Parental Influence on Childrens Socialization Gender Roles Essay

The article Parental Influence on Children’s Socialization to Gender Roles by Susan D. Witt is about gender socialization and the primary role parent’s play. She states that children learn at an early age what it means to be a boy or girl. Witt states that it is different for a child to grow and not experience some sort of gender bias. The basic expectation during a child’s primary development is socialization that comes about through parents influence. Witt states that a child’s earliest exposure to what it means to be male or female comes from parents. An earliest exposure would be a parent dressing the child in gender specific colors such as pink for girls and blue for boys. Another early exposure to gender socialization would be gender differentiated toys such as dolls for girls and trucks for boys. Children internalize parental messages regarding gender at an early age (Witt, Susan D. 1997). In Witt’s article she states that one study found that children at age two and a half use gender stereotypes in negotiating their world. In a 1992 article by Steinbacher and Holmes it stated that most parents prefer male children throughout the world ad that these people are most likely to use technology for selecting sex of a child this is defiantly a form of gender bias. Parents often encourage their children, both sons and daughters to participate in gender type activities (Witt, Susan D. 1997), such as cooking for girls or playing with trucks for boys. Both parental sex typing is shown in children’s toy preferences and both mother and father have been found to reinforce stereotypes however, fathers have been shown to reinforce these stereotypes more. Children’s bedrooms have shown they are more so than not gender specific. Such as, girls rooms having more pink, dolls and manipulative toys and boys rooms having more blue, tools or sports related themes (Witt, Susan D. 1997). Research has shown that a parent’s influence is a primary socialization tool in a child’s development however, Some studies have suggested that parents as a gender socialization factor have little impact on a child’s sex role development (Witt, Susan D. 1997). Studies have shown that parents treat sons and daughters differently and that this plays a role into adult relationships. Witt states that parental attributes towards their children have a strong impact on their development and self-esteem. Sex role stereotypes are established in early childhood. It is shown that messages about appropriate behavior are based on gender, there are some benefits to strict gender stereotypes such as providing a sense of security and to facilitate decision making (Witt, Susan D. 1997). Witt states a negative factor to gender stereotyping and socialization would be limiting opportunities for both boys and girls based on what is seen to be gender appropriate in society. She also states that androgynous (neutral) individuals have been found to have higher self-esteem and higher levels of identity achievement and more flexibility in dating and relationships. Witt also states that children with parents who have more neutral values tend to be more knowledgeable about non sex type objects and occupations. Families who look at situations with less gender specific roles have been found to score highest in parental warmth and support (Witt, Susan D. 1997). Because of the strong influence of parents regarding gender role socialization those which were to be gender fair and encourage the best in both their sons and/or daughters would do well to adapt to genderless role orientation and encourage the same in their children (Witt, Susan D, 1997). Witt’s article shows her view and others of gender socialization and how it plays a role in a child’s upbringing.

The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age

Running head: The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age 1 The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age Tara Brooks Professor Bristow, J. D. Law, Ethics and Corporate Governance, LEG 500 4 May 2012 Abstract How many of us have paused during conversation in the past several years, suddenly aware that you might be eavesdropped on? Probably it was a phone conversation, although maybe it was an e-mail or instant-message exchange or a conversation in a public place.Maybe the topic was terrorism, or politics, or your church service. You pause suddenly, momentarily afraid that your words might be taken out of context, and then you laugh at your paranoia and go on. But your demeanor has changed, and your words are subtly altered. Privacy is a growing concern in the United States and around the world. As we increasingly use the Internet and the seemingly boundary less options for collecting, saving, sharing, and comparing information trigger consumerâ€℠¢s worries.Online practices of business and government agencies may present new ways to compromise privacy, and e-commerce and technologies that make a wide range of personal information available to anyone with a Web browser only begin to hint at the possibilities for inappropriate or unwarranted intrusion into our personal lives. Privacy is very important-especially on the Internet. It is amazing how many websites are designed to reveal private details about people—actually it is a little scary. In this paper, I will be discussing different topics on the value of digital privacy. Keywords: privacy, personal information, digital privacy . List and describe at least three (3) technologies that allow an individual to research citizens’ private data. The three technologies that allow an individual to research citizens’ private data are Bluetooth, GPS, and Google (Internet). The first technology I will discuss is Bluetooth. Bluetooth has several ways it can be hack ed. Some ways are blue jacking, blue snarfing, and blue bugging. In blue jacking, someone might send unsolicited messages to the victim in the form of a business card or a mobile contact with a text that may look intimidating to read. In many cases, someone may also send sounds like a ring tone.The victim’s mobile could then be infiltrated and he/she might never know what has happened. Blue jacking messages can also be viewed as spam messages with emails. There have also been reports about people getting hacked by Trojan Horses which could mean a serious compromise. Blue snarfing is considered a serious compromise in the category of Bluetooth hacking especially if the information vulnerable, is quite critical, as such attacks can allow someone access to victim’s contact list, text messages, emails and even private photos and videos. In blue bugging, someone uses sophisticated attacks to gain control of victim’s mobile.It works just like Trojan horses, where some one can manipulate the user’s phone the way he/she desires by executing commands on the victim’s phone. The hacker could forward mobile calls from the victim’s mobile to his own device and can even manipulate the mobile to follow a Bluetooth headset instructions like; receive call, send messages etc. (Hubs by Hassam, 2011) The second technology is GPS. A GPS tracking unit enables you to determine the precise location of person, vehicle or other object. GPS (Global Positioning System) is the only functional system, which can record the position of an object at regular intervals.A GPS tracking unit is so helpful that it can store the recorded location data within the tracking unit. Satellite transmits signals that can be intercepted by GPS receivers to find the precise location of any object you are searching for. Aside from making driving easier, the on-board electronics revolution has given some people a new direction in their lives. Unfortunately, it could take them right into your bedroom or living room. These people are GPS thieves. When they steal your device, they sometimes get more than just an electronics item they can sell for $100 or more on the street. They get your home address.With the push of a button, one common navigational feature, the home setting, fully automates the process of directing you to your home — a convenience that burglars and stalkers are sure to appreciate. It's enough to turn your free-floating anxiety about data theft into full-blown paranoia about home invasion. About two years ago, thieves stole a number of Acura cars from a corporation's garage in Atlanta, and, in three cases, they used the GPS units in the cars to find and then burglarize employees' homes. (Gary Thomas, â€Å"Thieves Target GPS Devices to Find Out Where You Live†, December 2009)The final technology is Google. Our class exchanged names with one another. We went to the lab to find information on the person that we were given . It is amazing and scary to see how much information can be discovered from Google. Some information is phone numbers, addresses, and where someone actually lives. I can simply type in the name of the person or business, preferably with quotation marks around the name, and if the phone number has been entered somewhere on the Web, than it will come up in my search results. I can also find all sorts of useful information with Google Maps, simply by typing in an address.In fact, I can use Google Maps to view an entire neighborhood. 2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of public access to this information, both for the researchers and those who are being â€Å"investigated. † One main advantage and disadvantage of blue tooth is that I am in Control: From a researcher’s view, I’m able to exchange data across my cell phone, I’m still have the ability to keep my information private. In order to make a transfer or allow someone to access the files on the phone, I would have to give them access by accepting or rejecting the request through my phone.As someone being investigated, I need to ensure if I have the Bluetooth feature enabled on the phone and not disabled while using it, others that I may not even know request to send me a file. Implementing security, even for these types of device pairings, can prevent an unauthorized user from using the headset. As someone that is â€Å"investigated†, I would definitely want to keep my information such as contacts, addresses and other information private and safe. Some of the advantages of GPS are that it can track lost items and it can track people.As a researcher, I realize that the crime rate keeps on increasing in every part of the world and a lot of highly valuable objects have been, and will, be stolen. It doesn’t matter how irrelevant you think an object or equipment is to others if it is something that is very expensive you should make sure you install a GPS tracking system on it. As a researcher, I can found my item or child quickly. Many phones have GPS capabilities that young children and teens may not know about; this is a great access if a child goes missing.As a person that is â€Å"investigated†, the disadvantage of GPS technology that can save lives can also provide a framework for invasion of privacy. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, locational privacy â€Å"is the ability of an individual to move in public space with the expectation that under normal circumstances their location will not be systematically and secretly recorded for later use. † (Peyton Brookes, Advantages ; Disadvantages of Mobile Tracking, 2012) As a researcher, information is probably the biggest advantage that Internet offers.Internet is a virtual treasure highway of information. Any kind of information on any topic under the sun is available on the Internet. The search engines like Google, Yahoo are at your service on the Internet. The re is a huge amount of information available on the Internet for just about every subject known to man, ranging from government law and services, trade fairs and conferences, market information, new ideas and technical support, the list is endless. Also as a researcher, Internet has made life very convenient. With numerous online services I can now perform all my transactions online.I can book tickets for a movie, transfer funds, pay utility bills, taxes etc. , from my computer. Some travel websites even plan an Itinerary as per my preferences and take care of airline tickets, hotel reservations etc. As someone that is â€Å"investigated†, if I use the Internet for online banking, social networking or other services, I may risk a theft to my personal information such as name, address, credit card number etc. Evil people can access this information through unsecured connections or by planting software and then use my personal details for their benefit. Needless to say, this ma y land me in serious trouble.Google stores enormous amounts of data to power its Web search and advertising engines, and many privacy advocates have repeatedly raised concerns over the amount of personal information Google has the ability to access. 3. Determine what measures citizens can take to protect private information or information they do not want to be disclosed. Some measures that citizens can take to protect private information are use different passwords for every account. It is easy to use the same password for each account that you have, but it is not safe or wise. Hackers have tools specifically designed to crack into accounts.A strong password contains letters, numbers, different cases, and symbols. Another way, if you have old online accounts that are not being used, closes them. Hackers could use them to infiltrate your more important accounts. Get rid of them. If you can't remember where you have old accounts search your email inbox with queries like â€Å"regist ered†, â€Å"confirm† or â€Å"your account† to find email records of old accounts. Another measure to do is go paperless. Bank and credit card statements can contain social security or account information. Check with these agencies to see if you can go paperless, and use a secure online portal for your transactions. . Discuss a federal law that grants the federal government the legal right to make private information on U. S. citizens available to the public, and whether or not you agree with this law. to fire for any reasons that are not unlawful, such as discrimination, etc. Since she did not obey company policies, she will be terminated. Human Resources will inform her if she will be receiving benefits or compensation from the company. 5. Determine whether there are â€Å"electronic privacy laws† that can prevent others from having access to â€Å"private information† as well as how effective they are. . . FEATURES- Internet – DNS Securit y 610 -8References Halbert, T. , & Ingulli, E. (2012). Law & ethics in the business environment (7th ed. ). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning http://autos. aol. com/article/gps-thief-home-invasion/ http://www. ehow. com/list_6068148_bluetooth-advantages-disadvantages. html#ixzz1u3e6jVDc http://hassam. hubpages. com/hub/Types-Of-Bluetooth-Hacks-And-Its-Security-Issues http://techgyo. com/index. php/3-major-advantages-gps-tracking-system/#ixzz1u44hGdujsOME

Jesus as the Founder of Christianity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Jesus as the Founder of Christianity - Essay Example In their work, there is a clear indication on the basics of Christianity, thus making it easier for students and scholars studying theology have a justified ground to base their arguments. From Sinclair & Bowman’s (2006), work, it is evident the stand they take in regard to the foundation of Christianity. Their values conform to those of other scholars and analysts who believe that the Bible is the basis of Christianity, and Jesus take the upper hand. Just like indicated in the Holy book, Sinclair & Bowman (2006), indicate that the good news has come to the human race and will be continue to prevail in order to guide Christians on the right path in life. From this indication, therefore, it is evident that the Bible indicates that Jesus is the root of Christianity through His messages to the human race. From the view that Jesus died for the sins of human kind, it is apparent how much He had and still has love for the human race. Apart from that, we are justified to argue that J esus Christ existed in the world before and from his existence, Christianity found its way into the lives of human kind. The word ‘Christians’ emanate from ‘Christ’ to mean followers of Jesus. This is the more reason why Jesus Christ is referred to as the founder of Christianity. ... 1.1. Body 1.1.1. An analysis of textual sources In an attempt to understand the foundation of Christianity, the Holy Bible cannot be alienated from the picture. As discussed earlier, the Bible is the blue print and reference to Christianity, and in this study, therefore, constant reference has to be made to the book. Sinclair & Bowman (2006), undertake a study of the Bible in an attempt to prove the view that indeed Christianity has its basis on the Bible. Sinclair & Bowman (2006) indicate that the Bible consists of both the Old and New Testaments that relate to the foundations of Christianity on Jesus. They seek to emphasize on the New Testament’s view on Christianity for its rich ideas on the theme. The books of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John emphasize on Jesus’ life while on earth. It is from these books that Christians borrow the aspect of a good life based on Christian virtues from the example of Jesus. It is justified to argue that the Bible leads to many Christians base their belief in Jesus as the founder of Christianity from the readings. It is these texts that parables are explained in broad detail. Jesus plays the role of a servant that was sent by God to save the human race. Jesus is seen more of a servant to the people that the king. According to the Christian values, humility is one of the virtues that all people must embrace. In line with this context, Jesus may be regarded as the founder of Christianity from the example that He set on the human race. In fact, studies indicate that it is from His mission on earth that many people learnt to emulate good virtues from him. Were it, not from Jesus’ mission on earth, Christianity would not have a strong foundation that it has today. At that

Pick a topic from the link provided in the details section Essay - 1

Pick a topic from the link provided in the details section - Essay Example In recent times that unfortunate reality has began to change. The Department of Education along with other government agencies have made curbing violence in schools a priority. More so than ever, schools now have the information and encouragement necessary to make sweeping improvements in this area. Bullies threaten students. The act of bullying threatens the effectiveness of education process. Students cannot learn as well while dealing with both physical and emotional trauma during the school day. Emotional scars due to abuse at school are hidden but can run deep affecting a persons general outlook on life and detrimental patterns of behavior for years following graduation. A 2010 Center for Disease Control study involving middle and high school students revealed more than one-fifth had been teased or otherwise verbally shamed within the past year on school property, most on at least a weekly basis. One in ten students had been lightly assaulted (pushed, spit on) or threatened with physical violence. A national survey asked teachers if they thought bullying to be a moderate or major issue. Nearly half said it was with 40 percent saying they witnessed bullying on a regular basis, at least once a week. ("Bullying/Cyberbulling(a)," 2014) Its sound reasoning to prevent bullying. The relatively minimal effort involved seems very small when comparing the unknown human costs associated with long-term physical and emotional scars of the victim. Prevention programs instituted by schools have shown to drastically reduce the instances of aggressive behavior. Simply talking about the issue is a good first step in prevention. Bring parents and students together to talk about the problem. They can help assess how rampant and serious the problem is at a particular school. In addition, schools must understand the types of bullying as well as other possible contributing factors such as drugs and race relations. When students, parents and school

Analysis essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Analysis - Essay Example 5. Certain policies of the government that might affect the economy and hence, the market or industry under consideration. One reason why it becomes very important to consider GDP in case of UK is that UK is a developed country. The infrastructure and the high end technology available in UK come at a higher cost than that in the developing countries. The expenditure increases due to non-availability of cheap labor. Thus, to support the ‘relatively’ high manufacturing costs, the GDP should be ‘relatively’ higher so that the profit is not affected. The GDP of UK was severely affected by recession. Though a lot of newspapers reported the rise in GDP by more than 0.4% in the fourth quarter last year, the GDP had dipped by 6% during recession (The Herald 2010). Does that mean that the spending has declined? Not much. The savings ratio has been declining along with the decline in GDP (guardian.co.uk 2010). Hence, the spending of citizens of UK has not been affected much. But another factor to worry about is the increase in VAT (Value Added Tax). To reduce the fiscal deficit, which went up during recession, the UK government has increased Value Added Tax from 15% to 17.5% (Dalong 2009). All confectionery items are VAT-able items. The cost of chocolates will increase. But how much will this affect the consumption of chocolates? To gain popularity in the UK confectionery market, it would be sensible to sell chocolates at a lower profit margin rather than increasing the prices because of the increase in VAT. ‘Cadbury’s’, which enjoyed a share of more than 30% of the UK confectionery market until last year, made the mistake of increasing the price of its ‘Dairy Milk’ bars. This led to a drop in the consumption of Cadbury’s products and their market shares dropped. Thus, it would be sensible to sell chocolates at lower price until the brand gains popularity and recognition and until UK completely recovers from reces sion (tutor2u 2009). The

Reasearch paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reasearch - Research Paper Example Another controversial issue that was facing Hemingway was in regard to his sexual orientation. This is controversial because Hemingway is known to have a deep hatred to the gay people; however, scholars denote that this was with the intention of hiding his sexual orientation. This is because Hemingway is suspected to have been a gay person. It is these types of controversies and issues surrounding the life of Hemingway that could have an impact in negatively affecting his career. This paper examines the controversial manner which Hemingway was able to depict women, and why this could negatively affect his career. Ernest Hemingway is a famous and talented American writer. However, most of his critics do not feel the same. This is because of his writing style, and the various controversies that Mr. Hemingway was able to have. On most occasions, Mr. Hemingway is always compared to famous authors such as William Faulkner and Scott Fitzergerald. However, he has a very different writing style, when it is compared to these famous authors. Furthermore, Mr. Hemingway has made enormous and great contribution to the modern fiction, when he is compared to the above mentioned authors (Boon, 27). However, this assertion is debatable, mainly because he has only a handful of novels and fictions to his name. This is when compared to the above authors, who dedicated most of their lives in writing fiction and novels. Furthermore, he was very particular in regard to his writing (Bloom, 31). He did not just come up with a story, but he analyzed the story carefully, and every sentence, and word, for purposes of e nsuring that the story under consideration would serve its function, and disseminate the intended message. Furthermore, the novels that Hemingway created were following a chronological order. The impact of this order is that the novels were boring, and very typical. For

Arab economic integration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Arab economic integration - Research Paper Example All of these aimed at enhancing the economic development of its member states (Hakimian & Nugent, 2005). The Gulf cooperation council member states had a notable difference in regard to the economic growth and also difference in the gross domestic product per capital where Kuwait has the lowest figure of US$ 1000 compared to the United Arab Emirates which has over US$25000 (United Nations, 2009). With these disparities in the level of per capita income the Arab economic integration has to engage in an intra-industry trade and economic activities which is guided by the product differentiation. The reason of choosing this market driven by product differentiation is to gather and accommodate the existing income and GDP differences as well as preference. The major characteristic and influence that has been introduced by the Arab economic integration is the reduction and the elimination of the trade barriers that exist in between the member states, the reduction of the standard trade barr iers include the non tariff barriers and the general costs of real trade (Hakimian & Nugent, 2005). The economic analysis and the evaluation of the Arab economic integration can be taken into account in two different dimensions where the first dimension is about the focus on the goods and services market, this dimension can be used to evaluate and assess the suitability and the desirability in regards as well as the context of the Arab integration. The second dimension comprises the reasoning in terms of the vicious circle; this provides that the idea of Arab economic integration has not been that effective because of the little intra regional trade due to the lack of organized...This paper mainly focuses on initiation of the Arab economic integration, more specifically on the countries, which are active members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It provides a clear description of the market environment in these countries and the strategies that the governments of the respective membe r states have put into place to enhance the efforts of integration. The paper further focuses on both the major challenges that limit the implementation process and the possible approaches that can be adopted, so as to achieve optimum economic integration among the GCC member states. Regional economic integration among the Arab countries especially for the GCC countries has been a notable phenomenon. Efforts of regional economic integration in these countries started earlier than any other developing region in the world at around 1950s, The Arab states resolved on adopting numerous regional economic agreements that aimed at lifting up trade barriers mainly on preferential basis. These initiatives of economic integration had a significant economic impact on these integrated countries. The studies and analysis of this Arab integration indicated that the slow accomplishment and realization of the integration is due to the low intra-regional trade of goods among the member states. The key challenge in the pursuance of the economic integration by Arab countries is the efforts to establish a common market or a custom union. This has not been made possible due to its implementation nature where it requires agreement and harmonization of policies and regulations between the states. There is a need to establish institutional mechanisms, that will promote regional economic integration, in these counries.

Challenges in Groups and Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Challenges in Groups and Teams - Essay Example Collaborative (C) decision making takes a step in the direction of participation by way of consultation, and involves asking either certain individuals or, more generally, a group for their input. The manager solicits a recommendation from individuals or the group, but still makes the final decision. Empowered decision making completes the continuum. It is full participation, and entails empowering either an individual or a group to make final decisions. The particular people involved in a given communication episode can make the critical difference in whatever understandings result. Personal qualities and background factors influence the interpretations and meanings created by sources and perceivers. There are different key factors to consider with each decision-making style, and different levels of commitment to decisions that can be expected to result from each approach. The challenges can be overcome with the help of training and leadership support, planned intervention and posit ive climate and morale. The three stages: preparation, training and implementation and practical usage will help a team leader to overcome challenges in teamwork and create a dynamic team.

Decline in Trade Unionism and Strike Activity Coursework

Decline in Trade Unionism and Strike Activity - Coursework Example For decades, trade unions have played an important role in Europe as organizations that work to provide common goals for workers, offering traditional functions to its members such as collective bargaining, organized strikes, and support for unfair dismissal. In the UK, for example, the â€Å"Trade Union Congress† (TUC), which is an organization of British trade unions, was founded in 1868, and has since then, become a powerful institution in industrial relations.Trade unions have been commonly associated with strike-related activities since the 11900s but the instances of trade unions and strikes has evolved and changed dramatically since this period (Aligisakis, 1997). Participation in trade unions and strike activity are considered to be two important aspects of industrial relations in any country.   In the majority of European countries, trade unionism and the level of strike activities has experienced a continuous decline since the 1980s. Over the last three decades, a series of global changes have weakened the power of trade unions. These changes are responsible for the decline in trade unionism and fall in strikes, and the reasons for these changes will be explored in this paper. Attempts will also be made to examine whether any relation exists between the decline in trade union membership and strikes. Before embarking on discussing the issues mentioned above, one should look at the trend in trade unionism as well as strikes in European countries, particularly in Germany, France, Great Britain, and Sweden, as this is essential in finding out the relationship between the decline in trade union membership and strikes. These countries have been chosen as they represent the widest spectrum of industrial relations.

The Toro Companys' No Risk Program Research Paper

The Toro Companys' No Risk Program - Research Paper Example The winter during the year 1982/1983 was mild and thus, the premium rate of 2.1% was low given that there was a high risk that a bigger number of customers were going seek refund (Squires, 1999). In other words, the American Home Insurance Company had erred in the calculation of 2.1% premium. To recover this, the insurance company raised the premium rate to around 8% during the following year. Further, the insurance company seemed to take advantage of the increased sales since the premium rate is calculated as a percentage of total retail sales. Estimating a fair insurance rate A fair insurance rate can be estimated based on historical performance of an organization. For Toro Company, historical data on the sales of the Snowthrowers can be gathered and then used to determine the optimal rates that a company should be asked to pay (Vanderhoof & Altman, 1998). The sales data distribution for Toro indicated that there were strong sales between the financial years 1978/1979, and 1979/198 0. The increase in demand was triggered by severe winter conditions during the period. The next three winters were mild causing a reduction in sales for Toro. However, the winter for the year 1983/1984 was snowy and thus, the risk arising from low sales was reduced. As such, a fair insurance rate should have been lower than that of the previous three years. However, the American Home Insurance Company raised the premium rate from 2.1% in the year 1982/1983 to around 8% in the year 1983/1984. Customer perspective of the structure of paybacks The paybacks were structured in a manner that triggered immediate and enormous interest and excitement among the consumers. This led to customer preference for the products of Toro to those of competitors. However, with only two out of 172 government-run weather stations reporting snowfall below 50%, most consumers were shy from seeking refund. The winter for the year 1983/1984 is snowy, reducing chances for customers to seek refunds. Since intro duction of the program resulted in removing of the 10% discount program, the new program made snowballs less affordable for customers, leading to reduced interest for paybacks especially if winter conditions are projected to be severe. Running the discount and payback programs would be more appealing, where a consumer makes a choice between the two programs, (Banasiewicz, 2009). Common decision traps and impact of the No Risk program on customer ‘regret’ The decision traps that Toro Company and the American Home Insurance Company as susceptible to are as follows: Decision traps Toro Company American Home Insurance Company Limiting the Search Trap Failure to Evaluate Trap Ignoring Ethical Questions trap None (50%) Negative (50%) Positive (70%) None (30%) Positive (60%) None (40%) Possible outcomes for the consumer The decision matrix shows that the program is likely to lead to consumer regrets. Argument to achieve desired objective from the Toro Company’s perspect ive The desire for Toro Company is to win more customers and increase sales for Snowthrowers in the long-run. To achieve this, it will be essential to do research related to the success of the program, and its short and long-term impact on consumer demand (Hoyer & Macinnis, 2009). Toro will need to evaluate possibilities of consumer regret and use the information to improve decisions. In case the program has already caused consumer regret, it will be essential to take actions that will reduce customers’

Needs of Various Stakeholders Essay Example for Free

Needs of Various Stakeholders Essay As we already discuss about the important of the stakeholders. A stakeholder does not exist but makes demand of the organization. The reason why stakeholders are important in strategic analysis is because of they want something from the organization. The demand of different stakeholders may become conflict to each other. For example shareholders of Tesco want maximum returns from the organization whereas the management team may retain profits for long term investment. Also the employees of tesco want higher payment or simply keep employee during the economy crisis, but the management may with to go through the difficult time by cutting posts and costs. Because of the individual needs are various, the conflict exists. And it will change along with times, macro-environment change and organizational changes: The government:- The government has power on influence the daily operations of tesco. Now days the government may give more support to the business because of the global economy downturn. Customers:- The small change of social communications behaviors and the innovation of high promotion may lead more demand on the services and products provided by tesco. This is very important power for the tesco to continue developing to satisfy the customer. Shareholders:- Shareholders may have the less expectation on returns during the crisis in the stock market. However, when the economy blooms again, say after several years, shareholders will expect more returns from the organization. Employees:- Who could be considered as dependent stakeholders. They are willing to retain the same pay level in order to keep employed during the recession period, but when things gets better, the staff will wish to increase their pay and other welfares. Suppliers:- The operation of the business is very difficult and complex with the effects of globalization. Small changes in the country would have direct and indirect impact over the business operations. Local community:- Local community may wish tesco help improving the quality of local environment. They may wish the organization perform better and give the full satisfaction to the customer.

Achieving Universal Primary Education

Achieving Universal Primary Education In 1998, the then government of Pakistan, accorded full recognition to the fundamental responsibility of restructuring of education system of Pakistan, by announcing the National education policy on 27th March 1998. The National Education Policy 1998 was devised with a sight to transform the Pakistani nation into an integrated, cohesive entity that can stand up and compete against future challenges by setting one of the main objectives of achieving universal primary education by providing the maximum opportunities for free access to every child. In 2000, world leaders from 189 nations voted to implement the MDGs.Pakistan was also one of them. This declaration set eight goals to achieve the unanimous vote to instill the Millennium Declaration may suggest that the political will to accomplish these targets is promising. The achievement of universal primary education was second goal set after eradicating poverty.The target set under this goal was that by 2015 universally children will b e able to complete full course of primary schooling.The indicators to achieve this target were completion/survival rate , net enrollment ratio and literacy rate of 15-24 years old men and women. However, critics of the MDGs are not sure about the likelihood of every nation attaining universal education by 2015. The critics of the MDGs suggest that greater focus should be placed on the overall progress rather than the final outcome as the evidence implies that the educational MDGs are not likely to be achieved in most countries. By concentrating primarily on the rates of progress over time, (Sahn, 2003) claim the results will be more beneficial in providing encouragement to countries, as failure to achieve the goals is not synonymous with failure to achieve social progress. So, greater attention should be placed on rates of progress towards completing these goals rather than the final outcome. As failing to achieve these goals by 2015 does not indicate a lack of improvement in Pakistan, it is more appropriate for policy analysts to focus on rates of progress. Since Pakistan has signed Millennium development declaration, it is facing major problems like war on terror, political instability, and earthquakes 2004 and floods 2009-10 which hindered its progress towards these goals. There are so many other factors that are obstructing Pakistan in achieving its millennium development educational goals. 2.2 Factors that affect the achievement of millennium development goals of primary education in Pakistan in light of previous researchers and critics. As this paper intends to provide the reasons for critical lag and gap in achieving primary educational millennium developments goals in Pakistan and how these goals may be achieved, I chose to focus on factors which are common and have greater influence on educational progress and aspects that government and other educational authorities in Pakistan can have a direct influence over through policy change. For the purposes of this research, the model that signifies the determinants of educational progress are completion survival rate, female teachers as percentage of total primary teachers, population aged between 0-14 as percentage of total population , poverty rate and literacy rate gap.But other variables that are considered and have an impact are net enrolment ratio, rural population, pupil-teacher ratio, public expenditure, gender parity index, and non-formal education (deeni madrassas), low birth weight babies. The debate that whether educational progress is more affected by personal back ground of students ( that includes rural population, poverty rate, public expenditure , gender parity index) or school quality factors ( that are pupil teacher ratio, trained teachers ,female teachers and non formal education) has been ongoing since the Coleman Report (Coleman et al. 1966). Coleman et al. (1966) found that family background of students, that is their parents socioeconomic status, parents education and occupations are more indicative of students educational progress than school-level factors. Since the publication of the Coleman Report, researchers have continued to examine and debate whether quality of education or home environment determines students academic achievements. Especially in regard to how national economic development affects which factors are more important on a global scale, policy makers continue to look for which factors may best explain educational progress. In this resea rch, I intend to observe whether economic or educational investment factors best explain progress towards the educational MDGs in Pakistan. In order to determine how Pakistan can use its resources most efficiently, I have used statistical data for different variables covered under socio economic status of students and educational quality and their effect to reduce literacy gap. Though 70% of population in Pakistan is still living in rural areas. But growth in rural areas is moving towards down and literacy rate is improving so we can see that social background of people has high impact on educational progress. (DR .P.A.Shami, 2005) in their study on basic education in Pakistan raised issues like lack of access to quality education in rural areas and unequal distribution of educational resources in rural and urban areas. These issues still prevail in society as a hindrance to achievement of MDGs for education. The Pakistan has The average literacy rate of Pakistan is 57 per cent with combination of 69 per cent for males and 45 per cent for females.The literacy rate in urban areas remains much higher than in rural parts of the country , 74 per cent and 48 per cent respectively The average provinicial literacy rate follows as Punjab and Sindh 59 per cent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (50 per cent) and Balochistan (45 per cent) (Pakistan Economic Survey, 2009-2010). As I have taken population aged between (0-14) as percentage of total population as one of my variables and more than half of population in Pakistan lives in rural areas so it ultimately effects my determinant. As past research indicates that the effects of educational investment factors or school quality factors which include total educational expenditures and number of trained teachers for the universal enrolment MDG, pupil-teacher ratio and repetition rate for the universal completion MDG, and pupil-teacher ratios and number of female instructors for the gender parity goal may vary depending on the economic status of a nation (Heyneman Loxley, 1983). The educational investment factors are most indicative of educational progress in the worlds poorest countries, where as economic growth characteristics will best explain the progress of lower-middle income countries towards the educational MDGs. Economic growth may be viewed as more significant at the national level in lower-middle income nations because these countries are closer to being seen as legitimate economic partners by industrialized nations than low income nations. Alternatively, educational investment factors will likely be mor e significant in low income nations because improvements in these in these countries are more immediately perceived at the individual level than changes in national economic growth. (Gupta et al, 2002) found in his research that economic growth has been major determinant of educational progress. This is in line with my determinant of poverty rate. As economic growth of country directly links to the welfare of its citizens. The growth in economy can lead to educational growth if net enrollment rates do not rise at much faster rates than GNP per capita is recognized by Colclough Al-Samarrai (2000) in his research. This finding suggests as more children reach the school going age, fewer public resources will be available to allocate to a nations educational system. Thus economic growth is linked to greater funding on education as more resources are available to spend on education. This trend may occur for several reasons. First, as the economy of nation develops more spending is done on education, even though the total proportion of the GNP spent on education decreases (Coclough Al-Samarrai, 2000) and secondly, increasing rates of economic growth signify a higher quality of living for a nations citizens. As financial resources become more readily available at the individual level, the perceived costs of education may not be as great. Increasing employment rates may enhance citizens opinions towards education because prolonged unemployment can lead to disinterest in investing in further schooling (World Bank;2010). However (Mellinium developemnt goals, 2010) shows budgetary allocations are not sufficient enough to implement the desired projects to achieve universal primary education by 2015. Budget for education still remains at about 2% of GDP, out of which major amount is spent on administrative issues like salaries, leaving very minimal amount to spend on new initiatives. (Pakistan Economic Survey, 2009-2010) In South Asia, Pakistan falls in one of those countries who contribute lowest public expenditure on education , as a proportion of their GDP. According to figures, Pakistan allocated to the education sector 2.5 % of the GDP in 2006-07, 2.47% in 2007-08, 2.1% in 2008-09 and 2 % in 2009-10. This factor also directly affect the poverty rate.As if public expenditure is increased , there will be more cheaper education facilities thus making poor people accessible to basic education. A study by Qureshi and Arif (2001) conducted on the Profile of Poverty in Pakistan demonstrates that poverty has been increasing drastically throughout the decade starting 1990s. More rural household were dragged to poverty and approximately a quarter of the urban households were also living below the poverty line by the end of 1998-99. They conclude by shedding light on the fact that acquisition of education is one of the most significant determinants of the incidence of poverty. It is imperative that education should be taken into account during policy formulation and implementation. A very important idea has been put forward in the article which states that education can have a positive impact of poverty alleviation strategies. The acquisition of an individual will have a positive effect on his or her earnings and productivity and furthermore also impact any individual that interacts with the educated. (Qureshi and Arif, 2001). I have taken the literacy rate gap (target-actual) as my dependant variable for this study as it is inversly proportional to maximum achievement of primary education and studied the effect of other independent variables on education. Despite the general assumption that more funding in education leads to achieve higher degree of educational attainment and enrolment, previous researches on the impact of public spending on education for improving educational progress is same. Gallagher (1993) claims in his work that while educational expenditures positively affect enrolment rates, further attention is needed to assess the quality of how public expenditures are spent in education. The total public education expenditures may not be the most accurate determinant of observing how a government is financially supporting its educational system, but other research indicates that educational funding at the national level can vary significantly. Colclough Al-Samarrai (2000) mentioned in his rese arch that South Asian countries spend a higher proportion of their total GNP on education and subsequently have higher enrollment rates. As total educational expenditures vary significantly based on certain national characteristics, more research is needed to determine how influential a nations total financial support for education is on enrolment rates. For instance, the school-aged population in Sub-Saharan Africa is proportionately larger than the school-aged population in South Asia (Colclough Al-Samarrai, 2000) indicating that total education expenditures would need to be greater in these countries to allow for funding to be similarly allocated. Additionally, in terms of educational funding, the majority of finances are spent on teacher salaries and other administrative works (MDG Report, 2004 MDG, Report 2010) ,Dr PA Shami Development of education in Pakistan (2005).Though public expenditure on education is taken as variable in my regression model but it ultimately effects t wo of my variables completion rate and female teachers.As if there will more public expenditures on education it will provide more resources and facilities to education sectors thus making education more easily achievable ending up in students successfully completing their primary education.Similarly it can increase number of female teachers in education sector by giving them good pay incentives. A nation with a higher school-aged population will likely have greater pupil-teacher ratios which in turn may lead to a lower quality education. Pupil-teacher ratio is a significant determinant for its potential effects on educational progress, specifically in terms of school completion rates, though researchers are in agreement about its significance. Dr PA Shami in his paper Access and Equity in Basic education also raised this issue that in Pakistan the very high pupil teacher ratio in most of schools especially rural areas has worse effects on its educational progress. As teachers cannot accommodate to give attention to a class of 40 to 50 students so it aversely affects the progress. The amount of time a teacher can commit to each student is reduced by large class sizes, but the gender of the teacher may also affect how likely girls are to obtain an education. In many places like Baluchistan, Sindh and Pakhtunistan parental attitude towards girls education is very conservative. This situation is more intense in rural areas which cover more than 70-80% of total population in Pakistan. In rural areas due to poor quality of life and less exposure and awareness and illiterate parents both socially and academically, long distant schools and lack of female teachers, children are not sent to schools and especially girls.(Dr P A Shami Access and equity in basic education 2005) MDG Report 2010. Consequently, girls may need for female teachers to be present in order to decide that obtaining an education is worthwhile. Additionally, as girls tend to receive less attention from instructors than boys, a lack of female instructors can reduce the amount of learning time for girls (Benavot Gad, 2004), thus reducing the likelihood of girls attaining an education. In addition to affecting the gender parity ratio, the presence of women in the educational system may influence enrolment and completion rates. The higher participation of women in the workforce is often viewed as indicative of a nation becoming modern; more women in the educational system may lead to higher enrolment and completion rates. Female teachers in schools tend to have higher levels of certification than their male counterparts. Consequently, literacy rate gap will be lower in areas with a higher percentage of female teachers because the female teachers are more qualified, easy going and trustworthy to teach. (DR .P.A.Shami, 2005)in their study point out insufficient and imbalanced educational infrastructure, high poverty rate, incompetent, untrained and non availability of teachers, illiteracy of parents and economically weak families give rise to low completion/survival rate of primary education , which ultimately negatively effect literacy rate gap. These factors are also seen in (Mellinium developemnt goals, 2010). Completion survival rate is taken in my research as independent variables to assess its impact on literacy rate gap which ultimately targets achievement of Millennium-Development-Goals for primary education in Pakistan. (Mellinium development goals, 2010)raised issue of net enrollment ratio and completion/ survival rate that has also mentioned by (DR .P.A.Shami, 2005).Though net enrolment ratio has increased in primary education to 57% in 2009 from 42 % in 2002 but we are still lagging behind a lot to catch 100% by 2015. And the children who manage to complete their primary school that is to complete studies from grade 1 to grade 5 is only 54.6% in 2009 which has been decreased from 57.3% in 2002. 2.3 Discussion of various projects and programmes running in Pakistan to achieve MDGs for primary education According to Pakistan Millennium-Development-Goals Report (Mellinium development goals, 2004) by the GoP (Government of Pakistan), a fair assessment of the status and trends relating to Goal 2 is difficult owing to a number of reasons.MDG Report 2005 highlighted that major discrepancies arise due to data collection by different methods, the use of different definitions of variables, and the time lag between data collection and publication. MDG Report 2004 states that discrepancies are sometimes significant, for example, between the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) and the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (PIHS). There is greater consistency, however, in the rates of change implied by these sources as indicated in (MDG Report 2005 pakistan world fit for children report , 1989).The programs and projects introduced to achieve the MDGs are run by different organizations and NGOs. The programs and projects running at provincial level are independent and have n o interference from federal government. Therefore monitoring and evaluation of these programs is difficult at federal level making the analysis of such interventions are more complicated for researchers and policy makers. An education sector reforms (ESR) specific programme was provided Rs732 million which was spent on the provision of missing facilities in primary and middle schools, restoring and reestablisihing of science education at secondary level and establishment of polytechnic institute at district level (Balochistan, Khanozi,Turbat Gilgit).The national education foundation intends to establish community schools in the country at the places where primary school are not available within a reachable distance and skill based literacy centers. Rs 1 billion were expanded under Canadian Debt Swap Project for capacity building of teachers training institution and training of teachers. Child Friendly School model (CFS), which is a framework for all children to enroll in schools and learn effectively has been expanded in the country to over 2700 schools. (Pakistan Millenim development goals report, 2010) .In time of natural disasters like earthquakes and floods UNICEF provides help to organize mass b ack-to-school campaign, being to resume quality education activities, encouraged to rebuilt schools and infrastructure, aided to improve, speedup and adapt learning strategies for children who have missed schooling, female education and generating public support to raise awareness about importance of education. Further it provides help to schools, providing with safe water and sanitation. (Goal: Achieve universal Primary eduction). Schools are also trying to decrease the dropout rate of students which is about 50% at the moment by engaging children in co-curriculum activities, such as sports and other play activities to develop their interest in schools and increase the retention rate at school. 2.4 Analysis of gaps and lags The achievement of MDGs so far is not remarkable and the reasons other than one described above are also earthquakes in 2004, war on terror and recent massive destruction in floods 2010. Pakistan has currently net enrolment ratio less than 80%, which is unlikely to reach 95% by 2015.Net primary enrolment ratio was 52% in 2004-5 rose to 56% in 2006-7 and then 57% in 2008-9.There are significant variations in NER among the four provinces .The NER is highest in Punjab with a slight improvement in other provinces by 1%.Gender disparity in NER is reduced. Especially in Pakhtunkhwa it has improved by 4% in last few years. Trend towards private schooling is increasing in urban as well as rural areas, with primary enrolment increased from 18% to 20% in the later. There has been significant decline in completion/survival rate to grade during the last five years. The rate decreased from72.1 to 54.7 to 52.3 to 54.6 in 2005-6 to 2006-7 to 2007-8 to 2008-9 respectively.But it has been improved dr astically in 2010 reaching to 69.9%. One of the main reasons of escalating this rate may be shift in the number of students from public to private schools due to unavailability of teachers, better infrastructure and standard quality of tuition in public schools. Data of the public school does not show whether students have left school or gone to private schools. In the last ten years there is overall improvement in literacy rate with respect to individual sectors of male, female, urban and rural areas. Though there is increase of 3% points in urban areas and 1% point in rural areas. Literacy rate is higher in urban areas 74% compared to 48% in rural areas in 2008-9.The individual provincial literacy rates are as follows: Punjab Sindh 59%, Khyber- 50%, Baluchistan 45%.The literacy rate 2008-9 is higher among men 69% compared to women 45% which is increased from 66% and 43% in 2006-7 respectively. (Mellinium developemnt goals, 2010 (Australian Aid Programme to Pakistan, 2010). Social status between men and women, contraceptive use, fertility rates decline, the relationship between child and maternal mortality is a good established. The most powerful donors reduction of child mortality is the mother of a literacy, which in itself is an education system to ensure that his pioneering development of the book as a free universal access to education for the poor, including girls and boys.There should be emphasis on education among these women, social status and overall health of children and pregnant women, he made two basic features that make life meaningful and free possible.The social status of women through education, enjoyment and economic relationship between education and health opportunities is, therefore, is to achieve the Millennium-Development-Goals and to ensure that the basic premise of sustainable development. It is obvious that Pakistan lagged behind in this respect the pain behind. In general, Pakistan faces multiple and interrelated problems, with a view to achieving the Millennium-Development-Goals call. Some of these issues relate directly to health care, while others refer to economic,social and cultural. Nevertheless, macro-political environment is also a source of problems. Pakistan history suspicious of democracy. The country was under an actual or de facto military regime, history and deprived the majority of people the fundamental freedoms. There is no sense of democracy, promotion of civic awareness, a strong sense of human rights and freedoms will be difficult if not impossible, to achieve the Millennium-Development-Goals in Pakistan.

Differentiation in the Marketing of Fashion Clothes

Differentiation in the Marketing of Fashion Clothes Consider current practices of differentiation in the marketing of fashion clothes Report on: a) The current situation in the UK and regional markets (market segments, key players, sales practices, trends, opportunities and threats) The UK clothing market is essentially mature, following changes in the profile of the UK retail market for clothing during the 1990s. There was a major shift away from traditional sources of purchasing, such as department stores, clothing independents and variety stores, in favour of discounters, supermarkets and sports outlets. This reflects the ‘casualisation’ of the UK and the downward pressure of cheaper, imported products on retail price levels. Shopping for clothing and footwear is increasingly moving away from the traditional high street locations to out-of-town shopping centres, where families may typically spend a good part of a day browsing and shopping in a wide range of stores, rather than visiting their local high street to shop in specific outlets. Mainstream women’s clothing is still strongly populated by private labels from variety stores, such as Marks Spencer or Bhs, and clothing specialists, such as Next, River Island and Principles. Premium product ranges remain focused primarily on department stores and there is some degree of â€Å"trading up† to labels such as Alexon, Planet, Viyella or Jaeger by consumers with greater disposable income levels (Global Market Information Database, 2005). Discounters significantly strengthened their share of consumer purchasing over the last two decades, largely due to the success of the Matalan and Primark chains. However, there are indications in the last two years that strong growth in the position of supermarket groups, largely due to their expansion into fashion wear, is beginning to shift value-driven purchasing in their favour away from discounters, though this shift is not yet decisive. Supermarkets are becoming increasingly involved in clothing; with companies suc h as Asda, Tesco and J Sainsbury have all launched clothing collections under a brand identity during the past few years. For example, J Sainsbury commissioned fashion designer Jeff Banks to launch a clothing range and Asda’s George at Asda range quickly became well-established, making supermarkets increasingly key players in the market. However, supermarkets still tend to focus on price, rather than fashion, and are thus not yet truly key players on the scale of Marks and Spencer, Next and Matalan (Global Market Information Database, 2005). The UK consumer increasingly regards an item of clothing or footwear as a disposable item, rather than an investment and this has affected both consumers’ approaches to purchasing decisions, and the fashion marketers’ sales practices. Whilst quality remains important, as an item must be fit for use, fashion styles play a much greater role in everyday purchasing than previously, so that a piece of clothing may not be expected to last longer than one season. This, in turn, places an emphasis on price levels; and the significantly increased availability of ‘value’ brands in supermarkets and discounters, which stimulates volume purchasing without contributing to value sales development. There is also a growing emphasis on purchasing clothing for leisure use, which has a direct impact on the sales practices used, and on their styling. The dramatic increase in purchasing of sports clothing and footwear during recent years was largely underwritten by fashion marke ting, rather than by a significantly higher level of participation in active sports. Although a necessary requirement of life, which requires regular replacement for functional reasons, let alone in response to fashion trends, clothing sales show an increasing trend of been strongly affected by price discounting during recent years (Global Market Information Database, 2005). Increased competition at retail level, particularly due to the growing involvement of supermarkets and discounters, is causing deflation on prices in most UK clothing and footwear. This situation has been further exacerbated by the growing globalisation of product supply, with formerly UK production increasingly relocated to low-cost production units in the Far East and Eastern Europe. This major shift of production of clothing away from the UK to low-cost production locations, primarily in Asia-Pacific or Eastern Europe, has raised marketing threats for several UK companies over ethical issues surrounding the reported exploitation of cheap labour in these overseas production units. There was extensive media coverage of Marks Spencers decision to abandon its previous strategy of sourcing the majority of its products from UK production (Global Market Information Database, 2005) To compensate for this shift in production, leading UK manufacturers began to emphasise their extensive expertise in product design, which adds value to the finished product. This offers an excellent opportunity for companies with the necessary experience to design and market new ranges of products with lower production overheads. b) Your assessment of the marketing strengths and weaknesses of the key players in terms of branding, reputation, differentiation and elements of the marketing mix. Marks Spencer has historically had a reputation as a leading retailer in the UK’s clothing sector, and this is a position that the company undoubtedly aspires to maintain. The bulk of its turnover is attributable to clothing, approximately 50%, and food, with 44%, (Global Market Information Database, 2005). However, as competition in the apparel sector intensified in the late 1990s, Marks Spencer struggled to maintain market share. Marks Spencer has always positioned and differentiated itself as offering reasonably priced, high quality and well-fitting clothes, but this marketing strategy received something of a battering at the end of the 20th century, as designers and commentators alike criticised the company for the very aspects of its brand which had traditionally attracted customers to the chain. However, Marks and Spencer’s marketing mix, primarily its design and quality, has received far more favourable press in recent years, and a renewed focus on casualwear and the core womenswear ranges, Per Una and Blue Harbour, have helped the company improve performance and regain market share (Strategic Direction, 2005). Matalan’s combination of low overheads, due to low cost out-of-town locations and overseas direct product sourcing, has enabled the chain to undercut high street competitors by as much as 50% on its own brands, and by as much as 35% on external branded products. Complementing its low price differentiation, Matalan also has an astute marketing mix. It operates as a clothing club: customers pay a mandatory  £1 membership fee for the privilege of shopping at the stores. Membership information also enables Matalan to use direct marketing and to target customers with catalogues and tailored clothing lines to meet demand (Rowley and Haynes, 2005) The potential of the discount clothing market remains significant. Marginally larger than its leading competitor, New Look, Matalan looks relatively well placed to make the most of burgeoning opportunities in the discount sector. However, the recent slowdown in the clothing market does not appear to have been to Matalan’s advantage . The company should be in a position to benefit from trading down by consumers in the event of economic down-turn, but recent figures suggest that consumers are shopping elsewhere to get the best deals on designer names, and that Matalan’s bargain image now counts against it in the increasingly celebrity image-driven fashion markets Next is one the major success stories of the upper end of the UK clothing mid-market. A retailer of fashionable, moderately priced clothing, for trendy men, women and children, Next offers products targeted at the top end of the mass market, and aims to combine individual styling with quality and value for money. Resisting the temptation to be overly trend setting, opting to differentiate itself by offering sensible and stylish clothing, rather than highly fashionable items, Next has maintained strong consumer loyalty. Since the early 1990s, Next has resisted all attempts to increase the number of clothing brands that it operates, convinced that diversification would ultimately be to the detriment of the Next brand. The success that it has achieved over many years as a result of product development, the progressive move to larger stores and the increase in the number of home shopping customers has convinced both the retailer itself and investors that it is right to continue with this marketing mix (Datamonitor, 2005) c) Your marketing recommendations for any organisation wanting to enter the market. In 2009, the United Kingdom apparel retail industry is forecast to have a value of $45.8 billion, an increase of 18.5% since 2004. The compound annual growth rate of the industry in the period 2004-2009 is predicted to be 3.4% (Datamonitor, 2005). This indicates that there will be space for new retailers to enter the market for clothing. However, consumer purchasing of clothing and footwear is now moving away from traditional outlets, such as department stores, variety stores and high street specialists, towards grocery supermarkets and discounters. This reflects a general move to out-of-town shopping, with consumers particularly attracted to the convenience of purchasing all their clothing items at the same time, and in the same store as they regularly buy groceries (Global Market Information Database, 2005) The brand name of an item of clothing also acts as a strong influence on the purchase decision, particularly among younger consumers. Peer pressure means that it is critically i mportant to be seen wearing the â€Å"right† brand of sportswear, and sales of children’s wear have been boosted by this fact in recent years. At the same time, parents are typically enjoying a greater degree of disposable income during the review period, which is increasingly focused on spending on fashion items for their children (Coughlan, 2006). Equally, the downward pricing trend in the UK fashion retail industry has led many retailers to focus upon profitability, rather than sales growth in recent years. Companies are continually trying to cut costs by utilizing measures such as larger retail formats, and by shifting production or changing their suppliers to lower cost regions in Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Some retailers have cut production and entered into niche markets in an attempt to add value to their business and improve margins. The UK retail industry is thus undergoing significant changes; traditionally dominated by high street retailers, supermarket chains such as ASDA and Tesco are expanding their clothing lines aggressively and gaining an increasing share of apparel sales. Originally the supermarkets purely focused on price to make their apparel attractive to British consumers and subsequently there was a certain stigma attached to their garments. However, as time has passed and supermarket labels have beco me more widely accepted, they are moving their range of clothes more upmarket, placing increased pressure on to traditional apparel retailers. Given this, any organization wanting to enter the UK fashion retail market is likely to have to differentiate itself based on brand, rather than quality or price. As new entrants will almost undoubtedly lack the buying power and reach of MS, Next, Matalan or Tesco, they would be better advised to concentrate on building a profitable niche, and the best way to do this is to make themselves a desirable brand. Given the preference for the latest fashions, at reasonable prices, with clothes only intended to last for the season they are purchased, the ability to react rapidly to changes in the market is also vital for any new entrant. This would differentiate them from the large chains, which often have structured, lean, and slow supply chains. Finally, although the need to base production facilities abroad, to take advantage of low labour costs, is now widely recognised as being vital to profitability, there have been high levels of negative publicity over potential â€Å"sweatshop† working practices. As such, a significant advantage can accrue to an organisation which differentiates itself on the basis of providing good wages and working conditions to its overseas workers, provided that the price of the clothes can still be kept competitive. References: Coughlan, S. (2006) Spoilt for choice. BBC News Magazine. Accessed 14th June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5071222.stm Datamonitor (2005) Apparel Retail Industry Profile: United Kingdom. Global Market Information Database (2005) Clothing and Footwear in the United Kingdom. Euromonitor International. Rowley, J. and Haynes, L. (2005) Customer Relationship Management: The Matalan Way. Marketing Review; Vol. 5, Issue 2, p. 175. Strategic Direction (2005) Will the real Marks Spencers stand up?: Searching for that winning brand. Vol. 21, Issue 9, p. 28.

A Hobbesian and Heroic Unreflective Citizenship Essays -- Hobbes Plato

A Hobbesian and Heroic Unreflective Citizenship In Meno, Plato asks â€Å"what virtue itself is† (Plato 60). This dialogue on virtue between Socrates and Meno ably frames a wider dialogue on ethics between Thomas Hobbes, the Greek heroic tradition, and the sophists of 5th century Athens. Hobbes’ Leviathan and Aristophanes’ The Clouds introduce three classes of ethical actors to respond to Plato’s inquiry: Hobbes’ ethical lemmings, the heroic ethical traditionalists, and the sophist ethical opportunists. The Meno also helps capture the essence of contemporary discussion of the morality of desire and emotivism, as articulated by Roberto Mangabeira Unger in Knowledge and Politics and Alasdair MacIntyre in After Virtue. Finally, I will examine—and then problematize— the Hobbesian and heroic responses to ethical subjectivism. SOCRATES: Meno, by the gods, what do you yourself say that virtue is? MENO: †¦There is virtue for every action and every age, for every task of ours and every one of us. (Meno 60-61) Meno helps Plato articulate the implications of subjectivism and the arbitrary designation of value. Roberto Mangabeira Unger’s discussion of the â€Å"morality of desire† (Unger 49) and Alasdair MacIntyre’s description of emotivism formalize the ethical importance of Meno’s inability to disaggregate the self from a definition of virtue. According to Unger, â€Å"[t]he morality of desire defines the good as the satisfaction of desire, the reaching of the goals to which our appetites and aversions incline us. The task of ethics on this view is to teach us how to organize life so that we shall approach contentment† (49). In a similar vein, MacIntyre describes emotivism in After Virtue: â€Å"Emotivism is the doctrine that all evaluative judgme... ...valuation, but can ensure the engagement of informed citizens and offer the choice and contrast between competing paradigms. Plato’s wisdom does not reside in his provision of definitions, but his understanding of the intrinsic good of an autonomous process of thinking, searching, and questioning—all of which absolute standards ignore. Works Cited Aristophanes. The Clouds. Trans. and foreword by William Arrowsmith. Forrest, W.G. The Emergence of Greek Democracy. Guthrie, W.C. A History of Greek Philosophy. Hobbes. Leviathan. Trans. Herbert W. Schneider. MacIntyre, Alasdair. After Virtue. 2nd Ed. University of Notre Dame Press: Notre Dame, Indiana, 1984. MacIntyre, Alasdair. A Short History of Ethics. Plato. Five Dialogues : Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo. Trans G. M. A. Grube. Unger, Roberto Mangabeira. Knowledge and Politics.

Fight Club - Conformity vs Rebellion Essay -- Fight Club David Fincher

Fight Club - Conformity vs Rebellion The conflict between conformity and rebellion has always been a struggle in our society. Fight Club is a movie that depicts just that. The movie portrays the polarity between traditionalism and an anti-social revolt. It is the story of man who is subconsciously fed up with the materialism and monotony of everyday life and thereafter creates a new persona inside his mind to contrast and counteract his repetitive lifestyle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main character is actually unnamed, but sometimes is referred to as Jack, which comes from a medical book he reads in the Tyler’s house perhaps. He is the normal, everyday, worker bee that carries on his overly boring life day in and day out because he is the typical conformist that society tells us to be. Jack is the everyday common workingman to which the audience can sympathize with and relate to. His character portrays the struggles and longevity of the American dream. He is constantly rating his life and his lifestyle by his furniture. The designer furniture that he orders out of mail catalogues defines his personality and self worth. This is due to the fact that he is constantly trying to improve and complete his lifestyle by buying certain pieces of furniture to create a modern but still simple and traditional household. His house is beyond perfection but yet he still tries to further its flawlessness, which relates to his dream of the typical Am erican. But as he constantly tries to improve himself with his furniture and work habits to define his personality, he actually fails miserably and does quite the opposite. When Jack buys his furniture he destroys every attempt that he has made to improve himself. He only falls deeper into the hole that he digs himself. Every piece of furniture that he buys, he loses another part of his identity. Jack’s conformity follows him to work as he becomes a doormat. His socialization is confined to the limits of his cubicle with the only exception being when he is on business trips. During flights he develops relationships with the passengers around him. This is not done out of a real honesty for a conversation, but out of a need to fill a void, a loneliness, a lack of self-worth. His life is full of â€Å"single serving friends†, car crashes, and wishes of an eventful death because the monotony of his life gives him strict boundaries to live by. His... ...rkingman, as Tyler is the man everyone wants to be. Fight Club shows a man that everyone wants to be but can’t because of laws and in most cases common courtesy. The movie states that there is basically a Tyler in all of us, wanting and waiting to come out. None of us will let him out though because we don’t have the courage, or maybe stupidity to do it, although Jack does. For a while in the movie Jack did get everything he wanted. He had no care in the world and couldn’t have felt better about himself as a whole. Not until later does the final message come in, without any control there is chaos. When Tyler ran rampant and did what he pleased things began to get out of hand. For instance his final act of defiance towards society was the blowing up of credit card companies in order to erase the debt record so that everyone’s debt would go back to zero. This is only to create total chaos and embody Tyler’s world without rules. Tyler sums up the m ovie in his own terms, â€Å"You are not your job. You are not how much you have in the bank. You are not the contents of your wallet. You are not your khakis. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. The things you own end up owning you.†

Mean Spirit :: Essays Papers

Mean Spirit Our story takes place on an oil-rich Native American town, called Watona, on a reservation in Oklahoma. The course of the story extends from 1918 to the mid-twenties. There is a multitude of characters that accompany this story. One of the most important characters is Nola Blanket, a young teenager who is a full-blooded Osage Indian. She is a very delicate girl but still very strong. Her mother, Grace Blanket, is a very beautiful, well-liked young woman who is very outgoing and fun-loving. Belle Graycloud is a feisty, strong-willed Indian woman. She is well respected and is the commanding grandmother of her household. Her family is very close to the Blankets, who are distant cousins. Belle’s daughter, Lettie, is a close friend of Grace. Lettie’s lover, Benoit, is an Osage man that is married to Grace’s crippled sister, Sara Blanket; but he is more like a brother and caretaker to her than he is a husband. Michael Horse is the fire keeper of the Osage tribe, but he also writes in his spare time. He is an old man who observes everything around him and writes it down in his journals. Stace Red Hawk is a Sioux Indian that works for the FBI. He became a federal agent in hopes of helping the Native Americans and protecting them from being taken advantage of. John Hale is a tall, lanky white rancher and oilman. He is trusted by the Indians, and seems to be a generous and helpful person. Watona was a small Indian town that prospered due to the rich rivers of oil flowing beneath it. As part of the Dawes Act, each Indian was allowed to choose an allotment of land not already claimed by white Americans. Although the 160 acres of land per Indian seemed generous, the land was barren and dry. The government did not know, however, that black oil seeped up out of the earth, and many Indians became very wealthy because of their â€Å"worthless† pieces of land. As a result of the Indians’ wealth, hundreds of white businessmen, fortune-hunters, traders, thieves, and swindlers swarmed to the reservation to make cash. When Grace Blanket is murdered by John Hale on a warm summer morning, it is made to look like a suicide and the local law enforcement passes it off as such.

Point of sale and inventory documentation Essay

Point of Sale and Inventory System is a process wherein the business could monitor the movements of the products as well as the sales transactions. It is important for the company to take account inventory of the products as well as the sales. Inventory refers total amount of goods and/or materials contained in a store at any or factory at any given time (Inventory, 2011) Even though technology is available, still many companies use manual system. Operating manual inventory is a time-consuming task, lots of paper works and slow date processing (Hamlet, 2011). It also problematic in terms of communication streams. Each update or removal from the inventory must be updated daily (Cruz, 2010). Manual sales and inventory process was prone to errors that required time to rectify discrepancies (â€Å"Inventory†, nd.). Since manual inventory consumes a lot of time and is susceptible to errors, it would be helpful to build a system that will automate the transactions from acquisition of the product description to updating the inventory database. Work efficiency of employees is defined as how productive they are in their work (â€Å"Inventory†, nd.). The causes of the discrepancies in the records are many, and some of the commonly observed ones are: stock loss; transaction error, inaccessible inventory, and incorrect product identification. Stock loss, also known as shrinkage in industry, includes all forms of loss of the products available for sale. One common example is theft, which can be committed by both shoppers (external theft) and employees (internal theft). With these problems of manual inventory system, businesses emerged with computerized Point of Sales and Inventory System. It tracks purchases and sale transactions thought an organization. Point of Sale and Inventory System is a tool used by retail businesses such as stores, supermarkets, and restaurants. It can register the purchase and keep track of inventory. It also records information on the purchase including time and store location. It also manages the sales of retail goods. It makes a business much more efficient, lowering the costs of running the business while improving customer service and making the business more pleasant to work in (Smith &  Harris, 2011) According to Hendeson (2011), that effective tracking of inventory is an imperative component to a small business successful operation. By having up-to-date data regarding all needed stocks for sale, the organization will drastically increase its bottom line. The amount of time that can be saved by the company is the biggest benefits of using a computerized point of sale and inventory system. Another benefit of a computerized point of sale and inventory system is the accuracy it ensures. The companies operation will be more effectively. The business owner or the manager can ensure that the reports, purchased order and other documents related to sales and inventory are uniform regardless of two created the reports (What are the benefits of Computerized Sales and Inventory, n.d.). According to ruffling (2009), senior director of retail services for BBK Ltd., the trends in Sales and Inventory System are not just inventory accuracy but the use of pricing models to allow for markdown management. Based from the problems encountered in a manual point of sales and inventory system, developers come up with this computerized point of sales and inventory system. Developers have chosen Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa started its operations in the year 2012 by Mr. Randy S. Quiniones. It is located at Sierra Heights Place, Sierra Madre St. Highway Hills, Mandaluyong City. The company is currently using a manual inventory system but aims for improvement to be competitive. In small businesses, inventory system is still applicable because of the advantages it provides the management. Inventory system makes the management of stock levels mush easier and more organized. It improves profits by accurately identifying the flow of stocks. The developers have come up with an idea developing a system that will improve the process and at the same time comes up with an idea developing a system that will improved the process and at the same time comes up with an efficient result of Inventory. The developers aim to eliminate possible problems due human errors that might occur during manual handling, like erroneous tallying and recording of items and other products during the actual inventories. The proposed project entitled â€Å"Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa Point of Sale and Inventory System† deals with the tracking of regular costumers, supplies and delivery’s inventory system. This system will be made actually for the management to reduce their work with concrete and consistent handling of data. Also it  aims to build a consistent inventory system for the company that will surely help the company for stability and profitability. Statement of the Problem Sales and Inventory has always been an issue in the part of manual procedures. Thus, the study seeks to answer the following: 1. How to Design, develop and implement a Point of Sale and Inventory System? 2. How to develop a module that will be used for keeping and storing the entire item’s information? 3. How to develop a module for counting all the sales of the sold items? 4. How to develop a Computerized Point of Sales and Inventory System that will lessen time spent in processing of the payment? 5. How to generate reports faster on-time? Objectives of the study The developers aimed to designed, developed and test Point of Sale and Inventory System for Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa, for them to become more competitive and to attract more customers specifically, it sought to answer the following objectives. 1. To identify the existing processes in terms of a. Sales and b. Inventory 2. To determine the software and hardware requirements of the system. 3. To enumerate the features of the system; and 4. To test the acceptability of the system. Significance of the Study The system will bring innovations and modernization for Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa, and an effective way in providing a means of convenience and faster service. The following will be the beneficiaries: Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa. The system will give the company another asset to be used for them to attract customer by providing better services with regards to their improved point of sale system. Also it increases the company’s competitiveness among other competitors. In this way, it may able to improve the Thirsty Teddy Refilling  Station and The Sierra Spa image and professionalism through a better and well organized business. Manager. The system will help the manager perform more efficient ways to operate the business. The manager will receive reliable and accurate reports on inventory status and sales report. Through these reports the manager can create a good business decisions, determine products that contribute to sales and create new business strategies and enhancement. Inventory Clerk. The clerk will be more productive in checking the stock-in and stock-out of the company. It will also help the inventory clerk in doing reports for the system will generate stock reports Cashier. Upon implementing the system, the cashier will be more productive and efficient in doing work, providing reliable reports for manager and giving the customer quality service. The cashier will not worry about doing manual calculations, for the system will generate sales reports. Developers. In creating the system, developers will be able to apply knowledge acquired in school and discover new facts and ideas that will be a big help in the long run being in the world of business particularly in a system and software development. Other Developers. This will serve as the great significance to other developers that will have similar studies. These developers may further improve and revise the outcome of this research. Scope and Limitations The study focused on the manager and cashier’s requirements. The proposed system included only stocks monitoring process. The System is able to provide inventory reports and sales reports. There were two modules aim to developed- the administrator or manager module and the cashier module. In the Manager module, the manager can view, edit and delete user account as well as supplier accounts, view inventory as well as reports such as the stock in and stock out and the list of suppliers that can provide the stocks needed. The manager can also view stock that needs to be purchased as well as the status of each purchase order. In the Clerk module, the inventory clerk can add and edit information of stocks being delivered by the supplier. The said module enables the generation of information on the status of stocks, the bad orders, the stocks needed to be purchased and the suppliers that can provide the stocks. Inventory clerk is not allowed to delete supplier’s information. In the Cashier model, sales transaction  receipt generation and purchase order is also included as one of the features of the system. The cashier can only view and add transactions, but is not allowed to delete and edit information made by the manager and the inventory clerk. Security measures were also included. The user will simply login the user name and password to gain access in the system. Conceptual Framework The developers aim to use Input-Process-Output (IPO) to present paradigm of the study that illustrates the relationship between the input and output. The paradigm of the study exhibits the skeletal framework of the research study. The input consists of existing process of Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa in terms of inventory and sales. Problems of the existing process are also needed in the development of the system. The developers also identify the features of the system and test the acceptability of the system. The phases of Waterfall Model will be the basis for the development of the system. This includes the following phases; requirements, analysis, design and implementation. The output of this system is Thirsty Teddy Refilling Station and The Sierra Spa Point of Sale and Inventory System. Figure 1.1 in the succeeding page, shows the paradigm of the study to be conducted, to come up with the output of the propose system.

The Concept of the Political

As a counterterrorism officer my moral duty is to protect the residents of my state from terrorism attacks and the national security of US. Therefore, I am under no obligation but to ensure I fulfill the role that I have been assigned. I am the senior counterterrorism officer in California State where there is a high percentage of Arab American citizens and immigrants. Thus over the last couple of decades it has been difficult to detect terrorists. Furthermore, infiltrating such a community has proved to be difficult thereby providing a loophole for the increase in terrorist activities.Infiltrating the Arab American Community To curb this demise I will commission FBI agents to act as my spies by posing as Muslim worshippers in the California mosques. This decision may be perceived as a violation of human rights and the freedom of privacy enjoyed by other citizens. However, in the actual fact this initiative is among the criminal responsibilities that are bestowed on counterterrorism officer. Moreover, it is a counterintelligence activity that ensures protection of the US national security by providing important information to the FBI body and the government.The rights to perform counterintelligence activities have been governed by the National security of 1947 which was amended in 2004 by the establishment of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. Furthermore, the commissioned FBI agents will not commit any wrong doing offences (Uwe, 2007). I will also employ informant to live amongst the community. The informant will mainly be ex-US military officers whose credentials are remarkable and stimulate the required standards.I prefer using ex-military officers because they are competent, trained to serve the nation thus will thoroughly understand the importance of their assignment and the need for them to keep their identity in discretion. The agents will regularly be monitored to prevent the development of discrepancy behaviors against ethical and mo ral norms. I will also make use of biometric fingerprint procedure for all travelers leaving and entering the California state. It may be argued that this tactic will detain people unnecessarily thereby wasting their time and subjecting them to measures and challenges that are unjustifiable.However, the initiative will enable the California Homeland Security Department to prevent identity theft, use of fraudulent documents and terrorists from gaining access to the state thus enhancing the national security and safety of California residents (Schmitt, 2007). The Status, Rights and Protections offered to Culprits of Terrorism In an attempt of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of counterterrorism an executive order authorizing the interrogation and trial of foreign terrorist suspects and illegal combatants by a special military tribunal was passed in 2001.Therefore, an ex-American citizen captured in the United States in the act of terrorism should be considered as an illegal enemy combatant. Thus I would not hesitate to hand the culprit to the jurisdiction of the military commission of the United States, an act that will be in accordance with the (Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006 that was passed by the Congress introducing the concept of illegal combatant into US legislation. Furthermore, the concept of illegal combatant enemies has been accepted by other nations who have willingly handed over their sovereignty in this context to the US (Gill & Sliedregt, 2005).The establishment of the above legislations withdrew all the protections that were accorded to ex-American citizens. The same applies to foreign nationals caught engaging in terrorism in US, American citizens fighting American forces abroad and foreign nationals that are non-military officials fighting American forces abroad. The above are all illegal combatant enemies of the state and thus also deserve to be tried before the jurisdiction of the military commission without the provision of Habeas corpus rights.The Habeas Corpus is a provision given to detained culprits to appeal for their release incase of being detained unlawfully. The above subjects are liable to torture in the event of collecting information that would increase the efficiency of the government and military to provide the US state national security. Therefore, I would fully support the idea of implementing torture as a method of extracting useful information to such culprits in an attempt of protecting the California residents (US Congress Joint Resolution, 2001). Perspectives Concerning Just WarJust war is perpetuated by states in an attempt of protecting themselves from aggressive attack from other nations. However, for just war to be justifiable it should be used as a last resort problem of solving the conflict that exists that is after all non-violent mechanisms of resolving conflicts are exhausted. Just wars should only be perpetuated by bodies that are recognized by the society as legitimate. A just war should be initiated if the presumed end results are beneficial where its success is guaranteed to prevent death and suffering of innocent people in accordance to moral vices.The death of civilians can only be justified if they were accidentally killed by being in the vicinity of the military targets. Therefore, just wars should initiate long lasting peace between the nations that were under conflict. Furthermore, states are not supposed to use force when initiating just wars and in instances where such force must be implemented it should not exceed the injury or suffering caused. The war on terrorism can thus be classified as a just war because it adheres to the above principles.However, it can cease to be a just war if its goal is to spread terror, subject war on a non-state organization and if it aims at killing and hurting civilians (Fotion, 2007). Anti Americanism involves the negative aspect that individuals and state have over the political, economic, social and cu ltural values of US. Anti Americanism has adversely affected the national security of US due to introduction of foreign hostility towards the US state for instance terrorism, thus curbing the effective attainment of stipulated US policy goals.Anti Americanism also affects the ability of US to conduct businesses abroad. This is unethical and thus not justifiable therefore individuals that perpetuate the stimulation of violent acts against the American state should be held accountable for their actions and thus are liable to stand trial before the military commission. The US government has a right to protect the national security of the country by dealing with schools, mosques and charities that indirectly support terrorism while actually not directly engaging in the terrorism activities.The government prosecutes such individuals or organization with the aim of eliminating the terrorism concept and support that the individuals and organizations offer (US Congress Joint Resolution, 200 1). USA PATRIOT Act The enactment of the USA PATRIOTIC ACT after the 9/11 attack has substantially reduced terrorism in United States because the surveillance and investigating powers of the US law enforcement officers was increased especially with respect to internet use.However, if I were in Congress I would vote for the renewal of the Act to amend it. This is because the Act was enacted in haste without being subjected to Congress debate and house report to declare the consent of Senators. This fact resulted to the omission of a balance between civil liberty and stipulated legislations (US Congress Joint Resolution, 2001). Word Count: 1190 Reference List Fotion, N. (2007). War and Ethics: Just War Theory. New York: Continuum. Gill, T. & Sliedregt, E.(2005). Guantanamo Bay: A Reflection on the Legal Status and Rights of Unlawful Enemy Combatants. The Utrecht Law Review, 1 (1). Retrieved on July, 6th, 2009 from http://www. utrechtlawreview. org. Schmitt, C. (2007). The Concept of t he Political. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. U. S. Congress Joint Resolution (2001). Authorization for Use of Military Force. Public Law, 107(40), 115 Stat. 224. Uwe. S. (2007). On the Ethics of War and Terrorism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.