Economic Ideas Of The Enlightenment Essays - Classical Liberalism

Economic Ideas Of The Enlightenment The Enlightenment is the name given to the intellectual movement that was centered in the Western World, mainly Europe, during the 18th century. The rise of modern science greatly influenced the enlightenment. It was also the aftermath of the long religious conflict that followed the Reformation. The thinkers of the Enlightenment were dedicated to secular views based on reason of human understanding, which they hoped would provide a basis for beneficial changes affecting every area of life and thought. There were many people during the Enlightenment that made an impact on the world. Many people had different opinions about what was happening and how to fix the problems facing the world at that time. One man started this change with his Encyclopedia. This man was Diderot; it was called the great work of his life. This book was a major weapon against the old French society. His book made a great impact on the people because it was so cheap that everyone could obtain a copy. With the printing of this book a new group emerged from the populace. This group, named the Physiocrats, has been viewed as the founders of the modern discipline of economics. A well-known member of this party is known for his thoughts on the old economic ideas. His name was Adam Smith and he had many economic ideas of the enlightenment. Adam Smith wrote the book Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This book had three basic principles of economics. The first principle was the condemning of mercantilist use of protective tariffs to protect home industries. A tailor does not try to make his own shoes, nor does a shoemaker try to make his own clothes. (Western Civilization pg. 493) With this line of reasoning Adam Smith was saying that a country should not try to make their own products when another country can supply them for cheaper than the one country can make it. A nation should make what it can for the least amount of money, without the tariff, then trade it with other countries. The free trade principle was a fundamental economic principle to most people. The second principle that Smith proposed was about labor. Unlike most of the Physiocrates he thought that labor was a countries true wealth. Labor was the only part of the country that could change the wealth, not gold or silver. Finally Smith believed that the government only existed for three of the peoples basic needs. He thought that the government should be a passive policemen. The three needs that Adam Smith theorized were the fact that the people need some protection against another country in the case of an invasion. The next need was for justice and peace in the cities. To do this there had to be police. The very last need was maintenance. There were many roads and bridges that needed to be kept in working order and the citizens were too busy to do it themselves. Many of the ideas that Smith proposed were then incorporated into everyday living. This made the enlightenment a new place for people to live. The enlightenment brought a new life for the poor. They soon got jobs and many other benefits for these poor people. The Enlightenment brought more trade to the people. They felt that, along with Adam Smith, countries should only make items that they can do for the cheapest amount. This spread trade to many different countries that had items others needed. Distributing trade made work available for a greater number of people. Government members wanted to help their country have a greater economy. With this idea in mind they started to make jobs open to more people. With more members in the working society the country would have more benefits. There would be a larger food supply and more money going back into the economy. The government supported the people by making new positions for the needy. They did this by developing new jobs to fit the three needs for the people according to Smith's theories. The people needed to have maintenance around to fix the roads and bridges. These made many new jobs for handymen. The next need was the need

Free Essays on Gender And Sexuality

It shouldn’t matter what gender you are. You should have the same rights if you are a man or a woman. Homosexuals and Heterosexuals should be treated the same. Men don’t have to be tough to be men. One shouldn’t be looked down on because it’s not â€Å"right.† That’s how it is in America, right? Wrong, women are not treated as equals in society today, and homosexuals are looked down on. These articles inform us of how women’s inequality came about, how heterosexual’s came to be, and why men are so masculine. The first article, â€Å"In a Male-Centered world, Female Differences are Transformed into Female Disadvantages,† talks about how women are not less capable to do what men do, they are just different. They are different from men in a â€Å"male-centered world.† Everything revolves around males, therefore all policies and practices fit men’s criteria and not women. Women have to struggle in this world because it is male based. Pregnancy was taking off the disability-insurance package because it is â€Å"unique to woman,† but prostate cancer, which only men can get, is included in the package. This article made me mad. I guess me being a girl, I am a little biased. I never really thought of the reason why women struggle is because we live in such a man’s world. I think that is very true. I believe women were forced into this lifestyle because everything is based on men and there structure. How can we compete over something that is made for a man? It’s almost impossible because men are already better equipped for the job. It is true that because of all this, women’s differences are changed into disadvantages. It is not right. The next article, â€Å"The Social Construction of Gender,† talks about how sports, technology, and bathrooms are based around males. Ninety-two percent of sports coverage on television is male. When women started doing more and more athletic competitions, supposedly ... Free Essays on Gender And Sexuality Free Essays on Gender And Sexuality It shouldn’t matter what gender you are. You should have the same rights if you are a man or a woman. Homosexuals and Heterosexuals should be treated the same. Men don’t have to be tough to be men. One shouldn’t be looked down on because it’s not â€Å"right.† That’s how it is in America, right? Wrong, women are not treated as equals in society today, and homosexuals are looked down on. These articles inform us of how women’s inequality came about, how heterosexual’s came to be, and why men are so masculine. The first article, â€Å"In a Male-Centered world, Female Differences are Transformed into Female Disadvantages,† talks about how women are not less capable to do what men do, they are just different. They are different from men in a â€Å"male-centered world.† Everything revolves around males, therefore all policies and practices fit men’s criteria and not women. Women have to struggle in this world because it is male based. Pregnancy was taking off the disability-insurance package because it is â€Å"unique to woman,† but prostate cancer, which only men can get, is included in the package. This article made me mad. I guess me being a girl, I am a little biased. I never really thought of the reason why women struggle is because we live in such a man’s world. I think that is very true. I believe women were forced into this lifestyle because everything is based on men and there structure. How can we compete over something that is made for a man? It’s almost impossible because men are already better equipped for the job. It is true that because of all this, women’s differences are changed into disadvantages. It is not right. The next article, â€Å"The Social Construction of Gender,† talks about how sports, technology, and bathrooms are based around males. Ninety-two percent of sports coverage on television is male. When women started doing more and more athletic competitions, supposedly ...

Analyzing the American Revolution and the American Civil War Research Paper

Analyzing the American Revolution and the American Civil War - Research Paper Example Nonetheless, after the war, the new state had run its self in immense debts (Middlekauff 96) due to the loans it had taken in order to fight the war. The Revolution was extremely vital from a social point of view also. It proved to the world that the strong and powerful armed forces of England were defenceless. It signed an agreement with France and a lot of other countries. It would furthermore be the base of America's alliance with Britain. The American revolution was not only war. It was due to this war that America gained its independence. After the Civil war, America went through a lot of changes. The change which the Civil War brought has had a permanent effect on the strength of America. It has turned the country into a superpower. The Civil War greatly affected the nation. President Lincoln had claimed that he was not going to interfere with slavery however the south had no genuine right to withdraw from the Union. So black masters continued to own slaves even when the union army was preparing to invade South Carolina in 1864 (Koger 85). South Carolina was the first state to withdraw but other states soon followed, Lincoln knew that he would have to take this issue into his own hands and enacted his power as both the Commander in Chief and the Chief Executive. In Document A South Carolina felt differently about this issue. They felt that there isn't anything written in the Constitution that says that can't secede and because the people were unhappy they had the right, as a sovereign state, to secede. The southern states seceding was the first step towards the need for reconstruction. Not for the equal rights primarily, but for the unlawful slavery that was occurring.  

Environmental scienence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Environmental scienence - Essay Example Mentioning a single striking revelation would be injustice to the many that are made in the film. The way chickens are raised, the way corn is fed to cattle, the way regulatory agencies are influenced by the very industry they are meant to regulate. But for me, the biggest revelation was how today only a few large companies control the entire food line from farm to market. The size of companies like Cargill, Monsanto etc. with their deep pockets and legal protection are able to actually decide what we eat every day. The most â€Å"specious† argument I found was what was presented by Troy Roush, the farmer who talks about how Monsanto has taken control over the seeds market. I don’t agree when he suggests that Monsanto took control through a brute force method and if anyone seems to challenge their hegemony, they strike at the bigger farmer and set him as an example for others. He also goes on to say that the courts and justice system seems to be tilted in favor of these large corporations (see his quote below). In my opinion, Monsanto could take over simply because of farmer’s greed to earn more money, followed by competition, followed by fear of being left out. It was only after this cycle of greed, competition and insecurity that farmers found themselves locked into the patented seed problem. Also, the courts would hand out verdicts according to existing laws and the laws are made by the Congress. If the farmers don’t win enough in courts, it is because of the existing laws and government deregulation and not just because somebody could lie or put up more money. I think that the frustration is directed to the wrong target in Roush’s case. He, like Barbara Kowalcyk, could take the battle to the right place: the law makers. Of course, it is easier said than done but I do feel that concerted consumer action and pressure on the lawmakers is perhaps the only way forward. Roush’s comments:

Retail Industry Comparison of China and United States Essay

Retail Industry Comparison of China and United States - Essay Example Retailing has advanced with technology and now we have what we call online retailing as well. There are different types of retail outlets. They are classified according to the products they sell and by marketing strategies. There are the types that do not fall in the two and are classified as others. Retailers of products are food products retailers, hard goods retailers and soft goods retailers. Retailers classified by marketing strategies are the most. They include, department stores, discount store, warehouse stores, variety stores, demographic retailers, Mom-And-Pop retailers, specialty stores, boutiques, general store, hypermarkets, supermarkets, malls, Category specialist, e-tailers, and vending machines. Automated retail stores and big box stores fall in the others category (Pradhan & Pradhan, 2009). Retail Industry in China China’s retail industry is now ranked as the second largest in the world after the USA. The chain stores and Chain supermarkets serving the daily n eeds of the people appeared in china in around a decade ago and they rapidly grew to the extent of being the second largest retail market worldwide. However, there is no dominant player in the retail industry despite its rapid growth, unlike the USA that has dominant players like Wal-Mart and others. Its rapid growth can be owed to the government of China in 1992. The government launched a series of policies to promote fast, orderly and healthy growth of the industry. One of the policies was permitting foreign investment in retailing. The government of China, by 1997, had approved about twenty-four foreign-invested stores. Hundreds of foreign-invested retailing, however, had been established before then after seeking approval from the provincial and municipal authorities (Zhen, 2007). The retailing sector of China is highly fragmented accommodating both medium sized and small retailers. This is different with the United States that have a dominating presence of big retailers. This i s because of the barriers local market access. China does however brag of a wide range of retail formats. Department stores are one of the earliest formats of retail outlets. They were very popular before but they are now facing competition and fighting to stay ahead. Examples of department stores in China are Parkson, Beijing Cuiwei, Golden Eagle, and Shenzhen Suibao. Another retail outlet format is the hypermarkets whose development are owed to the international retailers. Wal-Mart, Mart Shanghai, Trust-Mart, Tesco, and Carrefour are examples of hypermarkets. Supermarkets are another retail outlet that is facing competition. Domestic players dominate this highly fragmented market. Examples of supermarkets in china are Baijia Supermarket and A-Best Supermarket. Convenience stores are not fully developed retailers but are already facing competition from especially from domestic chains. Quick of LianHua is an example of convenience store in China. Specialty stores are retail outlets dominated by domestic players with foreign investment being very limited. Examples are GOME and Suning. Discount stores are still evolving and the first one was introduced in 2003 by Carrefour. Franchising retailing constitutes for around three percent of the total retail market of china with a huge potential for growth in the future. Examples are Pizza Hut, MacDonald’s, KFC, and 7-eleven. Direct selling is another retailing format of china. Its potential for future growth is large. Examples of direct selling retailers are AMWAY, Avon,

The Importance Of Branding

The Importance Of Branding 1. INTRODUCTION: Now a day, the companies have recognized the importance of branding as an important key to success. This assignment is aims to analyse the importance of branding and its role in ensuring success in business. The scope of assignment covers the introduction to the brand, need of branding, key concepts in branding, importance of branding, brand architecture and role of branding for creating value. The exploratory studies include the both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) markets. The research is based upon secondary data, collected from secondary sources such as journal articles, scholarly reviews, books and websites. In the end, a conclusion has been presented, based upon the research findings along with recommendations. 2. BRANDING: The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines the brand as, a design, name, symbol, term, logo or symbol or combination of them, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. The branding is, endowing products and services with the power of a brand (Kotler and Keller, 2009, p241). The Malhotra (2012) defines the branding as, process of utilizing marketing strategies to enhance their products or services image so that it is more readily recollected by the customer. A product or service is called brand only when its dimensions differentiate from others, but satisfy the same need. The point of difference can be related to products performance (functional, tangible and rational) or related to the image/abstract of brand (intangible, emotional or symbolic). The success of branding strategy of a company is mainly dependent on its brand planning, consists of branding models. The Keller (2009, p2) presents two important models for building brand. (a) Brand Positioning Model: The focus of the brand positioning model is to establish the competitive advantage in the minds of customers. Its all about positioning brand better than others. The competitive positioning can be developed through four steps. Competitive Framework of Reference: identify the competitors and the nature of competition in the market. Creating Point of Difference (POD): identify the attributes and features, different from competitors products. Creating Point of Parity (POP): Identify the attributes and features, similar to the competitors products. Creating Brand Mantra: A core promise or brand essence, three to five word phrases, presents the spirit of the brand. Like Nokia Connecting People, TESCO, every little help, Sony Ericson Finger Talk, McDonald I M loving it (Gangal, 2011); (TESCO-Strategy, 2012). (b) Brand Resonance Model: The brand resonance model focuses creating intense and loyal relationships with customers. The key components of this model are following (Appendix 1) (Keller, 2009); these four steps are also guided by brand pyramid (six building blocks) consist of brand salience, brand meaning, brand response, brand judgement, brand feeling and brand resonance, which help in connoting the sequence. Brand identity: Describe who are you? Through brand awareness. Brand Meaning: Describe what are you? Through defining POP POD. Brand Response: Describe what about you? Through positive actions. Brand Relationships: Describe what about you and me? Through loyalty. 1.1 Need of Branding: The marketers engage in creating brand and promoting brands due to many reasons, because they understand the significance of branding into their business. The different authors / researchers presents the different reasons (motives), behind making their brands. The Kotler and Keller (2009, p241) and CMS (2011) indicates towards differentiating motive as a major reason of branding. The marketers are engaged in branding, because they want to make their products different than other branded and non-branded products, so that the consumer can easily identify their brand, otherwise, without branding, the consumer cannot identify the products of a particular seller (brand). The Malhotra (2012) presents the reason behind branding is to enhance the image of a product that can be recalled by customers. When consumers are having high image of product in their minds, they can easily recognize the brand among other brands. A chocolate lover can easily recognize KitKat Chocolate as it is his favourite chocolate brand and he is having high image in its mind, so he would be only KitKat chocolate among other chocolate brands. The ultimate impact of high brand image results in higher sales and higher customer loyalty. The Foster (2011); Hankinson (2012, p974) states that the branding plays vital role in the success of business. When a company does create brands of its products and services, it enjoys many benefits such as, (a) branding differentiates the companys products from other products. (b) branding provides the company with communication ways in order to communicate the messages, principles, values and characteristics of products to customers. (c) Branding builds the report of company in the market, as new products with good quality and reasonable quality are best known in the market. (d) Branding is an effective way of developing the loyalty of customers. (e) Once the brand is established, the companies also feel ease to launch a new brand or product under its established brands. (f) Strong brands also help the company in difficult times or at the time of crises. (g) branding helps the companys in winning the purchase decisions of customers. (h) branding increases the branding recall among customer and ends up with strong customer loyalty. 1.2 Key Concepts of Branding: The key concepts of branding are the pillars, which help the companies to promote their brands towards their target customers. (a) Brand Positioning: Branding positioning is all about placing an image of the brand in the minds of customers. The Keller (2009, p6) describes the positioning as, act of designing the companys offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market. (c) Brand Attributes: The brand attributes are bundle of features and characteristics which highlights personality aspects of brand (Managementstudyguide.com, 2009). The brand attributes are developed through actions, images and advertising. (c) Brand Elements: The brand elements are components, which creates the identity of brands such as name, slogan, colour, characters, symbol, sound, jingle, shape, graphic, tastes and movements etc. (Kerr, 2012). For example, the symbol of Honda (H), slogan of TESCO every little helps, character of KFC KFC + old man, the yellow colour of McDonalds (M) and jingle of Nokia (Tune) etc. are the examples of brand elements, which creates the brand. (d) Brand Personality: The personality of brand is, sum total of characteristics of the organization or its culture, which reflects the organizations philosophy and mission (brandXpress.net, 2008). (e) Unique Selling Propositions (USP): The effectiveness of branding strategy can be enhanced through better identification and highlighting the USPs. The USPs are the key characteristics and factors, which presents that the companys product is better than competitors products (Kerr, 2012). (f) Brand Image: The brand image is basically customers set of beliefs about a specific brand (Managementstudyguide.com, 2009). The image of a brand is built up with the core association about brand in the mind of customers. (g) Emotional Branding: The emotional branding is consumers attachment to a specific, relevant and strong emotion (bonding), love or companionship to the brand (Rossiter and Bellman, 2012, p291). The focus of companies is to gain the emotional attachment of people, because when people are emotionally attached to a brand, it creates attitudinal loyalty that is beyond of behavioural loyalty. The emotional branding is effective for those products, which seeks the high involvement of people and positively motivated. The traditional advertising (based upon USPs) is also much effective for creating emotional attachment, but the impact of customers positive experience of products is effective in highly competitive dynamic environment. (h) Internal Branding: Due to the paradigm shift from product to services, a need of internal branding has been increased rapidly. There people actually deliver the services to final customers, so their role is vital in service delivery. They can deliver the service only when they truly understand the brand identity, commitments, values and elements, which can be communicated to internal employees through internal branding (Patla and Pandit, 2012, p115). The effectiveness of internal branding can be measured through employee complaints and feedbacks. Further, employees emotional attachment and lesser communication gap also enhance the efficiency of internal branding (Franà §ois-Gagne, 2012). 1.3 Importance of Branding: The most distinctive capability of marketing managers is to create, maintain, enhance and protect the brands, because they know the importance of branding for their business. It is said that the great brands, such as Nike, Sony, Mercedes etc. are not accidently become great, but they are the result of planned and thoughtful branding strategies (Keller, 2009). The important aspect of branding is that it enables the companies to launch their own brands and also protect their brand through registering copyrights (Kotler and Keller, 2009, p242). The high street clothing brands such as Next, Nike, Levis and Wallis etc. are running their own branded products through registering their own brands, which not only differentiate them from market competitors but also protect their brands from the copy. The big retailers such as TESCO, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Primark etc. have also launched their private label brands, which helped the companies establish their own brands in competition and thei r brands and trade market are registered, so its protection for them due to branding. According to CMS (2011), branding also supports the advertising strategy of a company, because when people are quite familiar with the brand name, colour, logo, symbol or any other brand element, then people, when they see advertised, feels their emotional attachment and feelings for the brand. In addition, if the people are having a good branding experience, then a high level of attachment will be formed and it will take the customers towards buying decisions and remain loyal. The key aspect of a brand is that, an effective branding strategy does not work for a sole brand but also works for the entire companys brand. The Kerr (2012) states that an effective branding increases the sales, but the impact of effective branding is not limited to the one brand or service, but all other brands receive the impact, associated with a particular brand. An effective branding of Apply iPhone 4 is not only promotes the brand equity of Apple and promotion of iPhone 4, but also promotes the other iPhone models and products of Apple. The Ashton and Pressey (2011, p1027) claim the branding reduces the competition. This concept is similar to the differentiation strategy, opposite of cost leadership strategy. A company that is facing high competition from its competitor can avoid the competition through differentiating its products from others with the help of branding. There are many examples about avoiding competition from branding. The Mercedes is a brand of automobiles, but it positioned itself as premium and luxury brand, bring out itself out from competition of regular car brands. TESCO belongs to the retail industry, but it positioned itself as wholesaler or cheaper product brand. Redbull belongs to the beverage industry, but it positioned itself as energy drink and separated itself from other beverage brands. This is how branding differentiates the products from the competition. The red action and blue ocean strategy also help the companies to avoid from competition (Appendix 2) (Kim and Mauborgne, 2010). The key responsibility of brands is to create value for their stakeholders. According to Kotler and Keller (2009, p242), the branding works for both consumers and companies. For consumers, brandings help them in identifying their favourite brands, because when brands are identical, consumer can easily recognize them. It also helps the consumers to identify the brands, based upon the experience, which brands satisfy their needs and which dont. Consumers are also saving from risks of buying such products, which are not giving them the true value of money. In the modern world, in which consumers are time starved, complicated and more rushed, so branding makes their lives easy with decision making and reducing risk. From the perspective of the firm, the key form of the value of a company is monetary benefits that means branding increases the returns on investment for their companys stakeholders through increasing sales. Further, brands also provide other benefits to companies. Branding simplifies the product tracing, product handling, maintaining accounting records, organizing inventory, legal protection and predicting demand for a particular product. Nestle UK Ireland is dealing in many brands across the UK, so branding of Nestle provides the company to differentiate its products from other companys products. The in-house facilities include locating the product, handling inventory and maintaining records of products (Kotler and Keller, 2009). Apart from internal attribute characteristics, brand elements and associations the branding strategy also leverages the brand equity from secondary sources such as Things (third party endorsements, events, causes), places (channels, country of origin), People (employee, celebrities, endorsements) and other sources (company, alliances, ingredients and extensions) (Appendix 4). The brand uses the foreign brand names, language and country of origin (Coo) in order to enhance brand equity of their product (Melnyk, Klein and V-lckner, 2012, p21); (Herstein, 2012, p147). The branding creates the value for its stakeholders through increasing sales, profitability and return on investment. When a strong brand is successful in achieving loyalty (both behavioural and attitudinal), then customers make repeat purchase and also recommends its fellows and friends to buy from the particular company (called positive word of mouth and referral group impact) (Kapferer, 2008, p20). Further, the strong brand can easily charge higher from their loyal customers, so using the premium pricing strategy for strong brand is an easy and strong brand also makes the customers less elastic to price increase (Kotler and Keller, 2009, p244). In short, from a financial perspective, the strong brands can get higher returns on investments. 1.5 Role of Brand Architecture: The brand architecture represents the structure of brands in an organization. Brand architecture basically sets of all components of the brand, like brands visual requirements, operational requirements, story, promises, meaning and personality traits, under a single unified structure (Moderandi Inc, 2006). In brand architecture, the corporate brands or umbrella brands (overreaching brand, top brand) are used across the products in the company such as; Virgin Train, Virgin Cola, Virgin Mobiles and Virgin airlines etc. Brand architecture can be unitary (one company name for all brands: Virgins), hybrid (sub-brands work individually but linked with company brand: Nestle SA), and diversified (brands are marketed individually: Yams Food (Pizza Hut, KFC) Pepsi Brands) (MarketingforWAHM.com, 2012, p260). There are several benefits of advantage of brand architecture (Verma, 2009); (Kotler and Keller, 2009); (KENNEDY and McCOLL, 2012); (a) the company can easily manage the products across fa mily brands. (b) The consumers can easily recognize the brands as part of their favourite brand. (c) It develops understanding about brands, how brands are related to specific portfolio and how they are different from each others. (d) It also reflects that how sub-brands along with corporate brand support the core purpose of the overall corporate brand. (d) It helps to develop new brand elements for new products. (e) It can help to assess performance of corporate brand, family brand and sub-brands individually. The characteristics of brand architecture, simplicity, no more than two levels, flexibility and proper arrangement of brands improves the performance of brand architecture (Daye, 2009). 1.6 Branding for Business to Business (B2B) markets: The previous discussion on branding and its importance presents the role of branding for business to consumers (B2C) markets. The business to business (B2B) branding is almost same as B2C branding but there are few differences, which indicates towards using slight approach for B2B branding. (a) The corporate brand is more visible in B2B branding than product branding. (b) The B2B target market is smaller than B2C large customer population (selection of advertising strategy is important). (c) The contracts with customers are long term (so pricing and product details are important). (d) The decisions of branding in B2B are more inclined towards functional aspects. (e) B2B buyers are using rational decision making rather than emotional decision making. (f) B2B buyers focus business relationships more than individual sales. (g) B2B buyers are elastic more on price (Brown, 2009); (Miller, 2007). These differences stimulate the marketers to take different approach for branding in business to business markets. In B2B branding, the companies build their brand equity and achieve competitive advantage through their core brand values. For example, the brand value of Dell is flexibility, Sony is famous due to innovation and IBM is having brand value of quality. So, when buyers (other companies) would like to make purpose decisions, they would focus on key value of company before making buying decision (Hague, 2010). Secondly, the B2B buyers make buying decisions on the basis of product performance, product availability, product price and services (guaranty warranty), so marketers of B2B markets highlights these particular benefits of their products in advertising rather than focusing on attributes of products. Further they focus on tangible advertising materials such as indoor and outdoor material, one to one marketing, relationship marketing etc. One research findings states brands when personified as a human can be used to manage B2B customers relationship with in a B2B network (Gupta, Melew ar and Bourlaskis, 2010, p395). 1.7 Implications for Brand Managers: This section highlights the implications for brand managers, because there are some counter arguments on a few concepts of branding and suggestions for brand managers to understand these keep points in order to correct their focus and ripe the optimal benefits of branding (Malhotra, 2012) (Royston, 2006). Branding should be simple: The people can remember and recall the brands, which are simple and having positive associations. The complex brand elements and ideas are difficult to remember and recall. Brandings should be safe: The game of branding should be played safe. Especially in global brand marketing, brand managers must focus on following local culture, customs, norms and legislations that would keep the brand safe from social or legal threats. Branding should be different: The success of branding is only when it is different from competitors through using innovative strategies and methods as part of branding strategy. Its all about creating opportunities through telling the customers that you are different than competitors. A brand is not only a Logo: Although the logo and brand name is an important element of branding (CMS, 2011), but brand is not only the logo. Brand Loyalty never was telling: The success of branding strategy is not evaluated how good you are doing advertising and promotions in order to tell the people they should trust you, but this trust must be initiated by people by themselves that would reflect the true effect of branding. Positioning is presence: Now a day, actions speak louder than words. The positioning of brand is not what people feel about your brand, but what you really make them feel about your brand. 2. CONCLUSION: The findings of secondary research conclude that the branding is having significant importance for the success of business. The marketers get several advantages of branding such as, greater financial returns, greater loyalty, improved brand perception, larger margins, improved employee performance, opportunities of extensions and licensing, improved communication, less threat from competition and more elastics to price increase and less elastic to a price decrease and overall success of the business. For consumers, the branding helps the customers to select their favourite brand, make buying decisions easily and reduce the risk of buying less valued product against their money. Apart from business to consumer markets, the branding is also very helpful for business to business markets. Brand architecture is good practice of arranging the brand into sequence in accordance with their positions in architecture as corporate brand, sub-brand, line extensions etc. The use of brand architect ure is helpful for companies to manage their brands effectively. The implications for brand managers are to understand the true spirit of the brand, develop effective associations and manage the brand across the architecture in order to reap the maximum benefits of architecture.

Is ‘Lord of the Flies’ a completely pessimistic novel Essay

Goldings novel Lord of the Flies is not a totally pessimistic novel; hence this is not the only reason that it was refused by so many publishers. It is evident that although it has strong pessimism throughout the text, it is not without a brighter side. Thus, pessimism could not be at fault for the publishers lack of interest in the text as there are other grounds for their judgment. The Oxford English dictionary defines pessimism as:1.lack of hope or confidence in the future. 2.a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good. So is Lord of the Flies a totally pessimistic novel? Well judging by the definition of pessimism, this theme is indeed strongly evident throughout the text, yet it is a far cry from being totally pessimistic as such. The novel explores mankinds potential for evil as it illustrates a number of irresponsible, malicious and violent acts performed by mere schoolboys due to the situations in which they are placed in. Maybe its only us . . . Says Simon as the idea of the beastie being only the darkness within one another hits him. Though almost every character becomes a savage (as Golding describes them), some characters represent the better aspects of human nature. Ralph represents democracy and order as he is put in power by a democratic vote, attempts to please the majority and has his eyes set upon the boys salvation off the island throughout almost all the novel. Piggy represents logic and intelligence as he is thought of the thinker and is arguably the most rational boy in the group. Simon represents natural goodness as he is the only character to continue doing what is right whilst all the other boys fall into savagery. The novel progresses with significant losses taking place; whether it is a physical loss or a conceptual loss, as Simon dies, symbolising the loss of truth, giving him a Christ-like allusion; Piggy dies, symbolising the loss of intelligence, rational thinking and civilization as the conch is destroyed along with him. However, the book ends with not a totally tragic  ending as the boys are finally rescued; contradicting the definition of pessimism as being lack of hope or confidence in the future, thus proving that this text does indeed have a silver lining. So if this novel is not totally pessimistic, what other reasons would publishers have to refuse it? Well, publishers do not necessarily choose books which they believe are good, but choose books which they believe would sell well. As Lord of the Flies was written in the early 1950s, religion and morality were much more delicate issues than they are today, thus the publishers believed that this novel would not agree with the general public. Allusions to the Bible can be found throughout the text as the themes of the original sin and falling from innocence are evident throughout. In fact, Golding initially describes the island as being a paradise, like Eden, until the boys slowly turn toward savagery and the descriptions are filled with pathetic fallacy showing the darker side of nature, such as when thunder is used to symbolise incoming conflict. The boys then begin to enter into conflict with one another, which points towards the story of the original sin in Genesis, and as religion was such a delicate issue at this time; the book was deemed as unacceptable in the early 1950s. The theme of potential evil within all of mankind is consistent throughout the text as each of the boys gradually move towards a more savage, (and later on) barbaric way of life. The idea of there being a beastie on the island is concocted by an innocent littlun (who was possibly just scared of being without an adult guardian), but this idea is then morphed into a kind of myth as each of the boys, including the biguns, begin to fear the bestie. Jack and his tribe stick a pigs head upon a stick and sacrifice it to the beastie in hopes that it will not harm them as they have attempted to pacify it. Simon then hears from the pigs head Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! which suggests the beastie was more an idea or concept rather than a physical being. However, as Simon tries to bring the truth to the boys, he is killed; much like Christ was when he aspired to bring the truth to his people. The concept of there being an evil force within all of us, and the additional religious connotations were  possibly deemed to be unpopular among the general public. Lord of the Flies is not a totally pessimistic novel; therefore this cannot be the reason to it being rejected by so many publishers. The publishers rejected it due to their views on it being too scandalous and inappropriate to reveal to the public, as is shown above. Bibliography: The Oxford English dictionary’Lord of the Flies’ – William Golding

Hermeneutics and Philosophers

The word â€Å"hermeneutics† is derived from the Greek hermeneuo, which means, to interpret, to put into words, expressed in a language. Many times, it is synonymous with exegesis, explanation, and interpretation. In connection with the explanation of Scripture, these two words are equivalent to the eighteenth century, when the word â€Å"hermeneutics† assumes various shades of meaning according to the various schools and philosophical theories. Today we prefer to call â€Å"exegesis† to that of the biblical text analysis intended to discover what the author meant to his contemporaries, and â€Å"hermeneutics† to which the same text tells us today in a different context and in a comprehensible modern man. For Ricoeur, the â€Å"reflective philosophy† is part of â€Å"reflection† on itself, to establish the â€Å"I† of thought as first truth: â€Å"I think, therefore I am†. But Ricoeur thinks that â€Å"reflection is not intuition† of me because the â€Å"I think† is just an abstract truth and empty. The self can only be found in their objectification. Therefore, say that the reflection can only be understood as â€Å"the effort to apprehend the Self of Ego cogito in the mirror of its objects, their works and finally for their actions. † The lives lost and forgotten â€Å"I† himself to his works, which manifests his desire and effort to exist. The debate should not then go straight to the â€Å"I† but to their deeds and actions, which given its ambiguous nature, should be interpreted. Thus, philosophy becomes reflexive â€Å"hermeneutic philosophy† or interpretive. Lonergan and Aquinas were two philosophers that were in a same point. For example, both were students of theology. â€Å"Aquinas believes that humans are directed toward the transcendent God as the ultimate goal of their lives, and this transcendent goal is a beyond the power of human reason to grasp† (p. 47). Lonergan â€Å"understands the relationship between critical reason and faith as central to the practice of theology in the modern world â€Å" (p. 64). St. Thomas Aquinas see that theology does not seek an essence, but a living being who constantly challenges the man, instead of being presented as an object, is the â€Å"Unknown† is revealed in the vision-oriented faith. To address the issue thus appeals to the view that is taken into eternal bliss, in eschatology, which keeps the vital tension between theological discourse and praxis logos. The method according to Lonergan, not a set of rules to be followed strictly, but rather a framework to foster creativity and collaboration, by which all the operations that are necessary for the development of theology are susceptible to be printed, and giving mutually intertwined cumulative and progressive results.

the solar feeder essays

the solar feeder essays The solar feeder company is a unique twist on the typical bird feeder, which is resembled a typical birdhouse, but it houses feed instead. The solar feeder is a new technology, which is to prevent squirrels from taking the birdseed with an electronic shock. Due to the solar feeder companys financial statement are not breaking even, so it is the time for the solar feeder company to implement its plan to increase its sales and production and reduce its cost. The main problems of the solar feeder are as the following: 1. Squirrel Defense, Inc. (SDI) is a company, which manufactures and sells solar feeder. As the financial statement indicates the company does not operate profitable and has no cash. SDI's balance sheet shows negative checkings/savings of $(7,308) and the income statement shows a negative net income of $(26,607) in 1999. 2. The feeders are expensive and time consuming to make. Furthermore, production capabilities do not meet incoming orders. So, the inefficient production results in long delivery delays and a feeder, which is too expensive for the market. 3. Another problematic factor is that the company's pricing of the feeder is not competitive. Prices had been calculated based on what management wants to earn per unit, rather than thinking from a market perspective. There was only little market research done in the beginning by visiting some local stores. The advertising of the feeder seems not to be the ideal promotion campaign, e.g. the video on the website does not function properly or advertising with a retro theme for an innovative product. Moreover, SDI has no defined vision, nor business objectives, nor strategy. What issues does the SDIs management need to address? SDI's management needs to set up a vision and objectives. Therefore, a business plan is required. Management needs to find answers to questions like: 3. What are our strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threads? 4. ...

Essay about Human Cloning

Essay about Human Cloning Essay about Human Cloning Odaro Adu Freshman Composition 1 Dr. Banks An Argument about the Legalization of Human Cloning Human Cloning Human Cloning, what started off as a monumental and astounding achievement in Biology, has recently become one of the most controversial and talked about issues in the world. Human cloning is defined as the process or practice of creating a genetically identical copy of an individual or the cells and tissues of the individual. It can be divided into 2 categories and they are (i) Human reproductive cloning, where a human cone is created, and (ii) Therapeutic cloning, where human cells are cloned for the use of research. Cloning has been a part of human history for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Mankind have been cloning plants, â€Å"growing a plant from a cutting†, longer than records show. In 1901, Hans Spemann split a 2-cell salamander embryo into 2 parts which developed 2 complete organisms. In 1914, Hans Spemann performed the first successful nuclear transfer experiment. A huge accomplishment in the cloning field came in 1964 when F.E. Steward of Cornell University grew a complete carrot plant from a fully differentiated carrot. All proved that cloning from differentiated cells was possible. Some small animals and critters have been cloned and the history dates back to the 1960’s. However, talks of actual Human Cloning were not thought possible until 1997 when the successful cloning of a mammal, Dolly the Sheep, occurred. This was a huge scientific and technological breakthrough but it also derived many medical and ethical issues and concerns associated with the possibilities of actually creating a replica of a human being. And important issue is whether or not Human Cloning should be legal. Major arguments include the following: Is it ethical? Can is be abused of misused? And lastly, Do clones have rights and legal protection? After careful examination, it will be proven that Human Cloning should be legal and would be a great beneficiary to mankind. One argument is whether human cloning is ethical. Ethical can be defined as of or relating to the moral aspects or principles of a particular topic. Opponents claim that human cloning goes against the natural order of reproduction. Most people say that Human Cloning is not acceptable due to their particular religious issues and health concerns. They say that cloning could create serious and unforeseen consequences. An example of these consequences is the death of Death the Sheep which was deemed premature. She suffered a lot of health problems like lung disease, premature aging, DNA degradation, and arthritis. Her sickness was so bad that doctors and scientist decided to end her life when she was 6 years old. This was accredited to her been a clone. Opponents say that cloning would cause unnecessary suffering for the clone and deem it unethical. This claim is invalid. For many years now, there have been many treatments for women and men that are infertile. Many drugs and treatments a nd injections that sometimes have harsh side effects to the individual. Human cloning would just be another route for those who want a child and as people already choose to take treatments for their infertility, individuals would choose to either clone or not to clone for an offspring. Further testing and research could also assist modifying issues that arrive from cloning. Therefore cloning would not affect the ethical aspect of community. Another argument is whether Human Cloning can be abused or misused. Abuse can be defined as to use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse. A country or an individual might create a program similar to the idea that Nazi Germany had of creating and having the â€Å"perfect† race; they might bred humans with particular traits and eliminate others. Once the "perfect" human is developed, cloning could be used to multiply that individual and produce unlimited numbers of clones. The same approach could be used to create individuals

Benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Benefits - Essay Example The revelation in the current time is vital for policy makers as well as the baby boomers as if prepares them adequately before the financial challenges expected in their golden years (Dominguez, 2011). Primarily, the overseeing trustees have called upon the Congress to look into the issues and implement changes necessary to curtail future â€Å"disruptive consequences†. Although current scheduled financing is anticipated to be sustainable for the projected long-run program costs, disruptive consequences for taxpayers and beneficiaries can be avoided entirely through legislative corrections. Motivated and willing leaders should be charged with this legislation which is critical considering the over 105 million beneficiaries of both Social Security and Medicare programs. Laws and Concepts Provision of government-mandated benefits through Medicare for the aged and Social Security for the general public derives its funding through budgetary allocations. Deductions made on salarie s of the employed and income contributes greatly to the provisions of such benefits; up to the amount allocated by the legislators in congress. Consequently, the report by Dominguez exposes the pitfalls lying in wait for the Medicare and Social Security programs. As such the report serves to hasten the speed at which Congress pushes for changes in the federal budget to raise the $14.3 trillion federal debt. Despite the push to beat the deficit target set for Aug 2, prepositions for privatization of Medicare have been sounded by the Republicans. This way, older Americans will be offered a subsidy to purchase coverage from private insurers. That notwithstanding, the Democrats’ backing of an overhaul sought to extend the life of Medicare would still necessitate immediate action to allow for options and time to phase in changes that will adequately prepare the affected (Turner, 2010). Recommendations Considering the pitfalls plaguing the government-mandated benefits, planning is paramount in the subsectors of the business community. For instance, the perceived challenges resulting from the sagging economy and aging population will not only affect the future financing of benefits, but also various sectors of the business community. Of greater concern are the effects of mandated benefits which include paying lower wage for employed labor, having catered for their mandated benefits. As such, the employee will be motivated to work even at lower wages because mandated benefits are guaranteed for working (Weerapana, 2009). Additionally, leaders elected into key legislative roles should be vetted as willing and able to push for necessary laws and policies. Otherwise, leaders that are likely to undermine the pillars of health and financial security should not be entertained. Healthcare Programs Summary According the article â€Å"Medicare, Medicaid, CLASS in crosshairs of 'Gang of Six' deficit plan†, Anderson (2011), points out the plan by a group of senator s to reduce the federal deficit that is feared might significantly cause cuts in government healthcare programs. The reductions, anticipated to occur over a 10 year period would require the Senate Finance Committee to find a $500 billion in healthcare spending. The elimination of the Community Living

The Impact of the China New Labour Law on Industries and Labour Income Dissertation

The Impact of the China New Labour Law on Industries and Labour Income - Dissertation Example Some of the famous labour scholars such as Professor Chang Kai, Professor Wong Liu, lawyer Jiang Jun Lu publicly argued that the fixed term contract regulations contained in the Labour Law are necessary for protecting workers from indiscriminate termination of employment. Economists such as; the world famous economist Professor Steven N.S. Cheung and Professor Wong Yijiang, as well as labour expert Professor Dong Baohua and Law Professor Ho Bing, argued that welfare protection compromises enterprise protection and the ability of employees to be mobile (Blanpain and Nakakubo 2010, 66). The financial crisis did not help matters. Faced with struggling to keep businesses afloat and the prospect of liability for increased employee security under China’s New Labour Law, a number of businesses reportedly closed their doors. Other companies reportedly liquidated their assets to avoid compensatory damages against employee claims under the new law (Canaves 2009, A6). This research study conducts a critical analysis of China’s New Labour Law 2008 and its consequences for industries and labour income. In order to set the framework for this critical analysis, a descriptive research is conducted which reflects the economic developments in China over the past thirty years. This period is important because it covers the economic policies of Dang Xiao Ping who opened China’s markets to the rest of the world ending a long history of isolation. In the course of conducting this descriptive research, changes in the income of urban dwellers and rural farmers will be revealed. This will help to set a conceptual framework for analysing the necessity and aims of the New Labour Law and its actual and likely consequences for industries and workers’ income. This research takes a mixed methods approach in that both qualitative and quantitative research analyses are conducted. The qualitative research methods involves a review of the literature relative to Chinaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s economic development, the labour market and the implementation of China’s Labour Law 2008. The quantitative research methods consist of an empirical research study conducted. The empirical research study consist of a series of personal interviews of 100 workers and five owners of divergent sized factories. Evidence obtained from these interviews are compared to the evidence relative to empirical evidence reported in the literature on the experience of labourers who work outside of China under different jurisdictions and their labour laws. The purpose of the interviews with workers and factory owners was to identify the influence of China’s New Labour Law on the income of workers and the adjustment that businesses were compelled to make as a result of the New Labour Law. Research findings indicate that China’s New Labour Contract Law has had a substantial negative impact on the cost of manufacturing and has negative impact on the benefits intended for wo rkers. Acknowledgements. I would like to thank my tutor, Mr. Abel Khoo for his assistance. Mr. Khoo identified my errors and provided valuable advice for correcting them. He also provided valuable advice as to properly identifying the issues and the organizing the relevant material. Mr. Khoo also helped me to organize the design of this research thesis. I am also grateful to the five owners of the factories who willingly