Developing a marketing mix for a new product or service Essay

In this assignment I will be looking at how product and services are marketed and look at how a marketing mix is developed using the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. The Marketing Mix provides an excellent framework for developing marketing plan. They are generally accepted as being made up of four parts which are: †¢Product †¢Price †¢promotion †¢place These are ideas to consider when marketing a product and shall be described in more detail below:- The Four ‘P’s Product A product is anything that can be offered to the market to satisfy a customer needs and desires. Product include physical goods, services experiences, events, person, place and etc. It is therefore the combination of goods and service that are offered to the target consumer. A business will constantly change and update its product range and mix to constantly please their customers and be above competitors. A product can be viewed in three different levels: Level 1: The core Product (rather than the physical product) is the benefit of the production that makes it valuable to you. Level 2: The actual product is the physical item. At this level branding and added features and benefits are important as this what will differentiate the product from competitors. Level 3: The augmented product is additional value beyond the physical product: it usually consist of after-sales service, warranties, delivery and so on. The extent of the mix is another significant issue. If a business doesn’t have many products, there is a chance that one will go out of date as newer type of products are in the market and this can seriously damage the business scale. It is recommended to never have one product in one market as if the product isn’t successful and fails this could mean a complete failure of the business. Some businesses will adapt and anticipate change, while  others reacts to the need to change. An example of this is that IPhone makes changes to their products such as their mobile phones, they add more features to their products giving their customers a range of features to look for in a product. Once a business has identified their target group of customers it has to know what products or services it needs to do and provide in order to appeal and attract to them. The information they provide their customers should illustrate the features of the product or service so that the customers know what to expect and it reaches their expectations and the business will make a profit. However it’s important to take into consideration that the benefits to a customer are not always for a practical sense there are psychological benefits such as status for example. An example of this is if everyone has a specific phone and a person went and got the same phone they may get it more for a status reason. The product life cycle concept reflects the theory that product, like people, live a life. They go through 4 stages. The main stages of the product life cycle are: †¢Introduction- researching, developing and then launching the product †¢Growth-when sales are increasing at their fastest rate †¢Maturity-sales are near their highest, but the rate of growth is slowing down, e.g. new competitors in market or saturation †¢Decline-final stage of the cycle, when sales begin to fall So understanding what part of the cycle your product is in will shape your marketing mix. Price Price is the one element of the marketing mix that revenue; the others produce costs. A business must set a price for a product and in deciding the products price; marketing must follow a six-step-process. 1.Select the price objective-This could be to survive or to maximize market share. 2.Determine demand-the higher the price, the lower the demand. 3.Estimate cost-charge a price that covers the cost of producing, distributing and selling the product. 4.Analyze competitors’ costs, prices and offers-take into account its competitors cost and prices setting its price. 5.Select a pricing strategy-there a number of pricing, which is listed below. 6.Select the final place-this is decided after testing on a range of pricing points. Premium pricing This is where the business will keep the price of a product or service high in order to encourage customer to associate it will high quality. Penetration pricing This is when a product is sold into a market at a low initial price in order to generate sales before the price is increased. Economy pricing Economy pricing is the deliberate setting of low price in order to boost sales. Skim pricing when launching a new product there will be less competition in the marketplace. Skimming involves setting as reasonably high initial returns from those consumers willing to buy the new product. Psychological pricing This based on customer pricing method. It relies on consumer’s emotive responses, subjective views and feeling towards specific purchases. Captive product pricing This is a strategy that can apply to products with consumable supplies. This is where the pricing at high prestige levels, otherwise they will not sell; customers equate higher quality with higher prices. Product line pricing This is the pricing of different products within the same product range at different price points. Place Place in marketing mix refers to where the product is purchased from and how it’s distributed. For example, most consumer of confectionery will buy products form retail stores. Businesses need to adapt their marketing mix depending on the end customers- that is whether they are a consumer or reseller- as each seek different benefits from the same product. Distribution A business may use two types of distribution method: indirect or direct. Indirect distribution is when a business sells its products via an intermediary such as wholesaler, who then sells to retailers. Direct distribution is where the business sells and distributes direct to the customers. Choosing indirect distribution may mean that a business loses some of the control over the pricing of their products, as they have offer discounts to wholesalers and retailers, who may choose to pass on saving to their customers. Online The growth of online shopping have given businesses a new place to sell their products to customers. This offers businesses an advantage as they can sell directly to the customers. This mean they can avoid the wholesaler and therefore increasing the profit margin on their products. The promotional mix involves the blending of number of variables to satisfy the needs of a business’s target market and achieve its organizational objectives. With the promotional mix, a business attempts to achieve the best blend of promotional elements to suit their promotional objectives. The components of the promotional mix are: †¢Advertising †¢Sales promotion †¢Personal selling †¢Public relations Advertising This may be defined as paid promotions through various media by businesses, non profit organizations and individual’s that are in some way identified in the advertising message and hope to inform or persuade members of particular audience. Advertisers have many tricked up their selves such as: †¢Excitement †¢Personality power †¢Put-down: Business put down their competitions †¢Jumping on the bandwagon: Advertisements encourage the audience to join the crowd. Personal selling This is where a seller presents a product direct to a consumer often face to face but can be done over the phone and through video conferencing. Public relations This covers a firm’s communications and relationships with its public. This includes customers, suppliers, stockholders, employees, the government, the general public and the society in which the organization operates. This can be formal or informal. Publicity is important part of effective public relations efforts. It can be defined as the non-personal stimulation of  demand for a good, service, person or cause. Sales promotion This is related to marketing activities that fall outside of the categories such as coupons, trade shows, displays, samples and other promotional efforts that occur on an irregular basis. Some of these promotions are short term and opportunistic. In this assignment I have examine how products and services are marketed and look at how a marketing mix is developed using the four p’s: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

Profile Of An Adult Numeracy Learner

PA is attending an adult numeracy class because he was sent by his employer. His employer completed his Level 2 National Test last year and is now insisting that all his employees follow suit. Non-completion will result in no promotion and no annual pay rise Initial assessment The key implications here are that PA is currently working at Entry Level 3 in most numeric areas. He should be able to increase his ability level and undertake Level 1 without too many problems. However he needs to achieve Level 2 in order to gain his pay rise and promotion so this will put him under a lot of preasure and additional stress. According to Tennant (1988), PA, as a 36 year old, is in his midlife transitional period and will be â€Å"Adopting a changing time perspective and revising career plans†; this can be substantiated as PA is attending a numeracy course because of changes that are taking place at work. His employer has stated that the course must be completed and the Level 2 National Test must be passed or PA will not receive a promotion or his annual pay rise. This is an unusual situation, as according to Charnley & Jones (1987), â€Å"Getting a pay rise as a direct result of tuition is extremely rare†. Patterns of adult learning reflect class divisions in society and the different expectations and perceptions resulting from those divisions. Factors such as social class, gender and race impact on decisions to learn, as each is associated with particular cultural pressures and norms. According to Maslow (1973) once physiological needs have been met safety or security becomes predominant. In other words, there is a need for self-preservation and a common concern for the future e. g. , will we be able to maintain our property and our job in order to provide shelter and food tomorrow and the next day? It is likely that this is the stage PA is at particularly as he knows that if he does not pass the relevant exams he will not get a pay rise or promotion. Peer and reference group influences can also be extremely strong (Evans, 2000). People who are habitual learners tend to belong to groups where education is seen as a normal activity. They also tend to be involved in other forms of social participation. Non-learners belong to groups for whom engaging in learning is not part of normal behaviour – this is certainly true of PA who would not have engaged initially in numeracy earning through his own choice, and who, until recently would not engage in any social activity e. g. attending a school fund raising evening. Among male manual workers, for example, there is a strong culture of group conformity and solidarity. To engage in education that is not immediately job-related is seen as what women or children do and is, therefore, not a masculine activity (McGivney, 1996). Social class continues to be the key discriminator in understanding participation in learning. Over half of all upper and middle class (AB) respondents are current or recent learners, compared with one-third of the skilled working class (C2) and one quarter of unskilled working class people and people on limited incomes (Gallup Survey 1996). However, what and how much is learned can be influenced by the learner's motivation (NIACE, 1997) and, from my own experiences within the post-compulsory education sector, I would have to agree with this. However, motivation to learn could be, in turn, influenced by an individual's emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking. PA's current, positive, beliefs about himself as a learner and the nature of learning appear to have had a marked influence on his motivation. It could be said that the rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals, and expectations for success or failure may enhance or interfere with the learner's quality of thinking and information processing. Motivational and emotional factors may also influence both the quality of his thinking and information processing as well as his individual motivation to learn. Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation and facilitate learning and performance. Mild anxiety can also enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner's attention on a particular task. However, intense negative emotions (e. g. , anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts (e. g. , worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing punishment, ridicule, or stigmatising labels) generally detract from motivation, interfere with learning, and contribute to low performance (Evans, 2000). This could be seen during PA's recent Numeracy Level 1 National Test when he experienced mild anxiety, but was extremely motivated and positive about the experience and his ability – and he passed first time! Motivation is, therefore, not a simple issue, since individual motives and action are strongly affected by where people are located (socially, culturally and spatially) and the constraints or incentives that operate on their choices (NIACE). PA blames his current lack of knowledge and qualifications in numeracy on his underachievement at school. If we look more closely it becomes apparent that, because of his age, PA would have been attending school during the 1970's and 1980's. It was during this time that the early underachievement of boys first became evident, as large scale studies of children's achievements at Primary school pointed to the fact that girls consistently out-performed boys (Myers, 2000). Therefore there was a shift away from public concern about girls' achievement to boys' achievement, or underachievement, at school in exams. The concern about ‘boys' underachievement' has been characterised in educational policy initiatives at national, local and school levels, most significantly in the imposition of the national literacy and numeracy strategy (Barrs and Pidgeon 1998). However, overall improvements in achievement are often ignored and gender differences are ascribed to the detrimental effects of ‘the feminisation of teaching' (Epstein et al, 1998). The concern for boys' underachievement was highlighted by Murphy and Elwood (1998) who argued that improvement in female achievement is not shared by girls from low socio-economic backgrounds and may not be apparent in some subjects. Similarly, Epstein et al (1998) questioned the global application of the category of boys' underachievement' by asking, ‘†¦ hich boys? At what stages of education? †¦ according to what criteria? ‘ We could say that by definition, gender roles are the social norms that dictate what is socially appropriate male and female behaviour (Tobias, 1997), and are part of the socialisation process of human beings. These roles are also influenced by each individual's cultural and economic background (Tobias, 1997). It could be said that gender roles influence women and men in virtually every area of life, including family and occupation. This is certainly true for PA, who feels that it is his duty to provide for his family and to have the greater earning capacity regardless of his lack of formal qualifications. Everyone recognises that there are significant differences between male and female, even if they are only physical. However, others see not only the physical but also the social, emotional and intellectual differences. In addition there is belief that, by the age of sixteen, females have matured more than boys by up to as much as two years (Skelton, 2001). This could mean that girls have an advantage by viewing exams in a far more responsible way and recognising the seriousness and importance of the academic and career choices in the future. PA agrees with this as he did not take his schooling seriously and, quite possibly due to the fact that PA knew he was underachieving and he was unmotivated, he left school at 16 with no formal qualifications. He has only recently started to regret his actions. The figures from the 1996 Gallup survey could also be used to illustrate this as more adult men (25%) are currently learning compare to adult women (21%). Now that he is within the adult education sector, PA appears to see learning numeracy as a process of liberation. This may be because PA now feels that the educational process is not static and that his learning is a cultural action for freedom. It no longer involves one person teaching another, but rather people working with each other to ensure each individual reaches their potential. This was also the understanding of Bruner (1973), who suggested that learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas based upon their current / past knowledge. Adult learners also appear to be more receptive to learning if there is a context to the learning. Teaching adults numerical skills which ‘transfer' means exposing â€Å"students to different contexts which have the same mathematical content† (Rees and Barr, 1984) e. g. electrical work, decorating, shopping or linked to employment. This is certainly true for PA who works better, and appears to have a deeper understanding, when he can see there is a relevance and context to what he is learning. According to Bruner (1973), the teacher and student should engage in active dialogue and the task of the teacher is to translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learners' current state of understanding. During numeracy there are so many ways of doing and explaining one thing, one example would be the various descriptions used for the actions of ‘add' and ‘subtract', another example would be the various methods of teaching long multiplication. In addition, Bruner (1973) stated that the curriculum should be organised in a spiral manner, so that the student continually builds upon what they have already learned, â€Å"The concept of prime numbers appears to be more readily grasped when the learner, through construction, discovers certain handfuls of beans cannot be laid out in completed rows and columns† (Bruner, 1973). When working with PA, as for all my learners, I ensure that I question his current method and understanding of each numeric topic before I go into the topic in depth. This way I am constantly building on his current knowledge and understanding. A high percentage of the learners at Rochford Adult Community College are White British and PA falls into this group, ‘Rochford has one of the lowest ethnic minority populations, well below half of the national average' (Rochford District Council, 2005). However, according to the Home Office's Commission for Racial Equality, 2002, the United Kingdom is a changing society and these socio-economic changes are reflected in our growing cultural and ethnic diversity. These changes bring many gains, but sometimes there are tensions and divisions that may lead to fracturing within, and across, local areas and communities. However, whatever the nature of community divisions, the basis of the solution is often the same; community cohesion. The Home Office's Commission for Racial Equality, 2002, suggests that community cohesion may be achieved by raising awareness and understanding and developing shared values with mutual trust and respect. The Home Office describes a cohesive community as one where there is common vision, a sense of belonging, where diversity is valued and where there are similar life opportunities with â€Å"†¦ strong and positive relationships being developed between people from different backgrounds†¦ in colleges and in schools†¦ † (www. homeoffice. gov. uk, 2003). This is also the ethos of Essex County Council and consequently Castle Point and Rochford Adult Community College (www. essexcc. gov. uk, 2005).

Then I’ll be brief Essay

In Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Juliet matures very rapidly. In the start of the play Juliet is introduced as a young, innocent girl, but ends up as a woman in love with an opinion of her own, and is emotionally mature. Juliet goes through several stages of being a child, being in love, becoming a wife, being deceived and being a widow in a short space of time. In the beginning Juliet is shown to be an innocent and nai ve, almost a child, ‘she is not yet fourteen’ years of age. She is open-minded and joins in when she is being teased. She is also willing to listen and respect the advice of her parents and nurse; ‘I’ll look to like, if looking liking move’. This shows that Juliet at this point is obedient and is not emotionally aware and doesn’t know what real love is yet. Another quotation that shows her obedience is ‘Madam, I am here, what is your will? ‘ Also we can see that Lord Capulet, although Juliet’s father and considered her owner, values her opinion and thinks highly of her. ‘ She is the hopeful lady of my earth. ‘ We can see that that there is an innocence about her character and that the thought of marriage does not impress her. We know this because when she is confronted with the idea of marriage she says ‘It is an honour that I do not dream of’. Even though she is not interested in marrying Paris, she agrees to keep her father happy. Another point that shows Juliet is still a young girl is the way that she interacts with and is continually petted by the Nurse. Throughout the play the Nurse continually appears. In the beginning Juliet and the Nurse trust each other, protect each other and show love towards each other. Nurse speaks to Juliet in a little girl language ‘ What lamb! What ladybird! ‘ Juliet appears to have a better relationship with the nurse than with her mother. Juliet and her mother appear to have an awkward relationship. We can see this when she asks the Nurse to ‘give a while’ but soon after asks her to return. Juliet’s behaviour rapidly changes when she is faced with new situations and soon finds that she is in love, and her life has changed. When she meets Romeo she uses a witty and intelligent language. Romeo metaphorically uses religion, saying that Juliet is a ‘saint’, a blessing from God. Although Juliet is only young she is very articulate and this is where her intelligence shows through. She smartly twists Romeo’s words and takes control over him. Juliet says, ‘Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. ‘ ‘Prayer’ is the emphasised word, and although Juliet is denying what Romeo is suggesting she is perhaps, urging him to kiss her. She is outrageously flirtatious. Her meeting with Romeo resulted in a very quick increase in her maturity. A major part in showing that Juliet is maturing is the way in which her language includes a sonnet. The way in which she and Romeo share the sonnet shows true love, even though they have only just met. In a way, Shakespeare is blessing their love and by doing this he is showing that Juliet accepts him and his manner, and is also showing how much she likes him. Shakespeare is once again showing Juliet’s intellect and the way she easily adapts to her surroundings. Once she has admitted her love for Romeo and committed her life to him, there is a new maturity in the way she responds to the people around her and the circumstances in which she finds herself. She is a young woman saying; this is want I want. During the balcony scene Juliet says: ‘ O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father or refuse thy name Or if thy wilt not, be but sworn my love And I’ll no longer be a Capulet! ‘ This scene gives the effect that the couple are so in love that Juliet can take a mature approach to Romeo being a Montague. She strongly believes that Romeo is not her enemy, ‘Montague’ is. ‘Tis but a name that is my enemy. ‘ This shows that she loves Romeo more than she respects her parents and says that she will rid of her family name if it allows her to be with Romeo. She practically questions Romeo and tests him by proposing marriage. Juliet is starting to be more independent and questions her parents’ ideas and disobeys them. There appears to be passion and energy in Juliet’s speech when she is communicating with Romeo. Her language becomes very bold and she talks more to him. She is prepared to take responsibility and so proposes marriage to him. ‘If that thy bent of love be honourable. Thy propose marriage, send me word tomorrow. ‘ This shows a decisive and self-motivated side of Juliet and we can see that she has already changed from the shy and polite Juliet that we were first introduced to. This shows a great, rapid increase in her maturity. Other factors that influence this increase is the way in which she chooses love, even at the risk of being cut from her family, ‘And I’ll no longer be a Capulet’ When Juliet sends the Nurse out to find out about her marriage to Romeo her temperament changes, showing Juliet in a different light. ‘The clock struck nine when I did see the Nurse’; ‘Oh she is lame’ ‘Is three long hours, yet she’s not come’. Shakespeare has used these short sentences to Juliet’s desperation and frustration. She has turned from being a pleasant and courteous girl to a frustrated one. These mannerisms where not expected from a young girl in this period of time. This is another change we are shown in Juliet’s behaviour and maturity. When the Nurse begins to say that Juliet should just agree and marry Paris, Juliet even cuts off from the Nurse leaving her alone. When the Nurse says ‘ Will you speak well of that who killed your cousin’. Juliet replies ‘Shall I speak ill of him who is my husband? ‘ She also says that ‘That villain would of killed my husband’ protecting Romeo from the Nurse taking the side of he lover, rather than her family and openly rebelling showing that she is not trying to act the part that her parents want her to play. Although Juliet is drifting away from her family she once again she begins to play the role of a mature young woman and agrees to wed Paris, to put things right with her family. This is a very mature act, even though we know from the text that this is not what she wants. Juliet says ‘ Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it .. . And with this knife I’ll help it presently’. When Juliet agrees to marry Paris she says to her father ‘ To beg you pardon. Pardon I beseech you! Henceforth I am ever ruled by you. This is a very mature act, even though it is deceitful, Juliet has settled problems within her family, so they do not feel that they have killed her. She shows maturity by putting their needs before hers. After Juliet has arranged her ‘death’ with Friar Lawrence, she is an emotionally awoken woman who will do anything to be with the one she loves. ‘And I will do it without fear or doubt, to live an unstained wife to my sweet love’. Juliet faces her fears and trusts in God and Friar Lawrence. She is forced to use trickery in order to stay true to dear Romeo. This showed remarkable courage. Before she takes the potion she uses a soliloquy that confronts all her fears. She speaks in blank verse showing the seriousness of the situation. When Juliet awakes to see a lifeless Romeo lying beside her, Juliet’s maturity and loyalty takes over and she takes the decision to choose eternity over the present. The quotation ‘ Then I’ll be brief. O happy dagger! This is my sheath; there rust, and let me die. ‘ Shows the quickness and determination of Juliet’s death. During the period of a few days Juliet matures into a committed and reliable woman and wife, capable of taking decisions without the help of others. Shakespeare shows this by clearly stating the different stages that happen and by making everything occur in a short period of time. He also uses different language throughout the play, such as blank verse, sonnets and soliloquies and different sentence structures to show different emotions.

Existentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Existentialism - Essay Example The author reiterates that the American culture and authenticity has been developed by religious origins. Religion is considered to be the most outstanding approach to the American authenticity culture, as many of the philosophers have observed. For instance, some American philosophers have initiated their activities in the American history, claiming that they have been heeded by a â€Å"higher calling.† In light of this statement, re-known religious Dr. Phil states that he works and initiates activities if he feels they are logical (Guignon, 6). If he does not feel the logic behind these activities, then there is no need to attend to such. In seconding the religious inductions in authenticity, the author states that Oprah is a re-known American, who is guided by religion in his endeavors. She states that she has the church within herself. This substantiates the bearing of authenticity as strong religion, which makes people successfully attend to their endeavors. In answering the question, what kind of life is the one most worth living, being authentic is one of the best given answers by the author. However, the other point ion answering such a question is Simply acting to fully fulfill a persons social and religious duties. In making this a better approach to living, ones religious experience needed to generate utter sincerity. This could only be achieved by a person having fully admitted his or her introspection.   With such situations in the developing world, it is considered that the developing world has indeed changed the original; view of authenticity (Guignon, 8). Therefore, to get a better view of defining a person’s authenticity and how he or she is living, Personal ambition and agendas are to be given a concrete definition. This is by banking on what a person is determined to gained, given the highest scale of attainment. Given all this freedom, it was considered a hard task to fully

The Great Pyramid of Giza Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Great Pyramid of Giza - Essay Example This paper thoroughly examines technical aspects of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Architecture has been one of the influential factors that contributed to the recognition of certain Wonders of the World. In this case, the geometry, astronomy, technology, engineering and governance are also major factors that allowed the architecture to be erected and made in its huge size and complexity. How are these relevant and important in the discussion? These are the ones that can be considered products of intellectual creativity and has become pivotal for the completion and erection of the pyramid until where it stands up until now. Triangular form of the building is a design formulated by Khufu to show a possible connection with the astrological practices of the people during that time. At the same time, the temple’s design is an assertion of the association made by Khufu during his rule with the Egyptian God Ra. The ladder style of the pyramid is a connotation Khufu in identifying himself of equal status with Ra. The triangular shape shows superiority of a supreme divine entity. The paper concludes that the Great Pyramid of Giza is, in totality, undeniably one of the greatest Wonders of the World: something that should be respected and preserved as times progress without leaving much imprint about the lessons of the past. The pyramid’s existence is just a reminder of what the foundations of the great things that our society knows and has nowadays.

Saint Thomas Aquinas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Saint Thomas Aquinas - Essay Example It follows a cycle-God, God's creation, Man, Man's purpose, Christ, the Sacraments, and back to God. He delves into the various concepts of divinity and explains it with logical and simple reasoning. No wonder it has often been consulted and cited in case of religious discussions and debates over the ages. Since this essay forms a part of our Theory of Rights course, let us digress a bit and try to understand the background of this essay. A 'right' can be defined as a special advantage for obtaining a liberty, a power, an entitlement, or an immunity that someone gains because of his or her particular status. The general notion of right applies in both legal and moral contexts. It was the famous English philosopher Thomas Hobbes who introduced the English term 'right' into political philosophy with his interpretation of ius naturale as 'right of nature'. As he mentions in the chapter 14 of Leviathan: The right of nature is the liberty each man has to use his own power as he will himself, for the preservation of his own nature, that is to say, of his own life, and consequently of doing anything which, in his own judgment and reason, he shall conceive to be the aptest means thereunto. John Locke and William Paley also offered their significant contributions towards the body of work of the theory of rights. John Locke also an English philosopher argues that God created people free and equal in the state of nature. Unlike Hobbes, who supported the theory of natural reason and natural law, Locke proposes the theory of natural right. He further said that as such in this condition, no one is naturally sovereign over anyone else. William Paley, a British divine, best remembered for his watchmaker analogy on the other hand says that rights are either natural or adventitious and that its distinction here rests on whether rights are created by society or not. It is in this background that we shall endeavour to comprehend St Thomas's views on law and its specific relation with reason. Coming back now to St Thomas, it is also in Summa Theologica that St Thomas talks about the various aspects of law and the role of justice in human community, his basic premise being that law essentially pertains to reason. It is much later in the Summa Theologica that Thomas turns to the problem of law. His skilful treatment of the subject throws light into the coherence of his thought and his confidence in the ability of reason to guide us in making ethical decisions. The Greek philosopher Aristotle was perhaps one of the first few great masters who portrayed and analysed the intent behind man's actions in their writing and tried to give it a lucid form through a well-structured approach. According to Aristotle, the first principle of all activity is reason. It is through reason that we reach an end to any problem or discussion. St Thomas too concurs with Aristotle in this basic premise. Let us now examine in depth St Thomas's ideas

Economics thoughts and history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Economics thoughts and history - Essay Example and real median family income seem to go in different directions, productivity soaring up, with a cumulative change rate of over 300%, while the real median family income going down from 150-100% (Economic Policy Institute, 2012). This situation can be explained using a neo classical framework. The high levels of productivity in relation to lower real income values for median families can have tremendous effects both in the long and short run. In the short run, the middle class, which consists of the majority of citizens, will not have enough income to cater for savings. They will be less motivated to work since they do not feel the impact of their efforts at a national level. In the long run, the demonization of these people would mean productivity is affected. Using the labor theory, the situation captured by the graph has a lot of implications on labor from the middle class in America. In as much as the middle class contributes their labor to the national growth of the economy, they do not reap the benefits. More people will be less motivated to work, making labor a rare factor of production. The cost of labor is bound to increase in the long run. From a Keynesian perspective, the government needs to provide motivation to the middle class by ensuring they also benefit from the increase I productivity. The government can do this by investing in infrastructure and other fixed capital expenditure as well as changing tax laws to reduce the pain felt by middle class families. This will lead to increased productivity and real median family income in the long run. Using the institutional methodology, the situation portrayed in the graph can be remedied by changing institutions that serve the middle class. The cost of services and goods ought to be reduced so as to increase the amount of disposable income among the middle class. The theory of marginal productivity of distribution has various economical assumptions, most of which have highly been criticized. One of

Balancing cooperation and competition. Strategic planning in the Assignment

Balancing cooperation and competition. Strategic planning in the public sector - Assignment Example Balancing cooperation and competition. Strategic planning in the public sector Today, organizations are focusing on how to survive amidst emerging challenges in their external environment. This has led to such organizations developing adaptability measures that facilitate their survival and success in the long run. In spite of this, organizations are forced to strike a fit between cooperation and competition, in the industry in which they operate in, as well as their own survival is to be sustained in the long run. This study explores how Microsoft has stricken a fit between cooperation and competition in its operations while at the same time collecting feedback to identify and support emergent behavior. In the past two decades, Microsoft has been faced by increasing level of competition in its software and web based solutions market. The organization understands that in the technology industry, cooperation is inevitable. For instance, the organization faced a lot of competition from SAP and Siemens. These two organizations went ahead and launched patent battles with Microsoft. While down playing their views and purely taking a legal and competitive approach could have granted Microsoft short term success, the organization opted to cooperate and collaborate with the rivals, resulting to a cross licensing arrangement. This significantly enhanced the ability of the organization to continue using such rights through cooperation while at the same time enhancing its competitiveness in the market. The experience boosted Microsoft’s ability to enhance cooperation in other areas of operation including marketing for mutual benefits. (Vidal, & Nossol, 2011). Microsoft has remained stead fast in promotion of cooperation with its customers. In 2006, the organization adopted a more collaborative approach in the industry, something that enhanced its access to unique technology from rivals while at the same time empowering them to establish more product lines that the organization was not focused on. One of the outstanding occurrences towards this end by Microsoft with competitor is the collaboration with Linux, a product developed by a competitor to the organizations Microsoft word among others. This increased interoperability of Linux with Microsoft word (Microsoft News Centre, 2008). This implies that Microsoft customers of windows could open Linux using such windows while Linux customers could enjoy Microsoft windows in opening of Linux documents. This resulted to mutual benefit between the two organizations and minimization of patent disagreements and legal battles between the firms. In the past two decades, Microsoft has relied on employee, customer and competitor feed back to enhance its success in the industry. By collecting feedback from its competitors such as Samsung and the Linux software developer company, the organization was able to identify emerging needs and opportunities that could be served through collaboration (Microsoft News Centre, 2008). The organization thus fostered a two way form of communication between such firms and the organization. In an effort to ensure that such viable environment positioning is sustained, the organization always focus at hiring the best employees in the industry in terms of skill and engages them in periodic appraisal (Tyler, & Blader, 2003). In situations where performance is found to be low, such employees are engaged in skills development. In fact, the organization has adopted a culture of continuous learning. All these moves have enhanced sustainability and success of the organization in its dynamic operating environment (Tjosvold, & Johnson, 2003). References Microsoft News Centre (2008). Mi crosoft’s collaboration imperative. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/ofnote/04-01-08GutierezIAMArticle.mspx Tjosvold, D., & Johnson, D. (2003). Can interpersonal competition be Constructive within organizations? The Journal of Psychology 137(1), 63-84.

International Trade Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Trade - Term Paper Example Therefore increasing economic activity and reducing unemployment and deflation are the ultimate production. The Keynesian theory indicates the critical actions at some micro-level of public sector and at individual level that restrict the cumulative macroeconomic upshots. Ultimately, the expansion and potential of the existing economy becomes lower and lower. IS-LM model of John Hicks, and the Phillips curve are the two basic theories of Keynesian macroeconomics which policy makers could use to grasp the business cycle in the country, however, both models are rejected by Post-Keynesians. IS-LM is an abbreviation of Investment Saving / Liquidity preference Money supply. This model has the same dominance as the Keynes actual analysis in formatting the actual policies both public and government sectors. The model correlates cumulative employment and demand to three vital capacities, i.e., government budget, money circulation, and the business prospects. During the great recession period of early 1930s, when numerous Neo-classical economists like Lionel Robbins, Edwin Cannan, Gustav Cassel and Arthur C. Pigou were using the further wage cuts policy to trim down the unemployment, Keynesian Theory was a revolutionary idea. IS-LM model and Phillips curve were widely used. For the prediction purpose, the economist used the IS-LM model. For instance, increment in the money would result higher productivity and employment and consequently Phillips curve was applied to predict an increase in inflation. The most appealing factor in the recognition of Keynesian Theory was that it provided theoretical guidance to policy-makers during the Great Depression era of 1930s. A lot of people considered that Keynesian Revolution was the outcome of rationale approach of government macroeconomic policy. The logical approach of Neo-classical economists looked like counterintuitive because

The Glenn Chasse Hotel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Glenn Chasse Hotel - Essay Example It also defines the obligations and rights of an employer towards an employee hence safeguarding rights and preventing violation of duties from both parties. Apart from the written contract there is also a formation of a psychological contract between the employer and the employee that represents their mutual beliefs and perceptions. It describes the promises and expectations of each of the parties during the time of recruitment. Feldhiem (1999)3 reflects these two strands by dividing the psychological contract into: Kate: She is the head house keeper and is quoted as "unfaunfamiliar with her new duties such as budgeting, training and discipline ". The smooth functioning of her department seems to be suffering due to this. She is not successful in appropriately training and guiding her staff as a consequence of which they are not familiar with her way of work. Harriet -Elspeth's assistant : Elspeth states that "good standards of casual staff are hard to find". If her statement is not influenced by personal bias, this is an indication that the recruitment process of the hotel is sub- standard and proper giudlines are not set for the employees. Harriet is not notified that it is not within her authoritative scope to "borrow" staff without notice. This prevents the smooth flow of hotel functions because crew( who again are not specific and sure of their job profiles) are not available at places where they are needed resulting in low turn over and uneven distribution of labor. Principle statements: The principle statement should be handed over to the employee within two months for job commencement. It essentially contains all the terms and conditions upon which the employment relationship has been formed which means all terms and conditions are agreeable to both employer and the employee. It plays a pivotal role in the regulation of human resources as well as sorting out legal issues which might arise in the course of the contract. The principle statement should clearly cite the employees exact job profile and all the tasks that come under his or her responsibility. It should also mention any extra tasks, which the employee is expected to do at times which might be paid/unpaid for. The salaries, incentives, deductions and addition allowances (where ever they are applicable) should be mentioned. The working hours and compensation for overtime should be specified along with number of paid holidays and sick leaves. The employee should be provided with all the rules, regulations and principles of the concerned organization to ensure discipline and also the terms and conditions for termination, grievance procedures and legal action. Specifying health and insurance coverage conditions is also important. Apart from the

The Human Resource Function Essay Example for Free

The Human Resource Function Essay Heathfield (2007) defines Human Resource Management (HRM) as an organizational function; focusing on recruitment, management, and directing the people who work in the organization. HRM can hence be viewed as an organizational function that deals with the human resource â€Å"people who start and operate an organization, (Ramlall, 2003). Owing to the continuous political, economic, social and psychological changes within our societies, there is an increasing need for organizations to constantly evaluate their internal and external environment in response to the challenges and opportunities in the society; so as to remain competitive and to sustain organizational growth. This article examines the strategic role of Human Resource (HR) and its main practices, describes the outcomes of the respective category of (HR) practices and explains the critical reasons for measuring HRs efforts. The fundamental role of the HR to an organization is to â€Å"create value† (Ramlall, 2003) to the organization. It can hence be inferred that the critical HR’s role is to maximize profitability. Every organization, in pursuit of its strategic goals, must determine how particular HR practices correlate with improved business results and be more accountable for each major HR activity. This entails determination of the value of each HR activity in creating a competitive advantage for the organization. Without this, achievement of the organization’s goals and corporate missions may remain a dream that is never attained. There are many factors influencing change in organizational structure today. These factors include technological advancement, globalization, changes in workforce demographics, the elimination of bureaucracies in organizational structures, and the need to strike a balance between work and family issues. Understanding the potential of an organizations resources and optimizing the output of such resources, given the changes, provides an impetus for HR to become the key source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization. It is the role of the HR to build a competitive organization though strategic management of human resources, management of firm infrastructure, management of employee contributions and management of transformation and change. This can be summarized as â€Å"defining the deliverables of work† (Ulrich, 1997). This entails going beyond the strategic business partner role to becoming a player in the business. Ulrich, (1997) identifies six roles of a player in an organization. The player coach, designs, construct, creates followers, plays the rules and changes the organization. This ensures that the functioning of the organization is directed towards its goals. An effective HR personnel acts as a â€Å"facilitator and a collaborator† (Brewster, 2000). As a facilitator, the HR will function as an agent of change- providing rationale, support, and readiness for planned changes designed to support the business strategies. As a collaborator, the HR provides a link between the senior leaders and all employees to implement business strategies forming the strategic link throughout the organization. This is essential to the organization as it helps to maximize its profits. A research by Brewster, (2000) postulates that less than 10 percent of the 968 firms that participated in the study had a formal estimation procedure to measure HRM. This implies that most companies have little or no assessment of their HR department’s efforts and therefore they cannot give any quantitative measures of HRs value to the organization. Hailey, (1999) stated that the best way for HR to gain credibility in order to make meaningful changes is for practitioners to measure the cost and effectiveness of what they do. As such, the HR should be credible enough to lead the rest of the workers towards giving value to the organization. To achieve a competitive advantage, it is necessary to identify the skills that need to be developed internally for current employees and the fundamental areas of effectively managing an organization. The HR function has the most experience and knowledge in addressing these critical issues. It is therefore necessary for an organization to have an effective human resource that can efficiently achieve these vital objectives. The integration of human resources into the organizational strategy provides the basis for enabling the HR function to support and implement the strategic plan to achieve a competitive advantage, (Wofford, 2002). This strategy provides for the maximization of human capital, reduction of wasted and inefficient labor, and other financial investment, eventually to maximize profitability. An efficient HR increases the likelihood of more efficiently achieving the business outcomes and avoiding chaos, massive layoffs, crises resulting from not having skilled employees to carry out particular tasks and not having the right fit among employees, corporate strategies, and business environments, (Hailey, 1999). HR function plays a pivotal role in determining the business strategy through the assessment of the organizations capabilities to compete successfully through a particular strategy, determining the appropriate rewards system, determining appropriate organizational structures, and developing strategies to increase employee performance. All these work in achieving firm’s objectives and assessing the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Given the definition of strategic planning as how an organization will compete, the question arises as to how an organization would be able to assess the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Indicators of a successfully crafted strategic plan include creating advantages that are sustainable over a long period, (Ramlall, 2003). These include attainment of the organizations goals and objectives, the financial profitability of the organization, organizational positioning to create advantages for the short-term and long-term, and creation of a stronger sense of social responsibility. In essence, this process determines the decisions and actions an organization will undertake to create and sustain competitive advantage. It is evident that any organization that endevours to achieve a competitive advantage over its rivals and move towards its strategic goals is left with no choice but to have an effective human resource. The constant evaluation of the effectiveness of the organization results in the need for the HR professional to frequently champion change. Both knowledge about and the ability to execute successful change strategies make the HR professional exceptionally valued. Knowing how to link change to the strategic needs of the organization will minimize employee dissatisfaction and resistance to change. Only an effective HR can champion these important changes.

Finding The Energy Given Off From Various Fuels Essay Example for Free

Finding The Energy Given Off From Various Fuels Essay Research Question: Which of these fuels (ethanol, methanol and butanol) releases the most kinetic energy per ringitt? Hypothesis: Ethanol will release the most kinetic energy per ringitt because it has an average amount of CH compounds ( Materials: Spirit burner with ethanol 3 aluminum cans Spirit burner with methanol Logger Pro Spirit burner with butanol Insulated container Matches Ring Stand Graduated Cylinder 150mL of water Procedure: 1. Pour 50mL of water into the first aluminum can 2. Place the can 7cm above the ground on the ring stand 3. Place the Logger Pro inside of the can 4. Light the spirit burner of the fuel under the can. 5. Close the container around the ring stand and the spirit burner 6. Stir the Water inside of the can constantly. 7. Record the temperature of the water for 3 minutes. 8. Repeat the steps for each type of fuel. 9. Find the number of kilojoules released by each of the fuels 10. Find the amount of kilojoules of each fuel when there is 1 liter of that fuel. 11. Divide the amount of kilojoules/litre by the cost/litre of each fuel. 12. Choose the fuel with the most kilojoules released per litre. Data Collection and Processing: Ethanol: Measuring the Mass of Ethanol Time Alcohol Container Was Burnt Mass of Alcohol Container (g) Before Burning 160.2 After Burning 158.9 Measuring Temp. of Ethanol Time Temp of Fuel (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C) Before Bunrning 24.6 After Burning 93.8 Methanol: Measuring the Mass of Methanol Time Alcohol Container Was Burnt Mass of Alcohol Container (g) Before Burning 191.4 After Burning 190.1 Measuring Temp. of Methanol Time Temp of Fuel (à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½C) Before Bunrning 25 After Burning 60.8 Butanol: Mass of Alcohol Container (g): Methanol: Ethanol: Butanol: Before burning 191.4 160.2 190.8 After burning 190.1 158.9 190.5 Temp of fuel C Methanol: Ethanol: Butanol: Before burning 25 24.6 23.8 After burning 60.8 93.8 44.8 Finding the Energy Released by The Fuels (Q = m x C x ?T) Step 1: Finding the ?T (change in temperature) ?T= ending temperature starting temperature Step 2: Finding the Heat Capacity of Water (C ) Heat capacity of water = 4.18 J/g Step 3: Find the mass of water Each can had 50mL of water 1mL = 1 g Each can had 50 g of water Energy released by Ethanol: Q= 50 x 4.18 x 69.2 Q= 14.5 kilojoules Energy Released by Methanol Q= 50 x 4.18 J/g x 35.8 Q= 7.5 kilojoules Energy Released by Butanol: Q= 50 x 4.18 J/g x 21 Q= 4.4 kilojoules Energy Released by ethanol per ringitt: Kilojoules/litre = 11153.8 Energy Released by Methanol per ringitt: Kilojoules/litre = 5769.2 Energy Released by Butanol per ringitt: Kilojoules/litre = 14666.7

Working With Different Service User Groups

Working With Different Service User Groups Explore the challenges faced by the differences in working with three Service User Groups adults, older people and children. Discuss how, by drawing on relevant life course theories, your communication skills would need to be modified in order to meet these challenges and remain effective, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive. Interacting via communication with Service users is of one of the highest important aims for social / care workers providing care. Each individual case is unique and I will be explaining how communication skills differ from each person to the next. There are many different life course theories that can be used to explain how a person develops through the stages of life. In this assignment I will be looking at Eric Bernes Transactional analysis for the adult group and showing how adults have to change their tone and manner as they are seen as the teachers for the next generation. I will be explaining Cunning and Henrys Disengagement theory as this is a very important phase for older people and communication can be limited because of the perils of old age. Also I will be looking at Piagets cognitive development theory and Bolwbys attachment theory in relation to children and how these theories affect communication. Eriksons eight stages of psychosocial development contains elements for all three age groups so I will be looking briefly at the different stages involved, and I will also be looking at any challenges that occur within the groups and what skills are needed to overcome this via social work / care workers. Interacting via communication with Service users is of one of the highest important aims for social / care workers providing care. Each individual case is unique and I will be explaining how communication skills differ from each one person to the next. There are many different life course theories that can be used to explain how a person goes through the stages of life. For adults I will be taking you through Eric Bernes Transactional analysis and for the elderly group I will look at Cunning and Henry Disengagement Theory and how this affects communication for the older generation and then I will be looking at Piagets cognitive development theory and Bowlbys attachment theory and how these theories affect communication within the childrens group. Then I will be showing how Eriksons eight stages of psychosocial development are involved in all three service user groups and I will also be looking at any challenges that occur within the groups and what skills are needed to overcome this via social work / care workers. A life course is the advancement a person takes from birth to cessation (Crawford and Walker, 2003 p. 3) Also (Newman and Newman, 2007 p. 185) shows the life course as a perspective which helps to explain how altering societal predicaments affect development and combination of the phases of family and work life over a number of years. (Fiske, 1982 p. 2) explains communication as being an action that every person can identify with, by talking, listening to the television or distributing knowledge these are all forms of communication. He describes two main studies of communication as being either an expression of words or a creation and replacement of meanings. If we take a look at the Transactional analysis theory (Woods, 2010) shows that Eric Bernes theory was about ego states which are parent, adult and child. It covers a wide range of exclusive advancement including communication, behaviour and personality. Looking at adult communication he saw this as being the main voice used to influence the whole learning process. He believes that if someone is talking in a childish manner automatically the adult will respond with a voice of authority, either in a sarcastic tone or a caring parenting manner. (Chapman, 1995) also shows that transactional analysis is used for therapeutic, personal development and communication; it helps a person understand ones self. To communicate we use our own feelings which can shift at any one given time, and to reply we will use the exact way of thinking. So to have stable conversations an adult needs to act interested to what is being said and show the person speaking that they have their full attention and thi s will make for a stronger relationship between them both. Favourable communication according to (Weger and Polcar, 2002) is the basic domain of an interpersonal friendship. If you offer support and are willing to provide comfort through good and bad times then this will in turn be a healthy natural relationship. (Wolvin, 2010 p.144) believes the art of communication is to listen, with doing this you are better able to understand the concept of communicating, and then you can identify and evaluate the question helping you to make sense of it. Behavioural issues can be defined by a persons determined state, they show up as objectives and by using these objectives a person will come up with a way of achieving their potential via talking. So by communicating it is up to the individual to put as much information into the conversation so the recipient can define their answer to make it a purposeful state (Ackoff, 1958) (Nussbaum, 2000) states that elderly people have to regularly change their lifestyle to adapt to adjustments associated with getting older. Age can cause many challenges for communication, examples are: memory loss or loss of hearing. Because of these it could take considerable time for any acknowledgement whilst trying to communicate, they may tend to make inaccurate sentences and be less sensitive about issues that may otherwise hurt someone elses feelings. There are many theories linked to prosperous aging examples of these are: continuity theory, activity theory, socioemotional selectivity theory and disengagement theory. Looking at the disengagement theory (Maddox, 1964) states that the disengagement is the final stage of the life course process. Life goals are a very important phrase in everybodys life and this seems to extend through to the older generation also. The belief is that psychological departure leads to total exclusion from the older persons social life, and without this communication will be very limited as they may not have any family of friends visiting on a daily basis. Communication with older people can be a complicated process. At the time when it is needed the most communication seems to be a burden because of the life processes which come with the old age. To overcome some of the frustrations of speaking to an older person if you allow extra time for them to speak and sit face to face with them, then if there is any hearing loss at least the person can watch your lips to understand what you are saying to them. If you speak slowly and clearly or even write down some of the conversation to explain in a bit more detail this then will help the person immensely and by doing this you are showing respect and helpfulness towards to person you are talking to (Robinson et al. 2006) There are many challenges involved with working with older people, (Hepple, 2004) shows there are many approaches that can be used to try and boost communication issues. Group and behavioural approach or reality familiarisation is widely used to try and amend the forgotten memories. Whichever approach is used will depend mainly on the resources of the institution that is providing the care plan for the service users involved. Looking at Piagets cognitive development (Feldman, 2004) believes that his work was not the dominant competitor for a while but now it has accomplished extensive significance to researchers again. Some critics thought his work was to complex and to widespread but his stages still form the basis of the developing mind. (Boeree, 1999) shows the stages of development for a child as being the Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and the formal operations stage. According to (Koprowska, 2005 p. 97) a baby within the first couple of months will try and make blubbering noises in response to you talking to them and will only start trying to develop simple words by the age of one. So the best means of communication with young children would be via play and interaction. Children do not enjoy sitting for long periods of time so by drawing or innovative games could be the easiest way for communication to take place for the younger age groups in Piagets stages. (Geddes, 2007) believes that using Bowlbys attachment theory will help in the understanding of sensitive experiences which in turn helps you to communicate with young children. The basis of communication is to show your inner self via your feelings, thoughts and creativity. So by looking at Bowlby, the attachment for a child will help with their future experiences if the start of their life is one of security within a family unit. The child then will be able to examine the world and if there are any pressures they can always return to their safe haven for security. With a negative attachment a child will struggle with communication and relationships. They tend to be insecure and prefer to keep themselves to themselves as they dont respond well to any attention and can start to be disruptive and aggressive because they feel vulnerable and out of their depth. The Children Act 1989 sets out the rights of the child, so the child needs to engage in any outcomes that will modify their lives and future. Social workers need impressive skills in communication as there are many barriers that can stop any interaction with the child so they need the ability to be able to cope under any form of pressure or obstacle placed before them. Social workers deal with many families and young children all with very different backgrounds examples of these are: children who are leaving care, children who have behavioural problems and children who may have health problems or disabilities, each case is different so the social worker needs to be able to produce a care plan and have the skills in place to communicate on every different level to provide the best possible care for the service users involved. (Koprowska, 2005 p. 94) Eriksons eight stages of psychosocial development involve all three age groups, when looking at children Eriksons stages progress through at least four of them. (Adoption media, 1995) states that if a child wants to proceed onto the next stage they need to complete the one before. A child will develop trust if well cared for and be insecure if not; this will show up in all the stages there is a negative to every positive. So a child will only learn from what they are taught and if they are shown the right way to develop through the various stages then as they become parents they will be secure and happy to show their children the right upbringing to carry on the process to the next generation. (Zastrow and Ashman, 2007 p. 444) states that the seventh stage of Eriksons life development is Generativity versus stagnation. Generativity is instructing family and friends to make improvements in their lives to make the future better for their offspring. This will involve safeguarding and improving the lives of future generations for a better quality of life. Stagnation on the other hand is the selfish side of the stage, adults who only think about their own needs and are not willing to take anyone elses feelings into consideration. (Greene and Kropf, 2009 p. 90) shows Eriksons final stage as being Integrity versus Despair. Absoluteness is achieved if the person involved has leaded a full and complete life, dealing with everyday disappointments as well as accomplishments successfully. Despair on the other hand is for the people who fear death and the ones who have not accomplished everything they wanted to do in their lives and wish for another chance to achieve this. If communication is not sort in the identity stage (Sanchez, 2002) states that this could affect self confidence in later life. New ideas start from communication, a person needs to be able to express their thoughts and feelings. Interpersonal communication through all of Eriksons stages will help an individual have a healthy developed identity. (SCIE 2010) shows how social workers have to work by their codes of ethics and values showing respect, empathy and a genuine helpfulness towards the service user they are working with. They will always provide a complete care package to help empower the individual to deliver the best possible outcome. If the social care worker uses an interpersonal approach this in turn will guide the service user to help them decide how their care is achieved and help make the decision process a group decision, so communication is a key element to this approach which will then help with the relationship between the user and the social care worker. To summarise there are many different ways to communicate with the three service user groups. People who work in the social work/care sector are trained to be able to customise their expertise to care and communicate at all levels. If the care worker shows empathy and helpfulness they will get more back from the service user then they would if you started the conversation with an aggressive attitude. Service users what to be listened to, they want you to understand what care they expect. You will have to change the way you speak in all different circumstances, speaking to children will be completely different to speaking to an adult or an elderly person. Body language and facial gestures also show as an important part of communicating with someone, even repeating what the other has said will show that you are taking them seriously. You need to be able to change your approach for all different situations and use different interventions to cater for each individual seeking care. Word count 2055

Delegate thru Management Essay -- essays research papers

Hours in a Day Sometimes I think my boss wished there were 48hrs in a day, he’d be able to get a lot more work done. He may not get those extra hours in a day but he can get the equivalent through delegation. He effectively plugs into expertise of his people to assist him in completing the task on hand, thus multiplying his efforts. There is more to delegation than just giving members of a staff tasking, delegation is a subpart of the four functions of management. Delegation thru Planning Begin in the military I know a quite a bit about delegation. It starts from the first day you begin basic training. Most of the times, delegation is done in a professional way. Because of shortages in the Coast Guard sometimes managers are forced to do the jobs of junior people, until they get a junior person. Although it’s a relief to receive the assistance lots of managers find them selves holding on to work that should be passed to a subordinate. For many managers, the path to more effective delegation begins with reexamining two basic assumptions about their roles. First, many managers continue to assume that it's faster and more efficient to take on employees' work vs. teaching them how to handle it on their own. This can become frustrating for both manager, and employee. In a case like this an effective manger will plan specific times in order to incorporate needed skills with present skills, so that employee will become an asset to the unit. Delegate thru Organization Letting go o...

Banisteriopsis caapi :: Botany

Banisteriopsis caapi "It was thirty minutes before I felt the first sensation, a numbness on the lips, and a warmth in my stomach that spread to my chest and shoulders even as a distinct chill moved down my waist and lower limbs...I opened my eyes to a flash of light, a passing headlight on the road, harsh and intrusive. I retreated again and felt myself fade into an uncomfortable physical body, prostrate on the mat, and tormented by vertigo and a mounting nausea" (Davis 1996). This account describes the beginning feelings and affects of an experience between Wade Davis and yage, a drink whose main component is the plant Banisteriopsis caapi. Banisteriopsis caapi is a plant found in the tropical regions of South America, including the countries of Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and more. It is a liana that grows in the tropical forests of these regions and is often utilized in native tribe cultures. Many different aboriginal tribes of the Amazon rainforests use drinks prepared from this plant under many different names: ayahuasca, caapi, yage, yaje, natem, datem, pinde, dapa, and more. It has been used in various tribe cultures for years and still has a place in today's societies and religions. Banisteriopsis of the Malpighiaceae, is a genus of around one hundred species of plants in tropical America. Three of these are known for their hallucinogenic affects in ayahuasca. These three plants are B. inebriens, B. caapi (Schultes 1970) and B. quitensis (Schultes 1995). The best known of these three species and the main component of ayahuasca is B. caapi. When the drink ayahuasca is made, it is often supplemented with other plants that provide hallucinogenic properties to the drink. There are many species of plants, stretching across genera, that are added. Some of the plants included in these various admixtures are Diplopterys cabrerana, Psychotria viridis, and Psychotria carthaginensis. There are also members of the Solanaceae that are commonly used, Nicotiana species, Brugmansia species, and Brunfelsia species (Schultes and von Reis 1995). These plants bring different chemical constituents to the drink. The chemical components of Banisteriopsis caapi that cause the hallucinogenic effect are beta-carboline alkaloids found in the bark. More than nine alkaloids have been isolated in B. caapi. The three main active constituents, and most well known from this plant, are harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine. Other beta-carboline alkoloids include harmine-N-oxide, harmic acid methylester, harmalinic acid, harmic amide, and more (Kawanishi et al 1982).

Examine the reasons for changes in the educational attainment of males

Examine the reasons for changes in the educational attainment of males and females in recent years (20 marks) For the past recent years girls have significantly outperformed boys in educational attainment and this is due to a number of factors. The GCSE results for 2000 and 2001 shows the degree to which the percentage of girls achieving grades A*-C exceeded that of boys. In 2002, 62.4% of female GCSE entrants achieved grades A*-C, compared with 53.4% of males. Research published in 2003 shows that the gap between girls and boys widens as they grow older. The most recent barrier which is being broken down is that of university entry. The most recent official figures for a gender breakdown in university admission are from 2001. These show that while 43% of all young people entered higher education, the figure for girls was 46.7% and for boys 40.4% Joan Gannod drew a number of conclusions as to why this was. One reason is for the ‘lad culture’ that resides in numerous schools. The attitude that school is â€Å"uncool†, an anti-social culture working against learning. Keith Shipman and Keith Hicks identified that the presence of friends in a group make you work less. That boys saw looking cool as being more important than being studious. Also, Paul Willis identified that working class boys were much susceptible to this as it was the middle class values that were prized in the classroom via the hidden curriculum which influenced the boys into working against the education system. Another theorist, Peter Woods In The Divided School (1979) argued that boys are more concerned with the approval of their peer group than the approval of their teachers. Another further reason is the lack of role models for boys, p... ...he number of girls expressing professional career hopes such as doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc. Sharpe has argued that these changes in attitudes towards marriage and work are factors in explaining why girls are performing better at school than they were twenty years ago. I think that the interactionist perspective for example, Peter Woods is successful in theory, as he believes that it provides information which could lead to better teaching and a reduction in conflict and deviance within schools however this Marxist approach has its limitations and its main focus is from a macro perspective and does not appear to focus on each individual. The relative uniformity of meanings that lie behind what counts as knowledge and ability, suggests that such meanings are not simply constructed in the classroom but rather they have a wider and fundamental basis.

Two Neighborhoods

We'd make casual small conversation on Saturday mornings when no one had to work and we watched the kids play. We'd also go to the pool In the summer as another way for conversation and fun for everyone. Another good thing about that neighborhood was that it was in such a convenient location. My family and I were within walking distance from my high school, local gyms, flea markets and more. I was able to walk to any of these places whenever I wanted. Unfortunately, this all changed when my parents told my two younger brothers and me that we had to downgrade and move bout give minutes away.Originally I thought to myself, â€Å"that's not too bad†, but my thought was devastatingly wrong. Overtime I would figure this out. In this neighborhood I found that my ex-boyfriend lives one short block over from mine. Seeing him every morning on the bus to school was never the highlight of my day. Then, just when I thought I'd have a relief, summer came around. Of course, we both wanted t o be at the neighborhood pool all the time, so it was like I couldn't escape from him. Not only that disappoints me about this neighborhood, but also, we have to made as many friends in this neighborhood as the previous one.People just aren't as friendly and neighborly. People in this neighborhood hardly ever speak to one another. Also, this neighborhood, opposite to the one before, is farther away from all the attractions. I hate to be a complainer but the first neighborhood was just much better. That neighborhood is the opposite of this one and would easily be titled the best one my family and I have lived in since living in Charlotte NC. By Tiaras It was the year of 2007 that my family and I moved to our first house in Blatantly.In friendships with our other neighbors in that neighborhood. Everyone was so friendly amongst one another. We'd all show common curtsey and wave to those we'd see. And we watched the kids play. We'd also go to the pool in the summer as another way any of these places whenever I wanted. Unfortunately, this all changed when my Then, Just when I thought I'd have a relief, summer came around. Of course, we both not made as many friends in this neighborhood as the previous one. People Just from all the attractions. I hate to be a complainer but the first neighborhood was Just

EGT1 †Economics and Global Business Applications Essay

Elasticity of demand is a measure of responsiveness to a price change of a good or service. When demand is elastic, the percentage of a price change of a product will result in a larger percentage of quantity demanded (McConnell, p 77). It basically means reducing the price of a good service will result in a greater quantity demanded and an increase in revenue for the seller. When demand is inelastic, a change in price will result in a reduction of quantity demanded, which will then lead to a revenue decrease (McConnell, p 77). To demonstrate elastic and inelastic demand results, Company A sells 100 pens at $1.00 a piece each day, making their revenue $100.00. Company A then decides to sell their pens at $.50, which results in a total of 250 pens being sold. The total revenue from the price drop is $125, resulting in an additional $25.00; therefore the demand in this scenario is elastic. If selling the pens at the decreased price of $.50 would result in more pens being sold, but less total revenue, the demand is said to inelastic. According to McConnell, when demand in unit elastic, the percentage change in price and the resulting percentage changes in demand are the same. The change in price will not increase or decrease revenue. Cross price elasticity measures the response of demand to a change in price of another substitute or complimentary good (McConnell, p. 87). Substitute goods are goods that can be purchased in place of another good. Examples of substitute goods are soda (buying Coke vs. Pepsi), computers, and potato chips. A positive cross elasticity of demand means the increase of price in one good, for example Coca-Cola, will increase the demand of a substitute good, for example Pepsi. As the price for Coke increases, consumers are more likely to purchase Pepsi at a lower price, thereby increasing its demand. Complementary goods are items that are typically purchased in conjunction within one another. Examples are ringed binders and notebook paper, pencils and erasers, and potato chips and dip. A negative cross elasticity of demand in complementary goods means that the increase in price of one good, an example being potato chips, will decrease the demand for the complementary product that goes with it, the dip. Income elasticity measures the responsiveness of consumers to changes in their incomes (McConnell, p 88). Demand for normal goods tends to increase as consumers’ incomes increase and conversely, demand for inferior goods tends to decrease as consumers’ income increases. Demand is elastic where there is a large availability of substitutes. The reason for this as the price of a good increases, if there is a large amount of substitutes for this particular good, the consumer will choose the substitute. As discussed earlier, soda is an excellent example of this elasticity. Airline tickets are another example. As one airline raises its cost of a ticket or to even pay for a bag to be checked, a consumer will more likely choose a cheaper ticket or an airline that doesn’t charge for baggage over the original. If there is no (or a very limited) amount of substitutes for a good, elasticity is said to be negative. A price change in medication will not likely change the behavior of a consumer relative to demand since there isn’t a substitute to taking the medication. Household utilities are another example of a limited amount of substitutes. In discussing the proportion if one’s income devoted to a good concept, the household budget comes into play. In a given month, households pay for many different good and services. A change in price may or may not affect the households demand for those goods and services. Often, it is dependant on how much of the household budget is devoted to that good or service. Mobile phone service is an excellent example of a service that will most likely have a large amount of a household budget dedicated to it. A change in price in the cell phone service will most likely result in that family making a decision to change to a cheaper service, since that will have a large impact on their budget. On the other hand, that same household may purchase light bulbs each month. The amount of money dedicated to the purchase of light bulbs is so small, that a price increase will not likely affect the budget, therefore the family will not likely make a decision to change to a cheaper bulb. The concept of time when discussing demand is important. When a consumer has a large amount of time to decide on the purchase of a good or service, the elasticity is positive. Conversely, if there is little time, the elasticity is said to be negative. According to McConnell, and excellent example of this is gasoline for automobiles. Gasoline prices change daily and more often than not, prices rise. A family, who owns a car and is dependent on that car for work, etc, will not likely stop buying gas in the sort-term, because it is crucial to their everyday living. However, that family over a long period of time may decide to find alternate means of travel, decreasing their demand for gas. Using the graphs for elasticity of demand and total revenue, areas of elasticity, inelasticity and unit elasticity have been identified. Demand is elastic between the prices of $80.00 and $50.00, meaning the demand increases as the price decreases, resulting in an increase of total revenue. Between the prices of $50.00 and $40.00, the demand in unit elastic, meaning the percentage of drop in price resulted in the same percentage of increase in demand. Revenue remained unchanged in this price range. Between the prices of $40.00 and $0, the demand is inelastic, meaning the price drop has resulted in an increase in demand, but not enough to over come the decrease. Total revenue has been negatively impacted.

Eli Liily

1. Discuss Eli Lilly’s practices from the perspectives of utilitarianism and rights. The utilitarian principle affirms that, â€Å"an action is right from an ethical point of view if and only if the sum total of utilities produced by that act is greater than the sum total of utilities produced by any other act the agent could have performed in its place.† (Velasquez, 61) When Lilly began using homeless alcoholic subjects for phase 1 testing, they met the requirements set forth by Congress and the FDA. These subjects came forward, regardless of their personal motivation, to perform a service that would benefit the greater good. This act exemplifies utilitarianism. (Utilitarianism Principle, 63) To oppose this principle we would argue the two moral issues of rights and justice simultaneously. Some actions are morally right even if they are unjust (Utilitarianism Principle). An example of this would be a decision to steal food for your family or to let them go hungry. A person would need to decide between â€Å"legal good† versus â€Å"greater good† of feeding your family. The basic notion that separates justice from morality and suggests that one need only consider morality. (Rule-utilitarianism, 69) 2. In your judgment, is the policy of using homeless alcoholics for the test subjects morally appropriate? Why or Why not?  I believe that it is morally appropriate to use homeless alcoholics for test subjects if you consider this, an action is morally right if carrying out the action the agent exercises, exhibits or develops a morally virtuous character, and is morally wrong to the extent that by carrying out the action the agent exercises, exhibits, or develops a morally vicious character. (Virtue theory, 112) To oppose this principle we would argue the two moral issues of rights and justice simultaneously. Some actions are morally right even if they are unjust (Utilitarianism Principle). An example of this would be a decision to steal food for your family or to let them go hungry. A person would need to decide between â€Å"legal good† versus â€Å"greater good† of feeding your family. The basic notion that separates justice from morality and suggests that one need only consider morality. (Rule-utilitarianism, 69) The sacrifices these men are making are for the ultimate good of society. (Utilitarianism theory)

Environmental Values Paper Essay

Ecofeminism like other groups advocating the ideals of feminism is a particular distinction applied to women whose great efforts are directed towards the interrelations of society and nature. Greta Claire Gaard (1993) pointed out that the term ecofeminism is â€Å"more descriptive of a concern with cultivating an ecological ethic that goes beyond concepts of social justice† (p. 18). Ecofeminism is defined as â€Å"a value system, a social movement, and a practice, which offers political analysis which explore the links between androcentrism and environmental destruction† (p. 18). In other words, what Claire Gaard is pointing out is that ecofeminism is an awareness that starts with the understanding that the abuse of nature is closely â€Å"linked to Western Man’s attitude toward women† (p. 18). That is, according to Claire Gaard, there is a parallel in men’s thinking between their right to exploit nature, on the one hand, and the use they make of women on the other. Pluralism and environmental pragmatism on the other hand is not new to many of us. Thus, these two were not given much introduction in this paper though they are equally important topic. The most important principles of ecofeminism The most important principle of ecofeminism is to ensure that progress is tempered by an ethic of care for nature, and to create â€Å"sustainable level of progress that respect the needs of nature as well as the true needs of humans† (Meyer, M. K. & Prugl, E. 1999, p. 227). The first principle which emphasized on the care of nature is very important amidst the issue of climate change, globalization, maintaining ecological balance. Today, we are all aware of the enormous environmental problems created by human exploitations and abuses of nature. This includes deforestations through illegal cutting of trees and illegal farming, over fishing, exploitations of mineral reserves, conversion of lands to industrial and residential use, and so forth. Added to these are the burden of carbon dioxide emission of millions of cars around the world which are fast building greenhouse gasses that are creating global warming and climate change. With out ecological balance, our planet is doomed to become like a huge furnace that is no longer fit to live with. The ecofeminist emphasis on the ethic of care for the nature is consistent with the call of ecological scientists for everyone to help preserve our planet through taking care of our environment. Although this principle implies a double meaning, but they are right to say that progress should not be an excuse for environmental abuses and degradation. The other important principle of ecofeminism is to create ‘sustainable level of progress that respects the needs of nature as well as the true needs of humans. ’ Concern for the needs of nature may be different from simply preserving the nature it self, and sustainable level of progress requires careful intervention on the part of the government to implement protective laws that will ensure balance between the uses of ecological product and the sources. That is, with greater demands for these ecological products and with little efforts to replenish them, most of what we have now will soon become extinct. Emphasis on sustainable progress based on the needs of nature and true human needs is very important because it determines our future and the future of our mother earth. The most important principle of pluralism Pluralism confronts us in all aspect of our lives. Plurality pervades our society and it encompasses the different political, ethical, philosophical, religious, and cultural belief of any given society. Two most important principle of pluralism according to Timothy J. Demy and Gary P. Stewart (2000) is the so-called ‘distributive justice and the retributive justice (p. 75). The pluralist principle of distributive justice includes the emphasis on equity, equality, and need. As Barbara Mellers and Jonathan Baron explain, distributive justice is concern with fairness which defines the â€Å"apportionment of rewards, with the goal of facilitating social interaction† (p. 90). In other words, the pluralist principle of distributive justice is concern about equality and that justice and fairness is equally serving to all races regardless of beliefs and all barriers imposed by racist and discriminatory segment of the society. This is very important in our society for us to be able to live peacefully and meaningfully. The other most important pluralist principle is the retributive justice. Retributive justice according to Demy has to do with punishment of the crimes committed. In other words, crimes deserve punishment, â€Å"what one sow is what one reaps. † I believe that this important principle in order for the society to maintain order, peace, and security. State punishments of crimes committed are just as they are within the definition of the law. Retributive justice makes our society orderly, peacefully, and securely for everyone. The most important principle of environmental pragmatism There are perhaps several important principles of environmental pragmatism but due to space limitation, I only discuss in this paper the most important one. This principle is that, â€Å"the environmental issues have important value and ethical components that must be addressed in the formulation of environment policy† (Minteer, B. A. & Manning, R. E. 2003, p. 220). This principle is true not only in the context of the writer but in the context of the reality that confronts us, regarding the problem of global warming and climate change. In this context, environmental issues are very important in the formulation of environment policy because it concerns the future of our society and the future of our world. Which principle best complement my values and ethical beliefs regarding environmental issues. While ecofeminism provides us understanding about how sustainable level of progress can be attained with out abusing the environment, and the principle of pluralism showed us the way to live a peaceful life and secure life, but it is the principle of environmental pragmatism that best complement my values and ethical beliefs regarding environmental issues. I would like to emphasize further this view by entreating everyone wherever part of the globe to be environmentally conscious. As for me, I firmly believe that all environmental issues are important issues that can affect our lives not only in our generation but also the next generations and onwards. We must all be aware of the impact of pollution that we tossed up in to the atmosphere and try to do our part to stop the things that pollutes our society, and our planet. Let us rally our selves in support of the effort of preventing global warming and climate change to get worse.I believe it not to late yet to act on this problem. References Demy, T. J. & Stewart, G. P. (2000) Politics and Public Policy USA: Kregel Publication Gaard, G. C. (1993) Ecofeminism USA: Temple University Press Mellers, B. A. & Baron, J. (1993) Psychological Perspective son Justice USA: Cambridge University Press Meyer, M. K. & Prugl, E. (1999) Gender Politics in Global Governance USA: Rowman & Littlefield Minteer, B. A. & Manning, R. E. 2003, p. 220 Reconstructing Conservation USA: Island Press

Annotated Bibliography for Journal of Economic Perspectives

Shiller, R.J., 2010. Speculative prices and popular models. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(2), pp.55-65. The author provides the reader with rational expectations, especially in the economic revolution. People hold a lot of expectations for future economic variables, which influence their fundamental purchase behaviors. When prices drop, it is evident that demand in the market increases. Consumers will rush to satisfy their preferences with the affordable commodity at that time. When prices increase, demand decreases, as consumers tend to withdraw their constant purchase behaviors and only consume what is available and affordable at that time. This source highlights the rational expectations model, and the author emphasizes the importance of businesses to relate to gross oversimplification. Profitability will not increase when prices are increased, without considering the purchase ability of prospective consumers. This is a credible source, and the article goes ahead to highlight significance in understanding how the markets work, for the sake of making decisions based on speculations. Market dynamics should be studied and interpreted for business success. IMF. 2017. Supply and Demand: Why Markets Tick Retrieved from: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/suppdem.htm The source provides information in regards to the different forms of transactions which take place in the market. In most cases, buyer –seller relationships and availability dictate the market prices, as well as trends which affect the profitability of all market participants. This is a credible source as it explains the different competitive models in the market, such as perfect competition, oligopoly market features, monopolistic market and monopolies which dominate trade in the market. The author provides distinct information in regards to quantities, determining aspects of prices, and what suppliers are willing to offer a different price ranges in the markets. The main benefit of this source is that it complements all other research work in the same field, which makes it credible. This website source helps the reader to understand different price impacts on market demand. The market conditions always need to be safeguarded, not to oppress the small scale trader and at the same time, maintain optimal levels of competition. Connor, D. 2017. Why Falling Home Prices Could Be a Good Thing Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/upshot/popping-the-housing-bubbles-in-the-American-mind.html This magazine article helps a long way, in helping the reader to understand the market specifics and dynamics which help shape competition and efficient market structures. The author engages the reader in rhetoric. For example, the article begins by asking; supposing there was a way which can be used to pump up the economy, for the sake of reducing inequality, would this be of help in ending depression? This magazine article helps in the identification of the impact of lowering prices both for consumers and businesses. Homes have been used to symbolize the largest assets and the ones considered most significant by the citizens in the nation. While some of these are luxuries, some are necessities such as food and clothing. According to this source, businesses cannot just thrive through a reduction in prices of their commodities. For profitability to be realized, a lot of other strategies need to be combined with a price reduction, for the sake of success.   Batra, R.N. and Ullah, A., 2014. Competitive firm and the theory of input demand under price uncertainty. Journal of Political Economy, 82(3), pp.537-548. This journal article is a credible source of information. First, the behavior of the competitive business has been emphasized, as well as the problems facing the same analyzed. Making decisions under tight economic times has proven to be very difficult for most organizations. The input demand function is downward sloping, but this only happens when the production function is also at its best. This source is highly relevant and beneficial to use, considering the ability of the author to examine firm behavior. It also highlights contributions made by other theorists, which makes it entirely relevant. The question of demand, price, and profitability has been approached from different angles. The focus of this source is about the impact of a drop in prices, which may either lead to profitability or losses. Demand and supply functions are essential in determining the profitability of organizations in the competitive industry.   Economics. Supply- Demand Market Equilibrium. Retrieved from: https://thismatter.com/economics/market-equilibrium.htm After considerable review of this source, it is evident that it cannot be termed credible in the research process. The topic under consideration has been sufficiently addressed by the source. However, a lot of weaknesses are still evident hence making it less adequate for the process. For example, the source does not have an author who can claim responsibility for the material.   It is only website specific but does not have details on its day of publication, author, publisher or even its complementary sources. The source explains how price increases lead to a shortage of buyers, leading to decreased demand in the long run. The aspects of equilibrium quantity and price have also been addressed. There is a need to adhere to all relevant aspects which make a source credible.   Data provided in the source is adequate and correct, but cannot be considered peer reviewed. Shiller, R.J., 2010. Speculative prices and popular models. The Journal of Economic  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perspectives, 4(2), pp.55-65. IMF. 2017. Supply and Demand: Why Markets Tick. Retrieved from:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/suppdem.htm Conor, D. 2017. Why Falling Home Prices Could Be a Good Thing. Retrieved from:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/upshot/popping-the-housing-bubbles-in-the   American-mind.html Batra, R.N. and Ullah, A., 2014. Competitive firm and the theory of input demand under price  Ã‚  Ã‚   uncertainty. Journal of Political Economy, 82(3), pp.537-548. Economics. Supply- Demand Market Equilibrium. Retrieved from:   https://thismatter.com/economics/market-equilibrium.htm