Business Letter to the Editor for Western Herald Essay

Overview: With the previous unit, we explored personal writing suitable for academic audiences by reading scholarship from monographic texts and academic journals. For this unit, we’ll shift our emphasis to public writing that is also suitable for academic audiences. While we’ll plan to read academic scholarship, we’ll also explore different genres for which academic texts are suitable, including editorial publications. More specifically, we’ll look at opinions and letters to the editor published by the Western Herald. As we plan to work specifically with the letter to the editor genre, we’ll pay close attention to how argumentation styles, uses of evidence, and consultation of sources differs when writing a scholarly autobiographical academic essay. To prepare for the composition of editorials, we’ll read sample letters to the editors, and arguments pertaining to cultural diversity. The Task Your task will be to compose a letter to the editor that is suitable for publication in Western Herald. For this letter, you will select an issue that you are passionate about on Western’s Campus or the surrounding Kalamazoo area. Your letter should respond to the following questions: What specific issue matters most to me right now? Why should this issue matter to readers of Western Herald? To complete this assignment, you’ll first want to become familiar with the  editorial requirements for submitting letters to Western Herald. These requirements can be found on http://www.westernherald.com/letter-to-the-editor/ Next, you’ll want to read a few letters to the editor published by Western Herlad to get a sense of the stylistics conventions and argumentation strategies authors used to compose these editorials. Finally, you’ll consult course texts that discuss multiculturalism and diversity. You’ll also plan to locate, evaluate, and consult additional editorials and academic essays that address issues of linguistic diversity. In essence, you’ll need to reference sufficient and appropriate evidence necessary for persuading readers of your argument.

Balance Sheets and Income Statements Essay

Patient privacy in any medical facility is not only a right, but a law which was passed by the United States congress in 1996. The law provides the ability to transfer and continue health insurance coverage for Americans when the change or lose their jobs, reduces healthcare fraud and abuse, mandates industry wide standards for health care information on electronic billing, and requires confidential handling of protected health information. The confidentiality is the portion which medical staff and their business associates develop and follow procedures that ensure the confidentiality and security of PHI, protected health information. California Department of Health Care Services, 2012) Many medical facilities and pharmacies throughout our country fail to comply with these HIPAA regulations and through neglect or fraudulent activity compromise a patient’s personal health information. Channel 13 in Indiana did an investigation on pharmacies throughout our nation which discarded prescription labels, pill bottles, and patient information sheets with patient’s personal information into their unsecured dumpsters around Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Louisville, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. When prescriptions are dropped off, electronically transferred, or called into a pharmacy, patients assume their personal information is guarded and protected. The information given to the pharmacy consists of the patient’s address, telephone number, date of birth, prescribing doctor, social security numbers, and the type of medication on record. This is a violation of federal law. â€Å"Putting protected health information in a dumpster that is accessible to anyone is clearly not an example of a reasonable safeguard,† said Susan McAndrew, senior advisor with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights. (Segall, 2012) Of course there were steps implemented by management to remedy the problem. The manager of Walgreens now requires all dumpster to be locked at all times. Another Walgreen’s manager suggested placing all general trash in a quarantine area to be checked for patient information, sealed, signed and dated by the inspector, and then taken to the dumpster. A CVS manager proposed having a designated area in the store to store pharmacy trash bags until they are delivered to a regional warehouse for proper disposal. (Segall,2012) Some stores may have high turnover rates or poor training, which causes a breakdown in policy and procedure methods. Removing any identifiable information from the prescription bottles before discarding them would have made a difference. Shredding any identifiable information before placing it in the dumpster would have also been sufficient. The managers of these pharmacies have to review the policy and procedures on customer’s privacy rights and how to properly discard their personal information. Each state has a pharmacy board that has rules regarding how to protect patient information; the manager will need to refer to those rules and give additional training to the employees. It is proper to have a representative from an outside company for training on HIPAA and privacy regulations. The author and interviewer spoke with a homeless man who stating he views the content of the dumpster as a means of income. The homeless man sells items he finds in the dumpster to make money. Identity theft is an increasing problem in our society. Identity theft is a crime. Patient’s personal information can easily be sold to a criminal, who can apply for credit and make purchases using the patient’s stolen information. The Golden Rule is to treat people how you would want to be treated. The public should never have to think twice that a professional company would be such lack of concern about their personal information. Elderly people are more likely to have multiple prescriptions and on a consistent basis and the pharmacy discarding their personal information can lead to identity theft. Elderly people are less likely to check or investigate any type of inconsistencies or new entries on their credit report. If the person is applying for any type of credit after theft has happened, this can cause a denial from banks. Insured customers may xperience fraudulent use of the prescription or medical insurance information. This could cause denial of coverage at any point. This could have a huge impact on their lives and it is up to the professionals in these pharmacies to prevent this from happening. The article also told the story of a burglary after a thief found an address from the dumpster of one of their customers. This could be devastating and even fatal if these addresses are obtainable by criminals. Ethically, these pharmacies were incompetent in the way they decided to destroy these records. There is no excuse for this based on the fact they are looked upon as a professional organization and incompetency should not be an excuse. You have a duty as a physician to respect the patient’s trust and keep this information private. Protecting a customer’s confidentiality is about respect. It is the professionals’ duty to respect the customer’s information by restricting access of others to this information. Creating a trusting environment is extremely important. Maintaining confidentiality and respect for the privacy of others is ethically correct and expected in this type of organization. Discarding this personal information is not only ethically wrong, but legally wrong. This is referred to as a breach and fines are applicable in this case. In 2005, the U. S. Department of Justice clarified who could be held criminally liable for violating HIPAA regulations. This violation of placing patient information in the dumpster would fall under the â€Å"HIPAA violation due to willful neglect but violation is corrected within the required time period†. This fine can range from $10,000 to $250,000 annually for repeated violations. American Medical Association, 2012) Violating HIPAA regulations is a federal law and offenses are considered a felony. The fines imposed can be devastating, but there are cases that jail time is required. CVS’s breach in HIPAA regulations were taken up by The Federal Trade Commission and were fined $2. 25 million dollars. According to the complaint, CVS Caremark did not implement reasonable policies and procedures to dispose securely of personal information and did not adequately train employees. (Federal Trade Commission, 2009) It is an organizations responsibility to keep all their employees trained on HIPAA compliance.

Discusses Confucius contributions Essay

Confucius’ life was of tremendous importance in the forming of Chinese culture. Confucius’ plan and simple approach to life, revealed his deep seeded beliefs that through great human effort one can shape their own future. He had great faith in the ordinary man and believed that they are teachable and perfectible. Confucius believed that ordinary humans could be come awe-inspiring with wisdom and great knowledge. The quest to improve one’s â€Å"self† became deeply rooted in the Confucian heritage. Confucius’ concept of moral rectitude was considered part of the pursuit to becoming the perfected person. Confucius was devoted to learning and teaching. His teaching emphasized self-improvement and moral rectitude. When his words â€Å"for the sake of the self† are explored it becomes clear Confucius was constant in his belief of self-improvement through out his life and his work. Confucius was a philosopher, teacher and political figure that lived from (551-479 BC) in the state of Lu, now know as the Shandong province. He was a member of the minor aristocracy and bureaucratic class during that time. By the time of his birth, his family had apparently become poverty-stricken. He was known for his conservation of the traditions of ritual and music of the Chou civilization. At an early age, it was apparent that Confucius was dedicated to learning. Confucius’ father died when he was three years old and this probably had a huge impact on his family’s class. The lose of his father and his family being poverty-stricken must have been key factors that set him upon his ambitious journey to improve human kind, governments and society. His mother was his first teacher and he developed an emphatic quest for knowledge. It was a common practice for aristocratic families to hire tutors to educate their sons, but Confucius was one of the first persons to devote himself totally to learning and teaching for the sole purpose of transforming and improving society. Confucius was also a dedicated government servant. He served in government posts where he managed stables and kept books. At the age of nineteen Confucius married a woman of similar background. Confucius’ early influences are all contributing factors that made him a young and wise  scholar during his time. Confucius concept of â€Å"moral rectitude† was evident because he wanted to make education available to all men. He believed everyone could benefit from learning and self-cultivation. Confucius established a humanities program for leaders, paved the way for education to all and redefined learning as not only the acquisition of knowledge, but also as a character builder. Confucius primary role of education was to provide the proper way of training noblemen. This education would consist of continuous self-improvement and frequent social interaction. To personally achieve the goal â€Å"for the sake of the self†, Confucius mastered six arts: ritual, music, archer, charioteering, calligraphy and arithmetic. The art that became most important was that of â€Å"ritual†. Confucius was actively involved with the government. It was his desire to have a rebirth of the ideas and institution of a past golden age. Confucius hoped to integrate the ritual of those times into the government and family life. He believed this could only happen with ideal rulers such as the legendary sage-kings Yao and Shun. Confucius believed that the ethic of an ideal ruler would translate to a moral state. The ideal ruler would cultivate virtues of benevolence toward others, a general sense of doing what is right, loyalty and diligence in serving one’s superiors. The â€Å"moral rectitude† according to Confucius could also be taught and handed down by performing rituals. Ritual acted as guidelines for people to follow in any given social situations. Ritual could vary considerably depending on age, social status and gender. Confucius contributed to some specific rituals and values but also the importance of the past and hierarchy of the social classes. Rituals be came â€Å"the way† to act. Most East Asian societies continue to be influenced by Confucius teachings, valuing the community, the family, and other social relationships over individuality and uniqueness. The Confucius influence encourages support of education and learning from books and from the past, refinement of social rituals to smooth the relationships of people in a community. The western  culture has vastly deviated from Confucius teaching. Each day the western culture ignores more rituals and become more self-absorbed. A glance at today’s headlines or reality TV makes this obvious. Today there are still some existing rituals and moral behavior, but the boundaries blur with each generation. What Confucius provided was a definition of ethics and morally characterized by personal actions and rituals. A simple way to understand Confucius thoughts is to gain an appreciation of the varying levels of honesty. Over time, they developed into the following form: *Li – ritual. Propriety or politeness, Etiquette. This concept originally meant to sacrifice. The term later expanded to secular ceremonial behaviors and then even more diffuse mean, that of propriety or politeness. This expanded the term to everyday life situations. Confucius was revered as the authority on ritual behavior. *Ziao or Hsiao – filial piety. Respect and obedience. The was considered to be the greatest virtue and was shown towards the living and dead. The term ‘filial’ means â€Å"of a son† and therefore denotes that a son should have respect and obedience to his parents. This term was expanded to other relationships such as ruler and subject, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother, and that between friends. The duties and ritual where prescribed for each of these relationships. Eventually this term was integrated into the Chinese legal system. An example of this would be that a child would be punished more harshly if the crime were against a parent. *Zhong or Chung – loyalty. This term is equivalent to filial piety, but on a different level. This term apply predominantly to the social classes of ruler and minister. In a case of Zhong, a minister should obey the ruler because he has the higher (anointed by god) authority and therefore that maked it the right thing to do. *Ren or Jen – humanness. The relates to the â€Å"Golden Rule† This term is best described by Confucius version of the Golden Rule, â€Å"Do not do to other what  you would not like them to do to you.† *Junzi or Chun-Tzu – the gentleman. The ideal towards which all strive. This term mean â€Å"son of a ruler†. This term implies that a gentleman are always expected to act as moral guides to the rest of society. Gentlemen are those who cultivate themselves morally and who personify the other characteristics of honestly. Confucius is exclamatory of this concept Confucius was a man of great vision. The politics of his time did not allow his philosophy to flourish, but he did provide an awakening to human king. He was perceived then and now as a heroic conscience. Confucius teaching remains enormously influence today, but unfortunately, they are not always taken to heart or practiced. Today’s politicians could learn much from his teaching. One of Confucius’s principal legacies, the notion of the enlightened civil servant, is not a prevalent as it should be in the modern word. Humankind moves forward, but sometimes we forget to bring the greatness of our history with us.

Essay Man for all Seasons by Robert Bolt Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Man for all Seasons by Robert Bolt - Essay Example Bolt says in his Preface, e is harder to find than a unicorn...but I thought I heard once or twice, a rueful note of recognition.(xviii & xix). In the steward, the boatman and the jailer, all these contradictory elements are portrayed. All demonstrate the virtue of working hard for a living. Matthew faithfully serves More until he can no longer pay him the wages he is accustomed to, and can perceive the differences between a good person and one of little integrity, as he shows contempt for Rich. The boatman, though moaning about running costs and family commitments, seems to know his business and does his job well. The overly-cautious jailer says of his occupation, t's a job like any other job.(Act 2 p. 75). There are actually indications of some loyalty, which could be construed as worldly wisdom and shrewdness, but whatever the motivation, they exist. Matthew gives Cromwell and Chapuys useless information, hat I can tell them is common knowledge!..everyone wants value for his money.(Act 1 p. 25). The boatman stays to serve More, despite recognizing the power of Cromwell, he coming man. while the jailer refuses the fifty guinea bribe, I want no part of it. They can sort it out between them. I feel my deafness com ing on.(Act 2 p. 80). Matthew feels guilt when refusing to stay with a poorer More, but resentment flares because of how he perceives the world, believing More is tricking him when he expresses affection and says he will miss him. "Miss me What's in me for him to miss...I nearly fell for it. (Act 2 p. 57). It is not his nature to understand More's affection, considering he only wants a cheaper servant. So greed and expediency are presented, along with 'looking out for Number One.' Further proof of this is shown when he goes to work for Rich, h, I can manage this one. He's just my size!(Act 2 p 62), suggesting he sees similarities in their characters, things he does not respect, but accepting that is the way in his world. With the boatman, though willing to serve More, seeming to like and respect him, his own needs are paramount, expect you'll make it worth my while, sir.(Act 1, p. 14). The same attention to the self is expressed by the jailer when he orders More's family to leave on the dot of seven, des pite knowing this is their last moment together. 'm a plain simple man and just want to keep out of trouble.Act 2 p. 88). All three are motivated by serving their own needs, keeping themselves safe no matter what. They all lack moral courage to stand up for someone or something they respect and know to be worth supporting. These elements which exist in the Common Man in all his guises are present in every person. The 16th Century is declared at the outset as the 'century of the Common Man, but Bolt wanted to show the audience that this character is timeless. He is not necessarily bad or wicked, but like everyone, has virtues and vices, and is swayed by circumstances encountered in life. There is no doubt that he recognizes an intrinsically good person, but has not the courage or conviction to be associated with

Competency Criteria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Competency Criteria - Essay Example Faculty evaluation also provides an opportunity for change in the process of teaching, handing of student diversity, curriculum development among other relevant areas incompetent instruction. Assessment 1. Facilitate learning This is the most important competency for all nurse educators. The faculty should be able to make the learning process possible by; A. (Task requirement: show enthusiasm by teaching). The faculty should make learning exciting to the learners by being enthusiastic about teaching. An enthusiastic teacher passionate about teaching and take pride in passing on information to their learners. An enthusiastic educator passes on his morale to his students who end up liking the learning process, and therefore, learning more. B. (Task requirement: Show an interest in a learner’s progress and activities). The faculty should also demonstrate an interest in the learner’s actions. The educator must be available to assist learners in their time of need and offer solutions to their problems. A learner should know that they can always get help in their educational and personal support from their faculty. C. (Task requirement: Show understanding to all learners). The faculty should be able to provide for their learner’s unique needs in terms of gender, experience, and multiculturalism among other differences. Every learner is different from the other in one way or the other, and the all should feel at home being a part of the nursing faculty without discrimination or abandonment. D. (Task requirement: Facilitate tutor and learner interaction). The faculty should increase cooperation between educators and the learner. Learning can only take place if there is information. This is facilitated by teacher learner communication as the educator will know the level of understanding of the learner and also identify individual differences in the learners through cooperation. 2. Facilitate learner development and socialization Nurse educators have the responsibility to help students develop to become professional nurses and integrate the values and performance required in the role of nursing (Meyer & Van, 2008). The faculty can do this by; A. (Task requirement: Show students demonstrations). Providing students with demonstrations and examples on just how they are required to do things as professional nurses. The faculty should ensure that the learners have the necessary skills needed to use resources to learn and improve themselves as potential nurses. B. (Task requirement: Meet individual learner needs). The faculty should use the required resources to diverse learners to enable them meet their unique needs. These can be in terms of extra tutorials for learners who are using English as a second language or have different programs to cater for a wide range of students, for example; those who need evening classes. C. (Task requirement: Encourage group discussions). The faculty should encourage learning through discussions as they create an opportunity for the learner to improve their communication and interpersonal skills as they interact with one another. Discussions can also be in the form of private talks with the educators where the students are offered a chance to set

Comparing different theoretical approaches for two disabilities Research Paper

Comparing different theoretical approaches for two disabilities - Research Paper Example Definition Dyspraxia or developmental dyspraxia is 'an impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement' (Dyspraxia Foundation, 2009). It is also known as 'developmental coordination disorder' and 'clumsy child syndrome'. According to the American Psychiatric Association (2001), developmental dyspraxia is "marked impairment of motor coordination which significantly interferes with academic achievement or activities of daily living and is not due to a general medical condition." Dyslexia, also known as developmental reading disorder is the most common childhood learning disability which primarily manifests in school going children. There is no single definition that exists for dyslexia. However, those who know about the condition and have worked with dyslexic children are in a position to easily identify the condition. According to the NINDS (2009), dyslexia is defined as "a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read." The Worl d Federation of Neurology (cited in British Dyslexics, 2009) defines this condition as "a disorder manifested by difficulties in learning to read, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence and socio-cultural opportunity." The British Dyslexics (2009) puts the definition as "Intelligent, bright or even gifted individuals, that for no obvious reason, struggle to learn through the medium of written or spoken language." Other commonly used definitions include "learning difficulty characterized by problems with written or spoken language such as reading, writing, spelling, speaking, or listening" and "congenital disturbance of brain function causing a variety of learning difficulties, especially relating to reading, writing and spelling" (British Dyslexics, 2009). Magnitude of problem Developmental dyspraxia is mostly diagnosed in childhood. It occurs in 2 to 5% of children between the ages 5 to 11. It affects boys more than girls (Dorset Country Council, 1998). Infact, boy s account for 70% of dyspraxic cases. The most important symptoms of dyspraxia are poor motor coordination, clumsiness, lack of movement fluency and the difficulty in application of motor skills mastered in one setting to another setting. Dyslexia affects about 80% of all individuals diagnosed to be having learning disabilities (Shaywitz et al, 2007). When only dyslexia is present, the condition is characterized by an unexpected difficulty in reading in otherwise intelligent children who are motivated and have ample learning opportunities considered necessary for accurate and fluent reading (Fisher et al, 2001). The incidence of dyslexia has been estimated to be about 8 to 15% (Earl, 2006). Although epidemiological studies show equal incidence of this condition in both girls and boys, boys are 3-4 times more likely to be referred for reading problems (Tynan, 2006). All dyslexic children share some common aspects enabling them to be easily diagnosed. The increased awareness of dyslex ia has led to many parent and teacher teaching programs, mostly based on multi-sensory learning. Mechanism of disability The exact cause of developmental dyspraxia is unknown. Neurological immaturity is the most probable cause of this condition. Failure of the neurones of the right hemisphere of the brain to form precise pathways during the development of brain leads to lack of accuracy in the instruction of the brain for performing movements (Bowens and Smith, 1999).

Working Time Regulations in Europe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Working Time Regulations in Europe - Essay Example An ontological enquiry into the nature of work was undertaken along with the historical analysis of the available data leading to the present decision to choose civilized hours of work in Europe. The knowledge of the socio-cultural milieu of Europe is essential to this study. The statistical tools in the form of various charts have been used through out to validate each position arrived at in this study.Social Aspect of Human WorkHuman work derives its importance from its connection to other men. Work comes from man and it is directed to man. By work, man is able to go beyond himself and reach out to others. In Khalil Gibran’s words: Work is love made visible. Man by his work alters society for the better. Thus it is a truly other- centered activity. Theoretically this could enrich economic life and could mitigate social inequalities but history has shown that it has often made people embittered in some places and has resulted in a decline of the social status of the underpriv ileged. While a great number of people still lack the basic necessities of life, some live their lives in enviable luxury. Extravagance and squalor exist side by side. While a few are privileged with the power of choice, many do not have any control over their deprived condition and work and live in circumstances unworthy of a human being. The Industrial Revolution indeed has ushered in the machine age, but it has brought about a dehumanized mass- work culture all over Europe. In all ages men of vision understand the pitfalls of fast change.... The history of mankind is marred by the gruesome tales of atrocities committed by some on a few by various forms of subjugation. The so-called golden ages of mankind, strewn with wonders of mammoth size and architectonic finesse, the marvels in stone and bronze and the sprawling pleasure palaces are soaked in blood, sweat and tears of millions of slaves. The ships that plied the ocean bed were powered by rhythmic pulling of the oars of countless number of chained galley slaves that perished in unknown seas. The auction centers of Africa where men and women were exhibited and bid by the ruthless slave traders and shipped to various destination in Europe and America to man the plantations there, produce in us, the reverberation of the question which Cain asked God: Am I my brother's keeper (The New Revised Standard Version, Gen.4.9).Though the visible signs of slavery through collective bargain, education, legislation and the salutary influences of teachings of religions have been miti gated to a large extent still there is a tendency in man to dominate others. Many veiled forms of slavery are present in many parts of the world. This is a matter of genuine concern. While man enlarges his power everywhere, he does not always succeed in subjecting it to his ultimate welfare. The concept that destiny of an individual is intrinsically and inseparably connected with the destiny of entire humanity eludes many people. Man's adventure in science and technology have provided such an abundance of wealth, resources and economic power, and yet these blessings have been withheld from a large proportion of the worlds citizens as they are still tormented by hunger and poverty and millions

The benefits and drawbacks of finance and accounting outsourcing Research Paper

The benefits and drawbacks of finance and accounting outsourcing - Research Paper Example Outsourcing of core business activities was seen to be trend of SMEs however it is evident that today even larger organizations outsource their core functions as these activities are seen to be burden for the management. In the present business or corporate world competition has increased thus the managements are more inclined in utilizing their time for the business and competitive strategies thus they find outsourcing a feasible option however before making any such decision both the pros and cons of outsourcing core business activities like accounting/finance must be analyzed and then it should be decided whether to keep them in-house or outsource. Considerations for Outsourcing Finance/Accounting It is not just burden of working and maintaining records that has to be considered before making the decision for outsourcing there are mixture of risks and rewards involved that must be analyzed. First and for most criteria has to be the cost analysis the cost maintaining a finance depa rtment keeping in view all the expenses like training, salaries, office space, benefits, equipment and software would have to be compared to outsourcing keeping in view that same targets are to be achieved thus the related costs of outsourcing along with in-house operations must be recorded and documented (Jayamalathi, Magiswary, Dr. Murali, & Noreen, 2009). In case of finance department being outsourced decision regarding the access of records has to be made that how the relevant data would be delivered, who would be accessing the company records and in what format they would be presented to the outsourcer. All these factors have to be discussed in outsourcing agreement so as to be clear and whether they would be comfortable as it should not be impeding their regular course of business. It has to analyze the level and range of services that the outsourcer would be offering they should be less than what the company maintains in-house. Deadlines are important for finance and accounti ng as the relevant records are required from time to time thus it had to be made sure as how the resources would be allocated in order to ensure that the deadlines are met. In choice of outsourcer it has to be focused that whether his working style could be integrated into the culture of company otherwise data integration would be an extra burden over the company (Tejaswini & Rajiv, 2010). Company records are the critical factor for working and operations thus it often seen that management is not comfortable in sharing the information and the internal data even with the outsourcer thus it has to be considered the level of services required and decisions to be made regarding the data that would be shared with the outsourcer. Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Finance/Accounting Pros mostly can be said to be the reasons or the benefits for which the small and medium sized companies chose to outsource their finance/accounting departments (Yunus, Ren, & Jing, 2005). Cons can be said to be the risks that may cause to avoid the decision of outsourcing. Following are the pros and cons of outsourcing discussed: Pros of outsourcing Financial saving is most lucrative advantage that the SMEs focus on due to their limited financial resources thus

Wars in the Middle East past to present day Research Paper

Wars in the Middle East past to present day - Research Paper Example The Middle East is a core region that connects the three continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. In terms of conflicts, the Middle East countries have always had disputes that center on economics, politics, boundaries and religion. From the 20th century, there have been numerous conflicts that have always possessed the same theme. One of the first major conflicts relate to unification of Saudi Arabia (Tucker 34). This was a strategy whereby emirates and tribes could come under the single control of Al Saud. The conflict spread over a period of thirty years into creating the modern Saudi Arabia. This was the third state after the two previous ones. In this conflict, Al Saud conquered Riyadh and regions such as Al-Hasa and Nejd. Ibn Saud managed to take over Riyadh by killing the chief and capturing the castle. Similarly, the Egyptian revolution marked crucial occurrences of 1919. Sudan and Egypt participated into a revolt that sought to eliminate British rule from the region. This cont ributed to Egyptian independence and subsequent formation of a constitution. A temporary arrangement of British protectorate over Egypt lasted for an unexpected period. The agreement did not grant full sovereignty to Egypt and this resulted into further revolutionary activities. Egyptian strove towards political reform by having the 1952 revolution that eliminated the monarchial government (Tucker 803). One of the closely related revolutions relates to the 1979 Iran movement that uprooted the monarchy and established a new regime under Ayatollah Khomeini (Hoogland 11). The latest Asian conflict has been the famous Arab Spring. It has occurred in countries such as Libya, Egypt and Tunisia (Peters 33). In Western Asia, affected countries include Syria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman. It is notable that Asian countries have enjoyed fair economic progress by initiating certain policies. Most of the Middle East countries rely on oil and irrigation oriented Agriculture for their economic growth and survival. In addition, the countries flourish in extensive trade. The political orientation of these countries has always relied in robust governments with immense powers. The immense powers rely on few think tanks that propose regular changes and economic direction. In addition, the leadership was mainly patriarchal and monarchial. However, this was perceivable to have fostered an autocracy. In spite of the economic progress, the capacity for democracy was increasingly becoming limited. The leadership had become autocratic and inflexible to initiating new regimes. This became a political issue whereby the citizens could not effectively vote for their preferred leaders. In this age of limited democracy, Middle East citizens were significantly gaining education in their countries and other places. This triggered a generational gap whereby the younger generation could communicate through intensive technology. In this perspective, many citizens, who were mostly youth, organi zed an extensive revolution as they strove to uproot the longest surviving autocracies. One of the most prominent border conflicts relates to India and Pakistan tussle over the Kashmir region. The two regions were separated due to religious disparity between the same. Almost all conflicts, between the two countries, have a basis over Kashmir (Paul 64). The first conflict that the two countries experienced relates to leadership dispute over the region.

YOU NEED GIVE A TITLE FOR IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

YOU NEED GIVE A TITLE FOR IT - Essay Example The paper will focus on brief explanation of international theories such as realism, Marxism, liberalism, internationalization and constructivism. A case study of Referendum in Scotland will be provided, and explain its effects on the political, social and economic status of these countries. Finally, the paper will focus on how political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) factors affect the international business. They will be analysed alongside the mentioned international relations theories. In international relations, realism is a complex ideology that refers to a number of important issues. Firstly, it refers to political and economic egocentric tendencies, where states seek to protect their personal interests (Scott, 2003). There is an assumption that there is no international government, hence protecting the sovereignty of nations (Grosse & Behrman, 1994). The realism theory indicates that the failure to subscribe to an international government can be viewed as a state of ‘anarchy’ but it is imperative the pursuit of state’s interests (Devetak, Burke & George, 2013). The presence of an international government can undermine the autonomy and sovereignty of other nations (Buzan & Little, 2003). Under realism ideology, every country, no matter how powerful or inferior it seems, is out to protect its political, social, and economic interests at all costs. In general, realism theory is characterised by power politics, where conflict is also common (Sc ott, 2003). However, conflicts are managed, and when it escalates, diplomacy is perceived to be the best tool. Under realism, the universal moral standards are not always recognizing in every state. Different moral standards and laws will be established depending on the interests a country is trying to pursue. While there is an assumption that all humans are

Project management and strategic planning Essay Example for Free

Project management and strategic planning Essay Question: Language style: English (U.K.).   Write strategic planning and implementation steps involved in any project within IT department. Mention the Total quality management steps followed. What are the problems faced? Which problem solving and decision making methods would you suggest to be utilized? Explain. References: Any 2 Sources from the Internet, or Textbooks or journals. An organisation’s IT Strategic planning should combine some amount of tactical planning.   An IT department would require a strategic planning policy to ensure that the staff members and students can use the network on the campus as and when required.    As per the university requirements, all the schools should have a functional IT system, with certain criteria and specifications.   The IT planning would also help the school to share and receive technology from other schools and in this way be of immense help to the students. An IT Department should form a part and parcel of the education policy and processes of the educational institute.   It should be considered as a very important educational and information tool, for the students and staff members.   Let us now look at the actual strategic planning process and how it can be implemented in an educational institute. Strategic Planning is a process of making important decisions in the organisation so that a link between the present and the future trends is formed, choosing the organization’s goals, establishing the policies needed to meet specific objectives and recognising the means of assuring that policies are implemented in an appropriate manner. In a nutshell strategic plans are the â€Å"action plans† (Majdà ºchovà ¡, 2003 Strategic Initiatives, 2007). STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS: Considering an example of a Management institute with special reference to the project to be carried out in the IT department, the following detailing a manager in the unit will have to accomplish and organize (ICFAI). A Manager who is responsible for strategic planning would convert the intentions or objectives of the organisation concrete and measurable strategic plans, policies and budget allocations (Majdà ºchovà ¡, 2003 Strategic Initiatives, 2007). Step one: Defining the mission of the organization Based on the above work assignments, companies change their mission over a period of time to reflect changes in the external environment. The IT unit should address three important issues: What is the business supposed to do? Who are the customers? What goods or services does it offer? An IT department targets the various problems and issues, which are normally faced in a laboratory system of an organisation.   The IT department would provide services to the staff and the students and not merely provide goods alone to the audiences mentioned above (Kotler, 1999). Step two: Drawing up organizational objectives The strategic planning process in an IT department will broadly comprise of the following main objectives to be achieved.   This would help to determine the means of accomplishing the mission: Students online exams / reports / marks, Laptop management (Wi-Fi connection), Internet control, LAN Connections, PC Maintenance, AMC – annual maintenance contract, Software and hardware troubleshooting, UPS, Vendor management, Requisition and procurement of PCs, UPS etc, Intranet management, ERP package connectivity, and Server support  Ã‚   (Kotler, 1999 ICFAI) Step three: Assessing and Analysing SWOT The mangers need to analyse thoroughly the organisation’s current situation in order to develop an effective strategy to gain a competitive edge: Availability of KRA’s Availability of E-commerce technologies and processes Availability of skills in management of the supply chain or the vendor Management of Proprietary technology, superior technological skills, IP, Patents, and the issues concerned with them (Kotler, 1999 ICFAI) Step four: Formulating strategy Michael Porter has described three strategies which can help a firm / unit to gain competitive edge over others. Overall Cost Leadership: An IT firm has to consider the capital investment and access to it, the engineering skills required, intense supervision of labour, products designed for ease in manufacture, etc in order to achieve the its objectives (Kotler, 1999). Differentiation: The IT department may differentiate its products and services into technical and engineering support, strong capability in identifying the LAN, vendors, ERP, Wi-Fi, Internet, skills of the staff members needed, Intranet, etc (Kotler, 1999). Focus: All the above mentioned policies should be directed towards meeting the strategic target of fulfilling the staff’s and the student’s requirements (Kotler, 1999). Step five: Implementing strategy According to McKinsey et al, the best-managed companies exhibit the following 7 elements, known as â€Å"McKinsey 7-S framework for business success†. These include strategy, structure, and systems (known as ‘hardware to success†); and style, skills, staff and shared values (known as â€Å"software to success†) (Kotler, 1999 ICFAI). In an IT department, style refers to the common ways of thinking and behaving of the staff members.   Skills refer to the unique method of handling problems experienced by the organization, especially using creative solutions.   Staffing is the process of hiring, training and allocating the work by the department.   Shared values refer to the common guiding values shared by the staff members (ICFAI). During the implementation, the manager should constantly monitor the technology, staff, incentives/reward system, decision-making processes, structures and functions (ICFAI). IMPLEMENTING TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT This involves selecting the right staff members and using ensuring that the services are of high quality.   The process of TQM is continuous in the organisation so that quality of the organisation would improve (through having appropriate processes, products and services).   Feedback regarding customer satisfaction is gained, and accordingly improvements are made.   The company needs to gain an insight of how the user would be using the product.   Any shortcoming should be identified and modified, as and when needed.   Some of the steps in TQM include: Studying the current quality situation Defining the quality needs Planning for a quality control program initiated by the managers Having structures, functions and strategies for implementing the quality program Allocating and obtaining the resources Monitoring and evaluation of the quality control program (Hashmi, 2000) PROBLEMS FACED: The IT department may face several major problems in cases of IT resource troubleshooting, logistics management, customer satisfaction, changes in the vision of the organisation, leadership problems, incompetent human resources, adoption of new technologies, managing the IP, obsolete facilities, etc (ICFAI). One of the major problems faced by the organisation previously, was regarding the presence of viruses in various network systems.   This seemed a threat to the security of the network.   The organisation had to develop a policy to prevent entry and spread of such virus on its network system.   This ensured that all external connections including CD’s, pen drives, removable discs, etc, were thoroughly scanned so that any virus threat would be contained.   The users were also informed of the security measures that had to be followed whilst using the network.   A strong firewall was installed to ensure that all data entering and existing the network was thoroughly monitored.   In this way, the IT department effectively handled virus threats. A study was conducted in the Institute’s IT Department to determine the effectiveness and the efficiency of the IT department’s network system.   More than 100 individuals were interviewed, which included 80 students and 20 teachers.   It was found that when a definite plan was introduced since 2004, the quality of services provided by the IT department improved drastically.   About 75 % of the staff members and 65 % of the students agreed to this.   The IT personnel are conducting quality checks at various levels to ensure that the services are effective and can enable the organisation to achieve its goals. Services Provided Percent of Staff who felt that the services were good Percent of Staff who felt that the services were satisfactory Percent of Staff who felt that the services were poor Comments Internet 75 21 4 Internet services are very good with fast connectivity and lightning speeds Intranet 50 35 15 Intranet exists, but not updated regularly Messenger 25 13 63 Not utilised very often during instruction Mail 65 26 9 Utilised very frequently and beneficial to all the faculty members and students.   Each staff and student is given their own id and password Library 78 12 10 Services are limited (no of databases subscribed) College Database 50 24 26 Not updated for long Teleconference system 56 25 19 Although, the system is effective and very useful, frequent disruptions occur PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING METHODS: Group Decision making method may be useful in large and complex departments, as the decision adopted seem to be better. Delphi group technique brings a panel of experts together in order to identify the problem and develop solutions for them.   Responses are collected and averaged by the people coordinating the group. It is utilised more often to immediately solve acute problems faced by the unit.   Such problems are time consuming and expensive to solve.   Interacting groups is the most common form of group decision making, in which the members openly discuss the problem, develop ideas, argue about each of them, and choose the best alternative. Decision Tree is a complex instrument that helps the decision-maker to consider various alternative courses needed to solve the problem and select the most appropriate alternative. The decision-maker can implement and monitor the alternative (Kotler, 1999 ICFAI).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, I do feel that from the efforts of the management of the organisation and from the IT department itself, an effective network system has been develop which is very useful for the students and the staff members.   This educational tool helps in education, instruction, and research and even in providing information to the general public.   Regular feedback should be taken from the users, administrators, etc, in order to determine if any modification is required for the IT System, and effectively introduced into the IT strategic plan.   Over, the last four years, incorporation of an IT plan has ensured a faster network, security, greater access, and increased support.   The IT department has also certain trouble shooting devices in place to handle any situation.   This has helped the organisation to achieve its objectives. References: Hashmi, K. (2000), Introduction and Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM), [Online], Available: http://www.isixsigma.com/library/content/c031008a.asp, [Accessed: 2007, November 23]. ICFAI Introduction to management, ICFAI Center for Management research. ICFAI Project Management, ICFAI publication of management research.    Kotler, P. (1999), â€Å"Marketing Management: the Millennium edition,† 10th ed, Prentice Hall. Majdà ºchovà ¡, H. (2003), â€Å"Strategic Management For The Nonprofit Organizations†, Electronic Library of Scientific Literature, vol. 51, no. 3. http://www.sav.sk/journals/ekoncas/ekon2003_07.htm   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Strategic Initiatives Leading Transformative Change†, [Online], Available: http://www.strategicinitiatives.com/, [Accessed: 2007, November 23]. The University of Colorado at Boulder (2002). â€Å"2002 Information Technology Strategic Planning Report.† [Online], Available: http://www.colorado.edu/ITplan/2002itsp.pdf, [Accessed: 2007, November 23]. The University of Colorado at Boulder (2002). 2002 IT Strategic Vision, [Online], Available: http://www.colorado.edu/ITplan/vision.pdf, [Accessed: 2007, November 23]. The University of Colorado at Boulder (2002). Current Situation (Trends), [Online], Available: http://www.colorado.edu/ITplan/trends.pdf, [Accessed: 2007, November

Ethical Issue of the Contraceptive Mandate Essay Example for Free

Ethical Issue of the Contraceptive Mandate Essay The issue of the contraception mandate may be one of the biggest political stories of the year. It is a law brought forward by the Obama administration that requires all employers to offer contraceptive coverage. This has been a requirement for all company healthcare coverage programs for many years already but religious affiliates have been exempt from following the rules. Obama is looking to change all that by requiring even religion-based employers, who have previously not offered coverage, to participate. Such services required by the contraception mandate will violate some of these religion-based employers’ moral conscience. Rule: From the contraception mandate issue, two opposing ethical rules are rights and justice/fairness. From Velasquez’s Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases, the rights rule is â€Å"an individual’s entitlement to something.† It can address the contraception mandate from both an individual and a corporate issue. The rights rule is being processed more from the religious-based employers point of view. The justice/fairness rule being discussed in this case brief is the egalitarianism view. Egalitarianism is â€Å"every person should be given exactly equal shares of a society’s or a group’s benefits and burdens.† It addresses the contraception mandate from a systemic issue Analysis: 1. Rights: Religious institutions do not want to have to cover birth control in their insurance plans for employees. Such services required by the contraception mandate will violate these religion-based institutions’ moral conscience. Thus, the contraception mandate can be viewed as an obstruction of the constitutional rights presented in the First Amendment. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution reads as following: â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.† In the First Amendment, all individuals are entitled to freedom of religion. Many of the religion-based institutions claim that the first amendment allows people the freedom to follow their religious convictions and that they cannot be forced to act against them. The government through the contraception mandate is forcing constraints on the religious freedom of the religious affiliated institutions and their employees. 2. Justice/Fairness: The justice/fairness rule of egalitarianism will say the contraception mandate is about women’s health rights. According to an egalitarian, goods should be allocated to people in equal portions. Thus, all women should have access to equal healthcare services, including the contraceptive services. The egalitarianism view argues that supporting a rights rule would limit the whole population based on someone else’s moral ideals and not scientific medical information. Women, along with many men, want to have sex for non-procreative purposes despite â€Å"edicts† passed down by religious texts. Women should have access to contraceptives. Egalitarians also argue everyone is entitled to practice their own religion and refrain from taking birth control, but every employer is prevented from discriminating against their employees on the basis of religious freedom. The reversal of the contraception mandate would be a huge setback for women’s reproductive freedom. It would go back to say women’s bodies are not their own. Conclusion: In my opinion, I believe that the rights rule is the correct approach to the contraception mandate. All companies, excluding religion-based employers, before were required to provide contraceptive coverage. Now under the Health and Human Services contraception mandate, those religious-based employers are required to provide contraceptive coverage. The First Amendment promises the entitlement to religious freedom and the practicing religious convictions. I believe forcing this healthcare service onto religious affiliated institutions is obstructing their right to practice religious convictions, hence their moral convictions. The larger portion of employed women will already be covered prior to this contraception mandate. It is only the addition of employed women at religious affiliated institutions. I am inclined to think the female employees of religious affiliated institutions would share the same religious and moral views of that religious affiliated institution. If a religious affiliated institution believes it is morally accepting for the use of contraceptives, good for them. But for a religious affiliated institution that believes it is against their religious convictions to provide employees with contraceptives, the government should not have any authority to force such a mandate. Following political backlash for the contraception mandate, President Obama has since revised the original mandate. He has added an â€Å"accommodation,† somewhat like a clause, that allows the religion-based employers the opportunity to opt out and not have to directly cover birth control in their healthcare insurance plans. The insurance company hired to cover the religious affiliated institution’s employees cannot opt out. The insurers themselves would be required to make contraceptives available free of charge to women anyway. This is a clear political move to gain more favoritism in hopes of a reelection. I see this move by Obama as an attempted reversal of the mandate after viewing the religious opposition that was evoked by mandate. Also what Obama has failed to think of are the business implications of this new â€Å"accommodation†Ã¢â‚¬â€offering the contraceptives at no cost from the opted out religious affiliated employer and employees. Insurance companies will not offer this benefit at no cost; contraceptive drug companies will not offer the medicine at no cost; and doctors will not provide treatment without payment. The only logical conclusion, at least the short run, will result in higher healthcare insurance premiums. To have avoided religious invasion, political backlash, and increased insurance premiums, I logically propose the Obama Administration should simply give women without access to contraceptive services a federal voucher.

Marketing Essays Customer Product Needs

Marketing Essays Customer Product Needs Customer Product Needs Marketing is the process of identifying customer needs and then introducing a product according to those needs. Marketers introduce products in the market so that we can consume everyday. When we buy a product we pay for marketing each time. Marketing acts as an important role in our daily lives. Marketing is basically satisfying customer needs which increase the quality of life and better standard of living. There are two main parties involved in marketing buyers and sellers. Marketing includes the activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service. In order to sell the products marketers try to promote their products by different types of medium. The most famous type is bill boards and signs. The internet has been the most easiest and effective way of promoting products to the customers. Magazines, T.V, Radio and newspapers are other ways of introducing products. Marketing is all about selling, delivering products to consumers, promotion of new products to attract customers. There are many definitions of marketing. One of the great management thinkers Peter Drucker said something which acts as a good reminder of the value of good marketing: The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well; the product or service fits him and sells itself. – Peter Drucker http://www.powerpr.com/newsletter.html Marketing Communication: Marketing communication is subdivided into 4 features: Advertising: Advertising is transmitting information to the customers by various kinds of media by paying sum amount of money. It is basically to attract the customers to buy the products. In order words advertising is a publicity to influence the people to purchase the specific product. Advertising media includes T.V, newspaper, cinema, radio, posters, billboards and internet. It promotes the products and tries to convince the consumers to buy a product by pressure that it is more desirable for them than others. Advertising can be done by the organizations, industries as well as by individuals. Advertising can also be used combining with other marketing communications. The amount of advertising in UK can be recognized through posters, billboards and T.V. It has been estimated that the drinks industry spends over  £200 million on advertising and that between 1 and 2 percentage of national income is spent on advertising in United Kingdom. http://www.answers.com/topic/advertising?cat=biz-fin Sales promotion: Sales promotions are the excellent offers to persuade the customers to buy goods and services. Normally to increase in the sales of an organization for the short period and sometimes to sold out the old stock. These are the tricks to trap the customer for the particular product. There are varieties of sales promotions methods to that a business can use to make products appealing. Some of the methods are as under: Discount vouchers: Customers been sent the coupons, or they themselves tear off from the magazines and newspapers which enables them to get the particular product in low price by showing the coupon. Competitions: Sometimes when a customer purchase a product, allows them to enter the draw to win a prize (for e.g. cash, cars, electronics, air tickets etc.) Free gifts: Sometimes when the product is bought by the customers they get another product free with it or sometimes different prizes instantly. Loyalty cards: These are those cards which allow the customers to earn points on the cards when they buy products, later on which can be redeemed as cash or goods. (for e.g. Tesco club card, nectar etc.) Loyalty cards have become the most important bright form of sales promotion. http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/marketing_promotion_sales.htm Public relations: Public relation doesn’t deal with the product and services. It mainly deals in making good relations between employees or customers. The primary function is to have the trust of public understanding. Examples of public relations are worker preparation, support of charitable events etc. In this type of marketing communication the organization aimed for the increase in sales by improving the image of the company and product. http://www.learnthat.com/define/view.asp?id=52 Direct marketing: Convey of advertising message directly to the consumer on individual basis through any type of medium. The main difference between direct marketing and other kind of promotion is that you have close relation with the needs of the customer and succeed in delivering a message. http://www.investorwords.com/1447/direct_marketing.html Integrated Marketing Communication: The management of the organization is planned in such a way that all the feature of marketing communication work together rather then allows them to work separately. As mentioned above marketing communication includes sales promotion, advertising, direct marketing and public relations. Integrated marketing communication good idea for making business more profit. All the marketing communication departments work together for the betterment and profitably of an organization. They company use only one approach towards everything. Integrated Marketing Communication is more than the management of a companys outgoing message between different media and the reliability of the message throughout. It is a destructive marketing plan that captures and uses a vast amount of customer information in setting and tracking marketing strategy. It can be also defines as a holistic approach to promote buying and selling of digital economy. A management concept which is mainly designed to make all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing work together as a combined force, rather than allowing each to work in remoteness. In practice, the goal of Integrated Marketing Communication is to create a single appearance or message in all fundamentals of a marketing campaign. A successful integrated marketing communication plan should be customize what is required by the client based on time, budget and resources to reach the target or goals. Small business can start an integrated marketing communication plan on a small budget by creating a website, email and SEO. A large business organization can start an integrated communication plan on a larger budget than a small organization. They can use things like print, mail order radio, TV plus many other online ad campaigns. The main aim at the end is to sell their product. TV is used in order to get the generation aware of the product where as Prints are used to educate the public and Radio is also used to keep the message delivered on the top of the mind. There are 3 Ps which one has to remember in integrated marketing communication which are the first one is for product. This means that overall everything is done for the customers. What are consumer requirements and what they desire? The goods they are looking for and what are the benefits in demands, and what are the unfulfilled demands. The second P is the price. One has to look at the cost which the customers are looking for. What is their perception of the cost of the goods and how much are they able to pay and willing to spend. The third P is for the place or distribution. This means where to sell their goods, and which is the best possible place to promote you affectively. David Ogilvy thinks IMC means providing â€Å"one stop shopping†, setting up your agency to deliver all the functions a client might want to buy, and learning to manage them together. Maybe this is a tail. David further said that IMC may be the key to getting away from the disease of talking about creativity all the time and getting back to focus on sales. This is at least leg. Integrated Marketing Communication can also be called as integration of all promotional tools. All of the communications tools work better if they work together in agreement rather than working separately. While different departments such as sales, direct mail and advertising can help each other through Data Integration. This requires a marketing information system which collects and shares relevant data across different departments. Marketing and communications objectives must support the higher level corporate objectives and corporate missions. http://marketing.about.com/od/marketingglossary/g/imcdef.htm Marketing communications comprises five broad categories: Personal selling, advertising, public relations, direct marketing and sales promotions. Each has its own set of pros and cons and can be accomplished in a variety of ways. However, the key is to look at the available options in a comprehensive way and to ensure consistency throughout the selected media. The selection of communications methods is subject to a variety of factors. The factors that influence the selection and effectiveness of a promotional mix include: †¢ Nature of the market (market size, geographic scope, type of customer, etc.) †¢ Nature of the product (complexity of the product, service requirements, etc.) †¢ Stage in the product life-cycle (earlier versus later stages of the life cycle) †¢ Price (high versus low unit price) †¢ Funds available for promotion This funding point is very relevant to all companies. Budgeting is an essential function of the IMC process. The following items impact the budget determinations: †¢ Percentage-of-sales method (a specified percentage of either past or forecasted sales) †¢ Fixed-sum-per-unit method (predetermined dollar amount for each unit sold or produced) †¢ Meeting competition method (match competitor’s promotional outlays) †¢ Task-objective method (amount and type of promotional spending needed to achieve promotional Objectives) Advantages of Integrated Marketing Communication: The key advantages of using integrated marketing communication or IMC is that it is indispensable and cost effective to any organization. IMC talks about the four different messages that an organization has to know of so it can run if not manipulate. In order to effectively integrate public relations and marketing, there are six procedures that have to be followed to achieve an organization’s objective. In order to attain the organizations goals, public relations practitioners are commonly asked to perform many other tasks side by side with advertising and marketing. It total communication program is merged with public relations, it not only save time and money but strengthen the organizations capacity to safeguard the reliability of the product or service. (Miller Rose, 1994). Public relations practitioners are told everyday to design programs that are compatible with marketing and advertising strategies accurately and cost effectively. Public relations can help to attain marketing objectives and increase awareness by playing a very tactical role (Miller Rose, 1994). Public relations are anticipated to notify as well as persuade behavior, generate an environment for customer acceptance and build trust. These activities can best be done by working with marketing and advertising functions in the organization (Miller Rose, 1994). In order for public relations, advertising and marketing to work more efficiently the three functions need to be more closely aligned. One approach to IMC was developed by program director, Tom Duncan and his faculty at the University of Colorado. Duncans IMC Message Typology explains the four messages that an organization needs to be aware of so it can control, or if not control, then perhaps influence. The four types of messages are; planned, inferred, maintenance and unplanned. Although Integrated Marketing Communications requires a lot of effort it delivers many benefits. It can create competitive advantage, boost sales and profits, while saving money, time and stress. IMC wraps communications around customers and helps them move through the various stages of the buying process. The organization simultaneously consolidates its image, develops a dialogue and nurtures its relationship with customers. This Relationship Marketing cements a bond of loyalty with customers which can protect them from the inevitable onslaught of competition. The ability to keep a customer for life is a powerful competitive advantage. IMC also increases profits through increased effectiveness. At another level, initial research suggests that images shared in advertising and direct mail boost both advertising awareness and mail shot responses. So IMC can boost sales by stretching messages across several communications tools. Carefully linked messages also help buyers by giving timely reminders, updated information and special offers which, when presented in a planned sequence, help them move comfortably through the stages of their buying process and this reduces their misery of choice in a complex and busy world. IMC also makes messages more reliable and therefore more believable. This reduces risk in the mind of the buyer which, in turn, shortens the search process and helps to dictate the outcome of brand comparisons. Un-integrated communications send disjointed messages which weaken the impact of the message. This may also confuse, frustrate and arouse anxiety in customers. On the other hand, integrated communications present a reassuring sense of order. Consistent images and relevant, useful, messages help raise long term relationships with customers. Here, customer databases can identify accurately which customers need what information when they need and throughout their whole buying life. Finally, IMC saves money as it eliminates duplication in areas such as graphics and photography since they can be shared and used in say, advertising, exhibitions and sales literature. Integrated Marketing Communications Moriarty, Sandra E. PR and IMC: The benefits of integration. Public Relations Quarterly, Fall94, Vol. 39 Issue 3, p38, 7p, 1bw. Once IMC strategy has been determined, marketing managers look to control the four basic elements of the marketing mix: product, price, place, and promotion, known as the four Ps of marketing. Since these four variables are controllable, the best mix of these elements is determined to reach the selected target market. Product: The first element in the marketing mix is the product. Products can be either tangible or intangible. Tangible products are products that can be touched; intangible products are those that cannot be touched, such as services. There are three basic levels of a product: core, actual, and augmented. The core product is the most basic level, what consumers really buy in terms of benefits. For example, consumers do not buy food processors, per se; rather, they buy the benefit of being able to process food quickly and efficiently. The next level of the product is the actual product—in the case of the previous example, food processors. Products are typically sorted according to the following five characteristics: quality, features, styling, brand name, and packaging. Finally, the augmented level of a product consists of all the elements that surround both the core and the actual product. The augmented level provides purchasers with additional services and benefits. For examp le, follow-up technical assistance and warranties and guaranties are augmented product components. When planning new products, firm managers consider a number of issues including product quality, features, options, styles, brand name, packaging, size, service, warranties, and return policies, all in an attempt to meet the needs and wants of consumers. Price: Price is the cost of the product paid by consumers. This is the only element in the marketing mix that generates revenue for firms. In order to generate revenue, managers must consider factors both internal and external to the organization. Internal factors take the form of marketing objectives, the marketing-mix strategy, and production costs. External factors to consider are the target market, product demand, competition, economic conditions, and government regulations. There are a number of pricing strategies available to marketing managers: skimming, penetration, quantity, and psychological. With a price-skimming strategy, the price is initially set high, allowing firms to generate maximum profits from customers willing to pay the high price. Prices are then gradually lowered until maximum profit is received from each level of consumer. Penetration pricing is used when firms set low prices in order to capture a large share of a market quickly. A quantity-pricing strategy p rovides lower prices to consumers who purchase larger quantities of a product. Psychological pricing tends to focus on consumer perceptions. For example, odd pricing is a common psychological pricing strategy. With odd pricing, the cost of the product may be a few cents lower than a full-dollar value. Consumers tend to focus on the lower-value full-dollar cost even though it is really priced closer to the next higher full-dollar amount. For example, if a good is priced at $19.95, consumers will focus on $19 rather than $20. Place: Place refers to where and how the products will be distributed to consumers. There are two basic issues involved in getting the products to consumers: channel management and logistics management. Channel management involves the process of selecting and motivating wholesalers and retailers, sometimes called middlemen, through the use of incentives. Several factors are reviewed by firm management when determining where to sell their products: distribution channels, market-coverage strategy, geographic locations, inventory, and transportation methods. The process of moving products from a manufacturer to the final consumer is often called the channel of distribution. Promotion: The last variable in the marketing mix is promotion. Various promotional tools are used to communicate messages about products, ideas, or services from firms and their customers. The promotional tools available to managers are advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity. For the promotional program to be effective, managers use a blend of the four promotional tools that best reaches potential customers. This blending of promotional tools is sometimes referred to as the promotional mix. The goal of this promotional mix is to communicate to potential customers the features and benefits of products. Get help with your essay from our expert essay writers IMC at BBC: The Bombay Bicycle Club is London 1st choice Indian cuisine restaurant. I joined the Islington branch 10 months ago. So I selected to write about this restaurant. It is called the 1st Indian cuisine franchise in London. The first restaurant was inaugurated at Clapham 20 year’s back which is, still favorite for many Londoners and chefs. Many braches have been opened after that, now The Bombay Bicycle Club owns around 18 braches, in different parts of London. The aim of the employers of the company is maximum satisfaction of consumers. According to Tana Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay) told to the latest issue of the London Magazine that â€Å"the Bombay Bicycle Club was a local favourite.†It has to be from the Battersea one though, thats the best† Marketing communication of the Bombay bicycle club is effective. They apply all the marketing features in order to get the maximum profit and consumer satisfaction. I will now analyze all the marketing communication according to The Bombay Bicycle Club. Advertising: Bombay Bicycle Club invests in for advertising too. They have different ways of advertising. Since online shopping is a rage these days, they have also invested in e-retailing and the respond is overwhelming. It’s been made easy for the convenience of consumers. Customers can order their food without any hassle of walking down or driving down and finding the parking space. They can order food right from home by just clicking on the updated menus. The customers also get a discount for ordering their food online. They also provide facilities for customers to book a table or the whole place online. They also have leaflets with menus which they distribute it to shops, customers, and even as poster on bikes and other vehicles. Even billboards are used at high traffic areas to attract new customers They have regular ads in the Local and other news papers in the United Kingdom. Newspapers are a good source of reaching out to a large number of people. Another way the Bombay Bicycle Club has implemented is the use of magazine ads, as magazine ads are generally better as they are able to reached the desired demographics Sales promotion: Every now and then the Bombay Bicycle Club gives out vouches or coupons to customers, with these coupons customers get discounts on the food and drinks depending upon the season. For the regular customers, there is a flat discount which they get every time they visit the place. Public relations: All the employees and the managers are courteous, friendly and the atmosphere of the restaurant is warm and homely. The satisfaction of the customer to the smallest detail is the main priority for Bombay Bicycle Club. It also takes part in any community services by distributing food and drinks completely free. Direct marketing: The Bombay Bicycle club is mainly a direct marketing establishment as there is more of human to human contact. People are given all the details of a food item ot any product on a individual basis Conclusion: After all the research I came to conclude that marketing plays an important role in the business. Marketing is basically satisfying customer needs which increase the quality of life and better standard of living. I came to know about the marketing communications. Advertising and sales promotion increases the sales of the organization which also increases the profitability of the company. Sales promotion and direct marketing makes the organization to keep in touch with the previous customers. It not only helps the organization to retain the valuable customers but also to attract new customers. In short if all these feature of marketing work together, they can expand their business, make large amount of money and retain the customers. References: [Accessed on April 19, 2008] http://www.powerpr.com/newsletter.html [Accessed on April 20, 2008] http://www.answers.com/topic/advertising?cat=biz-fin [Accessed on April 22, 2008] http://tutor2u.net/business/gcse/marketing_promotion_sales.htm [Accessed on April 22, 2008] http://www.learnthat.com/define/view.asp?id=52 [Accessed on April 23, 2008] http://www.investorwords.com/1447/direct_marketing.html [Accessed on April 23, 2008] http://marketing.about.com/od/marketingglossary/g/imcdef.htm [Accessed on April 17, 2008] http://www.multimediamarketing.com/mkc/marketingcommunications/ Moriarty, Sandra E. PR and IMC: The benefits of integration. Public Relations Quarterly, Fall94, Vol. 39 Issue 3, p38, 7p, 1bw. Dave H, Rob J, and Carlo R, (2000) Business Studies, Italy: LagoPrint

My Wonderful Life! :: First Person Narrative Examples

A word my parents use to describe me is delightful, delightful Lollie. Just weeks after I was born a scripture stood out to my parents, Isiah 55:12, and since that time they have read it, prayed it, and repeated it to me numerous times. The verse has seemed to fit my personality, my activities, and my perceptions of life and future. Being the first born, I have always been a leader, an organizer, and a trailblazer. I enjoy being the daughter of parents who pastor a Christian church, I have had many opportunities to travel to other cities, states, and countries for a variety of reasons. I have also had the opportunity to be a teacher to small children, a youth leader to high school students; to help others in need; to meet new people regularly; and to befriend people who are lonely. One of my most meaningful activities that I organized and led twice was the "30 hour famine" in conjunction with World Vision, International. Our group of fifteen plus kids (and adults) solicited dollar pl edges for the hours we would go without food to help raise funds for other nations troubled by famines. For 30 hours we stayed together as a group talking, reading, praying, playing, sleeping... and drinking only water. One year when I participated, we served at a homeless soup kitchen in Salinas during the remaining three hours of our fast which was a real stretch for us seeing the food right in front of us and not eating it. This really helped us identify with hunger and see how the money we raised was being used. Both years we raised over $500 for World Vision. Along with staying active in my church, cheerleading had played a major role in my life for many years. My rookie year I cheered for my brother's traveling team where the crowds were often in the hundreds. I took this experience into my three years of jr. high and four years of high school. For those seven years I have served as captain of my squad five times. From first hand experience and injuries, I can confidently say I consider cheerleading a sport! Twice I have been selected as an All Star and Five-Star cheerleader at summer camps for meeting skill requirements, leadership, and expertise. This was a great honor and showed me that hard work pays off while developing an excellent attitude. My Wonderful Life! :: First Person Narrative Examples A word my parents use to describe me is delightful, delightful Lollie. Just weeks after I was born a scripture stood out to my parents, Isiah 55:12, and since that time they have read it, prayed it, and repeated it to me numerous times. The verse has seemed to fit my personality, my activities, and my perceptions of life and future. Being the first born, I have always been a leader, an organizer, and a trailblazer. I enjoy being the daughter of parents who pastor a Christian church, I have had many opportunities to travel to other cities, states, and countries for a variety of reasons. I have also had the opportunity to be a teacher to small children, a youth leader to high school students; to help others in need; to meet new people regularly; and to befriend people who are lonely. One of my most meaningful activities that I organized and led twice was the "30 hour famine" in conjunction with World Vision, International. Our group of fifteen plus kids (and adults) solicited dollar pl edges for the hours we would go without food to help raise funds for other nations troubled by famines. For 30 hours we stayed together as a group talking, reading, praying, playing, sleeping... and drinking only water. One year when I participated, we served at a homeless soup kitchen in Salinas during the remaining three hours of our fast which was a real stretch for us seeing the food right in front of us and not eating it. This really helped us identify with hunger and see how the money we raised was being used. Both years we raised over $500 for World Vision. Along with staying active in my church, cheerleading had played a major role in my life for many years. My rookie year I cheered for my brother's traveling team where the crowds were often in the hundreds. I took this experience into my three years of jr. high and four years of high school. For those seven years I have served as captain of my squad five times. From first hand experience and injuries, I can confidently say I consider cheerleading a sport! Twice I have been selected as an All Star and Five-Star cheerleader at summer camps for meeting skill requirements, leadership, and expertise. This was a great honor and showed me that hard work pays off while developing an excellent attitude.

Characters of Beloved Essay example -- essays research papers

Characters of Beloved Sethe Sethe is a hardened but loving woman. Her memories of the brutality she suffered as a slave corrupt her everyday life and lead her to conclude that past trauma can never really be forgotten; it reveals itself at every chance. She thus spends her life attempting to avoid encounters with her past. The quality that best describes Sethe in my mind is persistence. Her constant devotion to Denver and her ability to function daily with her ever-present mind-scars shows an inspirational inner strength. Also, the act of attempting to kill you’re children to prevent their suffering is proof of her devotion to her children’s wellbeing (though obviously questionable to say the least) and her hatred of the slavery that has destroyed her life. So in respect to this, I compa...

Emily Dickinsons My Life Had Stood:A Loaded Gun Essay -- Literature P

Emily Dickinson's My Life Had Stood:A Loaded Gun Emily Dickinson is a poet known for her cryptic, confusing language. Words are often put together in an unusual way and create deciphering difficulties for the reader. But behind all the confusion is a hidden meaning that becomes clear, and one realizes that all the odd word choices were chosen for a specific reason. The poem I will try to analyze is My Life Had Stood—A Loaded Gun, or number 754. I find this to be one of her most difficult poems to decode. However, I find the images fascinating and the last stanza very confusing but intriguing. What I first thought the poem was about and what I finally came to a conclusion on are two completely different thoughts. Through answering questions on the poem’s literary elements, thorough analysis of the words, and rewriting the poem in my own words, I came to the conclusion that the poem is about a person who was taken on a journey with someone who saw something in her that was unrealized by anyone else, and the narra tor clung to that person through their time together. First, I will take apart the poem in terms of its use of literary elements. The diction of the poem is abstract and vague, in that it’s hard for the reader to easily understand what the narrator is really talking about. Dickinson uses particular, specific words for description: for example, in stanza four, when talking about a pillow the bird Eider-Duck is mentioned. She could have just said a duck’s or goose’s feathers, but she specifically writes Eider-Duck, which I found out is a fowl known for it’s fluffy feathers (hence the appropriate connection to the pillow). Dickinson also uses the word ‘sovereign’ when talking about the woods the narrator an... ... because she was simply too shy to step out—and then one day someone noticed her for the first time and saw all she had to offer. The rest of the poem is about their journeys together and the relationship that builds between the two of them. Maybe it’s the first real relationship with the opposite gender, so she is unsure how to act, and become jealous of the other â€Å"does,† and willing to put him before herself (such as watching over him at night). As shown, Emily Dickinson’s cryptic language and literary elements make for an interesting, yet sometimes confusing, poem. Her words and ideas, mixed with her sense of rhythm and rhyme, work together to produce poetic pieces that are of the highest quality. While the meaning of this poem can be debated—and one’s opinion of the meaning can change over time and with many re-readings—it is still a fascinating piece.

N. J. Ask

N. J. Ask is a state assessment of students in various fields. It is a foundation for excellence and proficiency.   Following its establishment to meet the requirements of the no child left behind act.   It is a state assessment of student’s achievement in language arts, math and science.   It replaces the elementary school proficiency assessment. The Grade 5 test format is specifically designed to serve as â€Å"off-grade† assessments in New Jersey.   NJ PASS is modeled on the existing New Jersey Assessment of skills and knowledge (NJASK). Therefore, the format of the interim assessments is very similar to those. Combining multiple choice items and constructed response items, all designed to the CCCS.   There is one open ended writing task for grade 5 and every other grade. Those interim assessments consist of items from Riverside publishing’s secure pool of items field tested in New Jersey but previously used on any commercial form of NJ PASS. NJ Ask Grade 5, test format employs an assessment center which is an integrated system of exercises designed to generate behaviors similar to those required for success in a target job.   These behaviors are usually measured in simulations that are similar to those activities performed in a given job.   Each activity measures and mirrors a different aspect of the job performance in those activities and observed by evaluators who are trained to be fair and objective. They compare each participant’s performance to predetermined performance guidelines to determine who will perform effectively in a particular job.   Furthermore, a distinct examination is developed for the title, Deputy Fire Chief.   The test consists of four scenario – based oral exercises.   Each scenario is developed to stimulate tasks and assess knowledge, skills and abilities that incumbents or supervisors of incumbents deemed important to job performance. Usually, the scenario oral exercises cover four topics areas which include; incident command; non-fire, Administration, supervision, and incident command; fire. As a reader, the fifth grade students are able to synthesize details in order to make connections and generate new ideas.   The student utilizes literary elements and authors purpose to analyze text.   And as an advanced writer, the student establishes and maintains a strong focus and elaborates supporting details to convey ideas effectively.   The student includes narrative techniques using fluid transitions, strong appropriate word choice and sentence variety to purposefully engage the reader.   This is what the grade 5 students are taught to do, sufficient and effective for their level.   They do it sufficiently and effectively. PART 2 The New Jersey core curriculum content reflect the belief that all students can and must learn enough to assume their role as concerned citizens, equipped with necessary information and decision making skills.   This is achieved through a constructive and sequential objections and test alignment. The test dates for the examination is usually sent via mail approximately two weeks before test date.   Candidates usually receive a notice which shows the date, time, location and room which they should report for examination.   For purpose of clarity and transparency candidates are to bring the notification card, two forms of identification and two pencils to examination center.   And the examination format is usually in accordance with the core curriculum content standards of NJ for grade 5.   In fact, the examination is held at a central location. PART 3 Assessment techniques are techniques used for students to simply ease and facilitate their learning process.   Among the numerous assessment techniques include; A case for reading: the format is to introduce the students censorship and how challenges to books occur then invites them to read a challenged or banned book and decide for themselves what should be done with this book at school by writing a persuasive essay explaining their perspectives. This assessment exposes the kids to issues of censorship and challenged or banned books they critically evaluate books based on relevancy, biases and errors also to develop and support a position on a particular book by writing a persuasive essay about their chosen title. Persuasive writing is an important skill that cannot be taught too early but writing an argument can seem intimidating to elementary students.   This task encourages students to use skills and knowledge they may not realize they already have.   Students are then asked to choose their own persuasive piece to analyze and learn some of the definitions associated with persuasive writing.   I believe this technique helps the students to work cooperative groups to brainstorm ideas and organize them into a cohesive argument to be presented to the class and to analyze the works of others to see if it contains effective persuasive techniques. Searching for Gold is an assessment technique which the real Gold is the enquiry skills and content area skill knowledge that students develop.   In small groups, students create a project to aid in their oral representation of their researched topic. Once research is complete, each group teaches the rest of the class what they have learned through an activity of their choice.   Ideally this assessment technique will by all means help the students to work in cooperative groups, develop presentation materials using visual aids, deliver oral presentations to teach others about their topics, select research topics based on interest and so on. Developing, writing, and evaluating persuasive speeches, is one of the objectives of an assessment technique tagged â€Å"Vote for me† By using the relevant examples of political campaigning.   This technique teaches students the characteristics of effective persuasive speech writing and oral argument.   By studying an online tutorial and looking at examples, students learn what makes a strong speech.   A second online tool helps them learn how to formulate a persuasive argument.   Students then apply this information in two ways; by writing their own speeches and by evaluating others. Although students are writing speeches to be delivered orally, they practice skills needed for all effective writing.   In the context of voting, an assessment is made by asking â€Å"what is voting†.   With an eye on creating a graffiti-wall manual at the end of the unit students listen to information read around from a variety of sources as well as read from fiction and non-fiction books.   Students participate in an ongoing exploration of information from current sources including child-oriented web-sites, newspapers and orally in writing. This less on touches on the history of voting as a civil right, and current elections while asking students to explore the difference between fact and opinion.   This exercise will enable the students write an opinion essay about their favorite candidate, share prior knowledge about elections, discuss information about the voting process, as presented by a variety of text sources read with partners, participate in creating a graffiti-wall mural on the topic of voting. On the whole, the assessment techniques of course will enhance better learning capacity and development mentally. PART 4 In accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students who are receiving special education services must participate in each subject area of a statewide assessment with the following exception: â€Å"if the nature f the students disability is so severe that the student is not receiving instruction in any of the knowledge and skills measured by the statewide assessment and the student cannot complete any of the questions on the assessment in a subject area with or without accommodations the student shall participate in a locally determined assessment of student progress (New Jersey administrative code chapter 6a:14-4.11(a)2). Also decisions about participation and accommodations/modifications are made by the individualized education program or 504 team.   Information about test content and item types from specifications booklets can be used to make this determination. Furthermore, any accommodation or modifications of test administration procedures for students eligible for special education under the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) or eligible under section 504 of the rehabilitation Act of 1973 must be specified in the students IEP or 514 accommodation plans. In all students for modifications under section 504 may not be classified but do have a permanent or temporary impairment in a major life function-Performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing and speaking.

History 201: World History 1400-1900 Essay

This course is concerned with the history of Modern Europe from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the present. However, it will not be a survey of all the â€Å"important† events and personalities of the period. The central theme will be revolution. This term refers to momentous events such as the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution and World War I. We are also interested in revolutionary changes in thought such as occurred during the Enlightenment and earth shaking social and/or economic developments including the Industrial Revolution and the Pursuit of Empire. Reading List: Available at the Bookstore M. Perry et al, Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics and Society from the 1400s, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009 From the Renaissance to the Present; Sources of the Western Tradition, vol. 2, ed. M. Perry, J.R. Peden and T.H. Von Laue, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 5th edition, 2003. Grade Distribution Participation throughout term – 10% Five quizzes during term – 10% Mid-Term Examination February 17 – 25% Term Essay April 7 – 25% Final Examination Scheduled by Registrar – 30% The exams and the term essay must be completed in order to receive a passing grade for this course. Assignments will be assessed letter grades. Please see the table in the Undergraduate Calendar (http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/f-2.html). Participation Much of approximately every third class will be devoted to group discussion. Our aim is to augment our ability to apply critical thinking to historical problems. Each discussion will relate to topics examined in class and/or readings on blackboard. Written accounts of group sessions will be handed in and assessed by the instructor to determine your participation grade, but they will not be returned. Please ensure that your name is recorded on all group submissions. Quizzes Five multiple-choice quizzes will be taken on five separate days. Four will be used to determine your overall quiz mark. You will not find these difficult if you attend class regularly and keep up with your readings. We will go over the correct answers in class. The quizzes will not be returned. Mid-Term and Final Examinations The mid-term and final examinations will cover the material from the course lectures, discussions and readings. They will not be multiple choice. Term Essay The term essay is to be approximately 1500 words in length (6 double-spaced pages). It will be based on four extracts totaling 8 – 10 pages in From the Renaissance to the Present; Sources of the Western Tradition. The extracts may come from the same chapter or from throughout the volume but should have similar themes so that you can evaluate them together. You should use (and reference accordingly) at least four academic books and articles to place your documents into historical context. Do not use encyclopedias, internet resources, class lectures, textbooks, or non-academic sources. The essay must conform to The History Student’s Handbook (available on blackboard). The pre-writing process (Part I) will involve the development of a strong central thesis statement. The writing (Part II) will require an introduction, argument, body of evidence, and conclusion. Writing style, submission format, and citations should follow Part IVof the Handbook. Use footnotes or endnotes as your method of citation (do not use parenthetical referencing). Classroom Conduct You are expected to attend all scheduled classes. Please refrain from distracting activities such as reading newspapers, opening food packages, chatting with friends, checking email, and using the internet or electronic devices during class. In order to protect the privacy of others, students may not record in any format (for example, digital photographs, voice and/or video recording from any device, including cell phones) any activity that occurs within the classroom. Permission to record lectures will only be given to students who have documented disabilities.