How Do Men and Woman Communicate Differently in Relationships Essay Example

How Do Men and Woman Communicate Differently in Relationships? Essay How do men and woman communicate differently in relationships? Monique Giresi Professor Martin Analytical Reading 81148 I. A. How To Stay Married Anne Kingston Magazine Article B. He Said, She Said Deborah Tannen Magazine Article II. A. The magazine article titled, â€Å"How to Stay Married,† begins with a story about a 68-year old woman named Cynthia. The article has a narrative style of writing in the beginning, however as one reads on, the style converts to expository. Anne Kingston, the author, begins to teach the reader by using examples of others and personal experiences to support her point. B. The magazine article titled, â€Å"He Said, She Said,† is an expository piece of writing. Deborah Tannen, the author, is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, and the author or several books; proving that Tannen is very knowledgeable on this subject. Throughout the article there are many examples (such as pre-school children conversing) in which Tannen uses to as proof, to show that man are more interested in hierarchy, and woman are more interested in equality. III. A. How To Stay Married * Stability 1. â€Å"†¦better health, a rich shared history, the comfort of having omeone who has your back, and personal and economic stability amid global uncertainty. † (p2) 2. Stability- To have a solid and strong balance or partnership. 3. Having my boyfriend by my side as a person to talk to when I was upset, gave me a great sense of the stability. * Amid 4. â€Å"†¦better health, a rich shared history, the comfort of having someone who has your back , and personal and economic stability amid global uncertainty. † (p2) 5. Amid- During a course of something. 6. I know that I’ll always have my family for support amid the stressful school year. * Rampant 7. †¦sexual secrecy in marriage is rampant, from a woman buoyed by the memory†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p4) 8. Rampant- Uncontrollable rage. 9. When sitting in class during a discussion, it is rampant that I respond my opinion. * Infidelity 10. â€Å"Not that Krasnow is advocating infidelity, though flirting is fine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p4) 11. Infidelity- Adultery; cheating on your spouse. 12. In my house, we don’t believe in divorce, nor do we believe in infidelity. Therefore, we get married at an older age so we are sure the man/woman is worth the marriage. * Extramarital 13. â€Å"Unlike husbands, wives are driven to extramarital affairs (p4) 14. Extramarital-Having sexual intercourse with someone other than your spouse. 15. It is wrong in many religions for one to in clude themselves in extramarital affairs. - B. He Said, She Said * Innumerable 16. â€Å"†¦sheds a light on innumerable adult conversations – and frustrations. † (p3) 17. Innumerable- Incapable  of  being  counted;  countless. 18. Some art has innumerable opinions on its meaning. * Fathom 19. â€Å"†¦he did exactly what she requested and cannot fathom why she would keep talking about a problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p3) 20. We will write a custom essay sample on How Do Men and Woman Communicate Differently in Relationships? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on How Do Men and Woman Communicate Differently in Relationships? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on How Do Men and Woman Communicate Differently in Relationships? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Fathom- To understand; discover the meaning of 21. Many people cannot fathom the reasoning of some criminal’s actions. * Commiserate 22. â€Å"in other words, â€Å"topping† each other can be another way to commiserate† (p4) 23. Commiserate- To feel or express sorrow or sympathy for. 24. Everyday my mother calls my aunt and asks how she is feeling. She doesn’t do this because she should, she does it to commiserate my aunt. * Interplay 25. â€Å"How does this way of talking reflect the interplay of connection and hierarchy? † (p5) 26. Interplay- Circumstances, events, or personal relations. 7. How does practicing a sport from a young age reflect the interplay of performance later in life? * Inextricably 28. â€Å"The two are not mutually exclusive but inextricably intertwined. † (p7) 29. Inextricably- Extremely involved. 30. I am inextricably concerned with my schoolwork. IV. A. The magazine article titled, â€Å"How to Stay Married,† i s written in a cause –effect pattern of organization. Authors who use the cause-and-effect approach don’t just tell what happened; they try to explain why it happened too. In this article, author Anne Kingston uses various examples of cause-and-effect. One sample from Kingston’s article is, â€Å"it’s precisely the disconnect between that expectation that husband and wife be everything to one another and the reality of marriage that causes women to keep secrets†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p3) Here Kingston begins her statement with the effect and concludes it with the cause of women keeping secrets. B. The magazine article titled, â€Å"He Said, She Said,† is written in a comparison-contrast pattern of organization. Authors who use the comparison-contrast approach both; compare and contrast two things throughout the argument. In this article, author, Deborah Tannen uses several examples of comparison-contrast. One illustration from Tannen’s article is, â€Å"her point of view, asking directions means making a fleeting connection to a stranger and getting where you are going without losing anything. From his perspective, he would be putting himself in a one-down position to a stranger†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p4). Here Tannen shows how opposite men and women think sometimes. V. C. How To Stay Married * Facts 1. â€Å"And what their stories reveal is that marital longevity requires wives to establish strong, separate identities from their husbands through creative coping mechanisms, some of them covert. (p2) Fact because there is proof within the book â€Å"The Secret Lives of Wives: Women Share What Its Really Like To Stay Married. † That book shares stories from different women, all proving this statement to be true. 2. â€Å"Both the marriage rate and divorce rate are dropping. † (p3) Fact because the evidence to this is created from true statistics. D. He Said, She Said * Fa cts 3. â€Å"†¦men’s talk tends to focus on hierarchy†¦whereas women’s tends to focus on connection†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p2) Fact because earlier the author explains that she has collected and analyzed thousands of men and women interacting for over three decades. Her gathered information has led her to this conclusion. 4. â€Å"†¦I have a brother named Benjamin and a brother named Jonathan†¦I have a brother named Benjamin and a brother named Jonathan, too†¦why she would say such a thing. † (p3) Fact because the father is explaining a conversation that really happened. VI. E. How To Stay Married * Opinions 5. â€Å"Divorce fractured families. † (p3) Opinion because there are cases in which a divorce can help the family. Sometimes it may decrease arguments and stress. 6. †¦couples should give each other ‘space’ for marriage to thrive†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p3) Opinion because some couples may feel that for a marriage to thrive the couple should be together as much as they could and share new experiences together as a whole, as one. F. He Said, She Said * Opinions 7. â€Å"†¦actual sibling relationships are defined not only by the connection of shared family, but also by the hierarchy of birth order. † Opinion because this is not true with every family. For example, I’m the youngest and my sibling and I feel equal among each other. We don’t see one another as higher, lower, better or worse. 8. Sisters often feel acutely competitive about who knows what about family member’s secrets-or who knows what first. † (p6) Opinion because this isn’t true for every sister relationship. For example, in my family we don’t have a preference with who knows what first, as long as eventually we all get to know the information. Every family is different and every sister relationship is not alike. VII. G. The magazine article â€Å"How to Stay Married† by Anne Kingston discusses women’s role in modern marriages. There are several examples taken from the book â€Å"The Secrets Lives of Wives: What It Really Takes to Stay Married. This article also shares some stories of women committing adultery and Kingston provides some advice on the t ype of person one should marry. H. The magazine article â€Å"He Said, She Said† by Deborah Tannen discusses the different conversation styles of men and women. There are various examples proving that men’s discussion focuses more on hierarchy, and woman’s dialogue emphasizes more on connection. Some samples throughout the article include; a man and woman lost-wondering if they want to ask a stranger for directions or not, preschoolers playing with classmates, and sibling relationships. VIII. How Do Men And Women Communicate Differently In A Relationship? To start, men and women communicate differently in, or out, of a relationship. This is proven by Deborah Tannen in the magazine article â€Å"He Said, She Said. † Tannen explains that â€Å"†¦men’s talk tends to focus on hierarchy competition for relative power – whereas women’s tends to focus on connection – relative closeness or distance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p2) Tannen enforced her statement by filming preschoolers and proving the same conclusion. From this, we learn that these characteristics within us humans are not learned. Instead, they are with us from our childhood and throughout life. Sometimes these opposite perspectives create conflict within a relationship. For example, if a couple is lost and in need of directions; the male would prefer to figure it out on his own and the women would wish to get to the destination as soon as possible. The man will feel overpowered by a stranger who knows where to go, while the woman would feel it’s reasonable to ask someone, in order to save time. In addition, women expect too much from their relationship. Sometimes they rely on their husbands for happiness. However, in the magazine article, â€Å"How to Stay Married† Anne Kingston explains, â€Å"wives who don’t rely on their husbands for happiness end up having the happiest marriages. † (p2) When women don’t feel the passion from their husbands they begin to feel lonely, and this leads to the unfortunate, adultery. Kingston reveals, â€Å"it’s precisely the disconnect between the expectation that husband and wife be everything to one another and the reality of marriage that causes women to eep secrets†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p3) For example, if women were to talk about a problem she is having, she is looking for comfort, but the man may interpret that she is looking for a solution. Tannen explains, â€Å"†¦a man may well misread her conversational gambit as a request for help solving the problem. The result is mutual frustration: she blames him for telling her what to do and failing to provide the exp ected comfort, whereas he thinks he did exactly what she requested and cannot fathom why she would keep talking about a problem if she does not want to do anything about it. (p3) The communication difference between the opposite genders is inevitable. As Kingston writes, â€Å"you should marry someone who is flexible, confident and trusts you: if you can’t count on your husband or wife in a crazy unstable world then you’re marrying the wrong person. †(p5) IX. Works Cited Kingston, Anne. â€Å"How To Stay Married. † Maclean’s 10 October 2011: 6. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 October 2011. Tannen, Deborah. â€Å"He Said, She Said. † Scientific American Mind May/June 2010: 8. Academic Search Complete. Web. 31 October 2011.

The Project Managment Office System

The Project Managment Office System Free Online Research Papers The project office is the office or department responsible for establishing, maintaining, and enforcing project management processes, procedures, and standards. It provides services, support, and certification for project managers [web definition]. In a broader sense, if an organization undertakes one or two project at any given time, it may able to easily implement project management discipline. However, the larger an organization gets, and the more projects that are executed at one time, the more difficult it becomes to develop a comprehensive methodology, train everyone and enforce the consistent use of the technology on all projects. Without this consistency, the full value of implementing a common value of a project management methodology is not reached (TenStep, Inc). There are many organizations that have started realizing the potential value of establishing a Project Management Office to strengthen their competitive advantage. The PMO structures project management into an organized, systematic approach that includes the following goals (Engle, 2005): 1. Project Definition: Goals and objectives, organization charts, and roles and responsibilities are documented. Some companies adopt a charter that lays out every aspect of the project before the first dollar is spent. 2. Project planning and control: The charter documents what is to be done, and the project plan lays out how it will be accomplished. The project plan includes the schedule, required resources, and budget. 3. Issue Management: Management must identify and address unforeseen issues in a timely manner. Issues in this sense are mainly the issues that need to be addressed in the application that just developed. 4. Risk Management: Risks are identified and monitored at the beginning of the project and alternatives are developed to mitigate them. 5. Change/Scope Management: Few Projects are completed without changes. Changes must be addressed quickly and honestly, with minimal impact to the schedule, staffing and budget. 6. Reporting and Communications: The PMO typically reports on the project each week and identifies significant issues frequently. These reports typically focus on schedule, budget, and resources. 7. Quality Management: Quality management seeks to identify gaps during the project so that they can be addressed quickly 8. Financial Management: The PMO develops and administers the project budget. Reports are prepared weekly that compare actual expenditures to the budget in order to identify the issues before they can impact the project. Overview of ABC Technologies, Inc ABC Technologies is a leading international system integration consultancy with superior value-priced services for both private and government sector clients. ABC Technologies offers services on a project or strategic staffing basis, in both custom and enterprise resource planning (ERP) package environments, and across all technology platforms, operating systems and infrastructures. ABC Technologies has earned a reputation as a unique firm in a fast-paced marketplace. ABC Technologies collaborates with customers to consistently and cost-effectively plan, execute and deliver high-quality services and results. Current Issues ABC Technologies is currently persuading more project contracts than Time and Material contracts. As a result there are many different projects that are being developed simultaneously under different Project Managers. Each project has its own processes of which some are shared among different projects and others are project based. There are enterprise-wide processes that can be used across many projects. In this paper the issues are identified, categorized and discussed based on Project Management Functions outlined above. Issue #1, Project Planning and Control: Project planning is the key element in project control. It helps to direct and guide the project in the right direction and thereby assists in completing the project on schedule. Project planning is the essential part of good project management (Giridhar, 1998). The Project Directors and Project Managers develop project planning using Microsoft Project for individual projects and upload them in the project intranet website. But still the managers and directors at ABC Technologies plan their project by conventional methods such as known facts, historical data, and in the absence of former, best educated guesses. Thus, the estimates takes the form dictated by history of experience and are generally based on previous successes and measures used to evaluate them (Hartman, Jergeas, 1996). Issue #2, Issues Management: ABC Technologies currently uses a vendor product to log and track issues. This software does not integrate with Change Control software, Risk Management software. If an issue is entered and the developer or architect determines that the issue opens up a change process the issue is closed in the software and separate process is started in the change control. Some issues identified may even affect the project planning and delivery process. The project managers will only come to know if QA personnel who logged the issue send the report to the project manager. The software that is currently being used does not create any alert to the concerned members of the team other than notifying that an issue has been entered. ABC Technologies inputs far less effort to objective setting for Issues Management. Objective setting for issue management has unique requirements which distinguish it from broader corporate planning processes (Jaques, 2005). The software that the ABC Technologies uses does not address the strategic process of Issues Management. Issue #3, Change/Scope Management A project is a moving target and things change on a regular basis. Currently ABC Technologies put a change control process in place and but varies from project to project. The Project Managers fills up a long form on an intranet site created exclusively for each project to initiate the change control process. The process does not get input from any other modules or software other than manual input from project managers. As a result it is time consuming process for the project manager to initiate a change control process. The Project manager is the admin for the site who can provide or deny access to the site. This one long form gets the input from various quarters such as clients, developers, QAs and others. Controlling â€Å"Change† is a key factor to a successfully managed project. Implementing a good change control procedure will have a significant impact on the project’s bottom line (Chen, 1992). With the current process, the project managers tend to create only scope creep because many of the developers are not even aware of change control process. I heard the project manager complain that we changed the design of the product for the client free of cost. Issue #4, Reporting and Communications: The project status reports are the one that most of the software developers fail to produce in time because of their other engagements. It is learnt that very few project managers at ABC Technologies insist on weekly project status report and while others use their judgment and oral communications to write their report for their bosses. There is absolutely no automated report generator at ABC Technologies that the project team can use. Project Managers walk a fine line when it comes to requesting (and actually getting) status reports from team members. The team members have to maintain their own status reports on their computers in case of reviewing or tracking back. Although the project managers regularly schedule the meeting on a weekly basis there is absolutely no record of discussions. Sometimes it leads event to pointing fingers in the event of something goes wrong. There is proper documentation other than the email sent after the meeting about the discussions held during the meeting hours. Issue #5, Risk Management: IT projects are renowned for their high failure rate. Risk management is an essential process for the successful delivery of IT projects. The top five risks, in order, are: personnel shortfalls, unreasonable project schedule and budget, unrealistic expectations, incomplete requirements, and diminished window of opportunity due to late delivery of software (Baccarini, Salm, Love, 2004). Since ABC Technologies is service oriented company, the project managers face the above mentioned five risks in their day-to-day project activities. Sometimes because of the nature of the economy, the companies such as ABC Technologies are compelled to venture into risky contracts. On top of already known risks, some more risks are added as the project progresses. This is due to lack to process in place. Sometimes the project managers and team members fail to identify and resolve the issues in a timely manner that may turn into risks. Recommendations Issue #1, Project Planning and Control: The enterprise solution will have a module for project planning and control. The project planning and control module is divided into two sub modules: time scheduling, and resource scheduling. The module will use PERT and CPM network methods to plan the project. The managers and directors will provide the necessary information to the system. The system should also support the data entered in Microsoft Project and do necessary calculations. The module should be designed to include the following requirements (Giridhar, 1998): Listing activities with durations, complying with WBS, complying with working days and holidays in organization, assigning resources required for each activity, defining resource availability, optimization of resource requirements, monitoring progress, controlling and forecasting problems, reporting the status of the project, and comparison of present status versus the original schedules. Issue #2, Issues Management: The proposed solution includes the module for handling Issues Management. The module will help the project team to go through the four important steps prescribed to Issues Management by Howard Chase: Define the problem, analyze strengths and weaknesses of solutions as related to the problem, set priority on proposed solutions to the problem, and use the mechanisms of your trade to solve the problem (Chase, 1999) The module will address the primary goal of Issue Management Plan – Issues are identified and assigned to appropriate project team member, issues determined to impact the scope, schedule, or quality of the project will be inputted into change management process automatically, resolutions or decisions are documented and communicated to all affected parties, generate reports on timely manner such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly set by the project manager. Issue# 3, Change/Scope Management: The proposed solution will have a Change/Scope management module that provides access to required personals to view all changes in one place. The module will show cumulative impact in time and dollars of changes. The module will force the team members to think through the impact of the changes. The module will automatically generate the change requests approval. This module should be able to be fed directly from the Issues Management module proposed earlier and feed the same and generate the necessary alerts to the project managers on impacting the triple constraints of the project – time, cost, and performance. This module should allow managers to trace the impact of changes and defects on a project’s requirements, while allowing testers to link test plans and results to business and functional requirements (Compuware, 2000). Issue #4, Reporting and Communications: The system must be able to link to and extract information from the proper sources and present this information in an appropriate format for a decision making process (Paterson, 1966). The proposed solution will integrate the time entry software into the reporting module whereby the team members are required to enter the description for each time entry. Thus the team members do not need to spend extra time to write the report to their managers and instead the managers should be able to generate the report in a timely manner. The module should be able to support the attachments from Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. The module also should be able to handle XML formats. Issue #5, Risk management: One of the key challenges in implementing the risk management process is the quantification of benefits (Noor, Joyner, Martin Jr., 2002). One metric that is used to quantify the benefit of the risk management is the ROI calculation. The system should be able to provide this calculation when the project managers provide mitigation cost, mitigation effectiveness (ME) and risk impact($). Risk management and Issues Management modules should be able to exchange the data between themselves. The module should be able to export the data into other applications such as spreadsheets. The module should provide report generator that allows defining reports. The module must perform qualitative and quantitative risk management. The managers should be able to view the impact of uncertainties either as cost or time. Proposed Solution The proposed solution integrates the five different modules mentioned above into one enterprise system. The solution will be developed as web-based application but run as windows applications. The UI elements will be developed using Microsoft Windows Forms in .NET framework. ABC Technologies have recently developed and successfully implemented enterprise solution using the same architecture. Thus ABC Technologies can leverage the expertise and experience into this new venture. Proposed Infrastructure (Hardware, and Software) ABC Technologies is required to have one web server and one database server. The web server will host the web services that interact with the Database server. The web services will be developed in VB .NET. The database server will have one instance of SQL Server 2000. The web server is firewall protected so no outsiders who don’t have access can talk to the web server. The web and database servers will run on Windows Server 2003 operating system. The Client PCs must be installed with .NET Framework 1.1. The application should be available connected as well as disconnected. In case of internet shut down, the clients (remote) should be able to use application. In order to facilitate this environment the client PCs must be installed with Microsoft SQLServer Desktop Engine (MSDE). Similarly for the disconnected environment the web services are all available as standalone libraries. ABC Technologies will decide on providing access to external clients on signing the contract. The new clients should be able to download the application to their PCs by clicking on the link provided at the time of granting access. Thus ABC Technologies can maintain their list of clients who have access to their application outside their firewall. Training ABC Technologies will develop a web based training material and every employee will have to spend at least an hour a day for a week to go through the training material prior to the implementation. Web based training is more appropriate than Instructor-led training because as ABC Technologies acquires new contracts, it helps the new clients to go through the training in similar manner. Implementation, Support and Upgrade The solution is deployed to the client PCs through the internet. The application is available on the internet. The users will have to go to the web site and click on the URL. The application then gets downloaded to the client PCs. ABC Technologies will also upgrade the application in an acceptable frequency and instruct the current users via E-Mail that an upgrade is available. Since ABC Technologies is service based company, it will be expensive to keep a dedicated team to support the application. ABC Technologies will have to rotate the support personnel to maintain the application. Time and Cost The total time required to design, develop, and implement the solution is four months – one month to design, two months for coding and another one month for QA. ABC Technologies will incur the cost of only two servers – Database and Web Servers. The PCs were already bought and in use. The networks are also already in place. The ABC Technologies has already bought MSDN subscriptions for other projects. The cost for the resources is also very minimal because the ABC technologies will use the personnel who are available on bench and have experience in .NET Framework. ABC Technologies does not have to hire any new consultants to venture into this project. ABC technologies can keep the cost down through rotation by making use of the consultants who come on bench. References Paul Engle. â€Å"The Project Management Office†. Norcross: Jan 2005. P. Giridhar. â€Å"The Computerized Project Planning System†. AACE International Transactions. Morgantown: 1998 Francis T. Hartman, George F. Jergeas. â€Å"Simplifying Project Success Metrics†. AACE International Transactions. Morgantown: 1996. Tony Jaques. â€Å"Systematic Objective Setting for Effective Issue Management†. Journal of Public Affairs. London: 2005 Howard Chase. Chase foresees dismal future for public relations. It has been captured by marketing. Public Relations Quarterly: 1999. Mark T.Chen, â€Å"Change Control and Tracking†. American Association of Cost Engineers. Morgantown: 1992. Compuware, â€Å"Tools for Accelerating Team software Development†. PR NewsWire. New York: 2000. T.T. Paterson, â€Å"Management Theory†. Business Publications. London:1966. David Baccarini, Geoff Salm, Peter E.D. Love. â€Å"Management of Risks in Information Technology Projects†. Industrial Management + Data Systems. Wembley: 2004. Iqbal Noor, Terry Joyner, Robert J. Martin Jr. â€Å"Challenges of Implementing Risk Management Processes†. AACE International Transactions. Morgantown: 2002. Research Papers on The Project Managment Office SystemAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanOpen Architechture a white paperLifes What IfsResearch Process Part OneInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfDefinition of Export Quotas

The book Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The book Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson - Essay Example However, the outcome is never attractive for either them, or the civilians who fall victims. Whenever there is war in a country and there are battles between the state soldiers and the rebels, the people who suffer most will be the civilians (Johnson 80). There are many reasons for such results. For example; some soldiers end up going against their respectful duties. Civilians fully depend on their soldiers to protect and fight for them, but in some cases, it is not quiet clear why the very soldiers end up turning against the helpless civilians. In this book the Tree of Smoke, as the American soldiers set out for the famous Vietnam War. Many people suffer the consequences and instead of solving the problem, the wars ends up affecting the same victims of the war (Johnson 300). This is seen when women are rapes, and other civilians short to death. Soldiers in the wars are meant to attack the enemy and not the victim. But in this case, soldiers are seen to change course and turn on thei r dependents. The relationship between the soldiers and the civilian is expected to be a fair one as the civilians safety only depends on the soldiers. This relationship in Tree of Smoke does not last when soldiers turn against their dependants and perform actions of violence against them including rape (Johnson 250). This picture gives a very negative view towards the soldiers, and it leaves a person wondering what kind of world we live in. In as much as soldiers like in this situation may be get frustrated, it is still not acceptable the way the can behave (Johnson p.250). The behaviors are truly pathetic and unacceptable. It is even sadder when such incidences occur and yet nothing is done about them. The relationship between them and the victimized civilians is ruined completely. This situations doubles the victimization of the civilians as they are fall both victims of war and their supposedly saviors. We all know that the soldiers in war are human (Johnson 179); they may end u p using such stuff like drugs and alcohol. Consequently, most of the time this would make them change their attitude to that of â€Å"who cares† when their minds are set in that manner. Those who depend on their protections become very vulnerable to them. Sometimes there are cases where soldiers break in people houses harassing them severely and looting their property, or misusing them. It is not clear to me what causes this kind of behavior in this people. I presume that as soldiers they have the capability to use the authority, they have to punish civilians under their mercy. The soldiers in Vietnam War are also seen in the story to portray misconduct when they still the puppies from the Vietnamese homes and smuggled them to their homes. This is harassment towards the same civilians who innocently depend on them (Johnson 220). The civilians have no power over the soldiers and they suffer so much lose in the hands. Soldiers were viewed to be merciless during the time when th ey raided houses of the victims blowing them using the grenades. Many innocent civilians died in the process, with so much confusion being experienced by the Vietnamese (Johnson 234). The confusion arose because the victimized civilians had no idea who was on their side because they were being attacked from all sides. In the Long run, this book does not really show a positive effect from the war, as those people who expected to benefit from it suffered even worse situations. The story clearly states the evil

5 Page Book Critique on Francis A. Schaeffers book, How Should We Then Essay

5 Page Book Critique on Francis A. Schaeffers book, How Should We Then Live for a Advanced School Law Class - Essay Example ly states â€Å""To understand where we are in todays world -- in our intellectual ideas and in our cultural and political lives -- we must trace three lines in history, namely, the philosophic, the scientific, and the religious." In this book Schaeffer aims at motivating the people to return to religion and the Christian way of life. He speaks of the problems of the modern day and their affect on society today. By tracing back through history he provides a compelling argument to explain the value of the Christian ethic and belief. His conclusion is that the only way to achieve success and satisfaction in the world today is to go back to the ultimate truth: The Bible. This is considered the absolute perfection that is revealed to Christ through the Scriptures. The book also speaks of the beauty and magnificence of God. It mentions the importance of understanding the true power behind the infinite God as human beings are mere finite shadows under his supremacy. To better explain this aim, a quote has been taken from the book â€Å"It is important that the Bible sets forth true knowledge about mankind. The biblical teaching provides the meaning of all the particulars, however this is especially so with regards to that particular which is critical to man, namely, the ‘self’ individual either him or her; it really provides a reason for the individual to be great. The ironical factor here remains that humanism, which initiates with Man being central, ultimately has no real meaning for people. At the same time, if one starts off with the Bibles position that an individual is created by God and created in the image of God, there is a basis for that persons dignity. People, the Bible preaches, are created in the image of God -- they are not programmed. Each is thus Man with dignity.†(Chapter 4) In his acknowledgements Schaeffer writes â€Å"â€Å"Using my study, over the past forty years, of Western thought and culture as a base, we could attempt to present the flow and

Managerial EconomicsWeek 4 Individual Work Assignment

Managerial EconomicsWeek 4 Individual Work - Assignment Example The U.S. dollar is a strong currency compared to other currencies. However, America is in trade deficits in international money markets. A clear short term trend in the U.S. dollar is that it rose some 14 percent in relation to the euro and even more to the Japanese yen. However, towards the Chinese renminbi the U.S. dollar decreased. The decrease was after the increase in the dollar rate by the Chinese central bank The main factors affecting dollar/euro exchange rates include relative real interest rate, the relative price, the relative fiscal position, and Percentage product prices. The euro/dollar exchange rate also asymmetrically responds to macroeconomic news and other factors in the economy. However, predicting the euro/dollar exchange rate may seem very hard due to lack of precise models and other unexpected events that work within the economy. There are also other fundamental and non-fundamental factors that affect the euro/ dollar exchange rates in global markets. Trade deficits and job market significantly affect the euro/dollar exchange rates. Increasing trade deficits coupled with a weak job market may lead to the strengthening of the euro. In contrast, the U.S. Dollar may weaken. Political factors such as world security also affect euro/dollar exchange rates. Factors such as war and fears of terrorism and war and accounting issues in the U.S. resulted to reduced strength of the U.S . dollar. Factors that led to a decrease in power of the U.S. dollar make the euro stronger. However, in most cases, euro/dollar exchange rates patterns are usually nonlinear in nature. Therefore, market forces pull back the exchange rate to PPP equilibrium Currency exchange rates are important factors that affect operations of the export markets. Operating in export markets becomes more difficult given the fact that it is very difficult to predict the future of the worldwide currency market. Factors related to supply and

A Business Plan For Nivea For Men Marketing Essay

A Business Plan For Nivea For Men Marketing Essay Mens grooming industry is one of the fastest growing markets in recent years (Euromonitor International: Mens Grooming Products Thailand, 2009). This sector is dramatically booming in Asian countries, especially Thailand. One of the leading brands in mens grooming market in Thailand is NIVEA FOR MEN brand, operated by Beiersdorf Thailand, which is selected to be the case study in this research. To be the leading brand in this fast growing industry, NIVEA FOR MEN needs to create business plan with a very strong strategic marketing plan. In general, a business sets the overall direction for the company through a business plan. The business plan is created in order that the goals and objectives of the company are to be achieved. In other words, goals and objectives of a business are the underlying foundation of the business plan (The times 100, 2008). The marketing plan is certainly a vital part of the business plan and plays active roles to achieve the targets. The strategic marketing planning process flows from a mission and vision statement to the selection of target markets, and the formulation of specific marketing mix and brand or product positioning objective (RESTREPO, N.A.). Moreover, Kotler (1994) presents the organization as a value creation and delivery sequence. To choose the value, the strategist needs to proceed to segment the market, select an appropriate market target, and develop the offers value positioning, which is known as a vital strategy of Market-oriented perspective. It seems to be unavoidable that Beiersdorf Thailand has to come up with the marketing strategies to penetrate and to be the leader in mens grooming market by doing the right segmentation, selecting the best-suited target markets, and creating the competitive brand/product positioning. In sum, the formula of segmentation, targeting, positioning, STP strategies, is the heart of strategic marketing (Kotler, 1994). The literature review is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses on the previous work on market-oriented approach, as opposed to resource-base view perspective. The second part covers the relevant work on the process of segmentation, targeting, and positioning as well as implementation of the marketing strategy. Part 1: Market-oriented perspective and Resource-based view perspective Part 2: Three essentially related topics Market Segmentation Market Targeting Market Positioning Part 1: Market-oriented perspective and Resource-based perspective This part will specifically study on market-oriented perspective, which underlies a market power imperative, through previous academic research. There are many studies about the implication of resource-based view and market-oriented perspective for a company to be successful in terms of profitability. Also, there are discussions about what perspective is the appropriate one. According to Porter (1991), a successful company has to use market-oriented approach to study the external market and then apply to internal resources. Market orientation , according to Kohli and Jaworski (1990), requires various departments in an organization to engage in activities geared towards developing an understanding of customers needs, and then develop the products to meet target customers needs (Hooley et al., 2008). In addition, Porters (1991) work relies heavily on the pursuit of advantages which are determined by firms exogenous variables that require analysis of the competitors and opportunities in the market. In Porters (1991) theory of competition strategy, he stated that the competition strategy of a firm is to seek an advantageous competitive position in the marketplace or to build up a profitable market position by drawing on varieties of factors that are critical to being competitive in an industrial sector. Following the Porters work, a recent research from Ren, Xie, and Krabbendam (2010) also studied the sustainable competitive advantage with the market-oriented perspective, which covered market innovation. Their work strongly supported the use of market-oriented perspective, with the conclusion that market-oriented approach can lead companies to success and gain more profits. Additionally, they suggested that companies analyse various marketing factors to discover new competitive advantages in order to achieve marketing innovation. However, Prahalad and Hamel (1990) and Sharkie (2003) undertake different perspective by arguing that external focus, in the view of market orientation, which requires the company to concentrate on conditions and constraints in the external environment cannot create competitive advantage for a company. Nonetheless, the resource-based view approach is believed to somehow lead to competitive advantages as it suggests that a firms unique resources and capabilities provide the basis for a strategy. In a previous study, Grant (1991) proposed a practical framework for resource-based approach to strategy formulation. The organizing framework for his study is a five-stage procedure for strategy formulation which are 1) analysing the firms resource-base, 2) appraising the firms capabilities, 3) analysing the profit-earning potential of firms resources and capabilities, 4) selecting a strategy, and 5) extending and upgrading the firms pool of resources and capabilities. Ren, Xie, and Krabbendam, (2010) had a reservation on the use of resource-base view, explaining that resources would contribute to sustainable competitive advantage just when a firm possesses valuable, scarce, inimitable and irreplaceable resources. They stated that in the real world, not every company has the resources with all of those characteristics (Ren, Xie, and Krabbendam, 2010). Part 2: The Process of Segmenting, Targeting, and Positioning 2.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION 2.1.1 Definition of Market Segmentation Market segmentation is defined as the division of a mass market into identifiable and distinct groups or segments, each of which have common characteristics and needs and display similar responses to marketing actions (Rosscraig, 2007). As the market consists of diverse types of products, customers, and personnel needs, the marketers should divide the market into distinct group of buyers in order to appropriately determine which market segment offers the best opportunity for achieving company objectives. Perner (2008) indicated that it is very unlikely that one product could meet the satisfaction of all consumers. In this perspective, a company which chose to focus on a specific group of consumers rather than customers in general would be more successful in terms of profitability. Dibb (1998) suggested that companies divide large markets into smaller segments in order to identify customers purchasing behaviors. Furthermore, Brassington and Pettitt (2003) also suggested that marketers find ways of breaking the market down into manageable parts, groups of customers with similar characteristics in terms of commonly used classifications to measure demographics, which include socio-economics, geographic and personality, and to concentrate their efforts on selecting one or more of these areas. While various literatures stated that it is essential to consider the market segmentation, MC Donald (1998) argued that market segmentation always faced the problem that many different types of customers used the same products in diverse markets. It meant that these different types of customers were in fact subsumed under the same category. Besides, Moschis (1997) also stated the problems of segmentation that the demographics change and the aging of the population change were significant factors that affected the age composition of the consumer market. Day and Wensley (1983) criticised that the market segmentation relating to the consumer market sector alone was not sufficient as it generally reflected the one-sidedness of marketing. The competitive structure was to be taken into account as it yielded the basic information on segment formation. The research from Day and Wensley (1983) concluded that the formation and selection of segments could be improved if theoretical aspects of competitor orientation are included. Dibb (1997) outlined three condition classifications which help identify potential consumers in each segment; those are as follows The expected benefits must be identifiable; Having identified these benefits, marketers must divide people into recognisable segments; One or more of the resulting segments must be accessible to the firms marketing efforts. 2.1.3 Segmentation Variables/ Market Segmentation in Consumer Markets To segment consumer markets, the market information, in terms of customer variables, product variables, and situation related variables, must be collected for further analysis. In the study of The Application of Social Class in Market Segmentation, Carman (1965) stated that social class was a major segmentation variable to divided customers into groups. However, later on in 1994, Raaij and Verhallen argued that social class cannot be used as a main segmentation variable as the society had become less vertically organised with more buying power across larger layer of society, and also concluded that social class concept had lost its unique segmentation value. They claimed that other demographic variables, such as age and education, and other psychological characteristics were more appropriate for segmentation. Raaij and Verhallen (1994)s research studied the market segments and types of people as target groups for marketing activities; market segmentation is then classified into three main levels according to the level of generality of the variables which were general, domain-specific, and brand-specific levels (figure [2-1]). Level of Variable Objective Subjective General (behavioural patterns: Person characteristics) Age Income Education Behavioural patterns General values Lifestyle Personality Domain-specific (product-class usage) Situation Frequency of use Substitution Behaviour Opinions Perception Attitude Domain-specific values Brand-specific (brand-usage) Brand loyalty (behavior) Frequency of use Action Brand Loyalty (attitude) Preference Evaluation Purchase intention Figure [2-1]: Classification of Segmentation Variables by Raaij and Verhallen (1994) However, in the late of 2000s, Rosscraig (2007) suggested that media usage and technology usage could be a concern of market segmentation approach (See Appendix [2-1]). He stated that the variables used in segmenting consumer markets could be broadly divided into three main classes including: Profile criteria: Background customer characteristics Psychological criteria: customer attitudes Behavioral criteria: Actual behavior in the market place (Figure [2-1]). Consumer Criteria Profile Psychological Behavioural Demographic Socio-economic Geographic Who and Where Lifestyle Personality Perceptions Attitudes Motives Benefit sought Why and Who Purchase/transaction Consumption/ usage Media usage Technology usage Who, How, Where, and When Figure [2-2]: Segmentation criteria in consumer markets Profile Criteria With respect to profile criteria, customer characteristics are to be examined with isolation from the specific market of interest. The profile segmentation criterion is used for identiflying the target consumers and in the consumer goods markets which are most suitable to them (Rosscraig, 2007). According to Rosscraig (2007), this simple segmentation variable includes using demographic method, socio-economic method, and geographic method. Demographic method can be determined by age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, family size, generation, and etc. This method is useful in assisting media planning and marketing communications as the media selection criteria have been developed around these variables. Socio-economic method can be shaped by occupation, income level, social class, and education. Socio-economic status determines whether a consumer will be able to afford a product. Geographic location method is shaped by geographical areas; markets can be considered by country or region, by town or size of city, by population density such as urban, suburban, or rural areas, or by postcode. This approach is useful when there are clear location differences in tastes, consumption, and preferences. Moreover, this method is widely applied with direct sales operations as they can use census information to develop better customer segmentation and predictive models. The profile segmentation approach is criticised in respect of uncertainly. While one segment is based on consumer background characteristics, members of each variable may behave differently in the marketplace for various reasons while members in the different segments may seek for the same things and have the same interest in a particular product/brand (Hooley et al., 2008). In shorts, this type of segmentation variable describes who and where the consumers are, but it does not explain the basic reasons why consumers behave so. Psychological Criteria The psychological criteria draw a casual relationship between customer profiles and marketing behavior (Hooley et al., 2008). The psychological variable includes the characteristics of attitude of the customers. Attitudes to the product class and attitudes toward brands in the market have both been used as productive bases for market segmentation (Hooley et al., 2008). According to Rosscraig (2007), psychological variables used for segmenting consumer product markets include using attitudes and perceptions, lifestyle of consumers, and the types of benefit sought by customers from products and brands and their consumption choices. The use of attitudes and perceptions aims at identifying segments of respondents who view the products on offer in a similar way (Green et al., 1989). Consumer lifestyles segmentation is based on the analysis of consumers activities, interactions with others, and opinions to understand consumers individual lifestyles and patterns of behavior (Hooley et al., 2008). In 2003, Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) developed a UK Lifestyle Typology based on lifestyles and classified the following types of lifestyle categories which are belonger, survivor, experimentalist, conspicuous consumer, social resistor, self-explorer, and the aimless (Rosscraig, 2007). The most important benefits of consumer lifestyle research are for guiding the creative content of advertising (Hooley et al., 2008). The main idea of the benefit segmentation is that the company should provide customers with exactly what they want, based on the benefits that they derive from the products that they use, not based on how the company designs products for them (Rosscraig, 2007). According to Hooley et al. (2008) benefit segmentation tells the basic reasons why customers buy the products and why customers are attracted to the product offerings. Holley (1982) also suggested that the development in techniques of analysis make them particularly suitable for identifying benefit segments (Hooley, 1982). Overall, segmentation on the basis of psychological yields more useful basis for marketing strategy development than merely consumer profile characteristics (Hooley et al., 2008). It gets closer to the underlying reasons for behavior of consumers, so it should be used as the basis for segmenting the market (Hooley et al., 2008). However, there are some major drawbacks of Psychological segmentation techniques, one of which is that this techniques require often costly primary research and sophisticated data analysis techniques (Hooley et al., 2008). Behavioral criteria Doing segmentation on the basis of the behavior of consumers in the market is the most direct method of segmenting markets. Behavioral segmentation includes purchase behavior, consumption behavior, media usage and technology usage (Rosscraig, 2007). Purchase behavior approach concentrates on the time of purchase which is early or late in the products overall life cycle, and the patterns of purchase which is the identification of brand-loyal customers. This approach could concentrate on innovator segmentation, concerning with initial purchase. Marketers will pay high attention to innovator groups when new products are launched. Innovators as initial target segments can improve the products chances of acceptance on the market (Hooley et al., 2008). In addition, brand loyalty has been widely used as a basis for segmentation, concerning with the repeat purchasing (Hooley et al., 2008). A company may segment a market on the basis of how often a customer uses its products, categorizing these into high, medium, and low users, by usage rate (Rosscraig, 2007). The examination of usage patterns and volume consumed can pinpoint where to focus marketing activity and can be used to develop service specifications or marketing mixes for each of these groups of users (Hooley et al., 2008). Cook and Mindak (1984) have shown that product and brand usage has a major advantage over many other situation-specific segmentation variables as it can be obtained, in case of many consumer products, from secondary sources. It is very essential to understand and profile audience media usage in the process of communication planning (Chatterjee, Hoffman, and Novak (1998). Since 1950s the information of media consuming, such as television viewing, radio listening, and print reading, have been continuously collected. And in more recent years, web usage data has also been collected by market researchers to help profile web users, basing on usage characteristics (Rosscraig, 2007) (See Appendix [2-2]). Furthermore, according to Olney, Holbrook, and Batra (1991) and Holbrook and Gardners (1993), duration of use is critical measure of consumption experiences and is a useful behavioral indicator of advertising effects (See Appendix [2-3]). By following this method of segmenting, marketers can observe the behavior of consumers while utilising the products and media, and this segmentation can be used as an important source for new products ideas, new product design, and product development (Rosscraig, 2007). Additionally, marketers can then create appropriate communication themes for product promotion and can specify new markets for existing products after having the right behavioral segmentation. In recent years, behavioral segmentation has become more popular as marketers tend to study the consumers media usage and technology usage in order to further create successful advertising campaigns. To support this, it was asserted by Advertising.com(TM), Inc., a leading provider of results-based interactive marketing services to advertisers and publishers, (2004), that behavioral segmentation helped improve advertising campaign performance by revealing that targeting campaign delivery based on real-time user behaviour increases advertisers ROI by reaching the audience segments most likely to respond to an ad message. Moreover, Hallerman (2004), a senior analyst at e-Marketer, a New York-based research company, stated that the logic behind behavioural segmentation and targeting gets to the heart of the internets potential as an advertising medium. His opinion is hereby quoted: In todays world of audience fragmentation, its much more effective to reach individuals not by abstract demographics but through their actions online. 2.1.4 Segmentation in Male Grooming Products According to Mintel (1995), a study about mens toiletries industry, male grooming products and toiletries is a fast growing industry. In 1980s, the market of male grooming products started to be segmented with the development of products types, including male body spray and shower cream (Sturrock et al., 1998). According to Sturrock et al. (1998), in 1998, the market of mens products were divided into different categories of products based on consumers needs and uses, including body sprays, deodorants, mens shaving, fragrances, shampoo, shower cream, etc. Dunn (1995) and White (1995) studied characteristics of men who use male grooming products and concluded that men used grooming products as they want to increase self-care practice and self-concept. Moreover, Langer (1986) has prior stated that using mens grooming products helps encourage a concern to stay attractive. For consumer products, Milner and Fodness (1996) has done a research on product gender perception and concluded that specific gender of the products is critically important to the consumers when deciding to buy a particular product. In the segmentation process, Milner and Fodness (1996) claimed that gender is the first segmentation variable that most marketers apply for consumer products. The reason behind is that both men and women want to use the products that were specifically made for them. According to Milner and Fodness (1996), many consumers clearly are psychologically uncomfortable using products which do not seem made for them. Therefore, many companies, particularly manufacturers of consumer products, divided consumers into segments by using gender variables. In skin care industries, products are conventionally made for women. However, in the post modern era, a lot of skin care products are launched to serve male consumers (Sturrock et al., 1998). The products for male consumers are launched as a result of segmentation strategy which companies divide its consumer market into two broad categories, male and female markets. The benefit sought variable is also one of the best ways for companies to segment its market. This statement is supported by Kotler (1997) and Wedel and Kamakura (1998), stating that the real features of products have been considered the most actionable bases for segmentation. It is critically important that consumer products must offer real benefits to users to create product positioning (Blythe, 2005). In men face care market, companies and brands always divided consumers segments based on products features. For example, NIVEA FOR MEN offers wide ranges of facial cleansers with benefits of whitening, oil-control, wrinkle protection, refreshing skin, and moisturizing effects (Nivea Website, 2010). Loreal Men Expert offers benefits for facial cleansers which are whitening, anti-tightness, anti-fatigue, pure matte oil control, anti-regreasing (Loreal website, 2010). There are some researches showing that competitive brands have similar ways of segmentation (Dawes, 2006, and Fennell et al., 2003). In other words, competitive brands often appeal to consumers who have similar demographic or psychographic characteristics. Moreover, Ehrenberg et al. (2004) supported this statement by stating that different brands in the same product category tend to offer a similar range of product variants. 2.1.5 Loyalty Segmentation and Relationship Segmentation A focus on Loyalty segmentation provides strategic and tactic insights that will assist in building a strong brand (Aaker, 1996). It is necessary to build customer loyalty as it is a key success of growth for a business (Crosby et al., 2004). By having loyalty segmentation, a company can learn more about the profiles of loyal customers, and this leads to the focus at the highest value segment (Markey et al., 2007). Crosby et al. (2004) stated that the purpose of the loyalty-based segmentation is to seek to address the managerial questions as follows. Who are the most/least potential customers? How can customers be segmented according to the types of relationships they would like to have with the product/brand/company? Which loyalty segment should be targeted? What changes are required to instill the highest levels of loyalty among the targets? Crosby et al. (2004) affirm that loyalty-based segmentation is the complement of existing segmentation frameworks and it can also be used to discover new segmentation frameworks by starting with customer loyalty research. According to Aaker (1996), in focus of the loyalty segmentation, a market can be divided into the following groups. Non-customers: those who buy competitor brands or not product class users, Price switchers: those who are price sensitive, The passively loyal: those who buy out of habit rather than reasons, Fence sitters: those who are indifferent between two or more brands, and The committed: those who are committed to the brand, or a loyal customer. Loyalty segmentation can be very successful when the company can increase the number of customers who are not price switchers and who would pay more to use the brand while the fence sitter and the committed should be critically managed (Aaker, 1996). Especially in high competitive markets, companies should exercise best efforts to enhance the loyalty of the fence sitters and the committed by developing and strengthening the relationship between customers and the brand (Aaker, 1996 and Drypen, 2010). Research from Raaij and Verhallen (1994) indicates that the company should also segment its market by loyalty segmentation method. The results of the research shows that the company should move customers from the lowest level of loyalty pyramid which is overall total potential customers to the highest level which is the heavy buyers. The major marketing strategy is to increase the frequency and intensity of their purchases and to take measures to maintain customers for as long as possible (Raaij and Verhallen, 1994). This also highly relates to the relationship marketing which develop relationship between buyers and brand to stimulate purchasing. 2.2 MARKET TARGETING 2.2.1 Definition of Targeting The next step of the market segmentation in STP process is market targeting. It is the process of determining which segments should be targeted and made the focus of a comprehensive marketing programme. Moreover, in the process of market targeting, a group of customers are identified for whom the offering should be right, and to whom firms will direct the majority of its marketing resources, time, and attention (Cahill, 1997). Choosing the target market, before creating positioning and marketing mix, is a part of developing effective marketing strategy. In order to target the right group of customers, the firm has to study the needs and buying behaviours of customers in each segment. Then the firm will be able to develop marketing strategies that suit requirements of each segment. According to Cahill (1997), a target market is simply the market of submarket at which the firm aims its marketing messages. By specifying customer targets, the company will also know which segments are not the target groups so that the company will not make special effort to serve them. Cahill (1997) said that market targeting is essential because it forces the company to focus at the customers and the markets by determining the best fits between target customers and the product offerings. Kotler and Armstrong (2001) suggested that a firm make the decision how many and which segments to target in their market positioning and its decision should be based on a clear understanding of companys resources and capabilities, nature of the competition, and the characteristics of the market. The company should evaluate market segments by first collecting and analysing data on current segment sales, growth rates, and then determine which segment can constantly enable the company to receive the greatest opportunities in terms of profitability and market demands in order to target main customers. However, Wright (1996) denied statement of validity of market targeting by claiming that there was no logical reason to adopt target marketing. Wright and Esslemont (1994) studied the logical formulations of the target marketing argument and summarised that target marketing did not necessarily give the best overall market response and also does not constantly give superior return than other approaches such as mass marketing. The two main targeting strategies are suggested by Dibb (1997). They are concentration strategy, and multi-segment strategy. Concentration strategy is defined as a process that a company manages its marketing efforts towards a single target. When targeting to one single segment, a firm can better satisfy target customers needs and requirement. However, this strategy is not always effective and the company may face business failure if target customers demand for the products decline or shift to other segments Multi-segment strategy is described as a strategy that a company directs its market efforts towards two or more market targets. The company should then develop appropriate marketing mix to suit each type of target groups, by all together considering product diferrentiation, target price, distribution method, and promotional strategies. In brief, the step of the selection of the potential target market is very critical in creating and developing comprehensive marketing strategy. The robust competitive positioning will then be developed after the market targets are clearly identified and the requirements and motivations are fully examined. 2.2.3 Doing Targeting in Different Market Environment Marketers have to decide whether to target single segment or multiple segments in the product market; there are several factors affecting the managements targeting strategy decisions, including stage of maturity, industry structure, companys capabilities and resources, and opportunities for gaining competitive advantage (Cravens, and Piercy, 2009). The maturity is used as a basis for considering different targeting situations; the market target strategy will be varied in each market environment or stage of product-market maturity. Four different product-market stages, closely related to product life cycle (PLC) stages, include emerging product-market, growing product-market, mature product-market, and declining product-market. The strategists can use product life cycle model to analyse the maturity stage of the products and also industries in order to develop the strategies that should be implemented. Growing product-market Source: Spencer (2009) According to Cravens, and Piercy (2009), segments are likely to be found in the stage of growth in the product life cycle, as identifying customer segments with similar value requirements improves targeting. In growth stage of product life cycle, consumers tend to gain awareness of products and to understand the benefits of the product, and company will likely to expect a rapid sales growth and will also try to build brand loyalty and increase market share (Spencer, 2009). High growth markets is very attractive, therefore it can attract a lot of competitors who want to compete for market shares. Cravens, and Piercy (2009) revealed their finding about the market structure that at the growth stage, existing companies tend to enter new product-market as they have capabilities and resources to support the market entry,

The Holocaust and Aushwitz :: European Europe History

The Holocaust and Aushwitz INTRODUCTION The Holocaust is the most horrifying crime against humanity of all times. "Hitler, in an attempt to establish the pure Aryan race, decided that all mentally ill, gypsies, non supporters of Nazism, and Jews were to be eliminated from the German population.He proceeded to reach his goal in a systematic scheme." One of his main methods of "doing away" with these "undesirable" was through the use of concentration camps. "In January 1941, in a meeting with his top officials the 'final solution' was decided". Jews were to be eliminated from the population. Auschwitz was the concentration camp that carried out Hitler's "final solution" in greater numbers than any other. In this paper I will discuss concentration camps with a detailed description of the most well-known one, Auschwitz. CONCENTRATION CAMPS The first concentration camps were set up in 1933. In the early days of Hitler, concentration camps were places that held people in protective custody. Victims for protective custody included those who were both physically and mentally ill, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, Jews and anyone against the Nazi regime. "Gypsies were classified as people with atleast two gypsy great grandparents." By the end of 1933 there were atleast fifty concentration camps throughout occupied Europe. "At first, the camps were controlled by the Gestapo (police), but by 1934 the S.S. (Hitler's personal security force) were ordered, by Hitler, to control the camps." Camps were set up for different purposes. Some for forced labor, others for medical experiments and, later on, for death/ extermination. Transition camps were set up as holding places for death camps. "Henrick Himmler, chief of the German police, the Gestapo, thought that the camps would provide an economic base for the soldiers." This did not happen. The work force was poorly organized and working conditions were inhumane. Therefore, productivity was minimal. Camps were set up along railroad lines, so that the prisoners would be conveniently close to their destination. As they were being transported, the soldiers kept telling the Jews to have hope. When the camps were finally opened, most of the families who were shipped out together ended up being separated. Often, the transports were a sampling of what went on in the camps, cruelty by the officers, near starvation of those being transported, fetid and unsanitary conditions on the trains. "On the trains, Jews were starved of food and water for days.

The main aim of hazard management should be to reduce the effects of hazards, not manage their cause

Hazard management ultimately aims to reduce the risk that a hazard can bring to humans. This can be done through the four steps of modifying the cause, event, vulnerability and loss. I believe that the cause of many natural hazards, such as geophysical and meteorological hazards cannot prevented, thus the management of the cause of a hazard is irrelevant in the management of many hazards. As such, it should be the case that the main aim of hazard management should be to reduce the effects of hazards rather than manage their cause. The issue of reducing the effect of hazards would be discussed in the four parts of the hazard management framework. I agree with the statement to a large extent that hazard management should not be centered on managing the cause. The few ways in which the cause of the hazard can be modified will be discussed. Although the most ideal method would be to prevent the occurrence of the event in the first place, to stop a hazard from occurring entirely is a feat that usually would be only be feasible in terms of small scale, isolated phenomena, taking the example of a flood. Floods are examples of small scale hazards that can be prevented through technological means. Often, levees can be built to prevent a river from overflowing, such as the levees built along the Mississippi River in North America, or the Scheldt River in the Netherlands. Also, dams can be built to retain water in a lake, and can be used to control the water flow, thus preventing rivers from overflowing too quickly. A good example of a dam that has prevented repeated flooding occurrence is the Hoover Dam along the Colorado River. It is recorded that before the building of the dam, there was frequent flooding at the low lying areas of the river during spring. While physical methods can be employed to prevent the occurrence of these isolated hazards like floods and landslides, large scale hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis and wind storms cannot be prevented. As such, modification of the cause is highly limited to a few hazards, thus making it more feasible to consider other approaches in reducing the effects of the majority of hazards which will almost inevitably occur. While technology cannot be used to prevent the causes of all hazards, technology can also be used to modify the event. Earthquakes is a good example of a hazard where the earthquake itself does not usually cause the loss of lives, rather, it is usually its effect on other structures that causes the most destruction, such as the toppling of buildings or causing landslides. As such, a good method of earthquake management would be to equip buildings with the ability to withstand the impact of earthquakes, using various architectural designs. A famous example of an earthquake resistant building is Taipei 101, which foundation is reinforced 80 metres deep into the ground and has a steel ball known as a tuned mass damper which balances the building. During its construction in 2002, Taipei experienced a 6. 8 magnitude earthquake, and yet the skyscraper did not topple and experienced no structural damages. Sometimes, such as in certain Japanese house designs, the houses are not built to withstand earthquakes but such that it moves along with the earthquake, using grooves rather than nails to fit the house together. Furthermore, the light wood has lower probability of killing people if it topples. These different designs show how it is possible to use knowledge of engineering and architecture to reduce the impact of hazards. Modifying vulnerability is another approach to hazard management which aims to increase preparedness of people themselves to tackle the hazard when it occur, including methods such as increasing community preparedness, planning, developing warning systems, and changing perceptions. Community preparedness is essential in all communities where hazard occurrence is frequent, to train and educate people as to how to respond to a hazard and drawing out evacuation plans, and stocking up emergency supplies of food, water and medicine. Also, people can be trained in first aid, search and rescue, and firefighting, etc. In some cases, this is much more feasible than using technology, when the cost is too high. A case study of Norway, where avalanches are frequent, is a good example. Due to the fact that neither relocation nor retrofitting buildings was a feasible option, the most cost effective plan would be to decrease vulnerability. This was done mainly through setting up a warning system, and coming up with a plan to organize an evacuation, by appointing a group of representatives from each community and training the people on how to react. The plan was highly successful, showing the merit in proper planning and preparedness. In many ways the perception and awareness of the community to hazards is very important. Changing the perception of people is also essential in reducing the impacts of hazards, for negative perception by a group of people can ultimately lead many deaths, in cases where communities, especially in LEDCs, are resigned to the fact that nothing can be done to prevent hazard occurrence and that hazards are unavoidable and look upon them as a way of life. Even in MEDCs, perceptions can cause problems. There is a case where, during the evacuation for Hurricane Katrina, some of the elderly did not want evacuate, because of fear of new living conditions, or that they do not want to leave their home. This contributed to the majority of the deaths being the elderly in these events. Thus, changing the perceptions of various peoples in different cultural contexts plays a large role in hazard management, ensuring that the community would want to save themselves in the first place. In all, modifying vulnerability can ultimately lead to people knowing how to react to hazards and thus reduces the negative effects of them. In many cases, managing the cause of natural hazards may bring certain disadvantages, for most natural hazards, while posing a threat to humans, are actually only natural phenomenon, and at times have benefits to us and the environment. A very good example is the case of a flood, where people have tried to create physical barriers to contain the flood water such as levees and dams. While this may be applicable to MEDCs, for many agricultural communities, such an approach is inapplicable, for they depend on the floodplain where there is a high amount of nutrients, deposited by flooding, and supply of water. In these contexts, such as in Bangladesh, where the people depend on these floods, the prevention of the â€Å"hazard† would uproot their way of life. In this way, floods need not always be treated as negative phenomena, causing damage in only certain contexts. In my opinion, modifying the vulnerability, not the cause should be the main aim of hazard management. This holds since there are two factors contributing to risk: hazard and vulnerability. Since eliminating the hazard is totally unfeasible in many large-scale hazards, the best thing to manage should be human vulnerability. Since the main aim should be centered on that can be applicable to all communities, it should be something feasible in contexts where there is lack of economic and technological resources, thus ruling out modifying the event as a potential main aim. As such, hazard management should not be centered on technology, such as the retrofitting of buildings, but rather something like education, which is more cost effective. In all, the main aim should be to increase the resilience of the people themselves to tackle the hazard. For example, in the case of Bangladesh, people adapt to the floods and learn to use it to their own benefit, neither seeing it as a negative phenomenon, nor something they should fear. After changing any negative perceptions of hazards in communities, community preparedness is essential. A bottom up approach equips people with the ability to save their own lives rather than being dependant on others. In fact, it has been shown that this approach works much better than international aid or rescuers from the military. For example, the rescue efforts to the floods in Mozambique in 2001 was a success, not because of anything else, but more of the fact that the people were trained in how to respond, and that there was a clearly drawn out evacuation plan and appointed leaders in the community. Mozambique, though being one of the poorest countries in the world, has managed to increase community preparedness, thus showing how this approach to hazard management, may just be the most universal method of tackling hazards, which works regardless of affluence. In conclusion, it is true that hazard management should be primarily about reacting to the hazards and reducing the damage it brings, rather than trying to prevent it. Still, as technology continues to develop, we cannot eliminate it as an essential part of hazard management, for what may not be possible to prevent now, may be in the future. So, both sides of the equation must be considered to tackle risk effectively, depending on the context.

The Giver2 essays

The Giver2 essays NOT FINISHED OR REVISED OR SPELL CHECKED!! ROUGH COPY Your name is John, it was selected by a committee. You will never be attracted to a person or truly love some. You won't feel love or pain. You were one of fifty babies to be born in that year. Your family was chosen by a committee. Your profession was chosen by a committee; everything is chosen by a committee, everything is the same and it perfect order. Their is rules and guidelines for everything; you don't dare to break a rule.Their is no tolerance for failure or disappointment; you will be released. Welcome to life in the community; I hope you enjoy your stay. The Giver takes place in one of the communities where a boy named Jonas is living the same life as all the other kids before and the generations before. Nothing special has happend; he has recieved his bike, been admitted into the community service program as all the other Elevens. Until the Ceremony of Twelves where he will be assigned to his life-long occupation. Jonas is extremely nervous because he as no clue what he will be assigned; as other Elevens it is obvious what they will be assigned to. At the Ceremony Jonas is anxious to here what he will be assigned to, but he is skipped over. He his baffled why he was skipped over. Then when the all the Elevens where assigned; the Chief Elder called Jonas to the stage, and announced to everyone that Jonas has been selected not assigned to become The Receiver which is the most important role in the community and the rarest. Their's only one Receiver, and once you are the The Receiver you stay the giver years. All this the Chief Elder explained to Jonas and the audience. She all so explained that their last selection 10 years ago was a failure, and it was crucial that Jonas suceeds in his training. She mentioned he had all the qualities that are necessary Intelligence, Integrity, Courage, and the ability to see beyond. The Reciever holds all the past bef ...

10 Groundhog Day Quotes to Remind You Spring Is Near

10 Groundhog Day Quotes to Remind You Spring Is Near It may seem far-fetched to those who live closer to the equator. But for people closer to the poles, Groundhog Day marks the arrival of spring and the end of winter. Revere the little furry creature that is likely to make an accurate prognosis of the arrival of spring this Groundhog Day. Read these Groundhog Day quotes to celebrate the season of joy. W. J. VogelTo shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.​Clyde MooreTheres one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbors.​Kin HubbardDont knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldnt start a conversation if it didnt change once in a while.William Camden,  Remains, 1605One swallow maketh not summer; nor one woodcock a winter.​Anthony J. DAngelo, The College Blue BookWherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.Bill VaughnThe groundhog is like most other prophets; it delivers its prediction and then disappears.​Patrick YoungThe trouble with weather forecasting is that its right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.​Phil ConnorsThis is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.​George SantayanaTo be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.​George HerbertEvery mile is two in winter.

Cardiac Catheterization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cardiac Catheterization - Essay Example In 1947, Louis Dexter expanded the clinical use of right heart catheterization with studies in patients with congenital heart disease and identified the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure as a useful clinical measurement. By this point, the value of homodynamic measurements was being fully realized, and further developments came rapidly" (Roger, 2008). The technique and safety profile of the instruments used for bringing homodynamic stability though has been evolving over the time. Initial there used to be compression techniques to stop the vessels from bleeding which was and still is the main complication of angiography and angioplasty. Post op bleeding from the intervention site is the main reason of keeping patients in bed for a couple of hours which is very cumbersome for the patients. Cardiac catheterization can be done through different access points but the window to work in becomes an issue. Using upper extremity vessels will be a very good alternative to have a controlled bl eeding because of the diameter of the vessel and their easy access but the window of access gets compromised and the choice of catheters for maximum access and manipulation becomes a problem so, the preferred access rout is still femoral arty and mainly the common femoral artery neither above non below it. "The main advantages to this method are its ease and substantial safety record. The main disadvantage is the need for an extended (2-6 h) period of bed rest after completion of the procedure. Several types of arterial closure devices now are available that provide rapid homeostasis and shorten the period of bed rest considerably. However, complication rates with these closure devices are similar to conventional manual compression". (Roger, 2008). "Reductions in sheath size, intensity and duration of anticoagulation with heparin, and procedure time were observed. Adverse outcomes of major femoral bleeding included prolonged hospital stay, and increased requirement for blood transfu sion. Major femoral bleeding and blood transfusion are both associated with decreased long-term survival, driven by a significant increase in 30-day mortality" (Brendan, 2007). Manual or mechanical compression as the name itself explains it is to be done by the surgeon or any other volunteer in the surgical team to provide compression with the pressure through the pulp of three or four fingers in the downward direction without releasing it for a microsecond for at least for 10-15 minutes at the site of the intervention. (Shaffer, 2005).Vascular closure devices are a very nice and safe alternative to the mechanical compression methods in terms of vascular complication, surgeon's factors and patient's factors. In percoutaneous intervention intra vascular complication which includes "ecchymosis (37%), hematoma (20%), and oozing (15%)" are major complications. These complications occur more frequently with mechanical and device assisted compression. The main reason for these complications is the way mechanical or device assisted compression is applied and unless it is applied exactly the same way it does not fulfill the purpose. Apart from these commonly happening but comparatively less dangerous issues there is a another major complication of leg ischemia which occurs due to prolonged deprivation of blood supply. Post-operatively some patients do

TuneCore Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

TuneCore - Essay Example This means that tune core do not charge a portion of the sales which can be expressed as a percentage. The artists then keep for themselves all earnings they get from all the online stores. TuneCore also offer publishing services to make sure that artists get compensations properly when any of their music is used on the web. This publishing administration is however, available for $75 fee which is paid once. Then the artists are able to access the Content ID on YouTube and many artists through these services have succeeded a lot especially in the YouTube marketplace to market and sell their videos (TuneCore Blog 2013). These artists working with TuneCore are able to earn a lot of royalties from their music downloads and music streams. This has led to expansion of TuneCore revenue base and general marketing and music distribution. Schwartz (2013) says that tapping into INDmusic was a great advantage to TuneCore in expanding its business and increasing the number of their retail customers; that is the number of artists. The company was then able to collect revenue from advertisements on YouTube on behalf of their artists. TuneCore was able to help their artists put their music in other forms like movies and in shows in various televisions. Following this, there was a remarkable increase in royalties from publishing. Currently, the network of INDmusic covers a number of artists not less than 270. These artists then get the opportunity to utilize the reach of INDmusic and be able to pick up their personal visibility. With high demand generated by TuneCore’s services, their artists are able to collect royalties from several digital downloads and streams. What the artists have to do is write their songs and do a recording of them which later upload in audio form. This audio form of the song is then send to the various digital stores of music where fans of the artists can access and buy the song.