Cubism as a Modern Movement Free Essays

Midterm Essay Exam Analytical Synthetic Cubism and Modern Art Analytical Cubism, designed by Pablo Picasso and Georges Baroque, is the aesthetic style of making shapes and subtleties that speak to an item or individual. Braque’s Violin and Palette (Figure 1 beneath) is an extraordinary case of Analytical Cubism. Extravagant took an item, the violin, and separated it into a progression of shapes that just speak to what a violin is from different perspectives. We will compose a custom article test on Cubism as a Modern Movement or on the other hand any comparable theme just for you Request Now â€Å"l no longer have faith in anything. Articles don’t exist for me with the exception of to the extent that a compatibility exists between them r among them and myself. At the point when one achieves this concordance, one arrives at a kind of scholarly non-presence what I can just depict as a condition of harmony which makes everything conceivable and right. Life at that point turns into an unending disclosure. That is genuine poetry,† Georges Baroque. Figure 1, Georges Braque’s Violin and Palette Synthetic Cubism, additionally created by Pablo Picasso and Georges Baroque, gradually got created through investigative cubism. They created it by rehashing diagnostic plans in their work along these lines summing up the articles considerably all the more creation them all the more metrically basic and level. Collection was a gigantic piece of the manufactured style, supplanting painted items with the genuine article pastes onto the canvas. Picasso Still Life with Chair Caning (Figure 2 underneath) is a magnificent case of engineered cubism. Engineered cubism’s utilization of workmanship made by craftsmen joined with craftsmanship made by maker and is regularly supposed to be the primary Pop Art. â€Å"In Cubism, at long last what was significant is the thing that one needed to do, the goal one had. Furthermore, that one can't paint,† Pablo Picasso. Figure 2, Picasso Still Life with Chair Caning Their are many particular contrasts among Analytical and Synthetic Cubism. The first and most important being the utilization of montage in engineered however not in systematic cubism. For instance rather than Picasso painting the seat caning into the work of art of his Still Life with Chair Caning, he basically connected it onto the image as though it had a place onto the canvas. Contrast that with how Baroque made the violin in Violin and Palette, everything is painted onto the image and is to some degree unmistakable as the item from which it speaks to. Diagnostic Cubism despite everything had a component of three dimensionality while Synthetic Cubism lost all feeling of three dimensional space and was Just two dimensional and level. Diagnostic Cubism likewise included utilizing quieted hues so the attention was on arrangement and the difference in context while Synthetic Cubism utilized splendid hues just as designs, words, and other media. Manufactured Cubism additionally had considerably more unmistakable geometrical examples and surfaces. Expository Cubism made ready present day workmanship breaks conventional meaner of how things are spoken to. It forsakes viewpoint and forgoes practical suffering of figures and questions and replaces that by making illustrative shapes in the arrangement. Foundation is mixed into frontal area. Engineered Cubism made ready for Pop Art utilizing other media based issue and incorporating it into the creation. â€Å"Cubism made ready for geometric conceptual craftsmanship by putting an altogether new accentuation on the solidarity between the portrayed scene in an image, and the outside of the canvas. Its developments would be taken up by any semblance of Piety Mandarin, who kept on investigating its utilization of the matrix, its theoretical arrangement of signs, and its shallow pace,† (Wolf). Cubism was the initial step of current workmanship towards deliberation. Cubism concentrated on building up a method of survey that mirrored the cutting edge age. Mechanical advances lead to the ascent of this new style, with the development of vehicles, planes, cameras, telephones, sound account and cinematography, craftsmen required another method of passing on these articles and advances. Cubism straightforwardly affected Futurism, Vortices, Supremacist, Constructivism, and Expressionism. Present day art’s timeframe incorporates roughly from the sass’s to the sass’s, cubism happens in the early sass’s so it falls into his time period. Present day craftsmanship is workmanship that generally separates the conventional style of workmanship and exploring different avenues regarding better approaches for seeing their general surroundings. Present day craftsmanship moves from the account and turns out to be increasingly unique. This obviously fits into the cubist development the Picasso and Baroque made. The idea of Modern Art depends on the cutting edge thought, character, and practice of Modernism. It created from the ascent of ventures, quick development of city life, and first universal war. Innovation mirrors the ascent of the progressions in conventional reasoning that were viewed as obsolete, these incorporate workmanship, design, writing, religion, social structure, and day by day life. This adjustment in intuition brought about the slow change to present day workmanship and innovation. The two types of cubism, investigative and engineered, follow this training. Seeing regular daily existence and life’s items and figures in another manner is the thing that cubism is. Braque’s violin in Violin and Palette Picasso Still Life with Chair Caning show this style of manner of thinking. Braque’s violin shows each view point and edge of a violin all simultaneously, testing the possibility of conventional reasoning. The entirety of the previously mentioned subjects consider how both logical and engineered cubism are a piece of the cutting edge development and how the two are not quite the same as one another. The two of them challenge customary reasoning and craftsmanship by changing the manner in which the world is seen and what workmanship can be. The contrasts between the two incorporate execution, the utilization or neglect of arrangement, and the shading plans associated with both. Diagnostic cubism doesn’t use collection methods, has a quieted shading palette, and is progressively three dimensional. Engineered cubism utilizes arrangement strategies, has progressively an increasingly energetic lour palette, and is two dimensional. Both are a piece of innovation and both vigorously impacted a considerable lot of the craftsmanship developments that showed up later in the cutting edge workmanship time. â€Å"Cubism came about in light of the fact that, during the time spent breaking down structure, something that lay in the structure, a plane, could be lifted out to drift on its own†¦ † Joseph Plackets). Realistic Champs De Mars: La Tour Rouge. Robert Delaney Bibliography Baroque, Georges. Cubism Art Quotes. Picasso, Pablo. Cubism Art Quotes. Plackets, Joseph. Cubism Art Quotes. Wolf, Justine. 2012. The Art Story Foundation. The most effective method to refer to Cubism as a Modern Movement, Papers

Analyse how Public Relations communications theory can help an Essay

Break down how Public Relations correspondences hypothesis can help a comprehension of the job of new media - Essay Example Close to the century's end, as business enterprises turned into the predominant establishments of our occasions, the extent of PR broadened and expected new jobs in the business domain of item showcasing. At the introduction of the new thousand years, the ascendency of advanced innovation into the standard has by and by improved and reclassified the nature and job of advertising industry. Regardless of the development and change of vehicles of correspondence in the course of the only remaining century, the pith of PR industry has stayed pretty much the equivalent. At the end of the day, the hypothetical system inside which the PR business works is appropriate across media advances, both new and conventional. This article will relate itself to the examination of how Public Relations interchanges hypothesis can help understanding the job of new media. Initially, new media is a term that is utilized to allude to a scope of correspondence choices that fall along a range. The examination group of Diana Owen and Richard Davis have accomplished broad systematic work on new media. They depict the wide scope of new media advancements in this manner: â€Å"At one end are interchanges stages dependent on old advances that have taken on new political jobs, for example, radio and TV talk projects, tabloids, and TV news magazines. In the range are blended or half breed media that join components of conventional media with more up to date advances. These incorporate 24-hour link news programs and the Internet locales of papers and magazines. On the most distant finish of the range are new media that have created because of new innovation that has been put to novel political employments. Web applications, for example, long range informal communication Web destinations like Facebook and MySpace, online journals, video-sharing locales including YouTube, and digital broadcasts fall into this category.† (Owen and Davis, 2008) What we gain from the historical backdrop of PR hypothesis in the course of the only remaining century is the recognizable proof of

What Happens To Your Debt When You Die

What Happens To Your Debt When You Die What Happens To Your Debt When You Die? What Happens To Your Debt When You Die?Once you shuffle off this mortal coil, your debts will get paid back out of what you leave behind. But dont worry, debt cannot be inherited.Death! Who doesn’t love thinking about death! Oh wait, pretty much everybody? Yeah, we have to admit that we don’t like thinking about it either.But that doesn’t mean you should avoid thinking about how your financial affairs will be handled after you pass, especially if you’re in retirement or getting close to it. Heck, if you are an adult of any age and you don’t have a will, you should probably get one of those, stat.One of the questions that a lot of people have about death involves their debt. What happens to it after you die? Does the money you owe on your credit cards expire as well and go to some sort of financial heaven or hell? What about mortgage debt or student loan debt or unpaid bad credit loans?We may not be able to tell you what’ll happen to you when you die, but we can  what’ll happen to that debt.Your debts don’t disappear when you die.Debt is like the memories of your loved ones: it will persist long after you’ve perished from this earth. Just because the person who owes a debt has passed away, that doesn’t mean that the debt ceases to exist. That creditor is still owed that money.The question becomes: Will they ever get paid back? And the answer is: They will certainly try, but it will depend on a couple different factors.First, it will depend on who was responsible for the debt. If you took out a credit card that was in your name only and you die with an outstanding balance still on that card, then your heirs will not be responsible for paying it back. A person’s debt doesn’t die with them, but the obligation to repay that debt certainly can.Now, if you took out a joint credit card with your spouse, then when you die your spouse will be liable for paying off the remaining balance. Since you are both listed on the contract, you are both respo nsible for the debt. This comes into play quite frequently with home mortgages. One person dies and their spouse is still responsible for paying back the loan.(There are also certain exceptions to this rule if you live in a “community property” state. More on that below.)Then there’s the issue of the “estate” you leave behind when you die. And here’s where dying with a lot of outstanding debt can really punish the loved ones left behind.Debts will get paid back out of your estate.When a person dies, they usually leave a lot of stuff behind. That can include a house, a car, furniture, jewelry, and money in their bank accounts. This is commonly referred to as a person’s “estate” and it is the sum of their net worth.That estate will then get divided up between the person’s heirs. (This is where a will comes in super handy.) But they are not the only ones who have a claim to that estate. The deceased person’s creditors do as well.The good news for the heirs of a de cedent is that you cannot inherit a debt unless you were a co-signer on the account,” says attorney Ted Bond, Jr., an expert in estate planning and founder of The Law Offices of Thaddeus M. Bond, Jr. Associates, P.C. “This does not, however, mean that the debt simply goes away because a person passes away. When a person dies, they leave behind an estate which constitutes all of their remaining income, assets,  and liabilities. If the estate has sufficient funds to pay the debts, they must be paid. If the estate has insufficient funds, the debts are canceled and do not transfer to the family of the person who passed away.So while it’s impossible for a debt to be passed from parent to child, like red hair or a crippling fear of snakes, it is very possible that a debt can cancel out any inheritance that the child would stand to get. If your parent died with an outstanding installment loan or even a payday loan or title loan, that debt will get paid before you do.  However, some states have protections for the benefits from life insurance policies.While creditors will generally get first crack at an estate before any potential, there is an additional hierarchy amongst those creditors. As Bond puts it:Certain debts are given priority and must be paid first: funeral expenses, tax debts, or money due to employees of the decedent are common priority claims. The exact order those debts must be paid is dependent upon the laws of the state where the person resided on the day of their death. It is important to know that you cannot expect to receive any type of inheritance until the estate’s debts are paid. Most states have a procedure set up for creditor claims to be filed against an estate which include strict time limits. Final distribution to the heirs cannot take place until those time limits have expired.If you live in a “community property” state the rules for inherited debt are different. So far we’ve talked about how the only person legally obligate d to pay back a given debt is the person (or persons) whose name is on the loan agreement. Well, if you live in a community property” state, that’s not exactly the case.The rules of community property state that a person is responsible for any debt taken out by their spouse during the marriage. This means, for instance, that they would be responsible for any outstanding credit card debt that their spouse accrued while they were married. But it also means that they wouldn’t be for the student loans or personal loans that their spouse took out before they had gotten hitched.The states that observe community property are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington,  and Wisconsin.And speaking of student loans, those can be a special case. Federal student loans are discharged upon the death of the borrower, but private student lenders will try to collect from the borrower’s estate or will hold the co-signer responsible for repayment.The less debt you have, the more money you’ll be able to pass on.According to the credit experts at Experian, 73 percent of Americans die with outstanding debt, with an average debt load almost $62,000. The majority of that is mortgage debt, with the average amount of personal debt totaling almost $13,000.So while you don’t have to worry about sticking your heirs with a bunch of uncollected debts, you should be concerned about those debts eating up their inheritance. The less debt you have and the more money you save, the more you can pass on when die.To learn more about handling your debt (or how to avoid taking out debt altogether), check out these related posts and articles from OppLoans:The OppLoans Guide to Consolidating Student Loan DebtWant to Avoid No Credit Check Loans? Build an Emergency FundAre Balance Transfers a Good Way to Pay Down Debt?Have you had a debt collector try to collect a debt they said you inherited? Let us know!  You can  email us  or you can find us on  Facebook   and  Twitter.ContributorsTed Bond, Jr. has been practicing law in his native Illinois for over 25 years. Since founding  The Law Offices of Thaddeus M. Bond, Jr. Associates, P.C. in 1996, he has helped many families with estate planning such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney and probate court matters. His law firm also tries real estate, family law and business cases throughout Lake County and nearby areas of northern Illinois.

Creativity Is The Base Of Human Development - 1837 Words

Creativity is the base of human development. School’s were first created to help their people to be skillful and mentally capable of withstanding all problems. Times have changed, and the morals of education have altered as well. In today’s world students from the U.S. are taught and pushed to memorize information instead of being encouraged to learn how to think critically through it. Professors should emphasize more on the importance of ingenuity, than the importance of getting a good grade. Although schools in America have flourished, the individuality of these students has decreased. Today s educational system has affected creativity in a negative manner because there is more to intelligence than one s capacity for logic. The†¦show more content†¦Overall, students, teachers, and parents need to teach children and young adolescents the significance of creativity and how it can positively affect one’s life. â€Å"IBM poll of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 â€Å"leadership competency† of the future† (Bronson and Merryman). Creativity consists of both convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking deals with the skill and drill mechanisms of the brain; the idea of an answer is either right or wrong. Divergent thinking consists of being able to construct multiple solutions to one problem. Brainstorming would be an example of divergent thinking because it is an outline of possible ideas connected to one topic. Within a classroom convergent thinking is more addressed and taught, than divergent thinking which could be a possible reason towards why creativity scores have plummeted. A common misconception of creativity is those who are more talented within the arts are more likely to be skilled within the area of originality. Although, psychologist and professor at the University of Georgia’s Mark Runco stated that, â€Å"when scholars gave creativity tasks to both engineering majors and music majors their scores laid down within the same averages and standard deviations† (Bronson and Merryman). Creativity, like any other material, can be trained, practiced, and manipulated to become muscle memory. Dancers, athletes, musicians, and artists each represent different forms of creativity and perfected.

Suicide At The France Telecom - 2419 Words

Marlon Alonso Kelly Shaw Mark Thomson Andrew Difrancesco â€Å"Suicide at The France Telecom† 1. What are the business and the ethical issues? Why does making an ethical decision in this case become a dilemma? Many ethical issues arise from such a wave of suicides, especially coming from France Telecom which in one of the most successful companies in France in the telecommunications field was involved in a controversy when 23 of its employees committed suicide . The were losing high level workers that have been working for the company for years. Also, they have to pay off a large amount of debts due to the downfall of their stock prices. Other business problems were the heavy workloads because they were not a lot of employees to do the job and only one person was responsible of doing all the job, the lack of control was a big issue in this company because they were very unorganized with their employees and assigning jobs, poor communication, job security because they were losing their jobs, and lack of management support. This company had several problems and difficult si tuations that required that a person or the organization as a whole to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right or wrong. This lead to some ethical issues in this case, such as how the human resources department were creating programs with the goal of eliminating employees from FT’s payroll and also reassigning employees to new positions, which might involve relocation andShow MoreRelatedThe French Republic Of France2176 Words   |  9 Pages The French Republic of France is located in Western Europe. 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Strategic Review of Australian Department Store David Jones Free Essays

David Jones Limited (DJS) is an Australian retailer tracing its origins back to 1838 when it first opened in Sydney to sell â€Å"the best and most exclusive goods† (DJS, 31 Oct. 2009). It has since expanded to become a national retail chain comprising of nearly 40 premium department stores. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Review of Australian Department Store David Jones or any similar topic only for you Order Now The subject of this analysis is a strategic business unit (SBU) that is playing an increasingly important role in the company’s future growth strategy; namely the provision of financial services. As the result of a strategic alliance with American Express (AMEX), DJS launched the David Jones American Express (DJA) card in 2008 (ASX Media Release, 20 February 2008). To effectively analyse the value proposition of this SBU and product it is important to first examine the overall value proposition of the company. As defined by Kotler, a company’s value proposition is the set of benefits which it promises to deliver to consumers in order to satisfy their needs (Kotler et al. 009). In the case of DJS these core benefits are the provision of an â€Å"empowering level of customer service†, a distinctive store ambiance, a unique and high quality product range and international brand portfolio offered at competitive prices, and a mission statement to â€Å"be the best full line, differentiated department store† (DJS Enterprise Agreement 2006). Key aspects of this proposition include the company’s focus on quality, luxury and aspiration. In terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs it demonstrates a desire to deliver an experience and array of products which satisfy needs of belongingness and self-esteem in a potential buyer (Maslow 1954). It also forms the basis for the company’s positioning strategy and its marketing orientation towards customer satisfaction (AFR Boss Magazine, October 2009, p. 22). The company strives to deliver these key benefits to a primary target market consisting of â€Å"three generations of women (daughter, mother, grandmother) from households with above average disposable incomes† (DJS JP Morgan Conf. October 2009). In other words DJS has a segmenting, targeting and positioning (STP) strategy that is female skewed and aimed at the affluent ‘AB demographic’ which constitutes the top 20% of the socio-economic quintile based on education, income and occupation (Roy Morgan, 2009). The value proposition of the DJA card dovetails into this broad set of company values , offering an array of additional benefits and functionality for DJS customers that compliment the company’s market position as an aspirational brand (ASX Media Release, 20 Feb. 2008). Whereas historically the company’s branded store card was only accepted in DJS stores, the DJA card offers customers credit facilities at any merchant who accepts AMEX. It therefore leverages the AMEX brand as a leading global payments, network and travel company with its corresponding level of acceptance to offer DJS customers additional credit purchasing power and functionality (AMEX, 31 Oct. 2009). The DJA card also offers unique reward benefits and gift points to loyal customers, professing to â€Å"turn everyday spending into dream brands and dream destinations† (DJS, 31 Oct. 009). The value propositions of DJS and DJA can be considered effective for a number of key reasons. Firstly the core beliefs which underpin these value propositions have remained largely consistent over time, with only small changes in response to evolving markets. This is important given they act as the foundation of a company’s brand building process (MM 2009, p. 2-34). Secondly they are unique, leveraging DJS focus on luxury and aspiration to help differentiate product offerings like the DJA card from that of competitors. Thirdly these values augment the company’s segmenting and positioning strategy by providing clear benefits targeted to their core customer base. Lastly the value proposition is well communicated, permeating all aspects of their marketing mix and integrated marketing communications strategy through mediums such as in-store branding, direct mail, print media, publicity, and online marketing. An overall analysis of the five C’s was conducted for the DJA business unit: Company| Strengths: Joining of two strong brands, reduction of risk for DJS, wealthy customer base, strong growth of financial services, distinctive ‘house of brands’. Weaknesses: Potential damage to DJS brand by alliance partner’s actions, fee structure, lack of acceptance of AMEX cards generally, higher merchant fees associated with AMEX. Opportunities: Store expansion increasing reach of customer base for DJA card, expansion of DJA alliance, supplementary card, status program. Threats: Cardholder resentment at annual fee, alliance partner motivations, Myer IPO, supermarket co-branded cards, AMEX debt recovery procedures. | Customers| DJS retail: â€Å"DJ’s core customer comprises of 3 generations of women; daughter, mother, grandmother, with a household income of $75,000 p. . † (Macquarie Australia Confere nce, 2009, Mark McInnes). As the DJA credit card is a product development strategy, of supplying new products to existing markets, the customers of DJA are essentially the same as the current DJS customers. | Collaborators| Strategic alliance with AMEX in the provision of the DJA credit card. International alliances with o ther retail stores when the DJA card is used within their stores (eg. Harrods, Harvey Nichols, etc. ). Other local ‘bonus partners’ in the DJA reward program (eg. Vintage Cellars). Competitors| DJs competitive environment is summarised using the following adaptation of Porter’s Five Forces (Porter, 1908, in MKMT, 2009, 1-26). Industry Competitors: Mastercard, Visa, and other smaller credit card providers. Along with other AMEX co-branded credit cards and store cards. New Entrants: Barriers to entry in the credit card market are high including capital for lending and the setup of infrastructure. Although these issues can be mainly overcome by forming a strategic alliance with one of the major credit card providers, as has been done in the case of the DJA credit card. Substitutes: There are a number of substitutes to the DJA credit card including EFTPOS direct from bank accounts DJS store cards, Visa Debit and cash. Power of Suppliers: Threat of forward integration by alliance partner AMEX. | Context| DJA’s operating context is defined using the following adaptation of PESTLE model (MKMT, 2009, 1-29). Political: Operating within each Australian State requires understanding of a multitude of separate state governments’ regulators, government policy and the impact on consumer confidence in the provision of credit cards. Proposed changes to the National Consumer Credit Regime currently being considered by the Federal Treasury. Economic: Performance of the credit card sector is closely linked to consumer confidence within the market, key indicators affecting consumer confidence include; GDP growth, unemployment rates, interest rates, banking sector health, public sector debt. Increasing levels of private sector credit card debt. Socio-Cultural: Current trends in fashion affecting ‘house of brands’ and indirectly the DJA card. Societal downward trend away from carrying and transacting with cash towards the use of alternative point of sales payments. Technological: New competitors in the form of online shopping experience. Legal: Operating within numerous legal jurisdictions requiring understanding of each unique jurisdiction in relation to providing financial services. Environmental: Current push towards credit card companies to introduce paperless billing. Demographic: Increasing standard of living in Australia leading to greater take up of credit cards and other lending avenues. Ageing population in Australia which is aligned with the DJS brand and the DJS core customer base. | SWOT Analysis (MM 2009, 1-25) Strengths: (S1) Brand strengths: David Jones is a strong iconic Australian brand with 170 year history (DJS JP Morgan Conf. , Oct 2009) and David Jones has offered branded credit cards to its customers for 48 years (McInnes, National Consumer Credit Regime, 12 June 2009). American Express formed in 1850 and in the 1950s, issued its first credit card (AMEX, 31 Oct. 2009). The DJA card capitalises on the strength of both brand heritages and service cultures, both locally and internationally (ASX Media Release, 20 Feb. 2008). S2) Strong financial structure with reduced risk to DJS: Alliance partner is responsible for the credit policy and owns the receivables of the Financial Services business with the transfer of $374. 3m of largely debt funded receivables to American Express (DJS FY09, 24 Sept. 2009) and so the risk associated with the portfolio sits with AMEX not DJS. (S3) Wealthy customers: Core customers have above average disposable income with a hous ehold income of greater than $75,000 (DJS JP Morgan Conf. , Oct 2009). (S4) Strong growth of financial services: 7. % growth in past year and same projected over next four years and large growth in core customer base (DJS JP Morgan Conf. , Oct 2009). (S5) Distinctive House of Brands: positioning with the best product range, great service and the reinvigoration of high-value stores (David Jones FY 09, 24 Sept. 2009). Each DJS offering needs to be distinctly branded in a way which creates an individual brand relationship with the customer whist also aligning with the overall position of the master brand of DJS itself (Aaker and  Joachimsthaler 2000). (S6) Growth of brands: Strong range of national and international brands (DJS JP Morgan Conf. Oct 2009). The growth of these brands via ‘the introduction of 50 new department store exclusive brands to its portfolio across all categories’ at DJS stores is more attractive to buyers (Samador, 28 Nov. 2008). (S7) Fee structure: High membership fees, merchant fees, and credit fees generate more cash for generous rewards program. Weaknesses: (W1) Risk of DJS brand being linked to AMEX: DJS brand linked to AMEX credit policy and debt recovery. AMEX are perceived to be a pushy credit provider, with one shareholder describing AMEX as a â€Å"low grade† card that diminishes David Jones’ â€Å"prestigious reputation†, (Samador, 28 Nov. 2008). (W2) Fee structure: Internal shareholders resistance to the $99 annual membership fee and 20. 49% per annum interest rate (the DJS Store card was free to join). (W3) High merchant fees and low merchant acceptance: AMEX merchant fees are the highest of all mainstream credit cards on offer in Australia (RBA, 6 Nov. 2009). This has led to lower acceptance of AMEX compared to MasterCard and Visa Australia wide. Overall AMEX and DJS have complimentary and mutual strengths that compensate for their individual weaknesses, giving them greater combined strength. Opportunities: (O-1) DJA credit card usage outside DJS stores: The strong history of the store-card (McInnes, National Consumer Credit Regime, 12 June 2009) and the high proportion of store-card holders in the DJA card program (Samador, 28 Nov. 2008) imply that card usage is likely to continue to be concentrated in-store. Given national expenditure in Department Stores accounts for less than 9% of total retail spending (ABS Retail Trade, Sept 2009); there is large opportunity for DJA to grow revenue through usage in the wider retail market. O-2) DJA credit card usage inside DJS stores: The DJS store-card is held by many cardholders as a status symbol (Hanson, 2009, pers. Comm, 30 Oct. ). DJA may build on this perception to encourage greater spending in-store and greater in-store usage of the DJA card. (O-3) DJA cardholder expansion: The DJA card program inherited 400,000 active accounts from DJS (McInnes, National Consumer Credit Regime, 12 June 2009). However this is a small percent age of the market, given there are over 14. 3 million credit card accounts in Australia (RBA, 6 Nov 2009). Increasing the number of DJA cardholders, within the target segment, is a significant opportunity for DJA. Leveraging the increased market coverage, to be achieved by the DJS store expansion program (DJS JP Morgan Conf. , Oct 2009), is one such means of increasing cardholder numbers. (O-4) Expansion of the DJA alliance: In addition to credit cards, AMEX offers a range of insurance products, travel and financial services (AMEX, 31 Oct. 2009). DJA currently offers insurance products and travel services to their cardholders through their Gift Points program (DJS, 31 Oct. 009). DJA may offer a wider range of AMEX insurance products, travel and financial services, under the DJS brand, to their existing DJA cardholders and DJS customers. Threats (T): (T-1) Resentment of the annual fee: Many DJA cardholders, whom had migrated from the DJS store-card, resented the newly imposed $99 annual fee (DJS, 31 Oct. 2009). The resentment of the fee is re-ignited annually when the fee is levied, such t hat cardholders will continue to re-evaluate the on-going benefits of the DJA credit card. T-2) Alliance partner AMEX: Under the DJA alliance, the merchant fee is waived on purchases made within DJS stores on DJA credit cards (Hanson, 2009, pers. Comm, 30 Oct. ). Given the DJA credit card history as a DJS store-card, a high proportion of spending is conducted within DJS stores, thereby limiting the merchant fees collectable by DJA. AMEX would benefit significantly by luring DJA credit cardholders to alternate AMEX products, so AMEX would receive merchant fees on card purchases within DJS stores. (T-3) The Myer IPO: Preferential share allocations were offered to Myer One cardholders in the Myer IPO (Business Day, 23 Sept. 2009). Current and potential DJA credit card customers may have been swayed away to the Myer One card program to benefit in the Myer IPO. (T-4) Supermarket linked credit cards: The co-branded credit card market is keenly contested by department stores, supermarkets and petrol companies to name a few. Monthly retail expenditure on food is over five times greater than department store expenditure (ABS Retail Trade, Sept 2009). Customers may elect to align their credit card with the retail store where they spend the most money, the most frequently. (T-5) AMEX Debt recovery procedures: Under the DJA alliance, debt recovery is handled by AMEX. Strong debt recovery procedures and activity from AMEX may reflect poorly on the DJA card and the DJS stores as customer may not differentiate between the two. References Ansoff, I. Strategies for Diversification, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 35, Issue 5, Sep-Oct 1957, pp. 113-124. Maslow, A. 1954, Motivation and personality, Harper and Row. Aaker, D. A. , ; Joachimsthaler, E. 2000, Brand leadership: Building assets in the information society, Journal of Consumer Marketing. Kotler, P. , Adam, S. , Denize, S. ; Armstrong, G. 2009, Principles of marketing, 4th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall. Marketing Management, 2009, AGSM MBA Programs Graduate Diploma in Management. ASX Media Release, David Jones selects American Express as its strategic alliance partner for its general purpose card, 20 February 2008. Mitchell, S. , AFR Boss Magazine, October 2009, p. 22 McInnes, M. , ; Goddard, S. , David Jones – JP Morgan Conference Oct 2009. David Jones, Full Year (FY09) Results: August 2008 – July 2009, http://www. davidjones. com. au/images/corp/pdf/2009/FY09_Results_24Sep09. pdf, 24 September 2009. McInnes, M. , National Consumer Credit Regime, http://www. treasury. gov. u/consumercredit/content/consultation/submissions/downloads/national_consumer_credit_regime/David_Jones. pdf , 12 June 2009) Reserve Bank of Australia, Credit and Charge Card Statistics, http://www. rba. gov. au/statistics/bulletin. html , September 2009 @ 5pm. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Retail Trade, http://www. ausstats. abs. gov. au/ausstats/meisubs. nsf/0/0C3F2426BB831DF3CA257662000E0A71/$ File/85010_sep%202009. pdf , September 2009, p6 ASX Media Release, David Jones Selects American Express as its Strategic Alliance Partner for its General Purpose card, http://www. asx. com. au/asxpdf/20080220/pdf/317jmwgpqdm2qr. df , 20 February 2008. Samador, L. , Investors Turn on David Jones Amex card, http://news. theage. com. au/business/investors-turn-on-david-jones-amex-card-20081128-6mtb. html, 28 November 2008. Business Day, Premier results add weight to timing of Myer float, http://www. businessday. com. au/business/premier-results-add-weight-to-timing-of-myer-float-20090922-g0ly. html, 23 September 2009. David Jones, David Jones Enterprise Agreement 2006, http://www. sda. org. au/images/awards/award13. pdf, Accessed 2 Nov. 2009. www. americanexpress. com, Accessed 31 October 2009 @ 5pm www. davidjones. com. au, Accessed 31 October 2009, @ 5pm How to cite Strategic Review of Australian Department Store David Jones, Papers

Public Speakin free essay sample

In the class, emphasis is placed on developing effective communicators through a variety of oral and written assignments. Course Rationale: At some point you will likely be called upon to stand before a group and deliver information, argue a position, present an award, introduce a guest speaker, or honor a special event or occasion. At these times, it is important that you command the audiences attention, demonstrate credibility, represent your position clearly and accurately, and speak with conviction.Core Competencies Gained by Students: * Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World Analyze ultra diversity within the audience * Intellectual and Practical Skills Develop and master the skill of outlining Develop critical skills listening and thinking Design and use effective presentational aids Build confidence from positive criticism of presentation and delivery skills * Personal and Social Responsibility Become an ethical and effective communicator Learn effectiv e communication skills through developing and delivering presentations Decrease communication anxiety through increased preparation Course Objective: This course is designed to assist students in identifying and strengthening their specific public communication needs. It acquaints students with different forms and styles of human communication while parallelizing them with historical and modern rhetorical principles and applications. The goal Is for students to develop skills which will strengthen effective communication with business and professional associates as well as with family and friends. The course is based on the study of communication theory as applied to a variety of public speaking situations and social interactions. All assigned oral and written activities and collateral readings will develop and refine critical thinking, listening and fundamental immunization skills. Oral actively Include presentations, voice and diction Required Materials: Public Speaking Handbook, 2nd Edition by Steve A. Beebe ; Susan J. Beebe. A pack of 3 x 5 index cards COURSE POLICIES Attendance: In accordance with the Endgame Veers College/CUNY catalog, students are expected to attend class regularly. The success of your learning experience depends on the active contributions of everyone; therefore, your attendance is important. If your absence is excused, you must bring a verifiable excuse the class following your absence (or the next class you attend allowing your initial absence) for it to be accepted. See the Catalog for what is considered an excused absence. Your attendance is particularly crucial on speaking days for both the presentation of your own speech and your participation as an audience member. If you arrive after class has started you are late. Every two lateness equals an absence. If you arrive 15 minutes after class has started you will be marked absent for that day. You have two free unexcused absences (that you cannot take on a performance day); additional unexcused absences will result in a 5- point grade reduction. Make-ups: In a public speaking course, rescheduling a speech is very difficult. If you must miss your speaking day and your absence is excused, you may make up your speech at a time arranged by your instructor during the semester. This means that you must be prepared to give your speech at the arranged time. No make-ups for speeches will be given for unexcused absences. No late work will be accepted without the proper excuse. **** Special Circumstances: Students with learning or physical challenges that could affect your performance in this class should notify the instructor as soon as possible. Honesty: Academic dishonesty encompasses both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes obtaining or attempting to obtain or aiding another to obtain academic credit for work by the use of any dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent means. Plagiarism involves submitting the works of others as your own and includes improper source citation, no source citation, using materials prepared by another student, and using fictitious sources. The penalties for academic dishonesty range from receiving an F on the assignment or exam, to receiving an F in the course and may be reported to the university. Please consult the Endgame Veers College catalog for a full description of cheating and plagiarism.The speeches will be an Introductory Speech, a Speech of Demonstration, a Speech of Explanation, and Persuasive Speech (in that order). Information about what is expected for each speech will be provided in class prior to the performance date. Also, for all speeches, a typed outline of your speech (including references if applicable) is due on the day you perform. I will also provide grading rubrics for each speech. Quizzes ; Final Exam: There will be 8 quizzes throughout the semester, but only the 4 quizzes you score the highest on will be counted towards your final grade. The Final Exam will cover lecture material and chapter readings.Make-up exams will not be granted, UNLESS you can provide Ritter documentation verifying that your absence falls within the Endgame Veers College/CUNY s excused absence policy. Speech Analysis: You will write one brief (1-2 page) paper analyzing a speech performance that will be shown in class. Your paper must be typed and stylistically and grammatically correct. Readings: I will note in class if you need to read a chapter/section of the textbook before the following class. However, please remember that you are responsible for the entire chapter(s) on a test even if we do not cover everything in class. Simply, exam questions may come from material not covered during lectures.

Crowdfunding Essays - Crowdfunding, Fundraising,

Crowdfunding 1. What is crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is an alternative method of raising money to finance different kind of purposes. The concept of crowdfunding is to gather a large group of people(the crowd) who fund small amounts of money to eventually reach the total amount desirable for financing the purpose. Crowdfunding is used by all kind of people and groups like entrepreneurs, charities, companies and privates. The different purposes wherefore crowdfunding can be used are from raising money to finance a new car or a vacation, making a movie, to the startup of a company or developing an innovative idea. The purpose can be everything, just as long people are willing to invest into the idea. The difference between crowdfunding and traditional fund raising is that crowdfunding needs to attract a large group of people who all donate or invest a (small) amount of money to eventually reach the total amount needed. A traditional finance is mostly done by attracting one or two organizations or businesses who invest the total amount of money needed, it can also be a loan from a bank or other financing institution. I think you can see crowdfunding as getting money from a bank where the bank as intermediate is ruled out. Normally a bank collects money from a lot of different people(their customers savings) and then they loan the money to others who need it. The bank in this role takes all the risk and chooses what to finance and what not. When the bank is ruled out you get crowdfunding, the difference is that you need to attract the people who are willing to invest in your purpose. the investors decide what purpose they want to finance and take the risk themselves so it can be ha rd to get enough people to fund a project. 2. Crowdfunding models There are three different crowdfunding models which can be used: Reward based Crowdfunding model Equity based Crowdfunding model Microfinance lending model When using reward based crowdfunding, people who make an investment are rewarded in some way, normally there are predefined rewards for different amounts funded. An example of this is a crowdfunding project where money is being raised for making a special hamburger sauce. If people donate more than 5dollar they will receive a sticker of the company. If they donate more than 10dollar they get a bottle of the sauce, more than 35dollar they get a t-shirt and a bottle of the sauce and so on. Mostly it's the more someone funds the better the reward is. People who fund a company which raises money using equity based crowdfunding, get a share in the business in exchange for the money invested. This model is used by startup companies as by existing companies who want to expand and need money. An example of this model is the company called Financial Fairytales who offers 20% equity to people who invest in their company for expanding their business in the UK and abroad. People who invest money in a microfinance lending model get a financial return and/or interest at a future date in exchange for the fund they made. For example: A person needs money to finance his wedding and started a crowdfunding at a platform with the microfinance model. When someone chooses to fund this person, the reward is to get the funded money back within 3years with an interest of 8,20% 3. Crowdfunding platforms: When the product, business or whatever you are hoping people want to invest in is clear and the crowdfunding model as well, you can start looking at crowdfunding platforms. The concept of an crowdfunding platform is that you can put your project on their website to get potential investors who surf on their sites to come in contact with your project. To choose the right platform you will have to consider a few things. First of all the crowdfunding websites also want to earn money. Crowdfunding platforms often ask for a percentage of the raised funds. Some platforms provide different kinds of percentages with different kind of crowdfunding. This also depends if raising the money is successful or not. There also has to be paid a percentage for processing the money. This can be credit card processing or paypal costs for example.

History of the Wailing or Western Wall

History of the Wailing or Western Wall The Wailing Wall, also referred to as the Kotel, the Western Wall or Solomons Wall, and whose lower sections date to about the second century B.C.E., is located in the Old Quarter of East Jerusalem in Israel. Built of thick, corroded limestone, it is about 60 feet (20 meters) high and close to 160 feet (50 meters) long, though most of it is engulfed in other structures.   A Sacred Jewish Site The wall is believed by devout Jews to be the Western Wall of the Second Temple of Jerusalem (destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.), the only surviving structure of the Herodian Temple. The temples original location is in dispute, leading some Arabs to dispute the claim that the wall belongs to the temple, arguing instead that it is part of the structure of Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. The structures description as the Wailing Wall derives from its Arabic identification as el-Mabka, or place of weeping, frequently repeated by European - and particularly French - travelers to the Holy Land in the 19th century as le mur des lamentations.  Jewish devotions believe that the divine presence never departs from the Western Wall. The Wailing Wall is one of the great Arab-Israeli struggles. Jews and Arabs dispute who is in control of the wall and who has access to it, and many Muslims maintain that the Wailing Wall has no relation to ancient Judaism at all. Sectarian and ideological claims aside, the Wailing Wall remains a sacred place for Jews and others who often pray - or perhaps  wail - and sometimes slip prayers written on paper through the walls welcoming fissures. In July 2009, Alon Nil launched a free service allowing people around the world to Twitter their prayers, which are then taken in printed form to the Wailing Wall. Israels Annexation of the Wall After the war of 1948 and the Arab capture of the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem, Jews were generally banned from praying at the Wailing Wall, which was at times defaced by political posters. Israel annexed Arab East Jerusalem immediately after the 1967 Six Day War and claimed ownership of the citys religious sites. Incensed - and fearing that the tunnel the Israelis began digging, starting from the Wailing Wall and under the Temple Mount, shortly after the war was over was designed to undermine the foundations of Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islams third holiest site after the mosques in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia - Palestinians and other Muslims rioted, triggering a clash with Israeli forces that left five Arabs dead and hundreds wounded. In January 2016, the Israeli government  approved the first space where non-Orthodox Jews of both sexes can pray side by side, and the first Reform prayer service of both men and women took place in February 2016 in a section of the wall known as Robinsons Arch.

Information control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Information control - Essay Example Internet is not anymore an unfamiliar context or a new phenomenon to many people as many are now connected online. The internet trend is paving the way, reaching each people with the internet connectivity. And, activities online such as online purchasing are just at the fingertips. One of the top activities done by online shoppers is doing online travel planning which includes booking airlines, hotels or planning vacation trips for holidays. It has been obvious how internet services and tools becomes an integral part of user's life. Internet has been an important channel for online travel planning, resources online is available instantly without the hassle and online travel industry is growing. It is reported by a research conducted by Nielsen//NetRatings that "55% of internet users book holidays online - only 7% of internet users book on the high street. Two thirds of internet users take two or more holidays a year. Silver surfers are enjoying more regular holidays and late bookings online." "Online travel sales increased by as much as 34% from 2004 to 2005 and reached EUR 25.2 billion in the European market in 2005 - or 10.3% of the market (up from EUR 18.9 bn. or 7.9% in 2004). A further increase of about 25% during 2006 to about EUR 31.5 billion may be expected (12.6% of the market). The European online travel market could increase by 6 or 6.5 bn. EUR per year after 2006. The UK accounted for 35% of the European online travel market in 2005, with Germany in second place at 20%. The direct sellers accounted for 66% of online sales in the European market in 2005, intermediaries 34%. In 2005 the breakdown of the market by type of service was as follows: Airtravel 56%; Hotels 16%; Package tours 16%; Rail 10%; Rental cars 2%. Concentration in the European online travel agent market has increased following several acquisitions." In relations to this facts presented on how the trend of online travel industry is doing, Opodo Ltd., another travel agents opted to offer consumers with online travel services though their website www.opodo.co.uk which offers various travel-related services. The company was brought up by top European airlines, including British Airways, Air France, Alitalia, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines and Finnair. The technology behind the services offered by Opodo's website is provided by Amadeus IT Group, leader in travel management solution system. Opodo does not only offer online airline bookings but includes hotels, car rentals, holiday packages, event tickets, etc. Opodo's website offers flexible online booking options at affordable rates. All products and services offered online is from their partner hotels, resorts, airlines, and others which brings a one-stop online travel agent which assists travellers to plan their trip with ease and secured. Travel packages are also offered from the various listings they have in their catalogue. The website is also equipped with tools which allow travellers explore how the site is used via the HELP page. For consumers who which to send feedbacks, comments and suggestions, they can do so with the SUGGESTION page. Online travel has never been easy with Opodo's

Supply Chain Management and New Product Development Research Paper

Supply Chain Management and New Product Development - Research Paper Example   New product development is that series of events that starts with the conception of the product and its ideation and ends with reaching the product to the end user through strategic brand positioning through the meeting of competitive advantage. New product development is an important part of any and every business today in order to show a portfolio that thrives on enrichment through innovation and new experiences in the market place. It is a concept that will hold the prospective consumer's attention for long enough in order to turn him or her into an actual end user. In a nutshell, through new product development, one renders a quality of improvising and strategic branding to the business and helps reach out to more and more people and turn them into consumers. Therefore, it is an important part of meeting competition and venturing into new markets to increase profitability and brand visibility as well. (Savage, 2007)   According to the above diagram, the importance of new product development lies in the fact that there is a need in today's world of competition to keep redefining the business and its offerings. Most of the companies listed in the table have done just that by adhering to the latest technologies and making sure that their research and development department is on top of things every step of the way. This has also given rise to a particular kind of brand positioning and a pattern that these companies have constantly improved upon. (Ellram et al, 2007)  This model has been presented in the form of a flow chart with the aim of collaborating and organizing the knowledge and information within an organization to zero in on a strategy that makes the best possible use resources. (Hugos, 2005) The best option facing an organization in the context of the above diagram or flow chart is to test its supply management strategy on various suppliers instead of one supplier alone, in order to f ind the strengths and weaknesses of each of the suppliers.  

A Study On Amazon | Essay

A Study On Amazon | Essay E-commerce business Amazon.com is widely praised for having pioneered web-based customer relations, setting an industry benchmark in market-leading technological infrastructure. Kotler et al (2008) recognise that ‘the technology boom has created exciting new ways to create products and services tailored to individual customer needs (p.33). Amazon.com first entered the US e-commerce trading arena in 1995 under the ownership of Jeff Bezos, operating, as many do, from the comfort of home. As part of an emergent growth strategy, within ten years Amazon expanded at an alarming rate and penetrated the markets of several countries, basing fulfilment centres in the US, Europe and Asia with the aim of managing the product distribution process from supplier to consumer. Quarterly sales revenue has consistently grown year on year, to a current $5.45 billion in the third quarter ended September 2009 of this year a growth of 28% over the same period in 2008 according to Amazons investor press release (phx.corporate-ir.net). Further financial reporting presented in the press release shows Amazons US market exceeds total international income. The $5.45 billion consists of $2.84 billion in North America, and $2.61 billion from the UK, German, Japanese, French and Chinese sites. It has remained unscathed by the recent global economic downturn; quite the contrary, Amazon has capitalised on the reduced disposable income of consumers. ‘The research area is potentially fruitful since, even in recession, e-shopping volumes in the UK, for example, are continuing with double-digit growth, whereas traditional shopping is languishing in zero growth or less (Dennis et al, 2009: p.1122). Since commencing operations those years ago selling second-hand books in small volume, Amazon has vastly diversified its product portfolio. ‘You can find beauty supplies, clothing, jewellery, gourmet food, sporting goods, pet supplies, books, CDs, DVDs, computers, furniture, toys, garden supplies, bedding and almost anything else you might want to buy (money.howstuffworks.com). There are a number of ways in which the site operates. It stocks and sells its own products from reputable branded suppliers in fulfilment centres; allows stores to use Amazon as their portal for marketing both new and used goods; invites the public to join and sell their items in online auctions. However the true beauty of Amazons internet service lies within a highly innovative, targeted and versatile customer interface. The Oracle Corporation (an agent of the database design and implementation) has constructed a diagram of the database system as shown in Appendix 1. This study aims to demonstrate the concept of customer orientation as part of a marketing strategy and its effectiveness as a constituent of the holistic practices of Amazon. One may think, at first glance, that the concept of customer orientation seems obvious. Its basic definition confirms this, affirmed by Kotler et al (2008) as ‘a company that focuses on customer developments in designing its marketing strategies and on delivering superior value to its target customers (p.372). However, the extent to which a business devotes resources to the customer is often difficult (but not impossible) to distinguish at a contextual level. Marketing forms the foundation of our very livelihoods. Blink and its there right in front of you. Post-modern society dictates that organisations no longer navigate consumer trends merely by the commodities that they make competitive business has evolved in the realisation that ‘nowadays, ever more emphasis is placed on the importance and nature of the relationships that an organization has with its customers (Jones et al, 2007: p.106). The fruits of economic growth have no doubt spurred the strengthening of (both consumer and business) purchasing power and with it, variety-seeking opportunity. The opportunity presented by marketing (or rather customer) orientation opens up the potential to extrapolate future demand before the consumer even demands it. Here it is about identifying gaps in the norm, and, driven by innovation, manifesting those undiscovered wants into tangible demand. The marketing sphere has become highly complex, giving rise to certain implications. How does a marketer adequately identify profitable market dynamics in this day and age? Is it even possible to satisfy the needs of every targeted consumer? Amazons marketing strategy will be discussed in relation to its handling of customer needs, or rather, how the company perceives its customers needs are best served through the online innovator. Donaldson and OToole (2002) identify four marketing strategies; Amazons being the â€Å"high-tech, high-touch quadrant†. Porters (1996) â€Å"Five Forces Analysis† model can influence the 7 Ps of the â€Å"Marketing Mix† and the value a company can create for the consumer. It is a useful model for presenting the intensity of external market pressures from different angles. See Appendix 2. ‘If management wants to change how the firm connects with its customers, it has to change the organisation (Molineux, 2002: p.109). The culture behind Amazon since emerging online in 1995 as a simple bookstore has taken rapid progression in-line with its marketing strategy. The company has evolved through its heedfulness of the rising effectiveness of relationship marketing electronically around the end of the 1990s, so that ‘the dominant approach to IT and relationship research is being replaced by a relationship strategy rather than a transaction strategy position, focussing on information as opposed to technical (Donaldson and OToole, 2002: p.181). Dibb (1998) states ‘increasing evidence suggests that businesses have problems operationalising segmentation (p.394). Harvesting different segments with universally positive outcomes is often troublesome for organisations. ‘For most businesses it is simply unrealistic to satisfy the entire diverse customer needs in the marketplace (Dibb, 1998: p.394). Amazon is one of the few that can, or at least makes great attempts to. Many other online companies have only recently followed suit. Amazons system breaks the contemporary rules of market segmentation. Each customer is his or her very own segment, targeted by one versatile, adaptive system able to meet their personal characteristics by recommending a set of products at a variety of prices from low, second hand to brand new. The system epitomises customer relations management, catering for any socio-economic status, music taste, literature-lover, and so on. Amazon is a target marketer, for marketers. ‘Each customer is assigned a unique number Companies have databases for sales, marketing, service, inventory, payments, and so on (Buttle, 2009: p.103). Amazon utilises a complex, controversially patented Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) which the site draws from to personalise its content toward the customer and supplements functions such as the â€Å"one-click†. Contrary to the norm of a consumer initiating a purchasing process, Amazon acts as the initiator with its variety-fulfilling interface, performing a dual-class role as the â€Å"middle man† between the business and consumer market. Kotler et al express how Amazon leverages the benefits of electronic B2B relationships through ‘E-procurement [which] gives buyers access to new suppliers, lower purchasing costs and hastens order processing and delivery. In turn, business marketers can connect with customers online to share marketing information, sell products and services, provide customer support services and maintain ongoing customer relationships (p.307). McBurnie and Clutterbuck (1988) justifiably assert ‘until competitors copy or segment your segmentation, you have a competitive edge, even if you serve the segment with a standard product or service. If the product or service is specific to the segment then your competitive advantage is multiplied (p.23). Such is t he unique selling point of Amazons personalised service. Consumer behaviour is encapsulated within a set of layers that range from the collective culture right down to pinpoint developments in individual characteristics. Although identified separately, each layer bears a holistic influence on the outcome of one another. For example, a consumer might be into the skating subculture, meaning they believe DC shoes are the best buy in the market. However, as they grow older, they may grow out of skating and take interest in a different culture, likely to make a new trend of purchases. A consumers culture is therefore not set in stone, and as the learning process of life progresses, so too may the views and values of the individual. Career progression is equally important since it determines the level of disposable income. ‘There is evidence for the importance of social interaction and recreational motives, as demonstrated by virtual ethnography (webnography) of â€Å"Web 2.0† blogs, social networking sites and e-word of mouth (Dennis et al, 2009: p.1121-22). Amazon allows end users to share reviews and ratings of products so that future potential buyers are able to make a more influenced, informed choice. However everyone is unique and therefore what may appeal to one customer may be disliked by another. This is therefore contingent upon the orientation of the particular traits of a customer, which dictates the degree to which a person evaluates and therefore heeds the information he/she comes across. ‘Intention to shop with a particular e-retailer will be positively influenced by past experience (p.1124). Amazon does exactly that. It harnesses the past purchases of the customer and extrapolates correlations in the form of recommendations based on what the system recognises as the buyers personal characteristics and therefore purchasing influences from within. The system aims to successfully delineate a person and even interacts like a person itself, acting in a rather paternalistic manner, knowing what is best for the consumer. In a retail store staff are not likely to draw upon past purchasing trends for a particular customer and therefore cannot offer the sort of tailored service that Amazon.com does. Amazon offers a variety of convenient functions, not least the â€Å"Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering† option at the checkout. Dennis et al couple with this the notion of â€Å"web atmospherics† ‘Graphics, visuals, audio, colour, product presentation at different levels of resolution, video and 3D displays are among the most common stimuli (p. 1128). Visit the Amazon website and you will see that administrators have decided to implement a festive header, the promotion of gift e-vouchers customers can send to family via the internet, wish lists based on categories of relationship (for example husband, granddaughter, and so on) to name but a few of the sites seasonal customisations. ‘Customers have shown they dont want to be hunted like prey. They dont want to be managed; they just want companies to make their lives easier and less stressful (Newell, 2003: p.7). One of the implications for Amazon is, as shown by internet banks, that ‘online banks are finding that they also need an on-ground presence if they want to compete successfully (Zinkhan, 2002: p.414). Many businesses find equilibrium in their marketing strategy through the balance of both tangible and web-based enhancement of the Marketing Mix. Does Amazon seem challenged by the lack of localised Amazon service outlets? Its financial performance figures suggest not. The company strives on passing on the overhead saving to the consumer. As the SWOT analysis in Appendix 3 displays, outlets are nonetheless an opportunity for Amazon to grow, particularly where the consumer prefers to make a tangible purchasing decision in items such as clothing. ‘It is about creating an experience, personalizing the interaction with individual customers in ways directed by the customer, and thereby developing relationships (Newell, 2003: p.7). There is a fine line between assisting the customer through recommendations and effectively spamming them with products they might not like. Newell states that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is inferior to a new strategy of Customer Management of Relationships (CMR). Looking closely at the ways of Amazon, it is possible to identify mixtures between the two, and therefore in the eyes of Newell, a conflicting and inefficient combination. On the one hand, there Amazon treats customers as individuals and understands their unique needs as part of the CMR mechanism. On the other hand, Amazon seems to know too much for its own good, since it is merely a computer system making the decisions. As Newell distinguishes under CRM, customers are likely to feel â€Å"stalked† and in some ways may feel forced into making a purchase. Against the positive, praising grain of this study thus far it is possible to suggest Amazons system contradicts the very foundation of ‘good marketing practice that is, to make people buy things they do not actually need and therefore want. Amazon makes them believe they want the product. Herein lies a fundamental implication Does the Amazon system really get to grips with an individual? Is it at all likely that a person can feel cared for by a computer? Donaldson and OToole (2002) affirm ‘the debate continues on whether e-relationships will reduce the inter-personal/social bonds prevalent in relationships (p.177). Keller (2003) in his study on Strategic Brand Management suggests ‘service firms should allocate fewer resources to traditional quality programs, productivity programs, and efficiency programs and allocate more resources to service-orientated revenue initiatives such as customer satisfaction programs, customer retention and loyalty, CRM and customer equity programs (p.245). Effectively he asserts a need for heavy weighting towards customer orientation, however the degree to which capital should be leveraged in favour of the customer and away from vital operational functions of the organisation is unclear and potentially adverse if perceived as unbalanced as it sounds. A company may well listen to the needs of the consumer wholeheartedly, but if process efficiency and output quality are neglected, the company will not succeed. In the case of Amazon, it remains a predominantly service-orientated company, combining the strong brand images and separate marketing strategies of the c ompanies it markets for, with its own e-market leading online interface aimed at maintaining high levels of brand equity. Amazon is not known exclusively for the products it markets, but the way it markets them. Any good book store will stock a copy of the latest J.K. Rowling fiction. The importance is this ‘Because of associations to product assortment, pricing, and credit policy, quality of service, and so on, retailers have their own brand images in consumers minds. Retailers create these associations through the products and brands they stock, the means by which they sell them, and so forth (p. 358). Although separate resource-consuming entities, the perceived quality of the Amazon service indirectly reinforces the marketing efforts of the brands and the products that it stocks and sells from its fulfilment centres. This is not to say, however, that efficiency is not of upmost importance. A fast, responsive inventory database is in action with the aim of delivering (for f ree!) to customers and managing stock replenishment with minimal downtime particularly important for seasonal demand such as Christmastime. Amazons pricing strategy is to minimise the cost to the consumer, through simple but nonetheless effective marketing communication. Customers incentive for their word-of-mouth marketing efforts is a manifested in highly competitive, low pricing since the profitable costing and mark-up of products does not need to earn a return on advertising investment. Remaining a sole e-tailer negates the need for a skimming strategy on the part of Amazon. The aim is simple minimal overheads and marketing expenditure, attractively low pricing, profitable mark-ups. Amazon has done remarkably well where other companies often underrate the power of the consumer as a communications tool. Dorward (1987) cites Doyle (1968) who ‘claimed that persuasive advertising will be more effective either when products are relatively cheap, as consumers will not expect to gain much financially from an extensive market search or when it would be difficult for consumers to evaluate the product prior to purchase (p.155). In the case of Amazon such factors are satisfied by the sharing of previous purchasers as influencers of the decision process, whereby it is much easier to read reviews than to, for example, visit different book or music stores to evaluate the product effectively. The relatively low cost product types that Amazon e-tails enforces the idea that person to person advertising is sufficient and that customers are more likely to take notice of the recommendations Amazon offers. In an interview with Jeff Bezos, wired.com (2005) uncovered why Amazon.com does not utilise media such as television as a form of marketing communication. ‘More and more money will go into making a great customer experience, and less will go into shouting about the service. Word of mouth is becoming more powerful. If you offer a great service, people find out (wired.com). Therefore to communicate its service the company simply relies on the conveyance of its high brand equity through personal communication channels, which Kotler et al recognise as ‘a major reason for Amazons success in growing sales per customer. You have probably made an Amazon purchase based on another customers review or the â€Å"Customers who bought this also bought† secton (p.708). ‘In most cases, it turns out that the most workable solution is often a hybrid, integrating the new e-tail channel with the traditional ones, so customers can purchase items through either e-tail channel or retail channel (Yao and Liu, 2005: p. 236). It is much more difficult to ensure performance gaps between expect and actual quality of service are minimised when dealing with tangible assets such as a group of employees. It is simply not as easy as a programming code alteration in the database system or interface design. Contemporary management practices would inevitably need to be implemented, and since the very heart of Amazon is based online, does it have the competency and experience to manage the working capital utilised for tangible outlets? Although fulfilling the human-human personal interaction function that online service lacks, there is the implication for Amazon as a brand to meet Kellers brand extension disadvantages. A store will most likely be unable to accommo date for the vast array of products that Amazon can deal with so efficiently online. If customer service does not live up to the tailored specification of the renowned e-system, there could be detrimental effects to Amazons customer-centric image. In-store service may override the comparatively low-overhead, low-pricing online service, drawing attention away from Amazon.com and therefore reducing sales. Perceived highly customer-focused service image could be tarnished with a more general retailer image, removing a key selling point for Amazon. ‘In 1988, building on their early research, PZB [Parasuraman, Zeithamal and Berry] published a multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perceptions of service quality, named SERVQUAL (Baron and Harris, 2003: p.23). There is a distinct lack of implementation in the Amazon system for a customer-to-management feedback approach. The â€Å"vibe† of the site emits an overly paternalistic, Amazon-knows-best interface without much functionality devoted to Total Quality Management-style input from the customer. Perhaps Jeff Bezos takes the view that the sharing of customer reviews between one another effectively deems the site a self-maintaining organisation one could perhaps interestingly compare Amazons values to the general outlook of the Conservative government in the 1980s in its approach of free market enterprise, de/self-regulation and cost-cutting efficiency with the ultimate aim of maximising value for society. Effectively Amazon supports what could be coined C2C Mark eting, a phenomenon hardly touched by academics in its own right. So where does the future lie for Amazon? Well it does not take long upon scanning the internet to find companies cottoning onto the customer-orientated ways which Amazon mastered a decade ago. Its year-on-year financial success displays itself how the companys brand equity is firmly embedded in the consumer market. ‘Amazon Services is building complete e-commerce solutions for companies that are potential Amazon competitors, leaving open the possibility that Amazon will ultimately head in the direction of technology service over retail sales (money.howstuffworks.com). This provides the opportunity to effectively control its competitors by leveraging its famous CRM patents and driving forward an Amazon-era of e-commerce which has proven so successful. The concept of customer orientation is prevalent in the case of Amazon.com. Right from the very outset the company sought to delineate the customer as an individual, and not merely a group with similar needs a segmentation strategy so many companies use and even then, some fail. This is not to say, however, that Amazon neglects other concepts in its mission to maximise brand equity. The other key aspect relevant to the context of the company, bearing in mind that the self-selling characteristic of Amazons customer orientation has already been mentioned (effectively deeming the conventionally separate selling concept unusually intertwined within it), is the production concept, controlled by an efficient RDBMS and strong B2B relations with its suppliers. Referencing: http://amazon.co.uk/About-Amazon/b?ie=UTF8node=203038011 http://money.howstuffworks.com/amazon.htm http://money.howstuffworks.com/amazon1.htm http://money.howstuffworks.com/amazon3.htm http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664p=irolnewsArticleID=1345412highlight= http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bezos.html Jones, D., Bichard, M., Thompson, D., Green, A., Bilmoria, K., Peppitt, E., and Tusa, J., 2007. Six of the Best: Lessons in Life and Leadership. Hodder Arnold Publishers Ltd. Kotler, P., Armstrong, G., Wong, V., and Saunders, J., 2008. Principles of Marketing. 5th European Edition. Pearson Education Ltd. McBurnie, T., and Clutterbuck, D., 1988. Give Your Company the Marketing Edge. Penguin Books. Dibb, S., 1998. Market segmentation: strategies for success. Marketing Intelligence and Planning. Vol. 16, pp.394-406. Dennis, C., Merrilees, B., Jayawardhena, C., and Wright, L.T., 2009. E-consumer Behaviour. European Journal of Marketing. Vol. 43, pp.1121-22. Zinkhan, G.M., 2002. Promoting services via the Internet: new opportunities and challenges. Journal of Services Marketing. Vol. 16, pp.412-423. Newell, F., 2003. Why CRM Doesnt Work: how to win by letting customers manage the relationship. Kogan Page. Donaldson, B., and OToole, T., 2002. Strategic Market Relationships: from Strategy to Implementation. John Wiley Sons Ltd. Molineux, P., 2002. Exploiting CRM: Connecting with Customers. Hodder Stoughton. Buttle, F., 2009. Customer Relationship Management: Concepts and Technologies. 2nd edition. Elsevier Ltd. Keller, K.L., 2003. Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity. 2nd Edition. Pearson Education Ltd. Doyle, P., 1968. Advertising expenditure and consumer demand. Oxford Economic Papers. Vol. 20, pp. 395-417. Dorward, N., 1987. The Pricing Decision: Economic Theory and Business Practice. Harper Row Ltd. Porter, M.E., 1996. What Is Strategy? Harvard Business Review. pp.61-78 Yao, D.Q., and Liu, J.J.. 2005. Competitive pricing of mixed retail and e-tail distribution channels. The International Journal of Management Science. Vol. 33, pp.235-247. Baron, S., and Harris, K., 2003. Services Marketing: Texts and Cases. 2nd Edition. Macmillan Press Ltd.

Animal Testing Essay -- essays research papers

Biology and Behavior Animal testing is not a problem in today’s society because it is beneficial to humans. It seems unethical to put animals through such pain and torture, but if we stopped it completely there would be a large amount of human lives lost. How could this be? The further advancements in medical and technological science is inevitable. Therefore, if the testing must be done to learn more about the brain and body, which species (animals or man) seems expendable for such testing. The real question is which species is more ethical to test on. For example, a rat is given an injection with a drug and watched regularly for the period of a month. At the end of the month the rat is injected with a lethal toxin and dissected for scientific reasons. The purpose of the experiment is to determine whether or not the regular use of the drug would have any type of an effect on the brain of the rat. In contrast there is a man age 23 that has consented to be used for the same experiment. It not only would be unethical but against the law to try an experiment of this nature on a man. The end result would be the death of a perfectly healthy human. Which circumstance now seems unethical? One could also take in to consideration that the human’s death could have an impact on his family as well as the people that knew him. Above all the question of whether or not animal testing is ethical or not, really boils down to the purpose of the testing and whether or not it is a legitimate cause. Every man and woman has benefited from animal testing in one form or another. Most of what we know about the brain and body is a direct result of animal testing. Only in recent history have there been advancements in technology in both the fields of medicine, and science that have made it possible to see in side the human body. Unfortunately this still is not enough. The testing must be done on a living organism. Depending on the type and purpose of the test, the organism (man or animal) must be observed carefully and monitored for changes in behavior, health, and in some cases life or death. There are unpredictable reactions that occur in the body of living organisms when an alienable substance enters the blood stream. That is why animal testing is necessary. For instance, a computer can not determine whether or not a certain prototype vaccine will have a beneficial or cata... ...ake and convulse on the floor, the last thing left to do is throw his body in a burning fire, and go pick the next runner up for the experiment. Obviously, no matter how this is viewed it is murder. Even though animal testing is said to be beneficial to humans, many times the animals are used for other purposes. According to an online article posted by a company known as the Nature of Wellness, "Horrifying chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, possessed by an ever-increasing number of countries are tested on animals the same way a drug, detergent, or toothpaste is tested on animals. Conventional weapons of all sorts are also tested in vivisectionist laboratories, where animals are routinely used as surrogates for man in warlike situations" ("Animal Experimentation: No Lie Can Live Forever." 1996). With such a misuse of the terrible act of animal testing, just goes to show that something must be done. There is no way to guarantee the safety and proper test ing of the animals in a way that only is beneficial to mankind. There will always be someone out there trying to scheme up a crazy invention or harmful agent, and the only thing that suffers is the animals

Moving the NHS from public sector to private sector Essay

The National Health Service (NHS) is a state run entity set up by the Labour government after 1948 as part of the welfare state. It was originally run by local authorities with funding from public money allocated by central government. Though in recent years this money has been moving to the private sector and many have speculated that this is privatisation by stealth. In this essay I will attempt to understand this process by giving some historical context to the events of the last few decades while pointing out some of the advantages and disadvantages, and the forms it could take, of privatisation. In conclusion I hope to point to a future where the NHS can exist with public money and private management. †It came out of a working class movement. The ‘powers that be’ introduced various health and welfare reforms after the Second World War in response to working class agitation and mobilisationæ ¢  health system seemed a better option than a Russian revolution†1 This is a institution that does not fit easily into the world of market liberalisation and globalisation, but it is a right many people feel should be free and is even recognised by the U.N. as a fundamental human right. Selling off the NHS, as previous Tory governments have done to other parts of the U.K.s infrastructure †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦would be politically unacceptable especially given the general popularity of the NHS and its entrenched public nature.†2But reform and change have accrued. The first change, by the Tories in 1983, was in the way funding was allocated. †For example, budgets where previously allocated on the basis of geographical areas’ needs†¦Now funding is alloca ted as payment per patient†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 3 This change allowed for the transfer of money from the public to the private sector. This can be seen in the provision of private long term care †which grew from 175,000 places in 1985 to 650,000 in 1998. This growth was funded almost entirely out of the public purse†4 This has led to a system where money is now thrown at the private sector through arrangements such as Independent treatment centres (ISTCs) and the private finance initiative (PFI). One such arrangement †Ravenscourt Park cost   to set up and closed with a deficit of. These are figures that have to be borne by the NHS†5Clearly the NHS is now a half-way house between the public and private sectors. While the present Labour government seems set on pushing ahead with more ways of privatisation. John Carvel noted that  Ã¢â‚¬ Health secretary Patricia Hewitt is preparing to transfer NHS hospitals buildings into the private sector as part of a bn scheme to promote competition in the health service†¦companies bidding for contracts†¦will be allowed to take over NHS premises, doctors and nurses.†6The implementation of this document are already in motion. Recently DHL gained a contract worth 6bn to provide non pharmaceutical supplies for ten years. Payment will be made †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦according to the savings it can make, which the government estimates at some n.†7So while this may seem like a good idea †Effective implementation of grand investment projects†¦is hardly the governments strong point.†8 So to make this work DHL would have to be finely regulated. Given enough freedom so that they can destroy cosy past relationships, but not be allowed to bully suppliers and lower standards due to a need to please shareholders and make profit. To see what problems a health service run for profit creates we only have to look at the USA and its private health system. The system of HMOs was set up in the 1970s by the Nixon administration. We can see from these comments recorded on the Nixon White House tapes, (Nixon quotes), that this system was created not to look after patients but to make profit. While the US may have the most advanced health care system available, if a customer does not have enough money or adequate insurance their options are limited. These problems where highlighted in Michael Moores’ documentary Sicko, which compared the US system to that of Cuba, Canada and the UK. It could be said that the narrator was unabashed in his bias against the HMOs, but the case shown, that healthcare will become unaffordable for average people, may arise here if privatisation becomes widespread. At the same time though because of the lack of reinvestment in the NHSs’ infrastructure and Gordon Browns’ adherence to EU spending targets, alternative funding methods must be found. A recent study by the European Health Consumer Index (EHCI) showed the UK at 17th place behind Ireland, Czech Republic and Estonia in provision of healthcare. Three countries a long way behind the economic development of the UK. In fact while per capita spending placed the UK in 12th place, the Czech Republic placed 21st showing  that efficiency targets are possible if money is spent wisely.9This of course is the main argument for the involvement of the private sector in the provision of health care. That they will cut bureaucracy, while subjecting spending plans to stringent management oversight and thus provide better services for cheaper. Unfortunately the †reduction in public provision of long term care, NHS dentistry, optical services and elective surgery shows the trajectory for the NHS under the PFI.†10 We only have to look to Austria to find a publicly funded health system that allows patients who †..regardless of salary, are entitled to use the services of the health system for free although they do pay higher income tax†.11 While looking at the EHCI tables we see Austria ranks in first place but only spends (figure here) more than the UK per capita. This suggests that the UK could indeed improve services without the need of the private sector but this would involve raising taxes, a strategy both political parties seem wary of due to potential lose of electoral support. One new potential direction for the health service could be the internet. The main advantage of the internet is the access to knowledge that it can provide the customer while providing savings within the administration of the NHS. Unfortunately there is one problem that would need to be overcome, computer illiteracy. In most cases those with health problems will be the older members of society, those who are the least computer literate. This suggests to me that while saving could be made, they would not be worthwhile while we have a generation of customers who do not feel comfortable with computers or the the internet. In the long term there is potential, but unfortunately it does not provide any solutions in the short. In does seem that the disadvantages of privatisation on its present course do seem to outweigh the advantages. The present government though has already started down a path that appears to be irreversible. While many within the service would agree that reform is necessary the problem is that healthcare is seen as a fundamental right provided by the NHS, a endowment to the citizens of the UK after the trauma of World War 2 and the sacrifices they had endured. The UK government has also shown on many occasions that it cannot regulate private companies, that are funded through public funds, to  put the general public before profit. Looking at past privatisations of industries we can see, even in the case of the most successful, telecommunications, that this sector lags behind other European countries such as France where for example broadband infrastructure is far ahead of that provided in the UK. Thus in conclusion the only solution that I can see is a single payer system with strong enough legislation that creates †European wide regulation in the shape of pharmaceutical price controls and levies on research and education†12 In effect creating a new framework that allows the private sector to provide to provide healthcare. This way the tax payer can benefit from the private sectors skill in delivering increased productivity and value for money, while protecting against its’ overwhelming desire for profit. 1http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/gatsprivatiationhealth.htm2ibid3http://www.healthmatters.org.uk/issue 41 p12-134ibid5http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1931236,00.html6http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,,1575243,00.html7http://store.eiu.com/product/1860000186-sample.html8 ibid9EHCI 2007 study10Bmj.com 1/4/9911Irish Independent, 6/9/07 The Austrian health service is the best in Europe†¦, Gemma O’ Doherty12http://www.healthmatters.org.uk/issue 48 summer 2001 p 11

Essay on Mass Media Development and Lieracy Assignment...

Mass Media: Development and Literacy Assignment Options Brittnee Green University Of Phoenix HUM/186 Mass Media: Development and Literacy Assignment Options In today’s society mass media has such an influence whether it is positive or negative. It plays an important role in our everyday lives. Mass media affects everyone in the world. The purpose of mass media is everything tied into the advancement of technology and most often education, news, internet, television, magazines, and so much more. â€Å"Culture is made up of both the products that a society fashions and, perhaps more important, the processes that forge those products and reflect a culture’s diverse values.† (Campbell, R., Martin, C., amp; Fabos, B.) (pg. 6). In this†¦show more content†¦Magazines and newspapers was a way for an individual or individuals too read about what was going on in their town, state, or country, and this allowed information to be given to help people become aware of what was happening. Now, let us take a look at television and radio of the last century it has really evolved and brought different changes. Television gave a viewer the visual aspect of what was going on in the world first hand. People were then able to sit down where ever they were and see every aspect of what was lying ahead. Radioâ€℠¢s was a big asset also because during the time when communication was growing you were able to listen to the words that was being expressed and delivered. Having all of these developments come together has influenced the American cultures to where everything has evolved. During the 20th century before everything else became popular it was normal for people to receive their news or via newspaper that would give the people information that was needed along with television and radio. Now in the today’s world people are given so many options to the media to get information. We have the options of internet, social media, and television. Individuals have become more independent to make their own decision on how they see things whether it’s true or false. American culture has changed traumatically and just does not affect one thing, but the entire world. You are able to