Heart of Darkness / Apocalypse Now: An Analysis Essay

The novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, published in 1902, is about the story of a man named Marlow, a steamship captain whose character is based on Conrad’s own experience. The story is told from Marlow’s perspective in a narrative. Marlow describes describes one particular journey he took on an African river as part of an assignment by his company to take charge of a barge stuck in the interior. In addition to his regular task of transporting ivory, Marlow has orders to bring back Kurtz, a man considered a legend in his company. Along the journey, Marlow makes his way through the jungle, witnessing the how whites exploit the natives even to the point of oppressing them in their quest for power and profit (Conrad 155; Galloway; Grant 215). Upon reaching Kurtz’s compound in a remote outpost, he is appalled to see a row of human heads mounted on poles. Marlow later realized that Kurtz has freed himself from the bounds of civilization, trading his soul for power resulting in him running his own fiefdom in the interior. But he paid a price for it in losing his humanity as he led the natives under him in raids along the surrounding areas to collect ivory and these raids are brutal as evidenced by the displayed heads (Conrad 160). It is also discovered that Kurtz is dying of an illness as Marlow took him back to civilization. On the way back, the dying Kurtz gives to Marlow a bold declamation of his deeds as a quest driven by visions he sees, at some point, the life in Kurtz slowly ebbed and his dying words were, â€Å"The horror! The horror! † which underscores the despair at the encounter with human depravity–the heart of darkness (Conrad 192; Galloway). Seguing more than 70 years later, Francis Ford Coppola wrote, produced and directed the film Apocalypse Now in 1979. The story of the film is loosely based on Conrad’s novel. Using artistic license, Coppola set the story in Vietnam at the height of the conflict there instead of the Congo. Coincidentally, the main antagonist of the film is also named Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando). Instead of Marlow, the other protagonist is Captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen), a special operations officer who has been having difficulty adjusting to a tranquil atmosphere as his body craves for action as shown in the scene where he is having â€Å"withdrawal symptoms† from being away in combat for quite some time. Likle Marlow, Willard is the one who narrates the story (Coppola; Galloway; Kinder 14). A new mission galvanized him into action as he is ordered by his superiors to kill Kurtz who is believed to have gone insane and like Conraad’s Kurtz, has created his private fiefdom in the heart of the Vietnamese jungle where he has apparently gone rogue, all the more reason why Willard is ordered to kill him (Coppola). Instead of commanding a steamship, Willard traveled on a riverine gunboat run by an eccentric crew and instead of seeing ivory traders attacking villages, his eyes feasted on the sight of an Air Cavalry regiment run by a Colonel Kilgore (played by Robert Duvall) whose disposition resembled that of General George S. Patton with a passion for combat when he uttered, â€Å"I love the smell of napalm in the morning (Coppola)! † as well as a passion for surfing. Like Conrad’s Marlow, Willard came upon Kurtz’s fiefdom and sees why the brass in Saigon wanted Kurtz dead. Willard is captured but has managed to escape and complete the mission by killing Kurtz at his vulnerable moment making a recording. As Kurtz lay dying, his dying words are similar to Conrad’s Kurtz as he uttered, â€Å"the horror†¦ the horror†¦ † as well (Coppola; Galloway; Kinder 15, 18). In analyzing both stories, there is a parallelism that exists in terms of theme. Looking at it from the political perspective, both stories underscore the evil of imperialism. In The Heart of Darkness, Africa is responsible for mental disintegration as well as for physical illness of Mr. Kurtz while Vietnam does the same thing for Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. It would appear that both Kurtzes have been in the service of their masters. Both men have been its servants and at the same time, its victims (Galloway). Mr. Kurtz has been conisdered a legendary man of the company for his ability to deliver the goods – ivory, a very valuable commodity among white traders in Africa. But in the course of carrying out his duties, it requires him to conduct raids on surrounding villages which entails killing people in the name of profit. As for Col. Kurtz, his mission as a Special Forces officer is to organize the indigenous tribes of Vietnam, the Montagnards into a paramilitary force intended to act as a deterent against marauding Vietcong guerillas but like Conrad’s Mr. Kurtz, his ragtag army also committed atrocities, only it is in the name of fighting communism and upholding democracy as his superiors would tell him (Coppola; Kinder 13, 15). It is in the service of their masters that drove these two men into madness. It is a madness not necessarily bordering on insanity or craziness, but it is the kind that caused them to detach themselves from this cruel and maddening reality and create their own world to escape it with their own norms to follow to the point of megalomania. Both Conrad and Coppola used this device to elicit sympathy on the part of the audience as well as reflect on the human nature and experience they have gone through which could happen to anyone (Grant 215; Kinder 13, 18; Galloway). By way of clarification, Conrad and Coppola’s Kurtz are not inherently evil. Both men have started out as the ideal of the company they serve. What drove them to the proverbial dark side is that â€Å"obsession† (for lack of a better word) in carrying out their mission. Their duties have somehow made them jaded and desensitized as they realized that what they are doing appear to violate morality when their duty entails killing people for profit and politics respectively. Thus it has become clear for both Marlow and Willard why their Kurtz need to be taken care of. Both men have been corrupted to the point of madness that they are â€Å"out of control† and they have to be dealt with lest they cause more damage and turn against their own masters (Galloway, Kinder 19). In conclusion, both William Conrad and Francis Coppola showed through their works the dark side of the individual when pushed to the limit. While one may be appalled by the horrors depicted in both stories, both Conrad and Coppola has managed to somehow make the audience sympathetic towards the two Kurtzes rather than loathe them entirely for they used to be â€Å"human† and it is not their own fault why they have gone off the deep end. What Conrad and Coppola are doing is that they helped guide the audience on who is responsible for the madness that has befallen the two Kurtzes who could have been destined for greater things instead of the tragic fate that befell them. The bottom line is man is not inherently evil but they can be seduced into it by the circumstances surrounding them.

Business Economics Assignment

When we speak about the factors of production, in that respect are some overlapping categories. Economic experts have used the four general factors of production (Land, labor, capital and entrepreneur) from the very early stage. These factors contribute a large portion of the industrial revolution in the sass, because the factors of production, especially entrepreneurs were largely split into groups. Labors, for instance, seldom owned capital or land, nor did they begin their own business. Land lords almost never did manual labor, nor did they become owning factories.In the olden days (18th century) entrepreneur, labor, capital and land, were not just four categories Of factors f production, they were four different socio-economic groups. Traditional Business Vs.. E-Business When we compare traditional business and e-business, both are similar in scope to the competitive marketplace. Although a brick-and-mortar shop and an online marketplace are both â€Å"real,† they appeal t o different characteristics, display their goods through different methods and offer consumers different levels of pricing, service and comfort station (Christina Hamlet).The following are some of the significant differences of traditional business and E-business. Needs Assessment The nature a small business and the type and quantity of customer interaction it requires to be successful dictate whether you call for a physical address or a practical one. For instance, you're providing writing, copy-editing, consulting, and accounting or billing services. While, your primary interface with your guests is by telephone, email and fax, negating the need for workspace beyond a home office.On the other hand, a small business in which you sell cosmetics, jewelry, graphics, furniture or home equipment will require display space, changing rooms and proper storage. Page 4 As a single business proprietor, you are just equally likely to desire about its libeling, whether it's far away or close. T o sort tryout work life from your personal life has been normally a larger challenge when personal life and work life live under the same roof.The anytime availability environment of e- business makes it to start knowing yourself as accessible to your customers round-the-clock, something that would not go on if you kept traditional hours at a shop. Legalities and Expenses Traditional Business and e-businesses both require you to possess a business permit. Registering your business name with the registrar, acquiring a tax ID number, examining local zoning and licensing regulations, acquiring insurance pertinent to your needs and creating banking relationships are critical steps in setting up shop in either Traditional Business or e-businesses.While telecommunications expenses, office supplies and a marketing or advertising budget are necessary expenses in both traditional and commerce. But, in the traditional commercial enterprise model has more overhead expenses such as lease, staff salaries and other benefits, maintenance costs and expenses incurred for security arrangements, however, e-business operate from a home Office, which utilizes mostly existing facilities. Customer ConvenienceSince e-business is available 24 hours (24/7), customers are freer from the challenges, like, difficulties in reaching the shops due to bad weather or difficulties in parking, than a physical shop located across town, which is normally open five days a week for a specific time period. E-commerce not only save customers' time and energy, it also, avoids customers from paying sales taxes, offer more outlets to compare stores. However, most of the customers need to inspect the sellers personally, take advice as well as support and be able to bear the goods home immediately instead of paying hipping costs and waiting.However, a traditional business satisfies those needs by producing an environment, where customers can deal face to face. Page 5 In economics, the market structure is t he number of firms producing similar products which are identical. The following are some of the significant market structures of today's business environment. Monopolistic Competition In these markets, there is a large number of firms, each firm is having a small proportion of the market share and slightly differentiated products. It is a marketplace, where a miniscule number of firms that together bear the ajar share of the market.Monopoly This is a market condition, where there is a single supplier Of a product or service. Perfect competition The Perfect Competition Structure is a theoretical structure that features no barriers to entry, an unlimited number of producers and consumers, and a perfectly elastic demand curve. The continuous evolution of technology is changing the way we do business, the dynamics of the workplace and what we perceive is possible. During the last 10 to 15 years, the technology is extremely changing the approach and the production processes.Significantl y, the continued evolution of electrification and Information Technology is increasing the ongoing translation of the business environment to hold advantage of available tools and opportunities (Rosily Frenzy). In some countries, there can however be arguments between the traditional practices and the modern business methods that can be realized through technology. This might be that decision makers still have not fully appreciated for the irrecoverable changes that technology had brought to the business methods. Indeed, to get these changes, the key role is played by internet.The Internet is quickly becoming the base of choice for e-commerce. Because it offers a universal and user friendly set of technology, which can be used by all organizations, no matter which information technology platform they use. Moreover, this technology offers a much cheaper and easier replacement for management activities than traditional methods. Business organizations can utilize Internet technology to decrease their operational and administrative expenses. Fundamentally, internet technology lowers the cost of data processing, sending and storing of data while producing that information more widely useable.Page 6 By using Internet and other networks for e-commerce, organizations in some industries can make transactions directly with clients and suppliers. The Internet can assist companies for the production and making profits in new ways by adding special value to existing products and services. In many e- commerce platforms, like Ebay, Alabama or Amazon creates information brokers, virtual storefronts, transaction brokers, online marketplaces, online service providers, content providers, virtual communities, and online portals.Following are some of the enhancements brought by information and digital technology. Productivity The usage of computers has changed the work environment and the speed Of ark in the past days. It pushed down the cost of data processing, and the simplicity with which large volumes of data can be manipulated by and transferred between several units within the business organization. And also, thus increasing the processing power along with the extensive range of standard and customized hardware and software.This resulted in changing employer and client expectation of work quality and output, at the employee and organizational levels. Banking services are good examples of this point. A wide range of services are giving through internet or intranet which involves a number of different footwear and hardware. Some of the services supplied by financial institutions with the help of technology is ATM and internet banking services. Today, most of the banks realize that they should change the way they do business to take maximum profit.For instance, America's most go-getting banks were SSH fitting from acquisitions to providing Internet-based financial services (John McCoy) Collaboration In a situation, where persons might not be in office to physically interact with clients, technology is providing a number of connectivity choices that facilitate continued discussion and collaboration among work forces. Options can low both the real-time and non-real time communication, and also they can integrate into a platform of specialists to access and use of different tools and features.For example, people can buy and sell on Ebay at any time, in addition to that, buyers and sellers can communicate real time or non-real time. Some of the other famous online stores are Amazon, Alabama, best buy etc. Page 7 Resounding With the help Of technology, business organizations find new ways Of increasing their resources. Cloud computing is a good example, which offers a large scope of resources, such as computer applications, online storage and processing power. By the help of the cloud technology, companies can decentralized or delegate different aspects of their businesses to either affiliate or third parties.For example, Google provides online storage, which allows organizations as well as individuals to store and share their documents whenever they want. Interaction and participation Customer interaction and participation is readily apparent through the impact Of social media in business. In addition to providing a platform for the distribution of information, marketing and promotion, social media creates an environment to generate feedback from consumers and the public. Many organizations are starting to take advantage of the chances to secure feedback on their products and services (Jack Supple and Michael Schmaltz).A good model for such platform is Faceable, which offers a number of chances for the purpose of marketing and promotion as well as sharing information and cool electing feedbacks. Cost management While performing in a competitive marketplace, Organizations are continuously trying to manage the operational costs and to control spending. To accomplish this goal, technology has provided a platform with cost effective alternatives, such as skilled labor and computing resource outsourcing. This result, increasing productivity, efficiency and individual performance.The financial results of the top 25 e-commerce platforms including the AOL, eBay, Yahoo and so on, all together generated about $5 billion in revenue and spend around $1 billion last year (Ion McCoy). For example, Banks and Airlines. Processing an airline ticket on the Internet costs $1 , compared with $8 through a travel agent (the Economist). Page 8 Efficiency and optimization At last, this stage is a very significant outcome of most of the points brought up earlier, since there is a higher expectation of the organizations becoming more efficient.In traditional business models, one of the greatest challenges that organizations have confronted is that although they might be very open about what their core objectives might be, considerable attention on financing, workforce, management, and etc. Had been given to supportin g activities and processes to the core business. However, technology based companies have more choices through which to move their efforts towards the most important natural processes that they must manage, thereby increasing productivity and output.Effects on factors of production In today's business world, the factors of production are used in different says. Let's take the four factors of production to measure the impact of information technology. Land In recent days, the number of businesses moving to e-business are increasing and the amount of physical stores is decreasing. This reduces the demand for land and increasing availability Of land at a cheaper rate. Labor When organizations are focusing more on internet based activities, the involvement human activities are turning more depressed.

Costing Concerns in Society

In today's competitive economy, the cost structure is much more complex than that of the past, and there is a lot less room for error than that allowed in the more laid back economy of the past. Today's costing concerns arise from the growing disparity between direct and indirect product costs. American manufacturers have been pursuing a steady stream of manufacturing methods and technologies. The goal was simple and uniform: to reduce or eliminate direct costs. But as manufacturing has evolved, so has the structure of a product's cost. Direct costs, such as labor, are no longer the dominant cost of a product. The cost of indirect activities such as automation, marketing, sales, engineering, and order processing have dramatically increased. Overhead has grown to become the most expensive element of product cost structure. This might not be so bad if conventional product costing systems could handle the shift in cost structure. Unfortunately, they don†t. Most conventional systems allocate overhead based on some burdened rate (direct labor hours is a good example). This was acceptable when overhead was small and direct costs were high. But in today†s automated factory, this can lead to disaster. Conventional systems report inaccurate product costs–often grossly inaccurate. Management, in turn, makes strategic decisions based on these inaccurate product costs. Traditional cost systems assume all overhead activities are consumed equally by all products relative to volume produced. Further, all costs are allocated to products because the system assumes that current output drives current overhead costs. Overhead costs are allocated to products on the basis of the product's demand for some volume variable direct cost, usually labor hours, machine hours, or materials cost. But none of these bases individually represents the actual overhead incurred to make the product. Conventional thinking holds that the inaccuracy is not relevant because in total all costs are accounted for, and on average the relative distortion in margin reporting can not be significant. Activity based costing, by contrast, identifies what activities are performed by the overhead organization and calculates the cost incurred to perform each activity. Costs are traced to products on the basis of the individual product's demand for these activities throughout the process of converting raw materials, energy and human enterprise into the finished article. The allocation bases used in ABC, then, are the quantifications of activities performed. These might include hours of labor or number of times handled. As already mentioned, conventional costing often leads to gross inaccuracies. This is because direct costs–especially direct labor–have been minimized by automation. At the same time, indirect costs have increased dramatically. And it†s the indirect costs that get averaged across product lines by conventional methods. To see how bad the errors can be, look at the following chart. Conventional costing says that product B has a much lower overhead cost per unit ($4.80 vs. $7.20 for Product A). But this can†t be so. Product B consumes five times as much engineering change activity as Product A. Product B should cost more to produce. What has happened here is that the conventional system has averaged overhead costs across both products. The total cost of engineering changes is divided by the total direct labor hours. The result, $2.40 per direct labor hour, is then applied to each product. This overhead averaging causes Product A to carry an unfair–and inaccurate–portion of the overhead costs. Now guess what happens when these cost figures are used in pricing. Product A will probably be overpriced for the market, and Product B will be sold for less than its true production cost. Conventional costing says that product B has a much lower overhead cost per unit ($4.80 vs. $7.20 for Product A). But this can†t be so. Product B consumes five times as much engineering change activity as Product A. Product B should cost more to produce. What has happened here is that the conventional system has averaged overhead costs across both products. The total cost of engineering changes is divided by the total direct labor hours. The result, $2.40 per direct labor hour, is then applied to each product. This overhead averaging causes Product A to carry an unfair–and inaccurate–portion of the overhead costs. Now, using the ABC concept, the costs are apportioned according to a driver, the number of engineering change orders. (ECO's) The next graph shows the reallocation of overhead costs by the ABC method. Product B is now carrying its fair share of ECO processing costs. As would be expected, Product B actually costs five times more than Product A in terms of indirect activity consumption. As you have seen, activity based costing can offer much clearer insight into the operations of a business than the conventional method .of the past. When ABC is used as a management system, it is a powerful tool for rethinking and improving products, services, processes and a company's market strategies.

Report on various features of the data Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Report on various features of the data - Essay Example Further, some of the sources of revenues are interrelated as they may stimulate one another under their macroeconomic effects in the economy. This paper, based on a data set on United Kingdom government’s borrowing and received taxes, reports the data set’s features to the senior management office. Analysis of borrowings and received tax over the two fiscal years One of the important approaches to understanding the data set is an annual comparison of the data to understand the country’s progress in the period. This involves a comparison of the borrowings over the two fiscal years and a comparison of received tax over the period. The following table summarizes descriptive statists of government borrowings for the two fiscal years. ... The difference between mean and median for the yearly borrowings could also be explained by the negative borrowings in the two years and the borrowings were more dispersed in the year ended 2013 that the year ended 2012. The graph bellow compared the annual borrowings and indicates higher borrowings 2012 Graph 1: Comparison of yearly borrowings The nation’s received tax over the two periods can similarly be compared using descriptive statistics that are shown in the table below. Table 2: Descriptive statistics for the fiscal years ended 2012 and 2013 received taxes Fiscal year ended 2012 Â   Fiscal year ended 2013 Â   Mean 12701.91667 Mean 12716.5 Standard Error 1259.548407 Standard Error 1323.836 Median 11077.5 Median 11057.5 Mode #N/A Mode #N/A Standard Deviation 4363.20367 Standard Deviation 4585.903 Sample Variance 19037546.27 Sample Variance 21030504 Kurtosis 5.931301194 Kurtosis 5.685588 Skewness 2.311375522 Skewness 2.248221 Range 15364 Range 16611 Minimum 9578 Minimu m 8881 Maximum 24942 Maximum 25492 Sum 152423 Sum 152598 Count 12 Count 12 Confidence Level(95.0%) 2772.24735 Confidence Level(95.0%) 2913.744 The two periods reported an almost similar trend in received tax with means that are almost equal, 12701 and 12716. Medians for the two years similarly close with 11077.5 for the year ended 2012 and 11057.5 for the year 2013. Close similarity in standard deviation, Kurtosis, skewdness, minimum and maximum values and sums of received taxes further indicates similarity in the two periods’ trends and suggest consistency in the economic stability. The following graph shows a comparison of tax received in the two years with a similarity. Graph 2: Tax

Contemporary Issues in Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Contemporary Issues in Marketing - Essay Example This paper is about contemporary issues in marketing from the perspective of three companies in the public, private and not for profit sectors. The three companies selected for this paper are Pfizer (Private), Social Security (Public) and WWF – World Wild Life Fund for the nonprofit sector. Every business should understand that, the customer comes first under all circumstances; it does not matter whether the customer if right or not but every business should follow the rules of customer care. The first rule states that, a customer is always right. Retaining an already existing customer is more than ten times cheaper than getting a new one. One of the effective ways of winning competition is gaining customer loyalty. The best way of building a brand name is ensuring that the customer is satisfied and his or her are expectations met. At first glance, customer relationship management seems just another name for customer relationship management. But customer knowledge management requires a different mindset along a number of key variables. Customer knowledge managers first and foremost focus on knowledge from the customer, rather than focusing on knowledge about the customer, as characteristic of customer relationship management. In others words, smart companies realize that corporate customers are more knowledgeable than one might think, and consequently seek knowledge through direct interaction with customers, in addition to seeking knowledge about customers from their sales representatives (Christopher & Ballantyne, 1991). Similarly, conventional knowledge managers typically focus on trying to convert employees from knowledge hoarders into knowledge sharers. This is typically done by intra-net based knowledge sharing platforms. The use of ICT for participatory purposes in general is seen to be more likely to occur in contexts that are less affected by the issues of digital divide. Studies on the digital divide

Forces and Trends in Chocolate Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Forces and Trends in Chocolate Industry - Essay Example Population Growth Like any other industry, the chocolate industry is driven by population growth. For the chocolate industry, this population growth occurs in one crucial way. This is owed to the fact that the elderly age group is anticipated to triple by 2015 (Silva and Simoes, 2010). Consequently, players in the chocolate industry must come up with inventive products that satisfy the needs of this generation. As mentioned earlier, Hershey Chocolates Company has already reacted by coming up with the Kisses dark chocolate. This product is associated with low cholesterol values and numerous antioxidants. Consequently, the product is tailor-made for the baby boomer generation. Supplier Power This refers to the company’s ability to operate regardless of the prevailing suppliers in the industry. It is necessary to note that the primary raw materials in the production of chocolates are cocoa bean, milk and secondary sugar. Therefore, with regard to the production of sugar and milk, there exist numerous suppliers in the market. Thus, supplier power in regards to these two products is limited. On the other hand, the supply of the cocoa beans is limited to only a few suppliers in the industry. This implies that the supplier power of the cocoa bean firms is extremely high. Therefore, the chocolate producing firms such as Hershey Chocolates Company must come up with effective ways of lowering the supplier power of these companies in order to remain competitive in the industry. Consequently, Hershey Chocolates Company has reacted to this challenge in the following ways: Research on alternative ingredient formulation Optimizing current cocoa production Research on Alternative Ingredient Formulation... The researcher focuses on the effects of economic recession, that today usually refer to a spell in the business cycle where there exists a contraction or slowdown in business activity. Consequently, economic recession impacts negatively on businesses. This implies that, for Hershey Chocolates Company to succeed it has to effectively wither the economic recession. Consequently, these products have given the company a competitive advantage over similar firms in the industry. However, the industry also faces stiff competition from other substitute products such as ordinary candy and cookies. Other non-chocolate snacks such as fruits, ice cream and yoghurt also pose a challenge to the industry. Health concerns are continually taking a toll on the chocolate industry with consumers insisting on consumption of healthy diets. Consequently, industry players like the Hershey Chocolates Company must develop increased premium products in order to penetrate into the consumer market. The products must be sensitive to the health and ethical issues so as to win a share of the crowded market in the industry. With regards to rivalry with other similar companies, market growth of around 20 percent annually, together with its unique products cushions the company from the stiff competition it would have to face. Therefore, the chocolates industry experiences various forces and trends. Thus, it can be concluded that Hershey Chocolates Company must employ strategic measures in order to maintain profitability in the fragmented market system.

Greek Classicism And Hellenism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Greek Classicism And Hellenism - Assignment Example Greek sculptures of the human figure are further characterized by the harmonious and balanced anatomical proportions as featured via Polycleitos' "The Doryphorus" dated c. 450 – 480 B.C. as well as Myron's "Discobolus" inc. 450 B.C. Inform and style, sculpted Greek monuments and articles chiefly featured three-dimensional volumes of structures which bear real human shape in bust, torso, arm, limb, and facial detail. Moreover, construction of nude statues back then was widely prevalent as Greeks signified nudity to symbolize heroism, status, and defeat among males and through Praxiteles’ â€Å"Aphrodite of Cnidus†, however, the nudity of the female goddess conveys her divine birth from the sea and eternal youth. Define the Hellenistic Style. List the characteristics. Give at least one example from the textbook. In general, the Hellenistic Style projected stylistic evolution rendered upon a rich variety of subject matter whereby the artists in the era of Hellenism sought to become more flexible and innovative in their treatment of the core object of the piece. Hellenistic schemes of art may be observed to have focused on the historical setting or significant occurrence believed to reflect the role or identity of the figure designated in it. Rather than drawing the audience’s attention toward the countenance of the image, a Hellenistic work is able to captivate sights into the entire scene as though it is bound to come to life to communicate a particularly interesting narrative.... enistic work is able to captivate sights into the entire scene as though it is bound to come to life to communicate a particular interesting narrative. One who then looks at the piece would necessarily look into all that comprised it including the orientation of objects in space and what might facial expressions mean in the given context. â€Å"Laocoon and His Two Sons† in 1st century B.C.E. (p. 92) and â€Å"Nike of Samothrace† c. 190 B.C.E. (p. 92) are two of the prominent works by which the concept of Hellenism may be recognized via the intensity of emotion evoked, whether emerging out of tragedy, triumph, passion, or other sources that elicit strong reactions. (3) Why is the Parthenon considered an important achievement in the history of architecture? Besides the fact that the Parthenon is a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, its conventions of design bore the intriguing aspect of its being tailored to become an â€Å"optical illusion†. To normal s ight, the Parthenon would appear to consist of straight lines, in truth however, every surface of it was carved for the edges to exhibit plain yet astounding linear perspective. Having been built in the time and rule of Pericles, hailed as one of the greatest Athenian statesmen of all time and Father of Democracy who had the Parthenon established with a vision of making Athens the center of Greek world, the architecture and engineering constituting the columnar temple took years and hundreds of craftsmen to be conducted such that it could withstand huge historical challenges. It has stood to this day, despite ruins, at the heart of the Acropolis to be viewed and studied based on the paradigm of classical architecture. (4) What factors contributed to Pax Romana (â€Å"Roman Peace†)? Pax Romana being a long period

Questions for the Project ( B2B project) and Analysis the company of Essay

Questions for the Project ( B2B project) and Analysis the company of luminultra Company in the upstream oil and gas - Essay Example The upstream segment involves the extraction of gas and oil as well as the shipping of those raw materials to be processed. To gain traction in the industry, LuminUltra ensures that the early adopters remain a small number of consumers, nowhere near the quantity required for mass adoption. Similarly, these buyers must be youthful, high-income personnel who already can afford the services. It is expected that the early adoption be centered in locations that are primarily effective in terms of infrastructure. On the other hand, the innovators tend to be extremely sensitive to matters concerning the environment, price sensitive, and there are chances that they are accommodated specifically according to their capability and effort. Ultimately, mass adoption is often motivated by the expansion of competitive offerings. Consumers coming on board are referred to as early majority and includes those consumers whose probability to buy the services after the early adopter consumers are high. . .. It is logical to argue that the complexity of the marketing messages makes it very broad to handle at some points in its operations. In the mainstream customer support, the target consumers consist of several realists. When the company starts to develop its communication efforts, it should centralize the fact that realists are skeptical and care less about the oil and gas products or the technologies related to them. Instead, such realists concern themselves with the company and the markets. Its message should position the rest of the products in relation to the specific business issues that realists consider precedence in their market segment (Lemstra, Hayes, Stanley, Heijl, & Tuch, 2011) Apart from changing the audience and the message itself, the company should bear in mind that the realists seek diverse types o evidence using the media very dissimilar from that of the markets earlier. Since realists are market-oriented, they are directed by market validation as opposed to technol ogy validation, seeking the most cost-effective manner in which to address their business-related problems. Disregarding this fact will possibly prevent the company from crossing the chasm to the mass market. Most information is obtained basically from esteemed industry sources like publications and industry analysts. Successfully, the company has to develop beyond mainstream customer support. At this point, the marketing messaging effort must become much sophisticated than before. In this sense therefore, they will necessitate increased involvement from specialists such as PR firms, advertising agencies and designers. Lastly, the company’s message must make its way

Personal Development and Careers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Personal Development and Careers - Essay Example This is the reason why it is advised to appreciate whatever good things that a child has made in order to reinforce good behavior out from them. Parents therefore are advised to learn more about their children especially in their growing up days. On the other hand, unfavorable consequences of certain actions are also learned which resulted to doing things that will end up positive results. Children only learn a little about the world and most of their learning can be acquired from their daily experiences with adults. Parents are continuously feeding their children with the right or even wrong information. However, children can also acquire their knowledge from media or even other people aside from their parents or closer relatives at home. Children learn about their immediate surrounding out from their experiences. Whatever they feel, hear, smell or see on a day to day basis is considered part of their experience. In the same way, adults have the same mechanism as they continue to su rvive and make the most out of their lives in this world. Adults have to learn different things everyday but most of the time; their learning does not require more about theoretical aspects. They appreciate the most essential and practical part which is experience. In this manner, adults behave in a way that what makes sense to them are only those things they learned importantly out from their experience. Most of them based their choices in life on their learned things out from their experiences. In IQ tests and even in other behavioral tests, it is found that experiences have significant impact on the corresponding results. For instance, a person who is exposed to a certain environment for quite a long time may have been influenced by what he perceives in his surrounding. Thus, when this person changes his environment, a new set of perspective may eventually change his previously perceived things in life. Thus, a person living in other country for quite a long time and returns to h is mother land may possess different behavior. As mostly noticed, personality may change and this is feed by the acquired behavior at a particular experience at certain time. This is the reason why personality changes over time and the way an individual behaves. The acquired learning or knowledge from a certain experiences has something to do with the necessary changes of someone else’s personality and eventually behavior or perspective in life. This is the reason that in most firms, especially in hiring supervisory and managerial positions, experience is very important deciding point. Experience is equated to substantial knowledge and understanding of the specific job function. Based on this assumption, an individual who has more experience is considered to have more meaningful behavior about his or her job. For instance, managers are expected to lead and anticipated to act as someone to be on top of his or her subordinates. Those subordinates are mostly not expected to beha ve in the same way as managers do. It is true that the mind cannot be seen or observed but its actual function can be critically considered through observing specific behavior or actions of a person. It is hard to identify the mind and the actual thought. Usually, it can only be understood in detail once behavior or specific actions of a person are observed. In the same way, whatever is learned cannot be exactly

Nature versus nurture Essay Example for Free

Nature versus nurture Essay The debate between nature vs. nurture has been a controversial and debated topic for centuries. It is a debate on whether or not human development is molded by their genetics or their environment. Many scientist and philosophers have debated and made their own theories for the matter, including Charles Darwin, who in the 18th century developed the theory that human development was shaped by their parents’ genetics. In contrary to Darwin, the French naturalist Jean Lamarck had a completely different view on human development, claiming that genetics did not matter in human development and that the biggest factor in human development was the environment in which this human was developed. Both men had great points and theories but through the years Darwin’s theory has been favored; but as of lately scientists are currently starting to lean more and more to Lamarck’s theory. Agreeing with the scientist, I too am also leaning towards Lamarck’s theory. Although I do believe that human development is definitely shaped by their parent’s genetics, I believe that no matter how good your genetics are that if you are put in a bad environment, your development will be negatively effected, regardless of how good your genes were. Ironically, this debate of nature vs. nurture carried through to a book I was assigned to read this summer called East of Eden. East of Eden was a very interesting and complex book and is one of those books that every time you read it you will discover something interesting and new that you never discovered before. One of the main interesting things that you will discover when reading this book is the idea of timshel, which is introduced by one of the characters in the novel named Lee. Lee was the servant to the main family in the novel and throughout the novel is trying to teach and spread his idea of timshel to one of the main characters in the book Cal. Cal is mischievous and pernicious, and is also a risk taker, and he is also haunted with the idea that he is evil and that he is forced to be evil because his mom was also evil and that he had acquired her genetics. Lee’s purpose in sharing timshel to Cal was to coax him that every human had the ability to be good and that no human is stuck being evil and that with persistence every one can become good. Cal at first is hesitant to believe Lee’s theory but by the end of the book begins to appreciate and believe, that I the main connection between East of Eden and the debate between nature vs. nurture.

The Increasingly Competitive Business Environment Marketing Essay

The Increasingly Competitive Business Environment Marketing Essay The increasingly competitive business environment is due to the tremendous increase of organizations is pressing businesses to rethink its marketing philosophy, in order to stand out from the crowded and information overload global environment. Many marketing concepts and philosophies are suggested, by theoreticians, academicians, practitioners and consultants. In this writing, the most basic but practical marketing concepts and ideas will be introduced. These concepts and models are powerful as it is straightforward, rational and have been applied successfully in many business contexts. The effective marketing concepts to be introduced and discussed here is the Segmentation-Targeting-Positioning Value Delivery Process and the 4P Marketing Mix framework. For practicality purposes, a case study on these subjects will also be presented, to understand how these concepts are being applied successfully in the real life. Recommendations on how to further improve marketing activities are al so presented later. The article conclude with acknowledgement that although complicated marketing theories and frameworks are available, successfully executing the fundamentals and marketing principles is already sufficient to ensure a company to achieve competitive advantages in the marketplace. LITERATURE REVIEW The Concepts and Definition of Marketing Theoretically, marketing is a broad term dealing with identifying and delivering value to human and society. Marketing is about meeting human and society needs, and from the business standpoints, to meeting those needs in a profitable manner. There are various definitions concerning the subject of marketing. For example, a widely cited definition of marketing as defined by the American Marketing Association is as follow: marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefits the organization and its stakeholder. Some researchers argue that such a definition is commercial-oriented and have been proposing a marketing definition that is more socially oriented. From the sociology perspective, marketing is the process whereby individuals or a team of individuals attain their needs by creating, promoting and exchanging valuable products and services with one another. Generally, in today business environment, there are three broad categories of marketing concept. All of these concepts are based on a customer-oriented and sense-and-respond selling philosophy. The first type of marketing concept is called the reactive market orientation concept, where a company tries to understand and meet the customers expressed needs. The second type of marketing concept is the proactive marketing orientation concept, where the company takes initiative to understand the hidden needs of customers and find ways to meet those untold needs. Lastly, the third one is the total marketing orientation concept, where the company will practice both the reactive and proactive marketing philosophy in delivering values to the society. Marketing is essentially a process to create, deliver and satisfy consumers or customers needs and wants. The entire marketing process is thus often described as a value delivery process where it is concerning about how an organization create and deliver its value proposition to the society. There are various philosophy and perspectives in defining how an organization should deliver value to the society. Generally speaking, the value creation and delivery process contain three stages. The first stage is to choose the specific value proposition. In this stage, the market must perform comprehensive researches on the marketplace before he can expect to successfully deliver valuable goods and services to the marketplace. The STP formula is a widely known marketing concept in this stage, where STP stands for segmentation, targeting and positioning. Specifically, the marketer must segment the market, select the relevant market target and then to develop the value offerings positioning. In the second stage, marketer provides value to the society. The concepts of marketing mix, namely the 4P or the 7P framework is often applied here. In this stage, marketer decides how he is going to provide the value to society from the products, price, place, and promotion dimensions. In the t hird stage, the market must communicate the value proposition to the society, and this can be done through promotion, advertising, sales force, branding and even by exercising Corporate Social responsibility in the marketplace. The STP Process Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning According to Kotler et. al. (2004), the formula of STP, namely segmentation, targeting and positioning is the essence of strategic marketing. As mentioned before, the three steps are important for a marketer to plan how the value offered is to be delivered to the society. The paragraphs below will discuss these steps in details. Market Segmentation. Market segmentation is an adaptive strategy. It consists of the partition of the market with the purpose of selecting one or more market segments which the organization can target through the development of specific marketing mixes that adapt to particular market needs. But market segmentation need not be a purely adaptive strategy: The process of market segmentation can also consist of the selection of those segments for which a firm might be particularly well suited to serve by having competitive advantages relative to competitors in the segment, reducing the cost of adaptation in order to gain a niche. This application of market segmentation serves the purpose of developing competitive scope, which can have a powerful effect on competitive advantage because it shapes the configuration of the value chain. Through market segmentation the firm can provide higher value to customers by developing a market mix that addresses the specific needs and concerns of the se lected segment. Targeting. Once the firm has chosen a market segment it must choose a generic competitive strategy. At this point it is also necessary to review the selected strategy across segments and explore general strategic approaches. In some cases it might become apparent that a counter-segmentation strategy is applicable. In other cases, the development of distinct mixes for each segment uncovers inconsistencies or lack of resources at the corporate level and so it is necessary to revert to the segment evaluation stage. According to Kotler (2004) the only sustainable generic strategy in a segmented market is differentiation. He explains that the only other generic competitive strategy alternative (low cost) is not sustainable in a segmented market. In addition, a strategy successful at differentiating must generate customer value, provide perceived value, and be difficult to copy. At this point in the process the company selects those ways in which it will distinguish itself from its competi tors. In most cases the differentiation involves multiple elements. One way to differentiate is through brand equity building. A strategy based on brand is likely to be sustainable because it creates competitive barriers. A brand strategy permits the strategist to work with complex concepts and not limit the differentiation strategy to just a few competitive differences. This approach is consistent and reinforces the STP approach. A successful brand strategy builds barriers to protect the selected position by creating associations of the positioning variables with the brand name in the prospects mind. Positioning. According to researchers, the positioning strategy should include three components: customer targets, which are the product of the segmentation study; competitor targets, which are a product of the analysis of external environment; and competitive advantage, which is also a product of the environmental analysis. In developing the positioning objective, researcher is arguing that positioning is not what you do to the product, but what you do to the mind. Understanding how the mind receives, stores or rejects information will improve the chances of making the positioning objective coincide with actual positioning in the target audience. Marketing Mix The 7P marketing Mix Framework is a famous and practical tool widely used by researchers or practitioners. In the following section, all these elements of 7P will be discussed in details. Product. This is about defining the characteristics of your product or service to meet the customers needs. It must provide value to a customer but does not have to be tangible at the same time. Basically, it involves introducing new products or improvising the existing products. Price: This is about deciding on a pricing strategy. Even if you decide not to charge for a service, it is useful to realize that this is still a pricing strategy. Identifying the total cost to the user (which is likely to be higher than the charge you make) is a part of the price element. Pricing must be competitive and must entail profit. The pricing strategy can comprise discounts, offers and the like. Lots of factors affect the end price of a product, for example, the costs of production or the business need to maximize profits or sales. A products price also needs to provide value for money in the market and attract consumers to buy. There are several pricing strategies that a business can use: (a) Cost based pricing this can either simply cover costs or include an element of profit; it focuses on the product and does not take account of consumers, (b) Penetration price an initial low price to ensure that there is a high volume of purchases and market share is quickly won; Thi s strategy encourages consumers to develop a habit of buying, and (c) Price skimming an initial high price for a unique product encouraging those who want to be first to buy to pay a premium price; This strategy helps a business to gain maximum revenue before a competitors product reaches the market. Promotion. Promotion is how the business tells customers that products are available and persuades them to buy. Promotion is either above-the-line or below-the-line. Above-the-line promotion is directly paid for, for example TV or newspaper advertising. Below-the-line is where the business uses other promotional methods to get the product message across: (a) Events or trade fairs help to launch a product to a wide audience. Events may be business to consumer (B2C) whereas trade fairs are business to business (B2B), (b) Direct mail can reach a large number of people but is not easy to target specific consumers cost-effectively, (c) Public relations (PR) includes the different ways a business can communicate with its stakeholders, through, for example, newspaper press releases. Other PR activities include sponsorship of high profile events like Formula 1 or the World Cup, as well as donations to or participation in charity events, (d) Branding a strong and consistent brand identity di fferentiates the product and helps consumers to understand and trust the product. This aims to keep consumers buying the product long-term, and (e) Sales promotions, for example competitions or sampling, encourage consumers to buy products in the short-term. Public Relations are included within Promotion by many marketing people (though PR people tend to see it as a separate discipline). It includes the various ways of communicating to the customers of what the company has to offer. It is about communicating about the benefits of using a particular product or service rather than just talking about its features. Place/ distribution channel. Place refers to: (a) how the product arrives at the point of sale. This means a business must think about what distribution strategies it will use and (b) where a product is sold. This includes retail outlets like supermarkets or high street shops. It also includes other ways in which businesses make products directly available to their target market, for example, through direct mail or the Internet. People. Good information services are not likely to be delivered by people who are unskilled or de-motivated; People refer to the customers, employees, management and everybody else involved in it. It is essential for everyone to realize that the reputation of the brand that you are involved with is in the peoples hands. Process. This is about the way in which the user gets hold of the service (e.g., the way in which a document or a search can be ordered). It refers to the methods and process of providing a service and is hence essential to have a thorough knowledge on whether the services are helpful to the customers, if they are provided in time, if the customers are informed in hand about the services and many such things. Physical evidence. It refers to the experience of using a product or service. When a service goes out to the customer, it is essential that you help him see what he is buying or not. For example- brochures, pamphlets etc serve this purpose. It is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many examples of physical evidence, including some of the following: packaging; internet/web pages; paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes); brochures; furnishings; signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles); uniforms; business cards; the companys building and etc. CASE STUDY: NIVEA Introduction to the Company NIVEAÂ ® is an established name in high quality skin and beauty care products. It is part of a range of brands produced and sold by Beiersdorf. Beiersdorf, founded in 1882, has grown to be a global company specializing in skin and beauty care. In the UK, Beiersdorfs continuing goal is to have its products as close as possible to its consumers, regardless of where they live. Its aims are to understand its consumers in its many different markets and delight them with innovative products for their skin and beauty care needs. This strengthens the trust and appeal of Beiersdorf brands. The business prides itself on being consumer-led and this focus has helped it to grow NIVEA into one of the largest skin care brands in the world. Beiersdorfs continuing programme of market research showed a gap in the market. This led to the launch of NIVEA VISAGEÂ ® Young in 2005 as part of the NIVEA VISAGE range offering a comprehensive selection of products aimed at young women. It carries the strength of the NIVEA brand image to the target market of girls aged 13-19. NIVEA VISAGE Young helps girls to develop a proper skin care routine to help keep their skin looking healthy and beautiful. The market can be developed by creating a good product/range and introducing it to the market (product-orientated approach) or by finding a gap in the market and developing a product to fill it (market-orientated approach). Having identified a gap in the market, Beiersdorf launched NIVEA VISAGE Young using an effective balance of the right product, price, promotion and place. This is known as the marketing mix or four Ps. It is vital that a company gets the balance of these four elements correct so that a product will achieve its critica l success factors. Beiersdorf needed to develop a mix that suited the product and the target market as well as meeting its own business objectives. Analysis on the Marketing Mix of NIVEA Product The first stage in building an effective mix is to understand the market. NIVEA uses market research to target key market segments which identifies groups of people with the same characteristics such as age/gender/attitude/lifestyle. The knowledge and understanding from the research helps in the development of new products. NIVEA carries out its market research with consumers in a number of different ways. These include, (a) using focus groups to listen to consumers directly; (b) gathering data from consumers through a variety of different research techniques; and (c) product testing with consumers in different markets. Beiersdorfs market research identified that younger consumers wanted more specialized face care aimed at their own age group that offered a beautifying benefit, rather than a solution to skin problems. NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skin care range targeted at girls who do not want medicated products but want a regime for their normal skin. Competitor products tend to be problem focused and offer medicated solutions. This gives NIVEA competitive advantage. NIVEA VISAGE Young provides a unique bridge between the teenage market and the adult market. The company improved the product to make it more effective and more consumer-friendly. Beiersdorf tested the improved products on a sample group from its target audience before finalizing the range for re-launch. This testing resulted in a number of changes to existing products. Improvements included: (a) Changing the formula of some products. For example, it removed alcohol from one product and used natural sea salts and minerals in others, (b) I ntroducing two completely new products, (c) a new modern pack design with a flower pattern and softer colors to appeal to younger women, (d) Changing product descriptions and introducing larger pack sizes. Each of these changes helped to strengthen the product range, to better meet the needs of the market. Price As NIVEA VISAGE Young is one of the leading skin care ranges meeting the beautifying needs of this market segment, it is effectively the price leader. This means that it sets the price level that competitors will follow or undercut. NIVEA needs to regularly review prices should a competitor enter the market at the market growth point of the product life cycle to ensure that its pricing remains competitive. The pricing strategy for NIVEA is not the same as that of the retailers. It sells products to retailers at one price. However, retailers have the freedom to use other strategies for sales promotion. These take account of the competitive nature of the high street. They may use: (a) loss leader: the retailer sells for less than it cost to attract large volume of sales, for example by supermarkets, and (b) discounting alongside other special offers, such as Buy one, get one free (BOGOF) or two for one. Place NIVEA VISAGE Young aims to use as many relevant distribution channels as possible to ensure the widest reach of its products to its target market. The main channels for the product are retail outlets where consumers expect to find skin care ranges. Around 65% of NIVEA VISAGE Young sales are through large high street shops such as Boots and Superdrug. Superdrug is particularly important for the young-end market. The other 35% of sales mainly comes from large grocery chains that stock beauty products, such as ASDA, Tesco and Sainsburys. Market research shows that around 20% of this younger target market buys products for themselves in the high street stores when shopping with friends. Research also shows that the majority of purchasers are actually made by mums, buying for teenagers. Mums are more likely to buy the product from supermarkets whilst doing their grocery shopping. NIVEA distributes through a range of outlets that are cost effective but that also reach the highest number of consumers. Its distribution strategies also consider the environmental impact of transport. It uses a central distribution point in the UK. Products arrive from European production plants using contract vehicles for efficiency for onward delivery to retail stores. Beiersdorf does not sell direct to smaller retailers as the volume of products sold would not be cost effective to deliver but it uses wholesalers for these smaller accounts. It does not sell directly through its website as the costs of producing small orders would be too high. However, the retailers like Tesco, feature and sell the NIVEA products in their online stores. Promotion NIVEA chooses promotional strategies that reflect the lifestyle of its audience and the range of media available. It realizes that a one way message, using TV or the press, is not as effective as talking directly to its target group of consumers. Therefore NIVEA does not plan to use any above-the-line promotion for NIVEA VISAGE Young. The promotion of NIVEA VISAGE Young is consumer-led. Using various below-the-line routes, NIVEA identifies ways of talking to teenagers (and their mums) directly. A key part of the strategy is the use of product samples. These allow customers to touch, feel, smell and try the products. Over a million samples of NIVEA VISAGE Young products will be given away during 2008. These samples will be available through the website, samples in stores or in goody bags given out at VISAGE roadshows up and down the country. NIVEA VISAGE Young launched an interactive online magazine called FYI (Fun, Young Independent) to raise awareness of the brand. The concept behind the magazine is to give teenage girls the confidence to become young women and to enjoy their new-found independence. Communication channels are original and engaging to enable teenagers to identify with NIVEA VISAGE Young. The magazine focuses on first time experiences relating to NIVEA VISAGE Young being their first skincare routine. It is promoted using the Hit40UK chart show and the TMF digital TV channel. Discussions on NIVEA Marketing Mix NIVEA VISAGE Young is a skincare range in the UK market designed to enhance the skin and beauty of the teenage consumer rather than being medicated to treat skin problems. As such, it has created a clear position in the market. This shows that NIVEA understands its consumers and has produced this differentiated product range in order to meet their needs. To bring the range to market, the business has put together a marketing mix. This mix balances the four elements of product, price, place and promotion. The mix uses traditional methods of place, such as distribution through the high street, alongside more modern methods of promotion, such as through social networking sites. It makes sure that the message of NIVEA VISAGE Young reaches the right people in the right way. RECOMMENDATIONS All aspects of the marketing mix must function together as a whole in order to create a useful marketing campaign and get a product the sales it needs. The marketing mix must suit the company and the products it sells. Luxury items like mp3 players must have a good promotional campaign, be a quality product, be distributed in all the needed places and also have a competitive price that shows its value. This marketing strategy is extremely important to the success of a particular good or service which in turn could determine the success of the organization in the future. When marketing managers attempt to develop and manage their product it is extremely important that they look at various different aspects. Firstly, they must look at those relating to the marketing mix: which the company has control over because they are able to develop their marketing strategies depending on the consumers needs and wants. Then, managers should also investigate those that make up the marketing environ ment: which include elements that the company has little or no control of e. g. certain government rules and regulations. Thirdly, a market opportunity analysis should also be performed: this exists when a company is given the chance to take action towards researching a particular group of customers. Fourthly, it is critical to research on the subject of target market selection: which involves selecting a group of potential customers for whom a firm creates and maintains a marketing mix that specifically fits the needs and wants of that particular group. Last but not least, the process of Marketing Management should be applied: this is the process of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling marketing activities to facilitate changes effectively and efficiently. By using this type of marketing strategy organizations are given the opportunity to market a very successful product, so it would be true to say that the marketing mix and its manipulation are vital for the success of a business. However, their good or service may only be successful if the organization provides products that satisfy consumers needs and wants through a coordinated set of activities that also allow the organization to achieve its goals. Customer satisfaction should be the major aim of the marketing concept. But the process does not end here because the organization should continue to alter, adapt and develop products to keep pace with customers changing desires and preferences. Organizations should be aware of the importance of customers and release that marketing activities begin and end with the customer. In attempting to satisfy customers, businesses must consider not only the short and medium term needs but also the long term desires as it is vital to the long term success of the business and probably the best way to do this would be to link the different departments of the company together i.e. Production, Finance, Accounting, Personnel etc A company adopting this particular marketing strategy must not only satisfy its consumers preferences but it also must achieve the objectives that it hoped to achieve by using this strategy. The best way of achieving your objectives is to satisfy the customer and an adequate marketing mix strategy is an excellent way to satisfy the customer who means that implementing the marketing mix strategy should benefit the organization as well as the consumer. CONCLUSION In short, we have seen how the traditional, simple but highly practical method of 4P framework is used successfully in our case study. The concepts of STP and Marketing Mix is very important in assisting managers to plan for marketing efforts to local and international market, and in fact, such a framework serves as the founding principles for development of more complex and advanced marketing strategies in the modern days. These concepts are not only theorectical popular and widely taught in business schools, but are also useful in practice, in analysis or planning successful marketing campaign or strategies for organizations.

Development of Education in the UAE

Development of Education in the UAE UAE social development is heading in the right direction. Education and its development is one agenda that top the lists of UAE government, be it development of primary, secondary, and higher education. The attempt of this paper thus, is to trace the theme of development of education in UAE. The methodology undertaken focuses on the primary and secondary resources as defined. Structurally this paper is organized to brief the purpose of the research, followed by subject matter issue, the research questions and literature review, as a step to reach an analysis to the core subject matter in relating to the discussion and finally its conclusion. . Introduction Knowledge as one basis of human life is an important aspect. But how does one acquire knowledge? We can readily agree that education is one factor of it Education in the contemporary context is very vital. A lot of talks in recent time among global leaders and educationist also have gone at length to emphasize the need of education as one basis of human life and growth. Debate surrounding the development of education in many nations around the globe also is one heated theme. As we take a leap towards knowledge economy, the need and requirement of education cannot be sided apart. As human, we have the capability to learn. However, in that regard education also plays a bigger role in the society to impart the learning process. This is where we can begin our arguments encompassing the subject matter and the theme in general encompassing education and its developments. Summing it all up, education and the role that it plays in the society today is very crucial. However, factor surrounding the same is that proper facilities and infrastructure also have to be met with as far as fostering quality education is concerned. The state machinery also requires a through look into the matter of such great importance to facilitate a process that is meaningful and feasible to expand the realms of education and its reach among people. Purpose and objective of the research The purpose and objective of this research in particular is to take an analytical look into the theme encompassing education and it developmental phase in the society today. Together with it, reason behind the study also is to have a better understanding on the theme of education primarily as one factor to take an in-depth analysis that limits itself to the development of education in UAE. Thus, to simply the objective and purpose of this research, it would be prudent that the following is also highlighted: To have a better and deeper understanding on the topic of Development of Education in UAE in recent time. To emphasize on the study and research encompassing how education machinery works in UAE. To understand the educational system and infrastructure in UAE, when it matter to primary, secondary and higher education process and its development. To know about the different aims and objectives of Education policy and the machinery of educational development phase in UAE in the contemporary context. Most important objective was the experience and learning objective that can be garnered by doing a thorough research on the subject matter, which we are of the opinion provides a basis for a better and deeper understanding on how the development of education in UAE is taking shape in recent times, which would otherwise have not been possible without undertaking this project. Subject matter issue The subject matter issue of this work limits itself on Development of Education in UAE. In that reasoning, we feel that there is no lack of issue to be identified. For example, UNESCO also have highlighted in the recent report that dates back to 2000 on the prospects and necessary change required to strengthen the UAE economy and to build a future of bright minds and solid leadership in the country. Not surprisingly, the report states that the UAE have taken a great and formidable stride as far as development of education in the society are concerned. In that respect the development of education in UAE also have made substantial progress to facilitate a foundation for basic education in the society and is machinery towards the ambitious goals of providing education for all. (WorldEducationFurum, 2000) From this analysis in parts, we can identify as where to reflect the basis of our subject matter issue. There is no doubt that education processes in UAE is heading in the rights direction. However, how far such progression is, or when it matter to the reality surrounding the development of education in UAE is still subjected to debate, which this paper and the attempt made herein is to identify the pros and cons of the development of education in UAE today, and in particular how the educational machinery in the state works. Research Questions Following the subject matter issue as briefed above, the research question that arises in that regard are detailed as follows:- What are the educational machinery and its developmental processes in UAE? What role did the UAE government played in the development of education in UAE? What are the measures undertaken by UAE government in making the education practices in UAE at par with global standards? What are the goals and objectives of the new organizational framework for the development of education in UAE? In that regard, how has the ministry of education and youth affair in UAE contributed to the ambitious goals of education and its development in the society? What are the roles played by private and public educational undertaking in contributing to the development of education in UAE? Finally, do the UAE and the society at large have proper educational facilities and infrastructure to be at par with global education standards that strives for quality, assessments, feasible learning environment of the student community from the primary level of education until the higher education level? Methodology To gather information about this project on the theme of Development of Education in UAE much of it has been gathered through electronic sources relevant to the subject matter that relates to the UAE and in particular to educational forums that discusses the topic. Literature reviews and study in that regard also is one crucial methodology undertaken to reach an understanding as far as education, the value attached to it and most importantly the development stage in the contemporary society today. Simply, the methodology undertaken for the study of this research is differentiated between primary and secondary methodology. Primary Research Methodology: Electronic sources that assisted in gathering information relevant to the subject matter analysis can be accorded as one primary methodology, which has been vital for in enabling the research to focus on the core of the subject matter. In those aspects, resource acquired includes news articles and reports. Together wit it, the questionnaire developed for the purpose of the subject matter is also one aspect of the primary research and methodology. Apart from it, forum for educational discussion such as the UNESCO reports that limits itself to UAE and its educational phase is also one aspects of the primary methodology. Overall, it can be sum up that the primary resource and information gathering in that capacity is to justify the facts that are salient to the subject matter, which to a great extent news reports have been feasible for the analysis overall. Secondary Research Methodology: For other secondary information, literature review related to the theme of the subject matter has been beneficial enough to provide a clear understanding as far as the subject matter concerns. Literature review also provided a basis to lay emphasis to the crucial issue surrounding educations and its processes in general, which further assisted to limit the analysis in crucial arena that reflects to UAE and educational development in that regard. Literature Review To begin with in this note, we are of the opinion that education is one significant factor and there are several noble goals attached to it. Above all, Plato, one of the most renowned Greek thinkers also asserts that the direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life. (Plato, 1996) This quote in particular gives a precise and clear impression as to why education is of valuable importance. When we begin to ponder on these thoughts and to limit our analysis on educational and its developments, we see that many nations around the globe today also stresses that education and its foundation in the society today is significant as a measure undertaken to strengthen the foundation of the nation and its future. As the contemporary society takes a leap and bound as far as growth and development is concerned, education and its developmental phase also find a place of representation in that regard. Many renowned personalities and leaders also have emphasized the fact that education is one tool of empowerment and a powerful tool indeed. To begin with in that regard, scholars also are of the opinion that schooling is unavoidably a moral enterprise, and its impact in that regard also is both intrinsic and extrinsic. (Pandey, 2005, p. 1). Driving home from this point in contention, we fully agree that educational facilities and learning environment that are fostered through schooling have a powerful impact on the morality of human and their behavior. This salient factor of education is the basis of analysis when we reflect from a social and cultural context. Together with it, many educationist who advocates the values of education also relates to the fact that education as one basis of it all in the cultural and societal realms provides a formidable foundation to learning, especially when it matter to embodied the aspects of self-esteem, community services, multicultural educations, civic education, etc to name but a few. (Pandey, 2005, p. 2) Hence, from this part of the analysis, we can derive as to where education finds its place of representation in the society today. It is not surprising that policy makers also take a great measure to address the value of education. That is why we see reason enough that measure and initiation undertaken for the development of education readily register with the society and policy makers who are aware that the value of education in the society also marked the foundation of empowerment of individuals and as well as the future of the society. The Development of Education in UAE As far as UAE goes, one important point to relate to the theme of the subject matter can be related to the latest reports available with Arabianbusiness.com in which it is highlighted that the president of UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also stresses the need of the hour is to formulate policies for the effective development of educational processes, which tops the Agenda of the government. (Attwood, 2010) In that essence we can emphasize as to where the basis of education and its development in UAE is progressing. As we are aware, the foundation of education system in UAE is already there. Take for example the fact that investment taken by UAE government and policy makers as far as education is concerned is impressive, either when it matter to the structure that gives importance to primary education, secondary education and higher, plus technical education, where the foundation of infrastructural needs and system machinery are all being met out. (UAEInteract) Together with it, what we can further augment the fact of educational development in UAE also can be related to the social development aspects of education in UAE. What the news reports highlighted is that since the foundation of the state of UAE way back in 1971, the UAE government have emphasized to showered greater importance and interest in the development of education in the society, especially the development of education system in the country. (UAEInteract, Investment in UAE education sector on the rise, 2010) Hence, on the basis of this report, we can relate as to where the development course of education in UAE is heading. The foundation and roots of educational system in UAE have been there since the emergence of the state way back in 1971. However, recent measure undertaken by the government to initiate programs such as free and compulsory education for all is also a positive step of the development phase, which showed in the way of the literacy rate that have shot up from 53.5% in 1989 to 79% in 2000. (ArabianCampus.com) Furthermore, the education system in UAE in particular also is structuralized to meet the standards of global education. Add to it, the basis of the educational system in UAE also is to meet the requirement of the society for comprehensive education starting from the primary level till the secondary level, as well as university education. What is crucial to note is that educational sector in UAE have blossomed tremendously as a measure to reach individuals in the society and their needs for formal education. (ArabianCampus.com) Discussion When we lay emphasis to the analysis above, we can drive home the idea that the development phase of education and its process also have taken a new leaf of life in the contemporary context. In that respects, discussion that follows also reflects the opinion of public in UAE as per the survey carried out by GulfNews.com surrounding the theme Money vs. education, which is interpreted below. As per the reports available with Gulf News relates, many readers in the survey undertaken viewed their opinion that education provide a foundation to be financially sound as well as to be educated. (Khan, 2009) Some other readers who participated in the survey also are of the opinion that money and education are both important. Yet the greatest response that has been reached among participants in the survey is that education is very important and most respondents are in favor of education as a factor to means to earn money. The adage knowledge is power also represents the responses of respondent. (Khan, 2009) Conclusion This study has been crucial to understand the salient aspects surrounding education, especially the matter of the theme that relates to Development of Education in UAE. Thus, what we can conclude is that education is very vital in today contemporary context. The measure undertaken by UAE government to facilitate formal education in the society and necessary actions undertaken to invest in the development of education is impressive. As we have highlighted above, measure undertaken by UAE government in context of educations, be it providing free and formal education, setting up infrastructure for educational purposes, investing and attracting investment in the private educational sector overall reflects what we can conclude as the development stage that have reached its pinnacle. Yet there is every reason to belief that a lot of development in other fronts is also required to be undertaken. Hence, setting the standards of education that emphasize on meeting the objective to be at par with global educational system is also crucial, given that today education emphasize on a global arena and plays a pivotal role for employment and empowerment.

Hebrew Text And Fonts :: essays research papers

Hebrew Text and Fonts Today's written language is quickly becoming history. Just as the carved tablet has become a conversation piece in the archeologist's living room, the written language is quickly becoming as ancient as the dead sea scrolls. A new form of visual communication is taking over the entire world. Languages from across this widespread planet are now becoming more accessible to ever culture. As the pen and pencil begin to disappear into the history books, keyboards and monitors are making it easier for people to communicate in fast and effective ways. The text=hebrew">Hebrew Language has always been mysterious and bastardized, composed of ancient Greek and Egyptian symbol derivatives. The language eventually became independant, although it remains very mysterious, and is used mainly by the Israelites. Hebrew writing has now taken a new form , a form of which the English language has taken for many years. This new form called â€Å"type† is not new by any means, however, up until a few years ago, it was impossible to find a Hebrew Typeface on any word processing unite unless it was a specialized typewriter made in Jerusalem. The new Hebrew type has now been transformed into a computer compatible typeface found in two forms; script and print. The script form of the Hebrew type is equal to the commonly used italic form of the English typeface. Hebrew print form is a more linear and boxy form of the hebrew lettering. The Hebrew fonts and word processing software is easily downloadable to anyone though access to the internet. These programs are not compatible with English software but work on their own to allow for the ease of typing and

Free Macbeth Essays: The Importance of Guilt :: Free Essay Writer

The Importance of Guilt in Macbeth Through the story guilt motivates Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to a great extent. Macbeth was a kind, fine nobleman of the king Duncan. But one day his benevolence and his patronage to the king changed. He had met the three witches who had revealed the three prophecies. The first prophecy was that Macbeth would become the thane of Cawdor. The second prophecy is that he will become the king in the future. The third was that Banquo’s sons will also become kings in the future (Banquo is a good friend of Macbeth). Macbeth took his future into his own hands. Lady Macbeth was the own who encouraged and persuaded Macbeth into the horrible circumstances. Guilt plays a role to the couple differently at certain occasions. Guilt encircles Macbeth the night he killed King Duncan. He came back to his wife with a horrified expression on his face. "This is a sorry sight"(Act2 scene2 line 20), he told her. . "A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight", Lady Macbeth was thunderstruck to his remark. She had no sense of guilt right then. He couldn’t believe what he had done, what he got himself into. The sons of the king, Malcolm and Donalbain, were in the next room. "There’s one did laugh in ‘s sleep, and one cried, "Murder!" That they did wake each other". I stood and heard them. But they did say their prayers, and addressed them Again to sleep. But wherefore could not I pronounce "Amen"? I had most need of blessing, and "Amen" Stuck in my throat." Macbeth had heard them say their prayers He was in fear. He was stunned and in shock that he had killed someone like King Duncan. Guilt surrounds Macbeth for the second time when he sends out the murderers to kill Banquo, his old friend. Macbeth had no other choice but to get rid of Banquo. Banquo had witnessed the three witches and the prophecies. One prophecy was that his son would become king one day "To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings"(Act3 scene1 line70). In order for Macbeth to be safe is to kill Banquo. Banquo may assume what had happened and tell the people of Scotland. "For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered; Put rancors in the vessel of my peace only for them, and mine eternal jewel".

Mystery of Free Will and Moral Responsibility

The Mystery of Free Will and Moral Responsibility We all seem to think that we make decisions on our own and have the ability to choose from making different decisions. We do what we want to do because it seems as if we have many options to choose from to be in control of our own destiny. The basic question of the mystery of free will is that, â€Å"Are we able to really make our own decisions or are the decisions we make already predetermined (with it being inevitable of us making that certain decision)? Our futures seem to be undetermined and have an infinite amount of possibilities of which we are able to choose freely among. Think of your life as a garden of forking paths with each path being a certain decision you make that affects your future. However, many philosophers believe that the thesis of determinism threatens this model of free will. If you may know, determinism is the theory that the universe at any point in time is entirely fixed by the state of the universe at a pr ior time, in combination with the laws of nature.So the reason why this threatens the ‘garden of forking paths’ model of free will is that how can we have so many options to choose when determinism has already chosen one for us? This leads us to another central issue, which is: â€Å"Can free will and determinism co-exist? † The two ways philosophers go about considering this question is either with a ‘yes, they can co-exist’ or ‘no, they cannot. ’ If you were to believe that, yes, free will and determinism can co-exist, then you would be considered a compatibilist.Answering no, free will and determinism cannot co-exist, you would be considered an incompatibalist. Peter Van Inwagen, a prominent figure in the philosophy world, created the consequence argument. In his argument, Van Inwagen explains that if determinism is true, then our acts are just a consequence of the laws of nature and events in the remote past. And since it’s no t up to us what went on before we were born nor what the laws of nature are, the consequences of these things (including our present acts) are not up to us (PowerPoint 1, Slide 23).In short, he explains that if determinism were to be true then no one would ever or has ever made a choice on their own about anything. So if no one has power over the facts of the past and the laws of nature and that no one has the power of the fact that the facts of the past and laws of nature entail that only future is possible, therefore, no one has power over the facts of the future. To further demonstrate his reasoning of the consequence argument, Van Inwagen created the No Choice Principle (NCP). In this example, let ‘p’ = â€Å"Plato died long before I was born. † Let ‘q’ = â€Å"I never met Plato. Now, if I have no choice about ‘p’ and no choice about the fact that (if ‘p’ is true, then ‘q’ is necessarily true. Therefore, I have no choice about ‘q’ (PowerPoint 1, Slide 26). How can one have a choice about something that is inevitably going to happen if one has no choice about it happening? Van Inwagen’s consequence argument is based on the NCP. Now, if determinism and free will can co-exist (Compatibilism is true) then the No Choice Principle must be false (Remember, you would have no free will and no choice of ‘q’ happening because it was never in your control to choose so).But, the NCP is not false, therefore the Compatibilism theory is not true and with this being said the free will thesis and theory of determinism cannot co-exist. I believe that free will is incompatible with determinism, but free will exists because the thesis of determinism is false. I choose this opinion because, going to back to the ‘garden of forking paths’ model, if I come across a path with three forks in it I have the ability to not take one or two of those paths and have the ab ility to freely choose which path I would prefer to take.I know that I have the ability to choose because I can take either 3 paths, but I only choose to take the one which I desire most. Determinists may say that I took that path because it was inevitable. Whichever of the 3 paths I took, it would be inevitable that I took it. The reason why I believe in free will and not the coexistence of both free will and determinism, and determinism itself is because there is no way to prove something of happening inevitably in every occasion. Determinists could say that just about anything was inevitable of happening, what’s their proof? Mystery of Free Will and Moral Responsibility The Mystery of Free Will and Moral Responsibility We all seem to think that we make decisions on our own and have the ability to choose from making different decisions. We do what we want to do because it seems as if we have many options to choose from to be in control of our own destiny. The basic question of the mystery of free will is that, â€Å"Are we able to really make our own decisions or are the decisions we make already predetermined (with it being inevitable of us making that certain decision)? Our futures seem to be undetermined and have an infinite amount of possibilities of which we are able to choose freely among. Think of your life as a garden of forking paths with each path being a certain decision you make that affects your future. However, many philosophers believe that the thesis of determinism threatens this model of free will. If you may know, determinism is the theory that the universe at any point in time is entirely fixed by the state of the universe at a pr ior time, in combination with the laws of nature.So the reason why this threatens the ‘garden of forking paths’ model of free will is that how can we have so many options to choose when determinism has already chosen one for us? This leads us to another central issue, which is: â€Å"Can free will and determinism co-exist? † The two ways philosophers go about considering this question is either with a ‘yes, they can co-exist’ or ‘no, they cannot. ’ If you were to believe that, yes, free will and determinism can co-exist, then you would be considered a compatibilist.Answering no, free will and determinism cannot co-exist, you would be considered an incompatibalist. Peter Van Inwagen, a prominent figure in the philosophy world, created the consequence argument. In his argument, Van Inwagen explains that if determinism is true, then our acts are just a consequence of the laws of nature and events in the remote past. And since it’s no t up to us what went on before we were born nor what the laws of nature are, the consequences of these things (including our present acts) are not up to us (PowerPoint 1, Slide 23).In short, he explains that if determinism were to be true then no one would ever or has ever made a choice on their own about anything. So if no one has power over the facts of the past and the laws of nature and that no one has the power of the fact that the facts of the past and laws of nature entail that only future is possible, therefore, no one has power over the facts of the future. To further demonstrate his reasoning of the consequence argument, Van Inwagen created the No Choice Principle (NCP). In this example, let ‘p’ = â€Å"Plato died long before I was born. † Let ‘q’ = â€Å"I never met Plato. Now, if I have no choice about ‘p’ and no choice about the fact that (if ‘p’ is true, then ‘q’ is necessarily true. Therefore, I have no choice about ‘q’ (PowerPoint 1, Slide 26). How can one have a choice about something that is inevitably going to happen if one has no choice about it happening? Van Inwagen’s consequence argument is based on the NCP. Now, if determinism and free will can co-exist (Compatibilism is true) then the No Choice Principle must be false (Remember, you would have no free will and no choice of ‘q’ happening because it was never in your control to choose so).But, the NCP is not false, therefore the Compatibilism theory is not true and with this being said the free will thesis and theory of determinism cannot co-exist. I believe that free will is incompatible with determinism, but free will exists because the thesis of determinism is false. I choose this opinion because, going to back to the ‘garden of forking paths’ model, if I come across a path with three forks in it I have the ability to not take one or two of those paths and have the ab ility to freely choose which path I would prefer to take.I know that I have the ability to choose because I can take either 3 paths, but I only choose to take the one which I desire most. Determinists may say that I took that path because it was inevitable. Whichever of the 3 paths I took, it would be inevitable that I took it. The reason why I believe in free will and not the coexistence of both free will and determinism, and determinism itself is because there is no way to prove something of happening inevitably in every occasion. Determinists could say that just about anything was inevitable of happening, what’s their proof?

Thinking Outside the Idiot Box

Dana Stevens’ essay, â€Å"Thinking outside the Idiot Box†, was first published in Slate on March 25, 2005, is a counter argument to â€Å"Watching TV Makes You Smarter† an article written my Steven Johnson that says watching complicated TV shows make you smarter when in reality you’re just watching complicated TV shows. She mainly disagrees with Johnson’s opinion that figuring out the complicated plots of the TV shows sharpens one’s cognitive skills. In her view, those entangled plots not only compel one to watch even more TV, they also weaken one’s skills to think because many shows overload one’s mind with quick-paced facts. Stevens 295-6) She also states that Johnson overlooks the Muslim terrorist and tortures in the show â€Å"24†. She points out that many people think watching TV is ok especially if it’s a nature show. Stevens also discusses a trip to the airport where she saw quite a few people surrounding a nature showing. The author contemplated whether or not the nature show was acceptable because travelers were still â€Å"spacing out† while watching it, so what is the difference between violent shows like â€Å"Animal Face Off† which contains bloods guts and gore and a â€Å"regular† nature show is peaceful and entertaining. Stevens 297) She is wondering why â€Å"spacing out† is ever positive: â€Å"A football game in a bar is zapworthy, but spacing out to leopards in the Qantas terminal is A-OK? † (Stevens 297). Next she says that children are fresh meat for the marketing industries by making shows that catch their eye. She is basically claiming that there are many people who are offended by many things, and each person needs to be sensitive to what they play on their TVs. In conclusion, Stevens believes that TV is neither beneficial nor it is harmful for our minds; it is only there to entertain us. (298)