Critical Responce Essay Essay

A Sound of Thunder and Nethergrave were two both amazing Stories. I loved them both, but there was one story that stood out above the other. This one particular story was Nethergrave. Nethergrave was an amazing lit up story it literally caught my attention immediately, it was so interesting and good it caught my eye at the very beginning. A Sound of Thunder was also an amazing story but I loved Nethergrave a bit more because it was more of one of those stories that just grabbed my attention. The main thought in my head while I was reading A sound of Thunder was why is the story called A sound of thunder that thought just kept running thru my mind but when I got to finish it I understood it and It was a great story. Nethergrave was basically about a boy who Felt All Alone and just wanted somebody to talk to make jokes with and play around with and that is why he lied to his friends on the internet probably because he wanted them to think he was cool and not some skinny kid who had no friends at all. This story was a good learning experience for me because It can teach someone don’t be afraid to tell the truth even if someone cant except you for who you are that’s their loss because you are probably a great person. Jeremy knew that that other kids didn’t want to be his friends so he met some online friends and they were nice to him because they did not know about the real him and he didn’t know about the real them. Basically what the story is saying is be yourself and don’t lie to be accepted. This was an amazing story and I loved it.

Kubla Khan Essay

Born in 1772 in Ottery. St., T.S.Coleridge lead a very disquiet life in his early childhood. After his father’s death he was sent to the Christ’s hospital school. There he had felt a great emotional vacuum, which was the beginning of his continuos ill health. Charles Lamb, his schoolmate, gave us an account of this period affirming that Coleridge was highly imaginative, who sought refuge in reading old romantic tales as well as Homer, Virgil, and Shakespeare. Perhaps the most influential period in Coleridge’s life was the period when he met Wordsworth in 1795, after he had left Cambridge. It seemed that in the company of Wordsworth, Coleridge found the mental peace, security, and environmental harmony. This had resulted in the sudden flowering of his genius, a sudden release of his creative impulses, and he wrote â€Å"The Ancient Mariner†, â€Å"The Christable†, and â€Å"Kubla Khan†. Much about the composition and subject matter of â€Å"Kubla Khan† can be detected from Coleridge’s Preface to that poem: † This fragment with a good deal more, not recoverable, composed, in a sort of reverie brought on by two grains of opium taken to check a dysentery†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This fact raises the issue of the drug’s effect on the poet’s creative imagination. Early critics assumed that there was a direct and immediate correlation between opium and imagination. In 1934 M.H. Abrams declared that the â€Å"great gift of opium† to men like Coleridge â€Å"was to access to a new world as different from this one; and one which is ordinary mortal†. According to Elizabeth Schneider, opium can only work â€Å"on what is already there in a man’s mind and memory† and † if he already has a creative imagination and a tendency to† recall dreams and visions. Then opium may intensify and focus his perceptions. This last interpretation seems to be the most acceptable one, because this is what really happens to Coleridge. Before he began to dream he had been reading the following words of the same substance, in Purchas’s â€Å"Pilgrimage†: â€Å"Here the Khan Kubla commanded a palace to be built, and a stately garden thereunto. And thus ten miles of fertile ground were inclosed within a wall†. These words, it is quite apparent, formed the background upon which opium worked, encouraging Coleridge’s mind for imagination. The effect opium had on Coleridge’s mind manifests itself while examining the structure of the poem itself. It quite obvious that the third stanza is entirely different from the first two ones, as if was written by a human being whereas the other earlier stanzas seem to had been written by a demon or some divine hand. Coleridge himself confesses that he couldn’t revive the interrupted composition of the first two stanzas that were written under the influence of opium, and that when he returned to his writing â€Å"all the rest had passed away like images on the surface of a stream†. Perhaps that’s why we find it a fragmentary work, filled with strange, unusual imagery, and lacking a rational structure; its rhythms suggest a mind vacillating between conscious and unconscious modes of being. Matter of fact â€Å"Kubla Khan† is reliable to different levels of interpretation. First, the poem could be approached as a descriptive poem that shares the common beautiful characteristics and techniques of most romantic poets, especially when describing natural elements. Still Coleridge described the world of â€Å"Kubla Khan† in terms of the ancient Platonic idea of â€Å"Dualism†; where the world of material existence is described as the world of shadows, and the world of Ideals as the elevated one. Accordingly, â€Å"Kubla Khan† could be regarded as a beautiful expression of the poet’s longing for some ultimate beauty combining the work of man with those of nature and those of pure imagination; to resurrect lost archetypal worlds within the imagination. In this way the â€Å"pleasure dome† that has been established in fulfillment of the orders of the Tartar Prince can be regarded as an attempt to reach such an ideal world. That’s why the first stanza opens with a carefully constructed image of a walled garden containing â€Å"incense bearing trees† and forests enclosing â€Å"sunny spots of greenery†; a description that adds a paradisal spirit into the place Kubla has created. The ideal spirit and holiness of this world has been emphasized in a variety of expressions: in affirming that in this â€Å"stately pleasure dome did† †¦ Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea†¦ The sacredness of this world has been further affirmed by the fact that it is â€Å"girdled round† and protected from undesirable or unharmonious influences. This scene that has been described in the first stanza stands in contrast to the opening lines of the second stanza; where the poet’s â€Å"But† contrasts the planned classical artifact of Kubla with the romantic chasm; the birthplace of poetic genius and true creativity: But oh! That deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! Now the atmosphere is different: the rational order of the garden has been replaced by a scene outside the walls, which is â€Å"savage†, â€Å"wholly†, and â€Å"enchanted†. This natural scene is, indeed, a more perfect symbol of the reconciliation of oppositions in the world of imagination, thereby more eternal. In this stanza we are, also, introduced to the source of that sacred river- Alph- which is seen as symbolizing Plato’s theory of â€Å"Dualism† in terms of Man’s journey through life in search for the Ideal world: it flows from a mysterious source- (Man’s birth)- through â€Å"a mazy† course- (the complexities of life; poetically symbolized by the â€Å"mighty fountain† that â€Å"burst† small stones as if breathing)- to sink tumultuously into â€Å"a lifeless ocean†-(the sea of death). Between birth and death Man is overwhelmed by a dream of permanence- (the shadow cast by the dome of pleasure). This very last symbol has been developed in representing the dome in dream-like terms inaccessible to Man: It was miracle of rare devise, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! That’s to say the dome itself- by possessing sunny weather and caves of ice- represent a reconciliation of opposites which is impossible to human life. With the beginning of the third stanza the poem seems to take a new tern of thought. Now it gives us a vivid picture of a poet caught in a spell of poetic inspiration, who, once in a vision, saw an abyssinian maid playing on her dulcimer and singing of the wild splendor of mount Abora. At this point the poem becomes reliable to another level of interpretation. It is a poem about poetic creation. With this consideration in mind Kubla Khan, who caused a pleasure-dome and elaborated gardens to be constructed in Xanadu, is a type of the artist whose glorious creation becomes a balanced reconciliation of the natural and artificial. Similarly the poet enters the poem- using first person pronoun- in an attempt to establish his own dome. If only, Coleridge laments, he could â€Å"revive within† him the maid’s lost â€Å"symphony and song†, if only he could recapture the whole original vision instead of just a portion of it, then he would be able to establish â€Å"that dome in air† so that his witnesses would declare him to be divinely inspired and form a circle of worship around him. Being filled with â€Å"holy dread† they would cry:

Maximizing Profits in Market Structures Essay

Profits in Market Structures Market Structures are described as a particular relationship between the buyers and the sellers of goods and services in a specific market (Mathias, 2000). Three different types of market structures are competitive markets, monopolies, and oligopolies. Each of these market structures has a particular set of characteristics that identify it and separate it from the others. These categories are also separated by the way they each use pricing and output to calculate and maximize their profits. Another difference between these three categories is the presence of barriers, which may be present to encourage current companies to exit, as well as new comers to enter that market. Also, each of these three structures has a different effect on the economy, some having more control on the market than others. With all these differences the specific market structures all have one thing in common, they all rely on supply and demand to determine how to maximize their profits. Competitive markets have two primary characteristics that separate it from other market structures. The first characteristic is that, within a competitive market, there are a large number of buyers and sellers. Second is that the product being sold is the same among all companies, making the products completely interchangeable. These factors make the market competitive by insuring that no single buyer or seller can control the market price. Therefore, in order for companies within a competitive market to maximize profits, they must maintain an equilibrium between the price charged for a product and quantity that they produce. This means that a company must take the price being charged for a product and subtract the cost of making the product to figure out where they are equal. As the price of a product in a competitive market is controlled by the market as a whole, the seller must adjust its output to maintain maximum profits. This is important because the company’s revenue is in direct correlation with the price, so if the price goes up $1. 00 per unit then the revenue also will go up the same amount. For example, if a product has a fixed cost of $1. 0, and the variable cost of $3. 00 and the product sells for $5. 00 then the company has to adjust its output to balance that amount, so that it does not cost over $5. 00 for each product sold. One factor that can affect the output of a product, is the lack of barriers that are present for anyone wanting to begin or exit a company. If the amount of sellers change but the demand does not then current companies will need to decrease the output or risk the price dropping below the profitable levels. The competitive markets can have a positive impact on the economy because the competition helps control the cost of products. If there was little or no competition, then companies would have the ability to raise prices as high as they wanted to, especially in the case of items that are necessities (Mankiw, 2007). The characteristics of a monopoly are first, that there is only one company selling a product and there are no substitutions. Second, there is no competition, the product is exclusive to one company. Third, in a monopoly the company completely controls the pricing of its products and can charge as much as they believe a customer will pay (Mathias, 2000). In contrast to a competitive market, a monopoly can chose what to charge for its product. However, the price must be set according to what consumers are willing to pay, while still maintaining a profitable level of production. It is important to control the output of product so, the price must be set to where the company will still be able to sell a large amount of product while maximizing its profits . There are substantial barriers to entering a market that has a monopoly. One barrier is the inability to compete in the market that is controlled by one company. A small business starting out in completion with a large monopoly would incur substantial costs to begin production and they would have to increase their prices to make a profit. This could also be a problem if the monopoly holds the rights to the raw materials that it takes to make a product. Therefore, entering a market that is controlled by a monopoly is very difficult. However, it is possible for a market to be controlled by a small number of companies, similar to the way that a monopoly controls a market. The economic impact that monopolies have can be outrageous prices or limited availability of goods and services to many people (Mankiw, 2007). An Oligopoly is when a limited number of companies control a specific market, with little competition (Mathias, 2000). Some characteristics of an oligopoly are that the companies all make the same or similar items, so they are substitutable, and there are only a few companies that produce this good. As there are a limited amount of producers these oligopolies are also able to set the price of their goods, using things like advertisements and warranties for competition between businesses. Because there are only a few companies making a product the members of an oligopoly have to control the production of their goods in order to control the pricing. If one of the companies decides to increase production then there will be an abundance of supply without the necessary increase in demand. This means that the cost of the product will have to go down to try to increase demand. These companies have to maintain a steady level of output in order to maintain price, giving them the best profits. The companies that are in this small circle of businesses, try very hard to erect barriers in front of anyone who may think about entering their market. By stopping the emergence of new companies the oligopolies can continue to control the market. The affect that oligopolies have on the economy is the ability to control pricing and supply of products, similar to the impact that a monopoly has (Mankiw, 2007). In conclusion, each market structure plays a role in the economy with the focus of these companies centering on profits. They monopoly can be beneficial if the lowest price for consumers comes from having only on producer but in many cases a monopoly means high prices and limited supply. An oligopoly does have less control over pricing only because they are sharing the demand and antitrust laws prevent them from gathering together as one monopoly, to maximize profit. The competitive market is the most economically friendly market because it has to compete to get customers and this helps keep prices affordable and does not limit the availability of goods to the public.

Drect effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Drect effect - Essay Example The Court of Appeal referred two question to the ECJ and this are whether a different retirement age for men and women in breach of Directive 76/207 and if so whether Directive 76/207 to be relied on by Mrs. Marshall in the circumstances of the case. The Equal Treatment Directive 76/207, which is based not on Article 141 of the EC treaty but on the institutions general powers under Article 308 (ex 235), lays down the principle of equal treatment for men and women in Article 1(1). 1 (iii) The logic of this reasoning is that a Directive can only be invoked vertically, by an individual against the state, and not horizontally, by one individual against another, because individuals are not to blame for the non-implementation of the Directive. This view was EC law and national law confirmed in this case. In Marshall the issue of the horizontal effect of directives was, it seemed, finally laid to rest. In favour of horizontal effects is the fact that directives have always in fact been published, that Treaty provisions addressed to and imposing obligations on, MS have been held to be horizontally effective that it would be anomalous, and offend against the principle of equality. If an individual’s rights to invoke a directive were depend on the status, public or private, of the party against whom he wished to invoke it, that the useful effect of Community law would be weakened if individuals were not free to invoke the protection of Community law against all parties. Although ECJ imposed limitation on the HDE of directives, it also creates other strategies or ways to advance the domestic enforcement of these meaner which broadening the concept of state, indirect effect, incidental horizontal effect and state liability. However, the ECJ is expanding the concept of public sector in the case law and thus including more individual capable of protection of community law [Johnson v RUC2 and Foster v British Gas3] Part b) (i) The

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business Case Study

Bargaining Power And Strategic Management In Business - Case Study Example Suppliers would have low bargaining power as they risk losing the account of one of their largest customers if the client is not satisfied by the terms offered. With many suppliers being present in the industry, it would be very easy for asos.com to switch suppliers thus weakening the position of suppliers in the market. Bargaining Power of Customers Asos.com is heavily reliant on the internet as its main channel of distribution. It does not have a presence as a traditional brick-and-mortar store and thus needs to target a young, fashion-conscious market segment and provide them with an interactive, pleasurable online shopping experience in order to drive sales. Secondly, the number of internet buyers in the UK has increased tremendously and with internet access spreading and the number of retailers offering online services also increasing at a fast pace, customers have more options to seek out the bet prices and switch firms, thus providing them with significant buying power over fi rms and minimizing the risk of exploitation. Fashion retailing being very concentrated in nature and the fact that asos.com does not have any differential advantage over its rivals suggests that the industry is highly competitive and customers exert a lot of influence over firms in the industry and dictate buying patterns. The threat of New Entrants A quick look at the group profits tells us that the industry is a highly attractive one and opportunity seekers will find it quite a lucrative industry to enter into. Thus profitability might eventually decrease if the number of players operating in the market increases further. However, it must be noted that customer loyalty, access to distribution, achieving economies of scale and capital requirements might present significant barriers to entry.

Microbes and Us Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Microbes and Us - Essay Example Perhaps Agaricomycetes are the largest and oldest individuals in any groups of organisms, and they include the largest fruiting bodies in fungi (PÃ ¶ggeler & WÃ ¶stemeyer, 83). Armillaria gallicajkb generate average-sized mushrooms though their mycelial networks have been approximated to cover areas up to 15 hectares. According to Miller et al. (26), Agricomycetes serve as decayers, parasites, pathogens and mutualistic symbionts for both animals and plants. They create their widest ecological effects via their activities like wood-decayers and ectomycorrhizal symbionts of forest trees. Agaricomycetes are extensive in nearly all terrestrial ecosystems, and a few have secondarily returned to aquatic habitats. Miller et al. (31) asserts that Agaricomycetes have a lifecycle similar to that of Basidiomycota. These fungi are nearly usually filamentous, with no yeast phase. Nevertheless, yeasts are produced by some agaricomycetes that are cultivated in an underground fungus gardens by attine ants in the neotropics. The hyphae are divided by septa which are infiltrated by a barrel-shaped dolipore that is bordered by membrane-bound parenthesomes in filamentous form. A dikaryotic mycelium is the dominant stage in the lifecycle although stable diploids have been reported in Armillaria. In some species, dikaryotic and monokaryotic mycelia have been shown to generate asexual spores though asexual forms are obviously not as extensive as in the Ascomycota. Mushrooms are multicellular fruiting bodies generated by dikaryotic mycelia under conducive. There are many forms of mushrooms including puffballs, crustlike resupinate, bracket fungi, and coralloid forms. The basis for the 19thC classification of Agaricomycetes and other fungi was gross morphology of fruiting bodies. The Friesian taxa are no longer viewed as natural entities although these groups remain essential for grouping fruiting body forms and they are emphasized in numerous essential field guides

Apple Inc. Current market conditions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Apple Inc. Current market conditions - Essay Example The firm is estimated to have the majority of the smart phone market with the main competitors being the Research in Motion of Canada, Samsung of North Korea and the upcoming Huawei of China. On its launch of the Smartphone, the firm was able to sell over ten million units within a month which was a record not only for the firm’s product sales but also for the market. New version of the same product has been very successful with million units in sales made for each new version which is after every two years. Apple has proved to the world that it is a future firm and that it is here to stay. This has to do with its history of innovation and surprising the consumers with new products just when the customers thought they had everything there is to have in the electronics industry. Generally, Apple is a successful company with a growing future. Though it faces threats such as competition from other providers in its line, it stands a better chance for success due to opportunities a nd market venture it has not touched. Law of diminishing demand Mentioning of recent or upcoming purchases of cars and computers suggests a strong consumer demand for the commodities. The confidence of consumers is measured by Consumer Confidence Index (CCI). Consumers’ confidence shows the optimism of the consumers on the economy. This can easily be expressed in their saving and spending activities (Barnes, 2012). Household surveys are carried out every month about the ongoing conditions and the expectations of the future regarding the United States economy. Data is available by age, region, and income for consumer attitudes and buying intentions. A healthy economy means consumers are willing to spend their money. The CCI is calculated from data gathered from 5000 households every month. Five questions are asked in the survey and each question is given a relative value. The values are calculated and compared against a benchmark value that was calculated in 1985. The 1985 ben chmark value is as is because that is when the CCI was first calculated. From the results, an index value is obtained for each of the five questions. The average index values of the questions are obtained and forms the consumer confidence index. Consumer spending is very imperative to a countries’ financial health. Consequently, the CCI is closely and accurately watched economic indicator. Changes of below 5% are usually said to be inconsequential. On the other hand, changes of 5% and above show very strong change in the direction of economy (Barnes, 2012). Competitors and the market While Apple is a leader in the industry, this does not mean that the firm does not have competition. The main competition is from Research in Motion who is the manufacturers of yet another market leading Smartphone, Samsung, which is a Korean electronics manufacturer that is catching up very quickly with the American manufacturers and finally Huawei which is a Chinese mobile communication devise manufacturers who have recently entered the market for Smartphone (Russolillo, 2012). Huawei especially offers a very different kind of competition because apart from having the advantage of the Asian cheap labour from china, it has a very keen focus on manufacturing low cost Smartphone and have entered into strategic coalitions with such giants as Google and a number of mobile phone operators in the world. The

Potential Computer Application Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Potential Computer Application - Essay Example Amazon.com, e-bay are few of the notable sites that deal in such businesses and are world renowned (Dave, 2008). Many a times, it is being said that the threats arise at the end nodes; however the threats are still equally potent even if they do not penetrate the system across the medium. The e-commerce setup largely consists of three components, the server, the I.P section and the client section. Clients are usually the soft targets for the hackers. Security breaches have taken place in history of e-commerce in case of Yahoo and E-bay.com trading and have resulted in large amount of financial damages as well as loss of trust of customers. Code Red Warm, The NIMDA, are few of the threats and experienced by Microsoft in recent past where private data was at direct threat (Whitman & Mattord, 2007). Various other threats include viruses and Trojan horses. Denial of service (D.O.S) is a common term in the world of e commerce and is another menace towards the smooth and reliable operation s in the world of online businesses. The need is to install vendor patches in order to minimize the impact of denial of service intrusions. This along with providing the customers more security n form of protecting their SSN numbers, and most importantly enable encryption mechanism on the transactions performed by the customers (Marchany & Tront, 2002). Installation of firewalls can minimize the entry of undesired elements, and would limit the interaction to only authenticated customers and the parent companies. Encryption in shape of digital signatures and secret keys are small efforts that can make a large difference. Privacy issues about RFID have received extensive attention. Discuss how to protect privacy in electronic society. RFID, acronym for radio frequency identification technique, is largely in use nearly all business centers and malls as well as industries. Their use is not just limited to the commercial applications; rather it is being used in military equipments as wel l. It has reduced the manual work and through the computerized data storing, has added large value to various components of the system. However, of late numbers of issues have popped up during its use. The issues come in various forms and they are believed to be able to trace the customer even after they have left the premises of the mall just because of the tag that is embalmed on the product (Dempsey, 2010) .Other issues concerning this technology include the compatibility in terms of universal handling and the factor of various proprietary bodies that have created further obstacles by restricting its use. With efforts in place for globalization of RFID based on unique numbers, it could further hamper the security factor since the standardization may lead to tracing of other important numbers like credit card and social security numbers. In terms of the supply chain and various industries, it is being believed that the RFID tags can enable getting the information about the interna l components of the supply chain which is otherwise strongly held from other organizations and competitors. On the application front, the possibility of jamming of the particular frequency at which RFID operates, can result in halting of entire system which can be least afforded in the field of medical and military

Linguistic journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Linguistic journal - Essay Example Among the reasons are rapid mutation of Danish phonology over the last five decades, children’s ability to learn written English enhanced as a result of absorbing spoken Danish during childhood, the fact that modern Danish language is more mumbled than spoken, and omnipresence of English language in Danish advertisements. Noticing all these signs led Raymond to the conclusion, â€Å"The overall picture I got of Danish was of a language in an extreme stage of phonological degeneration, extremely divergent from its written form, and functionally unnecessary to many of its younger speakers† (Raymond). Raymond then talks about how Maltese language has evolved into Maltenglish over the passage of time, and how he suspects that Danish language will soon become an ethno-tribal museum artifact. It is true that English is a very popular language in Denmark. Popular opinion also holds that almost all Danes speak and understand English at least as well as they do Danish. The reasons Raymond has noted for his suspicion about degeneration of the Danish language are indeed quite weighty. When a language rapidly evolves and changes in phonology in a matter of few decades, it is an alarming sign for its degeneration. One reason for the transition from Danish to English language is that both languages are similar in terms of alphabets, and grammar to an extent. An even more important reason for suspecting degeneration of Danish language is that it is spoken, written, and understood by a very small population based in Denmark whereas English is a much more popular and widely spoken, written, and understood language. Danish language is also very complicated compared to English, not in the way that languages are traditionally complicated. Even more than grammar, it is the pronunciatio n of words in the Danish language that makes it so difficult to speak and

Personal and Professional Development Assignment - 1

Personal and Professional Development - Assignment Example The hotel is close to the Crystal Palace Theme Park Maze and is ideal for guests, who wish to â€Å"explore London† and it has â€Å"easy and fast transport† facilities to the city (Queens Hotel Crystal Palace London, 2013). Usually, visitors to London include businesspersons as well as tourists and the guests in the hotel are from the upper middle class group. Being from the educated, upwardly mobile segment, they expect very high quality of service. They also include people from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and speak different languages. Though most of them speak good English, we often have guests from France, Germany, and South Korea etc who do not like to speak the language. I am somewhat comfortable with French and German but I do not know Korean. However, we have some staff from Asian countries and thus they are able to handle guests who do not speak English. The hotel has a good restaurant that serves multi cuisine and it is popular among many Londoners. It also has a bar and banquet hall. The hotel always has over 60 percent occupancy and it is rated over 4.8 in commercial sites. Thus, overall the quality expectation of the customers is quite high. Task-1 A. Benefits of Self-Managed Learning to Individuals/Organizations and Various Approaches to It: Employees can benefit from self-managed learning by acquiring higher qualifications that will enable them to handle their jobs better. Thus, they can earn promotions or be selected for higher positions in the same company that require higher qualifications. Besides, people who engage in self-managed learning become more confident and will be able to â€Å"solve problems on their own† (Beitler, 2005, Ch.4 p.8). Therefore, employees who pursue learning even after they are settled in a job will be able to update their knowledge and skills and will perform well in the respective job positions. This will increase their productivity and they will be able to receive all the b enefits that management offers to high performing individuals. In the modern day, with the advent of technology, various changes occur in the workplace and employees need to remain abreast of the developments. Continued self-managed learning or lifelong learning will enable them to acquire knowledge in technology and communication. From an organizational perspective, self managed learning will be highly beneficial as such individuals will be developing their learning without much liability or risk on the part of the company. Acquiring of knowledge by employees will enable them to be better motivated and it becomes advantageous to the organization as such individuals will be able to perform better in the assigned position. This will automatically increase the productivity and profitability of the company. However, evidence suggests that it is better to have a written learning agreement as it will help the employee remain focused and, besides, by incorporating it into the performance appraisal system, the organisation will attain better capability to â€Å"promote, reward, capture, and benefit from individual learning† (Beitler, 2005, Ch.4 p.11). In the modern world, technology offers a wide range of approaches for self managed learning in an organisational environment. In order to determine the right approach one should be able to identify and prioritise the â€Å"

Hybrid Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hybrid - Movie Review Example It is natural for human to seek for beauty, and it is impossible without designing work. It is preferable to sit, for example, on not only comfortable and quality chair, but also on that one that looks good and makes feel that it is aesthetically well done. A home can be compared to a machine to see whether it is possible to adjust it just the same way like a machine. This will of customization leads to further creativity in such matters as the furniture location, the wallpapers color and pattern, the carpets and other pieces of interior, which is impossible without imagination and, consequently, designing work. The desire for customization, optimization and rationalization may lead to some extravagant ideas that can be understood incorrectly or even fail. The ideas of Bauhaus survived both ways: one of them failed, others lived up till today. Based upon information received about this project, the conclusion is that the best idea of a home, and the life at all, is to rationally combine the desire for beauty, the design, and pragmatism, the desire to rationalize and make the things more

Ipl Teams Essay Example for Free

Ipl Teams Essay IPL 2012 with lot of expectations and fanfare is just about to roll out in a few days and as the history of this version of cricket shows, in the country which is now called to be the Mecca of cricket, IPL with its star lit, glamour rapped extravaganza is likely to become the talk of the time. This year after the heavy crash of Indian squads fighter jet in Australia, there had been a sudden drop of public interest in cricket but once the news of the auction of the players reached the media, the cricket fever started to spread. This mega tournament made the T20 version of cricket hugely popular across various cricket playing nations. This year there have been a lot of changes in the squads of the teams. Here we would provide IPL 2012 team overview with a brief introduction to the teams. Chennai Super Kings As the champion of previous year IPL 2012 and as the most consistent team in the short history of the tournament, there is a huge expectation level for this squad. Except the presence of a number of good cricketers there are some of the big names of the world cricket are in this team like, Michael Hussey, Mohender Singh Dhoni, Muthia Murlitharan, Scott Styris and Suresh Raina. Mumbai Indians It is the most starlit team in the IPL 2012 team overview. If India is now considered as the global centre of world cricket, Mumbai is the Mecca of Indian cricket and for all the past versions of the tournament this team consistently shown some extraordinary brilliance and though it still could not be the champion, for number of times it aroused immense expectations of making it to the top. Sachin Tendulkar as unarguably the greatest batsman in the history of the game belongs to this team with a host of great players like, Harbhajan Singh, Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Andrew Symonds, Michell Johnson, Harshell Gibbs and Robin John Peterson. It has probably the biggest fanfare among the participant squads. Kolkata Knight Riders This squad should be characterized as the most under-performing team in the IPL 2012 team overview. Though there had always been huge expectations from this team from the debut tournament to the last version, this team made almost a reputation of under-performing in regard to the ability and potential of the team squad. This team is one of the most star crowded as it is having a great number of bigwigs and promising stars of the game like, Gautam Gambhir, Brett Lee, Jacques Kallis, Brad Haddin, Eoin Morgan, Yusuf Pathan, Shane Bond, Shakib Al Hasan, Mark Boucher and Iqbal Abdullah. Delhi Daredevils This is a team which has been well known in the history of IPL as a great starter and in all the versions of IPL it had to quit without making up to the final. This team got some of the finest players both in the departments of bowling and batting. With Virender Sehwag, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Irfan Pathan and the costliest player of the tournament Ravindra Jadeja, this team has the potential to make to the pinnacle of glory. Kings xi Punjab This year Kings XI Punjab is expected to produce some stunning cricket extravaganza with a promising squad comprising some great players like the electrifying stylish batting legend Adam Gilchrist, David Hussey, Ryan Mclaren, Piyush Chawla and Shaun Marsh. Decan Chargers This team has a great ability of showing some great performances when repeated defeats just come close to make the teams future written off and with shocking brilliance it had changed the fate of many teams when everything started to look as predictable. With the likes of great players like, Kumar Sangakara, Kevin Petersen, Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ojha this team is capable to cause many upsets . Royal Challengers Bangalore This squad is made of some of the great youthful players and can produce a lot of wonderful performances with the presence of players like, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Mohammad Kaif, Tilakratne Dilshan, Daniel Vettori, Virat Kohli and Zaheer Khan. Pune Warriors This year the team got the old time heavy weight and former indian captain Sourav Ganguly. Though the team would heavily feel the absence of the big hitter and classy batter Yuvraj Singh, the team is capable of producing some brilliance performances with the presence of Graeme Smith, Jesse Ryder, Michell Marsh and Rahul Sharma. Rajasthan Royals This team is always reputed to have shown some great examples of fighting spirit. After the recent retirement from the international cricket Rahul Dravid as the new captain of the squad is expected to have some extra zeal to produce a memorable performance as a classy batsmen and his cool captaincy can prove to be an asset for the team. It has a great bowling line up with the presence of stalwarts like Shane Warne, Shaun Tait and Shane Watson and also a great line up of players with promising batsmen and all-rounders like Faiz Fazal, Jacob Oram and Ross Taylor. IPL 2012 team overview made one point clear that this year the tournament is going to experience more balance in the performance of the teams because of the presence of good number of international level of players in every team.

The Marketing Of Haier In Europe

The Marketing Of Haier In Europe Abstract In todays business world filled with kinds of opportunities, competitions and challenges, marketing is playing a more and more important role. Correspondingly, marketing strategy and marketing mix are also more and more crucial for a company to enter a certain market and to sell products, no matter it is a domestic or transnational one; meantime, they are also beneficial to take market share if used effectively. The Haier Group, with Haier Europe is a classic example that makes full use of the marketing strategy and marketing mix to achieve its marketing goals. The focus of this dissertation lay in the exploration of the marketing strategy and marketing mix of Haier Europe, of solutions to its current difficulties in launching their product portfolios there and of the implementation of its tactics in Europe. Section One Introduction As a professional tool used to analyze the market, understand customers, and present a product or a service to the potential benefits of customers thus persuading them to accept and buy it (Steinberg, 2005, p1), marketing is by no means common. In the right hands, it can be unlimited-powerful. This dissertation purposed to explore the marketing strategy and marketing mix of Haier Europe. On the base of datas collected, Haier is still struggling with many difficulties in launching their product portfolios there. In addition, it has entered the crucial strategic periodGlobal Branding. How to cope with current problems and to establish its tactics in Europe? The dissertation also aims to seek appropriate solutions to this pending issue. In terms, Haier, as a famous Chinese company incorporating in 1984 and a domestic who dare to go abroad, Haier performs remarkably in the respect of marketing. Since the 1990s, it has differentiated into related white, black and beige goods (Bell, 2008, p157). As Chinas ambassador to appliance stores worldwide, now Haier is the worlds 2nd largest white goods manufacturer making appliances under more than 90 product categories. Today, Haier is exporting its goods and selling them in more than 160 countries and regions such as North America, Europe and the Middle East etc.. After its first entering through Germany, now Haier is well-known in Europe, including United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden, where it obtained revenues of US ¼Ã¢â‚¬Å¾136m. In Europe, Haier target at the high-end market, and carried out its trilogyseeding, rooting and harvesting to create the localization of Haier brand (CRI online, 2004). The products Haier sells in Europe are refrigerators, freezers, top-load washing machines, home air conditioners, water heaters, microwave ovens, dishwashers, television sets, computers and cell phones (Haier Official Website, 2010). Even more important, having advanced through the Brand Building, Diversification and Internationalization stages, Haier has embarked on its fourth stageGlobal Branding. It makes meaningful sense to study its marketing strategy. This paper encompasses three sections with section II consisting of three sub-sections. In this paper, after some theories about marketing explained firstly, the current situation of European retail electrical equipment market will be identified, followed by a analysis about both the internal and external environmental factors facing Haier; then it will demonstrate the marketing strategy and marketing mix of Haier Europe; finally, from the perspective of a real-world business, some rational recommendations for Haier Europe will also be made. Section Two Literature Review Baker et al(1998) concluded that marketing is both a concept and a practice having important implications for the adoption and implementation of market thinking, and also an approach to exchange relations which drives and informs the strategies of every organization. Here some marketing theories, including the PEST, the Porters Five, the SWOT, the ANSOFF and Marketing Mix should provide a sound conceptual basis. There would be a lot of unexpected risks and challenges if it is carried out without a full understanding of the market. So firstly, comprehensive insights into the present condition, even the medium-to-long developing trends of an industry, say three to ten years ahead, is needed. To review and exploit the broader environment, it can draw support form a PEST analysis and the Five-Force Model. PEST typically refer to by its acronym, for the types of elements it involves: political, economic, sociocultural and technological, all of which are likely to have large or small effects on the organizations ability to achieve competitive advantages at some stage over the next few years (Sargeant and Jay, 2004, p175). This framework can be useful to forecast the changes that may have environmental influences on a firm. Some examples of changes the four subenvironments will lead to are given in Figure 2.1. However, the PEST analysis should be combined with the Five-Force Model, which analyses t he structure of an industry or market segment, from the viewpoint of its attractiveness to a player already in the industry (Faulkner and Bowman, 1995, p37). Porter(1980) depicted the five competitive forces operating in an industry and together affecting the extent of competition or the potential profitability of that industry as follows: à ¢- Competitive rivalry amongst existing firmsrepresents the competitive behaviors, which can be done using price cuts, product design, promotional campaigns or other weapons between established companies making similar products or selling them in the same market (Hill and Jones, 2009, p46). à ¢- The barriers to new entrantswhen bringing additional capacity, new firms must compete with those existing ones to hold a foothold or to gain a market share, especially when demand for the industrys products does not rise to match the increased capacity that entry has caused. à ¢- The bargaining power of buyersthey may enhance their bargaining power no matter powerful or weak (Peng, 2008, p42). à ¢- The bargaining power of suppliersto raise prices or reduce the quality of their inputs (Peng, 2008, p41). à ¢- The threat from substitute products or servicesplaying the same or the similar function as an industrys products by different means, and the threat it conceal may be downstream or indirect (Porter, 2008, 17). Political GATT Monopolies legislation Environmental protection laws Taxation policy (Foreign) trade regulations Employment law Government stability European integrationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Economic Business (or trade) cycle GNP trends Interest rates Money supply Inflation Unemployment Disposable income Energy availability and costà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Socio-cultural Population demographics Income distribution Social mobility Lifestyle changes Attitudes to work and leisure Consumerism Levels of educationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Technological Government spending on research Government and industry focus of technological effort New discoveries Speed of technology transfer Rates of obsolescerceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Figure 2.1 The PEST factors Source: Faulkner, D. and Bowman, C. (1995). Competitive Strategy. Pp.61 Another model here must be noted is the SWOT analysis, however, it has many overlapping points with the Porters Five. SWOT is a planning exercise in which managers recognize a organizations strengths(S), weaknesses(W), opportunities(O) and threats(T) to select the corporate-, business-, functional-level strategies to best position the organization (Jones and George, 2004, p151). Strengths are skills and capabilities that enable, while weaknesses hinder an organization to conceive of or implement its strengths, yet both of which it has some control over; opportunities are areas that may generate higher performance, while threats increase difficulties, and both of them are beyond the organizations control (Griffin, 2007, p67-68). Then Ansoff Matrix, a version in which strategies are often shown, is used to formulate basic product and market growth strategies,. Ansoff defines two key factors for marketingwhat is being sold and what it is sold to (Stone, 2001, p50-51). What can be inferred is that a businesss attempts to grow rely on whether it is marketing new or existing products in new or existing market (Fasnacht, 2009, p19). It gives a company four alternative actions when launching marketing (reference to Figure 2.2):. Same product, new market Market Extension Same product, same market Marketing Penetration New product, new market Diversification New product, same market Product Development Ma Figure 2.2 The Ansoff Matrix: risks increase with movement away from cuccent activities. Source: Faulkner, D. and Bowman, C. (1995). Competitive Strategy. Pp.80 à ¢- Marketing Penetration is referred to selling a existing product or increasing its existing share in the existing market to facilitate further growth; à ¢- Market Extension is a strategy to seek to extend an existing product into a new market; à ¢- Product Development aims to offer new products or modifying existing products into the existing market; à ¢- Diversification means to enter an existing market with related or unrelated products that are totally unconnected with the market, that is to say, to enter a new market (Stone, 2001, p50-51). Last, Marketing Mix to be worked out. It indicated all the parts which will be emphasized in an organizations promotional message, traditionally this has been defined in commercial marketing by the 4Ps Model (Products, Price, Promotion and Place) (Bush and Bell, 2002, p249). The Product is comprised of decisions about the products design, brand name, package and the like. The Price is concerned with both base price and various discount (Pride et al, 2009, p348). The Promotion focus on plans and programmes that drive demands, interests and actions and communicate to customers or potential ones. The Place should portray the productss intended movement to the end customers and avoid any latent conflicts or confusions (Haines, 2008, p403-404). A firm can vary its marketing mix by changing one or more of elements, for example, it may use one marketing mix to reach a particular target market and different mix to reach another, anyway, the most principle is to keep a balance across and betw een all marketing mix elements. Section Three Analysis and Discussion 3.1 Haier and European Retail Electrical Equipment Market Unlike in the US, where Haier America is in charge of all functions and sells full products portfolio under one roof. In Europe, Haier had established a bunch of different sales offices: Haier Europe Trading, based in Italy, sell Haier white goods into Europe; Haier Electronic Europe is responsible for Haier audio-video and mobile phones; Haier A/C Europe trade Haier air conditioners through separate subsidiaries located in Spain, Italy and UK (Bell, 2008, p183). Undoubtedly, this makes Haier Europes operations relatively dispersed, which scattered consumerss holistic and unified impression on it. At the same time, owing to European markets global marketing segmentation, the presence of more than 100 competitors making the appliance industry in the market is highly fragmented and highly competitive (Keegan, 2001, p191). Haier has to face the threats not only from those famous such as U.S. brands General Electric, Whirlpool and Asian Sony and Samsung etc., but also from the domestic m anufacturers like Changhong and Hisense, particularly the U.S. brands. European remains the largest buyer of American-made electrical machinery and parts (Black Enterprise, 1989, 172). However, there rarely exist comparison behaviors among the European electrical equipment consumers; in the case of some German middle-class families, they just enjoy the televisions, model and style of which are both common. So their custom that do not chase fashion form the unique features of European home appliances market (Sina, 2005). 3.1.1 External Environment Factors of Haier in Europe PEST analysis can help to develop a view of the external opportunities and threats(OT) facing Haier Europe (Henry, 2008, p61). Firstly, the political influence. No matter how multinational corporations is transnational, it can not really step over the country-of-origin issue. As far as Europeans are concerned, Haier Europe is still a Chinese company. With a series of overseas mergers and acquisitions, Haier is going toward to the internationalization, but it suffers interference from the host countries, who use government power to intervene in the foreign businesss mergers and acquisitions to domestic enterprises, or setting a variety of political obstacles to ensure the foreign players do not obtain a dominant position or abuse their market share thus protecting domestic enterprises, political and economic security (Arup, 2002, p75). For instance, both the bank and government would intervene to protect German firms from foreign takeovers (Safarian, 1993, p326). Haiers increasingly e xpanded M A make European countries shocked even panic, and they throw great difficulties in the achievement of Haiers internationalization. Secondly, as the most direct as well as the strongest category, economic affect the costs of the operation and the purchases of potential customers (Waters, 2006, p208). With uncertainty about employment prospect, many customers postponed purchasing decisions, or cut out some types of spending. Even though Kahn, the president of the IMF once said, European economy began to pick up at the end of 2009 and its economic recession will not last too long; in 2009 the global economy is expected to grow at an average rate of 3% , and the European economy at 0.2% (European Economic Rebound and Industry Raise Input, 2009). The economic slump may continue for some time, which is also a not small test to Haier. However, ongoing gratifying economic globalization and liberalization created more marketing opportunities, encouraging Haier to reap the benefits of emerging markets to achieve globalization and internationalization (Kumar, 2006, p38-39), and Haier Europe has started to increase investme nt. Meantime, the socio-cultural influence. Today every customer is driven by both the trends in society and the need to comply with the norms of various social groups to which they belong. With the advocacy of low-carbon economy in recent years, energy-saving and environmental-friendly have become important criterion to select home appliances. There have been more and more people, who are not necessarily deep green willing to allow this to influence their decision-making when buying an appliance, especially Europeans who has perceived the environmental protection as a public issue long ago and made environmental protections roots in varied areas (Wenk, 2005, p9-10), they look more favorably on green home appliances. This also urged Haier Europe to be green to meet their green demand, which become a selling point in the European market. Last but not the least, the impact of technology to home appliance industry is tremendous. Adopting new technologies or automaton for improving productivity and cost effectiveness is regarded as opportunities (Kumar, 2006, p38-39). For Haier, to defeat those competitors, a crucial is to keep up with the pace of science and grasp the most updated technology to create the most advanced products. 3.1.2 Internal Environment Factors of Haier in Europe Haiers internal strengths and weaknesses(SW) can be clarified by following the Five Force Model (Henry, 2008, p61). Haier has hard-won scale strengths (Harvard Business Review on Emerging Markets, 2008, p77), which is by no means just confined to sight and sound (Jinsheng Yi and Xian Ye, 2003, 8). They are mainly reflected in the following aspects: à ¢- Brand Strength After several decades of efforts, the reputation of Haier brand has increased significantly. In 2009, the value of Haier brand was as high as 81.2 billion (Lead, 2009). For most European consumers, Haier is their most trusted brands, which is the strongest strength of Haier. Meanwhile, its brand tend to reduce rivalry since they emphasize differentiation, and establish at least psychological switching costs for the consumers if they are to move to a different brand (Faulkner and Bowman, 1995, p42). à ¢- Products Strength Haier accounted its corporate strength in customer-tailored product and innovation speed, which will enhance its performance in future (Bell, 2008, p157). Among its various products, Haiers refrigerators and washing machines are world-class. In Europe, where quality and feature are top priorities among consumers, Haier is committed to manufacturing specific products and its tag line is Haier and Higher (McNally, 2007, p90). Haier strictly pay attention to manufacturing skills, technical progress and product quality all the time. à ¢- Service Strength Haier sets the benchmark of from in-store services to after-sales service. It is known that uniformed personnel of Haier offering on-site service will show up in less than 24 hours after a customer require services, with all necessary tools including a pair of socks not to dirty the ground of customers (Hexter et al, 2007, p137). It is Haiers intimate service that contribute to its success, which is also one of its core competitiveness. Haier has always adhere to the creed of users first and believes that brand is created, promoted, maintained and developed by high-quality service. à ¢- Channel Strength Haier was acknowledged to have the best and the most strict distribution system and sales force (Williamson, 2004, p47). Haier adopt personalized marketing according to the characteristics of different consumers. According to different channels, Haier Europe work out targeted policies and provide different support. However, Haier also has been fully aware of its weakness from early days, which can be analyzed with the Porters Five. à ¢- Competitive rivalry amongst existing firms Porter(1980) listed the the slow growth of or declining demand will create further intensification of competitiveness. It is true that the weedy recession and economic hardships the financial crisis swept inevitably overshadow European consumers attitudes, as well as their ability and willingness to consume. While the original competition in European home appliance industry has already made the rivalry intense. It can not be denied that the high-end market in Europe are still occupied by those real international brands such as Whirlpool, Panasonic etc., although Haier has always targeted at the high-end market, factly it still lack the appeal, the influence and the persuasion at local. The competition Haier face is unprecedented fierce and volatile. à ¢- The barriers to new entrants As counterparts learns more through technology, they are able to reduce costs, make better products, get more flexibility or expand their product range to suit different kinds of customers. So over time competition within the industry is likely to increase, as more entries are attracted to rush. They may try to outmanoeuvre the existing ones by cutting down prices or offering value-added features or quality or service, thus it also probably lower the overall level of profitability in the existing industry (Asch and Wolfe, 2001, p44). à ¢- The bargaining power of buyers According to Campbell(2002), the bargaining power of buyers will be accordingly more considerable if fewer they are. Now with many Europeanss consumer confidence declining, they have been more willing to buy cost-effective products but willingness to pay extra cost for a brand greatly reduced, which weakened the market competitiveness of Haier as a brand. Moreover, even though Haier Europes products are manufactured and sold in local market, most of their design work is still done in China, which may also affect the Europeans perceptions of Haiers products to a certain extent (Temporal, 2006, p89). à ¢- The bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers of Haier are those who provide inputs such as capital, material, special manpower, services and so on. Now Haier still remain highly dependent on foreign key components and technologies, such as high-performance electronic-motors, compressors, controllers and so on (Bell, 2008, p171). Lacking its own core technology, Haier is forced to rely on those suppliers offering technology and result in its bad situation. à ¢- The threat from substitute products or services Haier is a comprehensive home appliance manufacture making a wide range of products, and energy need to be put in each category, whether it is small or huge. So compared with those who specializes in just one aspect, Haiers specialization would be unavoidably challenged. What is equally important, Crum and Goldberg(1998) suggest that the threats to a focal company may derive from not only the firms giving customers equivalent alternatives, but also those applying new technology, new materials or even new methods of running a business. Despite of increasing R ¼Ã¢â‚¬  D efforts, Haiers lack of technological patent in developed markets is still serious (Bell, 2008, p171). 3.2 Marketing Strategy of Haier in Europe Haiers marketing strategy in Europe, known as a pivotal part of its internationalization strategy, aims at positioning the company as a local brand there (Wankel, 2009, p325). In the procedure of its Global Brand, Haier experienced a magnificent practice, which was also forward-looking and transformative. Any industry has its fixed period, so does the household appliances industry. After full development of competition, the space to further grow decreased sharply and the market has fell fall into a state of relative saturation. What is worse, due to currently existing homogenization among household appliances enterprises, senseless rounds of price wars overwhelmed, declining the expected profits. Now one most pressing problem facing Haier is determined by its overall strategic positioningwhether to hope the future value space of home appliances industry can slowly grow and continue to dedicate energies on it, or to further extend its industry chain to create a multi-products enterprises to avoid the natural-cycle issue of the appliance industry. This is a process that need prudent decisions-making. Combining with the Ansoff Matrix, Haiers risks and corresponding actions are discussed. As can be seen from the Figure 2.2, the lowest risk option is to continue to sell the same products into the existing market, or to attempt to grow by internal development. Unsatisfactory, the household appliance industry market has been saturated and the demand of the product obsolescent or at least decline, such a strategy may not realize acceptable results for Haier Europe. Then next options to be considered are to supply a new product to the current market, or to market the present product to a new market (Faulkner and Bowman, 1995, p80). Of course, the risk to bear will also ascend to a certain extent. In general, the above three options are most common and relatively insurance for Haier Europe. Only in few exceptional contexts should the option to market an unfamiliar product to an unfamiliar market be thought over. As the business is moving into a market which it has little even no experience in, the potential risks are excessively high. Having weighing the affordable risks an d the effects of each strategy, Haier Europe draw up the following-described marketing actions: à ¢- to penetrate the marketas the core strategy, Haier make greater marketing efforts to increase the makret share of its existing products. In accordance with the sequence from low to high, brand divided into the cheap brand, the economy brand, the standard brand, the high-performance brand, the high-quality brand and the luxury one (China Marketing, 2008, p96-98). When first entering Europe, Haier has declared its goal as to occupy the high-end market, meaning that it has abandoned the cheap and the economy brand. However, compared to the luxury goods, the appliance has no obvious features and group properties, so it still belong to the general category of consumer products; and lack particularity and competitive advantages. So for Haier who position its core business in the home appliance industry, the luxury market is not its target. Therefore, Haier has taken efforts to become a dominance in the standard, high-performance and high-qualtiy market, which is profitable enough. To root even to further consolidate and develop, on the one hand, Haier Europe sold more or increased share of its products; on the other hand, i t vigorously push the internationalization of its product design forward in Europe. Besides, whenever it is up-swing of a business cycle or recession, Haier has always focused on its core product, around which it form the products cluster; and according to the consumption power of consumers and their demands about the function, the costs etc. to modify its products. Even though having developed diversified products and began to regulate its industrial chain, Haier Europes focal product is always the refrigerator. With key energy put on this item, Haier succeed to enhance the level of product quality, reduce production costs and improve technical design standards, making up its product line gap, squeezing more market share of competitors and becoming the leader in refrigerator category in European market. à ¢- to extend market, that is, Haier try to enter all of European potential markets for its present principal line and also extend present products or service that could extend present line in present Europeans market (Reed et al, 2007, p21). When Haier began to launch its seeding stage in Europe in the end 1990s, it attempted to extend its existing products like refrigerators into this new market. To enter new international markets, unlike other Chinese companies who usually use mergers and acquisitions as a way or corporate with local well-known enterprises to access the market and the technology, Haier followed the model to extend market by building factories or sales channels (Advantage, 2010, p45). Yet Haier Europe does not blindly built its factory or channels, only after its target market fully developed, then it would consider to construct the plants. Furthermore, Haier has always been seeking to penetrate into the high-end market in Europe, trying to find more potential emerging markets to obtain more source of profits or opportunities. Haiers water heater is such a successful example. Having get cumulative advantage in European low-end market, in 2009, Haier introduced a new water heater, which effectively integ rated a number of leading technique and more concerned with the fashion and technology, marking its water heater taking the offensive to enter the European high-end market. What paid off is that its Cheong enjoy series win the 2009 Germany industry IF Awards and has become the first Chinas electric water heater to receive this award among similar products (SourceJuice, 2009). Undoubtedly, this success assure Haier to get a broader developing space and broke the unfavorable situation that Chinese household appliance business can only hold European low-end market. Apart from all these, Haiers products in Europe did not copy the design of domestic ready-made ones, but are tailored in the light of the European consumers characteristics. In 2007, Haier introduced a group of TV having various types and white shell, which was specially designed for the Europeans and in line with their sense of beauty (Sina, 2007). à ¢- to develop product, new products have been a source of fascination and excitement of a corporation as the age of mass production has began (Clark, 1991, preface), and this is true to Haier, too. When promoting the harvesting phase, on the basis of gradual maturation of European market and finished establishment of its own local sales and R ¼Ã¢â‚¬  D facilities, Haier offer new differentiated products to open up new markets. Moreover, when Haier has developed to a certain accuracy and depth in the household appliance field, its inevitable choice is to use product mix as an important tool to steady itself. It is just under this circumstance that Haier produce other home appliances such as computers and mobile phones in Europe. Unfortunately, the main source of its profit still generated from refrigerators and washing machines, but the market share of its computer and cell phone was poor for a long time. Their meager profits seriously impair Haiers competitiveness as a brand. Soon after then, Haier has turned to products improvement, products innovation and costs reduction to rise their competitiveness. à ¢- to diversify, which is contented to stabilize Haiers earnings and diversified its development. Haier has been conscious that the profit todays household appliance industry itself can get is so little that it is not sufficient to support Haier to earn extra benefits of marketing and service. So since the 1990s, Haier started to formulate a systematic and multi-dimensional industrial portfolio, which aims to expanding its business portfolio and avoiding the single cycle of appliance industry through reasonable combination of industry. Now Haier is mainly engaged in home appliances, concurrently involves a wide range of other industry like the information, the bio-pharmaceutical, the finance, the real estate and so on. In short, the trinity of local design, local production and local sales is the ultimate goal of Haiers internationalization strategy. In Europe, its emphasis lay in promoting differentiated high-end products of Haier and establishing its image as a local brand, then promoting the selling of its full line of products. 3.3 Marketing Mix of Haier in Europe Haiers marketing mix is known as the Haier Model, a model that committed to building standard international branding, which is characterized by unified and standard elements in all the marketing mix elements, in addition to all the necessary tactical adjustments (Kee, 2009, 357). To sum up, its marketing mix is distinctive. à ¢- Product Ingredientsalways being the most significant element in Haier Europes development. Haiers development objective is to create Chinas world-famous brand. In its Global Building phase, Haier has always concentrated on high-end technology, attempting to open up the European market with its high-tech products. Haiers refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and other products are all the forerunners to adopt the most advanced technology, having created one after another number one and uniqueness. With its high-tech products being introduced continuously, Haier does not only bring about new concept of fashion and consumption, but also lead a new trend of market consumption. What is more, the products philosophy that Haier always pursue is the goal to innovative is to create valuable orders. So Haier Europe has always firmly grasped product innovationthe lifeline of enterprise development and established a market-oriented product innovation, that is a Ring Product Development Mechanism, requesting product

Childcare Management Systems | Literature Review

Childcare Management Systems | Literature Review CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 OVERVIEW Literature reviews are conducted in order to fully understand a topic being researched about. By doing so, we could define and establish our area of study, as in my topic childcare management systems. Reviews are done on existing systems by explore how existing childcare or daycare centers management systems have been introduced, implemented and evolved. Comparisons of the systems are made for better understanding of systems functions. Advantages and disadvantages of the systems have to be understood as well. Section 2.1 depicts background study of three existing childcare management systems which are analyzed for better understand of this project. Section 2.2 summarizes the proposed system which will be designed and developed on later stages of this project. The features have been tabulated in Table 2.1. 2.1 BACKGROUND STUDY Nowadays the need of daycare and childcare centers are increasing due to working parents and need of proper care of children. The management has to be efficient to keep up with these demands. In order to ease the work done in the centers, owners purchase or subscribe childcare management system software. There are so many different types and quality level of childcare management system software in the market. Even though each of them is used for similar purpose that is to manage a daycare centers but the design of functions and implementations of the systems are different. A system that provides all important functions needed by childcare centers will be the top priority in the market. Following existing systems have been choosing for comparison because they have higher market value and many customers favor them. In order to understand the similarities and differences of existing systems in different platform as well, comparison have been made between fully web based system, software based system and mobile application based system. Exploring the systems have been done by understand fully how the systems works and finally list out the advantages and disadvantages. 2.1.1 Centers Online (https://www.centresonline.com/index) Centers online is an online childcare management system designed for both long and short day care centers. Centers Online provides childcare services with simple and easy to use online software for daily reporting and communication needs. The site updated continually and modified to ease users needs. The management system also helps every parent receives frequent updates about their child instantly. Centers Online provides a login interface for childcare centers and parents that is easy to use allowing parents to continually be aware of their childrens activities. Centers Online applications are available for all smartphones and tablets. Centers Online is designed to be used by three types of users which are admin/owner of the childcare centers, teachers and parents. All of the users have their own login ids and viewing page. The owner can access, view, create users and create rooms. They also can manage events and contact parents. Teachers can update all information regarding children in their room such as feeding schedule, activities, performance, health condition and etc. Parents get instant update regarding their children. They can view daily activities, update parent profile, view event details and view pictures uploaded by teachers of their children. Figure 2.1 shows user management page where the owner or admin of the childcare center manages users profile such as registration of students, parents profile and assigning teachers to classes. The panel on left side gives access to all functions for users. Figure 2.1: Display of User Management Page Figure 2.2 shows the group permission page which grants owner or admin of childcare center to categorize users and their level of permissions on using the service. For instance, parents have limited access on site and more focus in viewing children’s update. Senior teachers have additional permissions since they have extra work to be done compared to new teachers. Figure 2.2: Display of Group Permission Page Figure 2.3 shows children management page where all profile of children will be managed. Teachers and sometimes owners will assign children to classes according to their ages here. Status of students can be viewed here. All reports can be saved as pdf and excel files for reference or print out. Figure 2.3: Display of Children Management Page Figure 2.4 shows the calendar in schedule management of the system. All the activities that are carried out in the daycare center are recorded in the calendar. Upcoming events will be marked as well for easy reference and updates. Admin and teachers can access and view all the events and activities carried out on particular day. Parents only have access to view marked activities by teachers for their children. Parents will not fall behind knowing important dates of events. Figure 2.4: Display of Calendar Page Advantages: Easy to use GUI (graphical user interface) The user interface is friendly and understandable. free access via website to parents account Parents who register with childcare that use Centers Online will get free access to get updates from the center. no server needed No server and IT maintenance needed since it is web based software. The service provider maintains all the data and all data are secured. register and use The childcare center owner that is interested using this system simply registers with the service provider and start using. application for smartphones and tablets The service provider also has created application for devices such as smartphones in order to give an easy access and portability for users. Disadvantages: compulsory need of internet connection Since it is a web-based software system internet connection needed in order to use the service provided and no offline option is given for the users to work offline. 2.1.2 The Pre-School Partner (http://www.on-qsoftware.com/pspscreens.html) The Pre-School Partner is a software-based childcare management system. The software is available for a single PC or buyer could choose to take a package contains of license key for up to 20 personal computers which labeled as Network (1- 20). The software is obtained by either getting an installation CD or e-mail link to download and install. It facilitates the daily functions andmanagementof the center by tracking and instantly making available all family, child and staff related information. It is complete and up to date with emergency contacts, guardians, drop off/pick up contacts, family and children notes, medical information, vaccination management, billing, accounts receivable, remote terminal logging and child scheduling and attendance. All the reports are easy to manage and printable for additional purpose. The software also has feature to manage staffs. The owner can keep track of staffs training histories. Figure 2.5 shows children registration page where owner or staff at childcare center can register new children with the system. Children’s full detail such as full name, age and family information required for registration. Picture of registered children will be uploaded in the profile as well. Figure 2.5: Display of Children Registration Page Figure 2.6 shows family or sponsor info page where all details of parents or sponsor are added such as contact details and address. Detail about particular people not permitted to be close to children added here as well to increase awareness of management. All records of drop off and pick up are keyed in here as well. Figure 2.6: Display of Family/Sponsor Info Page Figure 2.7 shows guardians detail page where all information of child parents registered with the daycare center will be recorded and updated regularly. Contact details of parents given importance in order to get hold of them in case of emergency. Picture of the parent will be added as well. Figure 2.7: Display of Guardians Detail Page Figure 2.8 shows invoice record page where all invoices for the parents or sponsor of children registered recorded. All details of payments such as dates, amount and identification will be recorded accordingly for easier reference and record keeping. Figure 2.8: Display of Invoice Page Advantages: user friendly screens The GUI (graphical user interface) of the software is designed well by placing all the essential keys and buttons in easy accessible and understandable way. larger scale of choice, more detailed and more functional The software provides all essential functions that needed to run a daycare center. User has the option to choose use functions only they required. work can be done offline (online only needed for cloud backup and sync) No internet connection needed to use pre-school partner Disadvantages: one software one pc The software is limited to one personal computer unless the owner buys a network package. Even though the network package consists of a maximum of 20 key licenses for personal computers the portability of the software is still limited. sever maintenance The server of the software installed has to be maintained regularly. The files saved have to be fragmented to remove bad sectors. Firewall, virus and spyware protection needs regular review and management. minimum requirements The software installed needs hardware specifications that meets its minimum requirements in order to function well and fully. Operating System : Windows XP Professional (Service Pack 2) Processor : Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading, 2GHz Ram : 512MB minimum Disk Capacity : 80GB 2.1.3 Tadpoles (http://www.frogsquared.com) Tadpoles is a web-based application aided childcare management system. The use of smartphone application is integrated with the system for easy and effective use. Tadpoles is revolutionizing the childcare market by helping to streamline operations and parent communication through mobile technology. Tadpoles focuses more on the importance of parent involvement in the learning process. Teachers are able to share photos and videos to parents throughout the day. They could record meals, activities, naps and more to daily reports. Teachers also could prepare lesson plans up to four weeks ahead. Directors are able to view real time counts per class. They can manage classroom, children and employees. All the pictures and videos teachers send to parents have to be approved by directors or owners. They can view charts and graphs of reports on children progress under their care. They are able to send official letters to parents and emergency alerts as well. Parents can receive daily update of their children via email. They can download and share the photos and videos of their children. In case of emergency, they will receive text message first before further notice for a head start. Parents also can view their children’s profile using mobile application provided and they also able to mark their child sick or on vacation. Figure 2.9 shows classroom page in tadpoles application where teachers can view all the children in their class accordingly. The children will be categorized by their age. Teachers can choose and update information on children from here. They could edit notes for their teachings and send photo to parents as well. Figure 2.9: Classroom Page Figure 2.10 shows children profile page where a children’s profile can be viewed by selecting a child. All detail about meal taken, sleeping time and activities done by children will be added here by the teacher. They can tag category of the child for easier reference. Figure 2.10: Children Profile Page Figure 2.11 shows the dashboard which offers a live view of the activity in the center. The classroom counts, attendance, and parent communications updates in real time without refreshing. The owners or directors can view the update anywhere and anytime. Figure 2.11: Live Dashboard Figure 2.12 shows communication page where owner can notify all parents by text messages in case of emergency, school closings or other urgent messages. This method is effective and fast compare to individual notification. Figure 2.12: Communication Panel Figure 2.13 shows email snapshot parents receive from the daycare center with all current detail of their children, activities they are doing, sleeping times, meals and more. Pictures that are taken for their children during activities are attached as well. Parents are able to get update on their children anywhere anytime through their email. Figure 2.13: Display of Parent Email Advantages: children information up to date for parents via email Teachers and owners update children’s profile throughout the day by updating profile, uploading pictures and updating schedules. Parents get the updates via their email and mobile application. application for teachers The designed application is easy to use and give better functionalities for teachers in carrying out their daily activities. All details of children, schedule and study plans can be accessed almost instantly. live view and real time updating for directors and owners The directors and owners are up to date with activities carried out in centers and children’s statuses. All without software installations and no per-user licenses. They can check on things easily and securely even while away from the center. portable Since it is an application on device, it gives more portability to teachers. All children’s attendance and emergency details are within teachers’ reach when they bring children to playground or field trip. Pictures and videos taken can be uploaded instantly. Disadvantages: limitation of devices can be used The application is only designed for apple products with IOS. The teachers are encouraged to use devices such as ipad mini or ipad only for easy access and portability. 2.2 PROPOSED SYSTEM The proposed childcare center management system is a web-based system that has all the features stated in Table 2.1. The name of the system would be Kool-Child Childcare Management System. Kool-Child provides all functions needed to manage a childcare or daycare center efficiently. With Kool-Child, child care centers are able to record down feedings, nursing, milestones, activities children are doing such as playing, sleeping and others. Apart from that, they are allowed to make photo galleries of the children. Parents will be updated with all their children information. Kool-Child provides tuition/billing management as well. The billing is done automatically with little information about chargers and individual child’s program. With Kool-Child, owner of the childcare center will be able to manage employee profile by record and update personal details of employee. Parents also will be able to log in into Kool-Child with limited access to view their children’s schedule. Kool-Child also will have chat space where all parents could share ideas and get to know each other. Kool-Child will also provide simple tutorials on how to use the system for the customers. Customer support is also available to assist customer and receive feedbacks. Table 2.1 Features Comparison FEATURES Centers Online Pre-School Partner Tadpoles Kool-Child 1 Classroom and Schedule Management √ √ X √ 2 Food Program records √ √ √ √ 3 Immunization Records √ √ X √ 4 Daily Activities Planning √ √ √ √ 5 Photo Gallery √ √ √ √ 6 Billing Management X √ X √ 7 Online Registration √ X X √ 8 Employee Database X √ X √ 9 Customer Support √ √ √ √ 10 Parents Update √ X √ √ 11 Reports Management √ √ √ √ New Feature 12 Chat Space X X X √ Table 2.1 shows the comparison in features of Centers Online, Pre-School Partner, Tadpoles and the proposed system Kool-Child. All three existing systems have important features which are classroom management, food program records, photo gallery and customer support. Pre-School Partner is only a system among three that has billing management and employee management features which needed by most childcare centers to ease their workload. Chat space is an additional feature that will be implemented in Kool-Child. All twelve features will be integrated in Kool-Child to maximize functionality of the system.

Misunderstanding in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: Free Essay Writer

Misunderstanding in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Walter Cunningham arriving and presenting himself at the finch household poses some questions for Jem. Firstly she cannot understand the agricultural terms as Atticus and Walter discuss crops. â€Å"†¦but there’s another’n at the house now that’s field size.† Jem takes this as Walter saying that he has employed someone to help with the cutting and thus asks him if he paid with a bushel of potatoes. Jem’s mindset of the Cunningham’s not paying money but paying in whatever ways they can comes from Atticus’ advice in the previous pages. Jem’s amazement at how Atticus and Walter talked together like two men clearly comes from a misunderstanding of the Cunningham household. Her understanding of the Cunninghams are that they are not the sharpest tools in the shed. Her amazement is highlighted by the quote, â€Å"†¦he and Atticus talked together like two men, to the wonderment of Jem and me.† Again, later on in the extract, Jem does not understand that Walter is equally as human as she is. Once again Harper Lee presents the facts with a little innuendo which touches on discrimination which is basically the heart of the book. â€Å"He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham.† Another of Jem’s misunderstandings is the molasses incident. Again she cannot understand why Walter drenches his food in molasses. It probably will originate from Walter’s upbringing as a â€Å"farm boy†. Molasses was probably cheap as chips on the farm where financial difficulty was rife. The author however employs a skilful phrase used in the South of America when describing Jem’s amazement, â€Å"†¦what the sam hill he was doing.† Jem does however understand that Calpurnia is one coloured person who is educated. Jem realizes this by how good her grammar was during tranquility. Again there is a misunderstanding on Jem’s part. She generalizes by implies that most coloured folk are not educated. The author presents these facts in such a way that it touches a major theme of the book, misunderstanding. As Calpurnia sent Jem off with a smack, Jem remarked that she’ll go and drown herself in Barker’s Eddy. This stresses the fact that Jem does not understand the ways and means of discipline. The author presents Jem almost as a headstrong girl who just cannot accept that this coloured lady could tell her what to do and how to present herself. Once again Miss Caroline Fisher comes into play. Her strict accordance to the rules of the new teaching system does not allow Jem to read or write.

Desire of the Fourteenth Century Women Essay -- Feminist Feminism Angl

Desire of the Fourteenth Century Women Is not what we desire, the most hard to get? It has always been this way. Unfortunately, women’s rights and abilities have been underestimated over the centuries. In the fourteenth century, the status and condition of a European woman depended on her husband’s position. Women had to endure arranged marriages, abuse and male dominance. During that time, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales and taught us about one extraordinary woman whose name is Dame Alisoun. Alisoun is called The Wife of Bath, and she defines what women desired most in fourteenth-century England. She believes that women wish for power over their husbands, and I personally agree with her opinion. The Wife of Bath, a cloth maker, gets rich after her husbands die and leave her their fortunes. Even though medieval women were still far from being powerful, and had to obey their husbands, Alisoun states that she has power over her men’s bodies and property all her life: â€Å" I have the power during al my life, Upon his proper body, and nat he†(line 164). Alisoun is an exception to the rule because she marries five times and is widowed five times. It is important to mention that there was no divorce for women in the fourteenth century: â€Å"She was a worthy woman al hr live. Husbondes at chirche dore she hadde five, Withouten other compaignye in youthe† (line 461). The three first husbands are old, rich and loyal to her. The fourth husband has a mistress: â€Å"My ferthe housbonde was a revelour. This is to sayn, he hadde a paramour† (line 459). The Wife of Bath learns that it is very important for a woman to satisfy her man, and she knows how to act to make him obedient and less powerful... ...nder difference will still have an impact on women’s lives six hundred years from now. What do you think? Credits: Abrams M. H, et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. New York: W. Norton & Company, 2000. Fell, Christine. Women in Anglo-Saxon England and the Impact of 1066. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984. Catholic Encyclopedia. Online. October 24, 2000. http://www.newadvent.org Harvard University. Online. October 24, 2000. http://www.icg.fas.Harvard Luminarium Organization. Online. October 22, 2000. http://www.britannia.com/history/biographies/guinever.html http://www.icg.fas.harvard.edu http://www.legends.dm.net/kingarthur http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/subjects/women/women.html http://www.r3.org/life/articles/women.html http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.htm http://www.infoplease.com

Microwaves :: essays research papers

You might remember the heroic role that newly-invented radar played in the Second World War. People hailed it then as "Our Miracle Ally". But even in its earliest years, as it was helping win the war, radar proved to be more than an expert enemy locator. Radar technicians, doodling away in their idle moments, found that they could focus a radar beam on a marshmallow and toast it. They also popped popcorn with it. Such was the beginning of microwave cooking. The very same energy that warned the British of the German Luftwaffe invasion and that policemen employ to pinch speeding motorists, is what many of us now have in our kitchens. It's the same as what carries long distance phone calls and cablevision. Hitler's army had its own version of radar, using radio waves. But the trouble with radio waves is that their long wavelength requires a large, cumbersome antenna to focus them into a narrow radar beam. The British showed that microwaves, with their short wavelength, could be focussed ina narrow beam with an antenna many times smaller. This enabled them to make more effective use of radar since an antenna could be carried on aircraft, ships and mobile ground stations. This characteristic of microwaves, the efficiency with which they are concentrated in a narrow beam, is one reason why they can be used in cooking. You can produce a high-powered microwave beam in a small oven, but you can't do the same with radio waves, which are simply too long. Microwaves and their Use The idea of cooking with radiation may seem like a fairly new one, but in fact it reaches back thousands of years. Ever since mastering fire, man has cooked with infrared radiation, a close kin of the microwave. Infrared rays are what give you that warm glow when you put your hand near a room radiator or a hotplate or a campfire. Infrared rays, flowing from the sun and striking the atmosphere, make the Earth warm and habitable. In a conventional gas or electric oven, infrared waves pour off the hot elements or burners and are converted to heat when they strike air inside and the food. Microwaves and infrared rays are related in that both are forms of electromagnetic energy. Both consist of electric and magnetic fields that rise and fall like waves on an ocean. Silently, invisibly and at the speed of light, they travel through space and matter. There are many forms of electromagnetic energy (see diagram). Ordinary light from the sun is one, and the only one you can actually see. X-rays are another. Each kind, moving at a separate wavelength, has a unique effect on any matter it

Early Marriage Rate Essay

Marriage (also called matrimony or wedlock) is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. The definition of marriage varies according to different cultures, but it is principally an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity. When defined broadly, marriage is considered a cultural universal. An early marriage, is an issue where argued by many now a days. Some people are advocated for early marriage because it is healthy. Until the late 20th century, teen marriage was very common and instrumental in securing a family, continuing a blood lineage and producing offspring for labour. Many factors contribute to teen marriage such as teen pregnancy, religion, security, family and peer pressure, arranged marriage, economic and political reasons, social advancement, and cultural reasons. Studies have shown that teenage married couples are often less advantageous, may come from broken homes, may have little education and work low status jobs in comparison to those that marry after adolescence. Early marriage arise from number of causes like lack of education, gender bios, pressure from family or friends, and lack of knowledge about the implications of early marriage. Early marriage also has several negative effects. It can lead to psychological and emotional stress not only to both parties but also to their children. It can also lead to health problem to girls because as their body is too young to conceive. Conclusion In conclusion, early marriage rate increased during the year of 2011 – 2014, all parents out there must be aware of this problem, as time goes by the case of early marriage will increased every year. The lack of formal education, financial problems and early pregnancy are all the effects of early marriage and not only will it affect the parents but also chains the children in unhealthy customs. Marriage is a great responsibility, and everyone should consider the effects of early marriage. And also, the Government must consider this as a major problem. Teenager must have discipline in order to control this early marriage problem, they are too young to enter the big responsibility of having their own family. Graphical Aid Figure 1: Early marriage rate ranges 2 million up to 4 million. The Government must be aware of this problem. Figure 2: From 2 million up to 4 million. At this point the rate increases simultaneously. This is very alarming; the Government must control this problem. Figure 3: 2 million up to 4 million is the rate of Early Marriage. The rate increases simultaneously.