Rebranding of Online Marketing Platforms Essay

Just a week ago, Rachel Abrams penned an exquisite piece in The New York Times titled, â€Å"Best Buy Profit Nearly Doubles in Quarter, With Online Sales up 22%.† The title of the article suggests every company’s sales dream envisions through a rigorous online marketing strategy but what is not known is that over the past decade Best Buy has experienced one of the most turbulent sessions in business history. Basing on this history, Rachel Abrams takes us through the steadily recuperating brand marketing strategy of a company that was on the brink of closure three years back. This paper therefore seeks to analyze Abrams article using the Porter five forces analysis to reflect on the benefits of analyzing markets before investing in a particular marketing strategy. Porter five forces analysis is a framework focusing on market competition analysis of specific industries and helps in the development of probable business strategies. Basing its tents on industrial organizations economics, it utilizes five major forces that are used to determine the competitive intensity of a market thereby determining the attractiveness of a market. The five forces of the porter framework are; threat of new entrants, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of suppliers and the intensity of competitive rivalry- alternatively referred to macroenvironmental factors of the business. In this context the article contains various aspects of these factors and will be discussed in detail in the underlying chapters CITATION Aro14 l 1033 (Arons, Driest, & Weed, 2014). From the offset, Abrams introduces her article as a marketing piece with the introductory sentence which suggests Best Buys move to boost the visibility of thei r products through lowering their product costs and adopting a web strategy to boost online sales and marketing. Considering that Best Buy’s cost-cutting and web strategy was rolled out over two years back after they registered losses for not joining the online marketing bandwagon where competitors aggressively adopted online avenues to push their products; it is safe to say that their move will be beneficial to their sales in long run. Proof is in the Stifel Nicolaus survey which suggests that they have registered a 7% increase in their sales registering 15% sales increase in the financial year 2012/2013 and 22% sales boost in the just completed 2013/2014 financial year. This was only actualized after the company made several adjustments to its marketing strategies to strike their own competitive edge over their fellow competitors. Their major competitors are online retail giants like eBay and Amazon that over the past decade threatened to wipe out Best Buy from the market but since making adjustments in their marketing strategy, the company has witnessed top line growth considered as e roding to match up and even go to the extent of toppling their competition. Best Buy had to change from its rather abrasive told school brick-and-mortar sales strategy where customers had to go to stores to make purchases as opposed to a hands-on experience where customers can use gadgets can make online purchases and the company organizes delivery services for them. Threats of New Entrants Considering that the retail business rakes millions of dollars in revenue annually, upcoming companies have come to have a share of the big pie but still eBay and Amazon still top the online retailing businesses. However, several factors have impacted on the entry levels that will inhibit new players from making a go into a newly identified market. Take the instance of brands like Gap, banana republic and Old Navy stores who have registered drops in their sales considering the move by to adopt technology where stores are no longer viable and now what is being embraced in the markets is the new savvy online shopping. Best Buy’s Ship from Store Approach (Substitute Product Service) For their delivery purposes, Best Buy has an incentive where there customers upon purchase of a product are awarded a gift which is delivered to them considering that the country is currently experiencing bad weather conditions. Similar to other major retailers in the industry, Best Buy is moving from stocking their products stores and are now are shipping their products to consumers directly. Their market analysis suggests that 2% to 4% of traffic online is not responsible of purchases simply because there exists no inventory in its respective distribution facilities, however, most of the time the stock is usually available at their retail centers. This has been actualized through an expansion that saw over 1400 stores being opened up from the previous 400 stores in the past year CITATION Abr14 l 1033 (Abrams, 2014). This approach as simply being adopted to reduce foot traffic in stores; the company simply adopted a ship-to-store approach which was only piloted in 50 stores to see i ts impact on sales before actualizing it in the other stores across the country. This enabled all the distribution centers to handle online inventory as opposed to the previous approach where only one store was responsible for delivery of e-commerce purchases. In essence, the new shipping approach has ensured delivery of purchased products to be done two times faster than was the case in the past. It is important to note that the ship-to-store approach is responsible for achieving the sales registered in the current year considering it has ensured high clearance margins while at the same time ensures that the company reduces its out-of-stock messages thus improving online conversation with customers. Rebranding of Online Marketing Platforms The increased sale of Best Buy are credited to the fact that their e-commerce platform has been improved in the past year to engage the customers more in shopping for their perfect products by making their searches on the website simple. The improvements on the website have been actualized through introduction of new search elements, offering product prices and recommendations, optimized search engine tools and improved search elements. The involvement of these new tools helps customers easily identify products for purchase. To further make the whole process interactive and better than what their competitors are offering, Best Buy included a home-based design of their website where consumers could create a robust streamlined wish list with well enhanced navigation capabilities. Hubert Joly, Best Buy Chief executive therefore suggests that in the future, the company will be keen on transforming their print and television market spending to the new trend of online marketing channels CI TATION Dun12 l 1033 (Dunn, 2012). Above all, it is important to note that the most important aspect of a marketing initiative is the consumers who a company is trying to sell their brand to. ShopperTrack a surveying company suggests that over holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, there is an increased need for online shopping as people are seeking gifts for their families. Considering this, the survey suggest that foot traffic into malls and large retailing centers only receive 50% of this traffic and the rest goes to online shopping avenues. Consequently, following this trend, it is forecasted that during this year online sales will double brick-and-mortar sales in the current holiday season. Banking on this, Hubert Joly says that gifting customers who purchase their products online is an incentive aimed at increasing traffic online and they seek to reach out customers outside the United States specifically the China market through shipping of their products across the continent. Keen to go over their past holid ay one billion holiday sales of last year, Best Buy is seeking to go above this sales record during this Christmas and Thanksgiving season. From their previous experiences dealing with online customers, they learned six important aspects to consider while dealing with online multichannel customers. Firstly, in developing strategies, customer’s ever changing needs and behaviors have to be taken into consideration CITATION Tre07 l 1033 (Trefis, 2007). Secondly, customers need to be provided with the capability to research products before making an order while at the same time interact with the retailer; many customers want to interact before simply signing off a transaction. Best Buy should be able to give customers an entry point where they can easily access the website irrespective of their location; one way of doing this is making the application accessible on mobile devices like laptops, phones or tablets. It is also important for Best Buy to reinforce marketing across all media channels by reaching out to all audiences through product campaigns in different languages. Lastly, the company should not only focus o n growing a specific marketing channel but rather seek to fulfill customer needs on a multichannel perspective. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Abrams, R. (2014, November 20). Best Buy Profit Nearly Doubles in Quarter, With Online Sales Up 22%. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from The New York Times : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/business/best-buy-big-retailers-announce-q3-earnings.html?_r=0 Arons, S. M., Driest, v. D., & Weed, K. (2014). The Ultimate Marketing Machine. Harvard Business Review , 78-99. Dunn, J. B. (2012). How I Did It: Best Buy’s CEO on Learning to Love Social Media. Harvard Business Review , 12-28. Trefis, W. (2007). Macroenvironment factors and Online Business . New York: Barnes & Noble Source document

Canadian Family Essay

Living together, getting married and having children are all the important factors that contribute in creating a family. The Canadian family has, is and will face different types of challenges in the future. Families in Canada have changed as time has progressed. In this time period the Canadian family has faced a number of challenges. I believe this is due to the increase in divorce rates, same sex marriage and living together in common law. Depending on the situation within the family, families in Canada have found to be challenged.First of all I would like to bring out probably the most common challenge and factor which is making marriages unsuccessful, that being divorce. The divorce rate in Canadian families is increasing day by day from what it used to be. Divorce leads to a disturbance in one’s family when he/she files for one. The children of the divorced couples are not being raised up normally; moreover they are being raised up living with a single parent or living o ne week with the mother and one week with the father.The children are not getting the time and love from their parents which they would normally get if their parents lived together. In my opinion a family is a group of people involving a mother, father and their children living together in the same house, so if the parents of the children get divorced it causes that family to break when they no longer live with each other. Back in the day divorce was not that common as it is today, people would get married for life but now a days if couples get into a fight the first option that pops up in their heads is divorce.People nowadays are taking advantage of the divorce laws and are using them more commonly which is leading Canadian families challenged. Another challenge that Canadian families are facing these days is same sex marriage. When a couple of the same sex gets married together they are left with a challenge of having children together. To overcome this challenge most couples tak e the option of adopting children or having children through surrogacy, and some decide not to bring children in their lives at all.The couples that do decide to adopt children, the children are still not gifted with a mother and a father; moreover they could grow up having two mothers or two fathers. In this situation the children are not being raised up as they would be if they had both a father and a mother. On the other hand when same sex married couples decide not to adopt children and not bring them in their lives at all, this leads to their generation from further expanding. With all due espect to same sex marriage, same sex marriage is a challenge that families in our society are facing in the new era. On the other hand one other challenge that Canadian families are facing these days is the challenge of common law. Common law has become more common in the new world. Couples are moving in, living together, and having children without being married. Couples these days are spen ding more time living together before marriage than they are after marriage or they are breaking up even before getting to the extent of getting married.Common law mostly involves teen couples living or having children together, this is because teens are less mature and do not know what the responsibility of raising children together is, so often teens tend to break up with each other despite having children. Adults on the other hand tend to live together for years in common law and at some point when they do get married it may not last that long because they know each other’s ups and downs because of all the time they have spent together. In this case common law is another crucial challenge that Canadian families are facing these days.Finally I would like to say Canadian families are continuing to change and face crucial challenges such as, divorce, same sex marriage and common law day by day. Living together, getting married and having children are all important factors tha t contribute in creating a family. If any one of these crucial factors gets disturbed then it leaves the families faced with challenges. If we fulfil all the factors that contribute in creating a family in the right way then it will leave our families with less of a challenge.

Manage Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Manage Finance - Essay Example Woolworths has been one of the important consistent and successful retailer in Australia with the adoption of various strategies like the ‘fresh food people’ and the ‘everyday low prices.’ Net operating cash flows show an increasing trend and also the firm has been paying higher interim dividends to its shareholders each year. The firm has witnessed a 10.1% increase in net profits after tax and an 8.8% increase in earnings per share according to its financial reports. There has been an efficient management of balance sheet and profit and loss statements and approximately $8.2 billion has been paid to shareholders. Wesfarmers: Wesfarmers is one of the largest retailers and listed firm in Australia and has retail operations in supermarkets, general merchandise, fuel and liquor operations etc. Wesfarmers has reported an increase of 15.8% earnings growth in 2010, as compared to 2009, with Cole’s supermarket alone delivering a 21% growth. a) Budgetary processes that exist in two of the Australian Public Companies: Budgetary process is used for formulating budgets by referring to certain principles, procedures and practices. This process should involve people at different levels in the preparation of a budget. It requires careful planning and appropriate fixation of authority and responsibility. The budget targets should be realistic, and a good accounting system should be incorporated within the organization. An efficient reporting system should be incorporated so that performance appraisal can be undertaken. Budgeting process should be established in all segments of business, therefore, there arises a need for the active participation of all employees. The budgets should be flexible because there should always be room for each employee of the firm to participate. The budgetary process involves the set up of an organization for budgetary committee, a budget officer, a budget centre and a budget manual. The budget officer presides on the budget committee. The budget committee can be further div ided into various segments which consist of production manager, sales manager, finance manager, accounts manager, personnel manager and research and development manager. The production manager prepares the production and plant utilization budget. The sales manager prepares the sales and advertisement cost budget. The finance manager prepares the receipts and payments budget. The accounts manager prepares the cost budget while the personnel manager prepares the labor budget. The research and development manager prepares a research budget. A budget manual is a document in which the responsibility of several executives should be documented and the budgetary control systems are clearly defined. On the basis of time, budgets can be classified as long, short or current budgets. On the basis of functions, budget can be classified as operating, financial and master budgets. Similarly, budgets can also be classified as fixed or flexible. Both these firms follow an appropriate operating budge t and there is a very important role of the CEO as well as the top financial management. b) Who is responsible to prepare the budget? Budget is thought to be one of the most powerful financial tools used by the companies. Budget is the plan or proposal, which determines the activities of an organization. As mentioned earlier, budget may be long term and short term budget, where short term budgets cover a period of one year whereas long term plans cover a period of

Assesment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Assesment - Essay Example build relationships based on mutual trust and confidence so that problems are identified and solved efficiently and workplace conflicts, if any, are amicably resolved. The work responsibilities are shared and follow structured techniques that give each team members gets equal opportunity to exploit his potential. (134) I am well versed in using information technology to enhance the performance and keep up with the advancing technology to provide competitive edge. Use of various computer programs like spreadsheet, database and word processing packages have greatly facilitated in creating database of information for effective analysis. Indeed, raising development fund and creating investment concept that have been an integral part of my work, had become easy because of the computer technology. The financial strategy and plans have involved conducting of efficient, accurate and meaningful analysis, including Capex and Opex analysis, benchmark analysis, financial analysis and investment plans to meet the demands for the various projects and assignments. I have been involved in creating effective and innovative financial planning to manage the organization’s long term and short term financial perspectives. (129) The leadership traits have been important part of my work curricula where changing roles of leadership have become intrinsic to the organizational goals and objectives. I have had to deliver the results within the tight schedules and therefore setting priorities had become important ingredients of the work model. Realizing that the role of leaders, managers and the administrators of the organizations become more challenging when new strategy and policy decisions are introduced in the organizations, the onus had often fallen on my shoulders to ensure effective feedback through participatory approach and helps solve the problems and workplace conflicts amicably. This was a key factor for promoting better understanding among the employees for easy adaptability

Construction of Poverty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Construction of Poverty - Essay Example It is irrefutable that countries have not been totally successful in the alleviation of poverty. During 2001, The World Bank reports that one-third of the world population or less than three billion people live on less than $2 a day. What is also notable is a huge income inequality in the world as the three richest people in the world are seen to have more wealth than all 600 million people thriving in the world's poorest nations. It is also reported that 50, 000 people die each day due to poverty related causes (Millennium Campaign n.d.). These, together with a lot of empirical evidences show how the world thrives in poverty. There are a lot of factors which are directly linked with poverty. In fact, there is a continuous debate on the underlying causes of poverty making it a politicized issue. Some critics argue that poverty ensues from personal choices or preferences while the other end associates poverty with factors beyond a person's choice. The last view poverty as "the result of many systemic factors" like the lack of opportunity which, is traced to the lack of education which, in turn, is due to the lack of government intervention and provision (Poverty 2006). This report will look at the causes of poverty, specifically how poverty is constructed or heightened by factors beyond personal choices and preferences. This paper will focus on how different organizations, both public and private contribute to poverty. Institutions to be looked at are the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organizations, and multinational corporations. This report will conclude with its findings. World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Both the World Bank and IMF are agencies which aspire to alleviate global poverty. The mission of World Bank (2006) reads "Our mission is to help developing countries and their people reach the goals by working with our partners to alleviate poverty. To do that we concentrate on building the climate for investment, jobs and sustainable growth, so that economies will grow, and by investing in and empowering poor people to participate in development." On the other hand, IMF (2006) claims that it "provides low-income countries with policy advice, technical assistance, and financial support" and that "low-income countries receive more than half of the technical assistance provided by the Fund, and financial support is extended at low interest rates and over relatively long time horizons." However, critics argue that these two institutions through their various policies cause poverty in many developing nations. These organizations have also been criticized as they promote poor countries' dependency on richer nations. This section will briefly examine the policies of these agencies which are seen to heighten, instead of alleviate, poverty. The IMF and World Bank's primary program in reducing poverty is the extension of financial assistance to impoverished nations. However, this financial aid is coupled with "neoliberal"2 ideology or agenda which is a prerequisite for the fund. Examples of these conditions are "cutbacks" or "liberalization" of the economy, opening markets for trade, minimization of government intervention, privatization which causes the reduced protection of domestic industries, currency devaluation, mounts in interest rates, "flexibility" of the labor market, elimination

One size doesn't fit all situational approaches to leadership slp Coursework

One size doesn't fit all situational approaches to leadership slp - Coursework Example My supervisor had the expertise to use the supporting or participatory leadership approach. This was her style when handling employees who were/are in situations akin to mine. I could certainly undertake the task assigned to me, but something was holding me back from competently doing the contracted job I had. Instead of ostracizing my attitude, I was received with a friendly attitude, which I soon after came to fathom was her way of concerning herself with investigating the root of the halfhearted effort I was involuntarily putting up. It was a typical case of the M3 maturity level coupled with bouts of the D3 development levels. In complete words, I was capable of undertaking the task at hand with high competence, but was jittery about actually doing it, consequently rendering me variably committed to completing any other task handed to me. Thus by focusing less on the tasks awarded to me, she focused on the work place relationship I was going to build with her. It ensured I progre ssed from the unwilling to perform tasks and having a low commitment to being confident and proficient in any future undertakings that I received. As I progressed from a D3 category of development level to a D4 level, so did my confidence and willingness to handle any and all appropriate workload strewn my way. Not only did I not complain due to the increasing workload, I found it encouraging that the important drudgery was strutting my way. My supervisor became less frequently seen on-site. I figured it was due to the gradually snowballing workload. I was however, graced by impromptu worksite calls from her twice a week with talks about work and the occasional concern about self and the family. The third week of the same routine twice a week made me aware that it must have been a strategy of keeping an eye on me and the work I was undertaking, to ensure that everything was running effortlessly and on all cylinders. I was not really perturbed

Saudi Arabia's Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Saudi Arabia's Economy - Essay Example It is acknowledged that the oil industry is a major contributor in the GDP of Saudi Arabia. However, one should not lose sight that other sectors also have significant roles in shaping the economy of Saudi Arabia. These other sectors, though currently not as significant as the oil industry have a considerable bearing in the performance of Saudi Arabia. Also, the Hubbert Peak Theory, which foretells the downslide in Saudi Arabian oil production, warns of the possible collapse of the oil industry's which will considerably reduce or even eliminate the significance oil to the country. This paper will look at the economy of Saudi Arabia as a whole. The first part will talk about the country's GDP and its composition. Next, it will tackle the contributing sectors individually mostly concentrating on the oil industry. An assessment of the Hubbert Peak Theory and its opponent will also be done. In general, Saudi Arabia has a robust economy supported by its strong oil industry. Saudi Arabia's economy began to flourish during after 1973, when the price of oil in the world market skyrocketed. This phenomenon made the country one of the fastest-growing economy in the world as it enjoyed a substantial surplus in its overall trade transactions with its partners, rapid growth in imports, and the generation of substantial government revenue that supports the country's development efforts (Background Note 27-28). During 2004, the country recorded a total GDP of $310.2 billion dollars which translates to a per capita GDP of $11,742. It should be noted that in terms of GDP, the country is in a decline. The aggregated GDP average growth during the period of 1975-2000 was -2.2% as opposed to the -4.4 recorded during 1980-2000 (Saudi or Saudi Arabian Economy 5). In spite of the overall decline in the economy, Saudi Arabia is showing signs of slow recovery from the oil price collapse in 1998. Real GDP growth rate during 2004 was seen at 5.2% while experts forecast that Saudi Arabia will expand at an annual rate of 5.7 and 4.8% for the years 2005 and 2006, respectively (Saudi Arabia 2). The oil industry largely contribute to the total GDP of Saudi Arabia. As stated above, oil export revenue accounts for 90-95% of the country's export earnings, 70-80% of the total state revenue and 40% of the total GDP. The largest chunk of the country's GDP is shared by the industry sector which makes up 58.8%, followed by the services sector at 36.5%. The remaining 4.7% is accounted for by Saudi Arabia's agricultural sector (Saudi Arabia 2). The Oil Industry Saudi Arabia controls the largest petroleum reserves in the world which is 26% of the proved total, ranks the largest exporter of petroleum and undeniably plays a significant role in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). According to the Oil Gas Journal, Saudi Arabia possesses 261.9 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in the world including those, which are in the Saudi-Kuwaiti Divided. The country has 80 oil and gas fields though more than half of the total reserves is concentrated in only eight fields which includes Ghawar and Safaniya. Ghawar is considered the largest oil field with an estimated remaining reserves of 70 billion barrels while Safaniya is the largest offshore

Operation Management Eassy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operation Management Eassy - Essay Example (Chase, 2001, 5) Buffa discussed that 'OM had progressed from an entirely explanatory foundation through the Management Science/Operations Research (MS/OR) phase, and is currently in the course of finding itself as a practical field of organisation. Amoako-Gyampah, K., Meredith, J., 2004, 251), Many authors, since the beginning, advocated that OM should be an area of knowledge with a 'sense of purpose’, in terms of providing insight into problems of the real word, the ones engineers and managers face in their work. As Chase (2001) observed, when analysing the four journals that historically, at that time, had published most extensively with OM subjects - namely, AIIE Transactions, Decision Sciences, Management Sciences and the International Journal of Production Research - that the orientation (people or equipment) and emphases (from micro to macro) were heavily focused on equipment and micro analyses as, for instance, inventory control and scheduling. This picture was changed , as we will see in this literature review. 2.2 Areas of Operation Management As presented by Buffa, the first call for papers sketched out a list of topics that defined the Operation Management subjects. Since then, relevant studies as Miller and Graham, Voss, Amoako-Gyampah and Meredith, Pannirselvam et al. and Gupta, Verma and Victorino, among others, using different approaches, were carried out looking to identify the content, new topics and trends in the field, and also to establish new research agendas. Nowadays, the scope of the journals focused on OM is considerably broader. (Miller, J., and Graham, M., 2004, 548) Operation Management borrows theories from other areas and that 'this field has changed from its narrow occupation with strategic, disjointed topics toward more premeditated, incorporated and large-scale subjects. For instance, as an alternative of studies in the tactical, stand alone areas of 'Inventory' and 'Process Design’; researchers are now looking at the complete 'Supply Chain' and organisation-wide 'Flexibility', correspondingly (Anderson, 2008, 58). Decision Areas within Operation Management includes Design of products and services Quality Management Development and capacity plan Location strategy Layout strategy Human resources & employment design Supply chain management Inventory, material requirements, progression and JIT (Just-in-time) Intermediate and short-range scheduling Maintenance Description of Layout Strategy of Operation Management The arrangement of equipments, departments and work centers with special concentration on movement of work (consumers or materials) all over the system is called Layout of organization. Selecting an appropriate layout of an organisation requires significant investments of funds and hard work, which involves serious commitment. Appropriate layout of an organisation leaves considerable effect on cost and competence of various operations within the organisation. There are several types of layout, which are as follows. Fixed Position layout In Fixed Position layout manufactured goods and whole project remains motionless. However, employees, materials, and machinery move from their position according

Auto Insurance Essay Example for Free

Auto Insurance Essay They can serve to insulate you from economic upheaval in the case your car is destroyed or stolen or even from bankruptcy in the event you are sued for damages someone sustained in an accident involving your car. The author guides the reader through several key criteria which should be considered in an analysis of their own policy. A 12 page overview of the world of automobile insurance. Choosing adequate automobile insurance can be one of the most cost effective things an individual can do in this modern age. Not only can automobile insurance This 6 page paper provides an overview of the basic management strategies of the USAA insurance company. This paper considers the management perspective and strategy, as well as the operational function of the company and the increasing importance of restructuring principles for the company. premiums whittle away a sizable chunk from an individual’s take-home pay, they can serve to insulate you from economic upheaval in the case your car is destroyed or stolen or even from bankruptcy in the event you are sued for damages someone sustained in an accident involving your car. The author guides the reader through several key criteria which should be considered in an analysis of their own policy. 6 pages. The BMW M3 has been the subject of many articles and consumer report studies recently. Rating cars is not only just an annual task for automotive journalists but it is also a subject which auto enthusiasts look forward to eagerly each season. Did their favorite car make it to the top? What did the critics have to say about it? And do these opinions agree with those who actually own these cars? This paper focuses on the BMW M3 in the sports car class. For those who own the BMW M3 it is likely they will claim that hands down it is the best sports car they have ever driven. Although not all of the auto magazines rated the BMW M3 as number one, most owners will disagree. The BMW M3 has everything a driver wants in a sporty car. By looking at several magazine articles and talking to drivers of these well-made and handsome cars, it is easy to conduct our own survey. Bibliography lists 12 sources.

Katherine Okikiolu Essay Example for Free

Katherine Okikiolu Essay Katherine Okikiolu comes from a mathematical family, her father is a mathematician and inventor and her mother is a high school mathematics teacher. Her parents met when her father left Nigeria to study mathematics at the same college in England where her mother was studying physics. Her father, the Nigerian George Okikiolu, has written more mathematics papers than any other Black mathematician. She is married to mathematician Hans Lindblad. Okikiolu earned her B.  A. in Mathematics from Cambridge University in England before coming to the United States in 1987 to attend graduate school mathematics at UCLA the University of California, Los Angeles. There, she worked with two mentors, Sun-Yung (Alice) Chang and John Garnett, and was able to solve a problem concerning asymptotics of determinants of Toeplitz operators on the sphere and a conjecture of Peter Jones, characterizing subsets of rectifiable curves in Euclidean n-space. After her doctorate, Kate went, in 1993, to Princeton University where she was an Instructor and an Assistant Professor until 1995. From 1995 until 1997 she was a visiting Assistant Professor at MIT. Since 1997, she has been on the faculty in the Mathematics Department of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), first as an Assistant Professor. Also in 1996, Dr. Okikiolu spoke as part of the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration for Association of Women in Mathematics (AWM). In 2002, she gave the Claytor-Woodard lecture at the NAM meeting the Joint Mathematics Meetings. In June 1997, Kate Okikiolu was the first Black to win the most prestigious award for young mathematics researchers the United States, a Sloan Research Fellowship. In 1997, UCSD promoted her to Associate Professor. The $70,000 Sloan Fellowship was not her only award of 1997.

Motivation And Job Satisfaction At Airlines Commerce Essay

Motivation And Job Satisfaction At Airlines Commerce Essay On 23rd October 1946, a new airline was born. Initially registered as a pilot project in Calcutta, Orient Airways Ltd. had at its helm Mr. M.A. Ispahani as Chairman and Air vice Marshal O.K. Carter as General Manager. The new carriers base remained in Calcutta and an operating license was obtained in May 1947. Four Douglas DC-3s were purchased from Tempo of Texas in February 1947 and operations commenced on 4th June 1947. The designated route for Orient Airways was Calcutta-Akyab-Rangoon, which also happened to be the first post-war international sector to be flown by an airline registered in India. Within two months of Orient Airways operational beginnings, Pakistan was born. The birth of a new nation generated one of the largest transfers of population in the history of mankind. Orient Airways, along with the help of BOAC aircraft which had been chartered by the Government of Pakistan, started relief operations and transportation of people between Delhi and Karachi, the two capitals. Subsequently, Orient Airways transferred its base to Pakistan and established a vital link between Karachi and Dacca, the two capitals of the two wings of Pakistan. With a skeleton fleet of just two DC-3s, three crew members, and twelve mechanics, Orient Airways launched its scheduled operations in a fairy-tale manner. The initial routes were Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar, Karachi-Quetta-Lahore and Karachi-Delhi Calcutta-Dacca. By the end of 1949, Orient Airways had acquired 10 DC-3s and 3 Convair 240s which were operated on these routes. In 1950, it had become increasingly apparent that additional capacity would have to be inducted to cater to the growing needs of the sub-continent. Research Objective The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of Job Satisfaction and Motivation of the employees employed by PIA (Pakistan International Airline). The idea of this study is to investigate and identify those factors which are causing high motivation and job satisfaction among the employees. This is a descriptive study based on the impact of motivation and jobs among employees employed by PIA. In todays fast paced era environment of the management is to how the managers can improve the level of motivation and job satisfaction of employees. So that the company attain a reliable and efficient workforce. The questions that are to be answered by this study are: How some employees are satisfied from their job as compare to others. How some employees perform better than others What are the ways through which management can improve the motivation of its employees Attracting, rewarding, awarding and motivating customers are a challenge. It requires better service, realistic performance, expectations and a supportive work environment Literature Survey Theories of Motivation Motivation theories are of two types i.e. Content theory and Process theory Basically content theory of motivation focuses on those factors which are involved with the individuals that energizes, directs, sustains and stops behaviour. To motivate people they determine the actualized and specific needs. On the other hand process theory describes and analyzes that how the behaviour on individual or person is stopped by those factors which are external i.e. energized, directed and sustained. Both theories have important impact on managers who are involved in the motivational process as per their job nature (Gibson et al, 2000). Kini and Hobson (2002) agreed with the distinction explained above between content and process theories which suggested that the theory of content is associated with the importance of internal elements which are identified and the prioritization involved with the individuals explanation of these elements. While process theory imposes on particular psychological processes underlying action and emphasized on explaining the functioning of individual decision system in order to relate it to the behaviour. Process theory of Motivation Process theory of motivation tries to explain and describe the factors which are external to the individual, that energize, direct, sustain and stop behaviour. The major theories of motivation are discussed above includes the following theories which are as follows: Social learning theory Operant conditioning Expectancy theory Equity theory Goal setting theory Job design theory Social learning theory Learning is typically the fundamental processes which are based on the behaviour and in turn, motivation. In organizations almost every individuals behaviour is learnt. Perception, attitudes, goals and emotional reactions are learned. Skills e.g. programming a system or counselling de-motivated employee can be learned. Basically meaning and uses of language used are learned. Learning is an ongoing process by which the relatively occurring changes in the behaviour as a result of practise (Gibson et al, 2000). Operant conditioning In another point of view learning occurs as a result of behaviour, and this learning is called operant conditioning. Late world famous behaviourist B.F.Skinner is the person closely associated with this type of learning that is operant conditioning. Many principles of this theory can help managers who attempt to influence behaviour. An important principle of learning is enforcement. Generally internal cause of behaviour is motivation while external cause is reinforcement. Positive reinforcement occurs when a positively valued incentives follows a response to a stimulus. Positive reinforcement can be anything that both increases the strength of response and induces repetitions of the behaviours that preceded the reinforcement. Negative reinforcement occurs when the performance of the behaviour is increased or diverted due to undesirable situation immediately after the response. Expectancy theory The real explanation of expectancy theory was developed by Victor Vroom. Early studies (about 50) tested the implication tested the accuracy of expectancy theory in predicting employee behaviour. The expectancy theory defined in vrooms concept is that motivation as a process governing choices among the alternatives forms of voluntary activity. From his point of view mostly behaviours are under control of the individuals and are persistently motivated. Expectancy theory is generally explained in four concepts: First and second level outcomes- the outcomes of the first level are resulting from behaviour that is linked with doing the job itself which includes turnover, quality of productivity, absenteeism and productivity. The outcomes of the second level are those events such as punishments and rewards that the outcomes of the first level are likely to produce such as group acceptance or rejection, merit pay increment and promotion. The reference to the individuals perception that the outcome of the first level is related with outcomes of second level is instrumentality. As seen by the individual the preference of the outcomes is valance e.g. a person mar prefer a 10% increment in the pay over a transfer to another branch. The outcome is that the in positively valent the offer is preferred and in negatively valent it is avoided. The individuals belief refers to the expectancy is concerned with the likelihood or descriptive possibility that a certain behaviour will be followed by a certain outcome such as; level of performance (Gibson et al, 2000:160-161). Equity theory Equity theory of motivation was tested and developed by J.Stacey Adams. The basic concept of equity theory of motivation is that the efforts and rewards of the employees are compared with others in similar work situations. Basically the theory of motivation is based on the assumption that individuals, who work for rewards from the firm, and are motivated with a perception to be equally treated at work. The maintenance of the employees perception of equity in the working environment is administered by the management. There are four terms on which the theory is based i.e. Person: the individual for equity or inequity is perceived Comparison with others: any individual(s) or group used by person as referent regarding the ratios of inputs and outcomes. Inputs: the individual characteristic brought by person to the job this may be achieved (e.g. skills, experience, knowledge and learning) or ascribed (e.g. age, gender, race). Outcomes: what person received from the job (e.g. recognition, fringe benefits and pay). The ratio of the inputs (efforts) to their outcomes (rewards) is equivalent to the ratios of other similar employees is the perception of the employees where the equity exists. When an individuals own ratio of inputs to outcomes could be greater or less than that of others, the ratio arent equivalent, inequity exist (Gibson et al, 2000: 164-165). The proposition of this theory is that the individuals are motivated to stabilize fair or equitable relationships between themselves and to change those unfair inequitable relationships (Kini and Hobson, 2002: 605). Goal setting theory Edwin Locke proposed that goal setting theory was a cognitive process of some practical utility. Edwins view was that an individuals intentions and conscious goals are the primary factors of behaviour. A goal is the action of an object i.e. its a person attempts to achieve. Locke also carefully determined the characteristics of the cognitive (mental) processes of goal setting which are as follows: The degree of quantitative precision (clarity) of the goal refers to the goal specificity. The degree of proficiency or the level of performance sought is goal difficulty. Goal intensity pertains to the process of setting the goal or determining how to reach it. Higher effort and performance results when people commit to difficult and specific goals rather than to vague commitments. Monetary incentives will affect performance only to the extent that such incentives influence the choice of goals and the extent of goal commitment. Goal commitment will interact with goal difficulty to determine performance. Goal setting is rather complex and difficult to sustain Goal setting works well for simple jobs (clerks, typists, loggers, and technicians), but not for complex jobs. Goal setting with jobs in which goals arent measured has posed some problems Goal setting encourages game playing. Setting low goals to look good. Goal setting is used as another check on employees. Its a control device to monitor performance Goal accomplishment can become an obsession. In some situations, goal setters have become so obsessed with achieving their goals that they neglect other important areas of their jobs (Gibson et al,2000) Job Design Theory Task characteristic theory (job design) (JD): Seek to identify task characteristics of jobs, how these characteristics combined in order to form jobs that are different, and their relationships to employee motivation, satisfaction, and performance (Kini and Hobson, 2002: 605). The Hackman-Oldman job characteristics model, a derivative of this theory developed in Japan which contends that providing employees with task variety, task identify, task significance, task autonomy, and feed back, will lead to three critical psychological states (experienced meaningfulness of the work, experienced responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of the actual results) which, in turn, will lead to high internal motivation, high quality work performance, high work satisfaction, and low absenteeism and turnover (McAfee, Quarstein, and Ardalan,1995). The impact of this theory for management is in order to keep the employees satisfied and motivated in their jobs, so managers must: Employees should be provided with a variety of skills on their workplace Employees should be given independence and freedom to schedule and plan their tasks One on the most important part that managers must provide constant feedback as to how employees are measuring to set goals. Content theories of Motivation Employees on their work bring their feelings, beliefs and perceptions which determine their modus on daily operation and daily tasks. It is the reason that managers constantly seek to understand, explain the nature of employees behaviour is being predicted by the managers. Content theories of motivation explain and describe factors within the person that energize, direct, sustain and stop behaviour. The major theories of motivation are explained as under: Maslows need hierarchy Aderfers ERG theory McClellands learned need; and theory of needs Maslows Hierarchy of Needs The widely cited and discussed motivation theory i.e. the need hierarchy model is presented by Abraham Maslow. In this model the lowest level needs are the physiological needs, and the highest -level needs are for self-actualization. Maslow defined human needs as under: Physiological: the need for water, food, shelter and relief from pain. Safety and security: the need for freedom from threat and safety of life. Belongingness, social, and love: the need for friendship, affiliation, interaction and love family etc. Esteem: the need for self-esteem and for respect from others Self-actualization: the need of fulfilling oneself by maximizing the use of abilities and skills. Maslows theory assumes that an individual attempts to satisfy the more basic needs i.e. the physiological needs before directing the behaviour towards satisfying upper level needs i.e. self-actualization. Lower order or level needs must be satisfied before a higher order need such as self-actualization begins to control an individuals behaviour. According to Maslow, a satisfied needs leads motivation or it motivates. Aldersfers ERG theory Alderfer agreed with Abraham Maslow that needs are arranged in hierarchy. His proposed hierarchy of needs involves three sets of needs which are follows: Existence: the needs which are satisfied with such factors as water, air, pay, food and working conditions. Relatedness: the needs that are satisfied with the love of family, friends, social and interpersonal relationships. Growth: the needs which are satisfied by an individual making productive and creative contributions. Three needs presented by Aldefers existence (E), relatedness (R), and growth (G), or ERG relates or correspond to Maslows in the existence needs are similar to Maslows physiological and safety categories; the relatedness needs are similar to the belongingness, social and love category; and the growth needs are similar to the esteem and self-actualization categories. Maslow proposed that unfilled needs at one level are most of the importance and that needs on the next higher level arent activated until the currently need s are fulfilled or satisfied. In contrast to Alderfers ERG theory says that in addition to satisfaction-progression process that Maslow proposed, a frustration regression process is also at work by the same time. Alderfer and Maslow need theories of motivation have been criticized. Need theories have been regarded as simple, very easily expressed views of human behaviour (Gibson et al, 2000). McClellands learned theory of needs Learned theory of motivation was proposed and presented by David C. McClelland and this theory is closely related with learning concepts. David believed that many of our needs are acquired from the culture of a society. There are three learned needs which are the need for achievement (n Ach), the need for affiliation (n Aff), and the need of power (n Pow). It was suggested by McClelland that when need is strong in an individual, the effects that arises is to motivate him or her to use behaviour leading to satisfaction. Motivation and Job Satisfaction Based on perceptions, attitudes, personality and learning motivation plays a very important role in understanding behaviour. Job satisfaction is a result of employees thinking that how their jobs provide them what is important. According to (Mitchell and lasan, 1987), it is recognized that in the field of organizational behaviour that job satisfaction frequently and most studied attitude. Motivation and job satisfaction can be studied through several approaches content theories and through reinforcement theories. Specifically the term employee motivation is complicated and difficult to define. The liveliness of an organization whether its private or public, comes from the motivation of their workforce and their abilities plays crucial role in their work performance (Lewis, Goodman and Fandt, 1995). Reinforcement Theories Reinforcement is explained as any effect that causes behaviour to be repeated which can be either positive or negative (Naylor, 1999, p.540). Skinner (1939, 1971) conducted several studies and came up with the idea of conditioning model which proposed that if pleasant consequences follow a behaviour, the behaviour will tend to continue whereas, if unpleasant behaviour will tend to continue then the behaviour will tend to continue whereas, if unpleasant consequences follow a behaviour the behaviour tends to stop. (Luthans Kreitner, 1985). Reinforcement theory relies on two assumptions: first, behaviour of human is determined by the surroundings and environment and second, human behaviour is subject to observable laws. The Law of effect is the foundation of the reinforcement consequences whether are negative or Positive behaviour will be repeated (Lewis et al, 1995). Job Satisfaction The work motivation theories that have been just explained have been used for centuries just to explain that what motivates individuals to work. And the same theories can be used to find out that how other people are satisfied in their jobs. For example as Maslows Hierarchy of needs explains that if people are happy and satisfied o their jobs if there needs are met. And learning theories proposed that by seeing others rewarded for certain standards of performance people would be motivated. And on the other hand if people will see their co-workers are being punished for not meeting the standards of the organization or not fulfilling the requirements of the organization they will try to work harder to avoid the pain or insult of being punished and so on. Some people say that job satisfaction is simple that how people feel regarding their jobs and different phases of their jobs (Sector, 1997). This assumes that employees will be satisfied or happy if they like their jobs. Another view of Job Satisfaction is that happiness is associated with doing a particular job as expressed by the job-holder (Gibson et al, 2000). The feelings and attitudes one has about ones job whether positive and negative, good and bad are likely to contribute for the development of feelings of satisfaction (Riggio, 2000). Methodology The methodology that has been adopted for the related subject study is precisely described below: Industry The industry which I select for the research is the Airline Industry. Population and Sample size The population of the industry was very large therefore convenience sampling has been done for this study. The sample consists of individuals who are working in PIAs human resource department and Information technology department on middle level and lower level employees. Respondents Sample drawn from this industry is 60 respondents. From them 30 are working as a middle level and 30 are working as lower level employees. The respondents belong to departments i.e. human resource department and information technology department. Data collection method For the purpose of data collection an instrument (i.e. questionnaires) will be used. Data Analysis Data will be analyzed on the basis of the employees response to the questionnaire, in which bar and pie charts are a part of analysis

john grisham :: essays research papers

John Grisham a graduate of Mississippi State University and Ole Miss Law School, he finished his law degree in 1981 and afterwards practiced law for about 10 years, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1983 and served until 1990. He began writing in 1984 and 3 years later finished hid first novel, A Time to Kill, published by Wynnewood Press in June 1988. John, Renee and their children now live in Charlottesville, Va.. Grisham, John. A Time to Kill. New York: Wynnewood Press, 1989.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Time to Kill† wrote by John Grisham was a riveting story of retribution and justice. In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence as he delivers a compelling tale of in certain justice in a small southern town in Clanton, Mississippi. In the end, Jake comes up with an outstanding closing argument, turning the story towards a different perspective for the white people of the jury and then turning it back to how it actually happen. Grisham, John. The Summons. New York: Doubleday, 2002.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. Ray is forty-three, newly single and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family’s black sheep and he has a father, know as Judge Atlee, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray and perhaps someone else. Grisham, John. The Firm. New York: Doubleday, 1991.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Mitch McDeere signed on with Bendini, Lambert & Locke of Memphis, he thought him and his beautiful wife were on their way. The firm leased him a BMW, paid of his school loans, arranged him a mortgage and hired him a decorator. Mitch McDeere should have remembered what his brother Ray- doing fifteen years in a Tennessee jail- already knew. You never get anything for nothing. Now, the FBI has the lowdown on Mitch’s firm and needs his help. Mitch is caught between a rock and a hard place, with no choice, if he wants to live.

Reading and Writing Skills Essay -- Teaching Writing Education Essays

Reading and Writing Skills I remember when I started kindergarten. It was August 27, 1990. I’m still a little angry about that day because it was my fifth birthday and I still remember that I didn’t get to wear a crown on that day like the rest of my classmates did on their birthdays. I guess I didn’t get to wear the crown because it was the first day of school. But besides that, kindergarten was a really great year. In the mornings we’d go around the classroom to different stations and play different games, then we’d go to P.E., then lunch, and finally nap time. That was the year I learned how to count to one thousand. My teacher Mrs. Collins would sit with us and we’d count every morning. And every morning we’d count a little higher. She would also read to us. I don’t remember what we read but it was a great source of entertainment for me and I remember being very interested in what we were reading. I believe that that was what kept me interested i n reading series books when I was younger. Everything I chose to read from then on kept me interested and made me want to read more. That’s how my first year of grade school went. In first grade I learned how to read and write. My inspiration that year was my teacher Mrs. Garza. I remember thinking that she was the prettiest lady I had ever met (besides my mom) and I did everything I could to try to impress her. There were two different reading groups in my class. The better readers were the cardinals and all of the others were the robins. I was a cardinal. Mrs. Garza would sit with us and we’d read different stories and that was how we improved. I was definitely an over-achiever back then when it came to school. Reading was so interesting to me. .. ... greatest moment of achievement so far in life is graduating high school. There were days in high school that I didn’t know what my future held because I found many obstacles and didn’t know how I was going to overcome them. The greatest part about that was that despite how hard my work got and how much I hated reading and writing what was assigned, I still enjoyed reading what I liked in my free time and playing the piano. I also journaled. All of these things were a big part of my growing up in high school. I know that as I go through college I am going to reach many obstacles that arise. Already in my third week, I have had to read things that I’ve hated reading and I’ve had to put my opinions aside and do what is expected of me. I hope to expand my reading and writing skills as I continue to get an education and I hope to do what my teachers expect of me.

English Holiday Homework Sample Essay

1. Read the supplementary reader ‘Robinson Crusoe’. Make a Reading Passport (atleast 6 pages) Find out more about the author and his works and write about it. Character sketch of Robinson Crusoe My favourite character(from the book) Summary of the book . 2. Project Work (P.P.T) ROLL NO. 1 TO 25 (Power Point Presentation) Topic – The concept of funfilled vacations has changed Introduction Concept of vacation in past Concept of vacation at present Difference between the two Reasons for change Conclusion ROLL NO. 26 ONWARDS Topic- Role models can influence lives Importance of role models Who is your role model and why? His/Her achievement in life Inspiration for you. Quotations 3. Prepare a speech in about 200-250 words (for SA1 assessment) Any one topic a. Today’s generation is a self centred generation. b. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. c. Success means- ordinary people doing extraordinary things 4. Compose a poem on ‘teenagers’. About 10-15 lines. ( half pastel sheet/chart paper) The Life Of A Teenage Girl  © Elise Look how she’s changed, Look how she’s grown, The personality changes I should have known The make up she wears, Each day it gets thicker Why is she doing this? To grow up quicker? The days she comes in She runs to her room Is it really possible, Too feel so much gloom? The tears in her eyes, Her heart as it breaks She will learn to realize Her minor mistakes I cuddle her in I miss times like this The young girl that smiled My gorgeous ‘Little miss’ Now her dancing, and prancing The games we did play Her sorrow, it drifts memories So many miles away I call her down As I do each time To ask her to share with me The troubles of her prime The response was different To the one I used to know She stared up at me She was beginning to let go The stories she told The rumours she’d heard No wonder my princess Had not said a word The thing she said next Opened my eyes To a world I’d never known A world of hurt and hated and lies ‘Mum’ she said As the tales unfurled ‘This is the life, Of a Teenage Girl 1. Source: http://www.bestteenpoems.com/poem/the-life-of-a-teenage-girl#le6rd4zSjZFzfIzB.99

Academic English Time Allotted: 60 Minutes

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ORIENTAL STUDIES QUESTIONS: 1. Some people believe that success in life comes from taking risk or chance. Others believe that success results from careful planning. In your opinion, what does success come from? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. 2. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Self-confidence is the most important factor for success in school or at work.Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. 3. Learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. 4. You have received a gift of money. The money is enough to buy either a piece of jewelry you like or tickets to a concert you want to attend. Which would you buy? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer. 5.Some people think that they can learn better by themselves than with a teacher. Others think that it is always better to have a teacher. Which do you prefer? Use specific reasons to develop your essay. 6. If you could change one important thing about your hometown, what would you change? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer. 7. â€Å"When people succeed, it is because of hard work, Luck has nothing to do with success. † Do you agree or disagree with the quotation above?Use specific and examples to explain your position. 8. Some people believe that university students should be required to attend classes. Others believe that going to classes should be optional for students. Which point of view do you agree with? Use specific reasons and details to explain your answer. 9. Neighbors are the people who live near us. In your opinion, what are the qualities of a good neighbor? Use specific details and examples in your answer.

Importance of fault-based liability in English law Essay

Fault is regarded as blame, or responsibility for doing something wrong. The concept of fault is integral to the English legal system when it comes to deciding guilt of liability. In fact, in many areas of law if fault could not be assigned, the system would fall apart as liability can only be found if fault is established first. Fault is particularly important in cases which require mens rea. In these cases it will have to be proven that a certain state of mind was present in the defendant. In criminal law the requirement that mens rea or a guilty mind be established amounts to saying that criminal liability is imposed on blameworthy activity. This close connection between fault and mens rea results in punishment being based on the degree of moral blameworthiness that the defendant is believed to have possessed. The fact that this degree of blameworthiness not only determines whether the defendant will simply be found guilty or not guilty, but is concerned with the punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation of individuals whose conduct is considered by the law to be not only wrongs against other individuals, but also against society as a whole, suggests fault is clearly an essential element. To determine fault the person in question must understand the nature of their actions, be able to exercise control over their actions and must have genuinely chosen to act as they did. These three requirements mean a person’s degree of fault can be reduced if it can be said they are insane, in doli capax (incapable of a crime i.e. a child under the age of ten), or have acted under duress. The recognition of being insane or in doli capax clearly means that they were not able to fully understand the nature of their actions, whilst acting under duress results in them not being able to choose to act as they did. It is also possible that they may not have the capacity to make a genuine choice. In these circumstances it can still be said that the defendant is at fault, but only partially. When dealing with criminal law fault is central to crime in the form of mens rea. Without this element being satisfied the defendant cannot be found to be criminally liable, with the exception of crimes of strict liability. There are three distinct degrees of fault in criminal law, namely, intention, recklessness and negligence. The more at fault a defendant is, the highest degree being intention, then the more they will be held responsible for their crimes. There is also evidence to support this when looking at the two broad categories of crimes; Specific intent crimes and basic intent crimes. Crimes of specific intent consist of those where the mens rea must be intention. Since these crimes hinge upon the highest degree of moral blameworthiness, the greatest degree of fault, they apply to the most serious crimes, such as murder, section 18 GBH and wounding offences, robbery and burglary for example. Subsequently, these crimes also carry the most severe sanctions. Basic intent crimes however require only recklessness to prove criminal liability. It can be considered then that a defendant in a reckless state of mind is less at fault than one possessing the necessary intention, so these crimes tend to carry less maximum prison sentences for example. Involuntary manslaughter, section20 GBH and wounding offence, assault and ABH are all included in the definition of basic intent crimes. The reasoning behind these categories can be understood using Oatley. The defendant here was suffering from severe postnatal depression when she killed her 11-day-old baby by swinging her head against the stairs. Although she was of sound mind this act would have been given a very severe punishment, probably a lengthy prison sentence, she was given a two year probation order and medical treatment. Clearly the defendant was at fault, but only partially due to the postnatal depression. The degree of fault that she possessed at the time of the actus reus was impaired and therefore the degree of punishment should reflect this. Civil law also incorporates the idea of fault into its system. Liability for negligence only arises when the defendant has breached his duty of care to his neighbour and harm occurs as a result of this. In these circumstances fault is defined as falling below a standard of conduct expected of the reasonable person in those circumstances. Although there is evidence to suggest that fault is in fact an essential element in liability, there is some evidence to weaken this theory. Firstly, it is possible that in practice, liability can hinge on chance as well as fault. This can be illustrated using a number of cases, including R v White. In this case the defendant tried to poison his mother but she ended up dying of natural causes before the poison could take effect. Because of this he was not able to be convicted of attempted murder. The defendant clearly had the necessary mens rea, he intended to kill his mother, but chance meant his mother died of natural causes, just a few moments later and maybe the poison could have had an input. However, the poison did not cause the prohibited result so he was not criminally liable. Also, in R v Mitchell, the defendant pushed a man in a queue, who in turn fell against another, who in turn fell against an elderly lady who had to have an operation from which she died. The Court of Appeal ruled that transferred malice applied to unlawful act manslaughter. Chance played in a part in this case too, as it just so happened that the elderly lady was in that queue, that the person he did push fell, not only falling onto someone else, but then that person falling onto the old lady. It was chance therefore in this case that enabled the defendant to be liable for the death of the lady, instead of maybe just for the battery of the first man in the queue. Both these cases illustrate that fault alone is not just what determines someone’s liability; chance can often play an essential part too. Indeed, sometimes fault may be left out altogether from the equation, in crimes of strict liability. Fault can be further understood when looking at negligence. Negligence is carelessness, the defendant wasn’t thinking like the ordinary reasonable person would have done, it’s a lack of thought as oppose to actual thought, not taking enough care that the ordinary reasonable person would have done. In the case of Gibbons and Proctor, Proctor actually wanted the girl dead and so she was convicted of murder as she intended to kill, however Gibbons was merely negligent he wasn’t taking enough care of the child thus he wasn’t convicted of murder he was only convicted of GNM. It must be questioned as to the importance of fault here, negligence is a very low level of fault, it’s not thinking of something you should have thought yet it can lead to a conviction of manslaughter, a homicide conviction. It would seem therefore that fault doesn’t seem to be that important here because you can still convict someone of manslaughter however if you are convicted of manslaughter the judge in that case has complete discretion over sentencing. However still should fault not be more important in this instance, should there not be a higher level of fault than mere negligence. The judge can give an absolute discharge if they chose to do so, if we take in to account proportionality, this is still recognised in the sentence however the defendant would still be labelled as a murderer. In cases involving negligence, the neighbour principal, established in Donoghue v Stevenson is used to determine whether or not the defendant was at fault. This involves looking at whether there a duty of care that was breached, causing the damage to occur, as it was deemed unfair to expect the individual to be liable for people to whom a duty of care cannot be found. The defendant will not be found to be at fault if they have taken reasonable steps to avoid damage occurring, which meet the standards of care that an ordinary and reasonable person would take. The concept of fault is also central to criminal law, for example at trial the prosecution will try to show that the defendant was at fault, whilst the defence aim to show that they were not at fault, and during sentencing the amount of fault which the defendant is considered to have will affect the severity of their sentence. The highest level of fault comes in crimes which were committed intentionally, with the defendant setting out to commit the crime, perhaps having planned it first. The next type of fault is recklessness, which following G v R will always be subjective, which is less serious as there was no intention to commit the crime. However this is still a serious form of fault as the defendant has foreseen a risk. The use of fault in strict liability crimes has been quite controversial as in these crimes the courts are able to assign fault without the presence of a mens rea, so long as the actus reus has been committed. For example, in The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Storkwain, a pharmacist was found guilty of supplying a drug to an addict on a forged prescription despite there being no fault on his part, which many would view as being overly harsh given that by the ordinary person’s standards he would not be considered to have been at fault. Strict liability offences are those where a conviction results from proof of mens rea alone. There is no actus reus requirement, and therefore no need for the defendant’s degree of fault to be established. For example, in the case of Callow v Tillstone, a butcher was convicted of selling meat unfit for human consumption even though it had been inspected and approved by a qualified vet before hand. Similarly, in Smedley v Breed, the defendant was found guilty of selling unfit food even though only four tins out of three million tested were found to contain caterpillars. One case that illustrates absolute liability is R v Larsonneur. The accused was an alien the subject of an exclusion order under which it would be an offence for her to enter the United Kingdom. She was brought to the United Kingdom handcuffed to the police and very much against her will and yet she was still convicted for violating the exclusion order. It is clear that in these examples from the criminal law there is some liability being imposed in the absence of fault. These exceptions can also be found in civil law, although limited. Perhaps the major instance of liability being imposed without fault in tort can be found in the area of vicarious liability. This is when one person is held liable for the tort of another person. This was a practical mechanism established to find someone who was able to pay for damages to the claimant, primarily in respect of the employer for the torts of the employee. Obviously it would be in the claimant’s best interest if they could obtain damages from a large employer for the actions of an individual employee. The justification for this is that the employer should be able to exercise control over their employees and so they can be held liable for the torts of their employees providing that the employee is not on a ‘frolic of his own’. This can be seen in Rose v Plenty where the employers were liable when an employee gave a lift to a person, who subsequently assisted with the deliveries that were the job of the employee and died. In some circumstance liability is still imposed even when the employer gave express and implicit instructions to the employee not to do the very thing that he then did so incurring vicarious liability on the employer. Therefore, whilst this handful of examples of some of the exceptions, both in criminal and civil law, to the general case, they are sufficient to show that the statement that there can be no liability without fault is too general to be true, thus weakening the argument that fault is an essential element in determining liability. Similarly controversial is the use of fault in State of Affairs crimes, where the defendant may have involuntarily committed an offence, yet are still guilty. One such example is Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent in which a drunken man was taken from a hospital onto a road outside by the police, and then arrested for being drunk on the highway, even though he would never have made it onto the highway without the â€Å"help† of the police. As with Strict Liability crimes, the ordinary person would not see the defendant as being at fault here, and may view the use of fault in this area of the law as being unfair. The issue of fault is even present in defences, in that aggravating and mitigating factors can be used to lessen the amount of fault which the defendant is thought of having. For example someone on bail who plans an attack on an old lady will be seen as being more at fault than someone committing their first offence and entering an early plea of guilty. The concept of fault therefore is present in many areas of law, both civil and criminal. In many cases, without the need to prove fault, system would not work as it is necessary for one party to be blamed for the criminal offence in order to settle it.

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines The Australia Aborigine’s culture has always had my attention. From the places they lived to they way they where treated always amazed me. After reading about their rituals, social organization and settlement patterns for the textbook, they are a society of people who are all one. The type of kinship they practice is all is one. For example, if an outsider came to their tribe someone in the tribe would classify that outsider as their mother, and a name that is given to that tribe members real mother will be given to the outsider. According to Scheper-Hughes, N. n the 1993 article: Cephu's choice: Is natural for human beings to want personal liberty? or is it a peculiarly western concern? some conclusions drawn from the indigenous cultures around the world.â€Å"Among Australian aborigines of the Western Desert, each new person comes into the world circumscribed by ancestral origin myths about ‘Dreamtime' which structure the world and rigidly define the place of all aboriginal people within it. The myths determine each person's position and the marriage strategies, kinship ties and friendship alliances that each must pursue in adherence to the sacred geography and its accompanying moral economy. The Dreaming', wrote William Stanner, ‘determines not only what life is, but also what it can be. Life, so to speak, is a one – possibility thing'. In this aboriginal society there is no sense of personal ‘agency' fundamental to western notions of liberty and democracy. Nor is there any idea of an individual search for personal salvation which Christian missionaries have tried, but normally failed, to communicate. † The way Australia Aborigines use kinship affects the way they live, act and think. Since there system is â€Å"all is one† they live with the common understanding that they are all under one belief system.This can be compared to when someone in your family marries; the person they marry is no w your family. This understanding creates a strong bond between people who are not technical blood related. The thought of people with such a bond helps in battles and growth within a society. In my own society the type of kinship seen in the aborigines can be seen with close family and friends. Our society tends to compare when we know the person or someone we trust knows the outside person. However, unlike the aborigines, our society has shown a way of turning away what is unfamiliar or unlike them.This brings a crack or weakness in our society because our bonds or circles are not as big because of it. I believe we can learn several things from foragers like the Australia Aborigines to make ourselves stronger. Reference: Scheper-Hughes, N. (1993, Cephu's choice: Is natural for human beings to want personal liberty? or is it a peculiarly western concern? some conclusions drawn from the indigenous cultures around the world. New Internationalist, , 11-13. Retrieved from http://search . proquest. com/docview/200094581? accountid=32521 Australian Aborigines Australian Aborigines The Australia Aborigine’s culture has always had my attention. From the places they lived to they way they where treated always amazed me. After reading about their rituals, social organization and settlement patterns for the textbook, they are a society of people who are all one. The type of kinship they practice is all is one. For example, if an outsider came to their tribe someone in the tribe would classify that outsider as their mother, and a name that is given to that tribe members real mother will be given to the outsider. According to Scheper-Hughes, N. n the 1993 article: Cephu's choice: Is natural for human beings to want personal liberty? or is it a peculiarly western concern? some conclusions drawn from the indigenous cultures around the world.â€Å"Among Australian aborigines of the Western Desert, each new person comes into the world circumscribed by ancestral origin myths about ‘Dreamtime' which structure the world and rigidly define the place of all aboriginal people within it. The myths determine each person's position and the marriage strategies, kinship ties and friendship alliances that each must pursue in adherence to the sacred geography and its accompanying moral economy. The Dreaming', wrote William Stanner, ‘determines not only what life is, but also what it can be. Life, so to speak, is a one – possibility thing'. In this aboriginal society there is no sense of personal ‘agency' fundamental to western notions of liberty and democracy. Nor is there any idea of an individual search for personal salvation which Christian missionaries have tried, but normally failed, to communicate. † The way Australia Aborigines use kinship affects the way they live, act and think. Since there system is â€Å"all is one† they live with the common understanding that they are all under one belief system.This can be compared to when someone in your family marries; the person they marry is no w your family. This understanding creates a strong bond between people who are not technical blood related. The thought of people with such a bond helps in battles and growth within a society. In my own society the type of kinship seen in the aborigines can be seen with close family and friends. Our society tends to compare when we know the person or someone we trust knows the outside person. However, unlike the aborigines, our society has shown a way of turning away what is unfamiliar or unlike them.This brings a crack or weakness in our society because our bonds or circles are not as big because of it. I believe we can learn several things from foragers like the Australia Aborigines to make ourselves stronger. Reference: Scheper-Hughes, N. (1993, Cephu's choice: Is natural for human beings to want personal liberty? or is it a peculiarly western concern? some conclusions drawn from the indigenous cultures around the world. New Internationalist, , 11-13. Retrieved from http://search . proquest. com/docview/200094581? accountid=32521

Checking the Resistance through Wire

Check the resistance with wire We will use the constantan wire to check the resistance wire; our deformation is wire of different length. I chose this because it seems like an interesting deformation and proves that sometimes it is acceptable and safe to use long lines rather than small rows. For the experiment, use the following equipment.  · As a power pack, Constantine wire, ammeter group, we take the voltmeter and the ammeter into consideration, cut the different lengths of the constantan wire and indirectly connect them to the power pack. Examining the resistance of a wire is the name of the wire's resistance to the tendency of electrons to travel through the wire. The greater the resistance generated by the electron, the greater the voltage required to drive the current through the wire. The resistance value is defined by the following equation. Resistance on resistor R (R) = p  · db Current through wire (I) Tab / Important factors have many factors that can influence. Temp erature, current, line thickness, line length, line resistance. When the temperature rises, atoms in the wire begin to vibrate. That is, since they react electronically, the temperature affects the resistance. The problem with this method is that it is difficult to change the temperature of the wire and keep it at the same constant temperature. A 0.02 ohm resistance wire was used to measure the effect of temperature on the current. Wire thickness is 1 mm. I connected the wire to the battery and measured its resistance. Resistance decreases as the refrigerator temperature decreases. After cooling it to 0 degrees Celsius the resistance reached 0.014. After that, the wire is placed on dry ice and its resistance drops again. The resistance is measured after the star has heated the wire. The resistance of the wire rises as the temperature rises. At 100  ° C, its resistance is about 0.029

Critically Analyse the Role of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Essay

Critically Analyse the Role of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty in the Strategic - Essay Example It is worth mentioning in this context that SMPP of a company comprises of certain specific steps on the basis of which companies should formulate as well as implement plans for accomplishing its objectives in an effective manner. These steps or procedures are required to be adopted by the management of companies with the objective of attaining a better strategic marketing plan inculcating the values of customer tastes and organisational profit objectives. There are usually four phases in an effective strategic marketing plan, which include determination of goals as well as objectives, analysing the situational position in various market segments, formulation of strategies and allocation of resources as well as monitoring process which should be followed in an appropriate manner with the aim of performing business activities effectively (Pajunen, 2012). Emphasising on this particular understanding, the paper will intend to discuss the SMPP strategies current practiced by companies to obtain high degree of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In this respect, the notions as well as perceptions of various authors will be interpreted through a rigorous literature review. Literature Review Strategic Marketing Planning Process (SMPP) The concept of SMPP is identified to be a vital element for companies to improve its competitive position in the global market segments (McDonald, 2006). As stated by McDonald (2006), SMPP is formulated as well as implemented by modern day organisations with the intention of acquiring better competitive advantages in relation to its products and/or services which are offered in the market segments. Companies should also identify their capabilities and business opportunities for conducting their business activities efficiently with the application of SMPP. McDonald (2006) stated that companies should determine market competitions as well as requirements of consumers in target market segments when focusing on SMPP implementation. Companies with the examination of all these factors will be able to perform their business operations effectively and competitively (McDonald, 2006). Moreover, McDonald (2006) also stated that there are certain advantages in accordance with which SMPP is adopt ed. For instance, with the virtues of effective SMPP implementations, companies will be able to identify opportunities as well as threats which are emerging in the worldwide market segments. Companies with the assistance of strategic plans will be able to adopt changes in the business environments in a rapid manner. Furthermore, companies will also be facilitated with the opportunity of allocating its resources in an appropriate manner with the implementation of an effective SMPP approach (McDonald, 2006). In a similar perspective, the article

Accounting report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting report - Assignment Example Therefore, this additional information such as the macro environment effects, business performance in comparison to its competitors, etc. generally guide the investor in making the right choice. The statements provided by Chairman and CEO are more or less same with both them talking about the performance of British Airways during the year in comparison with last year and the difficulties being faced due to economic downturn, loss of consumer confidence, increasing oil prices and other environmental factors. Furthermore, both the heads highlighted the fact that next year is going to be much tougher in terms of performance due to economic conditions prevailing, yet they are confident that the company will manage to survive and achieve their long term future goals of being a premium airline. However, the main difference among both the statements was the measures highlighted by CEO to survive currently and tackle the future business appropriately with a brief detail about their future development and ways to achieve those (British Airways 2009). The report provided by CFO highlight some of the problems that company is facing and which will be important for investor like Paul. Firstly, the CFO talks about the decline revenue caused by a decrease in passenger traffic especially premium passenger leading to reduction on amount of flying. Furthermore, the report highlights the company’s susceptibility towards fluctuating oil prices and showing an increase in operating expenditure due to this. Moreover the company faced a net unrealized loss on fuel derivatives due to volatile prices. Lastly, company posted a negative EPS which will have an adverse impact on its investors as no dividend was announced (British Airways 2009). The environment in which airline industry operates involves lot of risks and uncertainties which are out of their control and can have severe impacts on their business. Some of the risks involved in their industry are act of terrorism, any

The Apollo Group Case Study Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Apollo Group Case Study Analysis - Essay Example The University of Phoenix Company has grown over time as a for-profit university. The university has the adult working population being its main target other than the high school leavers who enroll in the traditional classroom educations. In addition, the University seeks to give affordable and quality online education to the adult population who are reachable through intensive marketing strategies of recruiters. However, their marketing strategies are against the federal laws and therefore, the university has to adopt different marketing and education strategies to maintain profitability. The key issues that face the University of Phoenix include technological advancement and traditional college expansion weakness. The University of Phoenix needs to upgrade its technology for quality and effective e-learning among its students. Technology would mean that the company must incur extra costs that are potentially huge, and thus may affect its profitability. The sophisticated virtual college platform has a negative potential on the profitability of the company, since its total cost will increase while revenue remains constant. Moreover, the need for expansion of the traditional classroom education will also imply that the university will have to incur extra classroom setup costs. Online learning faces the challenge of massive student dropouts and lack of quality in the online education sector. The company has therefore undertaken to provide quality instructor contact with a small number of students per instructor. The company also faces the problem of retaining students and changing its marketing strategies to be consistent with the federal law. Primarily, federal law prohibits the marketing strategy of the University of Phoenix, where high pressure recruitment strategies were against the federal regulations.  

The Masters Skills Personal Development Plan Essay

The Masters Skills Personal Development Plan - Essay Example The aim of a personal development plan is to get a person to reflect in a well-thought-out way concerning her or his knowledge, abilities and skills, and to engage in a course of action of continuous self-improvement. Because of this, knowledge, abilities and skills are improved (Bossidy 2010). Personal headship development plan, conversely, can be regard as a record of core qualities, traits, and abilities on which a person intends to centre her or his personal development endeavours. My objective in designing a personal headship development strategy is to assess as well as explore my behaviours, traits, beliefs, values, as well as a feeling of personal determination, and their influence on individual as well as leadership efficiency. The personal headship development strategy will also aid me in delving into and developing affirmations of personal purpose as well as leadership vision. This endeavour will aid me in planning as well as writing a persuasive and unique action plan that builds on my headship strengths and enhances my personal as well as leadership efficiency (Bossidy 2010).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     I will design a personal headship development strategy to assess my management skills and capabilities, and to generate a strategy for me to enhance them. Via the personal development strategy, I will prime a strategy to meet the preconditions for accomplishing my position as a manager and leader (Bossidy 2010). Leadership Objective My objective is to cultivate my leadership abilities and turn into a transformative manager. Learning new ideas and developing fresh abilities and skills are amongst my topmost precedence. I always aspire to obtain new skills, which can assist me in realizing my objectives. I constantly strive for prospects to utilize what I absorb and to develop further. Reflecting back upon my educational expertise, I could disclose that I have been able to employ the things, which I learnt in various scenarios and areas. In my educational experience, I studied the practical details of managing business. I managed to finish all the allocated tasks in addition to performing well within different undertakings. A good example is my research project on strategic management within organizations. The findings of the research were very informative. I was also able to employ the theories, skills and techniques, which I studied in different activities and scenarios. I learned ideas about the various management strategies and policies. I also learned the fundamentals of management, for instance, planning, leading, organizing, controlling and co-coordinating (Christensen 2009). Transformational leadership tries to transform attitudes, beliefs and feelings. Transformational leadership ensues when a person or more people engage with one another in such a manner that followers and leaders raise each other to higher ranks of morality and motivation. Transformational leadership results to the transmutation of the followers, the leader as well as the social structure they operate in (Christensen 2009). There exist different traits of a transformational manager. A transformational manager is Charismatic. Inbeing, captivating, transformational managers encourage change, collaboration, commitment, improvement and loyalty amongst personnel. The transformational manager functions like a role model to the employees. The transformati

Justification write up for nominating for Environment, Health & Safety Term Paper

Justification write up for nominating for Environment, Health & Safety award - Term Paper Example Central Operations is committed to creating and sustaining an accident free culture for our employees and customers, as well as the public. Each operating system is responsible for integrating EH&S considerations, aimed at minimizing and controlling potential risks and hazards, into the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the company’s energy delivery system and facilities. Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) was performing the design of the East Side Access (ESA) project, which is intended to bring Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to the Grand Central Terminal. As part of this project, blasting was performed to break their wall adjacent to the existing steam delivery system. This blasting created vibrations below ground which damaged the steam support components. As a result of the blast, a 16† steam pipe shifted and fell off the supports. Engineering, in collaboration with Operations, determined the risks, scope of work, performed stress analysis, layout, and field inspections to resolve this problem. SDE and Steam Operations made field visits, identified the potential risks, and acted urgently to maintain safety, reliability, and to restore the system. In an effort to restore the system, the team inspected the affected site and recommended installing 4 special beam guides at the pipe offsets to accommodate for unusual pipe stress. Due to limited drilling depth, as a result of city sewer pathways crossing below our structures, the guides were designed to have a special base plate and anchor bolts. Field inspections found asbestos containing material insulating the original steam pipe. The abatement crew removed the asbestos insulation, using procedure 11924-5, and prior to doing any construction work to re-align the main. They then took measurements submitting them to contracted engineers selected to begin work on the repairs. Next, our

What does the prophet Tiresias mean when he says to Oedipus This day Essay

What does the prophet Tiresias mean when he says to Oedipus This day will bring your birth and your destruction - Essay Example er, asked the prophet for clarification; and that is when Teiresias proclaimed: â€Å"This day shall be thy birth-day, and thy grave† – therefore, I presumed that the phrase referred to Oedipus discovery of who his real parents are. Of course, this seems pretty much obvious as we know how the tragedy ends, and even if we had not read it we all certainly heard about Oedipus complex that the psychoanalysts describe as the man’s (boy’s) desire to perform incest with his mother and to emiminate (i.e. â€Å"kill†) his father. However, although the â€Å"grave† (or â€Å"desctruction†) part of the prophecy is pretty clear, why is Teiresias speaking about the â€Å"birth†, and which is more – why is he putting the two notions together and linking them, how can they happen on the same day, and how are they interrelated? This is the issue I am going to speculate upon in this paper. First of all, I strongly believe that the words of Teiresias the prophet â€Å"This day shall be thy birth-day, and thy grave† can, and should, be viewed in at least two different contexts: (1) the exact and direct meaning of these words with regard to the plot of Sophocle’s tragedy and (2) the meaning of this phrase in the context of Sophocle’s philosophy and his views on the issues of power of fortune and human choice. The direct meaning of the prophet’s words is more obvious. As we can further see from the tragedy’s plot, the same day when Oedipus got to know his real parentage brought his destruction: hence, the â€Å"birth† and the â€Å"grave† happened simultaneously. The concept of â€Å"birth†, however, can also be regarded in its figurative meaning – since by discovering the person guilty of Laius’ death the King of Thebes was supposed to regain and strengthen his authority among the citizens. These last lines of the choir in Sophocle’s tragedy symbolize that Oedipus’ destiny is by no means unique, and that pretty much any human being can experience the same