Unit 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Unit 6 - Essay Example Lastly, David (2011) indicates that the domestic and the international events have not ceased to augment. The organizations are being affected by these changes to a great extent; thus, making it difficult to achieve strategic evaluation. These aspects have made the set strategies impossible to implement. Even with the constant search for information, strategic evaluation has not proven to be the best measure to curb the challenges that face the organizations today. David (2011) also says that these challenges have made strategic evaluation not assess its performance effectively, as well as take the right measures that would see the survival of the organizations. An analysis of the objectives of the strategic evaluators would be a perfect move to limit these challenges. For successful contingency planning, Rao, Rao & Sivaramakrishna (2009) recommend seven steps. The first step involves identifying the favorable and unfit factors that could lead to the set strategy failing (Rao, Rao & Sivaramakrishna, 2009). Secondly, the authors indicate that is advisable to denote the factors that would elicit effects on the set strategy (Rao, Rao & Sivaramakrishna, 2009). This is to mean when the contingent events are expected to take place. Thirdly, an assessment of the implications of every contingent event is good for contingency planning (Rao, Rao & Sivaramakrishna, 2009). This step would place the planners at a good position to estimate the expected benefits and losses that could occur from the selected events. The fourth step entails designing contingent plans, then evaluating the counter effects of the selected contingency plan so as to identify which plans are the best and which ones should be overlooked (Rao, Rao & Sivaramakrishna, 2009). The sixth step involves determining the warning signals in an opportune time so as to counter them appropriately. Lastly, Rao, Rao & Sivaramakrishna (2009) indicate that developing plans to

Views of transcendentalism versus puritanism Essay Example for Free

Views of transcendentalism versus puritanism Essay The Puritans see God as mysteriously involved in the acts of the universe, whereas the transcendentalists think God is connected to mankind through nature and intuition. The outlook on Puritan writing is that their style tends to be plain and introspective. Transcendentalist writing shows how nature and feelings are triumphant over logic and rationality. In contrast to the plain style of Puritan writing, Jonathan Edwards frequently strikes his audience with powerful words in his literature. He exemplifies this style in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God but still shows the lowliness of human beings in relation to Gods power, another Puritan trait. In transcendentalist writing, the spiritual and ideal worlds are revealed through the physical facts of the natural world. A writer who uses transcendental techniques is Ralph Waldo Emerson. The work written by Emerson reflecting Transcendentalism is called Nature. The name itself portrays the piece as transcendental, but Emerson uses the forest and its components as symbols of the spiritual world. In comparison, both the Puritans and the Transcendentalists focus on their own perceptions of the world and human existence. Edwards sermon called Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God reiterates the fact that God has more power than man. Wickedness and sin, as Edwards describes, leads man closer and closer into the depths of hell. Mankind is weak and helpless if God is provoked. There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment. Mens hands cannot be strong when God rises up, (Jonathan Edwards). Edwards uses the phrase Mens hands cannot be strong when God rises up to evidently make his point. His intention is to say that God and his powers should not be taken lightly. No matter how strong the will of man, God has the final say in it all. There is, however, a twist to his intention. Edwards directs the wrath of God mainly upon those who sin and that He [God] is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, but he can most easily do it, (Jonathan Edwards). By using the word wicked, Edwards hints at how man acts in order to provoke God. Sin leads towards mankinds wickedness, therefore angering God. His wrath may come in different ways. Instead of throwing the inhabitants of Earth directly into the fiery depths of hell, He will let mankind destroy itself and withhold His retribution. The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher the floods of Gods vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the meantime is constantly increasing, and you are everyday treasuring up more wrath, (Jonathan Edwards). Obviously, Edwards uses the water held behind a dam as a symbol. The dam represents Gods hand, and the water is His wrath. Comparing this, Edwards tries to explain that the longer the water is held back, the more force it will have when the dam will no longer support it; the longer God puts off judgment of mans sin, the more powerful His punishment. The sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is a great example of the Puritan belief of society. A man is ether part of the elect, basically chosen to go to heaven, or of the damned that are sent to hell at Gods force. On the softer side of Gods presence, Transcendentalism takes place. Their view is that intuition and nature as a whole is more powerful than intellect. In Emersons Nature, there is a strong sense of God being present through the wilderness and the natural way of life. All the parts incessantly work into each others hands for the profit of man. The wind sows the seed; the sun evaporates the sea; the wind blows the vapor to the field; the ice, on the other side of the planet, condenses rain on this; the rain feeds the plant; the plant feeds the animal; and thus the endless circulations of the divine charity nourish man, (Ralph Waldo Emerson). What Emerson is trying to get through to his audience is that God works in a process for the good of mankind. When he tells about how the wind, sun, rain, and plant, and how each work together in a cycle to support nature, he is comparing their jobs to God nourishing man. Emerson is also trying to say that without nature and its course, man would not survive. The Transcendentalists believe that the physical facts of the natural world are a doorway to the spiritual and ideal world; an apparent example is that nature always wears the colors of the spirit, (Emerson, Chapter: Nature). Emerson considers God to be present within physical properties of nature, in this case, color. The use of the word always suggests that God and the spiritual world are visible through nature to man no matter the condition. Conversely, do these relations of God and nature apply in any way to man? When a man is described as a particle of God, (Emerson, Ch: Nature), he is a piece of God and the spiritual world. There is a connection between man and nature because of Gods visibility through the environment. Ideally, the Transcendentalists show that man is not only a part of God, but also in nature. People living in the Puritan and Transcendental periods of time believed that God was connected to humanity and the life surrounding it; also, God had the power to reveal himself to mankind and even take control, making Puritanism and Transcendentalism equivalent. Texts like Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and Nature are good examples of Puritan and Transcendental writing because they exemplify the characteristics and beliefs of each era. Elements in transcendentalism are knowledge and spiritual existence in nature, whereas Puritanism consists of discipline and God revealed through the inner self of man. Whether it be for God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment, (Edwards), or divine charity [to] nourish man, (Emerson), God was presented as a power both to reprimand and nurture civilization.

Moral Theory and Personal Relationships :: Michael Stocker Ethical Theories Essays

Moral Theory and Personal Relationships In his article "The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories," Michael Stocker argues that mainstream ethical theories, namely consequentialism and deontology, are incompatible with maintaining personal relations of love, friendship, and fellow feeling because they both overemphasise the role of duty, obligation, and rightness, and ignore the role of motivation in morality. Stocker states that the great goods of life, i.e. love, friendship, etc., essentially contain certain motives and preclude others, such as those demanded by mainstream ethics.11 In his paper "Alienation, Consequentialism, and the Demands of Morality," Peter Railton argues that a particular version of consequentialism, namely sophisticated consequentialism, is not incompatible with love, affection and acting for the sake of others. In the essays "War and Massacre" and "Autonomy and Deontology," Thomas Nagel holds that a theory of absolutism, i.e. deontology, may be compatible with maintaining personal commitme nts. The first objective of this paper is to demonstrate that despite the efforts of both Railton and Nagel, consequentialism and deontology do not in fact incorporate personal relations into morality in a satisfactory way. This essay shows that Stocker’s challenge may also hold against versions of Virtue Ethics, such as that put forth by Rosalind Hursthouse in her article "Virtue Theory and Abortion." The second objective of this discussion is to examine criticisms of Stocker made by Kurt Baier in his article "Radical Virtue Ethics." This essay demonstrates that in the end Baier’s objections are not convincing. Stocker begins his paper by arguing that modern ethical theories fail because, by and large, they deal only with the reasons and justifications for people’s actions and ignore people’s motivations. This failure to address the role of motivation has led to a form of schizophrenia in an important area of value;22 people are unable to reconcile their motives with the moral justifications for their actions. Stocker highlights the constraints that motives impose on both ethical theory and the ethical life in order to show that only when justifications and motives are in harmony can people lead the good life. Stocker believes that mainstream ethical theories, like consequentialism and deontology, make it impossible for people to reconcile their reasons and motives because these theories demand that people perform acts for the sake of duty or for the good, as opposed to because they care about the people who are affected by their actions.

Analysis of the “Doctor in the house” by Richard Gordon

This text is an extract from the book â€Å"Doctor in the house† written by Richard Gordon. He was born in 1921. He has been an anaesthetist at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, a ship's surgeon and an assistant editor of the British Medical Journal. He left medical practice in 1952 and started writing his â€Å"Doctor† series. The novels were very successful in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s. â€Å"Doctor in the House† is one of Gordon's twelve â€Å"Doctor† books and is noted for witty description of a medical student's years of professional training.The text under analysis belong to the psychological type and description type as it is concerned mainly with the emotional actions of the characters. This text is narration with elements of dialogues. The style of written prose is formal. Author mainly uses past tenses, but present – in dialogues. The events in the text refer to the real world and the author seeks to judge the text subjectively. The tex t under consideration is a witty and humorous description of such a hard and important thing in students’ life as their final exams.The author shows us the condition of students before, during and after exams, therefore, the aim of the text is to describe the students’ feelings, emotion and preparations for them. The subject-matter of this text is about sitting for examinations. The author tries to show the reader different actions and feelings during the passing the examinations. The composition of this text consists of the following components: exposition, when the author gives the concept of an examination. narration, when the author describes passing the examinations, an interesting story about passing an examination at Cambridge.climax, when the author shows the examination results. The ending is absent it means that the structure is opened. In that text Author shows us in detail the process of examination, but tries to show it through different actions and feelin gs of students during the passing the exams. The main character is medical student R. Gordon and his student-colleagues. The story takes place at the examination room when their fate is being decided. The atmosphere in the text is filled with tension and pressure that is drawn on hero by the situation and conflict he is facing.We learn about the students well, because the author has created true-to-life characters, even more so the Author was passing the examinations himself. The author proves to be a real master. And he employs a lot of expressive means and stylistic devices to make the story vivid and bright. The text is emotionally moving, and some details produce an emotional reaction. The conflict is to be considered as tension in the story. This particular extract of the book gives us the idea of uncontrollable force impersonated by examinations against the student whose fate is in their hands.At some point oral exam becomes some kind of a lottery for the hero â€Å"to winâ⠂¬  the question he know answer to. However the real answer here is with the hero himself, struggling against his lack of self-confidence which marks the inner conflict and the unfairness of life The type of conflict here is Person and Self. The story is told from first person narration and we can see the situation with his own eyes. The main character – medical student R. Gordon is round and dynamic character. Author tells us about him nothing, because he wants to say that Gordon is an ordinary student.Author uses indirect method of characterization, and we can learn something of him only through his feelings. The general slant of the text, judging from the peculiar usage of epithets and metaphors with intentionally tragic coloring towards common life situations is comic. Let`s simply remember the comparison of written papers exam room with the court hall, the doors of which are flanked by dispassionate porters and the judge sits above all, just the way the invigilator was placed.Another vivid example is the simile of viva waiting room to the condemned cell, which seemed incredibly accurate to the student but to the reader it only proved how very afraid of viva the narrator was. For example by a simile â€Å"the final examinations are something like death† the author shows condition of a student before an examination as close to death, â€Å"like a prize-fighter† also shows a contest, then the author compares, using the simile, the students that want to produce a certain impression and looking at professor like the â€Å"impressionable music enthusiasts gazing at the solo violinist†.Author uses a lot of very bright and vivid similes in order to give us a chance to feel the nerves and stress characters felt – â€Å"My palms were as wet as sponges†. Medical textbooks compared through metaphor to a â€Å"well-trodden paths†. Also the usage of hyperbolas lets us to understand how the hero felt while expecting the results â€Å"room had suddenly come to a frightening, unexpected silence and stillness, like an unexploded bomb†. The author brilliantly uses the allusion referring to the Bible’s Judgment day. We discover that final exams are death and the Secretary as an archangel corresponds where they would go to the paradise or to hell.â€Å"The candidate would step up closely to the Secretary, who would say simply â€Å"Pass† or â€Å"Failed†. Successful men would go upstairs to receive the congratulations and handshakes of the examiners and failures would slink miserably out of the exit to seek the opiate oblivion. † This extract is constructed around the single theme which can be formulated as procedure of the exams. The author uses numerous thematic words, such as: the student, the final examinations, the exams, to prepare, the examiners, cheating, textbooks, to swot up, the written papers, uniformed, examinees, knowledge, tripos, viva, marking, grading, to pass and so on.Besides the basic theme the text touches upon many very important secondary themes: the psychological types of students, cheating at the exams, students’ prejudice, disadvantage of women student at the exams, the psychological pressure of the process of the examination on the students. The main idea conveyed by the author may be expressed as: the final examinations are reason for a great psychological pressure and a real challenge for the students. The following key words can prove it: student, exams, viva, writing papers, contest, prize-fighter, fighting spirit, to hope, to hit, depressing and others.Thanks to an interesting subject this story occupies the reader’s attention. It makes us to empathize with the students and feel their psychological state. But despite of numerous frightful similes we may see ironical slant of text which make it interesting to read. Having read only one fragment from the â€Å"Doctor in the house†, I found that Ri chard Gordon is a talented writer, who could perfectly reflect the students’ emotion avoided usage of cliches and shown the common issue of young people with self-confidence and self-esteem from the angle of irony.

The medical model emphasizes exclusively

The medical model emphasizes exclusively on treating specific physical diseases and concerned with resolving health problems and does not emphasize prevention. The holistic model of health is defined by the 1947 WHO definition as a â€Å"state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. †The holistic model integrates the medical model perspective and also introduced the idea of positive health.The social epidemiologic model of health focus on individual level measures, or on emergent social properties that have no correlation at the individual level.The social epidemiologic model overlaps with social sciences like medical sociology and medical geography (Krieger 2002, p. 698).(2. )The debate between alternative and conventional medicines can be quite convincing but leaves those who are not aware of this issue to be either dangerously ignorant or confused. Thus, the impact of science on the rise of conventional (AMA) me dicine put at stake human health and human lives. According to the American Medical Association, the fourth leading cause of death in America is the use of prescription drugs.It accounts for reactions to drugs that were properly prescribed and reported cases. Thus, the exact and precise figure is undoubtedly far worse.(3. ) The main difference between modern and alternative traditional approaches is that the modern approach focuses on the cause of the ailment (Magar 2009). The modern approach concentrates on factors causing the disease, remedies and deal with abnormality as an independent entity. The alternative approach often opposes evidence-based practice and including therapies with an historical or cultural basis, but not scientific basis.(4. ) The wellness lifestyles can yield an impact on the lives of individuals. Thus, the wellness lifestyles can be made into a sociological concept given that there is a rising interest in health, fitness and well-being as an individual conce rn and a parallel concern of organizations, communities and nations (Schuster et al. 2004, p. 357-367).(5. ) Cassidy (1995) notes that the two paradigms namely reductionism (used by bioscientists) and holism (used by alternative healthcare) are incompatible to the ways of biomedicine and CAM.This distinction relates to problems in CAM because the two paradigms reflect two different ways of constructing reality in the society. Thus, the integration of CAM into medicine results to therapies of CAM adopted by medicine without the needed philosophical elements.(6. ) RCT has an issue of internal validity versus external validity. Most RCT designs have high validity based on reductionist scientific paradigm but have low external validity due to misrepresentation of the holistic essence of homeopathy. Homeopathy is a popular form of alternative medicine.(7. ) The choice of outcome measures should match the CAM intervention by matching the desired outcomes of the key participants and its va lidity in terms of measuring what it intends to measure in the study as a form of quality assurance.(8. ) The limitation of RCT is that it lacks qualitative measurement of data (Verhoef, 2002). The limitations of RCT with regard to research on CAM are that it is ineffective in testing more than one hypothesis and is an inappropriate model to evaluate the effectiveness of homeopathy.(9.) The outcome research in CAM can have another alternative to RCT when research uses randomized controlled trials to test in efficacy of the medicines used in homeopathy.(10. ) The most important concept I learned from writing this paper is that models of health greatly differ from each other in terms of their respective approaches and goals. The difference of the models of health possesses the same subject of either conventional or alternative medicines. Works Cited Krieger N. A glossary for social epidemiology. J Epidemiol Community Health. Oct 2001;55(10):693-700. Reprinted in Epidemiological Bullet in, Vol. 23 No. 1, March 2002

Free Essays on Nature

, â€Å"Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward.?Even though nature plays a role in defining sex and gender, nurture plays the greater part in helping society define the two terms. Definitions come from that which is learned, not that which is part of our genetic system. John Locke believed that all people were born with a blank slate (a tabula rasa.) He and other Empiricists thought that experiences were written into the mind and that every aspect of human behavior is acquired from the environment that surrounds them. Take for example the story which Susan Baxter tells in her article ‘The Last Word on Gender Differences?of the boy who was castrated at birth and raised as a girl. â€Å"Amazingly, this boy had an identical twin brother, which made it possible to compare two genetically identical individuals raised as a boy and a girl... our hero became the perfect little girl, the very picture of adorable femininity.?(Baxter 52) This boy was clearly raised as a girl and he grew up thinking of himself as a girl. He was not born as a female and he did not have a predetermined image of himself as one. This boy grew up as a girl because throughout his life he was told that he was a girl... Free Essays on Nature Free Essays on Nature One of the most controversial debates of modern society is the idea that our â€Å"natures?and how we are nurtured are in conflict with each other to determine what defines who we are. When one attempts to define sex and gender, he/she often finds him/herself stumped as to what the definitions are. More so, one is puzzled by where the came from. How do nature and nurture influence the definitions of sex and gender? To understand how nature and nurture affect these definitions, we must first know what they are. Sex is biological while gender is socially constructed. Genes produce sex. It exists in itself, and is sublimely indifferent to what humans think of it. Gender is the meanings that society assigns to sex. Richard Mulcaster wrote the words, â€Å"Nature makes the boy toward, nurture sees him forward.?Even though nature plays a role in defining sex and gender, nurture plays the greater part in helping society define the two terms. Definitions come from that which is learned, not that which is part of our genetic system. John Locke believed that all people were born with a blank slate (a tabula rasa.) He and other Empiricists thought that experiences were written into the mind and that every aspect of human behavior is acquired from the environment that surrounds them. Take for example the story which Susan Baxter tells in her article ‘The Last Word on Gender Differences?of the boy who was castrated at birth and raised as a girl. â€Å"Amazingly, this boy had an identical twin brother, which made it possible to compare two genetically identical individuals raised as a boy and a girl... our hero became the perfect little girl, the very picture of adorable femininity.?(Baxter 52) This boy was clearly raised as a girl and he grew up thinking of himself as a girl. He was not born as a female and he did not have a predetermined image of himself as one. This boy grew up as a girl because throughout his life he was told that he was a girl...

The eNotes Blog Les Misérables A Tale of VictorHugo

Les Misà ©rables A Tale of VictorHugo In honor of what would be Victor Hugos 214th birthday (wow), enjoy a tribute to his most famous and longest-lived work, Les  Misà ©rables. Lets start by defining what  les misà ©rables  means. The literal translation is the miserable ones,  but there remains the distinct possibility that the thematic significance of the title may still be a mystery. Its likely that there are a lot of people out there without even an inkling of an idea what Les Mis  is actually about, so lets set the scene: Les Misà ©rables  is the story of Jean Valjean, a convict, who has just been released from prison after serving 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. Influenced by the bishop to begin a new life, Jean assumes a new name and moves to a new location where he becomes a respected citizen and makes a fortune in manufacturing. The police inspector, Javert, is suspicious of him, but it is not until Jean’s conscience prods him to reveal his true identity that he is forced to flee. But thats not all! Through a series of events and conflicts, Jean finds himself responsible for a young girl named Cosette after the death of her mother. Then theres a whole host of drama regarding some fleeing, some fighting, a lot of love, and, oh yeah, a little thing called the French Revolution. Okay, so now you have a brief summary  of what happens in  Les  Misà ©rablesbut what does all that mean? You can have a great story with incredible surface-level storytelling, but the best works have undercurrents peace,  justice, violence, love conquering all, etc. So what do we see in Hugos novel? Like his contemporary Charles Dickens, Hugo had a rather pessimistic outlook on society; that is to say, he looked at society like a prison (school, friends, the workplace = Alcatraz). Starting at the novels onset and continuing until its conclusion, Hugos masterpiece is a plea for social justice. Further,  Hugos description of the Paris rebellion in 1832 is a metaphor for this class struggle for human rights which Valjean undergoes. In essence, the themes in Les  Misà ©rables  are social justice,  human rights,  and  class conflicts that result from this struggle, and the existential theme of the  meaning of life. It took Hugo rather a long time to finish  writing of Les  Misà ©rables; there were likely breaks in his work, but  it took the author almost twenty years to write  the story to completion. Those twenty years were pretty  rough for Hugo- in that time he suffered the death of both his daughter and his son and his wife committed a little infidelity with one of his best friends. So, keeping his heartbreak in mind, it makes sense that a key component of  Les Miserables  is, well,  misery. In the tradition of the epic novel, Hugo takes the reader through all the extremes of human emotion: squalor, courage, romance, and grief. The novel also takes us through a strife-ridden portion of Frances history, through a period of unrest and failed revolution. The novel is filled to the brim with the struggles of individual people and the challenges of a great nation. Its a *little* depressing, to be sure, but sometimes misery loves company, and theres something to the notion of beautiful sadness. Also along the lines of putting ones personal life into their work, we can catch a glimpse of Hugos own life experiences and values within the pages of his novel. Throughout  Les Miserables, there is the father/daughter relationship between Jean and Cosette (though Cosette isnt  technically Jeans daughter- it would be too complicated to get involved in the politics of 19th century adoption). But with that in mind,  Les Mis says a lot about parental love and relationships. Throughout his life,  Hugo  took a personal stake in society and social regulation. Initially employed as a lawyer, the author-to-be developed a working knowledge of the law and its failures for the less fortunate members of society (later on, it becomes clear that a  lot of people were aware of social injustice and thus the continued revolutions in France, on which this novel happens to be based). But beyond the presence of a revolutionary mindset sweeping through France both before this novels publishing and after,  Les  Misà ©rables  has stood the test of time as a social novel. Much like his British contemporary, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo was very concerned about problematic social conditions of the time. He explored how these issues manifested within microcosms of life in Paris- much like Dickens did with London. For example, the squalor, filth, and disease  of the poor is apparent in street urchins like Gavroche and in the plight of the wretched prostitute  Fantine and her daughter Cosette. Also, just as the character Magwitch in Dickenss novel  Great Expectations, Hugo includes a poor, social outcast who is not only a criminal but also perhaps the most moral character of all. Les  Misà ©rables is a story that has been circulating throughout the world (no exaggeration) for more than a century. It has been reworked time and time again into various adaptations through print, stage, and recently onto the big screen. When powerful stories remain in culture for any great length of time, we can be certain there is something inherently valuable and captivating about it. Without a doubt,  Les  Misà ©rables  has remained one of the most powerful stories in circulation. Victor Hugo was a fascinating man who spent his life as a poet and a novelist. He lived through some of the most tumultuous times in the history of France and died a national hero. His life was filled with struggle and sacrifice, much of which was reflected within his work;  Les  Misà ©rables  deals in the loss of his beloved daughter, the struggles between classes, and the power of human nature. In honor of Hugos birthday, step away from the screen and try to knock out a couple chapters of this historical and literary masterpiece. Or even watch it on TV/Netflix, because no matter how you take it in,  Les Mis  is a story worth knowing.

How to Study for a College Midterm

How to Study for a College Midterm Midterms can be intimidating, whether youre a first-semester college student or getting ready to graduate. Because your grade might be heavily dependent on how you do on your midterm exams, being as prepared as possible is important for your success. But just what are the best ways to prepare? In essence: how do you study for a midterm in the best way possible? 1. Go to Class Regularly and Pay Attention If your midterm is over a month away, your class attendance might seem pretty disconnected from your study plan. But going to class every time, and paying attention while youre there, is one of the most effective steps you can take when preparing for a midterm or other important exam. After all, the time you spend in class involves you learning and interacting with the material. And its much better to do so in shorter snippets over the course of a semester than to try to learn, in just one night, all of the things that have been covered over the last month in class. 2. Stay Caught Up with Your Homework Staying on top of your reading is a simple but highly important step to take when preparing for midterms. Additionally, if you really focus on your reading the first time you complete it, you can do things like highlighting, taking notes, and making flashcards that can later be transformed into study aids. 3. Talk to Your Professor About the Exam It may seem obvious or even a little intimidating, but talking to your professor in advance of the exam can be a great way to prepare. He or she can help you understand concepts youre not totally clear on and can tell you where to best focus your efforts. After all, if your professor is both the writer of the exam and someone who can help you be efficient in your preparations, why wouldnt you use him or her as a resource? 4. Begin Studying at Least One Week in Advance If your exam is tomorrow and youre just starting to study, then youre not really studying youre cramming. Studying should take place over a period of time and should allow you to really understand the material, not just memorize it the night before an exam. Beginning to study at least one week in advance is a smart way to reduce your stress, prepare your mind, give yourself time to absorb and remember the material youre learning, and overall do well when exam day finally arrives. 5. Come Up With a Study Plan Planning to study and planning how to study are two very different things. Instead of staring blankly at your textbook or course reader during the time youre supposed to be preparing, come up with a plan. For example, on certain days, plan to review your notes from class and highlight key elements you need to remember. On another day, plan to review a particular chapter or lesson that you think is especially important. In essence, make a to-do list of what kind of studying youll do and when so that, when you do sit down for some quality study time, you can make the most of your efforts. 6. Prepare Any Materials Youll Need in Advance If, for example, your professor says its okay to bring a page of notes to the test, make that page well in advance. That way, youll be able to refer to what you need quickly. The last thing you want to be doing during a timed exam is learning how to use the materials you brought with you. Additionally, as you make any materials youll need for the exam, you can use them as study aids as well. 7. Be Physically Prepared Before the Exam This may not seem like a traditional way of studying, but being on top of your physical game is important. Eat a  good breakfast,  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹get some sleep,  have the materials youll need already in your backpack, and check your stress at the door. Studying involves preparing your brain for the exam, and your brain has physical needs, too. Treat it kindly the day before and the day of your midterm so that all of your other studying can be put to good use.

Simulation Planning Document Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Simulation Planning Document - Essay Example Exercise i. Mediator Role Having in mind that both parties are involved in the dispute as a mediator it would be important to: a. Get information from each party about their real interests from the case b. Understanding the case and thinking of the best solution to offer c. Setting a date for the hearing to be conducted between the two parties d. Providing a satisfying solution to both parties after the hearing Exercise ii. Plaintiff Role a. Approaching the mediator b. Gathering the relevant documents to file a claim using them c. Explaining to the mediator the interests’ one need d. Informing Pollard about the case e. Making an agreement on the date of the hearing and how to conduct them f. Presenting claims Exercise iii. Defendant Role a. Getting relevant documents such as agreements initially signed b. Look for witnesses c. Agree on the date of hearing the case d. Present the defense. Question 2 Exercise ii BATNA- Compensation for $5000 Reservation price- $2400 (to be saved as the security deposit) Target- creating a good rapport with other tenants. Exercise iii BATNA- Maintain good reputation. Reservation- Harper having back the job. Target- Harper being fired officially

International Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

International Marketing - Assignment Example The success of companies in the highly competitive global market depends on the ability to connect and communicate across various markets. With this requirement, the company needs to acquire relevant linguistic skills, which will enable them to market the products in foreign markets (Hutson, Sinkovics & Berrill, 2011). In addition to the linguistic capability, the companies need to acquire skills on technological advancements that are applicable across the target foreign markets. In this way, the professionals are able to strategize on the suitable technological application that they use for presenting their ideas and products in foreign markets. Consequently, the company needs to employ factory managers with the ability to assess, understand and design processes and systems that support automated manufacturing. With this technique, a company increases the efficiency and quality of its production lines. Besides, with automated manufacturing, the company produces homogenous products that enable the equality of consumers across borders. On the other hand, entrepreneurship is a skill that each company requires to survive in the global world. This involves the skill to design newer strategies, with the ability to take opportunities that arise in the market. It also allows the business to grow extensively. Communication problems arise whenever a company diversifies its operation from the original founding location. With the expanding business world, the workforce in many companies is intellectually vast, spanning a variety of cultural backgrounds as well as wide geographical locations. This addresses the need for effective communication skills amongst the employees and employers, in order to attain the common objective of a firm (Hutson, Sinkovics & Berrill, 2011). It is important for people to learn the basic cultural diversity that hinders effective communication. This problem occurs in most companies, which do not understand the

John Fowless The Collector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

John Fowless The Collector - Essay Example In addition to this, the author of the novel chooses this very way of delivering the story with the aim to manipulate the reader’s attitude and view of the characters, events, and ideas described in the novel. Through the comparison of the descriptions of one and the same event, it becomes clear how the author influences the audience’s feelings by means of using two perspectives. From Clegg’s perspective, Miranda acts like a violent attacker, not a victim: â€Å"She had me at her mercy, it was a miracle she didn’t do me in† (Fowles). By this, Clegg presents himself as a victim, and the audience is positioned to experience some sort of sympathy towards him. In Miranda’s perspective, the opportunity to escape is a game of chance. She appears not as a merciless attacker; in fact, she hesitates whether she should use the opportunity: â€Å"It was like waking up out of a bad dream. I had to hit him and I couldn’t but I had to†. Due t o the fact that Miranda cannot hurt her kidnapper emphasizes the awfulness of the situation and makes the audience sympathize with her even more and, at the same time, makes the reader question her inability to kill Clegg. Overall, by the use of two perspectives, the author instigates hesitation in the audience and makes reader choose whose side to take in the story. Despite the fact that at some moment the reader may feel pity for Clegg, it is obvious that this feeling is not so strong because of the way he behaves toward Miranda.

The rise of business science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The rise of business science - Essay Example The workers have been accepting this, to their liking or disliking, though at times partially. The emergence of Marxism brought some changes to this ideology at least in some countries. Thus Capitalism is ideology and not science. Business is an integral part of Capitalist economy. Business is both art and science. It is the art of getting the work done most effectively. This part of it includes planning, organizing, guiding and supervising. Those in charge of business must plan for the action, make available the resources, motivate the workers, control them and guide them to achieve best results. They must ensure that everything goes on as per plan. There are bound to be problems. They should not loose heart. It is a challenge. Science is being explained as a volume of knowledge gathered from actual things or happenings which can be further investigated. Thus we can see that Economics which decides the future and fate of business ventures is science. Economics depends on past experiences. Further, it is developed as per mathematical theories based on assumptions. Economics attempt to satisfy innumerable needs with the help of the little sources available. For the success of any business establishments man power is the basic requirement. And hence, business firms are very particular that the candidates, whom they recruit, should aspire for an excellent, rewarding career and must possess the necessary skills to achieve that. In addition they must have the interest and ability to attain additional skills on the job or in training program of the company. Apart from the required degrees, the candidates are expected to have quantitative skills, which include mathematical skills, interpretation of charts and graphs and quantitative reasoning ability. Those who have quantitative skill can easily manipulate numbers. Their reasoning is based on their ability of handling numbers. Quantitative skills are practically applicable in every

Findings about 'The Image In Print' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Findings about 'The Image In Print' - Essay Example In order to be able to fully and properly understand why the work of Martha W. Driver is entitled The Image in Print, we truly have to recognize and thoroughly examine and confer the key facts and phenomena that are discussed in the book. By doing this we will be able to get a better grasp on the work itself and as well we will be able to come to a much more informed and knowledgeable viewpoint on this matter overall. This is what will be dissertated in the following. One of the most important facts that are discussed in this book takes place through chapter 1 to 4, and what takes place here is basically that nine of her important articles are drawn upon. One of the phenomena in particular that is discussed in this book is that of how Driver identifies the source of the woodcuts in de Worde's 1945 edition of Bartholomaeus Anglicus's De proprietatibus rerum; here Driver thoroughly examines and discusses the significance and the reasons for use of de Worde's fascination for composite pictures, and well as well in relation to this particular phenomena, discussed is the matter of how Verard's Everyman and Everywoman figures ended up making their way into de Worde's painting, as well as the significance of this and how this greatly influenced works later on, especially that of English printed books as far ahead as into the second half of the sixteenth century, which is quite substantial. Another issue that is discussed in The Image in Print is that of how Driver strongly argues the fact that "pictures can help us reconstruct social custom as well as attitudes towards history". (Driver, 2004). By this she basically means that many images in books especially in regards to Late Medieval England are used in various ways, for instance to represent certain historical events that have taken place, and she believes that images such as these are truly and adamantly able to enhance our knowledge about late medieval life. Also included in this issue that she discusses is the fact of how these same images tend to be grasping or aiming towards realism and that they also generally are able to compliment written records, thus making the written records challenged against and as well easier to interpret due to this criticality. The reason that this is one of the most substantial facts that are discussed in the book is because of how most people truly do not understand the great significance of images in early printed books, and yet here Driver strongly argues and points out the images that are seen in these cases and how they are able to allow us to reflect more and easier, and how they are surprisingly able to change our view on the instances that took place in late medieval life. There are really no other books or works of any kind to date that do this, and if there are remotely they are certainly not as descript or as adamant, and this is why this is one of the most strongest made facts in the book as well as why The Image in Print is such as substantial book in general. There are many other issues and interpretations that she brings up and discusses here, such as what takes place in chapter 6, which is titled 'Iconoclasm and Reform', and which

Other Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Other - Assignment Example Macro decisions may be applied to save his or her life as the law allows. The macro decisions also reflect on the government decision on health related measures despite being controversial in majority of the counties. Secondly, law regulates is a regulatory strategy that is used in most instances like in statutory language which is used in authorizing payments for hospitals. In addition, they determine the kind of systems that are incorporated within the health care system, and which are beneficial to consumer health care. An example the system includes the Medicare regulated reimbursement that a health consumer is entitled to receive. Thirdly, the administrative procedure act which acts to clarify and direct different implementations with the health care centers and towards consumer health. The act is responsible for the numerous implementations like the Medicare and Medicaid that adds value to consumer health. In addition, the act ensures that laws for those who implement and those who are governed by the measures are effective and adhered to (Institute of Medicine (U.S.)., 2003). 2. Determine if there have been mergers or closing of hospitals in your area in the last several years (anywhere in the U.S) explain those closing/mergers in the context of the materials. In my area, hospitals are merging with the intent of increasing their productivity towards consumer health. This has caused us heavily because of the increased cost of Medicare services offered by this merged hospitals. However, it is noted that the merged hospitals provide quality care and increased savings as patients are correctly diagnosed and treated before their conditions worsens. Most hospitals in my area that have merged have done due to fear of not surviving independently. They believe that by merging, resources are pooled together thus quality of services offered at the merged center is improved. Thus, merging expands and increases the utilization of hospitals in my area by increasing th e diversity of the services offered. Most hospitals that are merging in my area are taken over by larger hospitals who posses the potential to improve the equipments and services offered by purchasing new products and employing more and qualified staff to serve patients suffering from different ailments (Kaplan, 2000). 3. Select a health care market and describe how it deviates from the perfectly competitive model and recommend policies that could repair the deviation(s) from completion you identified. The free health care market deviates from the perfectly competitive model due to the numerous government interventions. When the government interferes with the free health market then resources are not accurately allocated due to biasness. Some of its rules and regulations are also not conducive for perfectly competitive model because health resources are allocated optimally. The government in most cases deems a free health care market not to be suitable to an ideal health care system as it is not sufficient enough to allocate the health care resources adequately. To stop the government from interfering in the free health care market, I will recommend the free markets to form a law that determines the level to which they can allow the government to interfere in their activities. This is because the government does not create free markets, but they have the

Findings about 'The Image In Print' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Findings about 'The Image In Print' - Essay Example In order to be able to fully and properly understand why the work of Martha W. Driver is entitled The Image in Print, we truly have to recognize and thoroughly examine and confer the key facts and phenomena that are discussed in the book. By doing this we will be able to get a better grasp on the work itself and as well we will be able to come to a much more informed and knowledgeable viewpoint on this matter overall. This is what will be dissertated in the following. One of the most important facts that are discussed in this book takes place through chapter 1 to 4, and what takes place here is basically that nine of her important articles are drawn upon. One of the phenomena in particular that is discussed in this book is that of how Driver identifies the source of the woodcuts in de Worde's 1945 edition of Bartholomaeus Anglicus's De proprietatibus rerum; here Driver thoroughly examines and discusses the significance and the reasons for use of de Worde's fascination for composite pictures, and well as well in relation to this particular phenomena, discussed is the matter of how Verard's Everyman and Everywoman figures ended up making their way into de Worde's painting, as well as the significance of this and how this greatly influenced works later on, especially that of English printed books as far ahead as into the second half of the sixteenth century, which is quite substantial. Another issue that is discussed in The Image in Print is that of how Driver strongly argues the fact that "pictures can help us reconstruct social custom as well as attitudes towards history". (Driver, 2004). By this she basically means that many images in books especially in regards to Late Medieval England are used in various ways, for instance to represent certain historical events that have taken place, and she believes that images such as these are truly and adamantly able to enhance our knowledge about late medieval life. Also included in this issue that she discusses is the fact of how these same images tend to be grasping or aiming towards realism and that they also generally are able to compliment written records, thus making the written records challenged against and as well easier to interpret due to this criticality. The reason that this is one of the most substantial facts that are discussed in the book is because of how most people truly do not understand the great significance of images in early printed books, and yet here Driver strongly argues and points out the images that are seen in these cases and how they are able to allow us to reflect more and easier, and how they are surprisingly able to change our view on the instances that took place in late medieval life. There are really no other books or works of any kind to date that do this, and if there are remotely they are certainly not as descript or as adamant, and this is why this is one of the most strongest made facts in the book as well as why The Image in Print is such as substantial book in general. There are many other issues and interpretations that she brings up and discusses here, such as what takes place in chapter 6, which is titled 'Iconoclasm and Reform', and which

The comperison of BNY Mellon and Barclay's bank Research Paper

The comperison of BNY Mellon and Barclay's bank - Research Paper Example 3 Introduction 4 Strengths and Weaknesses of the banks 4 Profitability of the bank over a span of 5 years 5 Mission and vision of the banks 6 Bank’s Financial Position 8 Projected Profitability of the banks 9 Conclusion 11 The above paper held a comparison between the financial states of BNY Mellon and Barclay’s bank with an aim of examining the extent to which each of them could withstand the brunt of the financial crisis and the way that they are prepared in meeting any such crises in future. The paper tried to assess their profitability and financial positions and found the degree of resilience of Barclay’s to be far higher than that of BNY Mellon. However, as far as their investment in assets are concerned, that of BNY Mellon is found to be in a better position than that of its peer. 11 References 11 Abstract The present paper aims at examining the financial positions of two leading banks namely, BNY Mellon and Barclay’s Plc through a close investigati on of their respective financial ratios. Moreover, the paper targets at evaluating the strengths and weaknesses as well as the mission and vision of both banks. ... Both banks faced the brunt of the crisis which was reflected in their respective key financial ratios. The crisis had mainly been the outcome of poorly framed monetary policies which implemented a fall in the rate of interest initially and followed it by a sudden hike in the same. This fickle mindedness took a toll over the financial state of the economy and exposed the frail fundamentals of many of its financial houses. However, the intrinsic strength of many of them were also displayed which prevented these institutions from being fully victimized by the crisis. The present paper tries to draw a comparison between the features which characterize Bank of New York Mellon (BK) and Barclays Bank (BCLYF) on the basis of their respective financial figures over the last 5 years (2006-2010). A close examination into the historical key ratio values can possibly deduce the errors committed and precision adhered to by these banks, which determined the degree of their sustenance. Moreover, it also attempts to figure out the profitability of these banks provided fluctuations in the Fed rate. As the view portrayed by any organization is highly important while assessing its strengths and weaknesses, they too would be inspected though the format of the entire paper will be of a comparative nature. Strengths and Weaknesses of the banks Bank of New York Mellon Total assets of the bank used to consist mostly of fixed assets rather than current assets initially although this factor had been improving over time, implying that the bank’s liquidity position is improving over time. Moreover, the bank’s assets in comparison to its total liabilities are also improving over time. Its increasing reliability on equity financing is also remarkable which promises of the

Marketing Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Marketing Philosophy Essay Efforts of reviewing and modelling marketing elements, concepts and philosophical attitudes were numerous and effective. But with new challenges causing hurdles in making marketing function more effective on macro- and micro- level of the economy, a revision of marketing philosophy is always at place. Elements of marketing philosophy Dibb and Simkin (2004)| Lancaster and Reynolds (2005)| Blythe (2005)| Drummond and Ensor (2005)| Morgan (1996)| 1. Production orientation 2. Financial orientation 3. Sales orientation 4. Marketing orientation 5. Customer orientation 6. Competitor orientation 7. Interfunctional Coordination| 1. Production orientation 2. Sales orientation 3. Marketing Orientation| 1. Production orientation 2. Product orientation 3. Sales orientation 4. Customer orientation 5. Societal marketing 6. Relationship Marketing| 1. Production orientation 2. Product orientation 3. Sales orientation 4. Financial orientation 5. Marketing Orientation| 1. Cost philosophy 2. Product philosophy 3. Production philosophy 4. Sales philosophy 5. Erratic philosophy 6. Marketing philosophy 7. Social marketing philosophy| As indicated in Table 1, authors tend to use various terms for the elements of marketing philosophy: a) ‘orientation’ (Dibb and Simkin, 2004; Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005; Blythe, 2005; Drummond and Ensor, 2005); b) ‘philosophy’ (Morgan, 1996); c) ‘concept’ (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008). Even the Lithuanian authors, who wrote the first university book on marketing, professors Pranulis, Pajuodis, Virvilaite and Urbonavicius (1999, 2000 and 2008) have used the Lithuanian counterpart word ‘orientation’. Following this broad tendency of the term ‘orientation’ usage, here, in this article, the choice of the ‘orientation’ term will be applied. The renowned American professors Kotler and Armstrong (2008, pp.9-12) indicated that their choice of marketing management orientations were as follows: * the production concept, * the product concept, * the selling concept, * the marketing concept. * the societal marketing concept. A similar opinion was expressed by a group of Lithuanian marketing professors, where they classified marketing orientations as follows (Pranulis et al., 1999, 2000): a) production orientation, b) product orientation, c) selling orientation, d) marketing orientation; e) socialethical marketing orientation. Because of the difficulty of incorporating all the various facets of marketing into a single definition, Lancaster and Reynolds (2005) distinguished features of the subject in the following statements (Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005, p.16): †¢ â€Å"Marketing is dynamic and operational, requiring action as well as planning. †¢ Marketing requires an improved form of business organisation, although this on its own is not enough. †¢ Marketing is an important functional area of management, often based in a single physical location. More importantly, it is an overall business philosophy that should be adopted by everybody in the entire organisation. †¢ The marketing concept states that the identification, satisfaction and retention of customers is the key to long-term survival and prosperity. †¢ Marketing involves planning and control. †¢ The principle of marketing states that all business decisions should be made with primary consideration of customer requirements. †¢ Marketing focuses attention from production towards the needs and wants of the market place. †¢ Marketing is concerned with obtaining value from the market by offering items of value to the market. It does this by producing goods and services that satisfy the genuine needs and wants of specifically defined target markets. †¢ The distinguishing feature of a marketing orientated organisation is the way in which it strives to provide customer satisfaction as a way of achieving its own business objectives.† The author of the article proposes the following perception on the classification of marketing orientations, which constitute the marketing philosophy essence: 1) the production orientation, 2) the product orientation, 3) the financial orientation, 4) the selling orientation, 5) the marketing orientation, 6) the market orientation (which extends to internal and external orientations), 7) the social-ethical marketing orientation, 8) the holistic marketing orientation (which extends to internal marketing orientation, integrated marketing orientation, social marketing orientation relationship marketing orientation). The holistic marketing concept was proposed by Kotler and Keller (2007) but it was not mentioned or wider discussed in the textbook of Principles of Marketing (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008), but introduced in their co-operative book on Marketing Management (2007). For this reason, it is viable to include this new orientation in the proposed model (Figure 3), as it integrated at least four other sub-orientations: a) internal marketing orientation, b) integrated marketing orientation, c) social marketing orientation and d) relationship marketing orientation. Internal marketing orientation will be directly dealing with a Marketing Department within an organisation. It will directly subordinate to the senior management level and other organisational department, emphasising the organisational culture and micro-climate, suitable for effective work and success factors in marketing performance. Integrated marketing orientation would focus towards integrated marketing communications, the cost-effective selection of marketing channels and integrated development of products and services within the scope, demand and challenges of the national and international markets. Social marketing orientation would be focusing on the concept of societal marketing proposed by Kotler and Armstrong (2008), where the basic societal marketing triangle is based on the well-being of the community, incorporating the corporate social responsibility of companies and non-profit organisations, legal issues and environmental protection issues, which altogether streamline the sustainable development of the economy and consumption patterns. Relationship marketing orientation would be concerned with fostering the customercompany relationship with consumers, offering value added products and services. This orientation will also foster the company-partner company (B2B) relationship, seeking trust and reliability in partner selection process and its maintenance for coming years. Therefore, marketing channels should be effectively developed to reduce costs and enhance profitability ratios for all three market participants: a) producers, b) distributors and sellers, c) consumers. The market orientation is proposed to be grouped as internal and external orientations. Though Narver and Slater (1990) proposed a model that identified the components of market orientation as: †¢ Customer orientation, which incorporates customers’ perceptions and understanding by customers’ creating value, offering cost-effective solutions to satisfy their needs. †¢ Competitor orientation emphasises one of the marketing’s functions, i.e., to seek competitive advantage in the market. Competitor analysis, performed in various techniques (e.g. PESTED analysis, Porter’s forces analysis, Boston matrix analysis, etc.), gives a company tools to objectively evaluate competitors’ capabilities and results on the market. †¢ Organizational culture if analysed on an individual basis could be either included into market orientation factor or in the holistic marketing orientation, depending how integrative the marketing philosophy is on an organisational level. Organisational culture should support customer service and customer relationship development throughemployee performance prism. †¢ Interfunctional coordination should focus on the interaction between internal functional areas of the organization which best serve customer need and satisfaction, which in other cases would correspond to the relationship marketing orientation (Kotler and Keller, 2007). †¢ Long-term focus would incorporate the consideration of how the above can be sustained, and financially viable, over the long term. In this paper the proposition by Drummond et al (2000) is closer to the author’s perception of market orientation, therefore the constituent parts of the market orientation are considered to be the balance between: a) External market orientation: customers, competitors and other external stakeholders. b) Internal market orientation: employees and other internal stakeholders. Marketing Orientation The term marketing is used extensively in modern life. If you stop someone in the street and ask them what it means, they will probably use words like advertising, market research and a modern word for selling. In fact, marketing is a lot more than just selling, advertising and research, although all of these functions are important aspects of marketing. The Chartered Lrstitute of Marketing in the UK defines marketing as follows: Marketing is the management process which identifies, anticipates, and supplies customer requirements efficiently and profitably. So what is marketing orientation? In the next sections we shall explore this. First we will consider what it means for an organisation to adopt a marketing-based business philosophy. We shall then consider the evolution of the marketing concept and look at how marketing orientation has influenced organizational structures in business. An Overview of a Marketing-based Business Philosophy The points below describe marketing and its role in a marketing based business philosophy. We shall then go on to consider a marketing-based philosophy in more detail. * Marketing is a management process, and the support of management for the marketing concept is a key element in its success. Today, a company has to be marketing orientated if it is to be successful. * Marketing is involved with identifying customer requirements usually with market research. * We have to consider current needs and anticipate the requirements of the customer in the future. This requires planning a very important aspect of the marketing process. The satisfaction of the needs will require the supplier to provide benefits the right market offering at the right place at the right time. * Truly market-driven companies adopt strategic level marketing, where marketing has a key role in defining the long-term objectives and mission of the company. In this way, a strategic framework is established whereby the customer is placed at the centre of the organisations activities. * Marketing is not just for profit-making companies. Marketing is for any organisation that has customers, and that includes charities and government bodies. Very many selling jobs in fact are in non-profit-making organisations, although very often the people who have those jobs would not think of themselves as salespeople! Marketing is a business philosophy, the process responsible for anticipating, identifying and satisfying customer current and future needs. The marketing philosophy developed out of the need by producer manufacturers, whose focus was on efficient production, to compete more effectively in their markets. They turned their attention away from mass production at lowest unit cost to try to anticipate the specific needs of customers and produce products/services whose benefits would satisfy those needs. Marketing is sometimes referred to as a pull strategy. The principle is that we understand customer needs and produce products or services, which meet those needs through specific benefits. Customers will want to purchase products or services, which they perceive as meeting their needs and wants. Literature review on marketing challenges in the new millennium The precondition, which fostered to review the challenges for the marketing in the new millennium, was the statements in various forms and shapes, which appeared during the past decade in text books, social networks, media and social forums. The selection of disturbing statements were selected and presented here for the discussion. The biased perception of marketing functions and orientations at the dawn of the new millennium is not compelling. Traditional (conventional) marketing is visualised as a dead function, notwithstanding the critics of modern marketing practice. The critics bring up the issues of lost customers, mass marketing and viral marketing. Therefore, a more fundamental change for marketing is at stake – towards a more \personal touch in the field, as well emphasised by Spellings (2009). Boynett and Boynett (2003) in their book on â€Å"The Guru Guideâ„ ¢ to Marketing: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from Today’s Top Marketers† have also identified a number of citations, which question the future of marketing and its conventional functionality. It is apparent that marketing is becoming a multi-disciplinary theory, which inevitably incorporates postmodern aspects of the markets and consumption patterns and consumer behaviour. Selected statements on the death of traditional marketing in the new millennium Authors/sources| Statements| Boyett and Boyett (2003, p.1)| Death-of-marketing gurus rationalize their hyperbole by explaining that marketing is in the throes of fundamental change.| World of DTC Marketing (2008)| Conventional marketing is dead| Bishop (2009)| Marketing is dead; long live marketing: Attracting consumers in the post-mass marketing era| Big Marketing Ideas (2009)| The reason we say viral marketing is dead is not because content no longer spreads in the same way – quite the contrary. But the idea that you could create a flash game or a funny video and expect it to get a million hits and downloads within a week is now patently naà ¯ve. | Wymore (2009)| Forget direct mail, television advertising, and other mass media marketing. They just don’t work anymore. Traditional marketing is dead. In other words, these marketing chestnuts simply don’t stand out in today’s noisy media market.| Spellings (2009)| â€Å"Mass Marketing is Dead. Make Way For Personal Marketing†: The days of mass marketing are coming to an end as we enter a new era of personal marketing. Personal marketing will require more work, more preparation, and smarter implementation, but the rewards will be vastly better than the mass marketing approach.| Selected marketing challenges in the new millennium Sutton and Klein (2003)| Blythe (2005)| Kashani (2005)| Brown (2008)| Kotler and Armstrong (2008)| Bishop (2009)| †¢ Increasing market complexity †¢ Accelerating demand for speed to market †¢ Growing need to capture marketing knowledge †¢ Increasing availability of innovative marketing technologies †¢ Escalating demand for marketing efficiency and effectiveness| †¢ Relationship marketing development †¢ Service quality enhancement †¢ Internet marketing development †¢ Marketing ethics †¢ Marketing strategy revisited| †¢ Commoditisation (change in technologies, more informed customer, more intense competition) †¢ Consolidation(mergers acquisitions) †¢ Power shift †¢ Margin erosion †¢ Value focus| Postmodern challenges: †¢ Hyperreality †¢ Fragmentation †¢ Reversed production and consumption †¢ Decentred subjects †¢ Juxtaposition of opposites| †¢ The new digital age †¢ Rapid globalisation †¢ The call for more ethics and social responsibility †¢ Growth of non-profit marketing| †¢ Aggressive innovations †¢ Building a strong value proposition †¢ Engagement and connection to the customer †¢ Delivering customer experiences at or above expectations| It could be generalised that marketing in the 21st century presents many new postmodern challenges (see Table 3): †¢ shrinking markets, which in effect implies fragmentation and decentralised subjects (Brown, 2008), followed by increasing market complexity (Sutton and Klein, 2003) and market globalisation (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008); †¢ green issues (Blythe, 2005), more marketing ethics (Blythe, 2005; Kotler and Armstrong, 2008) and social responsibility (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008); †¢ marketing strategy revisited (Blythe, 2005) through accelerating the demand for marketing efficiency and effectiveness (Sutton and Klein, 2003) and speed to market (Sutton and Klein, 2003), and aggressive innovations (Bishop, 2009); †¢ advancements in technologies in the digital age (Kotler and Armstrong, 2008), including Internet, commoditisation (Kashani, 2005), communications (Bishop, 2009), internet marketing development (Blythe, 2005), increasing availability of innovative marketing technologies (Sutton and Klein, 2003); †¢ engagement and connection to the customer (Bishop, 2009), through service quality enhancement (Blythe, 2005), delivering customer experiences at or above expectations (Bishop, 2009), rapidly changing public attitudes towards consumption (Sutton and Klein, 2003); †¢ building a strong value proposition (Bishop, 2009) through growing need to capture marketing knowledge (Sutton and Klein, 2003), power shift (Kashani, 2005) and reversed production and consumption (Brown, 2008). Therefore, marketers are facing the re-evaluation of marketing strategy, applying new tools and sophisticated techniques in the new millennium, where changes are of a constant nature. â€Å"Ultimately, the firms who take the greatest care of their customers’ interests are the ones most likely to maintain their competitive edge in a cut-throat world† (Blythe, 2005 p.332). The case of coffee bars: applying marketing orientations and marketing challenges in the new millennium. In practice, each company selects business and marketing philosophy which suits it best. The decision depends on the company’s type, size, products and services it produces, distributes and sells and etc. In order to apply marketing orientations and marketing challenges to a practical situation, two companies in coffee bars sector: a) an international company STARBUCKS (the USA) and b) a national company COFFEE INN (Lithuania). Their briefs and marketing philosophies will be discussed bellow. The case of Starbucks (the USA) Probably one of the most famous brands in the United States and now in the whole world, reflecting the specific lifestyle of the few generations, is definitely Starbucks. Starbucks is the largest coffee-house company in the world, offering a wide range of various coffees, hot and cold coffee and non-coffee drinks, sandwiches and sweet snacks. Founded in 1979, only as a coffee bean retailer Starbucks became a coffee-house selling coffee drinks as well as beans, when its present headmaster Howard Schultz came in and bought the company from its former owners in 1987. Since then, an extraordinary quick expansion in the Unites States, and from 1996 in the whole world, has begun. Now, Starbucks owns approximately 16 000 stores in the world and announces about opening 900 new stores outside United States in 2009 (on the other hand, Starbucks is closing the same amount of stores in the United States) (www.strabucks.com). It is obvious, that such a big success would be impossible without well selected and formulated marketing philosophy. As one of the most innovative companies in the world Starbucks has chosen social-ethical marketing orientation and declares care for the environment and common wealth as well as for people. The main idea of their philosophy is defined in the Starbucks mission statement. Starbucks has two mission statements which are placed in the official company’s website : „To inspire and nurture human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a timeâ€Å" and „Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our businessâ€Å" (www.strabucks.com). Social-ethical marketing orientation is getting a trendy buzz word, as environmental and ecological problems are on the increase. Some years ago Starbucks was criticised for wasting resources by using paper and plastic cups, for wasting water and even funding Israel army (Vitkus, 2009). Now this company is shown as the best example of environmental friendly business in the business schools around the world. Starbucks announces its corporate social responsibility Annual reports for the public; here the company describes their attention to the employees, customers and the environment, manifesting marketing orientation, marketorientation and holistic marketing orientation. They started to use cups from recycled paper or biodegradable plastic. Social responsibility is also emphasised in their coffee-bars’ design, posters and various promotional campaigns (the integrated marketing sub-orientation in the holistic marketing orientation). According to Pranulis et al (2008), the main idea of marketing orientation is to create the circle of loyal clients rather than one-time buyers. Starbucks could be called a champion in this field too. The chairman of Starbucks Howard Schultz explains, that a person gets more than just coffee when he/she visits Starbucks – „he gets great people, first-rate music and a comfortable and upbeat meeting place† (www.strabucks.com). That’s why people all around the world are willing to pay for coffee more than in other coffee-bars – they buy and experience, not a drink (the selling orientation). According to Howard Schultz, Starbucks build personal relationships with each of their customers (this implies the relationship marketing sub-orientation in the holistic marketing orientation). Even the waiters at Starbucks are called baristas to make them feel exceptional and proud about their workplace, not to feel just simple service workers (internal marketing sub-orientation in the holistic marketing orientation). Another core element of marketing concept (Pranulis et al., 2008, Kotler and Keller, 2007) is to appeal to customers’ needs. Starbucks does everything to achieve its costumers’ satisfaction. They were the first who offered free internet at their coffee-bars and started to open the stores 10 minutes before the actual opening time just to make customers always feel welcome and happy. Viral marketing has also become one of the most important features of Starbucks‘. You can hardly find and advertisement in any newspaper or marketplace, but they build extremely strong relationships by using social networks, internet and mouth-to-mouth marketing, which means Starbucks meets the marketing challenges of a) the digital age, b) value proposition, c) connecting to customers, d) corporate social responsibility, e) green issues and f) overall revised marketing strategy, g) market shrinking factors (as Starbucks was forced to close down 600 coffee-bars in the USA during the economic slowdown (Milasius, 2008)). The case of Coffee Inn (Lithuania) The other company selected for a comparative study is a national company, located only in Lithuania. Coffee Inn is a coffee-bars’ chain opened a few years ago in Vilnius, the capital city of the country. Started from just one coffee-bar, Coffee Inn now owns 7 coffee-bars in Vilnius and one in Kaunas in 2007 (Vaitiekuniene, 2007). At first, Coffee Inn came into the market with the same concept as Starbucks did. It sells coffee and various coffee drinks, served in paper cups, sandwiches and desserts in small, cosy coffee-bars, located in the city centre. The main difference between Starbucks and Coffee Inn is that Starbucks is a big global company (the globalisation challenge) and can afford applying social-ethical marketing orientation, while Coffee Inn is still too small to afford huge investments for various socialprojects and campaigns and it has chosen the marketing orientation. However, Coffee Inn expands constantly, therefore, sooner or later this company will also apply social-ethical marketing oreintation (now Coffee Inn supports various cultural festivals, such as cultural night TebÃ… «nie naktis, or Street music day, not financially, but by helping to promote them, or by prolonging their opening hours during these festivals). The main idea, the co-owner of Coffee Inn Nidas Kiuberis explains, is that they sell a feeling of pleasure rather than just a cup of coffee (Obcarskaite, 2009). It seems extremely similar to Starbucks idea. The waiters are called baristas too, Coffee Inn also offers free internet access and their menu is quite similar to Starbucks one. Lithuanians sometimes even claim that Coffee Inn tries to copy Starbucks. On the other hand, there are a lot of cafeterias offering similar facilities (e.g., Vero Cafe, Double Coffee and etc.), and Coffee Inn is not an exception. However, Coffee Inn is a lot smaller as coffee-bars’ chain than Starbucks and for this reason it is much easier to control it. Being small enables Coffee Inn to be more flexible and to react to customers’ demands and wants quicker and to create new demands and wants at the same time (marketing orientation). Coffee Inn constantly offers new drinks, snacks and other features (product orientation). They were one of the first who invited customers to come together with their pets, set free book collection and invited everyone to come to read or to donate a book (the communication challenge). While talking about customers’ loyalty, new technologies play an important part here too (the technological challenge): Coffee Inn keeps exceptionally close relationships with its customers using Facebook social network, writing the blog and honestly replying to all the letters and comments. The co-owner Nidas Kiuberis maintains the Coffee Inn blog himself – this is very important, as customers notice, that director of the company itself pays attention to their opinion (Milasius, 2008). Nidas Kiuberis explains, they are following â€Å"guerilla marketing† ideas, because it is the best solution for a small business without large budget, where creativity and energy are the most important things (Obcarskaite, 2009). â€Å"Viral marketing and personal blog writing costs nothing and gives better results, than advertisement on TV – your loyalty for customers loyalty, these are the things every company seeks, especially in a crisis time† (Obcarskaite, 2009). As a result, Coffee Inn has created a steady circle of loyal customers, who are indifferent to similar competitors, such as Vero Cafe, offers. The Evolution of the Marketing Concept Marketing is basically about anticipating and serving customer needs, but where does the concept come from? In fact, even though the term marketing quite modern, the idea of customer orientation is as old as trade itself. For example, if we looked at a pre-Industrial Revolution village, we would see a number of trades-people such as the blacksmith at work. These people provided the villagers with what they wanted. There was no question of producing large volumes of goods and assuming that people would take them. Everything was made to order – the customer had needs and the supplier met them. Conclusions In the changing market environment with changing customer behaviour and seeking business opportunities, companies face marketing challenges on a daily basis. In the process of theoretical research, a modified model of marketing orientations, which form the marketing philosophy, was proposed, comprising eight major orientations, where market orientation and the holistic marketing orientation are split into further sub-orientations. The other task for the author was to review and structure marketing challenges in the new millennium and test these issues in two cases of coffee-bars sector on international (Starbucks) and national (Coffee Inn in Lithuania) markets. Starbucks and Coffee Inn both follow similar marketing orientations. Starbucks follows social-ethical marketing orientation as a basis of business, while Coffee Inn is being still guided by the marketing orientation. Both companies sell an experience, rather than just coffee and image is very important for the customers of these companies as they are mainly young people (20-40 years of age, Miksys, 2008). Both companies use viral marketing techniques, though Coffee Inn can create closer relationships with its customers, because it is able to react to changes quicker. Loyal customers could be called the biggest strength and competitive advantage of these companies as they do not compete on price, just by creating exceptional atmosphere.

Sport Psychology :: essays research papers

A Summary of: The Psychosocial Characteristics of Olympic Track and Field Athletes Fortunately, it was quite a simple task to find a research topic related to the material that we have covered so far in sport psychology. After some quick searching, we ran across a rather interesting article written in the International Journal of Sport Psychology that could obviously be useful. Conveniently, it was in the most recent issue of this particular journal available in the Evansdale Library. Entitled, Psychosocial Characteristics of Olympic Track and Field Athletes, this article happened to be one that we could easily relate too. Because both of us are runners, we share a definite commonality with the subjects of the study. This is true, even though neither of us will actually make it to the Olympics to perform at the subjects' standards. At least, though, it is possible to relate highly to these interesting people. Basically, the purpose of this particular study was to identify the specific personality characteristics of 15 Olympic caliber track and field athletes. Certainly, several people, especially sport psychologists, would like to know if there are specific attitudes and personalities that belong to the topnotch athletes of the world. Pretty simple request, right? Or at least it sounds that way. To perform this experiment, each of the athletes was asked six standardized questions. For instance, one of the questions focused directly on the subject of â€Å"How do you prepare for a competition.† The athletes’ responses to these questions were recorded word for word and analyzed for content. Interestingly enough, typical themes could be found throughout their responses. For example, some of the athletes would mention that a higher power was some how related to everything that they have done. The people performing this study would relate this to the category of spiritual/ religious factors. Also, a couple of the runners claimed that their lives were completely based on the theme of mental skills and attitudes such as hard work and perseverance. It was very easy to notice that these themes appeared time after time, for each question answered by the same person. The researchers concluded that these emerging themes play an important role in the psychological development of each athlete. While it isn’t a direct correlation, the work these researchers have done could be somewhat related to developments in psychological skills training.

Hawthornes Hierarchy of Sin in The Scarlet Letter Essay -- Scarlet Le

Hawthorne's Hierarchy of Sin in The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚        Ã‚   Throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne focuses on the struggle of Hester Prynne, a woman who is forced to deal with the strict Puritan punishment for the adulterous birth of her child, Pearl.   Yet, the very Puritan values that bring Hester public ignominy help to lift her to a position of respect in the community.   Although Hawthorne does not condone Hester's sin, he takes pains to show that her sin is minimal in comparison to those of her weak lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, and of her vengeful husband, Roger Chillingworth.       Hester finds solace in the moral teachings of her religion and in acts of repentance, which help her deal with the struggles resulting from her sin.   Although she no longer practices her faith openly after her public disgrace, she still has deep ties to her God and religion.   She often prays for Pearl in hopes that her child's wild character will be calmed with time.   Hester accepts her punishment readily, elaborately embroidering the scarlet "A" she is forced to wear on her breast and dressing Pearl in scarlet.   She continues to wear the symbol of her sin long after the community declares her repented due to her commendable record of community service, showing everyone that she has nothing to hide.   Indeed, Hester's salvation lies in the truth:   "In all things else, I have striven to be true!   Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all extremity.    . . . A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side!" (200).   Hester finds comfort in prayer and repentance, which help to make her strong:   "Shame, Despair, Solitude!   These had been her teachers- s... ...esdale.   For his sins Chillingworth suffers a horrible fate:   "All his strength and energy-all his vital and intellectual force-seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal site. . ." (268).   He dies very shortly after Dimmesdale.       Although it appears at first glance that Hester is Hawthorne's focus in The Scarlet Letter, a closer examination reveals that the novel revolves around the struggles of a weak lover and a jealous husband.   Indeed, Hawthorne shows that Hester, who readily faces her problems, grows stronger and gains the respect of her community, whereas both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, who are consumed by fear and hate respectively, bring about their own demise.    Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel.   The Scarlet Letter.   New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1948.

Major Event That Contributed to the Intolerable Acts

From Protests to Separation All of the events contributed in causing the Intolerable Acts in some ways but I think that the Boston Tea Party played the most influential role of all. To help the East India Company from losing money, Britain passed the Tea Act which allowed the company to have a virtual monopoly of the trade for tea in America. This angered the merchants and the smugglers and they called for a new boycott on tea. Also on December 16, 30 -130 men dressed as Mohawks climbed aboard and threw 320 chests of tea overboard which took them approx. hours. This was the last straw. When the colonists threw the tea overboard, they also threw away Britain’s sympathy towards them. This angered Britain because in the past the colonist have done many protests and boycotts to tick them off and throwing 320 chests of tea overboard caused Britain a great loss. So to get revenge on the people of Mass. , G. B passed the Intolerable Acts or the Coercive Acts essay writer price. This means that the Boston Tea Party played a huge role in causing the Intolerable Acts.These Acts closed the Boston Harbor until the Bostonians pay off the company for the tea, allowed British officials to go back to Britain for trial by jury if they were accused of crime and also allowed the governor to house soldiers in suitable quarters. And finally to put fuel in the fire, Britain gave the land south of the Ohio River Valley to Quebec. To sum it up, G. B. passed the Tea Act which angered the colonists so they threw tea which angered G. B so they passed the Intolerable Acts. I think this event is the most influential because right after this, Britain passed the intolerable acts.

Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Executive Summary The aim of this write up is to provide a brief overview of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, its purpose, mission and vision statement. The key stakeholders of the VAA and the duty of care VAA owes to these stakeholders are analysed. Being a global service provider, Virgin Atlantic & British Airways are affected by various political, socio-economic and technology factors and these are reviewed. The macro economic factors, such as fiscal & monetary policies and how it affects these airlines are studied. Furthermore, the impact of EU on the airlines industry and BA & VAA in particular are detailed. 1A Introduction: In the United Kingdom, the Virgin group is a very popular and preferred brand. Virgin Atlantic is a subsidiary of the Virgin group and is one of the major airlines in the UK led by Sir Richard Branson where the Virgin group owns 51% of the shares and the remaining 49% owned by Delta Airlines, USA. The mission statement of Virgin Atlantic is â€Å"to embrace the human spirit and let it fly†. Virgin Atlantic operates short and long haul flights across 35 different destinations covering the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Far East and Australia. Purpose of VAA (Virgin Atlantic Airlines) In 1984,Sir Richard announced his decision to operate Virgin Atlantic Airlines that would provide world class quality and great value for money. By the end of the 80’s there were more than one million loyal passengers travelling with VAA, one of the first airlines to provide individual TV screens for the passengers. In the 90s, the business developed further given the competitive pricing, the unique service offerings and the introduction of the Premium economy was a great hit with the customers. In 1999, 49% of Virgin Atlantic’s shares were sold to Singapore Airlines. VAA vs Fire Services Virgin group is one of the well-known business establishments and the purpose of VAA is to expand the service line offering of the business in order to earn profits. Unlike the fire services, which is used to cater to the emergency needs of the people of the country and safeguarding them, the primary purpose of VAA is to be able to cater to the travel demands of the public and to be able to run it as a marketable business. Keeping this in mind, the main objectives of VAA is to earn profits and be able to service the customers in an effective way to ensure customer loyalty is maintained. As opposed to the fire services, the VAA faces stiff competition from various other airlines. The key accountability for VAA would be towards its customers and key stakeholders including the board of directors and the shareholders whilst the key accountability for the fire services would be to that of the general public by ensuring that there is transparency and all funds allocated by the government are used in an appropriate manner. The services offered by Virgin Atlantic caters to the luxury and travel needs of the people and the services offered by fire services are basically around protecting the people, responding to emergencies and also improving the safety within local communities. Virgin Atlantic Stakeholders, Strategies and Responsibilities Virgin Atlantic has various key stakeholders and owes a duty of care towards all the key stakeholders. To be able to manage all the stakeholders and to ensure that they are happy, Virgin Atlantic has various policies.The key stakeholders of Virgin Atlantic include:Shareholders; Customers; Employees; Vendors; Government Agencies; NGOs; Community at large. To ensure that the shareholders are satisfied, VAA achieves its primary objective of earning profits and ensuring that all the shareholders receive a good Return on their investments. Customers are given world class treatment and Virgin Atlantic is very well-known for their quality customer services. Customers always come first with Virgin Atlantic and this has been a new concept in the airlines industry. A good in-flight entertainment service, VIP treatment for first class customers including opting for a beauty therapist, check-in by chauffeur to avoid waiting in the queue, flexible meal service options etc, are examples of customer care standards that have been set by the airlines. VAA also takes customers safety seriously. Employees who form the integral part of the VAA community and VAA is committed to serve its employees better. Good work is recognised by the rewards and recognition program and Virgin Atlantic provides world class training to all its employees. Virgin Atlantic has a good diversity policy and is strictly against discrimination. All employees are treated with respect and honesty. Equal opportunity is provided to all employees and potential candidates who aspire to become a part of the Virgin Atlantic team. Vendors play a key role in the Virgin Atlantic community. Virgin Atlantic has strict policies about creating lasting relationships with vendors and aims at sourcing goods responsibly. All suppliers are thoroughly screened to ensure that key international standards such as Human Rights Convention by UN and International Labour Convention laws are met. Environment & Community: As its commitment to the environment, Virgin Atlantic has incorporated ‘Change is in the Air’ (CIITA) strategy which aims at reducing carbon footprint by using novel technologies and fuels to increase efficiency. Virgin Atlantic is keen on becoming energy efficient and sources sustainable energy where possible. It has a strong recycling and reuse policy which reduces waste and ensuring sustainability. 1B: Impact of Fiscal & Monetary Policies on VAA Fiscal policy can be defined as the policy whereby the governments change the levels of tax and its spending in order to have a positive impact on the nation’s economy. It helps redistribution of wealth, decreases in unemployment rates and provides a way to effectively control the economy. Fiscal policies can either be expansionary or reductionary. An expansionary fiscal policy encourages the growth of the economy by means of expanding the supply of money to combat inflation. This can be done either by cutting down taxes or by increasing the spending of the government (Chambenlin 2009). Fiscal policies are effective when it comes to reduction of unemployment in the shorter term. However, in the long-term they cannot bring in much change as the supply curve is vertical and pushing the demand curve would lead to pushing in the prices, which results in inflation (Gillespie, 2008) Monetary policy on the other hand can be defined as the action that is taken by the central bank or other financial regulators to determine the rate of growth of money supply. It also influences the demand and supply of money as it impacts the interest rates (Chambenlin 2009). The recession has had a very bad impact on Virgin Atlantic. The increase in the competition in the transatlantic services and given the rise in the fuel prices, the airline has seen a loss of ?135m. The airline has also frozen salaries of employees for the current period and has cut over 600 jobs which accounts for 7% of its workforce. Virgin Atlantic has not planned clearly and anticipated the costs. If the planning had been done effectively, Virgin Atlantic would not be facing issues due to increase in fuel prices. Oil is one of the key costs that is incurred by Virgin Atlantic and hence it has a serious impact on the Airlines. Also, in the recession of 2008, there has been a decrease in the passengers for long-haul flights which combined with the oil price has led to a loss of ?150m in 2009. Virgin Atlantic can take advantage of the expansionary fiscal policy whereby there is a cut on taxes and the expansionary monetary policy on the reduction in the interest rates as opposed to contractionary monetary policy. Reduced tax rates would help Virgin Atlantic transfer the reduced costs to the customers and expansionary monetary policy would help reduce exchange rates which would therefore help Virgin Atlantic to export oil at reasonable costs. Given the poor demand for travel due to increase in costs, Virgin can make use of the savings that it has achieved by using expansionary monetary and fiscal policies by slashing down the costs of travel, which would promote and encourage more customers to use their services. Though VAA has been hit by recession, making use of these policies should enable Virgin to regain some of its losses. 1F Benefit for Virgin Atlantic through International Trade Being a global brand servicing various destinations has been a key benefit for Virgin Atlantic as well as British Airways. There are various advantages of International Trade for Virgin Atlantic. These include: Increase in profits: International trade and servicing various locations globally has led to increase in profits for Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. More Sales: Having been a success in the UK and the second largest Airlines in the UK, global destinations and international trade were the next logical steps which increased the sales and turnover of Virgin Atlantic. The same holds good for British Airways. Dependence on one market reduced: International trade helps reduce dependence on one local market. If due to various reasons one market segment fails, another segment can be used thus reducing sole reliance on specific market segments. Better competitiveness in local markets: Serving international destinations and becoming a global brand has increased knowledge, services and experiences for Virgin Atlantic which makes it a very tough competitor amongst local airlines. Expansion into the international market also gives British Airways and Virgin Atlantic new ideas to be able to s atisfy all their key stakeholders, good marketing techniques to promote their ideas and better customer services. Market diversification: Diversification into the global markets has helped BA & VAA to be able to leverage better its resources and make use of booming markets in a bad economy. 1G Global Factors Affecting BA/VAA Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are global brands operating on various international locations. There are various key factors that affect the operations of both BA and VAA which relate to the global factors. Political Factors Airlines industry is highly regulated by governments and there are various laws that determine where the airlines can fly, the services offered, planning, their policy and strategies as well as pricing. For airlines to be in the business it is mandatory for them to adhere to these rules and regulations. Thus, compliance is one factor that affects both British Airways as well as Virgin Atlantic. Since both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operate both nationally and globally there are pivotal national and international laws and obligations, such as H&S regulations, security legislations, taxes etc. For instance, the VAT that has been increased to 20% would affect the stakeholders of both Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. There are various operating restrictions due to political factors. One way to overcome these restrictions is to have tie ups with national carriers. Thus, political factors have a great influence on the operating environment of the airline industry. Economic Factors Recession, and the cost of fuel, and other economic factors, such as cost of having empty seats play a major role which affects the activities of Virgin Atlantic and BA. Global economic markets, strong/weak home currency influences the costs of travel. In a bad economic situation companies might tend to cut down on their travel costs and discourage employees from taking a flight. An increase in the price of the fuel might force BA & Virgin Atlantic to transfer its costs to the end customers making it more difficult for people to afford. Any fluctuation in the oil price will have a direct impact on the currency which in turn impacts the cost of flying for both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Social Factors International airlines, such as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, that serve various nations need to understand the social and cultural values of the destinations served in order to be able to successfully drive the business. Social and cultural values encompasses all aspects of understanding the special needs of the destination, the key holidays and any special arrangements that might have to be taken into account while serving a specific destination. For example, the meal choices have to be restricted to non-pork based foods whilst serving Muslim nations to not only ensure the sentiments are catered to and also to drive business in these locations. Technology Factors Technology provides a competitive advantage to businesses and there is an increasing demand for the use of the latest technology to enable customers to get a better experience. Having a good e-commerce application to provide customers a portal to purchase tickets, fast check-in services online would be useful as it would cater to the more tech-savvy and young customer base. However, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic should make sure that they are not overly reliant on using high-end technologies as this might lead to the isolation of certain groups that are not entirely comfortable using these high end technologies. BA & Virgin Atlantic should therefore find a good balance between these two and should be able to optimise the use of technological advancements and leverage the opportunities appropriately. 1H Impact of EU on BA & VAA The EU has a great impact on both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. The EU has enabled an increase in competition in the market. An increase in the competition and a market promoting a healthy competition would now mean that both BA and VAA have to face a lot of competition from various operators within the EU. Hence, in order to be able to successfully steer the business, it is key that BA & VAA keep their prices at check, increase their value added services, and build on their brand value and their unique selling point to ensure customer loyalty and also to attract more customers. The EU has various positive impacts on BA & VAA. Tourism is the third largest sector in the EU and there is a lot of scope for development. EU has had talks with the aviation industry to promote sustainable and reliable services within the EU and BA & VAA can take advantage of this to provide high quality services to the customers. The EU has relaxed its visa policies for member states and also promotes fair international trade system that improves competitiveness and has opened up its markets by unblocking tariff and non-tariff barriers making. This promotes trades and import and export of goods and services. Indirectly this help travel to and from various European Union nations. This can be used by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to offer specialised services to businessmen and frequent flyers to and from Europe. Relaxing trade restrictive measures means that there are various political factors that are relaxed and this paves way for better collaboration and negotiation. Opening up the markets would mean that the procurement of goods and services can be accessed and available freely across EU without restrictions. This removes any legal and regulatory obstacles that British Airways and Virgin Atlantic faces and helps promote growth and sales in the industry. Increased competitiveness within the EU would mean access to better services, keeping prices in check and ensuring that the brand value is maintained. Conclusion This paper helped to identify the vision and the mission statement of Virgin Atlantic, how it is different from other services. It identified the key stakeholders of the airlines and the responsibilities of Virgin Atlantic towards its stakeholders were discussed in detail. The fiscal policies and monetary policies were then explained and how these related to Virgin Atlantic were also specified. A PEST (Political, Economic, Social & Technology) factor analysis was done in order to understand various global factors that affected Virgin Atlantic & British Airways. Finally, the impact of the EU on BA & Virgin Atlantic was discussed in terms of competition, trade restrictions and markets. Works Cited Virgin Atlantic. (2014, September 2014). Retrieved on 06/09/14 from http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/us/en.html Investopedia. (2014, September 2014). Retrieved on 06//09/14 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/europeanunion.asp European Monetary Policy. (Septmber 2014). Retrieved on 06/09/14 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/european+monetary+union Chamberlin, G. (September 2009). Economic Review Sep 2009. Economic and Labour Market Review Gillespie, A. (June 2009). Foundations of Economics. New York; Oxford University Press