Crocs

Crocs began marketing its shoes at a November 2002 boat show. Crocs were originally intended to be sold to boaters, because of their slip proof, non-marking sole and the fact that they are waterproof and odor resistant. However, this market soon expanded to include gardeners, healthcare workers, waiters, and other professionals who had to be on their feet all day. This market began to encompass markets Crocs had never considered.Over the course of a year what had started out as simply an idea on a sailing trip evolved into one of the greatest footwear phenomena of the decade. Products and Target Market Crocs currently targets multiple market segments ranging from boaters to gardeners to simply individuals wanting a comfortable pair of sandals. However, the firm's initial target market was boaters. Crocs' initial foray into the market was an effort to provide a comfortable pair of nonslip boating shoes to a niche market.This target market soon expanded to others who would pay a premiu m price for comfort. Nurses, retail store clerks, and others who spent most of the day on their feet quickly recognized the value proposition Crocs offered: while expensive, these individuals were willing to pay a premium to avoid the discomfort of traditional shoes. Today, Crocs targets an even wider swath of the market. Crocs' product category advertisements state that Crocs are for â€Å"women, men, kid, sports, and everyone. To further broaden their market, Crocs advertises that among these segments, customer will find its products to be comfortable â€Å"on the beach, around the house, in the rain, in cold weather, off the road, for walks in town, â€Å"and even something that will â€Å"look good in the office. † Crocs has kept its original characteristics of light-weight, non-slip, brightly colored product lines while created additional styles to accommodate the needs of different consumers. Crocs also offers apparel products such as t-shirts, shorts and even women' s leggings.

Business Payment Methods Essay

At this time of building my business I need to consider the ways in which I will permit my customers to pay for the books that they buy from my book store. Today there are a wide array of payment solutions available for any buyer of goods and services and to buy books, almost all modes of payment available can be used by the customer whether it is electronically or by direct use of card at the shop or by paying in cash. If the customer is   regular and can be trusted or is a regular bulk customer, check payments can also be accepted. In view of the competitions in the sale of books I have to take some element of risk in this regard in keeping with the business practices. For direct sales at the store a wide choice of payments are available to the customer. He can pay directly in cash or by credit or debit card. I believe cash payment has the least hassles applicable as the money has already come in the moment a sale is done. In the ase of debit and credit cards a wide margin has to be provided for without any applicable discounts since a percentage of the sale amount has to be given to the financial institutions as part of the applicable commission for use of their services. The business of electronic payments is growing rapidly in view of the convenience involved and a wide array of payment options are available which are acceptable in the case of my book store. In addition to the tradition card payments other options are also cceptable to me such as mail order, online payments, acquiring bank payments and through payment bureaus. I understand that as long as a sale is taking place I can accept 2 any of these payment modes provided the financial institution is reputed to make fast payments and is reliable for its transparency in fair dealings. In such cases I may have to reduce my margins a little, but that is ok since most businesses work on volumes and hence I can make up on the low margins.

George Orwell's Articles Is Good for College Students Essay

George Orwell's Articles Is Good for College Students - Essay Example First and foremost, it should be admitted that George Orwell in his essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† applies to the serious politic theme. Such implication can be regarded as a helping hand for present-day students in understanding the past social and historical issues. Orwell constructs his essay regarding the rules of imperialism and including the peculiarities of this political system. It is relevant to begin with the setting of the story that takes place in Burma (Orwell, 214). The author uses â€Å"images and portrayal of imperialism of Britain during their imperial era† (Fakhrana, n.p.) The narrator represents â€Å"imperialism as an evil thing† and himself as â€Å"all for the Burmese and all against the oppressor† (Orwell, 215). To such extent, it is relevant to mention that Orwell strongly sentence imperialism as a political system and all its rules are viewed as ridiculous and even absurd. It can be suggested that imperialism is regarded as a state policy that humiliates the occupied people with the lowering of their social status in their own country (Cummings, n.p.). Moreover, according to the principles of imperialism occupies are in need to make not morally correct and even cruel decisions for the sake of demonstration of their power under the occupied people. All cruelty and brutality of imperialistic rules are presented through the entire essay. The matter is that the officer has been in need to kill the elephant as people have been looking at him and he has no right to show the indulgence or note of weakness in his character. The second issue that is important to mention is the raising of serious eternal themes through the essay. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of such themes in relation to experience that students can gain through reading this essay. The author includes to the essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† such an

African american ( country ghana ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

African american ( country ghana ) - Essay Example This has been attributed to the rise in the number of Christian attending the independent African churches which has contributed to the need of other Christian sects adjusting their doctrines to suit some of the local beliefs. It is also generally believed that the Northern part of Ghana is predominantly Muslim while the southern part is predominantly Christian1. Due to the high religious tolerance in the country the major christen celebrations are recognized as holidays. These planned celebrations allow the Christian to visit their families so as to celebrate together. All the Muslims across the country observe the month of fasting which is known as Ramaddhan. While the Hindus from Hare Krsna Mandir come to chant the Hare Krsna Mahamantra and celebrate some of the important Hindu holidays. The traditional occasions are also celebrated which include the Adae festivals, Odwira festivals and Apoo festivals. The emergence of Christianity in Ghana is credited to the arrival of the Portuguese missionaries during the fifteenth century. However, it was the Wesley/Methodist and Basel/Presbyterian missionaries who came in the nineteenth century and laid the foundations of Christianity in Ghana2. This has led to most of the secondary schools today in Ghana being church or mission-related institutions. Churches have not only contributed to the education sector but also have financial responsibilities. Even with the presence of the Akan religion has more influence on the people due to its intimate relation to locals and family loyalty. This traditional cosmology bases its beliefs on the supreme god who is referred to as Nyame. Nyame who is the Supreme Being is often thought of as detached and remote from the religious daily life practices and thus not worshipped directly. The northern part of the country is predominantly is Islam. The spread of Islam in Ghana is credited to the commercial and trading activities of Muslims from the Northern region of Africa. The

Group Meeting Minutes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Group Meeting Minutes - Essay Example UML were used to describe the current system on how it operates. Use case were in this study used to demonstrate this below are the minutes of the group that took place while looking at this case study. Further consultations about the group activities were done via social media where we created a group page on Facebook. Members with issues, suggestions could raise it here before or after the meeting. [Inception Phase Meeting 1] [ Group Name] Date: 5/31/2015 Location: Lab Group Members Present: Abdu, chairperson Benjamin, Benson, Emily assistant chairperson Fatima Hassan, Jason, Jennifer, Joseph, Karen organizing secretary to the group Shirntel 1. First Agenda Item The first meeting was held in a class with an aim of Identifying the need or usefulness of a project. The group members were to establish the following a. Establish a vision for the solution or enhancements planned b. Develop a business case statement for the project Decision(s): 1. The group agreed on a project which is a Fitness Centre that is planning to upgrade it information system to have modern and up-to-date cards for its members and backup procedures for its data. The group was to evaluate the current system what it does with an aim of proposing an appropriate upgraded system for the clients. 2. The vision for the project was established which was To Provide Better Services to the Clients. 2. Second Agenda Item Members sought to establish the requirements and the scope of the project which they had decided to undertake. The agenda was to: 1. Initial list of requirements 2. Identify scope or boundary of the new system or system enhancement Decision(s): a) The listed the initial requirements of the project as: i. Having the knowledge of the previous system, how the customers accomplish their tasks using the system. ii. Having the estimated time for the installing of the new project iii. Having possible tasks that will take place iv. Cost estimations from the time, tasks and what is already avai lable. How will the new system improve service satisfaction to the members and how will the staff benefit from the new system. 3. Third Agenda Item Develop preliminary schedules indicating areas of individual interests Decision(s): b) The following schedules and individual tasks were established Task Assigned Individual Responsible Additional Information Requirement engineering Benson, Jennifer Analyzing the user requirements Feasibility study Jennifer, Karen Study if the system is doable System analysis Jason, Emily & Benson Analyse the current system and define the system requirements according to priority Scheduling of the tasks to be done Joseph, Abdu, Hassan, Fatima Looking at what the group should do. UML designs Karen, Emily & Shirntel Design the system basing on the methodology(incremental) Looking the benefits of the new system Abdul, Benjamin, Emily Looking at the cons and pros of the proposed system in terms of cost and services delivery Presentation of the analysis to th e tutor/class All the team members The findings of the current and proposed systems Minutes prepared by: [Karen / Date ] Minutes Approved: [Abdul , signature] [Inception Phase Meeting 2] [ Group Name] Date: 5/31/2015 Location: Lab Group Members Present: Abdu, chairperson Benjamin, Benson, Emily assistant chairperson Fatima Hassan, Jason, Jennifer, Joseph, Karen organizing secretary to the group Shirntel 1. First Agenda Item Notes: the main objective of this second meeting was to allocate responsibilities to

Medline Search Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Medline Search - Essay Example The ‘Medline’ database was studied with directed and pointed queries in the main search box for terms related with the clinical question. The first query was made using a rather obvious sentence ‘improving functional status in adult asthmatics’ but it yielded no results. The search was repeated using a more targeted collection of terms ‘asthma control in adults’ which yielded some very good results. The primary papers shortlisted in this search which were somewhat relevant with the clinical question included papers on medical adherence amongst adult asthmatics residing in two inner city clinics, the beliefs of patients as well as physicians about asthma control and risks involved. Another search was conducted on the same website using ‘asthma self care’ as the key words. This yielded a number of hits and two papers talked about the impact of education on asthma patients, adults as well as children. Out of these, one was found to be highly relevant to the clinical question and is summarized below. Yet another search with the key words ‘asthma medication’ yielded quite good results and another paper was selected for discussion and summarization. In total 10 relevant studies were obtained in this search. The two selected studies had high relevance with the clinical question due to their focus on the impact of education on patient adherence with medication for asthma and are therefore summarized below: 1. A descriptive and correlative study tried to examine the impact of education, knowledge and patient characteristics on emergency visits to the hospital which can yield some fair knowledge about the clinical question (Emtner et al, 2009). In a year long study, 84 asthma patients and 52 COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) patients were interviewed on phone 4 to 6 weeks after an emergency room (ER) visit and followed up for one year to study the impact

Homework Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Homework - Research Paper Example ‘Government Study of Marijuana Sees Medical Benefits’ by Strolberg presents a research directed by the government in a bid to understand the effects of marijuana on humans. In this regard, the research outcome indicated that marijuana is very beneficial when used carefully under close supervision. In this regard, it is pointed out that some of the current medication do not contain some elements such as cannabinoids, which has very high medicinal value. Moreover, the article pinpoints that there is no probability of the use of marijuana by persons who use it for medical purposes later in life. In addition, the article points out that there is no link between the use of marijuana and other hard drugs; use of marijuana does not lead to the use of hard drugs later in life. Since there has been regulations restricting the use of marijuana, the fact that the research was directed by the government, and found results that indicated the merits derived from medicinal marijuana, t hen the outcome was observed as a big blow to the current regulation. The second article, ‘Legalizing of Marijuana Raises Health Concerns’ by Rabin, Roni present an issue on legislation on the use of marijuana for recreation purposes by various states in the United states of America. In this regard, the two articles addresses the issue of legislation of marijuana, which might lead to an increase in the number of people using the drug. In addition, the two article agrees that the use of marijuana with no supervision might have negative effect on the health of the consumers; â€Å"Increased potency may be having unforeseen consequences. The human brain’s cannabinoid receptors are typically activated by naturally occurring chemicals in the body called endocannabinoids, which are similar to THC. It is revealed that, there is a high density of cannabinoid receptors in parts of the brain that affect pleasure, memory and concentration. Some research suggests that these areas continue to be affected by marijuana use even after the â€Å"high† dissipates† ( Rabin, 2013 para 8) and â€Å"Marijuana smoke, they said, is even more toxic than tobacco smoke, and can cause cancer, lung damage and complications during pregnancy† (Strolberg 1999, para 9). According to Reni’s findings, teenagers are more vulnerable to additions, especially those that begin the smoking habits at a tender age get exposed to higher risks because young people who staring smoking early tend to smoke more and often. According to Roni’s records, researchers have pointed that users that develop such additions cannot quit and even when they quit, some negative impacts affect them greatly. This is because withdrawal symptoms; lack of appetite, mood swings, depression, anxiety, troubled sleep, and irritability revolves around their life. This becomes difficult for them to bear and many of them go back into smoking to gain energy and overcome the sympto ms. Such young people end up unproductive and thus, it qualifies the in posing of such regulations that government use of the drug. In some states, regulations have been passed to try to control the age at which legal marijuana can be used. For instance, in Washington, only adults aged twenty-one and above are allowed legally to use the drug for creational purposes. On the other hand, experts have different views about marijuana because the stigma associate with it has slowly eroded away and more and more

Disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Disability - Essay Example political, academic and social, the concept of disability enjoys greater significance and widespread interest. However, this very attribute of universality has led to various debates within the fields of health, politics, social science as well as philosophy with regards to its definition and scope. Academicians, scholars, health care providers and policy makers have debated to define the term as well as the manner in which it can be measured. However, regardless of the vastness of its scope, greater consensus have now seemed to emerge, which is evident from the various definitions provided by the WHO (WHO, 2001), ICF (ICF, 2001), and the UN convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Commission of Human Rights, 2006). The international community’s which have defined the term agree on disability being a culmination of complex interactions between medical abnormalities, physical health restrictions, as well as the attitudes of the external environment which restricts their complete and total inclusion within the mainstream society. â€Å"Disability is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. Impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.† (WHO, 2010). â€Å"A disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being† (Disabled World, 2010). In conventional terms, the issue of disability have been invariably defined and viewed as a medical

Textbook Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Textbook Analysis - Essay Example The first page contains questions and quotations that give the reader an insight of the content of that unit. The pages begin with quotes, collages, questions, and unit introduction. This creates an idea of the flow of the content in that unit and the reader is able to prepare accordingly. Every collage contains images that correspond to the topic of the unit. They display values such as childcare and education, interaction of people in the society, and items encountered in the world such as computers. These images relate to the topic of the unit. Stereotyping refers to generalizations based on characteristics of all members of a group, based on wrong images about individuals in the group (Schneider, 6). The collage on unit six has two women holding young children. This creates the impression that women have the sole responsibility of caring for the young ones while men participate in activities such as education (Unit 6). One image shows a woman serving as a magistrate, which implies only few women rise to the level of prominent people in the society compared to men. The collage also contains the image of a black woman holding a child with an Asian ancestry. This illustrates the closeness of members of the minority groups as compared to close ties between minorities and majorities. This image is stereotypic since there are hostilities between members of minority groups such as Latinos and Africans. The collage on unit eight refers to technological advancements encountered in the modern world. The collage illustrates an ATM machine, computers, and roads that are usually associated with urban areas especially in developed countries. The traffic jam on the road indicates a high number of users that is usually associated with urban areas (Unit 8). These images create the perception that transport networks in urban areas are usually busy. The computers and ATM machines indicate ease of communication and service delivery that is experienced in the

Feedback and its importance Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Feedback and its importance - Coursework Example Positive feedback encourages the speaker whereas negative feedback results in demoralizing the speaker. Different Types of Feedback There are four basic types of feedback, which include effective feedback, evaluative feedback, descriptive feedback, and motivational feedback. Let us discuss all of them in some detail. Effective Feedback A person giving effective feedback focuses one aspect of message at a time rather than giving the feedback for the whole message. Effective feedback makes the speaker improve their statement based on the feedback that they receive from the audience. This type of feedback is widely used in the presentations given by the students in universities. Evaluative Feedback This type of feedback is based on some set standards. The goal of giving evaluative feedback is to make the speaker know whether his or her actions or message match the standards or not. Evaluative feedback is also used in universities to measure the performance of the students. Descriptive F eedback Descriptive feedback is deeply associated with the performance of a person. Descriptive feedback makes a person know where he actually stands and what action he needs to take in order to improve the work. Descriptive feedback is used in all fields of life with the sole purpose to bring improvement in the actions. Motivational Feedback This type of feedback is used to motivate or encourage the other person.

The Themes of Heart of Darkness Essay Example for Free

The Themes of Heart of Darkness Essay â€Å"The Heart of Darkness† by Conrad is one of the great novels of English literature. This novel exposes the greed, malice and selfishness of the European men. They exploit the wealth of Africa in the name of civilizing the natives. They take away their ivory and in return gave them hunger, destitution, poverty, degradation and death. The English men of this novel lack morals and conscience. Conrad observed the hypocrisy of his country men and exposed it in a marvelous way in this short piece of art. Feder (1955) is of the view that Heart of Darkness is an allegory that takes into account the souls journey through purgatory and hell to salvation, and that expedition is analogous to the pursuit for the Holy Grail or is equivalent to expedition of Dantes Inferno. (p. 290) Conrad major objective in writing a sea-voyage is best expressed in one of his letter that manifests that his major concern was that the public mind fastens on externals, on mere facts, such for instance as ships and voyages, without paying attention to any deeper significance they might have. (Jean-Aubry, 1927, pp.320-321) The theme of Imperialism: â€Å"The Heart of Darkness† is another expose of imperialism like Conrad’s â€Å"An Outpost of Progress†. In â€Å"Heart of Darkness† Conrad vehemently denunciated imperialism and racialism without damning all men who through the accident of their birth in England were committed to these public policies. According to Eloise Knapp Hay (1963), â€Å" to a man for whom† â€Å"race† meant â€Å"nation† more than â€Å"pigmentation†, and for whom â€Å"nation† was a sacred image, the nineteenth century civilization of racialism as a means of commercial profit through tyranny was history’s most agonizing chapter. In conveying the effect upon his mind, he could only imagine the worst torments of hell invoke Virgil and Dante who had seen as if hell with their own eyes†¦..and add to their testimony what he had seen with his eyes in the Congo. Yet, like Virgil and Dante, Conrad lived in   a historical moment †¦everything that was good in England had been thrown, along with the bad, into the â€Å" competition in the acquisition of territory and the struggle for influence and control†, which, according to William Langer, â€Å"was the most important factor in the international relations of Europe† between 1890 and 1910. It seemed that when Conrad actually began the writing of â€Å"heart of darkness†, he was deeply absorbed in two questions: his loyalty, both as man and as writer, to England, and his acute mistrust of the way the â€Å"civilizing work† was being accomplished by the European powers in south-east Asia and in Africa. In this novel he brings before us the nature of â€Å"western superiority† in primitive lands. Reading this story repeatedly, we know that the dark English coast before him recalls for Marlow the darkness of modern Africa, which is the natural darkness of the jungle but more than that the darkness of moral vacancy, leading to the atrocities he has beheld in Africa. This moral darkness of Africa, we learn later, is not the darkness of the ignorance of the natives, but of the Whiteman who blinded themselves and corrupted the natives by their claim to be light-bearers. Talking of the roman conquest of England, Conrad says, it was â€Å"just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a grand scale, and men going at it blind-as is very proper for those who tackle darkness†. What Romans had done in England, the English did in South Africa. Marlow admits that English conquests, like all others, â€Å"means the taking away it from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves,† though Kurtz went to the African jungle with an idea to civilize the natives; he saw his mission in Africa as that of torch bearer for white civilization. But very soon he starts extracting from the natives human sacrifices to himself as god. Finally, his hatred for the natives plunged to the depth out of which came his prescription of the only method for dealing with primitive people: â€Å"Exterminate the brutes!† Marlow will establish in his more lucid moments that what is black in Africa is what has a right to be there. If whiteness finally emerges as moral vacuity, blackness finally appears as reality, humanity and truth. The matter is more complex still, for along with the physical blackness of men and the metaphoric blackness of unchartered regions of the earth; the darkness Conrad has been suggesting all along is the forced expulsion of whatever is displaced by â€Å"light,† whatever is displaced by civilization-the expulsion of Africa’s native virtues by Europe’s self-righteousness. The European Whiteman in Africa is parasites; they are hollow; they have no personal moral vision of their inhumanity and folly. They are also collapsible, because their society’s institutions are incapable to hold them up. Ivory has become the idol of the foolish run of European pilgrims; and Kurtz is no exception.† all Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz.† Criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness: Walter Allen (1955) believes that, â€Å"The Heart of Darkness of the title is at once the heart of Africa, the heart of evil- everything that is nihilistic corrupt and malign – and perhaps the heart of man†. (p. 122) According to Conrad (1958) himself, the story of â€Å"heart of darkness† is about the â€Å"criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness when tackling the civilizing working Africa†. (p. 37) In the story Marlow makes much of the inefficiency and selfishness he sees everywhere along his journey in Africa. But it is the criminality of the civilizing work itself that receives the heaviest emphasis in the novel as a whole. J.W.Beach (1932) believes that Kurtz is the representative and dramatization of all that Conrad felt of futility and horror in what the Europeans in the Congo called â€Å"progress†, which meant the exploitation of the natives by the white men. Kurtz was to Marlow, penetrating this country, a name, constantly recurring in people’s talk, for cleverness and enterprise. But there were slight intimations, growing stronger as Marlow drew near to the heart of darkness, of traits and practices so abhorrent to all our notions of decency, honor and humanity that the enterprising trader gradually takes on the proportion of a ghastly and almost supernatural monster symbol for Marlow of the general spirit of this European undertaking. On his journey up the Congo, Marlow comes across the forsaken railway truck, looking as dead as the carcass of some animal; the brick maker idling for a year with no bricks and no hope of materials for making them; the â€Å"wanton   smashup† of drainage pipes abandoned in a ravine ; burst, piled up cases of rivets at the outer station and no way of getting them to the damaged steam boat at the Central Station; the vast artificial hole somebody had been digging on the slope- all these and many more are the examples of the criminality of the inefficiency. Wilson Follet believed that in this novel, â€Å"the European is shown drained, diseased, a prey to madness and unutterable horror and death†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚     This proves that the white men over there, except the company’s accountant, are inefficient and selfish. They themselves do nothing, whereas on the other hand they exploit the natives to the maximum, they extract the maximum workout of them and pay them three nine –inch long brass-wire pieces a week, which are insufficient to buy them anything. As such most of the natives are starving and dying. This novel is a very faithful accord of the cruelties and atrocities perpetrated on the natives of Africa by their European masters. The Historical theme: In Elizabethan times the Drakes and Franklins sailed from the light of England into the darkness of unknown seas, returning with the â€Å"round flanks† of their ships bulging with treasure. Nineteen centuries ago the incoming tide brought the Romans from the light of Rome into the darkness of England: the roman conquest of England was an aggravated murder on a large scale. Modern imperialism-represented by Conrad in â€Å"heart of darkness†- is not different from the ancient; the civilized white men of Europe have entered the blackness of Africa, and have united the natives. The white men come as imperialist traders but in reality for the sake of ivory they loot and plunder. For the sake of ivory the whites robed the natives of their very identity and existence. Their lives and their culture were destroyed to the maximum extent possible by the so called civilized men of the world who declared their task as â€Å"white man’s burden†. Works Cited Allen, Walter. 1955. The English novel; a short critical history. New York: Dutton. Beach, J. W. 1932. The Twentieth Century Novel; A study in Technique. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Century Co. Conrad, Joseph. 1958. Letters to William Blackwood; ed. W. Blackburn. Durham N.C.;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Duke University Press. Feder. 1955. Marlows Descent into Hell. 19 Nineteenth-Century Fiction. 289-292 Hay, E. K. 1963. â€Å"The Political Novels of Joseph Conrad†. Chicago: University of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chicago Press. Jean-Aubry, G. 1927. Joseph Conrad: Life and Letters; Letter to Richard Curle, July 17,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1923.

Strategic marketing planning

Strategic marketing planning The proper application and implementation of a strategic marketing plan is essential to the success of any business. A company can have a perfect product, but without proper placement, identifying an audience and a marketing plan appropriate activity would not be able to market its products to consumers. Watawala Plantations PLC was able to convert an activity performed in the home of commercial success through the implementation and respect of its strategic intentions. The company was able to convince consumers that the store offers more than just tea, but rather a rich experience they should have on a recurring basis. The company was able to translate this consumer experience of its products for an extremely lucrative. This strategic marketing plan will discuss the marketing strategy implemented by Watawala Plantations PLC, and evaluate the plan of the company in the current marketing strategies including market segmentation, targeting strategies, positioning, the competitive environment, and various other factors that affect its marketing strategy including external macro environmental forces. Table of contents Title Page. 1.0 Introduction 04 2.0 Watawala Plantations An Overview 05 2.1 Company Background 05 2.2 Mission, Vision Corporate Values 06 2.2.1 Mission 06 2.2.2 Vision 07 2.2.3 Corporate Values 07 3.0 Product Description Oolong Tea 08 4.0 Construction of SWOT A Situational Analysis 08 5.0 Marketing Objectives 10 6.0 Market Segmentation, Target Market and Positioning 10 6.1 Market Segmentation 10 6.2 Target Market 11 6.3 Positioning 11 7.0 Macro Environmental Analysis PEST Factors 12 8.0 The Marketing Mix 4Ps 14 8.1 Product 14 8.2 Price 15 8.3 Place (distribution) 16 8.4 Promotion 16 9.0 Proposed Marketing Budget 17 10.0 Evaluation and Control 18 11.0 Bibliography 19 1.0 Introduction Today in the rapidly changing corporate arena one of the frequently spoken subject is becoming the Strategic Market Planning and many expensive reference materials can be commonly seen in bookstores, libraries and via online sources. But what exactly is Strategic Marketing Plan, how to assess the external macro environment? What are the impacts of political, economic, socio-cultural and technological factors have on developing Strategic Marketing Plan? These are some of the common questions to be answered. Without a clear strategy the organization is like a ship without a rudder, going around in circles. This strategic marketing plan prepared to Watawala Plantations PLC is essential for the newcomer Oolong tea to the market. Oolong Tea is an innovative product that is close to the tea and black tea, and this product can be a cleaner body. This strategic marketing plan will discuss the marketing strategy implemented by Watawala Plantations PLC. It is very much evident, that the strategic marketing plan for Watawala Plantations PLC has been successfully completed after gaining a substantial understanding from the various reliable sources where the information have been gathered. I strongly feel that the information that I have provided in this strategic marketing plan will definitely satisfy the assessment criteria. Last but not the least I wish to mention that, at the best of my knowledge, Ive acknowledged all the sources which I did refer to complete this strategic marketing plan. 2.0 Watawala Plantations An Overview 2.1 Company Background Watawala Plantations PLC is a pioneer tea plantation and marketing company in Sri Lanka. This is a listed company is a joint venture with the legendary Tata Group, which owns the No. 1 tea brand in Britain Tetley. Today Watawala plantations PLC has undertaken the management of selected 18 prime tea estates in all elevations of low-rise, medium-and high-grown along with a pair of rubber plantations, and the Sri Lankas only palm oil factory and employs over 15,000 people. With the joint venture in Tata Tea India, Watawala Plantations PLC has accepted the challenge of converting trade and productivity in to competition. The unique advantage of three diversified namely crops, tea, rubber and Palm has made the company to move in different directions in terms of involvement with the daily life of people in Sri Lanka. Total area of plantations is divided region 12,442.13 hectares, of which 41% is the tea, rubber is 18% and 8% less for the cultivation of oil palm. About 7% is separate for firewood and the rest is uncultivated and remains as the areas of conservation, forestry, spices, vegetable cultivation, jungle, buildings, roads, etc. 2.2 Mission, Vision Corporate Values 2.2.1Mission Statement According to David (1995, p.88) a business mission can be classified as the foundation for priorities, strategies, plans, and work assignment. In other words it can be said as the starting point for the design of managerial jobs and, above all, for the design of managerial structures. A mission statement which focuses on a businesss current activities reveals the long-term vision of an organization in terms of what it wants to be and whom it wants to serve. The Mission Statement of Watawala Plantations PLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ By the year 2015 we will get closer to our end user locally and internationally by: Adding value to our products (tea, rubber, palm oil) Being committed to producing quality products Using our own brand Fully utilize the technological advancements and land resources in an eco-friendly manner To respect and understand the community in which we do business Celebrate the diversity and the power of our people While continuing toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, Be the preferred supplier in tea, rubber, palm oil globally Enhance return to our shareholders 2.2.2 Vision A strategic vision concerns a firms future business path that is where we are going. Companys vision defines the desired or intended future state of an organization or company in respect of its basic objectives. Vision is a long-term; sometimes describing how the organization wants the world must stay where it operates. The primary role of a companys vision is to establish a dream to all its employees and stake holders to achieve the companys corporate goals. The Vision Statement of Watawala Plantations PLCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ We will take a path no one has walked before and many will want to follow 2.2.3 Core Values Watawala Plantations willà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ensure that our business is always customer focused and that we continuously strive to meet their demands with the highest level of service. Be committed to offering the highest quality products at all times to our customers globally. Recognize and motivate our employees who are the live wire of the organization, to achieve their fullest potential and provide equal opportunities regardless of gender, religion, race or colour to excel in their work. Value transparency and honesty in everything we do. Contribute positively to the long term sustainability and development of the external community and the environment we operate in. Be innovative and strive for continuous improvement in whatever we do. Recognize that our shareholders are of utmost importance to us and ensure the best possible returns to them. 3.0 Product Description Oolong Tea There are hundreds of different varieties of tea made from tea plant, Camellia Sinensis, but almost all of them is divided into three broader categories which are respectively black teas, which are fully oxidized before drying a careful fermentation process, green tea is dried quickly, while non-oxidized oolong, which is somewhere in the middle and combine the best features of both. Oolong is partially fermented (semi-fermented) tea, which is known for its rich taste and pleasant lasting aftertaste. Oolong is classified as black or dark green tea which is baked longer than Green Oolongs. Green Oolong is usually smells stronger as Dark Oolong is usually has a stronger aftertaste. Special oven baked Oolong is only an intermediate dark green. 4.0 Construction of SWOT A Situational Analysis According to David (2004, pp.156-158) no organization is equally strong or weak in all its functional areas. Objectives and strategies are established with the intention of capitalizing upon internal strengths and overcoming weaknesses. The overall evaluation of a companys strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are called as the SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is used as a framework to help the firm to develop its overall corporate, marketing, or product strategies. Strengths and Weaknesses are internal factors, which are controllable by the company. Whereas, Opportunities threats are external factors tend to be uncontrollable by the organization. The SWOT analysis of the Watawala Plantations PLC can be illustrated as follows: Strengths Uniqueness of the product Benefits of product are outstanding and not offered by any other product/company. Brand awareness High quality tea High quality service Expertise on the tea business Entrepreneurial spirit and commitment Complete and broad trained staff Opportunities Can open new lines of business Mass market tea prices will stabilize Consumers are living a more healthy lifestyle Consumers prefer quality products that offer true value Modern technology in the tea industry will be able to increase productivity Growth in tea market due to promotional efforts of healthy attributes of tea Threats Seasonal demand Misperception of tea consumption Competition from coffee shops Limited number of raw materials Unstable tea supply of high quality tea High quality tea prices will increase moderately Tea market is very competitive and relative elastic where strong local competitors such as Lipton, Bogawanthalaweà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. SWOT ANALYSIS Weaknesses Budget deficits Less access to modern technologies with to Oolong tea manufacturing process 5.0 Marketing Objectives All businesses, as a rule, need to set objectives on their own, for the products or services they intend to launch. Setting objectives are important; because they focus on specific aims over a period of time and can motivate the staff additionally to meet the set objectives. The marketing intention Watawala Plantations PLC is to grab a 10% market share and to achieve a sales volume worth of SLR 2,500,000 during the current year 2011. 6.0 Market Segmentation, Target Market and Positioning 6.1 Market Segmentation An organization cannot satisfy the needs and wants of all consumers. To do so, may result in a massive drain in company resources. Segmentation is simply the process of dividing a particular market for a good or service into sections, which display similar characteristics or behavior. There are a number of segmentation variables that allow an organization to divide their market into homogenous groups. There is no single way to segment a market. A good marketer has to try different segmentation methods, either alone or in combination, in order to view the market structure clearly. Segmentation can be categorized in to four major variables. They are geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral variables. It has to be clearly understood that Watawala Plantations PLC has utilized the demographic segmentation variable to divide the market. In demographic segmentation, the market can be divided in to groups such as age, gender, income, family size, family life cycle, occupation, education, race, religion, generation, nationality and social class. But here Watawala Plantations PLC going to consider only the first three groups from the demographic variables as described above. It is very much evident that in particular, the demographic segmentation variables have been chosen because of two reasons. One is that, customer wants, preferences, and usage rates are often associated with demographic variables and the other is that the demographic variables are easier to measure. 6.2 Target Market Target Market is the specific group of customers that a company aims to capture. They have been identified as the people with needs or wants that can be met with the products or services from the company. When evaluating the market segments, Watawala Plantations PLC must look at three major factors. They are segment size growth, segment structural attractiveness, and companys growth. Considering these aspects Watawala Plantations PLC has decided its target group as anybody who is interested in good quality tea. Mass market is the strategy of the company aiming to sell their product to broad market in Spain. 6.3 Positioning After an organization has selected its target market, the next stage is to decide how it wants to position itself within that chosen segment. A products position is the complex set of perceptions, impressions, and feelings that consumers hold for the particular product compared with the competing products in the market. As marketers, Watawala Plantations PLC not only plan positions that gives our products the greatest advantage in selected target markets, but also we design marketing mixes to create these planned positions. Therefore Watawala Plantations PLC is going market its Oolong Tea under its renowned positioning theme THE ART OF TEA 7.0 Macro Environmental Analysis PEST Factors According to David (2004, p.114) the purpose of an external audit is to develop a predetermined list of opportunities that could benefit the firm and threats that should be avoided. The Relationship between Key External Forces and an organization can be illustrated as follows: Therefore while formulating business strategies, Watawala Plantations PLC should be able to respond towards the external macro environmental factors in order to take the maximum advantage of external opportunities or that minimize the impact of potential threats. PEST analysis is a framework used to scan the external macro-environment, in which a firm operates. It is an important aspect to a company, in order to begin the marketing process. The following gird represents the analysis of the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological factors Watawala Plantations PLC has to consider before deciding either Germany or Australia would be potential market to expand the fruity malt loaf product. The grid below examines the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological factors with regard to the potential impact and its relative importance towards Watawala Plantations PLC. PEST Analysis Factors Potential Impact Relative Importance Political Factors Strict trading policies Medium Important Funding grants Medium Unimportant Local pressure groups High Unimportant Government policies High Important Political influence High Important Economic Factors Economic structure Command Economy prices are determined by the government Important Taxation issues Total tax rate is 64% on Profit Critical Interest rates 3.0% Important Inflation rates 9.4% Important Socio-cultural Factors Consumer attitudes High Critical Consumer opinions High Critical Media views High Important Brand image High Important Buying access and trends High Critical Health consciousness High Critical Religious factors Medium Important Technological Factors Technology development High Important Research funding Medium Important Recycling systems Medium Important 8.0 The Marketing Mix 4Ps To achieve the marketing objectives, the company has to use the marketing controllable elements (4Ps) effectively. A company might adopt one or more marketing strategies when introducing a product newly. It can set a high or low-level trend for each of its marketing variables, such as price, promotion, distribution, and product quality. Therefore, the key elements of the marketing mix namely product, price, place (distribution) and promotion have to be utilized Watawala Plantations PLC as follows: 8.1 Product A good Oolong tea is refreshing and delicious; the Oolong spectrum has a range of aromas and tastes quite different from what you get with green or black tea. It is difficult to obtain reliable figures on the caffeine content, but its probably not entirely wrong to say that the cup of Oolong average, well mixed, has about half as much caffeine as a cup of black tea and about half again as much as a cup of green tea. The difference mainly comes from the brewing temperature, not the composition of the tea itself. Although Oolong has the characteristics of black and green tea, the taste has little in common. If not overcooked, most Oolong seems almost no trace of bitterness, and generally a stronger aroma than any black or green tea. Like other tea, Oolong is rich in antioxidants called polyphenols. These help prevent cancer, keep your heart healthy and aid general well-being. 8.2 Price Price can be simply defined as the amount of money charged for a product or a service provided. A companys pricing decisions are affected either by internal factors relating to the company or external environmental factors or both. The major external environmental factor, which is going to affect the pricing decision, of Watawala Plantations PLC depends on the competitors costs, prices and their possible reactions in relation to the price fixing modes of Watawala Plantations PLC. A consumer when deciding to purchase our Watawala Plantations PLCs Oolong Tea, at the first instance evaluate the price and value of other products, which compete with Watawala Plantations PLCs products. Considering these pricing factors Watawala Plantations PLC should to apply the market penetration pricing strategy, meaning, to fix a low initial price at the introduction stage, in order to penetrate the market successfully at the outset. This is due to the fact that, it is an ideal pricing strategy which can be applied with success at the introductory stage itself, to attract a large number of buyers quickly and effectively so as to win a large market share, in a short period of time. Upon successful launch of Oolong tea, Watawala Plantations PLC can adapt skimming strategy. 8.3 Place (distribution) The distribution modes will cover all areas and all consumers coming under the target group. This is certain as the popularity grows with the demand. A competent distribution strategy will enhance the chances of attaining the goal with easy reach. Through maintaining proper contacts and application of the experience and specialization in the trade and through insuring a steady supply of goods without shortages the reach is assured with satisfactory results. Over the appointment of distributors and agents for the purpose of popularizing the product, requirements and competence in promotion, experience, market familiarity in relation to the productsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. In addition to the distributors, a careful consideration will be given towards selecting the distribution strategy. In this case an intensive distribution strategy will be utilized where it is expected to bring in quick and satisfactory results. 8.4 Promotion Promotion is one of the key elements in the marketing mix. The intention now is to inform, persuade and to familiarize Oolong tea to the market and to popularize it. In this regard sales promotion and pre publicity are two areas, which are related to public relations. To target the group, pre publicity is essential via the media namely the electronic and the print. It is through proper and efficient advertising methods, the target group mainly the consumers would be reached easily which we intend to employ. The channels, which we hope to utilize both in TV and Radio in addition to the press, will be chosen based on their popularity and result-oriented methods adopted. In this regard a careful consideration would be given to economize the expenditure for the promotion purpose. In addition to the above method e-marketing strategy will also be utilized via social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook. YouTubeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. 9.0 Proposed Marketing Budget A financial plan will be carried out since the initiation of the strategic marketing plan in order to determine the total amount of capital needed for each marketing related activity and to be completed within stipulated investment limit, which allows the marketing manager to measure the past with the forecasts actually spent during the project. Figure A illustrates the proposed marketing budget for Watawala Plantations PLC. Figure A Description Amount (SLR) Amount (SLR) Estimated Sales 10,000,000 (-) Estimated Expenses Raw Materials 500,000 Sales Distribution 400,000 Financial Expenses 200,000 HR Administrative Expenses 150,000 Production Cost 1,450,000 Promotional Expenses (posters, banners, advertisementsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc.) 4,500,000 Transportation 300,000 Estimated total expenses (7,500,000) Estimated profit 2,500,000 10.0 Evaluation and Control When involving in introducing a new product into the market, it becomes necessary to plan the overall operation in advance, in addition to budgetary provision to carry forward the objective. The controlling and monitoring aspects are two areas, which need constant attention. Any deviation will tend to upset a proper implementation of this strategic marketing plan. Therefore the following action plan can be utilized by Watawala Plantations PLC in order to evaluate and control the strategic marketing activities. Marketing Strategy Action Responsibility Control and Evaluation Methodology Marketing Communication Campaign Advertisement on TV, internet, radio, newspapers, ad campaigns on the streets Marketing Managers, Marketing Executives Monthly Sales Figures Marketing Promotion Campaign Set Up Special Stand for Personal Selling Marketing Managers, Sales managers, Counter staff Supervisors Count Customers and Monitor Sales per Month Organize Promotional Event Major Cities Marketing Managers, Supervisors, Hostesses Count Participants Promotional offers e.g. free gifts with purchase Marketing Managers, Production Managers Produced Output Figures Distribution of Free Samples to Customers At cash point Marketing Managers, Cashiers, Supervisors Count Customers

Why Firms become Multinational Enterprises

Why Firms become Multinational Enterprises Introduction One of the important aspects of globalization is the international transformation of the companies around the world. The companies have evolved from being a domestic firm to a multinational corporation and being present almost everywhere in the world either physically or via internet. These international companies are regarded as true MNCs only if they have made substantial direct investment in foreign countries and have actively and continuously taken part in the management of these assets (Barlett, Ghoshal, p2). Though the companies had started the internationalization process as early as in the seventeenth and the eighteenth century when the developed nations moved towards the under developed ones for acquiring key resources and in search for markets, but the latter part of the twentieth century and the beginning of twenty-first century witnessed a huge expansion in the extent to which the firms go international  (Barlett, ghoshal, p1). The internationalization process has trans formed greatly due to the evolution of the motives and the way firms integrate and expand their businesses around the world. There are both proactive and reactive motivations for a firm to go international. Proactive motivations are evident in firms that see a need for a strategic change and want to go international; whereas reactive firms are those that go international because they have to in order to deal with the competition from the domestic firms growing internationally as well as the foreign players entering the domestic market. (Czinkota, The Export Marketing Imperative, 2004, pg 4). This essay discusses these motives for firms to become MNEs and how they go about it. Why firms become Multinational Enterprises In the increasingly global business environment, many companies cannot afford to be under the assumption that their domestic markets will always be profitable. For this reason, many companies start with selling their existing products to the countries which have more number of consumers (e.g. China and India) or where consumers have more purchasing power (e.g., USA) (Rennie, Michael W, 193). This arises from the primary profit-seeking motive of the companies but also helps them to increase their brand identity and global presence (Czinkota, p4). These companies then customize their product line according to the country in which they are selling in order to expand their customer base and tackle the competition from the domestic players. So increased sales are a major motive for a companys expansion, and in fact, many of the worlds largest companies including Volkswagen (Germany), Ericsson (Sweden), IBM (United States), Michelin (France), Nestle (Switzerland), and Sony (Japan) derive more than half their sales from outside their home countries (UN Conference: Promoting Linkages, 2001). Another motive, which arose from the firms going international, was seeking cost effective resources to propel production for local and foreign markets. As the firms expanded geographically, they needed to attain competitive advantage over other foreign as well as the domestic companies. This drove them to invest abroad in countries where resources needed for production were available at low cost (Cosmin Sabau). In the earlier days, these resources included mainly the natural resources like rubber, steel, aluminum, etc., for example, crude oil was sourced from gulf countries to meet the shortfall in the domestic supply of crude oil. Today, it includes low cost land, labor and capital as well. This helped in lowering their cost of production and offering competitive prices to the customer. Sports good companies like Rawlings rely largely on labor in Costa Rica, a country that hardly plays baseball, to produce baseballs (Philip Hersh, 2009). The motivations to expand internationally however changed gradually in response to the great organizational and technological forces (Barlett, ghoshal, p6). One of the major contemporary motives is achieving economies of scale. It was first noted by manufacturers in the military aircraft industry in the 1920s and 1930s that direct labor costs decreased by a constant percentage as the cumulative number of aircraft produced doubled. By increasing the cumulative output and exporting to a larger market, the companies can bring down their cost of production by 20-30 percent (Ghemawat). Many companies establish foreign research and development (RD) facilities to tap additional scientific resources, sometimes acquiring useful knowledge in the process (Heather Berry, 2006, p 151-168). Avon, for instance, applies know-how from its Latin American marketing experience to help sell to the US Hispanic market (Nery Ynclan, July 23, 2002:EI). Yet another motive for companies going international was shortening PLCs (Barlett, ghoshal, p6). As the life of a product became shorter, adequate returns for all the research and development done for the product could be made only by introducing the product to multiple larger markets. In addition companies nowadays aim to launch the product simultaneously in as many markets as possible to enjoy the maximum returns before more firms start producing substitutes. How firms become Multinational Enterprises Internationalization is a very crucial and strategic decision that a company takes in its lifetime. Certain prerequisites need to be met before a firm can think of nationalizing and becoming an MNC. The first one is high country attractiveness. The country should be able to offer something that will promise a competitive advantage for the company or something that can help the company sustain its existing competitive advantage. Another prerequisite is the ownership of strategic competencies. The company should have some competencies that will help it counter balance the incognizance of foreign markets and environmental conditions. Also, the company should have some organizational capabilities that will increase the ROI by leveraging the companys strategic strengths intensively. These three prerequisites are essential for selecting the mode of internationalization and the mode of country entry that will help the company compete in world business. (Barlett, Ghoshal) There are many methods adopted by companies to internationalize and conquer foreign markets. The earliest method used by firms in their process of becoming MNEs was exports and imports. This may include both merchandise exports and imports and service exports and imports. Service exports and imports may be tourism and transportation, service performance and asset use. Some services earn payment for the companies for the performance of those services. For example, the companies may pay fees for turnkey projects which are transferred to the owner once they are operational. Management contracts also earn the companies fees for the performance of general and specialized management functions for another. Asset use includes Licensing, Franchising, etc. Licensing is the process of allowing another company to use its intangible assets like patents, trademarks, copyrights, or expertise, under contracts known as licensing agreements for which they earn royalties. Example. Franchising is the pr ocess of business in which a company permits another company to use the trademark as an asset of the franchisees business. The franchisor will help the franchisee by supplying raw materials, management services etc. and also will lay down guidelines and standards that are to be followed by the franchisee. For example, McDonalds has franchised its outlets in many countries like UK, India, etc. In many circumstances, a multinational with an exclusive technology may fear that a licensing contract lead to dissipation of its proprietary knowledge. In that case, setting up a foreign subsidiary is a preferable strategy. (http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/CP167.pdf) Another method of expanding globally is by making investments on the foreign countries. Foreign investment implies ownership of foreign property in exchange for a financial return. There are two forms of foreign investment: direct and portfolio. The foreign direct investments (FDIs) confer the investor with a controlling stake in the company. For example, when Nintendos CEP bought the Seattle Mariners, the baseball team became a Japanese FDI in the US. Although the control in the foreign company need not be full; even with a minority stake and the remaining ownership widely dispersed, the foreign investor can take decisions that cannot be vetoed by any other owner. When the ownership of the company is taken by more than one company, it is called as a joint venture. Today, at least 61,000 companies worldwide control over 900,000 FDIs in every industry (UN Conference: FDI from Developing and Transition Economies, 2006, p 30-31). On the other hand, the foreign portfolio investment is a non controlling interest in a company or ownership of a loan made to another party. This can be in the form of stocks in a company or loans to a company in the forms of bonds, bills, or notes purchased by the investor. They are comparatively safer than FDIs in terms of risk. Conclusion The changing extent, character and geography of MNE activity over the past two decades is itself a reflection of a series of path-breaking technological, economic and political events. But internationalization is not a one size fits all approach have different motives to go global and do it in the way that best suits their business models and gives them maximum returns. Whichever method a company adopts, it goes through a learning process and increases its knowledge throughout the process. Internationalization has indeed become the need of the hour for companies to sustain their businesses in the long run and develop companys strategic and organizational capabilities.

Matrix Review :: essays research papers

The Matrix Action / Sci-Fi (US); 1999; Rated R; 135 Minutes Cast Keanu Reeves: Thomas "Neo" Anderson Laurence Fishburne: Morpheus Carrie-Anne Moss: Trinity Joe Pantoliano: Cypher Hugo Weaving: Agent Smith Produced by Bruce Berman, Dan Cracchiolo, Andrew Mason, Barrie M. Osborne, Joel Silver, Erwin Stoff, Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski Directed and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski Keanu Reeves as a martial-arts master and savior of the earth? Laurence Fishburne as his mentor? The world as we know it does not even exist? Surely, you can't be serious. Welcome to the fascinating and confusing world of "The Matrix." In this sci-fi thriller, Reeves stars as Neo, a computer programmer by day and cyber-hacker by night. Out of nowhere, he is contacted by a group of super hackers who tell him that his life is in danger and his only hope is to trust them. The group's leader, a quiet but confident man known as Morpheus (Fishburne) tells Neo that he is the one chosen to save the world and that the "Matrix is the wool that has pulled over your eyes - that you are a slave." Neo is the world's only hope. In a nutshell, Morpheus explains that computers developed on their own and won a brutal war against man. So the computers made a program to put all of the slaves back in the past, which is our present day. He tells Neo that he can chose either to live now or to see what the world is truly like. Neo chooses the latter, and the trip down the rabbit hole begins as does the fight for the salvation of humanity. But the battle must be fought out in â€Å"The Matrix†, not the real world, where computer sentinels are seemingly invincible and where the laws of physics can not only be bent, they can be tossed right out the window. With that kind of freedom, characters can run up the sides of walls, leap incredible distances, dodge bullets, and with the help of Hong Kong stunt specialist Yuen Wo Ping, pull off some of the most impressive kung fu fight sequences ever filmed. Slow-motion film sequences, some shot at the rate of 12,000 frames per second, allow the filmmakers to manipulate the on-screen action much like in the Gap commercials where the dancers are frozen and the camera angle shifts around them. Andrew Mason lends the film the same look he gave Dark City, only this time the good guys wear black and everyone else is either a sentinel or prime fodder for target practice.

WHITE BLOOD CELLS Essay -- essays research papers fc

White Blood Cells Bacteria exist everywhere in the environment and have continuous access to the body through the mouth, nose and pores of skin. Further more, many cells age and die daily and their remains must be removed, this is where the white blood cell plays its role.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to this quotation, without white blood cells, also known as leukocytes, we would not be able to survive. White blood cells are our body’s number one defense against infections. They help keep us clean from foreign bacteria that enter our bodies. Statistics show that there are five to ten thousand white blood cells per micro liter of blood, however this number will increase during an illness. White blood cells can differ in many ways, such as, size, shape and staining traits. There are five different kinds of white blood cells that fall into two separate categories. One category is called, granular leukocytes, and the other is called agranular white cells.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are three different types of granular leukocytes. Neutrophil is a phagocyte, produced in the bone marrow that ingests and destroys bacteria extremely fast. Neutrophil has a diameter, which is, about ten to twelve micrometers long. They make up about 60-70 percent of the total number of white blood cells in our body. Eosinphil is a type of white blood cell that secretes poisonous materials in order to kill parasites, allergies and phagocytosis of bacteria, which is when the...

Elie Wiesel’s Night Essay -- Elie Wiesel

There exist only two types of people in a time of war and crisis, those who survive and those who die. Elie Wiesel’s novel, Night shows how Elie, himself, faces difficult problems and struggles to survive World War II. Wilfred Owen’s poem, â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est†, tells a story about a young soldier thinking of himself before others during World War I. The poem â€Å"Mary Hamilton† shows how a mother killed her child so she would not get into trouble. Sir John Harrington writes about a sad truth in the poem â€Å"On Treason†; the poem reflects humanity’s selfish tendencies during tough times. When people face difficult times they often care about only one person, themselves; the need to survive clouds people’s moral and judgment. Elie Wiesel writes about the times when he notices himself being selfish, instead of caring for others. When the Nazis forced the prisoners to run, Elie faces many difficult challenges. Any prisoner who stopped running would be shot, or trampled by other prisoners. The young boy, named Zalman, running next to Elie cannot continue to run. Zalman, â€Å"trampled under the feet of thousands of men† (Wiesel 86) becomes forgotten shortly after he dies. Elie admits, â€Å"I soon forgot him. I began to think of myself again† (86). The war has made Elie realize he can only afford to think of himself or else he will die. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† shows how one soldiers need to survive indirectly causes another soldiers death. From the very beginning of the poem the reader sees how the war affects the soldiers. Fighting in the war has aged the soldiers, the once young men now â€Å"bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags† trudge through the warzone (Owen 1-2). The men, completely drained f... ...d war show how easily the morals of people can be twisted. When faced with challenging, demanding times people will often choose what benefits them best. The poems and the novel, Night, show how cruel and selfish humans can be when they feel their survival threatened. People will turn against one another in order to live another day or deny help to a fallen soldier. The harsh truths of humanity leak out in times of war and crisis. At the end of the day, every man has to fight for himself in order to survive. Works Cited â€Å"Mary Hamilton.† Honors Poetry Unit Class Handout. Sir John Harrington. "Treason." Honors Poetry Unit Class Handout. Wiesel, Elie, and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a Division of Farrar, . Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print. Wilfred Owen. â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est.† Honors Poetry Unit Class Handout.

Discuss how Ralph changes in the course of the novel

Lord of the Flies Short Essay Discuss how Ralph changes in the course of the novel and why these changes occur. Ralph is an English schoolboy who is stranded on an isolated island without adults together with the other boys after a plane crash. He tries to establish a civilized society with rules and order by blowing the conch to assemble the boys. His charismatic nature allows him to be elected the leader. Rally's changes throughout the story can also be reflected by his changing perception on Piggy. â€Å"At the beginning: bullies PiggyAs the story progresses: has become more dependent on logical thinking and Is more determined to rebuild the community with the help of Piggy and his rational mind â€Å"Rally's perception towards Piggy has changed from an inferior boy with physical illnesses to an intelligent true friend by the end of the story He has changed from a bully to a mature boy and a responsible leader who understands the need to establish a civilized society with democr acy He relies on Piggy's reminders and his intelligence to call assemblies and make himself clear->He treasures Piggy and ales his opinions Piggy's Intelligence has a great Influence on Ralph (how adults perceive the world)† Examples: â€Å"Exercised verbal violence on Piggy (sucks to your ass- mar/auntie) Insisted on calling him the name he hates-â€Å"Apply', laughed at his name â€Å"Ralph wept for the end of Innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy. † â€Å"Seeing how savage the boys like Jack and Roger can be while having Piggy as his companion,By Caring As the story progresses: has become more dependent on logical thinking and is more establish a civilized society with democracy He relies on Piggy's reminders and his values his opinions Piggy's intelligence has a great influence on Ralph (how adults mar/auntie) Insisted on calling him the name he hates-â€Å"PiggY', laughed at his name Ralph wep t for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall need to maintain rational thinking all the time (like Piggy) in order not to degenerate and is therefore, not lured by the temptation of food More determined to maintain Jack Piggy as â€Å"role model† as he thinks in a logical manner and has enough knowledge to comprehend how adults' may think† â€Å"†Piggy could think. He could go step by step inside that fat head of his, only Piggy was no chief. But Piggy, for all his while maintaining a rational mind thanks to the constant reminders from Piggy

People and Civilizations of the Americas

People and Civilizations of the Americas An ancient civilization called Mesoamerican of the Maya developed a written language which enabled scribes to record the important actions of rulers and military events. One of the scribes was called the Mayan Scribe. The Mayan Scribe used a complex writing system to record religious concepts and memorializes the actions of their kings. Lady WacChanil-Ahau, the Maya princess, mounted a litter decorated with rich textiles and animal skins. The Mayans had a urban center called Dos Pilas. Lady Wac-Chanil-Ahau’s destination was the Maya city of Naranjo, where she married a powerful nobleman. Her marriage was eliminated when the regions major military power Caracol, had defeated Naranjo. K’ ak Tiliw Chan Chaak, the son of Lady Wac-Chanil-Ahau, ascended the throne of Naranjo as a five-year-old in 693 C. E . Chaak was a prodigious builder, leaving behind an expanded and beautified capital as part of his legacy. He erected numerous carved stone monuments called stelae celebrated her life. The defeat of the city-states of Tikal and Naranjo by Caracol undermined long-standing commercial and political relations in much of southern Mesoamerica and led to more than a centaury of conflict. Caracol was challenged by the dynasty created at Dos Pilas by the heirs of Lady Wac-Chanil-Ahau. The two shared culture and religion, the great Maya cities stayed divided by the dynastic ambitions of their rulers and by the competition for resources. The people of the Americas were in constant competition for resources as the story of Lady Wac-Chanil-Ahau’s marriage and her role in the development of the Maya dynasty suggested them. Member’s elites organized their societies to meet these challenges, even as their ambition for greater power predictably ignited new conflicts. No single set of political institutions or technologies worked in every environment, and enormous cultural diversity existed in the ancient Americas. Mesoamerica, which is Mexico and northern Central America and the Andean region extraordinarily productive and diversified agriculture. Cities were built that rivaled the capital of the Chinese and Roman Empire in size and beauty. The rest of the hemisphere, indigenous peoples adapted combinations of hunting and agriculture to maintain a wide variety of settlement patters, political forms, and cultural traditions. All cultures and civilizations of America experienced cycles of expansion and contraction as they struggled with the challenges of environmental changes, population growth, social conflicts and war.

Morality As Anti-Nature Essay

Friedrich Nietzsche, a prominent German philosopher in the 19th century is one of the most well-read philosophers of the past two-centuries. His ideas regarding morality and nature continue to be discussed and debated to this day among scholars of all beliefs. All living things are given desires by nature. These desires exist as part of who we are. They define us in a way; they can aid us and they can also do us great harm. The cardinal sin of Pride, for instance, can be a good thing, to have pride in yourself and your abilities, and be able to brag about them may be what stands between you and another person applying for the same job. But according to the Bible, it is a sin. So the other person might have the moral high ground, but you will end up with the job. Which is better? Only you can decide that for yourself. Another way to look at it is this. You have a great passion for reading, but morality says that reading is evil. So you deny yourself the pleasure of a good book, magazine article or even a street sign in order to follow what someone else has deemed to be a moral code. You are denying your true self, for no other purpose, but to be accepted in society. In your heart, and in your mind, you know that reading is no more evil that breathing, but because society has told you differently, you ignore reality. To Nietzsche, denying your own passions is like denying reality. If your passions were a tiger, a strong man would catch the tiger and tame it. A weak man would at least run away. But it is only a fool who pretends that the tiger doesn’t exist. The greatest of moralities are those that accomodate nature†¦ the weakest of moralities are those that deny it. Even though many people at the time truly believed that the church provided them a great direction in life, Nietzsche strongly disagreed. Nietzsche believed that following a religion is to ignore the very nature of humanity. He believed that man is born naturally good, proposing that the church  should not be followed in order for humans to allow their passions be presented in themselves as they desire. Throughout his writings, Nietzsche aims to inform his readers that we as humans can only reach our potential by following our passions and ignoring the flawed ideals of the church. Under the doctrine of the church’s morality, innate passions of its followers must be abolished in order to become proper Christians. By destroying the inner passions of its followers, the church is doing a great disfavor by using morality to rule out nature from their lives. When someone begins to follow the ideals of the church, they are introduced with the doctrine of the idea of free will. Basically, this concept claims that even if God is an all righteous and all powerful being, only â€Å"his† followers have the ultimate responsibility for their actions. As human beings, we have a certain weakness to make great mistakes. This is where Nietzsche claimed that there is a case of cause and effect. At the time of his writing, Friedrich Nietzsche saw that when events were not proven scientifically, followers of the church were very naà ¯ve to credit an act of God rather than searching for the answers differently. Christianity had become the enemy of life and nature and the church has stifled its followers by turning them into closed minded and weak humans. Nietzsche ultimately believed that religion creates a concept of anti-natural morality which damages our development as humans quite severely, eventually ending our status and rights as individuals once the church gets involved. Nietzsche believed that the church is at war with the passionate and the intelligent in favor of the poor and spirited. He believed that the ones who began the mental and spiritual decapitations of others are truly the ones who were unable to control their passions and were very ill willed. The people of the church who imposed morality as anti-nature were the ones who were unable to impose moderation in their lives. He believed that an immoralist is an ideal human being, because they are the ones who truly understand the rights and wrongs in life by applying passions and a chosen lifestyle that best coincides with their lives.

Laws and Regulations Essay

Introduction British Petroleum is the US’s largest corporation. One of the largest oil producers, BP services globally for billions of dollars each year. BP distributes oil and natural gas all over the world. British Petroleum has run into several problems with federal regulations over many years. Because of safety issues against the communities OSHA had to investigate many times for oil spills and natural gas leaks. Coca Cola is also one of the largest company beverage companies on the world. Coca Cola was used at first to cure addicts but the n it was revamped and used for making drinks for everyone. Like BP, Coca Cola had its issues with the law as well. They have been accused of violating human rights, pesticides in the groundwater, and finding cancer causing chemicals in the soft drinks. In 2008 it was concluded that Coca Cola was in direct violation FDA for health risk. We will compare and contrast the risks of safety regulations, OSHA violation, product safety and liability, workers compensation, and workplace data security and property protection from Coca Cola and British Petroleum. OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of 1970 is a federal regulation that establishes and enforces health and safety policy in the workplace (Goetsch, 2008). It covers private sector employers and employees and encourages states to participate in health and safety programs. States that participate receive half of its funding from the federal government (OSHA.gov, 2011). In the advent of increasing awareness and training of health and safety, company safety representatives must be up-to-date on laws, regulations and liability. The OSH Act requires employers to maintain statistical health and safety records and to report occupational illnesses and injuries under certain conditions at each company location. The reporting conditions are the following: â€Å"Death of one or more workers, one or more days away from work, restricted motion or restrictions to the work that an employee can do, loss of consciousness of one or more workers, transfer of an employee to another job, medical treatment beyond in-house first aid (if it is not on the first-aid list, it is considered medical treatment), and any other condition listed in Appendix B of the rule† (Goetsch, 2008, p. 121). Employers are responsible for informing employees about health and safety practices, laws, and regulations. OSHA regulations apply to BP and Coca-Cola with some deviation because of the nature of the business. OSHA regulations include general industry standards and it provides health and safety training programs for employees and employers. In the last few years, BP has been under much scrutiny. OSHA fined BP $87.4m for safety violations that led up to the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion (Walter, 2009). In 2010, BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill is still under investigation by the government. Insiders blame the spill on BP’s decision to shortcut procedures and skip a quality test (Casselman & Gold, 2010). Unlike BP, Coca-Cola received OSHA recognition in 2009 for having the highest employee safety and health standards at its Milesburg, PA site (OSHA.gov, 2009). Worker’s Compensation According to Goetsch (2008) â€Å" the concept of worker’s compensation developed as a way to allow injured employees to be compensated appropriately without having to take their employer to court† (Overview of Worker’s Compensation, p. 174). British Petroleum (BP) and Coca-Cola are large organization with locations around the world. Both organization have over 90,000 workers worldwide and have worker compensation plans to make sure injured employees are cared for. According to Ramos Law (2011), â€Å"workers at Coke suffer injuries similar to that of other factory employees. These workers suffer shoulder injuries from repetitive jobs such as mixing formula; knew injuries from loading product; or back pain from general warehouse jobs† (Hurt While Working at Coca-Cola or in the Beverage Industry?, para. 1). Coke needs to do a risk analysis and provide training to reduce the amount of workers’ compensation claims. British Petroleum (BP) had a massive oil spill in April of 2010 off the Gulf of Mexico in which BP hired over 20,000 people to help clean up the disaster. The care, training and protective gear for the cleanup crews was below safety standards. Training and protective gear could be the cause of the worker’s compensation claims that BP has will continue to receive. According to Johnston Moore & Thompson Attorneys at Law (2011), â€Å"seven oil spill workers were hospitalized on May 26 after experiencing nausea, dizziness and headaches. Four more were hospitalized on May 28, two of whom were admitted for chest pains† (First Workers’ Compensation Cases Building for Oil Spill Cleanup, para. 4). The fumes from the oil and the touching of the hazardous material to try and reduce the damage caused many to become sick. The safety standards of BP are being questioned for both the workers and the surrounding areas that were hit by this devastating oil spill. Product Safety and Liability Product safety and liability is a law that was created to hold distributors, retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers responsible for injuries caused from the product (Goetsch, 2008). This law was designed so that in the event injury occurs the consumer is protected. There are a number of different concepts that have laid the groundwork for the product liability law. The four major reasons that the laws were created were from, negligent manufacture, breach of warranty, strict liability in tort, and negligent design (Goetsch, 2008). Companies must take the time to ensure that the products that have been designed meet the safety standards to prevent potential instances from occurring. Coca Cola ensures that the product safety and liability is met by measuring the product and package requirements against the company standards. The company uses â€Å"The Coca-Cola Management Systems† which is a quality management system that maintains the company’s operations worldwide, maintain the Coca-Cola standards (thecoca-colacompany.com, 2011). BP has been under the analysis for quite some time since the oil spill occurred that caused millions of dollars in damage to the Gulf of Mexico. Since that time BP has created new ideas to monitor the waters that hold different oil rigs, these have been created to ensure quality monitoring. BP has created an observation program that will support constant monitoring. (BP.com, 2011) This will allow for the creation of quality monitoring preventing additional instances of the oil spill occurring in the future. This is important part of the product liability and safety program to ensure that the company follows the guidelines required to prevent future liability’s from occurring. This new quality monitoring will be able to â€Å"detect changes within the water quality, marine mammal vocalizations and weather and water temperature† (BP.com, 2011). Workplace Data and Property Protection In the workplace the most important option to the company is security and protection. Companies spend millions of dollars creating systems to protect all the assets and data that passed through a system. At BP, system security over their data tying global partnerships each refinery is a goal amongst the company. British Petroleum train each employee to keep information confidential and away from media if there is a minor incident. The risk of an employee breaking that code of silence about vital information is likely to happen. They have contracts to state employees cannot talk to media or there will be consequences that could ultimately lead to termination. Environmental Protection Agency protects the property and materials produced by BP. EPA keeps the regulation on what products are safe for BP to use to drill oil. Coke Cola has similar issues of security, but they are interested in keeping new products under the table so they can have the advantage over their competition once they launch a product. Their data protection requires a secure system as well. Both IT departments make sure systems do not get hacked by putting up server walls on the system. The security side of the results of companywide is an enterprise-level record of reference that becomes the official record for a given employee, customer, supplier, facility or other entity. Records of reference are the gold standard against which all other records in the system must be validated. These bind together the mass of company data and are at the core of the master data management approach to enterprise-wide integration (Goetsch, 2008). Although other large corporations are developing their own information frameworks, BP’s design is unique in that it specifically complements BP’s decentralized business structure. Casselman and Gold (2010) describes a situation in which a BP employee might have multiple records in one or more human resource databases, making it time-consuming to weed out the duplicate data. Conclusion There are many risks and contrasting information between the Coca Cola and British Petroleum. Both must follow rules and regulations of OSHA and federal laws in order to stay in business. Both companies had their share of setbacks when it came to employees and safety issues that made the public eye. Both companies continue to make billions of dollars and each year as the rules change they are learning to change with it. References BP.com. (2011) BP Deploying Advance Unmanned Water Quality Monitoring Vehicles in Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7064711 Casselman, B. and Gold, R. (2010). BP decisions set stage for disaster. Current, 524,14-16. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete. Goetsch, L. (2008). Occupational safety and health for technologists, engineers, and managers (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Johnston Moore & Thompson Attorneys at Law. (2011). Hunysvills Pearsonal Injusry Law. Retrieved from http://www.huntsvillepersonalinjurylaw.com. OSHA.gov. (2009). U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA recognizes Coca-Cola Danone Waters LLC for workplace safety and health success. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/ pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=18137. OSHA.gov. (2011). United States Department of Labor. Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/OSHA_FAQs.html. Ramos Law. (2011). Ramos Law Firm Workers’ Comp Blog. Retrieved from http://www.ramoslawblog.com. Thecoca-colacompany.com. (2011) Product Quality: Coca-Cola Quality. Retrieved from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/quality.html Walter, P. (2009). BP handed 87.4m fines. Chemistry & Industry, 22, 7. Retrieved from Business Source Complete.

Biology Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Biology - Article Example The study of microbiology also highlights the problems with regard to the biodegrading of toxic and other minerals present in the environment that are harmful to the plants, animals, apart from human beings. While biotechnology seeks to solve the problems faced in medicine, agriculture etc., and the microbiology is its branch that helps in the identification of the virus or fungie responsible for such problems. The study of microbes helps us to study the reactions that occur in higher organisms. Therefore, while studying the molecular level genetic engineering, the contribution of microbes in research for biochemical and molecular genetics has been increasing remarkably....(microbiology) This pertains to the study of cells and the method of interaction of cellular components that are responsible to promote life processes. While the study of this topic would include the synthesizing of DNA and RNA, it also helps in the research to find the mechanism for differentiation of a single-celled egg into a complex multi-cellular organism. For studying the concepts of biotechnology or genetic engineering, the detailed knowledge of cell and molecular biology is very important. The biologists concerned with this relevant topic use its results and findings to study the principals of protein synthesis, enzymology, organelle structure and function and cell ultra-structure, among other areas. Speaking in simpler terms the molecular biology is the science that transcribes the genetic material into RNA and then translates it into protein, as this helps us to know the mysteries surrounding this field in a better manner. As most of the work in microbiology can be quantified, we are now witnessing the off-shoot of this in bioinformatics and computational biology as some call these as the interface of this particular topic and the computers....(molecular) Biological techniques have been taken to such heights that

What is nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

What is nursing - Essay Example lling a vital role within a given industry or business, the definition of nursing that has been laid out above strictly differs from the definition or â€Å"scope† that many jobs may have (Azuri et al., 2014). As a means of understanding this and delineating what the specific responsibilities and expectations are for nurses, the following analysis will seek to engage the reader with a more profound and nuanced interpretation of what the nurse actually does and how they are expected to fulfill their unique role within the medical community. Through such a discussion, it is the further hope of this student that the reader will be able to come to a more informed understanding of the role of the nurse and how this vital position serves to strengthen the outreach and scope that the medical community has. A discussion of what defines a nurse would not be complete without briefly discussing some of the roles and responsibilities that nurses have. Although the following will not be an exhaustive list, as such a list might require a dissertation length response, the core responsibilities that will be defined are generally shared amongst most nurses. Firstly, the nurse is required to directly interact with the patient and gather information that the medical professional, whether a doctor, PA, or other professional, can utilize as a means of addressing issues relating to the health of the patient and their future prognosis. In such a way, the nurse is oftentimes required to engage in a physical exam or a discussion with the patient; as a means of categorizing and seeking to provide actionable information to the doctor or PA (Christiansen et al., 2013). In a more direct sense, nurses are oftentimes required to provide health counseling and education. Although this is sometimes overlooked, in lieu of the fact that this is an expectation of a doctor, the fact of the matter is that a nurse’s extensive medical training prepares him/her to counsel patients with regard to

Belbin's Team Roles Inventory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Belbin's Team Roles Inventory - Essay Example The deliberate combination ensures smooth running of affairs with little hiccups on the way. Ostensibly, this is to enhance efficiency coupled with specialization and division of labor. According to Belbin’s definition of what a team is (1993), he gave an insightful opinion about what a team is in this sense; he said that a team is not just a collection of individuals that are given specific job titles in an organization. Instead, he defined it as a deliberate conglomeration of persons who best understand one another in the sense that they work in tandem in areas they are best proficient in with the sole aim of achieving a specific objective. With regard to these, a team is fragmented into simpler units of individuals who are charged with different responsibilities and all these coalesce at a point to further a single interest. In his journal ‘understanding groups at work’, Alcorn (1989) stressed the need of applying the Belbin model in work place. He argues that in putting it in practice, the management of an organization is able to come to terms with its employees strengths and weaknesses and use these in strengthening the performance of the organization by utilizing the strengths of the persons and ignoring their weaknesses. I.e. duties will be assigned to the most appropriate person who will execute them skillfully and with little efforts. Application of this model is also aimed at not bringing confusion and multiple assignment of duties to the employees as these may result into absconding of duties. The information accrued from the Belbin’s model can be extensively used in a work place to help undertake to some duties that are equally helpful. It helps identify and nurture a highly skilled and work-oriented persons to keep in the work place, it enhances a sense of belonging and an attitude of can do to the employees in the work place. Not enough, Belbin’s model also inculcate high-level trust and understanding that brings about coherency in the work place besides instituting a productive and efficient working relationship. Lastly, it can also help in recruitment of employees such that only the best are engaged (Hayes, 1997). In relation to the fact that in an organization group work is necessary, the groups are composed of the different people who work hand in hand to achieve a specified objective. All the members of the group are assigned specific duties that they can best perform in and these are called team roles, Benders and Hootegem (2000) defines team roles as the tendency to demonstrate and manifest proper conduct that are ethical and rational to fellow team members in pursuit of the certain benchmarks in the organization. It also warns that the aim of teamwork is not to gauge personality but to establish the correct behavior that can be tolerant others in a work place. Though the number of team roles might be different from one organization to the next, Belnin in his perception proposed the e xistence of nine different team roles. Of all the team roles, each had a peculiar role to play given on grounds that it is his/her best performing area. This is according to the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses- the strengths prevail upon weaknesses. The nine team roles advanced by Belbin Belbin advanced nine possible team roles that are necessary in teamwork, these roles are all-important and are peculiar, and each seems to be the driving force of the other. All are

Creatine Loading Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Creatine Loading - Essay Example This part of the essay will be discussed under the following heads: 1. Introduction 2. Evidence based practice: concept and definition 3. EBP in sports & exercise context a. Swimming b. Cycling 4. Conclusion 1.1 Introduction 1.1 The concept Evidence-based practice (EBP) is refers to the â€Å"review and use of scientific research to determine the most effective outcome. The scientific evidence plays a central role, although clinical judgement and the athlete’s personal preferences and values must also be considered† (Dunford & Doyle, 2008, p.17). EBP is also refers to as the preferential use of mental and behavioural health interventions for which systematic empirical research has provided evidence of statistically significant effectiveness as treatments for specific problems. The University of Minnesota Libraries, which maintains a website on EBP states that â€Å"EBP is a thoughtful integration of the best available evidence, coupled with clinical expertise and enabl es health practitioners of all varieties to address healthcare questions with an evaluative and qualitative approach. EBP allows the practitioner to assess current and part research, clinical guidelines, and other information resources, clinical guidelines, and other information resources in order to identify relevant literature while differentiating between high-quality and low-quality findings† (University of Minnesota; Libraries , 2010). 1.1.1 Significance EBP is highly desirable to research as it leads to rigorous and systematic study of research questions, the answers to which are based on scientific evidence (Nelson, 2010). Gray & Gray (2002) explain that â€Å"because research findings are fundamental in forming recommendations, the quality of the research is very important in EBP (Dunford & Doyle, 2008, p.17). This in turn becomes fundamental to the development of the best practices in a variety of professions (Nelson, 2010). In recent years, professional organisation s such as American Psychological Association, the American Occupational Therapy Association, the American Nurses Association, and the American Physical Therapy Association have been urging their members to carryout research in support or against specific interventions. Canadian equivalent of these organisations also stress on EBP. Other agencies such as the insurance providers have been known to deny insurance coverage to certain interventions due to lack of systematic evidences. 1.1.2 Applicability and areas of research The medical profession, in which treatments prescribed by doctors are based on the best evidence available so that the treatment is effective for the condition at hand, are not the only one to benefit from EBM. Other areas include psychology, psychiatry, rehabilitation, sports and physical activity research to mention a few. Many of these areas where lose bodies of knowledge were prevailing for generations without any empirical evidence are also now exploring applic ation of EBM. Nevertheless, sports and exercise scientists perhaps are the most immediate beneficiary of EBM, next only to the medical profession. The succeeding sections of this part discuss how sport & exercise scientis