Behavior and Attitudes essays

Behavior and Attitudes essays ...It is that we are likely not only to think ourselves into a way of acting but also to act ourselves into a way of thinking. (137) Divorce is a major change in a persons life, also an exciting time to move toward new goals and make new commitments. The process of a divorce, I believe is a great example of the attitudes-follow-behavior and behavior-follow-attitude principles. Going through a divorce stirs up mixed feelings of emotion. Some people feel upset, scared, happy, excited, relieved and confused by their situation, regardless if they were the one who initiate the divorce. Due to these conflicting feelings, people try to avoid appearing inconsistent with those around them. They may hide those emotions and use impression-management to appear consistent. In freeing oneself from a marriage, a person also creates a new attitude (self-identity) and goes through the movements of that new role. Though he/she may not feel comfortable going through a new routine, it will eventually feel familiar. By role-playing, we start to behave differently allowing a person to settle into his/her new life and commitments. For example when I first began my divorce, I wasnt sure if it was the right decision due to the fact that we have children, I would be breaking up a family. And financially the children and I would be going into beggar status. However, I did feel excited about being free of all the ugliness that was projected onto my being and being free from physical abuse. I had to get some very destructive thoughts like if only I could love more he would stop being physically abusive or It takes two to fight, out of my mind. I had to readjust my frame of thought and learn that I had rights. And more importantly, my children should be treated better than luggage by their father. If my children and I were going to survive and break this cycle, there had to be some major changes. All I knew to do was ...

Free Essays on MTA Vs Public Transportation

Public Transportation vs. An Automobile Among the many choices we have to make today is that of utilizing public transportation versus an automobile. Some things to consider are cost, environmental effects, freedom to travel whenever and wherever one would like, and personal interaction with others. One important similarity is that both options create jobs for other people; be it the man driving the bus, or the people working hard on the assembly line to build your car, wages are being made. Another similarity is that one must know how to navigate both, using road maps in the car, or route maps for the subway and bus lines. And even though both modes of transportation get us where we need to go, there are advantages and disadvantages towards both. For the typical person earning an average income, cost is one of the largest factors. Public transportation, such as a bus, subway, or train, costs between one to two dollars per ride, depending on where someone lives. When a passenger transfers to another bus or train line, along the same route, they are usually given a free transfer, which is quite cost efficient. The combined fares of the passengers pay for the vehicles, drivers salaries, and also the maintenance and upkeep of the vehicles. A car, on the other hand, requires much more than a dollar or two before one can even hit the road. A person needs anywhere between a thousand dollars for a used car in bad condition, to tens of thousands of dollars for a new and prestigious car. Fees for registering your car, purchasing a license plate, and insuring your car in case of theft or an accident are a few more upfront costs a driver must pay. Let’s not forget gasoline and oil, of which the cost can vary greatly on a d aily basis, and general repairs and maintenance, which can be quite expensive. Last winter, after returning from New York where I did not need a car, I had to purchase a new used car. After paying three thous... Free Essays on MTA Vs Public Transportation Free Essays on MTA Vs Public Transportation Public Transportation vs. An Automobile Among the many choices we have to make today is that of utilizing public transportation versus an automobile. Some things to consider are cost, environmental effects, freedom to travel whenever and wherever one would like, and personal interaction with others. One important similarity is that both options create jobs for other people; be it the man driving the bus, or the people working hard on the assembly line to build your car, wages are being made. Another similarity is that one must know how to navigate both, using road maps in the car, or route maps for the subway and bus lines. And even though both modes of transportation get us where we need to go, there are advantages and disadvantages towards both. For the typical person earning an average income, cost is one of the largest factors. Public transportation, such as a bus, subway, or train, costs between one to two dollars per ride, depending on where someone lives. When a passenger transfers to another bus or train line, along the same route, they are usually given a free transfer, which is quite cost efficient. The combined fares of the passengers pay for the vehicles, drivers salaries, and also the maintenance and upkeep of the vehicles. A car, on the other hand, requires much more than a dollar or two before one can even hit the road. A person needs anywhere between a thousand dollars for a used car in bad condition, to tens of thousands of dollars for a new and prestigious car. Fees for registering your car, purchasing a license plate, and insuring your car in case of theft or an accident are a few more upfront costs a driver must pay. Let’s not forget gasoline and oil, of which the cost can vary greatly on a d aily basis, and general repairs and maintenance, which can be quite expensive. Last winter, after returning from New York where I did not need a car, I had to purchase a new used car. After paying three thous...

Drama- Los Vendidos ( Luis Valdez) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Drama- Los Vendidos ( Luis Valdez) - Essay Example This oppression entails racial prejudice and inequality faced by Chicanos while trying to achieve their American dream. However, Valdez uses satirical humor to depict these injustices and deliver the message to the audience. A good example of such humor occurs when Sancho responds to a customer’s concerns regarding finding a Mexican with the capacity to work for the government. The play is also impressive as it uses locations such as East of Los Angeles, which is suitable for the historical American setting because Chicanos lived in the region in the 20th century. In addition, Los Vendidos encompasses the use of stereotypes in dialogue to convey the author’s intended message. For instance, the dialogue between Sancho and a customer with regard to the maintenance of the Mexican models is implicit of a stereotype regarding Chicanos’ traditional foods, as well as their conventional work ethic. Los Vendidos’ use of both English and Spanish creates an uneven storyline that requires the audience to find translations to keep up with the story’s

Masters Degree in Jazz Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Masters Degree in Jazz Music - Essay Example What makes the situation even more distressing is the lack of recognition from the authorities. The government likes to promote Thailand as a land of traditional music and art. The traditional music is encouraged whereas the more contemporary forms are sidelined. As receiving recognition itself is very difficult in the country, the prospects of studying music are bleak. Further, the perception of music is distorted by the media. There is little or no understanding of the various genres of music even by some of the popular music companies in Thailand. Hence the people of my country do not place artists, especially musicians in high regard. My country, which is a developing one, considers engineering sciences, medical sciences, and other such fields to be more respectable than arts and music. The common misunderstanding of the people of Thailand is that there is no future in fields like music. The outlook is extremely narrow and their beliefs stem from their lack of knowledge of anything outside their immediate career interests. This disturbing misplaced sense of superiority among the supposedly more educated class of professionals in the various fields of sciences is more detrimental to the growth of the young musical talent in the country than anything else. These ideas tend to be passed down from the older generations to the younger ones thereby discouraging latter to seriously consider music as a full-time career. The youngsters shy away from music careers as they are afraid to be thought of lesser than their peers for their choice of career. In countries like the United States of America, children are given a free reign as far as their careers choices are concerned and person’s abilities and interested are given importance to. In Thailand, however, the people are driven by their traditionalist and conservative ideas.  Ã‚  

Buffer Overflow & Rootkits Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Buffer Overflow & Rootkits - Assignment Example Another reason is the failure of individuals to update their existing protections that render them non-functional. Someone can design a program that can detect a rootkit. A rootkit describes stealthy software that makes it hard to detect the existence of certain programs in a computer. Therefore, to detect one, someone needs to use an alternative and trusted operating system. Designing programs constituting such operating systems would make it possible to detect rootkits. Other ways include signature scanning, difference scanning, behavioural-based methods and memory dump analysis. The behavioural-based approach depends on the fact that rootkits behave in a way different from other programmes (Pleeger, 2012). In signature scanning, an antivirus will detect any stealthy measures that a rootkit might adopt to unload itself or prevent its detection. The difference-based scanning method compares trusted original data from the computer with defective data returning from the API (Application programming interface), a programme building tool. Memory dumping involves dumping of virtual memory, which can then be forensically analysed to capture an active rootkit with a tool called a debugger. It prevents the rootkit from taking any measures to hide itself. However, the overall detection of a rootkit depends on its

Business Analysis Techniques for Strategic Planning

Business Analysis Techniques for Strategic Planning Through a strategic planning an organization defines its strategy, or direction, and decisions making on allocating its resources to practice this strategy such as its capital and people. There are various business analysis techniques that are used in strategic planning such as SWOT, PEST, STEER and EPISTEL. The strategic planning, which indicates the future course of an organization, is the formal consideration involves three key questions; these questions mainly refer to what an organization does, who it deals to and how it excel. Another integral question can be phrased as how to beat competition (Bradford Duncan, 2000). The development of this business strategy is of great importance for organization as the whole structure of organization depends on it. An authentic business strategy development needs an appropriate analysis of the organization and its environment. This analysis must be executed at an internal and external level in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses o f internal environment (organization) as well as threats, opportunities of the external environment. Different factors are assessed in this regard including the economy markets, competition, supplier markets, labor markets, regulatory environment and Technology. Marketing plans and strategies are the tools that are used as helpful in understanding the goals of the business and to develop the activities to achieve them. Strategic Models and tools are employed by marketing participants to analyze marketing decisions. The 3Cs, the corporation, the customer and the competitors, can be employed when beginning a strategic analysis to get a broad understanding of the strategic environment. Different organizations often use it to convey strategic positioning of their market mix. In order to form a market plan to practice a defined strategy, 4Ps, the product, the price, the place and the promotion, can be used. Marketing theories provides the solution for achieving the marketing goals throug h procedure. The basic theory of marketing revolves around Target Audience, Proposition and Implementation. Organizations sum up their objective and goals into mission and vision statement. They are used to formulate objectives and goals. Every organization follows particular organizational ethics, which meant to show how ethically internal or external stimuli are responded by them. Organizational ethics also expresses the values of an organization to its employees and other entities irrespective of governmental and regulatory laws. Organizational Ethics is interdependent with Organizational Culture. Organizational Culture deals with the beliefs and personal and cultural values of an organization, Psychology, attitudes and experiences. This culture is defined as a collection of norms and values shared by group of the people in the organization and the way they interact with each other and with the stakeholders outside organization (Hill and Jones, 2001). A core competency is definit e factor that is seen as being central to the way it by a business, or its works and employees. It carries out three key criteria, it provides consumer benefits, it is not easy for competitors to imitate and it can be leveraged many products and markets. Competitive advantage takes place when an organization acquires and develops an attribute and combination of attributes that allows it to outperform its competitors. A timetable for the implementation of a strategy shows the timing for the each steps of the plan that is pursued to implement the strategies accordingly. The effectiveness, efficiency and economy have to be evaluated so that the success of the timetable can be estimated throughout the implementation of planning and strategy. This paper examines and assesses the different business models, development of strategic planning, its implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of implementation of the timetable of strategic planning of an organization. The chosen organization is Marks Spencer (MS). Marks Spencer is chosen because it is an important and major British retailer, with over 895 stores in more than 40 territories worldwide, over 600 domestic and 295 international stores (MS International Stores MS website, February 2009). It is also the biggest clothing retailer in the United Kingdom, as well as being an up market food retailer, and the 43rd largest retailer in the world as of 2008. (Wal-Mart remains largest global retailer, according to Deloitte survey). Its domestic stores also sell both food and clothing; it has started the store expansion into other ranges including furniture, home ware and technology. In 1998 it was the first and only retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over  £1 billion (BUSINESS | Marks Spencer profits top expectations. BBC News, 1998). The business assessments of such organization of such a big range and with glorious history will definitely be a remarkable addition in the study of business management and business strategic planning. In general terms provide examples (4to 6) and briefly explain them of theories and principles that underlie strategic planning? Every organization comes into being with a strategy, which is called an organizational strategy and aims to provide a guideline to guiding member of the organization. Since the future survival of an organization depends on its strategy, therefore, every organization is commenced with their own strategy. This strategy involves business strategy mainly focusing on development and progress of the organization including internal and external factors as well. An organization needs to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities that the organization could face while developing strategy, political, economic, social, and technological environment other socio-cultural, ecological, and regulatory factors and environment, informatics, and legal matter are also as important to be analyzed as above factors. For this purpose, therefore, organizations summarize these strategies into their mission, vision and values, which illustrate their business strategy. Provide in outline form, using a diagram a framework which would enable your choice organization to develop its strategy in general terms? The preparatory phase of a business strategic plan relies on planning. At the first, business plan includes Analysis of the Current Situation and Marketing Plan Strategy and Objectives. Marks Spencer requires having analysis of the current situation including past year. This analysis includes analysis of Business Trends, Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Market Segmentation, Marketing-mix, SWOT analysis, Positioning analyzing perceptions and Sources of information. Marketing plan Strategy and objectives for next year should also be analyzed including Marketing strategy, Desired market segmentation, Desired marketing-mix, TOWS-based objectives as a result of the SWOT, Position perceptual gaps and Yearly sales forecast. Describe and critically evaluate a small range (3 to 5) of models tools and techniques that could be used to develop marketing for your chosen organization? There are many Marketing strategic models and tools employed to analyze marketing decisions. In order to find a broad understanding of the strategic environment the 3Cs can be used by Marks Spencer. This 3Cs model points out that focus should be on three key factors for success. Three main players must be considered when planning a strategy for business: Corporation, Customer and Competitors. These 3Cs can sustain a competitive advantage in a strategic triangle. From a corporation point of view, strategies are needed to maximize the strengths of a corporation relative to the competition in the area of function that are critical to achieve the success. The corporation does not have to exceed in every function in order to win. If it can achieve decisive edge in one key function, it will ultimately be able to progress its other functions which are now average. In case of swiftly rising wage costs, it is an important decision for company to contract out a major share of its assembly ope rations. If the competitors are not able to shift production so swiftly to vendors and subcontractors, the outcomes difference in cost structure and in the companys ability to cope with demand fluctuations can have integral strategic implications. The cost-effectiveness can be improved by adopting three ways. At first, reduction in the basic cost, exercise greater selectivity such as products offered, orders accepted and functions performed and share certain important functions with other business of corporation and other organization. Since clients and customers are the base of strategy therefore the basic goal is to be of customers interest rather than of the shareholders. This segmentation appears from a trade-off study of marketing costs versus market coverage. There always appears to be a point of reducing returns in the cost versus coverage relationship. The task of the organization is to optimize its range of market coverage, geographically and channel wise. Competitors are l ikely to be scrutinizing the market in similar ways in fierce competition. The effectiveness of a given first strategic segmentation will tend to decline over an extended period of time. It is useful to pick a small group of customers in such situations and reexamine what it is that they really want. A market segment change takes place where the market forces are changing the distribution of the user-mix over time by affecting demography, distribution channels, and customer size, etc. This kind of change is meant to be the allocation of corporate resources to be shifted and the ultimate level of resources committed in the business to be changed. The strategy based on competitor can be built by looking at possible sources of diversities in functions including purchasing, engineering, design, sales and servicing. The power of image and capitalizing on profit and cost structure differences are the ways to achieve the differentiation. I mage can be the merely source of positive differen tiation when performance of product and form of the distribution are difficult to differentiate. In capitalizing on profit- and cost structure differences, firstly, the difference in source of profit may be oppressed, from new products sales etc. Secondly, difference in the ratio of unchangeable costs and changeable costs may also be oppressed strategically. A company with lower unchangeable cost ratio can lower prices in a lazy market and hence gain market share. Another strategic tool that can be useful for Mark Spencer is Porters 5 Forces Model. Porters 5 Forces Model is structural analysis of the market. It rather focuses view of analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of a Market Segment through analyzing the different threats prevail in the market. It is a framework for the business strategy development and industry analysis. It draws upon industrial organization economics to develop five forces that determine the competitive intensity and in the result attractiveness of a market. Porters 5 Forces Model Structureurl.png The Threat from the potential new entrants Profitable markets that submit high returns attract the new firms. Its consequence is many new entrants, which ultimately decrease profitability for all firms in the industry. The profit rate will constantly fall unless the new entrants are not blocked. This is also known as perfect competition. New entrants can be blocked by the existence of barriers in the form of copyright etc. Attractive segment is the one in which barriers for entrance is high while barriers for exit are low. Thus only few new firm ca enter and only non-performing firm can exit easily. Economies of product difference also make an opportunity for small firms to enhance their businesses thus large firms who have their product out in the market in high price, products of low price can affect them. Marks Spencer has been going through the same situation. Brand equity, which refers to the effects of marketing or consequences that accumulate to a product with its brand name compared with those that would increase if the same product did not have the brand name (Leuthesser, Kohli and Harich, 1995). The threat of substitute products or services The existence of products outside of the sphere of the common product boundaries boost the inclination of customers to switch to substitute including relative price performance of substitute, buyer switching costs, perceived level of product differentiation, number of substitute products available in the market, ease of substitution. Information-based products are more flat to substitution, as online product can easily replace material product. There are many reason cause customers to switch to substitute of the product such as substandard product, and reduction in quality of the product. Increase in the features of the product develops the competitive market. Marks Spencer by increasing the features of its products can make the customers stick with their product. The Bargaining power of customers or buyers The customers bargaining power is also defined as the market of outputs such as the efficiency of the customers to put the firm under pressure; it also affects the sensitivity of customers to price changes. Customers concentration to firm concentration ratio, degree of dependency upon existing channels of distribution, bargaining leverage, specifically in industries with high fixed costs, customers volume, customers switching costs relative to firm switching costs, information availability for customers, ability to backward integrate, availability of existing substitute products, customers price sensitivity and differential advantage and uniqueness of industry products are the actors that increases the bargaining power of customers. Large number of supermarkets will provide better opportunity for the potential customers to reach thus it will decrease the bargaining power of the customers. The Bargaining power of suppliers The suppliers bargaining power is also defined as the market of inputs. Suppliers of materials, components, labor and services such as expertise to the firm are source of power over the firm, when there are a few substitutes. Suppliers may possibly refuse to work with the firm or charge excessively high prices for unique resources. Despite the fact that supplier switching costs is relative to firm switching costs, and degree of differentiation of inputs, impact of inputs on cost or differentiation, presence of substitute inputs, supplier concentration to firm concentration ratio, employee solidarity like labor unions and supplier competition and ability to forward vertically integrate and cut out the buyer and Competition among the existing suppliers mainly reinforce the factor. Number of suppliers across Britain will rather diminish this factor for Marks Spencer. The competitive rivalry within an industry For most organizations, the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry is the intensity of competitive rivalry. Sustainable competitive advantage by innovation, competition between online and offline companies; click-and-mortar -v- slags on a bridge, Level of advertising expense, Powerful competitive strategy and the visibility of proprietary items on the Web all these factor define the competitive rivalry within an industry (Rainer and Turban, 2009). The situation of competitive rivalry is hhigh because there are majorly three rivals of Marks Spencer that provide it a competitive advantage and change its strategic planning. State a variety 7 to 10 of general and marketing strategic options which have been used or are available to the organization of your choice and evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of four of these Product Branded product helps in capturing market as it creates an identity of the firm with that brand. Marks Spencer has been selling out branded product but there is no single of theirs, because owning the brand can exceed the sell of that product. The advantage of owning a product as a brand is that it allows the customers to identify the organization with a particular name. While mostly brand products are supposed to be accessible for everyone as a result of its price. Price Price is another factor that is integral for Marks Spencer. Determination of price that depends on the market situation very much affects the market situation for the firm. An affordable Price of the product can be more successful for the firm. Affordable price offer of the Marks Spencer will allow to everyone to access them easily thus it will generate demand of the products if it could not maintain the supply and demand of the products it will have to suffer in the market. Place The place of selling also makes a difference in the marketing strategy of a firm. Since e-commerce has been so much in practice Marks Spencer can start e-commerce through which it can sell out its products online. Besides this, variety of distribution outlets can also be an option for Marks Spencer as it is a good promotion tool of the product. Placing the products in every distributions outlet may lead the firm to the low market level due to its order of supply. Promotion Promotion of the products must be designed in the way Across the Line. Across the Line promotion of the product provide the opportunity to access the customers at any length. Promotion of the products Across the Line will cost the firm highly as promotion across the line requires in order to meet the promotion target. People Work force or staff must be well trained and professional because a well trained work force increase the productivity of an organization. Marks Spencer is the 43rd largest retailer if it hires professional and trained work force it will definitely hit its economy. Process The standard of the services offered must be of good and must be integrated with customer support. Physical Evidence Physical evidence of a firm especially like Marks Spencer does matter. The overall environment of the firm can provide a pleasant impression on others and results in good sell. Who are stakeholders in the organization of your choice and state the three major ones of these. What affect have or could the major stakeholders have on the strategy that the organization has or could introduce. What considerations should be taken into account to ensure that the three major stakeholders can contribute to the development of the organization strategy through some form of participation? There are number of group of stakeholders of Marks Spencer: employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, local communities, pressure groups and local and national government. All these above directly or indirectly influence the Marks Spencer in its strategy making. Employees, who are direct stakeholders of the organization, want secure jobs, well and good pay and fair treatment with all employees. Customers, also a direct stakeholder of the organization, want high quality, good service, and good choice of products. Shareholders look for growth and profit. These direct stakeholders can affect the strategies of the organization. If employees are not satisfied or if feel that they are not enough benefits from the offered strategy they can strongly resist it by so many act of barriers such as resignation or boycott from service. Organization understands that in order to keep the customers stick with product it is important to provide them quality products and services in affordable r ate. The customers who want quality product in affordable price with good services would also reject the strategy if found it not in their favor by rejecting the product or switching to another substitute. Shareholders, who are back bone in the economy of the Marks Spencer, possess the shares of the company; organization will want them to have profit so that the stay with them in the business. Thus there will not be any strategy which in any way annoys the shareholders. The contribution of employees, customers and shareholders is equally important for organizations interest. This contribution by them can part in the development of the organizations strategy through expressing their expectation from the organization. These expectations are not just to be of their favor but in the favor of the organization as well because their benefits and profits are interlinked with the success of the organization. In a laymans language define the term vision, mission statement, objective and value and go to provide professional definitions of these giving the source of these. Every organization comes into existence with a definite purpose which is called objective of the organization. This objective varies from organization to organization such as profitable organization and non-profitable organization. The organization expresses its objective through vision, mission statement. Vision: Vision is the intended or desired future statement of an organization or enterprise in terms of the fundamental objective and strategic direction. Vision refers to a long term view, describing how the organization would like the world in which it operates to be. A vision statement provides the organization with an inspiration that is the basis for all the organizations planning. It explains what an organization wants to do. Mission: Mission is the fundamental purpose of an organization or an enterprise, concise describing the reason of existence and path to achieve its Vision. It also draws a future picture of the organization. Values: Values can be defined as the beliefs of an organization shared among the stakeholders of an organization. Values are the means of driving the organizations culture, ethics and priorities. The vision statement is a realistic, credible, and attractive future for an organization (http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ndu/strat-ldr-dm/pt4ch18.html). Mission statement broadly describes the presence of an organization present capabilities, customer focus, activities, and business makeup (Glossary, Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases by Fred David). Provide the vision and mission statements and strategy of your chosen organization and explain how the effectiveness if these can be measured. Marks Spencer has defined its Vision, Mission statement and Values as follows: The Vision Statement The standard against which all others are measured. The Mission Statement Making aspirational quality accessible to all. The Values Quality, value, service, innovation and trust. Marks and Spencer has followed a value price strategy from its origin. Since Marks Spencer has focused on middle class customers, it has continued with the value pricing strategy. Although its most of suppliers have been Britain, which has higher textile manufacturing costs than other developing nations, Marks Spencer was able to maintain its value by developing strong economic bonds with its suppliers. Through its economies of scale in buying, MS has been able to require manufacturers to adhere to strict quality standards and to bargain lower prices for its customers (De Nardi-Cole, 1998). The standard against which all others are measured, as a vision statement thoroughly conveys the objective of the organization, as the organization has set up the standard as an objective of the organization to achieve. It is promoting inspirational standard of the organization in term of products, service, and quality and price. This vision has greatly affected the organization output as a consequence of achieving its objective through this vision. The mission statement of Mark Spencer revolves around its marketing strategy telling about the price of the products that are affordable enough to be accessed by everyone. Values of the organization describe the standard quality and value of products and services following innovation and trust of the customers. Define the term organizational g12 cultural and ethical values and explain the culture and ethical values of the organization of your choice. Organizational culture is an idea which illustrates personal attitudes, experiences, psychology, beliefs and values and cultural values of an organization. It is defined as the specific set of values and norms shared by people and groups in an organization. The organizational culture as well as ethical values is also known as beliefs and ideas about the kinds of goals of the organization and ideas about the appropriate kinds and standards of behavior members of the organization use to achieve these goals. From organizational ethical values develop organizational norms, guidelines, and expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in certain situations and control the behavior of organizational members towards one another (Hill, and Jones, 2001). Organizational Ethics refers the way an organization ethically responds to an internal or external stimulus. Organizational ethics and the organizational culture are interdependent. Although, it is similar to both org anizational culture and business ethics on the micro and macro levels, organizational ethics is neither Organizational culture, nor is it alone business ethics which includes corporate governance and corporate ethics. Organizational ethics express the values of the organization to its employees and to other entities irrespective of governmental and regulatory laws. The organizational culture of Marks Spencer is characterized as a reflection of taken for granted fashion the attitude that is shared by the all members of the organization. The basic assumptions and beliefs operate unconsciously among the members and also exist at the organizational level. The assumptions and taken for granted fashion have taken its roots from the basis of the success of organization. Marks Spencer strictly follow code of ethics, a detail document of the ethical codes, in order to get on with its internal matter. The document contains the responsibility of all belong to Marks Spencer and Behavior for customers, colleagues, shareholders and environment have been explained. Besides, there are policies about workplace and Business (MarksSpencer, Code of Ethics, 2010). Explain the term core competencies and critical success factor and state whether these are necessary to the success of the organization of your choice. Has the organization of your choice amended its strategy in response to changes in the current business and economic climate? A core competency is a particular factor that an organization looks as being integral to the way it, or its works, and employees. It performs three key criteria: provides consumer benefits, not easy for competitors to imitate and can be widely leveraged to many products and markets. A core competency can take many forms, such as technical or subject matter know-how, a dependable process and close associations with customers and suppliers. It also includes product development and culture, such as employee dedication. The core competencies are specific strengths relative to other organizations in the industry which supply the fundamental basis for the provision of added value. Core competencies are the organizations collective learning, and involve the way to coordinate different production skills and incorporate multiple flows of technologies. It is an involvement, a communication, and a strong commitment to working across organizational boundaries. Core Competencies of Marks Spencer The core competencies are vital for the existence of Marks Spencer; it is in its sourcing methods, gave it the power to deliver high value, reliable, consistent quality, investors and customers has trusted it, its quality of management was ranked very high, consequently feeling of what good for Marks Spencer was good for the Nation and epitomized the most honest face of commerce. Since the revolutionary change in the business world, Marks Spencer had to suffer a lot. After the crisis of 1999, Marks Spencer has remarkably amended its strategies in terms of products, customers, price and marketing strategy. As a result of e-commerce revolution Marks Spencer amended its strategy and started e-commerce which ultimately changed its marketing strategy. A large number of the same product in the market caused the Marks Spencer to adopt a differentiation way such as own brand products and Premium brand appearance. Since there are so many products out there in the market that is decreasing the sell of Marks Spencer, due to the threat of the substitute product Marks Spencer has reviewed its prices of the product in order to create competitive advantage. Explain how your organization has responded to change in its environment and consider whether this response has effective The change in the product price from Marks Spencer creates a competitive advantage fro it and it is much effective for the organization. The enhancement in the place of its firm can also be beneficial in the way that it is in the access of as many people as targeted. All these response to the environment from Marks Spencer could provide it some space to restore its position in the market. List what you would consider to be the major functional area in generally and discuss the three major functional areas of organization of choice and why this is so. Every business have work within certain functional areas, among them there are few general major functions performed in all businesses including finance and accounts, production and operations, administration and IT support, human resource, marketing and sales, customer services, and research and development. The major functional areas of Marks Spencer are sales and marketing, human resource and administration and IT support. They are the major functional areas of the organization because Marks Spencer is a retailer of goods, its business growth very much depends on the sales and marketing, human resource (the people and the staff serve the organization can make difference in the growth of the organization) and administration and IT support make the business process smooth and successful. Since the competition is so tough in the market, Marks Spencer must improve their major functional areas. How have the three major functional areas in organization been developed to provide it with a competitive advantage? Efficient and good sales and marketing strategy can play an important role to develop a competitive advantage for the organization. Decrease in the price by change in the marketing strategy increases the competitive advantage for the organization. Human resource is such a function that works as a back bone for an organization, skilled and trained human resource of the Marks Spencer can provide a competitive advantage through inputting the best to serve the organization. Administration and IT support has come out as one of the vital function of the organization since organization has initiated e-commerce, it can efficiently perform as support to e-commerce to give competitive advantage to the organization. Discuss how a timetable for the implementation of a strategy could be developed around key milestones. The implementation of a strategy roadmap needs a time table that defines milestones in weekly, one month, three month, and six month intervals. Implementation milestones should be established and communicated to all key business partners, the board of directors, stakeholders and investors, customers, and employees, from day one. The best timetable and milestones focus on at least the following dimensions: customers, competitors, finance, communications, and culture, intellectual property, globalization, governance, leadership, investors, marketing, partners, information technology, products, sales, processes and policies and space and inf

beer :: essays research papers

Imagine that you are sitting on your front porch on a sunny summer afternoon and you ask for a nice cold beer. Then out of the blue your friend rifles a nice big keg of beer at you, which in turn knocks you backward off of the porch. Here’s another image to contemplate. A man tries to force a refrigerator door shut. When he finally thinks he has it shut, the door busts off the hinges and a beer keg rolls out. These two ads for Heineken beer in the new keg cans. These ads end with the catchy phrase the keg can can go where regular kegs cannot.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When you first see an ad like this many questions come to mind : first, where are they going with a campaign like this; second, why would Heineken make cans in a shape of a keg, and why would an ad like this entice me to drink Heineken? To most people this add stirs the mind to wonder why Heineken would make keg cans and these amusing commercials to promote them. The commercials carry the humor for the pure fact to catch the attention of the viewer and make them wonder, â€Å"What if a beer out of a keg can tastes like beer out of a keg?† This is one of the fifteen appeals of advertising, the need to satisfy curiosity. Since this is a new type of container for beer its is an unknown commodity to the viewer. Heineken is also an imported beer which is not consumed by most average Americans, which also adds to the curiosity of the ad.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another of these appeals which the ad goes to is the need for prominence. Since Heineken is an expensive imported beer. The manufacturers of Heineken most likely think an ad which shows people drinking or around Heineken shows that they hold a higher social stature. Companies make you think if you spend the money you will have the fame and fun. Also these commercials have another of the appeals. The need for affiliation. Now this may not jump out in the ad. It just seems as if it is an idea used by the company very discreetly. Heineken seems to say that if you buy the keg cans you wont be one of the people who try to take kegs with them everywhere. You will be one of the people who have the portable kegs , the ones in a can , and fit in with the â€Å"Heineken† crowd.

Clorox Green Essay

1. To persuade its customers to buy Green Works products, Clorox is striving to change the perception of the ideal cleaning product by showing that a good cleaning product does not need harmful chemicals to be effective. Clorox states that Green Works products are all natural, yet effective as any other non-natural product. Clorox is changing the consumers’ belief that all natural cleaning products are bad by emphasizing that its natural product line is effective and safe. 2. The Clorox Green Works product line appeals to the â€Å"New Green Mainstream† segment. These people are concerned about the environment, but alter their actions and purchases only when it is convenient. The people who buy Clorox’s Green Works products are concerned about the environment, but they are also concerned about the price and how convenient it is to purchase. Clorox appeals to these people by advertising its Green Works line as a natural product that really works. Clorox also provides these products at a price competitive to those of other brands who provide â€Å"Green† products. Lastly, to cater to this segment’s preference for convenience, Clorox distributes its Green Works line through mass merchandisers rather than specialty stores so consumers can buy the product without having to go out of their way. 4. Clorox should consider engaging the negative bloggers directly. By doing this they could gain a lot of knowledge about what they can do to address the bloggers concerns as well as how they can better their brand image. Through developing these personal relationships, the bloggers are lesser likely to continue posting and blogging damaging things about the partnership. The bloggers will feel as though their personal concerns are being taken into consideration and also Clorox can allow these bloggers to be a part of the solution in making sure that Clorox is not jeopardizing the core values of an organization like Sierra Club; core values that all of the members hold in confidence. Ignoring and dealing with these concerns indirectly is most likely only going to add the negative blogging. By ignoring the bloggers, Clorox risks more people joining the bloggers and severely damaging their image when it comes to providing natural products. In other words, they would be risking the opportunity to continue capitalizing on the natural cleaning market. By dealing with the concerns indirectly, they risk adding more fuel to support the bloggers concerns. Also, Clorox could easily miss the true concern the spurred the posts to begin with which would only make matters worse. 5. The endorsements of Sierra Club, the EPA, and Better Homes and Gardens are important to Clorox and the success of Green Works because these endorsements show consumers that the Green Works products are safe. These endorsements show that Clorox is also concerned about the environment and is willing to do its part to help. Clorox is already a trustworthy brand, but with these endorsements, consumers are willing to accept the product faster than without the endorsements because the endorsements create trust. Also, because Clorox is essentially paying the Sierra Club for its endorsement, this has created some negativity and diminished the endorsement’s credibility. By having the U.S. EPA and Better Homes and Gardens endorse Clorox’s new line brings back the trust that was lost when Clorox partnered with the Sierra Club and also shows that not only the Sierra Club recommends Clorox’s products, but other prominent sources as well. 6. No, it does not affect our attitude towards Green Works. We can see why the bloggers are upset that the Sierra Club is receiving money from Clorox, but to us, the Sierra Club and Clorox are in a partnership and that sometimes means sharing profits. Clorox is helping the Sierra Club’s environmental efforts by providing monetary compensation for its endorsement. Although Clorox does produce other products that are made with unnatural products, the Sierra Club has only approved its logo on the Green Works line. Knowing that the Sierra Club is receiving money from Clorox does not affect our attitude towards Green Works because it also received endorsements from the EPA and Better Homes and Gardens, which show us that the Green Works line is a legitimate product line. The affective component of the attitude process is at work here.

The eNotes Blog Remembering Mary Oliver

Remembering Mary Oliver The beloved American poet Mary Oliver (1935–2019) died today, leaving behind a rich and vast body of literary work. Oliver was arguably the most popular poet of her generation, best known for her poems of the natural world.   Her style is quickly recognizable; at once sublime and grounded, her language conveys sweeping spiritual states through tactile and terrestrial detail. In her signature blend of breathless reverence and plain-spokenness, Oliver carries forward the voices of the American literary past: Emerson and Thoreau, Dickinson and Whitman. Oliver was a gifted prose writer as well, producing volumes of prose poems, such as Blue Pastures, and books of insightful essays, such as Upstream. Her slim, lucid volume on poetics, A Poetry Handbook, should be required reading for any poet or lover of poetry. In remembrance of Mary Oliver, we’ve gathered a handful of her poems that offer a glimpse into her indelible contribution to American literature: Music Lessons Sometimes, in the middle of the lesson, we exchanged places. She would gaze a moment at her hands spread over the keys; then the small house with its knickknacks, its shut windows, its photographs of her sons and the serious husband, vanished as new shapes formed. Sound became music, and music a white scarp for the listener to climb alone. I leaped rock over rock to the top and found myself waiting, transformed, and still she played, her eyes luminous and willful, her pinned hair falling down - forgetting me, the house, the neat green yard, she fled in that lick of flame all tedious bonds: supper, the duties of flesh and home, the knife at the throat, the death in the metronome. *** Oliver turns a memory of piano lessons into a meditation on the transformative power of music as well as the tug of time. In a synesthetic twist, music becomes earth, â€Å"a white / scarp for the listener to climb // alone.† The enjambment before â€Å"alone† is both clever and affecting, as is the poem’s unforgettable final phrase, â€Å"the death in the metronome.† Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -                                                                            over  and over announcing your place in the family of things. *** Like many of Oliver’s best poems, â€Å"Wild Geese†- from Oliver’s volume Dream Work- handles spiritual themes with clarity and directness. Oliver’s speaker confronts the question of belonging, of finding a place for oneself in the vastness of creation. Oliver, ever the poet, offers â€Å"imagination† itself as the key. Morning Glories Blue and dark blue                        Ã‚  rose and deepest rose                                                white and pink they are everywhere in the diligent                           cornfield rising and swaying                                                 in their reliable finery in the little                         fling of their bodies their                                                gear and tackle all caught up in the cornstalks.                        The reaper’s story is the story                                                of endless work of work careful and heavy but the                        reaper cannot                                              separate them out there they are in the story of his life                        bright random useless                                              year after year taken with the serious tons                        weeds without value humorous                                              beautiful weeds. *** â€Å"Morning Glories,† from Oliver’s collection White Pine, beautifully mimics its subject matter. The morning glories, with their tendency to sprawl and entangle themselves, are reflected in Oliver’s lines, which flow ever onward, unhindered by punctuation or line breaks. *** For long-standing lovers of Mary Oliver’s work, today invites us to remember her poems and prose pieces- and the epiphanies and lessons to be found there. For those new to Oliver, hopefully these poems have piqued your curiosity and opened the door to her writings.

Free Essays on B. F. Skinner

The Man On March 20, 1904, in a Pennsylvania railroad town known as Susquehanna, one of the world’s most famous Behaviorist’s was born. This man would go on to revolutionize the field of Behavioral Psychology with his experiments, inventions, and ideas. This man was named B. F. Skinner. Burrhus Frederick Skinner grew up in a rather â€Å"warm and stable home,† with a lawyer father, a housewife mother, and a younger brother (â€Å"The History of,† 2004). Throughout his childhood years, Burrhus loved to build things: cabins, steering carts, dams, and even a perpetual motion machine (which did not work). He spent much of his childhood building all sorts of contraptions (â€Å"The History of,† 2004). He spent all 12 grades of school in the same building, during which he displayed a knock for learning and a curiosity for life (Boeree, 1998). Even early in life, Skinner proved to be questioning of his surroundings and of knowledge taught in school. His eighth grade teacher, Ms. Mary Graves, told him that Shakespeare had written As You Like It, despite his opposing view that it had been written by a man named Francis Bacon. Being dead set in his ways, Skinner did his research, and for months afterwards, made the life of his teacher miserable with his newfound knowledge which proved him the victor (â€Å"The History of,† 2004). He went on to receive his B.A. in English from Hamilton University in New York, and attempted a career as a writer, but failed. This led to a temporary unconventional lifestyle and a trip to Europe. Following this break in his life, Skinner attended Harvard University, where he managed to receive his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Psychology. He remained at Harvard, doing research, until 1936. He then took up a teaching position at the University of Minnesota. Here, he met his wife, Yvonne Blue. Their union bore two daughters, the youngest becoming famous in one Skinner’s experiments, the... Free Essays on B. F. Skinner Free Essays on B. F. Skinner The Man On March 20, 1904, in a Pennsylvania railroad town known as Susquehanna, one of the world’s most famous Behaviorist’s was born. This man would go on to revolutionize the field of Behavioral Psychology with his experiments, inventions, and ideas. This man was named B. F. Skinner. Burrhus Frederick Skinner grew up in a rather â€Å"warm and stable home,† with a lawyer father, a housewife mother, and a younger brother (â€Å"The History of,† 2004). Throughout his childhood years, Burrhus loved to build things: cabins, steering carts, dams, and even a perpetual motion machine (which did not work). He spent much of his childhood building all sorts of contraptions (â€Å"The History of,† 2004). He spent all 12 grades of school in the same building, during which he displayed a knock for learning and a curiosity for life (Boeree, 1998). Even early in life, Skinner proved to be questioning of his surroundings and of knowledge taught in school. His eighth grade teacher, Ms. Mary Graves, told him that Shakespeare had written As You Like It, despite his opposing view that it had been written by a man named Francis Bacon. Being dead set in his ways, Skinner did his research, and for months afterwards, made the life of his teacher miserable with his newfound knowledge which proved him the victor (â€Å"The History of,† 2004). He went on to receive his B.A. in English from Hamilton University in New York, and attempted a career as a writer, but failed. This led to a temporary unconventional lifestyle and a trip to Europe. Following this break in his life, Skinner attended Harvard University, where he managed to receive his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Psychology. He remained at Harvard, doing research, until 1936. He then took up a teaching position at the University of Minnesota. Here, he met his wife, Yvonne Blue. Their union bore two daughters, the youngest becoming famous in one Skinner’s experiments, the...

Company Analysis and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Company Analysis and Management - Essay Example Apple is best known for its smart phones which are said to be among the most intelligent in the world today. However, Apple deals with many other products which are equally valuable, (Apple 2012). These products include personal computers and software, (Cameron & Quinn, 2011). Apple is best known for the Mac line of computers that use the Macintosh operating system. The company also designs and sells iPads, iPod and iPhone. Its software products include iOS and OSX, (Hamilton & Webster, 2012). Other creativity suits are iWork and iLife, (Apple 2012). Apple is the most admired mobile phone company in the United States. It was formed in 1st April, 1976, (Cameron & Quinn, 2011). Its name was apple computers, Inc. but was later changed to Apple in 2007(Apple 2012). Apple is the most valuable company on the planet, (Hamilton & Webster, 2012). The success of the Apple Inc. depends on the political environment, just like any other organization. Apple Inc. is subject to legislation and laws of the country it operates in, (Hamilton & Webster, 2012). The economic policies of the country do affect Apple’s ability to conduct business and satisfy her shareholders. Unfavorable political environments and extreme laws can affect the performance of this American multinational company, (Cameron & Quinn, 2011). ... This should be done in a way that protects the company’s interests and the share holders, (Cameron & Quinn, 2011). To be able to achieve this, Apple has got a vibrant government and expenditure group that engages the government directly with the approval of the vice president of the company. This happens annually, (Apple 2012). The organization complies with all the applicable laws and regulations that impact on the productivity of the company, (Thompson & Martin, 2005). Under some of these laws, this American multinational cannot sponsor people political offices. Indeed, Apple is non partisan, (Apple 2012). Besides, the company exposes all its contributions to the political process for scrutiny, (Apple 2012). Apple- government engagement group engages the state officials on all issues that can affect the running of the company, (Hamilton & Webster, 2012). Apple is also committed to the cleanliness of the environment, (Ireland & Hoskisson, 2008). This involves reducing some of toxins in the air. Apple’s executive team is active in the implementation of environmental policies. Apple reports the impact of its products to the environment. Apple’s environmental team is advised by experts and is build upon wide consultations, (Apple 2012). For instance, in the year 2009, Apple became the first company in the field of electronics to report its environmental impact through its product, (Cameron & Quinn, 2011). This includes providing the necessary information and details that help empower the customers, (Ireland & Hoskisson, 2008). Apple has a climatic change strategy which is entrenched in its development and production processes. Apple has an entire ecosystem of new and emerging technologies. Apple is known for its technological innovations and cutting

Everett Rogers model Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Everett Rogers model - Article Example Rogers states that a successful behavior trait taking hold for successful companies is to develop business models to assess a strategy. These models provide change models expanding on issues such as "what", that provide a picture of the company now of analysis; and "which", that suggest alternative action paths for the company to take. Both of these models provide information to build a more complete picture of events within the business and options for future development. Managers should make use of these models and many don't. Those that do are more likely to be successful and have the ability to minimize risk of failure. Rogers also states that business managers who do are far more likely to survive. For planners and non-planners there is not a single universal technique that can be applied in all situations. Use of strategic planning models can be a very important behavior trait for successful companies. Companies that do not use strategic planning models usually don't because the model does not offer what the customer wants. It may be inadequate because of its analysis of the relationship between company resources and markets. These result in advice about overall investment decisions rather than about the specifics of how to manage the alternatives in the market/business relationship can be shortsighted, since there are always alternatives in order to gain the maximum competitive advantage. Since change is so an important aspect of business continuity, many models don't necessarily provide assiduous suggestions for what type of change should be considered."An example of modeling one such model in use by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) subdivides their profit centers into four main subdivisions. This breakdown does help in planning for strategic investment matters but it does not assist the planner in identifying a single product development proposal to investigate further from a number of alternatives. The matrix system comprises the following: 1) Stars, which are products generally with negative cash flow 2) Question marks, which are products with generally negative cash flows but with low relative market share in growing markets 3) Dogs, which are products unlikely to be generating substantial positive cash flows due to the fact that they are in slowly growing markets with low relative market shares 4) Cash cows, that are products that generating cash which have high relative market shares and are established in slowly growing markets." (Boston Consulting Group). BCG model like the previous statement in the above paragraph does not define the product enough and does not crea te opportunities to explore alternatives in which to improve profitability or market share.As The Boston Consulting Firm notes, "the growth concept is divided into five separate levels one being dominant, strong, favorable, tenable and weak and relates this to the stages of market development. The stages are embryonic, growing, mature, and aging, which produce a series of strategic guidelines for company development. The market growth concept provides valuable guidance about broad policies, replacing the concept of market attractiveness in the GE matrix with stages of market growth. A PLC (product life cycle) are frameworks for planning. It suggests that specific changes in product policy should