Marketing Analysis Bcg And Ansoff Matrices - 1863 Words

Marketing Analysis Using BCG and Ansoff Matrices Introduction BCG matrix is also referred to as growth share matrix, Boston matrix, portfolio diagram or product portfolio. BCG matrix is a graph created by Bruce D. Henderson to help corporations analyze their business units and their product lines being created for Boston Consultation Group. The matrix help in the group allocation of resources and is also used as an analytical tool in the product management, brand marketing, strategic management and the portfolio analysis. Market performance analysis by the firms using its principles has called for the matrix usefulness into the question. For the use of the matrix, one plots the scatter graph so as to rank the business units and products on the market share basis and the growth rates. The matrix uses several tools in the analysis process, and these are cash cows, dogs, question marks and stars. Ansoff Growth matrix is another marketing tool used in planning a business in the marketing growth strategy of a product. Igor Ansoff developed the matrix and used the same strategy used a $ matrix method as used in the BCG matrix. Ansoff matrix explains that a consideration in the growth of existing products and new products as well as in new markets and existing market making a four possible product outcome combination. The output from the Ansoff market or product matrix is a series of suggestions on the growth strategies that often set a direction for a business strategy .the fourShow MoreRelatedMarketing Analysis Using Bcg And Ansoff Matrices1789 Words   |  8 Pages Marketing Analysis Using BCG and Ansoff Matrices Name Institution Marketing Analysis Using BCG and Ansoff Matrices Introduction BCG matrix is also referred to as growth share matrix, Boston matrix, portfolio diagram or product portfolio. BCG matrix is a graph created by Bruce D. Henderson to help corporations analyze their business units and their product lines being created for Boston Consultation Group. The matrix help in the group allocation of resources and is also used as an analyticalRead MoreMarketing Analysis Using Bcg Matrix1760 Words   |  8 PagesMarketing Analysis Using BCG Matrix Introduction BCG matrix is also referred to as growth share matrix, Boston matrix, portfolio diagram or product portfolio. BCG matrix is a graph created by Bruce D. Henderson to help corporations analyze the business units and the product lines being created for Boston Consultation Group. The matrix helps in the group allocation of resources and is also used as an analytical tool in the product management, brand marketing, strategic management and the portfolioRead MoreSab Miller Essay3712 Words   |  15 Pages(SAB) based on the understanding from the case study â€Å"SABMiller† (Johnson et al., 2008, pg. 740-745). After a brief introduction to what strategy means for organizations, the report tries to explain the current strategic position of SABMiller by analysis of the organization’s competencies internally and also the external industry and environmental structure, followed by this the report will discuss the implications of this current position for the future. Finally the r eport will conclude highlightingRead MorePestel Analysis on Motor Industry10196 Words   |  41 Pagespicture of how to classify and appreciate strategy tools and models. Mintzberg et al. have developed schools of thought to help alleviate and categorise this problem but this approach lacks a comparison of the models found in industry e.g. BCG, 7S McKinsey, ANSOFF etc. Consequently at academic level (but not only) we see models like P5F, etc. predominate while tools like SWOT, PEST, ARC etc. populate the consultancy arena and operative levels of the organisation. The purpose of this paper is thereforeRead MoreKingfisher: Company Analysis3827 Words   |  15 Pagesï » ¿Table of Content 1.1 Strategic Position 1.1.1 External Environmental Audit 1.1.1.1 PESTEL Analysis 1.1.1.2 Porters Five Forces 1.1.2 Internal Environmental Audit 1.1.2.1 Strategic Capabilities 1.1.2.2 VRIN Strategic Capabilities of Kingfisher Plc 1.1.2.3 Value Chain 1.1.2.4 SWOT Analysis 2.0 Strategic Directions 2.1 Ansoff Matrix 2.2 Methods of Development 2.3 BCG Matrix 3.0 Strategy Success Criteria 3.1Suitability 3.2 Acceptability 3.3 Feasibility 3.4 SustainabilityRead MoreBCG matrix Essay4376 Words   |  18 Pagesï » ¿Relevance. Widely used in the practice of strategic choice has received a two-dimensional matrix , developed by the Boston Consulting Group. Therefore, this matrix is ​​a matrix known as Boston Consulting Group or BCG matrix . This matrix allows the company to classify the products in its market share relative to its main competitors and the rate of annual growth in the industry. Matrix enables us to determine which products company occupies a leading position compared to competitors , whatRead MoreApple and Their Strategy Essay15522 Words   |  63 Pages 17-18 Bowman’s Strategy Clock 19-22 Reference List 23-24 BCG (Boston Consulting Group) 25-28 Reference List 29-30 Value-Added Chain Read MoreAn Application of David’s Strategy Formulation Framework to the Turkish Airlines on Domestic Air Transportation Operations21288 Words   |  86 PagesAir Transportation, applied the David’s strategy formulation framework to the Turkish Airlines on Domestic Air Transportation Operations, and suggested the most applicipable strategy(ies) to the firm. Key words: decision stage mission strategy analysis strategy formulation strategic management vision vi KISA Ãâ€"ZET Mehmet ÅžANAL Haziran 2007 DAVÄ °D’Ä °N STRATEJÄ ° FORMÃÅ"LASYON MODELÄ °NÄ °N TÃÅ"RK HAVA YOLLARININ Ä °Ãƒâ€¡ HAT HAVA YOLU TAÅžIMACILIÄžI FAALÄ °YETLERÄ ° ÃÅ"ZERÄ °NE BÄ °R UYGULAMASI Bu tez, Fred David tarafÄ ±ndanRead MoreEssay about Nokia Case10275 Words   |  42 PagesIntroduction 3 2. Internal Analysis 3 2.1. Resource Analysis 3 2.1.1. Hierarchy of resources 4 2.1.2. Resource Portfolio 4 2.1.3. Core Competencies 5 2.1.4. Summary of Resource Analysis 5 2.2. Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Analysis 5 2.2.1. Identification of SBUs 6 2.2.2. Summary of SBU Analysis 6 2.3. Value Chain Analysis 7 2.3.1. Summary of Value Chain Analysis 8 2.4. Financial Analysis 8 3. External Analysis 9 3.1. PESTEL Analysis 10 3.1.1. Summary of PESTELRead MoreBrazil Beer Industry Essay5604 Words   |  23 Pages 1 Beer Industry in Brazil 1 Timeline of Industry 1 The Brazilian Environment 1 2.3 Economic Analysis 1 2.4 Government and Legal Implications 1 2.5 Infrastructure and Technology Available 1 2.6 Social and Cultural Dynamics 1 Strategy for Scottish Company 1 3.1 Entry/Exit Strategy – Pros and Cons (SWOT/VRIN Analysis) (Porters 5 Forces) (Strategic Capabilities) 1 3.2 International (PESTEL) (McKinsey Model) 1 Financial Budgeting

Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and The...

Discrimination and Racism in â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer and â€Å"The Welcome Table† by Alice Walker Discrimination and racism is always an issue, but the hardship these women had to face and suffer is something that is still being discussed. Understanding the fear, struggle and hardship that women of color went through during this time period is very important. Both â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer and â€Å"The Welcome Table† by Alice Walker discuss race and the struggle with trying to be accepted in society. The short story â€Å"Country Lovers† written by Nadine Gordimer, who in 1991 received the Nobel Prize for Literature, writes about forbidden love and racial politics between a black girl and a white boy on a South Africa†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"But he never felt the way he had with any other girl than the way he felt when Thebedi came up from the bank and sat beside him and the water beading off her dark legs the only points of light in the earth-smelling deep shade† (Clugston, 2010). Paulus returns to school and Thebedi becomes pregnant (at the age of eighteen) with Paulus baby. Since it was during the apartheid it was against the law for the two different races to be together. Therefore, Thebedi married a man named Njabulo and after only two months of being married, she had a baby. Never mentioning to Njabulo that she was pregnant, this causes speculation that it could be his. â€Å"During this time it was customary for the young man to make sure, that before marriage that the chosen girl is not barren. Which Njabulo made love to her then.† (Chopin, 1894). When Paulus returned home from veterinary school, he finds out that Thebedi had a baby (which was two weeks old). He was so angry he goes went straight over Thebedi’s hut and demands to see the baby. She brings the baby into the light and shows Paulus the fine straight hair and the grey and yellowish eyes that resembled his hazel eyes. He did not say a word. â€Å"He struggled for a moment with a grimace of tears, anger, and self-pity,† (Chopin, 1894). Then asked, â€Å"You haven’t been near the house with it?† (Chopin, 1894) They both were aware of the consequences if anyone saw the baby or foundShow MoreRelatedDiscrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table2880 Words   |  12 Pages Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table Donna Robertson ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Lyndsey Lefebvre November 18, 2012 Discrimination and Racism in Country Lovers and the Welcome Table Racial discrimination has affected black people of the United States as well as Africa for many years. Although racial discrimination is against the law in both countries today, many people believe that it still exists. This essay will compare and contrast theRead MoreEssay about Country Lovers vs. the Welcome Table1456 Words   |  6 PagesCountry Lovers Vs The Welcome Table There was a time where racism and discrimination was a huge issue. Back in those days, African Americans were treated unequal. There was no harmony between people unless they had the same skin color. Racism and discrimination still exists, but it is illegal to discriminate against anyone, including their race. In this paper, I will compare and contrast the theme of the short stories â€Å"Country Lovers† by Nadine Gordimer and â€Å"The Welcome Table† writtenRead MoreCountry Lovers By Nadine Gordimer And The Welcome Table Essay1473 Words   |  6 Pages Discrimination and Racism are very much a part the world’s history. You can open any history book and find a story or event that shows a dark cloud in almost any country’s past. Nadine Gordimer and Alice walker are two writers from different sides of the world. Both sharing their stories of racism and discrimination. Both were activist, Gordimer from South Africa and Walker in America. In this essay I will compare and contrast the racial theme between both short stories â€Å"Country Lovers† writtenRead MoreRacism in the Short Stories1837 Words   |  7 Pagesnot the same race, gender, creed, religion seems to be the way of the world for a long time. Racism is so prevalent in the two stories that I am choosing to write about. Country Lovers by Nadine Gordimer, and The Welcome Table by Alice Walker two very similar, but different stories that tell about the struggles individuals of different races and religions faced in their time period of living. Country Lovers is a story about love that grows between two people, but nonetheless is frowned upon becauseRead MoreThe Welcome Table By Alice Walker1471 Words   |  6 Pagesrelationship is often frowned upon† (Futrell, 2010). The short story â€Å"The Welcome Table† was composed in the United States during the post-civil rights era by the great novelist Alice Walker. Alice focused her writing on â€Å"exploring life situations through the eyes of African American women and advocating ways to approach challenges of sexism, racism, and poverty in American life† (Clugston, 2010, p. 40). The short story â€Å"Country Lovers† was written by Nadine Gordimer who is from South Africa. She basedRead MoreCompare and Contrast of Two Literary Works2676 Words   |  11 PagesThis paper compares and contrasts two different literary works, â€Å"Country Lovers† written by Nadine Gordimer and â€Å"The Welcome Table† by Alice Walker. Both stories follow the same theme, or hidden message or underlying idea in a story. They are about ethnicity and racism which ultimately results in the death of a person: the infant daughter in â€Å"Country Lovers† and the old lady in â€Å"The Welcome Table.† Racism has transcended generations, separated families and nations, and left heartache and griefRead MoreOpression and Inequality2595 Words   |  11 PagesRunning head: RACISM, OPPRESSION AND INEQUAL 1 Racism, Oppression, and Inequality within The Welcome Table and Country Lovers ENG 125 Introduction to Literature April 16, 2012 - 1 - [no notes on this page] RACISM, OPPRESSION AND INEQUAL 2 â€Å"Racism, Oppression, and Inequality within The Welcome Table and Country Lovers† In this paper I will analyze the similarities and differences between Country Lovers written in 1975 by Nadine Gordimer, and The Welcome Table written in 1970 by Alice WalkerRead MoreEssay on Apartheid Explored in Country Lovers and The Welcome Table2283 Words   |  10 Pagesis violating his or her rights. In essence, ethnic and racial discrimination, and superiority based on racial differences are morally and scientifically false, dangerous, as well as socially unjust. Further, there can be no justification either practically or theoretically concerning racial discrimination. The article by Nadine Gordimer (1975) in Country Lovers and Alice Walker (1970) in The Welcome Table explored the theme of racism and apartheid in different contexts. Gordimer depicts inRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagesmy children, Joshua, 8, and Justine, 3, for comic relief during the months of writing. This book is dedicated to them. For the 2012 edition: This book is dedicated to my wife Hellan whose good advice has improved the book in many ways. vi Table of Contents Preface.........................................................................................................................................................iii Copyright ...........................................................

Third Person free essay sample

Carowinds is one of the best amusement parks because it provides food, rides, and different cartoon characters for one to see. Carowinds is in North Carolina. This park is so big for one to see. All one have to do is pay to get in and ride, eat, have fun all day. They add new rides for one every year or so. They have all kids of food, rides, shows, shops, and lots of different stuff to do every day. Carowinds have all kinds of different food places one can choose from to eat. Carowinds have places where one can eat like they at family dinner. Like a buffet or something. They have shops where one can buy food and candy. They have cotton candy, candy apples; funnel cakes, etc†¦.. Carowinds have all kinds of different shops one can get souvenirs as food with the name on it. Carowinds have all kinds of different rides for one to ride on. We will write a custom essay sample on Third Person or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They have rides for adults and kids. Carowinds also have water rides for one to get wet and enjoy. One has to wait in long lines in order to get on any rides. Although it’s worth one’s wait. The gold rush, days of thunder, and the vortex is a couple of one’s favorite rides. One can stand on the bridge and get wet also. One of the water rides will splash down into a big puddle and splash whoever on the bridge. Carowinds have all kinds of different cartoon characters for one to see. They are friendly. They are looking just like who they supposed to be. One can take pictures with them. They walk around all day. The characters are always waving their hands at one. They are always smiling. One has come to a conclusion that Carowinds sounds fun due to they provide food, rides, and different cartoon characters for one to see. It’s amazing how they change just about every year or so. One would love to visit this park. It’s a lot of fun things for one to do and see. It’s not that expensive either. About forty dollars a person. Sometimes they have specials. Carowinds is for everyone.

The Baroque What free essay sample

What were two major influences on German Baroque music? How did these factors Influence the music? . The German Baroque bow and Baroque organ they gave music a new spin. 2. How did music differ before and after Bach? It wasnt that interesting before, Bach had a new way and his music keep Interest. 3. How have the performances of Baroque music changed (In terms of tempt, balance and timbre) from the Baroque period to today? Everything was nearly the same besides the tempt It had a kind of faster pitch. 4. What Is a Baroque split when playing music? There Is emotions that fell you up. At the bottom of the page that discusses Baroque music performance, there are some examples of music that you can listen to. These examples often use different instruments than we are used to hearing today. What are some of these instruments? How is the sound of the music different than what we might hear today? The Fugue in D Minor and Air from Suite in C minor. We will write a custom essay sample on The Baroque What or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They had a smooth tone music isnt usually made from actual instruments that more now its usually beat machines. 6. Who was Archangel Cornell? What are some of his contributions to classical music? He was an Italian composer and violinist.He proved the potential of Concerto-Gross principle. He wrote the first piece of the principle. 7. Who was Gottfried Silverman? One of the two leading baroque organ-builders. 8. After listening to some of the music samples, how would you describe Baroque music to someone who had not heard it before? Choose at least one piece of music to discuss in detail. What instruments do you think the work uses? Who composed the ours? What does the work sound like? Its a smooth sound simple yet complex. Believe it uses the violin as well as a flute. Johann Sebastian Bach , it sound like a opera yet more simple.

How positive impacts outweigh negative effects Essay Example

How positive impacts outweigh negative effects Essay Traveling from one country to another is one big hit. It may seem appealing to ones desire to explore new horizon, a benefit to its cause; however, the effect may be the other way around. I disagree that Global Tourism may more like be harmful than beneficial. For one thing, Global Tourism empowers a low-income country to become globally competitive. There is an abundance in the countrys economy because of the merging infrastructures like hotels and restaurants to accommodate the tourists. As a domino effect, more Jobs are available not only to college graduates but to jobsharers without a degree. Moreover, transportation and entertainment businesses are rampant to vacationers who wish to see all the top destinations and leisure activities in a particular place. Lastly, this is a green industry, where most scenic places are maintained to preserve its natural environment. This Industry does not only benefit the people but mother earth as well. Albeit, Global tourism poses disadvantages to people in some ways. There Is a greater chance of a permanent loss of traditional culture if locals change ones lifestyle Just so that tourists can better understand them. For Instance, locals learn to speak English fluently, daydreaming ones own, to prevent barrier communication. In addition, vacationers who bring expensive luggages or gadgets are prospect targets of theft, thus crime increases In number. We will write a custom essay sample on How positive impacts outweigh negative effects specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on How positive impacts outweigh negative effects specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on How positive impacts outweigh negative effects specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Moreover, these foreigners can also steal things or even Ideas from the country. Some foreigners recycle an Idea and produce It as If It Is their own. From my point of view, the positive effects of Global Tourism far outweigh Its detrimental Impacts. Countries make the most of one another, as well as both natives and foreigners. The future of global tourism Is a promising one that the government may need to devise policies In order to prevent Its negative effects.

Character Analysis of Shakespeares Othello

Character Analysis of Shakespeare's Othello Above all else, this Othello character analysis reveals that Shakespeares Othello has gravitas. A celebrated soldier and trusted leader whose race both defines him â€Å"The Moor† and defies his lofty position; it would be rare for a man of race to have such a highly respected position in Venetian society. Othello and Race Many of Othellos insecurities are derived from his race and from the perception that he is lowlier than his wife. â€Å"Haply for I am black, And have not those soft parts of conversation That chamberers have†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Othello, Act 3 Scene 3, Line 267) Iago and Roderigo describe Othello at the start of the play, without even naming him, using his racial difference to identify him, referring to him as â€Å"the Moor†, â€Å"an old black ram†. He is even referred to as â€Å"the thick lips†. It is generally the morally dubious characters who use his race as a reason to disparage him. The Duke only speaks of him in terms of his achievements and his valor; â€Å"Valiant Othello†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Act 1 Scene 3 Line 47) Unfortunately, Othello’s insecurity gets the better of him and he is moved to kill his wife in a fit of jealousy. One could argue that Othello is easily manipulated but as an honest man himself, he has no reason to doubt Iago. â€Å"The Moor is of a free and open nature, That thinks men honest that but seem to be so,† (Iago, Act 1 Scene 3, Line 391). Having said that, he more readily believes Iago than his own wife but again this is probably because of his own insecurities. â€Å"By the world, I think my wife be honest and think she is not. I think that thou art just, and think thou art not.† (Act 3 Scene 3, Line 388-390) Othello’s Integrity One of Othello’s admirable qualities is that he believes that men should be transparent and honest as he is; â€Å"Certain, men should be what they seem† (Act 3 Scene 3 Line 134). This juxtaposition between Othello’s transparency and Iago’s duality identifies him as a sympathetic character despite his actions. Othello is manipulated by the truly evil and duplicitous Iago who has so few redeeming qualities. Pride is also one of Othello’s weaknesses; for him, his wife’s alleged affair confounds his belief that he is a lesser man, that he cannot live up to her expectations and her position in society; her need for a conventional white man is a critical blow to his achieved position. â€Å"For naught, I did in hate, but all in honour† (Act 5 Scene 2, Line 301). Othello is clearly very much in love with Desdemona and in killing her he denies himself his own happiness; which heightens the tragedy. Iago’s true Machiavellian victory is that he orchestrates Othello having to take responsibility for his own downfall. Othello and Iago Iago’s hatred of Othello is profound; he does not employ him as his lieutenant and there is a suggestion that he bedded Emilia previous to his relationship with Desdemona. The relationship between Othello and Emilia is never corroborated but Emilia has a very negative opinion of Othello, possibly based on dealings with her own husband? Emilia says to Desdemona of Othello â€Å"I would you had never seen him† (Act 5 Scene 1, Line 17) presumably this is out of love and loyalty to her friend as opposed to a lingering affection for him. Othello would be very attractive to someone in Emilia’s position; he is very demonstrative in his love for Desdemona but sadly this turns sour and his character becomes more recognizable to Emilia as a result. Othello is brave and celebrated which could also account for Iago’s intense hatred of him. Jealousy defines Othello and also the characters associated with his downfall.

Distinguishing Share Capital And Loan Capital Essay

Distinguishing Share Capital And Loan Capital - Essay Example This paper would go to investigate difference between share capital and loan capital, paying meticulous attention to the way in which loan capital may be secured1 Corporate borrowing where this is done by debentures or debenture Stock it also examines the types of charge that companies can issue to Creditors is floating and fixed charges. The priority of secured creditors is considered together with an examination of the registration requirements for charges. Membership of a company limited by shares is based on an undertaking to Contribute capital to the company in payment for shares issued by the company. The amount of capital to be contributed is a matter for agreement between each Member and the company but once the agreed amount has been contributed neither the company nor its creditors may demand a further contribution2. The contributed capital of a company is used by it to make profits, which may be shared among is members if the company is wound up when it is solvent, the contributed capital may be returned to members but if it has to be wound up when it is insolvent then all the assets acquired with the members contributed capital will have to be used to pay the company debts and nothing will be returned to the members. As well as sharing in profits the members of a company normally jointly control it by appointing directors to manage the company affairs. In many private companies, of course, the members are also the directors. A member of a company who contributes more capital than another will want a proportionally greater share in distribution of the company profits and also a greater influence on the company affairs (i.e., more votes at members meetings). The extent of a members undertaking to contribute capital, and of entitlement to share in distributions and vote at meetings, are all related to the number and class of shares of the company that the member holds a description of each member. Shareholding must be entered against the members name in the company register of members (CA 2006, s 113). A share is essentially a limit of account for measuring a member's interest in a company. Each share is required to have sum of capital assigned to it as its nominal value (s 542) and this is the size of the unit of account. The nominal value of a share is the minimum value that a company must demand to receive as contributed capital in exchange for the share so if Textbook Examples Co plc, has only one class of members and the nominal value of each of its shares is 50p, and I undertake to contribute 5000 worth of capital to the company I Cannot expect to be allotted more than 10,000 of its shares. Moreover, the company must not offer to allot me more than 10,000 of its 50p shares as an incentive to me to contribute only 5,000 worth of capital because to do so would distort the way in which the shares allotted to me measure my interest in the company (s 580) it is however permissible for a shareholder to undertake to contribute more for shares than their nominal value -the excess is called share premium Capital contributed in exchange for shares, apart from share premium, is called share capital. Having undertaken

Communication in professional contexts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication in professional contexts - Essay Example Clarity enhances consistency in conveying written information. Consistency leads to the writing of effective sentences as the words therein are interlinked and well planned. Consistency in writing avoids the use of unnecessary phrases and presents precise ideas. A consistent sentence has positive effects on the reader since its simple and has a clear meaning. Writing clearly promotes conciseness in the sentences written and the brevity presents one’s wit. Clear, concise and consistent work reduces unnecessary correspondence from the reader; as such, Smith-Worthington& Jefferson (2011) argued that all correspondence, which is brief, gets the goodwill of the reader and creates admiration. According to Sant (2008), the success of a firm is based on ability to communicate effectively to other stakeholders and this is promoted by clarity in writing. To enhance one’s ability to write clearly one should avoid using unnecessary words and lengthy statements lacking a clear meaning, and they should express a single idea in each sentence. Additionally, the words in the sentences should be arranged logically, the writer should avoid the use of passive voice and use only active since it is easy to understand and finally ambiguous sentences should not be used as they limit the clarity (Tyagi & Misra, 2011). In conclusion, a writer should give much attention to ensure clarity of his work as it contributes to consistency, conciseness and good flow of logic. This in turns promotes admiration and goodwill to the reader. Very often, an employee’s personal beliefs are at odds with the ethics at the work place and attention should be given on the best solution when such situations arise. Work ethics are because of the agreed professional codes of organizations while the personal beliefs and opinions are a blend of the upbringing in the family environment, one’s

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

Argumentative - Research Paper Example Sugarmann (2001) found that between 1962 and 2001, an astonishing 670,000 Americans were killed by handguns, and that ‘Our nation leads the industrialized world in firearms violence of all types’ (p. 177). Spitzer (2008) agrees that in recent years, ‘more than 30,000 Americans have been killed annually as the result of the homicidal, accidental, and suicidal use of guns’ (p. 7). This problem takes on even more worrying proportions when the American statistics are compared with those of other democratic and industrialized countries. In 1995, for example, the United States firearms death rate was 13.7 per 100,000, in Canada it was 3.9 per 100,000 and in England and Wales it was just 0.4 per 100,000 (Sugarmann, 2001, p. 178). The perhaps surprising gulf between the statistics for the United States and for other countries prompted DeConde (2001) to ask, ‘Why†¦with all its wealth and power, has the United States failed time and again to establish a leg al structure that†¦would confine gun violence within bounds at least comparable to those of other advanced democratic countries?’ (p. 6). Guns in America are relatively cheap, readily available, and not regulated to any effective extent. In the other countries mentioned above, tighter gun laws which mainly keep weapons out of the hands of private citizens are an effective safeguard against firearms violence, but in America no effective regulations exist. The gun control debate is regularly intensified by appalling examples of unrestrained gun violence, as has recently occurred with the shootings at Tucson, Arizona. By taking another of these events as an example, we will see how existing gun control regulations are failing. In 1998, Russell Weston, Jr. managed to smuggle a gun into the Capitol building in Washington D.C., and killed two police officers and wounded a bystander before he could be stopped. Weston had previously spent time in a mental hospital in Montana, a fact which should have excluded him from purchasing handguns, but he was still able to obtain an Illinois gun license. In this case, it was the lack of an effective national system for sharing records which was to blame, but in other cases it has been the scarce legislation in some states, and the lack of comprehensive and effective background checks. Furthermore, there appears to be strong popular support for great controls on guns in the United States. Canter (2006) examined the findings of polls by Gallup and Harris, among other national surveyors, and found that they ‘consistently reveal strong support (85-90 per cent)for the Brady Law, even among gun owners (75-80 per cent’ (p.36). The Brady law was passed in 1993, and introduced a 5-day waiting period for handgun purchases, during which background checks were to be conducted to ascertain if the purchaser was suitable. Brady, incidentally, was wounded when defending President Reagan from gunfire, and has since been a prominent campaigner on gun controls. Anti-thesis Several anti-gun control groups, and notably the National Rifle Association (NRA) have long claimed that tighter gun control laws would not be the best approach to tackling gun violence in the United States. As the prominent NRA slogan states, ‘Guns don’t kill; people do’ (Canter, 2006, p.3). It should be noted that organizations such as the NRA use their considerable financial influence to lobby politicians in

Textile Dyes Biosorption Using Dead Fungal Biomass Environmental Sciences Essay

Textile Dyes Biosorption Using Dead Fungal Biomass Environmental Sciences Essay Over the past three decades or so the discovery and further development of biosorption phenomena has gained momentum and has transformed the methods by the means of which waste water effluent is treated to remove pollutants and recover valuable resources present in these aqueous systems like dyes. Biosorption is becoming a promising alternative to replace or supplement the present dye removal processes from textile industries effluent. This technology has drawn the attention of industries as it is economically viable and environmentally friendly. The status of scientific development of a technology can be reflected through analyses of the literatures pertaining to it, in this review, we qualitatively examine almost all aspects of biosorption research through research articles and other review papers. We have basically focused on biosorption of textile dyes using dead fungal biomass obtained from autoclaved or inactivated Aspergillus Niger. Materials used, methodologies used and data obtained has been assimilated from literature cited below. Finally, we summarized the important considerations of the current research on biosorption, the results and conclusions obtained from the data, as well as the suggestions and our thoughts and ideas for its future directions. INTRODUCTION Rapid industrialization and urbanization all over the globe has resulted in the generation of large quantities of aqueous effluents, many of which contain high levels of toxic pollutants. Various physical, chemical and biological processes are being employed to remove pollutants from industrial wastewaters before discharge into the environment as in the case of treatment of adsorptive pollutants like heavy metals and ionic dyes, however, most of the conventional treatment processes, especially chemical precipitation, coagulation, activated carbons and the use of ion-exchange resins become less effective and more expensive when the adsorbates are in a low concentration range and their high cost and low efficiency and lack of practicality have limited their commercial use in the field . Since any type of solid material has the capacity to absorb pollutants to some degree, a number of industrial inorganic wastes, such as ash, or natural inorganic materials like clay, synthetic materials , as well as, living or nonliving biomass/biomaterials, have been investigated as cheap adsorbents capable of replacing the well-known, but more expressive ones as their cost is low and efficiency is higher and the biosorbants can be regenerated, and the possibility of dye recovery following adsorption biomass-based adsorbents or biosorbents as they are commonly called, are the most attractive alternatives to physical and chemical processes. The use of biosorbents for the removal of toxic pollutants or for the recovery of valuable resources from aqueous waste waters is one of the most recent developments in environmental or bioresource technology. Biosorption of dyes has become a popular environmentally driven research topic, and is one of the most sought after processes in the modern day where bioremediation is key in preserving the environment for future generations. Bohumil Volesky, a pioneer in the field, defined biosorption as the property of certain biomolecules (or types of b iomass) to bind and concentrate selected ions or other molecules from aqueous solutions. Biosorption by dead biomass (or by some molecules and/or their active groups) is passive and occurs primarily due to the affinity between the biosorbent and adsorbate. Types of Biomass or Biomaterials: Pollutants like metals and dyes can be removed by adsorption by living microorganisms, but can also be removed by dead biomass. Studies on practicality in the field for large-scale applications have demonstrated that biosorptive processes using dead biomass is much more viable option than the processes that use living biomass, since the latter require a nutrient supply and complicated bioreactor systems. Plus the use of dead biomass eliminates the maintenance of a healthy microbial population, and the other environmental factors like temperature and pH of the solution being treated. Dye recovery is also limited in living cells since these may be bound intracellularly. Therefore keeping these factors in mind, attention has been focused on the use of dead biomass as biosorbents. As mentioned above, dead biomass has advantages over living microorganisms. A hybrid process can also be employed which uses both dead and living biomass so as to increase the efficiency of biosorption. However, we have chosen to focus on single biosorption processes in this review and to avoid discussion of hybrid processes combined with biosorption. The first major challenge faced is to select the most promising types of biomass from an extremely large pool of readily available and inexpensive biomaterials. To streamline this when choosing biomass, for on field or industrial uses, the main factor to be taken into account is its availability and cheapness. Therefore keeping these factors in mind, native biomass can come from (i) industrial wastes free of charge; (ii) organisms easily obtainable in large amounts in nature; and (iii) organisms that can be grown quickly and which can be cultivated easily. A broad range of biomass types have been tested for their biosorptive capacities under various conditions at this point in time, but there are no limits to exploration of new biomass types having low cost and high efficiency. Biosorptive capacities of vari ous biomass types have been quantitatively compared in many review papers. Biosorbents primarily fall into the following categories: bacteria, fungi, algae, industrial wastes, agricultural wastes, natural residues, and other biomaterials. Quantitative comparison of the hundreds of biosorbents reported thus far is not possible therefore data from various papers that have done these types of comparisons of biosorptive capacities of various biosorbents for various pollutants were used. It should be noted that the biosorptive capacity of a certain type of biosorbent depends on its pretreatment methods, as well as, on experimental conditions like pH and temperature. When comparing biosorptive capacities of biosorbents we consider it for a target pollutant, therefore, the experimental data should be carefully considered in light of these factors. After choosing a form of cheap and abundant biomass, the biosorbent capability for removing a target pollutant can be derived through simple che mical and/or physical method(s). New biosorbents can be manipulated for better efficiency and for multiple reuses to increase their economic attractiveness, compared with conventional adsorbents like ion-exchange resins or activated carbons. Category Examples Bacteria Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillussp. Corynebacteriumsp.,etc) gram-negative bacteria(Es-cherichia sp., Pseudomonas sp)cyanobacteria. Algae Micro-algae (Clorella sp., Chlamydomonas sp., etc) macro-algae (green seaweed (Enteromorpha sp.) brown seaweed (Sargassum sp.)and red seaweed ) Industrial Wastes Fermentation wastes, food/beverage wastes, activated sludges, anaerobic sludges, etc. Fungi Molds (Aspergillus sp., Rhizopus sp. Etc.) mushrooms (Agaricus sp., Trichaptum sp. Etc.)And Yeast. Agricultural Wastes Fruit/vegetable wastes, rice straws, wheat bran, soybean hulls, etc. Natural residues Plant residues, sawdust, tree barks, weeds, etc. Others Chitosan-driven materials, cellulose-driven materials,etc. Table 1: Different type of biosorbents. Mechanisms of Pollutants Removal by Biosorbents: There are many types of biosorbents derived from bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and algae (Table 1). The complex structure of these implies that there are many ways, by which these biosorbents remove various pollutants, but these are yet to be fully understood. Thus, there are many chemical/functional groups that can attract and sequester pollutants, depending on the choice of biosorbent. These can consist of amide, amine, carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl, imine, imidazole, sulfonate, sulfhydryl, thioether, phenolic, phosphate, and phosphodiester groups. However, the presence of some functional groups does not guarantee successful biosorption of pollutants, as steric, conformational, or other barriers may also be present. The importance of any given group for biosorption of a certain pollutant by a certain biomass depends on various factors, including the number of reactive sites in the biosorbent, accessibility of the sites, chemical state of t he sites (i.e. availability), and affinity between the sites and the particular pollutant of interest (i.e. binding strength). The understanding of the mechanisms by which biosorbents remove pollutants is very important for the development of biosorption processes for the concentration, removal, and recovery of the pollutants from aqueous solutions, also on the basis of these mechanisms modifications can be made on the biomass so as to increase the adsorption-desorption capacity of it. When the chemical or physiological reactions occurring during biosorption are known, the rate, quantity, and specificity of the pollutant uptake can be manipulated through the specification and control of process parameters. Biosorption of metals or dyes occurs mainly through interactions such as ion exchange, complexation, and adsorption by physical forces, precipitation and entrapment in inner spaces. Schematic diagram for processing different Biosorption mechanisms types of native biomass into biosorbents. Recovery and Regeneration: One of the important reasons why biosorption is favoured over conventional processes is due to the recovery of pollutant from the biosorbent and simultaneous regeneration of the biosorbent for reuse which makes it economically viable for industries. In fact, the usefulness of a specific biomass as a biosorbent depends not only on its biosorptive capacity, but also on the ease of its regeneration and reuse. However, most researchers have tended to focus only on the biosorptive capacity of biosorbent tested, without consideration of the regeneration required for industrial applications. The adsorbate bound onto the surface of a biosorbent through metabolism-independent biosorption may be easily desorbed by simple non-destructive physical/chemical methods using chemical eluants, but intracellularly bound adsorbate through metabolism-dependent bioaccumulation can be only released by destructive methods like incineration or dissolution into strong acids or alkal is. If cheap biomass is used as a biosorbent for recovering a certain pollutant, then destructive recovery would be economically feasible. However, most attention to date has focused on non-destructive desorption from the loaded biosorbent. For this reason, the choice between living or dead biomass systems is important because of the implication for recovery. In many cases, dilute mineral acids or alkalis allow efficient desorption from the biosorbent, but they also cause serious structural damage to the biosorbent itself, resulting in a drop in the biosorptive capacity of the biosorbent following regeneration. Organic solvents such as ethanol can be also used for desorbing organic pollutants such as dyes from the biosorbent. Sometimes heating or microwaving can aid desorption with an eluant or mixture solution. As well, as previously mentioned, the solution pH will have a strong influence on biosorption of a target pollutant; thus, simple manipulation of the pH of the desorbing sol ution should theoretically be a good method for regeneration of the biosorbent and recovery of the pollutant. FUNDAMENTAL REVIEW How is the textile effluents treated today? It is not easy to treat the effluents by the conventional biological and physico-chemical processes, e.g. light, heat, wash and oxidizing agents, used in regular treatment plants. That is because of the complexicity of the dyes aromatic molecular structures. Adsorption is the most helpful physical process in the treating these dye waste waters. Today activated carbon is normally used for adsorption in many treatment plants. But the producing costs for activated carbon is very high, there is a need of an alternative material that is more cost capable. A low costs adsorbent is defined as one which is rich in nature or one that is produces as a byproduct in another industry. There have been studies on lots of different natural materials as adsorbents in treating textile effluents, for example saw dust and agricultural wastes like wheat straw and corn cob. Now biosorption is investigated as a method to absorb the effluents and different organisms treating different kinds of dyes are test ed. Synthetic dyes are widely used in textile industries. As a result, about 10-20% of the dyes are lost during the built-up and dyeing process, producing large amounts of dye-containing wastewater. Mostly dyes used are azo, anthraquinone and triphenylmethane dyes, classes is based on its chromophore .The white rot fungi are known to be very efficient for azo dye decolorization as various Aspergillus species, have been reported to decolorize various dyes. Aspergillus niger The dye solution will be treated with inactivated Aspergillus niger. A. niger is a fungi which has already been used industrially in producing citric acid. Citric acid used to be produced by extraction from lemons and other citrus fruits, but today microbial fermentation is a broadly spread technique and nearly all citric acid is produced this way. In these fermentation industries A. niger also comes out as a waste product which makes it suitable for investigations of the biosorption ability. A. niger is a dark colored fungi (see Figure a and b) that could be seen at moldering food and is then called black mold. It is mostly fruits and vegetables that are affected by the mold, for example grape fruits, onions and peanuts. One should not forget when dealing with the fungi that it could cause fungus diseases on both humans and animals. Aspergillus niger is a common saprophytic fungus in terrestrial environments. If the cells of the fungi are active they are easily affected by toxic com pounds and chemicals in the waste water and they may then pollute the environment by releasing toxins or propagules. Figure a: Aspergillus niger growing Figure b: Onion with black mold on Czapek dox agar in a Petri dish. Dyes: On the whole a large many number of dyes have been used by different researchers but it is not possible to present the data for all the dyes which were tested hence in this review we have concentrated on a few dyes which are most commonly used by the textile industries. Direct Blue 199 Acid Blue 29 Basic Blue 9 Dispersed red 1 Table 2: Different types of dyes. Culture Conditions and Microorganism: Aspergillus niger pellets were used to obtain the paramorphic forms of A. oryzae. Pure culture was maintained on nutrient beef agar medium at 4Â °C or were grown in potato-dextrose broth at pH 5.6, 29 Â ± 1 C on the shaker . After seven days, when sporulation occurred, the biomass was autoclaved at 121 C, 103.42 kPa for 45 min in order to kill the fungal biomass (figure c). The biomass was separated by filtering the growth medium through Whatman No. 1 paper after washing the fungal biomasses it will dried at 80 C for 20 h. The quantification of fungal biomass was carried out using a linear calibration between volumes of fungal pelletized culture and its respective dry weight. The concentration found may have suffered minor modifications, consequently to the procedures made during its paramorphogenesis. Figure c: Biosorbent powdered Biosorption Experiments Experiments were conducted 30 ml of the dye solution at an orbital shaking of 120 cycles/min. The temperature and pH conditions were varied for the different experiments The estimative biomass (autoclaved )for total removal of the dyes were calculated at three different pH values (2.50; 4.50, and 6.50) After the selection of the better pH (2.50), the dye solutions were equipped with the same dye concentration. Therefore, the solutions were inoculated with A. niger pellets (mg mL−1) getting through different biomass concentration. Samples were withdrawn at specified interval of time to monitor dye adsorption by UV-VIS (Scanning was performed between 300 and 800 nm) spectrophotometer at the absorbance maximum of the respective dye.

White Treatment of Blacks in Notes of a Native Son Essay -- James Bald

The White Beginning To Black Paranoia Some people regard James Baldwin as one of the best essayists of all time because of his ability to enmesh argument within narrative. Baldwin aims to tell a story, yet every so often throughout ?Notes of a Native Son,? he takes a moment to analyze what has happened. As the essay ebbs and flows from narrative into argument, the reader hardly knows the tide has changed. During this change, Baldwin turns to analyzing what has just happened, allowing the reader to actively interpret his analysis as a central theme throughout the work. Throughout the essay, Baldwin?s main narrative dealt with how blacks are treated by white people. When analyzing this narrative, it can be seen that white minds caused black madness, because of how the blacks were treated. Baldwin spends a majority of ?Notes? telling about his father?s life. Baldwin?s father eventually died from an illness of the mind, which plagued him for the last years of his life. His father was the first of a generation of free men. He kept to himself most of the time, had very dark skin, and was a preacher. He always had good intentions, but somehow those intentions never turned out well. As a result of his life, he had a great paranoia, which kept him from getting close to his children, and fueled his angry temper. James Baldwin noticed this paranoia as a young child. Part of the essay talks of when Baldwin was a young boy. One of his teachers, who happened to be white, was interested in a play he wrote, and wanted to take him to see one at the theater. They went to the play and later when Baldwin?s father was laid off his job, this woman became more and more important to helping the family. Even th... ...Baldwin reflects saying, ?now that my father was irrecoverable, I wished that he had been beside me so that I could have searched his face for the answers which only the future would give me now? (84). Baldwin wishes his father was there so he could look into his own future, and see how to cure his bitter madness. In ?Notes,? the narrative of his father?s life, Baldwin realizes, may eventually become the continuation of his own life, unless he learns from what has happened to his father. This essay tells the story of the latter half of his father?s life, and the first half of his own. These two half-lives can be spliced together to represent an African American?s life anywhere during this time period. Works Cited Baldwin, James. ?Notes of a Native Son.? 1955. James Baldwin: Collected Essays. Ed. Toni Morrison. New York: Library of America, 1998. 63-84.

Latest Trends on Global and China Atm Industry Essay

Firstly the report describes the background knowledge of ATM, including ATM(Automated Teller Machine) CRS(Cash Recycling System) Concepts Classification production process technical parameters; then statistics Global and China 15 Manufacturers ATM CRS product 2010-2016 Capacity production cost price production value Gross margins and other relevant data, statistics these enterprises ATM CRS products, customers, raw materials, company background information, then summary statistics and analysis the relevant data of these enterprises. and get Global and China ATM CRS 2010-2016 production market share, different Type ATM production market share, Global and China ATM demand supply and shortage, Global and China ATM 2010-2016 production price cost Gross production value gross margins, etc. At the same time, the report analyzed and discussed supply and demand changes in ATM market and business development strategies, conduct a comprehensive analysis on Global and China ATM industry trends. To Have a Copy: http://www.allmarketresearch.com/wiki/global-and-china-atm-industry-2013-deep-research-report.php Finally, the report also introduced 5000 Sets/year ATM project Feasibility analysis and related research conclusions. In a word, It was a depth research report on Global and China ATM industry. And thanks to the support and assistance from ATM industry chain related experts and enterprises during Research Team survey and interviews.

Free Essays on The Death Of Marylin Monroe

. In a short 25-lined poem Sharon Olds explains the emptiness many men and woman felt when Marilyn Monroe was pronounced dead. Without exactly stating what Marilyn Monroe was, we paint a picture in our heads of an icon, whose death was astonishing. Miss Monroe wasn’t only a beautiful woman that men looked at as a dream girl, but a role model for women everywhere. Her stunning good looks made her stick out of a crowd like a streak of lightning. Her girlie figure and always perfect-hair made her what everyone wanted to be. When Marilyn Monroe died her dream girl imaged died with her. Men everywhere missed her sleek moves and ideal breasts. The thought of her cold body and pale skin was no longer appealing. Who were people going to look to for sex appeal and Hollywood gossip? In the poem â€Å"The Death of Marilyn Monroe†, three ambulance men are responsible for picking up her body and covering her wounds. While each man blankly stares at their once dream girl, they realize she is no longer in their dreams. Closing her eyes and mouth they pull the sheet over her head, each man devastated. Later that day, each man, on his own, seemed different. The day wasn’t as bright as it started out to be, and things weren’t so full of life. As always the men went out for a drink and couldn’t stand to look each other in the eye. They all new Marilyn Monroe’s death was different from anyone elseï ¿ ½... Free Essays on The Death Of Marylin Monroe Free Essays on The Death Of Marylin Monroe â€Å"The Death of Marilyn Monroe† Each poem that is written holds a feeling to it only the author can experience from writing it. As each reader picks up that poem and reads it, it can be interpreted as a memory or a feeling only that person is familiar with. No person can relate to a poem the same way the person before them did. This is a small part of poetry and all the ways it can be read. In a poem by Sharon Olds she explains the feeling around Marilyn Monroe’s death. A feeling most of us remember but no one can put in plain words. In a short 25-lined poem Sharon Olds explains the emptiness many men and woman felt when Marilyn Monroe was pronounced dead. Without exactly stating what Marilyn Monroe was, we paint a picture in our heads of an icon, whose death was astonishing. Miss Monroe wasn’t only a beautiful woman that men looked at as a dream girl, but a role model for women everywhere. Her stunning good looks made her stick out of a crowd like a streak of lightning. Her girlie figure and always perfect-hair made her what everyone wanted to be. When Marilyn Monroe died her dream girl imaged died with her. Men everywhere missed her sleek moves and ideal breasts. The thought of her cold body and pale skin was no longer appealing. Who were people going to look to for sex appeal and Hollywood gossip? In the poem â€Å"The Death of Marilyn Monroe†, three ambulance men are responsible for picking up her body and covering her wounds. While each man blankly stares at their once dream girl, they realize she is no longer in their dreams. Closing her eyes and mouth they pull the sheet over her head, each man devastated. Later that day, each man, on his own, seemed different. The day wasn’t as bright as it started out to be, and things weren’t so full of life. As always the men went out for a drink and couldn’t stand to look each other in the eye. They all new Marilyn Monroe’s death was different from anyone elseï ¿ ½...

How Much Money Do Administrative Assistants Make

How Much Money Do Administrative Assistants Make Being an administrative assistant can be an exciting and well-paying position. While some administrative assistant jobs require industry specific training, a high school diploma opens the door to this career. Salary depends on the type of work you do and the geographical location where you do it.What Is an Administrative Assistant?An office has administrative procedures that are necessary to keep it running. Overall, an administrative assistant handles the procedures. It may involve clerical work, scheduling appointments, sending emails or organizing the workload. Depending on the type of office, the job may vary.Types of Administrative Assistant JobsThere are as many types of administrative assistants as there are industries. There are entry-level jobs and executive ones. Government administrative assistants work on Capitol Hill as assistants to Senators and Congressmen, and others work for governmental agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security and the Postal Se rvice.Some administrative assistants work in medical or dental offices and hospitals. Medical administrative assistants might greet and help interview patients, utilize computer programs to make sure each clinician has what is needed when patients arrive and oversee office compilation of medical records. Legal administrative assistants often learn to write up legal documents such as subpoenas and motions for attorneys in the law firm aside from general office duties.Training RequirementsAdministrative assistants are required to have a high school education for an entry-level position. Administrative assistants who work in the medical or legal field may need extra training over several months, often provided by the employer. The more specialized the office, the greater the need for training. In fact, some legal and medical assistants take courses designed to help them understand the complexities of medical or legal work.Executive administrative assistants often need years of experien ce before being hired and may be expected to have a college degree. Overall, computer skills are an important part of the job. Advancement is common as an administrative assistant becomes more adept at handling job tasks.Getting CertifiedCertification in this field is available. It is possible to earn a Certified Administrative Professional award after two to four years of administrative assistant experience. Accredited Legal Professional certification is also awarded depending on years of experience.Availability of Administrative Assistant JobsAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for Administrative Assistants of all types is expected to grow 12 percent by 2020. The number of jobs in various industries will differ according to need.Administrative Assistant SalaryThe salary an administrative assistant draws varies according to the geographical area of the country and the industry within which he or she works. Legal administrative assistants earn an average of $48,000 per year with a low of $27,000 to a high of $65,000. Medical administrative assistants make $43,000 to $70,000 annually. The median salary for general office administrative assistants is an average of $30,000.Geographic location plays a big role in salary. Administrative assistants in Trenton, New Jersey and Boston, Massachusetts make about $45,000 and $44,000 respectively. District of Columbia workers earn around $42,000 while those in San Francisco make an average of $43,000.Finding an Administrative Assistant JobLooking for an administrative assistant job online with TheJobNetwork saves time by consolidating your search. Once you have uploaded your resume and job preferences, TheJobNetwork searches for the best jobs using your criteria. Once jobs are located, an email will be sent telling you which jobs are available. After this, you can apply for specific jobs.

Our Parents Affect Us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Our Parents Affect Us - Essay Example His aunt who was a devout Christian raised Hughes; she encouraged him to attend church proceedings so that he could be saved. Hughes narrates how his aunt told him that extraordinary things would occur in his life after he gets saved. He attends the revival church service where his aunt Reed worshipped so that he could experience the unusual feeling. Prior to the service, his aunt had advised him that he would experience â€Å"something on the inside and he would see the light† Hughes was anxious about experiencing the everlasting light of Jesus Christ (Yagelski, Amy & Robert 224). He attended the church service with the expectation of seeing the light physically. However, this does not take place because he was waiting for Jesus to appear and encourage him to join the rest of the children on the altar. He is forced to join the rest of the children on the altar out of peer pressure. Deep down he thought salvation was something physical not an inside feeling. He pretends to hav e experienced salvation to please his aunt. The impact of the words of our parents can be massive. Parents are the adults children look up to. Therefore, anything they tell their children is assumed to be true. Even when the words or stories told present some gaps the children perceive the words of the adults as something not to be questioned. Hughes believed the words of his aunt and when the anticipated feeling did not occur he was afraid to question his aunt and opted to lie. Hughes experience in â€Å"salvation† is similar to many other experiences of children. Children tend to comprehend the words told by our parents plainly. They believe that something will happen for real and not through imagination. Parents do not know the children fathom things that way; therefore, they keep on telling them fantasy stories that they understand as being true. Most of the time, the words of our parents influence our decision-making. Even though children do not comprehend all that their parents say when they are young. They pretend to understand so that they may not disappoint their parents. This is why Hughes pretended to be saved - he wanted to make his aunt happy. Maxine Hong Kingston is another victim of the impact of parents in â€Å"No Name Woman†. The stories told by our parents are meant to nurture our growth and ensure we behave properly (Yagelski, Amy & Robert 87). Parents fail to understand the fantasy developed by children because of the story or narration. For instance, Kingston is a young Chinese woman approaching adolescence; the mother is afraid of the impact of adolescence that may befall Kingston. Kingston’s mother tells her a story to frighten her and ensure she respects traditional morals and ethics, but many things go through the daughter’s mind; she tries to imagine the possible ways that her aunt’s misfortune happened. Kingston develops an imagination of what might have happened to her aunt. She kept on wondering what led to the suicidal decision of her aunt. Children have the tendency of developing similar fantasies from the stories told by parents. They tend to fill the gaps not answered by parents. The imaginations are developed because the stories told by parents are not fully imaginative; therefore, the children develop their own fantasy world to fill the gaps. The imaginations can go as far as Kingston’s imaginations. She keeps on wondering if her aunt was miserable because of the

Technology in Nursing Impacting Medication Administration Annotated Bibliography

Technology in Nursing Impacting Medication Administration - Annotated Bibliography Example With these advances, however, has come the need to ensure that medical professionals are adequately trained in the new tools, and that errors due to the failure of technology are minimized to the greatest extent possible. Out of this has arisen numerous medical studies to determine the actual impact that technology has on the administration of medication in today’s acute care setting, and that is the focus of this review of literature as well. The author of this study implemented a unique approach in studying the efficacy of new technology in administering medication. Coming from the perspective that automating the process of medical administration can dramatically decrease potentially deadly error. the study analyzed the effect that training has on ensuring that the same mistakes do not happen at the hands of the very technology it is designed to help. Through observing and surveying nurses in a variety of healthcare settings, the author of this study concludes the types of training that prove most effective and alludes to the necessity of such training strategies before incorporating the use of technology into the overall process and procedure of administering medication throughout an acute care setting. In looking at the efficacy of using technology to monitor the administration of medication, this study worked to describe the perceptions of various staff members in terms of their support for the digitization of the process. A total of 22 people working with the elderly in a care facilitated in the study. The staff that participated in this particular study sometimes expressed strong emotions as a sign of frustration for losing prerequisites to perform their work well. In big complex organizations where economy and effectiveness are often discussed, knowledge of power relations in innovation and implementation processes would be beneficial. Although moral distress is a well-known phenomenon, future research may be needed to find

The Global Pharmaceutical Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Global Pharmaceutical Industry - Case Study Example The global pharmaceutical industry is quite unusual and in various geographic markets there happens to only one powerful buyer, i.e. the government. During the 80s and 90s the governments round the globe started to concentrate on the pharmaceuticals as some kind of an easy target in order to control the expenditures related to healthcare and get greater value for money. These typed of activities by the governments is just a reflection of the cultural differences. The industry in true sense has got global and hence the employment and ownership has become concentrated in very few countries. Regulators have quite often been challenged to reduce the overburdening of the growing areas related to the area of biotechnology research.   There are also increasing pressure from inter country pricing inequality as well as parallel trade. One such example would the difference between USA and Canada (Henry, 2008, p. 89).Economic ForcesPatients usually have had very little influence on the choice of price and products, because the doctors make the prescription. Again the medical practitioners tend to favor branded products. On the other hand the incentives to buy products got decreased as the costs were reimbursed or assumed by the insurers or the heath care authorities. The supply of the pharmaceutical market is still quite fragmented as very few companies are holding a share of more than 11%-20%. The industry has the presence of some strong international player’s bases in France, Japan and India in the form of Ranbaxy.... One such example would the difference between USA and Canada (Henry, 2008, p. 89). Economic Forces Patients usually have had very little influence on the choice of price and products, because the doctors make the prescription. Again the medical practitioners tend to favor branded products. On the other hand the incentives to buy products got decreased as the costs were reimbursed or assumed by the insurers or the heath care authorities. The supply of the pharmaceutical market is still quite fragmented as very few companies are holding a share of more than 11%-20%. The industry has the presence of some strong international player’s bases in France, Japan and India in the form of Ranbaxy. However, the recent economic down turn has meant that the companies had to reduce the spending on R&D and as a result number of new products that were supposed to reach the market has fallen (Churchill, 2009, p.211). Social Forces The baby boom generation is approaching retirement and there hav e been new efforts on the part of the companies to serve the purpose of treatment of the elderly. The end users are now a lot better informed about the products. The rise of the internet has helped the customers to get valuable info about pharmacy based products quite easily. Consumers have become a lot educated and as a result a lot more demanding (Brown, 2009, p. 209). Technological Forces Technological factors can actually lower the market entry barriers and reduce the efficient production levels and influence the outsourcing decisions. Some of the factors include the R&D activities, rate of technology change and technology incentives. One of the major implications of the technological development has been the development of drugs that can help

The Islamic Hegemony Essay Example for Free

The Islamic Hegemony Essay The course of world history could have been altered if a single detail in the events in the 1200’s was changed or did not happen, or a decision was roughly executed at the wrong time, place and situation. Other races or nations may have been the world’s superpower today if the right opportunities were present at that time, and it only means that what could be happening today may be reversed in an instant as not a single nation holds the monopoly of societal change. The world we know today could have been much different if Genghis Khan’s attempt to destroy the Persian Empire was defeated. In the next sections we will present a historical alteration of events and hypothesize on the consequences of Genghis Khan’s defeat with its repercussions on the political, cultural and economic environment of the present. Islamic armies have conquered much of the Central Asian region and converted the population to Islam before the Mongolian invasion of Persia in the 1200’s which halted the Muslim expansion. Whenever these Muslim warriors went, torture, massacre and abuse on the different nomadic tribes, Turkish, Mongolian and other non-Muslim people were perpetuated. The affair on the Silk Road was the only event which altered the course of history. If Genghis Khan was not able to defeat the Persians, it would have been possible that the Islamic Empire expanded East ward without facing any formidable resistance. China in 1279 during the Sung Dynasty has suffered from Mongolian attacks hence any organized resistance would be impossible and the disoriented armies formed to oppose the Muslims would be severely annihilated en masse. The possibility was great that the combined forces of Khwarazmian Empire’s of Shah Muhammad II of Eastern Iran and the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad could take hold of the territories that the Mongolian hordes have reached; India, China, Central Asia and farther up in Poland. Without the emergence of Pax Mongolica (Phillips 32), Muslim influence could have reached a vast expanse in Asia, Eurasia and the Caucasus for it was evident that the Muslim armies converted to Islam every nation or kingdom that they had conquered under the scimitar and the green flag. Thus, we would be having two of the world’s most populous nations (China and India) under Muhammad’s doctrines and such could greatly alter the balance of power in the contemporary history. With Islam as the world’s leading religion in terms of the number of believers. The factor that could have attributed to the Islamic success in dispersing its culture and belief is that unlike the Mongolians, who subscribed to the cultures of the conquered lands, they brought along with tem an organized religion and culture paired with iron will to impose their belief and culture by the sword. Later in Kublai Khan’s rule, he had planned to conquer Japan from the Korean Peninsula but was halted when the Mongolian fleet was destroyed by a typhoon. The Mongol leader attacked in 1274 but was unsuccessful due to a hurricane, known to the Japanese as the winds of the Kamikaze. Eight years later, Kublai struck again launching the largest naval brigade prior to the 1700s. However, the Mongol fleet was sunk by another massive hurricane. After these two disastrous failures, Kublai deserted his plans for the conquest of Japan. (Hooker 2) Imagine when the Islamic conquerors have annexed China into the Islamic sphere of influence with the Arabian dynasty on its helm, we would have a Muslim Japan, which is another world superpower today. With the occupation of China and Japan, it would have been easier for the Arab converters to take hold of South East Asian countries like Philippines, Indonesia and the Indochina and monopolize the political and religious power in the region, blocking the European colonial powers from acquiring their colonies (Dutch East Indies, Indochina and Philippines) in the early part of the 14th century. On the other side of the picture, Muslim armies were also waging a war in the Iberian Peninsula, taking Portugal and Spain from their bases in Egypt and North Africa. This could have spelled total disaster for the Christian armies that were also engaged in the Crusades aimed at retaking the Holy Land from the combined armies of different caliphates and kingdoms in the Middle East. This would be greatly altered in the event that the Islamic armies would be concentrated on the expansion in the European kingdoms. Europe at that time was facing constant disputes on its closely knitted states and principalities hence the political atmosphere was not conducive to economic activities. Without trade from the East (mainly referred to the Silk Road) the mercantile economy was paralyzed. The Mongol hordes rampaged Europe with: †¦A massive raid rather than a complete occupation; nevertheless, the picture she paints is chilling. Driving across the North German plain, the same route Cold War planners pictured for a Soviet invasion, the Mongols would have made use of expert reconnaissance to target plunder and grazing land. They would have sacked Belgium and Holland, destroying the embryonic financial centers of Europe. They would have turned south into France, destroying Paris and with it the revival of ancient philosophy that it would have hosted a few decades later. Perhaps they would have crossed the Alps and ravaged Italy, destroying the other birthplaces of the Renaissance†¦The Dark Ages were pure light compared to what could have happened (Dutch) With such factors, the European nations would not be able to reach a stage of economic growth. The Anglo Saxon and European kingdoms were limited to self-preservation and busied with internal conflicts, so if ever the Arabian Empire would pose a threat to the continent, the nations would not be able to respond accordingly. Though these nations were not totally annexed by the Arabian Empire, the age of explorations will not be like what it was in real history. The colonial powers of Europe may have not conquered parts of Africa because of a strong Islamic influence on the continent brought about by the healthy trade relations with the caliphates and emirates in the Islamic world. The Asian continents were already fortified with Islamic sultanates that had ensued from China, which was already an Islamic territory. The discovery of the New World may have not been possible because of the diverted attention of the European nations from exploration to warfare and territorial defense. The effects of these events could have paralyzed the entire European economy as they were scuttling for raw materials for their industries and caused a crisis in the production system making wars of aggression and annexation more often. It should be noted that the Crusades were, hypothetically, defeated by the Muslim armies thus, the Holy Land was in the sole custody of an Islamic state in the Palestine. If that was what had happened, there is a strong probability that the Zionist Israel will not exist therefore a more peaceful Middle East. It was also likely that the strong Islamic states have maintained the sovereignty of their oil resources and subsequently created a more prosperous oil industry free of European influences. Hence, the events that could have transpired in the 1200’s would have created a new world order wherein the Islamic culture is dominant. The majority of the world’s population could have been Muslims and with such superiority in number religious discrimination would be inexistent. It could have been possible that a nation in Middle East is today’s superpower not the United States. Such was the gravity of the alterations in world affairs that even as we speak, we would be subscribing to Arabic-speaking television networks. The dynamism of history is truly fragile. There are many possibilities in the historical development of human societies and each would yield another result. Works Cited Dutch, Steven. The Mongols. (1998). May 23, 2008 http://www. uwgb. edu/dutchs/WestTech/xmongol. htm. Hooker, Richard. The Establishment of the Bakufu. Japan, Korea and the Mongols. May 23, 2008 http://www. wsu. edu/~dee/FEUJAPAN/KAMAKURA. HTM. Phillips, E. D. The Mongols. Vol. 2. New York: Frederick A. Prager, 1969.

Natural Language Processing :: Computer Technology

Natural Language Processing To digest natural language implies understanding, a function that is uniquely human. To understand something implies to have senses that interpret the world such as emotions and awareness of our own physical experiences. When someone tells a story, we rely upon previous experience for interpretation. We form a reaction, our heart rate may change, we may start sweating, we may relax or tense, and feel certain emotions such as fear. Upon getting new information, a persons attitude may change or the way they think may change. A computer made of metal simply does not have the faculties to experience the world as we do. It can be programmed to respond in such a way that mimics a human response, but can not be considered to be really understanding what it is doing. Recall the story of Helen Keller, how she finally began to learn a language when she was given immediate experiential feedback. The teacher would pour water on her and then do the sign language for the word in her hand. The foun der of Toastmaster's organization started it on the premise that people learn in moments of pleasure, and structured the organization so it would provide just that. A computer would not have the senses to make such understanding of these words and experiences possible. In addition to its lack of cognitive ability, a computer can not form expectations based upon a situation. A political speech can be very serious, but when seen on Saturday Night Live, it will be interpreted as funny. A similar problem is the extra meaning conveyed by the tone of voice or body language. We could always program an exhaustive data bank with all the different possibilities of input, but the system as we know it could not search all of these within a reasonable period of time, nor could it adapt to future changes. One of the problems with natural language processing systems is that humans themselves are often not very good natural language generators or processors. We often apply our own bias and expectations to what we hear. Two people can make eye contact and set up a whole series of background such that they now what each other are talking about. That very fact may be a bonus for computer natural language processing because we can predict with certainty how the system will interpret the information and therefore have greater clarity than people.

1920s Fashion – Research Paper

The 1920’s fashion was a period of liberation, change, and even more importantly a movement towards the modern era. Fashion in the 1920’s varied throughout the decade but one could see the noticeable change from the previous fashion statements and eras. At the start of the decade, women began emancipating themselves from the constricting fashions by wearing more comfortable apparel.As women gained more rights and World War I forced them to become more independent, flappers came to be, mass-produced garments became available, and artistic movements increased in popularity, one can see how the fashions from the roaring twenties characterized the time and redefined womanhood. (1920s clothing 1) In the early 1920s, change advanced gradually as many women were reluctant to adopt the new styles and changes coming with the new era. From 1925 on however, the styles associated with the roaring twenties were excitedly accepted by the public and continued to characterize fashion i nto the late 1930s.Numerous years had passed since the end of World War I. After the burden of the war, and the female liberation movement, women now felt free-spirited and just simply wanted to have a little fun again. (1920’s Fashion 1) Having won the right to vote in the 1920s, women were able to break free of the traditional feminine image and behaviors previously associated with them. (The American Vision 378) Specifically, women were experiencing a greater sense of individuality and even more importantly a greater sense of independence.As new opportunities arose, women began to shed the confining clothing of the previous centuries. Corsets were forgotten and replaced with looser fitting camisoles. (1920’s Fashion 1) Designers had much more freedom of expression with the new dresses and tops of the twenties. Colorful, loud fabrics showed the joy the women felt about the end of the war and their new freedom and independence. (1920’s women fashions 1) As the 1920s came to a close, one can see how the clothes became more comfortable for women and much less constricting resulting in a slimmer silhouette for women.Thanks to Coco Chanel, the iconic flapper image most closely associated with the roaring twenties came about. The flapper and flapper image didn’t actually come to be until around 1926 and even then was only in style for about three years. Typical flappers were women who appeared to have a bold attitude and were independent women who didn’t adhere to the previously innocent housewife image. A flapper usually had a bob haircut, a shorter than average dress, a flat chest, wore tons of make-up, drank illegal alcohol, smoked with a long cigarette holder, exposed her limbs and danced the Charleston.This was a drastic change from the typical American housewife to the reckless rebel. The flapper dresses stressed above the knee hemlines and construed straight, sleek shapes. This was the first time in centuries women’ s legs were being seen in a garment. (1920s Fashion 1) Flappers loved to jazz up their costume and even their image. Many flappers’ dresses were adorned with jewels and intricate beading. The main object of the flapper image was to appear almost boyish rather than looking feminine. 1920s clothing 1) The nineteen twenties became the first century where mass produced goods really became available and made a significant impact in everyone’s lives. High fashion before the 1920s had really only been for the richer women of society who could afford such luxuries. Mass produced garments became available to more women who could afford them. Mary Pickens Brook of the Woman’s Institute transformed the fashion industry when she invented the one-hour dress. Thanks to Brook, women could now make their own dresses by following a simple sewing pattern.As it was easier for women to make dresses at home it was also easier for factories to manufacture the simple garments. This ba sic style, coupled with the increase in mass production, made fashion easily attainable to women of all income levels. The average person’s fashion sense became more sophisticated than previous eras. Recorded fashion images show after the twenties the fashions of ordinary women and what they typically wore in contrast to just the clothing of the rich. Styles at all levels now were being heavily influenced by the newly portrayed movie stars.Regular people could now see the movie star’s fashion and make their own renditions of it to create an ever changing style. (1920s Fashion 1) Art had a particularly remarkable influence over the 1920’s clothing. Crazy and bright fabrics were becoming more and more prominent throughout the decade as opposed to the blacks, grays, and neutrals of the past years. Designers also started playing around with geometric patterns and shapes. (1920’s clothing 1) Lighter, brighter, and shorter became the new expectations of clothin g in the 1920’s, especially the dresses.Fashion designers started to become more daring and use numerous fabric colors, textures, and patterns in their line of clothing. Ravishing coordinated and accessorized outfits were a must have for the ladies of nineteen twenties. Hats, shoes, stockings, handbags, dresses, and jewelry all came together in perfect harmony to create a unique an elegant style not previously seen in earlier decades. (1920’s women fashions 1) Influences from the 1920s fashions decade can still be found in many of today’s present trends. For starters, women could now find the same looks in high-priced boutiques as they could in discount retailers.Cardigan jackets and sweaters, first worn in the 1920s have become staple items in today’s fashion industry. Even the style of the bob hair cut has become a classic style nowadays. The fashion of the nineteen twenties was the beginning of change and the love of fashion that numerous people share today. As a result of liberation and artistic movements, mass-production, and flappers one can see how the nineteen twenties fashion era began shaping the fashion industry into one of the biggest industries known today.

An Analysis of Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd and the Effect of the Credit Crunch on Its Performance

|Dissertation Proposal | |An analysis of Sainsbury’s supermarkets Ltd and the effect of the credit crunch on its performance | |Year: 1 | |Course code:MN5251 | |Assignment No: 1 | |Programme Title: MSc International Management | |Candidate No: 0901143 | | | TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 AIMS OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 LITERATURE REVEIW†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 METHODOLOGY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 PROPOSED CHAPTER HEADINGS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 REFERECES†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 APPENDIX†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 1. Introduction This dissertation seeks to examine Sainsbury’s supermarkets plc (Sainsbury’s) as a company and how they can use their established brand to branch out and gain potential growth in the industry, and to explore how they are coping with the recent credit crunch. Sainsbury’s has come a long way from being the market leader to dropping to the third position which it is struggling to maintain. This can be attributed to a series of wrong decisions and lack of foresight leading to their current struggles. They suffered from poor management in the past and this has reflected on their effort to catch up with the industry leaders. In addition, because of the recent credit crunch, banks have cut back on lending to both individuals and firms thereby swaying consumers to demand cheaper products and curb their expenditures. A question springs to mind: prior to the crisis, supermarkets have passed on rising food prices to consumers but now more than ever prices are low, so why the sudden change in tactics? Small businesses are going under due to lack of finance which hinders them from competing and offering low prices but this loss to society becomes a gain to the big supermarkets. Does this mean that the supermarket industry has less risk than other industries or has the supermarket industry adjusted strategically to cope with the global downturn? 2. Background of the study Sainsbury’s supermarket, a subsidiary of J Sainsbury plc was first opened in 1869 and is one of UK’s most reputable stores. They own 509 supermarkets and 276 convenience stores around the UK according to their website and are best known for their quality products that are priced fairly. It operates as an oligopoly where only few firms in the industry have majority of the market shares. Historically they have had the advantage of been in the industry a lot longer than its competitors who have now taken over in both performance and market share. Over a consecutive three month period ending in June 2008, Sainsbury’s reported 3. 4% increase in like-for-like sales which exclude fuel. They have recently boosted their ‘basics’ range in order to meet the growing demand and attract new customers. They have promoted their brand with the help of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver In the current economic climate, the supermarket industry seems not to be affected financially by the lack of global credit but they have had to change their operations strategically to meet the demand of customers in the recent economic downturn. The food industry runs a low risk trade because majority of its products are necessities unlike other industries such as the banking sector who have suffered greatly from the credit crunch e. g. Lehman brothers. Across the continent and the UK, supermarkets have not been adversely affected by the economic crisis. Contrary to the recent events, the supermarket industry has in general employed more staff globally than any other sector. E. g. Asda has pledged to employ 7000 new workers in 2009 (BBC), Tesco also plans to take up 10,000 new workers (Sky News). Some of the supermarkets are making plans to expand and open new stores in the current economic climate impaired with lack of credit. Companies have had to improve efficiency in order to minimise their cost and to increase profitability. 3. The Aims of the research project are to: †¢ Provide an assessment and summary of Sainsbury’s supermarkets plc: -using financial, operational and business performance analysis to compare them against their competitors. †¢ Analyse its position in the industry before and during the credit crunch: – they are currently experiencing increased sales during a recession. †¢ Investigate the reasons why Sainsbury’s is not the market leader: – they were the pioneers of the industry and now they are struggling to maintain third position ranking. Put together recommendations for Sainsbury’s on opportunities available to them that could lead to potential growth and increase customer loyalty: – suggest poss ible solutions and strategies that could help rebrand and reposition them in the industry. Personal aims include: †¢ Gaining more knowledge and skills in performing research through various techniques. †¢ Complete a compulsory component to secure an MSc degree in International Management. The objectives of the research project are to: †¢ Evaluate the supermarket industry. †¢ Examine the role of Sainsbury’s in the industry. †¢ Establish if there are still market growth opportunities. †¢ Accessing the impact of the credit crunch on the industry. Reason behind the recent increase in sales during the credit crunch. †¢ The effectiveness of their marketing strategy and its impact on their sales. †¢ The role and contributions of operations to Sainsbury’s. 4. Literature Review and limitations of the study Sainsbury’s has recently been losing customers to discount stores like Aldi and Lidl who offer lower value products at cheap pr ices and since then the company has rebranded and improved on its financial and operational performance but has still not caught up with the market leader. Their own brand ‘basics’ is a core strength to the business but they seen to be losing the battle of drawing consumers to purchase upscale and premium products from them. Sainsbury’s grew rapidly after its first store was opened but suffered great losses after the Second World War when turnover fell drastically but the company evolved and grew once again till they experienced a change in management style in 1992. David Sainsbury and his successors made great decision mistakes under their administration including the rejection of branching into non-food retailing amongst others. During this downturn, their competitors grew rapidly. An opportunity that needs s to be explored is the increase in demand for organic products while striving to minimise the threat of their lack of international market exposure. It is important to point out that porters 5 forces has some weakness of been static, lacks guidance on how to define an industry and not forward looking. With these flaws, it is also considered to be a useful tool in identifying threats to profitability, strategic planning to outperform rivals and helps to identify less competitive segments. A limitation to the report will be the sample size used which will be small compared to the total population and maybe income, age and taste sensitive. The result from the survey will be biased because it will be focused in the south west region of the UK and only few stores will be used. 5. Methodology and methods The research aims will be achieved with a combination of primary and secondary research 5. 1 Literature review The research method will be reviewing the literature on the supermarket industry with its focus being on Sainsbury’s. This will be achieved from the use of secondary data collected from textbooks and journals through Royal Holloway university library and other relevant resources including the use of commercial databases and internet search engines. The dissertation will adopt a case study method. 5. 2 Data collection and sample This report will use qualitative and quantitative data as sources of primary research. An analysis of original documents will be utilised including carrying out a small sample survey of 30 individuals each for Sainsbury’s and its competitors. This will entail the use of questionnaires with closed questions imputed into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Telephone and face-to-face interviewing techniques will also be used based on having good and reliable contacts within the companies. Data will also be gathered from electronic sources, books, journal articles; news achieves and interviews to. 5. 3 Data analysis A categorisation approach will be adopted where all data collected are grouped according the topic area best suited for its analysis. This report will examine the financial and operational performance of Sainsbury’s in comparison with its competitors. The use of financial information gathered from secondary research, Sainsbury’s and its competitors (such as audited reports) which are less biased will be used to measure the performance of the business. The financial performance will be evaluated using the following: Ratio analysis, Competitor analysis and Financial statements. The operational performance will be analysed by studying the following: Distribution networks, Product quality, Pricing strategies, Promotion strategies and Store location. The report will use the 4-stage model theory to rate the position of Sainsbury’s operation. This will determine where they fit into the model and how to further develop other aspects of their processes which could act as a support to gaining competitive advantage. Strategic analysis theory will be used to evaluate the strategic position of Sainsbury’s in the supermarket industry. These theories will include: Swot analysis, Pest analysis, Porter’s five forces and Risk analysis. The Sources Sainsbury’s website, Tesco, Asda and Morrison’s website, Textbooks, Journals, The World Wide Web, Databases, Royal Holloway University, News achieves and MINTEL. 6. Proposed chapter headings Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Background Chapter 3: Literature review Chapter 4: Methodology Chapter 5: Research results and analysis Chapter 6: Conclusion and recommendations References and appendices References Collin Fisher 2007. Researching and Writing a Dissertation: A Guidebook for Business Students. Prentice Hall BBC online Asda creating 7,000 new UK jobs http://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/business/7855482. stm Accessed 28/01/2009 Datamonitor, August 2008. Company Spotlight: Sainsbury’s http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/pdf? id=22&hid=16&sid=fc656bea-c31c-4043-bbc3-82640ca0cf52%40sessionmgr7 www. sainsburys. co. uk Wheelwright, S. and Hayes, R. (1985) Competing through manufacturing in Harvard Business Review, (Jan-Feb), pp. 99-109. Sky News Tesco to create 10,000 new j obs http://news. sky. com/skynews/Home/Business/Tesco-To-Create-10000-Jobs-But-Posts-Poor-Christmas-Sales-Figures/Article/200901215202210. Accessed 20/01/2009 Appendix Timetable of dissertation 30th of January, 2009: proposal deadline February 2009: – week 1-2: collect literature papers – week 3-4: review research methods literature and research strategy March 2009: – week 1-2: design questionnaires forms – week 3-4: examine literature review April 2009: week 1-4: contact company to make appointment schedules – week 3-4: revise the questions of questionnaires May 2009: – week 2-3: formal proceeding with questionnaires – week 4: final collection of questionnaire and analyse of primary data from the case company June 2009: – week 1-4: start writing dissertation – week 1-4: keep refining dissertation writing and start to finalise dissertation write up July 2009: – week 4: start proofreading, finalise dissertation wri te up – week 4: buffer for contingency and start up the plan of dissertation binding August 2009: – week 1: finalise dissertation binding – week 2: preparation for submission deadline