Did Thomas Jefferson Out-Federalize the Federalist Essay

Thomas Jefferson who was the 3rd president of United States of America is the one of the most important people in American history. He joined 1st and 2nd Continental Congress and he wrote the Declaration of Independence with John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. After Alexader Hamilton made and became the Federalist party which believed in strong center government, he made Democratic-Republican party which believed in individual states power and became the leader of Democratic-Republican. On 1800, he won the election against John Adams, which is known as peaceful transferring of power. Everybody knows that he is a Democratic-Republican, but he did many things that Federalist would’ve done and even â€Å"outfederalized† them. When Thomas Jefferson became the 3rd president of USA, people thought he is going to fire all the federalists from the government. However, he didn’t fire anybody just because they are the Federalists. He actually tried to adopt a lot of Federalist’s opinion to reduce the differences between Democratic-Republican and Federalist. Eventually, he out-federalize the federalists by taking Federalist’s argument that was strong enough to be supported by public citizen and were best fir the common good. Next, without any opposition, he allowed to have national bank. The Democratic-Republican didn’t agree with the national bank because the constitutional says that do not specifically grant power to Congress to create one.

Future Indian Sports Manager Essay

India is in the forefront in very sporting activities despite having such a huge raw pool of talent which if groomed correctly can catapult the country in the international arena as one of the top sporting nations. Sports has been my first and foremost passion from as far as I can remember. An active participant of every single sporting activity in school and my local clubs my entire life revolved around sports from my childhood. he adrenaline rush that comes with playing  sports  is something that I can’t put into words Due to financial pressure I could not initially take up sports as a career option but after 6 years of working in the corporate world I have now realised that my life still revolves around sports and granted the opportunity I would want to live my life in the sports world. Observing the growing importance of managing sports teams and activities professionally, and seeing the emergence of specialised courses, I would like to work towards changing and growing sports from the grass roots level in my country, India. The prevalence of politics, red tapism and lack of promotion of talented athletes has more or less depleted and killed the motivation of such athletes in our country. Having been a part of the entire system myself and despite having being selected in the training camp for the state basketball team and having being told by my coach that I had tremendous potential but there was no motivation to pursue this as a career option as it offered absolutely no stability. Every year I see extremely talented athletes leaving their passions behind and moving onto make their career in other fields. Throughout the country a wide variety of sports are played. India is home to several traditional sports which originated in the country and continue to remain fairly popular. These include kabbadi, kho kho, wrestling and archery. The British rule brought many popular sports in India including football, rugby union, cricket, golf, tennis, squash, hockey, boxing, nooker and billiards. The country which has produced the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, P. T. Usha among thousands of other great athletes has not even scratched the surface. The talent is there for all to see but to a dysfunctional and corrupted system it fails to promote the same to excel in the international arena. To put in perspective these problems are not only faced in India but in many more countries. Some of the major issues which are considered to be the biggest problems facing a country can be discussed under the following points Management: – The problems in management are the single most destructive force which ensures that the facilities being provided for promoting raw talents never reach. In most developing countries especially in India the key posts in management are coveted posts and are held by politicians or their close associated. The result of this is that the leaders of the sports management in these countries are mostly people who are a) without any experience whatsoever in sports, b) are required to work only till such time that their elected political party is in power so they build no plans which can be executed over a five year plan, c) are mostly politicians who are more interested in gaining political mileage out of the entire deal and most importantly d) Are mostly the biggest perpetrators when it comes to corruption ensuring funds actually meant for the athletes are diverted to their own pockets by using different channels. For instance the Commonwealth Games 2010 which was hosted by Delhi, India came under a lot of scrutiny for the corrupt means used by the organizers  who pocketed funds that had been generated for the athletes. It was a disgrace for the entire nation that an event of such magnitude was no more than a mere money making scheme for a few individuals. In fact, the Head of the Commonwealth games in India Suresh Kalmadi has also been arrested for the same. The prevalence of such a system ensure there is no long term plan for developing the system from a grass root level and ensuring the plan is constantly evolving and growing in a positive direction rather than being changed at the whims and fancies of a politician. Involvement of trained sports managers can change the entire ball game and ensure a much more planned and structural growth for athletes from the grass root level. Most other problems derive their origin from that of management but are long standing problems with ramifications of their own. Some of the more significant problems which have strong ramifications of their own are: – Grass Roots:  The biggest drawback for a lot of sporting activities is a lack of a planned and sustainable program to develop athletes at the grassroots’ level. There is an urgent need to involve professional sports managers who understand the need for the same and are put in charge of the systems which govern the same. Promoting and training promising athletes will lead to emergence of new stars that would have previously gone undiscovered. Developmental:   With sports emerging as a frontrunner in drawing spectators across the world the need today in every country is to promote a variety of sports by professional methods, by packaging and presenting the USP of each sport to draw in a larger fan base. Although hockey is the national sport of the country, despite the country having such a vast raw pool of talent in different sporting genres, mainly cricket holds the limelight across the world. The IPL (Indian Premiere League) overshadows most of the other sporting events due to its glamour quotient as well as the huge sum of money involved. The lack of attention given to other sports in India besides cricket is very disheartening for young sportsmen . Packaged and managed to ensure maximum response will ensure many more varieties of sports draw in the same amount of attention and revive athletes’ interests in following the same as a career option. Disciplinary:   Due to a weak management system coaches and managers use banned substances to train their wards. Young athletes not supervised correctly are most vulnerable to the same. Discipline during growth is an extremely important aspect of a super athlete and forms the backbone during his growing stages and becomes even more important once the athlete achieves milestones. Economics of scale has become a focal point of discussion in sports today. Inequality in finances’ due to sponsorships and also government preferences has proved detrimental to non cash rich sports in all countries. Quality training and excellent facilities in some sports has led them to create a huge imbalance in most countries. Not only restricted to a single country but due to the emergence of imbalance among different leagues across various countries has led to a decline in the fan base where finances are not adequate and may eventually lead to a demise of the sport in that particular In conclusion it may be said that a strong management system ensures strong development of policies which enable a positive and sustainable growth system. Sports are an important segment of our country and also it is a prestige issue. In today’s world cricket assumes primary importance in the minds of the audience and the government has also by no means played a small part in ensuring the same. As a result other sports have suffered tremendously in the country My experience of sports in the state and national arena was restricted to Basketball wherein I had played for the university team and was selected for the state selection camp. Observing the rampant politics and prevalence of corruption I was highly demotivated. Moving on to a high paying job seemed to be the only motivation for me to leave sports and I followed that for 6 years, but my passion for sports never died. I have been strongly associated with basketball as a coach for my higher secondary school, as a player for my club and have also promoted basketball in my company wherein I have formed a team of my peers and have participated and won a number of tournaments. My main motivation for applying for the sports management course is a) to develop a strong understanding of managing sports organisations and athletes b) Understand and work with professional international organisations c) To learn modern technology and its applications in sports today ) To apply all my acquired knowledge in sports today in India e) Develop by working closely with the athletes a system of generating a higher number of quality athletes in a variety of fields Initially I would wish to work with national Women’s sporting teams wherein there would be a requirement for me while at the same time help my state Woman’s basketball association with whom I have been closely associated for the last 15 years dev elop a program to develop young athletes and initially work towards promoting the sport in the national stage and eventually the international stage. My eventual goal would be to bring women’s sports as close to par to men’s sports to guarantee young athletes a promising career in sports and ensure no raw talent gets dissuaded from following sports as a career as I did along with my entire team members. In terms of finance I would have sufficient amount to support myself in terms of accommodation and other living costs but would require financial support from the college by means of a scholarship or assistantship for the education fees. As in India the salaries are not very high in terms of international standards what I have saved would cover as said before the living costs but for the program fees I would need some sort of help in the form of a scholarship. I have spent all my life involved in sports in some way or the other and despite having a natural talent and passion for the same have not been able to follow it as a career option in my life. Today the face of sports especially in India is changing and I am right now in a stage in my career where with all the experience gained in the corporate world coupled with my passion for sports I can contribute in this field. For this I need to be further exposed to the knowledge and experience which your institute offers. I dream to make a change in the industry in my country and this is the main motive behind me applying for the degree which has already enabled many individuals to achieve their goals.

The Bottom Billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it by Paul Collier Oxford University Press (2007)

â€Å"I have a little boy who is six. I do not want him to grow up in a world with a vast running sore- a billion people stuck in desperate conditions alongside unprecedented prosperity. † (176. Paul Collier). It is a global nightmare and â€Å"a ghetto of misery and discontent† (collier) that would affect, not only Africa, but the world in general, â€Å"unless† the G8 (a group of 8 industrialized countries) and mass of informed ordinary citizens act seriously and responsibly to help these countries overcome the poverty trap they have been stuck in for decades; enable them to converge with the rest of the world and live up to the 21st century standards. Paul Collier is a professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, and former director of Development Research at the World Bank. In 2010, he was named by Foreign Policy Magazine to its list of top global thinkers. Collier holds a distinction award from Oxford University. Among his books The Plundered Planet published in May 2010, Wars, Guns, and Votes published in March 2009, and the Bottom Billion published in 2007. In the â€Å"Bottom Billion: why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it† Collier seeks to find out factors that are causing one billion of people to live in extreme poverty and have unproductive life. In the meanwhile he wants to shift the thinking of the industrialized countries from â€Å"alleviating [their] poverty† to â€Å"economic convergence†. Collier approaches his arguments through an empirical studies where he analyses statistically the correlation between factors he considers to be responsible to cause the sad reality which one billion of people live in – the â€Å"fourteenth century [characteristics of]: civil war, plague, ignorance. † He uses data from University of Michigan, his own resources and experiences as an Africa expert, and his colleagues’ resources. Collier gradually argues that there are four traps which are responsible to trap bottom billion countries and place them at the bottom of the global economic system. However Collier does also include solutions that are needed to be taken seriously and responsibly by both the G8 and the bottom billion government officials for any change to happen and to save the world from â€Å"sleepwalking into unnecessary catastrophe† in the future. What is the â€Å"bottom billion†? According to Collier, they are fifty-eight small countries Characterized by civil war, plague, and ignorance. Their population combined is fewer than China or India. Per capita income is very low, so the income of the typical country is negligible, less than that of most of the rich world cities. They are countries that do not form a geographic label, so Collier label them as â€Å"Africa+† as 70% of the people of the bottom billion are in Africa. The + sign refers to places such as Haiti, Bolivia, the Central Asian countries, Laos, Cambodia, Yemen, Burma, and North Korea. The average life expectancy is 50 yrs, the infant mortality is 14%, and proportion of children with symptoms of long-term mal nutrition is 36%. The misfortune one billion still is living in extreme poverty in a country affected by recurrent conflicts, resource curse, geographic isolation or bad governance. ) The conflict trap: according to Collier, 73% of people in the societies of the bottom billion have recently been in civil war or still in one. 50% of conflicts in the bottom billion are post conflict relapses. The low income, slow growth, and dependency upon primary commodity exports (oil, diamonds, or gold) are leading causes that increases the risk of civil war. Civil war destroys the economic of the society during war and post conflict war as collier calculates the average cost to be $ 64 billion. Examples of countries fail into conflicts are Cote d’Hivoir, Democratic Republic of the Congo- formerly Zaire, and Sierra Leone. The typical civil war last for a long time â€Å"something around a decade, more than 10 times as long as typical international war. † (Collier). It is very hard to stop it, when it does, possibility for another civil war, repeated civil war. Collier argues that political injustice is not what makes the society prone to a civil war, as Zimbabwe faces the injustice of political rights but there is no war, no rebellion civil war. Instead, Collier statistical analyses show that poverty, stagnation, and availability of valuable natural resources are the causes that seem to produce civil war rather than political injustice. ) Natural Resource Curse: Natural resource rich countries in Africa have ended up poor as a result of resource wealth that only the few (government officials and foreign extract agencies) to benefit from but not the majority (the citizen). The elites in these countries detach themselves from the interest and concerns of the majority of their population; they con trol and steal the revenues of primary commodities exports. All these revenues go to private pockets or foreign banks. According to Collier, it is estimated to be 38% of Africa’s wealth has fled the continent. Economists explain resource curse as a â€Å"Dutch disease†, because â€Å"the resource exports cause the country’s currency to rise in value against other currencies. This make the country’s other export activities uncompetitive. † Nigeria for example in 1970s, its oil revenues built up. Yet, the country’s other exports such as peanuts and cocoa became unprofitable. As Nigeria’s currency rise in value, the peanut and cocoa prices become higher for importers who might find another peanut and cocoa supplier cheaper from that of Nigeria. Therefore, Nigeria’s peanuts and Cocoa became unprofitable, and production rapidly collapsed. Failure to diversify the export products, the resource rich countries can’t break free from the dependency of exporting the primary commodities as they are source of big revenues. The government accountability is not transparent for its citizens as the latter are not taxed by their governments. Consequently, the citizenry are less likely to demand financial accountability. However, the natural resource is good source of wealth for the whole society when their governments have managed to use the resource wealth very well such as Canada, Norway, and Australia. ) Landlocked countries with bad neighbors: Countries that lack coastline are forced to sell to their neighboring countries’ markets. Example of Uganda and Switzerland, both are landlocked but the first one is poor and the second one is rich (respectively). Collier explains that neighbor matters for development, he continues explaining the fact that Switzerland is a rich country, despite the fact is a landlocked, bec ause it depends on its neighbors the Germany and Italian infrastructure. Whereas Uganda’s poor neighbors with their weak infrastructure make it hard for Uganda to access to the sea and integrate into global markets. Kenyan’s infrastructure is so important to Uganda’s access to the sea. Moreover, sometimes the neighbors not only are the transport corridor, they are also the markets themselves, like Germany, Italy, and France were the Switzerland market. While Uganda neighbors are Kenya, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania. All of Uganda’s neighboring countries are poor, and have been through genocide like Rwanda, stagnation of nearly three decade like in Kenya, Somalia that is completely ollapsed, and Democratic Republic of the Congo that has catastrophic for it to change its name from Zaire. Therefore, Switzerland has been for a period of three decades in the better neighborhood. While Uganda’s neighbors are economically poor countries with weak infrastructure, which is absolutely don’t form good neighbor for Uganda. â€Å"Landlocked countries with poor infrastructure connections to their neighbors have limited market for their goods. † (Collier) 4- Bad Governance in a small country: bad policies adopted by bad government can destroy the economy of a country. The type of democracy practiced in these countries is dysfunctional democracy lack the check and balance system. Thus, the government officials seize each opportunity they have to build up a fortune from the natural resource revenues that are supposed to benefit the majority of the society not only the few in the government. The instability and lack of accountability especially in these small countries of the bottom billion discourage potential investors, who usually feel better when opt for better known countries such as china and India than unfamiliar countries with instability and risks. Chad is a landlocked country with aid and oil. Chad’s only option is their government to provide public services from the aid and oil revenues. However, 2004 survey tracked money released by the ministry of Finance â€Å"intended† for rural health clinics. Survey showed that â€Å"only1% of it reached the clinics and 99% failed to reach its destination. † In part 3 Chapter 6, Collier argues that globalization works for India and China but not the bottom billion that may have â€Å"missed the boat†. Globalization seem to work against the bottom billion, because of â€Å"economies of agglomeration† as Asia used labor-intensive manufacturing strategy to break into the global markets and makes competitive for â€Å"later comers† to compete with their products that seem to control the international markets. Bottom billion, in turn, become supplier of primary commodities, which just reinforce the natural resource trap. In the final section, Collier suggests in helping the poorest, there is a need to â€Å"narrow the target and broaden the instruments†. To focus only on the one billion that live below poverty line and experience no type of growth compared to the rest of the world; and to shift thinking from aid to an array of policy instruments such as aid delivery, military intervention, charter and laws, and trade policy, which are the instruments he proposes to help the bottom billion escape from the traps mentioned above. 1- Aid Policy: Aid causes intense political disagreements between the left and right. Left sees it as a part of solution they regard it to be as a reparations for colonialism, while the right sees it a part of problem when the feckless get rewarded. Collier believes that aid does â€Å"tend to speed up the growth process†. He reminds readers to the fact that United States was also that poor, and took it to get to where it is today about two hundred years. He believes in â€Å"aid for development† neither in â€Å"aid for reparations† nor â€Å"aid for the feckless†. However Collier insists to change the way the aid is provided, keeping in mind that statistical evidence generally suggests that aid is â€Å"subject to what is called â€Å"diminishing returns. † When aid reaches about 16 percent of GDP it is not anymore effective. In addition aid can be an inducement to rebellion and to coups, it is sometimes called â€Å"rents to sovereignty†. So to make it more effective, there is a need to form agencies just to supervise the aid money and to make sure it reaches its potentials for which is given. Aid money needs to be watched more closely so does not leak to military spending or be taken by coups. 2- Military intervention: it is the most controversial one in the list of instruments; however, the bottom billion countries â€Å"cannot provide their own security to an adequate fashion. That is the same strategy used 40 years ago, when North America provided supplies security to Europe after World War II. Collier mentions the tragedy of Rowanda when 800,000 died unnecessary due to rejection of military intervention. Yet the British military intervention in Sierra Leone end brutal long lasting civil war. Both the Sierra Leone government officials and its citizens welcome the military action that helped them to be in peace from the rebellion that recruit addicted teenagers and train them to hack the hands and the feet of villagers including women and children. -Laws and Charters: giving the fact these countries are very corrupt and far from the transparent to adopt laws that will benefit their citizens, Collier suggests in this case a voluntary of international standards that would put pressure within these societies to adopt them. Example of such law â€Å"the extract industry transparency† requires governments in the bottom billion to report to its own citizens what revenues are getting from natural resource extraction. Nigeria eformers adopted it and a lot other governments ha ve adopted it because of the pressure from below. It is that pressure on governments from within their own society that would lead some other governments to adopt them. 4- Trade Policies: also it is debated about especially the bottom billion countries are poor with zero tolerance; however, Collier believes that opening the west markets to bottom billion countries in much generous way, would absolute help their economy to succeed and to diversify to light manufactures and into a wide range of agricultural goods. As matter of fact, would enable them to break free from their dependency on exporting that narrow range of primary commodities. â€Å"The west countries have done it in the past- when rich countries opened its markets to each other, or when North America opens its markets to Europe so the latter could recover. The whole modern wealth of Europe, America, and Japan grew through that process of opening and sharing markets†. Trading policy that Collier proposes in the bottom billion would help the rich countries to be safer and more prosperous. Collier, I think he achieves his goals of building a mass of informed citizens as he thinks that it is a step forward for changes to happen and for better future for the bottom billion countries. About 50,000 copies of the bottom billion book were sold in just few months by different age groups. Also, the new paperback edition was being translated into Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, and Norwegian. Politicians may find it hard to get away with the classic political gestures of â€Å"flying in, kissing couple of babies, announcing some sort of Aid program, and then forgetting about it. † Now the well informed citizens are just a pressure on politicians’ decisions toward this part of the world. Collier also generates an astonishing political interest that the bottom billion countries now are benefiting from and their economic growth is being recognized by leaders such as Ban-Ki Moon, the Secretary General of the Unite Nations announced â€Å"let 2008 be the Year of the Bottom Billion. Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, announced in his first Annual Meeting address that â€Å"a stronger focus on the bottom billion would now be a priority†, Douglas Alexander, British Secretary of State for Development â€Å"announced the creation of a massive international Growth Center for the poorest countries†¦etc. Bottom Billion is a must read book for whoever is interested

Tourism of Valais Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism of Valais - Research Paper Example This country situated in central Europe keeps pulling a vast number of visitors every year, and this is increasing by the time (Lew, 2008). Various factors have ensured that Switzerland remains as one of Europe’s greatest tourist destinations. The country has a beautiful landscape and scenery comprised of beautiful mountains and undulating valleys. This scenic beauty pulls millions of visitors every year. Apart from the landscape, the country has beautiful lakes and water catchment areas which are a site to behold. Lakes like Lucerne are very beautiful and every year, thousands of people travel there to see this beautiful lake. Apart from this, people are attracted to Switzerland due to winter activities like ice hockey. Such sports are interesting; hence, they pull very many people to Switzerland. The summers are also warm and tourists take part in summer activities like sun bathing and beach activities. Cable cars that connect various mountains in Switzerland are another tou rist attraction site in Switzerland. People who have never been in such cars will want to go and board them so that they can also be part of the experience. Apart from these attractions, Switzerland has very many animal zoos which have various wild animals that have been tamed. As much as these animals are not in their natural habitat, they provide a potent tourism attraction. Therefore, Switzerland has succeeded in its tourist activities due to the fact that it has a diverse range of tourist attractions which have ensured that it receives thousands of visitors every year. This has in turn boosted the economy of the country. Currently, Switzerland is one of the richest countries in Central Europe, and this can be attributed to its noteworthy tourist activities (William, 2008). Factors that have contributed to tourism success in Switzerland Various factors have contributed to the tourism success in Switzerland. For one, Switzerland is strategically located in Central Europe, which ha s ensured that the country receives visitors all round Europe. Visitors are able to transit from the north, south, east and west, and meet at the central zone of Europe. As a result of this, its geographical position has enhanced its tourism capability. Secondly, the people of Switzerland are very friendly and hospitable, which implies that tourists from any part of the world are assured that they will be in good hands. Most tourists long to visit Switzerland as a result of this hospitality. Another advantage that Switzerland has is that it has the policy of neutrality. Banks in Switzerland allow investments from any citizens of the world without any hindrances or conditions. As a result of this, people are able to visit Switzerland without any fears as compared to other countries where there is thorough vetting of documents before one is allowed in. To most people, this is a tedious procedure which discourages one from touring countries. Thirdly, Switzerland has many cultures. Very many cultures and races intermingle in Switzerland. As a result of this, people from various races are encouraged to visit Switzerland which has ensured that tourist numbers have increased every year. This country has cultural intermingling, and as a result of this, it is possible to find various resorts belonging to many cultural backgrounds. For example, Valais is an area in Switzerland that is exclusively French, hence, people of French cultures are attracted to this area so that they are able to experience their

CV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

CV - Essay Example The responsibilities also include analysis of performance; pre-commissioning, commissioning and Troubleshooting of revamp units. My roles were in charging on ethane cracking, furnaces (9 Furnaces), hot section and cold Fractionation units, Refrigeration units, to produce Ethylene as main product. In that period I was responsible for 100 people, preparing training and activity of the staff, preparing five year plan for the staff and preparing the budget of the cracking unit. To coordinate on day to day basis the operation of Ethylene plant to meet the production target at minimum cost with quality and safety standard. Writing or updating operating instruction, procedures, issuing incident report and the achievement preparing tracking sheet for the incident and involving the safety and maintenance in resolving the incident, issuing maintenance request and authorization of the work request. My roles were in charging on Gas treatment unit for treating the gas from acid gas for producing Ethane; selective Amine Absorption process. In that period I was in charge for 35 people, also I was in charge of sulphur production in Claus unit from acid gas from gas treatment units. My roles were in charging day to day activities for the sulphur Claus unit, Prilling unit, and Hydrocarbon storage, Jetty area and shipment and Coordinating all the operation activities and communicating with maintenance. I was in charge for 25 people and preparing the training and activities of the unit and the budget of the unit. Preparing the material balance for the sulphur unit as the composition of acid gas changed; One of the achievement is calculating the recovery of the unit and increased the capacity of the unit from 20 T/hr to 40 T/hr and preparing the action plan for processing all the acid gas instead of flare it. Participated in first expansion period in QAPCO to increase the plant capacity

The effect of domestic law in international courts and tribunals Essay

The effect of domestic law in international courts and tribunals - Essay Example The paper tells that the international court is to apply â€Å"judicial decisions and teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law†. The development of law with regards to the consultation with domestic law is ambiguous and an extent cannot be declared as such. However various pleadings brought before the ICJ are replete with myriad references to legal literature and case laws. In this regards it is noteworthy that the proceedings of international courts and tribunals are often replete with judicial decisions as well as juristic writings. These are discussed below in greater detail as per their influence on the proceedings of international courts and tribunals. During the proceedings of international courts and tribunals, the decisions of international courts and municipal courts as well as publications of academics can be referred to. These references are not as sources of law but rather as means to recognise various laws established through other sources. The actual practice of the ICJ is not to refer to domestic decisions but even then the ICJ does invoke its own previous case laws. International law does not recognise the rule of stare decisis. The decision of any international court or tribunal has no binding force of any kind except that recognised by the contesting parties. Such recognition is only valid for the particular case under consideration as per Article 59 of the statute of the ICJ. ... teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations† serve as beacons for â€Å"subsidiary means for the determination of the rules of law†. Although the works of various prominent jurists are not considered as source of international law but they are considered indispensable to developing rules that are sourced from custom, treaties as well as general principles of law even those derived from the decisions of domestic courts. Such principles are accepted practice for the interpretation of international law in various cases. One such case that was utilised by an international court was the decision by the United States Supreme Court in the Paquete Habana case (175 US (1900) 677 at 700-1). 2. Conclusion Conclusively it can be said that the decisions of domestic courts are considered by international courts and tribunals but this practice is limited when compared to other sources of international law. The varying legal principles in use by different na tions restrict the use of decisions made by domestic courts in international law. â€Å"Does the Court need to consider in order for a rule to be established as customary, if there must be absolute conformity and practice with the rule or is it enough that there is a general consistency†. Do you agree with this statement? 1. Introduction When international law is considered it must be kept in mind that rules can be established as customary even if there is only general consistency with the rule and not absolute conformity. It must also be noted that absolute conformity is not possible when considering international law because states hold their interests supreme. Moreover nations cannot be forced to accept decisions taken under international law and instead international law is practiced through wilful

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 53

Essay Example As the president of America, it was the duty of Nixon to justify this war to calm down the sentiments of the people. The major problem addressed in this speech by Nixon was the growing protests against Vietnam War in America which is evident from the following words. I believe that one of the reasons for the deep division about Vietnam is that many Americans have lost confidence in what their Government has told them about our policy. The American people cannot and should not be asked to support a policy which involves the overriding issues of war and peace unless they know the truth about that policy (Nixon). Nixon wanted to eradicate the rumours and controversies spreading about this war among the Americans. Nixon realised that a government in a democratic country needs to work in line with the interests of the people. In other words, in democratic countries like America, the ultimate power lies in the hands of the people since the people elect the government. Nixon used Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and Mythos extensively throughout this speech. Ethos or the character of Nixon is evident from the following words; â€Å"For the United States this first defeat in our nation’s history would result in a collapse of confidence in American leadership not only in Asia but throughout the world† (Nixon). Nixon was not ready to accept defeat in Vietnam. He was of the view that America’s inability to eradicate communism from Vietnam may perceive as a weakness of America by the external world. Pathos is the emotional persuasion. â€Å"After all, we became involved in the war while my predecessor was in office. I could blame the defeat, which would be the result of my action, on him -- and come out as the peacemaker† (Nixon). Nixon was ready to accept the responsibilities of this war which is evident from the words mentioned above. He reminds the public that it was easy for him to spread his image as a peacemaker by staying away

US Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

US Empire - Essay Example While this is the case, however, there have been instances where the United States has tended to take the wrong actions when it had the opportunity to use its massive leverage to help resolve the conflicts taking place in divided societies and its interventions in such conflicts have made some of the situations on the ground worse than they were before. The American military capability cannot be denied but its use in almost every conflict situation in the world is not advised because of the fact that not all conflicts can be resolved militarily. The foreign policy of the United States as it is currently is not compatible with the realities of the situation in the twenty first century because the times of wars of aggression are long past and an age of absolute global peace is fast approaching. The policy of taking sides in domestic conflicts in such situations as in Israel, Syria and Libya, instead of endearing the United States to the world as a global peacemaker, has ended up doing the opposite, earning this country a bad name on the global stage. It can therefore be said that the United States does not currently have the capability of resolving intrastate violence in divided societies and that in order for it to be able to do so, it has to have a massive overhaul of its foreign policy. The fact that the United States has been proven not to have the capacity for ending intrastate violence in the various societies in the world has created a situation where it is not trusted in matters of conflict resolution. This is mainly because in most of its interventions, it has consistently taken sides in local conflicts; a matter which has earned it many grievances from the excluded parties. There has developed a situation where it has become a necessity for the United States to change some part of its policies concerning interventions in intrastate conflicts so that it can easily bring such conflicts to a speedy end. Among the means which can be suggested is through the development of a strong neutral stance in such conflicts in order t o make the opposing sides feel comfortable with American intervention because taking sides more often than not alienates a part of the society; mostly against the power that is attempting to bring peace in the respective region (McGarry & O’Leary, 2007). The development of a strong diplomatic resume would help the United States a great deal when dealing with intrastate conflicts because there would be level ground for the conflicting sides to come to an amicable solution. This was seen in recent times in Kenya, where during the violence which erupted after the 2007 elections, the United States stepped up its diplomatic machine to ensure that peace was returned to this divided society. The swift intervention in this conflict by the United States government, led by the then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice helped in a massive way in the swift ending of the conflict and the return to normalcy in Kenya (Adeagbo & Iyi, 2011). Diplomatic means should therefore be a priority for the United States in its endeavor to foster peaceful societies all over the world. The capability of the United States as a global diplomatic force is among the greatest in human history and this can be used to great advantage in the resolution of intrastate conflicts all over the wor

Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning Essay

Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning - Essay Example 5), of which high-stakes assessment was deemed crucial in improving student achievement and learning. However, various studies have revealed contradictory results regarding its effect on students’ academic performance. Do High-Stakes Assessments Improve Learning? One, therefore, contends that high-stakes assessment does not improve the overall achievement and learning of students. Proponents of high-stakes assessment argue that â€Å"when faced with large incentives and threatening punishments, administrators, teachers, and students, it is believed, will take schooling more seriously and work harder to obtain rewards and avoid humiliating punishments† (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2005, p. 1). ... ssessments implemented in various educational institutions throughout the United States have apparently generated contradictory results (Nichols, Glass, & Berliner, 2005; Amrein & Berliner, 2002). The study conducted by Nichols, Glass, & Berliner (2005) revealed that â€Å"there is no convincing evidence that the pressure associated with high-stakes testing leads to any important benefits for students’ achievement† (p. iii). This finding was corroborated in the study made by Amrein & Berliner (2002) which disclosed that â€Å"there is inadequate evidence to support the proposition that high-stakes tests and high school graduation exams increase student achievement. The data presented in this study suggest that after the implementation of high-stakes tests, nothing much happens† (p. 57). A closer evaluation of the reasons why high stakes assessment do not seem to apparently improve learning since high-stakes assessment were reported to be closely linked to ‘ pressure’ that contributes to an apparent temporary or superficial increase in academic achievement ratings. As emphasized by Supovitz (2010), â€Å"high-stakes testing does motivate educators, but responses are often superficial. In the best cases, high-stakes testing has focused instruction toward important and developmentally appropriate literacy and numeracy skills—but at the expense of a narrower curricular experience for students and a steadier diet of test preparation activities in classrooms, particularly in low-performing schools, which are the targets of test-based accountability† (par. 10). This fact was supported by Nichols, Glass, & Berliner (2005) who indicated that â€Å"high-stakes testing pressure might produce effects only at the simplest level of the school curriculum: primary school arithmetic,

Business Ethics and Virtue Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics and Virtue Ethics - Essay Example According to Immanuel Kant, justice virtue is included in his famous methaphysics of morals. The justice virtue ethics can be applied to each sweatshop operation. Kant’s morals include the individuals’ compulsory obedience to the established laws. Even if the government orders the individuals to violate the laws, the individuals should implement all tenets of the laws, without exception. The failure to implement the nation’s approved law provisions should be meted the corresponding penalties. The penalties include fines, incarceration, or even death. Kant insists that the people must implement their ethical duty to obey approved statutes, ordinances, policies, and other established standards. The penalties are meant to deter future repetitions of the immoral acts or non-acts (Hill, 2012). Second, another virtue is fairness. Fairness virtue includes refusing implement any act or non-act that will unduly create unfair disadvantage to other individuals. Fairness can be likened to the golden rule. The golden rule reiterates that one should not do any act or non-act on another person that one does not want replicated by the other person. For example, the individual should not kick an innocent third person if the individual does not want to be kicked in the same way (Fischer, 2012). Third, Mattel implements compliance generosity virtue. The generosity virtue includes generating abundance resources. The abundant resources are used to accomplish the company’s established goals and objectives. The goals and objectives are presumed to be complying with virtue ethics’ morality doctrines. The goals and objectives are designed to make most of the people feel happy. Mattel can small children. However, the company allocates the scarce resources to ensuring that the company’s sales targets, production targets, and other benchmarks are achieved with the allocated time period. Generosity does not equate to spending unwisely. Generosity d oes not include cutting down expenses on certain avoidable acts or non-acts. For example, the company should purchase nontoxic paint (Russell, 2009). The generosity virtue includes allocated more than enough funds for accomplish Mattel’s organizational goals and objectives. Application of virtues to Mattel Toys Of the virtues, one virtue is justice. Justice includes improving the sweatshop production environment in some outsourcing environments. The company implemented compliance with the virtue ethics for some time. However, the financial constraints of continuing the policy were draining the company’s profits. Several Mattel field officers reduced and even postponed the required virtue ethics policies. Consequently, the company was forced to stop prioritizing implementing the virtue ethics’ emphasis on improving the sweatshop production facilities’ work environment. Second, another virtue is fairness. Fairness includes avoiding or stopping business comm itments and partnerships with erring business partners found violating Mattel’s virtue ethics policies. The company will stop engaging in the buying the erring suppliers’ products. The erring suppliers include those that implement substandard work conditions. The erring suppliers include current and future suppliers’ polluting their production environments, water, air, land, and other natural resources. On the other hand, Mattel will buy products suppliers who comply with Mattel’s established virtue ethics standards. Mattel will not deal with suppliers that pay their employees

Human Resources Management in Business Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Management in Business Essay Human resources department is a part of business that deals with its staff. The department is seen as part of strategic management, in the effort to achieve the goals of the business, and is crucial to the businesss success. Some of the human resources departments responsibilities include recruitment, retention, selection, job enlargement/enrichment, motivation and leadership, job role allocations, training, and payroll appraisals. The departments decisions are influenced by, however, internal issues for workforce planning. One of the issues could be the cost of its operations. The business would want to minimize cost, so any decisions made by Human resources should be cost-effective. Another issue could be the companys business strategy, for example when the company want to expand, the Human resources department would have to recruit more employees; if the company wants to cut costs and increase profit, the department would have to consider reducing the number of staff. It is also responsible for training current employees for any new equipments. There are also external factors that affect how workforce planning is carried out. These external factors include government actions that affect the business environment. For example, the government can impose new minimum wages that would increase the Human resources departments spending on wages payment. The education situation of the country can also affect Human resources, as education is the means that workers gain their skills; without proper education, Human resources wouldnt be able to recruit highly skilled workers without paying large salaries or recruit foreign nationals. An important external factor is the economic situation of the economy. If unemployment rates are high, Human resources would be able to recruit new employees much easier and cheaper than when the economy is in boom, which makes labour more expensive. The age ranges of the labour force can affect Human resources decisions, since they dont want to recruit too old of employees who are going to retire soon. The business often want more young employees who can potentially contribute to the company for a long period of time, and can also be more innovative. Another external factor is technology advancements, as this may result in the introduction of new equipments into the company. The Human resources department would then have to organise training for their current staff to enable them to work with the newly acquired machineries. There are many benefits to Human Resources planning. One of the most important purpose of the Human Resources department is to motivate staff. This can be done by means of promotions, training, and rewards. Another benefit is that Human Resources help import important skills into the business through the process of recruitment. Human Resources would compose a recruitment process that selects the right people for the business. Without a Human Resources department, a firm cannot efficiently recruit employees that they need. Also, the department helps the business plan the right number of workers. They make sure that there are no redundancy or shortages of labour in the company, and if there is any, Human Resources would fix this either by cutting or recruiting staff. Human Resources department also ensures smooth operations in regards to labour management. This means they make sure that employees arrive when they are needed, and are allocated to the right tasks, and that each workers know their role within the business. In addition, they resolve whatever arguments that may arise between the workers and company management, making sure that the employees are clear of company regulations, and that management are clear of their workers conditions. Finally, the Human Resources department ensures that no laws are broken in regards to labour employment. For example, the recruitment process must not violate discrimination laws. All necessary laws are briefed to staff to ensure no illegal activities are conducted within the company. Before selecting staff for any position, key skills needed for that particular job need to be identified, creating a list of criteria for candidate selection. British Sugar is one of the largest provider of sugar products in the UK. Their Human Resources department has been directed to recruit three new production managers, as part of the companys expansion project in China. The Human Resources department has identified the key skills for a potential production manager: Confidence: the manager needs to be confident in handling large responsibilities, whether it be meeting production deadlines, ensuring worker safety etc. They need confidence to be able to make decisive actions, taking the initiative without too much dependence on higher directives. As they direct the production process, confidence is also needed for negotiating with suppliers, making the best deals for the factory. Technical skills: a production manager has to be sufficiently knowledgeable about the production technology of their factory, to be able to understand and resolve technical problems should they arise. Technical knowledge of a manager does not have to be detailed, but must be sufficient to issue correct directives to the factorys engineer force. High technical skills is preferred, as the manager will be more likely to be innovative in improving production methods of the firm. Communication skills: a good production manager is able to communicate to all different divisions of the company. They are quick to absorb information from different levels of the company, whether it be top management or floor workers, and then provide quick and effective feedback. Communication skills are crucial in a manager, as it helps him ensure the coordination between different elements of the company. Problem-solving skills: the production manager should be able to independently deal with problems within their factory. They will be extremely resourceful in coordinating factory or company-level efforts to solve problems. This requires an intelligent person that can improvise upon their resources to damage-control and reverse the problem and put the factory back onto its original course. Motivating staff is an important part of company operation, as it ensure the employees do their best and be productive while working for the company. There is a variety of reasons why employees would want to work harder in their working environment. Such reasons could be money, bonuses, power, working with friends, social aspects of work, the need to provide for family, promotion, team work, and promotion. Frederick Taylor’s theory of motivation simply stated that all workers are worked by money. This means that in order to better motivate employees, the employer simply just has to raise their pay, and this would make them work harder. Taylor introduced the Theory of Scientific Management, which said that workers are naturally lazy and need close supervisions and control. The theory also says that managers should break down work to the simplest tasks to their employees. Workers also need adequate training and equipment to perform their simple tasks as efficiently as possible, then they would be paid according to the amount of products they had produced. The theory is often applied in mass production lines which involves repetitive tasks. Elton Mayo later introduced a new theory of motivation of his own. He believed that money is only part of the worker’s concern, and social needs are more important in motivating workers at their work place. Mayo published the Human Relation school of thought, which encourage managers to focus more on social interactions between workers. Mayo went further in his studies and conducted his own experiment at the Hawthorne factory in Chicago. From these series of experiments, he concluded that although physical conditions worsened, they do not affect the productivity of the Hawthorne workers. Instead, social factors such as better communication between workers and managers, better involvement in employees’ lives from their manager, and team work was what improved productivity levels. In the 1950s, Abraham Maslow introduced the Neo-Human Relation school of thought. This new theory focus on the employee’s psychological needs, which are structured into five different levels of needs. The theory says that once a lower level of needs is satisfied, would then the worker could be motivated by an upper level of needs. These levels of needs in lower to higher order are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation respectively. Managers also need to realise that each worker moves up this ladder at a different pace, and therefore might need different sets of incentives from worker to worker. In financial-related type of motivations, the most common motivation is salaries and wages. Salaries are what permanent employees are paid monthly or annually. Wages, on the other hand, is what is paid to workers per hour they have worked. These can motivate the employees, for the harder they work, the more they would earn. A piece rate system is when an employee is paid a fixed rate for each unit of production; In other words, they are paid by results, which motivate them to achieve better results. Commission and fees are similarly dependent on the results of the workers. Commission is a percentage of the sale revenue, and fees are fixed amounts that are earned after sale. The more the employee sells, the more commission or fees they get, motivating them to sell more. Fringe benefits are any non-wage payment or benefit such as pension plans, profit-sharing programs, vacation pay, and company-paid life, health, and unemployment insurance. Having these extra benefit with their jobs can make the employees feel more secure and work harder. Performance-related pay or pay by performance is money paid relating to how well the employee works. This would motivate them by giving them knowledge that the better they perform in their field, the better their assessment would be and the more they would be paid. Profit sharing is another way of motivating staff, it consists of a plan that gives employees a share in the profit of the company. Each employee receives a percentage of those profit based on the companys earnings. This makes staff work harder, knowing the more their company earns, the more they would get in shared profit. Share ownership is when employees who have worked in the company for a long time are given part of the business as shares. These shares would give the employees power, and they get to take part deciding how the company is run. Other than financial motivations, there are non-financial ones that could boost motivation while costing minimal for the business. Job redesign involves restructuring the elements including tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific job in order to make it more encouraging and inspiring for the employees. Job enlargement is basically increasing the employees work load, so that they feel more responsible and work harder. Job rotation is when employees are moved between two or more jobs in a planned manner. The purpose of this is to expose the employees to different experiences and wider variety of skills to enhance job satisfaction and to cross-train them. Job enrichment is a variation of job enlargement. Job enrichment adds new sources of job satisfaction by giving the employee additional authority, autonomy, and control over the way the job is accomplished. Team work is a Cooperative effort by the members of a group or team to achieve a common goal. Working in a team may motivate employees to do better to fulfill their part on the team. External link for employees motivating can be found here: http://www. forbes. com/sites/glennllopis/2012/06/04/top-9-things-that-ultimately-motivate-employees-to-achieve/ The fundamental method which British Sugar would use to motivate their staff is to make them feel safe. Feeling safe would clear the employees minds from external worries, helping them to focus more on their tasks and try harder to achieve. This method would include providing their employees with adequate facilities to work in. This means that British Sugars factories and offices would to the most basic safety regulations such as fire safety, electrical safety, and protection from hazardous conditions inside their factories. British Sugar would also make sure that their facilities have appropriate security measures to protect employees and their possessions safe. This method of motivation is one of the most basic levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Another method that British Sugar uses is providing extra employee benefits beside their regular salaries and wages. They would give company cars for manager and directors, along with free O2 mobile phones. British Sugar also looks after their employees by providing them with free healthcare in the form of free check-ups with company nurse, eyesight tests and glasses, and subsidised scheme with AXA. Families of employees can also enjoy company benefits with provided child vouchers and team meals for spouses. British Sugar’s factory workers are also provided with free safety work wear. There are numerous other benefits that employees can enjoy working for British Sugar, which includes sports clubs, gym facilities, free parking†¦etc. A popular method of motivation from Taylor’s school of thought is recognition. British Sugar would give out tokens of appreciation and to recognise employees/teams that have made a significant contribution over and above that reasonably expected. Company managers would award their employees with vouchers, meals, bouquet of flowers, or bottles of wine to boost their work morale. Long Service Awards are given to employees with significant length of service. Annual bonuses of ? 400, ? 600, ? 800, and ? 900 are given to employees who have served 20, 30, 40, or 45 years in the company respectively. British Sugar also use chances of promotion to encourage their employees. This is a process known as internal recruitment. When a position is open, employees are often promoted to fill the position instead of recruiting new people externally. This keeps the employees motivated to work harder, knowing there are chances of future promotion. Another method of motivation used by British Sugar is performance management. Performance management is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. To ensure the proper functioning of the business, British Sugar would have to maintain a high level of cooperation and satisfaction in its employees. Making employees cooperate would increase productivity, reduce labour turnover, and make sure that they can maintain the quantity and quality of work they are capable of. One of the methods of doing this is by communication. This method involves staying in touch with the staff to make sure they are updated with company information. When staff have the information that they need for their job, they will be more likely to be oriented towards their tasks, and be able to do it correctly and more efficiently. Communication with employees can be done by many means. It includes emails, which are quick, efficient, and reliable. Face-to-face communication is an important form of communication, often in the form of meetings; however it has time and distance limitations , for example a manager might not have the time to see all of his employees to talk about new policies, while he could just send them all an email. There are other methods such as telephone calls, which can be made easily over long distance or face-time technology that allows employees to communicate despite the long distance. Another way of improving employees cooperation and commitment in the business is making them more involved in it. In British sugar, this is know as the â€Å"quality circle†. British Sugar would engage its employees group discussions, where groups of workers meet and discuss the good and bad side of the issues that they face. The employees would try to resolve their problems together, and discuss ways to improve how they work and how the company works. This method generates a feeling of involvement, employees would feel that they are a contributing part of a team, and therefore view their work more positively and become more inclined to cooperate with other employees as well as the company managers. Clear employment contracts also help boost staff cooperation and commitment. A clear contract would have to explicitly explain the details of the job, such as explaining the roles and duties that the employee is expected to carry out, along with the hours of work required. The business would also need clearly identified procedures such as disciplinary policies or grievance policies. A clear pay structure that explains basic time as well as overtime is essential. All of these will reduce arguments in the company, enabling more efficiency and cooperation within the business. Motivational methods are a way of getting more cooperation from staff. Motivated employees would perform better while feeling better about their prospects than demotivated ones, therefore cooperating more in their work. Similarly, training and charity links should also be used to boost the morale of workers. Training would increase the employees motivation and performance, as well as charitable activities such as helping out the local community. A well-motivated workforce with high morale is more likely to cooperate with the company and to each other. The culture of the business itself will also affect how its employees cooperate. If the company has a culture of cooperation and an atmosphere of teamwork, then the employees are more likely to have more cooperation in their work. Training in a large organisation such as British Sugar is carried out extensively. An example of British Sugars training operation is their Graduate scheme, a scheme in which British Sugar finds apprentice in universities. The company would offer university graduates a period of vocational training, with the assurance of a job at the end of their training, in addition to have year-long job placements for engineering students. British Sugar also organises over 1000 training courses every year involves all levels from senior managers to new apprentices and our seasonal workers. The company encourages its sites to play an active role in local communities through media visits, schools activities, agricultural and environmental events. British Sugar have regular dialogues with leading and local non-government organisations. They also organise sponsorships and charitable funds, allocated to their employee fundraising activities through a Supporting YOU to support others programme. Measuring the workforce can be done by a number of ways. This is generally looking at the key indicators in the business workforce such as labour productivity, health and safety, labour turnover and absenteeism. Labour productivity is how much the workers produce in terms of goods and services per hour worked. In the business, it can be measured by looking at the efficiency of individual or teams. However, this method should be used with cation, because there are factors that could affect labour productivity such as the age of machinery, type of sector that the business is in or whether production is automated or labour-intensive. If machineries are old, they wouldnt be able to produce as much, therefore being the cause of low labour productivity. A business in the secondary sector would be more productive than one in the tertiary sector since manufacturing makes more products than service. Similarly, a business that has automated production will be much more productive than one with labour-intensive production, since machines are able to mass produce more products than individual workers. A business can try to improve labour productivity by using motivational tools such as bonuses. Training can also be used to add productivity to workers, and business plans help staff work more efficiently. The business can also buy new equipments to improve productivity of their workers. Another measurement is health and safety. As it is one of the motivational factor, the quality of health and safety at the workplace can affect the staff. The better the health and safety standard, the better the staff will perform. The business must consider the possible causes of poor health and safety, such as poor equipment, dangerous environment and also the poor training in the matter. Labour turnover can also be used to measure a companys workforce. Labour turnover is the proportion of staff leaving the business over a period of time, usually each year. A company can lose their staff due to de-motivation, retirement, social factors, better opportunity elsewhere ,or that the employee wants to start their won business. Staff leaving can also be involuntarily as their positions become redundant or they are fired due to performance. A high labour turnover is generally not good because it spawns many problems such as the loss of productive capacity, the costs and the time taken to recruit new staff, and the extra training and induction programmes to new employees. However, new staff can bring benefits such as introduction of new ideas to the business, or more efficient workers. Absenteeism is another measurement to the companys workforce, as it tells managers how much their staff go on break from work. This can be a substantial problem for the business, because production output will suffer if employees are absent, projects will run into delays, and the quality of products affected due to the lack of staff. There are many other costs associated with absent staff, such as sick pay, and temporary staff pay, which is often expensive. Absenteeism also cause de-motivation in the business, as other employees will have to take the work load of the absent employees. To lower the level of absenteeism, the business can issue fines to absent staff, improve the safety of the work environment so staff would want to be at work, and improve their motivational methods. British Sugar uses a range of performance indicators to evaluate and improve their performance. SMART targets are a set of criteria that are based on the specific words: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-specific. These criteria are applied in the process of making goals and objectives, to maximise the business chances of obtaining them. Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. Attendance is the frequency with which a person is present. An appraisal system, or performance management, is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. It is very useful as it is both a motivational strategy and a review system where mangers can assess their employees. The appraisal system would fulfill the employees social and recognition needs according Maslow theories, motivating to work harder to achieve more and be more recognised. The system is not without flaws, however. The appraisal system can be very costly, requiring a lot of administrative work, and is time-consuming. It is also exposed to favouritism. Managers can tend to trust and praise some employees more than others, causing distrust discontentment among team members.

The Wife of Martin Guerre Essay Example for Free

The Wife of Martin Guerre Essay The wife of Martine Guerre by Janet Lewis is a 16thcentury love store set in the bleak and harsh society of medieval France. The main protagonist in the novel, Betrande De Roles is faced with an unusual and appalling situation when an imposter poses as her husband Martin, who has been absent for 8 years. Despite the belief of her husband, Bertrand is not to blame for the awful situation, but instead it is the family and those surrounding Betrande who are to blame for her acceptance of the imposter, ArnaueDeTil. Her husband’s sisters, Martins Uncle, the priest , her son Sanxi, Martin and even the imposter, ArnauDeTil, himself are all equally, if not more to blame for the situation that confronts the Guerre family. Bertrand lives the life that many women with well-off families lead in medieval France; she is married at the age of 11 and goes to live with the family of her betrothed husband at the age of 14. Although Bertrande and Martin initially do not care for one another (on their wedding night Martin hits Betrande, and when they are forced to share a bed, she is fearful of him), after a period of living together, Betrande and Martin find themselves attached to one another, and they share a special bond within the household â€Å"they were a camp within a camp†. Shortly after Betrande gives birth to a son, Sanxi and the household flourishes and prospers. When Martin decides to leave, due to fear of punishment from his father after stealing grain to plant his field, the peace and happiness within the household that Betrande and the family have so become accustom to, is disrupted. The untimely death of Martins Mother is an indication of how unstable the household becomes â€Å"she was not an old woman and it may have been possible, as her daughters believed that the illness which she suffered was greatly aggravated by the prolonged absence of her after the death of Martins father, Martins uncle Pierre takes over as head of the house, The households fragile and insecure state leaves them vulnerable, and thus when ArneauDeTil poses as Martin they are eager to accept him as the true Martin even though there are signs that suggest he is not the true Martin Guerre. Martin leaving was the triggering factor to the entire series of events, and thus Martin is just as much to blame in the situation that unfolds, as anyone. When Arnau DeTil comes into the household pretending to be Martin, both Pierre, Martins uncle and Martins sisters are thrilled. For Pierre, this means he is no longer head of the house, leaving these responsibilities to â€Å"Martin†. When Betrande begins having suspicions that this man who has entered into the household is not the real Martin, he suspicions are dismissed by both Pierre and Martins sisters. Pierre simply says that being in the world has â€Å"matured him†, and the sisters urge Bertrande not to say anything to anyone of her uncertainties. It is not until later in the novel, after an old friend of the real Martin arrives in Artigues and proves that Arneau is not the real Martin (he says that the real Martin has a wooden leg after losing it in battle) that Pierre begins to believe Bertrand’s suspicions. In comparison Martins sisters are trying to convince Bertrande to drop the allegation even during the Trials. Both Martin’s sisters and his uncle Pierres are to blame for the situation, as if they had initially listened to Bertrande when she insisted that something was wrong, the situation may not have unfolded as it did. In the novel, the priest plays a key role in convincing Bertrande that Arnau is the real Martin. When she goes to confess her concerns to him, she is dismissed and simply told to â€Å"be at rest and go in peace. The priest and Arnau form a friendship, and because of this the priest is eager not to let Bertande follow up these accusations. The priest also prefers the new Martin, he is religious, polite and caring towards the priest and the priest becomes a good friend of the Guerre household, being regularly invited over for dinner. Arnau DeTil is obviously the key component of the deception, posing as Martin and deceiving Bertrande and the household. DeTil is incredibly cunning, and seems to have an answer to all of Bertrandes problems. Whenever Betrande begins asking questions, DeTil seems to have an explanation, telling her not to worry, and acting concerned for her. He is able to do this for some time until eventually Betrande is completely convinced he is not her husband, but even then DeTil seems to have a solution, and he threatens Betrande, basically telling her that if he neeed to, he could convince the household she was mad. Bertrandes son, Sanxi warms to DeTil quickly, he loves his newfound father and the two build a very strong bond. Bertrandes love for her son could also be to blame for the deception, as seeing how happy Sanxi is with his â€Å"father†, she convinces herself it must be him. In conclusion, Betrande is not responsible for situation, as it is the many different people in her life and particularly within the household that are responsible for un-intentionally covering for the imposter, and convincing Bertrande that he is the real Martin.

Suspense Techniques Applied By Alfred Hitchcock Film Studies Essay

Suspense Techniques Applied By Alfred Hitchcock Film Studies Essay Suspense, horror, and creative are some of the words that describe Alfred Hitchcock s films. Something that no one had ever seen on screen was the techniques Hitchcock used. He was known as the master of suspense for his ways of manipulating and creating the sense of fear in the audience. Knowing the meaning of fear since childhood, he was believed to be the inventor of the suspense and horror genre in the film industry, improving movies with new technology and ideas to deliver exactly what he wanted to viewers to feel and understand. The film The Birds (1963) was a masterpiece and a thriller directed by Hitchcock that had many effective and brilliant techniques that are still used to this day. Alfred Hitchcock (August 13, 1899-April 29, 1980) was born and raised in a middle class family in London, England. Fear was the key emotion Hitchcock was very familiar with while growing up that played a huge part in the films he directed. At the tender age of five, his father sent him to a local police station many times after misbehaving and was put in jail for several minutes. The policeman returned to let him go, just to remind him that this is what naughty boys go though if they get into trouble. His mother would punish him by making him stand up at the foot of her bed for hours. Because of his overweight body figure, he stated that his childhood was very lonely and sheltered . He first went to school at St Ignatius College, but right after his dad died when Hitchcock was 14 years old, he went to the School of Engineering and Navigation, where he was fascinated by photography and film. His first job was working as a title-card creator for the film company Paramount Pictures. It took Hitchcock five years to become a film director. Being a perfectionist, Hitchcock would draw every single scene on his storyboard before shooting a film. This was one of his styles for which Hitchcock became famous. He was very dedicated to his art from the start of his career. Some techniques Hitchcock used were with the camera. The camera would capture shots that were made to build suspense so the audience can see something that the actors themselves don t see. An example of this technique being used was in The Birds. Melanie Daniels, the protagonist of the film, was sitting in front of a jungle gym smoking a cigarette. Black birds, which had attacked Melanie viciously earlier in the film, started gathering behind her, but she did not know, the viewers knew. This technique agitates the audience because something frightful can happen and we can do nothing to warn her. Knowing something that something bad can happen to an innocent makes the audience worried mixed with fear. Another technique he used was the subjective shot where th e camera was placed in the human eye perspective. The camera would stray around the setting or place mischievously looking for something unusual in a room, as if it is a detective itself. This allows the viewers to feel like they are involved in revealing the problem. Before sound films came out, the directors of films had to find a way to communicate to the audience what is the plot of the story, and Hitchcock used this technique even after sound films came out because it was so successful. He used this technique in The Birds. Perhaps the most suspenseful part of the movie was when Melanie was walking slowly up the stairs in the dark with a flashlight in her hand. The camera was put at Melanie s perspective, and we can see how frightening it can be to be in that position when we know that if she goes to the room on top of the stairs, the malicious birds will be there, waiting. The camera would start with a close-up of the actor, and then cut to the shot what they are seeing, and th en back to the actor to see his reaction. The sound of her footsteps was quiet, her breathing shallow, almost no sound was being heard. Finally, when she opened the door, she was attacked brutally. Suspense building was a major technique Hitchcock was famous for using. What we as humans find most horrendous is to know that nature can turn on us and that no place is safe. The Birds had several scenes where this technique was used, one of which was at a children s birthday party. The evil black birds came swooping down and started attacking the children, pecking until their flesh was open and bleeding. This behavior by the birds was unexplained; there was no answer as to why the birds were like this, which caused insecurity to the actors which is framed closely to show the emotion, therefore causing the audience to feel insecure also. The house was attacked during a night, windows were broken, doors were being pecked open, and the roof was being destroyed. At this point in the movie, the actors show deep concern about their safety and that their fear doesn t stop from the horror from coming, and the fear the viewers gain is exactly what Hitchcock was going for. Hitchcock s movies were planned to perfection. His ideas were sketched for every scene and chose his actors carefully that would break the clich or stereotype of people. He was well aware of what the audience was about to go through when they are watching the film, and this is what makes a great film director. Hitchcock wrote, produced, and directed films up until 1979. Despite his fondness for murder, chaos and shock, Alfred Hitchcock led a quiet life with his wife and daughter. In the last year of his life, Hitchcock was honored with the American Film Institutes lifetime achievement award. The master of suspense died in 1980 in Los Angeles, but his techniques are still alive today.

Marxian Theory versus Weberian Theory Essay example -- Politics Politi

Marxian Theory versus Weberian Theory Karl Marx and Max Weber both offer valid approaches to social class in modern capitalist society, though there are very different from each other. The capitalist society is a type of society in which the private ownership of the ‘means of production’ is the dominant form of providing the things needed to survive. What distinguishes capitalism from other types of society is the emphasis on the rights of property and the individual owner’s right to employ capital, as she or he thinks fit. Karl Marx’s approach was, at first, the most convincing theory of social class. However the Neo-Marxists (the later generation Marxists) have developed the same ideas but in different ways. So today there is no single Marxian viewpoint. Marx believed that economic processes are of great importance in society, such as the harnessing of natural resources, producing goods, developing new technologies and establishing a division of labour in the workforce. These are important because in order for these things to happen, people in society have to come together. Therefore they enter into social class relationships. Social classes came about when society developed a more specialised division of labour and introduced private property. Marx argued that under capitalism there are two major classes: 1. The Bourgeoisie (capitalists) 2. The Proletariat (the workers) These two classes are defined by their relationships to productive resources, such as land, factories, machinery, raw materials etc. these are known as ‘means of production’. The Bourgeoisie is the owner of the ‘means of production’. Therefore they have a much higher and more powerful economic position in society. Workers can only live by... ...gist suggest that the main difference is that the Marxians view class relationships as grounded in exploitation and domination within means of production while Weberians see classes coming from positions in the market. Marxians believe that social class is based on the means of production, but Weberians think that power and status matter more. Marxians have 2 main classes and Weberians have a much more complicated class system. So, in conclusion the Marxians believe social class in modern society is based on ownership of means of production and the two-class model. Weberians think that social class in modern society depends on the positions in the market place, which has many more classes. Both Marxian and Weberian theories are very good and I think they are theoretically correct to a certain extent. However no one will know for sure who has the best theory.

Euthanasia: Whose Life Is It? :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Euthanasia: Whose Life Is It? Imagine a body slowly and excruciatingly being broken down by an unseen and uncontrollable invader. Now imagine that there is a law preventing anyone from ending that suffering. Welcome to the argument over euthanasia. Euthanasia is defined as "the act or practice of killing out of mercy." Euthanasia technically exists in four categories: active, passive, voluntary, and involuntary. Passive euthanasia is the act of removing all treatments and forms of life support intended to prolong life or cure illness, and allowing the patient to die of natural causes. Active euthanasia consists of an outside force actually causing the death of the patient, or hastening the death with the use of drugs and other tools. When the patient is fully competent and capable of making this life or death decision on his or her own, it is considered voluntary euthanasia. If the decision is made for the patient, due to him or her being rendered incapable of this sentient conclusion, it is labeled as involuntary euthanasia. For the past several decades, this has been a major issue, making its way from activist groups to the Supreme Court. The debate over euthanasia was ignited publicly in 1988 with an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine about an experience in committing active euthanasia. The act of euthanasia, in either passive or active form, is acceptable in only one nation in the world. Even there, in the Netherlands, it is permitted in only certain cases as specified and supervised by the legal system, and has yet to be fully legalized. Euthanasia should be legalized because it is a personal choice. The argument over euthanasia is complex and multi-faceted; particularly dealing with the responsibility of those involved in the act. Many people, in the argument against euthanasia, claim that if euthanasia were made legal in the United States, physicians would abuse that law. They say that insurance companies would place pressure on the doctors to encourage this choice in their patients to save costs. Another claim is that the physicians may shrug off their responsibility to their patients and choose the quick and easy way out while charging a hefty cost.

Allen Ginsberg Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

Allen Ginsberg Allen Ginsberg "saw the best minds of his generation destroyed by madness" ("Howl"). He struggled through family conflicts and homosexuality throughout his adolescence, and then he went on to become one of the most read poets of his time. Allen was a strong man who never allowed anything get the best of him, including fear. He made a list of all his fears, large and small, and then worked his way through them, ridding himself of one fear after another (Mitchell 30). His influence on everyone he came in contact with carries on even after his death, and many writers dedicate their time to documenting his life as it affected them. Readers of his poetry say he has "a delicate lyrical style reminiscent of certain seventeenth century poets" (Brinnin 49). Allen Ginsberg, father of the beat generation, was the embodiment of the ideals of personal freedom, nonconformity, and the search for enlightenment. Irwin Allen Ginsberg was born on June 3, 1926 in Newark, New Jersey, and soon after moved to Paterson, New Jersey ("Modern American Poetry"). He was his parent's second child, preceded by one brother, Eugene, who was named after a speaker his father was impressed with as a young child (Miles 30). His father, Louis Ginsberg, was a high school teacher and a moderate Jew Socialist, and Naomi, his mother, was a "radical communist and irrepressible nudist who went tragically insane during early adulthood" ("Literary Kicks"). Naomi grew up speaking Yiddish and learned to play the mandolin when she was young. She went to Barringer high school, which is where she met Louis Ginsberg in 1912, when they were both only seventeen (Miles 12). Often Naomi, who also suffered through recurrent epileptic seizures and a severe form of... ...shes it. Works Cited "Allen Ginsberg." Literary Kicks. Feb 2002. http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/people/allenginsberg.html. Brinnin, John Malcolm and Bill Read ed. Twentieth Century Poet: American and British (1900-1970). St. Louis: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1970. Charters, Ann. "Allen Ginsberg's Life." Modern American Poets. Feb. 2002. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/g_1/ginsberg/life.htm. Ginsberg, Allen. "Howl." March 2000. http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/poems/howl.html. Kramer, Jane. Allen Ginsberg in America. New York: Fromm International Pub., 1997. Miles, Barry. Ginsberg: A Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. Mitchell, Adrian. "The Man Who Set Me on Fire." New Statesman April 1997: 30(2) Mitgang, Herbert. Dangerous Dossiers: Exposing the Secret War Against America's Greatest Authors. New York: D.I. Fine, 1988.

Summary of the Omnivore’s Dilemma

Human  Ethology  Bulletin,  October  2007] The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals By  Michael  Pollan Penguin  Press,  New  York,  NY. 2006,  450pp. ISBN  1? 59420? 082? 3  [Hdbk. ,  $26. 95] Reviewed by William F. McKibbin and Todd K. Shackelford Florida Atlantic University, Dept. of Psychology, Davie, FL 33314 USA [E-mail: [email  protected] edu, [email  protected] edu] The  Omnivore’s  Dilemma  is  the  latest  book  by  Michael  Pollan,  best  known  for  his  previous  best? selling  work,  The  Botany  of  Desire. Here,  Pollan  has  crafted  a  well? written  and  enjoyable   exploration  of  humans’  relationship  with  food.The  book  is  written  for  a  lay  audience,  but  is   appreciable  by  all. Pollan  begins  by  focusing  on  a  seemingly  simple  question,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"What  should  we  h ave  for  dinner? †Ã‚   The  answer,  it  seems,  is  not  so  simple  for  omnivores  like  us. Pollan  guides  the  reader  by   examining  the  three  major  types  of  food  production  and  divides  the  book  into  these  three areas:   Industrial  (focusing  on  the  modern  food  industry’s  reliance  on  corn),  Pastoral  (focusing  on   organic  food  production,  both  Ã¢â‚¬Å"big†Ã‚  and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"small†Ã‚  scale),  and  Personal  (focusing  on  personally   hunting  and  gathering  one’s  food).The  first,  Industrial  section  of  the  book  demonstrates  that  nearly  everything  we  consume  in   Western  society,  particularly  in  America,  is  in  some  way  derived  from  corn. The  processed   foods  that  seem  a  staple  of  modern  living  ar e  derived  largely  (if  not  wholly)  from  corn. Even   foods  such  as  eggs,  chicken,  fish,  and  beef  are  essentially  derived  from  corn:  cows,  chickens,   and  fish  are  coerced  to  consume  a  food  that  to  them  is  highly  unnatural. If  w

Educators and their Perception on Children Essay

Studies reveal that there has been an increasing degree of childhood challenging behavior. On a survey made by Joseph et al (2003) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004) revealed that 73% of educators perceived that children with challenging behaviors has been increasing. More importantly, educators have also been affected by such an increase of challenging behaviors as 70% of them claimed that children with such make them feel stressed, while 60% said that it has a negative effect on their job satisfaction. Since challenging behavior has been increasing at present, such also has a negative effect on teacher turnovers. In relation with it, it has also been viewed that such a character of children has a significant relationship to the educator’s burn out and amount of complaints that they receive from the parents. In consequence, the school’s upper administration, tend to squeeze their budgets for a more costly approach and on the other hand, educators are being questioned of their efficiency. During the 1960’s educators believed that the source of difficulties in their class primarily emerges from children with problem behaviors. As such, they tend to see them as â€Å"bad apples† that could be removed in order to maintain a more favorable environment (Long et al, 1965) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004). In fact studies of Joseph et al on 2003 revealed that 40% of educators reveal that they have removed students from their class for the past 12 months. Another problem that the educators experience is that they take the approach to children with challenging behavior as evident on their expression of â€Å"frustration, anger, inadequacy, fear, guilt and stress† (Strain and Joseph, 2004). In addition with this, respondents also reveal that they felt â€Å"overwhelmed, undervalued and disrespected† (Strain and Joseph, 2004). These feelings are clear indications that there are problems that the teacher needs to address. The educator needs to cope with these kinds of feelings in order to provide more self-control and rational thinking to be able to effectively address their students’ challenging behavior. Odom et al (1990) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004) also found out that a teacher’s openness to adopt a new approach towards teaching children could also affect the rate in which children could go through with the problems that he or she is experiencing. It has also been perceived that the amount of work that the teachers have to handle could also impact how the way the handle children with challenging behavior. For teachers who have a lot of priorities and paperwork, to ask them to â€Å"do one more thing† further adds to their frustration. Teachers also argue that they don’t have enough training in order to deal with this type of children. These situations in addition to their relatively low wages are also determining factors of their negative attitude towards children with challenging behavior.

Introduction to Consumer Behavior Essay

The totality of an individual’s thoughts and feelings about oneself Lifestyle How one lives, including the products one buys, how one uses them, what one thinks about them, and how one feels about them Situations and Consumer Decisions Consumer decisions result from perceived problems and opportunities. Consumer problems arise in specific situations and the nature of the situation influences the resulting consumer behavior Perception The nature of Perception- pg 278-279, Figure 8-1 Information Processing is a series of activities by which stimuli are perceived, transformed into information, and stored. Exposure- pg 279-283 Exposure Occurs when a stimulus is placed within a person’s relevant environment and comes within range of their sensory receptor nerves. Exposure provides consumers with the opportunity to pay attention to available information but in no way guarantees it. Types of Exposure 1) Selective Exposure The highly selective nature of consumer exposure is a major concern for marketers, since failure to gain exposure results in lost of communication and sales opportunities. Responses to Selective Exposure Product Placement: Branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows or new programs. Ex) Transformers’ and LFO’s Summer girls music video. Pop-up Ads Outdoor Display. Ex) M&M’ painted on concrete steps and money inside a security glass on the side of the street. 2) Voluntary Exposure Although consumers often avoid commercials and other marketing stimuli, sometimes they actively seek them out for various reasons including purchase goals, entertainment, and information. Responses to Voluntary Exposure Permission-Based Marketing The Privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. Banner Ads. Ex) ads that pop up on the side or top of a website Real-time Chat Service. Ex) J Crew has a chat service Providing Highly Entertaining Materials. Ex) guy doing flips into jeans Attention- pg 283-284 Attention Occurs when the stimulus activates one or more sensory receptor nerves, and is the resulting sensations go to the brain for processing Most consumers are bombarded by a large number of messages or stimuli Consumer attention is selective Attention is determined by three factors: Stimulus Factors- pg 284-290 Physical characteristics of the stimulus itself Size Intensity Attractive Visuals Color and Movement Position Isolation Format Contrast and Expectations Interestingness Information Quantity Color and Size Color and Size attract attention A brightly colored package or display is more likely to received attention Larger stimuli are more likely to be noticed than smaller ones Position Is the placement of an object in physical space or time In retail stores, items that are easy to find or stand out are more likely to attract attention, such as end-caps and kiosks High impact zones in print ads in the U.S. tend to be toward the top left portion of the ad. Contrast and Expectations Consumers pay more attention to stimuli that contrast with their background Expectations drive perceptions of contrast. Ads that differ from expectations for a product category often motivate more attention Adaption Level Theory Suggests that if a stimulus doesn’t change over time we habituate to it and begin to notice it less. Individual Factors- pg 290-291 Characteristics which distinguish one individual from another. Example: Heineken Ad Motivation: A drive state created by consumer interest and needs Ability: The capacity of individuals to attend to and process information Situational Factors- pg 291 Include stimuli in the environment other than the focal stimulus and temporary characteristics of the individual that are induced by the environment Clutter: the density of stimuli in the environment â€Å"Less is More† Program Involvement: Interest in the program or editorial content surrounding the ads. Subliminal Stimuli- pg 293 Non-focused Attention Subliminal Stimuli A message presented so fast, softly or masked by other messages that one is aware of hearing (Progressive Ad) A subliminal as â€Å"hides† key persuasive information within the ad by making it so weak that it is difficult or impossible for someone to physically detect. Subliminal advertising has been the focus of intense study and public concern Interpretation- pg 293-294 The assignment of meaning to sensations Three aspects of interpretation: 1) It is generally a relative process rather than absolute, referred to as perceptual relativity 2) It tends to be subjective and open to a host of psychological biases 3) It can be a cognitive â€Å"thinking† process or an affective â€Å"emotional† process. Ex) Bud light Ad Interpretation is determined by three factors: 1) Individual Characteristics Traits: inherent physiological and psychological traits Learning and Knowledge The meanings attached to such â€Å"natural† things as time, space, relationships, and colors are learned and vary widely across cultures. Expectations Expectation Bias: Interpretations tend to be consistent with expectations 2) Situational Characteristics The situation provides a context within which the focal stimulus is interpreted The context clues present in the situation play a role in the consumer interpretation independent of the actual stimulus 3) Stimulus Characteristics Traits: specific traits of the stimulus such as size, shape, color, etc. Organization Proximity Closure Figure-Ground Changes Sensory Discrimination The physiological ability of an individual to distinguish between similar stimuli JND (Just Noticeable Difference) The minimum amount that one brand can differ from another (or from its previous version) with the difference still being noticed. Figure-ground- pg 299 Involves presenting the stimulus in such a way that it is perceived as the focal object to be attended to and all other stimuli are perceived as the background. Consumer Inferences Inferences: Knowledge and belief that are not based on explicit information in the environment. Quality Signals- pg 300 Price-perceived quality, Advertising intensity, Warranties, Country of origin, Brand, etc. Interpreting Images Missing Information and Ethical Concerns Price-perceived Quality Bottled water vs. tap water Country of Origin Wine, cars, TV’s, rugs, cologne Perception and Marketing Strategy Retail Strategy Brand Name and Logo Development Linguistic Consideration Branding Strategies Logo Design and Typographics Media Strategy Advertisements Package Design and Labeling Learning and Memory Nature of Learning and Memory- pg 318-319 Learning Any change in the content or organization of long-term memory or behavior Memory The total accumulation of prior learning experiences Difference between short-term and long-term memory- pg 319-321 Short-term Memory (STM) or working memory Is that portion of total memory that is currently activated or in use Long-term memory (LTM) Is that portion of total memory devoted to permanent information storage STM is Short Lived Consumers must constantly refresh information through maintenance rehearsal or it will be lost STM has Limited Capacity Consumers can only hold so much information in current memory Elaborative Activities Occur in STM Elaborative activities serve to redefine or add new elements to memory and can involve both concepts and imagery LTM Semantic memory (AKA Schemas) Basic knowledge and feelings an individual has about a concept Episodic Memory The memory of a sequence of events in which a person participated Schematic Memory- pg 323 A pattern of such associations around a particular concept Retrieval from long-term memory- pg 324-325 The likelihood and ease with which information can be recalled from LTM is accessibility. Learning under high and low involvement – pg 324-326, Figure 9-3 Conditioning (mechanism, classical, and operant conditioning)- pg 326-330 Conditioning Theories Classical Conditioning The process of using an established relationship between one stimulus (music) and response (pleasant feelings) to bring about the learning of the same response (pleasant feelings) to a different stimulus (the brand) ex) LMFAO’s Sexy & I know it for M&M Chocolate Operant Conditioning (or instrumental learning) Rewarding desirable behaviors such as brand purchases with a positive outcome that serves to reinforce the behavior ex) free sampling, discount coupon, loyalty card Cognitive Learning (iconic rote learning, vicarious learning, and analytical reasoning)- pg 331-332 Ironic Rote Learning Learning a concept or the association between two or more concepts in the absence of conditioning ex) Head-on ad Vicarious Learning (aka Modeling) Observing the outcomes of others’ behaviors and adjust their own accordingly ex) Oral B Brush-ups Analytical Reasoning Individuals engage in creative thinking to restructure and recombine existing information as well as new information to form new associations and concepts Memory retrieval failure and influencing factors- pg 334-342 Brand Image- pg 342-343 Brand image Refers to the schematic memory of a brand Perceived Product Attributes Manufacturer Marketer Characteristics Users Usage Situations Benefits An important component of brand image is the appropriate usage situations for the product or brand Product Positioning- pg 344 Product Positioning Is a decision by a marketer to try to achieve a defined brand image relative to competition within a market segment Perceptual Mapping- pg 345 Perceptual Mapping Offers marketing managers a useful technique for measuring and developing a product’s position Brand Equity and brand leverage- pg 347 Brand Equity Is the value consumers assign to a brand above and beyond the functional characteristics of the product. Strong Brand Equity enables: 1) Brand Leverage Often termed family branding, brand extensions, or umbrella branding, refers to marketers capitalizing on brand equity by using existing brand name for new products 2) Sub-Branding Creating a secondary brand within a main brand that can help differentiate a product line to a desired target group Motivation, Personality, and Emotion Motivation- pg 360 Motivation Is the reason for behavior A motive is a construct representing an unobservable inner force that stimulates and compels a behavioral response and provides specific direction to that response Consumers buy motive satisfaction or problem resolution Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs- pg 360-361, Table 10-1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs A macro theory designed to account for most human behavior in general terms Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is based on four premises 1) All humans acquire a similar set of motives through genetic endowment and social interaction 2) Some motives are more basic or critical than others 3) The more basic motives must be satisfied to a minimum level before other motives are activated 4) As the basic motive becomes satisfied, more advanced motives come into play Need for expression (one of the McGuire’s Psychological Motives)-pg 365 McGuire’s Psychological Motives A fairly detailed set of motives used to account for specific aspects of consumer behavior Need for expression (active, external) This motive deals with the need to express one’s identity to others. Discovering purchase motives (Manifest and latent motive)- pg 367-369, Figure 10-1 Manifest Motives Consumers recognize and will share these motives Latent Motives Consumers are unaware of these motives, or reluctant to admit them Substantially more complex than manifest motives Techniques to uncover latent motives 1) Projective techniques 2) Laddering (= means-end or benefit chain) Regulatory focus theory (Promotion and prevention-focused motives)- pg 372, figure 10-2 Promotion-focused motives Revolve around a desire for growth and development and are related to consumers’ hopes and aspirations Prevention-focused motives Revolve around a desire for safety and security and are related to consumers’ sense of duties and obligations Regulatory Focus Theory Suggests that consumers will react differently depending on which broad set of motives is most salient Personality- pg 373-374 Personality An individual’s characteristic response tendencies across similar situations Consumer ethnocentrism Reflects an individual difference in consumers’ propensity to be biased against the purchase of foreign products Need for cognition Reflects an individual difference in consumers’ propensity to engage in and enjoy thinking Consumer’s need for uniqueness Reflects an individual difference in consumers’ propensity to pursue differentness relative to other through the acquisition, utilization, and disposition of consumer goods Dimensions of brand personality and communication strategies- pg 375-378 Emotion and typology of consumer coping strategies- pg 379, 381 Attitudes Attitude and attitude components –pg. 392-398, Figure 11-1 Attitude An enduring organization of motivational, emotional, perceptual, and cognitive processes with respect to some aspect of our environment Attitude Components Cognitive component Consists of a consumer’s beliefs about an object Affective component Feelings or emotional reactions to an object Behavioral component Is one’s tendency to respond in a certain manner toward an object or activity Attitude component consistency –pg. 398-399 All three attitude components tend to be consistent. This means that a change in one attitude component tends to produce related changes in the other components Attitude change strategy for affective component-pg. 402-403 ELM model –pg. 404, Figure 11-3 Elaboration likelihood model A theory about how attitudes are formed and changed under varying conditions of involvement The ELM suggests that involvement is a key determinant of how information is processed and attitudes are changed Communication strategy for attitude formation and change Celebrity sources –pg. 408-409, Figure 11-4 Celebrity sources can be effective in enhancing attention, attitude toward the ad, trustworthiness, expertise, aspirational aspects, and meaning transfer. Effectiveness of celebrity sources enhanced when Marketer Match Endorser with Product and Target Audience Ex) Tiger Woods Comparative ads –pg. 412-413 Directly compare the features or benefits of two or more brands Value-expressive vs. Utilitarian appeals appeal-pg. 414-415 Value-expressive appeals Attempt to build a personality for the product or create an image of the product user. Utilitarian appeals Involve informing the consumer of one or more functional benefits that are important to the target market. Positive vs. Negative Framing-p. 415 Message framing Refers to presenting one of two equivalent value outcomes either in positive or gain terms (positive framing) or in negative or loss terms (negative framing) Self-Concept and Lifestyle Self-concept Defined as the totality of the individual’s thoughts and feelings having reference to himself or herself as an object. Its an individual’s perception of and feelings towards him or herself Interdependent/Independent self-concepts – pg. 428-429 Independent self-concept Emphasizes personal goals, characteristics, achievements, and desires. Individuals with an independent self-concept tend to be individualistic, egocentric, autonomous, self-reliant, and self-contained They define themselves in terms of what they have done, what they have, and their personal characteristics Interdependent self-concept Emphasizes family, cultural, professional, and social relationships. Individuals with an interdependent self-concept tend to be obedient, sociocentric, holistic, connected, and relation oriented. They define themselves in terms of social roles, family relationships, and commonalities with other members of their groups. Possessions and the Extended Self – pg. 429-430 Extended self Consists of the self plus possessions; that is, people tend to define themselves in part by their possessions. Our possessions reflect our beliefs, wants, and inner desires. Extended self = Self + Possessions Tattoos can become a part of one’s extended self Mere ownership effect (AKA the Endowment effect) The tendency of an owner to evaluate an object more favorably than a non-owner Using Self-Concept to Position Products – pg. 432-433 Lifestyle – pg. 434-435, Figure 12-2 Lifestyle How a person lives. It is how one enacts his or her self-concept Influences all aspects of one’s consumption behavior Is determined by the person’s past experiences, innate characteristics, and current situation Ex) Brett Favre’s Wrangler commercial and Tom Brady’s Smart Water commercial Measurement of Lifestyle – pg. 435-436 Psychographics Attempts to develop quantitative measures of lifestyle Measures include: Attitudes- Evaluative statements about other people, places, ideas, products, etc. Values- Widely held beliefs about what is acceptable or desirable Activities and Interests- Non-occupational behaviors to which consumers devote time and effort, such as hobbies, sports, public service, and church Demographics- Age, education, income, occupation, family structure, ethnic background Media Patterns- The specific media the consumers utilize Usage Rates- Measurements of consumption within a specified product category; often consumers are categorized as heavy, medium, or light users or as nonusers. VALS– pg. 439, Figure 12-3 VALS (Social Value and Lifestyle) Provides a systematic classification of U.S. adults into 8 distinct consumer segments Core premise: an individual’s primary motivation determines what in particular about the self or the world is the meaningful core that governs his or her activities. Three Primary Consumer Motivations: 1) Ideals Motivation These consumers are guided in their choices by their beliefs and principles rather than by feelings or desire for social approval. They purchase functionality and reliability. 2) Achievement Motivation These consumers strive for a clear social position and are strongly influenced by the actions, approval, and opinions of others. They purchase status symbols. 3) Self-Expression Motivation These action-oriented consumers strive to express their individuality through their choices. They purchase experiences. PRIZM – pg. 444 Define every household in the U.S. by distinct lifestyle types, called â€Å"segments†, to provide you with a comprehensive picture of who lives where and what they are like. The underlying logic: Geo-Demographic Segmentation People with similar cultural backgrounds, means and perspectives naturally gravitate toward one another. They choose to live amongst their peers in neighborhoods offering †¦compatible lifestyles. They exhibit shared patterns of consumer behavior toward products, services, media and promotions. 4 major social groups of PRIZM: Urban- Major cities with high population density Suburban- Moderately dense â€Å"suburban† areas surrounding metropolitan areas Second City- Smaller, less densely populated cities or satellites to major cities Town and Country- Low-density towns and rural communities