brutality is well articulated. Ross successfully cuts around the violence in the film to get an appropriate rating for a teenage audience. The heroine in the film, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), has little time for being wistful since she has to survive. Katniss is a teenage survivalist within a post-apocalyptic representation of a familiar American myth. This runs throughout the film based on the premise of what survival is worth (Gresh 4). There is no doubt that Lawrence is as ideal as Katniss given her melancholic determination. The production values in the film are ample, if not generous. The soundtrack represents a blend of regional and atmospheric flavors, although enhanced musical propul sion might have aided to juice up the film. Throughout the film, it is apparent that Mr. Ross, the director of this unnerving story, has mastered the heart-skipping pulse of the story and turned it into a thrilling and smart film through a ravishing technique with propulsive energy. The utilization of CGI technology superbly complements design to generate space of the film, and visually represents a variety of the themes in the film. There is an air of credibility owing to an

Sunshine State Share Dealing Limited (SSSDL) Support System Essay

Sunshine State Share Dealing Limited (SSSDL) Support System Development - Essay Example This research will offer a deep insight into the system’s business and IT-based aspects. This paper will also outline some opportunities and challenges that Sunshine State has faced in the development of the system. During the system development for the Sunshine State Share Dealing Limited (SSSDL) business, the management has faced a lot of problems and challenges. The new project at the Sunshine State is about handling and managing its large business departments. In this scenario, the business has faced a lot of challenges regarding this system implementation. In this scenario, the main challenge is about the software development that was essential to support all the business processes. Additionally, in this large size project the basic challenge was to meet the needs and requirements of all the type of system users, for instance, management, customers, and working staff. In addition, the new system was indented to fulfill all the working aspects of users, since this system was a multi-site, multi-supplier, multi-system project. Moreover, another main challenge was to meet the project deadline that simply could not be missed. Thus, all these challenges and issues made this project more sensitiv e to manage and develop. This section outlines some of the key factors in the successful development of the Share Dealing system. Sunshine State Share Dealing Limited deals with more than 5 million customers and covers around 20% of the Australian mortgage market. Thus, to manage such a large size business the manual and paper-based techniques were not helpful. In this scenario, Sunshine State Share Dealing Limited was also competing on an equal footing with the existing 4 major banks and to raise the capital they decided to abandon their traditional mutual status. In this working environment, the business was not able to gain a better competitive edge and effective market through the traditional ways of working and business management technology.

Supporting Activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Supporting Activity - Essay Example Mobile computing has resulted in a marked increase in productivity of employees because of their easy access to data which they need. Web 2.0 is another development whose impact in the information technology of companies cannot be undermined. â€Å"Web 2.0 is the popular term for advanced Internet technology and applications including blogs, wikis, RSS and social bookmarking† (Rouse, 2011). With Web 2.0 employees gain an easy access to various business applications which the IT department can benefit from. Web 2.0 allows for people to create, work together, edit and share user generated content online; thus, making it easier for the IT department to disseminate information. Aside from mobile computing and Web 2.0, social media networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn are used by some organizations to reach out to their customers. Inter-office memos are sometimes broadcasted through social media networks because of its accessibility to everyone. As more advances in technology are developed, the information systems of corporations are also enhanced leading to a more efficient and accurate transfer of information. These new trends are reshaping the manner of doing business today and in the

Access control Essay Example for Free

Access control Essay The purpose of this policy is to define standards for connecting to Richman Investments network from any host. These standards are designed to minimize the potential exposure to Richman Investments from damages which may result from unauthorized use of Richman Investments resources. Damages include the loss of sensitive or company confidential data, intellectual property, damage to public image, damage to critical Richman Investments internal systems, etc. Scope This policy applies to all Richman Investments employees, contractors, vendors and agents with a Richman Investments owned or personally-owned computer or workstation used to connect to the Richman Investments network. This policy applies to remote access connections used to do work on behalf of Richman Investments including reading or sending email and viewing intranet web resources and wireless devices. Remote access implementations that are covered by this policy include, but are not limited to, dial-in Modems, frame relay, ISDN, DSL, VPN, SSH, and cable modems, etc. VPN access control model for a large scale company. This policy will support remote access control for systems, applications, and data access. Remote access Defined Remote access for employees is deployed by using remote access VPN connections across the Internet based on the settings configured for the VPN Server, and the following additional settings. The following diagram shows the VPN server that provides remote access VPN connections. Domain/Network Config: For each employee that is allowed VPN access: * The network access permission on the dial-in properties of the user account is set to Control access through NPS Network Policy. The user account is added to the VPN_Users group in Active Directory. To define the authentication and encryption settings for remote access VPN clients, the following remote access network policy is created in Network Policy Server (NPS): * Policy name: Remote Access VPN Clients * Conditions: * NAS Port Type is set to Virtual (VPN) * Windows Groups is set to VPN_Users * Calling Station ID is set to 207. 209. 68. 1 * Permission is set to Grant access. NPS policy settings: * On the Constraints tab, under Authentication Methods, for EAP Types select Microsoft: Smart Card or other certificate. Also enable Microsoft Encrypted Authentication version 2 (MS-CHAP v2). * Or SSTP, L2tp/IPsec, PPTP, IKEv2 Access control model/ policy: This model would support Role based access controls and allow mandatory access control to be governed by remote access. The IS Dept. is responsible for maintaining the access and access rights and provides and restricted as needed by user roles in the organization. All data is encrypted and transmitted via remote and encrypted and used by the VPN tunnel. VPN access will be terminated on a 3 month basis and must be renewed by revisiting based on your access role and permissions

The Idea Of The Movement Magic Realism Film Studies Essay

The Idea Of The Movement Magic Realism Film Studies Essay Magic Realism is a literary movement. It is associated with a style of writing or a technique that incorporates magical or supernatural (fantasy) events into a realistic event without questioning the unlikelihood of these events taking place together. Magic Realism is best described as literature and art combined. This combination of fantasy and fact is there to question the nature of reality. Magic realism made lived experiences appear extraordinary. By creating this feeling, the magical realist writers have all contributed to a re-envisioning of the Latin American culture as a vibrant and complex one. Magic Realism is a movement that has been misunderstood for many years by many people. It still remains a vague term today though. A large part of the problem of this movement being misunderstood is related to applying the term, Magic Realism, to different art forms and in different periods. Magic realism is applied to two main movements, art and literature, and has recently been applied to works in cinema. The term Magic Realism was applied to paintings from the early 1920s through to the end of the 1950s. Magic Realism is realism that incorporates mysterious or fantastic elements but it still portrays everyday life. The time period of the 1960s was when Magic Realism was applied to literature. At first Magic Realism was only used in reference to works of Latin American writers, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Miguel Angel Asturias, Isabel Allende and Jorge Luis Borges. The usage of Magic Realism has recently been expanded to include works of different origins and works of earlier periods. These include those of Ernst Juenger, Mikhail Bulgakov and Salman Rushie. Most of this literature features considerable amounts of fantasy therefore it is a different type of Magic Realism to the one that had been established in art in the 1920s. Recently some writers of this movement have expanded Magic Realism to apply to Motion Pictures. Examples of these works are films like American Beauty, Big Fish, Chocolat, The Red Violin, and Whale Rider. It is a lot easier in cinema to develop the difficult and complicated combination of realism and fantasy that together makes up the foundation of effective Magic Realism. Magic realism is starting to develop an interest today that it had never commanded during the movements first half of the 20th century. Different sets of standards are used today to define Magic Realism in literature; this is causing confusion about what criteria is applied to contemporary work. The counter movement to Magic Realism came to be known as the Return to Order or the Call of Order. The default approach of Magic Realism is to focus on the coexistence of the real and fantasy on equal terms. The power of Magic Realism has often been assumed to lie to the viewer in the way that the differences between these incompatible elements are erased/not shown. One should always remember that Magic Realism cannot be seen as Science Fiction. Magic Realism is everyday life and it is all around us, all the time. Magic realism has changed the way that people think. Magic Realism brings a spark of life to the imagination instead of people seeing the boring and ordinary, and this then in turn brings excitement to the minds of the reader or the viewer. Magic realism has touched on almost every facet of life, from art to television. There is not one thing that is missing Magic Realism within it. If a viewer can look at an art work and see that there is more than just a picture of an inanimate object in the art work then they have finally grasped the concept of, and are able to appreciate Magic Realism. Some sub topics of Magic Realism are those of literature, fashion, advertising and cinema. Magic Realism is NOT Science Fiction, but, Fantasy and science fiction are alike in the sense that both require the creation of a completely new world. When it comes to advertising, fantasy is great for entertainment but fantasy is not however always so great when it comes to trying to sell a product or service. When it comes to selling a product, there needs to be an element that hooks us to reality. It helps for advertising when a detail is added that can easily be imagined by the listener, viewer or reader. Magic Realism works in advertising for exciting the imagination of the viewer, listener or reader, but there should be an attachment or hook to reality to keep things realistic. Magic Realism is all about fantasy meeting reality. When it comes to racial and gender ideologies, one does not have to worry about any of these ideologies within Magic Realism. Magic realism is about fantasy, there is not discrimination or rights or wrongs. There are no gender or racial ideologies used in any form or sub topic of magic realism. Women and men are equal in these works and all races are equal. Magic realism has no race and no gender; it is about fantasy meeting reality. Magic Realism creates the perfect fantasy world that we would all love to live in. Magic Realism is the key to the decline of racial and gender ideologies. Through the combination of fantasy events with realism it allows for the study of alternate perceptions of the world, offering different views of history and identity, and also giving voice to cultural minorities. People view the world differently; they see a fantasy that has been made up. Magic realism allows people to express what they really feel and what they imagine a world to be like.

Charles Dickens Exposes the Dangers and Horrors of Victorian London in

Charles Dickens Exposes the Dangers and Horrors of Victorian London in Oliver Twist All of Charles Dickens novels are set in the period he wrote them in and contain certain points of social and political beliefs that he highlighted with the desire to change his audience's views, on mainly the poor, but also all those that were treated unjustly because of laws and stereotypes. 'Oliver Twist' is the story of a young orphan who is the illegitimate son of two good people. It shows the attempts of a collection of villainous characters to break his hereditary kind-heartedness and innocence. This is to benefit them through his considerable, unknown inheritance that they have found out about. However, behind the story Dickens hides messages raising the issues of the terrible conditions of the workhouses and the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the abuse and exploitation of children, poverty, crime, inequality, prejudice towards different religions and nationalities and ignorance to the existence of some physical disabilities and mental illnesses. The poor law act was a typical example of a whig-benthamite reformation legislation of the Victorian period. That is to say it follows Bentham's theory of segregation. It gained general parliamentary support and was passed with considerably less consideration and discussions as was normal when new laws are proposed. It ensured that conditions in the workhouses were as vile and uncomfortable as possible so that only the truly destitute would even consider submitting. It also implied that the poor were only in that state because they were lethargic and were therefore named the 'undeserving poor' w... ...angry as he is enraged by his crime. As his terror leads him to his rage he strikes out on the disfigured body. That description tells us that his emotions are out of his control. His temper is unrestrained and he is liable to act in a way that relieves his anxiety. With people like Sykes in London it is worrying to think what may happen. After studying 'Oliver Twist' the reader gains understanding of the true horrors that exist in Victorian London. They discover key facts about the behaviour of the underworld inhabitants through Dickens techniques such as similes, pathos, adjectives, and choice of words. These techniques helped in showing the reader why life was so horrific in that time by building up images so the reader can almost see and smell and use other sense to understand the world that Dickens lived in.

Contrasting Shakespeares Richard with the Historical Figure Essay exam

There are two Richards: the Machiavellian monster created by Shakespeare and the historical figure who many historians claim is a much-maligned innocent man. So is Richard the sinner or the one sinned against? How can we decide? Is a decision even possible? In Shakespeare's play Richard III, Richard describes himself as a deformed malcontent in the opening soliloquy. (Shakespeare often uses physical deformity to mirror an evil mind.) I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up, ... And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover, To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain And hate the idle pleasures of these days. (1.1.18-31) Many historians, on the other hand, have a different view of the man. For instance, in the 1956 biography Richard the Third, Paul Murray Kendall describes Richard based on contemporary writings and two well-known portraits of the King. Most contemporary descriptions bear out the evidence of these portraits that Richard had no noticeable bodily deformity, and establish him as a thin, frail man of a little less than normal height. (537) The most heinous crime that the Tudors (the kings who succeeded Richard to the throne) accused Richard of committing was the murder of his nephews-Edward V and Richard, Duke of York-the sons of his brother, the former king, Edward IV. How seriously should we take this accusation? What evidence supports it? Kendall writes, "If we take 'evidence' to mean testimony that would secure a verdict in a court of law, there is no evidence that he [Rich... ...ing skills that will lead to success both in school and in life. Works Cited Fields, Bertram. Royal Blood: Richard III and the Mystery of the Princes. New York: ReganBooks, 1998. Kendall, Paul Murray. Richard the Third. New York: Norton, 1983. - - - . Richard III: The Great Debate. New York: Norton, 1992. Looking for Richard. Dir. Al Pacino. Perf. Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Aidan Quinn, Winona Ryder, and Kevin Spacey. Videocassette. Fox, 1996. The Missing Princes of England. Dir. Melissa Jo Peltier. Narr. David Ackroyd. Videocassette. New Video Group, 1998. Shakespeare, William. Richard III. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1996. Tey, Josephine. The Daughter of Time. New York: Scribner, 1988. Weir, Alison. The Princes in the Tower. New York: Ballantine Books, 1995.

Nike And What It Does To Third World Countries :: essays research papers

The Manufacturing Practices of the Footwear Industry: Nike vs. the Competition The current manufacturing practices of the sneaker industry, in particular companies such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Converse, and New Balance, takes place throughout the globe. With the industry experiencing severe competition, and the product requiring intensive labour, firms are facing extreme pressure to increase their profit margins through their sourcing practices. The following paper will analyse the sneaker industry, while examining the multitude of viable manufacturing options, and critiquing their current manufacturing structure. Footwear Industry – Players, Revenues, Market Share To properly review the manufacturing in the footwear industry, it is necessary to first gain an understanding of the dominant leaders in the marketplace. The industry is currently experiencing hyper competition, led by six main firms – Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Fila, Converse, and New Balance (see exhibit 1), with nearly $7 billion in revenues domestically. Nike is the industry leader, with a 47% market share, followed by Reebok, a distant second at 16%, and Adidas at 6% (see exhibit 2). This category is facing decreasing demand and the rising popularity of alternative footwear, resulting in more pressure than ever before to achieve high gross margins through effective global sourcing practices. Manufacturing options Footwear companies have two basic options in the manufacturing of their products, they can both own and operate the factories that produce their products, or subcontract their products out to secondary manufacturers. These facilities can be located either domestically or internationally, and both present a myriad of positives and negatives. Firms that produce domestically benefit from ease of monitoring, skilled workforce, government stability, job creation, and well understood labour rules, while suffering from the relatively high wages required in the U.S. as compared to developing countries. By manufacturing products overseas, in particular in third world economies, tremendous efficiencies are gained in the form of reduced wages, but are countered by the increased difficulty of monitoring the quality of their products and the actual working conditions in the factories. Companies that are vertically integrated, who own and operate the factories where their products are manufactured, are faced with large capital expenditure requirements and the management of the factories themselves, resulting in lower profit margins. Strategic Outsourcing In analysing the sneaker industry, we are faced with the question, "What are these firms core competencies?" If manufacturing falls under this umbrella, then firms should look to produce internally. However, the core skills that set these companies apart from the competition, are their marketing, distribution, and technological expertise.

Cultural distance assignment Essay

CDj is the cultural distance between the host country (j) and the home country (in this case Germany). It is calculated with a summation of 4 different variables indicating different cultural dimensions. These are uncertainty avoidance, power distance, individualism/collectivism and masculinity/femininity. is the country j’s score on one of the four cultural dimension is the score of the home country (in this case Germany) on this dimension. is the variance of this particular dimension. Firstly, the distance on each dimension between the host country j and the home country (in this case Germany). Secondly, this number is squared. After squaring minus each variable is divided by the variance of that variable. And finally, all these four variances are added together and divided by 4. 2. What is the difference between mean and variance? Can you explain the example given in the lecture in your own words? Mean and variance are both about distribution, but mean refers to one measure of the central value for a probability distribution. It is the average of a set of measurements. On the other hand, variance is a measure of how far a set of numbers is spread out. In a statistical probability graph the difference in variance is made visible in the height of the graph. A low variance indicates that the data points are close to the mean. This can be recognized in a normal distribution graph where the curve is either flatter or steeper. A flat curve indicates a high variance as data points are far away from the mean, whereas a steep curve indicates a small variance as the data points are close to the mean. 3. Calculate the distance on each dimension between Germany (our home country) and a specific host country using the Excel program.? Tip: you can use the formula editor in Excel to calculate the distance on e. g. power distance between Germany and Argentina, the first country in the sample. You can copy-paste the formula in the other rows/columns. Power distance: Argentina – Germany: 49-35 = 14 Uncertainty avoidance: Argentina – Germany: 86-64 = 21 Individualism / collectivism: Argentina – Germany: 46-67 = -21 ? 21 Masculinity / femininity: Argentina – Germany: 56-66 = -10 ? 10 4. The Kogut-Singh index of cultural distance also contains the variance of each dimension. Answer the following questions: a. In the bottom row of the columns you will find the variance for each culture ? dimension. What dimension has the highest variance? Individual – collectivism b. What does a high variance mean Tip: to calculate the variance yourself, you can use the formula editor of Excel and search for â€Å"variance†. A high variance means that the date points are very spread out from the mean and from each other 5. Calculate the cultural distance using Kogut and Singh formula while using Germany as the home country. Tip: follow the different steps as explained in the main lecture, and first calculate the difference, ? the squared difference, the variance, and the overall cultural distance. Cultural distance = 0,547 ? [(14*14)/507,68 + (21*21)/559,42 + (-21*-21)/621,34 + (-10*-10)/329,58)]/4 6. Which four countries have the lowest cultural distance to Germany? Switzerland, Italy, South Africa and Luxembourg 7. Which country has the highest cultural distance? Guatemala 8. What is the average cultural distance between Germany and these 57 other countries? 1,6046894 9. Pick a host country and relate the cultural distance score between Germany and that ? host country to the 7 points of critique raised by Shenkar as discussed in the lecture. We picked Egypt, which has a cultural distance score of 1,748. 1. The illusion of symmetry: you cannot assume that the cultural distance from Germany and Egypt is similar to the cultural distance from Egypt to Germany. Because of recent conflicts in Egypt it is probably less attractive for other countries, including Germany, to do business or invest in Egypt, whereas for Egypt itself, it is not hard to do business in Germany. 2. The illusion of stability: Cultural distance is measured at a single point in time, but cultures may change over time and therefore, cultural differences may also change over time. Currently the conflict in Egypt is still ongoing which makes cultural difference between Germany and Egypt bigger. However, if this conflict ends, the cultural difference may shrink again. 3. The illusion of linearity: in case a German MNE already had an entity in Egypt and is considering a second one, the obstacle of starting a second entity is lower than it would have with the initial entity introduction. The effect on cultural distance therefore depends on the experience already gained and is not a linear process. 4. The illusion of causality: Kogut and Singh’s formula only focuses on cultural difference, but distance is a multidimensional construct and should be studied not in isolation but together with the other three dimensions of distance, namely; institutional/administrative distance, geographic distance and economic distance. For instance, the cultural difference between Germany and Egypt is 1,748 and the geographic distance between Germany and Egypt is 3208 kilometer. The cultural difference between Germany and Australia is 0,320 (a lot smaller than 1,748) and the geographic distance between these two countries is 14482 kilometers (a lot further than 3208 km). 5. The illusion of discordance: the assumption is that all cultural aspects of the cultural distance between home and host country matter equally, but depending on the country, some dimensions of a culture matter more than others. Take language and religion. Both cultural aspects, but when Germany does business with the Netherlands difference in language would matter a lot more than difference in religion, whereas when Germany does business with Egypt, the religion factor would weigh a lot heavier. 6. The assumption of corporate homogeneity: by using national cultural measures, the CD concept only incorporates variance in the national culture but does not consider possible variances on a corporate level. National culture vs. organizational culture is left out. In Egypt, a company which employs employees of many different nationalities will have less cultural differences with a German company in comparison to a company which only employs Egyptians. 7. The assumption of spatial homogeneity: when examining the cultural differences on the basis of national level scores, possible cultural variances within that same country are left out. In Egypt it would not be correct to look at the country as a whole, since within the country (city versus rural areas) there are different cultures and sentiments based on different takes on for example Muslim religion. This could affect the way different companies do business and therefore reduce or expand the cultural difference between Germany and Egypt. 10. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Kogut and Singh measure of cultural distance. Kogut and Singh have made an effort of creating an overview on the cultural distance between countries. The overview is quite meticulous and based on empirical research, taking four dimensions – created by Hofstede – of cultural distance into account. Although the measure of cultural distance should provide realistic information for organisations that seek new markets, it is not able to do so. The measure should be seen as an indicator of cultural distance rather than an absolute number. Supported by Shenkar’s seven points of critique1, the weaknesses of Kogut and Singh’s theory will be assessed. Supported by Kim and Gray’s article, its strengths will be assessed2. As Shenkar researched effectively, Kogut and Singh’s measure is quite ambiguous. It creates several illusions of cultural distance. Deriving from these seven points made by Shenkar, the measure cannot be used in practice. The differences between reality and theory are too large. For example, as Shenkar explained in point 5; â€Å"The implicit assumption that differences in cultures produce lack of â€Å"fit† and hence an obstacle to transaction is questionable. First, not every cultural gap is critical to performance. As Tallman and Shenkar (1994, p. 108) note, â€Å"different aspects of firm culture may be more or less central, more or less difficult to transmit, and more or less critical to operations†. Second, cultural differences may be complementary and hence have a positive synergetic effect on investment and performance. ’3 Companies are shown one CD number, but the importance of the various dimensions creating this number is different for each company. For example, a company involved in financial derivatives that seeks to create a subsidiary overseas may be less concerned about the individualism/collectivism-dimension than about the uncertainty avoidance-dimension, as these companies are inherently making money of uncertainty. Thus, the CD number does not suit the function implied by Kogut and Singh. Singh and Kogut create an illusion that this CD number helps companies finding a suitable strategy for expanding abroad. The CD number should provide hard data for finding this strategy. Due to the difference between theory and practice, this number cannot provide practical data. However, the measure is suitable for other goals. For one, the measure can explain corporate behaviour in new markets. Kim and Gray researched the applicability of the CD measure. They concluded that relationship between the CD measure and corporate behaviour has some plausible consistencies. 4 The ownership mode a company takes in a new market is indeed dependent on the cultural distance between the host and home country. Kogut and Singh’s measure is thus accurate, but not practical. In conclusion, the measure of Kogut and Sing is accurate enough to explain corporate behaviour in hindsight, but cannot be seen as a practical calculation for choosing a business strategy. A company may tend to get confused by the calculation method, as it equally takes all dimensions into account. However, in the end, a company will probably handle appropriately to the new market’s culture. This is shown in Kim and Gray’s research.

Competitor Of Starbucks Essay

There are the known international company that become the competitor for the Starbucks. There are: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf The endurance and popularity of The Bean, as it is affectionately referred to by devotees, can be attributed to the high standards that were established from the beginning. From trend-setting drinks like the World Famous Ice Blended, to the employees who become a part of the communities they work in, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf  ® has discovered the formula for a successful coffee and tea company. San Francisco Coffee The company that serve fresh coffee sourced from the best coffee farms on this green earth and the roast master, uses company to concoct blends and roasts that have the people wringing their hands, anxious for their next hit. Secret recipe Secret Recipe Cakes & Cafà © offers a friendly and personalised full-service dining experience for customers and incorporates a modern contemporary and vibrant interior concept with comfort ambience, and great food. It provides a great respite for customers to enjoy good food and quality time with friends, family or associates, after a long day at work. Old town white coffee To be Asia Pacific’s leading white coffee brand, providing high quality products to customers globally All the competitors try to win the demand of the customer who loves to drink coffee. Each company have their own strategy and uniqueness of their product. THE MACRO AND MICRO ENVIRONMENT THAT AFFECT THE STARBUCKS COMPANY MACRO ENVIRONMENT For the Starbucks micro and macro environment factor, we can use PESTEL element to evaluate and observed about the Starbucks. The (PEST) element included: Political factors The first factor which shall be kept in mind while studying the macro environment of Starbucks is the political aspect. It has been seen that, Starbucks has significant levels of presence in the coffee market. Starbucks consists of various types of products for government offices, corporate offices. The growth of Starbucks has increased and it means there are lots of demands about the Starbucks Coffee. However, in certain country, the political try to avoid the Starbuck because some of the countries try to boycott the Israel product. The cases of the boycott make the Starbucks have problem for their expansion of the business. Indirectly, the political of the country will affect the performance and growth of the Starbucks. Economic factors Economic factors such as recession which hard a big impact to the different organizations also to the consumer ability to purchase their product due to been unemployed and having debts. The way income is distributed among the individuals impact the marketing activities such as higher income earners, middle and low earners. These economic factors influence marketing segmentation and decisions. The exchange rate also will affect the Starbucks Company. When the currency decreases their value, it affects the monetary policies. Most of the supplier of the coffee comes from outsider. When the monetary decrease, it will affect the higher cost and the raw material become expensive. Finally, this situation makes the price of the Starbucks become expensive. It’s also become risk for Starbuck in making its coffee with the higher cost. Social factors Social factors that influence marketing decisions are such as demographic factors which is relating to the population where when the population  increases creates good opportunity for the marketing activities but if it decreases results to great impact in the market. Age, marketers tend to target their market according to the number of age available in an area. Behaviour also may influence the marketing decision where by some ethnics may not be able to purchase certain products due religion aspects also due to consumer’s different in taste, style and fashion some may like the products others may find them not attractive. Another than that, the social also included the changing in culture, taste and health consciousness. The culture of Malaysia who loves the coffee made the demand of Starbucks increase. However, Starbucks also need to learn about the culture among the country. Starbucks is International product and well known. Some of the country most prefers tea compare than coffee. That means , that is one of the challenges for Starbucks to come out with variety of product. Health consciousness of people also influences company to come out with healthy product for its customers. They need to plan new product that concern about the good healthy. It will provide opportunity to Starbucks to expand its business. Technological factors The fourth factor which shall be kept in mind while evaluating the macro environment for Starbucks refers to the technological aspect. Starbucks being one of the reputed coffee houses had a robust distribution strategy which helped them to stay ahead of the competition. Starbucks try to variety their distribution strategy within use the internet and mobile application. Starbucks launched a mobile payment system. This technological advancement helped the customers to pay while sitting at the store with the help of their smart phones. Starbucks also launched an I-phone mobile payment application. With this  application, the customers would be able to have an access of their favourite Starbucks card application. The use of technology will help the enterprise to break through the various distribution channels & be a step ahead of its immediate competitors. MICRO ENVIRONMENT The micro environment factors are about internal aspect of Starbucks. The micro environment are evaluate using Porter’s 5 forces model). There are about bargaining power of buyer, bargaining power of supplier, threat of substitute product, threat of new entrant and rivalry among competitors. Rivalry among existing competitors is high within the industry Starbucks operates in with major competitors like San Francisco coffee, Old Town White Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Dunkin Donuts and thousands of small local coffee shops and cafes. Starbucks customers possess large amount of bargaining power because there is no and minimal switching cost for customers, and there is an abundance of offers available for them. The threat of substitute products and services for Starbucks is substantial. Specifically, substitutes for Starbucks Coffee include tea, juices, soft drinks, water and energy drinks, whereas pubs and bars can be highlighted as substitute places for customers to meet someone and spend their times outside of home and work environments. Starbucks suppliers have high bargaining power due to the fact that the demand for coffee is high in global level and coffee beans can be produced only in certain geographical areas. Moreover, the issues associated with African coffee producers being treated unfairly by multinational companies are being resolved with the efforts of various non-government organizations, and this is contributing to the increasing bargaining power of suppliers. However, the threat of new entrants to the industry to compete with Starbucks  is low, because the market is highly saturated and substantial amount of financial resources associated with buildings and properties are required in order to enter into the industry.

Issues with Juveniles

Juveniles can break the law just like adults can. The difference is in the way they are treated after the fact, from the police interaction to the type of punishment they will ultimately receive. In most cases getting to the child before criminal behavior begins may stop a life of crime before it begins. In this paper I will be going over the importance of child development, crime control, interrogation and Miranda warnings, crime prevention, deterrence, and punishment. Children that grow up in homes where the parents are not around or do not care about them are more likely to become caught up in a life of crime than the kids that have a loving family. Children that have parents that are criminals themselves will probably become criminals as well. â€Å"According to one researcher, 63 percent of boys with convicted fathers themselves had criminal convictions, compared to 30 percent among those who did not have convicted fathers†. (Worrall, 2008, p. 259) If a child does not have a positive role model to follow, they will follow the negative one. This is also true if the father is not in the home or part of their lives or if their parents are in to drugs. Lack of parental supervision, improper abuse, rejection, neglect, conflict between the parents and many other problems can also lead to behavioral issues in children. Domestic violence in the home, single family households and families with large amounts of people are also more likely to produce children that have behavioral issues as they develop. Lack of attention or negative attention is hard on a child and it has been proven to lead them to a life of delinquency. There are many steps that families can take to work on crime control before it becomes a problem. The first is parent training and education. â€Å"Just as there are good drivers and bad drivers, there are good parents and bad parents. † (Worrall, 2008, p. 261) Parenting does not come overnight. It takes time and practice and information. Sometimes the harm to children is done accidentally and knowing this, the government has started programs such as the Strengthening Families Program. The SFP was founded in 1983 and is for parents who are also drug abusers and teaches them appropriate parenting skills. Parenting classes can be done in and out of the home and appear in several forms. One such form is during pregnancy when a nurse practitioner comes to the home and gives the expectant mother information on her pregnancy and on things to expect when the child is born. Head Start programs are provided to poor African-American families so that their children are given extra help with educational needs. Research has shown that these and other programs have been successful in lowering the rate of delinquency in juveniles. The chance of child abuse is lower in families that have gone through treatment than those who have not. Mothers are bettering their lives through the programs as well so the rate of arrest is lower in the mothers and their children than those left untreated. Once a juvenile has police contact, the interaction is very different than it would be if it were an adult. There are several rights that a juvenile has to protect them. The first right is the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution states: â€Å"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. (Bartollas & Miller, 2008) Juveniles have the same rights to privacy that adults do. If the police want to search a juvenile or their home or vehicle they must provide a search warrant unless the juvenile waived their rights, consented to the search, or got caught in the criminal act they were committing. Interrogation of a juvenile, confessions, and Miranda Warnings go hand in hand. Juveniles, as well as adults, are to be read their Miranda rights at the time of arrest. These Miranda Warnings give the juvenile six rights including: the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, an attorney provided if they are unable to afford one, whatever the juvenile says to the police is fair game to be used later in court, if a juvenile starts talking they may stop at any time, and whatever the juvenile says to persons other than the juvenile officer or court personnel may be used against the juvenile if they are tried as an adult. The juvenile officer is responsible for providing the juvenile with these rights and must protect the interest of the youth. â€Å"A juvenile officer’s role in the interrogation process is the protection of the juvenile’s rights by initial explanation and subsequently by stopping the interrogation if it is so requested by the juvenile. Participation by the juvenile officer in the interrogation of a juvenile renders the confession and evidence discovered as a result thereof inadmissible [sic] in a subsequent adult prosecution. (McCarver, 2006) All questioning of the juvenile must be done by law enforcement. â€Å"The admissibility of a juvenile’s statement taken in the presence of the juvenile officer is determined from the totality of the circumstances on a case-by-case basis. The court will evaluate the juvenile’s age, experience, education, back ground, intelligence and whether the juvenile has the capacity to understand the warnings given to him, the nature of his Fifth Amendment rights and the consequences of waiving those rights. (McCarver, 2006) If a juvenile is tried as an adult they must have been made aware before his confession that it is possible that he may be tried as an adult and anything that any statements he makes can be used against him. Any officer that questions a juvenile must specifically state that he or she may be certified to be tried as an adult. â€Å"In the absence of an attorney, the confession of a juvenile which results from a custodial interrogation may not be used against the juvenile unless oth the juvenile and his parent, guardian or adult friend were informed of the juvenile’s rights to an attorney and to remain silent, and the juvenile must be given an opportunity to consult with his parents, guardian, adult friend or attorney as to whether he wishes to waive those rights. † (McCarver, 2006) Deterrence or prevention is very important in keeping juveniles out of trouble. In my opinion, one of the most effective preventative measures for preventing juvenile crime is community-based programs. These programs, such as, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Bully Prevention Program, and Functional Family Therapy allow youths to be part of the community in a positive way. â€Å"An eighteen-month evaluation found that compared with a control group waiting for a match, youths in the mentoring program were 46 percent less likely to start using drugs, 27 percent less likely to start drinking, and 32 percent less likely to hit or assault someone. † (Bartollas & Miller, 2008) In single parent homes where the parent works it is hard to keep tabs on your child at all times. Getting them into a program will keep the youths occupied and out of trouble in a perfect world. With the statistics listed community-based programs are effective and do a good job of reducing juvenile crime. There are many, many programs like these I listed. The problems that arise are a lack of funding and volunteers. It is important for the communities to sponsor and volunteer for these programs or they really cannot complain about children running the streets, learning negative behaviors, and committing crimes. Another effective preventative measure is programs like the Chicago Area Projects. The projects have three basic goals: Frist, they provide a forum for local residents to become acquainted with new scientific perspectives on child rearing, child welfare, and juvenile delinquency. † (Bartollas & Miller, 2008) Second, they open up lines of communication between the community and the institutional representatives of the larger community, the ones that help influence the local youth. Third, they allow local adults to come in to contact with local youths, â€Å"especially those having difficulties with the law†. (Bartollas & Miller, 2008) This and programs like this one have the local communities take responsibility or the youths before they are sent to the juvenile justice system. The adults in the community can speak on behalf of youths in court and they organize programs to keep the youth out of trouble. If a child is distracted in a positive way, they are less likely to act out in a negative way. When punishment is needed, probation is usually the answer. Probation is the number one sentence in the juvenile court. â€Å"About 400,000 youths are placed on formal probation each year, which amounts to more than 60 percent of all juvenile dispositions. † (Bartollas & Miller, 2008) This number has increased greatly since 1993. Probation is a judicial disposition under which youthful offenders are subject to certain conditions imposed by the juvenile c ourt and are permitted to remain in the community under the supervision of a probation officer. † (Bartollas & Miller, 2008) Juvenile probation focuses on programs for the offending youth in order to keep them out of jail. A probation officer is assigned and will work with the juvenile to help meet the conditions of their probation. Some think that the purpose of juvenile probation is to give the child a second chance. This is not necessarily correct. The main focus of juvenile probation is provide programs and services so that the youth will learn to stay out of trouble with the law in the future. There are several reasons why probation is the most desirable alternative to jail time. Juveniles are able to remain free of incarceration but society has protection from further law breaking. â€Å"It promotes the rehabilitation of offenders because they can maintain normal community contacts by living at home, attending school, and participating in community activities. † (Bartollas & Miller, 2008) It also costs less and allows the juvenile to avoid the negative impact of confinement. While treated differently than adults in most cases, juveniles still break the law and encounter the justice system. Juveniles are afforded the same rights as adults but are handled in a way that usually allows them to have a second chance and become a productive member of society. While stopping a life of crime before it begins is the more favorable approach, it is not always a possibility. In this paper I have discussed child development, crime control, interrogation and Miranda warnings, crime prevention, deterrence, and punishment.

UK/Asian Response to Sexually Explicit Advertising

Writing this thesis has been extremely difficult, demanding, and extremely time consuming, but it has also provided insight into exactly how much of an impact, good or otherwise, sexually implicit advertising has on a predominantly sheltered society.   There are unfortunately a limited number of empirical studies that have been completed on this subject, and perhaps through the offering of this thesis can more advanced and concurrent data be exhumed and learned from.I would like to thank my professors and supervisors at the University that have helped me along the way in ensuring that I was kept on track during the entire process, for they have been instrumental in helping me through the more difficult times and the â€Å"rough spots† that I endured from time to time.It is anticipated that this thesis will only be the beginning forage into an unknown and provocative world of advertising and provide additional material to carry on with future students.The world of advertising has the inevitable task of having to cater to all factions of societies in which companies seek to capture a share of the consumer market. Advertisers must tailor its attempts at delivering brand messages depending on the target audience, be it members of Western or Eastern cultural groups.The reaction to sex in advertising can be viewed in a positive or negative fashion, depending on the values and perceptions of those who view the ads. The entire process of ensuring fluidity with public perception is entirely up to the advertisers themselves, and what is acceptable in the West is not always the case in the East.More specifically, Western cultures tend to have a much higher tolerance of sexual imagery, while Eastern cultures tend to generally be more offended by ads that exploit sexuality to promote consumer products.The same ads may generate vastly different responses when viewed by members of the two divergent cultural groups. The dramatic difference in the response the ads gene rate is due to cultural beliefs, practices, and ideals that promote varying attitudes toward sex among those who live in Western societies and those who live in Eastern societies.As one of the more provocative global advertisers, Benetton continually looks to engage the public in their form of sexually-driven advertising in an attempt to gauge the reaction of the public.Although Benetton is only one of the major Western advertisers that is making inroads in the eastern hemisphere, they have an interesting task of marketing to more conservative sectors of society, mainly the Asian people. The Asian community has a long-standing embedded value system that may or may not ever catch up to the impressionable Western culture group.Due to the cultural differences that exist in Asian culture, Western-based advertisers have a formidable task in figuring out how to deliver brand messages in ways that are both effective and culturally acceptable. This poses a significant challenge to advertise rs, because they must thoroughly research the ideals and beliefs of those to whom they seek to direct their brand messages.When looking at advertisements with sexual undertones, Western culture views this type of â€Å"shock† advertising as generally accepted and it is not really given a second glance as it is viewed as an acceptable part of societal values. But, in the eastern hemisphere, this type of culture â€Å"shock† may be acceptable with the younger generation, albeit not as gregariously as with their western counterparts, but with the older generation of Asian and UK families, attitudes toward   this type of sexually explicit advertising are not perhaps as accommodating. UK/Asian Response to Sexually Explicit Advertising Writing this thesis has been extremely hard, demanding and extremely time consuming, but has also provided insight into exactly how much of an impact, good or otherwise, sexually implicit advertising has on a predominantly sheltered society.There is unfortunately a limited number of empirical studies that have been completed on this subject and perhaps through the offering of this thesis can more advanced and concurrent data be exhumed and learned from.I would like to thank my professors and supervisors at the University that have helped me along the way in ensuring that I was kept on track during the entire process and has been instrumental in helping me through the more difficult times and the â€Å"rough spots† that I endured from time to time.It is anticipated that this thesis will only be the beginning forage into an unknown and provocative world of advertising and provide additional material to carry-on with future students.ABSTRACTThe world of advertising has the inevit able task of having to cater to all factions of society, be it western or eastern cultural groups, and the reaction to sex in advertising can be viewed in a positive or negative fashion. The entire process of ensuring fluidity with public perception is entirely up to the advertisers themselves and what is acceptable in the west is not always the case in the east.One of the more provocative global advertisers, Benetton, continually looks to engage the public in their form of sexually-driven advertising in an attempt to gauge the reaction of the public.Although Benetton is only one of the major western advertisers that is making inroads in the eastern hemisphere, they have an interesting task of marketing to a societal sector, mainly the Asian people, that have a long-standing embedded value system that may or may not ever catch up to the impressionable western culture group.When looking at advertisement with sexual undertones, western culture views this type of â€Å"shock† ad vertising as generally accepted and not really given a second glance as it is viewed as an acceptable part of societal values; but, in the eastern hemisphere, this type of culture â€Å"shock† may be acceptable with the younger generation albeit not as gregariously as with their western counterparts; but, with the older generation of Asian and UK families this type of sexually explicit advertising is not perhaps as accommodating.REFERENCES Albers-Miller, N. D. (1996). â€Å"Designing cross-cultural advertising research: a closer look at paired comparisons.† International Marketing Review 13(5): 59-75.Albers-Miller, N. D. and B. D. Gelb (1996). â€Å"Business Advertising Appeals as a Mirror Of Cultural Dimensions: A Study of Eleven Countries.† Journal of Advertising 25(4): 57-70.Alden, D. L., W. D. Hoyer, et al. (1993). â€Å"Identifying Global and Culture-Specific Dimensions in Humor in Advertising: A Multinational Analysis.† Journal of Marketing 57(2): 6 4-75.Andrews, J. C. and S. Durvasula (1994). â€Å"Testing the Cross-National Applicability of U.S. and RussianAdvertising Beliefs and Attitude Measure.† Journal of Advertising 23(1): 71-83.Belk, R. W. and W. J. Bryce (1986). â€Å"Materialism and Individual Determinism in U.S. and JapaneseTelevision Advertising.† Advances in Consumer Research 13: 568-672.Belk, R. W., W. J. Bryce, et al. (1985). Advertising Themes and Cultural Values: A Comparison of U.S. and AsiaCentre for Adolescents and Family Studies. 2003. Sex in Advertising.   http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i3/advertising.html

Basseri Tribe of Iran Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Basseri Tribe of Iran - Term Paper Example This is the purpose of this thesis. This analysis also enhance familiarity on how the environment greatly influenced the cultural behavior of a group of people, and how the people in turn adjust their way of life according to what the environment dictates for them. But even some environmental factors will tend to influence people’s way of life, more often, the inherent virtues and molded values are predominantly influencing the decisions of some individuals or even a group of people as a whole. Therefore, through anthropological study of the impact of mode of subsistence of Basseri tribe in their cultural way of life, we will acquire full discernment on how and why mode of subsistence largely effect people’s behavior and way of living. Cultural Anthropology of Basseri Tribe of Iran Curiosity on ethnographic significance of Basseri tribe, a tribal group of pastoral nomads of Iran’s past cultural civilization, opens a way to discernment of the interesting relationship of a society’s mode of subsistence to its unique cultural features which contributes largely on anthropological study. The Basseri are known to be as traditional pastoralists. Pastoralists is defined as people whose livelihood largely rests on raising domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and donkeys for milk, meat, wool production and even for transport use (Ikeya & Fratkin, 2005). As nomads, they are a wandering people who led a pastoral life while dwelling in tents as they migrated customarily in a strip of land which measures approximately 300 miles long and 20-50 miles wide in the parched prairies and mountains south, east and north of Shiraz in Fars province of South Persia. Thereby, the Basseri tribe is one among the delineated groups in Fars province of South Persia, now known as Iran, and considered as a unit for administrative purposes by the Iranian authorities. This tribe speaks the Persian dialect that is very close to the urban Persian of Shiraz town. They are more defined in political terms rather than in ethnicity nor in geographical criteria. However, in our recent y ears, Basseri lost most of its political and social meaning as its population started to decline depending on the changes on fate of its political leaders and probably on the circumstances of nomadism in South Persia (Barth, 1961). But then, as pastoral nomads, their primary mode of subsistence has important connections in their kinship, economic, social and political organization, and in their religious beliefs. Awareness in such relations contributes understanding on some cultural backgrounds and enhances understanding on anthropological knowledge of the past. Kinship The tribal kinship pattern of Basseri is ‘patrilineal’ wherein descent is traced through the male line. The son of a Basseri, even though his mother is from another ethnic tribe or village, is considered to be a Basseri. While a Basseri woman cannot transmits her rights in the tribe to her offspring if she marries outside the tribe. But although patrilineal in pattern, the matrilateral and affinal relati ons were regarded as contributors of solidarity and kinship, a strong bond between mother and child that largely influenced the effectiveness in establishing their political bonds between tents. In marriage, the transaction is not limited between the two contracting spouses, but it also includes the whole kin groups that constitute the whole households. The head of the household, which is also the head of the tent, has the authority over the marriage contracts of his household members. A nontribal ritual specialist or holy man issues the marriage cont

Sexual Literacy Research (Sexual Orientation) Paper

Sexual Literacy (Sexual Orientation) - Research Paper Example Although, social factors like parenting styles and childhood experiences are maximally focused by various sections including social scientists, media, and common people, the role of biological or physiological factors assumes prominence based on number of researches. The article titled Prenatal Endocrine influences on Sexual Orientation and on Sexually Differentiated Childhood Behavior, written by Melissa Hines, and a book titled Gay, Straight and the Reason Why, written by Simon LeVay, focuses on this role of biological factors. So, this report analyses the above mentioned article and the book about sexual orientation to develop a plausible biological-based scientific explanation for the development of diverse sexual orientations in humans. LeVay in his book extensively covers topics regarding the factors responsible for sexual orientation. It includes prenatal neuro-hormonal effects, gender related brain organization in humans, cultural, psychological, and genetic influences (LeVay, 2011). Prenatal neuro-hormonal effects focus on how fetus can be exposed to hormones during pregnancy thereby influencing their sexual orientation (McCarthy, De Vries & Forger, 2009). According to researches, organization of the brain in males and females can also sway sexual orientation (Manning, 2002). When individuals face or exposed to certain cultural aspects, they are shown to exhibit homosexual or heterosexual behavior (Zucker, 2002). If certain experiences from childhood have a psychological impact, individuals’ sexual orientation can be influenced (Bem, 1996). Apart from these causes, LeVay (2011) focuses on how genetics can also influence the sexual orientation. He claims prenatal and hormonal factors as the most important determinants for one’s sexual orientation (LeVay, 2011). Similarly, the article claims evidences for

The Nurses Role in Prevention of Central Venous Line Infection Essay

The Nurses Role in Prevention of Central Venous Line Infection - Essay Example The problems identified for this research are that CVLI presents a serious health risk to patients, nurses are frequently in a position to contribute to the problem, and that training and prevention strategies should be employed to reduce the frequency and severity of CVLI. Significance of the Problem. The significance of CVLI cannot be overstated. It increases the morbidity and mortality rates of patients who suffer infection as a result of bacterial introduction and growth in what is often an immunosuppressed environment. This issue is important to nursing for two primary reasons; nurses are in a position to contribute to the frequency and severity of the problem, and they are also the first line of defense in prevention, detection, and resolution of CVLI. Research Hypothesis. The expectations for this research are that it will clearly demonstrate; that most cases of CVLI are preventable, the incidence of nurse contribution to the condition is high, a program of training and preventative strategies would reduce the frequency of infection, and that more research is needed to determine the protocols for a program of prevention. Literature Review. There are several studies on the subject of CVLI and the contributory issues involved. While this body of literature is informative, it does not obviate the need for the research proposed herein. From Hadaway, we know t... The expectations for this research are that it will clearly demonstrate; that most cases of CVLI are preventable, the incidence of nurse contribution to the condition is high, a program of training and preventative strategies would reduce the frequency of infection, and that more research is needed to determine the protocols for a program of prevention. CHAPTER TWO Literature Review. There are several studies on the subject of CVLI and the contributory issues involved. While this body of literature is informative, it does not obviate the need for the research proposed herein. From Hadaway, we know that central venous lines are much more likely to increase the frequency, as well as the seriousness, of infections than are short peripheral catheters. She points out that two factors that contribute to this fact are that the patients themselves tend to be more vulnerable, and the exposure to microorganisms is increased due to the more frequent access required in maintaining central venous lines (Hadaway, 2006, p. 58) These infections, particularly those at the site of the intravascular device, are a major source of morbidity, occur frequently, and have the ability to increase both the length of a patient's stay at the hospital as well as the costs associated with that period of convalescence (Musher, el al., 2002, p. 769). The research of Dr. Oudiz and his co-authors has found that early detection of infection in such patients is crucial, though it can be difficult given the fact that the symptoms often present in a generalized way and do not initially appear as an acute infection (Oudiz, et al., 2004, p. 92). When those symptoms do present, however, it is often necessary to remove the central venous line in order to eradicate the infection (Brooks &

The Capture of Jerusalem by Saladin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

The Capture of Jerusalem by Saladin - Essay Example The rival troops rumbled over Jerusalem because there was a lot of tension and the Holy City was weakened. The Templar and Hospitaler Knights were continuously at logger heads. The battle of Hattin decimated the soldiers and Knight of the Latin States. On 2nd October 1187, Saladin captured the Holy city. The Muslims clambered up and removed the crosses that had been mounted by the Crusaders on the Cupola of the Dome of the Rock. Islam controlled Jerusalem from that day until the 20th century. Challiton, who was a cruel Crusader Is known to have massacred Muslim pilgrims because they steps on his turf. This seems to have instigated Saladin and his army to capture Jerusalem in their vow to revenge the action of Challiton. Additionally, at that time Jerusalem had difficulties with their leadership and this made them predisposed to enemy attack. Saladin and his army took over the Holy Land. The significance of Jerusalem in Muslim lore increased over the years. Saladin had sworn that he would stop killing the Christians after they had taken over the city. This story is of much significance at it gives a history of where the Muslims and the Christians started to have disputes each other. This is a conflict that is still taking place up to date. This story gives as the real facts of what events took place before Saladin, a Muslim leader took over Jerusalem .If we compare him to Challiton, the Crusader’s leader we can deduce that Saladin was a noble man that stood to his words. His courage, moderation and justice were character traits that seemed to have earned him lasting respect. This reading gives a history of a famous leader, Saladin in relation to the fall of Jerusalem. I believe that Saladin had every right to take over Jerusalem as it was being managed by wicked leaders. The part I enjoyed most was the character displayed by Saladin. His adherence to the ideal of Justice and magnanimity as well as his leadership skills will be

Online Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Online Assessment - Essay Example RESPONSE 1 Samba Bank uses two Cialdini weapons of influence (Polanski 1-6), which includes reciprocity and scarcity intentionally. Notably, reciprocity dictates that whenever we receive value, we get an impulse to give value back (Cialdini 3-8). Indeed, in some cases, we may even get inspired to give back more value than we received. Indeed, whenever we receive value free in the marketing, it is for impelling reciprocity. Hence, we have so many promotions, discounts, and gifts in the market to trigger us into buying more (Cialdini 3-8). In the case of Samba bank, this weapon applies where the bank hospitalizes customers with expensive kinds of coffee, dates, and chocolates, which get customers satisfaction. The reciprocity effect is that the bank will maintain its customers and encourage them to do more transactions. As branch manager, I also use this weapon mostly when dealing with a customer who is out of the country and his time deposit has matured. I seek to satisfy such custome rs when they call the bank for a renewal instead of following the formal paper work process of renewal. As such, I renew their accounts over the phone and wait for their signatures until they come. Hence, I satisfy their needs with an aim of maintaining them and gaining reciprocity when they return. Moreover, I unfreeze customers’ accounts while they are abroad if the cause to freeze was a simple issue like expiry of their ID. In this way, the customers will be able to use the account while travelling and update their ID when they return. This results to reciprocity as such customers invest in the bank for a long time. I also ensure that customers seeking business loans get the money within a short time with an aim of gaining reciprocity when their businesses grow. Scarcity is other weapon used in Samba bank to derive a perception that a financial product or service is limited or diminishing thus, creating more demand for the product (Cialdini 199-207). Indeed, the scarcity w eapon creates promotions, which seemingly end at a certain time but actually never ends. They only encourage more sales at the end of the promotion time (Cialdini 199-207). In Samba bank, there are random offers to attract more customers to the bank or increase the cash flow. Indeed, the bank offers a chance for customers to deposit smaller amounts than normal to upgrade their accounts. For example, the bank allows customers to upgrade from the Blue to Gold segment on depositing only $ 25000 instead of the normal $75000. This compels customers to deposit in their accounts with money from other banks thus increasing Samba’s cash flow. Moreover, the bank offers the customers a chance to enjoy free credit card life at no annual fee for a short period. This attracts new customers to the benefit of the bank. RESPONSE 2 Samba bank uses various marketing strategies that relate to the concepts/theories in Ariely’s Predictably Irrational book. Such concepts include the cost of zero cost concepts and the power of price concept. The concept of cost of zero cost implies that humans consider losses and profits before purchasing but when something is free, customers do not consider the losses (Ariely 50-56). Indeed, customers get the perception that the product on offer has more value than its face value. Indeed, people would wait for long to get a free thing (Ariely 49-54). As such, this concept is very powerful in triggering customer’