Product and Service Marketing Analysis Essay

Product and service marketing are highly related. Take the success of a company like Apple, for example. The technology giant operates nearly 400 retail stores, employs more than 42,000 people and hosts more than a million visitors each day. In 2012, Apple’s retail operations generated nearly $19 billion. Furthermore, it’s estimated that Apple’s Fifth Avenue store generates more than $35,000 per square foot, making it the highest grossing retailer in New York – ever. Those statistics reinforce the company’s product and service strategies of those of a highly successful company. Apple continues to hold a number one spot on a list of the world’s most admirable companies. However, the success of Apple hasn’t always been so great. It wasn’t until the company combined good products with good services, that profits increased exponentially. Slide 12-12: Service Differentiation Apple actually had a point in business in which it struggled. That was in the 1990s when the company was selling products through larger retailers such as CompUSA and Sears. It was then, that Apple computers were shoved to the side, out of the main view of customers, as just another computer brand available on store shelves. Apple employees didn’t pay enough attention to the installation of the product in the big box stores in which it was being sold, so there wasn’t a true selling point for buyers. Also, the product delivery took a major hit. In fact, the brand became so weakened when retailers did not market the products properly, that the inventory wasn’t fully stocked. While Apple products plummeted in sales, the Gateway company was offering direct sales to consumers in its own stores, and Apple had to reinvent its business model, and quickly learn how to operate in a different manner. Less than two years after Apple launched its retail stores, Gateway shut down all of its shops and laid off 2,500 workers. Only three years later, CompUSA closed its chain of 23-year-old stores as well. Apple went against much of the advice it had received, and clearly the company was doing something right. Apple created retail stores that offer more than just a product. The stores offer a shopping experience that consumers often give raving reviews on. That includes ordering ease, smooth delivery, clear installation, the right customer training and consulting, and simplified maintenance and repair. Slide 12-11: Product Differentiation Apple Stores are now the highest performing stores in retail history. This isn’t due to just good in-store and online service. The products typically set the bar among all other technology products offered in the industry. Many Apple products come with customizable features based on a customers wants and needs. That includes hard drive and disk space, all the way down to the detail of an optional custom engraving on a product. In addition to the features, Apple products are known to hold superior performance quality. Sure, the products aren’t cheap, but typically when a customer buys an Apple product, they know that product will pay for itself over time. Slide 13-5: Categories of Service Mix When you’re dealing with a product that Apple designs and sells, it’s typically a highly technological device. That tangible good brings on accompanying services. The more advanced the product, the greater the need for those high-quality supporting services. When a customer goes into an Apple store looking for a new computer or an iPad, there’s a chance they don’t know how to maximize its use to its full capability. Apple found a way to assist costumers, so they can learn about the devices they’re purchasing for free. Employees at each Apple retail shop hold free workshops for consumers to teach the basics. In addition to workshops, customers can sign up for one-on-one training sessions to dig even deeper into their product’s capabilities. Slide 13-6: Service Distinctions These services offered by Apple require the client’s presence; therefore employees need to be considerate of the consumer’s needs. That is why Apple is known for hiring â€Å"customer-obsessed, empathetic employees.† Apple cofounder Steve Jobs offered a unique insight about how consumers interact with technology. Jobs said often the problem was that consumers are limited to thinking in terms of only what they know, instead of what is possible. Jobs once said that one of the keys to Apple is that the company builds products that turn the employees on. That is certainly to the benefit of the customers, that it â€Å"often means products are exactly what they want because Apple employees are so deeply entrenched in and committed to the customer’s experience.† Slide 13-8: Distinctive Characteristics of Service While many consumers know the physical products Apple offers are those of high quality, the company has made it a point to â€Å"manage the evidence,† and â€Å"tangibilize the intangible.† In doing so, Apple had to create stores that have a clean layout, in which traffic flows steadily, have employees that are busy, but they can still manage the workload, have equipment that is state of the art, have a symbol that suggests quality in both product and service, and finally, has a reasonable price for service. We already know that Apple services are offered for free, the company’s logo is iconic, and that the equipment is top notch. So, Apple’s stores had the main focus of a clean layout and employees readily available, yet still busy. When a customer walks into an Apple store, the aesthetics are clean and well thought out. Each product is on display for testing use, and the floors, walls, and counter spaces are clean and tidy. In addition to that, carefully recruited and trained sales associates are encouraged to take customers on a â€Å"ride.† They give each willing customer a short, informative tour of the space to be able to have a conversation and connect with each and every visitor. Then, of course, there’s the offering of support for each customer, which is just another delight to those who shop at Apple. The end result of Apple’s mix of product and service marketing combined is certainly one of success. Apple has the highest retail sales per square foot than any other U.S. retailer. The stores average more than $6,000 per square foot, which is more than twice the former gold standard Tiffany & Company. That success did not come with quality products alone, but quality product marketing coupled with quality service marketing. The company’s marketing strategy is unique, but the company figured out how to attract and retain customers, generate an extremely large amount of word-of-mouth and brand appeal to give it a huge competitive advantage. Works Cited Chazin, S. (2013). The Retail Secrets of Apple. Retrieved from http://www.marketingapple.com/marketing_apple/2013/01/the-retail-secrets-of- apple.html on 07/23/2013. DuBois, S. (2011). World’s Most Admired Companies. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2011/snapshots/670.html on 07/23/2013. Kotler, P; Keller, L (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Moorman, C. (2012). Why Apple is a Great Marketer. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinemoorman/2012/07/10/why-apple-is-a-great-marketer/ on 07/23/2013.

Religion Over Culture? Essay

I love Hawai’i. I don’t love Hawai’i just for its everlasting sunshine, unique cuisine, or historical landmarks. My love for Hawai’i runs deep because of the vast diversity we have here. There is no place like Hawai’i—it is the melting pot of all cultural groups and religious affiliations who have found a home in the islands. It’s within this melting pot that the aloha spirit really shines through, really making it the perfect vacation destination. I am the epitome of that melting pot being that I have 14 nationalities. Although I come from many different backgrounds, I firmly believe and try to perpetuate my Hawaiian culture and my Christianity. Truly being a Hawaiian Christian is probably the hardest person to be because of its confliction between the belief in many gods in a Hawaiian sense and its cultural actions to believing in one God as a Christian. But I consider myself a Christian Hawaiian because I have faith in my God and persistence in my culture. As a Hawaiian, I am all about perpetuation. Our culture had been almost lost once so I believe in keeping it alive forevermore. Some may argue that to be â€Å"Hawaiian† you must be of Hawaiian birth, speak ‘Å lelo Hawai‘i[1], or be a Hawaiian practitioner just as the kÃ… «puna[2] of ancient Hawai’i. If a person is willing to genuinely respect, practice, and perpetuate a culture, it should be enough for them to be considered a part of said culture. In my Hawaiian Language class, it is my responsibility to start oli[3] and pule[4], which is proper protocol at Kamehameha Schools. With this responsibility, I essentially start the class. I say my prayers, but in the language of my people so that I honor both sides. This privilege is one that not all schools can say that they do. For that, I am thankful to have been accepted to a school that allowed me to express both my culture and religion where they can both co-exist in harmony. If I went to a school where I couldn’t express either, I know I would be an entirely different person. It’s this expression of culture and religion that really allowed me to understand not only my values but others as well. With that in mind, to a college community, I can bring to the table my Christian and Hawaiian values. I am a Hawaiian, but with a western mind. I wouldn’t put my religion over my culture or vice versa because both mean a great deal to me as they shaped me to be the person I am today. He Hawai‘i au, mau a mau [5] and a Christian.

The Feast of the Gods by Giovanni and Titian Essay

The Feast of the Gods by Giovanni and Titian - Essay Example The main premise of a feast is the coherent element of the painting. The gods, each doing their individual thing, add to the atmosphere that it conjures. The blasà © expression of these gods gives off the homogenous quality of the theme. Priapus trying to carry out his ill-conceived plan against Lotis and the ass is also prominent in the painting. Famously, the x-ray photographs of the painting prove that contrary to the assumption that Bellini was not able to finish the painting because of his death, there was no such requirement for Titian to complete it. Rather, historians agree that the alterations were executed to make Bellini’s painting flow seamlessly with the other paintings in the Alabaster Room. â€Å"Eliminated by Titian’s intervention was the contrast between the figural group, so markedly animated by means of colour, and the regular repetition of tree trunks and the uniform dark green of the leaf canopy† (Bà ¤tschmann 210). This would have given it more balance as an undeviating background would have made the scene of the gods the main focus of the eye. For lack of a better word, the painting evoked a sense of noise. In totality it looks great in the sense that there are the human elements that make it interesting and playful to the imagination. It reminds me of Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ in many ways. Both have religious themes, both portray a particularly interesting and much-written about scene and both are classic works of art by two great artists of their time.

Project and operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Project and operations management - Essay Example Several external factors however are of concern when it comes to developing new products for the company (The Times 100, 1995). Such factors may include the need to develop low carbon products, increasing energy security and addressing the impacts on global warming. The research and development for the company operates on a model of push and pull where airs out to manufacturers their new developments so as to drive new technological innovations and the pull where the focus shifts towards market demands; what their customers want. The company’s major challenge is mainly technical or economic. With increasing complexity in technology, then the more people are needed by the company to overcome this challenge (The Times 100, 1995). But it has proved to be another challenge for the company to recruit more skilled workers that will be able to remain competent and enable ARM maintains its position in the market. Executive summary A project is typically a collaborative enterprise (Blu m, 1986). It usually involves research that is conducted frequently, involving a carefully planned research design that sets to achieve a given aim. Projects are social systems within organizations that are constituted by teams to accomplish given tasks within a given period of time (Spottydog, 2003). A project is usually conducted by school going and university students or by organizations. For school going students it may require the students to undertake fact finding and analysis from either secondary sources of information or from empirically gathering data (Yuan-Yi, 2001). The final output is usually in the form of a dissertation. The dissertation will contain sections of the whole projects inception, inquiry methods analysis, finding conclusions and most at times would require them to make suitable recommendations (Konecny, 2006). On the other hand for organizations it will consist of a temporary task that is undertaken in order to create products that are unique and satisfact ory services many at times in pursuit of satisfying the growing and changing demands of consumers such as the case of ARM mentioned above. (Morris Peter, 2007). Therefore the objectives of the given project will determine the target status at the end of the whole project. This will be necessary to achieve the planned benefits or the aims of the project. For example, in many countries engineering projects are specifically defined by legislation and requires that any engineering project should be carried out by only the registered engineers and companies for constructing buildings, industrial facilities, and transportation of infrastructure and such like other duties (Pinto, 2001). In such cases the project scope will be well defined within a contract from owners of the project and the engineering and construction companies. This kind of project has two major phases which are design and construction. Design phase involves drawing and calculations and the next which is the final phase will be to send the project plan to a developer who will do the construction work (Archibald, 1992). Project Brief A project in its self if a process and any process usually involves a set of interrelated actions and activities that have to be carried out in order to achieve a pre-specified result or services. The

ISSUES IN PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE Term Paper - 1

ISSUES IN PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICE - Term Paper Example From the different social reforms to organization of nursing programs, technology has taken the larger proportion of social changes in nursing (American Nurses Association, 2010, p. 130). According to the study, distance education is the answer to the nursing shortage being experienced in the United States in a way that students see distance education learning system associated with flexibility of learning in terms of time and place, access to more resources, more and varied teaching and learning strategies and individuation of learning (Carlton, Siktberg, Flowers & Scheibel, 2003). However, studies also find out that level of satisfaction was not as high compared to students who are involved in active learning and discussion. Other participants of the study even believed that learnings acquired through distance education are of poor quality and little educational value as there is laxity of human interaction or contact. Meanwhile, distance education also affects patient care and safety. Distance education has broadened the number of patients who will received medical and nursing care. Distance education can offer nursing care in the underserved population, who because of geographical, employment, and family responsibilities, cannot avail health services offered in the rural area. Patient’s safety in traveling to the healthcare areas is preserved as people have no longer have to go in far away areas. Economic crisis in U.S. began in 1990s and more women intend to enter a workforce capable of supporting the cost of living with fewer days of work but more money generated (Cherry & Jacob, 2011, p. 21). Shortage of nurses are experienced and advancement made in technology has increased health care costs. Thus, the professional nursing organization has the responsibility to uplift the standards of nursing profession and addressed the nursing shortage despite economic crisis. Likewise,

International Money and Capital Markets Research Paper

International Money and Capital Markets - Research Paper Example A developed economy is defined by high level of economic activities including foreign trade resulting to high demand of foreign currency, especially hard currencies such as US dollar. A higher demand of foreign currency induces increase in exchange rate and the other way round (Taylor, 2001). Exchange rate shares an important relationship to relative price level because; price level establishes a link between foreign price and domestic price. Relative price difference or purchasing power parity is an important determinant of exchange rate as it recognizes various adjustments that need to be made in the exchange rate for maintaining equilibrium in the international currency rates (Auboin and Ruta, 2013). Trade flow can be categorized as trade inflow (import) and trade outflow (export). When the cost of foreign currency is relatively high, countries focus on greater export and less import while low exchange rate result in increasing level of import. However, frequent fluctuation in the exchange rate has negative impact on trade flow because of fluctuation in transaction and conversion costs (Auboin and Ruta, 2013). Interest rate is an influential factor with respect to fluctuation in exchange rate. Studies suggest that higher interest rate result in appreciation in the currency value of a country with respect to that of other because, high interest rate attracts greater investment in the appreciating currency for earning better future returns (Taylor, 2001). Impact of economic factors on exchange rate equilibrium Assessment of exchange rate behavior is a perennial subject of international monetary economics where various macroeconomic factors are examined to understand their role in maintaining equilibrium in exchange rate.

Economics in an international context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economics in an international context - Essay Example In addition, there is a huge lot of pollution that is increased due to road congestion. It is more probable for an accident to occur when there is increased congestion as well as an increase in stress on driver, pedestrians and also the cyclists. Economists, through the concept of demand and supply theory, assume that the road-space demand will always go down when the price paid for it increase. This is so due to the income and substitution effect of a higher price. When the road-space is free, its demand becomes more than its supply. This can lead to expressing congestion as an external cost of consumption. It means, there is a welfare loss due to too much driving. To provide economic solutions to road congestion problem, economists can apply three main methods. They can either increase the supply for road-space, increase the price for road-space or reduce its demand. This is the most direct way of sorting out the problem of congestion on roads. It is logical that congestion could be caused when there are few roads in a city or a town or anywhere that we demand the road-space supply. It is also true that when there is when there is a low supply of any good, other factors remaining constant, its demand increases. Therefore, with an increased demand and the available roads that can be used are few, there will be congestion (Lave, 2001). To increase the supply of road-space, the government can build more roads that can be enough for its users. When there are more road space added, all the road users will find adequate space to use without necessarily causing congestion. However, other problems are there that are associated with increasing of road space. When doing this, the government must meet some opportunity costs. As we know that the government usually works on a budget and building roads is usually a very expensive

IPSec and Cryptography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IPSec and Cryptography - Research Paper Example IPsec is very vital since it offers numerous solutions to virtual private Networking (VPN), by giving communication security against untrusted network like the internet. Cryptography refers to the change of plaintext information into a coded form. The aim of cryptography is to offer the necessary security and frontier access to private information. This paper offers a clear discussion of the major functions of IPsec in relation to the cryptographic functions employed by the protocol suite during the packet exchange process. The paper further discusses the limitations of the IPsec in relation to the used algorithms and attacks against IPsec. Functions of IPsec There are numerous functions that the IPsec performs. First, the IPsec is used for data confidentiality. The function is achieved by the IP sec sender encrypting the data packets prior to sending them to another network. The second function is data integrity. This requires the IPsec receiver to authenticate the data packets rece ived from the IPsec sender in order to guarantee the safety of the received data packets. The third function of IPsec is data authentication. This enables the IP sec receiver to confirm the origin of the sent IPsec packets, although the success of this function relies on the data service. The replay function is the fourth function played by the IPSec (Pachghare, 2009). In the execution of this function the IP sec receiver is capable of sensing and eliminating the repeated packets. The above services are offered at the IP layer, thus they can be employed at any upper layer protocol. Such as TCP, UDP, and ICMP, just to mention a few. The IP DOI is also responsible for the provision of the IP compression; this is achieved through the encryption that is done in the IPsec. This hinders sufficient compression by the lower protocol layers (Elkelany, 2002). At the IP layer, the IPsec offers the necessary security that allows the system to choose the suitable security protocols, establish th e algorithms to be employed for the task and reorganize the cryptographic keys needed to offer the application. IPsec are capable of providing sufficient security to more than one path between a protection gateway and host (Pachghare, 2009). IP sec can establish the areas that are susceptible to attacks, thus providing the necessary security. This is achieved by configuring admission lists that are further interfaced in the crypto map sets (Pachghare, 2009). At this point the traffic may be chosen in basing on the origin and destination. There can be several users on a particular traffic, and at the same time the crypto map set might have several admission lists. In order to guarantee the security, a specific sequence must be employed when searching the crypto maps. The traffic usually tries to match the packet in order to gain admittance. When packet gain admittance to a specific data list, the corresponding crypto map is marked as Cisco and the required connections made. IPsec is usually activated whenever the crypto connection is marked as ipsec-isakmp. In the absence of the SA that the IPsec can use to provide the protection to the affected routes, the Internet Key Exchnage (IKE) is usually used to discuss with the secluded users in order to come up with the required IP sec to facilitate the smooth streaming of information. The discussions are usually based on the data specified in the crypto m

To what extent has Coalition Government affected the role and Essay - 4

To what extent has Coalition Government affected the role and functions of Prime Minister and Cabinet - Essay Example During such times, parties will opt to form grand coalitions or all party coalitions. In an instance where the coalition inevitably collapses or fails, a confidence vote is held. The idea behind collective responsibility in mostly related to an instance when say a vote of no confidence is passed in the parliament. Therefore, this will mean that all the ministers that form the cabinet are responsible for any arrangements that have been performed in relation to running of the government. This system basically tries to show the faith in the whole government as a whole in making day to day decisions. Collective ministerial responsibility simply implies that the government will collectively account to the parliament for the polices, actions and any decisions that they pass. However, the idea of collective responsibility means that for any decision or action to be made, all the members of the coalition must come into an agreement. This may slow down the government especially in instances where the two parties fail to come to an agreement. The government will be at a standstill. But at the end of the idea, the fact remains that collective decision making is favorable because it is more likely that better decisions will be reached and the decisions will mostly have the citizen’s best interest at heart. Collective responsibility is easy to maintain in a coalition government where the Prime Minister is kept as the keystone of the entire government. This is however not always the case. This is happens as there are instances when the coalition government is formed into a single party government. However, currently, people are highly enlightened, which makes collective responsibility a problem in some instances. For example, ministers now have their own advisors who may influence their decision and in addition, they freely communicate to the media without considering the impact of their action to them and the entire cabinet as a

Materials Development Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Materials Development - Assignment Example A wool carpet manufactured using this innovative system is a completely natural and biodegradable product. At the end of its useful life the entire product can be shredded and turned into organic material, which can then be used, for example, as fertilizer for growing plants. The work has been carried out for the Netherlands companies Bond Textile Research, Best Wool Carpets and James, which own the four patents on which this new biological technology is based. The so-called "cradle-to-cradle" model has been central to the work done by the team led by Tzanko Tzanov, a researcher with the Molecular and Industrial Biotechnology Group at the Universitat Polità ¨cnica de Catalunya. BarcelonaTechs Terrassa Campus. The outcome is an enzyme-based biological technology that paves the way for three Netherlands companies to manufacture carpets that are much lighter, sustainable, biodegradable, and 100% recyclable. At the end of their useful life, the carpets can be used as fertiliser or subst rate for growing plants. The system saves a great deal of energy, completely closes the biological cycle for wool, and significantly reduces the final cost of carpet products. Universitat Polità ¨cnica de Catalunya (UPC). (2011, July 13). Innovative system for producing carpets.  ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 12, 2014 from

Human factors in the Space industry Essay Example for Free

Human factors in the Space industry Essay Abstract The world is in transition from Information Age to Space Age. This can be assumed by observing trends particularly those initiated by developed countries such as the US, Russia, China, Japan and the members of the European Union. The robots are programmed to be more precise in its actions compared to humans but with the humans capability to judge and make decisions according to unexpected circumstances, the latter are still considered a better option for space explorations. This necessitates the study for Human Factors. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the Human Factors that are associated with the Space Industry. such knowledge would give the reader an idea on the Human limitations that must be considered and which could be very critical in space explorations. Without proper consideration, space explorations would be unsuccessful and the transition to Space Age would never ascend from the state of being imaginary, to reality. Consideration of Human Factors Towards the Space Age Humanity is now in the so-called Information age when time is fast-paced and access to information can be as fast, easy and unlimited as the trend for telecommunication and global integration continue to show prospects of expansion. The prospects of expansion, however, is not limited to the â€Å"global†. Current research shows that the trend is gradually opening its way to the rudiments of transition from the Information age to the Space age. Developed countries such as the US, Russia, Japan, China, India, the members of the EU and its industries are starting to involve themselves with the space and satellite industry, spending significant amounts of their budgets to further research, interest and opportunities for the said industry (Partners in Space, 2005). According to the Sacknoff in the 2005 Report on the State of the Space Industry by the International Space Business Council, there had been a total of $103 billion turnover from commercial and government services and programs in 2004. This turnover is expected to increase to at least $158 billion in 2010. Meanwhile, the US Defense has increased its spending for Space-related investments from $15 billion in 2000 to $22 billion in 2005. It is expected to further increase to at least $28 billion in 2010. There has also been a continuous increase in the market for satellite service particularly that of GPS positioning and tracking which could lead to the development of space tourism. According to NASDAQ, the space industry is currently one of the most innovative growth sectors in the world today (Sacknoff, 2005). At present, the US President, George W. Bush has made a proclamation about his â€Å"New Space† vision that could be a challenging turning point for the space industry. The aim of this vision is to be able to return to the moon by the end of the decade and to be able to fly to Mars immediately in the following decade (President Bush Announces New Vision for Space Exploration Program, 2004). Robots vs. Humans However, in order to become successful in such endeavors, the departments in charge of the development must recognize and consider certain factors that are critical to the future of the industry. There is a huge debate on whether there is a need to send humans in space, when there would always be robots to take their place. Those for robots argue that it would limit the risks of â€Å"needless human sacrifices† in case unexpected circumstances arise. However, the NASA argues that while in fact, robots are very useful in space explorations and gathering research data, the needed knowledge about space would never be near complete without human’s ingenuity and physical experience (The Human Advantage, 2003). Applied to the current objective of the â€Å"New Space† vision as well as the objectives of the previous explorations, there are still a lot of things that even robots, and only humans, with their minds, can do. Robots, for example cannot deal with unexpected things while humans can think of creative ways to solve unexpected problems such as equipment breakdown (The Human Advantage, 2003). Installations, upgrades and detailed work in space can only be done with the finesse of human operators. While it can be tested by robots, prospects such as possible life in other planets can only be guaranteed by human exploration.

Understanding The Roles Of Vodafone Telecommunications Information Technology Essay

Understanding The Roles Of Vodafone Telecommunications Information Technology Essay Vodafone group plc is a global telecommunications company based its headquarter in Newbury, United Kingdom. If measured by the revenues its a largest telecommunication company in the world, along with this if measured by the subscribers its the worlds second largest just behind the china mobile. As Vodafone is a global company, it is providing services in more than 30 countries not only this Vodafone has other partner networks in 44 different countries. The Vodafone name comes from three different things which are voice, data and fone which reflect to providing services of voice and data over the devices (Mobile phones etc). The company was formed in the year of 1984 basically as a subsidiary of Racal Electronics Plc. In start the company named as Racal Telecom Limited but it was fully demerged and changed the name as Vodafone Group plc in 1991. The main objective of this specific report is to probe into the organisations information systems, structure of organization, analyze the information requirements, decision making, Business strategies, IS strategy, IT strategy, ethical issues, strength, weaknesses, opportunities, goals and objectives, managerial levels, benefits, and some other environmental factors. Furthermore this report will be the evidence of understanding of the entire studies which is conducted in this module and also the real world market. Organizational Structure The number of employees in Vodafone UK is over 10,000. Vodafone aim to provide a fair, safe and flexible workplace which helps to motivates their employees to work hard and to feel engaged and create better environment to the work. The below is organisation structure of Vodafone group; Vodafone Group Plc organisation chart Diagram: Vodafone organizational structure (www.vodafone.com) Marketing development organization As marketing is very important tool to expand the businesses in this modern world. Vodafone is continuously working on it to compete with the market and also fulfil the peoples requirements. Vodafone is using different ways to advertise their products (services) such as Zonal marketing trial, Idle screen, Branded applications and widgets trial, Location based advertising trial and so on. Within these different types of marketing advertisement, Vodafone is keep in touch with the customers to knowing their requirements and also providing them better services. Mission statement A mission statement of an organization is very important to indicate itself. It is just a sentence but it is full description of general purpose and intention of that organization. The mission statement tells the employees what they are working for; along with this persuade the customers to buy the products or services. A mission statement is that which define the basic reasons for the existence of an organization and helps legitimise its function in society (Robson, 1997). Mission statement of Vodafone is; We will be the communications leader in an increasingly connected world This specific mission statement shows that it is Communication Company / organization, which goal is to become the leader to connect the world rapidly. Goals and objectives The goals and objectives play vital role to a company. As this is a modern age and every company is facing challenges to compete with the current market , same Vodafone has some goals which they are trying to reach. Vodafone is continuously working to update and meet the requirement of the customers. To reach on the top and accomplish with the goals Vodafone has some objectives which they are completing step by step. Below are some goals which Vodafone is willing to achieve; Create Authenticity in expanding communication technologies. Connectivity between different devices in future. To understand and use (web) data in more ways. To find options and possibilities of energy. Improvement of services in each part of country. (www.vodafone.com/start/about_vodafone/future_agenda.html) Strategy The strategy of the organization indicates its prospects and also helps to improve the business. Strategy of an organization can be defined as the identification of the purpose of the organization and the plans and action to achieve the purpose (Lynch, 2006). The strategy of Vodafone changes with the passage of time, because in the year of 2006 Vodafone intentions were different according to the year 2009 and 2010. The Strategic focus in 2009 is on operational performance, total communications, emerging markets, capital discipline. Environmental analysis Political factor The political factors are very effective for the organizations. If the political factors are in favor of the organization then it will be easy to navigate and boost the business. It is also said that managers should operate within the laws and regulations of the host country (Gray Larson 2008). The stability of political issues in the specific region or country and local laws sturdily influence the performance of organization. Without the information of the local laws and regulations there is a possibility of facing penalty which could lead to a big loss. If we have a look on Vodafone globe, we will come to know that its price plans and other services are different according to the country law and demand of nation. So the organization must need to understand and obey the local laws of the country where it is operating. Economic factor The economical factors can also have adverse effect on the organizations profitability and productivity. Vodafone was quite better in economy but because of recent downturns in economy it was affected in some countries. Vodafone Spain reported turnover of euro 6,982 million in the last financial year, 2.6 % less than the previous. (Vodafone 2009). To get economically strong Vodafone is working continuously to improve the economy of the company. Recently Vodafone has extended the services for customers; this could lead to improve the economy. Social /cultural factor As Vodafone is expanded in different countries, so they have to understand the requirements and social issues of specific country / region. Vodafone have created social networking and social media sites which helps to communicate and information sharing. Along with this Vodafone have agreements with so many social networking sites to offer the services. Vodafone always put efforts for safe social networking. (www.vodafone.com) Technological factor There is technology revolution at this present age. Every day new technology arrives with so many advanced enhancements. It is becoming necessary for an organization to keep update with their technology and to keep with the pace of the modern life, it also play the part to compete with the market. Vodafone is always active to keep update its technology to satisfy the customers and also to fulfil with the modern requirements. For this Vodafone announced the launch of its latest Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certified Mobile Wi-Fi device, the R201. (Vodafone, aug 2010) Ecological factors In a report it is mentioned that there are more than 800 million mobile devices are in use and these are growing every day as new technology is in market. The using and expanding of these devices are not that good for health and ecologically. Vodafone keeping in mind these all issue thats why Vodafone Ireland has announced to reduce CO2 emission by 30% by 2011. With the progress Vodafone is also working to create a better environment for future. SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a method of strategic planning which is used to evaluate the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats related in a project or in any task. SWOT analysis specifies the objectives of the project and also identifies the internal and external factors of the project. Strength Vodafone always struggle to make the network outstanding. Vodafone is committed to giving you a network you can depend on. The first priority of Vodafone is make sure that people can use mobile and connect to the internet where they are, and whenever they want. Vodafone competitors are also upgrading their services to persuade the customers but speciality of Vodafone is, its network is expanding but also provides better signal strength indoor and outdoor. Vodafone is keeping in mind to provide a such network which has journey of a call, fast and reliable connections and a network you can trust. (www.vodafone.com) Weakness As every company have some weaknesses, same Vodafone sometimes face such problems. The first weakness of Vodafone is its less connectivity in rural areas. Shares in Vodafone fell to lowest point but still head of Vodafone Company decided to sell the shares. BP overtakes Vodafone amid continued telecoms weakness (www.independent.co.uk). Vodafone got negative return on assets (ROA) underperform the main competitors like BT Group, ATT and others. The other weakness is Vodafone has about 80% business generate in Europe. Due to these weaknesses Vodafone sometimes face problems to maintain the company standards. Opportunities Vodafone has so many opportunities to get benefit of it. Vodafone has expanding network with better services this made Vodafone to create opportunities for customers as well as Vodafone itself. With the passage of time climate is changing also Vodafone is working to tackle this problem with the facility of video and teleconferencing and thorough the other energy efficient machines. The Vodafone policy is full of opportunities for customers and company itself. Threats As Vodafone is dominating in the world of communication, so the competitors are the main threats for Vodafone. In start of Vodafone life, there werent so many competitors of Vodafone but gradually so many companies come to exist and started the war in the field of telecommunication. As it is expanding network, every day new customers are joining Vodafone, it could create problem in network. So Vodafone need to update their boosters or all other technologies which could lead to calling and data transferring problems. Along with this, as other competitor companies are introducing new services, same Vodafone need to introduce such facilities/services which could keep customers in touch with Vodafone. Level of Management Information System There are four level of management, each level supporting different kind of decision process. It works from top to bottom, as top level management which is strategic level makes decision then it ends with the bottom which is Operational level. These four are defined below; Strategic level: This specific level of management is for seniors like, CEO, VIP, and Manger. This type of management usually makes long term decisions like 3 to 10 years. Recommendation: Sales and Marketing IS, Manufacturing IS, H R Information system, And Finance and accounting IS. Management level / Tactical level: This management level is usually resource allocation decision level. In this management level managers utilise and allocate time, raw material, machinery, funds etc and this is usually for 1 to 3 years. Recommendation: Sales and Marketing IS, Manufacturing IS, H R Information system, And Finance and accounting IS. Knowledge level: The knowledge level is a additional level of management in which knowledge and data workers work. This level is all about the knowledge of the specific project. Recommendation: Sales and Marketing IS, Manufacturing IS, H R Information system, And Finance and accounting IS. Operational level: In this bottom part of the management level, managers work day to day to complete the task. Normally in this level, manager makes decisions less than one year. Recommendation: Sales and marketing IS, Manufacturing IS, Human Resource IS, and Finance and Accounting IS. TPS OAS KW MIS DSS ESS Operational Level Knowledge Level Management Level Strategic Level Diagram: Types of IS and level of working. Information Systems An information system can be defined technically as a set of interrelated components that collect process, store and distributed information to support decision making and control in an organization (Laudon Laudon, 2009). With the help of information system a project could lead to a successful project and can complete on time. Information system provides fast and accurate transaction along with this it provides support for decision making. The information system is the weapon against competitor companies. There are some major information systems which work in each management levels are below. ESS (Executive support system) work in strategic level. DSS (Decision support system) work in management level. MIS (Management information system) work in management level. KWS (Knowledge working system) work in knowledge level. OAS (office automation system) work in operational level. TPS (Transaction processing system) work in operational level. ESS (Executive support system) ESS is designed to draw summarized information from MIS and DSS and present graphs and data from many sources through an interface that is easy for senior managers (Laudon Laudon, 2009). This is top management level and top people of management deal in this level. The chief executive of Vodafone makes final and basic decisions, and all departments head collect the information (data) and present to him for his decision to go throw. The ESS information system manage all the activities happening within the company like sales, purchase, cost etc which helps chief executive to make decisions and start new plans. DSS (Decision support system) The DSS helps to navigate the company into right path, because if company is getting loss from present services or technology then it indicate the down turn of the company. With the help of DSS Vodafone sometimes change the price plans and also other changing occurs which are effect for company. The DSS of Vodafone can usually use information from other information systems but they need to get informed from outsource to come up with it. MIS (Management information system) Middle management needs system to help with monitoring, controlling, decision making and administer activity and to work with this, the systems which are use called MIS (Laudon Laudon, 2009). This information system basically helps to monitoring the activities happening within the company. With the help of this information system managers can check any transaction from thousand of transaction. Managers often need to see, what is going on with the company during it is working to know that, is company is doing fine or not, and MIS helps to do that. This system also provide required reports weekly, monthly or yearly, which helps manager to make decision. KWS (Knowledge working system) Knowledge work system or knowledge based information system that support the creation, organization and dissemination of business to employee and mangers throughout a company (OBrien Maracas, 2008). This information system helps the organization to find the new ways to reach the success. In Vodafone KWS use to find what new price plans will be appreciable by customers and also how to improve services. OAS (office automation system) The OAS usually use in employees data and for office work. As it is mentioned above that OAS is use in operational level. This information system manages all the office work of Vodafone like non financial asset, share based payment, pension etc. TPS (Transaction processing system) TPS help the operational managers to keep track of the elementary activities and transaction of the organization, such as sales, receipt, cash deposit, payroll, credit decision and the flow of materials in a factory (Laudon Laudon, 2009). In this system Vodafone can interact with the customers on daily basis. The information system helps Vodafone to deal with the all sort of enquires. Ethical Issues The use of Information system could be very risky for an organization. As it is very necessary for an organization to use information system to boost the performance of the work in better and convenient way meanwhile it could be very risky and can lead to disruption. So a lot of ethical issues need to keep in mind when implement information system. For example, if wrong information of data is entered then output also will be wrong this could lead to wrong decision making which is very harmful for company. It is very important to focus on ethical issue, if there is problem in OAS that wrong information is entered in the database of Vodafone then it will store wrong information in the system, it will produce wrong result. Same as if there is problem in TPS (Transaction Processing system) that transaction is made wrong while customer is paying bill or when Vodafone is topping up the account of the customers this could create problem for both customers and the company. Some ethical issue s of Vodafone are below; Privacy Protection: company need to focus on privacy of the company and its business. It needs to ensure that all transaction, made exactly and correctly. Along with this Vodafone needs to protect transaction occurred, that other cant retrieve it. Accuracy of Information: In process of data storage and all other inputs Vodafone needs to be careful of the authenticity of the stored information. Sometimes companies are expecting are something but they get something else at the time of result. Right of Information: Every mangers needs to know his responsibilities that he can maintain structure of the company. Security: As much the system is secure company will be safe from threats and misuse. Lack of knowledge: Staff must be trained to do the job and satisfy the customer in the criteria of information system. Conclusion: All organizations need to use information system to boost the performance and drive through the success. Information system helps organization to sort out, about all kind of problems and become profitable. As Vodafone is a communication services provider, so to come up with all necessities of this modern life and to compete with market, Vodafone needs to use specific information systems. There are so many companies in market competing with Vodafone, but due to choosing right and efficient information system, Vodafone is at the top.

Fair Value Practice: Suitability in Accounting

Fair Value Practice: Suitability in Accounting Introduction The issue of the use of fair value as a model for financial standards and reporting has been subjected to significant debate and argument since the IASB[1] Framework was first introduced in 1989. As can be seen from a number of accounting industry responses, such as that of Peter Willams (2005), the use of fair value is becoming increasing contentious and could pose difficulties for the ISAB. Some fear that if this issue is not addressed to the satisfaction of all parties, it could affect the power and influence of the ISAB. The intention within this paper is to discuss the theoretical concept of â€Å"fair value† and to assess its suitability of use for accounting reporting purposes. The paper will also look at the practical application of the â€Å"fair value† measurement as determined by the IASB within their current international reporting and accounting standards. The Concept of Fair Value The concept of â€Å"fair value† is to enable recognition of the reliable economic future value of certain assets and expenses, the latter of which is intended to ensure the correct level of increase or decrease of balance sheet assets or liabilities. The result of this method is to create a defined link between income and expense to reflect the movement in the value of assets and liabilities. For those who promote the concept of fair value, or what is sometimes known as fair â€Å"market† value, it is the sale price achieved for an asset offered on the market at the time of the statement, based upon the reasonable opinion of a professional evaluator (A.M. King 2006, 45). Fair value at present has no specific and identifiable measurement definition within current international accounting standards. It is currently determined through an amalgamation of a number of different and diverse accounting measurements used by corporations in accounting and financial reporting, although these models all have their disadvantages. For example, in the case of the historical cost measurement basis, fair value is deemed to be at the measured at the date of purchase, as this reflects market value at that time. Although this model is seen as one of the least volatile methods of value measurements, it is perceived to have shortcomings. The main issues are that cost dates are earlier than sale date leading to a potential for profit overstatement, and that it is not the ideal model on which to based future business decisions. In fact some commentators see that the current moves on fair value, although they may signify a move away from the less volatile performance of the previously used historical cost method, produce a measurement that is more in line with the real volatility of life and business activity generally (Mary Barth 2006, p.324). An alternative measurement, which uses a price index system such as the RPI[2], and is still based on transactions, is current purchasing power. The fair value determination here is set to reflect the capital of the business in relation to the general price trends. The difficulty with this model is that it assumes all prices move in line with the index, which is clearly not the case and thus can create an artificial monetary unit. The replacement cost and net realisable value model (NBV) use a fair value system based upon market entry and exit costs respectively. The former has the advantage of being able to calculate current values on a realistic basis, and can therefore identify gains in operating and other business areas, thus preserving the capability of the business. However, its subjectivity is aggravated by the speed of technological development and the fact that this leads to the possibility of no similar asset being available to compare values. The NBV model is clearer as it is based upon the probable selling price of the asset. It also does away with the estimation of depreciation as that selling price already reflects this. However, NBV does not take into account that the majority of assets are not disposed of, but utilised within the business. The problem with this calculation of fair value can threaten the concept of the business being a going concern. The ISAB intend to move towards a definitive fair value model, which supporters see as a positive action, the cost of which will not â€Å"be significantly higher than the cost of trying to implement the mixed measurement system† (Langendijk et.al. 2003, p.292). Mary Barth (2006), a member of the IASB, agrees with this statement, adding that a more definitive â€Å"fair value† model will assist in the elimination of some of the perceived volatility presently in existence. However, the opponents are equally vocal in their objections. A.M. King (2006, p.45) poses the question whether â€Å"all assets on a balance sheet [should] be shown at Fair Value?,† continuing to comment that the ability to achieve a particular model does not necessarily mean that it should be implemented. De Vries (quoted in Langendijk et.al. 2003, p.174) also questions whether it is a move in the right direction for financial reporting, and others fear that it will lead to less, rather than more reliance upon financial statements by investors and other stakeholders (Peter Williams, 2005). In the author’s opinion it appears that, whilst professional preparers of financial statements understand the concept of the â€Å"fair value† model being sought, those who utilize the statements as a basis for making investment and other business decisions, including stakeholders of all sizes, find difficulty equating the results with other factual information. In addition, the term fair value will only be valid at the date of preparation of the statement and, as a result, itself becomes historic from that moment. Thus, there is an argument for maintaining its use with the commonly used historical cost model. Use of Fair Value in accounting and reporting standards The term â€Å"fair value† is liberally spread throughout the international accounting and reporting standards. It is referred to in four of the IFRS[3]’s and at least fourteen of the international accounting standards, as shown in the summaries of the IAS (2006). The context of fair value within IFRS relates to treatment of the initial adoption of the standards, business combinations, insurance contracts and non-current assets and discontinued operations. In terms of the initial adoption, IFRS grants exemption of some non-current assets from the fair value model. The intention of the inclusion of fair value here is to ensure that the movement in the market value of an asset or liability, in other words the increase or decrease in value, is reflected within the financial statements at the prevailing date of those statements, identifying if this is different from actual cost. With the movements being recognised within the profit and loss, the anticipated result is to enable, a more accurate reflection of the capital (or share) value of the business at the given date (Antill and Kenneth 2005). In addition, IFRS demand that these fair value measurements be performed at each subsequent financial and accounting statement date, thus endeavouring to provide for the organisation’s Balance Sheet to reflect the impact of market conditions at all times. The inclusion of fair value within the international accounting standards is concentrated mainly within the areas of assets and liabilities, and in relation to specific business sectors, such as banks and similar financial organisations (IAS 30), Investment property (IAS 40) and agriculture (IAS 41). Two of the IAS’s do relate specifically to non balance sheet items. IAS 18 deals with fair value within the context of revenue. In this respect, it deals refers to the treatment of deferred income, where the fair value is achieved by the discounting of future receipts. The intention here is to take into account the change in revenue value by deferring the time of receipt, for example, how a rise in RPI[4] might influence the income in real terms. In IAS 21, which deals with foreign exchange transactions, the presenter of the financial statement is required to determine a fair value in the foreign currency in question before converting at the exchange rate applicable at the determination date. When dealing with the treatment of assets, impairment of assets and liabilities, as in IAS 16, 17 and 19, the fair value model intends the financial statements to include a valuation that accurately reflects the realisable worth in the marketplace of that asset or liability at the date of the valuation, notwithstanding whether the intention is to retain or dispose of that asset. In this respect fair value differs from historical cost accounting, which records the value of such items as at the date of purchase and, in many cases applies a depreciation content to the items, irrespective of their worth to a prospective purchaser. The historical cost result is twofold. Firstly, the financial statement recognition of any gain or loss against the real market value of an item may be delayed by several years and secondly, the statements will therefore not portray an accurate and fair view of the real value of the business at the date of the statements. The fair value model aim is to accurately align the varying fortunes of the business and its capital worth with the market forces of the date, allocating gains and losses within the period of time that they actually occur, rather than, as is the case with the historical cost model, creating an unrealistic movement in value within the space of one accounting period. A simple example of this in action is where, in the historical system, depreciation is attached to an asset at a predetermined annual rate, annually reducing the asset value. In reality, the sale of that asset would often achieve greater value than the statements showed, leading to a sudden annual increase in profits and growth in capital. Fair value proponents’ state that, by reassessing the market value on an annual basis, the real annual growth achieved by a business entity is more accurately defined, and that this provides investors with statements from which they can make more realistic judgments and use of as comparisons against other organisations, which is of benefit in their investment decision making process. Conclusion The core intention in the adoption of a fair value model as the most appropriate method of measurement for financial and accounting statement is to create a balance sheet and capital value of an organisation that accurately reflects the real market position of that organisation at the date of the statement. One difficulty and concern with this is the inherent problem in the evaluation and establishment of the fair value in respect of all of the items included within the statements. Langendijk et. al. 2003, p.52). At the time of this paper, the IASB has entered into further discussions with the various parties involved with, and affected by the fair value model. This is an attempt to arrive at a clearer definition of the model itself, and to seek a position on fair value, which is more acceptable for the future. References Antill, Nick and Lee, Kenneth (2005). Company Valuation Under IFRS: Interpreting and Forecasting Accounts Using International Financial Reporting Standards. Harriman House Publishing. UK Barth, Mary (2006). Fair Values and Financial Statement Volatility. International Accounting Standards Board, UK. ISAB Framework (2001). Framework for the preparation and presentation of Financial Statements. International King, A.M (2006). Fair Value for Financial Reporting: Meeting the New FASB Requirements. John Wiley Sons Inc., New Jersey, US. Langendijk, Henk., Swagerman, Dirk and Verhoog, Willem (eds) (2003). Is Fair Value Fair?: Financial Reporting from an International Perspective. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. UK Staff Team (2004). Fair Value Accounting and Financial Stability. European Central Bank. Occasional Paper Series, No. 13, April 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2007 from http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/scpops/ecbocp13.pdf Summary of International Accounting Standards (2006). International Accounting Standard Boards. Retrieved 20 January 2007 from http://www.iasb.org/Home.htm Williams, Peter (2005). Accounting – The next wave of convergence. Financial Director, 1 Feb 2005. 1 Footnotes [1] International Accounting Standards Board [2] Retail Price Index [3] International Financial Reporting Standards [4] Retail Price Index

Comparing the Book and Movie Version of The Grapes of Wrath Essay

The Grapes of Wrath: Comparing Book and Movie      Ã‚  Ã‚   Ford attempted to establish a sense of historical context by inserting two paragraphs of prose on the screen immediately following the opening credits: ' In the central part of the United States of America lies a limited area called 'the Dust Bowl', because of its lack of rains. Here drought and poverty combined to deprive many farmers from their land. This is the story of one farmer's family, driven from their fields by natural disasters and economic changes beyond anyone's control and their great journey in search of peace, security, and another home.'    In its description of a '' limited area called 'the Dust Bowl', 'the prose serves to limit the scope of the tragedy about to be witnessed to a specific, isolated part of the nation. The simple past tense used in the final sentence of the first paragraph underscores a feeling that this is all over by the time of the film, 1940. The second paragraph prepares us not for Steinbeck's picture of failure on a national scale but for the story of 'one's farmer's family' who are victims of changes ' beyond anyone's control', and who will set out on a heart-rending journey ' in search of peace, security, and another home.' One can already notice in this opening lines of the film that the director's attempted to carefully avoid attaching specific blame in this potentially controversial film. The possibility of social change wrought by violent by violent conflict suggested in the novel will not even be hinted at.       The movie only focuses on the Joads, a migrant family from the Dust Bowl region, while the novel's focus shifts from the Joads to the situation of all the migrants who went to Californi... ...hile the peasants will keep trudging down a long, hard road. The Grapes of Wrath as a novel argues that in order to survive spiritually and physically on the planet man must commit himself to man and environment, whereas the film version focuses on the traditional figure of the isolated individual who will make things 'right'.    Sources Cited and Consulted: Davis, R. M. (editor). Steinbeck: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1972. Pratt, John Clark. John Steinbeck: A Critical Essay. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1970. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath . New York: Penguin Books, 1986. The Grapes of Wrath   Directed by John Ford   Produced by Daryl F. Zanuck 20th Century Fox, 1940. Wyatt, David ed. New Essays on The Grapes of Wrath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Comparing the Book and Movie Version of The Grapes of Wrath Essay The Grapes of Wrath: Comparing Book and Movie      Ã‚  Ã‚   Ford attempted to establish a sense of historical context by inserting two paragraphs of prose on the screen immediately following the opening credits: ' In the central part of the United States of America lies a limited area called 'the Dust Bowl', because of its lack of rains. Here drought and poverty combined to deprive many farmers from their land. This is the story of one farmer's family, driven from their fields by natural disasters and economic changes beyond anyone's control and their great journey in search of peace, security, and another home.'    In its description of a '' limited area called 'the Dust Bowl', 'the prose serves to limit the scope of the tragedy about to be witnessed to a specific, isolated part of the nation. The simple past tense used in the final sentence of the first paragraph underscores a feeling that this is all over by the time of the film, 1940. The second paragraph prepares us not for Steinbeck's picture of failure on a national scale but for the story of 'one's farmer's family' who are victims of changes ' beyond anyone's control', and who will set out on a heart-rending journey ' in search of peace, security, and another home.' One can already notice in this opening lines of the film that the director's attempted to carefully avoid attaching specific blame in this potentially controversial film. The possibility of social change wrought by violent by violent conflict suggested in the novel will not even be hinted at.       The movie only focuses on the Joads, a migrant family from the Dust Bowl region, while the novel's focus shifts from the Joads to the situation of all the migrants who went to Californi... ...hile the peasants will keep trudging down a long, hard road. The Grapes of Wrath as a novel argues that in order to survive spiritually and physically on the planet man must commit himself to man and environment, whereas the film version focuses on the traditional figure of the isolated individual who will make things 'right'.    Sources Cited and Consulted: Davis, R. M. (editor). Steinbeck: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1972. Pratt, John Clark. John Steinbeck: A Critical Essay. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1970. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath . New York: Penguin Books, 1986. The Grapes of Wrath   Directed by John Ford   Produced by Daryl F. Zanuck 20th Century Fox, 1940. Wyatt, David ed. New Essays on The Grapes of Wrath. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

John Proctor in The Crucible :: Essay on The Crucible

Crucible Paper The Puritans had many values that everyone must know and completely obey. One of those values is to know, and obey the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were one of the most important things for all Puritans to know and obey, because without them there would be no order. For a Puritan not to know his Commandments by heart was nearly unheard of seeing how the Commandments are the basic rules for them. Although almost all of the Puritans knew the Commandments there were a few who didn’t know them all by heart. John Proctor was one of these who didn’t know them all by heart. Its not just the fact that he didn’t know them all by heart that lets him fit into the category of not being a good Puritan because he lacks the Puritan characteristic of knowing and obeying the Ten Commandments. One way he shows that he doesn’t obey the Ten Commandments is the fact the he rarely attends church anymore. This is breaking one of the Ten Commandments, ‘Th ou shall remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy’ this Commandment states that on every Sunday you must attend church. Yet John doesn’t, which isn’t following what he should do. Another example of not obeying the Commandments is by having an affair with Abigail, who was his housekeeper and who happened to be eleven at the time. In committing this act he directly disobeyed the Commandment ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. This Commandment states that when one is married to someone they should only be active among themselves. The finally way John shows that he is not a good Puritan is by not knowing all the Commandments when asked to say them by Mr. Hale. John says them all but adultery. These three things made John Proctor ‘an unworthy Christian’ by Puritan standards. When John was asked to repeat the Ten Commandments by Mr. Hale he was off to a good start but he forgot adultery completely and said one twice (page 63-64). This shows Mr. Hale that in fact John doesn’t know the Commandments, which means he is not a good Puritan. The reason for Mr. Hale’s presents at Proctor’s house was because Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife, was accused of witchcraft early that day at court. Hale didn’t come representing the courts, but purely to gain knowledge of the people of Salem so that he may gain knowledge of how to get rid of the Devil if he truly is in Salem.

The sain case :: essays research papers

SAIN V. CEDAR RAPIDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT: PROVIDING SPECIAL PROTECTION FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES? The scholarly article I chose was of great interest to me for several reasons. The case is an educational malpractice case in which a student-athlete said he was provided false information by his high school consolor and lost his basketball scholarship as a result. I was a student athlete in high school and sports are still a big part of my life. On top of that I am considering teaching and coaching after I graduate, making this a very relevant topic to me. In the next several paragraphs I am going to summarize the article and cases that it mentions, then I will try and decide what the authors intent was with writing this piece. It has been said for years that any case of educational malpractice was doomed from the start. Because of this, it was a huge surprise when the Iowa Supreme Court denied the defendant, Cedar Rapids Community School District’s motion for summary judgement. This was a case where a student sued for negligent misrepresentation by a school guidance counselor. One reason why the court may have denied the motion was because it was trying to protect a category of people who were considered especially vulnerable, the student-athlete. Bruce Sain who was the plaintiff in the case attended Jefferson High School, which was in the defendants school district. He played basketball for the school and was very good at it, so good that he planned on getting a scholarship to finance his college education. In order to be eligible to play sports in college you must meet certain course requirements be the NCAA, which Sain was working on doing. In his senior year he still needed three English credits to satisfy the NCAA requirements and since he went to a school that brock their year down into trimesters, he thought this would be no problem. He completed his first English course and enrolled into his second, but for some reason or another he disliked the class, so he went to his school counselor to see what he could do. The counselor told him to enroll into a class called technical Communications, which the counselor assured him would be approved by the NCAA clearinghouse. But the school did not include that particular course on the list of classes that was sent to the clearinghouse. The next and final trimester Sain completed his third English credit and accepted a five year scholarship to Northern Illinois University.

Ambition as a Theme in Macbeth

In todays society, different themes such as ambition, good vs. evil, and believing in superstitions are still prevalent. Similar to Macbeth, many people will go great lengths in order to achieve their goals in life. Some are consumed with ambition to the point where it doesn't matter what the consequences are for their actions as long as they are satisfied. An example of this is seen when our economy fell into a deep recession as a result of ambitious business people. Good vs. evil is oftentimes viewed in todays society through our Justice system.It is this constant battle between the police and criminals that keep our society at balance. Superstitions play a big part in some cultures and are still prevalent in todays society. Just like Macbeth, people follow these superstitions that are put into their mind. They believe that there will be a bad outcome so, they follow these superstitions to keep out of danger or bad fortune. When the three witches informed Macbeth about his prophesy he was in shock but felt anxious for it to happen sooner than later.The ambition that made him want to fulfill that prophesy took a lot of wrong doing but he went ahead and did it anyways. The fact that his wife's ambition for Macbeth was even stronger than his own and encourages him even more to make that prophesy come true. In todays society there are many ambitious people out there because without ambition people wouldn't get very far and would Just give up. For high school teenagers their ambition may be wanting to attend a college of their choice and will work hard in order to omplete their goal.Along with ambition, violence is also s recurring theme in Macbeth because there was a murder in basically every act. Throughout the play there is a lot of killing, fighting and blood, which are all results of violence. No matter how much we wish violence wasn't around in todays society it is still present because of the disagreement between two parties. War is a big factor of violence because two countries or whoever cant come to an agreement so they result in violence.

Most and Least Important Factors in the Outbreak of Ww1

Which was the most important and least important factor in the outbreak of the First World War? In my opinion, the most important cause of the First World War was the Alliance System. By 1914, the main powers in Europe had been divided into two groups. These were: The Triple Alliance – Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, and The Triple Entente – Britain, France and Russia. Although the point of creating these alliances was to avoid war, they meant that any conflict that broke out would increase in scale immediately because the other countries had to support them. The main rivalries were Germany and France over the capture of Alsace-Lorraine, Russia and Austria over the Balkans, and Britain and Germany over their navies and economic power. The Alliance System created a lot of competition between the rival countries, and possibly even the allies themselves, because, naturally, they all wanted to be the most powerful and influential in their group. This just increased the tension between everyone and strengthened each side for the inevitable war. On the other hand, I think the least important cause of the war was the Arms Race. The growing divide in Europe (caused by the Alliance System) had led to an arms race between the main countries. The French and German armies had more than doubled their forces, and all nations were making plans for war. The German Count Alfred von Schlieffen had come up with the Schlieffen Plan, which was to fight France and defeat them within six weeks, and then to turn back and defeat Russia. Unfortunately for them, they relied too much on hoping Russia would take more than six weeks to mobilise, which didn’t happen. Also, as the Germans went through Belgium to get into France, Belgium had a treaty with Britain which meant Britain automatically got involved. Austria was intimidated by Russia and needed Germany to succeed in defeating France, so they could then help them in fighting Russia. Russia had potentially millions of soldiers. This made them very powerful because they could overwhelm the opposition with sheer numbers, although they would have needed Britain’s industrial help because they were badly-equipped. France had a large, well equipped army. They had a plan called Plan 17. This was to charge across the frontiers and deep into Germany, forcing them to surrender. Britain was closely but secretly in collaboration with the French. They set up the BEF (British Expeditionary Force), which was 150,000 highly trained soldiers that could go and support France at any time. Although the Arms Race seems to have developed the preparations for war from each country, I don’t think that it actually caused any more problems between the countries. At this point, war was seen as inevitable and all the nations could do was prepare for what was to come as best as they could.

Consequences of Successful Business Essay

Consequences of successful business vs unsuccessful business: Linking business success to management The success of a business is based on the quality, the education and the experience of management. Experience is necessary in order to make the right decisions and education leads to higher quality of performance. Quality decisions and performances contribute to the achievement of the business objectives and goals. All these success factors enhance the strengths of the business, which makes it more competitive in the marketplace. Let’s have a look at two similar businesses, a successful one, KFC, and an unsuccessful one, Mochachos’ Chicken Villages and we can see how applying quality relates to some business functions. 1. Business Image or Public Relations Function The main objective of the PR function is to present a good impression of the business because customers associate the business image with the product. So the KFC chicken with the secret recipe is what the customers see as the company. If they are happy with the chicken they are happy with the company, KFC as a whole. KFC is a large business with lots of money to spend on the appearance of the stores, advertising, presentation of meals like the boxes etc and even dressing their staff is nice eye catching uniforms. Another good PR method is direct contact where staff members come into contact with orphanages, hospitals and schools. KFC makes sure that the media are informed so that they receive publicity about their good deeds. Mochachos’ Chicken Villages on the other hand didn’t have a lot of money at their disposal for image which put them at a disadvantage. Because Mochachos Chicken Villages didn’t have the look of a well established company with large corporate offices, big expensive advertising, and the customers associated that with their ability to provide good food. They did nothing in the community and got bad publicity when things started to go wrong at the stores. 2. Product Quality and Operations Function Improvement in quality is achieved with the advancing in manufacturing technology. The company has to keep up with the times and do constant reassess of future production requirements KFC are always bringing out new kinds of chicken for us to eat. There are strips, pops, burgers and even boneless chicken. They are improving their technology all the time. An example is the grilled KFC chicken you get today. They have realized that customers are also trying to eat a little healthier and they have developed new technology to grill the chicken instead of frying it but always keeping the quality high. Mochachos’ Chicken Villages have stuck to one or a few products. Not bringing in anything new or keeping up with the latest on the market. And this could lead to a lack of interest from the public and eventually bad quality of the food. 3. Quality Human Resources Function Appoint employees that have the abilities and experience to obtain results. KFC have the resources to spend time and money on training the staff as well as training the managers. They have the money to pay the employees what they are worth. Happy workers equal more productive workers. They hire the correct people for the job and outsource certain required services such as IT specialists to keep their till systems working properly. Organisation and leadership are also a successful part of the KFC staff. Mochachos’ Chicken Villages have perhaps cut costs and employed inexperienced staff that don’t have the abilities to provide a good service to the customers therefore making it more difficult to get the results they wanted. The management haven’t been trained properly and that reflects on the company as a whole. 4. Quality Administration Function Administration is spread throughout the entire company and this need s to be  of the highest quality for all systems to work and eventually for the management to make the correct decisions. KFC have the correct systems in place from their production lines to the delivery of good to the systems in the stores. All documentation is done correctly and all systems are in place and check. Policies and procedures are followed to the last detail such as the cleaners noting down the time they have cleaned. Stock control is an ongoing process. All the information collected is used for research and development, planning, projecting and budgeting ahead and also steps are taken to make sure the right decisions are made for the goals of KFC to be achieved. Mochachos’ Chicken Villages didn’t have all the policies and procedures in place. They made incorrect decisions regarding renting new space to operate in. They didn’t analyse their customer’s needs, they didn’t project future sales or work out the financial position of the business. The most important thing is that Mochachos’ Chicken Villages didn’t remain sustainable in today’s competitive business world. 5. Quality and Healthy Financial Function This function is concern with raising enough capital to finance the business’s assets, resources and services to operate properly. The financial manager must make sure that the business can make enough money to cover the cost of raising the capital. KFC have done budgeting which is the most important mechanism for financial control. KFC have many stores and many investors, properties and equipment which all forms part of making the business financially stable. Mochachos’ Chicken Villages didn’t have enough investors buying into the franchising concept and then the expenses eventually became more than the income, this showing a lack of financial planning, budgeting and control. They had no investors and that meant no security that the business would remain sustainable or too much of the owners capital was required. In conclusion: Good managers will ensure successful business results because it will ensure that customer needs are satisfied. As the saying goes â€Å"Good managers are trained, not born.† Hardly anyone is born a good manager. Almost all of them have learnt it. And the good thing is that it can be learnt. Plenty have done it. And so can you. Learning to be an excellent manager requires education, training and experience. You can’t skimp on any one of them†¦..it takes all three.

A study of the psychology of belief with reference to the influence of Freud

For many people, religion has been a pillar of our society for as long as we can trace back. A psychologist however, would argue that religion developed from the day that the people of our society started questioning their existence. As Sigmund Freud, physiologist, doctor, psychologist and the father of psychoanalysis, is generally recognised as one of the most influential and authoritative thinkers of the twentieth century, we need to consider his analysis of religion when approaching this topic. However as some of Freud's theories were developed over a century ago is it really possible to apply them to our society today, especially as our society is so multicultural and faith still holds a key role within many people's lives? According to Sigmund Freud religion is an â€Å"illusion† we as a society or as individuals, conjure up for ourselves, for a number of key reasons. The first and most essential reason Freud claims we turn to religion is as a way of expressing psychological anguish from our childhood. The second is we turn to religion as a way of overcoming and preventing dangers from the natural world, in hoping to gain control â€Å"the necessity of defending oneself against the crushingly superior force of nature. † The third is that religion is used as a stress relief, stress that has developed from living in a suppressive society that condones the expression of sexual desire. A final key reason Freud developed is that we follow religion to prevent the feeling of helplessness we can get when we no longer have the protection of our parents or guardians: â€Å"And thus a store of ideas is created, born from man's need to make his helplessness tolerable and built up from the memories of the helplessness of his own childhood and the childhood of the human race† I shall address Freud's key idea to begin with: religion is a way of expressing psychological anguish. All of Freud's work is focused around the idea of our unconscious or our subconscious. Freud claimed that as children, any emotional torment we may suffer, instead of dealing with it directly at the time, we suppress it in our unconscious mind, only to channel it into another outlet later in life as an obsession or repulsion of any particular aspect of life. This is referred to as sublimation. One of the ways in which a person may choose to â€Å"channel† their negative experiences is through religion. This link was brought to Freud's attention as he began to notice similarities in his patients' obsessions in relation to the source of their compulsive behaviour as to that of a religious person and their faith. Both have a symbolic meaning to the follower and have a set ritual – failure to complete this ritual (however regular it may be) leads to guilty feelings of regret. Seeing this comparison Freud came to the conclusion that religion is another form of neurotic illness that stems from our unconscious. Freud then began to address the matter of what suppressed feelings from childhood actually were. It is through this thinking he developed the concept of the â€Å"Oedipus Complex â€Å". This suggests that as children, young boys hold loving feelings of a sexual nature for their mothers. Through this they develop feelings of envy and hatred for their fathers. Due to the society we live in the Oedipus complex has to be suppressed as it is not acceptable behaviour but the sexual urges, Freud claims, are still there. It is these urges that are pushed to our unconscious that later come out in obsession or infatuation with something – obviously in this case – religion. â€Å"Thus religion would be a universal obsessive neurosis of humankind. Just like the obsessive neurosis in children it springs from the Oedipus complex, the relationship with the Father† As mentioned before Freud made a direct link between psychological anguish and guilt and religion and guilt. Freud put forward a process that humans use to channel their guilt, particularly that of a sexual nature from the Oedipus/Electra complex. In an attempt to rid themselves of these feelings of guilt the person develops idols or Gods. By doing this they feel they can repent for their guilt by worship or sacrifice to these idols. Initially the idol may be a representation of the child's Father yet later on, in the same way the Father is rejected through Oedipus, the God is changed to an animal of a primal sort. The animal becomes sacred and inflicting harm upon the animal becomes a sin. Sacrifices are made to and worship becomes a ritual. This first stage of sublimation Freud labelled as animism. The second stage is, however, called religion. During this stage, the animal develops the status of a God and once again takes the form of the father figure thus completing the cycle from Oedipus to religion. As Freud said â€Å"I put forward a suggestion that mankind as a whole may have acquired its sense of guilt of its history, in connection with the Oedipus complex† Closely linked to this is the theory that religion is used as a â€Å"stress† relief, stress that is placed on us by the society we live in. The stress that is caused by the suppression of our natural urges as children. This stress forces us to channel our libido into other areas of thinking and working, areas in life that are more socially acceptable. As I explained previously it is common for this area to be religion and worship. Freud's second theory for religion is that we use religion as a way of protecting ourselves or overcoming fears from the natural world. The problem of evil and suffering and religion has long being a conflict for many philosophers and psychologists. It is through this conflict that â€Å"St. Augustine's Theodicy† was developed. St. Augustine based his arguments on the Bible and his theodicy suggests that God is perfect and created the world perfectly. Created things are susceptible to change and evil comes from angels and human beings that chose to turn away from God. Augustine concluded that God cannot be blamed for creating evil since evil is not a substance rather than a deprivation (a lack of good) and it is not logical to say God created that deprivation. Despite this theory and many others that have been presented to us since the problem of evil and suffering is what gives science a higher appeal than religion to many people living today but it is also, according to Freud why we invent religion in the first place. Religion offers us a â€Å"reward† for any suffering we may have inflicted upon us during our lifetime and adds meaning to life and its purpose. Otherwise we would be suffering unnecessarily and there would be no point to continue with life. Also through prayer and worship we feel we can control naturally occurring events that can cause us suffering such as death, illness, natural disasters etc. We do this in an attempt to abolish our fears of things we cannot control or change and hope to have some power over them through religion. Freud's next point is not dissimilar to the ideas of Karl Marx. Marxists would claim that religion is encouraged by the state to enforce order in society. Freud suggested a purpose for religion is that it is developed to give us a reason to obey authority. Regardless whether it is state authority or religious authority according to Freud people develop an attitude that â€Å"Everything in our world is an expression of the intentions of intelligence superior to us, which in the end, though its ways and byways are difficult to follow, orders everything for the best. We feel that if we disobey we shall not be rewarded, or worse punished for our crime or sin and we, by consequence, do not disobey. Freud came to the conclusion that religion must be overthrown for society to develop and progress. A final key reason Freud presents for humans fabricating religion is to prevent the feeling of helplessness we can get when we no longer have the protection of our parents or our guardians. This is simply that we develop â€Å"Gods† in order to protect ourselves, so we have someone to care for us and someone to look up to in the same way that we as children looked up to our parents. When Freud's theories were first published they were considered deeply controversial, interestingly though people took interest in what he said and took his psychoanalytical theory very seriously because at the time science was starting to make it's breakthrough and Freud's explanations were fresh and appealing to many. However whether theories that were developed over a century ago can still be relevant today is a different consideration. For Freud's work to still be relevant today, when science has developed further than psychology, which in comparison is considered the â€Å"soft science,† there would have to be some evidence to support the basics of Freud's theory. Freud based his â€Å"Oedipus Complex† on the ideas of Darwinism, a stage of life in prehistoric men when the family unit was the â€Å"primal horde†. It consisted of a mother a father and offspring. As the dominant male the father would scare off any male threat to the female. This continued until all the male offspring joined together and turned on the father and eventually killed him. The idea of religion stemming from guilt is not such a controversial one, particularly linking to sexual guilt and religion. Religious figures have often condemned sexual activity for the use of anything other than reproduction. Figures such as St. Augustine (who was greatly influenced by Plato) viewed sex and sexual desire as â€Å"having been implanted by the Devil at the time of the fall† as Peter Vardy explains Augustine claimed that it was best to avoid all sexual activity even within wedlock. If the situation should occur when sex was needed for reproduction then the man â€Å"should descend to his task with a certain regret. † Peter Vardy also outlines the common Catholic teaching which even today, in what we like to consider a sexually liberated society is still very traditional in it's approach, namely: – – Masturbation is sinful since this means using genitalia for a purpose for which they are not intended – Sex can never have pleasure or the expression of love as its main object since, again, this means using genitalia for a purpose for which they were not intended Homosexuality, if it is practised, is deeply sinful as this means using genitalia for a purpose for which they were not intended since procreation cannot result and it is â€Å"against nature† So considering people are still raised to believe sex for any other reason other than reproduction is sinful, it is easy to see why sexual feelings may lead to feelings of guilt. Particularly as sexual feelings are present throughout all stages of childhood that Freud identifies in the following ways: from birth to the age of eighteen months the child goes through what Freud named the â€Å"Oral Stage. This is to say all gratification of learning is gained through the mouth (feeding, chewing, sucking fingers etc. ) From eighteen months to three years the child progresses into the â€Å"Anal Stage† this normally happens when the child goes through potty training and often as a result develops fascination in anus and faeces. The period of time between three and six years of age was coined as the â€Å"Phallic Stage† and it's during this stage that the child develops features of the Oedipus complex (if male) or the Electra complex (if female). After the initial rush of feelings from the phallic stage have passed the child falls into the â€Å"Latent Stage† during which Freud claims there is no sexual development but this could be due to a suppression of the sexual feelings from the â€Å"Phallic stage. † The final stage of childhood according to Freud is the â€Å"Genital Stage† and depending on how the child's feelings from their younger years were dealt with, this is the time when sexual desire develops and is explored deeper. So if a child is raised to deny themselves the sexual feelings their body releases then they may begin to feel sinful or guilty for having these feelings in the first place. Therefore for Freud to find a link between sex, guilt and religion is not entirely controversial. This all acts as evidence towards Freud's theories and the relevance they hold in our society today. However, that said, there is plenty of reason why Freud's theories are not at all relevant to us in such a developed society. Freud has been criticised for focusing on the link between a father figure and a â€Å"God† in religions such as Judaism and, of course, Christianity. He fails to address eastern cultures and religions, which are based on worship of female idols or Goddesses,† such as the Egyptian Isis cult and Buddhism who have no one single object of worship. One of Freud's major critics, Bronislaw Malinowski, who went on to write a book called â€Å"Sex and Repression† disputed Freud's theory that religion develops from sexual guilt caused from the Oedipus complex. He points out for Oedipus to be a complex it needs to be universal. You cannot apply a complex such as Oedipus to matriarchal tribes in which the male is not dominant and takes the role of a nurse. Malinowski also brings to our attention the lack of evidence for â€Å"Oedipus† within the animal kingdom, as Darwinism only applies to early mankind. Also there is less evidence of â€Å"Oedipus† leading to religion in our society today as it is becoming increasingly secular and fewer people are turning to religion. This could suggest that the Oedipus complex does not occur, or if it does it does not have a link to religion. It is more likely, however, that all children still do go through the Oedipus complex but as our society is more sexually liberated people are allowed to express sexual desire in other ways rather than it becoming sublimated and channelled into religion. Another key criticism of the â€Å"Oedipus Complex† is the suggestion that religion is a cause of the complex rather than a result of it. If it was not for religion then, it is possible, these sexual urges would not have been suppressed at an early stage and a complex would not begin to develop. It could be just a possible that a child was made to feel guilty about the loving feelings towards his Mother and as a consequence developed a complex (Oedipus. ) Rather than the â€Å"Oedipus Complex† leading to religion. Another more general criticism is that even if religion is a cause or result of guilt, or fear it still works as a â€Å"Buffer† between the soul and reality. It is essential to society, as, music, art or literature as it is an expression of self and belief. Therefore it is not sound to suggest, as Freud did that religion must be overthrown. † Donald Winnicott essentially presented this criticism of Freud's work but is the popular feeling of many today. Psychology self – help book â€Å"Love is the Answer† presents the argument that some none – religious responses to misfortune of frustration e. g. Cynicism has actually been shown to be bad for physical health. So a â€Å"religious† view (of forgiving and repenting) might actually be health giving to us, and to dismiss it from our society would be to dismiss this positive outlook on life. So Freud's theory may have been apt for his society, a society built on religious structure, and some of his points may appear to justify the behaviour of people today. But I feel that in the twenty-first century when we are all encouraged to express our beliefs, ideas, sexuality and â€Å"bare our souls†, a theory based on suppression (even if it is unconscious) seems radical. I think religion itself has become more liberal and has resulted in many â€Å"branches† of Christianity all with a different strand of tradition. Some â€Å"branches† base their morals on the word of the Bible where as others feel that we have to â€Å"update† the word of God and adapt it to how we live today. To apply a theory from a century ago is to digress, in the same way technology has evolved, and our knowledge of our universe and surroundings have developed, we have to advance spiritually. We have to question what we already know, even if this means abandoning Freud's theories and all its implications.