Evolution Theory Essay

Darwin spent five years exploring the world. Darwin traveled to many places mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. As he traveled from place to place, Darwin was surprised, by the similarities between the species. He wrote in his journal of the Galapagos Islands, â€Å"†¦there is even a difference between the inhabitants of the different islands; yet all show a marked relationship with those of America, though separated from that continent by an open space of ocean, between 500 and 600 miles in width.† At this early stage of his life, along with graduating college Darwin soon began collecting evidence for his theory of Evolution and natural selection. While on his journey Darwin made many observations. They were mainly about the different species he saw on the Galapagos Islands. Each island had a different variation of birds. He noticed that the beak sizes of the finches were different on each island because of the size seeds they ate. Darwin noticed that organisms reproduce more offspring than can survive. Each individual offspring has unique characteristics that can be hereditable. Most of Darwin’s observations focused on the idea of natural adaptions. Darwin noticed that the body parts an animal used the most for survival, evolved over periods of time. Meaning if a giraffe tends to use its neck a lot, it will extend in length throughout time. This is an organism’s natural adaption to, living within its environment. These observations lead to the theory of Evolution. Aside from this Darwin observed the competitive field among organisms. An organism’s physical adaption can either make or break them. Survival of the fittest is key in every habitat. Through evolution, organisms have been allowed to make physical and behavioral adaptions that can be beneficial towards survival. In his theory Darwin states that organisms have visible differences. This difference can be inherited from the offspring’s parents. Another point is that organism’s produce more offspring than can survive. From these organisms that are produced, many do not reproduce later on in life. Since so many organisms are reproduced there is a fight for the survival of the fittest. Individuals best suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully. The characteristics that make them best suited to their environment are passed on to offspring. Individuals whose characteristics are not as well suited to their environment die or leave fewer offspring. Organisms change over time, this is the theory that Darwin tries to prove known as evolution. It is believed that organism adapt t their environment and change over periods of time. The species that live in present day are descendants form those in the past. All organisms on Earth are united by one common ancestor. These are the major points form Darwin’s theory of Evolution. I feel that Darwin’s theory is very accurate. Organisms adapt over time and this adaptions help with natural survival. Evolution occurs over periods of time and has leaded us to our modern state. Every organism is the descendant of a prehistoric ancestor. There are visible similarities, but sometimes it may be hard to tell an organisms’ ancestor. I feel that if changes occur gradually it can be easily noticed that organism’s physical, behavioral and outer appearances change.

Four characteristics of Romanesque art

The Romanesque art period started from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque. The term was invented by 19th century art historians, which retained many basic features of Roman architectural style. Mostly round-headed arches, as well as barrel vaults, apses, and acanthus-leaf decoration but had also developed many very different characteristics. The Romanesque style was the first style to impact the whole of Catholic Europe, from Denmark to Sicily.Romanesque art consisted of sculptures, made out of metal, enamel, and ivory work. Metals were a very high status in this period, much more than the paintings. Metal sculptures included enamel decorations, for example The Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral by Nicholas of Verndun. It is said to contain the bones of the Biblical Magi, also known as the Three Kings or the Three Wise Men. The shrine is a large gilde d and decorated triple sarcophagus placed above and behind the high altar of Cologne Cathedral.It is the largest reliquary, which is known as a shrine, in the western world. Another example of Romanesque metal work is the Cloisters Cross. It is an unusually complex 12th century ivory Romanesque altar cross in The Cloisters. The cross is carved from walrus ivory and measures 22 5/8 by 14 1/4 inches. The carvings that are covering both the front and the back contain ninety-two carved figures and ninety-eight inscriptions. The figures, each of which is only about one-half inch tall, illustrate a number of Biblical scenes. Also read  Driver’s Ed Module Reflection JournalAside form the sculptures Romanesque art was known for its wall paintings. The large wall surfaces and plain, curving vaults of the Romanesque period lent themselves to mural decoration. Many of the early wall paintings have been destroyed by moisture and some walls have been re plastered and painted over. Majority, if not all, wall paintings were in churches. The Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, which is located in Poitou, France, is home to many of these murals. One of these murals is, â€Å"God speaks to Noah†. This mural was done using the Fresco technique.The Fresco technique is a painting done on fresh plaster (calcina), which is done immediately on freshly applied plaster before it dries. Another type of Romanesque art is embroidery. Romanesque embroidery is best known from the Bayeux Tapestry. The Bayeux Tapestry is a 0. 5-by-68. 38-meter long embroidered cloth, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England as well as the events of the invasion itself. The tapestry is annotated in Latin. Another popular type of embroidery is called the Opus Anglicanum or English work.It is a contemporary term for fine needlework of Medieval England done for ecclesiastical or secular use on clothing, hangings or other textiles, primarily by nuns and then by professionals who had served seven years' apprenticeship in secular workshops. Stained glass is the colored and painted glass of medieval Europe from the 10th to the 16th century. For much of this period stained glass windows were the major pictorial art form, particularly in northern France, Germany and England where windows tended to be larger than in southern areas.Glass was both expensive and fairly flexible meaning it could be added to or re-arranged, seems to mostly be used in churches, but were also found in wealthy domestic settings and public buildings such as town halls. The purpose of stained glass windows in a church was both to enhance the beauty of their setting and to inform the viewer through narrative or symbolism. Most of the magnificent stained glass of France, including the famous windows of Chartres, dates from the 13th century. Few large windows that date back from the Twelfth century are intact, one of them being the Crucifixion of Poitiers.It is a remarkable composition that rises through three stages. The lowest with a quatrefoil depicting the Martyrdom of St Peter, the largest central stage dominated by the crucifixion and the upper stage showing the Ascension of Christ in a mandorla. The window has been described as, â€Å"a remarkable beauty†. The earliest intact figures are five prophet windows at Augsburg, dating from the late Eleventh century. The figures, though stiff and formalized, demonstrate proficiency in design, both pictorially and in the functional use of the glass. One particular is called, â€Å"The Prophet Daniel†.

Effect on Economy Due to Change in Rbi Policy

Shivans gupta PGPFM nifm- Faridabad Shivans gupta PGPFM nifm- Faridabad Effect of Monetary Policy of RBI on Economy Effect of Monetary Policy of RBI on Economy 2012 2012 Effect of Change in monetary policy of RBI on Economy Economy An  economy  consists of the  economic systems  of a country or other area; the  labour,  capital, and  land  resources; and the  manufacturing, production,  trade,  distribution, and  consumption  of  goods  and services of that area.A given economy is the result of a process that involves its  technological evolution,  history  and  social organization, as well as its  geography,  natural resource endowment, and  ecology, as main factors. These factors give context, content, and set the conditions and parameters in which an economy functions. Repo rate Repo rate is the rate at which RBI lends to commercial banks generally against government securities. Reduction in Repo rate helps the commercial banks to get mo ney at a cheaper rate and increase in Repo rate discourages the commercial banks to get money as the rate increases and becomes expensive.As the rates are high the availability of credit and demand decreases resulting to decrease in  inflation. Reverse Repo rate Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which RBI borrows money from the commercial banks. The increase in the Repo rate will increase the cost of borrowing and lending of the banks which will discourage the public to borrow money and will encourage them to deposit. Cash Reserve Ratio Cash Reserve Ratio is a certain percentage of  bank deposits  which banks are required to keep with RBI in the form of reserves or balances . Higher the CRR with the RBI lower will be the  liquidity  in the system and vice-versa.RBI is empowered to vary CRR between 15 percent and 3 percent. But as per the suggestion by the Narshimam committee Report the CRR was reduced from 15% in the 1990 to 5 percent in 2002. As of October 2012, the CRR is 4. 5 percent. Statutory Liquidity Ratio Every financial institute have to maintain a certain amount of liquid assets from their time and demand liabilities with the RBI. These liquid assets can be cash, precious metals, approved securities like bonds etc. The ratio of the liquid assets to time and demand liabilities is termed as  Statutory  Liquidity  Ratio. There was a reduction from 38. % to 25% because of the suggestion by Narshimam Committee. The current SLR is 23%. Bank rate Bank rate, also referred to as the  discount rate, is the  rate of interest  which a  central bank  charges on the loans and advances to a  commercial bank. Whenever the banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow it from the central bank. Repo (Repurchase) rate is the rate at which the central bank lends short-term money to the banks against securities. A reduction in the repo rate will help banks to get money at a cheaper rate. When the repo rate increases borrowing from the centra l bank becomes more expensive.It is more applicable when there is a liquidity crunch in the market. Inflation In  economics,  inflation  is a rise in the general  level of prices  of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. [1]  When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the  purchasing power  of money – a loss of real value in the internal medium of exchange and unit of account in the economy. A chief measure of price inflation is the  inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general  price index  (normally the  Consumer Price Index) over time.Gross domestic product  (GDP) Gross domestic product  (GDP) is the  market value  of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP  per capita  is often considered an indicator of a country's  standard of living; GDP per capita is not a measure of personal income (See  Standard of living and GDP). Under economic theory, GDP per capita exactly equals the gross domestic income (GDI) per capita (See  Gross domestic income). GDP is related to  national accounts, a subject in  macroeconomics. GDP is not to be confused with  Gross National Product  (GNP) which allocates production based on ownership.Interest rate An  interest rate  is the rate at which  interest  is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a  lender. Specifically, the interest rate (I/m) is a percent of principal (I) paid at some rate (m). For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for their business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for deferring the use of funds and instead lending it to the borrower. Interest rates are normally expressed as a  percentage  of the  principal  for a period of one year. Money supply In  economics, the  money supply  or  money stock, is the total amount of  monetary assets  available in an  economy  at a specific time. There are several ways to define â€Å"money,† but standard measures usually include  currency  in circulation and  demand deposits  (depositors' easily accessed assets on the books of financial institutions). Money supply data are recorded and published, usually by the government or the central bank of the country. Public and private sector analysts have long monitored changes in money supply because of its possible effects on the  price level,  inflation, the  exchange rate  and the  business cycle.Relation between two variables Interest rates & investments Interest rates & the bond prices are inversely related to each other. When interest rates move up, it causes the bond prices to fall & vice – versa. Say for example, you have a bond, which is yielding 10% now. Suddenly, the interest rates in the economy move up to 11%. Now your bond is giving fewer yields than the market return. Obviously it price is going to fall in such a case. Reverse is the case when interest rates fall, the bond price will move up because it is giving more returns than the market return.So movements in interest rates have serious implications for individual investments. Inflation and economy Inflation effects the economy on three sides. One, it is directly linked to  interest rates. The interest rates prevailing in an economy at any point of time are nominal interest rates, i. e. , real interest rates plus a premium for expected inflation. Due to inflation, there is a decrease in purchasing power of every rupee earned on account of interest in the future, therefore the interest rates must include a premium for expected inflation.In the long run, other things being equal, interest rates rise one for one with rise in inflation. Money supply and the economy Money supply also effects the economy on thre e sides. One, money supply is used to control the  inflation in an economy. On the demand side, whenever money supply in the economy increases, consumer-spending increases immediately in the economy because of increased money in the system. But supply can’t vary in the short – term, so there is a temporary mismatch of demand & supply in the economy which exerts an upward pressure on inflation.This argument assumes that demand drives supply, which is generally the case. On the supply side, due to an increase in demand, supply can only be increased by capacity additions. This causes the cost of production to rise & that is reflected in inflation. Two, money supply also has a direct relationship with the  growth of an economy. Until an economy reaches full – employment level, the economy growth is the difference between money supply growth rate & the inflation, other things being equal. When an economy reaches full employment level, the growth in money supply i s set off by a growth in inflation, other things being equal.This happens because output can’t rise after full employment & therefore inflation increases one for one with the money supply. Three, money supply also has a relationship with  interest rates. One variable can be used to control the other. Both can’t be controlled simultaneously. If the RBI wants to peg the interest rate at a certain level, it has to supply whatever money is demanded at that level of interest rate. If it wants to fix the money supply at a certain level, the demand & supply of money will determine the interest rates. Usually it is easier for RBI to control the interest rates through its open market operations (OMO).So, the money supply is allowed to vary but RBI controls it by playing around with interest rates through its OMO. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) & statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and an economy CRR is the percentage of its total deposits a bank has to keep with RBI in cash or near cas h assets & SLR is the percentage of its total deposits a bank has to keep in approved securities. The purpose of CRR & SLR is to keep a bank liquid at any point of time. When banks have to keep low CRR or SLR, it increases the money available for credit in the system. This eases the pressure on interest rates & interest rates move down.Also when money is available & that too at lower interest rates, it is given on credit to the industrial sector which pushes the economic growth. Monetary policy and economy It refers to a regulatory policy whereby the monetary authority of a country maintains its control over the money supply for the realization of general economic objectives. It involves manipulation of money supply, the level & structure of interest rates & other conditions effecting the level of credit. The central bank signals the market about the availability of credit & interest rates through this policy.The RBI fixes the bank rate in this policy which forms the basis of the st ructure of interest rates & the CRR & SLR, which determines the availability of credit & the level of money supply in the economy. So it plays a very important role in the development of a economy. Practical Analysis of the Research Table of different Monetary Rates DATE| Reverse Repo Rate| Repo Rate| CRR| SLR| Bank Rate| Mar-10| 3. 5| 5| 6| 24| 6| May-10| 3. 75| 5. 5| 6| 24| 6| Jul-10| 4| 6| 6| 24| 6| Sep-10| 4. 5| 6| 6| 24| 6| Nov-10| 5| 6. 5| 6| 24| 6| Jan-11| 5. 5| 7| 6| 24| 6| Mar-11| 5. 75| 7. 25| 6| 24| 6|May-11| 6| 7. 5| 6| 24| 6| Jul-11| 6. 5| 8| 6| 24| 6| Sep-11| 7| 8. 5| 6| 24| 6| Nov-11| 7. 75| 8. 5| 5. 5| 24| 6| Jan-12| 7. 75| 8. 5| 4. 75| 24| 6| Mar-12| 7. 75| 8. 5| 4. 75| 24| 6| May-12| 7| 8| 4. 75| 23| 9| Effect of change in Repo rate on bank Prime Lending Rate Prime Lending Rate Dates| ICICI| SBI| Repo rate| 20-Apr-12| 18. 5| 14. 5| 8| 04-01-2012| 18. 75| 14. 75| 8. 5| 13-Aug-11| 18. 75| 14. 75| 8| 04-Jul-11| 18. 25| 14. 25| 8| 07-May-11| 18| 14| 7. 75| 24-Feb-11| 1 7. 5| 13| 7. 25| 03-Jan-11| 17| 12. 75| 7| 06-Dec-10| 16. 75| 12. 5| 6. 5| 18-Aug-10| 16. 25| 12. 25| 6| | | | | | | | | | |As the repo rate and reverse repo rate have direct impact on bank prime lending rate. From year 2010 to 2012 the repo rate keeps on increasing from 6 to 8. 5 the PLR of SBI and ICICI also increasing from 12. 25 to 14. 75 and from 16. 25 to 18. 75 respectively. But as the RBI cut down its Repo Rate by . 50 points the PLR of banks also down by . 25 points. Impact of change in CRR and SLR on Money Supply As the CRR is same in 2010-11, 2011-12 i. e 6%, there is not so much change in money supply it is in between 15000-16000. But as it start to decrease in 4th quarter of 2011-12 money supply start increasing and cross to 16000.And in Ist quarter of 2012-13, CRR become 4. 75 and SLR become 23% then Money supply is 17500 cr. in Indian Economy. Reverse Repo Rate| Repo Rate| Bank Rate| CRR| SLR| money supply|   |   |   |   |   |   | 5. 75| 6| 6| 6| 24| 15100 | 5. 25| 6. 25| 6| 6| 24| 15100| 5. 5| 6. 5| 6| 6| 24| 15100| 6. 5| 7. 5| 6| 6| 24| 15100| |   |   |   |   |   | 7| 8| 6| 6| 24| 16000| 7. 5| 8. 5| 6| 6| 24| 16000| 7. 5| 8. 5| 6| 5. 5| 24| 16000| 7. 5| 8. 5| 6| 4. 75| 24| 16000| |   |   |   |   |   | 7| 8| 9| 4. 75| 23| 17500| Effect on Increase in Money supply on Inflation As Money supply increases in the economy, there is more money in the market hich ultimately increase the purchasing power of people. Because of increase in purchasing power the cost of production increases and ultimately Inflation rate increases. So money supply in 2012-13 increases to 17500 cr. The inflation rate become 10. 05 from 8. 65. Reverse Repo Rate| Repo Rate| Bank Rate| CRR| SLR| money supply| inflation rate|   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 5. 75| 6| 6| 6| 24| 15100| 11. 99| 5. 25| 6. 25| 6| 6| 24| 15100| 10. 55| 5. 5| 6. 5| 6| 6| 24| 15100| 10. 23| 6. 5| 7. 5| 6| 6| 24| 15100| 9. 56| |   |   |   |   |   |   | 7| 8| 6| 6| 24| 16000| 8. 86| 7. 5| 8. 5| 6| 6| 24| 16000| 10. 06| 7. | 8. 5| 6| 5. 5| 24| 16000| 6. 49| 7. 5| 8. 5| 6| 4. 75| 24| 16000| 8. 65| |   |   |   |   |   |   | 7| 8| 9| 4. 75| 23| 17500| 10. 05| Impact of Repo rates, CRR and of Money supply on GDP Growth Rate Data categories and components| units| 2010-11| 2011-12| 2012-13| GDP(Current market price)| in rs. | 7674148| 8912178| 159527986| Growth rate| in %| 18. 1| 16. 1| 16. 9| As we see that our GDP growth rate start decreasing because of increasing rates. Because there is money declination in the market the purchasing power of people and our production starts declining which ultimately effect on our GDP growth.But as in financial year 2012-13 the RBI cut its rate by . 50 then our GDP growth rate increase by . 8 %. Conclusion RBI increase or decrease the rates i. e. repo rate, reverse repo rate, Cash reserve ratio, statutory liquidity ratio to control the money supply in the economy. As this small change in th ese ratios affect a lot on the whole economy and its various component like on investment index, cost of production, inflation, interest rate, exchange rate, prime lending rate of bank, home loan and car loan rate, deposit rate of bank and etc.In first quarter of financial year 2012-13, RBI decrease the repo rate by, reverse repo by, CRR by, SLR by the ultimate objective of this reduction in rate is to increase the money supply in the economy. As the rate decline in 2012-13, the RBI release 17500 cr. In the market. But this increase in money supply increase the purchasing power of consumer which ultimately effect on inflation and hence inflation also increase. But because of decrease in rates, it is easy to take more loan for the corporate which increase their production and in result of this our GDP also increase by . %. The prime lending rate is directly proportional to the repo rate of RBI. So there is a fall also come in prime lending rate of banks by . 25 points because of decr ease in repo rate by . 50 So, The change in monetary policy of RBI affect many other rates and and which also affect the consumer and these rates are the instrument of RBI to control the money supply in the economy. Bibliography * www. rbi. org. in * www. indiabudget. nic. in * www. wikipedia. org * www. simpletaxindia. net * www. karvy. com * www. tradingeconomics. com

Text-Based Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Text-Based - Research Paper Example The news media is also able to convey the health of the economy to the viewers of its different sections. They thus, perform a very valuable function in the society. This paper shall look at how the news industry has on occasions failed to live up to the expectations that are made of it. The article shall also look at news that focuses on gossip and its effects. Later on, the essay shall look at alternate forms of news. The essay shall also focus on the reporting of wars in the news media. The essay shall also look at the neglect that foreign affairs are made to face by the American public in times of peace. The essay shall then go on to analyze the selective reporting of news and the biases that may be behind such a phenomenon. The essay shall thus, look at various aspects of American news media, focusing on its problems and some of the solutions that have emerged from within the industry itself. The article by the news agency AP, â€Å"AP: We Ignored Paris†, points to a mala ise that affects news media in these times. Almost as a matter of routine, one finds that newspapers and news channels on the television report items that do not concern the daily lives of the common citizens of the world. This is a phenomenon that one finds all over the world. The ironic part of this phenomenon is the fact that this is carried out in the name of the common citizen, who according to the news media, wants them to report such news. The article in question repudiates such a myth, placing the blame for such standards of reportage on the reporters and editors themselves. Such reportage takes attention away from real articles of news at a time when the nation is at war and several internal security issues have been a thorn in the flesh of the government. The responsibility of the media is clearly to convey such issues to all sections of the society. This is not what the media has done and this reflects, according to Jan Wieten, a class-based bias that the media has harbor ed for years. The sections of the media that caters to the elite sections of the society has always reported on problematic areas of governance and the economy. On the other hand, those sections of the media that have been accessible to the lower classes of the society have always resorted to irrelevant pieces of news, under the assumption that such sections ‘want’ such news. Wieten argues that such a view has always taken the shape of gossip and tabloids. Such forms of the news media attempt to classify false articles of news as real in an attempt to sell them. The profusion of reality shows is only the latest form of such news, according to Wieten (1998). Such forms of the media obfuscate the real news, deflecting the attention of the masses, the people who are responsible for the election of the government that has to ultimately, take decisions. There are however, forms of the news media that do believe in entertainment and news value. Rachel Smolkin speaks of one su ch program, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in her essay, â€Å"What the Mainstream Media Can Learn From Jon Stewart†. She speaks of the fact that the binary between entertaining programs and non-entertaining or informative ones has led to the creation of certain shows that are merely entertaining without being informative and some with no entertainment at all. Her argument is aimed at such shows and reveals the need for

Glaceau Smart Water Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Glaceau Smart Water - Essay Example However, in 1998 and 2000, the company added Fruit water and Vitamin water, respectively, thereby expanding its distribution operations to the entire country. By the year 2002, Glaceau’s line of water was the best selling enhanced water brand in the US. In 2006, the bottle water division earned the organization revenues of approximately $350 million (Geller 1). The immense success realized in the US pushed the company to establish business globally by launching its products in Australia, Argentina, UK and France. The source of Glaceau Smartwater is an artesian spring found in the Northern region of Connecticut. Since water naturally travels on the surface of the earth or through the ground, it picks up substances that naturally, as well as substances present as a result of human and animal activity. Glaceau Smartwater is, therefore, subjected to intricate distillation processes, which entail water purification (Glaceau 1). After distillation, the water bottling plant introduces, in the water, an approved balance of 10mg per liter of Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium, through the addition of electrolytes. Smartwater is available in 20 oz, 700ml, 1 liter and 1.5 liter bottles. The cost of Smartwater is relatively cheap; a liter of Smartwater costs approximately $1.39, which is relatively cheap compared to a liter of whole fat milk is $2.26 and a liter of gasoline goes for $3.315. Clearly, the cost of Smartwater is hardly comparable to that of other essential products such as milk and gasoline. The primary reason for why I drink Glaceau Smartwater is because the water is loaded with the aforementioned minerals, which are essential to ensuring health and wellbeing. I also drink the water because of its attractive bullet-shaped contained, which is essentially plastic with minimal breakage capacities. The conventional sport cap further

Program management Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Program management - Article Example PMO also aids in the improvement of the project success rates in an organization due to the incorporation of skills and expertise in the management of projects and ensures standardization of projects across the organization. The article goes further to give the two models of PMO; consultative and centralized PMO capacities and gives the other advantage of PMO as augmenting employee productivity through efficient resource allocation in an organization. The type of PMO to be implemented in an organization depends on the culture and the changes and benefits that the organization aims at achieving within a stipulated time leading to the need for customization and patience for a PMO office that result in increased bottom-line results, customer satisfaction, and resource utilization (Santosus, 2013). The article is useful in aiding the development of PMO through giving the benefits of having PMO, the strategies to introduce PMO in an organization, the challenges that are faced by a PMO, and the skills and expertise that the PMO brings to the organization. The article explores varied factors for the choice of PMO model to implement depending on the factors inherent in the organization allowing organizations to have a better understanding when developing PMO. The article also aids in developing the PMO due exposition of results from companies that have implemented the development giving companies a benchmark for their needs and results of a

American History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

American History - Research Paper Example Year 1865 symbols a milestone of American history which marks the end of the American civil war which resulted heavy losses to both parties as well as the year which started post war reconstruction. And year 1980 marks the precedential election which brought Republican Ronald Regan to the power. Term Americans describes the all citizens of United States of America and they can be divided according to their racial or ethnic group as White Americans, Native Americans (Indians), and African Americans, Mexican American as well as other people who are accepted by United State of America as their citizens. Between years 1865 to 1982 many incidents took place which shows the unity and the separation among Americans. In order to prove the hypothesis of this thesis, author has listed significant events of American history from 1865 to 1980. Throughout this thesis author will prove the hypothesis and how they have affected the unity among Americans. The examples will be listed under two topics as incidents which are show the separation among Americans and incidents which are show the unity among Americans. When researching on separation and unity among Americans one might think race will be the major cause for the separation. Race is just one cause and there are many causes which create separation among Americans and following incidents provide examples for separation among Americans by their political view, nationality and gender. And provide a strong foundation to prove the hypothesis of this thesis, which is Americans have been more divided than united between 1865 and 1980 Right after the end of the civil war government had to find solutions for the status of the ex-slaves which were called as freedmen, loyalty and civil rights of the ex-rebels and the ex-confederate states. In the election of 1866, republicans took the control in congress, and were

Drug Addiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drug Addiction - Essay Example They crave for the drug so much that they can do anything they could to get a dose for them to relax. For those who are addicted they will continue taking the drugs even after realizing the harm it has on their body. (Amusable, 2008) The risk factors of drug addiction are common as for the other condition. Risk factors include family history of addiction where it is usually common on the families that had prior addiction before the current case. In addition, addiction of drug is dominant in males than female according to statistics. Stats show that the addiction in male is two folds compared with their counterparts. Peer pressure is also a contributing factor. This according to stats is seen mostly in the young people trying to fit in their social stratum. After the first introduction into drug abuse, the body develops a tolerance with time and eventually dependence. Drug addiction is a physiological process on its own. It is a physiologic process, because, it does not just happen at once but develops slowly and in sequential stages. Dopamine is the main hormone that is involved physiologically in the process of drug addiction. Drugs such as cocaine, morphine, and alcohol alter the pathway of dopamine. The first dose taken by an individual has no big effect. Additional drug abuse cause tolerance effect and soon the level of dopamine increase and consequently cause a feeling of being happy. Continuous administration of drugs also has a sensitization effect on the extracellular cells. So when an individual has reduced, or the dose reduce in the blood also the happiness causing hormone, dopamine, also goes down and the craving also start to go back to normal. The drugs taken tend to increase dopamine and when withdrawn the level of this dopamine dwindle and the cycle repeat itself. This cycle is what is known as drug addiction (Hanson, 2005). Will power to withdraw from drugs is most a time futile. The physiologic development of regulation effect

International Environmental Management and Sustainability Assignment

International Environmental Management and Sustainability - Assignment Example It actually refers to the idea of being aware of one’s responsibilities towards one’s own surrounding environment so that, with the combination of individual efforts, the overall atmosphere of the planet may be improved greatly. There could never be a better platform for the start of such efforts other than a university which holds the interests of the majority of an area’s people. Anglia Ruskin University is one such educational institute that is actively participating and cooperating in the greening of the earth’s atmosphere. ... to be limited to its own energy resources so that to minimize waste and carbon emission for which it will also initiate â€Å"progressive waste management procedures† supported by recycling methods and less-fuel-consumption measures e.g., walk rather than car-driving for short distances (ARU, 2011). 3. For this purpose, awareness is to be raised through campaigns and posters among the staff and students; and such practices are to be monitored regularly through setting of ecological targets and evaluation of reports. The inclusion of such activities in curriculum is highly recommended. 4. One important step to be taken in this regard is to maintain cost-effective methods to ensure wildlife and biodiversity, and to avoid huge expenses in the name of futile luxuries (ARU, 2008). Green Impact Award This award is an initiative of the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges that is abbreviated as ‘eauc’. It invites the zealous individuals from each unive rsity department to participate in a number of practical activities which are recorded in a workbook i.e., â€Å"†¦a workbook with practical, easy to implement and no or low cost actions to complete† (eauc, 2011). Each of the workbooks is specially designed for the particular university that participates. Initially the participants are asked to complete 20 Bronze activities while Silver, Gold and Bonus are optional. Once completing a Bronze, the participating team can move to Silver also. After the completion of these workbooks, volunteers are sent to each department to verify the tasks done, and in the end, a celebration is held to â€Å"†¦promote the achievements of those departments taking part through an awards ceremony† (eauc, 2011). Thus, Green Impact Award is a bottom-up project that aims to support

Changing social diversity in the United States Essay Example for Free

Changing social diversity in the United States Essay As USA is a land of opportunities, millions of people of different origin have migrated to the country and settled there, thus changing the social and cultural diversity of the nation. Children at the young age face problem as they get exposed to two sets of language and culture at school and home. A massive increase in Hispanic population has increased the importance of Spanish language and more businesses related to Spanish have come up. But this Hispanic population has no difficulty in accepting English as their main language. The uniqueness of the immigration is that everybody wants to get integrated into American mainstream. Changing diversity in USA 3 Changing social diversity in the United States As United States is known as the land of opportunities for many decades, millions of people had migrated to this country since long time. It has been mentioned in the website http://www. sedl. org/pubs/sedletter/v12n02/2. html that the make up of the US population has changed so much over the last three decades that the definition of diversity has itself got transformed in the process. It has also been stated that for the first time in the US census held in 2000, individuals were allowed to tick on more than one race in the form. Due to this change in diversity, cultural and socioeconomic factors are now becoming increasingly important while interacting in the society. The website http://www. naeyc. org/about/positions/pdf/psdiv98. pdf deals with the problem children faces in schools due to increased linguistic and cultural diversities. To quote from the above mentioned website, â€Å"At younger ages, children are negotiating difficult transitions between their home and educational settings, requiring an adaptation to two or more diverse sets of rules, values, expectations, and behaviors. † If the child forgets his home language, it may cause disruption in family communication methods. Thus families are facing increasingly complex responsibilities. The website http://knowledge. allianz. com/en/globalissues/demographic_change/gender_diversity/hispanics_integration_us. html states that there has been a massive growth in Hispanic population in the USA and most of them have accepted English as their main language. But the importance of Spanish is also growing as many newspapers have come up in Spanish and Hispanic related businesses are growing in the United States. Changing diversity in USA Reference List 1) Responding to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity Recommendations for Effective Early Childhood Education; in National Association for the Education of Young Children adopted November 1995; Retrieved on 13th March 2009 from the website http://www.naeyc. org/about/positions/pdf/psdiv98. pdf 2) A Changing Nation: The Impact of Linguistic and Cultural Diversity on Education by Kathleen Trail ; SED letter Volume XII Number 2 December 2000; Retrieved on 13th March 2009 from the website http://www. sedl. org/pubs/sedletter/v12n02/2. html 3) Ethnic Business in a Changing America, Allianz Knowledge Partner site, published on September 11, 2007; Retrieved on 13th March 2009 from the website http://knowledge. allianz. com/en/globalissues/demographic_change/gender_diversity/hispanics_integration_us. html

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Renewable Energies Essay

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Renewable Energies Essay During the last two decades one of the main concerns of many people and governments is the supply of energy for different purposes such as producing electricity. Two main issues lead them to think about this problem deeply. First of all the environmental problems such as carbon dioxide emission and also the shortage of fossil fuels for generating electricity. Therefore many countries decided to find alternatives which are accessible or easy to access and they cannot harm the environment. Some of alternatives are wind, Tidal, nuclear and solar energy. By looking generally to alternatives it can be realized that each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Currently two main sources which are really important among governments and they have invested on them is solar and nuclear power for producing electricity. Nuclear power can be defined as one kind of energy which can produce through some chemical reactions between the atoms of the element. Nowadays scientists have found some m ethods to use the energy which is release from the reactions among atoms. The other kind of energy source is solar energy which is releasing from the rays of sun. Governments have decided to use these kinds of renewable energy sources to overcome the problem of energy shortage. Some countries have developed in these two kinds of energy source industries. However in each area some people are for and some of them are against this kind of producing energies. One of the common methods of producing electricity in recent years was using fossil fuel energy for spinning the turbines to produce electricity; however scientists found a method of capturing sunlight energy and heating to transfer this energy into turbine to spin them and produce a sustainable energy form without any environmental impact. Generally the main process of this method is using some kinds of mirrors in different shapes which are mostly having u shape or they are like a dish. Through this mirrors in these plants they concentrate the sun rays and convert it into heat energy for boiling water. After boiling water the steam which is produced due to heating energy from the effect of sun light the conventional turbines will spine and through complicated systems produce electricity. One of the main and biggest projects related to solar power is in California in the united stated. This project has been held between the areas Kramer junction and Harper lake in California. This solar plant can produce 150 megawatts of electricity. It can cover 1500 acres in the desert. In this project more than 900,000 mirrors have been used to capture sun light. Through this project the amount of carbon dioxide emission can decrease significantly in comparison to fossil fuels carbon dioxide emission. Because 3800 tons of carbon dioxide used to produce by fossil fuels. One of the European countries which are really concern about energy efficiency is Spain. The government has invested significantly due to the future and problems related to energy sources such as shortage and pollution of other sources. They have found this kind of energy adequate as an alternative. Trujillo solar project which is started on the year 2006 and finished on 2007 has some advantages in terms of electricity generation for many homes and also decreasing carbon dioxide emission. The total output of this project which might be introduced is 20 megawatts. The method which is used to generate electricity from sunlight in this project is photovoltaics. This project has been designed and developed by power light corporation. In this project they can cover about 100 hectars.The name of the project is Magascona. The calculations from the company can illustrate that the mentioned power plant can supply electricity for 20,000 homes. Moreover it can prevent from carbon dioxide emissi on annually by about 42,000 tons. A kind of renewable kinds of energy which is really controversial its future and its efficiency is nuclear power. In general nuclear energy is a kind of energy which is release from the atom of some elements through some reactions. This kind of energy sometimes can produce by doing some controllable processes to use this energy and convert the nuclear power to electricity. This method of producing electricity has its own advantages and disadvantages. Although some people are concern about its disadvantages but it might be a good alternative as response to the shortage of energy in future. Also there are different comparison between using nuclear power and fossil fuels for generating electricity. The general concept of generating of electricity from nuclear power can be explained through this way. In the first stage the Uranium element which is radioactive element should be extract from the mines. After that Uranium should be fed to the nuclear power plant as a main fuel for reactors. In power plants by using controllable reactions which can be called fission reaction an intense amount of heat will produce. The purpose of this intense amount of energy is to vaporise the water and use the resulted steam for spinning the turbines. The electricity which is produced by turbines will feed the electricity into electricity greed. In the last stage they will use this electricity for various purposes such as industry and homes. Although this method of producing electricity could be an alternative for the future. but there are many arguments for and against investment on nuclear power plants. Currently there are different countries that are invested on this industry such as France and USA. It might be claimed that France is the pioneer of producing electricity from nuclear power by having about 59 nuclear power plants. Generally the amount of electricity which is generated in this country is about 540.6 Tera watt hour and it is a huge amount of electricity. Currently France is the largest exporter of electricity from nuclear power. However the amount of investment in nuclear power plant is quite allotrope of the main nuclear power plants which was carried out in 1991 and 1993 was CIVAUX .This power plant has two phases. The first phase was built in 1991 and the other one built two years later. Both phases completed in 1999 and the government invested about 4.1 billion dollars on this project. There are a sig nificant issue in this project. At the time of testing this nuclear power plant before putting the electricity into the grid the engineers found out a leak from primary coolant, therefore they decided to shut down the reactor and repair the problem. Because, as some people might know, if any problem occurs during any reaction in these nuclear plants sometimes some disasters might occur, such as explosions. Unfortunately the amount of electricity which was produced in proportion to the time and investment on this project was not worth very much. The CIVAUX project work out 1,349 kwe and it was much lower amount among the other foreign projects.By comparison this project and the amount of energy which is produce by fossil fuels was not a successful project.By comparison this nuclear project to the one fossil fuel project for producing energy they have almost the same amount of electricity production. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_France#Limitations Civaux 1-2 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/readings/french.html http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nuclear-cannot-solve-climate-change

Models of Personality and Effect in Organisations

Models of Personality and Effect in Organisations Saarthak Sankalp INDEX Topic (Jump to) Personality Personality Models Predicting Personality with Social Behaviour Importance of Corporate Brand Personality Traits Role of Personality factors in Coping with Organizational Change Challenges and Concerns with Personality Assessment in Indian Context Conclusion Bibliography Personality The work personality is derived from the Latin word persona, which was used to describe the different roles or disguises performed by theatrical performers. Personality can be defined as an individual’s unique characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Gordon Allport defined personality as – â€Å"the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his unique adjustments to his environment.† Personality Models Many models have been given by various researchers to analyse the personality. The latest personality models are as follows :- Myers-Briggs Type Index (MBTI) The MBTI is a personality ideal based on Jung’s theory of psychological kinds developed by Briggs and Myers and consists of four dimensions of preferences which are as follows:- Extroversion (E) vs Introversion (I). This dimension gives an insight about the orientation of the individual. Extroverts are said to be more concerned with the practical realities than with the inner thoughts. Introverts, though, gaze more into the inner-self and are pre-occupied with their own thoughts. Sensing (S) vs Intuition (N). Persons who have more sensing dimension rely more on that can be observed and are considered to be bent towards what is real. Persons having more intuitive dimension rely extra on their non-objective and unconscious perceptual processes. Thinking (T) vs Feeling (F). A preference for thinking indicates the individual uses more of logic and rational procedures to make decisions and action. People having more feeling dimension gave more emotional replies to events and give preference to established subjective processes. Judgment (J) vs Perception (P). The judgement-perception preferences were developed to indicate if rational or irrational judgments are dominant after a person is interacting with the environment. In decision making the judgmental person uses both the thinking and feeling, while the sensing and intuition processes are used by the perception people. The Big Five Personality Model The Big Five is the commonly used term for the model of personality which describes the five fundamental factors of our personality. It was defined independently by many researchers based on the factor-analyses of the personality traits. The five traits are commonly referred as OCEAN. The five personality traits are as follows:- Openness to Experience: It is the openness to innovative ideas, new experiences, curiosity, adventure, appreciation for emotions and art. Conscientiousness: Tendency to be coordinated and dependable, display self-discipline, target for attainment, acts dutifully and does not prefer spontaneous behaviour. Extraversion: Affirmative emotions, sociability, assertiveness, energy, talkativeness and the tendency to pursue stimulation. Agreeableness: Traits of a person who is obliging and compassionate rather than dubious and antagonistic towards others. It is additionally a measure of one’s helpful and trusting nature, and whether the person is calm and composed. Neuroticism: It refers to the degree of emotional stability and impulse control in a person. The traits to easily give in to anger, anxiety or depression. Score on all the five factors are used to describe a person’s personality Kolbe Conative Index (KCI) KCI is considered a personality model which is different from MBTI and FIRO-B as it measures instinctive behaviours of an individual that appear while that he/she tries to achieve goals. The KCI classifies the instinctive behaviours into four categories: probing, patterning, innovating and demonstrating. Each category has its corresponding ‘Action Mode’ which are as follows: Fact Finder (FF): Probing instinctive behaviour is given by this action mode. This mode is related to the information gathering. Fact finders are concerned with strategies, research and details. They establish priorities for making decision by collecting and analyzing data. Follow Through (FT): Patterning instinctive behaviour is given by this action mode. This mode is related to structure. People controlled by FT seek structure, and plan and schedules in advance. They react in a sequential manner. Quick Start (QS): Innovating instinctive behaviour is given by this action mode. This mode is related to the way to deal with risk and uncertainty. Quick starters initiate changes, take risk, and they are innovative. Implementor (IMP): Demonstrating instinctive behaviour is given by this action mode. This action mode is related to the way to handle space and tangibles. People having this action mode are good at using space and materials, develop constructs, and easily use hand on equipment. Kolbe Action Modes Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behaviour (FIRO-B) Schutz developed the FIRO-B personality model. The intensity of the interpersonal needs of inclusion (I), control (C), and affection (A) are measured by this model. The individual’s social need of interaction and belongingness is defined as Inclusion. The need for power and influence is defined as Control, and can be related to leadership. The need for intimacy and friendship is defined as Affection. How much each of these three needs can be described into 2 dimensions of expressed (e) or wanted (w). The degree to which one behaves in that way toward others is defined as expressed while the degree to which one wants others to behave that way toward oneself is described as wanted. The FIRO-B model can be explained by the interaction of expressed and wanted dimensions with the three interpersonal needs, resulting in six categories of interpersonal needs as described in the figure below. Each category is measured with a 10 point scale (0-9). FIRO-B Model Latest researches related to Personality The latest researches related to personalities are as follows:- Predicting personality with social behaviour Personality is a trait which influences the behaviour of a person with other people. Social behaviour can give us a good insight about the personality of an individual as they behave showcase a normative (or normal) behaviour in social interactions. To understand this within the scope of a social behaviour, we consider the actions in the following main groups:- Nextwork Bandwidth (NET): The active involvement in the social networks, the time spent there and activity distribution (uniform or bursty). Message Content (MSG): The variety and amount of messages they are sending, whether they are the links or URLs of websites or the forwarded messages etc. Pair Behaviour (PAIR): How they behave with their friends and relatives, the statistical measures of standard deviations and average of various actions across different followers and friends. Reciprocity of actions (REC): Levels to which there actions are reciprocated by their friends. Informativeness (INF): Information that could be gained from the behaviour with the friends, whether there is same type of behaviour with every friend or whether some friends are favoured over others in specific actions. Homophily (HOM): All the previous features computed for the person’s friend to understand her social circle. Importance of Corporate brand personality traits Corporate brands create a particular image in the minds of the customers and other constituents which can help the corporate to differentiate their brand from others. A number of factors will be responsible for the corporate image like the products a company makes, the actions it takes, and the manner in which it communicates to consumers. A new very important component of corporate image is the corporate brand personality. 60 US brands have been examined and are found to fell into the following five main clusters, â€Å"(1) Sincerity, (2) Excitement, (3) Competence, (4) Sophistication and (5) Ruggedness. Corporate Personality Traits Corporate brand personality is defined as how customer perceives a particular brand – characterstics of consumers who are using it. It can be seen as a means for the customer to express what they really expect or want. Corporate brand personality is more about the perception of employees – both the customer facing and the senior management as they constitute the whole organization. It reflects the actions and values of all the employees of the organization. Corporate brand personality of a 21st century business can be grouped into three dimensions which are as follows:- Heart – It consists of two traits: compassionate and passionate. Mind – It consists of two traits: Creative and disciplined. Body – It consists of two traits: Agile and collaborative. Role of Personality factors in coping with organizational change In reference to the research paper written by R. Ravi Kumar, change is inevitable to any organization. Both external and internal factors can bring about changes to an organization. The work environment is affected to a large extent by external factor such as changing expectations about quality, customer satisfaction and new work force demographics. It is also affected by the internal factors such as the mergers and acquisitions, financial constraints and the necessity to improve productivity. Personality plays a very important role in the job performance of an individual when changes in an organization take place. The personality factors which affect the performance are as follows:- Demographic Variables Age – Age has a negative impact on any kind of change in an organization. As the age increases people don’t like change and try to resist it. Education – The level of education has a positive impact on coping with the organization changes. As more educated can handle the uncertainties better and are more ready for new challenges and opportunities. Tenure – It has negative effect on coping with changes in an organization. People who have served longer in any organization resist the change more than a newly joined. Seniority – Employees at higher level understand the importance of change better than the employees at lower level. One important reason for this is that changes are implemented with the active participation of the senior staff. Independent Variables Self Esteem – It is positively associated with coping changes in an organization. Self esteem consists of two major constituents – ‘competence’ and ‘worth’. Individuals with high self esteem handle the adverse conditions better. Optimism – People who are optimistic are able to accept the organizational change better than pessimistic people. They are able to deal with the adversities with more strength and perseverance. Perceived Control – It is the belief that one can determine one’s own internal state and behaviour, influence one’s environment and/or bring about the desired outcomes. Change Self- Efficacy – There is a very little difference between self efficacy and self esteem. People having self efficacy feel confident in adverse situations. Self-efficacy is their perceived ability to handle change in a given situation to function better. Challenges and Concerns with Personality Assessments in Indian Context In the modern business, personality assessments as part of recruitment process have become vital for the selection of the right candidate matching the organizational objectives. They provide inputs which could be used for the 360 degree feedback and to measure their performance in the organization. In entry level roles like sales and customer relationship personnel in finance, banking and insurance sector, personality is a very important discriminator for job-success. So, there is a huge need for these personality assessments. These days many multi- national companies are conducting non-Indian personality solutions for recruitment in India. But there are many challenges faced by these International solutions in Indian context which are as follows:- Problems in understanding English – The level of English in these international personality assessments is quite is high and most of the Indians are not able to comprehend the exact meaning of the words. For example, a typical question will ask a candidate to choose between sympathetic and empathetic. Most of the candidates could not differentiate between these words. Not in context with Indian Population – Many questions are out of context for the Indian population. One of the questions in such an assessment asks whether they would prefer a holiday in Las Vegas. Average Indian does not understand what it means to have a vacation there. Not in context with entry level candidates – The questions in theses assessments pose situations which favour the candidates who have already worked in that area before, which makes it very difficult for an entry level candidate to get selected. No consideration for cultural differences – People in the west use words like ‘Thank you’ and ‘sorry’ much more frequently than Indians. But that doesn’t mean those Indians which don’t use these words that frequently are any less polite. The assessments fail to understand such socio-economic and cultural differences of India. Not much use for recruitment with little validation – Many such inventories being used have not been validated if they are suitable for job recruitment. Also, some of them are very easy to fake in the process. Conclusion Personality gives a very coherent picture of an individual’s psychological behaviour and differences. It also gives an insight about the human nature and the similarities between them. A lot about personality can be perceived from the social behaviour of an individual. In modern business personality plays a very important role in assessing the right candidate for the right job profile. Performance of an individual in any organization is also dependent on his personality traits. Bibliography Ki-Young Jeong, Bozkurt, Ipek, Sunkara, Surya T.(2012). Creative effective project teams using personality models. Northeast Region Decision Sciences Institute (NEDSI) Proceeding, p403-414. Pittenger, David J. (1993). Measuring the MBTI†¦ And coming up short. Journal of Career Planning and Employment, v54 n1 p48-52. Adali, S., Golbeck, J. (2012). Predicting Personality with Social Behavior. Advances in Social Network Analysis and Mining (ASONAM), IEEE/ACM International Conference, p302-309. Keller, Kevin Lane, Richey, Keith. (2006). The importance of corporate brand personality traits to a successful 21st century business. Journal of Brand Management, Vol.14 Issue  ½, p74-81. Young-Ei Kim, Jung-Wan Lee Yong-Ki Lee. (2008). Relationship between Brand Personality and the Personality of Consumers, and its Application to Corporate Branding Strategy, Journal of Global Academy of Marketing Science, 18:3, p27-57 R. Ravi Kumar, T.J. Kamalanabhan. (2005).The role of personality factors in coping with organizational change. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 13 Issue 2 p.175 – 192. Aggarwal, Varun. (2009). Challenges and Concerns with International Personality Assessments. Retrieved from the Aspiring Minds website: http://www.aspiringminds.in/docs/challenges_with_international_personality_assessments.pdf Major, Debra A., Turner Jonathan E., Fletcher Thomas D. (2006). Linking Proactive Personality and the Big Five to Motivation to Learn and Development Activity. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 91, No. 4, 927-935.

Arousal Essay -- essays research papers

Discussion: Arousal is an integral element that is needed when preparing ones-self for sporting competition ( or practice for that matter). According to Weinberg and Gould, the athlete must become aware of his or her psychologigal states before they can control any thoughts or feelings they may have. This means when preparing for competition it is important to create an arousal state that is indicative of the competition you are competeing in and be aware of that state in order to set yourself up psychologically to compete. The athlete must energize him/herself when feelin flat and be aware of what he or she is doing in order to enhance his/her sport performance. With that said, if arousal levels are too high then sport performance can be hindered due to the athletes attention be focused on more than just the competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anxiety is a pshychological state that, if uncontrolled, can hinder a performance greatly. Individuals must be able to cope with this anxiety in a positive mannner so that it doesn’t consume them and cause catastrophic results. Anxiety as a form of arousal is beneficial if kept in check because it make the athlete aware of what is about to transpire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When dealing with arousal it is important to understand the theories behind it. The Drive Theory states that â€Å"as an individuals arousal or state anxiety inreases ,so too does his or her performance†. The Inverted - U Hypothesis states if arousal is too...

Christopher Columbus Biography :: Christopher Columbus Essays

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy on August 25th 1451, and he died in Valladolid Spain on May 20th 1506. His life is filled with mystery and controversy. Even though there has been contevercy about his birth date and this birthplace, the historians have narrowed it down to this date and place. His childhood is another mystery. It is said that Columbus was the oldest of five children to poor â€Å"wool weavers†. His son has stated that Columbus had attended the University of Pavia, Columbus was a good observer and very well read. In 1476 Columbus traveled to Lisbon, Portugal were there he an established Genoese population, including Bartolome, he was a noted to be a mapmaker. After a couple of years Columbus sailed with the Portuguese through the Mediterranen and the Atlantic as far south as La Mina (Present day Elmaina , Ghana) and as far north as England. Columbus also made a voyage to Iceland in 1477. In 1479 Columbus married the Portuguese noblewomen Dona Felipa e Perestrello e Moriz and established land in Porto Santo were his son Diego was born in 1480. When his wife died somewhere between 1481 to 1485, Columbus returned to Lisbon. As early as 1484 Columbus got a plan to sail west from the Canary Islands to the Indies (now East Indies) and the island kingdom of Cipangu (modern day Japan). When King John II declined Columbus’s â€Å"Enterprises to the Indies† he decided to go to the Spanish monarch. Columbus traveled to Cordoba, in 1488 he and his mistress had another son. Columbus presented his plan to King Ferdinan and Queen Isabella two different times but both times a counsel of experts rejected his project. Columbus’s ideas were made fun of by many in the court. However he received support from other powerful people, for example â€Å"Luis de Santagel†, â€Å"chancellor of the royal household of Aragon and prior Juan Prez (the Queen’s con fessor). As a result of this Queen Isabella approved to Columbus’s project. Columbus’s first was to find a short voyage to the Indies by sailing west, and the second goal was to convert any foreign inhabitance to Christianity. There were three ships the first was the Santa Maria, which can hold up to forty sailors, The second ship is the Pinta, which held up to twenty-six sailors, and the Nina, which held twenty-four sailors. On October 12 1482 a seaman on the Pinta claimed â€Å"he spotted land†, his name was Rodrigo de Triana.

Immanuel Kant Essay

Utilitarianism, Kantian Ethics, Natural Rights Theories, and Religious Ethics A â€Å"utilitarian† argument, in the strict sense, is one what alleges that we ought to do something because it will produce more total happiness than doing anything else would. Act utilitarianism (AU) is the moral theory that holds that the morally right action, the act that we have a moral duty to do, is the one that will (probably) maximize â€Å"utility† (happiness, welfare, well-being). AU is not to be confused with egoism. The egoist really only cares about his own happiness. AU says that everyone’s happiness counts equally. Suppose that executing Joseph would in the long run produce more total happiness than letting him live would. Then according to AU, we ought to execute Joseph. Now if Joseph is a convicted serial murderer who would probably escape and commit more murders if we tried to incarcerate him, then it’s reasonable to think that executing him would be the right thing to do. But what if he has committed no crime? What if he is simply an extremely irritating person with no friends or loved ones, and the many people with whom he has contact in his life are very sensitive and dislike him intensely? Since more total happiness is produced if Joseph dies (the increased happiness of the many who no longer have to endure him outweighs his unhappiness about dying) than if he lives, AU says that it’s right to kill him. This example illustrates what is probably the main objection to AU: it tells us to violate rights/commit injustices when doing so is necessary to produce the greatest total amount of happiness. A â€Å"utilitarian† argument in a looser sense is one that alleges that we ought to do something because of its â€Å"good consequences† (or not do something because of its â€Å"bad consequences†), where good/bad consequences needn’t be limited to what increases or decreases happiness, but might include other things that a strict utilitarian theory attaches no positive or negative intrinsic value to. — An example: â€Å"the FDA shouldn’t approve the ‘morning after’ pill, because it will only promote out-of-wedlock sex. † This argument assumes that out-of-wedlock sex is something that is per se bad, and that the risk of unwanted pregnancy and babies will deter at least some, perhaps many, from engaging in it, thereby reducing the total amount of it. The strict utilitarian rejects the idea that such sex is an intrinsic moral evil, holding instead that if such sex is bad, it is bad only insofar as it causes bad consequences like unwanted pregnancy and babies. — This argument for why the FDA shouldn’t approve the ‘morning after’ pill is better described as â€Å"consequentialist† rather than â€Å"utilitarian. † All strictly utilitarian arguments are consequentialist, but not all consequentialist arguments are strictly utilitarian. The important point is that one needn’t believe that utilitarianism is the correct moral theory in order to believe that consequentist arguments of either the strictly utilitarian kind or other kinds provide good reasons. We can admit that the increase in the happiness to others is a good reason to execute Joseph. But we can say that the fact that it would violate his right to life is an even better reason not to do it. Respect for rights â€Å"trumps† maximizing utility. Suppose that we want to build a highway that connects two cities. The shorter route would require destroying some scenic wilderness that is enjoyed by some nature lovers. The longer route avoids that but entails a longer driving time for people who commute between the two cities. Which route should the highway be built on? Here it’s plausible to think that we should make the decision on the basis of utilitarian considerations. We look at all the costs and benefits of both alternatives and pick the one with the most favorable benefit to cost ratio. The other three views—Kantian ethics, natural rights theories, and â€Å"religious ethics†Ã¢â‚¬â€all agree that there are many circumstances when maximizing utility would be wrong. Perhaps the strongest objection to AU comes from the natural rights theory: AU is false, because it tells us to violate people’s rights when that’s necessary to maximize utility. The example of Joseph illustrates it, but here’s another example. A surgeon has I healthy and 5 sick and dying patients. Each of the sick and dying patients needs a new organ— one a new kidney, another a new liver, the third a new heart, etc. —and would fully recover if he received it. It so happens that the 1 healthy patient would be a suitable organ donor for all of them. If the surgeon kills the 1 and redistributes his organs, he saves 5. If he does nothing, then 1 is alive and 5 are dead. On the assumption that all six are equally happy, loved by others, and productive of utility for others in society, then the way to maximize utility is to kill the 1. But if he won’t consent to being killed and having his organs transplanted (he doesn’t believe in utilitarianism), then killing him would violate his right to life. The objection is simply that it would be wrong to violate his right even if it’s the way to maximize utility. Kantian ethics is based on what Immanuel Kant claimed is the supreme principle of morality, the Categorical Imperative. Kant claimed that there were a few different but equivalent ways of stating the Categorical Imperative. The first, the Universal Law Formula, says that we should act only on principles that we can will to be a universal law that applies to everyone. The idea here seems to be that when people act immorally, they want everyone else to obey â€Å"the rules† but want to make an exception for themselves. Another way of stating the Categorical Imperative, the one we’ll focus on, is the Principle of Humanity. It says that whenever we act we must be sure always to treat all â€Å"persons† (both ourselves and others) as â€Å"ends† and never as â€Å"mere means. † â€Å"Persons† in Kantian ethics refers to any being with the capacity to make moral judgments and conform to them (where that often requires that one resist various urges, inclinations, and temptations to act against them). Persons have free will and reason. Babies are not yet persons, and cows and pigs never will be. Kant’s Principle of Humanity implies that it is only persons who possess â€Å"dignity† and must be treated as â€Å"ends. † Animals only have a â€Å"use value† and may be treated as mere means or resources. Animals may be used in experiments to test new drugs, but â€Å"persons† may be used in such experiments only with their â€Å"informed consent. † Kantians agree that killing the 1 healthy person in the above example is wrong, even if it maximizes utility for society as a whole. It is wrong because it treats him as a â€Å"mere means. † Kant held that if one commits suicide because one believes that the remainder of one’s life will be filled with more discomfort than pleasure, then one fails to treat oneself as an â€Å"end. † So long as one retains the capacities that make one a person, then one has dignity and one ought to respect this dignity. To think that life is worth living only if it is pleasant is to fail to respect this dignity. Another objection that Kantians have to AU, especially the hedonistic version, is that it is a degrading to humanity to think and act as though pleasure were the point of life. Kantians think that the point of life is the exercise of one’s personhood capacities in moral deliberation and choice. This does not mean that Kantians must oppose all suicide and euthanasia. They support it in cases where people have permanently lost the capacities for free will and reason (e. g. PVS patients like Terry Schiavo). Euthanasia in these cases provides a dignified death. Of course sometimes when people talk about â€Å"dying with dignity† they’re assuming that it’s the need to be cared for by others (e. g. to wear Depends diapers and have them changed by others) that’s â€Å"undignified. † A Kantian has to say that those people have mistaken views about the basis of human dignity. It’s personhood, not the ability to care for oneself without assistance from others, that gives human beings their dignity. Another implication of the Principle of Humanity is that lying is typically wrong. A woman who persuades me to sell her my new car at a low price by telling me a lie that I believe (â€Å"males who drive your model of car are 20 times more likely to develop testicular cancer than males who don’t†) treats me as a mere means. She manipulates me in a way that I would not consent to if I were aware of what her purposes are. What many people have criticized in Kant is not his claim that lies like this one are wrong, but his view that lying is always wrong. In the case where lying to evil people will help to thwart their evil aims (e. g. someone intent on committing murder asks me the whereabouts of his intended victim) Kant held that lying remains wrong. Instead of lying, I should simply not say anything. The main problem with the Principle of Humanity is that it’s not entirely clear what it means to treat another person as an â€Å"end. † It’s been claimed that it means you must treat others in ways that they would not object to if they were morally reasonable, thinking clearly, and well-informed about relevant factual matters. When society puts a thief in prison, it’s treating him as an end, because even though he might object to being incarcerated, he wouldn’t object if he were morally reasonable; he would admit that thieves deserve to go to jail. One problem with this interpretation of the Principle is that it assumes some other, independent standard of what’s â€Å"morally reasonable. † Wasn’t the Principle of Humanity itself supposed to provide that standard? Another problem is that it probably cannot support Kant’s judgment that lying is always wrong. After all, if the morally reasonable thief must admit that he deserves a loss of liberty as punishment for his crimes, shouldn’t a morally reasonable person agree that lying to him is okay as a means of preventing him from committing murder? The Principle of Humanity is sometimes interpreted as supporting the Principle of Autonomy. The Principle of Autonomy says that everyone has the right to live his/her life in accordance with his/her own views about religion, the meaning of life, the moral virtues, dignity and honor, etc., so long as one doesn’t infringe on the right of others to do the same. (Since this principle asserts the existence of a certain moral right, certain natural rights-based moral theories might also support it). You violate my autonomy if restrict my liberty for my own good on the basis of values that I reject. Consider two examples. First, you knock a cup of coffee out of my hands before I can drink from it. I object, but only because I assume, incorrectly, that there’s nothing wrong with the coffee; in fact, it contains poison. You have not violated my autonomy, because your interference can be justified by an appeal to my own values. Second, a competent, adult Jehovah’s Witness refuses to consent to a blood transfusion because it’s against his religion, but his friends force him to have one anyway, because they are convinced that he has misinterpreted the Biblical passage that forbids the â€Å"eating of blood. † In this case the Principle of Autonomy is violated. I think that the Jehovah’s Witness is better off having the life-saving transfusion. The Principle of Beneficence tells doctors to do what is in their patients’ best interests. Hence, this Principle supports ignoring the JW’s wishes and giving him the transfusion. This is a case in which the Principle of Autonomy conflicts with the Principle of Beneficence. I agree with the AMA that the doctor may not treat the JW without his â€Å"informed consent. † Hence, in this sort of case the value of respecting autonomy trumps the value of doing what’s best for the person. Are there any cases where the two principles conflict but beneficence overrides respect for autonomy? Our textbook correctly mentions libertarianism as one natural rights based moral theory. (Natural rights are supposed to be moral rights that exist whether or not the government recognizes and protects them. They are not to be confused with legal rights). Let me make a two points about libertarianism. It holds that our basic human rights include rights to life, liberty, and private property. The right to life is only a â€Å"negative† right (a right not to be killed by others), not a â€Å"positive† right (a right to be provided by one’s society the minimum nutrition and other goods that one needs to stay alive, if one cannot obtain them oneself). Other natural rights theorists disagree with the libertarian, holding that we have â€Å"positive† as well as â€Å"negative† natural rights. A right to decent, affordable health or to free health care if one is poor is an example of a â€Å"positive† right. Second, in saying that someone has a natural right to do x, we’re not necessarily saying that it’s morally permissible to do x. All we’re saying is that others do not have the right to interfere, to use coercion to prevent him from doing it. Consider a racist giving a public speech in which he advocates denying black people the right to vote. To say that he has a natural right to free speech only means that others (especially the government) are forbidden to step in and prevent him from speaking. It doesn’t mean that there’s nothing morally wrong with his speech. There obviously is—promoting racism is immoral. And in saying that we think his speech is immoral we don’t violate his free speech rights. We exercise our own. There are many different varieties of religious ethics, but we should focus on three religious ethics ideas often introduced into biomedical ethics controversies in this country. They are: i) The â€Å"sanctity of life† doctrine—it is absolutely forbidden either to perform or fail to perform some action with the aim of causing or facilitating the death of any innocent human being (oneself or another), whether or not the person to die consents to the act or omission, and whether or not he is better off with a quick and painless death. Hence, euthanasia (voluntary or not) is forbidden. The taking of innocent human life is God’s prerogative, not man’s. No human being has the right to â€Å"play God. † On the basis of the â€Å"sanctity of life† doctrine many religious people oppose the legalization of physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia. (They usually have other objections to legalization not based on this doctrine). ii) â€Å"Unnatural† acts are wrong. Though in-vetro fertilization and surrogate birthing are both wrong for this reason, the use of fertility drugs by a couple that has had difficulty in conceiving is not. iii) (Roman Catholicism only) The Doctrine of Double Effect– It is permissible to perform an act the evil consequences of which one foresees but does not intend (e. g. the death of an innocent human being), so long as the intended good consequences of the act outweigh or justify the unintended but foreseen bad consequences. It is permissible to perform an act with such consequences, even though it would be impermissible to perform it if the evil were intended as an end or as a means to bringing about some other end. — The â€Å"craniotomy† and â€Å"hysterectomy† examples and RC moral theology’s rejection of consequentialism. The craniotomy is supposed to be wrong, because the baby’s death is intended as a means to saving the mother. (It is supposed to be wrong, even though both mother and baby will die if the craniotomy is not performed). The hysterectomy is supposed to be permissible, because in that case the baby’s death is a foreseen but unintended side-effect of the hysterectomy. The claim that people who condemn homosexuality, masturbation, surrogate motherhood, reproductive cloning, etc. as wrong because â€Å"unnatural† are relying on religious ideas is controversial. Contemporary Roman Catholic philosophers who defend the natural law theory of morality (e. g. John Finnis) deny that their view presupposes a belief in God and God’s purposes (though it is certainly compatible with such a belief). They hold that we can know by means of unaided reason that these things are wrong. The natural law theory, they claim, is different from the â€Å"divine command theory of right and wrong. † According to the latter, what makes an act wrong is that it violates a divine command. So to know that homosexuality, for example, is wrong, we would have to know that the Bible, or Quran, or whatever, is the revealed word of God and read it to see if it includes a prohibition on homosexuality. Since the belief that the Bible or whatever is the revealed word of God rests on religious faith, it follows that a condemnation of homosexuality based on the divine command theory likewise depends on faith.

Touching the Void: Moitivational Theories

Touching the Void is an inspiring story about the power of the human will. To my surprise, the film left me emotionally spent as it touched on the issues of friendship, mortality and survival. I am sure many of my classmates will agree that it is an amazing story. But, for me, the thing that makes it truly inspirational is the way that Joe never gave up. In this brief paper I intend to show how Self Determination and Goal Setting theory influenced Joe’s inspiring story of survival. Self Determination Theory Self-Determination Theory draws from the research that people are inherently active organisms that strive for positive interactions with the environment (Class Lecture, February 3rd 2011). The theory suggests that people have three psychological needs that must be satisfied to initiate and regulate everyday behaviour. In addition, the theory also specifies that satisfaction of these needs also enhances intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). Intrinsic motivation is self-directed process which leads to more interest based behaviour rather than behaviour based on external rewards (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). The first psychological need is to feel a sense of autonomy in performing an activity. Autonomous behaviour involves having an internal locus of control and freedom to determine own behaviour. Autonomy is increased by having a choice, flexibility and opportunities for self direction (Reeve & Jang, 2006, as cited in Reeve 2008). The second need is having a sense of relatedness. This can be achieved by having close relationships with people who care about you (Baumeister & Leary, 1995, as cited in Reeve 2008). The third fundamental need is to perceive competence in relation to an activity. Competence is increased by engaging in activities that facilate optimal challenge and provides effective feedback (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). Self Determination theory provides us with a very applicable framework to understand Joe’s behaviour during his fight to stay alive. As noted by Professor Nisbet in class, intrinsic motivation is generally inherent in people and, can flourish out of people’s need for autonomy, relatedness and competence. There are many benefits an individual can attain by embracing intrinsic motivation. One of these benefits is the importance of persistence on a challenging task (Deci & Ryan, 1985b, as cited in Reeve 2008). There are numerous occasions during the film which persistence on a task is evident. Immediately after Joe breaks his leg, it obvious the persistence level of both climbers begins to escalate. Although both men know that a broken leg during a mountain ascent is likely fatal, they still persistent and work toward the goals of reaching the bottom. Joe is in excruciating pain but he continues on simply because there are no other options. There comes a point in the film where Joe is alone, and he continues to fight even though his hope of survival is slipping. Joe describes a constant â€Å"voice† in his head that urges him to â€Å"keep going†. I believe that Joe’s inner voice represents his continued persistence and determination to survive. It is clear that Joe’s high level of persistence allowed him to push him forward when he felt like giving up. Goal Setting Theory Goal setting theory is based on the idea that specific, difficult goals lead to higher task performance than do easy goals (Locke & Latham, 1990; Mento, Steel & Karren, 1987; Tubbs, 1986, as cited in Reeve 2008). Before difficult and specific goals can raise performance, the concept of goal acceptance must take place within an individual. In general, the individual must decide either to accept or reject the goal. If the goal is both accepted, it will enhance performance and facilitate goal commitment (Erez & Kanfer, 1983, as cited in Reeve 2008). In addition, Because goals refer to a future ideal state, setting goals may uncover discrepancy between a present and ideal state. This mismatch between present and ideal state will motivate an individual to achieve an ideal state and modify an ineffective plan if necessary. (Campion & Lord, 1982, as cited in Reeve 2008). Joe’s survival story is a testament to how to effective goal setting can be. With no food, no water frostbitten fingers, and a shattered leg Joe comes to the conclusion that if he wants to survive he must â€Å"set definite targets† for himself. Faced with an enormous task, Joe consistently sets small specific, attainable goals to increase the chances of his survival. For example, Joe would challenge himself to crawl to a particular rock within twenty minutes. When he got there, he set himself another goal, and then another. This is how Joes managed to mentally deal with the seemingly impossible task of getting to the bottom of the mountain. In summary, Touching the Void is an astonishing story of determination and persistence and it probably says more to me about goal-setting than anything else I have ever watched. By focusing on Joe’s 3 psychological needs and goal setting motives, we have learned much about the reasons why Joe never gave up. Although it may seem unrealistic to compare how Joe survived a life and death ordeal to our ordinary lives, extreme stories like this help us understand what drives motivational behaviours in everyday situations.

Importance of Marketing Essay

Marketing helps guide businesses in making strategic decisions by identifying growth opportunities and developing creative ways to approach those opportunities. Through successful marketing, a business will conduct extensive research, strategize and plan, brand the product, conduct product development, train the sales force, establish points of purchase, use public relations, and follow-up with good customer service. Marketing is the activity of a business organization that identifies customers, markets, as well as market segments and develops products or services to meet the needs of the customers by offering value of a product or service in exchange for profits and revenues for the business. In brief, marketing informs, educates, and persuades and it is paramount to the achievement of business success2. INTRODUCTION 2.1. BackgroundMarketing can be described as advertising a product. Marketing occurs when a company is trying to persuade costumers to buy the product that they produce over another company’s product. Marketing includes intensive research so that the company can get an outlook at what is the current trend in the marketplace. The problem is that marketing in theory contains these following activities also known as the 4-Ps which are developing the product, pricing the product, promoting the product and deciding what people to sell the product. 2.2. Purpose of the reportThis report aims to give basics of marketing comcept that is the most vital fact in business life for success. This report will tell why marketing has become so important in business life. 2.3. Statement of the problemAn organization cannot be successful unless the organization is satisfying its customers’ needs. This is because a product cannot simply be produced and expected to be sold. Although the idea for most is to create a product or service that â€Å"sells itself,† the product or service must create some consumer satisfaction to be able to sell itself. In order for there to be consumer satisfaction, economic utility must be derived from the product or service3. METHODOLOGY Information has been gathered through research of websites, journals and books as well as own interpretation and ideas on how marketing is seen important in contributing to the profitability of any company. 4. FINDINGS4.1. What is marketing?Marketing is a very general term that has no specific definition to it. However, it is best described as â€Å"A social and managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). It is an understanding of how the company works with its consumers and how it generates in the society. Marketing is seen to be the process of ‘bringing in the businesses’. It is not seen to be an alternative, but a necessity (Forsyth, 2004). Many people consider marketing as a tactic. However it is more than just a tactic. Marketing is analysis. According to Allen Weiss (2002), marketing is the analysis of customers, competitors, and a company by incorporating the understanding of competitive analysis and company capabilities into a general understanding of what the existing segments are. 4.2. Impact of MarketingMarketing deals with identifying and meeting human and social needs. Marketing can be defined as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. (Kotler, 2004) According to the American Marketing Association defines marketing as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stake holders. (Kotler, 2004)According to the Marketing Principals book marketing can be defined as an organizational philosophy has been based on the marketing concept. This concept consists of three interrelated principles such as:†¢An organization’s basic purpose is to satisfy customer needs. †¢Satisfying customer needs requires integrated and coordinated efforts throughout the organization. †¢Organizations should focus on long-term success. Based on these definitions, explain the importance of marketing in organizational success. Marketing is important in an organization success. Marketing is a broad topic that covers a range of aspects, including advertising, public relations, sales, and promotions. Marketing is important because it creates the core for the company. Marketing helps provide a service for the customer. Making the customer happy is the goal of the company. If a company does not know what the client wants the company will not survive. The strategy in which the company uses is important to the company success. Marketing is the key for an organization to succeed. First, marketers create a need in the mind of consumers. If they do not have a need for the product, they won’t buy it. Then they have to come up with a product which will delight the consumers, and keep them coming back again and again. This is needed to build a long-term relationship with consumers. If marketing gets them to purchase the product once, this would be a good outcome, but marketing should work to make them into lifelong loyal customers. A company is coming out with a new produce which will revolutionize the building industry. It makes building homes effortless. Sales of the product are lower than predicted. Research has found that many people are unaware of the product. One has made an idea to have a campaign marketing the benefits of the new product. Customers began to realize that there was a great need for the product which was being advertised. So, the customers began to purchase the product. No awareness is equated to any sales. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)An established brand of toothpaste is seeing its sale’s drop. No one can understand why. The product has been used for years; however, the company has done little advertising in the past few years because the product was so well established. Once a new ad campaign hit the waves, sales increased once more. Why? Well customers forget about products if they are not reminded. To maintain long-term customers, they need to be continues reminded of the product and they need to remember how much the product delights them, and how well the product performs. But re-establishing advertising, one must reinforce the communication link with customers. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)A person is looking to buy a luxury car. They have the money, and one has the knowledge about the many competitors. What decision should the guy make? The guy ends up buying a car with the company that has the best customer relations. They buy it at the place where they are treated with respect and class, where they feel involved in every step of the journey, where they know they made the right decision. After they buy the car, their relationship with the company does not end there; the customer can join clubs, attend financial seminars, attend wine and cheese events. All things build customer relationships which are strong and make the consumer happy. And the next time the consumer is in the market for a new car, they won’t shop around – they will return to the same dealership. (Personal communication, November 04, 2007)Marketing is more than just a company trying to sell the product. Marketing involves a great deal of research. Marketing also includes developing the product, pricing the product, promoting the product and deciding what people to sell the product. One has to be able to understand marketing so that it can be used in real life situations. 4.3. Why Marketing is Importantâ€Å"Marketing management is accomplished by carrying out marketing research, planning, implementation, and control† (Kotler, 2004). Marketing plays a major role in every business. It is very important as it contributes to the profitability of the company itself. â€Å"Relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining and enhancing strong, value-laden relationship with customers and other stakeholders. â€Å"They must build strong economic and social ties by promising and consistently delivering high quality products, good service and fair prices,† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Furthermore, when both customers and producers are mutually beneficial from this relationship, profitable transactions will follow. Knowledge of marketing strategy and market research is crucial in order to excel in marketing. 4.3.1 Five key factors to an effective marketingForsyth (2004) stated five factors which summarizes the effectiveness of marketing. a)Customer oriented. Company needs to focus on the wants and demands of the consumers. Profits come only after the consumers are satisfied. b)Continuously deployed. Marketing must be ready all the time as the company operates. c)Effective coordination. Marketing must logically co-ordinate its activities with the involvement of other departments and senior management team. d)Creativeness. Creativeness is needed during competitive times. By adding creativeness, marketing will be stronger. e)Underpinning culture. What makes marketing possible is not only depended on the people in marketing, but also the contributions from professional staffs in other departments are indeed needed (Forsyth, 2004). 4.3.2 Market Researchâ€Å"Marketing Research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information–information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). â€Å"By 1957 †¦ as markets moved from seller to buyer, new ideas of ‘marketing were taking hold. Companies began to grasp the importance of understanding what the consumers really wanted; it could no longer be assumed to be the same as it always had,† (V alentine & Gordon, 2000)Marketing research is basically the function that connects the consumer, customer and public to the marketer through information. There are four steps of market research. The first step is defining the problem; this is the hardest step of market research. If an inexperience manager define the problem wrongly, the whole market research will be affected hence the information will be inappropriate. Once, the problem has defined, the manager should determine, the research objectives which may fall in the three categories such as exploratory, descriptive or casual research. The second step is designing the research which will consist of determining what information should be gathered and how data will be collected. In this case, the data can be primary data collection or secondary data collection. The third step is implementing the plan which usually can be done by the internal staff or external firm. After the plan has implemented, the raw data will be prepared in order to get the information. The last step is interpreting the data; the researches will need to present the overall information to the marketing manager to be carried out to the next marketing process. 4.3.3 Marketing EnvironmentIt is important to determine the environment that the company is working in. The marketing environment refers to the actors and forces outside the marketing management’s skills to cultivate as well as maintain successful transactions with targeted customers (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Certain environmental complications and issues can severely affect the profitability of the company. Environmental complications and issues include the breakdown of economy (local economy and international economy), inflation, boom, trend, customer’s dissatisfaction and others. The company should be able to adapt to such changes of the environment, or else the company’s profit will significantly decrease. This would affect the company’s growth as well as driving o ff loyal customers. 4.3.3.1 The micro-environmentIt could simply be defined as the forces nearest to the company, which affect the company’s capability of serving its customers. Certain types of micro-environments that the company needs to take notice of are, for example, other departments, major suppliers, marketing representatives, customers and competitors (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Most of these environments can be ‘controlled’ by the company itself. 4.3.3.2 The Macro-environmentâ€Å"The macro-environment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the whole micro-environment – demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces,† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Most of these cannot be ‘controlled’ by the company. 4.3.4 Marketing Segmenting, Targeting, Positioningâ€Å"Market segmentation is the act of grouping customers in markets with some heterogeneity into smaller, more similar or homogene ous segments† (Dibb and Simkin, 2001). There are four variables that the business can choose to segment their markets; geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral variables. The business can choose to segment in one variable or a combination between two or three variables. However, in order to achieve an effective segmentation, the business should have the characteristic of measurability, accessibility, and substantiality and action ability. The next step, the business has to decide on which market segment they should target on, which classified of undifferentiated marketing, differentiated marketing or concentrated marketing. Once a business has decided which segments of the market it will enter, they must decide which ‘positions’ they want to occupy in those segments. Product position means â€Å"the way the product is defined by consumers on important attributes; the place product occupies in consumers’ minds relative to competing product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). They can position their products according to specific product attributes, benefits, users’ occasions, certain classes of users, against a competitor, away from competitor and product classes. In brief, by dividing market into a group of consumers who have a similar needs and wants, the business can achieve consumers’ satisfaction easier rather than if they concentrate on broadly market. Hence, when the business can satisfy the consumers, the consumers will develop a brand loyalty. â€Å"Customers can’t fully give loyalty until they believe a company genuinely cares about them and cares about their needs† (Hein, 2004). Moreover, as brand loyalty has formed, the business will be able to receive a profit, which should be supported with accurate product positioning. 4.3.5 Marketing MixMarketing mix is a set of â€Å"controllable marketing variables that the company combines to produce the feedback it wants in the targeted market† (Kotler, Brown, Adam a nd Armstrong, 2004). Marketing mix consists of 4Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Product is defined as â€Å"anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004).In order to produce a product, a business has to concern about the level of product; core, actual and augmented product. The core product is â€Å"the problem solving services or core benefits that the consumers are really buying when they obtained the product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Actual product is â€Å"product’s part, styling, features, brand name, packaging a d other attributes that combine to deliver core product benefits† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). Whereas the augmented product is â€Å"additional consumer services and benefits build around the core and actual products† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). The second element of marketin g mix is price. Price is â€Å"the amount of money charged for a product or the sum of value consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using a product† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). There two factors that the business should apply before set up the price; internal and external factors. Then, they can choose which type of pricing that suit the product; cost-plus, value-based, competitive or relationship-based pricing. The third element is Place, which is defined as â€Å"making products available in the right quantities and locations when customers want them† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). It includes physical distributions, inventory, location, transport, and channels. Intermediaries (marketing channel) are the one which distribute the product from the producer to consumer. The last element is Promotion. It simply means the transmitting merits of the products and persuading target consumers to buy them. At the start of the products lifecycle, promotion is necessary so that potential customers know of the existence of the product. Once the product grows, promotion must become more persuasive and encourage consumers to make a purchase. 4.3.6 ImplementationMarketing implementing is to translate the plans into actions. For the successful marketing implementation, â€Å"company has to blend these elements: action programs, organization structure, decision and reward system, human resources and company culture – into a cohesive program that supports its strategies† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). 4.3.7 ControllingMarketing control referred as â€Å"the process of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing strategies and plans, and taking corrective action to ensure that marketing objectives are attained† (Kotler, Brown, Adam and Armstrong, 2004). The manager should control the marketing implementation by setting a goal , measure and evaluate the performance and also correcting the error of implementation. 4.4. Marketing and BrandingProduct is the core of marketing, which including tangible goods like food or drinks or intangible services, as it is the major way to embody customers requirements; and, branding is directly associated with it. In fact, branding is all about decisio ns of products, like brand names or trademarks. Stork (2007) asserted that a brand is a unique business identity which represents the personality, quality or origin of products. And, such a product which added value by branding would appear in every activity of marketing, namely, branding is actually react on the whole marketing system directly and indirectly. In addition, Stork (2007) also argued that branding is the process of creating distinctive and durable perceptions in the minds of consumers. This is significant, as it accords with the objective of marketing, and it is the first step to attract customers. By contrast with those basic branding factors, brand loyalty is more complicated but significant. Attracting customers is not enough, organizations demand loyalty of customers to brands to make them competitive among others. Therefore, based on the analysis of theories above, branding and brand loyalty is vital to successful marketing, but there are still many other factors could affect their importance within the dynamic environment, like the different industry will have different types of marketing and branding. Subsequently, the further and deeper investigation will be conducted with examples of Virgin Atlantic Airway, which is a super brand in airline industry. Virtually, Design Council of UK (2007) defined that the airline industry is difficult to operate. Fixed costs are high, demand can fluctuate quite dramatically and shortages of key airport infrastructure all make it difficult for airlines to operate profitably. Relatively, the marketing for airline industry is not easy as well; the promotion or pricing would be totally different to other industries like food or drink, because its products are distinctive. However, Virgin Atlantic is doing quite well in general, it is famous on its branding and its services and it did won many rewards on that, like it came out on top in a consumer survey of travel brands in 2006. (Business Source Premier, 2006) As discussed before, a brand is a unique business identity, and a well managed one would be the asset of an organization, and the marketing and financial value associated with its strength in a market is so-called brand equity. (Dibb et al, 2001) According to Dibb et al (2001), there are four main elements underlie the brand equity, which are brand name awareness, brand loyalty, perceived brand quality and brand associations. It is good for customers to know the brand names of products which they do or do not like, thereby, they can recognize and purchase products that satisfy their needs simply. Otherwise, the product selection would be complicated or even wrongly selection. At the same time, it is clear that brand name awareness is the very first step for sellers, which would cause familiarity; and a unique brand name or logo may reinforce the familiarity to be memorable, which will strongly remain custom ers to come again. Due to that, organizations should promote their brand names or logos as much as possible within this stage, to gain awareness of their brands from customers. For example, one of marketing techniques of Virgin Atlantic is to advertising activity in the UK includes TV, press, magazines, outdoor posters and taxi sides, all featuring their distinctive logo. Advertising is used to encourage people to try the airline, to raise awareness of new product developments and new routes. (Virgin Atlantic, 2007)The perceived brand quality means certain perception of customers over the brand quality. This sort of perception mainly depends on consumers’ using experiences or the way organizations branded. Well marketed brands would become the indicators of quality or choice making for consumers as they have less or no ideas about the quality of certain goods in some case. As branded of its services, Virgin Atlantic is giving their customers what they want, by offering limousine services, full m eal catering, multi-class services, and entertainment consoles on every seat-back. (Stealing Share, 2006) Thus, the perceived brand quality of Virgin aircrafts is quite high; customers probably would consider it firstly or secondly while they are choosing an airline that is good at customer services. Thirdly, the brand would be more attractive and memorable if it associated with certain lifestyle or other characteristics. Virgin is one of the best choices for illustrating this point. As one of extended brands of Virgin Group, Virgin Atlantic is absolutely under the organizational culture as well, which characterized by Richard Branson, the founder of the company. Virgin’s brand values are really Branson style, which are innovative, competitive challenging, fun and so on and this also embodies in Virgin Atlantic. For instance, Virgin’s design teams always working on challenging new technologies or services, like the design of its upper class suite. (Design Council, 2007) Or, the entertainment consoles on every seat-back shows their focus on providing fun to customers. Like other three elements discussed above, brand loyalty is also valued to brand equity thanks to its function. Dibb et al (2001) defined that brand loyalty is a strongly motivated and long standing decision to purchase a particular product or service. Once customers loyal to one specific product, the market share of that product for the company would be relatively stable, allowing the company to use its resources more effectively or obtain premium prices. In line with what discussed before, organizations could be competitive with a relative stable market share among their competitors through brand loyalty, and meanwhile companies can diminish certain costs like the cost of attracting new customers. Moreover, brand loyalty has three degrees that are recognition, preference and insistence. The recognition is just alike as awareness of brand name; customers realize that brand is an alternative to purchase. Brand preference is stronger than recognition, as customers is showing certainly prefers on one brand over others, but they would accept substitutes wh ile the brand is not available. The last degree is the strongest one as consumers would insistent on the particular brand and will accept no substitutes. (Dibb et al, 2001) Though, it is less to happen due to various reasons, like in the airline industry, it is difficult for customers to insistent on one brand thanks to limitation of airline routes and destinations. 5. CONCLUSION Marketing is a unique and vast area of business. All the success of a business depends on a successful marketing campaign. There is also much more to marketing than what is discussed here. One fundamental of any marketing program is that it work toward meeting the wants and needs of customers in the target area. Trying to force feed a product or service to an unwanting public is seldom successful and is very expensive. Which is why it is very important to research and develop all new marketing ideas so that they fit the product being offered. Do you sell ice cold lemonade on a freezing winter day? A better suggestion would be hot chocolate. However, innovation and new marketing techniques can be offered where you can do both at their respective seasons. Its all about marketing. The challenges and obstacles involved with corporate longevity are faced and championed through marketing and its strategies. Important aspects of marketing are the acquisition of new clients, branding, and influencing behaviors that encourage sales. Each of these categories promotes business expansion and prosperity. Each organization has their own recipe for marketing and succes. 6. REFERENCESD ibb, Simkin, Pride, Ferrell (2001), Marketing—Concepts and Strategies, Houghton Mifflin CompanyEleven lessons: Managing design in eleven global brands (Virgin Atlantic), (2007), In: Design Council [online]. Available from: http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/en/About-Design/managingdesign/Design-at-Virgin-Atlantic-Airways/Virgin-Atlantic-case-study-designing-the-upper-class-suite/Marcia Yudkin, Head Stork (2005-2007), the Benefits of Branding, In: Name At Last [online]. Available from: http://www.namedatlast.com/branding3.htmStealing Share (10/10/2006), Global Branding: Virgin Atlantic gets it Right, In: Stealing Share—Beyond Theory [online]. 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