Thursday, October 31, 2019

Modern and Postmodern Western Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modern and Postmodern Western Music - Essay Example Postmodern era is concerned with more advance technicalities putting forth the hybridism, relativism, heterogeneity, aesthetic hedonism, anti-essentialism and the rejection of grand narratives. The era of modernism is characterized by the movements involving revolution of visual arts, music, literature, and drama which rejected the old Victorian standards. Modernism redefined the art in every facet through increased emphasis on impression. The perspective of observation gained importance over the perspective of standard perception. The reinvention was also evident through the reducing distinction between genres, increased reflexivity, and rejection of formal elaboration. Postmodernism also obeys these rules of reinvention but unlike modernism it finds the ways to celebrate them. While the focus of modernism was literary and art historic sources, postmodernism focused on history and sociology, i.e., the more pressing topics of daily life of people. While modernism was the concept of new beginning postmodernism refers to the nurturing and progressing of those new findings. Postmodern era takes a more world wide view in contrast to modern era and unlike the emphasis on reality in modern era, postmodernism promotes fiction as reality and removes the barrier between imagination and practicality. â€Å"Modernism† and â€Å"postmodernism† concepts are also found to reflect in the music of the respective era. Musical modernism was characterized by the desire for or belief in progress and science, anti-romanticism, surrealism, political advocacy and general intellectualism.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Individuals' Ethical Place in World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individuals' Ethical Place in World - Essay Example I believe that people are inherently good but there are instances where they make wrong choices that sometimes considered to be unethical. Some are just too aggressive to realize their goals and intended place in their lives that sometimes they compromise ethics and propriety. Others have a distorted sense of getting to succeed that they think that in order to succeed, they have to bend morals and ethics. Most of them see life as a competition, to get ahead of others and subscribe to social Darwinism that it is the fittest who will survive and get ahead in life. Often however, goals and objectives that were reached by bending ethics and propriety did not yield any meaning but only trouble and empty victory. We have already seen those big time unethical practices that ended in trouble. We saw Enron, Worldcom executives ending in scandals and jails and for sure, those people who were scandalized and jailed were just in pursuit of looking their place in this world albeit unethically. Th us, to truly find a rightful place that is meaningful and happy, one has to pursue his or her own place in the world ethically. Finding our own place in the world through ethical means meant that we follow the existing laws, norm and sense of propriety. These three goes together. It is because not all actions or choices that are permitted by law do not mean ethical and proper. For example, It may be legally permissible for business just to pass the regulatory inspection but that does not necessarily mean that the products a company produces or the workplace and wage it provides to its employees are totally ethical in a sense that it produces a quality product, pays and treats its employees well. Producing substandard products, paying employees with basement minimum wages and non-conducive workplace may be pass regulatory checks but not necessarily ethical. The same is true with norms because not all acts or actions that are deemed acceptable do not mean legal or ethical. For example , it may be acceptable for business to cheat for profit or survival because it is thought to be amoral but it does not necessarily mean legal or ethical. Lastly, the best guide to find our place in our world is through the compass of ethics because it considers all factors including legal, norm, societal and even moral aspects of what is right and wrong. Finding a place in a world through ethical means is the one that gives us meaning the most not to mention that it does not give us any trouble. And since being our ethical place in the world did not give us any trouble in the process of achieving it nor we created enemies in getting there, it is more durable and lasting and a place that truly made our aspiration and effort worthwhile. Finding our ethical place in the world may not be easy. The path is littered with temptation and shortcuts that often, the challenges we encounter makes us give in to temptation and shortcut. Getting to our ethical place in the world requires strong ch aracter and upright consciousness to chose and do what is right, ethical and moral and these decisions may not be easy and popular. But it can be done. We may fall or fail in the process and that place may seem farther because we are going there the right way. There are people who have done it albeit they are outnumbered by those who took shortcuts but it gives us a reason, inspiration or maybe a consolation that it is not impossible to find

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Analytics, Interfaces, and Cloud Technology

Analytics, Interfaces, and Cloud Technology Richard Lecator The organization is like any other business that greatly benefit from an infusion of efficiency and cost savings into its operations. Having a much easier business environment from which to operate on is a significant advantage that will lead to improved output and better service to its clients. Embracing the latest technology will not only propel the business to the modern way of doing things, but also to benefits that follow that technology. The Need for the use of Analytics and Cloud Technology Analytics for the organization is not only part of its primary operations, but also how it can understand its target clientele. Be it in service to its clients or for market research purposes; data analytics are essential so as to provide valuable insights to the company. The benefits become that they can provide services that are more in tune with the needs of its customers and also able to help the company in planning for its future operations. The organizations primarily deals in collecting and analyzing data. They find ways they can derive value from data and present it to its customers in a manner that will benefit that client. It is important that the company conclusively comprehend how analytics work and the best practices in the field. Predictive analytics is used when there is a need to understand future developments. Whether it is shifting market fundamentals, customer behavior and preferences, or the overall market environment, analytics provide these views with fair accuracy. By using current events ongoing within the subject area, combined with historical data, trends and expected changes, these analytic operations are in a better position to gain a glimpse into how the future will unfold. (Chen, Chiang, Storey, 2012). The organization a dealer in data operations will use the tools provided by data analytics to grow its business. Given that a part of its activities involves independently collecting data, analyzing it, and then selling to clients, it is important that they get to understand beforehand what data would interest their customers. Utilizing analytics of the web and other data, they can know the kind of information that customers are most likely to prefer. This way, their services will be embraced by the clients than if the company presented data and hoped it would just sell. Apart from anticipating and meeting the needs of its clients much more efficiently, data analytics can also help in identifying trends that are yet to catch on. These are trends that are yet to be discovered but show a potential for being mass-adopted once they do. Chancing upon such information can help the organization to become a pioneer in the particular area and assist in shepherding the trend into fruition. The predictive nature of data analytics then secures the company a possible lucrative avenue for future revenue. A competitive advantage is gained by being the first in embracing a particular trend. An instance of analytics being useful to a company can be an e-commerce site deciding on what to stock. The company would be called upon to collect the data and analyze it on behalf of the e-commerce company. Such a company needs to sell as much stock as possible. To do this will require an understanding of what products are most popular with its customers. By collecting data such as web visits, page clicks, duration of visit, searched items and such can only gain value when analyzed. Aggregating all this data will provide deep insights into what customers want, what they dont want and so forth. This will help the e-commerce company in giving more prominence to certain popular products, doing away with slow moving ones and even finding ways of linking products together. Analytics should put everything into perspective and lead to the making of much better decisions able to benefit the company. The organizations can also provide insights into other kinds of businesses like marketing, transportation, education, agriculture and much more. Providing the owners of these firms with expertly analyzed data will lead to faster and more informed decision making. For industries where decision making needs to be fast so as to be viable, the provision of analytics will certainly go a long way in helping (Chen, Chiang, Storey, 2012). Companies using cloud technology are provided with computing power and other resources delivered via the Internet. There is no need for investing in hardware or software components to support their operations when they can be provided via the cloud. Whether it is storage, database management, access management and applications, all can be accessed by the company employees through a browser. One of the biggest benefits of using cloud technology is the initial, and subsequent saving realized. By choosing to use the cloud, a company does not need to invest in hardware like servers or CPUs and the lot. Whether it is storage or computing power, this can be provided over the internet. The company doesnt to buy them or even maintain them. Also, the company will also be saved from buying software applications for use in its various operations. The costs of upgrading the software will be borne by the cloud service provider. The organization will, in turn, enjoy the use of up to date applications. Cloud services are usually provided on a usage basis. This means that the cloud client only has to pay for what they use. The importance of this is that companies are spared from exorbitant costs arising from capacity that is lying idle.ÂÂ   As a data-intensive company it will greatly benefit from using cloud technology in its operations. With terabytes of data already owned by the company and more being added every day, cloud technology can help the management of this data much easier. A data warehouse hosted on a cloud platform provide the capabilities of both the cloud and the data warehouse. For a company with a growing trove of data, time will come when it requires having a bigger space for the data. In a non-cloud situation, the company would have to purchase new servers to provide space. Cloud platforms are scalable, meaning that as the need for more resources arises, and then the cloud provider will be able to meet the need accordingly. As mentioned before, cloud users only need to pay for they use, as such even when the company chooses to reduce its data it will still be able to do so. Off-peak and peak capacity requirements can be met by cloud providers quite quickly as a result of having scalable systems (Haugen, Musser, 2013). Cloud platforms can be for purposes of disaster recovery and business continuity planning. System failures, accidental deletions, hacking incidents and other disasters can occur anytime. However, cloud providers usually have multiple backup options for the data they hold. Should anything happen to the primary data, they could always resort to the backups. The organization can benefit from having their precious information hosted offsite, away from potential disasters that might strike their physical premises. With just access to an internet connection, having operations back and running should happen in the shortest time possible. (Rittinghouse, 2010). Aligning Cloud Technology and Analytics to Business Processes Interface Screen Layouts The illustration below is the layout for data analytics. The illustration below is a data collection interface. The illustration below is a data reporting interface. Recommended Solution Provider Amazon Web Services is the largest and most experienced provider of cloud services in the market today. As a pioneer in the field, it has amassed enormous experience and can, therefore, meet the needs of its clients most effectively. Among the many services provided by its cloud platform if analytics. These services can be offered to any company anywhere in the world as long as the client can have access to an internet connection. The organization would greatly benefit from the world class infrastructure and service offered by Amazon Web Services. References Chen, H., Chiang, R. H., Storey, V. C. (2012). Business Intelligence and Analytics: From Big Data to Big Impact. MIS quarterly, 36(4), 1165-1188. Haugen, D. M., Musser, S. (2013). Technology and the cloud. Rittinghouse, J. W. (2010). Cloud Computing: Implementation, Management, and Security. Hoboken: CRC Press.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Euthanasia Essay - The Controversial Issue of Doctor-Assisted Suicide

The Controversial Issue of Doctor-Assisted Suicide      Ã‚   Imagine youu have just found out you are going to die within three months. Recently the questions have been changed form, "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?" to "When should I kill myself"?   With painful and crippling diseases such as AIDS and cancer, and Alzheimers along with doctors such as Dr. Kavorkian, some people are choosing death over life.   Doctor assisted suicide has been a very controversial subject in the past few years.   Some states such as Oregon have passed laws which allow doctors to prescribe lethal drugs to patients who have less then six months to live.(Henin 1)   Other state have taken the opposite side.   I believe that if you are able to reason and think rationally you should decide whether to live or dir.   If not the people who know you best should make the decision.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If you are ever in a situation where you now you wil soon die the choice whether or not to kill youself should be your own.   I believe that doctorassisted suicide should not be controlled by the government, but should be apersonal choice based on the individual.   Many people could not imagine living in a hospital bed for the remainder of their lives.   They would rather die with dignity than live out the rest of their lives depandant on others.   The government thinks that they know what is best for the people. If everyone is an individuall, how can the government know what is best for everyone.   I feel that people shold make up thir own minds about what is best for them.   Joshua Haney worote an article on assisted suicide.   He says, "Everyday we make choices tha... ...rite,s "We all di.   Death is a part of life. Death is inevitable.   Why should each of us not have the right to choose when and how we did; and if we are in no position to do so, why shoulld those who know us best not be allowed to help? Why is it considered acceptable for sospital staff to indefinitely postpone death with machines and tubes and potent toxic pharmaceuticals, and not to help people go easily when their time has come?   Wher is the humanity in all this? (Kushner 3)          BIBLIOGRAPHY    Haney, Joshua, "RE: Assisted Suicide,"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.yahoo.com 4/16/96    A. Wilkie Kushner, MB-Reprinted from Letters to the Editor, Gobe & Mail  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   www.yahoo.com    Hendin, Herbert, MD, Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia:   Oregon Tries the Dutch Way,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Wellness Web, The Patient's Network, www.yahoo.com

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Pseudoscience: Critical Thinking and Author Essay

People often regard the ideas that are generally accepted by the multitudes as â€Å"truths†. However, many of them are not scientifically proven and lack logical and reasonable explanations. According to Saupe’s â€Å"What is Pseudoscience?†, such ideas are called â€Å"pseudoscience†. To be more specific, they are claimed to be scientific, but do not have objective evidence to prove that they are true. If people cannot distinguish between pseudoscience and scientifically proved science, the results would be consequential. False science would lead to the misunderstanding of things and cause people to do things wrongly and might lead to harms and damages eventually. To evaluate if the information is credible, there are some standards; for example, check the credentials of the author, check the credibility of the sources of the information and the relevant sources that the information contains and see if the author has good logics to prove the information ( Saupe, 2005). In the three articles, they all talked about the problems of globalization. They either claimed that globalization benefits the environment or causes harms. Among the three articles, â€Å"Green and Brown? Globalization and the Environment† by James J. Boyce appears to be the most credible. The most obvious indicator is that it comes from a published journal; according to the journal, the author’s credential is clearly addressed. In its thesis, the author examined the assumption that the â€Å"global North is relatively ‘green’ and the global South relatively ‘brown’†. He also argued that the claim of globalization leads to a convergence toward better or worse environmental practices cannot be proved by either theoretical or experimental evidence. To support his arguments, the author explained how it is uneven and what global polarization is. The arguments and the evidence the author used to prove his ideas are very logical and also credible since they are mainly from other peer-reviewed journals. The entire article appears to be reasonable and understandable. Thus, this article is considered to be the most credible one. Just a little bit not as good, the article â€Å"Globalization: Myths and Realities† by Jim Dolmas is ranked behind the previous article. In his article, although he has reliable credential, he did not make good use of facts as empirical evidence. The author explained too much by his own views and ideas, and did not use enough references to support what he said. Though, this is overall a credible enough article since the author’s claims and explanations still appear to be logical and understandable. The least credible article is â€Å"The Environmental Benefits of Globalization† by John A. Charles. First of all, the author does not have credential at all since it only mentioned his name and did not give any other information about such as his title or so. Then, while trying to prove that globalization benefits the environment, he did not use enough credible sources. The sources are also not well cited. Although the author still wrote logical and understandable supporting arguments and statements, they still lack the use of scientifically proved facts. As a result, this article appears to be more pseudoscientific. To give another example of pseudoscience, I believe that most of people have been warned not to eat high cholesterol food, such as seafood and eggs. These foods are bad for health because they cause people to have cholesterol level hike. What makes me concerned about this claim is that I have seen some people in my life who eat a lot of these food everyday but st ill stay in good health. In fact, according to my research, eating food that contains high cholesterol should not be worried like how people are afraid of eating them now. According to Johnson and Ridlen of the University of Illinois, eating foods like eggs actually does a little effects to human cholesterol level. The main reason that people have high cholesterol level is because their bodies themselves lack the ability to regulate the cholesterol in their blood stream. The intake of cholesterol from food is only partial the cholesterol in the bodies. In most of the cases, the overproduction of cholesterol of the body is the leading cause of high cholesterol level. Thus, people should not worry too much about eating eggs and other high cholesterol food if their bodies have good control over cholesterol regulation themselves, and we should not see eating eggs as a demon to avoid in our diet. Pseudoscience exists everywhere in our lives. To obtain the accurate knowledge and true science, we need to observe the world and keep questioning to examine the credibility of information to best avoid pseudoscience. Work Cited Boyce, J. K. (2004). Green and Brown? Globalization and The Environment. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 20(1), 105-128. Charles, J. A. (2004, July 14). The Environmental Benefits of Globalization. Global Envision. Retrieved from http://www.globalenvision.org/. Dolmas, J. (2004, September/October). Globalization: Myths and Realities. Federal Reserve Bank of Dellas, 13-14. Johnson, H. S., & Ridlen, S. F. (2013). Eggs and Cholesterol. Retrieved from University of Illinois Extensions website: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/eggs/. Saupe, S.G. (2005). What is Pseudoscience? Biology Department, St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN 56321.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Environmental Factors Checkpoint

Checkpoint: Environmental Factors Summarize the four external environmental factors and six internal environmental factors that help organizations achieve optimal function. Include in your response the factors that you feel are most important to the success of a human service organization. The four environmental factors that help organizations achieve optimal function are as follows. * Economic Factors * Sociological Factors * Technological Factors * Political and Professional FactorsEconomic factors play a key role in how a successful organization functions because when the economy is in a recession and funding cuts are inevitable human services are usually first to be cut in the budget. Funding sources, non-cash revenues, clients or consumers, suppliers and competition are all economic factors that affect the optimal function of an organization. Political factors affect the optimal achievement of an organization because the attitudes of community leaders and citizens can affect the type of services provided.Community value systems are more likely to support services provided to abused and neglected children or women who have suffered from domestic violence, however they are less likely to support social service programs for recovering alcoholics or the homeless. A good manager needs to take into consideration the interaction between an agency and the community. Professional Considerations play a key role in the optimal success of an organization because accreditation is needed to ensure the agency meets a set of standards. Fundraising for agencies has been found to be more successful if the agency can advertise their accreditation status.Technological Factors are important for human service agencies which regards the use of equipment such as computers and software as well as the development of new treatment approaches. The responsibilities that are being imposed on agencies today require data processing capability. The six Internal Factors that help organizat ions achieve optimal function are as follows. * Organizational purpose mission and philosophy * Organizational Planning * Financial Resources * Organizational Operations * Technological Resources * Human ResourcesSuccessful organizations are those where managers are able to integrate organizational variables and human variables that are consistent and responsive to organizational mission and goals. Miles (1975) Organizational planning and program structure help an agency to deliver services and programs with effective organizational operations. Human resources, technological resources, and financial resources are essential components of an effective and successful human service organization which I feel are most important to the organizations optimal achievement. Kelly Lindquist

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Else Statements

The JavaScript Ternary Operator as a Shortcut for If/Else Statements The conditional ternary operator in JavaScript assigns a value to a variable based on some condition and is the only JavaScript operator that takes three operands. The ternary operator is a substitute for an if statement  in which both the if and else clauses assign different values to the same field, like so: if (condition)result something;elseresult somethingelse; The ternary operator shortens this if/else statement into a single statement: result (condition) ? something : somethingelse; If condition is true, the ternary operator returns the value of the first expression; otherwise, it returns the value of the second expression. Lets consider its parts:   First, create the variable to which you want to assign a value, in this case, result. The variable result will have a different value depending on the condition.Note that on the right-hand side (i.e. the operator itself), the condition is first.The condition is always followed by a question mark (?), which can basically be read as was that true?The two possible results come last, separated by a colon (:). This use of the ternary operator is available only when the original if statement follows the format shown above  - but  this is quite a common scenario, and using the ternary operator can be far more efficient. Ternary Operator Example Lets look at a real example. Perhaps you need to determine which children are the right age to attend kindergarten. You might have a conditional statement like this: var age 7;var kindergarten_eligible;   if (age   5) {kindergarten_eligible Old enough;}else {kindergarten_eligible Too young;} Using the ternary operator, you could shorten the expression  to: var  kindergarten_eligible (age 5) ?  Too young  :  Old enough; This example would, of course, return Old enough. Multiple Evaluations You can include multiple evaluations, as well: var age 7, var socially_ready true;var kindergarten_eligible (age 5) ? Too young  : socially_readyOld enough but not yet ready Old and socially mature enoughconsole.log ( kindergarten_eligible ); // logs Old and socially mature enough   Multiple Operations The ternary operator also allows the inclusion of multiple operations for each expression, separated by a comma: var age   7, socially_ready true; age 5  ? (alert(You are old enough.),location.assign(continue.html)) : (socially_ready false,alert(Sorry, but you are not yet ready.)); Ternary Operator Implications Ternary operators avoid otherwise verbose code, so on the one hand, they appear  desirable. On the other hand, they can compromise readability  - obviously, IF ELSE is more easily understood than a cryptic ?. When using a ternary operator  -   Ã‚  or any abbreviation  Ã‚  -   consider who will be reading your code. If less-experienced developers may need to understand your program logic, perhaps the use of the ternary operator should be avoided. This is especially true if your condition and evaluations are complex enough that you would need to nest or chain your ternary operator. In fact, these kinds of nested operators can impact not only readability but debugging. As with any programming decision, be sure to consider context and usability before using a ternary operator.

Monday, October 21, 2019

HOW TRO DECORATE A SHIRT essays

HOW TRO DECORATE A SHIRT essays Decorative shirts, you have seen them. Now not only can you own them, you can make them too. I would like to start by explaining how to decorate shirts for any occasion. This is a very nice and inexpensive way to decorate shirts, because it is made with homemade artwork. They are wonderful to keep or to give away as a gift. I think people would enjoy doing this craft and wearing their own artwork. In the recent years I have developed the abilities to do these types of crafts and have enjoyed do them and teaching them. Wouldnt it be nice to have a decorative shirt for any occasion? Before I go on to explain the steps involved in decorating shirts, I would like to tell you what supplies you will need. The first item you will need is a t- shirt, any color will work. I have found that using a cotton t-shirt works the best. You will also need newspaper or plastic to cover your work area. Then you will need paper and scissors to cut out stencils. You will also need straight pins to hold down your stencils on the shirt. The last thing you will need is fabric spray paint, also any color. Now lets begin with the steps to decorate your shirts. We will start by covering your work area. This is a must because you would not want to have to replace anything that could get damaged by the paint. If you are doing this indoors you should make sure you have some windows open for ventilation, due to the fume from the fabric spray paint. Then you will take the paper and scissors, and cut out your stencils. You could make hearts, squares, circles, letters, numbers and ect. After you have them cut out you will place the shirt on the work area and place some newspaper inside the shirt flatly and smooth out all the wrinkles. The reason why you want to place the newspaper inside the shirt is because you would not want the paint to seep through to the other side of the shirt. Then you will pl ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Defining the Big D - Emphasis

Defining the Big D Defining the Big D Kill the fatted calf: it seems we do now have a definition of the word Depression. (See Whats in a word?, below.) According to the Economist, its: a slide in peak-to-trough of real GDP of 10% or a decline lasting more than three years. Im glad we sorted that out. So were not in one yet, even if the latest estimate is for 4 per cent negative growth in GDP. Now, if we could just start talking ourselves out of whatever it is we are in

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The CSR Benchmarks and Models of the Cooperative Bank Essay

The CSR Benchmarks and Models of the Cooperative Bank - Essay Example The broadest aim of the social responsibility is to create higher and even higher standards of living, while maintaining the corporations’ profitability, for people in and outside the corporation (Line 2012, p.10). CSR becomes classified in a number of ways; Environmental protection The main focus of CSR is to find a sustainable solution for the natural resources use, to help reduce the company’s impact on its environment. Over the couple number of years, environmental responsibility has grown to include more than the compliance with all appropriate government regulations, or participating in energy efficiency. A number of companies and environmental organizations define environmental responsibility as including, comprehensive move to a firm’s operations, goods and facilities that also include; assessing the products of the company, processes and the services; removing waster and other emissions; utilizing the efficiency and the subsequent productivity of the ent ire assets and resources (Frankental 2001, p.21). Labor security These contain freedoms of association and the subsequent recognition of the right to the collective bargaining, the removal of all types of forced labor. It also entails the abolition of child labor and removal of discrimination in line with employment and occupation (McWilliams & Siegel 2001, p.18). Human rights Business practices can affect significantly the dignity and rights of the workers and the community. The focus is, to develop a job environment free from discrimination and a place where the creativity and learning can improve the appropriate codes of professional conduct, and where a correct balance can be maintained between jobs and other areas of the employees’ lives. Behaving in an irresponsible way on human rights issues can detrimental because the reputation of the firm is on the line. The issue is also related to the issue of globalization and ever increasing global trade, and the problems of fin ding methods of doing business globally that respect the human rights and facilitate the growth of emerging economies. Nations become required to upheld, support and protect human rights to their levels of influence. Paying the employees a living wage and giving them protection from harassment may cost more in the short run, but it vastly increases the workers morale and reduces turnover increasing profits in the future. Therefore, socially responsible management practices can increase the firms’ level of profits (Carroll 2000, p.16). Community involvement It involves community partnership, global community involvement, employee giving, service donations and volunteerism. Corporate, community involvement is a number of actions undertaken by the firms to improve the impact of their activities, in the communities that they operate. When correctly executed, these activities not only bring immense importance to the recipients’, but will also improve the reputation of the o rganizations and their brands, goods and values in the communities where they have interests in, as well as globally (Greenfield 2004, p.20). Business Standards They cover a number of corporate events like; ethics, environmental protection, financial returns and human rights. The growth of international trade and communication has led an increasing pressure from a number of groups, for the formation of world business conduct standards (McWilliams & Siegel 2001, p.18). Early models of CSR have developed since 1960s,

Friday, October 18, 2019

Race, Gender, Imperialism and American History Essay

Race, Gender, Imperialism and American History - Essay Example Historical accounts make it abundantly clear that it is the combination of the three key factors i.e. race, gender, and sexuality that has helped shape some of the major domestic and foreign policies in the United States. This essay looks at how the politics of race, gender, and sexuality contributed in shaping the domestic and foreign policies in America as we know today by exploring the American history and through a comprehensive study of its culture and the identities of the people of color which greatly influenced the country's overall political framework. Race: Causes & History Racism first emerged in the 16th and more specifically during the 17th century when Europeans began enslaving people from Africa as well as the new world. During this period however racism meant that 'certain people who were defined as non-Europeans find themselves ruled and governed by Europeans'. Causes: The key motivation behind it was grounded in economics driven by the motive of profit maximization. The laws that encouraged racism and the racial segregation of people of color were hence developed to enable the whites to use the non-whites as commodities / resources that helped them in achieving their profit objectives. Most of these slaves were hired by the whites to work on plantations since ownership of slaves was regarded as the greatest form of wealth (Racism - A History). The underlying factors that led to the rampant racist attitudes towards the people of color were the inherent fear and apprehension regarding these 'foreign' races. Blacks, for instance, were perceived as half humans and half animals (Racism: A History) while the Native American tribes were perceived as brutes who kill defenseless women and children (Baigell 4). The concept of â€Å"race† during a fair part of the 19th century was defined strictly with regard to the skin color and the individuals were socially categorized in accordance with their respective race with Europeans (whites) occupying the top spot. However, in 1922 in the case of Ozawa v United States the courts ruled that 'the test of race afforded by the color of the skin of each individual is impracticable as that differs greatly among persons of the same race, even among Anglo-Saxons, ranging by imperceptible gradations from the fair blond to the swarthy brunette, the latter being darker than many of the lighter hued persons of the brown or yellow races'. Thus suggesting that racial boundaries cannot be bound by skin color alone and hence cannot be used to racially divide people (Lopez 195). You need a transitional sentence that connects this paragraph to the next. So even though the law exists, racism still prevails at an institutional level. The legal and judicial sy stem in the U.S. had time and again used the law as a tool of racial segregation. One such instance is the case of the manner in which the U.S. used the law to prevent mass migration of Chinese workers to California during the gold rush. The state of California passed its first anti-Chinese laws during the 1850s including the levying of a special tax targeted at the Chinese to dissuade them from flooding American shores in hordes (Bill Moyers Special:

India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

India - Essay Example The cultural differences can cause serious misunderstanding and hamper the way towards building healthy professional and business relationships. Thus it is highly important that before initiating any cross cultural relationship that the differences are understood and respected. The purpose of this paper is to gain awareness and skills in dealing with global diversity. The objective was achieved by doing research about an international country and interviewing a person from that place. A lot of information was gained about the country's location, its people, culture, economy and lifestyle. The country chosen in this case is India. India occupies a strategic position in Asia. It is the seventh largest country in the world by area and second largest by population. It lies in the Southern part of Asia with Arabian Sea on its West, Bay of Bengal to its East and Indian Ocean in South. The country shares borders with China (north-east), Pakistan (west), Bangladesh (in east), Nepal (north-east), and Sri Lanka (south). The Himalayas with highest mountain peak in the world also line the northern part of India. The two important rivers that originate from Himalayas and flow through India are River Indus and Ganges. The River Ganges is the largest in India and has an important cultural and religious value attached to it. (Kwintessential) India has Culture and Customs India has a rich and diverse culture which has been shaped by its interesting history. Starting from the Indus Valley Civilization to the British Rule, India has been a land to many ancient civilizations each with their unique culture and traditions. This history makes India diverse in terms of religions, languages, cultural practices and customs. The Indian culture consists of strict social hierarchy commonly known as caste system. This caste system which separates people into communities based on their family background, education and income, is deeply rooted in India. In India the family system carries great value with many living as extended families. The extended family system creates a hierarchy of relationships with the most elder member as the head of the family making all important decisions and requires deep respect of elders. That is why the when the young greets an elder person of the society, they touch their feet as a symbol of respect and blessing. (Kwintessential) Also when meeting each other, Indians greet by saying "Namaste" accompanied by slightly bowed gesture with hands pressed together vertically in front of chest. Moreover Arranged marriages are preferred in India with the parents and other family members planning the marriage. Mostly the marriages are planned among the same communities. Indians have g reat concern for their families and relatives and tend to adjust their plans and goals that would satisfy the people around them. They have strong family values and engage in long term relationships with true commitment. Weddings are a grand affair in India lasting for weeks and even months for some families. Birth and death ceremonies are also held with great fervor consisting of various rituals that last for many days.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Human resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Human resource Management - Essay Example In 2007 the Air Force changed its evaluation process to make it more user friendly and to achieve a system with value added characteristics. The OPR new design allows the evaluator more flexibility and the ability to provide greater feedback concerning deficiency in performance areas. It is more flexibility because it reduced the time it complete the evaluation by eliminating unnecessary narratives in the report. I like the new system because the new evaluation process provides consistency. The elimination of biased opinions makes this tool fairer for everyone so it can be utilized for promotion purposes. In the past the Air Force wasted a lot of important resources in this process, which could have been used for more useful initiatives such as employee development and training programs. There some things I do not like about the evaluation process. First of the Air Force does not provide the employees the opportunity to express their opinion about their yearly performance. Doing so would allow a more honest process in which the employee can point out the things he/she needs to improve. Such a process would allow the Air Force to better serve the long term professional needs of the employees. Johnson & Johnson is a consumer products company that specializes in healthcare products which is one of the largest global firms with over 230 operating unit locations. The firm has wealth of diverse human resources that provide a competitive advantage to Johnson & Johnson. This company follows a credo which is foundation of values and corporate culture. In 2002 the company started a new project called e-university. The e-university was created to interconnect the different operation units in order to create a centralized training and development platform. The e-university serves three main objectives: it increases learning rate, improve use of

Teamwork in the multidisciplinary setting. Professional issues Essay

Teamwork in the multidisciplinary setting. Professional issues - Essay Example FORM OF EVIDENCE 9 INTRODUCTION 9 9 10 10 11 LEARNING OUTCOME ONE Multidisciplinary teams – critical analysis Psychiatrist Care Coordinator Advanced mental health practitioner 12 Personal reflection on Multidisciplinary teams 13 References 14 14 LEARNING OUTCOME 2 Critical Analysis of the use of Reflection in professional learning 15 References 15 Use of Primary Care Models to enhance care delivery 16 References LOCATION FORM OF EVIDENCE 16 18 LEARNING OUTCOME THREE Ethics 19 References 19 21 LEARNING OUTCOME FOUR Diversity 22 References 22 FINAL REFLECTION ON THE MODULE Course Outcome Number 1: The multi-disciplinary team Reflect on and critically analyse the roles, responsibilities, collaboration and inter-agency working within the multi-disciplinary team. PERSONAL AIM (Course Outcome 1) This first section is concerned with what YOU want to achieve and is based on personal aims that you identify at the start of the module. My personal aim in relation to this outcome was: To comprehend how multidisciplinary teams function and how they establish a coordinated plan of care to meet the patients multiple needs. Please complete one of the following: Where your personal aim was achieved? Please describe how achieving this aim has influenced your practice. Yes it was achieved, and I was able to understand how multidisciplinary teams work with each other and how their different skills when combined eventually achieve favorable patient outcomes. Where your personal aim was not achieved? Please state why you think this aim was not achieved. I believe that my personal aim was not achieved in terms of my assertiveness as part of the team. I did not try a more assertive approach during meetings and was not able to express my role as a member of the team. ACTUAL OUTCOME (Course Outcome 1) This second section concerns what you have achieved, in relation to this learning outcome. It should demonstrate, as comprehensively as possible, how your practice is different as a result of this module. Please list all the evidence that is included under this outcome and where it may be found. How does the evidence support your claim that you have achieved this outcome? What form does the evidence take? Location I established a critical assessment discussing the importance of multidisciplinary teams and to establish a personal reflection of an incident I witnessed while in my placement. References are also indicated in order to support the evidence I used. Critical and reflective accounts and references Page 9-13 Course Outcome Number 2: Nursing Theory Critically analyse the use of reflection in professional learning and the use of Nursing models to enhance care delivery. PERSONAL AIM (Course Outcome 2) This first section is concerned with what YOU want to achieve and is based on personal aims that you identify at the start of the module. My personal aim in relation to this outcome was: To comprehend the importance of reflection and the role of evidence in t he establishment of effective nursing practice. Please complete one of the following: Where your personal aim was achieved? Please describe how achieving this aim has influenced your practice. My personal aim was accomplished because I was able to critically assess the importance of reflection and how it can enhance my practice and learning. The assessment of the self-care model also helped me realize the importance of helping patients become

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Violence and its effects on children and families Research Paper

Violence and its effects on children and families - Research Paper Example Many video games these days are based on the theme of violence. Violence through media is a very silent yet a very effective way of changing the minds of the young generation especially children. â€Å"[T]he motion picture, music recording, and electronic game industries attempt to market the same products to children that they label as unsuitable for children† (Cornell, 2006, p. 117). Children are drawn toward video games in which they have to do target killing. Anything from rape to genocide and drug dealing can be the activity in a video game or a movie. In the present age, children spend a lot of time watching television and playing video games. Gradually, these activities become ingrained in their personalities. They develop a level of comfort with such activities. Television programs showing children kidnapping and murder teach them the ways and means to do these acts of violence (Freedman, 2002, p. 5). The more they watch it happen, the more the negative or at least, aw kward image of these activities fades away. Children become used to seeing violence and becoming part of it. This reflects in their behavior in the form of rudeness, lack of respect for the elders, lack of discipline, and physical and verbal abuse. Parents adopt different ways of counseling their children but not many get successful in disciplining their children after they have been spoilt. If parents take it too lightly, the chances of children getting spoilt are maximized. If parents take it too seriously and scold their children for such behaviors and activities, their relation with their children is distorted. Parents are perplexed and curious which affects their own lives as well. Family violence is commonly observed in the present age. Domestic violence is defined as â€Å"any violent or abusive behavior (whether physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, verbal, financial, etc.) that is used by one person to control and dominate another with whom they have or have had a re lationship† (Pearson, Hester, and Harwin, 2007, p. 18). Chances of family violence are maximized in distorted families. Family issues that often become the cause of violence include but are not limited to divorce, teenage pregnancy, and step-parenting. Usually, in these cases, at least one of the parents is not able to pay due attention toward the children. Children require care and love from their parents that they are deprived of in such cases. Divorce draws them away from one of the two parents. The emotional and physical gap thus created instills negative feelings in the children that are further strengthened with the passage of time because of lack of parental supervision. Likewise, children born to and raised by single parents are stereotyped and grow up with an inferiority complex. As they reach adolescence, they tend to join groups and gangs for identity. These groups make them part of their violent activities, and children develop into criminals. Many children are abu sed by their step-parents either physically or verbally or both. Many step-parents do not accept children of their spouses from their first marriages as part of their family. The hatred shows up in the form of verbal abuse. Many step-parents also abuse the children physically, thus leaving them with a life-long trauma and suffering. Some children share their experiences with their biological parents while others do not. In either case, the

Teamwork in the multidisciplinary setting. Professional issues Essay

Teamwork in the multidisciplinary setting. Professional issues - Essay Example FORM OF EVIDENCE 9 INTRODUCTION 9 9 10 10 11 LEARNING OUTCOME ONE Multidisciplinary teams – critical analysis Psychiatrist Care Coordinator Advanced mental health practitioner 12 Personal reflection on Multidisciplinary teams 13 References 14 14 LEARNING OUTCOME 2 Critical Analysis of the use of Reflection in professional learning 15 References 15 Use of Primary Care Models to enhance care delivery 16 References LOCATION FORM OF EVIDENCE 16 18 LEARNING OUTCOME THREE Ethics 19 References 19 21 LEARNING OUTCOME FOUR Diversity 22 References 22 FINAL REFLECTION ON THE MODULE Course Outcome Number 1: The multi-disciplinary team Reflect on and critically analyse the roles, responsibilities, collaboration and inter-agency working within the multi-disciplinary team. PERSONAL AIM (Course Outcome 1) This first section is concerned with what YOU want to achieve and is based on personal aims that you identify at the start of the module. My personal aim in relation to this outcome was: To comprehend how multidisciplinary teams function and how they establish a coordinated plan of care to meet the patients multiple needs. Please complete one of the following: Where your personal aim was achieved? Please describe how achieving this aim has influenced your practice. Yes it was achieved, and I was able to understand how multidisciplinary teams work with each other and how their different skills when combined eventually achieve favorable patient outcomes. Where your personal aim was not achieved? Please state why you think this aim was not achieved. I believe that my personal aim was not achieved in terms of my assertiveness as part of the team. I did not try a more assertive approach during meetings and was not able to express my role as a member of the team. ACTUAL OUTCOME (Course Outcome 1) This second section concerns what you have achieved, in relation to this learning outcome. It should demonstrate, as comprehensively as possible, how your practice is different as a result of this module. Please list all the evidence that is included under this outcome and where it may be found. How does the evidence support your claim that you have achieved this outcome? What form does the evidence take? Location I established a critical assessment discussing the importance of multidisciplinary teams and to establish a personal reflection of an incident I witnessed while in my placement. References are also indicated in order to support the evidence I used. Critical and reflective accounts and references Page 9-13 Course Outcome Number 2: Nursing Theory Critically analyse the use of reflection in professional learning and the use of Nursing models to enhance care delivery. PERSONAL AIM (Course Outcome 2) This first section is concerned with what YOU want to achieve and is based on personal aims that you identify at the start of the module. My personal aim in relation to this outcome was: To comprehend the importance of reflection and the role of evidence in t he establishment of effective nursing practice. Please complete one of the following: Where your personal aim was achieved? Please describe how achieving this aim has influenced your practice. My personal aim was accomplished because I was able to critically assess the importance of reflection and how it can enhance my practice and learning. The assessment of the self-care model also helped me realize the importance of helping patients become

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Theories of Motivation Essay Example for Free

Theories of Motivation Essay How do these theories of motivation compare and contrast with ideas you read about management in Unit 1 or in MDA 3, e.g., how do they relate to Fordist and Taylorist approaches? Do they relate to these approaches? McGregor management theory involves the idea that there are two types of managers Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X managers assumes that the average human being has an inherit dislike of work and will avoid it if possible. Theory Y managers assumes employees can exercise self-direction, accept responsibility and consider work to be as natural as rest or play. I would consider that Taylor theories fall under theory X. Taylor’s belief that there is no question that the tendency of the average man is toward working slow that soldiering was a result of natural instinct and the value he placed on monetary motivation seems to conform to McGregors Theory X. However Taylor’s theory differs from Theory X in its belief that workers are not fulfilled solely with monetary rewards. With Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory it classifies the factors needed to motivate people into two categories: hygiene factors and motivating factors, Herzbergs motivators idea corresponds with Maslows Esteem and Self-Actualization needs i.e. they both have the same criteria (recognition, growth, achievement etc).Both theories are influenced by environmental conditions, employee attitudes and as a result, their motivation. But Maslow says that each stage of the 5 must be fully or largely completed before advancing to the next stage however, Herzberg suggested that there were only 2 stages (hygiene and motivators) i nstead of 5. How do the ideas in the reading help you to think about your own management style and ways to manage people in your team or work group? Having reviewed the different theories it is easy to see that there are many different ways to motivate staff. I think motivation is important because even at the most basic level, it costs more to replace staff than to keep them. I also see that I need to use different styles of motivation depending on the member of staff I am dealing with. Staff liked to feel needed and respected and keeping them happy means theyll stay with you for much longer. Using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs I try to prioritize the needs of employees as a  person will want certain needs to be satisfied before others. The hierarchy of needs will help determine whats motivating an employee, and what needs to be addressed. Looking at Herzberg, I think a lot of the traditional benefits in terms of healthcare, cars and holidays, are much more hygiene factors. They are what people look for when they are making an assessment about the competitiveness of employment from one organization to another. In other words, employees might come to expect benefits that typically fit into a package and therefore may fail to be motivated after a time. What about your own motivations – do any of these ideas and approaches ring especially true in relation to your own experiences? I can probably relate to Herzbergs theory of motivation the most, factors such as company policy, supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, and salary are no longer motivators to me. The absence of these ‘hygiene factors’ may sometimes create job dissatisfaction, but their presence does not motivate me. In contrast, the motivators that are particularly strong determiners of job satisfaction for me are: achievement, recognition and the work itself. I need any new project to be a sufficient challenge to keep me motivated.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Bajaj Two Wheeler Marketing Analysis

Bajaj Two Wheeler Marketing Analysis Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL) was recognized in 1945, firstly launching scooters and three wheelers a centre in the Indian market. In 1991 its properties of the Indian government rule on foreign imports, BALs marketing object the development of the Indian two wheeler business from scooters to 2 stroke and 4 stroke bikes with a robust stress on BAL while studying its strategies. Along with the analysis found that BAL moving into developing markets in instruction to increase sales and found a global footmark. According to market report also comprises SWOT study of BAL which will help it to express an actual marketing policy for the next five years. In adding to SWOT analysis, Bajaj auto limited latest model Pulsar DTS-i 220cc,150 cc ,180cc 135 cc and Discover DTS-i 135 cc 100cc increased growth suddenly. Its product quality (maintenance, mileage service) better than any another Hero Honda, TVS motor product. At present time ,Bajaj very good position in two wheeler industry because Its ch anges model half yearly, yearly. Its also increase market share. Bajaj discover 100 makes new record -over 10 lakh bike sold in just 15 months. In 2010, Bajaj auto limited launch latest Bajaj Discover 150cc, pulsar 135cc, 220cc model changes in two wheeler market. All the brand comparable with other two wheeler company that its all brand were gave better average with new technic cheaper price. Table of Contents COMPANY HISTORY: Inspiring Confidence, the tagline, has constructed up confidence, complete pleasure engineering, not only to national customers but also internationally. Recognized just eight periods back in 1926 thru Jamnalal Bajaj, the company has been conferred with Indias major exporter of two-wheeler three-wheeler. In 2004-05, produce sales 196,710 units, a great 26 per cent jump over the previous year In 2004-05, Bajaj Auto Ltd. sales have increased about 21 per cent which at most Rs 65.4 billion. Its record in the history of the company. The gross working profit positions at Rs. 9.3 billion, over a record. The profits after tax of the BAL are close to Rs. 7.7 billion, and the pre-tax return on working capital is at an inspiring 80 per cent. The company strength is product excellence, brilliance in engineering and design, and its aptitude to pleasure the customers. In November 2004, the Pulsar introduced is continually controlling the best segment of the motorcycle market, helping to maintain the market advantage. Discover DTS-i, one more successful bike on Indian roads, is in the value segment of the motorcycle market. It joins a high degree of power with petroleum competence of a 100cc motorcycle. The market turns on high economies of device and on high economies of choice. The requirement for technical expertise is high. Owning a strong supply network is important and is very costly. All these brand the fence high enough to be a warning for new candidates OBJECTIVE: Bajaj Limited is to deliver the market requirements of transportation by providing two- wheeler. BAL has been manufacturing the list products to supply to the changing market requirements. Founded on the customer feedback, improvements are being made continuously in the current products. Its wants to be a good market growth in Indian two wheeler Industry. LITERATURE REVIEW: Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates satisfies customer requirements profitably. (The Chartered Institute of Marketing) Marketing is a social managerial process by which individual groups obtain what they want and need through creating ,offering and exchanging products of value with others, (kotler, 1991) The marketing mix helps you define the marketing elements for successfully positioning your market offer. One of the best known models is the Four Ps, which helps you define your marketing options in terms of product, place, price and promotion. Use the model when you are planning a new venture, or evaluating an existing offer, to optimize the impact with your target market. MARKETING MIX 4PS MODEL PROMOTION ADVERTISING Earlier tagline Defiantly Male but now its using tagline Distinctly Ahead. It inspires confidence and sends message of Free Biking. Its association with stunt mania (MTV) helps at targeting youth. Hero Honda is worlds no 1 two wheeler sales company. Advertising by Sorav Ganguly Hirtik Roshan. Hero Honda annual STAR SCREEN AWARDS etc. TVS Apache selected Bike of the Year in 2006. Company give a free gifts like electric item, offer price on Diwali, New year any other occasion. SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths: Highly knowledgeable management Competences of product design development Widespread RD focus Wide spread distribution network High performance products across all classes High export to national sales ratio Great financial support network Great economics of scope scale Weaknesses: Hasnt employed the extra cash for  long Still has no recognized brand to match hero Hondas splendor in customer segment Not a global player in malice of enormous capacity Not a internationally familiar brand (unlike the JV partner Kawasaki ) Threats: The struggles catches-up new  innovation in no time Threat inexpensive of important motorcycle from china Margins getting embraced from both the directions (price as well as cost) Tata Ace is a thoughtful struggle for the three- wheeler cargo segment Pulsar 135 cc will good competitor to Hero Honda other bike. Opportunities: Dual growth in two -wheeler market Unused market above 180cc in motorcycle More adulthood and movements towards higher-end motorcycles The increasing gearless trendy scooter and scootte market Increasing world demand for entry-level motorcycle particularly in emerging markets. BAL is devoted to discouragement of pollution, continual development of environment presentation and obedience with all environmental rule and regulations. They always trust in as long as the customer value for money and save a special eye upon excellence, security, productivity, cost and distribution. THE INVEITABLE CHANGE: Bajaj on interior analysis found that it required The practical knowledge to deliver modest goods. The design knowledge. And the instant incapability to support the attack of competitors. Bajaj to expression for an global partner who could transport in technology and also proposal some basic stages to be factory-made and promoted in India. In Japan, Kawasaki is a world-renowned producer of high presentation bikes. In 1990, Bajaj arrived into a planned tie-up with Kawasaki to improve its product line and gen up-gradation to support long-term plans. This helped the purpose of satisfying the market rivalry for a whereas. From 1996 to 2000, Bajaj capitalized extremely in infrastructure though concurrently developing product design and innovation competences, which is the prime reason behind the lively Bajaj of 21st century. After 2001, Bajaj introduced a swing of products right from entry-level motorbike to the best segment right and since then its wet success all the technique for Bajaj. Previous sector, Bajaj had inspiring performance increasing at a rate of 20%+ when the main producer produced at just 6%. This stands a testament to the numerous significant strategic choices over the previous period. MARKET SEGMENTATION: BRAND POSITION: Bajaj Auto is a top company of Bajaj group. Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL) is presently Indias second largest worlds fourth largest two-wheeler and three wheeler producer. The vital ability of Bajaj Auto Ltd is its technology and invention. Both DTS-i (Digital Twin Spark Ignition) and DTS-Fi (Digital Twin Spark Fuel Ignition) are technological advances by Bajaj. BAL is also a innovator in product innovation having accessible technologies such as Exhaust TEC (Exhaust Torque Expansion Chamber), LED tail lamps, LCD Display, SNS, Spare parts (Rear disc brakes, tube less tyres), Black colour system etc. Similarly, the company also learnt that deviation was another important part of its focus on specialism, with the Discover obviously located for the customer section and the Pulsar as the sporty option. The features, so, had to be high-class for each product in terms of looks and trip while protection profitability. Since Bajaj Autos point of view, the customer and sporty parts are the backbone of Indias motorbike market. And even while it has bikes to proposal from the KTM and Kawasaki firm, these largely continue in the place category as off-road and on-road players understanding into incomplete numbers. MARKETING STRETEGIES: The focus of BAL rotten twilight has been on as long as the best models at modest values .Most of the Bajaj models come loaded with the modern landscapes within the price group suitable by the market. BAL has been the innovator in widening competition into as long as newest features in the price section by informing the low price bikes. The latest features like twin spark, disk-brakes, anti-skid DTS-I technology and dual suspension, etc. who increase great growth in two wheeler industry. BAL accepted different promotion policies for different models, few of them are deliberated by table: Strategies Model Engine Technology Market Kawasaki 4s champion 100cc Bajaj first bike launched that time Hero Honda is a great market leader In fuel efficient bike Yamaha is performance bike Boxer 100cc AT/CT/AR three models come in market with good technology. Target rural population price delicate client. Boxer marketed as a worth for money bike a great mileage. It was in straight struggle to Hero Honda Dawn and Suzuki MX100. Pulsar new150cc, 180cc,135 cc 220cc, 200cc, DTS-I (digital twin spark ignition), DTS-Fi, Exhaus TEC (Exhaust Torque Expansion Chamber), Self-start Pulsar was launched in direct competition to the Hero Hondas CBZ model in 150 cc plus segment. all model was a great success and has already crossed 1 million marks in sales. Pulsar bike achieve very good market growth day by day Platina 100cc, 125cc DTS-i. Self-start Bajaj Platina is a leader in mileage appearances in the 100 cc class The Platina 125cc bike has a well-ordered expression along with a great rev-up and acceleration. IMPLEMENTATION: Although the avalanche of motorcycles offered Indian customers a wide variety of models to select from, it also resulted in increased weight on the companies to essence on cost-cuts, technology improvements and up-gradations and fashioning. Their margins came under weight as marketing costs intensified. The companies were compulsory to decrease prices and proposal reductions to live the competition. Moreover, analysts were cynical about the segments ability to uphold the development rate in the years to come. One of the main expectations original the motorbikes rush was that if the market was significantly large and was growing at a constant step, there was room for a profitable being for all products. In 2001, there were over 30 motorbike products in the market. Though, with the top five brands accounting for more than 60% of the market, only 40% of the market was accessible for all other new products put together. In spite of the launch of more vehicles, the endurance forecasts of many of the individual brands were believed to be slightly unwelcoming. Further, the development in the motorbike segment was dependant on on-going positive market situations. Analysts requested that to withstand this growth rate, the section would have to totally cannibalize the market for scooters and a significant part of the market for scooters and mopeds. As the fast increasing scooters segment, with high demand from female clienteles, followed by the temperately growing moped segment and the rearrangement in the scooter section thru major national and foreign companies supporting their attendance, it was unlikely that the whole growth in the two-wheeler subdivision would be due to motorbikes. Forecasters also observed that as the two-wheeler manufacturing had grown gradually for eight years, periods in the product life series would apply to the ground rather, rather than future and the weakening stage would usually come sometime. There was little difference between the products being launched separately from designing as most companies had presented their four-stroke vehicles. The Indian companies would succeed in producing the kind of volumes wanted to endure in the modest motorbike market, remainders to be understood. RECOMMENDATION: Focus on High Margin Products: About 50% of the two-wheeler customers buy high class products (products of executive and best segment motorcycles). Limits on these products are higher. BAL should accept a thoughtful strategy of concentrating on executive and best section motorbikes and three-wheelers, and is plummeting its essential on lower-end of motorbikes and scooters section. High margin products-Pulsar, Discover and Avenger. Low margin products Platina, Scooters and Mopeds. Bajaj cumulative competition in the economy section and limited scope from cost saving events, it is believed this strategy of concentrating on higher margin products would allow the company in retentive its operating margins. CONCIUSION: It has been more than 50 years currently that bikes have been ruling the Indian automobile segment. In 1955, the Indian government wanted durable and dependable motorbikes for its Military and forces to patrol the rough border thoroughfares. The first lot of 350cc Bullet the wonderful motorbike in India of all times, from the Royal Enfield Company of UK were conventional and collected at Chennai. The latest model launched new Pulsar 220cc, 135cc Discover 135cc, 100cc also increase better value in two wheeler markets. Its effect on Bajaj auto business. Rahul Bajaj chairman of Bajaj two wheeler. They change many models that increase company growth. Company CEO S. Sridhar change Forman, mechanical, technical staff product quality to improve bike brand. Since then, bikes in India have been prosperous as a two wheelers segment, and Indian bikes ahead on popularity all crossways the world.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Octopus Man :: essays papers

The Octopus Man They change color, texture, and body shape... have three hearts... are jet powered... have members in every ocean of the world... have inspired legends and stories since recorded history... are the most intelligent of all invertibrates, yet are related to clams and oysters... have eyes and senses that rival our own... and can make their own smoke screen decoys out of ink. They are Cephalopods - octopi, cuttlefish, squids, etc. - and they are far more fascinating than one might think. Cephalopoda means, â€Å"head foot†, and they certaintly are of an ancient group... they first appeared several million years before the first primitive fish began to swim the oceans, in the late Cambrian era. They were once one of the dominant life forms in the sea, yet today there are only 650 or so living species left. (This may seem like quite a bit, but compare it to the 30,000 living species of bony fish on this planet and it loses its’ prominence.) Yet in terms of productivity, some scientists feel that cephalopods are still giving fish a run for their money.With so much information on cephalopods available, it becomes neccesarry to narrow down the catagories. Thus, I have determined to zoom in on the order Octopoda as the main focus of this paper, a group on animals which contains, in my opinion, some of the more interesting and intelligent creatues on this planet. Members of the order octopoda have eight arms. Over the corse of evolution, the trend has been a reduction of shell size. Octopi, having no shells at all, have carried this trend the furthest. The suborder ncerrata contains the familiar, unfinned octopuses that humans know the most about. Octopi have evolved mechanisms to protect themselves from predators. Some of the amazing abilities of octopi include their ability to change theircolor, texture, and apparent size; to expel ink; and to modify their environment to suit themselves. Octopi are able to jet water through their siphon by contracting their mantel to provide quick, explosive thrust. They have the intelligence and ability to get into and out of fishermen's crab and fish traps and to get under an undergravel filter plate in an aquarium. They can adapt to new situations and appear to be curious about their surroundings. Octopi can use their bodies as a nets to trap fish.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Realism vs. Romanticism in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essays

     Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic tale â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a good example of a short story embodying both characteristics of realism and characteristics of romanticism. M. H. Abrams defines romantic themes in prominent writers of this school in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries as being five in number: (1) innovations in the materials, forms and style; (2) that the work involve a â€Å"spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings†; (3) that external nature be a persistent subject with a â€Å"sensuous nuance† and accuracy in its description; (4) that the reader be invited to identify the protagonist with the author himself; and (5) that this be an age of â€Å"new beginnings and high possibilities† for the person (177-79).    Let us examine â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† in light of the above. First of all, Hawthorne was a real innovator in his use of the psychological approach to characters within a story. A. N. Kaul considers Hawthorne â€Å"preeminently a ‘psychological’† writer – â€Å"burrowing, to his utmost ability, into the depths of our common nature, for the purposes of psychological romance. . . .† (2). Q. D. Leavis says: â€Å"Hawthorne has imaginatively recreated for the reader that Calvinist sense of sin. . . . But in Hawthorne, by a wonderful feat of transmutation, it has no religious significance, it is as a psychological state that it is explored† (37). The reader experiences most of the story through the eyes and feelings of the protagonist, Goodman. In the following passage the reader is allowed, as is typical, to read his thoughts:    "Poor little Faith!" thought he, for his heart smote him. "What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was troubl... ... Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† 1835. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/goodman/goodmantext.html    James, Henry. Hawthorne. http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/nhhj1.html    Kaul, A.N. â€Å"Introduction.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Leavis, Q.D. â€Å"Hawthorne as Poet.† In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.      Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne.† The Norton Anthology: American Literature, edited by Baym et al.   New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.    Swisher, Clarice. â€Å"Nathaniel Hawthorne: a Biography.† In Readings on Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by Clarice Swisher. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1996.   

Friday, October 11, 2019

Crowd Behaviour Essay

People are likely to act in bizarre ways in a crowd compared to as an individual. A crowd can be defined as a set of individuals who share a common social identification of themselves in terms of that crowd. Crowd members should also share common goals and act in a coherent member (Reicher, 2008). There have been extensive amounts of research into crowd psychology, investigating the apparent causes and reasons for such behaviour to occur. Many different theories exist to attempt to explain why people fall into this interesting state of social influence when they are in crowds. This essay will attempt to investigate how we might best explain crowd behaviour. Le Bon’s (1896) early attempt to explain this phenomenon suggested that crowd behaviours are pathological and abnormal, where people are reduced to a primitive or instinctive mode of behaviour. This theory proposes that feelings of anonymity cause people in a crowd to lose their sense of self and responsibility and act in ways that stem from a ‘group mind’. Through this group mind people are freed from social norms and natural animal instincts are released causing riots and irrational violence. However, since the initial suggestion of the ‘group mind’, this theory has been largely rejected. The main reasoning for this being that the theory does not acknowledge the importance of power in crowd behaviours, which appears to be a key factor in collective behaviour. One speculation that remains important from Le Bon’s group mind theory is that the feeling of crowd anonymity appears to be influential in creating various subsequent theories to explain crowd behaviour, such as the theory of deindividuation. However, the rejection of the group mind does not mean that we should then reject the study of group processes as groups have distinctive properties from individual behaviour. Instead, we should begin to look at group processes with a different perspective. Tajfel (1970) claims that all social behaviour falls on a continuum that spans from interpersonal to intergroup behaviour. Intergroup behaviour is defined with these three criteria: the presence of two distinct groups, low variability in attitudes and behaviour of group members, and low variability in one person’s attitudes to group members.  This helps to explain this readiness in which a person can switch from one view of someone to another (e.g. saying all catholics are bad people, and then going on to say the neighbor (who is a catholic) is such a lovely person). This can arise because when you become part of a group you start to see people as a category not as individuals. The theory of Deindividuation (Deiner, 1976; and Zimbardo, 2007) followed on to these early speculations. The model states that when surrounded by others in a crowd people lose self-awareness. Consequently, people become more susceptible to external cues and to the groups motives and emotions. Ultimately, these factors may lead group members to engage in unsocial and possibly antisocial behaviours. According to Zimbardo, being part of a large group can create a sense of anonymity and diffuses personal responsibility throughout the group for the consequences of one’s actions. This can lead to the loss of identity and a reduced concern for social evaluation. Behaviour resulting can then be impulsive and irrational as there are different set ‘normal’ social and personal norms. Zimbardo’s electric shock experiment gives support to the deindividuation theory, providing evidence that the mean duration of the shock administered by deindividuated participants (they were wearing a coat and a hood to increase anonymity) was nearly twice as long than that of the people who retained their individual identities. Further research also suggests that this sense of anonymity is increased as the size of the group increases and also increases in darker conditions. For example: the violent crowd in the Bristol riots, as darkness fell, violence escalated thus increasing the anonymity of the crowd members. Research by Jaffe and Yinon (1979) compared the mean intensity of shock administered by individuals with that administered by participants in groups of three. As they predicted, those who participated in groups consistently gave much stronger ‘shocks’ than those acting on their own giving evidence for the idea that the sense of anonymity increases with the size of the group. However, some research disagrees that increased anonymity leads to increases antisocial and aggressive behaviour. Some argue that deindividuation and anonymity may in fact result in decreased aggression and improved group relations, indicating that these antisocial behaviours may not be automatic or inevitable consequences of anonymity. Despite much of the early literature proposing that deindividuation factors such as anonymity, loss of self-awareness and group size are associated with antisocial and aggressive behaviours, some more recent findings suggest that deindividuation influences are often sometimes related to increases in pro-social normative behaviour. Zimbardo (1969) provides support for this criticism of the deindividuation theory, having participants either dress in KKK cloaks, or a nurse uniform in an electric shock learning experiment. Results showed that those wearing the nurse uniform chose to reduce the level of shocks administered, and especially in the deindividuated conditions – the person wearing no name tag. In fact, deindividuation by itself did not increase aggression significantly, even for those wearing the KKK outfit. These findings have an influential effect on the understanding of group behaviour as they show that being in a group does not necessarily lead to destructive, antiso cial behaviour as Zimbardo implied. It seems that crowd behaviour often tends to depend on the situation and how salient the norms are. Given the previous literature, Diener (1980) argues that the main factor in crowd behaviour is determined by a loss of self-awareness. He then suggests that factors present in crowd situations such as cohesion and anonymity, can lead people to focus their attention outwards and less on themselves and on personal standards. As a result, people’s behaviour becomes less self-regulated and more determined by immediate cues and norms present in groups around them. Subsequently, these cues will not always direct violence, but will vary across different situations. The literature also fails to consider the context of behaviour or to distinguish anonymity when someone is in a group from anonymity when they are alone. In addition, members of a crowd are barely ever truly anonymous; as individuals identities are often known to other members of the crowd, and they therefore only will appear anonymous to outsiders of the crowd. People often gain a sense of pride rioting together in a group, such as supporters of the same team at a football match, which is far from losing their identities. All of the previous models focus on what is lost when part of a crowd – loss of identity, loss of individuality, and loss of self-awareness. This perspective of understanding group behaviour is a negative and highly  unproductive way to think about collective behaviour; it would be much more productive to think about change (Reicher et al., 1995). Reicher’s research into crowd behaviour has come up with three important features of crowd situations. Firstly, crowds nearly always involve more than one group. This intergroup factor has been essentially ignored in the previous literature for crowd behaviour since the group mind fallacy. Secondly, he suggests that people do not become anonymous, but take on a new identity in a crowd. Reicher (1984) studied vivosection attitudes in Science and Social Science students, with science students generally being more PRO and social sciences students more ANTI. In each category, half of the students were made aware of group membership (e.g. seated together, reffered to as groups, wore KKK membership clothing, etc). Attitudes of Science students became more pro-vivosection and social science students become more anti-vivosection. These findings oppose Deiners theory that deindividuation leads to a loss of self-regulation and gives support to Reicher’s view that you don’t lose your identity in a group based situation, but your identity changes to fall in line with group norms. This follows on from Turners (1983) suggestion of the distinction between personal and social aspects of the self. There is a shift along the interpersonal group continuum from personal identity to social identity. There is then a change in what is seen as the appropriate standard of behaviour. These standards of behaviour and norms are now determined by the group’s social identity rather than by personal or environmental factors. This can help to understand why the behaviour of rioters and police can be so different, when they are exposed to the same stimuli, for when they adopt their respective identities they become influenced by very different goals and social norms. This shows that when a person becomes part of a crowd or group, their social identity as a group member becomes more important and their individual identity becomes less important. Although people may sometimes lose some sense of their identity at times, they will often adopt a stronger sense of their social identity as a member of that particular group. Crowd behaviour, according to Reicher, therefore involves a change rather than a loss of identity. Reicher’s new theory of  crowd behaviour raised four issues that do not fall in line with Deiner’s deindividuation theory. 1. Although crowd behaviour is violent, it is often under control at the same time. 2. Crowds are not always anonymous. 3. Though people are previously suggested to lose self-awareness in crowds and thus respond to cues in particular situations, how come people will respond differently? 4. If crowd behaviour leads to a loss in identity, how come a sense of pride often results from crowd interaction? When Reicher (1987) interviewed people who were part of the St Paul’s riots he received some interesting feedback such as â€Å"we feel great, we feel confident it was a vic tory† and â€Å"You were grinning at everybody, because everyone was from St Paul’s†. These statements provide evidence that those feelings of anonymity and a suggested loss of identity in groups are not present when people are successful in their groups perhaps gaining a sense of pride in their group and coming together to celebrate. To conclude, there are three important points that I would like to reiterate. Firstly, Zimbardo’s pessimism about groups is seemingly unjustified with much evidence pointing in the opposite direction. Depending on each particular situation and the norms that are important in each, behaviour can become either pro-social or anti-social in crowd environments. Though where Zimbardo does seem to be right is that people’s behaviour in a group situation can become much more extreme than how they would behave on their own. The second point is that people’s behaviour in crowds does not always worsen. Support from both Zimbardo and Deiner suggest that in groups people are subjected to a loss of identity and loss of control. However, Reicher’s more recent research into crowd behaviour suggests that this idea is mistaken. It has been shown that people’s behaviour is still in control, yet by different psychological processes. Groups seem to have a common goal in mind in acting as they do, and also that their actions are often motivated by identification with some group. Finally, when viewing group behaviour from an intergroup perspective, the goal and identity directed aspects of collective behaviour are more evident. In almost every situation of crowd behaviour, it is possible to determine an out-group, which will play an important role in the actions of the crowd. Overall, there are many different crowd psychology theories, some of which explain different aspects of crowd behaviour. However, research gives much support to the use of intergroup perspective rather than interpersonal theories to explain this phenomenon. References Diener, E. (1976). Effects of prior destructive behavior, anonymity, an group presence on deindividuation and aggression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 497-507. Diener, E. (1980). Deindividuation, self-awareness, and disinhibition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1160-1171. Le Bon, G. (1947). The Crowd: a study of the popular mind. London: Ernest Benn. Reicher, S. D., Spears, R. and Postmes, T. (1995). A social identity model of deindividuation phenomena. European Review of Social Psychology, 6, 161-198. Reicher, S. D. (1984b). The St. Pauls’ Riot: An explanation of the limits of crowd action in terms of a social identity model. European Journal of Social Psychology, 14, 1-21. Reicher, S. D. (2008). The Psychology of Crowd Dynamics. Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Group Processess, 9, 151-168 Tafjel, H. (1970). Experiments in intergroup discrimination. Scientijic American, 223, 96102. Turner, J. C. (1983). Some comments on ‘the measurement of social orientations in the minimal group paradigm’. European Journal of Social Psychology, 13, 351-368 Zimbardo, P. G. (1969). The Human Choice: Individuation, reason, and order versus Deindividuation, impulse and chaos. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 17, 237-307

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Case Study on RELE-Rouen: Language Immersion in Normandy Essay

Executive Summary Maxime is the co-founder of RELE-Rouen, a franchise language school under RELE at Rouen, France. The business took a downturn during the economic crisis from 2009 to 2011 and it has been losing money for three consecutive years. The franchise contract with RELE is due for renewal in two month. At this time, Maxime is presented with three options: 1. Renew franchise contract with RELE 2. Switch to OILT programs 3. Sell the building to EFEL This report first explored the constrains that Maxime faces in this decision making process. And then the three options are analyzed and compared in details by using a set of criteria, including financial return, franchise models comparison, and other business strategy related considerations, i.e. customers, company, distribution channels and market outlook. The people perspective in this decision making process is also being examined. Based on the findings, RELE-Roune will face another year of loss if RELE does not allow Maxime and Beatrice to run their weekend programs anymore in 2012. OILT is only more profitable if they can sell at a much higher quantity than they do now. And the 1.5m offer from EFEL is much below the valuation of the building and their business. Therefore, it is vitally important that Maxime first determine RELE’s willingness to grant Roune more freedom in program offering in the future. If RELE refuses to, Maxime and Beatrice has to choose between OILT and selling at a loss to EFEL. Maxime and Beatrice should also look for an OILT franchisee that is in a similar geographical location, i.e. a rural area in close proximity to a metropolitan city, to understand their marketing strategy and the new company identity in order to estimate their required initial investment and future business potential if they are to switch to  OILT. Constraint RELE’s centrally controlled sales activities and program offerings are largely the reason why Maxime and Beatrice can do very little to revive their business in times of crisis. It will continue to be a constrain in their future with RELE. Maxime and Beatrice’s financial situation can also restrict their decision-making. The current asset RELE-Rouen held as of 31 December 2011 is just enough to cover its current liability. Any new investment can create a considerably cash flow problem for the company. Maxime has already guaranteed a loan of â‚ ¬800,000 personally. It can be difficult for them to source for new loan or cash investment given the uncertainty of their business future. The building, which Maxime and Beatrice used to run RELE-Rouen, is jointly owned by the five siblings. It is a family heritage. Any decision made related to the use of this building will have to be in all siblings’ best interest. Criteria The three options are being evaluated based on the following criteria: Economics, Business Strategy and People. Economics This section details the financial analysis of the three options1. For RELE, three business scenarios are constructed and evaluated. An estimate of financial returns from OILT, assuming the same level of sales, is also calculated and compared with RELE’s. Lastly, an estimate for the valuation of the building and business provides an insight to EFEL’s offer. Option 1 – Renew franchise contract with RELE Scenario 1: RELE-Rouen offers only weekday programs. It is deduced from the case that Fabienne, the CEO, chose not to object to RELE-Rouen’s new weekend program because of the understanding that time was difficult. When the economy starts to recover, Fabienne may not allow this program to be offered anymore. It is estimated that RELE-Rouen will face a loss of close to â‚ ¬82,000. Scenario 2: RELE-Rouen continues its current offerings. Based on their own estimation, RELE-Rouen will have a profit of close to â‚ ¬30,000. Scenario 3: RELE-Rouen is allowed to offer both four-weekend and English program. This is the best-case scenario for RELE-Rouen. It is not clear why  RELE rejected Maxime and Beatrice’s proposal to offer English program in 2011. One of the possible reasons can be that RELE wanted to avoid new investment in selling to a new segment during crisis while their main focus was to maintain profitability of their own center. It is reasonable to assume that Maxime and Beatrice have a stronger bargaining power now given the fact that they have been approached by OILT and the economy will recover more in 2012. It is estimated that RELE-Rouen will take a profit of close to â‚ ¬91,000. From the calculation, it is clear to see that the profitability of RELE-Rouen is directly affected by the types of programs they can offer. If RELE put a stop to their weekend program, they will have another year of loss. Option 2 – Switch to OILT programs It is assumed that they will be offering both French and English classes during weekday and weekend with OILT. But without a clear understanding of the new targeted market, it is difficult to estimate a sales number. In this calculation, instead of looking at the profit based on an assumed number of sales, the profitability of the OILT programs is evaluated using the same level of sales as proposed in Scenario 3 with RELE. The comparison of the profitability can reveal the different franchise fee structure and its impact on profitability. It is also expected that certain amount of initial investments is required when switching to OILT. But at this stage, there is not sufficient information yet. The calculation simply assumed a similar cost structure as RELE, and did not include any additional investment. Based on the calculation, they will face a loss of close to â‚ ¬36,000. Compare this calculation with Scenario 3 at RELE, it can be concluded that by selling the same amount of classes, the RELE model is more profitable. Another calculation is done to prove the hypotheses that the OILT model is more profitable selling by quantity. By increasing the number of classes sold by 10% (which is still within their current capacity, therefore the same fixed cost applied), the profit almost doubled. Option 3 – Sell the building to EFEL The valuation of the building and the valuation of the business is, in total, around â‚ ¬2.6m. Details of the calculation can be found in Exhibit 3. Based on the calculation for the three options, it can be concluded that the â‚ ¬1.5m offered by EFEL is definitely not an attractive offer. Even if Maxime and Beatrice do not want to continue with their business, they should negotiate another deal with EFEL. Business Strategy Franchise model Since RELE’s only customer base is executive and it is assumed that the weekday programs are mainly sponsored by corporate, maintaining long-term corporate relationships would be RELE’s primary marketing focus. It also gives RELE reasons to centrally control their marketing effort because it is costly both in terms of time and money to build and maintain relationships with corporations and any mishandling of this relationship can adversely affect RELE’s image. The advantage of a centrally controlled sales operation reduces the franchisee’s cost in business development. The disadvantage is, RELE may not have the local knowledge to develop marketing strategy specific to the franchisees’ region and during economy downturn, franchisees have little to no freedom to recoup demand on their own. OILT on the other hand, is targeting at the mass individual consumers. It hardly controls any aspects of its franchisees’ operations. It also means that franchisees will have to decide every aspect of their growth strategy themselves. Customer As discussed earlier, RELE program is for executives while OILT program is for all adults, especially international tourists. A company’s customer base determines the identify of a company. If Maxime and Beatrice want to take up the OILT program, they may have to offer different type of food, different methods of teaching, different ways to promote their programs, different incentives to attract repeat customers and may be even different styles of decorations in the building. Company Maxime is a CEO of their family business apart from running RELE-Rouen with Beatrice. Even though they have been offering the RELE programs for 9 years now but because of the franchise policy, they have only been engaged in academic, administrative and hospitality related operations. Also due to the single type of customers, i.e. executives, they may not have the knowledge and skills in managing mass market. The professors working at RELE-Rouen  have an average age of 52. They may not adapt to new teaching methods of using multimedia very quickly. Competition Currently RELE-Rouen is enjoying a relatively low competition in the region. But OILT and EFEL are targeting at the same type of customers and both of them are interested in entering the region. If Maxime and Beatrice are to take up franchisee from OILT, EFEL is a competitor. Channels According to the financial estimate for the OILT model, it was concluded that in order to make a better profit, they have to sell a better quantity than they have now. Beatrice has little experience in sales and OILT franchise model requires an international sales coverage. OILT offers 10,000 international agents. Choosing the right agents and exploring alternative sales channel would directly determine the success of their business with OILT. Paco Valls, the OILT franchisee in Barcelona may not be a good reference to forecast Rouen’s business potential because of their different geographical location. In Barcelona, Paco Valls has direct access to both a large pool of tourists and the local residents, which Rouen does not provide. Market outlook As the economy starts to recover, Maxime and Beatrice should start to see a pick up in demand both in corporate spending and tourism. The potential of growth of the market also makes EFEL’s 1.5mn look less attractive. If Maxime and Beatrice is to switch to OILT, it is a good time to make the investment as well so that their new business will be up and running when the demand is back in full swing. People Maxime is 62 years old and will retire in 3 years. He may not want to engage in a new adventure and would prefer a stable income from a stable business. Beatrice’s only source of income is from their language school. And further losses can adversely affect her financial security. Their other siblings and the three teachers who have been working with them for close to a decade will also be affected if they decided to sell the school and the building. Synthesis After examining the three options Maxime has, it can be concluded that they will face another year of loss if RELE does not allow them to run their weekend program anymore. OILT is only more profitable if they can sell at a much higher quantity than they have now. And the 1.5m offer from EFEL is much below the valuation of the building and their business. Action Plan In view of the various potential and risks in their current business and their future alternatives, Maxime have to get an understanding with RELE if they can continue with their weekend programs in 2012 as soon as he can and if possible, he should make sure the contract reflects this provision. Maxime should also start negotiating with RELE on allowing them to offer English courses. At the same time, Maxime and Beatrice should also start doing market research in order to better understand the potential demand for OILT model in Rouen, such as the amount of tourists in the region, they can also look for OILT franchisees that are in similar geographical locations and learn from their experience and also help them estimate their financial future with OILT.