Like Water for Chocolate Essay

Suggests that the soup has made her feel like a baby again given that while she is still in her mom’s belly she cries very hard when onions are chopped and it suggest the impact of food to Tita. After drinking the soup Tita has miraculously recovered from the loss of pigeons which she kept as pet and that triggered her sense of loosing Pedro and R erself to cook she fell in love with it and got a part time job as an assistant to a cooking teacher. Even though she has a lack of precision she was hired because she wasn’t afraid to fail and has a passion to cook unlike the others and getting hired made her feel confident, hence gaining control of life through cooking. The protagonist, Tita in Like Water for Chocolate gains control through cooking as well. Cooking is the only thing Tita love to do because Mama Elena bans her from doing a lot of things; the kitchen is the area where she can retreat from Mama Elena’s demands. When she cooked quail in rose petal sauce she controlled and triggered a lot of people’s emotion. Her sister Gertrudis was the first on affected by the dish, it aroused her sexual desire. She fled naked from her burning shower and when on a horse, galloping away with a soldier. Another incident where she gained control is the Chabela wedding cake she made for her lover Pedro and Rosaura. Even though she couldn’t stop the wedding, she made everyone cry. She made people cry for her tragic experience not only the guests cried, Mama Elena cried as well. She lost control of her life but through cooking she gain control of people’s emotions. In Like Water for Chocolate, food is not just a nutrition it acts as a very important nurturing role. The ox-tail soup Dr. John gave Tita has recalled the best moments of her life and brought back memories of her and Nacha making ox-tail soup together, chopping onions. It suggests that the soup has made her feel like a baby again given that while she is still in her mom’s belly she cries very hard when onions are chopped and it suggest the impact of food to Tita.

Narrative Essay on the Life of Frederick Douglass Essay

In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave Frederick Douglass recounts his life of slavery and his eventual flight to freedom. When he was a youngster he was placed in a household in which the naive mistress started to teach him to read. Her efforts were halted by her husband and young Douglass recalled his lecture on the reasons slaves should not be educated. However the brief lessons placed within Douglass the desire to continue to learn, by whatever means possible, to read and to write. He had discovered that education and literacy was to be his â€Å"pathway from slavery to freedom. † Douglass illustrates that literacy is the most important asset a man can ac-quire if he is to achieve life-changing goals. Douglass’ new ambition to become literate had both positive and negative effects. His new desire filled him â€Å"high hope and a fixed purpose† and his life was fundamentally changed from that early time in life. His quest for literacy was fueled with confidence that his future life would be radically different and better once he had mastered reading and writing. However it was not without negative effects as well. The more he learned of slavery the more he hated his own condition and the slave-owners that created it. As his masters became aware of his ability he was constantly watched as they tried to prevent him from reaching his goal. For a slave the path to literacy was very difficult. However the path to literacy led Douglass to consequences he could not have im-agined. An entirely new world was opened for him, and with literacy came knowledge of a life that slaves had been denied. With literacy eventually came knowledge of religion and the great Abolition movement. The greatest consequence of literacy was freedom of the mind and freedom of thought, and literacy became for Douglass the tool with which he would become his own â€Å"master†. Literacy was for Douglass and other slaves a power which they had been denied. Ignorance and illiteracy were tools more powerful than the whip and chains, and were used effectively by the slave-owners to keep slaves in submission. The slave owners un-derstood this and feared literate and educated slaves who would now know there is no truth in the slave-owner’s belief that they â€Å"should know nothing but to obey his master. † Slave owners knew the desire for literacy would spread among the slaves and would be the essential method for their eventual freedom. It was a power the slave owners were not willing to give to their slaves. Douglass defines literacy not only by describing the obvious ability to read and write, but shows true literacy as the ability to understand and communicate thoughts, de-sires, and emotions. Douglass shows literacy as being the true bond between free men and the method to unite against slavery and oppression. Literacy unites man while ignorance and illiteracy keeps man isolated from the rest of the world. Although Narrative was written over one hundred and sixty years ago it still serves as a valid reminder of the power of literacy, which remains the most important as-set a man can acquire. With literacy all things are possible, and without it the illiterate become slaves to ignorance.

Classification of Classical Criminology Term Paper

Classification of Classical Criminology - Term Paper Example Statistics reveal the grim situation prevalent in political, social, economical, educational, entertainment, and even familial circles. The controversy on treating criminology as an academic stream exists and it is difficult to argue either in favor of it or oppose it. For instance, the issue of capital punishment is raging currently with the proponents and opponents engaged in a war of words in print and electronic media. In this cacophony and confusion, the Human Rights' Commission and their supporters claim that: the death sentence amounts to state or judiciary-sponsored murder, that it does not serve the purpose as a deterrent to potential killers, it does not take into account the basic rights of the dependants of the condemned man for a decent livelihood, and finally, that the state should rather reform the convicts so that they learn to lead a better life in society and atone for his wrongdoing by engaging in social services under the state's dictum. Every civilized society in the world has penal codes and most contain the capital punishments. The civilized society's contention is that obliteration of capital punishment from the statute book will only prod lawbreakers to commit their wanton acts with impunity. The eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth kind of justice prevalent in some countries like Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries have succeeded in maintaining a healthy sense of fear of the law among its citizens. So, on the one hand, justice has to be done to the perpetrator of the crime in a way that metes out punishment for the crime and at the same time also leaves him enough scope to transform. Also, the ordinary citizens longing for an orderly peaceful society has the assurance at all times that their security concerns are not compromised while dispensing justice to the criminal. (Criminology). Crime can be broadly classified into two groups of categories.     

Cuban Missile Crisis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cuban Missile Crisis - Assignment Example Additionally, the U.S. resolved to destroy all its weaponry positioned in Italy and Turkey. It vowed never to attack Cuba unless directly provoked. The paper strives categorically to afford a detailed analysis of the Cuban missile crisis. It will focus on the actions that triggered the crisis during the 1960s. Additionally, it will examine both its short term and long-term implication. A number of factors are directly linked to the emergence of the Cuban missile crisis. Since time immemorial, the US has been against the close association between the European communist nations and South American nations (Kennedy, 2011). The US felt threatened by an alliance between the Latin and the Soviet Union. After the adoption of communism by Cuba, the US tried to overthrow the Cuban government. However, it failed and the operation adopted the name failed Bay of Pigs invasion. After the botched operation, the Soviet Union resolved to strengthen its position by offering to place nuclear missile in Cuba. Fidel Castro, the then Cuban leader gladly agreed hoping that it would deter further attacks from the U.S. When the plot was known to the US, the Cuban Missile crisis ensued. The aftermath of the crisis helped shape the relation between the Soviet Union and the US. Khrushchev credibility bared the blunt of international criticism after agreeing to dismantle the missiles and because the US nuclear deployment in turkey and Italy was not known publicly. The political downfall of the soviet leader is directly linked to the conclusion of the crisis. However, the resolution was applauded in the U.S. with historian citing it as a great achievement by John Kennedy’s government (Khan, 2012). Additionally, they argued that the US success in the crisis had prompted its involvement in other military operation across the globe. The crisis also led to the creation of a Moscow-Washington hot line that linked the Kremlin and the White house. The cold war

Aviation history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Aviation history - Essay Example h their mission considering that it had the advantage of using airships, which were only able to drop 300 tons of bombs despite the capability to drop a big number where more damages and loss of lives could have been recorded. Moreover, Germany failed to make any economic value from the war as it incurred more loss from the war owing to its big expenditure budget, which was five time the cost of damage on Britain’s property. Lastly, more than a half of German’s airships were destroyed while only 40% of the German’s service branch engaged in the war were able to return back home (Payne, 2008). According to Payne (2008), the actual impact of the air raids from German’s airships was considerably low but same cannot be said of the psychological effect that it had on the civilians and the kin of British service men who were based overseas. The German airships and in particular the Zeppelin as a weapon of war created more fear among the British citizens and it contributed to a complete lose of military and civil morale, which made it appear as if the Germans had already won the war, since everyone was asking themselves how they will survive such weapons of mass destruction. Payne, D. (2008). The Bombing of Britain in the Great War: The Western Front Association. Retrieved from: http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/component/content/article/121- aerial-warfare/876-bombing-britain-war.html. Accessed on

Organizing and Elections in Unions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizing and Elections in Unions - Essay Example This study mainly intends to reveal two real life occurrences in which two firms provided real time hurdles to the employees related to their joining unions; however, despite of ULP’s protest against the firms, it proved to be of no use. SOME OF THE INSTANCES WHERE ULP’S CHARGES WERE OF LITTLE OR NO USE The top retail chain in the world i.e. Wal-Mart suffered negativity as the regional National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) directors issued as sum total of thirty-nine complaints against the company during the periods of January 2000 to July 2005. The most disturbing fact was observed to be that out of the thirty nine complaints, thirteen complaints were totally resolved by way of various settlements outside the Court of Justice, two cases are still pending for settlement and four of them were withdrawn. The remaining twenty cases were heard by the US Labour Law. However, while settling thirteen of the complaints, the company complied with all the necessary changes that needed to take place for restraining itself from practicing Unfair Labor Practices but did not hold itself in guilt for restricting its employees from participating in trade unions. In all the cases, the company seemed to hold itself for violating the broad rules and regulations of NLRB. A majority of the cases that were filed against Wal-Mart constituted complaints from its employees. The company was continuously engaged in the violation of labour laws during the period of January 2000 to July 2005. It was also observed that the company had exercised upon many unfair law practices in the organization, violating legal obligations concerning complete rights to its employees such as right to freedom of association which is internationally considered to be allowed to workers1. The reports published in this context further revealed that since the year 2000, the company has been practicing discrimination against unions along with the sympathizers of the unions within its workforce on dif ferent occasions. The company officials were not only charged with the allegation of harassing junior employees on the grounds of race, ethnicity and gender. The company also took many extreme steps where it hired and fired employees in small frequencies without any firm cause which can be justified under the provisions of relevant Court of Law. The top most reason for firing of employees was further observed to be the willingness and efforts made by the employees to join associations or created unions. For instance, it was noted that in April 2000, in one of the stores of the company, which is located in Florida, Wal-Mart unlawfully fired a union supporter named Edward Eagen. The reason for firing him was only because of the fact that he signed a ‘union card’ for supporting unionism within the organization. It has also been noted that the company was engaged in keeping a close look at the employees with the help of surveillance cameras which hindered employee confident iality within the workplace. With reference to these facts, it can be stated that the rights of the employees were exploited at almost all levels by the company. Such interventions practiced by the company as against the rights and interests of employees also affected the company’

English paper . Williams in the american grain Essay

English paper . Williams in the american grain - Essay Example The American dominance over the world, prevalent still, can be traced backed to this psyche of these heroes. But De Soto also had the added advantage of being very tactical. He was able to convince the native tribes that he was of divine origin and thus posed before them as a formidable god. When we study the period of De Soto, thus the power of negotiation can be seen slowly gaining ground at par with the power of weapons and riches. Survivalism was the ideology that unknowingly led all the conquistadors win their battles without bothering about hurting others. This kind of survivalism still runs deep in the blood of Americans. As described in the introduction to the book by Horace Grigory (p.17 of Introduction, Williams) the American tradition is characterized by the â€Å"impulse to make all things new, to build new cities†¦ to abandon projects with the scaffolding in the air,†¦(and)†¦to move onward to another El Dorado.† De Soto’s adventures also fit into this profile. The ability to endure and then rise from one’s own ashes like a phoenix are also some other attributes of these earlier Americans and the modern ones. Thus the collective American personality was built through the lives of these heroes and villains of history and has its roots in the mental fabric of these early founders and explorers. One criticism that arises in one’s mind after reading of â€Å"In the American Grain† is that whatever the author makes out as the â€Å"American grain†, can also be equally and logically attributed to the whole of humanity. The instinct to find new worlds, to create new things and the ‘El Dorado’ mindset are convincingly universal rather than American. William has contented that â€Å"there is a source in AMERICA for everything we think or do; that morals affect the food and food the bone, and that, in fine we have no conception at all of what is meant by moral, since

Marketing and Business plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing and Business plan - Coursework Example Services will be delivered to customers from the central office and at customers’ preferred location. Staff that will be hired will be trained to meet customers courteously and only those personals will be added to the team who are qualified and licensed architects. The Angles will focus on creating convenience and value for the customers. The advertising strategies will focus on print media as a medium to create awareness and promote offers and discounts to the target market. The target market will comprise of people belonging to the income levels of  £ 25,000 per annum. As understood by the management that architectural service is a onetime expense, The Angles will provide its customers with services at premium prices keeping in view the potential of target market. The Angles will be operate by the owner, Alex Ferguson, who is a qualified architect from Leeds and have experience of running businesses. He also has an experience of working in an architectural firm. The management of The Angles will minimize the operating costs by hiring employees according to the need of time. In this section, a comprehensive analysis of competitors in the architecture industry of UK, threat of new entrants, threat from buyers, threat from suppliers and threat of substitute products are presented (Hill and Jones 2009). The Angles would consider two architectural businesses in London as its major competitors. First one is the Designs, located in Central London. This architectural business offers one of the best services to its customer base dispersed all over UK and provides both online and personal visit facility to its customer base. The second major competitor of The Angles is Art Horizon which provides architecture services and consultation. The Art Horizon is specialized in providing architectural solutions to its customers keeping in view the demands of the modern times and the customers are provided with visual projection of their

Lockes Doctrine of Abstraction Essay Example for Free

Lockes Doctrine of Abstraction Essay John Locke and George Berkeley are two famous philosophers whose work found similarities in their proximity of publication, but stark differences in their beliefs. In Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding, he argued passionately for his doctrine of abstract ideas. On the other hand, Berkeley, in his work, Principles of Human Knowledge, he made every effort to reject all of Locke’s claims. Although viciously attacked by Berkeley, Locke’s doctrine of abstraction holds true as a fundamentally sound and practical doctrine for the advancement of knowledge and communication. In Book II of Essay, Locke formulates theories on how knowledge is acquired. Previously in Essay, Locke establishes his position as an empiricist through his discussion of simple and complex ideas. According to Locke, simple ideas come into the mind either through sensation or through reflection. With regards to complex ideas, Locke argues that, although the mind is a â€Å"blank slate† until impressed upon by experience, he acknowledges the power of the mind to be multifaceted. â€Å"The acts of the mind, wherein it exerts its power over simple ideas, are chiefly these three: 1. Combining several simple ideas into one compound one, and thus all complex ideas are made. 2. The second is bringing two ideas, whether simple or complex, together, and setting them by one another so as to take a view of them at once, without uniting them into one, by which it gets all its ideas of relations. 3. The third is separating them from all other ideas that accompany them in their real existence: this is called abstraction, and thus all its general ideas are made. †(Essay 146) This being so, it is apparent that Locke believes in the mind’s ability to manipulate content as it is received. Locke entertains this notion by explaining that the mind subjects simple ideas to various processes such as combining, comparing, and abstraction. The most important of these three abilities is the mind’s ability to form abstract ideas. Further into Book III of Essay, Locke outlines his famous doctrine of abstraction, or rather, doctrine of general terms. Abstract ideas are formed by proceeding with particular ideas (which may either be simple and complex). As established earlier, abstract ideas are a result of the mind’s ability to manipulate. Locke further demonstrates this point by explaining that only particular things exist in the external world and can be determined by the senses. The formation of abstract ideas is reliant on the existence of particular ideas and is therefore derivative of them. General or abstract terms come to fruition as the result of subtracting away particular qualities such as color, height, weight, and size from an idea. however , at the same time, maintaining the general or similar qualities that allow the idea to be paired or grouped with others. Locke illustrates this point in his discussion of general terms. For example, a particular idea would be, as Locke states, Peter, James or Mary. Through the process of abstraction, one subtracts the qualities that are specific to Peter, James, or Mary, and instead retain the characteristics which are common to all three. Thus, the abstract or general term derived from the three, is human beings. (Essay 396) According to Locke the absence of the specific qualities and preservation of similarities is what makes the idea general or relatable to others. Thus forming the process of abstraction, a doctrine that is embraced by Locke, but wholeheartedly rejected by Berkeley. One aspect of George Berkeley that is safe to assume is that he was definitely not a fan of Locke, or Locke’s doctrine of abstraction. This is evident in the sheer fact that Berkeley devoted his introduction of Principles to the refutation of the doctrine of abstraction. However this raises the question: Why did Berkeley feel so strongly? Why does Berkeley feel the need to reject abstraction? The answer to these questions is two-fold. First and foremost, Berkeley sees Locke’s doctrine of abstraction as a detractor from the overall purpose of his philosophical work. â€Å"Philosophy being nothing else but the study of wisdom and truth.. a greater clearness and evidence of knowledge, and be less disturbed by with the doubts and difficulties of other men. yet so it is, we see the illiterate bulk of mankind walk the high-road of plain common sense. † (PHK intro 1) In this example Berkeley establishes himself as the â€Å"no nonsense† defender of common sense . Throughout Principles, Berkeley often mentions his disdain for simply verbal philosophical questions that are ultimately speculative and accomplish nothing. By disproving abstraction, he can avoid what he believes to be useless philosophy. Instead, Berkeley presents himself to be rooted more so in specifics and what can be known. An example of this exists in his discussion of mathematics, arithmetic and the natural sciences and abstraction. In this discussion, Berkeley argues that abstraction plays no part in these concepts. (PHK 118-122) Building on this, abstraction also threatens Berkeleys overarching theme of â€Å"esse este percepi,† Or rather â€Å"to be is to be perceived. † Throughout Principles, Berkeley essentially argues that specific qualities such as color, size, and odor cannot exist unless they are perceived. By this logic, abstract ideas, ideas born absent of perception and stripped of specific qualities, cannot adequately fit into the constraints of hisrequirement   for existence. This being so, Berkeley openly objects to and attacks Locke’s doctrine. Despite this effort, Berkeley is unable to accomplish his intended goal. In his introduction, Berkeley launches a three pronged attack against Locke’s abstractionism. Beginning with the â€Å"inability to abstract† argument, followed by the â€Å"inconsistent and confusing† and ending with â€Å"unnecessary† argument, Berkeley outlines what he believes to be a â€Å"killing blow† to Locke’s doctrine. However, his rejection of abstraction is rather weak. As stated before, Berkeley begins his rejection of abstraction by stating that the human mind is unable to abstract. He illustrates his point through a thought experiment, â€Å"I can consider the hand, the eye, the nose, each by itself abstracted or separated from the rest of the body. but then whatever hand or eye I imagine, it must have some particular shape and color I cannot by any effort of thought conceive the abstract idea above described. And it is impossible for me to form the abstract idea of motion distinct from the body moving. † (PHK intro 10) In this example, Berkeley demonstrates his attempt to form a general idea through the process of abstraction. He concludes that the human mind is unable to accomplish this as it is impossible not to attribute specific and particular qualities to an idea when abstracting it. This being so, when imaging an idea, one cannot view it in general terms, but instead can only view it particularly. This argument doesn’t really develop any strengths or weakness for or against Abstraction. If posed with the same thought experiment, Locke would surely answer that he would be able to form abstract ideas within his mind. Because Locke believes all human minds have the same capabilities, Locke would argue that because he is able to form abstract ideas, Berkeley must also be able to do so, thus rendering the point moot. Berkeley moves on from the psychological inability to form abstract thoughts and onto the argument that the abstraction is inconsistent and therefore inadequate as a doctrine. Holding back no punches, Berkeley directly quotes Locke in his introduction to Principles. â€Å". . does it not require some pains and skill to form the general idea of a triangle . . . for it must be neither oblique, nor rectangle, neither equilateral, equicrural, no scalenon, but all and none of these at once. †(Essay 596) Berkeley is quick to respond to this statement. â€Å"In effect, it is something imperfect that cannot exist, an idea wherein some parts of several different and inconsistent ideas are put together. † (PHK intro 13) In this example, Berkeley criticizes Locke’s doctrine as not only being impossible to achieve, but also inconsistent. In his reading of Locke, Berkeley states that Lockes’ description of the abstraction process as encompassing â€Å"all and none. † Berkeley outlines the contradiction that object or idea cannot posses both all and none of the same qualities. Because there exists a contradiction within Lockes argument, Berkeley asserts, that the doctrine of abstraction is flawed and therefore impossible. However, it is in this example it becomes apparent that Berkeley mis-interprets Locke’s doctrine. Perhaps in angst to defeat abstraction, Berkeley gets tripped up on Locke’s wording. Abstraction only deals with the subtraction of the differences, but keeps the commonalities between ideas. In fact, it appears that Berkeley is the more inconsistent of the two as he accurately describes Locke’s true position on abstraction earlier in the intro, yet discounts it later on. (PHK intro 9). The third and final argument against abstraction Berkeley outlines is the questioning of the necessity for abstraction. Berkeley argues, â€Å"from all which the natural consequence should seem to be, that so difficult a thing as the as the forming abstract ideas was not necessary for communication, which is so easy and familiar to all sorts of men. But we are told, if they seem obvious and easy to grown men. it is only because by constant and familiar use they are made so. † (PHK intro 14) In this example, Berkeley states that general are utterly useless because they fail to appropriately define an idea. Instead, generalizations are adopted because they’re easy and familiar, not because they are useful. Furthermore, according to Locke, the meaning of a general term is an abstract idea. Berkeley refutes this notion and explains that a general term denotes a range of particular ideas. As a result, Berkeley explains that abstraction is not only useless, but also confusing. Again, Berkeley refers to triangles in his description. â€Å"How can we know any proposition to be true of all particular triangles, except we have first seen it demonstrated of the abstract idea of a triangle which equally agrees to all? For, because a property may be demonstrated to agree to some one particular triangle, it will not thence follow that it equally belongs to any other triangle. † (PHK intro 16) In this example, Berkeley demonstrates that abstracted general terms lead to confusion. The abstract term for a triangle cannot adequately encompass the idea of a triangle because it can be attributed to a wide range of triangles. (Right, obtuse, acute etc. ) By using abstraction, Berkeley argues, one could be referring to a range of particular ideas without properly defining one. Simply using the general term â€Å"triangle† does not appropriately account for a triangle because it is impossible tou nderstand exactly what triangle is being talked about. Because of this, Berkeley argues, the lack of specificity in abstract terms allows for confusion which hinders human development of knowledge. While Berkeley has his moments, ultimately, Locke appears to be the more philosophically sound of the two. This is mainly because of the the application of the doctrine of abstraction and its ability to enhance human knowledge and communication. In Book III Locke notes the importance of abstract general ideas to knowledge. He explains that abstract ideas and classification are of central importance to a common understanding and communication of language. â€Å"Words ultimately derived from such as signify sensible ideas. It may also lead us a little towards the original notions how great a dependence our words have on common sensible ideas. † (Essay 388) In this example, Locke explains the purpose of abstraction. With the ability to attach commonly held and general terms to ideas, people are able better communicate ideas to each other because they hold a common understanding. For example if one attempted to explain the qualities of a cat, imagine how tedious it would be under Berkeley’s system of particulars for one to explain every perceivable quality of a cat. In Lockes system, however, ideas can be abstracted and it is commonly known that cats are felines, walk on 4 legs, and are mammals. When someone uses the general term â€Å"cat† others are able to recognize the term and know what is being discussed without further and unnecessary explanation. The ability to make this classification helps the growth of knowledge because it allows all to hold a commonly known concept. Qualities of size, color, etc are irrelevant. General terms attach an efficiency, and the ability for all to understand.

Dormitory rooms Essay Example for Free

Dormitory rooms Essay As students move on in their lives after high school to college, many think that their lives will become paradise. With many house rules abandoned and without a curfew, students get the first taste of adulthood. Many think everything will be easy; however, from the dining halls to having no money students learn that being an adult is harder than parents display. Campus life shows students what they perceive is very different than the reality of life. In my opinion, living on campus in a dorm, supplies a student the full experience of the college life. When I imagined living in a dorm room, I imagined a very small room and hardly having any space to walk around. However, the rooms are actually quite big. There is plenty of room to walk around and even play some crazy, goofy games with a roommate. I thought the most exciting part of living on campus was going to be able to meet new people and live in a new environment. Because I am so far from home, my biggest hope was having a roommate who was easy to get along with and could have fun, and I definitely got that. The bathroom situation, I thought, was going to be the worst part of living on campus. However, in reality, it is not as bad as I had thought. As a student-athlete living in a dorm where the entire floor houses athletes, the bathroom has a maximum of five people using the facilities at a time. This works because of each athlete on a different schedule. In actuality, living on campus is very exciting and there should be no worry considering the problem with space, meeting new people, or the bathroom being very full to the point of not being able to use it. As an athlete living on campus at Western Nebraska Community College the athlete receives a dorm family. A dorm family is a family around town that â€Å"adopts† the student for the two years while attending the school. The family opens up their hearts and lets the athlete come into the family. The family attends sports events that the athlete plays and supports the athlete. I have a dorm family, and I love them. When I first thought of having a family that would open up their home and family to me I thought it was going to be awkward. However, having a family in town that has opened up their home and hearts has been great. It helped me know that there are people here in town who are willing to help and support me. Additionally, living in the dorms and living on their own, without parents, helps students find many new found freedoms that they did not have before. With living in the dormitories many students stay out late on all nights of the week, because they had a curfew at home and now they do not. The first week of school I stayed out late when I could. However, this staying out late situation did not last long, because I had been slammed with homework and after I was done with my homework all I wanted to do was sleep. With these newfound freedoms I learned very quickly how I was going to manage my time and make sure I got my sleep. When first living on campus I learned how easy I had it while living under my parents’ roof and the responsibilities that I didn’t have that I have now. When thinking that I was moving out of my parents’ house I thought it was going to be great. The freedoms I would have were going to be tremendous compared to what I had back home. However, when thinking of the freedoms I never thought of the responsibilities that I was going to have. When at home, laundry was done and living on campus causes me to do my own laundry and pay a dollar fifty for it. At home I always had someone harping on me to do my homework, make my bed, and clean my room, but on campus there is no one around to do that except myself. I had to learn to manage my time wisely and make sure I stayed up in my schoolwork. As a new freshman in college, like myself, sees his or her schedule and thinks, â€Å"man this is going to be a tough year. † This was my reaction when I saw mine at least. As a new student at any school I thought classes were going to be hard, one, because I didn’t know anyone; two, because I want to accomplish a difficult degree; three, because I didn’t know how I was going to manage the homework load and basketball at the same time. Although, when I got to the campus and started the school year I found out that staying caught up with school really was not as hard as many people make college seem. College classes are a lot like high school classes, just a lot more homework. Once I figured out how I could manage my time with basketball, study time, and have somewhat of a social life, my days became easier. Furthermore, expecting high quality food when entering into a college is putting a lot of confidence into the cooks that have to cook for hundreds of people everyday, three times a day. As a freshmen student entering into the college experience, I expected the food to be very good. I understood that the cooks had to cook for many people each day, but I expected that the food was going to have a lot of taste. When I first came to the campus and had my first meal the food was very good. The food on campus did not necessarily get any worse; it had gotten old. When I say old, I do not mean spoiled or rotten, I mean boring. The food all ends up tasting the same each and everyday. By the third week of living and eating on campus at the dining hall I began to realize how much I loved my mother’s home cooked meals. Lastly, money is a big problem for many college students. When I thought I was going to save all my graduation money for college, I thought that I was going to have a lot of money, but as reality turns out I have no money. Living on campus and living on my own made me realize the things I need to buy and the things I just want. The difference between what I needed and what I wanted was crucial for me to determine what I should spend my money on and what I should not. As a student-athlete I go to my parents a lot for money still, because I do have not time for a job considering homework, school, and practice time. In conclusion, campus life shows students that what they perceive is very different than the reality of life. Students living on campus have to share a dorm room with someone, the room is big, and there is not a lot of girls in the bathroom at once. Athletes have a dorm family who â€Å"adopts† them and welcomes them into their home. Students have a lot of freedom and can stay out late, but might have a lot of homework so it would be smart to not stay out. Many students also have a schedule with classes that may seem tough, but if they manage their time they will be just fine. The food is not high quality food, and it gets old. Students living on campus begin to miss the home cooked meals. Finally the money problem, I thought I was going to have a lot of money but turns out, I do not have a lot of money, I will buy what I need and not what I want.

Economic Trade Blocs

Economic Trade Blocs There has been a considerable development in regional economic integration schemes designed to achieve various economic, social and political purposes. Most countries in the world are members of one or more trade blocs known as regional integration agreement/arrangement (RIA). There has been a worldwide trend towards forming new regional arrangements and strengthening the existing ones. Inspired by the European Economic Country (EEC), now more popularly known as the European Union (EU) several regional integration schemes have been formed by the developing countries, particularly in Latin America and Africa. One more regional integration, that comes close to the EU in its boldness or its potential implications for the world economy is NAFTA (Cherunilam, 2005). Barriers to Trade in Selected European Union NAFTA A trade barrier is a common term that explains any regime policy or instruction that confines international trade. It can take many shapes, including: import duties, import licenses, export licenses, import allowance, taxes, subsidies, non-tariff barriers to trade, local substance necessities. Most of the trade barriers work on the similar principle i.e. the obligation of some kind of cost on trade that lifts the price of the traded products. Other trade barriers comprise of differences in culture, traditions, society, laws, language and exchange. Following are the trade barriers for identified trading blocs like European Union NAFTA: Customs duties among member states. Obstacles to the free course of import and/or export of goods and services among the member nations. Industrial/commercial policies concerning different countries. Barriers on movement of capital and people within the block. Common farming policies, transfer policies, scientific standards, fitness and wellbeing rule. Boundary control between different countries. Different internal taxation systems. Legal structures for business. Controls on movement of capital between the member countries. Protectionist community procurement policies. Advantages Disadvantages of being a Member Advantages: Friendship, cooperation among member countries strengthens. General state of member countries increases. It gives freedom to travel between member countries by simplifying visa regulations. A single economic space is created for member countries where they use common currency. Safety improves for member country. Trade relations strengthen, commodity circulation grows and trade improves in general for the member country. Disadvantages: National traditions and distinctive traits are lost by the member countries. Deflationary propensity increases between the member countries. Loss of power by the member country. Over estimation of trade benefits (Advantages and Disadvantages, 2008). Membership Conditions for European Union If a country wants to join the EU, it must value the doctrine and ideals upon which the EU is established. According to the treaties, contender countries must value the principles set out in agreements of European Union earlier than they can join the EU. Agreements affirm that The Union is based on the ideology of liberation, democratic system, respect for human rights ideologies which are ordinary to the Member States. Following are some principles which are required to be achieved by the country which wants to become a member of the EU: Political Principle: Country should be stable in providing definite democracy, the decree of law, human rights and admiration for and safety of minorities. Financial Principle: The survival of a running market economy as well as the ability to deal with aggressive force and market forces inside the Union is necessary for the member country. Institutional Principle: The country should have the capability to take on the compulsions of association, which contain the goals of political, economic and economic union (Conditions of Membership, 2005). Conditions for Membership Achieving membership in NAFTA is not an easy task. Membership to NAFTA would require discussions for membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) which takes a great deal of time because many countries are standing in line for this membership. Member country needs to negotiate different deals with dozens of WTO member countries and G-7 countries (Entering NAFTA: the twists and turns of negotiations, 1995). Impact on the Bilateral or Multilateral Relations By joining the European Union and other trading blocs like NAFTA, United States will become the member of these Unions. These membership conditions for the selected regional trading blocs will help in determining the positive and negative impact on the bilateral or multilateral relations with the United States. These impacts are given as under: Positive Impacts: U.S will attain significant achievements in economic reform. EU and NAFTA will present a large and open market for the U.S. Member States of the trading blocs will be able to socialize freely all over the twenty-five countries. US exporters will enjoy lower tariff rates in their deal among the new Member states. The present system in which US exporters are confronted with a range of import rules will depart. US industry, investors and exporters will be benefited from these trade blocs in their deals with others (Bilateral agreements and fair trade practices, 2007). Negative Impacts: The bilateral investment agreements accomplished among new Member States and the US will require proper alteration in order to make certain that US investors enjoy similar investment surroundings. Existing import quotas maintained by the EU and NAFTA will require modifications to take in consideration trade flows between the new Member States and other countries. The present EU tariffs levels will also be applicable to new Member States like the U.S (Burghardt, 2004). Cost of Compliance and Non-Compliance In the EU Treaty, the basic underlying principle is the loyalty of the Member States to the community through quick compliance with its systems. This guideline states that Member States can take measures to ensure completion of the obligations arising out of this treaty. The countries can also assist in the fulfillment of the community tasks. Further, they shall desist from any actions which could put in danger the accomplishment of the objectives of this agreement. Broadly, this issue of compliance has many features: Legal, Political, Institutional, Economic. There can be a possibility that member states may fail to act in accordance with this agreement. The reason can be unwillingness and unawareness of the compulsions. The compliance costs are higher comparatively in those countries which have at least one subsidiary than with those which have no subsidiaries. The increase in the compliance costs can be seen when there is an increase in the member of subsidiaries in foreign country. For large corporations, total weighted cost of compliance is approximately 1.460.000 and for medium size companies it is 203.000. Impact of Trade Transactions There are potential gains for member non member countries and trade blocs from economic integration which are as follows: Trade Creation: Whenever trade barriers between countries are removed, industries in respective countries will concentrate on the most efficient use of resources and produce those goods that they are most efficient at producing. All participants will gain from this kind of trade practice. Trade Diversion: It occurs when trade is diverted from countries outside the trading area to the countries located inside it. Prices and Competition: The removal of trade barriers has both consumption and production effects for member and non member countries. Economies of Scale: Many industries, such as steel and automobiles, require large-scale production in order to obtain economies of scale in manufacturing. Formation of trading blocks enlarges the market so that the large scale production is justified. Dynamic Effects: The dynamic effect of integration is that it brings about a more efficient allocation of resources throughout the different trading blocks promoting the growth of some businesses and the decline of others, the development of new technology and products and the elimination of old processes. Restructuring: This process is creating a large scale restructuring of industries and firms, with the relocation of industry and many cross border mergers alliances. All the impacts of trade transactions show that this will be helpful for the expansion of project. These trading blocs will have a positive impact on expansion as these agreements will offer measures for protection. Under these measures, any product which is the subject of preferential treatment is imported into the territory of a contracting party in such a manner or in such quantities as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury in the importing country (Hill, 2005). Conclusion Based on this analysis the regional trading bloc which can be selected is European Union which is also known as the European Community and the European Common Market. This agreement eliminates tariffs, quotas and other barriers on intra community trade which is necessary for expanding a project. This trading bloc devises a common internal tariff on imports from the rest of the world and permits the free flow of factors of production within the community. It helps in harmonizing taxation monetary policies and social security policies between member and non member countries. It presents a common policy on agriculture, transport and competition in the industry (Cherunilam, 2005).

The War Measures Act: Was It Necessary? Essay -- Legal Issues, Fairnes

â€Å"These men only ask for just the same thing, fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as in my power, they, and all others, shall have.†- Abraham Lincoln. This quote fundamentally states that everyone wants fairness and the government should do what is in their power to give it to the people. On the contrary, the War Measures Act actually limits freedom and fairness. The War Measures Act is a law that gives the federal government comprehensive emergency power during a war, invasion or rebellion. It allowed the cabinet to do anything necessary for the â€Å"security, defence, peace, order and welfare of Canada† (Morton and Granatstein, 1989, p.7).The act severely limits the freedom of Canadians. It was used during World War One (1914), World War Two (1939) and the October Crisis (1970). It also has a negative effect on the esteem of Canada as it can be viewed as a hypocritical democratic nation, in which a model peacekeeping nation used a totalitarian force such a s the War Measures Act. By unjustly punishing Canadians citizens, enforcing conscription as well as being used unnecessarily to address apprehended threats, the usage of the War Measures Act was neither fair nor necessary. The unjust punishment of citizens that was allowed by the War Measures Act was iniquitous. When it was used in World War One, World War Two and the October Crisis, it led to the unjust punishment of Canadians by causing the internment of â€Å"enemy aliens† as well as the forced to registration with the government. In World War One, Canada had been in war with Germany, Austria, Hungary and Ukraine therefore immigration from there was suspended and people from there were considered â€Å"enemy aliens† and were interned. This meant that they had to register with the ... ...the War Measures Act is not effective, fair or useful. The War Measures Act is unjust and unessential due to the unjustified abuse of Canadian citizens, constraining conscription and needless use against apprehended threats. The War Measures Act is unfair and needless due to the fact that it allowed unjust punishment in both World Wars and the October Crisis. It helped conscription during World War One and Two which ultimately failed and caused a lot of division and hassle within Canada. Moreover, it took away the freedom and rights from citizens which Canada is renowned for. The act was not needed and was not fair. Fairness is treating people with respect and making decisions without self-interest, and is a part of our everyday life. â€Å"One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself†- The Golden Rule should always be used to the utmost extent.

The Search for America in Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollo

The Search for America in Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the early to mid-1800's, Washington Irving was an immensely popular writer heralded as one of the 'great' American writers.   Irving's importance lies especially in "Rip Van Winkle" and " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the sketches in which he creates the vision of the alternate America(n).   His critique of American society through his main characters-Rip and Ichabod-and the towns in which they live gives shape to an America not usually acknowledged by his contemporaries, and thus crucial to American literary studies today.   J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur, who created the most definitive statement of "American" circa Irving's time, certainly would not.   Indeed, it is Crevecoeur's type of America that Irving opposes.   When viewed against the backdrop of Crevecoeur's definition of America, Irving's sketches portray a very different America-the other America.    Irving will be compared with Crevecoeur in five main sections:   "Building the European," in which Crevecoeur claims that traces of Europe can be found throughout American society; "The Melting Pot," in which Crevecoeur states that the European influences are assimilated into an American whole, and creating a new society; "The American Stranger," in which Crevecoeur claims that no one is a stranger in America; "American Industry," which looks at the spirit of industry found in Americans; and finally, "People of the Soil," which deals with Americans' ties with the land.   In all of these sections, Crevecoeur's mainstream view of American will serve to show Irving's unique America.    I. Building on the European When defining 'American,' Crevecoeur is quick to point out ... ...ary on the Works of   Washington Irving, 1860-1974.   Ed. Andrew B. Myers.   Tarrytown, NY:   Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976.   330-42. Pochmann, Henry A.   "Irving's German Tour and its Influence on His Tales."   PMLA   45 (1930) 1150-87. Ringe, Donald A.   "New York and New England: Irving's Criticism of American   Society."   American Literature 38 (1967): 455-67.   Rpt. in A Century of Commentary on the Works of Washington Irving, 1860-1974.   Ed. Andrew B. Myers. Tarrytown, NY: Sleepy Hollow Restorations, 1976.   398-411. Rourke, Constance.   American Humor: A Study of the National Character.   Garden City,   NY: Doubleday, 1931. Rubin-Dorsky, Jeffrey.   "The Value of Storytelling: 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend   of Sleepy Hollow' in the Context of The Sketch Book."   Modern Philology 82    (1985): 393-406.      

Internet Privacy in the Modern World Essay

The internet’s debut in 1988 which had revolutionized commercial transactions all around the globe had grown exponentially over the past decade. In fact, the world internet users and population statistics by the Miniwatts Marketing Group (2009) showed that 23.5% of the world’s population are internet users and that the growth of internet users from 2000-2008 is 336.1 %. This rapid increase in internet users paved the way for the development of electronic commerce or E-commerce. E-commerce, the exchange of information, goods or services online, had also gained popularity over time as more and more people discover the expediency of online transactions. However, the internet, which is a huge storage room of information, poses risks to one’s privacy through these E-commerce transactions. The privacy risks faced by internet users is one of the biggest threats in E-commerce, thus, this paper’s purpose is to provide information regarding internet privacy and the dangers associated with the loss of that privacy through the discussion of the following topics: the definition of internet privacy, the means through which one’s privacy can be compromised through the internet and the reason why internet privacy had become a major public concern. I. What is Internet Privacy? Internet privacy, which is another branch of privacy, is a basic human right. It refers to an individual’s ability to protect information about himself (Gadberg, Wagner & Brewer, n.d.). Privacy is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and by various laws in different countries around the world. According to the initial results of the data privacy survey conducted by the director of the Philippine Internet Commerce Society, Atty. Lalen Parlade, almost all respondents in the private sector believed that data privacy is part of every person’s right to privacy, and that this right imposes limitations on the use by the government of citizens’ personal data (including name, personal circumstances, contact information), and limitations on the collection and use by private individuals of an individual’s personal data (including name, personal circumstances, contact information, credit card) . On the internet, privacy can be divided into personal information privacy, privacy of communications and anonymity. Personal information privacy deals with the amount of personal information shared with anyone else on the internet without permission. Privacy communications or message privacy is concerned with the security of information sent through communication channels, that is, the information sent would not be intercepted and leaked en route. Finally, anonymity deals with keeping one’s identity confidential (â€Å"Privacy,† n.d.). Among the three aspects of privacy, internet privacy is closely linked to anonymity which is the privacy of identity. Anonymity can refer to either persistent anonymity or one-time. Persistent anonymity refers to an online persona different from the personality created. On the other hand, one-time anonymity refers to an online persona that lasts for one use (Gadberg, Wagner & Brewer, n.d.). II. In what ways can one’s privacy be compromised through the Internet? One’s internet privacy can be compromised due to various data mining devices which store an individual’s personal information usually without that person’s consent. Some of the most common devices that collect a person’s data are search engines, spywares and cookies. Almost every individual who uses the internet is familiar with search engines such as Yahoo, MSN and Google. Search engines are the tools one uses when looking for information in the World Wide Web, the results of the search which are called hits are presented in a list. It is widely used for data gathering in the internet. In fact, the word google, the name of the leading search engine today, is starting to become a verb which is synonymous to look up or search. However, using search engines also has its costs, one of which was explained by Rushe (2007) in his statement, â€Å" A lot of people don’t realize that search engines save everything for you, everything you’ve searched for†¦the more these issues get into press, the more people realize that when they sit down at their keyboard, they’re being watched.† Many companies, including Internet Service Providers, search engine firms, and web-based businesses, monitor users as they travel across the Internet, collecting information on what sites they visit, the time and length of these visits, search terms they enter, purchases they make, or even â€Å"click-through† responses to banner ads. In the off-line world this would be comparable to, for example, having someone follow you through a shopping mall, scanning each page of every magazine you browse though, every pair of shoes that you looked at and every menu entry you read at the restaurant. When collected and combined with other data such as demographic or â€Å"psychographic† data, these diffuse pieces of information create highly detailed profiles of net users. These profiles have become a major currency in electronic commerce where they are used by advertisers and marketers to predict a user’s preferences, interests, needs and possible future purchases. Most of these profiles are currently stored in anonymous form. However, there is a distinct likelihood that they will soon be linked with information, such as names and addresses, gathered from other sources, making them personally identifiable (â€Å"Privacy and Human Rights 2003: Threats to Privacy,† n.d.). Due to these reasons, the public started to doubt the credibility of search engine companies. Google, which is the most popular search engine today, is feared by many. As expressed by Jesdanun (2001), â€Å"Although many internet users eagerly await technology from Google, Inc., it’s rapid expansion is also promoting concerns that the company may know too much: what you read, where you surf and travel and whom you write.† According to Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel of the Electric Privacy Information Center,† This is a lot of information in a single basket. Google is becoming one of the largest privacy risks on the internet† (as cited by Jesdanu n,2001). In, addition to search engines there are spywares whose existence places computer users under constant surveillance by strangers. Spyware may be described as any software that uses a person’s internet connection as a backdoor approach intended to access personal or business information, without the knowledge or consent of the computer user. Spyware is often introduced into computers when people download files off the internet. File sharing can pose risks of spyware download, when people download music, movie or other types of p2p file sharing programs. Marketing and promotional companies use spyware as an effective tool, to access and collect information from computers. Spyware enables them to observe sites being visited, products being bought, chat line discussions, topics of interest, online searches by the user and the information obtained, allows the marketing company to direct targeted products or services. Spyware revolves around information going out to promotional companies and related advertisements coming in via the internet by way of email or pop-ups ads. Needless to say that spyware poses an immense threat to any computer user and can lead to the loss of privacy, stolen identity and financial risks. Spyware is a comprehensive term that includes adware,a trojan horse, a browser hijacker, keyloggers, and dataminers all of which affect online privacy. (â€Å"Are Your Computer Activities under Surveillance by Strangers,† n.d.). Finally, there are cookies. Almost every media site on the net uses cookies. Popular blogs have embraced them, Google and Yahoo! dispatch them to better target ads, retailers like Amazon rely on them to fulfill orders and even Sesame Street deploys them on its Web site. Cookies are simply text files sent by a Web site to your computer to track your movements within its pages. They’re something like virtual license plates, assigned to your browser so a site can spot you in a sea of millions of visitors. Cookies remember your login and password, the products you’ve just bought, or your preferred color scheme. Cookies make navigating the Web profoundly easier; however, there are third-party cookies which are also known as â€Å"tracking cookies† that are placed by an entity that’s interested in tagging visitors. Often they make sure a user won’t be hit with the same ad twice; others guarantee that someone who says they have an interest in sports gets different ads than someone who likes gadgets. But third-party cookies could also be used to compile a dossier of surfing habits, that means that it could track you over dozens of sites, logging every article you read, every ad you click on, and every gadget and gizmo you buy without your knowledge or approval (Penenberg, 2005). III. Why is Internet Privacy a major public concern? The great innovation that has led to the e-commerce revolution over the past decade has been the result of an open and flexible network environment with ever increasing connectivity and functionality. Unfortunately, this has also created many security vulnerabilities which represent a threat to users of the internet and to e-commerce merchants. Due to the glitch in the internet’s security system, privacy has become a major concern on the internet. The extraordinary growth of the Internet has created a number of privacy issues that society has never encountered before and therefore has been slow to address. Privacy issues on the Internet relate to two major concerns. The first concern is to control the rate, type and sequence of the information one views. A second concern relates to the ability of users to address and understand how organizations collect and use personal information on the Internet (â€Å"Internet Privacy,† n.d.). The first concern which is a control concern is the category to which spam belongs. Spam refers to a huge number of unwanted mails which are usually for commercial purposes. This is applicable to e-mails which convey the same message but sent repeatedly by the sender. This violates one’s privacy because it intrudes upon an individual’s private space and it results from the circulation of one’s e-mail address in the internet. The second concerns the various methods through which data privacy can be violated online through the use of information collected by commercial organizations. As Givens (2001) pointed out,† News stories of internet privacy threats are common place these days. The internet was designed as an inherently insecure communications vehicle. Hackers easily penetrate the most secure facilities of the military and financial institutions. Internet companies have designed numerous ways to track web users as they travel and shop throughout cyberspace. â€Å"Cookie† is no longer a word associated solely with sweets. It now refers to cyber-snooping. Identity thieves are able to shop online anonymously using credit-identities of others. Web-based information brokers sell sensitive personal data, including social security numbers, relatively cheaply. â€Å" One of the concerns raised by a number of individuals is the use of one’s stored information which refers to the fact that one’s online actions could be monitored by unauthorized parties, logged and preserved for future access many years later. One might not realize that one’s personal information has been monitored, logged and subsequently disclosed; those who would compromise one’s privacy have no incentive to give a warning (Gadberg, Wagner& Brewer, n.d.). Thereby, the accrued information about an individual’s transactions can incriminate or cause damage to the person from whom that information was collected. Another public concern is identity theft. Puno pointed out that the advent of the internet had provided â€Å" a new field of battle† in the right to privacy, saying that it may deprive individuals of the right to control the flow of information about themselves (as cited by Uy, March 13, 2008). The huge amount of information flowing freely on the internet makes an individual vulnerable to identity theft. Identity theft is a major problem and a vexing threat. It takes diverse forms and degrees ranging from simple unauthorized use of a credit card to complete takeover of a person’s identity. Furthermore, law enforcement officers find it difficult to identify and apprehend online Identity thieves. This may be due to the fact that they can use technology to conceal their identities and physical location, thereby frustrating law enforcement efforts to locate them. Accordingly, identifying an electronic crime scene can be a daunting task when the perpetrator may have routed his communications with the victim through computers in three or four countries, with obscure networks that are inaccessible to investigators. Additionally, perpetrators could make things much more difficult and complicated by using technology and encryption techniques that provide a high level of anonymity or assuming the identity of an innocent person. Moreover, the scale of online identity theft can exceed that of real-world crime in terms of the degree of harm inflicted by a single crime (Chawki & Wahab, 2006). Going further, another concern is being stalked and bullied online. Bullying and stalking are not only applicable in the real world but in the virtual world as well. Cyberbullying refers to the new, and growing, practice of using technology to harass, or bully, someone else. Bullies used to be restricted to methods such as physical intimidation, postal mail, or the telephone. Now, developments in electronic media offer forums such as email, instant messaging, web pages, and digital photos to add to the arsenal. Computers, cell phones, and Personal Digital Assistants are new tools that can be applied to an old practice. Cyber stalking on the other hand is almost always characterized by the stalker relentlessly pursuing hisher victim online and is much more likely to include some form of offline attack, as well. This offline aspect makes it a more serious situation as it can easily lead to dangerous physical contact, if the victim’s location is known (McDowell, 2008). Due to the nature of the above-mentioned concerns, internet privacy, specifically personal information privacy is very important. If one’s real identity is known in the cyber world one would be very vulnerable to the attacks of cyberbullies and cyberstalkers. Conclusion The increasing use of the internet in conducting E-commerce transactions totally changed the way of life. Today, with a click of a button one can get in touch with the rest of the world, one can get the latest lotto results online and one can pay our bills directly from our homes. However, while an individual is enjoying the features of the internet, that person is also faced with huge threats to privacy. These threats could be risky to an individual’s personal information privacy, privacy in communications and anonymity. But these trade-offs are necessary in order to utilize the functionality of the internet. It would be impossible to stop the use of internet especially at this age where different organizations from around the world are use the internet in conducting different transactions. Also, the internet is a huge information pool that provides large amounts of information to its users everyday. Of the 6,710,029,070 people in the world 1,574,313,184 for varying reasons. The internet also provides employment for a number of individuals so abolishing it is not an option. Internet Privacy is a very essential issue regarding E-commerce because it is one of the reasons why a number of individuals are still hesitant about going online. Getting rid of various data mining devices in the World Wide Web is also impossible because even if there are costs associated with those tools they also have their benefits. And so, the best course of action involves taking precautions in safeguarding one’s identity and staying informed. Gaining knowledge about internet privacy is very important because through this we will be aware of the amount of personal data that we reveal online.

In class Assignment

The point in the issue is that the common understanding of the idea and language is efferent in different cultures. Thus all the companies should mix up different culture people so people can understand different cultures. In the Bell's example illustrates the different cultural thinking where pantomime tradition and since ancient times in plays leading man is being played by lady and vice-versa wherein American people thought that all these people enjoying are freaks and the play is politically incorrect.As in nonverbal communication is considered in Indian culture while greeting people put their hands together with a slightly bow of their head and saying â€Å"Names† which wows respect amongst each other while in Western culture while greeting people is quite important to shake hands, make an eye contact and kiss on checks is necessary.When a company has definite values of business which would lead to equality amongst employees belonging to different cultures the communicati on would be difficult amongst everybody and people would not be able to reach an expectation of their colleagues but gradually with the time span goes people would know an individual's perspective, values and beliefs which would help them to build an right expectation further it creates respect amongst employees. So according to me yes it is good idea to grow a company with multicultural environment and let people know other people.Businesses with multicultural people have its advantages and disadvantages. For instance, considering it as an advantage it is useful to for increasing knowledge of different cultures and worldwide involvement which leads a strong base of globalization whereas on other side there are also certain disadvantage of getting along with different cultures as in there can be high risk of discrimination.

Resume Marketing Management, 14th Edition – Kotler & Keller

KOTLER RESUME Marketing Management Philip Kotler – Kevin Lane Keller SUMMARY PART 1 Understanding Marketing Management4 Defining Marketing for the 21st Century4 Developing Marketing Strategies and Plans5 PART 2 Capturing Marketing Insights13 Collecting Information and Forecasting Demand13 Conducting Marketing Research16 PART 3 Connecting with Customers18 Creating Long-term Loyalty Relationships18 Analyzing Consumer Markets21 Analyzing Business Markets25 Identifying Market Segments and targets28 PART 4 Building Strong Brands31 Creating Brand Equity31 Crafting the Brand Positioning34Competitive Dynamics36 PART 5 Shaping the Market Offerings39 Setting Product Strategy39 Designing and Managing Services41 Developing Pricing Strategies and Programs46 PART 6 Delivering Value53 Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Channels53 Managing Retailing, Wholesaling, and Logistics58 PART 7 Communicating Value60 Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Communications60 Managing Mass Co mmunications : Advertising, Sales Promotions, Events and Experiences, and Public Relations63 Managing Personal Communications : Direct and interactive Marketing, Word of Mouth, and Personal Selling68PART 8 Creating Successful Long-term Growth72 Introducing New Market Offerings72 Tapping into Global Offerings86 Managing a Holistic Marketing Organization for the Long Run93 PART1: UNDERSTANTING MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 1: DEFINITNG MARKETING FOR THE 21st CENTURY THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKETING Marketing is a significant dimension of any business in today’s highly competitive environment and financial success is often dependent on marketing ability. Marketing is crucial for business success. THE SCOPE OF MARKETING Marketing is about identifying and meeting human and social needs.One of the shortest definitions of marketing is the process of meeting needs profitably. Marketing management is the art and the science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and increasing customers though creating, managing, communicating and delivering superior customer value. UNDERSTANDING MARKETS Marketing can be used for: Services, products, services and products, events, experiences, people, places ideas Marketing managers seek to influence the level, timing, and composition of demand to meet the organization’s objectives. Eight states of market demand are possible: Full demand: consumers buy all services or products brought to market. – Overfull demand: there are more consumers demanding the service or product than can be satisfied. – Irregular demand: consumer purchases vary on a seasonal, monthly, weekly†¦ – Declining demand: consumers begin to buy services or products less frequently or not all. – Negative demand: consumers dislike the service or product and may even pay a price to avoid it. – Nonexistent demand: consumers may be unaware of or uninterested in the product or service. – Latent demand: consu mers may share a strong need that cannot be satisfied by an existing product or service. Unwholesome demand: consumers may be attracted to services or products that have undesirable social consequences. In each case, marketers must identify the underlying causes of the demand state then determine a plan of action to shift the demand to a more desirable state. HOW IS MARKETING PRACTICED? Marketing practice can be viewed in many perspectives. The traditional view is the KOTLERIAN marketing management view of managing the marketing mix after selecting target market and positioning. TRANSACTIONAL, RELATION AND SERVICE MARKETINGTransaction marketing is defined as attracting and satisfying potential buyers by managing the elements in the marketing mix. Interaction marketing: implies face to face interaction between individuals. Network marketing is with the consumers but occurs across and among organization. The concept was developed by the Nordic school from northern Europe and developme nts from the USA. Relationship marketing in its simplest form is a progression from the dominant and often criticized the 4 P focus. The relational is focus on building long-term relationships with consumers CHAPTER 2 : DEVELOPING MARKETING, STRATEGIES AND PLANMarketing is about satisfying consumers' needs and wants. The task of any business is to deliver customer value at a profit. I. The value Delivery Process The traditional view of marketing is that the firm makes something and then sells it. Companies that subscribe to this view have the best chance of succeeding in economies marked by goods shortages where consumers are not fussy about quality, features, or style-for example, basic staple goods in developing markets. There, the â€Å"mass market† is actually splintering into numerous micro markets, each with its own wants, perceptions, preferences, and buying criteria.The smart competitor must design and deliver offerings for well-defined target markets. II. The value C hain Michael Porter of Harvard has proposed the value chain as a tool for identifying ways to create more customer value. According to this model, every firm is a synthesis of activities performed to design, produce, and market, deliver, and support its product. The value chain identifies nine strategically relevant activities-five primary and four support activities-that create value and cost in a specific business. He firm's infrastructure covers the costs of general management, planning, finance, accounting, legal, and government affairs.The firm's task is to examine its costs and performance in each value-creating activity and to look for ways to improve it. Managers should estimate their competitors' costs and performances as benchmarks against which to compare their own costs and performance. The firm's success depends not only on how well each department performs its work, but also on how well the company coordinates departmental activities to conduct core business processes. †¢ The market-sensing process. †¢ The new-offering realization process. †¢ The customer acquisition process. †¢ The customer relationship management process. The fulfilment management process. To be successful, a firm also needs to look for competitive advantages beyond its own operations, into the value chains of suppliers, distributors, and customers. III. Core competencies Many companies today outsource less-critical resources if they can obtain better quality or lower cost. The key, is to own and nurture the resources and competencies that make up the essence of the business. A core competency has three characteristics: 1. It is a source of competitive advantage in that it makes a significant contribution to perceived customer benefits. 2.It has applications in a wide variety of markets. 3. It is difficult for competitors to imitate. Business realignment may be necessary to maximize core competencies. It has three steps: 1. Defining the business concept or à ¢â‚¬Å"big idea† 2. Shaping the business scope 3. Positioning the company's brand identity. IV. A holistic marketing Orientation and Customer Value A holistic marketing orientation can also help capture customer value. The holistic marketing framework is designed to address three key management questions: 1. Value exploration- How can a company identify new value opportunities? 2.Value creation- How can a company efficiently create more promising new value offerings? 3. Value delivery—–How can a company use its capabilities and infrastructure to deliver the new value offerings more efficiently? A. Value exploration Understanding the relationships among three spaces: – The customer's cognitive space – The company's competence space – The collaborator's resource space. B. Value Creation To create new customer benefits, marketers must understand what the customer thinks about, wants, does, and worries about and observe whom customers admire and i nteract with, and who influences them.C. Value Delivery The company must become proficient at customer relationship management, internal resource management, and business partnership management. Customer relationship management allows the company to discover whom its customers are, how they behave, and what they need or want. V. The central role of the strategic planning Successful marketing thus requires companies to have capabilities such as understanding customer value, creating customer value, delivering customer value, capturing customer value, and sustaining customer value.To ensure that they select and execute the right activities, marketers must give priority to strategic planning in three key areas: managing a company's businesses as an investment portfolio, assessing each business's strength by considering the market's growth rate and the company's position and fit in that market, and establishing a strategy. For each business, the company must develop a game plan for achi eving its long-run objectives. The marketing plan is the central instrument for directing and coordinating the marketing effort. The marketing plan operates at two levels: strategic and tactical.All corporate headquarters undertake four planning activities 1. Defining the corporate mission 2. Establishing strategic business units 3. Assigning resources to each SBD 4. Assessing growth opportunities I. Defining the corporate mission To define its mission, a company should address Peter Drucker's classic questions:What is our business? Who is the customer? What is of value to the customer? What will our business be? What should our business be? These simple-sounding questions are among the most difficult a company will ever have to answer.The good mission statements have five major characteristics. First, they focus on a limited number of goals. †¢ Industry. Some companies will operate in only one industry; some only in a set of related industries; some only in industrial goods, c onsumer goods, or services; and some in any industry. †¢ Products and applications. Firms define the range of products and applications they will supply. †¢ Competence. The firm identifies the range of technological and other core competencies it will master and leverage. †¢ Market segment. The type of market or customers a company will serve is the market segment. Vertical. The vertical sphere is the number of channel levels, from raw material to final product and distribution, in which a company will participate. †¢ Geographical. The range of regions, countries, or country groups in which a company will operate defines its geographical sphere. II. Establishing Strategic Business Units Large companies normally manage quite different businesses, each requiring its own strategy. General Electric has classified its businesses into 49 strategic business units, SBlls. An SBU has three characteristics: 1.It is a single business, or a collection of related businesses, that can be planned separately from the rest of the company. 2. It has its own set of competitors. 3. It has a manager responsible for strategic planning and profit performance, who controls most of the factors affecting profit. III. Assigning Resources to Each SBU Once it has defined SBUs, management must decide how to allocate corporate resources to each. Management would want to grow, â€Å"harvest† or draw cash from, or hold on to the business. IV. Assessing growth Opportunities A. Intensive GrowthCorporate management's first course of action should be are view of opportunities for improving existing businesses. B. Integrative Growth A business can increase sales and profits through backward, for- ward, or horizontal integration within its industry. Media companies have long reaped the benefits of integrative growth. C. Diversification Growth Diversification growth makes sense when good opportunities exist outside the present businesses-the industry is highly attractive a nd the company has the right mix of business strengths to be successful. D. Downsizing and Divesting Older BusinessesWeak businesses require a disproportionate amount of managerial attention. Companies must carefully prune, harvest, or divest tired old businesses in order to release needed resources to other uses and reduce costs. VI. Organization and Organizational Culture Five key strategies for managing change in an organization: 1. Avoid the innovation title-Pick 2. Use the buddy system-Find 3. Set the metrics in advance- 4. Aim for quick hits first- 5. Get data to back up your gut-Use testing to get feedback and improve an idea The Business Unit Strategic Planning I. The Business MissionEach business unit needs to define its specific mission within the broader company mission. Therefore, a television-studio-lighting-equipment company might define its mission as, â€Å"To target major television studios and become their vendor of choice for lighting technologies that represent the most advanced and reliable studio lighting arrangements. † II. SWOT ANALYSIS The overall evaluation of a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is called SWOT analysis. It's a way of monitoring the external and internal marketing environment. A. External Environment (opportunity and threat) AnalysisThe business unit should set up a marketing intelligence system to track trends and important developments and any related opportunities and threats. Good marketing is the art of finding, developing, and profiting from these opportunities. A marketing opportunity is an area of buyer need and interest that a company has a high probability of profitably satisfying. Opportunities can take many forms, and marketers need to be good at spotting them. To evaluate opportunities, companies can use market opportunity analysis (MOA) to determine their attractiveness and probability of success by asking questions like: To articulate the benefits convincingly to a define d target market(s)? – To locate the target market(s) and reach them with cost-effective media and trade channels? – To possess or have access to the critical capabilities and resources we need to deliver the customer benefits? – To deliver the benefits better than any actual or potential competitors? 5. To rate of return meet or exceed our required threshold for investment? B. Internal Environment (strengths and weaknesses) It's one thing to find attractive opportunities, and another to be able to take advantage of them.Each business needs to evaluate its internal strengths and weaknesses. C. Goal Formulation This stage of the process is called goal formulation. Goals are objectives that are specific with respect to magnitude and time. The unit's objectives must meet four criteria: 1. They must be arranged hierarchically, from the most to the least important. 2. Objectives should be quantitative whenever possible. 3. Goals should be realistic. Goals should arise from an analysis of the business unit's opportunities and strengths, not from wishful thinking. 4. Objectives must be consistent.It's not possible to maximize sales and profits simultaneously. III. Strategic Formulation A. Porter Generic Strategies – Overall cost leadership. Firms pursuing this strategy work hard to achieve the lowest production and distribution costs so they can price lower than their competitors and win a large market share. – Differentiation. The business concentrates on uniquely achieving superior performance in an important customer benefit area valued by a large part of the market. – Focus. The business focuses on one or more narrow market segments. B. Strategic Alliances Product or service alliances-One company licenses another to produce its product, or two companies jointly market their complementary products or a new product. – Promotional alliances One company agrees to carry a promotion for another company's product or servic e. – Logistics alliances One company offers logistical services for another company's product. – Pricing collaborations One or more companies join in a special pricing collaboration. Hotel and rental car companies often offer mutual price discounts. D. Program Formulation and ImplantationThe unit has decided to attain technological leadership, it must plan programs to strengthen its R department, gather technological intelligence, develop leading-edge products, train the technical sales force, and develop ads to communicate its technological leadership. Businesses are also increasingly recognizing that unless they nurture other stake- holders-customers, employees, suppliers, distributors-they may never earn sufficient profits for the stockholders. E. Feedback and Control The company has to point out that it is more important to â€Å"do the right thing†-to be effective-than â€Å"to do things right†-to be efficient.The most successful companies excel at b oth. Product Planning: The Nature and Contents of a Marketing Plan What, does a marketing plan look like? What does it contain? – Executive summary and table of contents. The marketing plan should open with a brief of the main goals and recommendations. A table of con- tents outlines the rest of the plan and all the supporting rationale and operational detail. – Situation analysis. This section presents relevant background data on sales, costs, the market, competitors, and the various forces in the macro environment.How do we define the market, how big is it, and how fast is it growing? What are the relevant trends? What is the product offering and what critical issues do we face? Firms will use all this information to carry out a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. – Marketing strategy . Here the product manager defines the mission, marketing and financial objectives, and groups and needs that the market offerings are intended to sati sfy. The manager then establishes the product line's competitive positioning, which will inform the â€Å"game plan† to accomplish the plan's objectives.All this requires inputs from other areas, such as purchasing, manufacturing, sales, finance, and human resources. – Financial projections. Financial projections include a sales forecast, an expense fore- cast, and a break-even analysis. On the revenue side, the projections show the forecasted sales volume by month and product category. On the expense side, they show the expected costs of marketing, broken down into finer categories. The break-even analysis shows how many units the firm must sell monthly to offset its monthly fixed costs and average per-unit variable costs. – Implementation controls.The last section of the marketing plan outlines the controls for monitoring and adjusting implementation of the plan. Typically, it spells out the goals and budget for each month or qU31ter, so management can review each period's results and take corrective action as needed. PART 3 : CAPTURING MARKETING INSIGHTS CHAPTER 3 : COLLECTING INFORMATION AND FORECASTING DEMAND Three developments make the need for marketing information greater now than at any time in the past: – Rise of global marketing – New emphasis on buyers’ wants, preferences and behaviour – Trend toward non price competitionTo carry out their analysis, planning, implementation, and control responsibilities, marketing managers need a Marketing Information System (MIS). The MIS’s role is to assess the managers’ information needs, develop the needed information, and distribute that information in a timely manner. It is really easiest and effective with this method to collect information of various countries as it gives: – Quick information – Competitive advantage – Guides the marketing decision It relies on internal company records, marketing intelligence activities & res earch. INTERNAL RECORDS & MARKETING INTELLIGENCESpot important opportunities & problems THE ORDER-TO-PAYMENT CYCLE = the heart of the internal records system Favored firms are those which can promise timely delivery so they have to improve: o Speed o Accuracy o Efficiency This will save costs as well and it is the MIS role! SALES INFORMATION SYSTEMS Reports on current sales are indispensable for marketing managers. Inventory data warehouse is a great tool to capture all important data This will help to be aware of every kind of situation and manage it! Cookies are also a useful tool to provide information to companies.Technological gadgets are revolutionizing sales information systems but sales dta must be carefully interpret. DATABASES, DATA WAREHOUSING, AND DATA MINING Databases are essential to companies to organize their information. This is used in several areas for different information: customer, product, sales person†¦ Advantages: Save mailing expenses Help and make eas y access to decision makers Can be used for statistical methods for usefukl information Managers can yield still deeper insights using its own in-house technology THE MARKETING INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMIt is a set of procedures and sources used by managers to obtain everyday information about pertinent developments in the marketing environment. It can also be called HAPPENINGS DATA. Several steps can be taken by companies to improve the quality of its marketing intelligence: – Train & motivate the sales force to spot and report new development – Motivate distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries to pass along important intelligence – Network externally: giving an immediate competitive advantage – Set up customer advisory panel – Take advantage of government data resources Purchase information from outside suppliers: lower costs – Use online customer feedback systems to collect competitive intelligence Competitive intelligence function work s bests when intelligence operations collaborate closely with key users in the decision-making process! Needs and Trends A trend is a direction or sequence of events that have some momentum and durability. We can draw distinctions among fads, trends, and megatrends. Trends are more predictable and durable. A trend reveals the shape of the future. Trends and megatrends merit marketers’ close attention.Identifying the Major Force In the economical arena, companies and consumers are increasingly affected by global forces. Substantial speedup of international transportation, communication, and financial transactions, leading to the rapid growth trade and investment, especially tripolar trade. – The rising economic power of several Asian countries in world markets. – The rise of trade blocs such as the European Union and the NAFTA signatories. – The severe debt problems of a numbers of countries, along with the increasing fragility of the international financi al system.Successful companies realize that the marketing environment presents a neverending series of opportunities and threats. The major responsibility for identifying significant changes in the macroenvironment falls to a company’s marketers. More than any other group in the company, marketing managers must be the trend trackers and opportunity seekers. 1. Within the rapidly changing global picture, marketers must monitor six major environmental forces: demographic, economic, natural, technological, political-legal, and social-cultural. 2.In the demographic environment, marketers must be aware of worldwide population growth; changing mixes of age, ethnic composition, and educational levels; the rise of non traditional families; large geographic shifts in population; and the move to micromarketing and away from mass marketing. 3. In the economic arena, marketers need to focus on income distribution and levels of savings, debt, and credit availability. 4. In the social-cult ural arena, marketers must understand people’s views of themselves, others, organizations, society, nature, and the universe.They must market products that correspond to society’s core and secondary values, and address the needs of different subcultures within a society. 5. In the natural environment, marketers need to be aware of raw-materials shortages, increased energy costs and pollution levels, and the changing role of governments in environmental protection. 6. In the technological arena, marketers should take account of the accelerating pace of technological change, opportunities for innovation, varying R&D budgets, and the increased governmental regulation brought about by technological change. . In the political-legal environment, marketers must work within the many laws regulating business practices and with various special-interest groups. CHAPTER 4 : CONDUCTING MARKETING RESEARCH The components of a modern marketing information system A marketing informatio n system (MIS): consists of people, equipment, and procedures to gather, short, analyze, evaluate and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision makers. Internal Records System It is the most basic information system used by marketing managers. (Sales, prices, inventory levels†¦)The order-to-payment cycle Sales reporting system MARKETING INTELLIGENCE SYSTEM Is a set of procedures and sources used by managers to obtain their everyday information about pertinent developments in the marketing environment? MARKETING RESEARCH SYSTEM Are the systematic design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data and findings relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the company? SUPPLIERS OF MARKETING RESEARCH Many ways: engaging students or professors to design and carry out marketing research projects; using online information services; checking out rivals.THE MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS Step 1 : Define the problem and research objectives Step 2 : devel oping the research plan. Decisions on the data sources, research approaches, research instruments, sampling plan, and contact methods Step 3 : Collect the information. The data collection phase of marketing research is the most expensive and the most prone to error. Step 4 : Analyze the information. Extract pertinent findings from the collected data. Step 5 : Present the findings. Major findings are pertinent to the major marketing decisions facing management.MARKETING DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM Is a coordinated collection of data, systems, tools and techniques with supporting software and hardware by which an organization gathers and interprets relevant information from business and environment and turns it into a basis for marketing action? FORECASTING AND DEMAND MEASUREMENT †¢ A VOCABULARY FOR DEMAND MEASUREMENT Market demand Market demand for a product is the total volume that would be bought by a defined customer group in a defined geographical area in a defined time period i n a defined marketing environment under a defined marketing program.Market potential Is the limit approached by market demand as industry marketing expenditures approach infinity, for a given environment? Company demand Is the company’s estimated share of market demand at alternative levels of company marketing effort? Forecast Is the expected level of company sales based on a chosen marketing plan and an assumed marketing environment? A sales quota Is the sales goal set for a product line, company division, or sales representative? It is primarily a managerial device for defining and stimulating sales effort. A sales budgetIs a conservative estimate of the expected volume of sales and is used primarily for making current purchasing, production, and cash-flow decisions. Company sales potential ESTIMATING CURRENT DEMAND Total market potential Area market potential †¢Market-build-up method †¢Multiple-factor index method 3. Industry sales and market shares Estimating i ndustry sales and market shares (Identifying competitors and estimating their sales ESTIMATING FUTURE DEMAND Survey of buyers’ intentions Composite of sales force opinions Expert opinion Market test method PART 3 : CONNECTING WITH CUSTOMERS CHAP 5 CREATING LONG TERM LOYALTY RELATIONSHIPSBuilding customer value, satisfaction and loyalty Customer-perceived value (CPV) is the difference between the entire perceived customer’s evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives. Applying value concepts The customer value analysis reveals the company’s strengths and weaknesses relative to those of various competitors. Delivering high customer value Loyalty is a deeply held commitment to rebuy a preferred product and service in the future despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior.The value proposition consists of the whole cluster of benefits the company promises to deliver. The value delivery system includes all the experiences the customer will have on the way to obtaining and using the offering. Total customer satisfaction Satisfaction is the difference between expectations and the product’s perceived performance. Product and service quality Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service which satisfy explicit or implicit needs. Maximizing customer lifetime value Customer profitabilityA profitable customer is a person, household or company that revenues are higher than the company’s costs for attracting, selling and servicing that customer. But it is a very difficult task, even for banks. Customer profitability analysis is an accounting study which estimates all revenue coming from a customer less all costs (distribution, phone calls, traveling to meet the client, gifts). Measuring customer life time value Customer lifetime value estimates future profits over customer’s lifetime purchases . You can find it p. 172. Cultivating customer relationshipsCustomer relationship management (CMR) Customer relationship management is the process of carefully managing detailed information about individual customers and all customer â€Å"touch points†to maximize customer loyalty. A touch point is any occasion on which a customer meets a brand and a product. One-to-one marketing Identify your prospects and customers, don’t go after everyone. 1. Differentiate customers in terms of (1) their needs and (2) their value to your company. Spend more efforts on the most valuable customers. Do the customer profitability analysis. 2.Interact with individual customers to improve your knowledge about their needs and build a stronger relationship. 3. Customize products, services, and messages to each customer. Increasing value of the customer base †¢ Reducing the rate of customer defection. †¢ Increasing the longevity of the customer relationship. †¢ Increase sells with new offerings and opportunities, like accessories for motorcycles if you sell Harley-Davidson. †¢ Making low-profit customers more profitable or terminating them. Like low-cost flying companies which charge customers for drinks or food. †¢ Focusing disproportionate efforts on high-value customers.Building loyalty Developing loyalty programs Frequency programs are design to provide rewards to customers who buy frequently and in substantial amounts. Many companies have created club membership programs. Customer databases and database marketing A customer database is an organized collection of comprehensive information about individual customers and prospects that is current, accessible and actionable for marketing purposes (sells, maintain relationships). Database marketing is the process of building, maintain and using customer databases to contact, transact and build customer relationships. Customer databasesCustomer database contains customers past purchases, demogra phics (age, birthday, and family members), psychographics (activities, interests), media graphics (preferred media) and other useful information. A business database contains past purchases, volumes, prices, profits, buyer team member names, assessment of competitors their strengths and weaknesses. Data warehouse and dataminig Companies use databases to: 1. Identify prospects 2. Decide which customer should receive a particular offer 3. To deepen customer loyalty 4. To reactivate customer purchases 5. To avoid serious customer mistakes CHAP 6 ANALYZING CONSUMER MARKETSWhat influences consumer behavior? Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals, groups and organizations select, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. Cultural factors Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behavior because of values. Subcultures provide more specific identification and socialization for their members. Subcultur es include nationalities, religion, racial groups†¦ Social classes are relatively homogeneous and enduring divisions in a society, hierarchically ordered and with members who share similar values, interests, and behaviors.Reference groups A person’s reference groups are all the groups that have a direct or indirect influence on their attitudes or behavior. Membership groups have a direct influence. Primary groups are in constant contact with the person (family, friends, neighbors, coworkers). Secondary groups are religious, professional, trade-union groups. Aspiration groups are those a person hopes to join. Dissociative groups are based on individual reject. Opinion leader is the person who offers informal advice or information about a specific productor product category. FamilyFrom family a person acquires an orientation toward religion, politics, and economics and a sense of personal ambition, self-worth, and love. It is a more direct influence on everyday buying beha vior. Role and status A role consists of the activities a person is expected to perform. Each role carriers a status Personal factors Personality is a set of distinguishing human psychological traits that lead to relatively consistent and enduring responses to environmental stimuli (including buying behavior). Brand personality is defined as the specific mix of human traits that we can attribute to a particular brand.Lifestyle is person’s pattern of living in the world as expressed in activities, interests, and opinions. Key psychological processes Motivation  : Freud, Maslow, Herzberg A need becomes a motive when its intensity drives us to act. Perception Perception is the process by which we select, organize, and interpret information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. Selective attention is the screening of stimuli and marketers must work hard to attract consumers’ notice. People are more likely to notice stimuli that relate to a current need Peop le are more likely to notice stimuli they anticipateSelective distortion is the tendency to interpret information in a way that fits our preconceptions. Because of the selective retention, we are pore likely to remember good points of a product we like and forget good points about competing products. Learning Learning comes from experiences and makes us changing our behavior. A drive is a strong internal stimulus impelling action. Cues are minor stimuli that determine when, where, and how a person responds. Discrimination means that we have learned to recognize differences in sets of similar stimuli and can adjust our responses accordingly.The hedonic bias says people are more likely to attribute failure to external causes and success to themselves. Memory Associative network memory model explains that information are stored and linked with a different level of strength. Brand associations consist of all brand-related thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, at titudes, and so on that become linked to the brand information stored. Memory encoding describes how and where information gets into memory. Memory retrieval is the way of the information gets out of the memory.The buying decision process Marketers must identify who makes the buying decision: people can be initiators, influencers, deciders, buyers, or users. Problem recognition Information search Personal: family, friends, neighbors. Commercial: advertising, web sites, salespersons, packaging, displays. Public: mass media. Experiential: handling, examining, is using the product. Market partitioning is the process of identifying the hierarchy of attributes that guide consumer decision making for the marketer to understand different competitive forces and how this various sets get formed.Evaluation of alternatives Belief is a descriptive thought that a person holds about something. Attitudes are a person’s favorable or unfavorable evaluations, emotional feelings, and action ten dencies towards some object or idea. Expectancy-value model of attitude formation shows that consumers evaluate products and services by combining their brand beliefs according to importance. Purchase decision Heuristics are rules of mental shortcuts in the decision process. With the conjunctive heuristic the customer looks for every attribute and chooses the irst alternative that meets the minimum standard for all attributes. With the lexicographic heuristic the customer chooses the best brand on the basis of its perceived most important attribute. With the elimination-by-aspects heuristic the customer compares brands and eliminates those which don’t correspond to the minimum acceptable cutoffs. The perceived risks can modify, postpone or avoid a purchase decision. Functional risk: the product does not perform up to expectations. Physical risk: the product could threat health or well-being of the user or others.Financial risk: the product is not worth the price paid. Social risk: the product results in embarrassment from others. Psychological risk: the product affects the mental well-being of the user. Postpurchase behavior Other theories of consumer decision making Level of consumer involvement Consumer involvement is the level of engagement and active processing responding to a marketing stimulus. Decision heuristics and biases The availability heuristic means that for example a customer who had troubles with a product would be more likely to purchase a future product with warranty.The representativeness heuristic means that the customer buy a product to be seen as representative of a whole category. The anchoring and adjustment heuristic means that the first impression determines the interpretation of the further information. That is why it is very important to make a first good impression for a salesperson, for instance. Mental accounting Mental accounting refers to the way consumers code, categorize, and evaluate financial outcomes of choices. Pro spect theory maintains that the consumers frame their decision alternatives in terms of gains and losses according to a value function.CHAPTER 7 ANALYSING CONSUMER MARKETS A The study of consumer behavior Consumer behavior is the study of when, why, how and where people do or do not buy products. It tries to understand the buyer wants and decision making process both individually and in groups. It also attempts to evaluate influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. Its can be divided into three interdependent dimensions: – The study of culture – The study of social group – The study of the individual CultureCulture is the essential determinant of a person’s wants and behavior. Every culture can be divided in subcultures that include nationalities, religions, geographic region etc and offer more precise identification for their members. Multicultural marketing appear to satisfy the different su bcultures. We can also observe different social classes with people who have the same values, interests and behavior. Each social class show diverse product and brand preferences on different level. Social groups a. Reference group A reference group is a group that influences people attitudes and behavior.There are different categories of groups: – Membership groups: have a direct influence on people (family, friends, colleagues†¦) – Aspirational groups: are thosea person wish to join – Dissociative groups: are thosea person, does not belong b. Family Family is the most influential primary reference group. There are two families: – Family of orientation: parents and sibling – Family of procreation: wife /husband children The individual consumer A consumer’s decisions are influenced by personal characteristics such as the age and stage in the life cycle, the occupation and economic, the life style and values and the buyer’s person ality.So to study and understand consumer behavior it’s really important to start with the consumer herself or himself. Explore into all these factors can provide clues to attain and serve consumers more effectively. B Key psychological process Motivation: Freud, Maslow, Herzberg a. Freud’s theory For Freud people ‘s behavior are unconscious. People not only react to their affirmed aptitudes, but also to other. b. Maslow’s theory c. Herzberg’s theory For Herzberg there are two different factors: – Dissatisfiers: factors that cause dissatisfaction – Satisfiers: factors that cause satisfactionThe sellers should try to keep away dissatisfiers’ factors and identify the principal satisfiers or motivator of purchase in the market and then provide them. I. Perception Perception is the processes by which we select organize and interpret information. People have different perception of the same object because of three perceptual processe s: – Selective attention – Selective distortion: tendency to interpret information in a way that fits our preconception – Selective retention: only preserve information that support our manners and beliefs II. Learning People learn from their experiences and change their behaviour.Marketers should build demand for a product by associating it with strong drives (internal stimulus pushing action), cues (minor stimuli) and providing positive support. III. Memory Memory is distinguished between to type of memory short-term memory and long-term memory. Marketing is a good way to be sure that consumers have the right type of products and services experiences to build the good brand knowledge and keep it in memory. Four main psychological processes affect consumer behavior r motivation, perception, learning, and memory. C Perspectives on consumer behaviorNumerous perspectives on consumer behavior can be considered: – The behaviorist perspective: focus on the imp act of external influences on consumer behavior – The information processing perspective: appeared in the 60’s and 70’s thinks about how consumers mentally process, store, retrieve and use marketing information in the decision process – The emotional perspective: consumers affections should be included in the explanation of consumer decision making – The cultural perspective: culture show consumers view – A multiperspective approach: consumers do not have unlimited mental resources D The buying decision process the five stage modelTo understand how consumer make buying decisions, marketers should identify who makes and has contribute into buying decision. People can be initiators, influencers, deciders, buyers or users. The classical buying process consists of the following succession of events: 1. Problem recognition (the buyer recognizes a problem) 2. Information search 3. Evaluation of alternatives 4. Purchase decision 5. Post purchase be havior (post purchase satisfaction, action, use and disposal) Marketers’ have to understand the consumer behavior at each stage. It’s not always easy because many different factors influence the diverse behavior.CHAPTER 8 : IDENTIFYING MARKET SEGMENTS AND TARGETS I. The business market versus the consumer market Business marketers have numerous characteristics that contrast with those of consumer markets: – Fewer larger buyers: deal with much bigger buyer than the consumer market – Close supplier customer relationship: suppliers adapt their offering to individual business customer needs – Professional purchasing: goods are bought by trained purchasing agents – Multiple buying influence: more people typically influence business buying decisions – Multiple sales calls Derived demand: the demand for business goods resulting from the demand for consumer goods – Inelastic demand: the demand for goods won’t change even if pric es change – Fluctuating demand: the demand for business goods and services tend to be more unstable than the demand for consumer goods and services – Direct purchasing: business buyers buy directly for manufactures II. Buying situations The business buyer faces many decisions in making a purchase. The number depends on the buying situation: complexity of the problem being solved, newness of the buying requirement, number of people involved and time requirement.There are three types of buying situations: – Straight Rebuy: The purchasing department reorders supplies and chooses from suppliers on an approved list. The suppliers’ effort to maintain service and product quality. Their goal is to get a small order and then enlarge their purchase share over time. – Modify rebuy: the buyer wants to change products specifications – New task: the buyer buys the product for the first time III. Systems Buying and Selling Originally,  «Ã‚  system buying   Ã‚ » is a practice about government purchases of major weapons and communications systems.Thus, many business buyers prefer to buy a total solution to a problem from one seller. A system selling is a key industrial marketing strategy in bidding to build large-scale industrial projects, such as dams, steel factory, irrigation systems, sanitation systems, pipelines, utilities and even new towns. B. Participants in the business buying process I. The buying centre The buying center consists of all those individuals and groups who contribute in the purchasing decision making process. Its include all members of the organization who take part in any roles in the purchase decision process. Initiators: request something be purchased – Users: use the product, initiate the buying proposal – Influencers: people who influence the buying decision – Deciders: decide on product requirements or on suppliers – Approvers: authorize the proposed actions – Buyers: have formal authority to select the supplier and arrange the purchase terms – Gatekeepers: have the power to prevent sellers or information from reaching member II. Buying centre influences Buying center typically include several participants with diverse interest.If the business marketers want to influence these participants they should try to be attentive to many factors such as environment, organization, individual, motivations and interpersonal influences. III. Buying centre targeting Business marketers should answer at some questions to target their efforts appropriately. Who are the major decision participants? What decisions do they influence? What is their level of influence? The small sellers focus on reaching the key buying influencers and larger sellers the multilevel in depth selling to attain many participants. C. The Purchasing/Procurement Process a. Purchasing Department PerceptionsRecent competitive pressures have led many companies to upgrade their purchasing departments and elevate administrators to vice presidential rank. These new, more strategically oriented purchasing departments have a mission to seek the best value from fewer and better suppliers. b. Purchasing Organization and Administration Some companies have started to centralize purchasing. Headquarters identifies materials purchased by several divisions and buys them centrally, gaining more purchasing clout. At the same time, companies are decentralizing some purchasing operations by empowering employees to purchase small-ticket items.D. Stages in the buying process The buying process consists of: 1. Problem recognition: the company recognizes a need that can be fixed by purchasing a good or service. 2. General need description and product specification:general characteristics and required quantity 3. Supplier search: identify the most appropriate suppliers 4. Proposal solicitation: invite the qualified suppliers to suggest proposals 5. Supplier selection: the buying center usually use a supplier evaluation to identify the most attractive suppliers 6. Order-routine specification: negotiations 7. Performance review: review of the chosen supplierE. Managing business to business relationship Business marketers must form strong bonds and relationships with their customers and provide them added value. Some customers, however, may prefer more of a transactional relationship. a. The Benefits of Vertical Coordination Much research had advocated greater vertical coordination between buying partners and sellers, so they can transcend merely transacting and instead engage activities that create more value for both parties. Building trust is one prerequisite to healthy long-term relationships. b. Business Relationships: Risks and OpportunismResearchers have noted that establishing a customer-supplier relationship creates tension between safeguarding and adaptation. Vertical coordination can facilitate stronger customer-seller ties but at the same time may increa se the risk to the customer’s and suppliers specific investments. Specific investments, however, also entail considerable risk to both customer and supplier. Transaction theory from economics maintains that because these investments are partially sunk, they lock the firms that make them into a particular relationship. I. Transactions cost economics F. Institutional and government marketsPART 4 : BUILDING STRONG BRANDS CHAPTER 9 CREATING BRAND EQUITY I. What is a brand equity A. Role of brand Permit to consumers evaluate products (of specific brands), in order to find their needs. Brand signal a certain level of quality. Brand offer security for customers and firms B. The scope (ampleur) of branding A brand resides in the minds of consumer as an identity One of the first branding strategy is: consumers must be convinced their meaningful differences among brands in products or services C. Defining brand equity -is the added value endowed on product and service customer based br and equity: the customer brand knowledge is + when he reacts more favorably to a product and –when reacts less favorably 3 keys for favorably react: different responses about consumer needs associated the brand of something (image†¦), and ensuring consumer has great experiences with products. D. Brand equity as a bridge -brand knowledge (decide by customer) dictates future direction of the brand – Brand promise: is what the brand is and must do for consumers So, money spend for marketing is an investment for consumers’ brand knowledge E. brand equity model 4 models of B. equity models brand asset valuator (p 283) 5 categories: differenciation,energy, revelance, estum, knowledge -brandz: (p 284) relationship with brand (pyramid) -AAKER model: typically elements (value, uses, meaning, origin country, personality, symbols) -brand resonance model (p 285): development, building objectives II. Building brand equity This is the creating to have the right brand kno wledge of consumers F. Choosing brand elements -It’s that identify and differentiate the brand -6 criteria: memorable, meaningful, likable, adaptable, transferable (for a new product, geography), protectable (not become generic as Kleenex, scotch).G. Designing holistic marketing activities Brand contact with the consumer, there are 3 phase: Personalization: -stop mass market, throwback to personalizing marketing. – Each customer is unique: one to one marketing -build a strong consumer’s relationship Integration: -traditional mix marketing isn’t adequately, now we need variet of marketing to reinforce the brand. (Sponsoring, communication, promotion, events†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ) Internalization: -companies must adopt an international perspective Choose the right moment, link internal and external marketing and bring the brand alive for employees H.Leveraging (influence) secondary association Linking the brand with others information (p290), a brand can build equity by linking with others entities. III. Measuring brand equity 2 basic approaches: -Brand audit: uncover sources of brand equity, suggest way to improve its equity. Brand audit is use to prepare marketing plan -brand tracking studies: understanding thank to quantitative data from consumers, to facilitate day to day decision marketing. IV. Managing brand equity Brand management requires a long term view of marketing actions I. Brand reinforcement -Brand need to be carefully managed to surviveImprove product, service, and marketing Needs innovations/relevance throughout marketing program (p295) -marketing need some change to be competitive -brands need activities to awareness (new products, creatively design, ad campaign†¦) J. Brand revitalization New competitors can affect a brand, so brand have to be refresh Solution: -understanding the source of brand equity -bad association loosing the brand -create new positioning -change marketing program -come back to basic ima ge V. Devising (concevoir) a brand Strategy -Brand extension: establish brand with introduce a new one sub brand: new brand combine with existing brand -brand line: all product -License product: brand name has been licensed to make the product K. Branding decision Develop a brand name for a product: 4 strategies Individual name:(old el Paso) advantage, if the product is low quality brand is not hurt Blanket family name: development cost is lower because we don’t need research/add, to create recognition Separate family name for all products: ex: craftsman for tools Corporate name combined with individual product name: Kellogg: kellogg’scorn flakes L. Brand extension Advantages: -customers know parent brand don’t need to create awareness for marketing, communication Feed back effect: knowledge Disadvantages: -confusion with new product -harm, hurt parent brand with bad a product (Success characteristic f 9. 8 p301) M. Brand portfolio Marketers need multiple brands to pursue these segments. Aim goal of brand portfolio is maximize brand coverage. -low end entry: attract customers to brand franchise -high end prestige: prestige of brand with adds CHAPTER 10 CRAFTING THE BRAND POSITIONING SEGMENT MARKETING A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar needs and wants.Rather than creating the segments, the marketer’s task is to identify them and to decide which one to target. Market segments can be characterized in different ways, one approach is to: Identify preference segment categorized them by: Homogeneous preferences: if the customers have the same preferences Diffused preferences: the customer preference vary greatly in their requirement Clustered preferences: when natural market segment emerge from groups of customers with shared preferences NICHE MARKETING A niche is marketing is narrowly defined customers group seeking a distinctive mix of benefits or values.Marketers usually identify niches by dividing a m arket into subsegments. Niche markets are generally fairly small is term of volume but constitute a sufficientetly attractive size, profit and growth potential. Also they are less likely to attract many other powerful competitors †¢ Focusing their resources to gain economies though specialization LOCAL MARKETING Customizes merchandise to match the perceived demand of local areas The risk associated with localized marketing includes: †¢ A tendency to drive up the manufacturing costs and to reduce economies of scale Grassroots marketingINDIVIDUAL MARKETING Marketing one to one The researches seek to define segment by looking at descriptive characteristics: geographic, demographic and psychographic. GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION Divide the market into different geographical units such as nations, states, regions†¦ DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION The market is divided into groups on the basic of variable such as ages, family size, occupation, race†¦ PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION Psy chographic profiles are typically developed with reference to three variables know as the AIO factors that describe individual lifestyle: 1. Activities 2. Interests . opinions BEHAVIOURAL SEGMENTATION Marketers place buyers into groups on the basic of their knowledge of, attitude towards, use of or response to a product. To compete more effectively many companies are now adopting target marketing. Instead of scattering their marketing efforts they are focusing on customers they have the greatest chance of satisfying. Target marketing includes three activities: market segmentation, market targeting and market positioning. STEPS IN SEGMENTATION PROCESS 1. Needs-based segmentation Group customers into segments based on similar needs 2. Segment identificationSegment by behavior, psychographic, individual, demographic and geographic 3. Segment attractiveness: Determine the attractiveness of each segment 4. Segment profitability: Determine segment profitability 5. Segment positioning: for each segment create a value proposition and product-price positioning strategy based on that segment’s unique customer need and characteristics 6. Segment â€Å"acid test†: create segment storyboard to test the attractiveness of each segment’s positioning strategy 7. Marketing mix strategy: Expand segment positioning strategy to include all aspects of the marketing mix: the 4PEFFECTIVE SEGMENTATION CRITERIA An effective segmentation must be: 1. Measurable: size, purchasing power†¦ 2. Substantial: the segment are large and profitable enough toserve 3. Accessible: the segment can be effectively reached and seved. 4. Differentiable: the segment are distinguishable 5. Actionable: effective programs can be formulates for attracting and serving the segments Positioning is the act of designing the company offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market. The goal is to establish the brand in the mind of the consumers.The result o f positioning is the successful creation of a consumer- focused value proposition CHAPTER 11 : COMPETITVE DYNAMICS Without customers, you don’t have business Creating loyal customers is at the heart of every business, the only value your company will ever create is the value that comes from the customers. Managers who believe that costumer is the company’s only true â€Å"profit center† consider the traditional organization chart (first figure), successful marketing companies invert the chart (second figure) At the top the customer, the front line is the people who meet, serve and satisfy customersMany companies recognize the importance of satisfying theirs consumer in order to develop brand reputations that can deliver a sustainable competitive advantage The concept of costumer-perceived value enables marketers to discover what consumers want though the medium market research CUSTOMER-PERCEIVED VALUE (CPV) The CPVis the difference between the prospective custom er’s evaluation of all benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives. Total costumer benefit is the perceived monetary value of the bundle of economic, functional and psychological benefits consumers expect from given market offering.Total costumer cost is the perceived bundle of costs costumers expect to incur in evaluating, obtaining, using and disposing of the given market offering BUILDING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Customers want loyalty, not perfection Customer can sense when a companies are consistently more loyal to investors, employees and regulators than to people who buy their products and services, customers are not being disloyal; they are being discriminating. The question is not how can we radically increase customer loyalty, but how can we radically increase our own loyalty to customers.To increase our sellers, we need to develop consumer’s loyalty Total customer satisfaction Whether the buyer is satisfied after purchase depends on the offer’s performance; if the performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied, if the performance match the expectations, the customer is satisfied, if the performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied or delighted. Customer assessments of product performance depend on many factors, especially the type of loyalty relationship the customer has with the brand.Although the customer-centre firm seeks to create a high customer satisfaction, that is not only his ultimate goal. Company might be able to increase its profitability by means other than increased satisfaction. Monitoring satisfaction Many companies are systematically measuring how well they treat their customers, identifying the factors shaping satisfaction and making changes in their operations and marketing as a result Customer satisfaction Companies should measure customer satisfaction regularly, because an important key to customer retention is customer satisfaction.A hig h customer satisfaction brings high profits, the customer stay longer; the customers are less sensitive to the price and pay less attention to the competing brand. Measurement techniques A number of methods exist to measure customer satisfaction for example periodic surveys, customer loss rate. Influence of customer satisfaction For customer-centre companies, customer satisfaction is both a goal and a marketing tool. Companies need to be especially concerned today with their customer satisfaction level.MAXIMIZING CUSTOMER LIFETIME VALUE Customer profitability A profitable customer is a person, household, or company that over time yields a revenue stream that exceeds by an acceptable amount the company’s cost stream for attracting, selling and servicing that customer. CULTIVATING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS Maximizing customer-perceived value means cultivating long-term customer relationship. Companies are now moving away from wasteful mass marketing to precision marketing designed to build strong customer relationships.Customer relationship management Customer relationship management (CRM) is the process of carefully managing detailed information about individual customers and all customer â€Å"touch point† to maximize