Pramoedya Anata Toer Essay

Inem, is a short story written by Pramoedya Anata Toer. He was a Indonesian short story writter and a novel writer, born in a village called Blora. Blora was the village in short story where (Gus Muk), his mom, and Inems family lived in. The author refers to his culture and events about his life in the story. His father in real life is a activist who ruined his family by obsessive gambling. Pramoedya writes alot of Indonesian literature. The aspects of culture in â€Å"Inem,† is the tradition of child marriages. In some parts of the world child marriages was a tradition. Girls at a young age were supposed to marry an older boy. The story also shows the reader some of the cultural aspects such as popular entertainment and dances in her area. The characters in the story are, Gus Muk (age6) a boy, also the narrator who basically trails Inems life. Inems father who is a criminal and gambles alot, her mother who lives off batik work and helps the family, and Markaban (age17) who is Inem’s husband. Lastly theres Inem (age 8) a so called beatiful girl in the neighbor hood who had great manners. Inem is in search of happiness with her new life and husband but ends up being a beaten divorcee. Overview/summary It’s a story told in second person perspective about a beautiful young girl (Inem) who is a servant to a boy (Gus Muk) and his mother. In the story Inem is so beautiful and respectful and able to do many things but is only eight years old and Gus Muk is six. Eventually her mother found a man named, Markaban who is seventeen years old. Her mom did not want to let this marriage go so she wants Inem to get married so she can help her familly at home. Inems family and the husband family both accept the marriage. Inem’s father was a criminal who robbed people in the forest, but was never arrested. Inems mother had a talk with Gus Muk’s mother to try and get her to come home. The boys mother disapproves of the marriage and does not want Inem to go on with this. Gus Muk’s mom said † It’s not right to make children mary repeatedly.† Inems mother said that it would be a shame for her not to be married at such a old age. Inem was later taken home to prepare for her wedding day. Gus Muk’s mom did not want him playing with Inem but that did not stop him from going over to play. The day before the wedding Gus Muk sent her family five kilos of rice and twenty-five cents as a gift. The day of her wedding came, and everything was going well, the house was decorated, the tajuban dancing girls was the entertainment, and finally Inem and her husband get married. Inem was officially married and worked with her mom making batik. Every night Gus Muk and his mother listen to screaming and crying when Inems husband wrestles with her. She comes crying to Gus Muks mom and tells her that Markaban beats her and she tells her to go back home and serve Markaban faithfully. Inem comes back again but finally divorced with her husband, and asks if Gus Muks mother can taker her back, but Gus Muks mom denies her request and sends her back home. Inem gets beaten by anyone who wanted to, her family and neighbors could because she was a burden to the family. Although she cries and screams she never came back to Gus Muk’s house.

Perdue Case Analysis Essay

Perdue, in the case, seems to have the biggest dilemma: to enter or to not enter the industry of chicken hot dogs. But even within that dilemma, Perdue is faced with even more petty dilemmas should they decide to get into chicken hot dogs or not. In this paper, I do not intend to give a summary of the case and will not beat around the bush by giving my analysis and recommendations spot on. Judging from the facts and figures provided for by the case, I strongly believe that Perdue should get into chicken hot dogs. Why chicken hot dogs The first reason why I believe that Perdue should enter the scene is due to the fact that Perdue has a very good brand perception. From the case, when Poole blind tested consumers, Perdue proved to be an even better brand than the leader, Oscar Mayer. The fact that Perdue hasn’t really gone serious into hot dogs and was still the more preferred, gives us an idea that the brand itself is very crucial or would somewhat suffice when it comes to marketing. Perdue is a brand that is trusted by consumers, only, the brand hasn’t risked much to meet that valuable trust halfway. Another reason why they should venture into the hot dog industry is the stark difference of Perdue from other competitors: everyone has gone to processing foods. Perdue is still tagging behind, heavily dependent on its superb yellow chicken that is not even prepackaged. While they are at an advantage for now because processed meat products would need the supply of raw meat, Perdue should also take into s erious consideration that the competitors will soon have to acquire, and they will, their own supply of chickens through hatcheries. The high demand of processed food will push the competitors to buy out supply to sustain the business. This trend in the industry must be thought over by the Perdue management. They cannot be a brand that is resistant to change, even if they claim to be a very strong one. With that, Perdue has since been at the backburner. Their supply of chickens for the franks is not even enough simply because they are not into the hot dogs business. Competitors will soon gain their own hatcheries and will unseat Perdue in no time. In connection to that, Perdue lacks the facilities for growth. They cannot pack chickens like other poultry companies do for grocers and they do not have the capacity to process the meat into franks. This very much limits Perdue. They have been forever an old provider of fresh chicken and that is all they are about. While it is not entirely wrong, I just think that Perdue should use its good brand image to take chances and without having to necessarily tarnish their good image which they have acquired over a long time. Next, venturing into chicken hot dog does not mean that they have to face the same problems they are having with their current business. Distribution would be not constricting anymore. They can go institutional because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Lastly, Perdue is competing in a market wherein they have always been stagnantly leading and growing. To think about it, Perdue is stagnating as a company. It has been stuck with the same business for long, as if that is what they can only do with chickens. They are only at retail level, again emphasizing the fact that they are very dependent on this type of business. The reason why they do not do institutional is the fact that they have no means to. But with the chicken franks, they can venture into that segment because they would have to sell the processed meat in places where people usually buy them from: supermarkets. The expansion or growth problem can be solved then. (See The 4P’s on page 6) But Perdue hesitates. They cannot be always like this because a good company accepts change, else it will die out. Perdue, I strongly predict will soon die out. Not all brands can be successful and still be rebellious of some kind, refusing to conform to the industry trends. Entering into the Chicken hot dog industry Even with the strong contentions, I see where the Perdue management is coming from. They’re not experts in the hot dog industry and even after having formulated the best chicken hot dog, dubbed as in the case as â€Å"better than Oscar Mayer†, the smaller dilemmas still prove to be risky to be uncertain of the answers for. So here goes my proposition for Perdue when entering into the chicken hot dog industry. Be autonomous First, I think that rather than leasing two facilities to make the franks, they should just buy their own plants. If Perdue cares so much about their image, how can they risk still leasing out facilities which in turn produce franks different from the desired prototype? Isn’t that an even bigger risk? Destroying the trust and in turn the relationship with the consumers will fatalize Perdue’s very good brand image. If I were a Perdue fan, I would be sad to know that they do not make their own hot dogs and thus, nullifying all the good things I associate them with. Frank Perdue’s three requirements for the would-be hot dog should be followed, after all, father knows best. The franks should be better and costs will definitely be covered by the revenues (as a complete product recall is so much more expensive in the long run than acquiring equipments). I think this is what they have to consider first and foremost. Moreover, judging from the industry and its players which Poole described as terrible or companies that didn’t do much advertising but still made a hit in the industry, the chicken hot dog industry has minimal entry barriers. Longacre and Weaver should be their example. If it was easy for such unknown firms to flourish, how much more for an established brand like Perdue? Another reason why they should have plants is because their competitors do and in the long run, Perdue will lose out in this game of processing costs. More importantly, it has been reiterated in the case that even the supply will need to catch up with the demand. With those projections, production is of utmost importance. Hence, all the more reason to have their own equipments or plants. With that, they have more control over production and of the quality, of course. A very good reason why they are better off entering the chicken hot dog market with their own equipments or plants is that they can tailor-fit their production according to their franks’ needs. Cockrel meat is necessary for the formulated frank, but it is hard to process and needs a stronger machine or else, production costs will increase due to excess capacity, second shifts and will be burdensome due to the very high demand. So that in the case, Moriarty or Perdue need not compromise on the prototype in order to solve other less important issues than product quality. Defy the odds MDM is 85% of the Perdue frank. However, as how this was pointed out in the case, MDM can spell a big difference because it might destroy the brand image Perdue has and of course, it might lessen their power to demand for a premium. But according to studies and official food and drug authorities, MDM is actually safe. There were really just some few extreme cases where negligence gave it all the negative impact. If MDM standards were followed by all, coupled with an extra effort to really not put the consumers to harm by not including meat that cannot be used anymore (because it is worse than scrap already), then people wouldn’t care as much. We all have to know that we eat mostly processed food and not really organic. Even strawberries are dangerous to eat, even more dangerous to eat than a hotdog. The market is very quick to judge that a slight mistake will be detrimental to the industry. Yet they fail to recognize the fact that even the supposedly healthy foods we strive to eat every day have their own impurities. In this case, I think Perdue should push through with their tested prototype. If the taste is better, the people will buy it. Moreover, this is not in the business of supplying fresh chicken meat anymore, this is in the processed meat industry already. And processing meat has to have some impurities but Perdue should limit it to MDM. I think the Perdue management have some erroneous thinking about this case. They automatically equate using MDM as destroying their customer’s loyal base. MDM does not mean that Perdue put some hormones in their chicken. It does not also mean that they changed them in every bit of way. The franks will still be 100% Perdue meat! MDM is just a matter of getting the meat, a processing that anyone in the industry should strategically do. But because there are some stubborn consumer groups who know better than to mind the â€Å"healthy† foods they are eating, Perdue has to counter this possible dulling of brand image too. But this is where Perdue should put its good brand image to use and for marketing sake. The Perdue chicken hot dog The Perdue chicken frank should be processed very sternly, following all the necessary rules and restrictions and should be 100% Perdue meat. The frank should also have nutrients present in chicken and in bone marrows such as iron and the recommended doses of calcium. The frank also has to be exactly the same as the tested prototype because it is supposed to be made of 100% Perdue chicken, and Perdue chicken is the best-tasting, so the frank should be the best in taste too. (see The 4P’s on page 6) Marketing The 4P’s Product * Exactly the same as the prototype * Not devoid of natural nutrients of the chicken and bone (iron and calcium) * 100% Perdue chicken * Cannot be compromised (the ingredients) so as to minimize costs * No second-class of the product to retain Perdue’s good brand image| Place * Distribution (include concessionary) can be expanded because this is entirely a different industry already: processed meat * Not just in the current market of Perdue, but in all other places as where the competitors are (supermarkets)| Price * The recommended price for them to profit at $1.23 per pound| Promotion * Should be promoted by showing off the frank’s attributes not found in the competitors’ * Should emphasize the fact that it is â€Å"carefully processed†, even if it contains MDM meat The marketing will be driven in such a way that Perdue’s stand on having the best chickens is utilized in a different manner: this time the best in quality for chicken hot dogs. Perdue should do a lot of reassuring. Perdue can even make a story just to set the mood: that hot dogs are unhealthy, but cheap and easy to cook that’s why people love them. But Perdue cannot bear the fact that its consumers are not eating healthy or are being cheated on. Hence, the Perdue chicken frank! Perdue can maintain and even expand its horizons by getting into chicken hot dog. They just have to use the right words in their packaging such as â€Å"100% Perdue chicken† and â€Å"passed all processing codes† and they can even go so far as employing a research institute to assure consumers, particularly loyal customers that Perdue hot dog is actually different from the rest. Think of Safeguard with PAMET and other shampoo brands each to their own hair gurus. The marketing should be aggressive and should focus more on how these chicken franks is a product of Perdue so that one will only expect the best from it. Perdue can also have Mr. Perdue to be in an ad, the same way that got their loyal customers hooked. Since Perdue had the highest advertising-to-sales ratio, I think that Perdue’s ads are very critical to this project’s success. Instead of focusing on the quality of chickens for the ad, this time, Mr. Perdue can say about how Perdue thanks its loyal customers for their ever strong support and that the company is expanding by doing different products, such as this chicken frank. He can also go on to say that in Perdue, everything that they make is of superior taste and quality, just like the chickens they sell. I also propose the tagline: â€Å"Only the best chickens make great franks. Only Perdue can.† Positioning So the crucial question is whether this new chicken frank should be positioned as an entirely new product or as an alternative to conventional meat hot dogs. I think that Perdue should position it as the latter. Poultry is far healthier than pork and beef, and chicken franks are not that main stream yet. So, Perdue’s goal of reaching out to the light-users and non-users who are wary of hot dog nutritional content will be realized through this. They should position the Perdue frank like this because I believe this is in line with Perdue’s motto of providing only fresh quality chickens. This will help them maintain if not better their brand image while expanding to this other business of chicken hot dog. Positioning it as a new product is futile in a way because there are companies that have been selling chicken franks. So putting it as new is much more challenging and does not really bring about substantial benefits to the company. Perdue is not known for innovating things, it is known for its superior quality of chickens and it is in line with this that they should propose a favorite food, a frank, that is very much attached to their philosophy as a company. The real chicken is Perdue Perdue risks its growth by thinking too much on maintaining their brand image and their finances in the wrong way. They are afraid to move forward, fearing that they may not be ready for such a launch but also failing to realize that staying under the shadows will make the brand lacklustre. They prefer to risk growth for conventional wisdom that is obsolete. While Perdue can remain to be as it is, competitors will soon become like them and even much more with the franks. It is a no-brainer that the competitors will do some backward and vertical integration too. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. Johnson, Mark H. â€Å"Perdue Farms, Incorporated.† Diss. Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia, 1978. University of Virginia Darden School Foundation. p.19

Brain Evolution in the Human Species

Brain Evolution in the Human Species Introduction Hominid evolution is marked by a very significant increase in relative brain size. Because relative brain size has been linked to energetic requirements, it is possible to look at the pattern of encephalization as a factor in the evolution of human foraging and dieting (Foley et al., 1991). Major expansion of the brain is associated with the Homo species rather than the Hominidae as a whole, where the energetic costs are likely to have forced prolongation of growth rates and secondary altriciality (Foley et al., 1991). Paleontological evidence indicates that rapid brain evolution occurred with the emergence of Homo erectus 1.8 million years ago and was associated with important changes in diet, body size, and foraging behavior (Leonard et al., 2007). Energy Requirements Extensive energy is required for brain growth and functioning. Parker (1990) analyzes intelligence and encephalization from the perspective of life history strategy theory, which is based on the premise that evolutionary selection determines the timing of major life cycle events-especially those related to reproduction-as the solution to energy optimization problems. Foley and Lee (1991) analyze the evolutionary pattern of encephalization with respect to foraging and dieting strategies. In considering the development of human foraging strategies, increased returns for foraging effort and food processing may be an important prerequisite for encephalization, and in turn a large brain is necessary to organize human foraging behavior. Dietary quality is also correlated with brain size. Foley and Lee (1991) first consider brain size vs. primate feeding strategies, and note that folivorous diets (leaves) are correlated with smaller brains, while fruit and animal foods (insects, meat) are correlated with larger brains. Overall, the genetic costs of brain maintenance for modern humans are about three times that of a chimpanzee. The first dietary shift is seen beginning within the genus Hom o, which began to include meat in the diet. It may be argued that meat-eating represents an expansion of resource breadth beyond that found in non-human primates (Foley and Lee, 1991). Therefore, Homo and its encephalization may have been the product of the selection of capable of exploiting energy- and protein-rich resources as the habitat expanded. While the evolutionary causes of the enlarging human brain themselves are thought to have been due to factors that go beyond diet alone (increasing social organization being prime among the proposed factors usually cited), a diet of sufficient quality would nevertheless have been an important prerequisite. That is, diet would have been an important hurdle, or limiting factor, to overcome in providing the necessary physiological basis for brain enlargement to occur within the context of whatever those other primary selective pressures might have been. Leonard and Robinson (1994: add page numbers for direct quote) conclude: These results imply that changes in diet quality during hominid evolution were linked with the evolution of brain size. The shift to a more calorically dense diet was probably needed in order to substantially increase the amount of metabolic energy being used by the hominid brain. Thus, while nutritional factors alone are not sufficient to explain the evolution of our large brains, it seems clear that certain dietary changes were necessary for substantial brain evolution to take place.

Econometrics formative assignment Research Paper

Econometrics formative assignment - Research Paper Example -0.067 31.280 0.260 *|. | *|. | 28 -0.079 -0.077 32.913 0.239 .|. | .|. | 29 -0.020 -0.019 33.016 0.277 .|. | .|. | 30 0.029 -0.015 33.237 0.312 .|. | .|. | 31 -0.029 -0.035 33.462 0.349 .|* | .|** | 32 0.183 0.197 42.344 0.104 .|. | .|. | 33 -0.019 -0.013 42.444 0.126 .|. | .|. | 34 0.027 0.042 42.636 0.147 .|. | .|. | 35 -0.052 -0.047 43.368 0.157 .|. | *|. | 36 0.019 -0.072 43.470 0.183 Correlogram for Vodafone Date: 08/17/09 Time: 21:05 Sample: 1/01/1990 12/31/2008 Included observations: 224 Autocorrelation Partial Correlation ACPAC Q-Stat Prob .|. | .|. | 1 0.002 0.002 0.0007 0.979 .|. | .|. | 2 0.019 0.019 0.0826 0.960 .|* | .|* | 3 0.182 0.182 7.6489 0.054 *|. | *|. | 4 -0.061 -0.063 8.4992 0.075 .|* | .|* | 5 0.146 0.145 13.451 0.019 .|. | .|. | 6 0.015 -0.021 13.502 0.036 .|* | .|* | 7 0.088 0.116 15.322 0.032 .|* | .|* | 8 0.132 0.076 19.422 0.013 .|. | .|. | 9 -0.027 -0.009 19.596 0.021 .|. | .|. | 10 0.048 -0.006 20.139 0.028 .|* | .|* | 11 0.153 0.140 25.713 0.007 .|* | .|* | 12 0.115 0.116 28.881 0.004 .|. | .|. | 13 0.006 -0.033 28.889 0.007 .|. | .|. | 14 0.009 -0.041 28.907 0.011 .|. | *|. | 15 -0.032 -0.083 29.153 0.015 .|. | .|....The two vertical lines in the first column enclose the 95% confidence interval. Id k that extends past the broken line, reject the null hypothesis that k = 0 at 5% level of significance. Otherwise, do not reject the null hypothesis" (Danao). In this particular tests, the result for BARC, VOD and FTALLSH show that we do not reject the null hypothesis that k = 0. But for the GSK graph, the result is opposite. We have necessary proof to reject the null hypothesis. Decision Rule: "If the absolute value of the ADF Test Statistic is less than the value of the McKinnon Critical Values at the chosen level of significance, then the series has a unit root and is therefore non-stationary.

The new trends in foodservice industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The new trends in foodservice industry - Essay Example These consumers are not concerned about recession and unemployment, they tend to value retail and in-store experience and record the highest number of high-end restaurant visits. In addition to this, they are more concerned about their health while purchasing products and services (11). This article is, therefore, important in understanding the changing landscape of consumer demographics and its implications to the foodservice industry. It also equips food retailers and restaurants with relevant strategies for segmenting the market and designing products and services that meet the needs of the various population cohorts. Friddle, Sandeep and Jean (13) observe that the continued growth in the baby boomer and senior’s segment is driving further outcomes in the foodservice industry. Firstly, there has been the emergence of grocery and foodservice under one retail store and one business enterprise. This phenomenon occurs because the consumers in older market segment have the tendency to match ready-to-eat foods with other groceries, beverages and fresh produce ingredients as a way of customizing their eating diets. Secondly, there has been continued competition in the foodservice industry as the various foodservice providers seek to increase their market share and tap into this lucrative market segment. Thirdly, there has been continued increase in food product and menu innovation with the aim of increasing quality, eating experience and gaining competitive advantage over rivals. Fourthly, there has been a shift of consumer preference from cost factors to other evaluation valuables such as diets, nutritional and health concerns in the selection of foodservice restaurants. Growth in the baby boomers and seniors population, who have a high purchasing power, is likely to lead to continued growth in the food service industry. According to Friddle, Sandeep and Jean, this market segment has high disposable income, wide

Values Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Values - Essay Example However, there is a disparity when it comes to loyalty. I hold that loyalty should be kept only when it is necessary. For example, in case an agency is exploiting people, it significant to tell the truth (Kraemer, 2011). Describe how people acquire and change values Everyone is guided by values; the difference is that we vary on how intensely we hold each our values. This is linked to how our values have been molded during the course of our lives. Recurrent engagement of values is likely to reinforce them. Our lives offer frequent prospects for and restrictions on the detection and development of some values. In addition, practice ensures that values are instilled in our mind (Duggan & Cowburn, 2013). Our involvement with different features of culture and society helps acquire and strengthen certain values. Churches, trade unions, Community centers, and libraries are examples of establishments that we are part of and recognized as encouraging the mutual understanding in that they may surge to the significance we put on equality, friendship, or social justice. Our experience with parks and forests promotes our appreciation for nature and other intrinsic values (Kraemer, 2011). Our experience of particular institutions as well as guidelines can alter or strengthen our views of what is conceivable, wanted, and normal through a procedure identified as policy feedback. Exposure to the institutions of consumer culture may also represent a form of policy feedback. Through our day-to-day lives and interaction with others, we acquire certain values and change others. We encounter different experiences and different people who believe in different things from us and who hold different values from us (Howe, 1995). In the process of interacting with them, we may acquire some new values and therefore changing the values, we have. We also acquire new values form our different religions and cultures. Explain what values do to us and for us Values are those guidelines and prin ciples that guide our life. Our values provide an outline to our conduct even though we are uninformed of what values are. Understanding our values provides one with a superior awareness in behavior. Our decision-making ability depends on the value we have in that we can do something based on which values we hold. Appreciating the significance of our values offers transparency in that we are in a position to define and understand ourselves (Barkan, 2011). Values can also offer discernment into the nature of interactive relationship that one should engage in while relating with others. When we identify and comprehend the meaning and importance of our values, we are able to appreciate ourselves, our relationships and our view of the world. What is the nature and importance of human values at the workplace? Upholding values at the work place is important for any organization. Employees who uphold values are likely to perform well as compared to those who take them for granted.

Personal Development as a First Line Manager Essay - 2

Personal Development as a First Line Manager - Essay Example Typically, job description for first line managers include but not limited to; employees’ welfare duties, preparation of work schedules, direction of workflows, upward management of employees, and budgeting among others. Below is a personal development plan as a first line manager. Receive academic training on first line management courses, especially on the use of emerging tools and techniques in planning and delegation of duties. Also, receive coaching on development of upward management skills, especially on adherence to organizational values Attend seminars on topics like personal development planning and role assessment exercises. Also, online academic sessions on team dynamics will be beneficial, especially on the use of technology in assessing and maintaining team effectiveness Participate in online discussion forums and assess my proficiency based on technical rating of responses. Also, assess my competence by practically solving team conflicts through skills acquired in the online sessions In first line management, there are situations when multiple duties require relatively similar levels of prioritization. For example, a managing director may direct a first line manager to plan and direct workflows for completion of a batch production within a period of six hours. At the same time, the managing director needs the first line manager to submit a completed work schedule plan within a period of six hours. In addition, some employees require personal attention from the first line manager, which may consume at least two hours of the manager’s busy time schedule. In such a case, the first line manager is faced with multiple situations requiring immediate attention, all stuffed within a restrictive timeframe. Therefore, it is necessary to employ priority determination methods like the ABC Method. ABC Method enables first

FDI Albania Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

FDI Albania - Dissertation Example The goal of this study is to identify the external opportunities, threats, trends and strategic uncertainties that may be present in Albania, the country chosen for investment. Albania is a country that has recently joined the open economy system. It is encouraging foreign investments thru different government policy measures. However, before foreign investments get in place, there is a need to make an environment analysis on whether or not the country is an appropriate place for investment. Thru available methods of analysis, development of performance is provided as background information, the economic growth of Albania is reviewed, weaknesses of the country system are discovered, and threats for the operations of an investor are found. Conclusion provides benchmark information that could be used by the government in making the country feasible for foreign investment. The overall assessment is explained as a business cycle experienced by the Albanian government. A business cycle is perceived to be a general experience present in all economies, but its length and depth differs in each country experience. Albania is lucky to have a short lived period of recession as it shows signs of recovery already although it is still far into getting back to its former shape. Environment analysis of Albania Introduction Globalization has led to the interests of foreign investors in investing to emerging economies and to the developing countries. Logically, these foreign investors conduct an environment analysis to find out the most efficient economy among various options available. Among the most favoured places for investment are the big emerging markets; i.e. Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Albania, which is the subject of this analysis, is unfortunately not included among the lists classified by analysts of FSTSE, Dow Jones, and The Economists. Purpose of this research The motivation in conductin g this research is to find out whether the economic environment of Albania provides an impetus of interest to foreign investors. Findings will be relevant to policy makers in order to adapt measures that will encourage foreign investors to become players in various investments opened by the government. In this context a country report analysis will be provided to analyze whether the political and economic trends in Albania will have an effect in the short to medium term prospects of investments of foreign companies. The report will constitute the issues shaping Albania, the political scene, economic policy, domestic economy, sector trends, foreign trade and payments. Background – the development performance of Albania Albania is a South Eastern European Country situated on the Adriatic and Ionian Coast with a population of 3.2 million ( CIA Factbook, 2011) After World War II Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist until its tran sition to democracy after 1990. The 1992 elections ended 47 years of communist rule, but the latter half of the decade saw a quick turnover of presidents and prime ministers. Many Albanians left the country in search of work; the money they

Discuss and critically analyse the perceptual factors that affect Essay

Discuss and critically analyse the perceptual factors that affect consumer decision making in 2010 - Essay Example December 9, 2006. April 4, 2011. 12 Beneke, Justin. Consumer perceptions of private label brands within the retail grocery sector of South Africa. African Journal of Business Management. 4.2. pp. 203-220.February, 2010. April 2, 2011 12 ConsumerReports.org. Chevrolet, Ford, and Subaru jump in brand perception Toyota is tops, according to new Consumer Reports survey. 2010. April 2,2011. 12 Introduction The different companies spread along a global scale are endeavoring to tap newer markets and gain large number of customers through the marketing of products and services on the online sphere. In fact, the development of the internet environment has helped in governing the purchase decisions of the consumers to a large extent. The development of marketing activities online has helped the consumers to gain access to a larger number of options for products and services from large number of companies. Moreover the customer also can conduct feasible product and service searches based on pri ce and quality parameters through the online environment which gives them a better edge in taking effective marketing decisions. The online marketing of goods and services conducted through the creation of attractive websites excites both the sight and sound stimulus of the consumers and compels them to go for the product. Websites are designed by the companies through the incorporation of multimedia textures like strong visual imagery and textual patterns along with superb sound effects. These factors help the companies in stealing the minds of the consumers easily and in compelling them to make the needed purchase. However considerable amount of research has confirmed that consumers tend to conduct purchases more effectively in a physical sphere than depending on the online environment. Thus companies tend to selectively represent some specific products in the online sphere while representing a plethora of different varieties in the retail outlets. (Chen & Quin, 122-123). Growth i n the Sales of Electronic Books An article published in the New York Times by Julie Bosman during 4th February, 2011 reflects the growth of sales of books in the online market during 2010. This also reflects the change in tastes of consumers which has again shifted to the literary end as a means of entertainment. The consumers reflect a shift of entertainment interest from viewing televisions to reading books. Surveys conducted shows that books which have mainly countered an increase in the digital sphere mainly belong to the category of children fictions. However certain publishers like Harper Collins also reported that books belonging to the adult fiction category also have sold like hot cakes. This rise in the online sales of the fiction books mainly started during the period of holidays where in the previous days the consumers were mainly stuck in the television front. The availability of large number of titles in the electronic

Architecturall theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Architecturall theory - Essay Example ntellectual context in thinking about architecture and the final built work is intrinsic to the understanding of how ideas reoccur, and even old theories have relevance today. Despite its past and present history, the aesthetic beauty and practical usefulness of theory remains a positive and necessary influence on the subject, and the discourse created by it an important element in the future growth and evolution of architecture itself. A good theoretical starting point is undoubtedly Lucas Koolhass and his theory of The Generic City—an idea significantly [and we might assume coldly] modern in its tendency to accept the twentieth century axiom of form follows function--‘generic’ as in having no particularly distinctive quality or application. In essence, nothing in terms of urban architecture should be written in theoretical or historical stone. Koolhass, the Dutch architect, architectural theorist and urbanist suggests that in approaching urban design we â€Å"stop looking for glue to hold cities together† [in the old thinking, town squares etc] and simply allow the place to develop as natural needs apply, where the only judgments are â€Å"taste† and â€Å"aesthetics† (Grà ¶nlund, The Generic City par 4). Removing the sociological component, The Generic City then is one that does not rely on history for its identity and disputes old notions of â€Å"endless repetitions o f the same structural module...more varied boredom, [and] redundancy...† (Grà ¶nlund, The Generic City par 2). But Koohaas does not leave the architect completely without options. He is simply providing a realistic backdrop that allows the professional to judge and create his work from a modern more clinical standpoint. In a1991 lecture at Rice University, Koolhaas, in pointing out â€Å"the constant movement that occurs between documenting and critiquing the phenomena to trying to interpret what they mean to architecture...† explains how his approach to writing and theorizing â€Å"work in tandem

Portfolio Analysis Essay Example for Free

Portfolio Analysis Essay In the investment world there are many investment options to choose from, one of there investment option is the mutual fund .a mutual fund is an investment where the investors pool resources together which are then invested in securities, fixed interest stocks and money market instruments like derivatives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The mutual funds is a professionally managed by fund managed whose sole purpose is to ensure that the returns on the invested assets are maximized to the benefits of the individual investors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The performance of the mutual fund can be calculated by fund managers whose sole purpose is to ensure that the returns on the invested assets are maximized to the benefit of the individual investors   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The performance of the mutual fund can be calculated on a daily basis by taking the current market value of the fund and dividing it with the number of securities in the fund1 Mutual funds are usually open end company governed by the investments company act (1940) in the U. S.A Mutual funds are suitable for those high net worth individuals who are either too busy to deal personally with their investments or those investors who don’t have the investment know-how. Investors in mutual funds should have investment objectives for the mid term to long term so as to reap maximum benefits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some of the mutual finds include stock money market funds, hybrid funds and bond funds In the following discussion we are going to discuss dominion funds which are registered in the Guernsey   in the channel islands which is an off share country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dominion funds are divided in to 2 the chic fund and the x-fund. Dominion funds The company Domination Company is an investment fund management firm that is registered in the Guernsey in the Channel Islands with branch a in Switzerland.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dominion brand is a sophisticated innovative and elegant. These attributes are in line with the business principles of the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The dominion fund is developed to meet the ever changing demands of the intelligent investors of today who include professional investors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These investors demand extra performance and excellent service from the fund manager and that is why the dominion brand was created to deliver excellent service and returns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To achieve this level of standards the company has companies two dominion distribution management limited branches in Guernsey and a dominion risk management S.A based in Switzerland. Funds traded The funds managed by dominion company are the x funds and chic funds Chic funds The structure of this fund is that it has the currency class of 3 major currencies (US $ EURO â‚ ¬ GBP  £) which are combined to form the fund. The fund itself is an 80% index portfolio and 20% active port folio.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These funds managed by dominion chic fund limited which invests in diversified stock of luxury goods and services companies recognized the world over.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Apart from being available in 3 currencies an investing in luxury goods companies the funds also offer weekly prices and redemptions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The objective of this fund is the long-term capital appreciation. This is achieved by the division of the fund in to 2 passive investment –range between 80-100% of all assets invested depending on the stylish structure developed by the investment manager(blackrock merill lynch investment manager) and dominion company. The investment manager is required to manage the basic index in this investment as prescribed. Active investment- forms up to 20% and its objective is to increase the returns and volatility reduction. The active investment is also used to invest in those newly listed companies and in new luxury goods. Assets invested There is no single definition of luxury goods and service and hence the company has luxury to mean.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Those strong market brands with high innovativeness ability to chart price and supply easily forecasted growth and top class. It can also mean products and service of those companies with management, with track records.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The assets in chic fund are in the following sectors with the following geographical distribution Sector distribution  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   geographical distribution Beverages and food- 17.38%  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Europe-45.95% Accessories- 9.35%  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   asia-13.55% Apparel- 7%  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   USA -40.53% Watch, jewellery and optics- 8.04% Transport- 1% Leisure and hotels- 5.56% Sports 9.27% Retail- 3.52% Tech-18.76% Cosmetic-9.33% (http://www.dominion-funds.com/english/chic/investorsentassets.aspx) x- funds were created to utilize the returns generated by the available market based securities over the cost of sourcing funds e.g. through bank loans. The x fund have been designed to minimize the risk assonated with return of based securities and specifically for the risk and professional investors keen on getting a risk hedged investment well above average in the log term. Fund structure The fund is managed by dominion PCC limited which is a protected call company, formed in Guernsey and regulated by Guernsey financial service. Commission. It is an open ended in investment fund.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The fund is a 2 currency (euroâ‚ ¬ and US $) each containing 6 fund. The fund has 3 leveraged options. (Low to medium risk x 0) (medium risk x1) (and aggressive higher risk x 2) with 2 types of assets prudential and Norwich union with- profits funds. It also is priced weekly with monthly redemptions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   X-funds innovative investments combines with profit funds with complex credit lending thus minimizing debt usage risks in the market and at the some time the market and at the same time maximizing returns over the long term. Nature of assets Dominion x-funds are invested in the best and extensive with –profits funds. The reason why dominion has invested in there funds is that of proven unsurpassed. Past performance and their consistency which makes them reliable. In any case anyway there with profits are provided by the blue chip financial institutions in Europe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The with profits fund that dominion x- fund invests in has the following characteristics which makes them depend able for maximum returns to the investors. with profit funds are accessed only through an insurane e policy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the lalyout out features of an with profit fund is that its well founded with a long investment account that even go beyond a century. They usually involve a relatively stable portfolio that includes stocks bonds property and cash. This means that with profit funds give a level of return that barely flutualesover time. It stable level of return means that the risk involved with this port folio is low.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The other reason why dominion x-fund invests in the with profit funds only over the medium to long term is because when invested only in the short periods they are usually affected by the risk of market value reduction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They should only be invested in the medium to long-term in order to achieve maximum capacity gains and ensure stable returns.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The assets that the dominion x- fund invests in are the generic with profits, prudential international and Norwich union international funds PCC Protected cell company – open end company- that falls under the Guernsey’s companies law ( 1994) amended and protected cell companies ordinance 1997 amended. PCC as benefits which are; Funds assets fuly utilized by fund investors alone.

Educational Assistance Essay Example for Free

Educational Assistance Essay I am currently employed as a bagger at H-E-B and would very much like to be considered for the educational assistance program you offer to employees. I want to go to college to be a pharmacist when I complete high school and am already taking a pharmacy technician class along with my other classes. I know H-E-B is a wonderful place to work, not just because I already work there but because my father has worked as a truck driver there for 15 years. H-E-B is very steady, has good benefits and most importantly, treats their employees like family. I can’t think of any other workplace that can keep their employees loyalty like that. I know there is a growing need for pharmacists and with the way H-E-B has added deli’s, floral dept and pharmacies to keep up with today’s markets, I can get my degree and become a part of all that. Pharmacists are in need more and more and cannot think of anywhere I would rather put my degree to work than H-E-B. All I ask for is the chance to become a registered pharmacist and join the pharmacy staff at H-E-B. This company has been around for 100 years and with the loyalty of people like myself and my father, will be around for many more. This is my chance to fulfill my dream of becoming a pharmacist and advance my career within a company I care about. I sincerely hope you will grant my request for educational assistance and help me make continue the H-E-B tradition of quality service and a family atmosphere. If you approve my request, I will work hard to make you glad you gave this opportunity and when I become a pharmacist, I will able to help the people who work and shop H-E-B on a regular basis.

Codes of Conduct in the Workplace

Codes of Conduct in the Workplace TOPIC: CODE OF CONDUCT GROUP MEMBERS NAMES: PATRICIA MELANET KONAYE NDUNAT JASE NAUDET CUMANI NAKOT ABONGILE MKEFAT THEOPHILLUS MGWADLEKAT DEVON MARTINT A code of conduct is a set of guidelines clarifying the responsibilities of an individual, a group of people or organization. Other concepts that are similar to code of conduct are religious laws, moral codes and ethical. Code of conduct is also known as ethics, values, standards or rules of behavior that monitor the decisions or measures of an organization. It contributes to the welfare of an organization and it makes sure that it compliments each and every individual of that organization. A code of conduct has to be build or formulated under different departments and legislations (laws) depending on the goal or which circumstance the code conduct has to be drawn under. It has to be approved by all members of the group. It must be signed by the board and be fair to all the group members. It serves as an oath on every state of legislation. Code of conduct must have certain procedures that the members need to follow. It includes principles that are designed to help professionals to conduct business with honesty and integrity. A code of conduct document may have a summary of a mission and values of a business or organization, and how the members should approach unethical incidents in the working environment. The code of conduct assists the individual to perform professionally. It acts as a barrier to make it point that members don’t cross certain points in an organization. It helps individual to contribute effectively to the tasks given. Code of conduct have an advantage in it especial when it comes to conflict. This means having a set of rules that individuals work according fewer conflicts involve. Those who violate or fail to comply with the code of conduct will be subject to disciplinary measures that might include dismissal if it is agreed upon. A code is also a tool to encourage discussions of ethics and to improve how employees/members deal with the ethical dilemmas, prejudices and gray areas that are encountered in everyday work. A code is meant to complement relevant standards, policies and rules, not to substitute for them. Codes of conduct offer an invaluable opportunity for responsible organizations to create a positive public identity for themselves which can lead to a more supportive political and regulatory environment and an increased level of public confidence andtrust among important constituencies and stakeholders. (Principles of Stakeholder Management, The Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics, 1999, p. 12.) Codes of conduct have been around for quite some time. The purpose of the code of conduct is to make a point that the rules and standards of a business or organisation are met. They serve as a base to carry common obligations. Even, though people confused them with law rules. They capture vision for excellence for individuals and organizations. Codes are not meant for professional environment only; you can find them at church, political parties, schools, communities, organizations and businesses. There are there to emphasis dedication to employees and individuals to make them responsible not to create trouble or blame one another about certain things in a group or team. Codes of conduct are designed different their can have a negative and positive influence towards the employees or members. A former US Supreme Court Justice, Earl Warren wrote â€Å"law float on a sea of ethics†. In my own understanding this quote means everything that concerns the law is dealt with a according to the rules or ethics. A good social and cultural consideration helps with implementing code of conduct. Code of conduct determines economic growth and development of a certain business or organization. The code of conduct is approved by Island Council that it provides guidance to members on what standards they must or expected to conduct them according. Therefore members are required to comply with the code of conduct. According to the Pitcairn Island code of conduct it’s a priority for members to attend the meetings. If they don’t attend justification of being absent is required. Members must come prepared to the meeting and arrive in time. Nolan principle emphasis that the members must comply according to the following aspects: selflessness, integrity, objectives, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. If conflict arises as a result of clashes in one of the mentioned principles public is more favoured (when experiencing conflict between personal and public integrity, after a decision is made public integrity is more favoured). (Prime Minister John Mayor.20 October 2011.Committee on Standards in Public Life).[Online].Available:www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/com mittee_on_Standards_in_Public .[20 Mach 2014]). Some people don’t agree with the code of conduct so that means it has disadvantages as well. Opponents conserve that codes of conduct are often only pleasant, predictable and worthless words without any obligation. However, if the code of conduct has been established jointly by every person in the business or organization, and it is constantly reviewed due to changes and new experiences it will have a great value. Opponents often see code of conduct simply as a resourceful marketing and public relation tool. Thought, an existed code of conduct demonstrates its value in crisis circumstances rather than in trouble free times. Employees or members will be the ones who will face painfully experience as the result of an unnoticed written code of conduct. Critics doubt that management really expects employees or members to obey to the ethical values of its code of conduct, if it would mean losing business or reducing profits. Upholding high ethical standards is important to stay in a business and maintaining long term profitability. Therefore management and the owners of the business expect employees to always act according to ethical principles. It has been recommended that a code of conduct is not in the interest business or organization. The more the business or organization focuses to a code of conduct the greater the advantage of members or employees to cheat. An industry that believes in ethical behavior doesn’t take time in punishing the person who broke the rule. Occasionally it is felt that a code of conduct is reassuring unrealistic expectations, that it is self-righteous talk and spiritual beliefs about what is possible in a hard, realistic business world. One main crisis with a code of conduct is that it needs to take subjective standards and make them objective. Indeed this is their main point to take subjective standards and make them a common sequence of standards. A disadvantage of a code of conduct it needs to be forced (consequences) in order for people to obey it. Code of conduct is vague, what it says is not what it means because top managers interpret it according to managers needs. A code of conduct is a company’s professional belief of ethics morals, values and appropriate behavior for its operation, imposed by the leaders. In order for a code of conduct to work in an organization or business it must be flexible to employees. Managers must allow employees to participate in formulating a code of conduct. Code of conduct it doesn’t consist of positive ethical rules and it doesn’t give employees freedom of choice. I think it’s a good idea to revisit the code of conduct now and then to see if it’s still on point with what’s going on in the business or organization. Bibliography http://www.djargoproject.com/conduct/2013 -04-08 [17 March 2014] Ethics codes codes of conduct as tools for Promoting an Ethical Profession Public Service: Comparative Success Lesson. 2005. Prem, World Bank, Washington DC.1 – 76. Driscoll, Dawn-Marie and W. Michael Hoffman, Ethics Matters: How to Implement Values-Driven Management, 2000, p. 77. Principles of Stakeholder Management, The Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics, 1999, p. 12. http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/employee-development-employee-ethics/913929-1.html Louise Balle [20 March 2014] https://www22.verizon.com/about/careers/pdfs/CodeOfConduct.pdf [19 March 2014] http://www.allbusiness.com/professional-scientific/accounting-tax-preparation/4500132-1.html [18 March 2014] Www.pwc.co.za. (2008) Code of conduct the way we do business. [Online] Available from http: //www.pwc.co.za/en_ZA/za/assets/pdf/pwc-code-of-conduct-june-08.pdf. [Accessed: 18 March 2014]. Island Council. 9 November 2011. Code of Conduct. 1 – 6. Article On Moodle: CRITICISMS OF A CODE OF CONDUCT/ETHICS (UNKNOWN) CODE OF CONDUCT In our group we understand a code of conduct as a set of conventional principles and expectations that are considered binding on any person who is a member of a particular group. Code of conduct is rules and regulations that guide the group to a common goal and delegating the responsibilities to individuals for proper and effective running of the task given. It’s an agreement on rules of behavior by the group. In our group we expect all the group members to obey, follow and comply to the code of conduct, if not there will be consequences faced. Statement of Core Values Build trust and Credibility – the success of the group depends on the trust that we earn from each other as a group members. Commitment is important when working in groups, showing integrity, honesty and trustworthy. Respect for the individual – respect is very important when working with people. Every individual in a group deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. If we treat each other with respect there will be fewer conflicts. Intercultural Communication – everyone should be treated equally, so that they can feel comfortable to express their feelings and views. Understanding other people’s culture makes communication easy between one another. Conflicts of Interest – when conflict arise the group leader mustn’t take sides because the conflict involves his/her friend. The conflict must be resolved in a fair manner to both parties. Participation – all group members are required to participate in a group task and take responsibility by doing their work in time. Sub-Groups – during group discussion there must be no sub-groups within the groups. This can cause conflict and it’s so disrespectful to do that. Communication – professional way of communicating is very important it gives others a chance to voices their thoughts. When talking all at the same time nothing will be resolved or conflict will arise. Time Management – everyone is expected to arrive in time during meetings. Members should inform the group in advance if they are going to be absent with a valid reason. Plagiarism – copying of other peoples work is not encourage as we all know that plagiarism is a big offence to commit. Every research you do must be reference so that you can be safe. Team Work – working together save time. Makes the tasks very easy and you have an advantage of finishing n time. Cell phones – playing with a cell phone while we are in a meeting is not allowed. This means that you don’t want to be part of the meeting. When receiving a call you can go out quietly and answer your call. Language – since we diverse cultural group, English is an appropriate language to use so we can understanding each other Aggressive behavior – vulgar language, aggressive attitude and violence are not allowed. We need to be respectful to others and talk to each other in a respectful way. Confidentiality – no confidential information may be disclosed without permission of a group. CONSEQUENCES WHEN CODE OF CONDUCT IS BREACHED: Penalties of breaching a code of conduct depend on many factors such as: Who breached the code of conduct? How and when did they breached the code of conduct What were the effects of the breach? Whether the behavior has taken place repeatedly or is a once off thing? Penalties would be as follows: Request the person to change their behavior Issue an informal or formal warning (written or verbal) If the behavior continues in several occasions ask the person to leave the group immediately Last action is to ban the person from coming to the group

Politics and Modern Musical Artists Essay -- Music Essays

Politics and Modern Musical Artists Musical artists of the modern age have had a great affect upon the generation that the writers of the paper are a part of. Not only have the songs they produced brought us enjoyment and heightened our emotional states, they have also informed us of their opinions. One of the issues drawing the strongest opinions as of late is the American government, particularly the Bush administration. Some of the most popular bands and artists have made it a point to express their views on such matters through their music and concerts, rallying to fight or support a matter relating to the U.S. government. The following bands have influenced at least one of us as their listeners, and the message we carry is that opinion expressed through music is quite an important thing. Eminem has become a huge media icon, not only amongst young people, but also by the regard given to him by older adults. He is the king of controversy, not only for his opinions of homosexuals and drugs, but also his political views. He has been in the public spotlight for about five years now, and ever since his first single, â€Å"My Name Is†, in which he portrayed a promiscuous President Clinton; he has made his view on political figures clear. Eminem seems to have a major problem with authority, and the President is the highest authority, so you can bet your bottom dollar that he has a few things to say pertaining to our Commander and Chief. For Eminem this is not a one-time thing, throughout all of his albums he has always had something to say about politics or the government. In songs such as â€Å"White America†, he speaks on the government's efforts to silence him with censorship. In ... ...hville, 2002. Klosterman, Chuck. â€Å"Fitter Happier: Radiohead Return† Spin Magazine . 2003. Vibe Ventures LLC. 14 Nov. 2004 Mathers, Marshall . Encore . Interscope Records, 2004. Mathers, Marshall . Straight from the Lab EP . Interscope Records, 2003. Mathers, Marshall . The Eminem Show . Interscope Records, 2002. Radiohead. Hail to the Thief . Capitol Records, 2003. Radiohead. OK Computer . Capitol Records, 1997. Sum 41. Chuck. Island Records, 2004. â€Å"Sum 41 Online: Biography.† Island Records . 2004. Fearless Concepts. 16 Nov. 2004 â€Å"Toby Keith: Biography.† CMT.com . 2004. Viacom Company. 17 Nov. 2004

Reading and Typography Essay -- Typography Reading Research Papers

Reading and Typography Reading is unavoidable. Students read textbooks; fathers read newspapers; engineers read manuals; technicians read webpages; politicians read bills; Christians read the Bible, and the list goes on. Everyone reads something. Seeing, perceiving, and recognizing lines and dots as a form of language is a process that is extremely complicated yet necessary. Scientists have researched many aspects of the visual reading process, and one of the most immediately applicable areas of concern is in the field of typography. Researchers are attempting to answer two questions posed by publics such as graphic artists, magazine editors, rà ©sumà © writers, and even standardized test publishers: What typestyle is best for what situations?, and How do different characteristics of a font affect different audiences? The term font is a generic word used to express the general computer category of typewritten characters. Similarly, a type or typeset refers to a complete family of sets of characters having a certain fundamental design or structure. For example, the Courier type may include the variations Courier New and Courier Bold. Other typesets are Caslon, Quill, and Old English. Typestyle is used to categorize types by attributive similarities. Two of the most recognizable, and most researched, typestyles are distinguished by the presence or absence of serifs and by fixed width (FW) and variable or proportional width (PW) pitch. Types which display the serif feature add short, decorative lines to the tips of the characters; this line of print (12pt PW) is in Garamond and has serifs. Types such as Arial, as in this line (12pt PW), do not have the serif addition and are thus called sans serifs. A fixed width font may be like... ...STRACT. Keller T. (1997). Choosing the right type translates into cash for your cause. Nonprofit World, 15(6), 18-19. Leat S.J., Li W., & Epp K. (1999). Crowding in central and eccentric vision: The effects of contour interaction and attention. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 40, 504-512. Mansfield J.S., Legge G.E., & Bane M.C. (1996). Psychophysics of reading XV: Font effects in normal and low vision. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 8, 1492-1501. Orton V. (1993). Why Johnny can't read. Zip/Target Marketing, 16(6), 11-12. ABSTRACT. Regan D. & Hong X.H. (1994). Recognition and detection of texture-defined letters. Vision Research, 34, 2403-2407. Yager D., Aquilante K., & Plass R. (1998). Rapid communication: High and low luminance letters, acuity reserve, and font effects on reading speed. Vision Research, 38, 2527-2531.

Motivelessness :: Violence Personal Narrative Papers

Motivelessness The city of Tucson is quite literally surrounded on all sides by exquisitely rugged natural beauty. To the north lie the Santa Catalina mountains, home of Mt. Lemmon and the southernmost ski resort in the continental US. To the east are the Rincons, after which many local Tucson businesses are named. To the west are the Tucson mountains, from which one can on a clear day (clear days abound) see California. To the south are the Santa Ritas and eventually the mysterious Mexican Madres. Some people like the utter suburbanness of the place, or the weather; but, if you ask Tucsonians why they decided to relocate in Tucson of all places from New York or LA or Mexico City, they'll tell you that they love the Tucson sunsets. The quality of Tucson that the sunset epitomizes, attracts hippies and cowboys and big city folk alike to my home town. The sun rises over Salsa Verde to the Rincons and ever so slowly eases down like prickly pear jelly among the Tucson mountains in the late afternoon. I f you make the hike up to Gate's Pass, there's nothing but sunset and desert for a million miles to Hollywood. Either I was talking about the sunset, or it was sunset, because I definitely remember the sun, when I was walking and talking with my hippie friend Adam outside Agua Caliente park three years ago. I also remember that I was wearing baggy green corduroy pants and a black t-shirt with the picture of a South American tree frog perched on it (we were nature-lovers), and that Adam wore a sandlewood beaded necklace. The clothes we were wearing would later become critically important after the six teenagers who attacked us claimed to the police that the attack had been gang-related and retaliatory. I wasn't hurt at all. Frankly, my assault had more the character of a badly choreographed TV rumble than the military precision one finds in big city violent crime. Adam was slightly worse off than I was, probably because his attacker was the older and more emotionally unbalanced leader of the group, Raymond G. Harder, who was armed with what later turned out to be a metal pipe stuck in a wooden door handle. Ultimately, Ray was the only one of the group that Adam and I would send to juvie with the signing of a pen, thanks to the provisions of the Arizona Victims of Violent Crime Act.

Evaluating The BSC As A Performance Management Tool

AbstractionIn of all time altering concern landscape, the concerns face the intensified competition and see the outgrowth of more knowing and demanding clients in a free market epoch. Therefore mensurating organisational public presentation entirely on the footing of fiscal indexs will merely reflect the past public presentation but will supply really small penetration into long term sustainability and therefore considered to be unequal and deceptive. Balanced Scorecard ( BSC ) introduced by Kaplan and Nortan tried to intermix other facets in add-on to the so called fiscal indexs. Consequently, the BSC in add-on to fiscal position introduced cardinal public presentation indexs around three dimensions viz. client, internal concern procedures and larning & A ; growing. However, despite its well rounded and advanced design and broad acceptance in organisations the full potency of it is yet to be achieved chiefly due to evolvement of dimensions in today ‘s context beyond the four p ositions in its design and besides due to hapless execution. Therefore BSC should continually be refined taking into consideration the cardinal success factors which affects organisational public presentation while beef uping the execution.Introduction TO BALANCED SCORECARD ( BSC )Traditionally the fiscal indexs such as net net income, Return on Investments ( RoI ) , Earnings Per Share ( EPS ) , Price Earning ( P/E ) ratio and etc. , as an unwritten regulation, were considered as the basis on which the public presentation or the wellness of organisations was measured which in bend formed the footing on which the public presentation of members at all degrees of the organisations was measured. However, with the intensified competition and outgrowth of more knowing and demanding clients in a free market era the concern landscape underwent a paradigm displacement. Therefore mensurating organisational public presentation and in bend the public presentation of employees entirely on the fo oting of fiscal steps which efficaciously represent the lagging indexs of past public presentation and holding a small prognostic value was considered as inappropriate. In the sense the past consequences will non guarantee the hereafter public presentation, instead the long term sustainability of any organisation depends upon assorted other factors such as nucleus competences of people coupled with occupation satisfaction and citizenship, strength of client relationship, acquisition and invention, internal concern procedures, engineering, quality and etc. which in bend better topographic point the organisation to bask a sustainable competitory advantage. As a consequence, a public presentation measuring system which blends all the facets including so called fiscal indexs was considered as more appropriate since it would let organisations to mensurate yesteryear every bit good as to foretell how the hereafter would look like ( prognostic value ) . In this background, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992 introduced the construct of â€Å" Balanced Scorecard ( BSC ) † with a set of steps which complements fiscal steps of past public presentation with drivers of future public presentation and thereby to hold a holistic, incorporate position of concern public presentation. Though the name was new, the construct was an development of assorted constructs introduced under figure of theories and constructs like Activity Based Management, Management By Objectives, Total Quality Management, Strategic Management, Delegation of Authority ( authorization ) , Decentralization of Decision-Making and etc. , but what is alone about BSC is that it combined the critical kernel of all these constructs and theories into an integrated measuring system of public presentation ( Ghosh S. & A ; Mukherjee S – 2006 ) . BSC is a strategic direction system ( non simply a public presentation measuring system ) and enables organisations to incorporate their strategies/visions around specific aims, ends and steps. Then those aims and ends along with the designed public presentation steps ( KPIs ) are shared and communicated across the organisation. Further, Targets are planned and set to aline with strategic enterprises. Consequently the BSC in add-on to Financial position ( traditional public presentation measuring index ) introduced cardinal public presentation indexs around three dimensions viz. client, internal concern procedures and larning & A ; growing and attempted to reply the undermentioned four cardinal inquiries. 1. How do clients see us? 2. What must we stand out at? 3. Can we go on to better and make value? 4. How do we look to stockholders? The rational put frontward on these four positions are knowledge & A ; accomplishments of employees is the foundation of all invention and betterments ( Learning & A ; Growth position ) , skilled and empowered employees will better the ways they work ( Internal Process position ) , improved work procedures will take to increased client satisfaction ( Customer position ) and eventually increased client satisfaction will take to better fiscal consequences ( Financial position ) ( Ghosh S. & A ; Mukherjee S.- 2006 ) Since the construct of BSC was foremost introduced in 1992, many organisations globally every bit good as locally adopted the BSC as their public presentation measuring tool due to its advanced attack and besides due to the fact that it has â€Å" balanced † the cardinal dimensions of public presentation straight associating with vision, mission and schemes. However, this does non propose that all organisations have achieved success and design of BSC is perfect but instead BSC exhibited good rounded attack to public presentation direction. However, we witness that universe has changed significantly since 1992 and this is non different when it comes to concern landscape. Therefore it is worthwhile to critically measure whether BSC still holds the all positions to better mensurate the organisational public presentation and what betterments can be made to it to mensurate current public presentation every bit good as to beef up its prognostic value.CRITICAL EVALUATION OF BSC AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF BSCThe apprehension of BSC and its implicit in doctrine has placed in a better place to critically measure BSC on its positive and negative facets in the current context. As discussed in the preceding subdivision, the BSC made a major discovery in mensurating public presentation beyond the traditional fiscal steps which chiefly focused on stockholder value creative activity. Puting excessively much trust on stockholders ‘ value creative activity will set force per unit area on direction to concentrate merely on short term consequences at the disbursal of long term growing and success. Further, unlike in the past today organisations are responsible for broad array of stakeholders internally and externally including stockholders. Furthermore stockholders are besides demanding an penetration into long term sustainability in add-on to short term consequences. As an illustration in the recent yesteryear we witnessed several corporate failures such as Golden Key, Enron ( USA ) , Sathyam Computers in India, Lehman Brothers ( USA ) and WorldCom ( USA ) and etc. , due to inordinate trust on fiscal indexs to mensurate public presentation. If I may farther lucubrate the former Chairman of Sathyam Computers informed all concerned parties via his missive dated 7 January 2009 that the Company misrepresented its financials to run into the analysts ‘ fiscal prognosiss and marks set. Furthermore, unlike the conventional public presentation measuring systems, the BSC clearly communicate the factors that drive public presentation and so ease the public presentation measuring procedure on the footing of drivers indentified under each of four positions. The application of BSC allows mensurating public presentation from a four broader positions and alining each step with vision, mission and schemes. This has helped organisations to strike a balance between both short term and long term concerns, fiscal and non fiscal concerns, and internal and external concerns. In add-on to its primary function as a public presentation measuring tool, the BSC besides has been instrumental in puting the foundation for a new strategic direction system enabling organisations to present new administration and renew procedures concentrating on scheme. BSC with clearly defined KPIs and measurement standards under each position allows direction to measure its strengths and failings and thereby it prompts them to place the root causes of dismaying signals to collar the state of affairss before they get aggravated. As an illustration if BSC indicates that there is an issue in the client service so the Company can turn to before clients shift to rivals. Besides it allows reacting to the challenges posed by competitory and of all time altering environment as organisations are dynamic and see a much broader image of the organisation and its environment. Further, the rating of concern public presentation with BSC system aid to instill forces subject and motive as in certain cases the employees and even direction do non cognize they are engage in and executing something inappropriate. As an illustration despite the betterments in gross ( fiscal position ) if clients are non happy ( client position ) so it would propose that the organisation should move on this and this besides would bespeak that the organisation performs below its full potency due to client issues.Despite the positive facets, the BSC besides suffers from major failings and could be discussed as below:First BSC seeking to break up the organisational public presentation measuring standards into four major positions but in the current context the organisational public presentation and long term sustainability are impacted by factors beyond what were originally introduced. These factors chiefly include the Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR ) and environmental concerns . The construct of Triple Bottom Line ( TPL – Net income, People and Planet ) has gained impulse in the recent yesteryear which described that organisational public presentation should be measured in footings of a ) economic ( traditional ) B ) environmental and hundred ) societal positions. The construct of CSR ( societal facet ) in nutshell demands all entities to be socially responsible as a good corporate citizen and should lend towards run intoing society ‘s outlooks. The environmental facet concerns that the activities of the entity should be conducted in a manner that do non harm the environment in which the entity operates. Here the accent is that the mere accomplishments of economic marks with no due attention to other facets will unlikely to guarantee the long term sustainability and growing. As a consequence the focal point on environmental and CSR has been a cardinal portion of today strategic direction procedure but yet to be an built-in portion of BSC. Further, adding more fuel to this is the regular companies describing ( including one-year studies ) contain detail subdivisions about the part towards CSR and entities environment footmark. Further, the providers, rivals and regulators have besides non been portion of BSC but it can be argued that providers and ordinances could be portion of Internal Process position but in today ‘s concern environment, consciousness about providers and rivals ‘ actions are considered to be critical for endurance and hence mere inclusion within Internal Process position might non do the demand. Further, the impact of ordinances has been widened over the old ages and hence should be a cardinal index to mensurate public presentation. Another position is the ethical behaviour and adhering to core values of the organisation in accomplishing the aims. In this it is of import to measure how the aims are achieved without simply looking at how much was achieved. The above suggest that BSC should non be limited to its original positions which would hold been sufficient and appropriate given the environment prevailed at the clip of its debut but instead it should be a dynamic procedure whereby parametric quantities are continually refined ( non inactive but dynamic ) to run into the demands of the of all time altering environment and to better topographic point organisations to accomplish their schemes. However, adding more positions will ensue in BSC go more complex and will take to more steps being included ensuing in issues at execution. Another observation is that the positions in BSC may non be every bit applicable and hence may non portion equal weights or prominence for all organisations and even all divisions within an entity. The BSC should be driven by overall concern schemes and hence companies may be bias towards the dimensions in BSC that closely relate their strategic purpose. As an illustration the comparative importance of positions for an investing company and fabrication set up will be different. Further, a division like Research & A ; Development will hold really small fiscal accent other than pull offing within allocated budget bounds in contract the Finance & A ; Treasury Division. All the above suggest that the BSC should be broadened to include new dimensions but this exercising should to be done with a careful idea procedure otherwise BSC would be â€Å" bias † instead than â€Å" balanced † and finally go more complex. My recommendation to efficaciously manage this demand is to do increased specialisation and thereby to hold industry specific BSC formats and assign weights to different steps ( both fiscal and non-financial ) on the footing of their importance to the industry sector is concerned. The delegating equal weights to all positions are non practical and appropriate. Further, the organisations who have adopted BSC have been delegating weights in order of importance. Furthermore, with all these contentions the mechanization of balanced mark card should non be overlooked and for it to move as a uninterrupted monitoring tool and supply feedback, the organisations should ever seek to automatize the BSC. Another point I have noticed is inclusion of big figure of fiscal and non fiscal steps within BSC doing it really complex to supervise and give feedback on a regular basis ensuing in the organisations are happening it hard to acquire the full benefits. Therefore it is recommended that merely cardinal steps are considered which guarantee smooth execution. The mechanization suggested supra would assist in turn toing this concern. Apart from betterment points discussed above the undermentioned recommendations could besides be used to do the execution of BSC successful ( Zairi M. & A ; Jarrar Y – 2010 ) : An organization-wide acceptance of BSC, i.e. covering all cardinal organisational maps ; Use BSC to supply nonsubjective informations for concern determinations ; Ensure committedness, to and buy-in for, the BSC at all organisational degrees, peculiarly at the top ; More accent on preparation ; Align the wages and acknowledgment system straight with BSC ; and Facilitate execution by interrupting down organisational barriers which hampers its successful execution.DecisionDespite superior design and fullness concentrating on broad array of positions which have a direct bearing on current and future public presentation of organisations, the BSC is yet to accomplish its full potency due to issues related to its design and hapless execution. However, BSC still prevails as an influential and widely used and recognized model for measuring of public presentation. The most appropriate manner to travel frontward, to prolong BSC popularity and to acquire the best consequences, is to continually polish the BSC on the footing of critical success factors act uponing organisational public presentation. It is disputing to interpret the BSC with of all time altering concern demands but the hereafter of BSC depends upon how it changes itself to suit in the current expression. Further, the debut of specialised BSC formats based on the different sectors could besides be utile to hold a proper mix of public presentation steps under each position in order of importance. Last but non least the mechanization of BSC would assist to get the better of most of the issues associated with execution.Mentions AND BIBILIOGRAPHYArmstrong, M. ( 2008 ) , Performance Management: Key schemes and practical guidelines, ( 3rd ed. ) India: Kogan Page Ghosh S. & A ; Mukherjee S. Article on Measurement Of Corporate Performance Through Balanced Scorecard: An Overview in the Vidyasagar University Journal of Commerce Vol. 11, March 2006 hypertext transfer protocol: //histrategy.blogspot.com/2011/02/balanced-scorecard-tool-in-strategy.html retrieved on 04 May 2011 Letter issued by Ramalinga R. B. ( Former Chairman of Sathyam Computers Services Limited ) on 7 January 2009 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ecbpm.com/files/Performance % 20Management/Best % 20Practice % 20for % 20Implementing % 20the % 20Balanced % 20Scorecard.pdf retrieved on 13 May 2011 – Research Paper: RP-ECBPM/0027 by Zairi M. & A ; Jarrar Y. on Best Practices for Implementing the Balanced Scorecard ( 2010 )

PRICE RANGE OF PRODUCTS

PRICE RANGE OF PRODUCTS Above is the price range of all Apple products between the years of 1975 to present. Steve Jobs manufactured products that were not just far advanced than other products in the same category, but they were also out of reach for most consumers. When Apple Computer launch its Apple II in 1977, it cost $1,298 and if you wanted a more powerful version it would cost you a twice that amount. In 1984, Apple Computer released the Macintosh at a price of $2,495. At these prices many consumers could not afford to own a Macintosh.Upon Steve Jobs return to Apple Computer in 1984, Apple products price drop allowing most price conscious consumers to own a Macintosh. The new iMac carry a price of $1,300 which would cost $1800 in today’s current dollar value. As technology advance, the price of Apple Computer products continued to decline. Since 1996, Apple had released the MacBook Air for $900 and MacMini for $600. (Felix Salmon, 2011) Apple now offers products in add ition to Macintosh products. These products have been very profitable for Apple Computer.The products below are sold on Apple store online: Computer technology has enable manufacturers to build cheaper, higher-quality and more powerful computers that are also more accessible and affordable to the average consumer. For example, the iPad 2 has been compared to the 1980’s Cray supercomputer, but at a price that millions of people can afford. Steve Jobs realized that technology had advance to a point that he could now make products that could not just deliver high quality but also be â€Å"price accessible to the broad non-geek middle classes.He could not make his â€Å"NeXT workstation which was value at $6500 in 1990, or $11,267 in 2011 â€Å"which was placed on many workstations across the world† at price that many not only be affordable but hard for competitors to match. For example, the iPad 2 price is $499 and the IPhone 4s is price at $199, both sold at competitiv e price that is hard to competitors to match and within the price range of most consumers. (Felix Salmon, 2011) PRICING OBJECTIVE S OF BRANDAccording to Steve Jobs, â€Å"Apple is breaking the rules in terms of its pricing model,† he told Reuters by telephone. â€Å"It's doing what luxury brands do, where the higher price the brand is, the more it seems to underpin and reinforce the desire. † â€Å"Obviously, it has to be allied to great products and a great experience, and Apple has nurtured that. † (David Cowell, 2012) After all Apple is a luxury brand that demand a premium price and Apple customers do are not looking to save money but to get the highest quality product in the market.This adds up to three main factors that help Apple keep the iPad and other Apple products price so low: 1. Apple stores – Apple makes a large chunk of its iPad sales directly to its customers through the Apple retail stores and the online Apple store, which enables the comp any to keep even more of the profits. While running retail stores are expensive, Apple runs one of the most profitable retail businesses in the US and these direct sales give Apple the ability to directly follow up with customers to entice them with future upgrades. 2.Supply chain – As others have explained, Apple has a major supply chain management advantage. That means that it controls the components that go into its product (and the price it pays for them) better than its rivals do. Apple makes the software, designs the chips, and buys flash memory and LCD displays in huge quantities (in combination with iPhones and iPods). That significantly whittles down the raw cost of each iPad. 3. The 3% factor – Apple sells the iPad to retail partners at a minimal 3% discount (which is likely much lower than competitors).Because of the strength of Apple’s brand and the customer demand of the iPad, retailers are willing to take very little profit on iPad sales in order t o drive store traffic and make money on add-on purchases like accessories and extended warranties. (Jason Hiner, 2011) Apple has been so successful by opening their own stores which has made a huge impact for iPad, when iPad2 was released CEO Steve Jobs said: â€Å"One of the things that enabled us to roll out this technology so fast was our Apple retail stores. They were built for moments like this.They were built to take new technology and roll it out and educate customers about it and be there when they have questions and issues. We have hundreds of Apple stores now, as you know. This is one of our newest ones in Chicago [pointing to a slide]. And, without these stores I don’t think we would have been as successful either. † [ (Jason Hiner, 2011) ] Alternatives tablets from other competitors have not be able to compete with Apple iPad and have had to cut their prices to retailer. Apple has taken notice and has taken advantage of its pricing strategy and has lowered the iPad price to its retailer.Motorola and Samsung may sell their tablets at 97% at retail price but if the product is not as desirable as the iPad the 97% may not make any difference. The margins are more like 5-15% off retail price for competitors. [ (Jason Hiner, 2011) ] DISCOUNT/ALLOWANCES Apple is not currently offering any discount for the iPad but has in the past offer student discounts. For example, it has offered students a discount of $200 for MacBooks. In 2011, Apple also offered a back to school promotion in which students could save about $229 and get a â€Å"free iPOd Touch 8GB with the purchase. (Andrew, 2010) ] Apple student pricing for iPad is $499, just like regular buyers GEOGRAPHICAL PRICING In May 28th 2010, Apple broaden their market to outside of the United States by offering iPad’s to nine other countries which included Canada, Germany, Australia, France, Japan Italy, Switzerland, Spain and United Kingdom. Pricing for these countries were â€Å"the suggested retail price in UK has been confirmed and for WiFi-only model – the 16GB version will be available at ? 429, 32GB version for ? 499, 64GB version for ? 599, while for the WiFi + 3G 16GB model will be available at ? 29, 32GB version for ? 599 and 64GB version for ? 699. † Apple will continue to add more countries by July 2010 by adding Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore to the mix. The price of the iPad was not disclosed but it’s was suggested that pricing for iPad would be slightly higher than the United States pricing. Apple is also trying to expand into the Asian market where tablet are being sold much cheaper than the Apple IPAD. (Wong, 2010) APPLE PROMOTIONAL PRICINGApple continues to offer back to school promotions in 2011, Apple offered free $100 iTunes gift certificate with a purchase of Mac computers. Apple offers are not as generous as most consumers would like them too be but itâ₠¬â„¢s better than nothing at all. Apple offers discounts for MacBooks desktops and laptop every year for students. Apple has created a special Education store link on Apple online which shows current offers and discounts that can range between 8 and 10% of the regular price for MacBooks. [ (Andrew, 2011) ] Works Cited Andrew. (2010, April 23). Is there an Apple Ipad Student discount.Retrieved from Student buying guide: http://www. studentbuyingguide. com/2010/04/apple-ipad-student-discount/ Andrew. (2011, September 16). Last Weekend for Apple Back to School 2011 $100 Gift Card Promotion. Retrieved from Student Buying Guide: http://www. studentbuyingguide. com/2011/09/last-weekend-for-apple-back-to-school-2011-100-gift-card-promotion/ David Cowell. (2012, April 17). Apple Passes Google To Become World's Most Valuable Brand. Retrieved from Huffing Post Business: http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2011/05/09/apple-google-most-valuable-brand_n_859265. html Felix Salmon. (2011, June 06).Reu ters. Retrieved from Reuters. com: http://blogs. reuters. com/felix-salmon/2011/10/06/chart-of-the-day-apple-price-edition/ Jason Hiner. (2011, March 11). The iPad's other big advantage: Retailers only get 3% off. Retrieved from Tech Republic: http://www. techrepublic. com/blog/hiner/the-ipads-other-big-advantage-retailers-only-get-3-off/7880? tag=content;siu-container Wong, S. (2010, May 8). Apple's iPad International Pricing and Availability on May 28th. Retrieved from My Digital Life: http://www. mydigitallife. info/apples-ipad-international-pricing-and-availability-on-may-28th/

Speech to the new intake informing them of our expectations: The SS

am here today to tell you about Germanys greatest people, The SS. The SS belongs to Germany and every single one of you here should be very proud to be part of it. The SS is very important. It is led by extremely powerful leaders and if you are in the SS you have to be determined. There is no time for fun and games. Most of you in here are the Arian race (blond hair, blue eyes, tall and thin) which is what we want in Germany although if you are not, there is no need to worry because we have investigated your back round and you have no Jewish connections. I am going to start off today by talking about the appearance of the SS. The kinds of people we look for in the SS are no normal people. We are looking for amazingly fit human beings. People that are strong minded and people who could go through any think. The idea for the SS is blond hair, blue eyes, tall and thin. Although as I have already mentioned if you do not exactly fit into this category do not worry. One thing is certain though; we do not want any Jewish blood in you people. Jews are the people trying to destroy Germany so we need to stop them. I am now going to briefly talk to you about Germany glorious history from 1925. The SS was created in 1925. Its full name is the ‘Schutzstaffel', which means protection squad. We created the SS to provide protection for Hitler and other Nazi leaders. In the mid twenties the SS was not very important, it only had a few hundred members and was run by SA. When the SS got a new leader in 1929 things changed. Heninrich Himmer was the new leader, he cam from a well-off middle class family. He joined Nazis in 1923 after service in Army and Free Corps. In the 1929 he was 29 years old. Himmer was very ambitious when he took over the SS. In 1930 the SS and SA was separated. The SS continued to provide Hitler with protection. They were also given black uniforms to show their independence. They looked out for people being disloyal to Hitler. As this time went on the SS started to grow and carry out more functions. In 1932 the SS began to develop army-style units. When Nazis came to power in 1933 Himmler set out to bring all of German's police forces under SS control. There was some completion, which was getting in Himmlers way though. Opposition was not good and we had to get rid of it. For example Gustav von Kahr who betrayed Hitler in the Putsch in 1923 was murdered. Another murder squad went to the house of General Kurt Schliecher, a former chancellor, who had said things against Hitler. He was shot dead along with his wife. The most extensive and successful slaughter we had was the night of the long knives (30th June/1st July 1934). Many were killed on this night including several storm troopers. The leader Ernst Rohm was also killed. Another 400 were killed. This may seem like we took it to far but the Storm troopers were mostly thugs and greedy. They dreamed of seizing the money, businesses and properly of wealthy Germans and the land of the aristocratic Junker class. I am now going to move on to tell you about our main departments. We have many departments amongst us. Ill start off by telling you about the Gestapo. Hermann Georing controls the Gestapo. He was head of the big state of Prussia. The Gestapo was a secret police force. The Gestapo was established on April 26, 1933, in Prussia, from the existing organization of the Prussian Secret Police. The Gestapo was first simply a branch of the Prussian Police. The role of the Gestapo was to investigate and combat â€Å"all tendencies dangerous to the State.† It had the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases, and cases of criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and on Germany. Another department is the ‘Death's Heads Units' which were set up to guard camps. These units treated prisoners in a barbaric fasion. Speical SS units called ‘Einsatzgruppen' were set up to deal with the resistance to Nazi rule in German-occupied counties. They deal with anyone who looks like a threat. Mostly the worst people like priests, polictal leaders and Jews are killed. The Waffen SS gew out of Hitler's SS bodygurad. The amount of people rose to half a million. The Waffen SS fough alonside ordinary Germans. It had a reputaion for being ruthless and burtal. I am now going to tell you about the aims of concentration camps. Concentration Camps were set up in Germany by Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler in 1933. The aim of these camps were to get rid of people who were ruining Germany and doing no good to the country. Most prisionors are Christains, Gypsies, homosexuals and Jews. These camps are good and teach people abit of law and order. If people disabay the rules of the camps there are consequences. The camps were a final solution I am going to finish off by telling you about role models. Reinhard Heydrich and myself should be role models. Reinhard Heydrich was a former naval officer who joined the SS in 1932, after his dismissal from the navy. He headed the SS Security Service, a Nazi party intelligence agency. In 1933-1934, he became head of the political police. You should look up to this man. I am the leader of this training school I so I expect respect from everyone here and then we will get on fine. I hope this speech has helped you understand a bit more than you originally knew about the SS.